今儿个学了个新词,叫做:Chloroform in print,中文没有合适的等价词,姑且能译做“氯仿的印刷品等价物”或者“纸质氯仿”。
语出《Mark Twain meets the Mormon》,是马克吐温看罢摩门教圣经《The Book of Mormon》之后的评价 "The book is a curiosity to me. It is such a pretentious affair and yet so slow, so sleepy, such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print"。
氯仿者,三氯甲烷也,分子式CHCl3,主要用作有机合成和麻醉剂。嘴毒不过马克吐温,直接称一派宗教的典籍为麻醉剂,实在令人喷饭。
虽然看过摩门教圣经,但《South Park(南方公园)》里面有一集《All About Mormons》对摩门教的起源极尽嘲讽之能事,从约瑟夫史密斯见到林中异象开始,每讲一段就唱一段Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb,像这样:
Joseph Smith was called a prophet
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
He started the Mormon religion
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
到了讲摩门经内容的一段,就更甚了
And that's how the Book of Mormon was written
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb
看来摩门经在文学上的失败是一个共识。不过马克吐温也承认,虽然编故事的水平差了点(毕竟是一个人在短短几年的时间完成的,和基督教圣经历经千年,几十人的修改不能比),摩门教义倒是没有啥值得反对的地方,也正如《All About Mormons》里面的小孩Gary所说:
Look, maybe us Mormons do believe in crazy stories that make absolutely no sense, and maybe Joseph Smith did make it all up, but I have a great life. and a great family, and I have the Book of Mormon to thank for that. The truth is, I don't care if Joseph Smith made it all up, because what the church teaches now is loving your family, being nice and helping people. And even though people in this town might think that's stupid, I still choose to believe in it.