In the summer of 1664,a comet appeared in the skies over England.
1664年夏 一颗彗星划过英格兰的天空
Its sallow tail could be seen with unprecedented clarity
国王使用一种新型望远镜
through the lens of the new telescopes owned among others, by the king.
比其他人能更清晰地 观测到灰黄色的慧尾
But what most people saw was disaster in the offing.
而在大多人眼中 这预示着灾难的降临
They had all read their almanacs.
人们都看过黄历
They knew that the Apocalypse would be heralded by pestilence, fire and war.
他们知道 大难将至 首先降临的就是瘟疫 火灾与战争
A year later, thousands of bodies killed by bubonic plague were being tossed each week into the great pit of Aldgate
一年后 每周都有成千上万黑死病者的尸体 被埋进阿尔盖特的大坑
and there was nothing science could do about it,
所有科学对此都束手无策
except count the dead with the care demanded by modern statistics.
只能运用现代统计学的严谨汇总死亡数字
My part of death,No one so true,Did share it,Come away,Come away Death
我已死去 无人真心 为我哀伤 降临吧 降临吧 死神
One-sixth of London's population perished.
六分之一的伦敦人丧生
The infection ebbed with the onset of autumn,
入秋后疫情渐止
but the trepidation hung around for the number of the Beast was 666.
但恐惧仍旧弥漫 因为魔鬼的代号为666
And sure enough, up from the smoky regions of Hell,
果不其然 1666年9月的第一个礼拜
in the first week of September, 1666,came the diabolical fire.
恶魔之火从烟雾缭绕的地狱 扑面而来