影片對白  Look, we have to ask you something. Do you know who's opened the Chamber of Secrets?

文化面面觀

Invisibility——隱身之謎

在這片段中，哈利和羅恩借助哈利父親留下的一件隱身斗篷在晚上偷跑到海格的小屋，也是借助斗篷的力量才躲過了其后而來的魔法部長和巫師馬爾福。隱身衣實在是個好東西，如果我也能有一件就好了。事實上，關于隱身的傳說在神話和童話中都不少。下面我們就來了解一下隱身之謎。

Invisibility in Folklore

A constant motif in folktales throughout the world is the power of becoming invisible, giving the possessor of this power special advantages in overhearing an enemy's plans, winning battles with powerful adversaries, or merely stealing valuable objects unperceived. Usually invisibility was conferred by an object or garment, such as a magic ring, stone, cap, shoes, or cloak. Such magic possessions were sometimes associated with other powers-the shoes that carry the wearer great distances in a brief moment, the ring that could be rubbed to summon up a genie, the cap that conferred wisdom, or vision of distant or future events.

In Greek legend, the hero Perseus, who slew the Gorgon, had magic shoes that carried him through the air, in addition to a cap of invisibility. In the ancient Sanskrit story book Kathasaritsagara (Ocean of Story) of Somadeva, the Brahmin Gunarsarman becomes invisible by putting a magic ointment on his eyes, and is thus able to penetrate the camp of King Vikramaskti.

The cloak of invisibility is known in folktales throughout Europe, and even in the Apache Indian legends of America, where Child-of-the-Water gets a cloak from Lizard, enabling him to get near to the monster Buffalo without being seen. In Arthurian legend, the king himself had a cloak of invisibility.

The Motif-Index of Folk-Literature (1932-36) compiled by Stith Thompson lists 28 magic objects that confer invisibility, including a stone, flower, serpent's crown, heart of an unborn child, belt, cloak, saint's cowl, ring, helmet, sword, and wand. For example, it was long believed that fern seed conferred invisibility, but the seed itself was supposed to be invisible, so anyone who could find this seed and carry it would also become invisible. The fern was said to bloom at midnight on Midsummer Eve, and to seed soon after. The seeker of the seed had to avoid touching it, or letting it fall on the ground. A white cloth had to be placed under the plant for the invisible seed to fall on. It could then be wrapped up and carried around, rendering the owner invisible. Shakespeare, Ben Johnson, Beaumont, and Fletcher all have references in their plays to fern seed conferring invisibility, and this belief continued in folklore centuries later.

Another persistent folk belief was the power of the "Hand of Glory." This was the dried or pickled hand of a dead criminal hanged on the gallows. Robbers were supposed to be invisible if they carried this gruesome hand with a candle made from the fat of a hanged man. Sometimes the fingers of the hand were used as candles, and a finger lit for each occupant of the house to be robbed, ensuring that they would remain motionless.

Invisibility in Sorcery and Witchcraft

A Manuscript (No. 2350) titled "Le Secret des Secrets" in the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal in France, contains a chapter devoted to the secret of invisibility. It consists of a spell in Latin, which opens with over thirty mystical names, preferably to be written in bat's blood, and continues in a mixture of Christian and pagan tradition with an invocation translated as: "O thou, Pontation! master of invisibility, with thy masters [here follow names of the masters], I conjure thee, Pontation, and these same masters of invisibility, by Him Who makes the universe tremble, by Heaven and Earth, Cherubim and Seraphim, and by Him Who made the Virgin conceive and Who is God and Man, that I may accomplish this experiment in perfectibility, in such sort that at any hour I desire I may be invisible; again I conjure thee and thy ministers also, by Stabuches and Mechaerom, Esey, Enitgiga, Bellis, and Semonei, that thou come straightway with thy said ministers and that thou perform this work as you all know how, and that this experiment may make me invisible in such wise that no one may see me. Amen."

According to other grimoires, invisibility may be achieved by simply carrying the heart of a bat, a black hen, or a frog under the right arm.

Another method is to construct and wear the Ring of Gygès, King of Lydie. It should be made of fixed mercury, set with a little stone found in a lapwing's nest, and around the stone the words "Jésus passant par le milieu d'eux s'en allat" are inscribed. A variant instruction for the Ring of Gygès is contained in the grimoire Le Véritable Dragon Rouge... plus La Poule Noire (1521), where the inscription is in magical symbols.

Scientific Aspects of Invisibility

Aside from the fantasies and wish-fulfillment stories of folklore, or the interference with normal visual perception by means of hypnosis, the possibility of scientific techniques of invisibility has long been a matter for speculation. There are many accounts of seeing apparitions, but no adequate scientific explanation of how invisible forms can become visible, then again vanish. Where do they come from and where do they go? Ingenious theories have been advanced of intra-atomic space or interlocking universes, but outside the realm of science fiction literature there is no evidence for extra-dimensional worlds.

Spiritualists claim that phantom forms of the dead may manifest at séances using a subtle substance exuded by the medium in a vapor or cloud-like flow, becoming more solid and eventually taking on the form of a deceased person and having the appearance of a living individual as in the case of "Katie King." This substance is known as ectoplasm, is said to be sensitive to light, and to recoil suddenly upon the medium if handled roughly. The process of becoming visible then vanishing again is known as materialization and dematerialization. Few today would argue for the existence of ectoplasm, or materializations. Since such claimed phenomena usually occur in subdued light or darkness, there is opportunity for fraud, and many cases have been detected. There remain a few reported cases of apparitions appearing in daylight.

Any scientific method of producing invisibility in human beings would involve apparently insuperable difficulties of interference with the light refracting characteristics of various types of human tissue and organs, and to be fully effective, the individual would need to be transparent as well as invisible. Unless the invisibility process also applied to inanimate material such as clothing, the invisible being would be obliged to travel naked, a problem vividly portrayed in H. G. Wells' science fiction novella The Invisible Man (1897).

考考你

用今日所學將下面的句子譯成英語。

1．過去，爸爸總是有辦法讓人高興起來，但現在他好像不那么在行了。
2．我想我們很有可能親眼目睹女王到達白金漢宮。

《哈利·波特與密室》（精講之二）考考你 參考答案

1. 他干秘書這行只是玩玩。
He is merely playing at being a secretary.

2. 瑪麗慫恿她丈夫去偷錢。
Mary egged her husband on to steal the money.

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(英語點津Annabel編輯)