Chapter 4 A JOURNEY IN THE DARK It was evening, and the grey light was again waning fast, when they halted for the night. They were very weary. The mountains were veiled in deepening dusk, and the wind was cold. Gandalf spared them one more mouthful each of the miruvor of Rivendell. When they had eaten some food he called a council. ‘We cannot, of course, go on again tonight,’ he said. “The attack on the Redhorn Gate has tired us out, and we must rest here for a while.’ ‘And then where are we to go?’ asked Frodo. ‘We still have our journey and our errand before us,’ answered Gandalf. ‘We have no choice but to go on, or to return to Rivendell.’ Pippin’s face brightened visibly at the mere mention of return to Rivendell; Merry and Sam looked up hopefully. But Aragorn and Boromir made no sign. Frodo looked troubled. ‘I wish I was back there,’ he said. ‘But how can I return without shame — unless there is indeed no other way, and we are already defeated?’ “You are right, Frodo,’ said Gandalf: ‘to go back is to admit defeat, and face worse defeat to come. If we go back now, then the Ring must remain there: we shall not be able to set out again. Then sooner or later Rivendell will be besieged, and after a brief and bitter time it will be destroyed. The Ringwraiths are deadly enemies, but they are only shadows yet of the power and terror they would possess if the Ruling Ring was on their master’s hand again.’ “Then we must go on, if there is a way,’ said Frodo with a sigh. Sam sank back into gloom. “There is a way that we may attempt,’ said Gandalf. ‘I thought from the beginning, when first I considered this journey, that we should try it. But it is not a pleasant way, and I have not spoken of it to the Company before. Aragorn was against it, until the pass over the mountains had at least been tried.’ ‘If it is a worse road than the Redhorn Gate, then it must be evil indeed,’ said Merry. ‘But you had better tell us about it, and let us know the worst at once.’ ‘The road that I speak of leads to the Mines of Moria,’ said Gandalf. Only Gimli lifted up his head; a smouldering fire was in his eyes. On all the others a dread fell at the mention of that name. Even to the hobbits it was a legend of vague fear.
第四章 黑暗之旅 時值傍晚，天色又迅速黯淡下來，他們停下來過夜。他們都非常疲憊。群山籠罩在漸深的暮色中，寒風凜冽。甘道夫又給他們每人分了一小口瑞文戴爾的米魯沃。吃過一些食物後，他召開了一次會議。「我們今晚當然不能再前進了，」他說。「紅角隘口的襲擊讓我們筋疲力盡，我們必須在這裡休息一會兒。」「那我們要去哪裡？」佛羅多問。「我們的旅程和任務還在前方等著我們，」甘道夫回答。「我們別無選擇，只能繼續前進，或者返回瑞文戴爾。」皮聘一聽到要返回瑞文戴爾，臉上立刻明顯地亮了起來；梅里和山姆也滿懷希望地抬起頭。但亞拉岡和波羅莫卻沒有任何表示。佛羅多看起來很困擾。「我真希望我能回到那裡，」他說。「但我怎能不帶羞恥地回去呢——除非真的別無他法，而我們已經被打敗了？」「你說得對，佛羅多，」甘道夫說：「回去就是承認失敗，並將面臨更糟的失敗。如果我們現在回去，那麼魔戒就必須留在原地：我們將無法再次出發。那麼遲早瑞文戴爾會被圍攻，經過一段短暫而痛苦的時間後，它將被摧毀。戒靈是致命的敵人，但如果至尊魔戒再次回到他們主人手中，他們所擁有的力量和恐怖將遠超現在的陰影。」「那麼我們必須繼續前進，如果還有辦法的話，」佛羅多嘆了口氣說。山姆又陷入了沮喪。「有一個辦法我們可以嘗試，」甘道夫說。「我從一開始考慮這次旅程時就想過，我們應該嘗試它。但這不是一條愉快的路，我之前從未向隊伍提過。亞拉岡一直反對，直到至少嘗試過翻越山脈的隘口。」「如果這條路比紅角隘口還糟，那它一定非常邪惡，」梅里說。「但你最好告訴我們，讓我們立刻知道最壞的情況。」「我說的這條路通往摩瑞亞礦坑，」甘道夫說。只有金靂抬起了頭；他眼中燃燒著一團悶火。聽到那個名字，所有其他人臉上都籠罩著恐懼。即使對哈比人來說，那也是一個模糊恐懼的傳說。
296 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “The road may lead to Moria, but how can we hope that it will lead through Moria?’ said Aragorn darkly. ‘It is a name of ill omen,’ said Boromir. ‘Nor do I see the need to go there. If we cannot cross the mountains, let us journey southwards, until we come to the Gap of Rohan, where men are friendly to my people, taking the road that I followed on my way hither. Or we might pass by and cross the Isen into Langstrand and Lebennin, and so come to Gondor from the regions nigh to the sea.’ “Things have changed since you came north, Boromir,’ answered Gandalf. ‘Did you not hear what I told you of Saruman? With him I may have business of my own ere all is over. But the Ring must not come near Isengard, if that can by any means be prevented. The Gap of Rohan is closed to us while we go with the Bearer. ‘As for the longer road: we cannot afford the time. We might spend a year in such a journey, and we should pass through many lands that are empty and harbourless. Yet they would not be safe. The watchful eyes both of Saruman and of the Enemy are on them. When you came north, Boromir, you were in the Enemy’s eyes only one stray wanderer from the South and a matter of small concern to him: his mind was busy with the pursuit of the Ring. But you return now as a member of the Ring’s Company, and you are in peril as long as you remain with us. The danger will increase with every league that we go south under the naked sky. ‘Since our open attempt on the mountain-pass our plight has become more desperate, I fear. I see now little hope, if we do not soon vanish from sight for a while, and cover our trail. Therefore I advise that we should go neither over the mountains, nor round them, but under them. That is a road at any rate that the Enemy will least expect us to take.’ ‘We do not know what he expects,’ said Boromir. ‘He may watch all roads, likely and unlikely. In that case to enter Moria would be to walk into a trap, hardly better than knocking at the gates of the Dark Tower itself. The name of Moria is black.’ “You speak of what you do not know, when you liken Moria to the stronghold of Sauron,’ answered Gandalf. ‘I alone of you have ever been in the dungeons of the Dark Lord, and only in his older and lesser dwelling in Dol Guldur. Those who pass the gates of Barad-dtr do not return. But I would not lead you into Moria if there were no hope of coming out again. If there are Orcs there, it may prove ill for us, that is true. But most of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains were scattered or destroyed in the Battle of Five Armies. The Eagles report that Orcs are gathering again from afar; but there is a hope that Moria is still free. “There is even a chance that Dwarves are there, and that in some
296 魔戒 「這條路或許通往摩瑞亞，但我們怎能指望它會穿過摩瑞亞呢？」亞拉岡陰沉地說。「那是一個不祥的名字。」波羅莫說，「我也不認為有必要去那裡。如果我們無法越過山脈，不如向南行進，直到抵達洛汗隘口，那裡的人們對我的族人很友善，我們可以走我來時經過的那條路。或者，我們也可以繞道，渡過伊森河進入朗史川德和勒班寧，然後從靠近海邊的地區抵達剛鐸。」 「波羅莫，自從你北上以來，情勢已經改變了。」甘道夫回答，「你難道沒聽我說過薩魯曼的事嗎？在一切結束之前，我可能還有自己的事情要和他了結。但如果可以阻止，魔戒絕不能靠近艾辛格。只要我們與持戒人同行，洛汗隘口就對我們關閉了。」 「至於更長的路：我們耗不起時間。這樣的旅程可能要花上一年，而且我們會經過許多荒蕪無人、沒有港口的地方。然而，它們並不安全。薩魯曼和敵人的監視之眼都盯著這些地方。波羅莫，當你北上時，在敵人眼中，你只是一個來自南方、無足輕重的流浪者：他的心思都忙著追尋魔戒。但你現在是以魔戒遠征隊成員的身份歸來，只要你和我們在一起，你就身處險境。我們在露天之下每向南走一里，危險就會增加一分。」 「自從我們公開嘗試翻越山口以來，我們的困境變得更加絕望，我擔心。如果我們不盡快暫時消失蹤影，並掩蓋我們的行蹤，我現在看不到什麼希望。因此，我建議我們既不要翻越山脈，也不要繞過山脈，而是從山下走。無論如何，那是敵人最不會預料到我們會走的路。」 「我們不知道他會預料到什麼。」波羅莫說，「他可能會監視所有道路，無論是可能的還是不可能的。在這種情況下，進入摩瑞亞無異於自投羅網，幾乎不比敲響黑暗之塔的大門好到哪裡去。摩瑞亞這個名字本身就帶有黑暗。」 「當你把摩瑞亞比作索倫的據點時，你說的是你所不知道的事情。」甘道夫回答，「你們之中，只有我曾進入過黑暗魔君的地下城，而且那只是他在多爾哥多較舊、較小的居所。那些穿過巴拉多門的人都無法回來。但我不會在沒有希望出來的情況下帶你們進入摩瑞亞。如果那裡有半獸人，對我們來說可能很不利，這是真的。但迷霧山脈的大部分半獸人都在五軍之戰中被驅散或消滅了。老鷹報告說半獸人正從遠方再次聚集；但仍有希望摩瑞亞是自由的。甚至有可能矮人就在那裡，而且在某些
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 297 deep hall of his fathers, Balin son of Fundin may be found. However it may prove, one must tread the path that need chooses!’ ‘I will tread the path with you, Gandalf!’ said Gimli. ‘I will go and look on the halls of Durin, whatever may wait there — if you can find the doors that are shut.’ ‘Good, Gimli!’ said Gandalf. “You encourage me. We will seek the hidden doors together. And we will come through. In the ruins of the Dwarves, a dwarf’s head will be less easy to bewilder than Elves or Men or Hobbits. Yet it will not be the first time that I have been to Moria. I sought there long for Thrain son of Thror after he was lost. I passed through, and I came out again alive!’ ‘I too once passed the Dimrill Gate,’ said Aragorn quietly; ‘but though I also came out again, the memory is very evil. I do not wish to enter Moria a second time.’ ‘And I don’t wish to enter it even once,’ said Pippin. ‘Nor me,’ muttered Sam. ‘Of course not!’ said Gandalf. ‘Who would? But the question is: who will follow me, if I lead you there?’ ‘T will,’ said Gimli eagerly. ‘I will,’ said Aragorn heavily. ‘You followed my lead almost to disaster in the snow, and have said no word of blame. I will follow your lead now -— if this last warning does not move you. It is not of the Ring, nor of us others that I am thinking now, but of you, Gandalf. And I say to you: if you pass the doors of Moria, beware!’ ‘I will not go,’ said Boromir; ‘not unless the vote of the whole Company is against me. What do Legolas and the little folk say? The Ring-bearer’s voice surely should be heard?’ ‘I do not wish to go to Moria,’ said Legolas. The hobbits said nothing. Sam looked at Frodo. At last Frodo spoke. ‘I do not wish to go,’ he said; ‘but neither do I wish to refuse the advice of Gandalf. I beg that there should be no vote, until we have slept on it. Gandalf will get votes easier in the light of the morning than in this cold gloom. How the wind howls!’ At these words all fell into silent thought. They heard the wind hissing among the rocks and trees, and there was a howling and wailing round them in the empty spaces of the night. Suddenly Aragorn leapt to his feet. ‘How the wind howls!’ he cried. ‘It is howling with wolf-voices. The Wargs have come west of the Mountains!’ ‘Need we wait until morning then?’ said Gandalf. ‘It is as I said. The hunt is up! Even if we live to see the dawn, who now will wish to journey south by night with the wild wolves on his trail?’ ‘How far is Moria?’ asked Boromir.
黑暗中的旅程 297 在他先祖的深邃大廳中，或許能找到方登之子巴林。無論結果如何，人都必須踏上命運所選擇的道路！「甘道夫，我會與你同行！」金靂說。「我會去看看都靈的大廳，無論那裡有什麼在等著——如果你能找到那些緊閉的門。」「好樣的，金靂！」甘道夫說。「你鼓舞了我。我們會一起尋找那些隱藏的門。我們會成功通過的。在矮人的廢墟中，矮人的頭腦可不像精靈、人類或哈比人那樣容易被迷惑。然而，這並非我第一次來到莫瑞亞。索爾之子索林失蹤後，我曾在那裡尋找他很久。我穿過了那裡，並且活著出來了！」「我也曾經過銀光之門，」亞拉岡輕聲說道；「但我雖然也出來了，那段記憶卻非常糟糕。我不想第二次進入莫瑞亞。」「而我連一次都不想進去，」皮聘說。「我也不想，」山姆咕噥道。「當然不想！」甘道夫說。「誰會想呢？但問題是：如果我帶你們去那裡，誰會跟隨我呢？」「我會的，」金靂熱切地說。「我會的，」亞拉岡沉重地說。「你跟隨我的引導，在雪中幾乎遭遇災難，卻沒有一句怨言。現在我會跟隨你的引導——如果這最後的警告沒有讓你動搖的話。我現在想的不是魔戒，也不是我們其他人，而是你，甘道夫。我對你說：如果你通過莫瑞亞的門，務必小心！」「我不會去，」波羅莫說；「除非整個隊伍的投票結果是反對我。勒苟拉斯和那些小個子們怎麼說？魔戒持有者的意見當然應該被聽取？」「我不想去莫瑞亞，」勒苟拉斯說。哈比人們沒有說話。山姆看著佛羅多。最後佛羅多開口了。「我不想去，」他說；「但我也不想拒絕甘道夫的建議。我懇求不要投票，直到我們考慮清楚為止。甘道夫在清晨的光線下會比在這冰冷的陰暗中更容易獲得選票。風聲多麼淒厲啊！」聽到這些話，所有人都陷入了沉思。他們聽到風在岩石和樹木間嘶吼，夜晚的空曠處傳來陣陣呼嘯和哀嚎。亞拉岡突然跳了起來。「風聲多麼淒厲啊！」他喊道。「那是狼的嚎叫聲。惡狼已經來到山脈的西邊了！」「那麼我們還需要等到早上嗎？」甘道夫說。「正如我所說。追捕已經開始了！即使我們能活到天亮，現在誰還會想在夜晚，有野狼追蹤的情況下向南行進？」「莫瑞亞還有多遠？」波羅莫問道。
298 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “There was a door south-west of Caradhras, some fifteen miles as the crow flies, and maybe twenty as the wolf runs,’ answered Gandalf grimly. “Then let us start as soon as it is light tomorrow, if we can,’ said Boromir. “The wolf that one hears is worse than the orc that one fears.’ ‘True!’ said Aragorn, loosening his sword in its sheath. ‘But where the warg howls, there also the orc prowls.’ ‘I wish I had taken Elrond’s advice,’ muttered Pippin to Sam. ‘I am no good after all. There is not enough of the breed of Bandobras the Bullroarer in me: these howls freeze my blood. I don’t ever remember feeling so wretched.’ ‘My heart’s right down in my toes, Mr. Pippin,’ said Sam. ‘But we aren’t etten yet, and there are some stout folk here with us. Whatever may be in store for old Gandalf, I'll wager it isn’t a wolf’s belly.’ For their defence in the night the Company climbed to the top of the small hill under which they had been sheltering. It was crowned with a knot of old and twisted trees, about which lay a broken circle of boulder-stones. In the midst of this they lit a fire, for there was no hope that darkness and silence would keep their trail from discovery by the hunting packs. Round the fire they sat, and those that were not on guard dozed uneasily. Poor Bill the pony trembled and sweated where he stood. The howling of the wolves was now all round them, sometimes nearer and sometimes further off. In the dead of night many shining eyes were seen peering over the brow of the hill. Some advanced almost to the ring of stones. At a gap in the circle a great dark wolf-shape could be seen halted, gazing at them. A shuddering howl broke from him, as if he were a captain summoning his pack to the assault. Gandalf stood up and strode forward, holding his staff aloft. ‘Listen, Hound of Sauron!’ he cried. ‘Gandalf is here. Fly, if you value your foul skin! I will shrivel you from tail to snout, if you come within this ring.’ The wolf snarled and sprang towards them with a great leap. At that moment there was a sharp twang. Legolas had loosed his bow. There was a hideous yell, and the leaping shape thudded to the ground; the Elvish arrow had pierced its throat. The watching eyes were suddenly extinguished. Gandalf and Aragorn strode forward, but the hill was deserted; the hunting packs had fled. All about them the darkness grew silent, and no cry came on the sighing wind. The night was old, and westward the waning moon was setting, gleaming fitfully through the breaking clouds. Suddenly Frodo started
298 魔戒聖戰 「卡拉茲拉斯山西南方有一道門，直線距離約十五英里，但若循著狼的足跡，或許有二十英里。」甘道夫嚴峻地回答。「那麼，如果可以的話，我們明天天一亮就出發吧。」波羅莫說。「聽到的狼嚎比害怕的半獸人更糟。」「說得對！」亞拉岡說著，在劍鞘中鬆了鬆他的劍。「但哪裡有座狼嚎叫，哪裡就有半獸人潛伏。」「我真希望我聽了愛隆的建議。」皮聘對山姆咕噥道。「我終究是沒用的。我體內沒有足夠的『吼牛』班多布拉斯的血統：這些嚎叫聲凍結了我的血液。我從不記得自己有這麼悲慘過。」「我的心都沉到腳趾頭了，皮聘先生。」山姆說。「但我們還沒被吃掉呢，而且這裡還有一些堅強的夥伴跟我們在一起。不管老甘道夫會遇到什麼，我敢打賭他不會進狼的肚子。」為了夜間防禦，遠征隊爬上了他們之前避難的小山頂。山頂上長著一叢糾結的老樹，周圍環繞著一圈破碎的巨石。他們在其中點燃了篝火，因為在黑暗和寂靜中，他們的蹤跡不可能不被追捕的狼群發現。他們圍著火堆坐下，那些沒有值班的人不安地打著盹。可憐的小馬比爾站在那裡，顫抖著，流著汗。狼嚎聲現在四面八方傳來，時而近，時而遠。在深夜裡，許多閃爍的眼睛被看到從山脊上窺視。有些甚至逼近到石圈旁。在石圈的一個缺口處，可以看到一個巨大的黑暗狼影停在那裡，凝視著他們。一聲顫抖的嚎叫從牠口中發出，彷彿牠是召集狼群進攻的頭領。甘道夫站起身，大步向前，高舉著他的法杖。「聽著，索倫的走狗！」他大喊。「甘道夫在這裡。如果你珍惜你那骯髒的皮囊，就快逃！如果你敢踏入這個圈子，我會把你從頭到尾都燒成灰燼。」那狼咆哮著，猛地一躍，朝他們撲來。就在那一刻，一聲尖銳的弓弦聲響起。勒苟拉斯射出了他的弓箭。一聲可怕的尖叫，那個跳躍的身影重重地摔在地上；精靈的箭矢刺穿了牠的喉嚨。那些監視的眼睛突然消失了。甘道夫和亞拉岡大步向前，但小山已經空無一人；追捕的狼群已經逃走了。他們周圍的黑暗變得寂靜，嘆息的風中沒有傳來任何哭聲。夜已深，西方的殘月正在下沉，透過破開的雲層，斷斷續續地閃爍著光芒。佛羅多突然一驚。
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 299 from sleep. Without warning a storm of howls broke out fierce and wild all about the camp. A great host of Wargs had gathered silently and was now attacking them from every side at once. ‘Fling fuel on the fire!’ cried Gandalf to the hobbits. ‘Draw your blades, and stand back to back!’ In the leaping light, as the fresh wood blazed up, Frodo saw many grey shapes spring over the ring of stones. More and more followed. Through the throat of one huge leader Aragorn passed his sword with a thrust; with a great sweep Boromir hewed the head off another. Beside them Gimli stood with his stout legs apart, wielding his dwarfaxe. The bow of Legolas was singing. In the wavering firelight Gandalf seemed suddenly to grow: he rose up, a great menacing shape like the monument of some ancient king of stone set upon a hill. Stooping like a cloud, he lifted a burning branch and strode to meet the wolves. They gave back before him. High in the air he tossed the blazing brand. It flared with a sudden white radiance like lightning; and his voice rolled like thunder. ‘Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth! he cried. There was a roar and a crackle, and the tree above him burst into a leaf and bloom of blinding flame. The fire leapt from tree-top to tree-top. The whole hill was crowned with dazzling light. The swords and knives of the defenders shone and flickered. The last arrow of Legolas kindled in the air as it flew, and plunged burning into the heart of a great wolf-chieftain. All the others fled. Slowly the fire died till nothing was left but falling ash and sparks; a bitter smoke curled above the burned tree-stumps, and blew darkly from the hill, as the first light of dawn came dimly in the sky. Their enemies were routed and did not return. ‘What did I tell you, Mr. Pippin?’ said Sam, sheathing his sword. ‘Wolves won’t get him. That was an eye-opener, and no mistake! Nearly singed the hair off my head!’ When the full light of the morning came no signs of the wolves were to be found, and they looked in vain for the bodies of the dead. No trace of the fight remained but the charred trees and the arrows of Legolas lying on the hill-top. All were undamaged save one of which only the point was left. ‘It is as I feared,’ said Gandalf. “These were no ordinary wolves hunting for food in the wilderness. Let us eat quickly and go!’ That day the weather changed again, almost as if it was at the command of some power that had no longer any use for snow, since they had retreated from the pass, a power that wished now to have a clear light in which things that moved in the wild could be seen from far away. The wind had been turning through north to
黑暗之旅 299 從睡夢中醒來。毫無預警地，一陣狂野兇猛的嚎叫風暴在營地四周爆發。一大群座狼悄無聲息地聚集，此刻正從四面八方同時向他們發動攻擊。「把燃料丟到火裡！」甘道夫對哈比人喊道。「拔出你們的刀劍，背靠背站好！」在跳躍的火光中，隨著新柴燃燒起來，佛羅多看見許多灰色身影躍過石圈。越來越多的身影緊隨其後。亞拉岡一劍刺穿了一隻巨大首領的喉嚨；波羅莫則一記橫掃，砍下了另一隻的頭顱。在他們身旁，金靂雙腿岔開，手持他的矮人戰斧。勒苟拉斯的弓弦正在歌唱。在搖曳的火光中，甘道夫似乎突然變高了：他站起身來，一個巨大的、威脅性的身影，就像一座矗立在山丘上的古老石王紀念碑。他像一朵雲般俯身，拿起一根燃燒的樹枝，大步走向那些狼群。牠們在他面前退縮了。他將那根燃燒的火把高高拋向空中。它爆發出閃電般的白色光芒；他的聲音如雷鳴般滾動。「Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth!」他喊道。一陣轟鳴和噼啪聲響起，他頭頂的樹木爆發出葉片和花朵般的耀眼火焰。火焰從樹梢跳躍到樹梢。整座山丘都被耀眼的光芒籠罩。防禦者的刀劍閃爍不定。勒苟拉斯的最後一箭在空中燃燒著飛去，燃燒著射入了一隻巨大狼首領的心臟。所有其他的狼都逃走了。火焰緩緩熄滅，直到只剩下飄落的灰燼和火星；一股苦澀的煙霧在燒焦的樹樁上方繚繞，並從山丘上黑暗地吹來，此時，黎明的第一道微光在天空中隱約出現。他們的敵人被擊潰，沒有再回來。「我跟你說什麼來著，皮聘先生？」山姆說著，將劍收入鞘中。「狼群抓不到他的。那真是大開眼界，一點沒錯！差點把我的頭髮都燒焦了！」當清晨的陽光完全升起時，狼群的蹤跡已無處可尋，他們也徒勞地尋找著死去的狼屍。除了燒焦的樹木和散落在山頂的勒苟拉斯的箭矢外，戰鬥的痕跡蕩然無存。所有的箭都完好無損，除了一支只剩下箭頭。「正如我所擔心的，」甘道夫說。「這些不是在荒野中覓食的普通狼群。我們快點吃東西然後走吧！」那天，天氣再次改變，彷彿是某種力量的命令，這種力量在他們從山口撤退後，不再需要雪，現在希望有一道清晰的光線，讓在荒野中移動的東西能從遠處被看見。風向從北轉向
300 THE LORD OF THE RINGS north-west during the night, and now it failed. The clouds vanished southwards and the sky was opened, high and blue. As they stood upon the hillside, ready to depart, a pale sunlight gleamed over the mountain-tops. ‘We must reach the doors before sunset,’ said Gandalf, ‘or I fear we shall not reach them at all. It is not far, but our path may be winding, for here Aragorn cannot guide us; he has seldom walked in this country, and only once have I been under the west wall of Moria, and that was long ago. ‘There it lies,’ he said, pointing away south-eastwards to where the mountains’ sides fell sheer into the shadows at their feet. In the distance could be dimly seen a line of bare cliffs, and in their midst, taller than the rest, one great grey wall. ‘When we left the pass I led you southwards, and not back to our starting point, as some of you may have noticed. It is well that I did so, for now we have several miles less to cross, and haste is needed. Let us go!’ ‘I do not know which to hope,’ said Boromir grimly: ‘that Gandalf will find what he seeks, or that coming to the cliff we shall find the gates lost for ever. All choices seem ill, and to be caught between wolves and the wall the likeliest chance. Lead on!’ Gimli now walked ahead by the wizard’s side, so eager was he to come to Moria. Together they led the Company back towards the mountains. The only road of old to Moria from the west had lain along the course of a stream, the Sirannon, that ran out from the feet of the cliffs near where the doors had stood. But either Gandalf was astray, or else the land had changed in recent years; for he did not strike the stream where he looked to find it, only a few miles southwards from their start. The morning was passing towards noon, and still the Company wandered and scrambled in a barren country of red stones. Nowhere could they see any gleam of water or hear any sound of it. All was bleak and dry. Their hearts sank. They saw no living thing, and not a bird was in the sky; but what the night would bring, if it caught them in that lost land, none of them cared to think. Suddenly Gimli, who had pressed on ahead, called back to them. He was standing on a knoll and pointing to the right. Hurrying up they saw below them a deep and narrow channel. It was empty and silent, and hardly a trickle of water flowed among the brown and red-stained stones of its bed; but on the near side there was a path, much broken and decayed, that wound its way among the ruined walls and paving-stones of an ancient highroad. ‘Ah! Here it is at last!’ said Gandalf. “This is where the stream ran: Sirannon, the Gate-stream, they used to call it. But what has
300 《魔戒》 夜間從西北方吹來的風，此刻也停歇了。雲層向南散去，天空變得高遠湛藍。當他們站在山坡上準備啟程時，一抹蒼白的陽光灑落在山頂。「我們必須在日落前抵達大門，」甘道夫說，「否則我恐怕我們根本無法抵達。路程不遠，但我們的路徑可能蜿蜒曲折，因為亞拉岡無法為我們引路；他很少在這片土地上行走，而我只去過摩瑞亞西牆下一次，那已是很久以前的事了。」「它就在那裡，」他指著東南方說，那裡山坡陡峭地沒入腳下的陰影中。遠處隱約可見一排光禿禿的懸崖，其中最高聳的是一道巨大的灰色石牆。「當我們離開山口時，我帶你們往南走，而不是回到我們的起點，或許有些人已經注意到了。我這麼做是明智的，因為現在我們少走了好幾英里，而且時間緊迫。我們走吧！」 「我不知道該希望哪一個，」波羅莫嚴峻地說：「是希望甘道夫找到他所尋找的，還是希望我們抵達懸崖時發現大門已永遠失落。所有的選擇似乎都不好，而陷入進退兩難的境地似乎是最有可能的。帶路吧！」 金靂現在走在巫師身旁，他急切地想前往摩瑞亞。他們一同帶領隊伍朝山脈走去。從西方通往摩瑞亞的古老道路，曾沿著一條名為西拉儂的溪流而行，那條溪流從大門所在懸崖腳下流出。但甘道夫要麼迷路了，要麼這片土地近年來發生了變化；因為他沒有在預期找到溪流的地方找到它，只在他們出發點以南幾英里處。上午漸漸接近中午，隊伍仍在貧瘠的紅石之地徘徊摸索。他們看不到任何水光，也聽不到任何水聲。一切都荒涼乾燥。他們的心情沉重。他們沒有看到任何活物，天空中也沒有一隻鳥；但如果夜幕降臨，將他們困在那片失落之地，他們誰也不願去想會發生什麼。突然，一直走在前方的金靂回頭叫他們。他站在一個小山丘上，指向右邊。他們趕過去，看到下方有一條又深又窄的河道。它空無一人，寂靜無聲，只有一絲水流在棕紅色石頭的河床中流淌；但在近處有一條小徑，破損不堪，蜿蜒穿過古老大道上殘破的牆壁和鋪路石。「啊！終於找到了！」甘道夫說。「這就是溪流流經的地方：西拉儂，他們以前稱它為『門溪』。但它怎麼了
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 301 happened to the water, I cannot guess; it used to be swift and noisy. Come! We must hurry on. We are late.’ The Company were footsore and tired; but they trudged doggedly along the rough and winding track for many miles. The sun turned from the noon and began to go west. After a brief halt and a hasty meal they went on again. Before them the mountains frowned, but their path lay in a deep trough of land and they could see only the higher shoulders and the far eastward peaks. At length they came to a sharp bend. There the road, which had been veering southwards between the brink of the channel and a steep fall of the land to the left, turned and went due east again. Rounding the corner they saw before them a low cliff, some five fathoms high, with a broken and jagged top. Over it a trickling water dripped, through a wide cleft that seemed to have been carved out by a fall that had once been strong and full. ‘Indeed things have changed!’ said Gandalf. ‘But there is no mistaking the place. There is all that remains of the Stair Falls. If I remember right, there was a flight of steps cut in the rock at their side, but the main road wound away left and climbed with several loops up to the level ground at the top. There used to be a shallow valley beyond the falls right up to the Walls of Moria, and the Sirannon flowed through it with the road beside it. Let us go and see what things are like now!’ They found the stone steps without difficulty, and Gimli sprang swiftly up them, followed by Gandalf and Frodo. When they reached the top they saw that they could go no further that way, and the reason for the drying up of the Gate-stream was revealed. Behind them the sinking Sun filled the cool western sky with glimmering gold. Before them stretched a dark still lake. Neither sky nor sunset was reflected on its sullen surface. The Sirannon had been dammed and had filled all the valley. Beyond the ominous water were reared vast cliffs, their stern faces pallid in the fading light: final and impassable. No sign of gate or entrance, not a fissure or crack could Frodo see in the frowning stone. “There are the Walls of Moria,’ said Gandalf, pointing across the water. ‘And there the Gate stood once upon a time, the Elven Door at the end of the road from Hollin by which we have come. But this way is blocked. None of the Company, I guess, will wish to swim this gloomy water at the end of the day. It has an unwholesome look.’ ‘We must find a way round the northern edge,’ said Gimli. “The first thing for the Company to do is to climb up by the main path and see where that will lead us. Even if there were no lake, we could not get our baggage-pony up this stair.’
黑暗中的旅程 301 水怎麼了，我猜不出來；它以前是那麼湍急而喧鬧。快！我們必須趕路了。我們遲到了。遠征隊的成員們腳底疼痛，疲憊不堪；但他們仍舊堅毅地沿著崎嶇蜿蜒的小徑跋涉了許多英里。太陽過了正午，開始西沉。短暫歇息並匆匆用餐後，他們再次啟程。前方群山聳立，面目猙獰，但他們的路徑位於一道深陷的谷地中，只能看見山脈較高的山肩和遠處東方的山峰。終於，他們來到一個急轉彎。那條路原本在水道邊緣和左側陡峭的下坡之間向南彎曲，此刻又轉向正東。轉過彎，他們看見前方有一座低矮的懸崖，約五噚高，頂部斷裂參差。懸崖上方有涓涓細流滴落，穿過一道寬闊的裂縫，那裂縫似乎是由一道曾經強勁豐沛的瀑布沖刷而成。「情況確實變了！」甘道夫說。「但這個地方不會認錯。這就是階梯瀑布僅存的遺跡。如果我沒記錯，旁邊的岩石上鑿有石階，但主路是向左蜿蜒，盤旋數圈才爬到頂部的平坦地面。瀑布之外，一直延伸到摩瑞亞之牆，曾經有一條淺谷，西拉農河伴著道路流經其中。我們去看看現在變成什麼樣子了！」他們毫不費力地找到了石階，金靂敏捷地跳了上去，甘道夫和佛羅多緊隨其後。當他們到達頂部時，發現那條路已無法通行，而門溪乾涸的原因也隨之揭示。在他們身後，西沉的太陽將涼爽的西方天空染成一片閃爍的金黃。在他們前方，則是一片黑暗而寂靜的湖泊。無論是天空還是夕陽，都未能映照在其陰沉的水面上。西拉農河被堵塞，河水淹沒了整個山谷。在那不祥的水面之外，高聳著巨大的懸崖，它們嚴峻的面容在漸逝的光線中顯得蒼白：最終且無法逾越。佛羅多在那些面目猙獰的岩石上，看不到任何門或入口的跡象，連一條裂縫都沒有。「那就是摩瑞亞之牆，」甘道夫指著水面說。「而那裡曾經是門，是我們從霍林來的路盡頭的精靈之門。但這條路被堵住了。我想，遠征隊裡沒有人會在一天結束時想游過這片陰森的水域。它看起來很不祥。」「我們必須繞過北邊的邊緣，」金靂說。「遠征隊首先要做的是沿著主路爬上去，看看那條路會把我們帶到哪裡。即使沒有湖，我們也無法把我們的行李小馬帶上這段石階。」
302 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘But in any case we cannot take the poor beast into the Mines,’ said Gandalf. “The road under the mountains is a dark road, and there are places narrow and steep which he cannot tread, even if we can.’ ‘Poor old Bill!’ said Frodo. ‘I had not thought of that. And poor Sam! I wonder what he will say?’ ‘I am sorry,’ said Gandalf. ‘Poor Bill has been a useful companion, and it goes to my heart to turn him adrift now. I would have travelled lighter and brought no animal, least of all this one that Sam is fond of, if I had had my way. I feared all along that we should be obliged to take this road.’ The day was drawing to its end, and cold stars were glinting in the sky high above the sunset, when the Company, with all the speed they could, climbed up the slopes and reached the side of the lake. In breadth it looked to be no more than two or three furlongs at the widest point. How far it stretched away southward they could not see in the failing light; but its northern end was no more than half a mile from where they stood, and between the stony ridges that enclosed the valley and the water’s edge there was a rim of open ground. They hurried forward, for they had still a mile or two to go before they could reach the point on the far shore that Gandalf was making for; and then he had still to find the doors. When they came to the northernmost corner of the lake they found a narrow creek that barred their way. It was green and stagnant, thrust out like a slimy arm towards the enclosing hills. Gimli strode forward undeterred, and found that the water was shallow, no more than ankle-deep at the edge. Behind him they walked in file, threading their way with care, for under the weedy pools were sliding and greasy stones, and footing was treacherous. Frodo shuddered with disgust at the touch of the dark unclean water on his feet. As Sam, the last of the Company, led Bill up on to the dry ground on the far side, there came a soft sound: a swish, followed by a plop, as if a fish had disturbed the still surface of the water. Turning quickly they saw ripples, black-edged with shadow in the waning light: great rings were widening outwards from a point far out in the lake. There was a bubbling noise, and then silence. The dusk deepened, and the last gleams of the sunset were veiled in cloud. Gandalf now pressed on at a great pace, and the others followed as quickly as they could. They reached the strip of dry land between the lake and the cliffs: it was narrow, often hardly a dozen yards across, and encumbered with fallen rock and stones; but they found a way, hugging the cliff, and keeping as far from the dark water as they might. A mile southwards along the shore they came upon holly trees. Stumps and dead boughs were rotting in the shallows, the
302 《魔戒》 「但無論如何，我們都不能把這可憐的牲畜帶進礦坑。」甘道夫說。「山下的路是一條黑暗的路，有些地方又窄又陡，即使我們能走，牠也走不了。」「可憐的老比爾！」佛羅多說。「我沒想到這一點。還有可憐的山姆！不知道他會說什麼？」「我很抱歉。」甘道夫說。「可憐的比爾一直是很棒的夥伴，現在要拋棄牠，我心裡很難受。如果我能做主，我會輕裝上陣，不帶任何動物，尤其是山姆這麼喜歡的這隻。我一直擔心我們不得不走這條路。」天色漸晚，夕陽高掛的天空中，寒星閃爍，隊伍盡其所能地加快速度，爬上斜坡，來到湖邊。湖面最寬處看起來不過兩三弗隆。在昏暗的光線中，他們看不清湖向南延伸了多遠；但湖的北端離他們站立的地方不過半英里，而在環繞山谷的石脊和水邊之間，有一條開闊的地面。他們加快腳步，因為在到達甘道夫所指的對岸地點之前，他們還有約一兩英里的路程；然後他還得找到門。當他們來到湖的最北端時，發現一條狹窄的小溪擋住了去路。小溪呈綠色，死氣沉沉，像一條黏滑的胳膊伸向周圍的山丘。金靂毫不畏懼地大步向前，發現水很淺，在岸邊只到腳踝。他們在他身後排成一列，小心翼翼地前行，因為長滿水草的水池下有濕滑油膩的石頭，立足點很危險。佛羅多對腳上接觸到的黑暗不潔的水感到厭惡，不禁顫抖。當隊伍中最後的山姆牽著比爾走到對岸的乾地上時，傳來一聲輕柔的聲音：一聲「唰」地輕響，接著是「噗通」一聲，彷彿有魚擾動了平靜的水面。他們迅速轉身，看到在漸弱的光線中，水波邊緣被陰影染黑：巨大的圓環從湖中遠處的一個點向外擴散。接著是一陣冒泡聲，然後歸於寂靜。暮色加深，夕陽最後的餘暉被雲層遮蔽。甘道夫現在加快了腳步，其他人也盡可能地跟上。他們來到湖泊和懸崖之間的一條狹長乾地：它很窄，通常不到十二碼寬，而且堆滿了落石；但他們找到了一條路，緊貼著懸崖，盡可能地遠離黑暗的水面。沿著岸邊向南走了一英里，他們看到了一些冬青樹。樹樁和枯枝在淺水中腐爛，
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 303 remains it seemed of old thickets, or of a hedge that had once lined the road across the drowned valley. But close under the cliff there stood, still strong and living, two tall trees, larger than any trees of holly that Frodo had ever seen or imagined. Their great roots spread from the wall to the water. Under the looming cliffs they had looked like mere bushes, when seen far off from the top of the Stair; but now they towered overhead, stiff, dark, and silent, throwing deep night-shadows about their feet, standing like sentinel pillars at the end of the road. ‘Well, here we are at last!’ said Gandalf. ‘Here the Elven-way from Hollin ended. Holly was the token of the people of that land, and they planted it here to mark the end of their domain; for the West-door was made chiefly for their use in their traffic with the Lords of Moria. Those were happier days, when there was still close friendship at times between folk of different race, even between Dwarves and Elves.’ ‘It was not the fault of the Dwarves that the friendship waned,’ said Gimli. ‘I have not heard that it was the fault of the Elves,’ said Legolas. ‘I have heard both,’ said Gandalf; ‘and I will not give judgement now. But I beg you two, Legolas and Gimli, at least to be friends, and to help me. I need you both. The doors are shut and hidden, and the sooner we find them the better. Night is at hand!’ Turning to the others he said: ‘While I am searching, will you each make ready to enter the Mines? For here I fear we must say farewell to our good beast of burden. You must lay aside much of the stuff that we brought against bitter weather: you will not need it inside, nor, I hope, when we come through and journey on down into the South. Instead each of us must take a share of what the pony carried, especially the food and the water-skins.’ ‘But you can’t leave poor old Bill behind in this forsaken place, Mr. Gandalf!’ cried Sam, angry and distressed. ‘I won’t have it, and that’s flat. After he has come so far and all!’ ‘I am sorry, Sam,’ said the wizard. ‘But when the Door opens I do not think you will be able to drag your Bill inside, into the long dark of Moria. You will have to choose between Bill and your master.’ ‘He’d follow Mr. Frodo into a dragon’s den, if I led him,’ protested Sam. ‘It’d be nothing short of murder to turn him loose with all these wolves about.’ ‘It will be short of murder, I hope,’ said Gandalf. He laid his hand on the pony’s head, and spoke in a low voice. ‘Go with words of guard and guiding on you,’ he said. ‘You are a wise beast, and have learned much in Rivendell. Make your ways to places where you can find grass, and so come in time to Elrond’s house, or wherever you wish to go.
黑暗中的旅程 303 似乎只剩下古老灌木叢的殘骸，或是一道曾沿著淹沒山谷的道路而生的樹籬。但在峭壁下，依然挺立著兩棵高大的樹，它們依然強壯且充滿生機，比佛羅多見過或想像過的任何冬青樹都要高大。它們巨大的根系從峭壁延伸到水邊。在那高聳的峭壁下，從階梯頂端遠眺時，它們看起來像矮小的灌木；但現在它們高聳在頭頂，僵硬、黑暗、寂靜，在腳下投下深深的夜影，如同哨兵般的石柱矗立在道路的盡頭。「嗯，我們終於到了！」甘道夫說。「精靈之路從霍林這裡結束。冬青是那片土地上人民的標誌，他們將它種植在這裡，以標記他們領地的盡頭；因為西門主要是為他們與摩瑞亞領主們的貿易往來而建造的。那時是更快樂的日子，不同種族的人們之間，甚至矮人與精靈之間，有時仍有著親密的友誼。」「友誼的衰退並不是矮人的錯。」金靂說。「我可沒聽說是精靈的錯。」勒苟拉斯說。「兩邊的說法我都聽過。」甘道夫說，「我現在不會下判斷。但我懇求你們兩位，勒苟拉斯和金靂，至少現在做朋友，並幫助我。我需要你們兩位。門已經關閉並隱藏起來了，我們越早找到它們越好。黑夜將至！」他轉向其他人說：「當我在尋找時，你們每個人都準備好進入礦坑了嗎？因為我擔心我們必須在這裡與我們的好馱獸告別了。你們必須放下許多我們為抵禦嚴寒天氣而帶來的東西：你們在裡面不需要它，我希望，當我們穿過並繼續南下時也不需要。相反地，我們每個人都必須分擔小馬所馱載的物品，特別是食物和水袋。」「但你不能把可憐的老比爾丟在這個被遺棄的地方啊，甘道夫先生！」山姆又氣又急地喊道。「我絕不同意，就這麼定了。他都走了這麼遠了！」「我很抱歉，山姆。」巫師說。「但當門打開時，我不認為你能把你的比爾拖進摩瑞亞那漫長的黑暗之中。你必須在比爾和你的主人之間做出選擇。」「如果我帶路，他會跟著佛羅多先生進入龍穴的。」山姆抗議道。「在這麼多狼環伺之下放走他，簡直就是謀殺。」「我希望不會是謀殺。」甘道夫說。他把手放在小馬的頭上，低聲說道。「帶著守護和引導的祝福去吧。」他說。「你是一隻聰明的野獸，在瑞文戴爾學到了很多。找到有草的地方，然後及時回到愛隆的家，或者任何你想去的地方。
304 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “There, Sam! He will have quite as much chance of escaping wolves and getting home as we have.’ Sam stood sullenly by the pony and returned no answer. Bill, seeming to understand well what was going on, nuzzled up to him, putting his nose to Sam’s ear. Sam burst into tears, and fumbled with the straps, unlading all the pony’s packs and throwing them on the ground. The others sorted out the goods, making a pile of all that could be left behind, and dividing up the rest. When this was done they turned to watch Gandalf. He appeared to have done nothing. He was standing between the two trees gazing at the blank wall of the cliff, as if he would bore a hole into it with his eyes. Gimli was wandering about, tapping the stone here and there with his axe. Legolas was pressed against the rock, as if listening. ‘Well, here we are and all ready,’ said Merry; ‘but where are the Doors? I can’t see any sign of them.’ ‘Dwarf-doors are not made to be seen when shut,’ said Gimli. “They are invisible, and their own makers cannot find them or open them, if their secret is forgotten.’ ‘But this Door was not made to be a secret known only to Dwarves,’ said Gandalf, coming suddenly to life and turning round. ‘Unless things are altogether changed, eyes that know what to look for may discover the signs.’ He walked forward to the wall. Right between the shadow of the trees there was a smooth space, and over this he passed his hands to and fro, muttering words under his breath. Then he stepped back. ‘Look!’ he said. ‘Can you see anything now?’ The Moon now shone upon the grey face of the rock; but they could see nothing else for a while. Then slowly on the surface, where the wizard’s hands had passed, faint lines appeared, like slender veins of silver running in the stone. At first they were no more than pale gossamer-threads, so fine that they only twinkled fitfully where the Moon caught them, but steadily they grew broader and clearer, until their design could be guessed. At the top, as high as Gandalf could reach, was an arch of interlacing letters in an Elvish character. Below, though the threads were in places blurred or broken, the outline could be seen of an anvil and a hammer surmounted by a crown with seven stars. Beneath these again were two trees, each bearing crescent moons. More clearly than all else there shone forth in the middle of the door a single star with many rays. “There are the emblems of Durin!’ cried Gimli. ‘And there is the Tree of the High Elves!’ said Legolas. ‘And the Star of the House of Féanor,’ said Gandalf. “They are wrought of ithildin that mirrors only starlight and moonlight, and
304 《魔戒》 「山姆，你看！他逃過狼群、回到家的機會，跟我們一樣大。」山姆悶悶不樂地站在小馬旁邊，沒有回答。比爾似乎很明白發生了什麼事，牠用鼻子輕輕蹭著山姆，把鼻子貼到山姆的耳朵旁。山姆突然哭了出來，笨拙地解開韁繩，卸下小馬所有的行囊，把它們扔到地上。其他人則整理貨物，把所有可以留下的東西堆成一堆，然後分開其餘的。做完這些後，他們轉身看著甘道夫。他似乎什麼也沒做。他站在兩棵樹之間，凝視著懸崖那片空白的牆壁，彷彿要用眼睛在上面鑿出一個洞。金靂則四處走動，用他的斧頭這裡敲敲那裡敲敲石頭。勒苟拉斯則緊貼著岩石，彷彿在傾聽。 「好了，我們都準備好了。」梅里說，「可是門在哪裡？我什麼也沒看到。」 「矮人門關上時是看不見的。」金靂說，「它們是隱形的，如果它們的秘密被遺忘，連它們的製造者也找不到或打不開它們。」 「但這扇門並不是只為了矮人而設的秘密。」甘道夫突然活了過來，轉過身說，「除非情況完全改變了，否則知道該找什麼的眼睛，或許能發現這些記號。」他走向牆壁。就在兩棵樹的陰影之間，有一片光滑的空間，他在上面來回撫摸著雙手，口中低聲唸著咒語。然後他退後一步。 「看！」他說，「你們現在能看到什麼嗎？」 月光此刻照在灰色的岩壁上；但他們一時什麼也看不見。然後，在巫師雙手撫過的地方，表面上緩緩地出現了微弱的線條，就像石頭中流淌的纖細銀脈。起初它們不過是蒼白的蛛絲，細得只能在月光照到時才閃爍不定，但它們逐漸變得更寬更清晰，直到其圖案可以被猜測出來。在頂部，甘道夫能觸及的最高處，是一個由精靈文字交織而成的拱門。下方，儘管線條在某些地方模糊或斷裂，但仍能看到一個鐵砧和一把錘子的輪廓，上面鑲嵌著一個帶有七顆星的王冠。這些下方又是兩棵樹，每棵樹都掛著新月。比所有其他東西都更清晰地，門中央閃耀著一顆多射線的單星。 「那是都靈的徽記！」金靂喊道。「那是高等精靈之樹！」勒苟拉斯說。「那是費諾家族之星。」甘道夫說。「它們是用伊希爾丁打造的，只反射星光和月光，而且
Rere’is written in the Feinorian characters agcordto the mode’of Beleriand: Ennyn Durin Aran oria: pedo mellon aminno.}m arvi hainec ant: Celebrimboro Ereaion teithant i thiwhi
此文以費諾文字書寫，依貝爾蘭模式：都靈之門，摩瑞亞之主：說「朋友」然後進入。我，納爾維，造了它們：伊瑞詹的凱勒布理鵬繪製了這些符號。
306 THE LORD OF THE RINGS sleeps until it is touched by one who speaks words now long forgotten in Middle-earth. It is long since I heard them, and I thought deeply before I could recall them to my mind.’ ‘What does the writing say?’ asked Frodo, who was trying to decipher the inscription on the arch. ‘I thought I knew the elf-letters, but I cannot read these.’ “The words are in the elven-tongue of the West of Middle-earth in the Elder Days,’ answered Gandalf. ‘But they do not say anything of importance to us. They say only: The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter. And underneath small and faint is written: I, Narvi, made them. Celebrimbor of Hollin drew these signs.’ ‘What does it mean by speak, friend, and enter?’ asked Merry. “That is plain enough,’ said Gimli. ‘If you are a friend, speak the password, and the doors will open, and you can enter.’ “Yes,” said Gandalf, ‘these doors are probably governed by words. Some dwarf-gates will open only at special times, or for particular persons; and some have locks and keys that are still needed when all necessary times and words are known. These doors have no key. In the days of Durin they were not secret. They usually stood open and doorwards sat here. But if they were shut, any who knew the opening word could speak it and pass in. At least so it is recorded, is it not, Gimli?’ ‘It is,’ said the dwarf. ‘But what the word was is not remembered. Narvi and his craft and all his kindred have vanished from the earth.’ “But do not you know the word, Gandalf?’ asked Boromir in surprise. ‘No!’ said the wizard. The others looked dismayed; only Aragorn, who knew Gandalf well, remained silent and unmoved. “Then what was the use of bringing us to this accursed spot?’ cried Boromir, glancing back with a shudder at the dark water. ‘You told us that you had once passed through the Mines. How could that be, if you did not know how to enter?’ ‘The answer to your first question, Boromir,’ said the wizard, ‘is that I do not know the word — yet. But we shall soon see. And,’ he added, with a glint in his eyes under their bristling brows, ‘you may ask what is the use of my deeds when they are proved useless. As for your other question: do you doubt my tale? Or have you no wits left? I did not enter this way. I came from the East. ‘If you wish to know, I will tell you that these doors open outwards. From the inside you may thrust them open with your hands. From the outside nothing will move them save the spell of command. They cannot be forced inwards.’ ‘What are you going to do then?’ asked Pippin, undaunted by the wizard’s bristling brows.
306 《魔戒》會一直沉睡，直到被一個說著中土世界早已遺忘的語言的人觸碰。我已經很久沒聽過那些話了，我深思熟慮後才將它們回想起來。』「上面寫了什麼？」佛羅多問道，他正試圖辨認拱門上的銘文。「我以為我認識精靈文字，但我讀不懂這些。」「這些文字是中土世界西方在遠古時代使用的精靈語。」甘道夫回答。「但它們對我們來說沒有任何重要意義。它們只寫著：『都靈之門，摩瑞亞之主。說吧，朋友，然後進入。』而在下方，用微小而模糊的字跡寫著：『我，納爾維，製造了它們。霍林地的凱勒布理鵬繪製了這些符號。』「『說吧，朋友，然後進入』是什麼意思？」梅里問道。「這很簡單明瞭。」金靂說。「如果你是朋友，說出密碼，門就會打開，你就可以進去。」「是的，」甘道夫說，「這些門很可能受語言控制。有些矮人門只在特定時間或為特定人物打開；有些則有鎖和鑰匙，即使所有必要的時間和語言都已知，仍然需要它們。這些門沒有鑰匙。在都靈時代，它們並不是秘密。它們通常敞開著，門衛就坐在這裡。但如果它們關閉了，任何知道開門語的人都可以說出來並進入。至少記載是這樣，不是嗎，金靂？」「是的。」矮人說。「但那個詞是什麼，已經不記得了。納爾維和他的技藝以及他的所有親族都已從大地上消失了。」「但你不知道那個詞嗎，甘道夫？」波羅莫驚訝地問道。「不！」巫師說。其他人看起來很沮喪；只有亞拉岡，他很了解甘道夫，保持沉默，紋絲不動。「那麼把我們帶到這個該死的地方有什麼用？」波羅莫喊道，他帶著一絲顫抖回頭看著黑暗的水面。「你告訴我們你曾經穿過礦坑。如果你不知道如何進入，那怎麼可能呢？」「關於你第一個問題的答案，波羅莫，」巫師說，「是我還不知道那個詞。但我們很快就會知道。而且，」他補充道，眼睛在他的濃密眉毛下閃爍著光芒，「你可能會問，當我的行動被證明無用時，它們還有什麼用處。至於你的另一個問題：你懷疑我的故事嗎？還是你已經沒有智慧了？我不是從這條路進來的。我來自東方。」「如果你想知道，我會告訴你這些門是向外開的。從裡面你可以用手推開它們。從外面，除了命令咒語，沒有什麼能移動它們。它們不能被強行向內推。」「那你打算怎麼辦？」皮聘問道，他沒有被巫師濃密的眉毛嚇倒。
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 307 ‘Knock on the doors with your head, Peregrin Took,’ said Gandalf. ‘But if that does not shatter them, and I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I will seek for the opening words. ‘I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves or Men or Orcs, that was ever used for such a purpose. I can still remember ten score of them without searching in my mind. But only a few trials, I think, will be needed; and I shall not have to call on Gimli for words of the secret dwarf-tongue that they teach to none. The opening words were Elvish, like the writing on the arch: that seems certain.’ He stepped up to the rock again, and lightly touched with his staff the silver star in the middle beneath the sign of the anvil. Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen! Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen! he said in a commanding voice. The silver lines faded, but the blank grey stone did not stir. Many times he repeated these words in different order, or varied them. Then he tried other spells, one after another, speaking now faster and louder, now soft and slow. Then he spoke many single words of Elvish speech. Nothing happened. The cliff towered into the night, the countless stars were kindled, the wind blew cold, and the doors stood fast. Again Gandalf approached the wall, and lifting up his arms he spoke in tones of command and rising wrath. Edro, edro! he cried, and struck the rock with his staff. Open, open! he shouted, and followed it with the same command in every language that had ever been spoken in the West of Middle-earth. Then he threw his staff on the ground, and sat down in silence. At that moment from far off the wind bore to their listening ears the howling of wolves. Bill the pony started in fear, and Sam sprang to his side and whispered softly to him. ‘Do not let him run away!’ said Boromir. ‘It seems that we shall need him still, if the wolves do not find us. How I hate this foul pool!’ He stooped and picking up a large stone he cast it far into the dark water. The stone vanished with a soft slap; but at the same instant there was a swish and a bubble. Great rippling rings formed on the surface out beyond where the stone had fallen, and they moved slowly towards the foot of the cliff. ‘Why did you do that, Boromir?’ said Frodo. ‘I hate this place, too, and I am afraid. I don’t know of what: not of wolves, or the
黑暗之旅 307 「用你的頭去敲門吧，皮瑞格林·圖克，」甘道夫說。「但如果那樣也敲不開，而且如果我能從愚蠢的問題中得到片刻的寧靜，我就會去尋找開門的咒語。我曾經知道精靈、人類或半獸人所有語言中，所有曾用於此目的的咒語。我現在不需費力思考，仍能記起兩百個。但我認為，只需要幾次嘗試；我也不必向金靂求助於他們不傳授給任何人的秘密矮人語。開門的咒語是精靈語，就像拱門上的文字一樣：這似乎是確定的。」他再次走到岩石前，用他的法杖輕輕觸碰了鐵砧標誌下方中間的銀色星星。 「Annon edhellen, edro hi ammen! Fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!」他用命令的語氣說道。銀色的線條褪去了，但那塊空白的灰色石頭卻紋絲不動。他多次以不同的順序重複這些詞語，或加以變化。然後他嘗試了其他咒語，一個接一個，有時說得更快更響亮，有時又輕柔緩慢。接著他又說了許多單個的精靈語詞彙。什麼也沒發生。懸崖高聳入夜空，無數星星閃爍，寒風凜冽，而門依然緊閉。 甘道夫再次走近牆壁，舉起雙臂，用命令的語氣和日益增長的憤怒說道。「Edro, edro!」他喊道，並用法杖敲擊岩石。「打開，打開！」他大聲喊道，隨後又用中土世界西方曾說過的所有語言重複了相同的命令。然後他把法杖扔在地上，默默地坐了下來。 就在那一刻，遠處的風將狼的嚎叫聲帶到他們傾聽的耳邊。小馬比爾嚇得一驚，山姆跳到他身邊，輕聲對他說。「別讓他跑了！」波羅莫說。「如果狼沒有找到我們，我們似乎仍然需要他。我多麼討厭這個骯髒的水池！」他彎下腰，撿起一塊大石頭，將它遠遠地扔進黑暗的水中。石頭發出輕微的「啪」聲消失了；但就在同一瞬間，傳來一聲「嗖」和一個氣泡。巨大的漣漪在石頭落下的地方之外的水面上形成，並緩慢地向懸崖底部移動。 「你為什麼要那樣做，波羅莫？」佛羅多說。「我也討厭這個地方，而且我很害怕。我不知道我在害怕什麼：不是狼，也不是...
308 THE LORD OF THE RINGS dark behind the doors, but of something else. I am afraid of the pool. Don’t disturb it!’ ‘I wish we could get away!’ said Merry. ‘Why doesn’t Gandalf do something quick?’ said Pippin. Gandalf took no notice of them. He sat with his head bowed, either in despair or in anxious thought. The mournful howling of the wolves was heard again. The ripples on the water grew and came closer; some were already lapping on the shore. With a suddenness that startled them all the wizard sprang to his feet. He was laughing! ‘I have it!’ he cried. ‘Of course, of course! Absurdly simple, like most riddles when you see the answer.’ Picking up his staff he stood before the rock and said in a clear voice: Mellon! The star shone out briefly and faded again. Then silently a great doorway was outlined, though not a crack or joint had been visible before. Slowly it divided in the middle and swung outwards inch by inch, until both doors lay back against the wall. Through the opening a shadowy stair could be seen climbing steeply up; but beyond the lower steps the darkness was deeper than the night. The Company stared in wonder. ‘I was wrong after all,’ said Gandalf, ‘and Gimli too. Merry, of all people, was on the right track. The opening word was inscribed on the archway all the time! The translation should have been: Say “Friend”? and enter. I had only to speak the Elvish word for friend and the doors opened. Quite simple. Too simple for a learned loremaster in these suspicious days. Those were happier times. Now let us go!’ He strode forward and set his foot on the lowest step. But at that moment several things happened. Frodo felt something seize him by the ankle, and he fell with a cry. Bill the pony gave a wild neigh of fear, and turned tail and dashed away along the lakeside into the darkness. Sam leaped after him, and then hearing Frodo’s cry he ran back again, weeping and cursing. The others swung round and saw the waters of the lake seething, as if a host of snakes were swimming up from the southern end. Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it was pale-green and luminous and wet. Its fingered end had hold of Frodo’s foot, and was dragging him into the water. Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife. The arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out for help. Twenty other arms came rippling out. The dark water boiled, and there was a hideous stench. ‘Into the gateway! Up the stairs! Quick!’ shouted Gandalf leaping
308 《魔戒》門後一片漆黑，但那不是我所懼怕的。我害怕的是那個水池。別去打擾它！’「我真希望我們能離開！」梅里說。「甘道夫為什麼不快點做點什麼？」皮聘說。甘道夫沒有理會他們。他低著頭坐著，要麼是絕望，要麼是焦慮地思考。狼群悲傷的嚎叫聲再次響起。水面上的漣漪越來越大，越來越近；有些已經拍打著岸邊。巫師突然跳了起來，嚇了他們一跳。他笑了！「我想到了！」他喊道。「當然，當然！簡單得荒謬，就像大多數謎語一樣，一旦你知道答案就覺得簡單。」他拿起魔杖，站在岩石前，用清晰的聲音說道：「Mellon！」星星短暫地閃耀了一下，然後又消失了。接著，一道巨大的門戶無聲無息地顯現出來，儘管之前沒有任何裂縫或接縫可見。它緩慢地從中間分開，一寸一寸地向外擺動，直到兩扇門都靠在牆上。透過開口，可以看到一道陰暗的樓梯陡峭地向上延伸；但低層台階之外的黑暗比夜晚更深。遠征隊驚奇地凝視著。「我畢竟還是錯了，」甘道夫說，「金靂也是。梅里，在所有人當中，才是走對了路。那個開門的詞一直都刻在拱門上！翻譯本來應該是：說『朋友』？然後進入。我只需要說出精靈語的『朋友』，門就開了。非常簡單。對於這些多疑的日子裡的博學大師來說，這太簡單了。那時是更快樂的時光。現在我們走吧！」他大步向前，把腳踏上最低的台階。但就在那一刻，幾件事情發生了。佛羅多感覺有什麼東西抓住了他的腳踝，他大叫一聲跌倒了。小馬比爾發出了一聲驚恐的嘶鳴，轉身沿著湖邊衝進了黑暗中。山姆跳過去追他，然後聽到佛羅多的叫聲，他又跑了回來，哭泣著咒罵著。其他人轉過身，看到湖水翻騰，彷彿一群蛇從南端游了上來。一條長長的、蜿蜒的觸手從水中爬了出來；它是淡綠色的，發著光，濕漉漉的。它那有指狀末端的觸手抓住了佛羅多的腳，正把他拖入水中。山姆跪在地上，正用刀猛砍它。那條手臂放開了佛羅多，山姆把他拉開，大聲呼救。另外二十條手臂翻騰著伸了出來。黑色的水沸騰了，散發出令人作嘔的惡臭。「進門！上樓梯！快！」甘道夫跳起來大喊。
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 309 back. Rousing them from the horror that seemed to have rooted all but Sam to the ground where they stood, he drove them forward. They were just in time. Sam and Frodo were only a few steps up, and Gandalf had just begun to climb, when the groping tentacles writhed across the narrow shore and fingered the cliff-wall and the doors. One came wriggling over the threshold, glistening in the starlight. Gandalf turned and paused. If he was considering what word would close the gate again from within, there was no need. Many coiling arms seized the doors on either side, and with horrible strength, swung them round. With a shattering echo they slammed, and all light was lost. A noise of rending and crashing came dully through the ponderous stone. Sam, clinging to Frodo’s arm, collapsed on a step in the black darkness. ‘Poor old Bill!’ he said in a choking voice. ‘Poor old Bill! Wolves and snakes! But the snakes were too much for him. I had to choose, Mr. Frodo. I had to come with you.’ They heard Gandalf go back down the steps and thrust his staff against the doors. There was a quiver in the stone and the stairs trembled, but the doors did not open. ‘Well, well!’ said the wizard. ‘The passage is blocked behind us now, and there is only one way out — on the other side of the mountains. I fear from the sounds that boulders have been piled up, and the trees uprooted and thrown across the gate. I am sorry; for the trees were beautiful, and had stood so long.’ ‘I felt that something horrible was near from the moment that my foot first touched the water,’ said Frodo. ‘What was the thing, or were there many of them?’ ‘I do not know,’ answered Gandalf; ‘but the arms were all guided by one purpose. Something has crept, or has been driven out of dark waters under the mountains. There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.’ He did not speak aloud his thought that whatever it was that dwelt in the lake, it had seized on Frodo first among all the Company. Boromir muttered under his breath, but the echoing stone magnified the sound to a hoarse whisper that all could hear: ‘In the deep places of the world! And thither we are going against my wish. Who will lead us now in this deadly dark?’ ‘I will,’ said Gandalf, ‘and Gimli shall walk with me. Follow my staff!’ As the wizard passed on ahead up the great steps, he held his staff aloft, and from its tip there came a faint radiance. The wide stairway was sound and undamaged. Two hundred steps they counted, broad
黑暗中的旅程 309 頁。他將他們從那似乎將除了山姆之外的所有人都釘在原地動彈不得的恐懼中喚醒，驅使他們向前。他們來得正是時候。山姆和佛羅多才剛走了幾步，甘道夫也才剛開始攀爬，那些摸索的觸手就已經扭動著爬過狹窄的岸邊，摸上了峭壁和門扉。一條觸手扭動著爬過門檻，在星光下閃閃發亮。甘道夫轉過身，停了下來。如果他正在考慮用什麼咒語能從內部再次關上大門，那也沒必要了。許多盤繞的觸臂抓住兩側的門，以駭人的力量將它們甩上。伴隨著一聲震耳欲聾的巨響，門猛地關上，所有的光線都消失了。一陣撕裂和撞擊的聲音沉悶地穿透厚重的石頭傳來。山姆緊抓著佛羅多的手臂，在漆黑中癱倒在一個台階上。「可憐的老比爾！」他用哽咽的聲音說道。「可憐的老比爾！狼和蛇！但那些蛇對他來說實在太多了。我必須做出選擇，佛羅多先生。我必須跟您一起來。」他們聽到甘道夫走下台階，用他的法杖抵住門。石頭顫動了一下，樓梯也搖晃了，但門沒有打開。「唉，唉！」巫師說道。「通道現在被堵在我們身後了，只剩下一條路——在山的另一邊。我從聲音判斷，巨石已經堆積如山，樹木也被連根拔起，橫亙在門口。我很抱歉；因為那些樹很美，而且已經矗立了那麼久。」「從我的腳第一次碰到水的那一刻起，我就感覺到有什麼可怕的東西在附近了。」佛羅多說道。「那是什麼東西，還是一群？」「我不知道，」甘道夫回答道；「但那些觸臂都是由一個目的所引導的。有什麼東西從山下黑暗的水域中爬出來，或者被驅趕出來了。在這世界的深處，有比半獸人更古老、更邪惡的東西。」他沒有說出他的想法，那就是無論湖中棲息著什麼，它首先盯上的都是佛羅多，而不是隊伍中的其他人。波羅莫低聲咕噥著，但迴響的石頭將聲音放大成嘶啞的耳語，所有人都聽得見：「在這世界的深處！而我們正違背我的意願前往那裡。現在誰將在這致命的黑暗中引導我們？」「我會的，」甘道夫說道，「金靂將與我同行。跟著我的法杖！」當巫師走在大台階前方時，他將法杖高舉，杖尖發出微弱的光芒。寬闊的階梯完好無損。他們數了兩百級，寬闊的
310 THE LORD OF THE RINGS and shallow; and at the top they found an arched passage with a level floor leading on into the dark. ‘Let us sit and rest and have something to eat, here on the landing, since we can’t find a dining-room!’ said Frodo. He had begun to shake off the terror of the clutching arm, and suddenly he felt extremely hungry. The proposal was welcomed by all; and they sat down on the upper steps, dim figures in the gloom. After they had eaten, Gandalf gave them each a third sip of the miruvor of Rivendell. ‘It will not last much longer, I am afraid,’ he said; ‘but I think we need it after that horror at the gate. And unless we have great luck, we shall need all that is left before we see the other side! Go carefully with the water, too! There are many streams and wells in the Mines, but they should not be touched. We may not have a chance of filling our skins and bottles till we come down into Dimrill Dale.’ ‘How long is that going to take us?’ asked Frodo. ‘I cannot say,’ answered Gandalf. ‘It depends on many chances. But going straight, without mishap or losing our way, we shall take three or four marches, I expect. It cannot be less than forty miles from Westdoor to East-gate in a direct line, and the road may wind much.’ After only a brief rest they started on their way again. All were eager to get the journey over as quickly as possible, and were willing, tired as they were, to go on marching still for several hours. Gandalf walked in front as before. In his left hand he held up his glimmering staff, the light of which just showed the ground before his feet; in his right he held his sword Glamdring. Behind him came Gimli, his eyes glinting in the dim light as he turned his head from side to side. Behind the dwarf walked Frodo, and he had drawn the short sword, Sting. No gleam came from the blades of Sting or of Glamdring; and that was some comfort, for being the work of Elvish smiths in the Elder Days these swords shone with a cold light, if any Orcs were near at hand. Behind Frodo went Sam, and after him Legolas, and the young hobbits, and Boromir. In the dark at the rear, grim and silent, walked Aragorn. The passage twisted round a few turns, and then began to descend. It went steadily down for a long while before it became level once again. The air grew hot and stifling, but it was not foul, and at times they felt currents of cooler air upon their faces, issuing from half-guessed openings in the walls. There were many of these. In the pale ray of the wizard’s staff, Frodo caught glimpses of stairs and arches, and of other passages and tunnels, sloping up, or running steeply down, or opening blankly dark on either side. It was bewildering beyond hope of remembering.
310 魔戒 and 淺；在頂端，他們發現了一條拱形通道，地面平坦，通往黑暗深處。「我們就在這裡的平台坐下來休息，吃點東西吧，反正我們也找不到飯廳！」佛羅多說。他已經開始擺脫那隻緊抓不放的手臂所帶來的恐懼，突然間感到飢腸轆轆。這個提議受到所有人的歡迎；他們坐在上層的階梯上，在昏暗中顯得模糊不清。吃過東西後，甘道夫給了他們每人第三口瑞文戴爾的米魯佛。「恐怕它撐不了多久了，」他說；「但我想在經歷了門口的恐怖之後，我們需要它。除非我們運氣極好，否則在我們到達另一邊之前，我們將需要所有剩下的東西！用水也要小心！礦坑裡有很多溪流和水井，但它們不應該被觸碰。在我們到達黯溪谷之前，我們可能沒有機會裝滿我們的皮囊和水瓶了。」「那要花我們多久時間？」佛羅多問道。「我不能說，」甘道夫回答。「這取決於許多變數。但如果一路順暢，沒有意外或迷路，我預計我們需要走三到四天的路程。從西門到東門直線距離至少有四十英里，而且路可能蜿蜒曲折。」僅僅短暫休息後，他們又重新上路了。所有人都渴望盡快結束旅程，儘管疲憊，他們仍願意繼續行進數小時。甘道夫像往常一樣走在前面。他左手舉著閃爍的法杖，法杖的光芒僅僅照亮了他腳前的地面；右手則握著他的劍，格蘭瑞。緊隨其後的是金靂，他在昏暗的光線中轉動著頭，眼睛閃爍著。在矮人身後走著佛羅多，他已經拔出了短劍，刺針。刺針和格蘭瑞的劍刃都沒有發出光芒；這讓他們感到一絲安慰，因為這些劍是精靈工匠在遠古時代打造的，如果附近有任何半獸人，它們就會發出冷光。佛羅多身後是山姆，接著是勒苟拉斯，然後是年輕的哈比人，以及波羅莫。在隊伍後方的黑暗中，亞拉岡面色嚴峻，默默地走著。通道蜿蜒轉了幾彎，然後開始向下傾斜。它持續向下延伸了很長一段時間，才再次變得平坦。空氣變得又熱又悶，但並不污濁，有時他們會感覺到涼爽的氣流拂過臉龐，這些氣流來自牆壁上那些半隱半現的開口。這樣的開口有很多。在巫師法杖微弱的光芒下，佛羅多瞥見了階梯和拱門，以及其他向上傾斜、向下陡降，或兩側漆黑一片的通道和隧道。這令人眼花繚亂，根本無法記住。
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 311 Gimli aided Gandalf very little, except by his stout courage. At least he was not, as were most of the others, troubled by the mere darkness in itself. Often the wizard consulted him at points where the choice of way was doubtful; but it was always Gandalf who had the final word. The Mines of Moria were vast and intricate beyond the imagination of Gimli, Gloin’s son, dwarf of the mountain-race though he was. To Gandalf the far-off memories of a journey long before were now of little help, but even in the gloom and despite all windings of the road he knew whither he wished to go, and he did not falter, as long as there was a path that led towards his goal. ‘Do not be afraid!’ said Aragorn. There was a pause longer than usual, and Gandalf and Gimli were whispering together; the others were crowded behind, waiting anxiously. ‘Do not be afraid! I have been with him on many a journey, if never on one so dark; and there are tales in Rivendell of greater deeds of his than any that I have seen. He will not go astray — if there is any path to find. He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself. He is surer of finding the way home in a blind night than the cats of Queen Bertthiel.’ It was well for the Company that they had such a guide. They had no fuel nor any means of making torches; in the desperate scramble at the doors many things had been left behind. But without any light they would soon have come to grief. There were not only many roads to choose from, there were also in many places holes and pitfalls, and dark wells beside the path in which their passing feet echoed. There were fissures and chasms in the walls and floor, and every now and then a crack would open right before their feet. The widest was more than seven feet across, and it was long before Pippin could summon enough courage to leap over the dreadful gap. The noise of churning water came up from far below, as if some great mill-wheel was turning in the depths. ‘Rope!’ muttered Sam. ‘I knew I’d want it, if I hadn’t got it!’ As these dangers became more frequent their march became slower. Already they seemed to have been tramping on, on, endlessly to the mountains’ roots. They were more than weary, and yet there seemed no comfort in the thought of halting anywhere. Frodo’s spirits had risen for a while after his escape, and after food and a draught of the cordial; but now a deep uneasiness, growing to dread, crept over him again. Though he had been healed in Rivendell of the knife-stroke, that grim wound had not been without effect. His senses were sharper and more aware of things that could not be seen. One sign of change that he soon had noticed was that he could see more
黑暗中的旅程 311 金靂對甘道夫的幫助微乎其微，除了他那堅定的勇氣。至少他不像大多數其他人那樣，會被單純的黑暗本身所困擾。巫師經常在路線選擇不明確的地方徵詢他的意見；但最終拍板的總是甘道夫。 摩瑞亞礦坑廣闊而複雜，遠超乎葛羅音之子、山地矮人金靂的想像。對甘道夫而言，很久以前一次旅程的遙遠記憶如今已幫助不大，但即使在黑暗中，儘管道路曲折，他仍知道自己想去何方，只要有通往目標的路徑，他便不會動搖。 「別害怕！」亞拉岡說。空氣中出現了比往常更長的停頓，甘道夫和金靂正在低聲交談；其他人則擠在後面，焦急地等待著。「別害怕！我曾與他一同經歷許多旅程，儘管從未有過如此黑暗的；瑞文戴爾流傳著他比我所見過任何事蹟都更偉大的傳說。他不會迷失方向——如果真有路可尋的話。他帶我們進入此地，違背了我們的恐懼，但他也會再次帶我們出去，無論付出什麼代價。在漆黑的夜晚中，他找到回家之路的把握，比貝爾希爾女王的貓還要大。」 遠征隊有這樣一位嚮導真是萬幸。他們沒有燃料，也沒有製作火把的工具；在門口那場絕望的爭搶中，許多東西都落下了。但如果沒有任何光線，他們很快就會遭遇不幸。這裡不僅有許多道路可供選擇，許多地方還有坑洞和陷阱，以及路旁深邃的暗井，他們的腳步聲在其中迴盪。牆壁和地面上佈滿了裂縫和深淵，而且不時會有裂口在他們腳前突然出現。最寬的裂口超過七英尺，皮聘花了很長時間才鼓起足夠的勇氣跳過那可怕的縫隙。攪動的水聲從下方深處傳來，彷彿巨大的水車正在深淵中轉動。「繩子！」山姆咕噥道，「我就知道我會需要它，如果我沒帶的話！」 隨著這些危險變得越來越頻繁，他們的行進速度也慢了下來。他們似乎已經無休止地跋涉，一直走到山脈的根部。他們不僅疲憊不堪，卻又覺得在任何地方停下來都無法得到慰藉。佛羅多的精神在逃脫後，以及進食並喝了一口提神劑後，曾一度振奮；但現在，一種深沉的不安，逐漸演變成恐懼，再次悄悄地籠罩了他。儘管他在瑞文戴爾治癒了刀傷，但那道嚴重的傷口並非沒有影響。他的感官變得更加敏銳，更能察覺到那些看不見的事物。他很快注意到的一個變化跡象是，他能看到更多
312 THE LORD OF THE RINGS in the dark than any of his companions, save perhaps Gandalf. And he was in any case the bearer of the Ring: it hung upon its chain against his breast, and at whiles it seemed a heavy weight. He felt the certainty of evil ahead and of evil following; but he said nothing. He gripped tighter on the hilt of his sword and went on doggedly. The Company behind him spoke seldom, and then only in hurried whispers. There was no sound but the sound of their own feet: the dull stump of Gimli’s dwarf-boots; the heavy tread of Boromir; the light step of Legolas; the soft, scarce-heard patter of hobbit-feet; and in the rear the slow firm footfalls of Aragorn with his long stride. When they halted for a moment they heard nothing at all, unless it were occasionally a faint trickle and drip of unseen water. Yet Frodo began to hear, or to imagine that he heard, something else: like the faint fall of soft bare feet. It was never loud enough, or near enough, for him to feel certain that he heard it; but once it had started it never stopped, while the Company was moving. But it was not an echo, for when they halted it pattered on for a little all by itself, and then grew still. It was after nightfall when they had entered the Mines. They had been going for several hours with only brief halts, when Gandalf came to his first serious check. Before him stood a wide dark arch opening into three passages: all led in the same general direction, eastwards; but the left-hand passage plunged down, while the righthand climbed up, and the middle way seemed to run on, smooth and level but very narrow. ‘I have no memory of this place at all!’ said Gandalf, standing uncertainly under the arch. He held up his staff in the hope of finding some marks or inscription that might help his choice; but nothing of the kind was to be seen. ‘I am too weary to decide,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘And I expect that you are all as weary as I am, or wearier. We had better halt here for what is left of the night. You know what I mean! In here it is ever dark; but outside the late Moon is riding westward and the middle-night has passed.’ ‘Poor old Bill!’ said Sam. ‘I wonder where he is. I hope those wolves haven’t got him yet.’ To the left of the great arch they found a stone door: it was half closed, but swung back easily to a gentle thrust. Beyond there seemed to lie a wide chamber cut in the rock. ‘Steady! Steady!’ cried Gandalf, as Merry and Pippin pushed forward, glad to find a place where they could rest with at least more feeling of shelter than in the open passage. ‘Steady! You do not know what is inside yet. I will go first.’ He went in cautiously, and the others filed behind. ‘There!’ he said, pointing with his staff to the middle of the floor. Before his feet
312 《魔戒》 在黑暗中，他比任何同伴都更能看清，或許除了甘道夫之外。無論如何，他都是魔戒的持有者：魔戒掛在他的胸前，有時感覺沉重。他預感到前方和後方都有邪惡，但他什麼也沒說。他緊握劍柄，固執地向前走去。他身後的隊伍很少說話，即使說話也只是匆匆的低語。除了他們自己的腳步聲，沒有其他聲音：金靂矮人靴子沉悶的腳步聲；波羅莫沉重的腳步聲；勒苟拉斯輕盈的腳步聲；哈比人腳步輕柔、幾乎聽不見的碎步聲；以及隊伍後方，亞拉岡邁著大步，緩慢而堅定的腳步聲。當他們暫停片刻時，什麼也聽不到，除非偶爾傳來微弱的、看不見的水滴聲。然而，佛羅多開始聽到，或者說他想像自己聽到，一些別的聲音：像是輕柔的赤腳聲。聲音從來沒有響亮到，或近到，讓他能確定自己真的聽到了；但一旦開始，只要隊伍在移動，它就從未停止。但那不是迴聲，因為當他們停下來時，它卻獨自輕輕地響了一會兒，然後才歸於寂靜。 夜幕降臨後，他們進入了礦坑。他們已經走了好幾個小時，只做了短暫的停留，這時甘道夫遇到了他第一個嚴重的阻礙。在他面前是一個寬闊黑暗的拱門，通往三條通道：所有通道都朝著同一個大方向，向東；但左邊的通道向下傾斜，右邊的向上攀升，而中間的道路則似乎平坦而筆直，但非常狹窄。「我對這個地方完全沒有印象！」甘道夫不確定地站在拱門下說道。他舉起他的法杖，希望能找到一些標記或銘文來幫助他做出選擇；但什麼也沒看到。「我太累了，無法決定。」他搖著頭說，「我想你們也都和我一樣累，甚至更累。我們最好在這裡停下來，度過夜晚剩下的時間。你們知道我的意思！這裡永遠黑暗；但外面遲來的月亮正向西行，午夜已過。」 「可憐的老比爾！」山姆說，「我想知道他在哪裡。我希望那些狼還沒有抓到他。」 在那個大拱門的左邊，他們發現了一扇石門：它半開著，輕輕一推就輕鬆地向後擺動。門後似乎是一個在岩石中鑿出的寬闊房間。「穩住！穩住！」甘道夫喊道，因為梅里和皮聘向前推進，很高興能找到一個地方休息，至少比在開放通道中更有庇護感。「穩住！你們還不知道裡面有什麼。我先走。」他小心翼翼地走了進去，其他人魚貫而入。「看！」他指著地板中央，用他的法杖說道。在他的腳前
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 313 they saw a large round hole like the mouth of a well. Broken and rusty chains lay at the edge and trailed down into the black pit. Fragments of stone lay near. ‘One of you might have fallen in and still be wondering when you were going to strike the bottom,’ said Aragorn to Merry. ‘Let the guide go first while you have one.’ “This seems to have been a guardroom, made for the watching of the three passages,’ said Gimli. “That hole was plainly a well for the guards’ use, covered with a stone lid. But the lid is broken, and we must all take care in the dark.’ Pippin felt curiously attracted by the well. While the others were unrolling blankets and making beds against the walls of the chamber, as far as possible from the hole in the floor, he crept to the edge and peered over. A chill air seemed to strike his face, rising from invisible depths. Moved by a sudden impulse he groped for a loose stone, and let it drop. He felt his heart beat many times before there was any sound. Then far below, as if the stone had fallen into deep water in some cavernous place, there came a plunk, very distant, but magnified and repeated in the hollow shaft. ‘What’s that?’ cried Gandalf. He was relieved when Pippin confessed what he had done; but he was angry, and Pippin could see his eye glinting. ‘Fool of a Took!’ he growled. “This is a serious journey, not a hobbit walking-party. Throw yourself in next time, and then you will be no further nuisance. Now be quiet!’ Nothing more was heard for several minutes; but then there came out of the depths faint knocks: tom-tap, tap-tom. They stopped, and when the echoes had died away, they were repeated: tap-tom, tom-tap, tap-tap, tom. They sounded disquietingly like signals of some sort; but after a while the knocking died away and was not heard again. “That was the sound of a hammer, or I have never heard one,’ said Gimli. “Yes,” said Gandalf, ‘and I do not like it. It may have nothing to do with Peregrin’s foolish stone; but probably something has been disturbed that would have been better left quiet. Pray, do nothing of the kind again! Let us hope we shall get some rest without further trouble. You, Pippin, can go on the first watch, as a reward,’ he growled, as he rolled himself in a blanket. Pippin sat miserably by the door in the pitch dark; but he kept on turning round, fearing that some unknown thing would crawl up out of the well. He wished he could cover the hole, if only with a blanket, but he dared not move or go near it, even though Gandalf seemed to be asleep. Actually Gandalf was awake, though lying still and silent. He was deep in thought, trying to recall every memory of his former journey
黑暗中的旅程 313 他們看到一個像井口一樣的大圓洞。斷裂生鏽的鐵鍊躺在邊緣，垂入漆黑的深坑中。附近散落著碎石。 「你們之中有人可能已經掉下去了，而且還在想什麼時候才會到底。」亞拉岡對梅里說。「讓嚮導先走，趁你們還有一個嚮導。」 「這裡似乎是個警衛室，用來監視三條通道的。」金靂說。「那個洞顯然是警衛用的水井，上面蓋著石蓋。但蓋子破了，我們在黑暗中都必須小心。」 皮聘對那口井感到奇異的吸引。當其他人正在鋪開毯子，沿著房間的牆壁鋪床，盡可能遠離地板上的洞時，他悄悄爬到邊緣，探頭往下看。一股寒冷的空氣似乎撲到他臉上，從看不見的深處升起。他被一股突如其來的衝動驅使，摸索著找到一塊鬆動的石頭，然後讓它掉下去。他感覺心臟跳動了許多下，然後才聽到任何聲音。 然後，在很遠的下方，彷彿石頭掉進了某個洞穴深處的水中，傳來一聲「噗通」——非常遙遠，但在中空的豎井中被放大並重複。 「那是什麼？」甘道夫喊道。當皮聘坦白他做了什麼時，他鬆了一口氣；但他很生氣，皮聘能看到他眼中閃爍著怒火。 「圖克家的傻瓜！」他咆哮道。「這是一趟嚴肅的旅程，不是哈比人的散步派對。下次你自己跳下去，這樣你就不會再添麻煩了。現在安靜！」 幾分鐘內再沒有聽到任何聲音；但隨後從深處傳來微弱的敲擊聲：咚嗒，嗒咚。它們停了下來，當迴聲消逝後，又重複響起：嗒咚，咚嗒，嗒嗒，咚。它們聽起來令人不安，像是某種信號；但過了一會兒，敲擊聲也消逝了，再也沒有聽到。 「那是錘子的聲音，不然我從沒聽過錘子。」金靂說。「是的，」甘道夫說，「我不喜歡這樣。這可能與皮瑞格林那塊愚蠢的石頭無關；但很可能有些東西被驚動了，本來最好讓它保持安靜的。請，不要再做這種事了！我們希望能在沒有更多麻煩的情況下得到一些休息。你，皮聘，可以去站第一班崗，作為獎勵。」他咆哮著，同時把自己裹進毯子裡。 皮聘沮喪地坐在門邊，身處漆黑之中；但他不斷轉頭，害怕有什麼未知的東西會從井裡爬出來。他希望自己能蓋住那個洞，哪怕只用一條毯子，但他不敢移動或靠近它，儘管甘道夫似乎睡著了。實際上，甘道夫是醒著的，儘管他躺著一動不動，保持沉默。他陷入沉思，試圖回憶起他上次旅程的所有記憶。
314 THE LORD OF THE RINGS in the Mines, and considering anxiously the next course that he should take; a false turn now might be disastrous. After an hour he rose up and came over to Pippin. ‘Get into a corner and have a sleep, my lad,’ he said in a kindly tone. ‘You want to sleep, I expect. I cannot get a wink, so I may as well do the watching.’ ‘I know what is the matter with me,’ he muttered, as he sat down by the door. ‘I need smoke! I have not tasted it since the morning before the snowstorm.’ The last thing that Pippin saw, as sleep took him, was a dark glimpse of the old wizard huddled on the floor, shielding a glowing chip in his gnarled hands between his knees. The flicker for a moment showed his sharp nose, and the puff of smoke. It was Gandalf who roused them all from sleep. He had sat and watched all alone for about six hours, and had let the others rest. ‘And in the watches I have made up my mind,’ he said. ‘I do not like the feel of the middle way; and I do not like the smell of the left-hand way: there is foul air down there, or I am no guide. I shall take the right-hand passage. It is time we began to climb up again.’ For eight dark hours, not counting two brief halts, they marched on; and they met no danger, and heard nothing, and saw nothing but the faint gleam of the wizard’s light, bobbing like a will-o’-the-wisp in front of them. The passage they had chosen wound steadily upwards. As far as they could judge it went in great mounting curves, and as it rose it grew loftier and wider. There were now no openings to other galleries or tunnels on either side, and the floor was level and sound, without pits or cracks. Evidently they had struck what once had been an important road; and they went forward quicker than they had done on their first march. In this way they advanced some fifteen miles, measured in a direct line east, though they must have actually walked twenty miles or more. As the road climbed upwards, Frodo’s spirits rose a little; but he still felt oppressed, and still at times he heard, or thought he heard, away behind the Company and beyond the fall and patter of their feet, a following footstep that was not an echo. They had marched as far as the hobbits could endure without a rest, and all were thinking of a place where they could sleep, when suddenly the walls to right and left vanished. They seemed to have passed through some arched doorway into a black and empty space. There was a great draught of warmer air behind them, and before them the darkness was cold on their faces. They halted and crowded anxiously together.
314 《魔戒》 在礦坑中，他焦慮地思索著下一步該怎麼走；現在走錯一步都可能釀成大禍。一小時後，他站起身，走到皮聘身邊。他語氣和藹地說：「到角落去睡一覺吧，孩子。我想你一定很想睡。我一點也睡不著，所以不如由我來守夜。」他坐到門邊，喃喃自語道：「我知道自己是怎麼了。我需要煙草！自從暴風雪來臨前的那天早上，我就沒嚐過煙草的滋味了。」皮聘在睡意襲來前，最後看到的是老巫師蜷縮在地板上，用他那佈滿皺紋的雙手，在膝蓋間護著一塊發光的木片，只見一絲微光閃爍，映出他尖挺的鼻子，以及一縷輕煙。是甘道夫把他們都叫醒的。他獨自坐著守夜了大約六個小時，讓其他人得以休息。他說：「在守夜的時候，我已經下定決心了。我不喜歡中間那條路的感覺；也不喜歡左邊那條路的氣味：那裡空氣污濁，否則我就不是個好嚮導。我會走右邊的通道。是時候我們該再次向上攀爬了。」他們在黑暗中行進了八個小時，期間只短暫停歇了兩次；他們沒有遇到任何危險，什麼也沒聽到，什麼也沒看到，只有巫師那微弱的光芒，像鬼火般在他們前方搖曳。他們選擇的通道穩定地向上盤旋。據他們判斷，它以巨大的弧度向上延伸，隨著升高，通道也變得更高更寬敞。現在兩側都沒有通往其他廊道或隧道的開口，地面平坦結實，沒有坑洞或裂縫。顯然他們找到了一條曾經重要的道路；他們前進的速度比第一次行軍時更快。就這樣，他們向東直線推進了大約十五英里，儘管他們實際可能走了二十英里甚至更遠。隨著道路向上延伸，佛羅多的精神稍稍振奮了一些；但他仍然感到壓抑，有時他會聽到，或者以為自己聽到，在隊伍後方，在他們腳步聲的起落和輕響之外，有一個跟隨的腳步聲，那不是回音。他們已經行進到哈比人無法再忍受不休息的程度，所有人都想著找個地方睡覺，這時，左右兩側的牆壁突然消失了。他們似乎穿過了一道拱形門，進入了一個漆黑而空曠的空間。身後有一股溫暖的氣流，而前方，黑暗冰冷地撲向他們的臉龐。他們停下腳步，焦慮地擠在一起。
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 315 Gandalf seemed pleased. ‘I chose the right way,’ he said. ‘At last we are coming to the habitable parts, and I guess that we are not far now from the eastern side. But we are high up, a good deal higher than the Dimrill Gate, unless I am mistaken. From the feeling of the air we must be in a wide hall. I will now risk a little real light.’ He raised his staff, and for a brief instant there was a blaze like a flash of lightning. Great shadows sprang up and fled, and for a second they saw a vast roof far above their heads upheld by many mighty pillars hewn of stone. Before them and on either side stretched a huge empty hall; its black walls, polished and smooth as glass, flashed and glittered. Three other entrances they saw, dark black arches: one straight before them eastwards, and one on either side. Then the light went out. “That is all that I shall venture on for the present,’ said Gandalf. “There used to be great windows on the mountain-side, and shafts leading out to the light in the upper reaches of the Mines. I think we have reached them now, but it is night outside again, and we cannot tell until morning. If I am right, tomorrow we may actually see the morning peeping in. But in the meanwhile we had better go no further. Let us rest, if we can. Things have gone well so far, and the greater part of the dark road is over. But we are not through yet, and it is a long way down to the Gates that open on the world.’ The Company spent that night in the great cavernous hall, huddled close together in a corner to escape the draught: there seemed to be a steady inflow of chill air through the eastern archway. All about them as they lay hung the darkness, hollow and immense, and they were oppressed by the loneliness and vastness of the dolven halls and endlessly branching stairs and passages. The wildest imaginings that dark rumour had ever suggested to the hobbits fell altogether short of the actual dread and wonder of Moria. “There must have been a mighty crowd of dwarves here at one time,’ said Sam; ‘and every one of them busier than badgers for five hundred years to make all this, and most in hard rock too! What did they do it all for? They didn’t live in these darksome holes surely?’ “These are not holes,’ said Gimli. “This is the great realm and city of the Dwarrowdelf. And of old it was not darksome, but full of light and splendour, as is still remembered in our songs.’ He rose and standing in the dark he began to chant in a deep voice, while the echoes ran away into the roof. The world was young, the mountains green, No stain yet on the Moon was seen, No words were laid on stream or stone When Durin woke and walked alone.
黑暗中的旅程 315 甘道夫看起來很高興。「我選對了路。」他說。「我們終於來到可居住的區域了，我猜我們離東邊不遠了。但我們身處高處，比銀光閘門高出許多，除非我弄錯了。從空氣的感覺判斷，我們一定是在一個寬闊的大廳裡。我現在要冒險點亮一點真正的光。」他舉起手杖，一瞬間，一道閃電般的強光爆發出來。巨大的陰影竄起又消散，他們看到頭頂上方有一片廣闊的屋頂，由許多從石頭鑿成的巨大柱子支撐著。他們前方和兩側延伸著一個巨大的空曠大廳；其黑色的牆壁，光滑如鏡，閃閃發光。他們還看到三個入口，是漆黑的拱門：一個正對著他們向東，另外兩個則在兩側。然後光線熄滅了。 「目前我只能冒險到此為止了。」甘道夫說。「以前山腰上曾有巨大的窗戶，還有通往礦坑上層光線的豎井。我想我們現在已經到達那裡了，但外面又是夜晚，我們得等到早上才能確定。如果我沒錯，明天我們或許真的能看到晨光透進來。但在此之前，我們最好不要再前進了。如果可以，讓我們休息吧。到目前為止一切順利，黑暗的旅程大部分已經結束了。但我們還沒完全脫離困境，離通往外界的『大門』還有很長一段路要走。」 隊伍當晚就在那巨大的洞穴大廳裡度過，他們擠在一個角落裡，以躲避穿堂風：似乎有一股穩定的冷空氣從東邊的拱門吹進來。當他們躺下時，周圍懸掛著空洞而巨大的黑暗，他們被那些鑿成的廳堂、無盡分岔的樓梯和通道的孤寂與廣闊所壓迫。黑暗傳聞曾向哈比人暗示過最狂野的想像，都遠遠不及摩瑞亞實際的恐懼與奇蹟。 「這裡以前一定住過一大群矮人！」山姆說，「而且他們每個人都比獾還忙碌，花了五百年才建成這一切，而且大部分還是在堅硬的岩石裡！他們到底為了什麼做這些？他們肯定不是住在這些陰暗的洞穴裡吧？」 「這些不是洞穴！」金靂說，「這是矮人深窟的偉大國度與城市。古時候這裡並非陰暗，而是充滿光明與輝煌，正如我們的歌謠所傳頌的。」他站起身，在黑暗中開始用低沉的聲音吟唱，迴音在屋頂上迴盪。「世界尚年輕，山巒翠綠，月亮上不見污漬，溪流與岩石上未曾留下言語，當都靈醒來，獨自漫步。」
316 THE LORD OF THE RINGS He named the nameless hills and dells; He drank from yet untasted wells; He stooped and looked in Mirrormere, And saw a crown of stars appear, As gems upon a silver thread, Above the shadow of his head. The world was fair, the mountains tall, In Elder Days before the fall Of mighty kings in Nargothrond And Gondolin, who now beyond The Western Seas have passed away: The world was fair in Durin’s Day. A king he was on carven throne In many-pillared halls of stone With golden roof and silver floor, And runes of power upon the door. The light of sun and star and moon In shining lamps of crystal hewn Undimmed by cloud or shade of night There shone for ever fair and bright. There hammer on the anvil smote, There chisel clove, and graver wrote; There forged was blade, and bound was hilt; The delver mined, the mason built. There beryl, pearl, and opal pale, And metal wrought like fishes’ mail, Buckler and corslet, axe and sword, And shining spears were laid in hoard. Unwearied then were Durin’s folk; Beneath the mountains music woke: The harpers harped, the minstrels sang, And at the gates the trumpets rang. The world is grey, the mountains old, The forge’s fire is ashen-cold; No harp ts wrung, no hammer falls: The darkness dwells in Durin’s halls; The shadow hes upon his tomb In Moria, in Khazad-dim.
316 魔戒 他為無名山丘與谷地命名；他飲用未曾嚐過的泉水；他俯身凝視鏡影湖，看見星辰之冠顯現，如銀線上綴飾的寶石，懸於他頭影之上。世界曾如此美好，山脈高聳，在遠古時代，在納國斯隆德與剛多林強大君王殞落之前，他們如今已越過西方之海逝去：世界在都靈之日曾如此美好。他曾是坐在雕刻寶座上的君王，在多柱石廳中，有黃金屋頂與白銀地板，門上刻有力量符文。日月星辰之光，在璀璨的水晶雕燈中，不為雲翳或夜影所蔽，永遠閃耀著光明與美麗。鐵鎚在那裡敲擊鐵砧，鑿子在那裡劈開，雕刻刀在那裡刻畫；刀刃在那裡鍛造，刀柄在那裡裝配；礦工在那裡開採，石匠在那裡建造。綠柱石、珍珠、淺色蛋白石，以及如魚鱗甲般打造的金屬，圓盾與胸甲，斧與劍，還有閃亮的長矛，都堆積成寶藏。那時都靈子民不知疲倦；山下響起音樂：豎琴手彈奏，吟遊詩人歌唱，城門處號角齊鳴。世界已灰暗，山脈已蒼老，熔爐之火已成灰燼；無豎琴彈奏，無鐵鎚落下：黑暗盤踞在都靈的廳堂；陰影籠罩著他在摩瑞亞，在凱薩督姆的陵墓。
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 317 But still the sunken stars appear In dark and windless Mirrormere; There lies his crown in water deep, Till Durin wakes again from sleep. ‘I like that!’ said Sam. ‘I should like to learn it. In Moria, in Khazad-dim! But it makes the darkness seem heavier, thinking of all those lamps. Are there piles of jewels and gold lying about here still?’ Gimli was silent. Having sung his song he would say no more. ‘Piles of jewels?’ said Gandalf. ‘No. The Orcs have often plundered Moria; there is nothing left in the upper halls. And since the dwarves fled, no one dares to seek the shafts and treasuries down in the deep places: they are drowned in water — or in a shadow of fear.’ “Then what do the dwarves want to come back for?’ asked Sam. ‘For mithril,’ answered Gandalf. “The wealth of Moria was not in gold and jewels, the toys of the Dwarves; nor in iron, their servant. Such things they found here, it is true, especially iron; but they did not need to delve for them: all things that they desired they could obtain in traffic. For here alone in the world was found Moria-silver, or true-silver as some have called it: mithril is the Elvish name. The Dwarves have a name which they do not tell. Its worth was ten times that of gold, and now it is beyond price; for little is left above ground, and even the Orcs dare not delve here for it. The lodes lead away north towards Caradhras, and down to darkness. The Dwarves tell no tale; but even as muithril was the foundation of their wealth, so also it was their destruction: they delved too greedily and too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin’s Bane. Of what they brought to light the Orcs have gathered nearly all, and given it in tribute to Sauron, who covets it. ‘Mithril! All folk desired it. It could be beaten like copper, and polished like glass; and the Dwarves could make of it a metal, light and yet harder than tempered steel. Its beauty was like to that of common silver, but the beauty of mthril did not tarnish or grow dim. The Elves dearly loved it, and among many uses they made of it ithildin, starmoon, which you saw upon the doors. Bilbo had a corslet of mithril-rings that Thorin gave him. I wonder what has become of it? Gathering dust still in Michel Delving Mathom-house, I suppose.’ ‘What?’ cried Gimli, startled out of his silence. ‘A corslet of Moriasilver? That was a kingly gift!’ ‘Yes,’ said Gandalf. ‘I never told him, but its worth was greater than the value of the whole Shire and everything in it.’ Frodo said nothing, but he put his hand under his tunic and touched the rings of his mail-shirt. He felt staggered to think that he had been walking about with the price of the Shire under his jacket.
黑暗之旅 317 但沉星依舊閃爍，在黑暗無風的鏡湖；他的王冠深埋水底，直到都靈再次從沉睡中醒來。「我喜歡這個！」山姆說。「我真想學會它。在摩瑞亞，在凱薩督姆！但想到那些燈，這讓黑暗顯得更沉重了。這裡還有成堆的珠寶和黃金嗎？」金靂沉默不語。唱完他的歌後，他便不再多說。「成堆的珠寶？」甘道夫說。「不。半獸人經常劫掠摩瑞亞；上層大廳裡什麼都沒剩下。自從矮人逃走後，沒有人敢去深處的礦坑和寶庫：它們被水淹沒了——或者被恐懼的陰影籠罩著。」「那矮人為什麼還想回來呢？」山姆問。「為了秘銀。」甘道夫回答。「摩瑞亞的財富不在於黃金和珠寶，那些矮人的玩物；也不在於鐵，他們的僕役。他們在這裡確實發現了這些東西，尤其是鐵；但他們不需要為此而挖掘：他們想要的一切都可以透過貿易獲得。因為世界上只有這裡才能找到摩瑞亞銀，或者有些人稱之為真銀：秘銀是精靈語的名稱。矮人有一個他們不願透露的名稱。它的價值是黃金的十倍，現在更是無價之寶；因為地表上所剩無幾，甚至連半獸人也不敢在這裡挖掘它。礦脈向北延伸至卡拉茲拉斯山，並深入黑暗。矮人不說任何故事；但秘銀既是他們財富的基礎，也是他們的毀滅：他們挖掘得太過貪婪和深入，驚動了他們所逃離的那個東西，都靈的禍根。他們所發現的東西，半獸人幾乎都收集起來，並將其作為貢品獻給索倫，索倫對此垂涎三尺。」「秘銀！所有人都渴望它。它可以像銅一樣被錘打，像玻璃一樣被拋光；矮人可以用它製成一種金屬，輕巧卻比淬火鋼還要堅硬。它的美麗如同普通的銀，但秘銀的美麗永不黯淡或褪色。精靈們非常喜愛它，在許多用途中，他們用它製成了伊西爾丁，星月，你曾在門上見過。比爾博有一件索林送給他的秘銀環甲。我想知道它現在怎麼樣了？我想，它大概還在米歇爾掘洞的雜物屋裡積灰塵吧。」「什麼？」金靂驚呼，從沉默中驚醒。「一件摩瑞亞銀環甲？那真是王者之禮！」 「是的，」甘道夫說，「我從未告訴他，但它的價值比整個夏爾和其中所有東西的價值還要高。」佛羅多什麼也沒說，但他把手伸進束腰外衣，觸摸著他的鎖子甲環。他想到自己一直把夏爾的價值穿在夾克下面，感到震驚不已。
318 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Had Bilbo known? He felt no doubt that Bilbo knew quite well. It was indeed a kingly gift. But now his thoughts had been carried away from the dark Mines, to Rivendell, to Bilbo, and to Bag End in the days while Bilbo was still there. He wished with all his heart that he was back there, and in those days, mowing the lawn, or pottering among the flowers, and that he had never heard of Moria, or mithril — or the Ring. A deep silence fell. One by one the others fell asleep. Frodo was on guard. As if it were a breath that came in through unseen doors out of deep places, dread came over him. His hands were cold and his brow damp. He listened. All his mind was given to listening and nothing else for two slow hours; but he heard no sound, not even the imagined echo of a footfall. His watch was nearly over, when, far off where he guessed that the western archway stood, he fancied that he could see two pale points of light, almost like luminous eyes. He started. His head had nodded. ‘I must have nearly fallen asleep on guard,’ he thought. ‘I was on the edge of a dream.’ He stood up and rubbed his eyes, and remained standing, peering into the dark, until he was relieved by Legolas. When he lay down he quickly went to sleep, but it seemed to him that the dream went on: he heard whispers, and saw the two pale points of light approaching, slowly. He woke and found that the others were speaking softly near him, and that a dim light was falling on his face. High up above the eastern archway through a shaft near the roof came a long pale gleam; and across the hall through the northern arch light also glimmered faint and distantly. Frodo sat up. ‘Good morning!’ said Gandalf. ‘For morning it is again at last. I was right, you see. We are high up on the east side of Moria. Before today is over we ought to find the Great Gates and see the waters of Mirrormere lying in the Dimrill Dale before us.’ ‘I shall be glad,’ said Gimli. ‘I have looked on Moria, and it is very great, but it has become dark and dreadful; and we have found no sign of my kindred. I doubt now that Balin ever came here.’ After they had breakfasted Gandalf decided to go on again at once. ‘We are tired, but we shall rest better when we are outside,’ he said. ‘I think that none of us will wish to spend another night in Moria.’ ‘No indeed!’ said Boromir. ‘Which way shall we take? Yonder eastward arch?’ ‘Maybe,’ said Gandalf. ‘But I do not know yet exactly where we are. Unless I am quite astray, I guess that we are above and to the
318 《魔戒》 比爾博知道嗎？他毫不懷疑比爾博非常清楚。這確實是一份王者之禮。但此刻他的思緒已從黑暗礦坑飄開，回到了瑞文戴爾，回到了比爾博身邊，回到了比爾博還在時的袋底洞。他全心全意地希望自己能回到那裡，回到那些日子，修剪草坪，或是在花叢中閒逛，並且從未聽說過摩瑞亞、秘銀——或魔戒。一片深沉的寂靜降臨。其他人一個接一個地睡著了。佛羅多在守夜。彷彿是從看不見的深處之門吹進來的一口氣，恐懼籠罩了他。他的手冰冷，額頭濕潤。他傾聽著。他全神貫注地傾聽，別無他想，持續了兩個緩慢的鐘頭；但他沒有聽到任何聲音，甚至連想像中的腳步聲迴響都沒有。他的守夜時間快結束了，這時，在遠處他猜測西方拱門所在的地方，他幻想自己看到了兩點蒼白的光芒，幾乎就像發光的眼睛。他猛地一驚。他的頭點了點。他心想：「我一定差點在守夜時睡著了。我正處於夢境的邊緣。」他站起來揉了揉眼睛，然後一直站著，凝視著黑暗，直到勒苟拉斯來接替他。當他躺下時，他很快就睡著了，但夢境似乎仍在繼續：他聽到了低語聲，看到了兩點蒼白的光芒緩緩靠近。他醒來時發現其他人正在他身邊輕聲說話，一束微弱的光線正照在他的臉上。高高的東方拱門上方，透過屋頂附近的一個豎井，射進一道長長的蒼白光芒；大廳對面，透過北方拱門，光線也微弱而遙遠地閃爍著。佛羅多坐了起來。「早安！」甘道夫說。「畢竟天終於又亮了。你看，我說得沒錯。我們現在在摩瑞亞東側的高處。今天結束前，我們應該能找到大門，並看到鏡影湖的水面就在我們前方的丁瑞爾谷中。」「我會很高興的。」金靂說。「我已經看過摩瑞亞了，它確實很宏偉，但它已經變得黑暗而可怕；我們也沒有找到我族人的任何蹤跡。我現在懷疑巴林是否真的來過這裡。」他們吃過早餐後，甘道夫決定立刻繼續前進。「我們很累，但到了外面我們會休息得更好。」他說。「我想我們沒有人會希望在摩瑞亞再過一夜。」「確實如此！」波羅莫說。「我們該走哪條路？那邊的東方拱門嗎？」「也許吧。」甘道夫說。「但我還不確切知道我們在哪裡。除非我完全迷失了，我猜我們在上方，而且在...」
A JOURNEY IN THE DARK 319 north of the Great Gates; and it may not be easy to find the right road down to them. The eastern arch will probably prove to be the way that we must take; but before we make up our minds we ought to look about us. Let us go towards that light in the north door. If we could find a window it would help, but I fear that the light comes only down deep shafts.’ Following his lead the Company passed under the northern arch. They found themselves in a wide corridor. As they went along it the glimmer grew stronger, and they saw that it came through a doorway on their right. It was high and flat-topped, and the stone door was still upon its hinges, standing half open. Beyond it was a large square chamber. It was dimly lit, but to their eyes, after so long a time in the dark, it seemed dazzlingly bright, and they blinked as they entered. Their feet disturbed a deep dust upon the floor, and stumbled among things lying in the doorway whose shapes they could not at first make out. The chamber was lit by a wide shaft high in the further eastern wall; it slanted upwards and, far above, a small square patch of blue sky could be seen. The light of the shaft fell directly on a table in the middle of the room: a single oblong block, about two feet high, upon which was laid a great slab of white stone. ‘It looks like a tomb,’ muttered Frodo, and bent forwards with a curious sense of foreboding, to look more closely at it. Gandalf came quickly to his side. On the slab runes were deeply graven: RNAIY’ IRKINRY RARNEBNANBERBR RIENEAYANRKIVAPRASBAM
黑暗中的旅程 319 位於大門以北；要找到通往它們的正確道路可能不容易。東邊的拱門很可能就是我們必須走的路；但在我們下定決心之前，我們應該先環顧四周。讓我們走向北門那道光。如果我們能找到一扇窗戶會有所幫助，但我擔心那光線只會從深邃的豎井中射下來。眾人跟隨他的引導，穿過北邊的拱門。他們發現自己身處一條寬闊的走廊。他們沿著走廊前行，微光越來越強，他們看到光線是從右邊的一個門口射進來的。門口很高，頂部平坦，石門仍掛在門軸上，半開著。門後是一個寬敞的方形房間。房間光線昏暗，但在他們眼中，在黑暗中待了這麼久之後，它顯得異常明亮，他們眨著眼睛走了進去。他們的腳踩動了地板上厚厚的灰塵，並在門口絆倒了那些他們起初無法辨認形狀的東西。房間由東牆高處的一個寬闊豎井照亮；它向上傾斜，遠上方，一小塊方形的藍天清晰可見。豎井的光線直接落在房間中央的一張桌子上：那是一個單一的長方形石塊，約兩英尺高，上面放著一塊巨大的白色石板。「這看起來像個墳墓。」佛羅多咕噥道，帶著一種奇特的預感彎下身子，更仔細地查看。甘道夫迅速來到他身邊。石板上刻著深深的符文：RNAIY’ IRKINRY RARNEBNANBERBR RIENEAYANRKIVAPRASBAM
320 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “These are Daeron’s Runes, such as were used of old in Moria,’ said Gandalf. ‘Here is written in the tongues of Men and Dwarves: BALIN SON OF FUNDIN LORD OF MORIA.’ ‘He is dead then,’ said Frodo. ‘I feared it was so.’ Gimli cast his hood over his face.
320 《魔戒》 「這些是戴隆的符文，就像古時候在摩瑞亞使用的那樣，」甘道夫說。「這裡用人類和矮人的語言寫著：『巴林，方丁之子，摩瑞亞之主。』」 「那麼他已經死了，」佛羅多說。「我擔心就是這樣。」 金靂把他的兜帽拉下來遮住臉。