书城文学坐牢家爸爸给女儿的80封信
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第25章 瞎子可以摸出象来 (2)

你23日的信及你自己做Easter的卡片(做得好可爱)及小口香糖都收到。daylight-saving-time(日光节约时间)的slang是monkey time,但这是dialect用法。

彼得?潘?潘彼得

亲爱的小文:

上月23号,给你信上提到的Leonardo Da Vinci画的那幅《最后的晚餐》(The Last Supper),爸爸把它贴在下面。画的意思是耶稣(Jesus)说One of you shall betray me(你们之中有一个要出卖我了),于是大家纷纷问他Is it I(是我吗)?

画上有Jesus的十二个徒弟,但并不是“十二使徒”Twelve Apostles-the twelve disciples and associates of Jesus(Peter,James,John,Andrew,Thomas,James the Less,Jude,Philip,Bartholomew,Matthew,Simon,and Judas),who were chosen as His Apostles. 画上说明(The Last Supper,as painted by Leonardo Da Vinci,shows Jesus and the twelve apostles,left to right:Bartholomew,James the Less,Andrew,Judas,Peter,John,Thomas,James,Philip,Matthew Thaddeus,and Simon)说是the twelve apostles,是不妥的,因为十二使徒里的Judas(犹大),并不是画里那个Judas,但一般人总以为画里那个Judas是十二使徒之一,这是一般人看书没有爸爸仔细的缘故。

坐在画里Judas旁的白胡子老头叫彼得(Peter),Jesus死后,Peter是头牌的使徒。他原来是打鱼的,Jesus招他做徒弟,说做了Jesus徒弟就“得人如得鱼一样”(I will make you fishers of men),于是Peter就跟Jesus传道了。Jesus死后十五年,Peter因传教被关在牢里,但传说天使帮他越狱,天使来的时候,看守他的兵也睡了,锁着他的两条铁链也开了。可见天使的本领真大,不但会催眠术(hypnotism),还是锁匠(locksmith),也许锁是Peter自己开的,因为Jesus早就说给Peter“天国的钥匙”(I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven),这keys既然能开天门,开个铁链上的锁自然不在话下。

Peter越狱后二十多年,又被抓住了,这次天使不来了,Peter被钉十字架上,临钉以前他要求头朝下脚朝上钉(他老师Jesus是头上脚下钉)。死后,被称为圣彼得(Saint Peter)。现在罗马(Rome)的圣彼得教堂(St. Peter’s Church)是世界上最大最有名的Christian church,Peter的坟就在里面,但直到1950年——Peter死后近一千九百年,才发现(英文Rob Peter to pay Paul就是“慷他人之慨”“挖东墙补西墙”的意思)。

谈完了Peter,再谈Pan(潘)。Pan是牧羊神,是希腊神话里半人半羊的神,怪吓人的,所以英文Panic一个字,便是被他“吓”出来的,如说They fall into a panic,就是“他们大感恐慌”。

另外,panpipe(牧神笙)这种乐器,也是他“吹”出来的。panpipe-a primitive wind instrument consisting of a series of hollow pipes of graduated length,the tones being produced by blowing across the upper ends.

爸爸为什么跟你谈Peter和Pan呢?

因为要介绍一个小朋友,他的名字叫Peter Pan(潘彼得)。

Peter Pan是谁?Peter Pan是一个童话里的小男孩,他不肯长大(refuses to grow up),下面是他的履历:

Peter Pan,the hero of a play by Sir James Barrie,is a boy who refuses to grow up. Peter Pan persuades Wendy,John,and Michael Darling to fly with him and the fairy Tinker Bell to Never-Never Land.The Darling children and Peter Pan have adventures with the pirate Captain Hook,a crocodile,and an Indian princess. The play was first produced in 1904.

The character first appears in Barrie’s story The Little White Bird(1902). Several chapters from the story were published in 1906 as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. In 1911,Barrie made the play into a story called Peter Pan and Wendy.

作者巴利是美国人,写了很多书。He once summed up his work as a means“to play hide and seek with angels”.(跟天使捉迷藏)

Peter Pan这书你学校里一定有。中文也有译本,叫《潘彼德》,重庆南路商务印书馆可以买到。译者梁实秋,现在有七十五六岁了,他是三姑三姑父在师范大学时的文学院院长,他给爸爸写的一本书《胡适评传》写过书评,说“李敖先生收集材料的本领很大”。

Peter Pan的小朋友Wendy这名字念起来很像中文的“文谛”,你要爸爸给你起一个中间的名字,就叫Wendy好不好?

Hedy Wendy Lee可写做Hedy W. Lee或H. W. Lee,你喜欢吗?你可以写信问问妈妈再决定用不用。

有人用middle name,反而不用前面的,美国前总统Nixon的太太叫Thelma Patricia(Pat)Ryan只用middle name。

1952年大选的时候,政敌说Nixon收了slush fund(红包),A fund or sum of money set aside for political purposes,to use to buy influence or votes,or to use in bribery. 说他太太Pat有貂皮大衣(mink coat),于是Nixon上了电视,称呼他太太就用Pat这middle name:He discussed his personal finances in detail,showing that he had not profited personally from the fund. He said that“Pat doesn’t have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat.”And he vowed to keep Checkers,a cocker spaniel that had been a gift to his daughters. After the program,Republicans hailed Nixon as a hero. Eisenhower put his arm around Nixon when they next met and declared:“You’re my boy.”Eisenhower and Nixon went on to defeat their Democratic opponents. 他说他只收了人家送他的一条cocker spaniel(这是一种短腿、长毛、大耳朵下垂的小猎犬),“不论他们说什么,我们也把它留下来。”(Regardless of what they say about it,we’re going to keep it.)当然一条小狗不能算是slush fund,所以Nixon当选了。

因为Wendy这个名字,发音有“文”的音,跟你中文名字正好呼应,我认为你可以像Pat一样,多用Wendy这个middle name也不错。

爸爸1975年4月6日