At worst, possession -- that he'd been seized by an evil jinn,
往坏处想,他被邪恶的神怪附身了
a spirit out to deceive him, even to crush the life out of him.
要来欺骗他,甚至来取他的性命
In fact, he was so sure that he could only be majnun, possessed by a jinn,
事实上,他非常肯定他只是恶魔附身,被神怪占有
that when he found himself still alive, his first impulse was to finish the job himself,
所以当他发现还活着时,心里的念头就是了结生命
to leap off the highest cliff
从最高的悬崖跳下
and escape the terror of what he'd experienced by putting an end to all experience.
了结所有一切,来脱离恐怖的亲身经历
So the man who fled down the mountain that night
那夜他从山上摔下来
trembled not with joy but with a stark, primordial fear.
不是因为喜悦而颤抖,而是赤裸裸的原始恐惧
He was overwhelmed not with conviction, but by doubt.
他心中没有坚定的信念,只有疑惑
And that panicked disorientation, that sundering of everything familiar,
正是那种起于恐慌的迷失,离开一切熟悉的事物
that daunting awareness of something beyond human comprehension, can only be called a terrible awe.
对超越人类理解范围的事物令人怯步的觉察,才可令人敬畏三分
This might be somewhat difficult to grasp
这可能有点难理解
now that we use the word "awesome" to describe a new app or a viral video.
现在我们常用“真棒”来评价一款新应用程式,或一段热门影片
With the exception perhaps of a massive earthquake, we're protected from real awe.
大地震的影片也许除外,我们免于受到真正的畏惧
We close the doors and hunker down, convinced that we're in control, or, at least, hoping for control.
我们关上门,蹲下来,相信一切都在掌控之中,或者至少希望受到控制。