期待《复仇者联盟3》和它的神秘宝石

《复仇者联盟3：无限战争》是复仇者联盟系列电影的第三部，是漫威电影宇宙的第十九部电影，将与《雷神3：诸神黄昏》剧情连接，该片将于2018年4月27日在美国上映，2018年5月11日在中国大陆上映。

该片讲述漫威电影有史以来最强反派灭霸登场，该片将会集齐所有漫威电影宇宙的超级英雄进行对抗灭霸，上演一场史无前例的拯救宇宙大战。

As film fans await the premiere of Avengers: Infinity Warand its ambitious attempt to cluster dozens of heroes onto a single screen, there is another seminal gathering taking place in the film that has diehard fans every bit as eager: the assembling of all six ‘Infinity Stones’. Described as ingots of unfathomable power, the remnants of singularities that existed ‘in a time before creation itself’, the Infinity Stones have appeared in Marvel Studios’ films throughout the last decade, though never all together.

全球影迷都在等待《复仇者联盟3：无限战争》的首映，漫威野心勃勃的将数十位英雄都放在了同一部电影中。电影中另一个让铁杆粉丝翘首以盼的重要情节就是收集齐全部六颗无限宝石。这些无限宝石有着深不可测的力量，是奇点残存的部分，在宇宙还未诞生时就存在了。这六颗无限宝石在过去的十年中，在所有漫威电影中都有露面，但是从未同时出现过。

Thus far, we have seen that these stones are capable of turning back time, opening portals across the galaxy, and destroying entire planets, so the assembling of all six certainly qualifies as a threat worthy of the entire retinue of Marvel’s heroes. However, though the threat of the combined Infinity Stones is new for the Marvel films, the mythos behind these mystical gemstones is anything but.

目前为止，我们见识过了这些宝石的力量，它们可以扭转时间，在星系中打开传送门，甚至毁灭一颗星球。集齐全部六颗无限宝石的威胁绝对值得集结所有漫威英雄奋力抵抗。虽然集齐无限宝石的威胁是漫威电影中的一个新情节，但是这些宝石背后的神话却并不陌生。

The creative forces at Marvel have never shied away from incorporating mythological influences into their stories, from the more subtle echoes of the ‘hero’s journey’ in Spiderman to the overt co-opting of figures like Thor, Loki and Odin. The Infinity Stones are no exception to the trend, and are simply the latest in a long line of humanity’s celebrated mythological stones.

漫威的创造力从不避讳把神话融入到故事中，从更隐晦的蜘蛛侠的“英雄之路”，到融合明显的人物形象，比如索尔、洛基和奥丁。无限宝石也不例外，它们只是人类历史长河中众多著名的神秘宝石形象的最新呈现。

Every mythology comes with its own legendary artifacts, but stones that bear mysterious, otherworldly properties are by far one of the most pervasive throughout civilisations. From the countless medieval lapidaries purporting the healing and apotropaic properties of gemstones to the widespread misidentification of neolithic arrowheads as ‘thunderstones’, virtually every culture shows some evidence in the belief of mystical stones.

每一个神话都有自己的传奇神器，但是神秘超俗的宝石是迄今为止各文化中最普遍的。从无数的中世纪宝石工匠声称宝石能治病和驱邪，到普遍将新石器时代的箭头误认为是“雷石”，几乎所有文化中都有一些证据可以表明人们对神秘宝石的信仰。

Some of these legends have proved so culturally embedded that we instantly recognise them today. Take the Philosopher’s Stone, the alchemical gem capable of turning lead into gold and producing the elixir of life, which has remained so universally relevant that it’s served as a major plot point in modern works as disparate as the Harry Potter books, the Japanese manga Fullmetal Alchemist, one of the Uncle Scrooge comics featuring Donald Duck, and a Satyajit Ray film. The Philosopher’s Stone was even the name of a Van Morrison album.

有一些传说的文化嵌入痕迹太明显，以至于现在的我们一眼就能认出。比如说贤者之石，它是一种炼金石，可以将铅转化为金，还能制造出长生不老药。贤者之石仍是家喻户晓，乃至于它成为了很多现代作品的主要情节，像《哈利波特》、日本漫画《钢之炼金术师》、唐老鸭出演的《史高治舅舅》动画、Satyajit Ray出演的电影。甚至Van Morrison的专辑都用了《贤者之石》作名字。

But that’s just scratching the surface of the quarry. The stones sought out by the superheroes of today are known for their power to bend the laws of nature, and are therefore perhaps more akin to the likes of the Japanese kanju and manju, fabled jewels that would grant the owner control over the tides, or the gems of Mayan myth that harnessed the power of the elements. The Romans even claimed to be in possession of such artifacts themselves, submerging a special stone known as the lapis manalis in water with the hopes of bringing rain in a ritual known as aquaelicium.

但贤者之石只是万千神秘宝石的其中之一。现代的超级英雄所追寻的宝石，它们的力量可以使自然规律为之屈服，所以可能更接近是日本的Kanju和Manju宝石。这两枚日本传说中的宝石可以使佩戴者拥有控制潮汐的能力。或者类似于玛雅神话中的宝石，拥有者可以使用元素的力量。罗马人还号称拥有这样的神器，他们会在一个名叫Aquaelicium(译者注：拉丁文，英文意思是Rain-Making，祈雨)的仪式上将一枚特殊的宝石Lapis Manalis(译者注：拉丁文，英文意思是Stone of the Manes，摩尼之石)放入水中，希望借此带来降水。