苦刑梨——人类历史上最残酷的惩罚：英语精读讲义

The year is 1626

时间是1626年。

and a husband and wife were sleeping peacefully in their warm bed,

一对夫妻正安稳地睡在温暖的床上，

oblivious to the fact that an exceptionally cruel and completely unhinged thief 短語搭配

丝毫没有察觉，一个格外残忍且彻底失控的窃贼

was about to change their lives forever.

即将永远改变他们的人生。

The sleeping couple who'd enjoyed comfort and wealth all their lives

这对熟睡的夫妻一辈子都过着舒适富足的生活，

were in for a terrible shock. 習語

却马上要遭受一场可怕的惊吓。

They were about to be confronted by a man who was not only going to take all their valuables, 語法

他们即将面对一个不仅要抢走所有贵重物品的男人，

but was going to introduce them to one of the most evil devices known to man.

他还要让他们见识人类所知最邪恶的装置之一。

It's known as the Choke Pear,

它被称为“窒息梨”，

but we think its alternate name is more fitting

但我们认为它的另一个名字更贴切，

given the pain it inflicted on its victims. 用詞

因为这个名字更能体现受害者承受的痛苦。

And that name is the Pear of Anguish.

那个名字就是“苦痛梨”。

And today,

而今天，

dear viewers,

亲爱的观众朋友们，

you're going to see just how horrifying this small contraption 語法

你们将看到这个小装置究竟有多么恐怖，

must have been to those that wore it. 語法

对被套上它的人来说，那一定如同噩梦。

Let's get back to the sleeping couple. 表達脈絡

让我们回到那对熟睡的夫妻。

They were awakened by the thief

窃贼把他们叫醒了。

whose intention was not to silently rob the pair

他并不打算悄无声息地偷走两人的财物，

and make off into the night, 短語動詞

再趁着夜色逃之夭夭，

but to wake them and demand to know 短語搭配

而是要叫醒他们，逼问

where they were hiding their most valuable belongings.

他们把最值钱的东西藏在了哪里。

To do this,

要做到这一点，

he needed to get them to talk, 語法

他必须让他们开口，

but he never had much success chopping off fingers

可无论是砍掉手指，

and smacking people around the face.

还是朝人脸上猛扇，他向来都收效甚微。

It was his good fortune then that he had recently been introduced 語法

幸运的是，他最近刚听说

to a new method of ensuring cooperation.

一种确保对方配合的新办法。

A while back, he'd met a fellow thief in a tavern, 短語搭配

不久前，他在一家酒馆里遇到了另一个窃贼，

a thief who said he'd always had a 100% success rate

那人声称自己从来都能百分之百成功地

in extracting information from his victims. 短語搭配

从受害者嘴里套出情报。

The man explained that to get people to talk,

那人解释说，要让人开口，

it wasn't good enough to just beat them up a bit. 短語動詞

光把他们揍一顿远远不够。

What was required was a device so brutal 語法

真正需要的是一种残忍至极的装置，

the very thought of it would get people talking in seconds. 講解

只要想到它，人们几秒内就会招供。

And if they didn't immediately talk,

要是他们没有立刻开口，

the solution was simple.

办法也很简单。

Start the device at notch one.

把装置开到第一档。

The man explained that no one,

那人解释说，没有人，

absolutely no one could endure notch two.

绝对没有任何人能熬过第二档。

So the thief woke up the couple and told them in no uncertain terms, 習語

于是，窃贼叫醒了夫妻俩，毫不含糊地告诉他们，

they needed to take him to the stash of jewels

他们必须带他去找那批珠宝，

he knew they had hidden.

因为他知道他们把珠宝藏了起来。

Not surprisingly,

不出所料，

the husband said there was no stash.

丈夫说根本没有什么宝藏。

Just take what you see and please leave us in peace, 短語搭配

眼前有什么你就拿走吧，求你别再打扰我们，

he told the robber.

他对劫匪说道。

After uttering those words,

说完这番话后，

the thief pulled something out of a bag.

窃贼从袋子里掏出了一件东西。

The man and his wife had no idea what they were looking at.

夫妻俩完全不知道眼前是什么。

It looked like a pear,

它看起来像一只梨，

a pear made from metal,

一只金属制成的梨，

connected to some kind of key.

还连着某种钥匙。

The thief calmly explained to them,

窃贼平静地向他们解释，

and we should say with some amount of relish, 用詞

而且不得不说，他的语气里还带着几分得意，

that in a minute or two,

再过一两分钟，

one of them would be trying on the device.

他们中的一个就要试戴这件装置。

The woman screamed just thinking about that,

女人光是想到这里就尖叫起来，

which helped the thief make his decision

这也帮窃贼做出了决定：

regarding who would first experience his dear Pear of Anguish.

谁将第一个体验他心爱的“苦痛梨”。

We won't explain what happened next.

接下来发生的事，我们就不细说了。

Your imagination should be able to come up with the rest of that story. 短語動詞

你的想象力应该足以补完这个故事。

If you can't just see how that thief might have gotten the information he wanted,

如果你还想象不出窃贼是怎样得到想要的情报的，

you'll soon find out.

很快你就会知道。

The Pear of Anguish wasn't something to be taken lightly. 習語

“苦痛梨”绝不是可以掉以轻心的东西。

It was sometimes only used as a gag, 用詞

有时，它只被当作口塞使用，

but if that screw was ever turned a few times,

可一旦那枚螺杆被拧上几圈，

the results could literally be jaw-dropping. 習語

结果真的可能让人“惊掉下巴”。

The question is, 表達脈絡

问题是，

did that ever happen?

这种事真的发生过吗？

Was it ever used in a Hollywood horror kind of way? 文化背景

它真曾像好莱坞恐怖片里那样被使用过吗？

Some folks think yes,

有些人认为是，

others think no.

另一些人认为不是。

First,

首先，

we need to talk about the earliest recorded uses of this terrible pear.

我们得谈谈这种可怕梨形装置最早的使用记录。

Some of the contraptions are sitting in museums today,

如今，一些这样的装置就陈列在博物馆里，

but the evidence of their use is still somewhat scant.

但有关其实际用途的证据仍然相当匮乏。

Still,

不过，

we have some evidence to work with. 短語搭配

我们手头还是有一些证据可供分析。

There's a book that was written in 1639

1639年，有一本书问世，

by a French author named F. de Calvi.

作者是名叫F. de Calvi的法国人。

The book in English is translated

这本书的书名可译为

as General Inventory of the History of Thieves.

《盗贼史总录》。

In this book,

在这本书中，

the writer states that the pear was invented

作者称，这种梨形装置是由

by a well-known thief named Gushru de Palioli.

一个名叫Gushru de Palioli的知名窃贼发明的。

The writer explains that Palioli used the device

作者解释说，Palioli会使用这种装置

when robbing wealthy Parisians.

抢劫富有的巴黎人。

Although Calvi doesn't say that the victims had their jaws broken apart,

Calvi并未说受害者的下巴被撑裂，

only that it was used as a very scary type of gag.

只说它被用作一种极其吓人的口塞。

There's more evidence of this device being used for robberies,

还有其他证据表明，这种装置曾被用于抢劫，

but outside of France.

只不过地点在法国之外。

In the 1811 book Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 文化背景

1811年出版的《俗语词典》中

it's written that the pear was used to extort people in Holland. 用詞

写道，这种梨形装置曾在荷兰被用来勒索他人。

Another book written at the end of the 19th century

19世纪末出版的另一本书

called The Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,

《布鲁尔短语与寓言词典》

also included a passage describing how Dutch criminals

也收录了一段文字，描述荷兰罪犯如何

would put the pear in a victim's mouth

把这种梨塞进受害者嘴里，

and then demand a certain amount of money.

然后索要一笔钱。

What's frightening is that the book explains

令人恐惧的是，书中还解释说，

that on some devices the key was detachable.

某些装置的钥匙是可以拆下来的。

So if the criminal wanted,

所以，只要罪犯愿意，

he could leave the pear in the victim's mouth.

他就能把梨形装置留在受害者嘴里。

Without the key,

没有钥匙，

it was very hard or impossible to remove.

要取下它就非常困难，甚至根本不可能。

And that's why cash could be extorted.

罪犯正是借此勒索钱财。

Such a torture instrument may have made its way around the US 習語

这种刑具或许曾在美国各地出现，

sometime during the 19th century,

时间大约是在19世纪，

but that's debatable. 語氣意圖

但这一点仍有争议。

A detective working in Boston at the end of the 1800s

19世纪末，一名在波士顿工作的侦探

admitted that pears as gags had been used in the US,

承认，美国确实有人把这种梨用作口塞，

but he noted that they weren't quite as cruel

但他指出，它们并不像

as the gags that had been used in Europe.

欧洲使用的口塞那么残酷。

The detective wrote that the American pear was far less marvelous and dangerous 語法

这名侦探写道，美国版的梨远不如

than the pear of Palioli.

Palioli的梨那般奇特和危险。

The US Pear of Anguish

美国版的“苦痛梨”

was likely comparable

很可能只相当于

to a pool ball or a sock.

一颗台球或一只袜子。

Okay,

好了，

now for something more gruesome. 表達脈絡

现在来说点更骇人的。

It's said that during medieval times,

据说在中世纪，

the pear was used to extract confessions 短語搭配

这种梨形装置曾被用来逼取口供，

from people accused of being witches. 語法

对象是那些被指控为女巫的人。

In this case,

在这种情况下，

most of the people who faced the pear were women.

面对苦痛梨的人大多是女性。

It doesn't take a genius to figure out 習語

不用多聪明也能想到，

how else such an instrument could have been used

这种器具还可能被用在什么地方，

to cause immense pain and even death.

从而造成剧烈疼痛，甚至死亡。

The human body has a number of orifices

人体有多个孔口，

other than the mouth,

嘴巴只是其中之一，

and it's those places where the pear was sometimes inserted.

而这种梨形装置有时就会被插进其他孔口。

Or at least that's the tale that's been told. 表達脈絡

至少流传下来的故事是这么说的。

Once the key was turned,

钥匙一旦转动，

the petals opened

梨瓣就会张开，

and the woman would suffer unimaginably.

那名女子将承受难以想象的痛苦。

Often the petals would have spikes attached to them 語法

梨瓣上往往还装有尖刺，

to cause extensive internal damage.

会对体内造成严重损伤。

We know this because of the artifacts

我们之所以知道这些，是因为那些实物，

that you can find today in torture museums.

如今在酷刑博物馆里就能看到。

Those artifacts are very much real,

那些实物确实是真品，

but as you'll see, 表達脈絡

但正如你接下来会看到的，

they're also questionable.

它们同样疑点重重。

Men,

男性

it seems, 語氣意圖

似乎

might also suffer from similar torture,

也可能遭受类似的酷刑，

except the orifice of choice in their case 短語搭配

只不过对他们来说，被选中的孔口

was the entrance in the backside.

是后方的入口。

The outcome of torture was similar:

酷刑造成的后果大致相同：

immense pain,

剧烈疼痛，

internal damage,

体内损伤，

and heavy blood loss,

以及大量失血，

possibly death.

甚至可能死亡。

This is what we hear about the Pear of Anguish

这就是我们参观某些博物馆时

when visiting certain museums.

会听到的关于“苦痛梨”的说法。

Although in the 2014 book

然而，2014年出版的

The Pear of Anguish, Torture, Truth, and Dark Medievalism,

《苦痛梨：酷刑、真相与黑暗中世纪主义》一书中，

the writer states that there's no proof this ever happened.

作者表示，没有证据证明这些事真的发生过。

He goes as far to say that some of the devices still around today 語法

他甚至声称，现存的某些装置

are actually built after medieval times.

其实是在中世纪之后才制造的。

So like some other torture devices

因此，它们就像其他一些刑具一样，

we've talked about in the past,

也就是我们过去谈过的那些，

such as the Iron Maiden,

比如“铁处女”，

they may have been created for the scare factor only, 短語搭配

它们可能只是为了吓人而制造的，

to show more modern people how brutish and backward

好让现代人看到过去的人

people were in the past.

有多么野蛮落后。

Nonetheless, 表達脈絡

尽管如此，

during our research,

在研究过程中，

we found sources stating that the pears were used on blasphemers 文化背景

我们还是找到一些资料，声称这种梨曾被用来惩罚亵渎神明者，

or even liars.

甚至是说谎者。

And in those cases,

在这些情况下，

the mouth was the place the torture took place.

嘴巴就是实施酷刑的部位。

The same sources say that if a woman purposefully miscarried,

同一批资料还说，如果一名女子故意让自己流产，

she might also face the pear,

她也可能遭受苦痛梨的折磨，

but the location it was to be inserted

但装置要插入的部位

was her vagina.

是她的阴道。

As for a man,

至于男性，

if he was accused of being homosexual,

如果他被指控为同性恋，

he might have been brutalized by the pear,

他可能会遭到苦痛梨的残酷折磨，

but the location was his anus.

而插入的部位是他的肛门。

There seems to be little doubt that the Pear of Anguish 語氣意圖

似乎几乎可以肯定，“苦痛梨”

was used by thieves in Europe,

曾被欧洲的窃贼使用，

but if they were ever employed by torturers in medieval times,

但中世纪的行刑者是否也曾使用它，

it's up for debate. 語氣意圖

仍然存在争议。

It's highly likely that the French thief we talked about 短語搭配

我们之前提到的那名法国窃贼

had his very own Pear of Anguish,

很可能确实有一件自己的苦痛梨，

and there's little doubt that some Dutch criminals used them.

而一些荷兰罪犯用过它，也几乎毋庸置疑。

But historians these days argue 表達脈絡

但如今的历史学家认为，

that the pear's expanding in men and women's

在中世纪，把这种梨形装置在男性和女性的

lower orifices in the Middle Ages

下体孔口内撑开的说法，

was possibly an invention of propagandists 用詞

可能是宣传者杜撰出来的，

writing in the 19th century

这些人在19世纪写文章，

about the terrible past.

描绘过去的可怕景象。

One historian writes

一位历史学家写道，

that the surviving devices

那些保存至今、

you can currently find around the world

目前散落在世界各地的装置

would not have been sturdy enough 語法

根本不够坚固，

to cause any internal damage we've talked about.

无法造成我们所说的任何体内损伤。

Although he admits 表達脈絡

不过他也承认，

that they could have certainly expanded an orifice

它们当然可以把孔口撑开，

and caused a certain degree of discomfort. 表達脈絡

并造成一定程度的不适。

Now you need to watch this:

现在你该看看这个：

Iron Maiden,

“铁处女”，

worst punishments in the history of mankind.

人类历史上最残酷的刑罚。

Or have a look at this:

或者看看这个：

Drawn and quartered,

“车裂分尸”，

worst punishments in the history of mankind.

人类历史上最残酷的刑罚。