圣经希腊神话中的短语.docx
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圣经希腊神话中的短语.docx
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圣经希腊神话中的短语
圣经、希腊神话中的短语
Bible-relatedphrases
1.ATTHEELEVENTHHOUR
在最后一刻
Dosomethingattheeleventhhour,andyoudoitattheverylastminute.It’spossiblethatthisphrasemighthaveappearedinthelanguagewithoutanyBiblicalintervention,buttheOEDneverthelesscreditsittotheParableoftheLabourersintheGospelofStMatthew(20:
1-16),whichmetaphoricallyadvisesthatnomatterwhattimeyoustartworktherewardwillalwaysbethesame.
2.ATYOURWIT’SEND
束手无策;无计可施
Theearliestreferencetobeingatyourwit’sendinEnglishdatesbacktothelate14thcentury.ThephrasecomesfromPsalm107,inwhich“theythatgodowntotheseainships,”namelysailorsandseafarers,aredescribedasbeingthrownaroundbyastormatseasothat,“theyreeltoandfro,andstaggerlikeadrunkenman,andareattheirwit’send”(107:
23-27).
3.THEBLINDLEADINGTHEBLIND
问道于盲,外行引导外行
TheRomanpoetHoraceusedhisownversionoftheblindleadingtheblindinthe1stcenturyBC,suggestingthatitwasalreadyafairlywellknownsayingbythetimeitappearedintheNewTestament:
“Letthemalone:
theybeblindleadersoftheblind.Andiftheblindleadtheblind,bothshallfallintotheditch”(Matthew15:
14).Nevertheless,itsinclusioninearlyeditionsoftheBiblenodoubtpopularizeditsuseineverydaylanguage—andeveninspiredafamouspaintingbyPieterBrueghelliterallyinterpretingtheoriginalquote.
4.BYTHESKINOFYOURTEETH
险些错过
TheOldTestamentBookofJobrecordshowJobisputthroughaseriesoftrials,buteventuallyescapes“withtheskinofmyteeth”(19:
20).AlthoughpreciselywhatJobmeantthesewordstomeanisdebatable(andnothelpedbythefactthatteethdon’thaveskin),theusualinterpretationistheoneweusetoday—namely,thatheescapedonlybythenarrowestofmargins.
5.TOCASTPEARLSBEFORESWINE
白费好意;对牛弹琴
Meaning“tooffersomethingofvaluetosomeoneunabletoappreciateit,”tocastpearlsbeforeswinecomesfromtheNewTestament:
“Givenotthatwhichisholyuntothedogs,neithercastyeyourpearlsbeforeswine,lesttheytramplethemundertheirfeet”(Matthew,7:
6).
6.EAT,DRINKANDBEMERRY
人生短暂,及时行乐;今朝有酒今朝醉
ThispopularsentimentisoutlinedseveraltimesintheBible(Luke12:
19,1Corinthians15:
32),butappearsfirstintheBookofEcclesiastes:
“manhathnobetterthingunderthesun,thantoeat,andtodrink,andtobemerry”(8:
15).
7.TOFALLBYTHEWAYSIDE
半途而废
Ifsomethingfallsbythewayside(i.e.bythesideoftheroad),thenitfailstobeseenthroughtocompletionorisside-linedinfavorofsomeotherprojectorendeavor.TheearliestuseofthisphraseinEnglishcomesfromWilliamTyndale’stranslationoftheBiblein1526,andinparticularhisversionoftheParableoftheSower,who“wentouttosowhisseeds,andashesowed,somefellbythewayside;anditwastroddendown,andthefowlsoftheairdevouredit”(Luke8:
5).
8.FEETOFCLAY
致命的弱点
FeetofclayhasbeenusedinEnglishsincethe19thcenturytorefertoafundamentalweaknessthathasthepotentialtoleadtothedownfallofsomething(orsomeone)otherwisegreatandpowerful.ItcomesfromtheBookofDaniel(2:
31-45),inwhichtheprophetDanielinterpretsadreamthattheBabyloniankingNebuchadnezzarhashadofanenormous,imposingstatue.“Thisimage’sheadwasoffinegold,”Danielwrites,“hisbreastandhisarmsofsilver,hisbellyandhisthighsofbrass,hislegsofiron,hisfeetpartofironandpartofclay.”Asthedreamcontinues,suddenlyahuge stone strikestheclayfeetofthestatue,causingittocollapseandbreakupintopieces.DanielinterpretsthegoldenheadofthestatueasrepresentingNebuchadnezzar’skingdom,whilethesilvertorsorepresentsaninferiorkingdomthatwillfollowhis.Thebrassstomachandthighsrepresentathirdandevenmoreinferiorkingdomthatwillfollowthat,andafourthandfinalkingdom,partlystronglikeironbutpartlyweaklikeclay,isrepresentedbyitslegsandfeet.Anditisthisweakness,Danielpredicts,thatwillleadtothedownfalloftheentirestructure.
9.AFLYINTHEOINTMENT
美中不足之处
“Deadfliescausetheointmentoftheapothecarytosendforthastinkingsavour,”advisestheBookofEcclesiastes(10:
1).Themodernwording,aflyintheointment,firstappearedinthelanguageintheearly1700s.
10.HETHATTOUCHETHPITCH
近朱者赤,近墨者黑
Theoldadagethathethattouchespitchshallbedefiledadvisesthatanyonewhohaseventheslightestcontactwithsomeonewho’suptonogoodcannotavoidbecomingcorruptedthemselves.ThelinecomesfromEcclesiasticus,abookintheBiblicalApocryphawritteninthe2ndcenturyBCthatwarnsthat,“Hethattouchethpitchshallbedefiledtherewith,andhethathathfellowshipwithaproudmanshallbelikeuntohim”(13:
1).
11.THELANDOFMILKANDHONEY
肥沃而丰裕的土地;鱼米之乡
InExodus(3:
1-22),MosesistoldbythevisionoftheburningbushtoleadtheIsraelitesoutofEgyptandintoCanaan,“alandflowingwith milk andhoney.”Thephrasehassincecometobewidelyusedofanylocationpromisinggreatprosperity,respite,andcomfort.
12.THELANDOFNOD
梦乡
AnotherfamousBiblicallandistheLandofNod,lying“eastofEden”accordingtotheBookofGenesis,towhichCainisexiledafterhemurdershisbrother,Abel(4:
16).Asametaphorforfallingasleephowever,theLandofNodwasfirstusedbyJonathanSwiftin1738andisprobablynothingmorethanapunonadroopingor“nodding”head.
13.ALEOPARDCANNOTCHANGEITSSPOTS
江山易改,本性难移
Implyingthatyoucannotalterwhoyouareinnatelymeanttobe,theoldsayingthataleopardcannotchangeitsspotsisarewordingofaversefromtheBookofJeremiah(13:
23),thatasks“CantheEthiopianchangehisskin,ortheleopardhisspots?
”
14.LIKEALAMBTOTHESLAUGHTER
怯弱无助,服服帖帖
Ifsomeoneisblissfullyunawareofthedisasterabouttobefallthem,thenthey’relikealambtotheslaughter.ThephraseistouchedonanumberoftimesintheBible, mostnotablyintheBookofIsaiah:
“Heisbroughtasalambtotheslaughter,andasasheepbeforehershearersisdumb,soheopenethnothismouth”(53:
7).
15.AMILLSTONEAROUNDYOURNECK
沉重的负担
Theimageofhavingamillstone aroundyourneck,inthesenseofhavingsomekindofoppressiveburdenorresponsibility,hasbeenaclichéinEnglishsincetheearly18thcentury.ItcomesfromafamousNewTestamentspeechinwhichJesusexplainsthatanyonewhotakesadvantageofachildwouldbebetterofhaving“amillstone…hangedabouthisneckandbecastintothesea”thantotrytoenterintoHeaven(Luke,17:
2).
16.TOMOVEMOUNTAINS
愚公移山
TheideathatfaithcanmovemountainsisrepeatedanumberoftimesintheBible,includinginoneofthelettersofStPaul:
“thoughIhaveallfaith,sothatIcouldremovemountains…Iamnothing”(1Corinthians13:
2).Hiswordshavebeenusedasafamiliarexpressionofachievingsomethingimpossiblesincethe16thcentury.
17.THEREISNOTHINGNEWUNDERTHESUN
事物没有什么意义,枯燥,只是单纯的重复
Asanexpressionofworld-wearinessandatirednessofalackofnewideas,theoldadagethatthereisnothingnewundertheSunisoftenwronglyattributedtoShakespeare,whousedasimilarlineastheopeningofhis59thsonnet.Infact,thephrasecomesfromtheOldTestamentBookofEcclesiastes,whichexplains“thatwhichisdoneisthatwhichshallbedone,andthereisnonewthingundertheSun”(1:
9).
18.THEWRITINGONTHEWALL
不祥之兆
InEnglish,thewritingonthewallhasbeenaproverbialomenofmisfortunesincetheearly18thcentury.ItcomesfromtheOldTestamenttaleofBelshazzar’sFeast,agrandbanquethostedbytheBabyloniankingBelshazzarforathousandofhislords.AsrecountedintheBookofDaniel(5:
1-31),inmiddleofthefeastaghostlydisembodiedhandsupposedlyappearedbehindthekingandwroteonthewall“menemenetekelupharsin.”Unabletointerpretthetexthimself(thewordsareliterallyalistofdifferentHebrewmeasurements),BelshazzarcalledontheprophetDaniel,whoquicklyexplainedthatthemessagemeanttheking’skingdomwassoontobe“numbered,weighed,anddivided.”Thatnight,Belshazzarwaskilled,andBabylonwasclaimedbythePersians.
WordsandphrasesrelatedtotheGreekMythology
1、Flora:
古希腊罗马神话中的花神。
她嫁给了西风之神Zephyr,丈夫送给她一座满是奇花异草的园子。
春天时,Flora和丈夫Zephyr手挽手在园子里漫步,他们一路走过的地方百花齐放。
Flora在现代英语里指代“植物”。
衍生词:
flower,flour,flourish,floral,florist。
2、Muses(缪斯):
希腊神话中掌管艺术的诸神。
共九位,分别是历史、抒情诗、喜剧(牧歌、田园诗)、悲剧、歌舞、爱情诗、颂歌、天文、史诗。
Muses的艺术衍生出单词music,Muses收藏艺术品的地方就是museum。
艺术带来的快乐便是amuse,amusement。
3、Pan(潘):
牧神和森林之神,受打扰时会大声吼叫。
衍生词panic(惊慌,恐慌)。
4、Titan(泰坦):
曾统治世界的巨人族的一员。
Titan在现代英语里指代高大强壮的人,重要人物。
衍生词titanic意指巨大的,极大的。
“泰坦尼克号”即以此命名。
5、Zephyrus(泽费罗斯):
西风之神。
衍生词zephyr(西风,和风,微风)。
6、Atlas:
希腊神话中Titans(泰坦)巨神之一,因背叛Zeus(宙斯)被罚在世界的西边尽头以双肩扛天。
16世纪地理学家麦卡脱把Atlas擎天图作为一本地图册的卷首插图。
后人争相效仿,atlas从此有了地图、地图集、身负重担的人的含义。
其他衍生词:
Atlantic。
7、Ceres:
庄稼保护神。
古罗马遭受大旱,教士们求助女巫占卜,占卜的结果是要立一位新的女神Ceres,向她供奉,这样她就会给大地带来雨水。
此后,Ceres就变成了庄稼的保护神。
cereal从拉丁语变化而来,意即“ofCeres”属于谷物女神的。
衍生词:
cereals(谷类,早餐麦片)。
8、Cronos:
宙斯的父亲。
害怕子女反抗自己,曾吞食自己的后代。
就像无情的时间,吞噬一切。
因此字根“chron”意指“time”。
衍生词:
chronic(耗费时间的,慢性的):
chronology(年代学,年表)。
9、Eros(厄洛斯):
爱神。
是一位生有双翼的美少年,相当于罗马神话中的Cupid(丘比特)。
不管是Eros还是Cupid,成天无所事事,在天上飞来飞去练习射箭,搞得大家人心惶惶。
所以他们衍生出的单词都含贬义:
erotic色情的:
cupidity贪心,贪婪。
10、Hygeia:
希腊健康女神,其形象为年轻女子,身着白色长衣(白大褂),头戴祭司冠,用饭碗喂着一条蛇。
衍生词:
hy-giene。
11、Morpheus:
希腊神话中的梦神。
梦神是睡神Hypnos的儿子,掌管人们的梦境。
衍生词:
morphine(吗啡),marijuana(大麻),两者都是opium(鸦片)的提取物。
morphine有麻醉镇定的作用。
二 源于希腊神话的英语习语
1、Pandora’sbox(潘朵拉的盒子):
普罗米修斯(Prometheus)为人类盗来了天火,激怒了宙斯(Zeus)。
Zeus决定惩罚人类,于是他命令火神造出一个美貌的女人Pandora,让她去勾引Prometheus的弟弟埃比米修斯(Epimetheus)。
结果Epimetheus上当,接近了Pandora,Pandora于是就将手中的盒子打开,放出了里面的罪恶、灾难、疾病、不幸,只留下了“希望”在盒子里。
于是Pandora’sbox就成了“灾难的根源”的代名词。
2、theswordofDamocles(达摩克利斯之剑)[3]:
Damocles是叙拉古王朝的一位大臣,非常羡慕帝王的荣华富贵。
一天,国王让他坐在王位上,
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