評(píng)論
打印
The first well-documented mention of a wand made of elder that had particularly strong and dangerous powers was owned by Emeric, commonly called “the Evil”, a short-lived but exceptionally aggressive wizard who terrorised the South of England in the early Middle Ages.
第一根有文字記載的、具有特別厲害和危險(xiǎn)魔力的接骨木魔杖，其主人叫埃默里克，人稱“惡棍”。他是一個(gè)短命的但攻擊力極強(qiáng)的巫師，于中世紀(jì)早期在英格蘭南部實(shí)行恐怖統(tǒng)治。
He died as he had lived, in a ferocious duel with a wizard known as Egbert.
他在跟一位名叫埃格伯特的巫師的兇殘決斗中喪生。
What became of Egbert is unknown, although the life expectancy of medieval duelers was generally short.
埃格伯特后來怎么樣了不得而知，不過中世紀(jì)決斗士們的壽命一般都很短。
In the days before there was a Ministry of Magic to regulate the use of Dark Magic, duelling was usually fatal.
在魔法部開始對(duì)黑魔法的使用進(jìn)行管理之前，決斗通常都是致命的。
A full century later, another unpleasant character, this time named Godelot, advanced the study of Dark Magic by writing a collection of dangerous spells with the help of a wand he described in his notebook as “my moste wicked and subtle friend, with bode of Ellhorn, (Note 6: An old name for “elder”. ) who knows ways of magic moste evile”. (Magick Moste Evile became the title of Godelot's masterwork. )
整整一個(gè)世紀(jì)之后，另一個(gè)令人討厭的人物——他的名字叫戈德洛特——在一根魔杖的幫助下寫出一批危險(xiǎn)的咒語，推進(jìn)了黑魔法的研究。他在筆記本上形容他的魔杖是“我最邪惡、最玄妙莫測的朋友，它的杖身是用艾爾角（注釋六：接骨木的古名。）做的，熟悉各種最邪惡的魔法”。（“最邪惡的魔法”成了戈德洛特那部杰作的名字。）
As can be seen, Godelot considers his wand to be a helpmeet, almost an instructor.
顯然，戈德洛特把他的魔杖看作一位合作伙伴，甚至一位導(dǎo)師。
Those who are knowledgeable about wand lore (Note 7: Such as myself. ) will agree that wands do indeed absorb the expertise of those who use them, though this is an unpredictable and imperfect business; one must consider all kinds of additional factors, such as the relationship between the wand and the user, to understand how well it is likely to perform with any particular individual.
熟悉魔杖學(xué)的人（注釋七：比如本人。）認(rèn)為魔杖確實(shí)能吸收使用者的技術(shù)，不過這種事情是不可預(yù)測的，也是不全面的，人必須考慮到所有的附加因素，如魔杖和使用者之間的關(guān)系，才能了解它在某人手上會(huì)有怎樣的表現(xiàn)。
Nevertheless, a hypothetical wand that had passed through the hands of many Dark wizards would be likely to have, at the very least, a marked affinity for the most dangerous kinds of magic.
盡管如此，一根經(jīng)過許多黑巫師之手的假想的魔杖，起碼會(huì)對(duì)最危險(xiǎn)的魔法表現(xiàn)出顯著的偏愛。
Most witches and wizards prefer a wand that has “chosen” them to any kind of second-hand wand, precisely because the latter is likely to have learned habits from its previous owner that might not be compatible with the new user's style of magic.
大多數(shù)巫師喜歡使用一根“選擇”他們的魔杖，而不是任何二手魔杖，因?yàn)槎帜д群芸赡芤呀?jīng)從前任主人那里學(xué)到一些習(xí)慣，跟新主人的魔法風(fēng)格不協(xié)調(diào)。
The general practice of burying (or burning) the wand with its owner, once he or she has died, also tends to prevent any individual wand learning from too many masters.
主人死后，魔杖一般伴隨主人安葬（或焚燒），這種做法也能阻止一根魔杖從太多主人那里學(xué)到東西。
Believers in the Elder Wand, however, hold that because of the way in which it has always passed allegiance between owners – the next master overcoming the first, usually by killing him – the Elder Wand has never been destroyed or buried, but has survived to accumulate wisdom, strength and power far beyond the ordinary.
可是，相信“老魔杖”說法的人認(rèn)為，由于“老魔杖”一直向不同的主人效忠——后一位主人戰(zhàn)勝前一任主人，一般通過結(jié)果其性命的方式——所以“老魔杖”一直沒有被摧毀或焚燒。它積聚了許多智慧、力量和魔力，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)勝過普通的魔杖。
