海外文化:英美民俗 關於鳥的迷信:顴, 燕子, 天鵝

【英文原文】

Stork An old belief is that the stork is a sign of good luck, because it foretells the birth of a child. Parents often explain the mystery of birth to their young children by saying that they were brought by the stork.

Swallow It is considered a sign of good luck if a swallow builds its nest under the eaves of one's house. Dryden says in his poem, "Swallows are unlucky birds to kill."

Swan Stories say that before a swan dies, it sings beautiful songs. Many great ancient writers, including Plato, Aristotle, Euripides, Cicero, Seneca and others had this false belief. In Othello, Emilia, just before his death, says:
I will play the swan,
And die in music.

In English, the last work produced by an artist, writer, or composer, or the last performance of an actor or singer it often called his or her swan song. For example, Schubert's last and greatest collection of songs is called Swan song, which was written in 1828 before his death.

According to a Greek legend, the soul of Apollo, the god of music and poetry, passed into a swan. So some people say the souls of all good poets passed into swans. For this reason, Shakespeare is called the Swan of Avon; Virgil, the Swan of Mantua; Homer, the Swan of Meander.

【中文譯文】

鸛 據一種古老的迷信，鸛能帶來好運，因爲它預告嬰兒的誕生。好奇的小孩子向父母問及自己的來歷時，父母慣用的回答是，小孩子是鸛帶來的。

燕子 檐下有燕子築巢，對於房主很吉利。英國十七世紀詩人德萊頓在詩中寫道，“殺燕子不吉利。”

天鵝 傳說天鵝死前要引吭同歌，歌聲美妙動人。古希臘羅馬的許多作家，包括柏拉圖、亞里士多德、歐裏庇德斯、西塞羅、塞內加等都對此深入不疑。在莎士比亞的悲劇《奧賽羅》裏，愛米莉亞臨死時說：
我要學那天鵝，
唱着歌兒死去。
在英語裏，作家、美術家和音樂家的絕筆，或演員、歌唱家的最後一次登臺，常被稱爲“天鵝之歌”。如舒伯特去世前不久寫的一部歌集被後人定名爲《天鵝之歌》。

據古希臘傳說，天鵝的身體裏有詩歌與音樂之神阿波羅的靈魂，後有人推而廣之，說所有大詩人的靈魂都附在天鵝身上。所以莎士比亞被譽爲“埃文河上的天鵝”，維吉爾號稱“曼圖亞的天鵝”，荷馬有“密安德的天鵝”之美稱。

【題外話】

英國詩人柯爾律治借用天鵝臨死前高歌一曲的傳說寫了兩行詩，諷刺自命不凡的蹩腳詩人：天鵝死前一曲高歌；某君倘若在高歌前死去，無人會十分難過。