窈窕淑女和心理学上的皮革马利翁效应都源于此神话故事。不爱凡人爱雕塑，典型的完美主义者。

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Pygmalion

皮格马利翁

488'

Many centuries ago, there was a man called Pygmalion who lived in Cyprus. He was the best sculptor of his time and his statues almost lived and breathed because they were so perfectly made. 

几百年以前，塞浦路斯住着一个名叫皮格马利翁的人。他是那个时代最优秀的雕塑家，他的雕像作品惟妙惟肖，宛若有血有肉的真人。


Pygmalion, as a very great artist, had some eccentricities. All girls, he thought, were as annoying as his sister! “Girls? Who needs them?”, he thought. Life, he considered, should be dedicated to art, not women. 

作为一个出色的艺术家，皮格马利翁有一些怪癖。他认为所有的女孩都像他的妹妹一样惹人厌！“女孩子？要她们做什么？”。他觉得应该把生命投入到艺术创作中去，而不是花在女人身上。


If he was going to put anybody or anything on a pedestal, it would be a statue. 

对他来说，唯一值得放在底座上受人尊敬的，唯有雕塑而已。


Many girls in town admired Pygmalion as the great artist he was, and some of them would come to his studio to gaze at his statues and try to attract Pygmalion’s attention and affection. 

镇上很多女孩都爱慕伟大的艺术家皮格马利翁。有些女孩以参观他工作室里的雕像为由，试图引起他的注意，赢得他的爱慕。


But Pygmalion was only interested in his art. 

可是，除了艺术，什么也吸引不到皮格马利翁。


One night though, as the sculptor lay asleep, Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love, appeared to him. 

一天晚上，当雕刻家躺倒睡着的时候，掌管爱与美的女神阿佛洛狄忒现身了。


“Listen now, Pygmalion.”, she said, “You are dishonoring me by refusing to love a woman. There are several nice young girls in the village. You must pick one for your wife! If you don’t, I will choose for you!”

“听着，皮格马利翁，” 她说，“如果你拒绝女人的爱慕，那就是往我脸上抹灰。村子里有几个不错的年轻女孩，你必须选定一个娶进家门！你不选的话，那我就要替你选了！”


Poor Pygmalion. The goddess was ordering him to marry! What a nightmare for him! 

可怜的皮格马利翁，女神这是在命令他成婚！对他来说，这无异是一场噩梦啊！


But Pygmalion thought quickly and said, “Oh, Goddess, please,” he begged, “before I marry let me create my greatest work. Give me time to create a statue of the most beautiful woman ever in your honor! I cannot do this when I am married, for my wife will be jealous of its great beauty.”

但皮格马利翁思维敏捷，他想了一下说，“啊，女神，求你了！”他恳求道，“在我结婚之前，请允许我创作一件我最伟大的作品。给我点时间创作这个有史以来最完美的美女雕像吧，这是表达对您的敬意！这件事我不可能婚后再做，因为我的妻子会因为它的美丽而醋意大发的！”


Aphrodite was intrigued and smiled at his suggestion. “All right then, I shall give you a stay of execution. You may have time to make that statue before you marry. I look forward to seeing it!”, she said. 

这个提议让阿佛洛狄忒满面微笑，兴趣盎然，她说：“好吧，你的事先搁置待议。你可以在你结婚之前完成你的雕像，我很期待着看到它！”


In the morning, Pygmalion went down to the port and spoke to a merchant. He ordered the finest ivory from Africa. He knew that it would take several months to arrive. 

早上，皮格马利翁去了港口，他和一个商人订购了产于非洲的最好的象牙。他心里有数，这象牙怎么也要好几个月才能运到。


When it did come, he started to make small statues, trying them out in different poses. Aphrodite could not understand why Pygmalion was taking so much time but he replied that art cannot be rushed. 

象牙到货后，他开始试着做些不同造型的小雕像。阿佛洛狄忒不明白为什么皮格马利翁如此磨磨蹭蹭，而他只是回答说：艺术品不是赶出来的。


A year went by, and Pygmalion ran out of excuses.

一年过去了，皮格马利翁用尽了所有的借口。


He began to work on the life-sized statue for real. He made her perfect. Her ivory surface was as white as snow. She had more beauty than any real girl could have.

他开始着手真人尺寸雕像的创作。他把她雕得极尽完美。她那象牙外层洁白如雪，她比任何血肉之躯的女孩都明艳动人。

And yet, she was so real, she seemed at first glance to be living. 

而且她如此逼真，乍一看上去，跟活人没有半分区别。


He painted her eyes blue, and you could see daylight in them. You could fancy that the breeze was playing in her wavy hair. Her lips were just slightly parted. She seemed just about to move only she stayed quite still. 

他将她的眼睛画成了蓝色，那眼神中日光微暖。你可以想象微风正撩动着她的卷发。她的双唇自然微张，身体将动未动。


The sculptor was impressed with his own creation. He held her hand. Was she really ivory, and not flesh and blood? She was so real she couldn’t be ivory for sure…

这个作品让艺术家十分得意。他握住她的手。她真的是象牙之身，不是血肉之躯吗？她是如此真实，哪里像是象牙雕塑......


But he knew that she was, after all he had made her. 

可是，他一手创造出了她，岂能不知她只是件雕塑而已？


He kissed her, and it seemed that she returned his kiss. He spoke to her, and it was as if he could hear her beautiful, wise and witty thoughts. 

他吻了她，似乎她也在回吻。他和她说着话，也好像能听到她美好聪颖的想法一样。


He told her many times how lovely she was. When he went out for walks, she was always on his mind, and he searched for presents for her: smooth pebbles, winding shells, wild flowers. 

他曾千万次地向她倾诉衷肠。每次外出散步时，她总是占据了他的脑海。他会为她寻找各种礼物：光滑的鹅卵石，螺旋的贝壳和野生的鲜花。


Pygmalion would make jewelry for her out of silver and amber. He slipped a ring on her finger. He draped her in lovely dresses. He even brought her a little pet bird for company while he was away. 

皮格马利翁用银和琥珀为她制作了各种首饰。他将一枚戒指戴上她的手指，为她穿上华美的裙子。他还带来一只宠物小鸟，伴她左右。


At night, he lay her down on the bed with a soft pillow for her head. 

夜晚来临，他让她放到床上，枕着柔软的枕头。


When he spoke to her, he gave her a name, Galatea. 

当他对她说话时，他会叫她“伽拉忒亚”。


Of course, Aphrodite saw all of this, and she laughed at the sculptor who scorned all women and who yet, had fallen in love with a statue. 

当然，阿佛洛狄忒看到了这一切，她嘲笑那个藐视所有女人的雕塑家竟然爱上了一座雕像。


So when he approached her temple on the hill, Aphrodite came to Pygmalion and asked him, “Pygmalion, have you chosen the girl with whom you want to marry?” 

当他走近建在山上的女神的神殿时，阿佛洛狄忒来到皮格马利翁面前问道：“皮格马利翁，你选好意中人了吗？”


“Oh, Mighty Aphrodite!”, Pygmalion replied, “I have! She is my sculpture. Please bring her to life, for I can love no other.”

“噢，伟大的阿佛洛狄忒！”皮格马利翁回答说，“我已经选好了！她就是我的雕塑。请赐予她生命吧，因为我不会再为别人动心。”


Aphrodite saw that the heart of Pygmalion had changed. She knew that he had done her great honor by falling in love so she made the flame on the altar leap and dance for joy.

阿佛洛狄忒看到皮格马利翁的想法已经改变了；他能心有所属，也是对她的极大敬意。于是她让神坛上的火焰上跳跃舞动，以示喜悦之情。


Pygmalion understood that she had granted his greatest wish, and he rushed home.

皮格马利翁明白了她已经成全了他的愿望，他匆忙赶回家。


He found the statue, standing quite still as she always did. There were tears of disappointment in his eyes. He held her darling hand and stroked her slender arm. 

他看到了雕像，她一如往日那样静静站立着。失望的泪水充满他的眼眶，他握着她那迷人的手，抚摸着她纤纤的手臂。


Gradually, he felt her skin soften, as wax softens in the sunshine. She began to turn from snow white to slightly pink. There was warmth in her body. 

渐渐地，他感觉到她的皮肤像日光暴晒下的蜡一样变得柔软。她的皮肤一点点地从雪白色变成粉嫩色。她的身体也有了温度。


Gradually, she leaned her head back, and her hair fell down loosely over her shoulders. Her eyes moved. Her mouth opened. Galatea, the statue of Pygmalion was alive!

渐渐地，她扭过头来，头发松软地散落到肩头。她目光开始流转，嘴巴张开。皮格马利翁的雕像—伽拉忒亚—活了!

Pygmalion married Galatea. 

皮格马利翁娶了伽拉忒亚。


He soon discovered that she was not actually perfect! No living person is. Only a statue or a figment of the imagination can be perfect. But she was lovely and that was more than enough for Pygmalion and they lived very happily together. 

很快，他发现她并不完美！没有活人是完美的。完美只存在于没有生命的雕像或想象出来的事物。但伽拉忒亚乖巧可人，这对于皮格马利翁来说已经足够了。他们幸福地生活在一起。