海外文化:英美民俗 神奇的数字:9

【英文原文】

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

【中文译文】

数字9 据古希腊罗马神话，缪斯有九位，水怪许德拉有九颗头，冥河有九条，伏尔甘被朱庇特踢出天界，落了九天九夜才在勒姆诺斯岛着陆。基督教神学家将众天使为为九等。迷信的人说见到九只喜鹊不吉利。英语里常用“九”表示“多”。裁缝在多身子骨单薄，人们就说“九个裁缝一条汉”。猫命大，摔下来总是四脚着地，人们就说猫有九命。新鲜事，如果只能轰动一时，人们称之为“九日奇观”。