|
The penis 阳具 Cross to bare 胯下的“十字架”[注1] Anatomy of a seminal work 剖析一本“精作”[注2] Dec 1st 2012 | from the print edition God’s Doodle: The Life and Times of the Penis. By Tom Hickman. Square Peg; 234 pages; ￡12.99. Buy from Amazon.co.uk 《神的涂鸦：阳具史》，汤姆·希科曼著。方钉出版社，234页，售价12.99英镑。欲购点击英国亚马逊  Behind the figleaf 遮羞布之后的面貌 THE problem with penises, as Richard Rudgley, a British anthropologist, admitted on a television programme some years ago, is that once you start noticing them, you “tend to see willies pretty much everywhere”. They are manifest in skyscrapers, depicted in art and loom large in literature. They pop up on the walls of schoolyards across the world, and on the walls of temples both modern and ancient. The Greeks and Japanese rendered them on statues that stood at street corners. Hindus worship the lingam in temples across the land. Even the cross on which Jesus was hung is considered by some to be a representation of male genitalia. 正如英国人类学家理查德·路德格雷（Richard Rudgley）几年前在电视上受访时承认的那样，有关阳具的一个问题在于你一旦开始注意它们，“它们几乎随处可见”。它们体现在摩天大楼的形状里，艺术作品经常描绘它们，而其在文学作品中更是地位突出。在全世界各地的学校里都可以在墙上找到阳具的涂鸦，古代或现代的庙宇中的墙上经常也绘有阳具。在希腊和日本，大街转角的雕像常常露出阳具。印度各地的庙宇内都供有林伽像（阴茎状石像）[注3]。就算是耶稣殉难的十字架也被有些人看作是男性性器的象征[注4]。 Yet the penis has also been shamed into hiding through the ages. One night in 415BC, Athens’s street-corner statues were dismembered en masse. Stone penises were still causing anxiety in the late 20th century, when the Victoria and Albert Museum in London pulled out of storage a stone figleaf in case a member of the royal family wanted to see its 18-foot (5.5-metre) replica of Michelangelo’s “David”. Nothing, save the vagina, which is neither as easy nor as childishly satisfying to scrawl on a wall, manages to be so sacred and so profane at once. This paradox makes it an object of fascination. Tom Hickman, a Sussex-based writer and journalist, tells the story of its ups and downs with enthusiasm and a mostly straight face in “God’s Doodle”, a biography of what the dust jacket calls man’s “most precious ornament”. 但同时阳具也在历史上一直羞于抛头露面。公元前415年，雅典大大小小的街角雕像在一夜之间被集体遭到“阉割”[注5]。即使在20世纪末还是有人被石阳具困扰。维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆里收藏这一尊18英尺（5.5米）的米开朗琪罗（Michelangelo）大卫像复本，有皇室成员想要观赏该雕像时该博物馆还是会拿出收藏着的石树叶为雕像遮羞。除了阴道以外，没有任何事物像阴茎一样既神圣又亵渎，而相比阴道，在墙上涂鸦阴茎要更容易，也更能带来幼稚的满足感。阳具本身这种自相矛盾的特质让很多人为它着迷。居于英国苏塞克斯郡的作家兼记者汤姆·希科曼（Tom Hickman）在《神的涂鸦》一书中以饱含热情且大体上一本正经的语调讨论了阳具背后的历史起伏。在这本阳具历史书的书皮上写着阳具是男性“最珍贵的装饰品”。 Mr Hickman examines his subject from various angles: its physical attributes, its role in society, its vulnerabilities and the “violent mechanics” of its fundamental purpose. Referring to sources that range from parliamentary records to Howard Stern, Mr Hickman goes, like so many men have gone before, where the penis takes him, and in the process answers a number of questions. Did Shylock want to castrate Antonio in “The Merchant of Venice”? Possibly. Is ingesting semen harmful? Quite the opposite. Mr Hickman claims it could protect against breast cancer. Where does Viagra get its name? Through the fusion of “virility” and “Niagara”, as in the falls. “God’s Doodle” is a seminal work. 希科曼从不同的角度检视了阳具这个主题：其生理特征，其在社会中扮演的角色，其弱点以及其基本功能的“激烈机制”。希科曼所引用的资料从议会记录到霍华德·斯特恩（Howard Stern）[注6]无所不包。在将这些资料编织成书时，希科曼和他之前无数的男人一样，“让下半身带领着他前进”。在这个过程中，他也给很多问题提出了解答。在《威尼斯商人》中夏洛克是否想要阉割安东尼奥？[注7]也许吧。吞食精液是否有害？恰恰相反。希科曼声称其有助于防止乳癌。伟哥是怎么得名的？利用英文“阳刚气概”（virility）和尼亚加拉（Niagara）大瀑布拼凑而成。《神的涂鸦》真可以称得上是一部“精作”。 译者注： 1 - cross to bare，俗语，正确形式为cross to bear，意思是各人需要自己背负，别人无法帮助的罪业、苦恼。中文一般译为“背上的十字架”，取耶稣基督自己背负刑具十字架上刑场的意思。以讹传讹，有时会被误写作cross to bare。这里取文中第一段所指十字架有暗喻阳具的意思，和bare（暴露）联系，幽了一默。 2 - seminal 形容文学作品一般指影响深远的巨作。其原意为semen（精液）的形容词，此处双关。引申义来自于“蕴涵各种可能性”这一特征。和中文“精”的褒义引申有异曲同工的意味。 3 - lingam，阴茎形状的石像，代表印度教主神湿婆，是印度教庙宇的主要供奉像之一。象征男性湿婆神的创造能力。 4 - 十字架是最古老的符号之一，自古很多文明宗教中就存在该符号，在古罗马时期用作刑具，因耶稣在十字架上受难被拿来作为基督教象征，导致其本来涵义很多都被埋没。有学说认为古代十字符号代表男性阳具。该涵义和基督教没有直接联系。 5 - 古希腊半身像（herma，即方石柱上方放置胸像）在石柱下方会雕上阳具作为纪念。在公元前415，雅典大军在伯罗奔尼撒战争中即将攻打锡拉库萨（Syracuse）前夕，雅典城内所有的半身像一夜之间失去了其阳具。当时这被看作是非常亵渎的一项罪行，被认为于战不详。虽然元凶最终未找到，但一般认为是奸细所为。 6 - 霍华德·斯特恩（Howard Stern），美国电台电视主持人，曾连续近十年被评为美国电台第一人，以直言不讳，甚至可说是富争议性的风格著称。因此他也是历史上因为在主持节目时说脏话被罚总金额最高的人。 7 - 《威尼斯商人》中犹太奸商夏洛克要求主人公安尼奥如果还不起钱就得割下“一磅肉”，其好友妻子鲍西娅用智解决了这一问题。有观点认为夏洛克的要求是阉割，但莎翁把其婉转化了。 |
|
|
