“Dry Light”理解和翻译浅析

On Understanding and Translating "Dry Light"

英国作家托马斯·德昆西在他的一篇文学评论中,提到了弗朗西斯·培根笔下的"dry light",该词源于古希腊哲学家赫拉克利特的哲学残篇,培根在其散文和哲学著作中都曾经引用,因含义隐晦而难以理解和翻译。本文从德昆西的文章入手,追溯到培根有关作品的不同译本,以及当代大哲学家对赫拉克利特哲学残篇的解读,最后结合《牛津英语词典》的解释来探求"dry light"一词的理解和翻译。

Being quoted first by Francis Bacon in his essay of ＂Of Friendship＂ and his philosophical work of New Instrument, and later by Thomas De Quincey in one of his literary critics, the phrase of ＂dry light＂ originally comes from the philosophical fragments of the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus and is known for its obscurity. In this paper, the understanding and translation of ＂dry light＂ is pursued by investigating different translation versions of Bacon＇s works, contemporary scholars＇ explanations for Heraclitus＇s philosophy, and the explanation of the phrase in Oxford English Dictionary.