海外文化:英美民俗 神奇的數字:9

【英文原文】

According to Greek and Roman Mythology, there were nine muses; the Hydra had nine heads; there were nine rivers of hell; when Vulcan was kicked out of heaven, he fell for nine days before lighted on the island Lemnos. According to some Christian theologians, there are nine orders of angels. Superstitious people used to believe that to see nine magpies is most unlucky. In English idioms, nine is used to mean “a large number of”. For example, people say “Nine tailors make a man,” because a tailor is not as strong as a carpenter, a blacksmith or a man in any other trades. A cat can survive where other animals hardly can, and drops always on its feet, so people often say, “A cat has nine lives.” If a wonder can only last for several days, people may call it “a nine days’ wonder”.

【中文譯文】

數字9 據古希臘羅馬神話，繆斯有九位，水怪許德拉有九顆頭，冥河有九條，伏爾甘被朱庇特踢出天界，落了九天九夜纔在勒姆諾斯島着陸。基督教神學家將衆天使爲爲九等。迷信的人說見到九隻喜鵲不吉利。英語裏常用“九”表示“多”。裁縫在多身子骨單薄，人們就說“九個裁縫一條漢”。貓命大，摔下來總是四腳着地，人們就說貓有九命。新鮮事，如果只能轟動一時，人們稱之爲“九日奇觀”。