拖船底海盜酷刑——人類歷史上最殘酷的懲罰：英語精讀講義

Back during the ancient world and the Middle Ages, the ship represented the pinnacle of the military. 慣用語

早在古代與中世紀，船艦就代表著軍事力量的巔峰。

The ship was a sacred thing,

船艦是神聖的存在，

and as time went by, 片語搭配

隨著時間推移，

it was those who ruled the waves that became the most powerful nations. 文法

掌控海洋的國家成了最強大的國家。

But during the Age of Discovery, 文化背景

但到了大航海時代，

when ships were discovering new worlds and crossing vast oceans,

船隻探索新世界、橫渡浩瀚海洋時，

life was tough for sailors.

水手的日子十分艱苦。

The Age of Discovery was also an era of mutiny.

大航海時代也是一個叛變頻繁的年代。

When an aggrieved crew turned against their captain, 片語動詞

當心懷不滿的船員反抗船長時，

all hell could break loose, 慣用語

局面可能徹底失控，

and there was nowhere to hide.

而且無處可躲。

That's why some particularly horrifying punishments were reserved for out-of-control sailors. 片語搭配

正因如此，一些格外駭人的刑罰專門用來對付失控的水手。

Welcome to keelhauling.

歡迎認識拖龍骨刑。

Our viewers have likely seen the movies that depict mutinies on ships

觀眾們大概都看過描寫船上叛變的電影，

or sailors that no longer follow commands.

或看過水手不再服從命令的情節。

For their transgression,

對於他們的過錯，

the punishment had to be quite severe,

懲罰必須相當嚴厲，

because when you're in the middle of the ocean,

因為當你身處茫茫大海中央時，

you just can't afford to let things slide. 慣用語

根本不能對任何問題放任不管。

On the other hand, 表達脈絡

但另一方面，

if a captain is too stern,

如果船長過於嚴苛，

this might create a conspiracy to take him out, 片語動詞

船員也可能密謀除掉他，

and that's what we call mutiny.

這就是我們所說的叛變。

Maybe the most well-known of those was the mutiny on the Bounty. 文化背景

其中最著名的或許就是邦蒂號兵變。

A captain had to be hard, but fair,

船長必須強硬，但也要公正，

lest he lose the respect of his crew. 文法

否則就會失去船員的尊重。

The most common types of punishment then were not keelhauling,

當時最常見的懲罰並不是拖龍骨刑，

which could be said to be the most severe form.

後者可以說是最嚴酷的一種。

It was most likely that the offending sailor would receive some strokes of the cane,

犯錯的水手更可能挨幾下藤條，

or worse, the whip.

或者更糟，挨鞭子。

He might simply be tied to the mast and left to think about what he'd done.

他也可能只是被綁在桅杆上，獨自反省自己的所作所為。

But let's say a sailor had been part of a mutiny,

但假設某個水手參與了叛變，

and that mutiny had failed.

而叛變失敗了。

Or what if the villains of the seas, the pirates,

又或者，海上的惡徒——海盜

had wanted to come down hard on someone? 慣用語

想狠狠懲治某個人呢？

What was the worst thing they could do?

他們能使出的最狠手段是什麼？

Well,

嗯，

they might be hanged,

他們可能會把人絞死，

but it was a particularly painful type of hanging,

但這種絞刑尤其痛苦，

because rather than being dropped, 文法

因為受刑者不是被突然墜下，

the person would be pulled up while his head was on the noose.

而是脖子套著繩圈，被慢慢拉上去。

He would be run up something called the yardarm, 講解

他會被吊上一個叫做「帆桁」的地方，

which was part of the timber cross section of the mast

那是桅杆上橫向木樑的一部分，

from where the sails are set.

船帆就從那裡展開。

There was a case of hanging by the yardarm in 1860

1860年曾發生過一起帆桁絞刑，

that happened to the Royal Marine John Dalinger on the HMS Leven.

受刑者是HMS Leven號上的英國皇家海軍陸戰隊員John Dalinger。

There was also cases where men were thrown overboard,

也有把人扔下船的案例，

but in one infamous instance of this happening,

但在一次惡名昭彰的事件中，

the men hadn't committed a crime.

那些人並沒有犯罪。

The crime was against them.

罪行是加諸他們身上的。

It's now known as the Zong Massacre, 文化背景

這起事件如今被稱為「宗號大屠殺」，

and 130 slaves were thrown overboard a British ship.

一艘英國船上的130名奴隸被扔進海裡。

And then there's the punishment you might have all heard of from reading books or watching movies about pirates,

還有一種刑罰，大家可能都從海盜題材的書籍或電影裡聽說過，

and that's the ghastly treatment that involved having a man to walk the plank and into the ocean. 慣用語

那就是逼人走跳板，直到墜入大海的可怕刑罰。

Despite this being the most recognizable punishment in the era of pirates, 文法

儘管這是海盜時代最廣為人知的刑罰，

it's mostly a thing of fiction.

但它基本上只是虛構情節。

There have been some recorded instances,

確實有過一些書面紀錄，

such as a mutineer in the 18th century confessing that he had made his officers walk the plank while blindfolded,

例如一名18世紀的叛變者供認，他曾蒙住軍官的眼睛，逼他們走跳板，

but the details are sketchy on this, 用詞

但此事的細節模糊不清，

and many believe that it never happened.

許多人認為它根本沒發生過。

There are some instances that sound true and were reported in the newspapers of the day, 用詞

也有些聽來可信的案例，曾被當時的報紙報導，

but walking the plank was certainly a rare thing to happen.

但走跳板無疑極少發生。

So now we come to keelhauling, 表達脈絡

現在我們來談拖龍骨刑，

which definitely did happen,

這種刑罰確實存在過，

and you might argue was a worse punishment than any of the above.

而且你甚至可以說，它比上述任何刑罰都更殘酷。

The keel of the ship is like the backbone of the ship. 慣用語

船的龍骨就像船的脊椎。

It's the bottom part.

它位於船體最底部。

When someone is hauled under the keel, 文化背景

當一個人被從龍骨下方拖過時，

this is called keelhauling.

這就叫拖龍骨刑。

That person might have been hauled with ropes from one side of the ship to the other,

受刑者可能被繩子從船的一側拖到另一側，

or even worse,

或者更糟，

dragged the entire length of the ship

沿著整艘船的長度被拖行，

from what are called the bow and the stern. 用詞

從所謂的船頭一路拖到船尾。

As you can imagine, 表達脈絡

不難想像，

this would be rather unpleasant,

這種滋味相當不好受，

to say the least. 慣用語

這還是輕描淡寫的說法。

You might think,

你可能會想，

well, if the operation was short enough,

嗯，如果過程夠短，

at least you could hold your breath and make it to the other side. 片語搭配

至少還能憋住氣，撐到船的另一側。

You might then dry yourself off,

然後擦乾身體，

issue some apologies,

道個歉，

and be back to work.

再回去工作。

That wasn't really the case, 表達脈絡

事情可沒那麼簡單，

though,

事實上，

because being bashed up against the ship was a painful affair.

因為身體不斷撞上船體，是件極其痛苦的事。

There was a good chance bones would be broken,

骨頭很可能會被撞斷，

or a head injury could mean the person was pulled up dead.

頭部受傷甚至可能讓人被拉上來時已經死了。

It was actually quite an extreme form of punishment,

這其實是一種極端殘酷的刑罰，

because the ships are generally not smooth on the surface of the hull,

因為船殼表面通常並不光滑，

the part of the ship that floats in the water.

船殼就是船體浮在水中的部分。

These wooden ships' hulls were covered in barnacles,

這些木船的船殼上爬滿了藤壺，

which are those ultra sharp crustaceans that stick to things.

那是一種附著在物體上、邊緣極其鋒利的甲殼動物。

We are sure some of you have experienced slipping on a rock and being cut by these razor sharp things.

相信有些人曾在岩石上滑倒，被這些刀片般鋒利的東西割傷。

Now imagine your body being hauled against them with pressure. 文法

現在想像一下，你的身體被用力拖著擦過它們。

The keelhauled man would be shredded all over his body,

受拖龍骨刑的人會全身被割得皮開肉綻，

and he might come out looking like a victim of Freddy Krueger. 講解

出水時可能看起來就像Freddy Krueger的受害者。

It was a fate worse than marooning, 講解

這比被放逐荒島還要慘，

which is when pirates just left people to die on a deserted island.

所謂放逐荒島，就是海盜把人丟在無人島上等死。

Jokingly, some pirates called this making someone the governor of an island. 慣用語

有些海盜還開玩笑說，這是在讓某人去當「一島之主」。

Back to keelhauling.

回到拖龍骨刑。

Sometimes weight was placed on the man,

有時，人身上還會加掛重物，

so the people pulling him had more control of the movement of his body.

這樣拉繩的人就能更好地控制其身體的移動。

There was an upside and a downside to this. 片語搭配

這麼做有好處，也有壞處。

He might have actually missed all those sharp barnacles if he went low enough, 文法

如果沉得夠深，他或許真能避開那些鋒利的藤壺，

but he might also have drowned.

但也可能因此溺水。

This punishment was rare,

這種刑罰很少見，

to say the least,

至少可以這麼說，

but there have been depictions of it in paintings going back to ancient times and the Middle Ages. 片語動詞

但早在古代與中世紀的畫作中，就已經出現了相關描繪。

There is this picture that was sketched sometime in the 15th or 16th century England.

英格蘭有一幅畫，大約繪於15或16世紀。

It was discussed in 1880 in British Parliament,

1880年，英國國會曾討論過這幅畫，

when one politician asked the secretary to Admiralty about an instance of keelhauling that had been reported in Italian newspapers.

當時一名議員向海軍部大臣詢問義大利報紙報導的一起拖龍骨刑事件。

It allegedly happened on the HMS Alexandra, 用詞

據稱事件發生在HMS Alexandra號上，

but the Navy denied it had ever happened.

但海軍否認此事曾經發生。

There is also a well-known painting that's called The Keelhauling of the Ship's Surgeon of Admiral Jan van Nyssen.

還有一幅名畫，名為《Jan van Nyssen海軍上將艦上外科醫師受拖龍骨刑》。

The event happened on a stationary ship in front of many spectators,

事件發生在一艘停泊的船上，許多觀眾在場觀看，

but it seems the punishment was never supposed to kill the offender, 文法

但這種懲罰似乎本來就不是為了處死犯錯者，

but only act as a warning to others who thought about not towing the line, 講解

而只是警告其他不願「按線行事」的人，

pun intended.

這裡刻意玩了個文字遊戲。

That expression is a reference from the Navy.

這個說法源自海軍。

Historians have written that keelhauling did happen in the Dutch Navy.

歷史學家曾寫道，荷蘭海軍確實使用過拖龍骨刑。

They described as we have,

他們的描述與我們所說的一樣，

saying that the man was lowered on pulleys and ropes into the water, 片語搭配

受刑者會被滑輪和繩索放入水中，

and weights were attached to him.

身上還會綁上重物。

He was then pulled back up the other side of the ship.

隨後，他會從船的另一側被拉上來。

Although it's also written that he might have been given some time to get his breath back, 片語搭配

還有記載說，受刑者或許會得到一點時間喘口氣，

and then it started again.

然後刑罰再次開始。

This was apparently much more severe in the winter

顯然，這種刑罰在冬天嚴酷得多，

when the water was freezing cold,

因為海水冰冷刺骨，

and severe injury could happen due to the man hitting his head.

而且受刑者可能因撞到頭部而嚴重受傷。

It wasn't supposed to be a death sentence,

這種刑罰本來並不以處死為目的，

though.

不過話雖如此。

In the case of this keelhauling,

在這次拖龍骨刑中，

it was under the command of a 17th century Dutch admiral named Jan van Nyssen. 片語搭配

下令者是一位名叫Jan van Nyssen的17世紀荷蘭海軍上將。

We just can't find any resource

我們實在找不到任何資料，

that tells us what the guilty surgeon had done to deserve this wicked treatment.

說明那名有罪的外科醫師究竟做了什麼，才遭受如此殘酷的對待。

Keelhauling is described in a book called A Relation of Two Several Voyages made into the East Indies,

《A Relation of Two Several Voyages made into the East Indies》一書記載了拖龍骨刑，

that was published in 1700.

該書出版於1700年。

Again,

再說一次，

it's the Dutch that did

這件事是荷蘭人幹

it. Here's an excerpt from that book.

的。以下是書中的一段摘錄。

He that strikes an officer or master of the ship 文法

任何毆打軍官或船長之人，

is without hopes of pardon 用詞

都休想得到寬恕，

to be thrown into the sea,

必須被扔進海裡，

fastened by a rope,

身上繫著一根繩子，

with which he is thrown in on one side of the ship,

靠這根繩子從船的一側被投入水中，

and drawn up again on the other. 片語動詞

再從另一側拉上來。

And so three times together he is drawn round the keel of the ship.

如此連續三次，繞過船的龍骨。

In the doing of which,

在執行過程中，

if they should chance not to allow rope enough to let him sink below the keel, 文法

如果繩子碰巧放得不夠長，沒能讓他沉到龍骨下方，

the malefactor might have his brains knocked out. 用詞

罪犯的腦袋可能會被撞得稀爛。

It sounds like the lower the man sank, 文法

聽起來，那個人沉得越深，

the better his chances were of keeping his head intact and not being sliced by barnacles.

保住腦袋、避免被藤壺割傷的機會就越大。

There are other cases of keelhauling that were described in the journal of Dutch admiral named Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp.

荷蘭海軍上將Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp的日誌中還記載了其他拖龍骨刑案例。

In 1639,

1639年，

he described something similar to the above.

他描述了與上述情況相似的事件。

In the 18th century,

到了18世紀，

a piece of writing by an Englishman said,

一名英格蘭人的文章寫道：

"The English don't do it,

「英格蘭人不用這種刑罰，

but the French do.

但法國人會用。

One instance is described when a French sailor went around the ship five times."

據記載，有一名法國水手曾被拖著繞船五圈。」

It was published in November of 1869,

文章發表於1869年11月，

in a publication called Onward Magazine.

刊登在《Onward Magazine》上。

The person who witnessed this and wrote about it

目睹此事並寫下紀錄的人

said the sailor had injuries of the most serious nature, 用詞

說，那名水手必然會遭受極其嚴重的傷害，

or death itself,

甚至死亡，

certain of being the result.

結果必然是兩者之一。

Ah, matey. 用詞

啊，夥計。

Now that you've gotten through this video,

既然你已經看完了這段影片，

let's stick together and watch another.

那就繼續和我們一起看下一段吧。

We've picked two for you,

我們為你挑了兩部，

so choose this one over here

可以選擇這邊這部，

or this video here.

或者這裡這段影片。

Pick now,

現在就選，

or you might end up keelhauling yourself. 片語動詞

否則你說不定得給自己來一次拖龍骨刑。

Just kidding. 語氣意圖

開玩笑的。

Or are we?

還是說，我們沒開玩笑？