Chapter 7 THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL The sun was sinking behind the mountains, and the shadows were deepening in the woods, when they went on again. Their paths now went into thickets where the dusk had already gathered. Night came beneath the trees as they walked, and the Elves uncovered their silver lamps. Suddenly they came out into the open again and found themselves under a pale evening sky pricked by a few early stars. There was a wide treeless space before them, running in a great circle and bending away on either hand. Beyond it was a deep fosse lost in soft shadow, but the grass upon its brink was green, as if it glowed still in memory of the sun that had gone. Upon the further side there rose to a great height a green wall encircling a green hill thronged with mallorn-trees taller than any they had yet seen in all the land. Their height could not be guessed, but they stood up in the twilight like living towers. In their many-tiered branches and amid their ever-moving leaves countless lights were gleaming, green and gold and silver. Haldir turned towards the Company. ‘Welcome to Caras Galadhon!’ he said. ‘Here is the city of the Galadhrim where dwell the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel the Lady of Lorien. But we cannot enter here, for the gates do not look northward. We must go round to the southern side, and the way is not short, for the city is great.’ There was a road paved with white stone running on the outer brink of the fosse. Along this they went westward, with the city ever climbing up like a green cloud upon their left; and as the night deepened more lights sprang forth, until all the hill seemed afire with stars. They came at last to a white bridge, and crossing found the great gates of the city: they faced south-west, set between the ends of the encircling wall that here overlapped, and they were tall and strong, and hung with many lamps. Haldir knocked and spoke, and the gates opened soundlessly; but of guards Frodo could see no sign. The travellers passed within, and the gates shut behind them. They were in a deep lane between the ends of the wall, and passing quickly through it they entered the City of the Trees. No folk could they see, nor hear any feet upon the paths; but there were many voices, about them, and in the air above.
太陽正沉入山後，林間的陰影漸深，他們再次上路。他們的小徑如今深入黃昏早已聚集的灌木叢中。他們行走時，夜色在樹下籠罩，精靈們揭開了他們的銀色燈盞。突然間，他們又來到一片開闊地，發現自己身處一片蒼白的夜空下，點綴著幾顆早起的星星。他們面前是一片寬闊無樹的空地，呈一個大圓形，向兩側彎曲延伸。空地之外是一道深邃的壕溝，隱沒在柔和的陰影中，但溝邊的草地卻是綠色的，彷彿仍在記憶中為已逝的太陽發光。在壕溝的另一邊，一道綠色的高牆拔地而起，環繞著一座綠色山丘，山丘上長滿了他們在這片土地上見過最高的梅隆樹。牠們的高度無法估量，但在暮色中，牠們像活生生的塔樓般矗立。在牠們層層疊疊的枝枒與不斷搖曳的葉片之間，無數綠色、金色和銀色的光芒閃爍著。哈迪爾轉向遠征隊。「歡迎來到卡拉斯加拉頓！」他說。「這裡是加拉德蘭民的城市，羅瑞安的領主凱勒鵬和夫人凱蘭崔爾居住於此。但我們不能從這裡進去，因為城門不朝北。我們必須繞到南邊去，路途不短，因為這座城市很大。」有一條鋪著白石的路，沿著壕溝的外緣延伸。他們沿著這條路向西走，城市在他們左邊，像一朵綠色的雲不斷向上攀升；隨著夜色漸深，更多的燈火湧現，直到整座山丘彷彿被星辰點燃。他們終於來到一座白橋前，過橋後便找到了宏偉的城門：城門朝向西南，設在環城牆重疊的兩端之間，高大而堅固，掛著許多燈盞。哈迪爾敲門並說了話，大門無聲地打開了；但佛羅多卻看不到任何守衛的跡象。旅人們走了進去，大門在他們身後關上。他們身處牆壁兩端之間的一條深巷中，迅速穿過後，便進入了樹之城。他們看不到任何人，也聽不到路上的腳步聲；但周圍和上方的空氣中卻有許多聲音。
354 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Far away up on the hill they could hear the sound of singing falling from on high like soft rain upon leaves. They went along many paths and climbed many stairs, until they came to the high places and saw before them amid a wide lawn a fountain shimmering. It was lit by silver lamps that swung from the boughs of trees, and it fell into a basin of silver, from which a white stream spilled. Upon the south side of the lawn there stood the mightiest of all the trees; its great smooth bole gleamed like grey silk, and up it towered, until its first branches, far above, opened their huge limbs under shadowy clouds of leaves. Beside it a broad white ladder stood, and at its foot three Elves were seated. They sprang up as the travellers approached, and Frodo saw that they were tall and clad in grey mail, and from their shoulders hung long white cloaks. ‘Here dwell Celeborn and Galadriel,’ said Haldir. ‘It is their wish that you should ascend and speak with them.’ One of the Elf-wardens then blew a clear note on a small horn, and it was answered three times from far above. ‘I will go first,’ said Haldir. ‘Let Frodo come next and with him Legolas. The others may follow as they wish. It is a long climb for those that are not accustomed to such stairs, but you may rest upon the way.’ As he climbed slowly up Frodo passed many flets: some on one side, some on another, and some set about the bole of the tree, so that the ladder passed through them. At a great height above the ground he came to a wide talan, like the deck of a great ship. On it was built a house, so large that almost it would have served for a hall of Men upon the earth. He entered behind Haldir, and found that he was in a chamber of oval shape, in the midst of which grew the trunk of the great mallorn, now tapering towards its crown, and yet making still a pillar of wide girth. The chamber was filled with a soft light; its walls were green and silver and its roof of gold. Many Elves were seated there. On two chairs beneath the bole of the tree and canopied by a living bough there sat, side by side, Celeborn and Galadriel. They stood up to greet their guests, after the manner of Elves, even those who were accounted mighty kings. Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord; and they were grave and beautiful. They were clad wholly in white; and the hair of the Lady was of deep gold, and the hair of the Lord Celeborn was of silver long and bright; but no sign of age was upon them, unless it were in the depths of their eyes; for these were keen as lances in the starlight, and yet profound, the wells of deep memory. Haldir led Frodo before them, and the Lord welcomed him in his
在遠處山丘的高處，他們能聽見歌聲從天而降，宛如柔雨灑落葉梢。他們走過許多小徑，攀上許多階梯，直到來到高地，眼前一片寬闊的草坪中央，一座噴泉閃爍著光芒。噴泉被懸掛在樹枝上的銀燈照亮，泉水落入銀盆，再從中溢出一道白色的溪流。草坪南側矗立著一棵最為雄偉的巨樹；它巨大而光滑的樹幹閃耀著如灰色絲綢般的光澤，高聳入雲，直到遠在高處的第一批樹枝，在葉影幢幢之下伸展其巨大的枝幹。樹旁立著一架寬闊的白色梯子，梯腳下坐著三位精靈。旅人們一靠近，他們便躍身而起，佛羅多看見他們身材高大，身穿灰色鎖子甲，肩上披著長長的白色斗篷。「凱勒鵬和凱蘭崔爾住在這裡，」哈爾達說。「他們希望能邀請您們上去與他們談話。」一位精靈守衛接著用一支小號角吹出一個清亮的音符，遠方高處傳來三次回應。「我先走，」哈爾達說。「讓佛羅多跟著我，還有勒苟拉斯陪同。其他人可以隨意跟上。對於不習慣這種樓梯的人來說，這段路很長，但你們可以在途中休息。」佛羅多緩緩向上攀爬時，經過了許多樹台(flets)：有些在一側，有些在另一側，還有些環繞著樹幹，梯子就從中穿過。在離地很高的地方，他來到一個寬闊的樹上主平台(talan)，像一艘大船的甲板。上面建了一棟房子，其規模之大，幾乎可以作為人類在地面上的大廳。他跟著哈爾達走進去，發現自己身處一個橢圓形的房間，房間中央生長著那棵巨大黃金樹的樹幹，此處已向樹冠逐漸變細，但仍然是一根粗壯的柱子。房間裡充滿了柔和的光線；牆壁是綠色和銀色的，屋頂是金色的。許多精靈坐在那裡。在樹幹下方的兩張椅子上，由一根活生生的樹枝作為頂篷，並肩坐著凱勒鵬和凱蘭崔爾。他們站起來迎接客人，遵循精靈的禮儀，即使是那些被視為偉大君王的人物也是如此。他們非常高大，夫人不比領主矮；他們神情莊重而美麗。他們全身穿著白衣；夫人的頭髮是深金色的，領主凱勒鵬的頭髮則是銀色的，又長又亮；但他們身上沒有任何歲月的痕跡，除非是在他們眼眸的深處；因為那雙眼睛像星光下的長矛一樣銳利，卻又深邃無比，是深沉記憶的源泉。哈爾達引領佛羅多到他們面前，領主向他表示歡迎。
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL 355 own tongue. The Lady Galadriel said no word but looked long upon his face. ‘Sit now beside my chair, Frodo of the Shire!’ said Celeborn. ‘When all have come we will speak together.’ Each of the companions he greeted courteously by name as they entered. ‘Welcome Aragorn son of Arathorn!’ he said. ‘It is eight and thirty years of the world outside since you came to this land; and those years lie heavy on you. But the end is near, for good or ill. Here lay aside your burden for a while!’ ‘Welcome son of Thranduil! Too seldom do my kindred journey hither from the North.’ ‘Welcome Gimli son of Gloin! It is long indeed since we saw one of Durin’s folk in Caras Galadhon. But today we have broken our long law. May it be a sign that though the world is now dark better days are at hand, and that friendship shall be renewed between our peoples.’ Gimli bowed low. When all the guests were seated before his chair the Lord looked at them again. ‘Here there are eight,’ he said. ‘Nine were to set out: so said the messages. But maybe there has been some change of counsel that we have not heard. Elrond is far away, and darkness gathers between us, and all this year the shadows have grown longer.’ ‘Nay, there was no change of counsel,’ said the Lady Galadriel, speaking for the first time. Her voice was clear and musical, but deeper than woman’s wont. ‘Gandalf the Grey set out with the Company, but he did not pass the borders of this land. Now tell us where he is; for I much desired to speak with him again. But I cannot see him from afar, unless he comes within the fences of Lothlorien: a grey mist is about him, and the ways of his feet and of his mind are hidden from me.’ ‘Alas!’ said Aragorn. ‘Gandalf the Grey fell into shadow. He remained in Moria and did not escape.’ At these words all the Elves in the hall cried aloud in grief and amazement. “These are evil tidings,’ said Celeborn, ‘the most evil that have been spoken here in long years full of grievous deeds.’ He turned to Haldir. ‘Why has nothing of this been told to me before?’ he asked in the elven-tongue. ‘We have not spoken to Haldir of our deeds or our purpose,’ said Legolas. ‘At first we were weary and danger was too close behind; and afterwards we almost forgot our grief for a time, as we walked in gladness on the fair paths of Lorien.’ “Yet our grief is great and our loss cannot be mended,’ said Frodo. ‘Gandalf was our guide, and he led us through Moria; and when our escape seemed beyond hope he saved us, and he fell.’
凱蘭崔爾夫人一言不發，只是長久地凝視著他的臉龐。「坐到我椅子旁邊吧，來自夏爾的佛羅多！」凱勒鵬說。「等所有人都到齊了，我們再一起談。」他彬彬有禮地依序問候每一位進來的遠征隊員。「歡迎你，亞拉松之子亞拉岡！」他說。「自從你上次來到這片土地，外面的世界已過了三十八年；那些歲月在你身上留下了沉重的痕跡。但無論結果是好是壞，終點都近了。在這裡暫時放下你的重擔吧！」「歡迎你，瑟蘭督伊之子！我的族人太少從北方來到此地了。」「歡迎你，葛羅音之子金靂！我們確實很久沒在卡拉斯加拉頓見到都靈的子民了。但今天我們打破了長久以來的規矩。願這是一個徵兆，預示著儘管世界現今一片黑暗，但更好的日子即將來臨，我們兩族之間的友誼也將重續。」金靂深深鞠躬。當所有客人在他的椅子前坐定後，領主再次看著他們。「這裡有八位，」他說。「根據訊息，出發的應該是九位。但也許計畫有變，我們沒有聽說。愛隆王遠在天邊，黑暗在我們之間聚集，這一年來，陰影也越來越長了。」「不，計畫沒有改變。」凱蘭崔爾夫人首次開口說道。她的聲音清澈如樂音，卻比尋常女子的聲音更為低沉。「灰袍甘道夫與遠征隊一同出發，但他沒有跨過這片土地的邊界。現在告訴我們他在哪裡；因為我非常希望能再與他談話。但我無法從遠處看見他，除非他進入羅斯洛立安的圍籬之內：一團灰霧籠罩著他，他腳步的蹤跡和心靈的去向都對我隱藏了。」「唉！」亞拉岡說。「灰袍甘道夫墜入了陰影之中。他留在了摩瑞亞，沒能逃出來。」聽到這話，大廳裡所有的精靈都因悲傷和驚愕而大聲哭喊。「這是惡訊，」凱勒鵬說，「是這充滿悲慘事蹟的漫長歲月裡，在此地聽過最壞的消息。」他轉向哈爾迪爾，用精靈語問道：「為什麼之前沒有人告訴我這些事？」「我們沒有跟哈爾迪爾說過我們的作為或目的，」勒苟拉斯說。「一開始我們疲憊不堪，危險又緊追在後；後來，當我們滿心歡喜地走在羅瑞安美麗的小徑上時，我們幾乎暫時忘卻了悲傷。」「然而我們的悲傷是巨大的，我們的損失無法彌補，」佛羅多說。「甘道夫是我們的嚮導，他帶領我們穿越摩瑞亞；當我們看似絕望、無法逃脫時，他拯救了我們，而他自己卻墜落了。
356 THE LORD OF THE RINGS “Tell us now the full tale!’ said Celeborn. Then Aragorn recounted all that had happened upon the pass of Caradhras, and in the days that followed; and he spoke of Balin and his book, and the fight in the Chamber of Mazarbul, and the fire, and the narrow bridge, and the coming of the Terror. ‘An evil of the Ancient World it seemed, such as I have never seen before,’ said Aragorn. ‘It was both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible.’ ‘It was a Balrog of Morgoth,’ said Legolas; ‘of all elf-banes the most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower.’ ‘Indeed I saw upon the bridge that which haunts our darkest dreams, I saw Durin’s Bane,’ said Gimli in a low voice, and dread was in his eyes. ‘Alas!’ said Celeborn. ‘We long have feared that under Caradhras a terror slept. But had I known that the Dwarves had stirred up this evil in Moria again, I would have forbidden you to pass the northern borders, you and all that went with you. And if it were possible, one would say that at the last Gandalf fell from wisdom into folly, going needlessly into the net of Moria.’ ‘He would be rash indeed that said that thing,’ said Galadriel gravely. ‘Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. Those that followed him knew not his mind and cannot report his full purpose. But however it may be with the guide, the followers are blameless. Do not repent of your welcome to the Dwarf. If our folk had been exiled long and far from Lothlorien, who of the Galadhrim, even Celeborn the Wise, would pass nigh and would not wish to look upon their ancient home, though it had become an abode of dragons? ‘Dark is the water of Kheled-zaram, and cold are the springs of Kibil-nala, and fair were the many-pillared halls of Khazad-daim in Elder Days before the fall of mighty kings beneath the stone.’ She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering and sad, and she smiled. And the Dwarf, hearing the names given in his own ancient tongue, looked up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding. Wonder came into his face, and then he smiled in answer. He rose clumsily and bowed in dwarf-fashion, saying: ‘Yet more fair is the living land of Lorien, and the Lady Galadriel is above all the jewels that lie beneath the earth!’ There was a silence. At length Celeborn spoke again. ‘I did not know that your plight was so evil,’ he said. ‘Let Gimli forget my harsh words: I spoke in the trouble of my heart. I will do what I can to aid you, each according to his wish and need, but especially that one of the little folk who bears the burden.’ “Your quest is known to us,’ said Galadriel, looking at Frodo. ‘But
「現在告訴我們完整的故事吧！」凱勒鵬說。於是亞拉岡敘述了在卡蘭拉斯山隘口以及之後幾天發生的所有事；他談到巴林和他的書、馬薩布爾室的戰鬥、大火、狹橋，以及那「恐懼之物」的降臨。「那似乎是來自上古世界的邪惡，我從未見過，」亞拉岡說。「它既是陰影又是火焰，強大而駭人。」「那是魔苟斯的一頭炎魔，」勒苟拉斯說；「在所有精靈的剋星中，是最致命的，僅次於那位坐在黑暗塔中的主宰。」「我的確在橋上看到了縈繞我們最黑暗夢境的東西，我看到了都靈的剋星。」金靂低聲說，眼中充滿了恐懼。「唉！」凱勒鵬說。「我們長久以來一直擔心卡蘭拉斯山下沉睡著一個恐怖之物。但若是我早知道矮人在摩瑞亞再次驚動了這個邪惡，我就會禁止你們越過北方邊境，你和你所有的同伴。而且，如果可以這麼說的話，甘道夫最後是從智慧墜入了愚行，不必要地走進了摩瑞亞的羅網。」「說那種話的人確實是太魯莽了，」凱蘭崔爾嚴肅地說。「甘道夫生平所做的任何事都有其必要性。跟隨他的人不了解他的心思，也無法報告他的完整意圖。但無論嚮導如何，跟隨者是無辜的。不要為你歡迎矮人而感到後悔。如果我們的族人被長期流放在羅斯洛立安之外，加拉德蘭民中有誰，即便是智者凱勒鵬，會路過家園附近而不希望看一眼他們古老的家，即使那裡已成為惡龍的巢穴？『凱薩督姆之鏡的水是幽暗的，銀脈河的泉水是冰冷的，而在巨石下的君王殞落之前，上古時代凱薩督姆那多柱的大廳曾是何等壯麗。』」她望著金靂，他正坐著，一臉陰鬱悲傷，而她微笑了。那矮人聽見以他自己古老語言說出的名字，抬起頭迎上她的目光；他覺得自己彷彿突然看進了一個敵人的內心，並在那裡看到了愛與理解。他臉上露出驚奇，然後也微笑著回答。他笨拙地起身，以矮人的方式鞠躬，說道：「然而，活生生的羅瑞安之地更為壯麗，而凱蘭崔爾女士超越了地底所有的寶石！」一片寂靜。最後，凱勒鵬再次開口。「我不知道你們的困境如此艱難，」他說。「讓金靂忘記我苛刻的話語吧：我因內心憂慮而說了那些話。我會盡我所能幫助你們，依據每個人的願望和需求，特別是那位身負重擔的小個子。」「我們知道你的任務，」凱蘭崔爾看著佛羅多說。「但是
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL 357 we will not here speak of it more openly. Yet not in vain will it prove, maybe, that you came to this land seeking aid, as Gandalf himself plainly purposed. For the Lord of the Galadhrim is accounted the wisest of the Elves of Middle-earth, and a giver of gifts beyond the power of kings. He has dwelt in the West since the days of dawn, and I have dwelt with him years uncounted; for ere the fall of Nargothrond or Gondolin I passed over the mountains, and together through ages of the world we have fought the long defeat. ‘I it was who first summoned the White Council. And if my designs had not gone amiss, it would have been governed by Gandalf the Grey, and then mayhap things would have gone otherwise. But even now there is hope left. I will not give you counsel, saying do this, or do that. For not in doing or contriving, nor in choosing between this course and another, can I avail; but only in knowing what was and is, and in part also what shall be. But this I will say to you: your Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while all the Company is true.’ And with that word she held them with her eyes, and in silence looked searchingly at each of them in turn. None save Legolas and Aragorn could long endure her glance. Sam quickly blushed and hung his head. At length the Lady Galadriel released them from her eyes, and she smiled. ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled,’ she said. “Tonight you shall sleep in peace.’ Then they sighed and felt suddenly weary, as those who have been questioned long and deeply, though no words had been spoken openly. ‘Go now!’ said Celeborn. ‘You are worn with sorrow and much toil. Even if your Quest did not concern us closely, you should have refuge in this City, until you were healed and refreshed. Now you shall rest, and we will not speak of your further road for a while.’ That night the Company slept upon the ground, much to the satisfaction of the hobbits. The Elves spread for them a pavilion among the trees near the fountain, and in it they laid soft couches; then speaking words of peace with fair Elvish voices they left them. For a little while the travellers talked of their night before in the tree-tops, and of their day’s journey, and of the Lord and Lady; for they had not yet the heart to look further back. ‘What did you blush for, Sam?’ said Pippin. “You soon broke down. Anyone would have thought you had a guilty conscience. I hope it was nothing worse than a wicked plot to steal one of my blankets.’ ‘I never thought no such thing,’ answered Sam, in no mood for jest. ‘If you want to know, I felt as if I hadn’t got nothing on, and I
我們在此就不再公開談論此事了。但你們來到此地尋求援助，或許不會是徒勞無功的，這也正是甘道夫本人的明確意圖。因為加拉德林的領主被公認為中土世界最睿智的精靈，他贈予的禮物非人間君王之力所能及。自黎明時代起他便居住在西方，而我與他共度的歲月已不可計數；因為在納國斯隆德或貢多林陷落之前，我便已翻越山脈，我們一同在世界的更迭中，進行著這場漫長的敗仗。 「是我，率先召集了聖白議會。而若我的計畫沒有出差錯，議會本該由灰袍甘道夫領導，那麼事情的發展或許會截然不同。但即便此刻，希望尚存。我不會給你們建言，說該這麼做或那麼做。因為無論是行動或謀劃，或是在此路與彼路之間做選擇，我都無能為力；我能做的，僅是知曉過去與現在，以及部分未來的樣貌。但我會對你們說：你們的任務正懸於刀鋒之上。只要偏離分毫，便會失敗，使一切毀於一旦。然而，只要遠征隊全員真心不渝，希望便存。」 話音一落，她用目光鎮住他們，沉默地、審視地逐一打量每一個人。除了勒苟拉斯和亞拉岡，沒有人能長久承受她的注視。山姆很快就臉紅了，低下頭去。 終於，凱蘭崔爾夫人將他們從她的目光中釋放，她微笑了。 「別讓你們的心煩憂，」她說。「今晚你們將安然入睡。」 於是他們鬆了口氣，頓時感到疲憊，彷彿經歷了一場漫長而深刻的盤問，儘管沒有任何話被公開說出。 「去吧！」凱勒鵬說。「你們因悲傷與勞頓而疲憊不堪。即便你們的任務與我們沒有密切關聯，你們也應在這座城市得到庇護，直到你們痊愈並恢復精神。現在你們該休息了，我們暫時不會談論你們接下來的路。」 那晚，遠征隊睡在地上，這讓哈比人們非常滿意。精靈們在噴泉旁的樹林間為他們搭起一座帳篷，裡面鋪設了柔軟的睡椅；然後用悅耳的精靈語說了些祥和的話語後便離開了。有一小段時間，旅人們談論著前一晚在樹頂上的經歷、白天的旅程，以及那位領主和夫人；因為他們還沒有勇氣回顧更久遠的事。 「山姆，你剛才為什麼臉紅？」皮聘說。「你很快就撐不住了。任誰都會以為你良心有愧呢。我希望那不比你想偷我一條毯子的邪惡計畫更糟。」 「我從沒想過那種事，」山姆回答，他可沒心情開玩笑。「如果你想知道，我那時感覺好像自己什麼都沒穿，而且我……
358 THE LORD OF THE RINGS didn’t like it. She seemed to be looking inside me and asking me what I would do if she gave me the chance of flying back home to the Shire to a nice little hole with — with a bit of garden of my own.’ ‘That’s funny,’ said Merry. ‘Almost exactly what I felt myself} only, only well, I don’t think Pll say any more,’ he ended lamely. All of them, it seemed, had fared alike: each had felt that he was offered a choice between a shadow full of fear that lay ahead, and something that he greatly desired: clear before his mind it lay, and to get it he had only to turn aside from the road and leave the Quest and the war against Sauron to others. ‘And it seemed to me, too,’ said Gimli, ‘that my choice would remain secret and known only to myself.’ “To me it seemed exceedingly strange,’ said Boromir. ‘Maybe it was only a test, and she thought to read our thoughts for her own good purpose; but almost I should have said that she was tempting us, and offering what she pretended to have the power to give. It need not be said that I refused to listen. The Men of Minas Tirith are true to their word.’ But what he thought that the Lady had offered him Boromir did not tell. And as for Frodo, he would not speak, though Boromir pressed him with questions. ‘She held you long in her gaze, Ring-bearer,’ he said. ‘Yes,’ said Frodo; ‘but whatever came into my mind then I will keep there.’ ‘Well, have a care!’ said Boromir. ‘I do not feel too sure of this Elvish Lady and her purposes.’ ‘Speak no evil of the Lady Galadriel!’ said Aragorn sternly. “You know not what you say. There is in her and in this land no evil, unless a man bring it hither himself. Then let him beware! But tonight I shall sleep without fear for the first time since I left Rivendell. And may I sleep deep, and forget for a while my grief! I am weary in body and in heart.’ He cast himself down upon his couch and fell at once into a long sleep. The others soon did the same, and no sound or dream disturbed their slumber. When they woke they found that the light of day was broad upon the lawn before the pavilion, and the fountain rose and fell glittering in the sun. They remained some days in Lothlorien, so far as they could tell or remember. All the while that they dwelt there the sun shone clear, save for a gentle rain that fell at times, and passed away leaving all things fresh and clean. The air was cool and soft, as if it were early spring, yet they felt about them the deep and thoughtful quiet of winter. It seemed to them that they did little but eat and drink and rest, and walk among the trees; and it was enough.
我不喜歡。她好像看穿了我的內心，問我如果給我一個機會，飛回夏爾一個舒適的小洞穴——有……有那麼一小塊屬於我自己的花園，我會怎麼做。」「真好笑，」梅里說。「我感覺到的幾乎一模一樣；只是，只是……唉，我想我還是別多說了，」他無力地作結。看來，他們所有人的遭遇都差不多：每個人都感覺到，自己面臨一個選擇，一邊是前方充滿恐懼的陰影，另一邊則是自己極度渴望之物：那渴望之物清晰地呈現在腦海中，只要轉身離開這條路，將任務與對抗索倫的戰爭留給他人，便能唾手可得。「而且我也覺得，」金靂說，「我的選擇會是個秘密，只有我自己知道。」「對我來說，這似乎極其古怪，」波羅莫說。「或許這只是一場考驗，她想讀取我們的思想以達成她良善的目的；但我幾乎要說，她是在誘惑我們，提供她假裝有能力給予的東西。不用說，我拒絕聽從。米那斯提力斯的子民是信守承諾的。」但波羅莫沒有說，他認為那位女士給了他什麼。至於佛羅多，儘管波羅莫追問不休，他卻一言不發。「她凝視你許久，持戒人，」他說。「是的，」佛羅多說；「但無論當時我心中出現什麼，我都會將它留在心裡。」「嗯，你可要當心！」波羅莫說。「我對這位精靈女士和她的意圖不太放心。」「不許說凱蘭崔爾女士的壞話！」亞拉岡嚴厲地說。「你根本不知道你在說什麼。她和這片土地上沒有邪惡，除非有人自己帶來。那就讓他好自為之！但今晚我將能安然入睡，這是我離開瑞文戴爾以來的第一次。願我能沉沉睡去，暫時忘卻我的悲傷！我的身心都已疲憊不堪。」他倒在長榻上，立刻陷入了長長的睡眠。其他人很快也跟著睡去，沒有任何聲響或夢境打擾他們的安眠。當他們醒來時，發現日光已灑滿亭前的草坪，噴泉在陽光下起落，閃閃發光。他們在羅斯洛立安待了幾天，就他們所能分辨或記得的而言。他們居住期間，陽光總是明媚，除了偶爾下一場溫柔的雨，雨後萬物清新潔淨。空氣涼爽而柔和，彷彿初春時節，但他們又感覺到周遭有著冬日那深沉而靜謐的寧靜。他們覺得自己似乎除了吃喝、休息、在樹林間散步外，什麼也沒做；而這就已足夠。
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL 359 They had not seen the Lord and Lady again, and they had little speech with the Elven-folk; for few of these knew or would use the Westron tongue. Haldir had bidden them farewell and gone back again to the fences of the North, where great watch was now kept since the tidings of Moria that the Company had brought. Legolas was away much among the Galadhrim, and after the first night he did not sleep with the other companions, though he returned to eat and talk with them. Often he took Gimli with him when he went abroad in the land, and the others wondered at this change. Now as the companions sat or walked together they spoke of Gandalf, and all that each had known and seen of him came clear before their minds. As they were healed of hurt and weariness of body the grief of their loss grew more keen. Often they heard nearby Elvish voices singing, and knew that they were making songs of lamentation for his fall, for they caught his name among the sweet sad words that they could not understand. Mithrandir, Mithrandir sang the Elves, O Pilgrim Grey! For so they loved to call him. But if Legolas was with the Company, he would not interpret the songs for them, saying that he had not the skill, and that for him the grief was still too near, a matter for tears and not yet for song. It was Frodo who first put something of his sorrow into halting words. He was seldom moved to make song or rhyme; even in Rivendell he had listened and had not sung himself, though his memory was stored with many things that others had made before him. But now as he sat beside the fountain in Lorien and heard about him the voices of the Elves, his thought took shape in a song that seemed fair to him; yet when he tried to repeat it to Sam only snatches remained, faded as a handful of withered leaves. When evening in the Shire was grey his footsteps on the Hill were heard; before the dawn he went away on journey long without a word. From Wilderland to Western shore, from northern waste to southern hill, through dragon-lair and hidden door and darkling woods he walked at will. With Dwarf and Hobbit, Elves and Men, with mortal and immortal folk, with bird on bough and beast in den, in their own secret tongues he spoke.
他們沒有再見到領主與夫人，也幾乎沒和精靈們說上話；因為這些精靈中很少有人懂或願意使用西方語。哈迪爾已向他們告別，返回北方的邊界，自從遠征隊帶來摩瑞亞的消息後，那裡的戒備已變得十分森嚴。勒苟拉斯多半時間都與葛拉茲林們待在一起，第一晚過後，他便不再與其他夥伴同寢，不過仍會回來與他們一同吃飯交談。他到林中各處遊歷時，時常帶上金靂，這讓其他人對此轉變感到好奇。如今，當夥伴們或坐或走在一起時，他們總會談起甘道夫，每個人所知所見關於他的一切，都清晰地浮現在腦海中。當他們身體的創傷與疲憊漸漸痊癒，失去他的悲痛卻越發深刻。他們時常聽見附近傳來精靈的歌聲，並知道那是為他的殞落而作的哀歌，因為在那些他們聽不懂的甜美而悲傷的詞句中，他們捕捉到了他的名字。「米斯蘭達，米斯蘭達」，精靈們唱道，「喔，灰袍朝聖者！」他們就是如此喜愛稱呼他。但如果勒苟拉斯與遠征隊在一起，他總不願為他們翻譯歌曲，說自己沒有那樣的技巧，也說對他而言，悲傷仍太切近，只能化為淚水，尚不能譜成歌曲。是佛羅多，第一個用斷斷續續的詞語表達了他些許的悲傷。他很少動念去創作歌曲或詩謠；即便在瑞文戴爾，他也只是聆聽而未曾親自歌唱，儘管他的記憶中儲存了許多前人的作品。但此刻，當他坐在羅斯洛立安的噴泉旁，聽著周遭精靈的歌聲，他的思緒化為一首他自覺優美的歌曲；然而當他試圖向山姆複述時，卻只剩下一些零碎的片段，像一把枯葉般褪色。「當夏爾的黃昏灰濛，他的腳步聲響徹山丘；黎明前他便悄然遠行，踏上漫長旅途，不發一語。從荒野之地到西方海岸，從北方荒原到南方丘陵，穿過惡龍巢穴與隱密之門，在幽暗森林中隨心漫步。與矮人、哈比人、精靈和人類，與凡人及不朽的族群，與枝頭的鳥兒、洞穴的野獸，他用牠們各自的秘密語言交談。」
360 THE LORD OF THE RINGS A deadly sword, a healing hand, a back that bent beneath its load; a trumpet-voice, a burning brand, a weary pilgrim on the road. A lord of wisdom throned he sat, swift in anger, quick to laugh; an old man in a battered hat who leaned upon a thorny staff. He stood upon the bridge alone and Fire and Shadow both defied; his staff was broken on the stone, in Khazad-diim his wisdom died. ‘Why, you'll be beating Mr. Bilbo next!’ said Sam. ‘No, I am afraid not,’ said Frodo. ‘But that is the best I can do yet.’ ‘Well, Mr. Frodo, if you do have another go, I hope you’ll say a word about his fireworks,’ said Sam. ‘Something like this: The finest rockets ever seen: they burst in stars of blue and green, or after thunder golden showers came falling like a rain of flowers. Though that doesn’t do them justice by a long road.’ ‘No, Ill leave that to you, Sam. Or perhaps to Bilbo. But — well, I can’t talk of it any more. I can’t bear to think of bringing the news to him.’ One evening Frodo and Sam were walking together in the cool twilight. Both of them felt restless again. On Frodo suddenly the shadow of parting had fallen: he knew somehow that the time was very near when he must leave Lothlorien. ‘What do you think of Elves now, Sam?’ he said. ‘I asked you the same question once before — it seems a very long while ago; but you have seen more of them since then.’ ‘I have indeed!’ said Sam. ‘And I reckon there’s Elves and Elves. They’re all Elvish enough, but they’re not all the same. Now these folk aren’t wanderers or homeless, and seem a bit nearer to the likes of us: they seem to belong here, more even than Hobbits do in the Shire. Whether they’ve made the land, or the land’s made them, it’s hard to say, if you take my meaning. It’s wonderfully quiet here.
致命的劍，療癒的手，負重而彎的背脊；號角般的嗓音，燃燒的火炬，路上疲憊的朝聖者。他是智慧之王，端坐寶座，怒時迅捷，笑時爽朗；一位戴著破舊帽子的老人，倚著荊棘手杖。他獨自站在橋上，對抗火焰與陰影；他的手杖在石頭上折斷，在凱薩督姆，他的智慧消亡。「哎呀，您下次就要勝過比爾博先生了！」山姆說。「不，恐怕不行，」佛羅多說。「但這是我目前能做到的最好了。」「嗯，佛羅多先生，如果您再試一次，我希望您能提一下他的煙火，」山姆說。「像是這樣：前所未見最棒的火箭：它們爆開成藍綠色的星辰，或在雷鳴後，金色陣雨如花雨般落下。不過這還遠遠不足以形容它們的美妙。」「不，那還是留給你吧，山姆。或許留給比爾博。但是——唉，我沒辦法再談下去了。我無法忍受去想把這消息告訴他的情景。」一天傍晚，佛羅多和山姆在涼爽的暮色中散步。他們倆都再次感到心神不寧。離別的陰影突然籠罩在佛羅多心頭：他不知怎地知道，必須離開羅斯洛立安的時刻已非常接近。「山姆，你現在對精靈有什麼看法？」他說。「我以前問過你同樣的問題——感覺像是很久很久以前的事了；但從那之後你見過更多精靈了。」「確實如此！」山姆說。「而且我認為，精靈跟精靈之間也是有差別的。他們都夠有精靈的樣子，但他們並不都一樣。這些傢伙不是流浪者或無家可歸的人，而且似乎跟我們這種人比較親近：他們似乎屬於這裡，甚至比哈比人屬於夏爾的程度還深。是他們造就了這片土地，還是這片土地造就了他們，很難說，如果你明白我的意思。這裡安靜得不可思議。」
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL 361 Nothing seems to be going on, and nobody seems to want it to. If there’s any magic about, it’s right down deep, where I can’t lay my hands on it, in a manner of speaking.’ “You can see and feel it everywhere,’ said Frodo. ‘Well,’ said Sam, ‘you can’t see nobody working it. No fireworks like poor old Gandalf used to show. I wonder we don’t see nothing of the Lord and Lady in all these days. I fancy now that she could do some wonderful things, if she had a mind. I’d dearly love to see some Elf-magic, Mr. Frodo!’ ‘I wouldn’t,’ said Frodo. ‘I am content. And I don’t miss Gandalf’s fireworks, but his bushy eyebrows, and his quick temper, and his voice.’ ‘You’re right,’ said Sam. ‘And don’t think I’m finding fault. I’ve often wanted to see a bit of magic like what it tells of in old tales, but I’ve never heard of a better land than this. It’s like being at home and on a holiday at the same time, if you understand me. I don’t want to leave. All the same, I’m beginning to feel that if we’ve got to go on, then we’d best get it over. ‘It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish, as my old gaffer used to say. And I don’t reckon that these folk can do much more to help us, magic or no. It’s when we leave this land that we shall miss Gandalf worse, I’m thinking.’ ‘I am afraid that’s only too true, Sam,’ said Frodo. ‘Yet I hope very much that before we leave we shall see the Lady of the Elves again.’ Even as he spoke, they saw, as if she came in answer to their words, the Lady Galadriel approaching. Tall and white and fair she walked beneath the trees. She spoke no word, but beckoned to them. Turning aside, she led them towards the southern slopes of the hill of Caras Galadhon, and passing through a high green hedge they came into an enclosed garden. No trees grew there, and it lay open to the sky. The evening star had risen and was shining with white fire above the western woods. Down a long flight of steps the Lady went into the deep green hollow, through which ran murmuring the silver stream that issued from the fountain on the hill. At the bottom, upon a low pedestal carved like a branching tree, stood a basin of silver, wide and shallow, and beside it stood a silver ewer. With water from the stream Galadriel filled the basin to the brim, and breathed on it, and when the water was still again she spoke. ‘Here is the Mirror of Galadriel,’ she said. ‘I have brought you here so that you may look in it, if you will.’ The air was very still, and the dell was dark, and the Elf-lady beside him was tall and pale. ‘What shall we look for, and what shall we see?’ asked Frodo, filled with awe.
362 THE LORD OF THE RINGS ‘Many things I can command the Mirror to reveal,’ she answered, ‘and to some I can show what they desire to see. But the Mirror will also show things unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things which we wish to behold. What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, I cannot tell. For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But which it is that he sees, even the wisest cannot always tell. Do you wish to look?’ Frodo did not answer. ‘And you?’ she said, turning to Sam. ‘For this is what your folk would call magic, I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel. Did you not say that you wished to see Elf-magic?’ ‘I did,’ said Sam, trembling a little between fear and curiosity. ‘Pll have a peep, Lady, if you’re willing. ‘And I’d not mind a glimpse of what’s going on at home,’ he said in an aside to Frodo. ‘It seems a terrible long time that P’ve been away. But there, like as not I’ll only see the stars, or something that I won’t understand.’ ‘Like as not,’ said the Lady with a gentle laugh. ‘But come, you shall look and see what you may. Do not touch the water!’ Sam climbed up on the foot of the pedestal and leaned over the basin. The water looked hard and dark. Stars were reflected in it. “There’s only stars, as I thought,’ he said. Then he gave a low gasp, for the stars went out. As if a dark veil had been withdrawn, the Mirror grew grey, and then clear. There was sun shining, and the branches of trees were waving and tossing in the wind. But before Sam could make up his mind what it was that he saw, the light faded; and now he thought he saw Frodo with a pale face lying fast asleep under a great dark cliff. Then he seemed to see himself going along a dim passage, and climbing an endless winding stair. It came to him suddenly that he was looking urgently for something, but what it was he did not know. Like a dream the vision shifted and went back, and he saw the trees again. But this time they were not so close, and he could see what was going on: they were not waving in the wind, they were falling, crashing to the ground. ‘Hi!’ cried Sam in an outraged voice. “There’s that Ted Sandyman a-cutting down trees as he shouldn’t. They didn’t ought to be felled: it’s that avenue beyond the Mill that shades the road to Bywater. I wish I could get at Ted, and I’d fell him!’ But now Sam noticed that the Old Mill had vanished, and a large red-brick building was being put up where it had stood. Lots of folk
「嗨！」山姆用極度憤怒的聲音喊道。「是那個泰德·沙迪曼在砍他不該砍的樹。那些樹根本不該被砍倒：那是磨坊外那條為通往傍水鎮的路遮蔭的林蔭大道。我真希望能逮到泰德，把他給『砍』了！」但這時山姆注意到，老磨坊已經消失了，原地正蓋起一棟巨大的紅磚建築。有許多人
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL 363 were busily at work. There was a tall red chimney nearby. Black smoke seemed to cloud the surface of the Mirror. “There’s some devilry at work in the Shire,’ he said. ‘Elrond knew what he was about when he wanted to send Mr. Merry back.’ Then suddenly Sam gave a cry and sprang away. ‘I can’t stay here,’ he said wildly. ‘I must go home. They’ve dug up Bagshot Row, and there’s the poor old Gaffer going down the Hill with his bits of things on a barrow. I must go home!’ “You cannot go home alone,’ said the Lady. ‘You did not wish to go home without your master before you looked in the Mirror, and yet you knew that evil things might well be happening in the Shire. Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds.’ Sam sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. ‘I wish I had never come here, and I don’t want to see no more magic,’ he said and fell silent. After a moment he spoke again thickly, as if struggling with tears. ‘No, Pll go home by the long road with Mr. Frodo, or not at all,’ he said. ‘But I hope I do get back some day. If what I’ve seen turns out true, somebody’s going to catch it hot!’ ‘Do you now wish to look, Frodo?’ said the Lady Galadriel. “You did not wish to see Elf-magic and were content.’ ‘Do you advise me to look?’ asked Frodo. ‘No,’ she said. ‘I do not counsel you one way or the other. I am not a counsellor. You may learn something, and whether what you see be fair or evil, that may be profitable, and yet it may not. Seeing is both good and perilous. Yet I think, Frodo, that you have courage and wisdom enough for the venture, or I would not have brought you here. Do as you will!’ ‘I will look,’ said Frodo, and he climbed on the pedestal and bent over the dark water. At once the Mirror cleared and he saw a twilit land. Mountains loomed dark in the distance against a pale sky. A long grey road wound back out of sight. Far away a figure came slowly down the road, faint and small at first, but growing larger and clearer as it approached. Suddenly Frodo realized that it reminded him of Gandalf. He almost called aloud the wizard’s name, and then he saw that the figure was clothed not in grey but in white, in a white that shone faintly in the dusk; and in its hand there was a white staff. The head was so bowed that he could see no face, and presently the figure turned aside round a bend in the road and went out of the Mirror’s view. Doubt came into Frodo’s mind: was this a vision of
……正在忙碌地工作。附近有一根高高的紅煙囪。黑煙似乎遮蔽了魔鏡的表面。「夏爾有什麼妖術在作祟，」他說。「愛隆當初想把梅里先生送回去，他知道自己在做什麼。」接著山姆突然大叫一聲，跳開了。「我不能待在這裡，」他瘋狂地說。「我必須回家。他們把袋邊巷給挖了，可憐的老爹正推著一車破爛家當走下小丘。我必須回家！」「你不能獨自回家，」女王說。「在看魔鏡之前，你並不想拋下主人回家，儘管你知道夏爾很可能正發生著邪惡的事。記住，魔鏡顯示許多事物，但並非所有都已成真。有些永遠不會發生，除非看見幻象的人為了阻止它們而偏離了自己的道路。魔鏡作為行動的指引是危險的。」山姆坐在地上，雙手抱頭。「我真希望我從沒來過這裡，我再也不想看什麼魔法了，」他說完便沉默了。過了一會兒，他聲音沙啞地再次開口，彷彿在與淚水搏鬥。「不，我要和佛羅多先生一起走漫長的路回家，不然就根本不回去了，」他說。「但我希望有一天我能回去。如果我看到的成真了，有人可要倒大楣了！」「佛羅多，你現在想看了嗎？」凱蘭崔爾女王說。「你之前不想看精靈魔法，並且很滿足。」「您建議我去看嗎？」佛羅多問。「不，」她說。「我不會給你任何一方的建議。我不是一個顧問。你可能會學到些什麼，而無論你看到的是美是惡，那可能是有益的，也可能不是。觀看既是好事，也充滿危險。不過我想，佛羅多，你有足夠的勇氣和智慧來應對這次冒險，否則我也不會帶你來這裡。隨你的意願吧！」「我要看，」佛羅多說，他爬上基座，俯身看著幽暗的水面。魔鏡立刻變得清晰，他看到一片暮色籠罩的大地。遠方，山脈在蒼白的天空下顯得黝黑。一條長長的灰色道路蜿蜒著消失在視線之外。遠處，一個身影緩緩沿路走來，起初模糊而渺小，但隨著靠近而變得越來越大、越來越清晰。佛羅多突然意識到那身影讓他想起了甘道夫。他幾乎要大聲喊出巫師的名字，接著他看到那身影穿的不是灰色，而是白色，那白色在黃昏中微微發光；他手中還拿著一根白色的法杖。他的頭垂得太低，以至於佛羅多看不見他的臉，不一會兒，那身影在一個轉彎處轉身，消失在魔鏡的視野之外。佛羅多心中升起了懷疑：這是一個關於……的幻象嗎
364 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Gandalf on one of his many lonely journeys long ago, or was it Saruman? The vision now changed. Brief and small but very vivid he caught a glimpse of Bilbo walking restlessly about his room. The table was littered with disordered papers; rain was beating on the windows. Then there was a pause, and after it many swift scenes followed that Frodo in some way knew to be parts of a great history in which he had become involved. The mist cleared and he saw a sight which he had never seen before but knew at once: the Sea. Darkness fell. The sea rose and raged in a great storm. Then he saw against the Sun, sinking blood-red into a wrack of clouds, the black outline of a tall ship with torn sails riding up out of the West. Then a wide river flowing through a populous city. Then a white fortress with seven towers. And then again a ship with black sails, but now it was morning again, and the water rippled with light, and a banner bearing the emblem of a white tree shone in the sun. A smoke as of fire and battle arose, and again the sun went down in a burning red that faded into a grey mist; and into the mist a small ship passed away, twinkling with lights. It vanished, and Frodo sighed and prepared to draw away. But suddenly the Mirror went altogether dark, as dark as if a hole had opened in the world of sight, and Frodo looked into emptiness. In the black abyss there appeared a single Eye that slowly grew, until it filled nearly all the Mirror. So terrible was it that Frodo stood rooted, unable to cry out or to withdraw his gaze. The Eye was rimmed with fire, but was itself glazed, yellow as a cat’s, watchful and intent, and the black slit of its pupil opened on a pit, a window into nothing. Then the Eye began to rove, searching this way and that; and Frodo knew with certainty and horror that among the many things that it sought he himself was one. But he also knew that it could not see him — not yet, not unless he willed it. The Ring that hung upon its chain about his neck grew heavy, heavier than a great stone, and his head was dragged downwards. The Mirror seemed to be growing hot and curls of steam were rising from the water. He was slipping forward. ‘Do not touch the water!’ said the Lady Galadriel softly. The vision faded, and Frodo found that he was looking at the cool stars twinkling in the silver basin. He stepped back shaking all over and looked at the Lady. ‘I know what it was that you last saw,’ she said; ‘for that is also in my mind. Do not be afraid! But do not think that only by singing amid the trees, nor even by the slender arrows of elven-bows, is this land of Lothlorien maintained and defended against its Enemy. I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord
是甘道夫很久以前某次孤獨旅程中的身影，還是薩魯曼？景象變了。他瞥見了短暫、微小卻極其生動的一幕：比爾博在他的房間裡焦躁地來回踱步。桌上散亂著雜亂的紙張；雨水敲打著窗戶。接著是一陣停頓，然後許多飛快的場景接踵而至，佛羅多以某種方式知道，這些都是他已身陷其中的宏大歷史的一部分。迷霧散去，他看到了一個他從未見過卻立刻認出的景象：大海。黑暗降臨。大海掀起滔天巨浪，在狂風暴雨中怒吼。接著，他看見一艘高大船隻的黑色輪廓，船帆破碎，乘風破浪自西方而來，背景是沉入一堆破碎亂雲之中、血紅色的太陽。然後是一條流經繁華城市的寬闊河流。然後是一座有七座高塔的白色堡壘。接著又是一艘掛著黑色船帆的船，但此時已是清晨，水面波光粼粼，一面印有白樹徽記的旗幟在陽光下閃耀。戰火硝煙升起，太陽再次在熾熱的紅色中沉落，漸變為灰濛的薄霧；一艘小船駛入霧中，閃爍著點點燈光，漸行漸遠。它消失了，佛羅多嘆了口氣，準備移開視線。但突然間，鏡子變得一片漆黑，彷彿視覺世界中開了一個洞，佛羅多凝視著一片空無。在那黑色深淵中，出現了一隻眼睛，它緩慢地變大，直到幾乎佔滿了整個鏡面。它是如此可怕，以至於佛羅多僵立原地，無法哭喊，也無法移開目光。那眼睛的邊緣是火焰，但眼球本身卻像琉璃一般，呈貓眼般的黃色，警惕而專注，其瞳孔的黑色裂縫通往一個深坑，一扇通往虛無的窗戶。接著，那眼睛開始逡巡，四處搜索；佛羅多確信且驚恐地知道，在它尋找的眾多事物中，他自己也是其中之一。但他也知道，它看不見他——還沒，除非他自己願意。掛在他脖子鍊子上的魔戒變得沉重，比一塊巨石還重，他的頭被向下拖拽。鏡子似乎越來越熱，水面升起縷縷蒸汽。他正向前滑去。「不要碰水！」凱蘭崔爾女士輕聲說。景象消失了，佛羅多發現自己正看著銀盆中閃爍的清冷星光。他退後一步，渾身顫抖，望著那位女士。「我知道你最後看到了什麼，」她說，「因為那也在我的心中。不要害怕！但別以為羅斯洛立安這片土地僅僅是靠著在樹林間歌唱，或甚至靠著精靈弓的細箭，就能維持並抵禦它的敵人。我告訴你，佛羅多，就在我與你說話的此刻，我便能感知到黑暗魔君……」
THE MIRROR OF GALADRIEL 365 and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!’ She lifted up her white arms, and spread out her hands towards the East in a gesture of rejection and denial. Eaérendil, the Evening Star, most beloved of the Elves, shone clear above. So bright was it that the figure of the Elven-lady cast a dim shadow on the ground. Its rays glanced upon a ring about her finger; it glittered like polished gold overlaid with silver light, and a white stone in it twinkled as if the Even-star had come down to rest upon her hand. Frodo gazed at the ring with awe; for suddenly it seemed to him that he understood. ‘Yes,’ she said, divining his thought, ‘it is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond could not do so. But it cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the Eye. Verily it is in the land of Lorien upon the finger of Galadriel that one of the Three remains. This is Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and I am its keeper. ‘He suspects, but he does not know — not yet. Do you not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom? For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the Enemy. Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlorien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten.’ Frodo bent his head. ‘And what do you wish?’ he said at last. “That what should be shall be,’ she answered. “The love of the Elves for their land and their works is deeper than the deeps of the Sea, and their regret is undying and cannot ever wholly be assuaged. Yet they will cast all away rather than submit to Sauron: for they know him now. For the fate of Lothlorien you are not answerable, but only for the doing of your own task. Yet I could wish, were it of any avail, that the One Ring had never been wrought, or had remained for ever lost.’ “You are wise and fearless and fair, Lady Galadriel,’ said Frodo. ‘I will give you the One Ring, if you ask for it. It is too great a matter for me.’ Galadriel laughed with a sudden clear laugh. ‘Wise the Lady Galadriel may be,’ she said, ‘yet here she has met her match in courtesy. Gently are you revenged for my testing of your heart at our first meeting. You begin to see with a keen eye. I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer. For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold! it was brought within my grasp. The evil that was devised long ago works on in many ways, whether Sauron himself stands or falls. Would not that have been a noble deed to set to the credit of his Ring, if I had taken it by force or fear from my guest? ‘And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In
……並洞悉他的心思，或至少是他所有與精靈相關的心思。他不斷摸索，想看透我和我的思想。但那扇門依然緊閉！」她舉起雪白的手臂，向東方張開雙手，做出一個拒絕與否認的手勢。埃蘭迪爾，那顆暮星，精靈們最鍾愛的星辰，在上方清晰地閃耀著。它是如此明亮，以至於那位精靈女士的身影在地上投下了一道淡淡的影子。星光掃過她指上的一枚戒指；它閃閃發光，像是拋光的黃金上覆蓋著一層銀光，戒指上的一顆白石閃爍著，彷彿是暮星降臨停歇在她的手上。佛羅多敬畏地凝視著那枚戒指；因為他突然覺得自己明白了。「是的，」她猜透了他的心思，說道，「此事不被允許談論，愛隆也無法說出口。但這瞞不過持戒者，也瞞不過見過索倫之眼的人。千真萬確，三戒之一就在羅瑞安的土地上，在凱蘭崔爾的手指上。這就是南雅，金剛石之戒，而我正是它的守護者。「他有所懷疑，但他還不知道——尚未。你現在難道還不明白，為何你的到來對我們而言，就像是毀滅命運的足音？因為如果你失敗了，我們就會完全暴露在敵人面前。然而，如果你成功了，我們的力量就會削弱，羅斯洛立安將會凋零，時間的浪潮會將它沖走。我們必須啟程前往西方，否則就會衰落成山谷洞穴裡的鄉野之人，慢慢地遺忘，也被世人遺忘。」佛羅多低下頭。「那您希望如何？」他最後說道。「該發生的，就讓它發生吧，」她回答。「精靈對他們的土地與其造物的愛，比海洋的深淵更深，他們的遺憾永不消逝，也永遠無法被完全撫平。然而，他們寧願拋棄一切，也不願屈服於索倫：因為他們現在認清他了。對於羅斯洛立安的命運，你無須負責，你只需為完成你自己的任務負責。不過，我倒希望，如果這有任何用處的話，至尊魔戒從未被鑄造出來，或者永遠遺失。」「您既睿智又無畏，而且美麗，凱蘭崔爾女士，」佛羅多說。「如果您開口要，我就把至尊魔戒給您。這對我來說是太沉重的負擔了。」凱蘭崔爾突然發出一陣清朗的笑聲。「凱蘭崔爾女士或許睿智，」她說，「但在此，她在禮數上卻遇到了對手。你溫和地報復了我們初次見面時我對你內心的試探。你開始用敏銳的眼光看事情了。我不否認，我的內心曾極度渴望開口索取你所獻之物。許多年來，我一直在思索，如果至尊魔戒落入我手中，我會怎麼做，而你瞧！它就這樣被帶到我觸手可及之處。很久以前被設計出來的邪惡，會以許多方式繼續作祟，無論索倫本人是存是亡。如果我用武力或恐懼從我的客人手中奪走它，那豈不是一件可以歸功於他的魔戒的『豐功偉業』嗎？「而現在，它終於來了。你願意自由地將魔戒給我！在……
366 THE LORD OF THE RINGS place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!’ She lifted up her hand and from the ring that she wore there issued a great light that illumined her alone and left all else dark. She stood before Frodo seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful. Then she let her hand fall, and the light faded, and suddenly she laughed again, and lo! she was shrunken: a slender elf-woman, clad in simple white, whose gentle voice was soft and sad. ‘I pass the test,’ she said. ‘I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.’ They stood for a long while in silence. At length the Lady spoke again. ‘Let us return!’ she said. ‘In the morning you must depart, for now we have chosen, and the tides of fate are flowing.’ ‘I would ask one thing before we go,’ said Frodo, ‘a thing which I often meant to ask Gandalf in Rivendell. I am permitted to wear the One Ring: why cannot J see all the others and know the thoughts of those that wear them?’ “You have not tried,’ she said. ‘Only thrice have you set the Ring upon your finger since you knew what you possessed. Do not try! It would destroy you. Did not Gandalf tell you that the rings give power according to the measure of each possessor? Before you could use that power you would need to become far stronger, and to train your will to the domination of others. Yet even so, as Ring-bearer and as one that has borne it on finger and seen that which is hidden, your sight is grown keener. You have perceived my thought more clearly than many that are accounted wise. You saw the Eye of him that holds the Seven and the Nine. And did you not see and recognize the ring upon my finger? Did you see my ring?’ she asked turning again to Sam. ‘No, Lady,’ he answered. “To tell you the truth, I wondered what you were talking about. I saw a star through your fingers. But if you’ll pardon my speaking out, I think my master was right. I wish you’d take his Ring. You’d put things to rights. You’d stop them digging up the Gaffer and turning him adrift. You’d make some folk pay for their dirty work.’ ‘I would,’ she said. “That is how it would begin. But it would not stop with that, alas! We will not speak more of it. Let us go!’
你將不會迎來一位黑暗魔君，而是立起一位女王。我將不再黑暗，而是美麗又可怖，如晨曦與黑夜！秀麗如滄海、烈日與山巔之雪！駭人如風暴與閃電！比大地根基更為強韌。眾生都將愛我並陷入絕望！」她舉起手，她所戴的戒指發出一道強光，只照亮她一人，使周遭陷入黑暗。她站在佛羅多面前，此刻似乎高得無法測量，美得無法承受，既可怕又令人崇敬。然後她放下手，光芒褪去，她突然又笑了起來，看啊！她縮小了：成了一位身穿樸素白衣、體態纖細的精靈女子，溫柔的聲音輕柔而悲傷。「我通過了考驗，」她說。「我將會衰退，前往西方，並保有凱蘭崔爾的身份。」他們沉默地站了許久。最後，夫人再度開口。「我們回去吧！」她說。「你們明天一早就必須出發，因為我們已經做出了選擇，命運的浪潮正在湧動。」「在我們走之前，我想問一件事，」佛羅多說，「這件事我在瑞文戴爾時就一直想問甘道夫。我被允許佩戴至尊魔戒：為什麼我看不到所有其他的戒指，也無法知道佩戴者的想法？」「你沒有試過，」她說。「自從你知道你擁有的是什麼之後，你只把戒指戴上指頭三次。不要嘗試！那會毀了你。甘道夫沒告訴過你，這些戒指會根據每個持有者的能耐給予力量嗎？在你能夠使用那股力量之前，你需要變得更強大，並訓練你的意志去支配他人。即便如此，作為持戒者，一個曾將它戴上指頭並看見隱藏之物的人，你的視力已經變得更敏銳了。你比許多號稱有智慧的人更能清楚地感知我的思想。你看到了持有那七枚和九枚戒指的祂的魔眼。而且，你難道沒有看見並認出我指上的戒指嗎？你看見我的戒指了嗎？」她轉向山姆問道。「沒有，夫人，」他回答。「說實話，我還在想您在說什麼呢。我只看到一顆星星穿過您的指間。但如果您能原諒我直言，我認為我的主人是對的。我希望您能拿走他的戒指。您會把事情都導回正軌的。您會阻止他們把老爹挖出來，讓他流離失所。您會讓某些人為他們的骯髒勾當付出代價。」「我會的，」她說。「那將會是開端。但，唉！事情不會就此為止。我們別再談這個了。我們走吧！」