000

Question 1

地獄最黑暗的地方，保留給那些在道德存亡之際袖手旁觀的人。

Answer 1

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.

Question 2

本書中的所有藝術作品、文學、科學與歷史背景皆屬真實。

Answer 2

All artwork, literature, science, and historical references in this novel are real.

Question 3

「聯合會」是在七個國家設有分支機構的民營組織。其名稱因為安全與隱私顧慮予以變更。

Answer 3

“The Consortium” is a private organization with offices in seven countries. Its name has been changed for considerations of security and privacy.

Question 4

地獄是指但丁的史詩《神曲》所描述的地下世界，書中描寫的地獄是個結構嚴謹的領域，住著稱作「亡靈」的個體——困在生死之間的無實體靈魂。

Answer 4

Inferno is the underworld as described in Dante Alighieri’s epic poem The Divine Comedy, which portrays hell as an elaborately structured realm populated by entities known as “shades”—bodiless souls trapped between life and death.

Question 5

我是亡靈。

Answer 5

I am the Shade.

Question 6

我在悲傷的城市中逃竄。

Answer 6

Through the dolent city, I flee.

Question 7

我在永恆的苦難中飛翔。

Answer 7

Through the eternal woe, I take flight.

Question 8

沿著亞諾河兩岸，我氣喘吁吁，一路狂奔……左轉到卡斯特蘭尼路，往北，藏匿在烏菲茲美術館的陰影中。

Answer 8

Along the banks of the river Arno, I scramble, breathless … turning left onto Via dei Castellani, making my way northward, huddling in the shadows of the Uffizi.

Question 9

他們還在追逐我。

Answer 9

And still they pursue me.

Question 10

他們以無情的決心獵捕我，腳步聲越來越響了。

Answer 10

Their footsteps grow louder now as they hunt with relentless determination.

Question 11

多年來他們一直在追我。他們的堅持讓我藏匿到地下……迫使我活在煉獄……像隻地下怪獸在地下掙扎。

Answer 11

For years they have pursued me. Their persistence has kept me underground … forced me to live in purgatory … laboring beneath the earth like a chthonic monster.

Question 12

我是亡靈。

Answer 12

I am the Shade.

Question 13

在這地面上，我舉目北望，但我找不到通往救贖的直路……因為亞平寧山脈遮蔽了黎明第一道曙光。

Answer 13

Here aboveground, I raise my eyes to the north, but I am unable to find a direct path to salvation … for the Apennine Mountains are blotting out the first light of dawn.

Question 14

我經過宮殿背面的城垛高塔與單指針的鐘……蛇行穿過聖翡冷翠廣場上晨間攤販的沙啞叫賣聲與牛肚包、烤橄欖的氣味。經過巴傑羅博物館前，我往西奔向巴迪亞修道院的尖塔，奮力爬上樓梯底端的鐵門。

Answer 14

I pass behind the palazzo with its crenellated tower and one-handed clock … snaking through the early-morning vendors in Piazza di San Firenze with their hoarse voices smelling of lampredotto and roasted olives. Crossing before the Bargello, I cut west toward the spire of the Badia and come up hard against the iron gate at the base of the stairs.

Question 15

在此必須把所有遲疑拋到腦後。

Answer 15

Here all hesitation must be left behind.

Question 16

我轉動門把踏入我知道從此沒有回頭路的通道。我驅策沉重的雙腿爬上狹窄的樓梯……輕踩著磨損得坑坑洞洞，向天上螺旋的大理石梯級。

Answer 16

I turn the handle and step into the passage from which I know there will be no return. I urge my leaden legs up the narrow staircase … spiraling skyward on soft marble treads, pitted and worn.

Question 17

下方傳來人聲回音。在懇求。

Answer 17

The voices echo from below. Beseeching.

Question 18

他們在我背後，頑強不屈，逼近中。

Answer 18

They are behind me, unyielding, closing in.

Question 19

他們不了解即將發生的事……也不懂我為他們做了什麼！

Answer 19

They do not understand what is coming … nor what I have done for them!

Question 20

不知感激的地方！

Answer 20

Ungrateful land!

Question 21

攀爬中，我的幻視突然來襲……火雨中蠕動的淫蕩肢體，飄浮在排泄物中的貪食靈魂，詭詐的惡人凍結在撒旦的冰冷魔掌中。

Answer 21

As I climb, the visions come hard … the lustful bodies writhing in fiery rain, the gluttonous souls floating in excrement, the treacherous villains frozen in Satan’s icy grasp.

Question 22

我爬上最後幾階到了塔頂，蹣跚地拚命走進潮濕的晨間空氣中。我衝向與頭同高的牆，從縫隙往外窺探。下方就是我逃避放逐者、作為庇護的這個幸福城市。

Answer 22

I climb the final stairs and arrive at the top, staggering near dead into the damp morning air. I rush to the head-high wall, peering through the slits. Far below is the blessed city that I have made my sanctuary from those who exiled me.

Question 23

人聲叫嚷，從背後逼近。「別做瘋狂的傻事！」

Answer 23

The voices call out, arriving close behind me. “What you’ve done is madness!”

Question 24

瘋狂孳生瘋狂。

Answer 24

Madness breeds madness.

Question 25

「看在老天分上，」他們大叫，「告訴我們東西藏在哪裡！」

Answer 25

“For the love of God,” they shout, “tell us where you’ve hidden it!”

Question 26

正是看在老天分上，我不能說。

Answer 26

For precisely the love of God, I will not.

Question 27

我被逼到了死角，背倚冰冷的石牆。他們盯著我清澈的綠眼珠，表情陰沉，不再哄騙，而是威脅。「你知道我們有我們的辦法。我們可以逼你說出來。」

Answer 27

I stand now, cornered, my back to the cold stone. They stare deep into my clear green eyes, and their expressions darken, no longer cajoling, but threatening. “You know we have our methods. We can force you to tell us where it is.”

Question 28

因此，我才爬到這麼高的地方。

Answer 28

For that reason, I have climbed halfway to heaven.

Question 29

毫無預警，我轉身向上伸手，手指抓住平臺邊緣，爬上去，用膝蓋撐住，再站起來……在邊緣搖搖晃晃。親愛的維吉爾，指引我穿過虛無。

Answer 29

Without warning, I turn and reach up, curling my fingers onto the high ledge, pulling myself up, scrambling onto my knees, then standing … unsteady at the precipice. Guide me, dear Virgil, across the void.

Question 30

他們不敢置信地衝上來，想抓我的腳，但又害怕干擾我的平衡把我撞掉。他們換成乞求，沉默的急切，但我背對他們。我知道必須怎麼做。

Answer 30

They rush forward in disbelief, wanting to grab at my feet, but fearing they will upset my balance and knock me off. They beg now, in quiet desperation, but I have turned my back. I know what I must do.

Question 31

在我下方，令人目眩的遠處，紅瓦屋頂像鄉野的一片火海延伸開來，照亮了這片偉人們曾經駐足的美好土地……喬托、多納泰羅、布魯涅內斯基、米開朗基羅、波提且利。

Answer 31

Beneath me, dizzyingly far beneath me, the red tile roofs spread out like a sea of fire on the countryside, illuminating the fair land upon which giants once roamed … Giotto, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Botticelli.

Question 32

我用腳尖緩緩移向邊緣。

Answer 32

I inch my toes to the edge.

Question 33

「快下來！」他們大喊，「還不算太遲！」

Answer 33

“Come down!” they shout. “It’s not too late!”

Question 34

唉，一廂情願的傻子！你們看不到未來嗎？捉摸不到我作品的傑出？和必要性？

Answer 34

O, willful ignorants! Do you not see the future? Do you not grasp the splendor of my creation? The necessity?

Question 35

我很樂意作出這個終極犧牲……撲滅你們找到目標之物的最後希望。

Answer 35

I will gladly make this ultimate sacrifice … and with it I will extinguish your final hope of finding what you seek.

Question 36

你們絕對無法及時找到。

Answer 36

You will never locate it in time.

Question 37

下方數百呎，卵石廣場像寧靜的綠洲呼喚著我。我真希望有更多時問……但時問是連我的龐大財富都無法負擔的商品。

Answer 37

Hundreds of feet below, the cobblestone piazza beckons like a tranquil oasis. How I long for more time … but time is the one commodity even my vast fortunes cannot afford.

Question 38

在這最後一刻，我俯瞰廣場，看到令我驚訝的景象。

Answer 38

In these final seconds, I gaze down at the piazza, and I behold a sight that startles me.

Question 39

我看到你的臉。

Answer 39

I see your face.

Question 40

你從陰影中抬頭仰望著我。你眼神哀戚，但我在其中察覺對我成就的崇敬。你了解我別無選擇。為了全人類，我必須保護我的傑作。

Answer 40

You are gazing up at me from the shadows. Your eyes are mournful, and yet in them I sense a veneration for what I have accomplished. You understand I have no choice. For the love of Mankind, I must protect my masterpiece.

Question 41

它目前仍在滋長……等待……在無法反映星辰的潟湖血紅色的水底下醞釀。

Answer 41

It grows even now … waiting … simmering beneath the bloodred waters of the lagoon that reflects no stars.

Question 42

於是，我的目光離開你，注視著地平線。高踞在這個桎梏世界的上空，我作了最後的祈禱。

Answer 42

And so, I lift my eyes from yours and I contemplate the horizon. High above this burdened world, I make my final supplication.

Question 43

敬愛的上帝，願世界記住我的名字不是殘暴的罪人，而是您所知道真正的光榮救星。我祈禱人類會了解我遺留的禮物。

Answer 43

Dearest God, I pray the world remembers my name not as a monstrous sinner, but as the glorious savior you know I truly am. I pray Mankind will understand the gift I leave behind.

Question 44

我的禮物是未來。

Answer 44

My gift is the future.

Question 45

我的禮物是救贖。

Answer 45

My gift is salvation.

Question 46

我的禮物是地獄。

Answer 46

My gift is Inferno.

Question 47

接著，我默念阿門……跨出最後一步，墜入無底深淵。

Answer 47

With that, I whisper my amen … and take my final step, into the abyss.