The Story of Icarus and Daedalus

The labyrinth from which Theseus escaped by means of the clew of Ariadne was built by Daedalus, a most skilful artificer. It was an edifice with numberless winding passages and turnings opening into one another, and seeming to have neither beginning nor end, like the river Maeander, which returns on itself, and flows now onward, now backward, in its course to the sea. Daedalus built the labyrinth for King Minos, but afterwards lost the favor of the king, and was shut up in a tower.

忒修斯凭借阿里阿德涅的线团逃出的那座迷宫，是由代达罗斯这位技艺高超的工匠建造的。那是一座有着无数曲折通道的建筑，通道彼此相通，仿佛没有起点也没有终点，就像迈安德河一样，蜿蜒回环，时而向前，时而倒流，最终才流入大海。代达罗斯为米诺斯王建造了这座迷宫，但后来却失去了国王的宠信，被关进了一座高塔之中。

He contrived to make his escape from his prison, but could not leave the island by sea, as the king kept strict watch on all the vessels, and permitted none to sail without being carefully searched.

他设法从囚禁之地逃了出来，却无法从海路离开那座岛屿，因为国王严密监视着所有的船只，任何船只不经彻底搜查都不准出海。

"Minos may control the land and sea," said Daedalus, "but not the regions of the air. I will try that way." So he set to work to fabricate wings for himself and his young son Icarus. He wrought feathers together, beginning with the smallest and adding larger, so as to form an increasing surface. The larger ones he secured with thread and the smaller with wax, and gave the whole a gentle curvature like the wings of a bird.

“米诺斯或许能掌控陆地和海洋，”代达罗斯说道，“却无法掌控天空。我要从那条路走。”于是他动手为自己和年幼的儿子伊卡洛斯制作翅膀。他把羽毛一根根编结起来，从最小的开始，逐渐加入较大的羽毛，使表面不断扩展。较大的羽毛用线固定，较小的则用蜡粘牢，整体做出一道柔和的弧度，宛如鸟翼一般。

Icarus, the boy, stood and looked on, sometimes running to gather up the feathers which the wind had blown away, and then handling the wax and working it over with his fingers, by his play impeding his father in his labors.

男孩伊卡洛斯站在一旁观看，时而跑去捡拾被风吹散的羽毛，时而拿起蜡块用手指揉弄，他这般玩耍反倒妨碍了父亲的工作。

When at last the work was done, the artist, waving his wings, found himself buoyed upward, and hung suspended, poising himself on the beaten air. He next equipped his son in the same manner, and taught him how to fly, as a bird tempts her young ones from the lofty nest into the air. When all was prepared for flight he said, "Icarus, my son, I charge you to keep at a moderate height, for if you fly too low the damp will clog your wings, and if too high the heat will melt them. Keep near me and you will be safe."

终于，翅膀做成了，这位工匠扇动双翼，发现自己被托举而起，悬浮在空中，凭借拍打的气流保持着平衡。接着他为儿子也装上了同样的翅膀，教他如何飞翔，就像鸟儿引诱雏鸟从高高的巢穴飞向空中一样。一切准备就绪后，他说道：“伊卡洛斯，我的儿，我叮嘱你要保持适中的高度，因为飞得太低，潮气会沾湿你的翅膀；飞得太高，热气又会将蜡融化。紧跟着我，你就安全了。”

While he gave him these instructions and fitted the wings to his shoulders, the face of the father was wet with tears, and his hands trembled. He kissed the boy, not knowing that it was for the last time. Then rising on his wings, he flew off, encouraging him to follow, and looked back from his own flight to see how his son managed his wings. As they flew the ploughman stopped his work to gaze, and the shepherd leaned on his staff and watched them, astonished at the sight, and thinking they were gods who could thus cleave the air.

他一边这样叮嘱，一边把翅膀系在儿子肩上，父亲的脸上满是泪水，双手也在颤抖。他亲吻了儿子，却不知这竟是最后一次。随后他振翅飞起，鼓励儿子跟上，并不时从自己的飞行中回头张望，看儿子如何驾驭双翼。他们飞过之时，耕田的农夫停下手中的活计凝望，牧羊人也倚着牧杖驻足观看，惊讶于眼前的景象，以为那是能够如此划破长空的神明。

They passed Samos and Delos on the left and Lebynthos on the right, when the boy, exulting in his career, began to leave the guidance of his companion and soar upward as if to reach heaven. The nearness of the blazing sun softened the wax which held the feathers together, and they came off. He fluttered with his arms, but no feathers remained to hold the air.

他们左边越过了萨摩斯岛和提洛岛，右边越过了勒宾索斯岛，这时男孩因一路飞行而得意忘形，渐渐脱离了同伴的引导，径自向上飞升，仿佛要直抵天际。炽烈的骄阳晒软了粘合羽毛的蜡，羽毛纷纷脱落。他用双臂扑打，却已没有羽毛能承托住空气。

While his mouth uttered cries to his father it was submerged in the blue waters of the sea, which thenceforth was called by his name. His father cried, "Icarus, Icarus, where are you?" At last he saw the feathers floating on the water, and bitterly lamenting his own arts, he buried the body and called the land Icaria in memory of his child. Daedalus arrived safe in Sicily, where he built a temple to Apollo, and hung up his wings, an offering to the god.

他的嘴里呼喊着父亲，身子却已没入蔚蓝的海水之中，那片海从此便以他的名字命名。他的父亲喊道：“伊卡洛斯，伊卡洛斯，你在哪里？”终于，他看见羽毛漂浮在水面上，痛悔自己精通的这门技艺，将儿子的遗体安葬，并把那片土地命名为伊卡里亚，以此纪念自己的孩子。代达罗斯安全抵达西西里岛，在那里为阿波罗修建了一座神庙，将自己的翅膀悬挂起来，作为献给神明的供品。

Daedalus was so proud of his achievements that he could not bear the idea of a rival. His sister had placed her son Perdix under his charge to be taught the mechanical arts. He was an apt scholar and gave striking evidences of ingenuity. Walking on the seashore he picked up the spine of a fish. Imitating it, he took a piece of iron and notched it on the edge, and thus invented the SAW. He put two pieces of iron together, connecting them at one end with a rivet, and sharpening the other ends, and made a PAIR OF COMPASSES.

代达罗斯对自己的成就极为得意，容不下任何竞争对手。他的姐姐曾将儿子珀狄克斯托付给他，让他教授手艺。这孩子聪慧过人，展现出非凡的巧思。有一次他在海边漫步，拾起一根鱼的脊骨。他照着脊骨的样子，取来一片铁，在边缘刻出锯齿，由此发明了锯子。他又把两片铁连接在一起，一端用铆钉固定，两端都磨得尖锐，制成了一副圆规。

Daedalus was so envious of his nephew's performances that he took an opportunity, when they were together one day on the top of a high tower, to push him off. But Minerva, who favors ingenuity, saw him falling, and arrested his fate by changing him into a bird called after his name, the Partridge. This bird does not build his nest in the trees, nor take lofty flights, but nestles in the hedges, and mindful of his fall, avoids high places.

代达罗斯对外甥的成就妒忌不已，趁有一天两人一同站在高塔顶上时，找机会将他推了下去。然而钟爱巧思之神弥涅耳瓦见他坠落，出手改变了他的命运，把他变成了一只以他名字命名的鸟——鹧鸪。这种鸟从不在树上筑巢，也不作高飞，只栖息在灌木篱丛之中，记着自己那次坠落，从此便躲避高处。

The death of Icarus is told in the following lines by Darwin:

达尔文曾在下面这几行诗句中，描述了伊卡洛斯之死：

"… with melting wax and loosened strings Sunk hapless Icarus on unfaithful wings; Headlong he rushed through the affrighted air, With limbs distorted and dishevelled hair; His scattered plumage danced upon the wave, And sorrowing Nereids decked his watery grave; O'er his pale corse their pearly sea-flowers shed, And strewed with crimson moss his marble bed; Struck in their coral towers the passing bell, And wide in ocean tolled his echoing knell."

蜡融丝解，双翼失灵， 可怜的伊卡洛斯坠落长空； 他一头栽入惊惶的天际， 四肢扭曲，发丝散乱； 散落的羽毛在波涛间起舞， 悲伤的海仙女为他布置水中的坟茔； 在他苍白的躯体上撒下珍珠般的海花， 又铺上绯红的苔藓，作他大理石般的床榻； 在珊瑚砌成的塔楼中，敲响了那口丧钟， 钟声悠悠回荡，传遍茫茫大海。