The Twilight of the Gods

Loki and Fenrir, the wolf, were safely bound, each to his separate cliff, but still happiness and peace did not return to Asgard, for Baldur was no longer there, and light and joy had gone from the home of the gods. The Aesir felt that the Twilight of the gods, which Odin knew was to come, must be near.

洛基和狼芬里尔都已被牢牢地分别锁在各自的悬崖上，然而阿斯加德却并未因此恢复欢乐与安宁，因为巴德尔已不在人间，光明与喜悦也随之离开了众神的家园。众神都感到，奥丁早已知晓终将到来的“诸神的黄昏”，此刻已然临近。

Soon began a long cold winter; surely it must be the beginning of the Fimbulwinter, which was to come before the last great battle. From the north came cold blasts of freezing wind; snow and ice covered the earth; men could not see the face of the sun or the moon. Everywhere there was darkness; the people grew fierce and unhappy and wicked, for they seemed no longer to love each other. So the evil deeds of men kept on, and the fierce frost giants grew stronger and stronger. They killed the trees and flowers, and bound the lakes and rivers with icy bands.

不久，一个漫长而寒冷的冬天开始了；这想必就是芬布尔之冬的开端，那是最后一场大战来临前的征兆。北方吹来阵阵刺骨寒风；冰雪覆盖了大地；人们再也看不见太阳和月亮的面容。到处都是黑暗；人心变得凶狠、不幸而邪恶，仿佛彼此之间不再有爱。于是人间的恶行不断滋长，凶暴的霜巨人也愈发强大。他们摧毁了树木与花朵，将湖泊与河流都封入冰封的枷锁之中。

Even when summer time came, the cold still held on, and no one could see the green grass or the beautiful golden sunlight. The frost giants were pleased to see the trouble they had brought upon men, and hoped they soon could destroy Asgard and the gods.

即便到了夏天，寒冷依旧不肯退去，谁也看不见青翠的草地，看不见那金色灿烂的阳光。霜巨人们眼见自己给人类带来的灾祸，心中十分得意，盼望着不久便能摧毁阿斯加德，消灭众神。

Three long winters passed, with no light to warm and brighten the world; after that still three other dreary winters, and then the eagle who sat on the top of the great world tree, Yggdrasil, gave a loud, shrill cry; at that the earth shook, the rocks crumbled and fell, so that Loki and the wolf were freed from their chains.

漫长的三个冬天过去了，世间没有一丝光亮来温暖照亮；此后又是三个凄凉的寒冬，随后，那只栖息在世界之树尤克特拉希尔顶端的巨鹰发出了一声响亮而尖锐的鸣叫；顿时大地震动，岩石崩裂坠落，洛基与那匹狼便挣脱了锁链，重获自由。

The waters of the deep ocean rose and rolled high over the land, and up above the waves writhing out of the deep, came the monster Midgard serpent to join in the last battle. Now the enemies of the gods were gathering from all sides,—the frost giants, the mountain giants, with Loki, Fenrir, and the Midgard serpent.

深海的波涛汹涌而起，漫过陆地；随着波浪翻腾扭动，那怪物米德加尔德巨蛇也从深渊中现身，加入这最后的一战。此时，众神的敌人正从四面八方聚集而来——霜巨人、山岳巨人，还有洛基、芬里尔和米德加尔德巨蛇。

Heimdall, the faithful watchman, looked from his watch-tower by the rainbow bridge, and when he saw the host of monsters appearing and raging toward Asgard, he blew his magic horn, Giallar, which was the signal of warning to the gods.

海姆达尔，那位忠诚的守望者，正从彩虹桥旁的瞭望塔上远眺，当他看见成群的怪物咆哮着涌向阿斯加德时，便吹响了他那支具有魔力的号角——加拉尔号角，向众神发出警示的信号。

When Father Odin heard the blast of Heimdall's horn, he hastened to arm himself for the battle; once again it is said the Allfather sought wisdom at Mimir's fountain, asking to know how best to lead the Aesir against their enemies. But what Mimir said to him no one ever knew, for a second call sounded from the Giallar horn, and the gods, with Odin at their head, rode forth from Asgard to meet their foes.

奥丁天父听见海姆达尔号角的鸣响，便急忙披挂上阵，准备迎战；据说众神之父再次前往密米尔之泉寻求智慧，询问如何才能率领阿萨神族战胜敌人。但密米尔究竟对他说了什么，无人知晓，因为加拉尔号角又一次吹响，众神便在奥丁的率领下，从阿斯加德出发，迎向他们的敌人。

Thor took his place beside Odin, but they were soon parted in the struggle. The thunder-god fell upon his old enemy, the serpent, whom twice before he had tried to slay, and after a fierce fight, he at last conquered and slew the monster; but the poisonous breath from the serpent's mouth overcame the mighty Thor, and he also fell.

托尔站在奥丁身旁，但两人很快便在混战中分开了。这位雷神扑向他的老对手——那条巨蛇，他曾两度试图斩杀它——经过一番激烈搏斗，他终于战胜并杀死了这个怪物；然而巨蛇口中喷出的毒气却压倒了强大的托尔，他也随之倒下。

Heimdall and Loki came face to face, and each slew the other. Thus every one of the gods battled each with his foe, till at last the darkness grew deeper, and all, both gods and giants lay dead. Then fire burst forth, raging from Utgard to Asgard—and all the worlds were destroyed in that dreadful day of Ragnarök.

海姆达尔与洛基正面相遇，两人互相杀死了对方。就这样，每一位神祇都与自己的敌人搏斗，直到黑暗越来越深沉，众神与巨人都倒地身亡。随后烈火喷涌而出，从乌特加德一直蔓延到阿斯加德——在那可怕的诸神黄昏之日，所有的世界都毁灭了。

But this was not the end of all: after many months, and years, and even centuries had passed, a new world began to appear, with the fair ocean, and the beautiful land, with a bright, shining sun by day, and the moon and stars by night. Then once more the light and heat from the sun made the grass and trees grow, and the flowers bloom.

但这并非一切的终结：经过数月、数年，乃至数个世纪之后，一个新世界开始显现，拥有美丽的海洋和秀丽的大地，白天有明亮灿烂的太阳，夜晚有月亮与星辰。于是，太阳的光与热再次使青草与树木生长，鲜花绽放。

Baldur and Hodur came to this beautiful new world, and walked and talked together. Thor's sons were there, too, and with them, the hammer, Miölnir, no longer for use against giants, but for helping men build homes.

巴德尔与霍德尔来到了这个美丽的新世界，一同漫步交谈。托尔的儿子们也在那里，还带着那把锤子米约尔尼尔，如今它不再用来对付巨人，而是用来帮助人类建造家园。

Two people, a man and a woman, who were kept safe through the raging fire, now came to dwell on the earth, and all their children and grandchildren lived at peace with each other in this beautiful new world.

有两个人，一男一女，曾在那场熊熊烈火中安然幸存，如今来到大地上定居，他们的子孙后代都在这个美丽的新世界里彼此和睦相处，安宁度日。

Baldur and Hodur talked often of the old days when the Aesir dwelt in Asgard, before Loki, the wicked one, brought darkness and trouble to them. With loving words they spoke of Odin and Frigga; and the brave Tyr, who gave his right hand to save the Aesir; of mighty Thor; and faithful Heimdall; of lovely Freyja, with her beautiful necklace; and of fair Iduna's garden, where they used to sit and eat her magic apples. "But still," they said, "we know now that this new world is fairer than the old, and here, also, the loving Allfather watches over his children."

巴德尔与霍德尔常常谈起往昔的岁月，谈起阿萨神族居住在阿斯加德的时光，那是在邪恶的洛基带来黑暗与灾祸之前。他们满怀深情地谈起奥丁与弗丽嘉；谈起勇敢的提尔，他曾献出自己的右手以拯救阿萨神族；谈起强大的托尔；忠诚的海姆达尔；美丽的弗蕾娅和她那条华美的项链；还有美丽的伊登的花园，他们曾在那里坐下，品尝她那具有魔力的苹果。“可是，”他们说，“我们如今知道，这个新世界比旧世界更加美好，而在这里，慈爱的众神之父依然守护着他的子民。”