FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION This tale grew in the telling, until it became a history of the Great War of the Ring and included many glimpses of the yet more ancient history that preceded it. It was begun soon after The Hobbit was written and before its publication in 1937; but I did not go on with this sequel, for I wished first to complete and set in order the mythology and legends of the Elder Days, which had then been taking shape for some years. I desired to do this for my own satisfaction, and I had little hope that other people would be interested in this work, especially since it was primarily linguistic in inspiration and was begun in order to provide the necessary background of ‘history’ for Elvish tongues. When those whose advice and opinion I sought corrected Uittle hope to no hope, I went back to the sequel, encouraged by requests from readers for more information concerning hobbits and their adventures. But the story was drawn irresistibly towards the older world, and became an account, as it were, of its end and passing away before its beginning and middle had been told. The process had begun in the writing of The Hobbit, in which there were already some references to the older matter: Elrond, Gondolin, the High-elves, and the orcs, as well as glimpses that had arisen unbidden of things higher or deeper or darker than its surface: Durin, Moria, Gandalf, the Necromancer, the Ring. The discovery of the significance of these glimpses and of their relation to the ancient histories revealed the Third Age and its culmination in the War of the Ring. Those who had asked for more information about hobbits eventually got it, but they had to wait a long time; for the composition of The Lord of the Rings went on at intervals during the years 1936 to 1949, a period in which I had many duties that I did not neglect, and many other interests as a learner and teacher that often absorbed me. The delay was, of course, also increased by the outbreak of war in 1939, by the end of which year the tale had not yet reached the end of Book One. In spite of the darkness of the next five years I found that the story could not now be wholly abandoned, and I plodded on, mostly by night, till I stood by Balin’s tomb in Moria. There I halted for a long while. It was almost a year later when I went on and so came to Lothlorien and the Great River late in 1941.
第二版前言 這個故事在敘述的過程中不斷滋長，最終成為了一部關於魔戒聖戰的史詩，並包含了許多在其之前更古老歷史的吉光片羽。它始於《哈比人歷險記》寫就之後、一九三七年出版之前；但我並未繼續撰寫這部續集，因為我希望先完成並整理那些已醞釀多年的上古紀元神話與傳說。我渴望這麼做是為了滿足自己，對於其他人會對這份作品感興趣，我本不抱太大希望，特別是因其靈感主要源於語言學，最初是為了給精靈語提供必要的「歷史」背景。當我徵詢意見的那些人將「不抱太大希望」修正為「絕無希望」時，我回頭去寫續集了，讀者們渴望了解更多關於哈比人及其冒險的請求鼓勵了我。但故事卻不可抗拒地被引向了那個更古老的世界，彷彿在它的開端與中段被敘述之前，就先成了一部關於其終結與逝去的紀錄。這個過程在撰寫《哈比人歷險記》時就已開始，書中已有一些對古老事物的提及：愛隆、貢多林、高等精靈與半獸人，以及一些不請自來、關於比其表象更高深或更黑暗事物的驚鴻一瞥：都靈、摩瑞亞、甘道夫、死靈法師、魔戒。當發現這些驚鴻一瞥的重要性，以及它們與古老歷史的關聯時，第三紀元及其在魔戒聖戰中的巔峰便揭示開來。那些要求更多哈比人資訊的讀者最終如願以償，但他們必須久候多時；因為《魔戒》的寫作在一九三六至一九四九年間斷斷續續地進行，這段期間我有許多無法忽略的職責，以及作為一名學者和教師的許多其他興趣，時常令我全心投入。當然，一九三九年戰爭的爆發也加劇了延遲，到該年年底，故事甚至還未寫到第一部的結尾。儘管接下來的五年一片黑暗，我發現這個故事如今已無法完全棄置，我於是艱難地跋涉前行，多半在夜裡，直到我站在摩瑞亞的巴林墓前。我在那裡停頓了很長一段時間。將近一年後，我才繼續前行，並於一九四一年末抵達羅斯洛立安與安都因大河。
FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION xix In the next year I wrote the first drafts of the matter that now stands as Book Three, and the beginnings of chapters I and III of Book Five; and there as the beacons flared in Anorien and Théoden came to Harrowdale I stopped. Foresight had failed and there was no time for thought. It was during 1944 that, leaving the loose ends and perplexities of a war which it was my task to conduct, or at least to report, I forced myself to tackle the journey of Frodo to Mordor. These chapters, eventually to become Book Four, were written and sent out as a serial to my son, Christopher, then in South Africa with the RAF. Nonetheless it took another five years before the tale was brought to its present end; in that time I changed my house, my chair, and my college, and the days though less dark were no less laborious. Then when the ‘end’ had at last been reached the whole story had to be revised, and indeed largely re-written backwards. And it had to be typed, and re-typed: by me; the cost of professional typing by the ten-fingered was beyond my means. The Lord of the Rings has been read by many people since it finally appeared in print; and I should like to say something here with reference to the many opinions or guesses that I have received or have read concerning the motives and meaning of the tale. The prime motive was the desire of a tale-teller to try his hand at a really long story that would hold the attention of readers, amuse them, delight them, and at times maybe excite them or deeply move them. As a guide I had only my own feelings for what is appealing or moving, and for many the guide was inevitably often at fault. Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer. But even from the points of view of many who have enjoyed my story there is much that fails to please. It is perhaps not possible in a long tale to please everybody at all points, nor to displease everybody at the same points; for I find from the letters that I have received that the passages or chapters that are to some a blemish are all by others specially approved. The most critical reader of all, myself, now finds many defects, minor and major, but being fortunately under no obligation either to review the book or to write it again, he will pass over these in silence, except one that has been noted by others: the book is too short. As for any inner meaning or ‘message’, it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical. As the story grew it put down roots (into the past) and threw out unexpected branches: but its main theme was settled from the outset by the inevitable choice of the Ring as the link between it and The Hobbit.
接下來的一年，我寫了如今構成第三部內容的初稿，以及第五部第一章和第三章的開頭；然後，就在亞諾瑞安的烽火燃起、希優頓王駕臨哈ロウ谷之時，我停筆了。預見之力已然失效，也無暇思索。到了1944年，我暫時拋開一場我有責任指揮——或至少是報導——的戰爭所留下的紛亂頭緒與困惑，強迫自己處理佛羅多前往魔多的旅程。這些最終成為第四部的章節，是我以連載的形式寫下並寄給我兒克里斯多福的，他當時正隨皇家空軍駐紮在南非。儘管如此，又過了五年，這個故事才終於有了現在的結局；那段時間裡，我換了房子、換了椅子、也換了學院，日子雖然不再那麼黑暗，但辛勞未減分毫。當「結局」終於達成後，整個故事又必須重新修訂，而且很大程度上是倒著重寫的。而且還得打字，反覆地打：由我自己來；由十指能手提供的專業打字服務，其費用超出了我的經濟能力。《魔戒》自最終付梓以來，已有許多人讀過；在此，我想就我收到或讀到的、關於這個故事的動機與意義的諸多意見或猜測，說幾句話。最主要的動機，是一位故事講述者渴望親手嘗試一部真正長篇的故事，一個能抓住讀者注意力、能娛樂他們、取悅他們，有時或許能讓他們激動或深深感動的故事。我唯一的指引，僅僅是我自己對於何者吸引人、何者感人的感覺，而對許多人來說，這份指引無可避免地時常出錯。有些讀過這本書的人，或至少是評論過它的人，覺得它無聊、荒謬或可鄙；對此我無可抱怨，因為我對他們的作品，或他們顯然偏好的那類寫作，也抱持著類似的看法。但即便從許多喜愛我故事的讀者角度來看，書中仍有許多不盡人意之處。在一個長篇故事裡，或許不可能在所有地方都取悅每個人，也不可能在相同的地方讓每個人都不悅；因為我從收到的信件中發現，那些對某些人而言是瑕疵的段落或章節，卻全然被另一些人特別讚賞。最挑剔的讀者，也就是我自己，如今發現了許多大大小小的缺陷，但幸運的是，我既沒有義務去評論這本書，也沒必要重寫一遍，所以他將對這些缺陷默而不談，除了一個別人也已指出的問題：這本書太短了。至於任何內在含義或「訊息」，在作者的意圖中，它並不存在。它既非寓言，也非針對時事。隨著故事的生長，它（向著過去）扎下了根，並長出了意想不到的枝枒：但它的主題，從一開始就由一個無可避免的選擇所決定，那就是選擇以魔戒作為它與《哈比人》之間的連結。
XxX THE LORD OF THE RINGS The crucial chapter, “The Shadow of the Past’, is one of the oldest parts of the tale. It was written long before the foreshadow of 1939 had yet become a threat of inevitable disaster, and from that point the story would have developed along essentially the same lines, if that disaster had been averted. Its sources are things long before in mind, or in some cases already written, and little or nothing in it was modified by the war that began in 1939 or its sequels. The real war does not resemble the legendary war in its process or its conclusion. If it had inspired or directed the development of the legend, then certainly the Ring would have been seized and used against Sauron; he would not have been annihilated but enslaved, and Barad-dir would not have been destroyed but occupied. Saruman, failing to get possession of the Ring, would in the confusion and treacheries of the time have found in Mordor the missing links in his own researches into Ring-lore, and before long he would have made a Great Ring of his own with which to challenge the self-styled Ruler of Middle-earth. In that conflict both sides would have held hobbits in hatred and contempt: they would not long have survived even as slaves. Other arrangements could be devised according to the tastes or views of those who like allegory or topical reference. But I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse ‘applicability’ with ‘allegory’; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author. An author cannot of course remain wholly unaffected by his experience, but the ways in which a story-germ uses the soil of experience are extremely complex, and attempts to define the process are at best guesses from evidence that is inadequate and ambiguous. It is also false, though naturally attractive, when the lives of an author and critic have overlapped, to suppose that the movements of thought or the events of times common to both were necessarily the most powerful influences. One has indeed personally to come under the shadow of war to feel fully its oppression; but as the years go by it seems now often forgotten that to be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than to be involved in 1939 and the following years. By 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead. Or to take a less grievous matter: it has been supposed by some that “The Scouring of the Shire’ reflects the situation in England at the time when I was finishing my tale. It does not. It is an essential part of the plot, foreseen from the outset, though in the event modified by the character of Saruman as developed in the story without, need I say, any
關鍵的章節〈往事之影〉，是這則故事最古老的部分之一。它早在 1939 年的預兆演變為一場無可避免的災難威脅之前便已寫就，且自那時起，即便那場災難得以避免，故事基本上也會沿著相同的路線發展。其靈感來源是心中醞釀已久、或在某些情況下早已寫下的事物，幾乎沒有任何內容因 1939 年爆發的戰爭及其後續事件而修改。真實的戰爭在其過程或結局上，與傳說中的戰爭並不相似。如果現實戰爭啟發或主導了傳說的發展，那麼至尊魔戒肯定會被奪取並用以對抗索倫；他不會被消滅而是被奴役，而巴拉多也不會被摧毀而是被佔領。薩魯曼在未能取得魔戒的情況下，會在那混亂與背叛的時代裡，於魔多找到他自身魔戒學識研究中缺失的環節，並在不久後打造出一枚屬於自己的偉大魔戒，用以挑戰那位自封的中土大陸統治者。在那樣的衝突中，雙方都會對哈比人抱持憎恨與輕蔑：他們即便作為奴隸也活不了多久。根據那些喜愛諷喻或時事影射者的品味或觀點，還可以設計出其他的安排。但我由衷地厭惡一切形式的諷喻，自從我年歲漸長、變得足夠警覺能察覺其存在以來，便一直如此。我更偏愛歷史，無論是真實的或虛構的，因其對讀者的思想和經驗有著多樣的適用性。我認為許多人將「適用性」與「諷喻」混為一談；但前者在於讀者的自由，後者則在於作者有意的宰制。一位作者當然無法完全不受其經驗影響，但一個故事的胚芽如何利用經驗的土壤，其方式極其複雜，任何試圖定義此過程的嘗試，充其量只是基於不充分且模稜兩可的證據所做的猜測。同樣地，當作者與評論家的人生有所重疊時，便認為兩人共同時代的思想動向或事件必然是最強大的影響，這種想法雖然自然誘人，卻是錯誤的。人確實必須親身籠罩在戰爭的陰影下，才能充分感受其壓迫；但隨著歲月流逝，如今似乎常被遺忘的是，在青春年華遇上 1914 年，其經歷的駭人程度，不亞於捲入 1939 年及其後的歲月。到了 1918 年，我所有的摯友除了一人之外，全都去世了。或者談一件不那麼悲痛的事：有些人曾猜測〈夏爾的平定〉反映了我完成故事時英國的局勢。並非如此。它是情節中一個必要的部份，從一開始就已預見，儘管在事件中因應故事裡薩魯曼性格的發展而有所修改，而無需我說，任何
FOREWORD TO THE SECOND EDITION Xxi allegorical significance or contemporary political reference whatsoever. It has indeed some basis in experience, though slender (for the economic situation was entirely different), and much further back. The country in which I lived in childhood was being shabbily destroyed before I was ten, in days when motor-cars were rare objects (I had never seen one) and men were still building suburban railways. Recently I saw in a paper a picture of the last decrepitude of the once thriving corn-mill beside its pool that long ago seemed to me so important. I never liked the looks of the Young miller, but his father, the Old miller, had a black beard, and he was not named Sandyman. The Lord of the Rings is now issued in a new edition, and the opportunity has been taken of revising it. A number of errors and inconsistencies that still remained in the text have been corrected, and an attempt has been made to provide information on a few points which attentive readers have raised. I have considered all their comments and enquiries, and if some seem to have been passed over that may be because I have failed to keep my notes in order; but many enquiries could only be answered by additional appendices, or indeed by the production of an accessory volume containing much of the material that I did not include in the original edition, in particular more detailed linguistic information. In the meantime this edition offers this Foreword, an addition to the Prologue, some notes, and an index of the names of persons and places. This index is in intention complete in items but not in references, since for the present purpose it has been necessary to reduce its bulk. A complete index, making full use of the material prepared for me by Mrs. N. Smith, belongs rather to the accessory volume.
……寓言意義或任何當代政治指涉。它的確有些經驗基礎，儘管很微薄（因為經濟狀況完全不同），而且要追溯到更久以前。我童年居住的鄉村，在我十歲前就已遭粗鄙地破壞，在那個汽車還是稀罕物（我從未見過一輛）、人們還在建造市郊鐵路的年代。最近我在報紙上看到一張照片，那座曾一度興旺的玉米磨坊，如今只剩下最後的頹敗殘跡，靜立在池塘邊；很久以前，它在我眼裡是如此重要。我從不喜歡年輕磨坊主人的樣子，但他父親，那位老磨坊主人，有著黑鬍子，而且他不叫沙力曼。《魔戒》現已發行新版，我們也藉此機會對其進行修訂。文本中仍存的一些錯誤和不一致之處已獲更正，並試圖就細心讀者提出的一些問題提供資訊。我已考慮了他們所有的評論和詢問，如果有些似乎被忽略了，那可能是我未能將筆記整理好；但許多詢問只能透過額外的附錄，或者說，透過出版一本附屬卷冊來回答，其中包含許多我未納入原版的材料，特別是更詳細的語言學資訊。於此同時，此版本提供了這篇前言、一篇序言的補充、一些註釋，以及一份人名地名索引。此索引旨在收錄完整的條目，但參考資料並不齊全，因為就目前目的而言，有必要縮減其篇幅。一份完整的索引，充分利用 N. 史密斯夫人為我準備的材料，則更適合收錄於那本附屬卷冊中。
PROLOGUE I Concerning Hobbits This book is largely concerned with Hobbits, and from its pages a reader may discover much of their character and a little of their history. Further information will also be found in the selection from the Red Book of Westmarch that has already been published, under the title of The Hobbit. That story was derived from the earlier chapters of the Red Book, composed by Bilbo himself, the first Hobbit to become famous in the world at large, and called by him There and Back Again, since they told of his journey into the East and his return: an adventure which later involved all the Hobbits in the great events of that Age that are here related. Many, however, may wish to know more about this remarkable people from the outset, while some may not possess the earlier book. For such readers a few notes on the more important points are here collected from Hobbit-lore, and the first adventure is briefly recalled. Hobbits are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good tilled earth: a well-ordered and well-farmed countryside was their favourite haunt. They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a hand-loom, though they were skilful with tools. Even in ancient days they were, as a rule, shy of ‘the Big Folk’, as they call us, and now they avoid us with dismay and are becoming hard to find. They are quick of hearing and sharp-eyed, and though they are inclined to be fat and do not hurry unnecessarily, they are nonetheless nimble and deft in their movements. They possessed from the first the art of disappearing swiftly and silently, when large folk whom they do not wish to meet come blundering by; and this art they have developed until to Men it may seem magical. But Hobbits have never, in fact, studied magic of any kind, and their elusiveness is due solely to a professional skill that heredity and practice, and a close friendship with the earth, have rendered inimitable by bigger and clumsier races. For they are a little people, smaller than Dwarves: less stout and stocky, that is, even when they are not actually much shorter. Their height is variable, ranging between two and four feet of our measure.
序章 一、關於哈比人 本書主要講述哈比人的故事，讀者可從書頁中一窺其性格特徵與簡略歷史。更多資訊亦可見於已出版的《西境紅皮書》選錄，書名為《哈比人歷險記》。該故事源於《紅皮書》的早期篇章，由比爾博親筆撰寫，他是首位聞名於世的哈比人。他將其故事命名為《去而復返》，因其講述了他前往東方又歸來的旅程：一場後來將所有哈比人捲入本書所載時代重大事件的冒險。然而，許多讀者或許從一開始就想更了解這個非凡的民族，也有些人可能未曾擁有前一本書。為此，我們在此從哈比人傳說中蒐集了一些要點註解，並簡要回顧了那場初次冒險。哈比人是個行事低調卻非常古老的民族，過去數量比現今多；因為他們熱愛和平、寧靜與沃土：一個井然有序、耕耘良好的鄉村是他們最喜愛的去處。他們過去和現在都不理解也不喜歡比風箱、水車或手搖織布機更複雜的機器，儘管他們善於使用工具。即使在古代，他們通常也對「大個兒」（他們如此稱呼我們）感到害羞，如今更是驚慌地躲避我們，變得難以尋覓。他們聽覺敏銳，眼力極佳，雖然體型容易發胖且非必要不匆忙，但動作依然敏捷靈巧。當他們不想遇見的大塊頭笨拙地路過時，他們從一開始就擁有迅速悄然消失的技藝；這項技藝他們已發展到在人類看來近乎魔法的程度。但事實上，哈比人從未研究過任何魔法，他們的飄忽難尋純粹源於一種專業技能，這種技能經由遺傳、練習以及與大地的緊密情誼，已變得讓更高大笨拙的種族無法模仿。因為他們是個子民，比矮人還小：也就是說，即使身高未必矮多少，卻不那麼粗壯結實。他們的身高不一，介於我們度量衡的兩呎到四呎之間。
2 THE LORD OF THE RINGS They seldom now reach three feet; but they have dwindled, they say, and in ancient days they were taller. According to the Red Book, Bandobras Took (Bullroarer), son of Isumbras the Third, was four foot five and able to ride a horse. He was surpassed in all Hobbit records only by two famous characters of old; but that curious matter is dealt with in this book. As for the Hobbits of the Shire, with whom these tales are concerned, in the days of their peace and prosperity they were a merry folk. They dressed in bright colours, being notably fond of yellow and green; but they seldom wore shoes, since their feet had tough leathery soles and were clad in a thick curling hair, much like the hair of their heads, which was commonly brown. Thus, the only craft little practised among them was shoe-making; but they had long and skilful fingers and could make many other useful and comely things. Their faces were as a rule good-natured rather than beautiful, broad, bright-eyed, red-cheeked, with mouths apt to laughter, and to eating and drinking. And laugh they did, and eat, and drink, often and heartily, being fond of simple jests at all times, and of six meals a day (when they could get them). They were hospitable and delighted in parties, and in presents, which they gave away freely and eagerly accepted. It is plain indeed that in spite of later estrangement Hobbits are relatives of ours: far nearer to us than Elves, or even than Dwarves. Of old they spoke the languages of Men, after their own fashion, and liked and disliked much the same things as Men did. But what exactly our relationship is can no longer be discovered. The beginning of Hobbits lies far back in the Elder Days that are now lost and forgotten. Only the Elves still preserve any records of that vanished time, and their traditions are concerned almost entirely with their own history, in which Men appear seldom and Hobbits are not mentioned at all. Yet it is clear that Hobbits had, in fact, lived quietly in Middle-earth for many long years before other folk became even aware of them. And the world being after all full of strange creatures beyond count, these little people seemed of very little importance. But in the days of Bilbo, and of Frodo his heir, they suddenly became, by no wish of their own, both important and renowned, and troubled the counsels of the Wise and the Great. Those days, the Third Age of Middle-earth, are now long past, and the shape of all lands has been changed; but the regions in which Hobbits then lived were doubtless the same as those in which they still linger: the North-West of the Old World, east of the Sea. Of their original home the Hobbits in Bilbo’s time preserved no knowledge. A love of learning (other than genealogical lore) was far from general
他們現在的身高很少達到三英尺；但他們說，他們的身材已經萎縮了，在古代他們要高一些。根據《紅皮書》記載，第三代伊森布拉斯之子，班多布拉斯・圖克（外號「吼牛」），身高四英尺五英寸，能夠騎馬。在所有哈比人的紀錄中，只有古代兩位著名人物超過他；不過那件奇特的事，本書後文自有交代。至於這些故事所關切的夏爾哈比人，在他們和平與繁榮的歲月裡，是個快樂的民族。他們喜歡穿著鮮豔的衣服，尤其偏愛黃色和綠色；但他們極少穿鞋，因為他們的腳底有著堅韌如皮革的厚底，腳上覆蓋著濃密的捲毛，很像他們頭上的毛髮，通常是棕色的。因此，他們唯一不怎麼從事的手藝就是製鞋；但他們有著修長靈巧的手指，能製作許多其他實用又好看的東西。他們的臉龐通常是和藹可親而非美麗，寬闊，眼睛明亮，臉頰紅潤，嘴巴天生就愛笑、愛吃、愛喝。而他們確實常常開懷大笑、大吃大喝，而且總是樂在其中，他們喜歡隨時開些簡單的玩笑，也喜歡一天吃六餐（如果吃得到的話）。他們熱情好客，喜愛派對和禮物，他們慷慨地贈送禮物，也熱切地接受禮物。很明顯，儘管後來有所疏遠，哈比人確實是我們的親戚：比精靈，甚至比矮人，都與我們更為親近。在古代，他們以自己的方式說著人類的語言，喜好與厭惡也與人類大致相同。但我們之間確切的關係究竟為何，如今已無從考證。哈比人的起源可以追溯到遠古的「太初時代」，那段歲月如今已失落被遺忘。只有精靈還保存著關於那段消逝時光的些許紀錄，而他們的傳統幾乎完全只關乎自身的歷史，其中人類鮮少出現，哈比人則完全未被提及。然而，很明顯的是，在其他民族意識到他們的存在之前，哈比人其實早已在中土世界安靜地生活了許多年。畢竟，這個世界充滿了數不清的奇特生物，這些小人物似乎無足輕重。但在比爾博和他的繼承人佛羅多的時代，他們卻突然在非自願的情況下，變得既重要又聞名，甚至驚動了智者與偉人的議會。那些日子，也就是中土世界的第三紀元，如今早已遠去，所有土地的形貌都已改變；但哈比人當時居住的區域，無疑與他們至今仍流連的地方相同：舊世界的西北部，大海的東邊。對於他們最初的家園，比爾博時代的哈比人沒有保存任何知識。除了宗譜學之外，對學問的熱愛在他們之中遠非普遍。
PROLOGUE 3 among them, but there remained still a few in the older families who studied their own books, and even gathered reports of old times and distant lands from Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Their own records began only after the settlement of the Shire, and their most ancient legends hardly looked further back than their Wandering Days. It is clear, nonetheless, from these legends, and from the evidence of their peculiar words and customs, that like many other folk Hobbits had in the distant past moved westward. Their earliest tales seem to glimpse a time when they dwelt in the upper vales of Anduin, between the eaves of Greenwood the Great and the Misty Mountains. Why they later undertook the hard and perilous crossing of the mountains into Eriador is no longer certain. Their own accounts speak of the multiplying of Men in the land, and of a shadow that fell on the forest, so that it became darkened and its new name was Mirkwood. Before the crossing of the mountains the Hobbits had already become divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides. The Harfoots were browner of skin, smaller, and shorter, and they were beardless and bootless; their hands and feet were neat and nimble; and they preferred highlands and hillsides. The Stoors were broader, heavier in build; their feet and hands were larger; and they preferred flat lands and riversides. The Fallohides were fairer of skin and also of hair, and they were taller and slimmer than the others; they were lovers of trees and of woodlands. The Harfoots had much to do with Dwarves in ancient times, and long lived in the foothills of the mountains. They moved westward early, and roamed over Eriador as far as Weathertop while the others were still in Wilderland. They were the most normal and representative variety of Hobbit, and far the most numerous. They were the most inclined to settle in one place, and longest preserved their ancestral habit of living in tunnels and holes. The Stoors lingered long by the banks of the Great River Anduin, and were less shy of Men. They came west after the Harfoots and followed the course of the Loudwater southwards; and there many of them long dwelt between Tharbad and the borders of Dunland before they moved north again. The Fallohides, the least numerous, were a northerly branch. They were more friendly with Elves than the other Hobbits were, and had more skill in language and song than in handicrafts; and of old they preferred hunting to tilling. They crossed the mountains north of Rivendell and came down the River Hoarwell. In Eriador they soon mingled with the other kinds that had preceded them, but being somewhat bolder and more adventurous, they were often found as leaders or chieftains among clans of Harfoots or Stoors. Even in Bilbo’s time the strong Fallohidish strain could still be noted among
在他們之中，仍有少數古老家族的成員會研讀自己的書冊，甚至從精靈、矮人和人類那裡收集關於舊日時光與遠方土地的記述。他們自己的紀錄僅始於夏爾定居之後，而他們最古老的傳說也幾乎不曾追溯到比「漫遊時代」更早的時期。然而，從這些傳說，以及他們奇特的詞彙和習俗中可以清楚看出，哈比人就如同許多其他民族一樣，在遙遠的過去曾向西遷徙。他們最早的故事似乎窺見了一段時光，那時他們居住在安都因河上游的河谷，介於巨綠森林的邊緣與迷霧山脈之間。至於他們後來為何要進行艱險的翻山越嶺、進入伊利雅德，原因已不可考。他們自己的說法提到了人類在那片土地上日益增多，以及一道陰影落在森林之上，使其變得幽暗，並有了新名字「幽暗密林」。在越過山脈之前，哈比人已經分化為三個略有不同的品系：哈爾夫族、斯圖爾族和法絡海族。哈爾夫族膚色較褐，體型更小更矮，不長鬍鬚也不穿靴子；他們的手腳小巧靈活；偏愛高地和山坡。斯圖爾族體型更寬、更壯碩；手腳較大；偏愛平地和河畔。法絡海族皮膚和頭髮的顏色都較淺，比其他兩族更高更苗條；他們熱愛樹木和林地。哈爾夫族在遠古時代與矮人往來密切，長期居住在山麓丘陵地帶。他們很早就向西遷移，漫遊至伊利雅德，遠達風雲頂，而當時其他族群仍在荒野地。他們是哈比人中最普遍、最具代表性的一支，數量也遠為最多。他們最傾向於在一個地方定居，並最長久地保存了居住在地道和洞穴中的祖傳習慣。斯圖爾族則長期逗留於安都因大河的岸邊，且較不畏懼人類。他們在哈爾夫族之後向西遷移，沿著喧水河南下；在再次北遷之前，他們有許多人長期居住在薩爾巴與登蘭德邊界之間的地方。法絡海族是數量最少的一支，屬於北方的分支。他們比其他哈比人更親近精靈，在語言和歌謠上的天賦勝過手工藝；在古代，他們寧願狩獵而不願耕作。他們在瑞文戴爾以北越過山脈，沿著灰水河南下。在伊利雅德，他們很快就與比他們先到的其他族群融合，但由於他們更大膽、更富冒險精神，常被推舉為哈爾夫族或斯圖爾族部落的領袖或酋長。即使到了比爾博的時代，那股強烈的法絡海族血統特徵仍然能在……之中被注意到。
4 THE LORD OF THE RINGS the greater families, such as the Tooks and the Masters of Buckland. In the westlands of Eriador, between the Misty Mountains and the Mountains of Lune, the Hobbits found both Men and Elves. Indeed, a remnant still dwelt there of the Dunedain, the kings of Men that came over the Sea out of Westernesse; but they were dwindling fast and the lands of their North Kingdom were falling far and wide into waste. There was room and to spare for incomers, and ere long the Hobbits began to settle in ordered communities. Most of their earlier settlements had long disappeared and been forgotten in Bilbo’s time; but one of the first to become important still endured, though reduced in size; this was at Bree and in the Chetwood that lay round about, some forty miles east of the Shire. It was in these early days, doubtless, that the Hobbits learned their letters and began to write after the manner of the Duinedain, who had in their turn long before learned the art from the Elves. And in those days also they forgot whatever languages they had used before, and spoke ever after the Common Speech, the Westron as it was named, that was current through all the lands of the kings from Arnor to Gondor, and about all the coasts of the Sea from Belfalas to Lune. Yet they kept a few words of their own, as well as their own names of months and days, and a great store of personal names out of the past. About this time legend among the Hobbits first becomes history with a reckoning of years. For it was in the one thousand six hundred and first year of the Third Age that the Fallohide brothers, Marcho and Blanco, set out from Bree; and having obtained permission from the high king at Fornost,* they crossed the brown river Baranduin with a great following of Hobbits. They passed over the Bridge of Stonebows, that had been built in the days of the power of the North Kingdom, and they took all the land beyond to dwell in, between the river and the Far Downs. All that was demanded of them was that they should keep the Great Bridge in repair, and all other bridges and roads, speed the king’s messengers, and acknowledge his lordship. Thus began the Shire-reckoning, for the year of the crossing of the Brandywine (as the Hobbits turned the name) became Year One of the Shire, and all later dates were reckoned from it.t At once the western Hobbits fell in love with their new land, and they remained there, and soon passed once more out of the history of Men and of Elves. While there was still a king they were in name his subjects, * As the records of Gondor relate this was Argeleb II, the twentieth of the Northern line, which came to an end with Arvedui three hundred years later. + Thus, the years of the Third Age in the reckoning of the Elves and the Dunedain may be found by adding 1600 to the dates of Shire-reckoning.
PROLOGUE 5 but they were, in fact, ruled by their own chieftains and meddled not at all with events in the world outside. To the last battle at Fornost with the Witch-lord of Angmar they sent some bowmen to the aid of the king, or so they maintained, though no tales of Men record it. But in that war the North Kingdom ended; and then the Hobbits took the land for their own, and they chose from their own chiefs a Thain to hold the authority of the king that was gone. There for a thousand years they were little troubled by wars, and they prospered and multiplied after the Dark Plague (S.R. 37) until the disaster of the Long Winter and the famine that followed it. Many thousands then perished, but the Days of Dearth (1158-60) were at the time of this tale long past and the Hobbits had again become accustomed to plenty. The land was rich and kindly, and though it had long been deserted when they entered it, it had before been well tilled, and there the king had once had many farms, cornlands, vineyards, and woods. Forty leagues it stretched from the Far Downs to the Brandywine Bridge, and fifty from the northern moors to the marshes in the south. The Hobbits named it the Shire, as the region of the authority of their Thain, and a district of well-ordered business; and there in that pleasant corner of the world they plied their well-ordered business of living, and they heeded less and less the world outside where dark things moved, until they came to think that peace and plenty were the rule in Middle-earth and the right of all sensible folk. They forgot or ignored what little they had ever known of the Guardians, and of the labours of those that made possible the long peace of the Shire. They were, in fact, sheltered, but they had ceased to remember it. At no time had Hobbits of any kind been warlike, and they had never fought among themselves. In olden days they had, of course, been often obliged to fight to maintain themselves in a hard world; but in Bilbo’s time that was very ancient history. The last battle, before this story opens, and indeed the only one that had ever been fought within the borders of the Shire, was beyond living memory: the Battle of Greenfields, S.R. 1147, in which Bandobras Took routed an invasion of Orcs. Even the weathers had grown milder, and the wolves that had once come ravening out of the North in bitter white winters were now only a grandfather’s tale. So, though there was still some store of weapons in the Shire, these were used mostly as trophies, hanging above hearths or on walls, or gathered into the museum at Michel Delving. The Mathom-house it was called; for anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a mathom. Their dwellings were apt to become rather crowded with mathoms, and many of the presents that passed from hand to hand were of that sort.
但事實上，他們由自己的首領統治，完全不干涉外界的事務。據他們所說，在佛諾斯特對抗安格馬巫王的最後一戰中，他們曾派遣一些弓箭手去援助國王，儘管人類的傳說中並無此記載。但在那場戰爭中，北方王國滅亡了；於是哈比人便將這片土地據為己有，並從自己的首領中選出一位「領主」(Thain)，以執掌逝去國王的權威。在那裡，他們享有一千年的太平歲月，鮮少受到戰亂的困擾。在黑暗瘟疫（夏爾曆37年）之後，他們繁榮興盛，人口增長，直到漫長冬季的災難及其後的饑荒來臨。當時有數千人喪生，但到了本故事發生的時代，那段匱乏歲月（1158-60年）早已遠去，哈比人也再度習慣了富足的生活。這片土地富饒而宜人，雖然他們進入時已被荒廢許久，但從前曾是精耕細作之地，國王也曾在此擁有許多農場、玉米田、葡萄園和林地。它從遠崗延伸至白蘭地橋，長達四十里格；從北方的荒原到南方的沼澤，則有五十里格之遙。哈比人將其命名為「夏爾」，意指其為領主權威所及的區域，也是一個井然有序的行政區；在世界那個宜人的角落裡，他們專心致志地經營著自己井然有序的生活，越來越不關心外面世界那些黑暗事物的動靜，直到他們認為和平與富足是中土世界的常態，也是所有明理之人的權利。他們忘記或忽略了他們對守護者們所知甚少的一切，也忘卻了那些為了實現夏爾長久和平而辛勤付出的人們。事實上，他們是受到庇護的，但他們自己卻早已忘記了這一點。哈比人從來都不是好戰的民族，也從未發生過內鬥。當然，在古時候，他們為了在艱困的世界中求生存，時常被迫戰鬥；但在比爾博的時代，那已是非常古老的歷史了。在本故事開始前，夏爾境內發生的最後一場戰役，也是唯一的一場，早已超出人們的記憶：綠地之戰，發生於夏爾曆1147年，班多布拉斯・圖克在那場戰役中擊潰了半獸人的入侵。就連天氣也變得溫和了，那些曾經在嚴酷的白色冬季從北方前來劫掠的惡狼，如今也只成了爺爺輩口中的故事。因此，雖然夏爾仍儲備了一些武器，但它們大多被當作戰利品，掛在壁爐上方或牆壁上，或是被收集到大洞鎮的博物館裡。那裡被稱為「舊物舍」(Mathom-house)；因為任何哈比人暫時用不到、卻又捨不得扔掉的東西，他們都稱之為「舊物」(mathom)。他們的住所很容易被這些舊物塞得滿滿的，而許多轉手相送的禮物也屬於此類。
6 THE LORD OF THE RINGS Nonetheless, ease and peace had left this people still curiously tough. They were, if it came to it, difficult to daunt or to kill; and they were, perhaps, so unwearyingly fond of good things not least because they could, when put to it, do without them, and could survive rough handling by grief, foe, or weather in a way that astonished those who did not know them well and looked no further than their bellies and their well-fed faces. Though slow to quarrel, and for sport killing nothing that lived, they were doughty at bay, and at need could still handle arms. They shot well with the bow, for they were keen-eyed and sure at the mark. Not only with bows and arrows. If any Hobbit stooped for a stone, it was well to get quickly under cover, as all trespassing beasts knew very well. All Hobbits had originally lived in holes in the ground, or so they believed, and in such dwellings they still felt most at home; but in the course of time they had been obliged to adopt other forms of abode. Actually in the Shire in Bilbo’s days it was, as a rule, only the richest and the poorest Hobbits that maintained the old custom. The poorest went on living in burrows of the most primitive kind, mere holes indeed, with only one window or none; while the wellto-do still constructed more luxurious versions of the simple diggings of old. But suitable sites for these large and ramifying tunnels (or smials as they called them) were not everywhere to be found; and in the flats and the low-lying districts the Hobbits, as they multiplied, began to build above ground. Indeed, even in the hilly regions and the older villages, such as Hobbiton or Tuckborough, or in the chief township of the Shire, Michel Delving on the White Downs, there were now many houses of wood, brick, or stone. These were specially favoured by millers, smiths, ropers, and cartwrights, and others of that sort; for even when they had holes to live in, Hobbits had long been accustomed to build sheds and workshops. The habit of building farmhouses and barns was said to have begun among the inhabitants of the Marish down by the Brandywine. The Hobbits of that quarter, the Eastfarthing, were rather large and heavylegged, and they wore dwarf-boots in muddy weather. But they were well known to be Stoors in a large part of their blood, as indeed was shown by the down that many grew on their chins. No Harfoot or Fallohide had any trace of a beard. Indeed, the folk of the Marish, and of Buckland, east of the River, which they afterwards occupied, came for the most part later into the Shire up from south-away; and they still had many peculiar names and strange words not found elsewhere in the Shire. It is probable that the craft of building, as many other crafts beside, was derived from the Dunedain. But the Hobbits may have learned it direct from the Elves, the teachers of Men in their youth. For the
《魔戒》6 儘管如此，安逸與和平卻讓這個民族依然保有奇特的堅韌。說到底，他們很難被嚇倒或殺死；而且，他們之所以對美好事物如此孜孜不倦地喜愛，或許正是因為他們在必要時能夠捨棄這些事物，並能承受來自悲傷、敵人或惡劣天氣的嚴酷考驗，其堅韌程度令那些不甚了解他們、只看到他們圓滾滾的肚子和豐腴臉龐的人驚訝不已。雖然他們不輕易與人爭吵，也從不為消遣而殺害任何活物，但一旦被逼到絕境，他們便會變得十分英勇，並在需要時仍能拿起武器。他們擅長射箭，因為他們目光敏銳，射擊準確。不僅僅是弓箭。如果任何哈比人彎腰撿石頭，最好趕快找地方躲起來，這一點所有擅闖的野獸都非常清楚。 所有哈比人最初都住在地洞裡，或者他們是這麼相信的，在這樣的住所裡他們仍然感到最自在；但隨著時間的推移，他們被迫採用了其他形式的居所。事實上，在比爾博的時代，夏爾通常只有最富有和最貧窮的哈比人還維持著這個古老的習俗。最窮的人繼續住在最原始的地洞裡，那確實只是些洞穴，頂多只有一扇窗戶，甚至沒有；而富裕的人則繼續建造比古代簡單挖掘更豪華的版本。但適合這些大型且分岔的隧道（他們稱之為「smials」）的地點並非隨處可見；在平地和低窪地區，隨著哈比人人口增長，他們開始在地面上建造房屋。事實上，即使在丘陵地區和像哈比屯或塔克鎮這樣的古老村莊，或在夏爾的主要市鎮，位於白崗丘的麥克戴爾文，現在也有許多木造、磚造或石造的房子。這些房子特別受到磨坊主、鐵匠、繩匠、車匠以及其他類似行業的人的青睞；因為即使他們有地洞可住，哈比人也早已習慣建造棚屋和作坊。 據說，建造農舍和穀倉的習慣始於白蘭地河下游沼澤地的居民。那個地區（東區）的哈比人體型較大，腿部粗壯，在泥濘的天氣裡會穿著矮人靴。但眾所周知，他們血統中大部分是史圖爾人，這點從許多人下巴上長出的絨毛就可以看出來。哈伏特人或法絡海人則完全沒有鬍鬚的痕跡。事實上，沼澤地和後來他們佔據的河流以東的布克蘭的居民，大多是後來從南方來到夏爾的；他們仍然有許多在夏爾其他地方找不到的奇特名字和奇怪詞彙。 建築工藝，以及許多其他工藝，很可能源自於登丹人。但哈比人也可能是直接從精靈那裡學來的，精靈是人類年輕時的導師。因為...
PROLOGUE 7 Elves of the High Kindred had not yet forsaken Middle-earth, and they dwelt still at that time at the Grey Havens away to the west, and in other places within reach of the Shire. Three Elf-towers of immemorial age were still to be seen on the Tower Hills beyond the western marches. They shone far off in the moonlight. The tallest was furthest away, standing alone upon a green mound. The Hobbits of the Westfarthing said that one could see the Sea from the top of that tower; but no Hobbit had ever been known to climb it. Indeed, few Hobbits had ever seen or sailed upon the Sea, and fewer still had ever returned to report it. Most Hobbits regarded even rivers and small boats with deep misgivings, and not many of them could swim. And as the days of the Shire lengthened they spoke less and less with the Elves, and grew afraid of them, and distrustful of those that had dealings with them; and the Sea became a word of fear among them, and a token of death, and they turned their faces away from the hills in the west. The craft of building may have come from Elves or Men, but the Hobbits used it in their own fashion. They did not go in for towers. Their houses were usually long, low, and comfortable. The oldest kind were, indeed, no more than built imitations of smials, thatched with dry grass or straw, or roofed with turves, and having walls somewhat bulged. That stage, however, belonged to the early days of the Shire, and hobbit-building had long since been altered, improved by devices, learned from Dwarves, or discovered by themselves. A preference for round windows, and even round doors, was the chief remaining peculiarity of hobbit-architecture. The houses and the holes of Shire-hobbits were often large, and inhabited by large families. (Bilbo and Frodo Baggins were as bachelors very exceptional, as they were also in many other ways, such as their friendship with the Elves.) Sometimes, as in the case of the Tooks of Great Smials, or the Brandybucks of Brandy Hall, many generations of relatives lived in (comparative) peace together in one ancestral and many-tunnelled mansion. All Hobbits were, in any case, clannish and reckoned up their relationships with great care. They drew long and elaborate family-trees with innumerable branches. In dealing with Hobbits it is important to remember who is related to whom, and in what degree. It would be impossible in this book to set out a family-tree that included even the more important members of the more important families at the time which these tales tell of. The genealogical trees at the end of the Red Book of Westmarch are a small book in themselves, and all but Hobbits would find them exceedingly dull. Hobbits delighted in such things, if they were accurate: they liked to have books filled with things that they already knew, set out fair and square with no contradictions.
高等精靈尚未完全遺棄中土大陸，那時他們仍居住在遙遠西方的灰色港灣，以及夏爾附近的其他地方。在西境邊界之外的塔丘上，仍可見到三座年代久遠到無人記憶的精靈塔。它們在月光下遙遙生輝。最高的那座塔最遠，孤獨地矗立在一座綠色土丘上。西區的哈比人說，從那座塔頂可以看見大海；但從未聽說有任何哈比人爬上去過。事實上，很少有哈比人見過或航行於大海上，而平安歸來述說其經歷的更是寥寥無幾。大多數哈比人對河流和小船都抱持著深深的疑懼，他們之中會游泳的也不多。隨著夏爾的日子越過越久，他們與精靈的交流越來越少，並開始害怕他們，也不信任那些與精靈有往來的人；「大海」在他們之間成了一個帶有恐懼的詞，是死亡的象徵，於是他們轉過臉去，不再望向西邊的山丘。建築的工藝或許來自精靈或人類，但哈比人以自己的方式使用它。他們不熱衷於建造高塔。他們的房子通常長而低矮，且十分舒適。最古老的類型，確實不過是模仿史麥爾（地洞）而建，用乾草或稻草做茅草屋頂，或用草皮覆蓋，牆壁則有些向外凸出。然而，那個階段屬於夏爾的早期，哈比人的建築早已改變，透過向矮人學習或自行發現的技巧而有所改良。偏愛圓窗，甚至圓門，是哈比人建築僅存的主要特色。夏爾哈比人的房屋和洞府通常很大，住著龐大的家族。（比爾博和佛羅多·巴金斯身為單身漢，在這方面非常例外，正如他們在許多其他方面也很特殊，例如他們與精靈的友誼。）有時候，像是大史麥爾的圖克家，或白蘭地廳的白蘭地鹿家，好幾代親戚會（相對）和平地一同住在一棟隧道眾多的祖傳大宅裡。無論如何，所有哈比人都極富宗族觀念，會非常仔細地計算他們的親屬關係。他們繪製冗長而精細的家譜，上面有無數的分支。與哈比人打交道時，記住誰與誰有親戚關係，以及關係的親疏遠近，至關重要。在這本書中，要列出一份家譜，即便只包含這些故事發生時最重要家族中較重要的成員，也是不可能的。西境紅皮書末尾的家譜本身就是一本小書，除了哈比人之外，所有人都會覺得它們極其乏味。哈比人卻樂在其中，只要內容準確無誤：他們喜歡書中滿是他們已經知道的事情，寫得清清楚楚、公正無誤，沒有任何矛盾之處。
8 THE LORD OF THE RINGS 2 Concerning Pipe-weed There is another astonishing thing about Hobbits of old that must be mentioned, an astonishing habit: they imbibed or inhaled, through pipes of clay or wood, the smoke of the burning leaves of a herb, which they called pipe-weed or leaf, a variety probably of Nicotiana. A great deal of mystery surrounds the origin of this peculiar custom, or ‘art’ as the Hobbits preferred to call it. All that could be discovered about it in antiquity was put together by Meriadoc Brandybuck (later Master of Buckland), and since he and the tobacco of the Southfarthing play a part in the history that follows, his remarks in the introduction to his Herblore of the Shire may be quoted. ‘This,’ he says, ‘is the one art that we can certainly claim to be our own invention. When Hobbits first began to smoke is not known, all the legends and family histories take it for granted; for ages folk in the Shire smoked various herbs, some fouler, some sweeter. But all accounts agree that Tobold Hornblower of Longbottom in the Southfarthing first grew the true pipe-weed in his gardens in the days of Isengrim the Second, about the year 1070 of Shire-reckoning. The best home-grown still comes from that district, especially the varieties now known as Longbottom Leaf, Old Toby, and Southern Star. ‘How Old Toby came by the plant is not recorded, for to his dying day he would not tell. He knew much about herbs, but he was no traveller. It is said that in his youth he went often to Bree, though he certainly never went further from the Shire than that. It is thus quite possible that he learned of this plant in Bree, where now, at any rate, it grows well on the south slopes of the hill. The Bree-hobbits claim to have been the first actual smokers of the pipe-weed. They claim, of course, to have done everything before the people of the Shire, whom they refer to as “‘colonists’’; but in this case their claim is, I think, likely to be true. And certainly it was from Bree that the art of smoking the genuine weed spread in the recent centuries among Dwarves and such other folk, Rangers, Wizards, or wanderers, as still passed to and fro through that ancient road-meeting. The home and centre of the art is thus to be found in the old inn of Bree, The Prancing Pony, that has been kept by the family of Butterbur from time beyond record. ‘All the same, observations that I have made on my own many journeys south have convinced me that the weed itself is not native to our parts of the world, but came northward from the lower Anduin, whither it was, I suspect, originally brought over Sea by the Men of Westernesse. It grows abundantly in Gondor, and there is richer and larger than in the North, where it is never found wild, and flourishes
《魔戒》8 2 關於菸斗草 還有一件關於古代哈比人令人驚奇的事必須一提，那是一個驚人的習慣：他們會透過黏土或木製的菸斗，吸食 (imbibed or inhaled) 一種他們稱為「菸斗草」或「葉子」的草藥燃燒後的煙霧，這種植物很可能是菸草屬 (Nicotiana) 的一種。這個奇特習俗，或哈比人偏好稱之為「技藝」的起源，充滿了許多謎團。古代所能發現的相關資料，都由梅里雅達克·烈酒鹿（後來的布克蘭主人）彙整而成。由於他和南區的菸草在接下來的歷史中扮演了重要角色，他所著的《夏爾藥草誌》序言中的言論或可引述。「這，」他說，「是我們唯一可以肯定宣稱是我們自己發明的技藝。哈比人何時開始吸菸已不可考，所有的傳說和家族史都將其視為理所當然；夏爾的居民長久以來都吸食各種草藥，有些氣味難聞，有些則較為香甜。但所有記載都同意，南區長谷的托伯德·吹號，在伊森格林二世時期，約夏爾紀年1070年，首次在他的花園裡種植出真正的菸斗草。最好的本地菸草仍來自該地區，特別是現在被稱為『長谷葉』、『老托比』和『南方之星』的品種。」「老托比如何得到這種植物則未有記載，因為他至死 (to his dying day) 都不肯透露。他對草藥所知甚詳，卻不是個旅行家。據說他年輕時常去躍馬，但肯定從未離開夏爾比那更遠。因此，他很有可能是在躍馬得知這種植物的，無論如何，如今它在躍馬山丘的南坡生長得很好。躍馬的哈比人聲稱他們是第一個真正吸食菸斗草的人。當然，他們聲稱所有事情都比夏爾的人做得早，並稱夏爾人為『殖民者』；但在這件事上，我認為他們的說法很可能是真的。而且，吸食真正菸草的技藝，確實是在近幾世紀從躍馬傳播開來，傳給了矮人以及那些仍在那條古老道路交會處來來往往的遊俠、巫師或浪遊者等民族。因此，這門技藝的發源地與中心，就在躍馬的老牌客棧『躍馬客棧』，這家客棧由奶油伯家族經營，其歷史已久遠到無可追溯 (from time beyond record)。」「儘管如此，我在多次南向旅程中的觀察使我確信，這種草藥本身並非我們這片土地的原生植物，而是從安都因河下游向北傳來的，我懷疑它最初是由西方皇族 (Men of Westernesse) 渡海帶來的。它在剛鐸生長茂盛，而且比在北方更豐饒、更大，在北方從未見過野生品種，只有在……」
PROLOGUE 9 only in warm sheltered places like Longbottom. The Men of Gondor call it sweet galenas, and esteem it only for the fragrance of its flowers. From that land it must have been carried up the Greenway during the long centuries between the coming of Elendil and our own days. But even the Dunedain of Gondor allow us this credit: Hobbits first put it into pipes. Not even the Wizards first thought of that before we did. Though one Wizard that I knew took up the art long ago, and became as skilful in it as in all other things that he put his mind to.’ 3 Of the Ordering of the Shire The Shire was divided into four quarters, the Farthings already referred to, North, South, East, and West; and these again each into a number of folklands, which still bore the names of some of the old leading families, although by the time of this history these names were no longer found only in their proper folklands. Nearly all Tooks still lived in the Tookland, but that was not true of many other families, such as the Bagginses or the Boffins. Outside the Farthings were the East and West Marches: the Buckland (p. 98); and the Westmarch added to the Shire in S.R. 1452. The Shire at this time had hardly any ‘government’. Families for the most part managed their own affairs. Growing food and eating it occupied most of their time. In other matters they were, as a rule, generous and not greedy, but contented and moderate, so that estates, farms, workshops, and small trades tended to remain unchanged for generations. There remained, of course, the ancient tradition concerning the high king at Fornost, or Norbury as they called it, away north of the Shire. But there had been no king for nearly a thousand years, and even the ruins of Kings’ Norbury were covered with grass. Yet the Hobbits still said of wild folk and wicked things (such as trolls) that they had not heard of the king. For they attributed to the king of old all their essential laws; and usually they kept the laws of free will, because they were The Rules (as they said), both ancient and just. It is true that the Took family had long been pre-eminent; for the office of Thain had passed to them (from the Oldbucks) some centuries before, and the chief Took had borne that title ever since. The Thain was the master of the Shire-moot, and captain of the Shire-muster and the Hobbitry-in-arms; but as muster and moot were only held in times of emergency, which no longer occurred, the Thainship had ceased to be more than a nominal dignity. The Took family was still, indeed, accorded a special respect, for it remained
只有在像長谷這樣溫暖而有遮蔽的地方才有。剛鐸的人稱之為甜蓋勒那，並且只珍視其花朵的芬芳。它想必是在伊蘭迪爾降臨與我們這個時代之間的漫長世紀裡，沿著綠大道被帶上來的。但即使是剛鐸的登丹人也給予我們這份功勞：是哈比人最先把這種植物放進煙斗裡的。在我們之前，連巫師都沒先想到這一點。雖然我認識的一位巫師很久以前就學會了這門技藝，並且變得精通，就像他用心去做的所有其他事情一樣。』 3. 夏爾的組織結構 夏爾被劃分為四個區域，即前面已提及的四分之一區，分為北、南、東、西四區；而這些區域又各自劃分為許多鄉地，這些鄉地仍然沿用一些古老領導家族的姓氏，儘管在這段歷史時期，這些姓氏已不僅僅出現在他們自家的鄉地了。幾乎所有的圖克家仍然住在圖克地，但對於許多其他家族，如巴金斯家或博芬家，情況就並非如此了。在四分之一區之外，還有東、西馬克地區：布克蘭（見98頁）；以及在夏爾曆1452年併入夏爾的西境。 此時的夏爾幾乎沒有任何「政府」。各家族大多自行處理事務。種植食物和享用食物佔據了他們大部分的時間。在其他事情上，他們通常為人慷慨而不貪婪，知足而有節制，因此莊園、農場、作坊和小生意往往能世代不變。 當然，關於那位在夏爾北方遙遠的佛諾斯特（或他們稱之為諾堡）的至尊國王的古老傳統依然存在。但近一千年來都沒有國王，甚至連國王諾堡的廢墟都已長滿青草。然而，哈比人談到野蠻人或邪惡之物（如食人妖）時，仍然會說他們「沒聽說過國王」。因為他們將所有基本律法都歸功於古代的國王；而且他們通常是出於自由意志遵守這些律法，因為它們是「規則」（他們這麼說），既古老又公正。 誠然，圖克家族長期以來一直地位顯赫；因為夏爾長的職位在幾個世紀前已從老雄鹿家傳給了他們，從那時起，圖克家的首領便一直擁有這個頭銜。夏爾長是夏爾議會的主持人，也是夏爾民兵和武裝哈比人部隊的隊長；但由於民兵召集和議會只在緊急情況下舉行，而這種情況已不再發生，夏爾長的職位已不再是個僅具名義上尊榮的職位。不過，圖克家族確實仍然受到特別的尊敬，因為它依然
Io THE LORD OF THE RINGS both numerous and exceedingly wealthy, and was liable to produce in every generation strong characters of peculiar habits and even adventurous temperament. The latter qualities, however, were now rather tolerated (in the rich) than generally approved. The custom endured, nonetheless, of referring to the head of the family as The Took, and of adding to his name, if required, a number: such as Isengrim the Second, for instance. The only real official in the Shire at this date was the Mayor of Michel Delving (or of the Shire), who was elected every seven years at the Free Fair on the White Downs at the Lithe, that is at Midsummer. As mayor almost his only duty was to preside at banquets, given on the Shire-holidays, which occurred at frequent intervals. But the offices of Postmaster and First Shirriff were attached to the mayoralty, so that he managed both the Messenger Service and the Watch. These were the only Shire-services, and the Messengers were the most numerous, and much the busier of the two. By no means all Hobbits were lettered, but those who were wrote constantly to all their friends (and a selection of their relations) who lived further off than an afternoon’s walk. The Shirriffs was the name that the Hobbits gave to their police, or the nearest equivalent that they possessed. They had, of course, no uniforms (such things being quite unknown), only a feather in their caps; and they were in practice rather haywards than policemen, more concerned with the strayings of beasts than of people. There were in all the Shire only twelve of them, three in each Farthing, for Inside Work. A rather larger body, varying at need, was employed to ‘beat the bounds’, and to see that Outsiders of any kind, great or small, did not make themselves a nuisance. At the time when this story begins the Bounders, as they were called, had been greatly increased. There were many reports and complaints of strange persons and creatures prowling about the borders, or over them: the first sign that all was not quite as it should be, and always had been except in tales and legends of long ago. Few heeded the sign, and not even Bilbo yet had any notion of what it portended. Sixty years had passed since he set out on his memorable journey, and he was old even for Hobbits, who reached a hundred as often as not; but much evidently still remained of the considerable wealth that he had brought back. How much or how little he revealed to no one, not even to Frodo his favourite ‘nephew’. And he still kept secret the ring that he had found.
圖克家族人口眾多且極其富有，而且每一代都傾向於產生性格強烈、習慣奇特，甚至富有冒險精神的人物。然而，後者這些特質（在有錢人身上）與其說被普遍認可，不如說是勉強被容忍。儘管如此，稱呼一家之主為「圖克家長」的習俗依然存在，並在需要時在其名字後加上數字，例如：伊森格林二世。在當時，夏爾唯一真正的官員是麥克迪爾文鎮的鎮長（或稱夏爾鎮長），他每七年在夏至節（即仲夏）於白丘舉行的自由市集上選出。作為鎮長，他幾乎唯一的職責就是在頻繁舉行的夏爾節日宴會上擔任主席。但郵政總長和第一警長的職位都附屬於鎮長辦公室，因此他同時管理信使服務和警備隊。這兩者是夏爾僅有的公共服務，而信使的數量最多，也比警備隊忙碌得多。並非所有哈比人都識字，但那些識字的人會不斷地寫信給所有住在步行一下午也到不了的遠方的朋友（以及一部分親戚）。「警長」是哈比人對他們警察的稱呼，或者說他們所擁有的最接近警察的職位。他們當然沒有制服（這種東西完全沒聽過），只在帽子上插根羽毛；實際上，他們與其說是警察，不如說是農田看守員，更關心走失的牲畜而非走失的人。整個夏爾總共只有十二名警長，每個區有三名，負責內部事務。另有一支規模較大、人數視需求而定的隊伍，負責「巡查邊界」，確保任何外來者，無論大小，都不會造成麻煩。在這個故事開始的時候，那些被稱為「邊界巡邏員」的人員數量已大幅增加。有許多報告和投訴指出，有奇怪的人和生物在邊界附近或越過邊界潛行徘徊：這是第一個跡象，顯示一切不盡如常，不像除了古老傳說故事之外一直以來的樣子。很少有人注意到這個跡象，就連比爾博也還不知道它預示著什麼。自他踏上那趟難忘的旅程以來，六十年過去了，即便對哈比人來說他也算老了，而哈比人活到一百歲是常有的事；但他帶回來的可觀財富顯然還剩下很多。但究竟是多是少，他對誰也沒透露，甚至對他最喜愛的「姪子」佛羅多也一樣。他也依然保守著他找到那枚戒指的秘密。