Pygmalion(皮格马利翁)

Pygmalion
皮格马利翁
Many centuries ago, there was a man called Pygmalion who lived in Cyprus. He was the best sculptor of his time and his statues almost lived and breathed because they were so perfectly made.
几百年以前，塞浦路斯住着一个名叫皮格马利翁的人。他是那个时代最优秀的雕塑家，他的雕像作品惟妙惟肖，宛若有血有肉的真人。
Pygmalion, as a very great artist, had some eccentricities. All girls, he thought, were as annoying as his sister! “Girls? Who needs them?”, he thought. Life, he considered, should be dedicated to art, not women.
作为一个出色的艺术家，皮格马利翁有一些怪癖。他认为所有的女孩都像他的妹妹一样惹人厌！“女孩子？要她们做什么？”。他觉得应该把生命投入到艺术创作中去，而不是花在女人身上。
If he was going to put anybody or anything on a pedestal, it would be a statue.
对他来说，唯一值得放在底座上受人尊敬的，唯有雕塑而已。
Many girls in town admired Pygmalion as the great artist he was, and some of them would come to his studio to gaze at this statues and try to attract Pygmalion’s attention and affection.
镇上很多女孩都爱慕伟大的艺术家皮格马利翁。有些女孩以参观他工作室里的雕像为由，试图引起他的注意，赢得他的爱慕。
But Pygmalion was only interested in his art.
可是，除了艺术，什么也吸引不到皮格马利翁。
One night though, as the sculptor lay asleep, Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, appeared to him.
一天晚上，当雕刻家躺倒睡着的时候，掌管爱与美的女神阿佛洛狄忒现身了。
“Listen now, Pygmalion.”, she said, “You are dishonoring me by refusing to love a woman. There are several nice young girls in the village. You must pick one for your wife! If you don’t, I will choose for you!”
“听着，皮格马利翁，” 她说，“如果你拒绝女人的爱慕，那就是往我脸上抹灰。村子里有几个不错的年轻女孩，你必须选定一个娶进家门！你不选的话，那我就要替你选了！”
Poor Pygmalion. The goddess was ordering him to marry! What a nightmare for him!
可怜的皮格马利翁，女神这是在命令他成婚！对他来说，这无异是一场噩梦啊！
But Pygmalion thought quickly and said, “Oh, Goddess, please,” he begged, “before I marry let me create my greatest work. Give me time to create a statue of the most beautiful woman ever in your honor! I cannot do this when I am married, for my wife will be jealous of its great beauty.”

但皮格马利翁思维敏捷，他想了一下说，“啊，女神，求你了！”他恳求道，“在我结婚之前，请允许我创作一件我最伟大的作品。给我点时间创作这个有史以来最完美的美女雕像吧，这是表达对您的敬意！这件事我不可能婚后再做，因为我的妻子会因为它的美丽而醋意大发的！”
Aphrodite was intrigued and smiled at his suggestion. “All right then, I shall give you a stay of execution. You may have time to make that statue before you marry. I look forward to seeing it!”, she said.
这个提议让阿佛洛狄忒满面微笑，兴趣盎然，她说：“好吧，你的事先搁置待议。你可以在你结婚之前完成你的雕像，我很期待着看到它！”
In the morning, Pygmalion went down to the port and spoke to a merchant. He ordered the finest ivory from Africa. He knew that it would take several months to arrive.
早上，皮格马利翁去了港口，他和一个商人订购了产于非洲的最好的象牙。他心里有数，这象牙怎么也要好几个月才能运到。
When it did come, he started to make small statues, trying them out in different poses. Aphrodite could not understand why Pygmalion was taking so much time but he replied that art cannot be rushed.
象牙到货后，他开始试着做些不同造型的小雕像。阿佛洛狄忒不明白为什么皮格马利翁如此磨磨蹭蹭，而他只是回答说：艺术品不是赶出来的。
A year went by, and Pygmalion ran out of excuses.
一年过去了，皮格马利翁用尽了所有的借口。
He began to work on the life-sized statue for real. He made her perfect. Her ivory surface was as white as snow. She had more beauty than any real girl could have.
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