韋恩食記

In seeking to describe the origins of theater, one must rely primarily on speculation, since there is little concrete evidence on which to draw.
在試圖描述戲劇的起源時，人們必須主要依靠猜測，因為幾乎沒有具體的證據可以借鑒。
The most widely accepted theory, championed by anthropologists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, envisions theater as emerging out of myth and ritual.
在19世紀末20世紀初，人類學家們所擁護的一種理論得到了世人的廣泛認同；此理論認為戲劇起源於神話和宗教儀式。
The process perceived by these anthropologists may be summarized briefly.
簡要地概述一下這些人類學家的推論過程。
During the early stages of its development, a society becomes aware of forces that appear to influence or control its food supply and well-being.
在社會發展早期，人們相信有股力量可以影響甚至操控他們的食物供應和幸福生活。
Having little understanding of natural causes, it attributes both desirable and undesirable occurrences to supernatural or magical forces, and it searches for means to win the favor of these forces.
由於對自然原因幾乎一無所知，他們把希望或不希望發生的事情都歸咎於超自然的或魔幻的力量，並且尋求贏得這些力量青睞的途徑。
Perceiving an apparent connection between certain actions performed by the group and the result it desires, the group repeats, refines, and formalizes those actions into fixed ceremonies, or rituals.
當他們意識到自己的某些行為和期許的結果之間存在明顯的聯繫以後，人們便開始重複並且完善這些行為，最終形成固定的典禮或宗教儀式。

Stories (myths) may then grow up around a ritual.
故事（神話）可能依靠著一種儀式所發展。
Frequently the myths include representatives of those supernatural forces that the rites celebrate or hope to influence.
這些神話通常包含儀式慶祝或希望影響的超自然力量代表。
Performers may wear costumes and masks to represent the mythical characters or supernatural forces in the rituals or in accompanying celebrations.
在這種儀式或伴隨的慶典中，表演者們可能會穿戴戲裝及面具來代表神秘角色或超自然力量。
As a people becomes more sophisticated, its conceptions of supernatural forces and causal relationships may change.
當人們認識事物的能力進一步加強的時候，他們對超自然力量以及因果關係的概念就發生了改變。
As a result, it may abandon or modify some rites.
於是，他們會拋棄或者修改某些儀式。
But the myths that have grown up around the rites may continue as part of the group's oral tradition and may even come to be acted out under conditions divorced from these rites.
不過在這些儀式中發展起來的神話故事繼續在人們的口頭流傳，甚至可能在脫離儀式的條件下被演繹著。
When this occurs, the first step has been taken toward theater as an autonomous activity, and thereafter entertainment and aesthetic values may gradually replace the former mystical and socially efficacious concerns.
這時侯，戲劇作為一種自主活動已經邁出了第一步，接著戲劇的娛樂和審美價值開始漸漸取代先前帶有神話色彩及在社會上靈驗的關注。

☐ Although origin in ritual has long been the most popular, it is by no means the only theory about how the theater came into being.
儘管戲劇起源於宗教儀式的說法是長期以來最被大眾所認可的，但這絕不是戲劇起源的唯一理論。
☐ Storytelling has been proposed as one alternative.
另一種提議認為戲劇源於說書。
☐ Under this theory, relating and listening to stories are seen as fundamental human pleasures.
在這個理論中，講述和聆聽故事被視為人類的基本樂趣。
☐ Thus, the recalling of an event (a hunt, battle, or other feat) is elaborated through the narrator's pantomime and impersonation and eventually through each role being assumed by a different person.
因此，透過敘述者的默劇和模仿，把對一個事件的回憶（一次打獵、戰役或是其它功勳偉業）表現得淋漓盡致，這種方式最終演變成為由不同的人來演繹不同的角色。

A closely related theory sees theater as evolving out of dances that are primarily pantomimic, rhythmical or gymnastic, or from imitations of animal noises and sounds.
另外一種密切相關的理論認為戲劇主要是從無聲的或有節奏的舞蹈及體操，又或是模仿動物的聲音演變而來。
Admiration for the performer's skill, virtuosity, and grace are seen as motivation for elaborating the activities into fully realized theatrical performances.
對表演者的精湛優雅的演技的欽佩被視為將這些活動精心製作成戲劇的動力。

In addition to exploring the possible antecedents of theater, scholars have also theorized about the motives that led people to develop theater.
除了探索戲劇的可能前因外，學者們還對導致人類發展戲劇的動機上建立理論。
Why did theater develop, and why was it valued after it ceased to fulfill the function of ritual?
戲劇為什麼會發展，為什麼在戲劇完全脫離宗教儀式以後還有這麼大的價值？
Most answers fall back on the theories about the human mind and basic human needs.
大部分答案都回到那些關於人類心智和人類基本需求的理論中。
One, set forth by Aristotle in the fourth century B.C., sees humans as naturally imitative-as taking pleasure in imitating persons, things, and actions and in seeing such imitations.
首先，在公元前4世紀，亞里士多德提出人們天生善於模仿，並從模仿他人、事物和動作以及觀看模仿中獲得樂趣。
Another, advanced in the twentieth century, suggests that humans have a gift for fantasy, through which they seek to reshape reality into more satisfying forms than those encountered in daily life.
另外，20世紀提出的先進理論認為人類擅長幻想，通過幻想將日常生活中的現實重塑成更加令人滿意的形式。
Thus, fantasy or fiction (of which drama is one form) permits people to objectify their anxieties and fears, confront them, and fulfill their hopes in fiction if not fact.
因此，幻想或虛構的故事（戲劇的一個形式）使人們客觀地面對他們的焦慮和恐懼，並從虛構的故事中滿足他們現實中無法實現的願望。
The theater, then, is one tool whereby people define an world or escape from unpleasant realities.
戲劇成為了一種幫助人們認識和理解這個世界，或是幫助人們逃避不滿現實的工具。

But neither the human imitative instinct nor a penchant for fantasy by itself leads to an autonomous theater.
但是，無論是人類模仿的本能或是自己對幻想的嗜好都無法發展成為獨立的戲劇。
Therefore, additional explanations are needed.
因此，需要更多的解釋。
One necessary condition seems to be a somewhat detached view of human problems.
第一個必要的條件似乎是要脫離人們看待問題的視角。
For example, one sign of this condition is the appearance of the comic vision, since comedy requires sufficient detachment to view some deviations from social norms as ridiculous rather than as serious threats to the welfare of the entire group.
例如，這個條件的其中一個徵兆是喜劇構想的出現，因為喜劇需要足夠的發散思維，才能將社會規範中的某些偏差行為視為荒謬的事情，而不是對公眾群體福利的嚴重威脅。
Another condition that contributes to the development of autonomous theater is the emergence of the aesthetic sense.
另一個有助於戲劇獨立的發展條件是審美意識的出現。
For example, some early societies ceased to consider certain rites essential to their well-being and abandoned them; nevertheless, they retained as parts of their oral tradition the myths that had grown up around the rites and admired them for their artistic qualities rather than for their religious usefulness.
例如，一些早期社會的人們不再考慮對他們的幸福至關重要的某些儀式，並且取消了這些儀式；雖然如此，人們還是保留了那些口頭傳述故事的傳統並且欣賞從這些儀式裡發展起來的神話，出於它們的藝術性，而不是宗教原因。