《珍珠之歌》出自具有诺斯替主义的《the Acts of Thomas 使徒托马斯之行》，描述了灵魂被放逐的Thomas自我救赎历程。该文本既被称为“珍珠之歌”，也被称为“荣耀之袍赞歌”。原文是用古叙利亚语写的，所以中东的地名会很多。经过英语翻译后变得有些模棱两可，因此我尽量在翻译的过程中进行保留原意的调整语序。

I.

When, a quite little child, I was dwelling

In the House of my Father’s Kingdom,

And in the wealth and the glories

Of my Up-bringers I was delighting,

From the East, our Home, my Parents

Forth-sent me with journey-provision.

Indeed from the wealth of our Treasure,

They bound up for me a load.

Large was it, yet was it so light

That all alone I could bear it.

当我还是个孩童时，我生活在父亲的王国，

我成长于财富和荣耀中，这使我很欣慰，

在东方之地，我们的家，

父母从司库中挑选了许多财宝，将它们给予我

而我将带着他们去远行。

但，它们很轻，如此轻盈

以至于我一人便可背负它们。

II.

Gold from the Land of Beth-Ellaya,

Silver from Gazak the Great,

Chalcedonies of India,

Iris-hued [Opals?] from Kãshan.

They girt me with Adamant [also]

That hath power to cut even iron.

My Glorious Robe they took off me

Which in their love they had wrought me,

And my Purple Mantle [also]

Which was woven to match with my stature.

来自Beth-Ellaya的黄金，

来自Gazak the Great的白银，

来自India的玉髓，

来自Kãshan的宝石，

它们是如此坚硬的

也赋予我能力，削铁如泥的能力。

我脱下了那件光荣的袍子，

这长袍编织于他们的爱，

我的紫色披风[也]是如此编织的，

它们太合身了，我很满足。

III.

And with me They [then] made a compact;

In my heart wrote it, not to forget it:

"If thou goest down into Egypt,

And thence thou bring’st the one Pearl –

"[The Pearl] that lies in the Sea,

Hard by the loud-breathing Serpent –

"[Then] shalt Thou put on thy Robe

And thy Mantle that goeth upon it,

"And with thy Brother, Our Second,

Shalt thou be Heir in our Kingdom."

他们和我一起订立了契约;

在我心里写下了这句话，

请不要忘记它

“如果你游历到埃及之时”

“须从埃及带来那颗珍珠”

“[珍珠]躺在海里”

“气吁如牛的大蛇守护着它”

“[然后]，你要为自己加冠加冕”。

“与你的兄弟，我们的第二个孩子，

一同成为我们王国的继承人。”

IV.

I left the East and went down

With two Couriers [with me]

For the way was hard and dangerous,

For I was young to tread it.

I traversed the borders of Maish~ n,

The mart of the Eastern merchants,

And I reached the Land of Babel,

And entered the walls of Sarbãg.

Down further I went into Egypt;

And from me parted my escorts.

我离开东方之地，

带上两个随从和我远行

此行是艰难而危险的，

因为我还年轻，

恐无胜此之举。

我途径东方商人的集市，

我到达了巴别塔之地，

进入了萨尔邦格的城墙。

最终，我到达了埃及

   于此，我遣散了随从。

V.

Straightway I went to the Serpent;

Near to his lodging I settled,

To take away my Pearl

While he should sleep and should slumber.

Lone was I there, yea, all lonely;

To my fellow-lodgers a stranger.

However I saw there a noble,

From out of the Dawn-land my kinsman,

A young man fair and well favoured,

Son of Grandees; he came and he joined me.

 [我对此并不伤心]即刻动身去找蛇;

在他的巢穴附近，我安顿下来，

要想拿走它的珍珠，

应当在其休息或发呆时。

在那里我很孤独 ，是的，孤独感涌上心头;

对我来说，同伴也只不过一个陌生人罢了，

然而 我在那里看到一个贵族， 从黎明之地出来，我的皇亲，

那年轻男子，富有正义感而魅力十足，

贵族之子向我走来;他加入了我。

VI.

I made him my chosen companion,

A comrade, for sharing my wares with.

He warned me against the Egyptians,

’Gainst mixing with the unclean ones.

For I had clothed me as they were,

That they might not guess I had come

From afar to take off the Pearl,

And so rouse the Serpent against me.

我没有犹豫，

他成为我的同伴，准确的说是同志，

我与他分享我的一切。

他也警告我不要与埃及人混在一起，

与反对者与不洁的人混在一起。

我用他们的服饰进行伪装，

免得他们猜到我的到来

我取下珍珠，

蛇醒了，开始攻击我。

VII.

But from some occasion or other

They learned I was not of their country.

With their wiles they made my acquaintance;

Yea, they gave me their victuals to eat.

I forgot that I was a King’s son,

And became a slave to their king.

I forgot all concerning the Pearl

For which my Parents had sent me;

And from the weight of their victuals

I sank down into a deep sleep.

机缘巧合下，他们得知我不是

他们国家的人。

他们便用诡计，使我与之结识;

他们引诱我吃下不明的食物。

我 忘了我是国王的儿子，

我 成了他们国王的奴隶。

我 忘了父母送给我珍珠

我 忘了我父母给予的一切;

我陷入了痛苦之中，我陷入了沉睡的桎梏。

VIII.

All this that now was befalling,

My Parents perceived and were anxious.

It was then proclaimed in our Kingdom,

That all should speed to our Gate –

Kings and Chieftains of Parthia,

And of the East all the Princes.

And this is the counsel they came to:

I should not be left down in Egypt.

And for me they wrote out a Letter;

And to it each Noble his Name set:

但所有这些事情都降临在身上 

我的父母得知此事，为我感到悲伤;

并在我们的国度，召集各路人士

帕提亚的国王和王子，

以及东方的所有贵族。

他们编织了一个救赎计划，

可使我不被留在埃及;

他们给我写了一封信，

每个贵族都在上面签上了自己的名字：

IX.

"From Us – King of Kings, thy Father,

And thy Mother, Queen of the Dawn-land,

"And from Our Second, thy Brother –

To thee, Son, down in Egypt, Our Greeting!

"Up an arise from thy sleep,

Give ear to the words of Our Letter!

"Remember that thou art a King’s son;

See whom thou hast served in thy slavedom.

Bethink thyself of the Pearl

For which thou didst journey to Egypt.

“你的父亲，万王之王；你的母亲，东方女皇；你的兄弟，我们的第二个（继承者）

在此

我们被困在埃及的儿子啊，我们需要你的回应！

请记住，你是帝王之子！看那群奴隶，他们为谁服务！

记住珍珠，珍珠！

为此才将你被派往埃及！

X.

"Remember thy Glorious Robe,

Thy Splendid Mantle remember,

"To put on and wear as adornment,

When thy Name may be read in the Book of the Heroes,

"And with Our Successor, thy Brother,

Thou mayest be Heir in Our Kingdom."

My Letter was [surely] a Letter

The King had sealed up with His Right Hand,

’Gainst the Children of Babel, the wicked,

The tyrannical Daimons of Sarbãg.

"想想你的华丽的长袍，

想想你的紫色披风，

想想你即将装饰的珠宝玉石，

勇士在宣读你的名字后，我们终将成功

你的兄弟，我们的总督，将替我们出征

你将回到我们的王国，我们未来的继承者"

在字里行间中，父亲国王用右手盖下章

（送信的是）诽谤者， 巴别塔的子孙，Sarbãg十恶不赦的戴蒙（Daimon）

专栏译者注：Daimon，也就是“devil ”、“demon ”的同源词，来源于《旧约》。希伯来文的《旧约》被译成希腊文时，将撒旦翻译成了 diabolos 一词，而 diabolos 在希腊文中原义是“诽谤者”，是圣经的影响才使它获得我们今天熟悉的词义“魔鬼”或“恶魔”的。

与 devil 词义接近的单词 demon （恶魔）同样源自希腊语。它源自希腊单词 daimon ，本意是“半神、守护神、邪神”。在希腊文的《圣经》中，用 daimon 来表示“异教神灵、不洁神灵”。因此，英语单词 demon 泛指各种恶魔，而 devil 原本专指撒旦，后来才泛指恶魔。

XI.

It flew in the form of the Eagle,

Of all the winged tribes the king-bird;

It flew and alighted beside me,

And turned into speech altogether.

At its voice and the sound of its winging,

I waked and arose from my deep sleep.

Unto me I took it and kissed it;

I loosed its seal and I read it.

E’en as it stood in my heart writ,

The words of my Letter were written.

它宛如空中翱翔的鹰，万鸟之王;

它飞来飞去，在我身边落下，

一瞬间、它变成了所有的言语。

它的声音，沙沙作响，

我从睡梦中醒来。

我拿起信亲吻它，

我开始（并）阅读它;

根据信中的内容，带着记忆重新涌入。

XII.

I remembered that I was a King’s son,

And my rank did long for its nature.

I bethought me again of the Pearl,

For which I was sent down to Egypt.

And I began [then] to charm him,

The terrible loud-breathing Serpent.

I lulled him to sleep and to slumber,

Chanting o’er him the Name of my Father,

The Name of our Second, [my Brother],

And [Name] of my Mother, the East-Queen.

我想起我皇室父母，

我想起我那高贵的出身。

我想起了那颗珍珠，

我曾为此到达埃及，

我开始迷住那条蛇，那条可怕的大声呼吸的蛇。

我借助父亲、母亲、兄弟名义将它哄睡。

XIII.

And [thereon] I snatched up the Pearl,

And turned to the House of my Father.

Their filthy and unclean garments

I stripped off and left in their country.

To the way that I came I betook me,

To the Light of our Home, to the Dawn-land.

On the road I found [there] before me,

My Letter that had aroused me –

As with its voice it had roused me,

So now with its light it did lead me –

我抢过珍珠，奔向家的方向。

我脱掉了那肮脏不洁的衣服

不带走一片云彩。

那封唤信我的信——

它用它的声音唤醒了我，

现在它用它的光引导我——

我来时的路，引着我去黎明之地。

XIV.

On fabric of silk, in letter of red [?],

With shining appearance before me [?],

Encouraging me with its guidance,

With its love it was drawing me onward.

I went forth; through Sarbãg I passed;

I left B~ bel-land on my left hand;

And I reached unto Maishan the Great,

The meeting-place of the merchants,

That lieth hard by the Sea-shore.

红色的信在我面前闪闪发光

它的鼓励指引着我，

它用爱支持我着我前进。

我逃脱了埃及;我经过了Sarbug;

再次途径巴别塔、Maishan,

最终，我在海边艰难地躺着。

XV.

My Glorious Robe that I’d stripped off,

And my Mantle with which it was covered,

Down from the Heights of Hyrcania,

Thither my Parents did send me,

By the hands of their Treasure-dispensers

Who trustworthy were with it trusted.

Without my recalling its fashion, –

In the House of my Father my childhood had left it,--

At once, as soon as I saw it,

The Glory looked like my own self.

我脱下的光荣长袍，

还有我的紫色披风，

从海卡尼亚高地跳下，

我父母送我去的地方，

通过他们Treasure-dispensers之手

值得信赖的人果然是值得信赖的。

我回忆它的形象,

在我父亲的家里，我的童年也早已远去-

我一看到它荣耀加身

仿佛像我以后的样子。

XVI.

I saw it in all of me,

And saw me all in [all of] it, –

That we were twain in distinction,

And yet again one in one likeness.

I saw, too, the Treasurers also,

Who unto me had down-brought it,

Were twain [and yet] of one likeness;

For one Sign of the King was upon them –

Who through them restored me the Glory,

The Pledge of my Kingship [?].

我在自己身上看到了镜中人

我看到了我未来的一切

但是我们是两个与众不同的人，

竟然能在同一个地方如此相似。

我也看到了未来的宝藏，

是谁把它带给我的，

这一切太相像了

因为国王的一个迹象就在他们身上——

是谁通过他们恢复了我的荣耀和王权？

XVII.

The Glorious Robe all-bespangled

With sparkling splendour of colours:

With Gold and also with Beryls,

Chalcedonies, iris-hued [Opals?],

With Sards of varying colours.

To match its grandeur [?], moreover, it had been completed:

With adamantine jewels

All of its seams were off-fastened.

[Moreover] the King of Kings’ Image

Was depicted entirely all o’er it;

And as with Sapphires above

Was it wrought in a motley of colour.

我重新穿上的长袍，

用宝石装饰着绚丽的色彩，

黄金和绿柱石，宝石和玛瑙

以及颜色各异的奇石。

这一切为了与它的宏伟相匹配

XVIII.

I saw that moreover all o’er it

The motions of Gnosis abounding;

I saw it further was making

Ready as though for to speak.

I heard the sound of its Music

Which it whispered as it descended [?]:

"Behold him the active in deeds!

For whom I was reared with my Father;

"I too have felt in myself

How that with his works waxed my stature."

我还看到，灵知本能（诺斯替）在我身旁游荡

它将要向我传述。

我能听到了它的声响

它下降身躯并低声地说：

"看哪，他做事雷厉风行。我是为他与父一同长大的"

“我也在自己身上感受到，他的努力使我的灵体更加具象。”

XIX.

And [now] with its Kingly motions

Was it pouring itself out towards me,

And made haste in the hands of its Givers,

That I might [take and] receive it.

And me, too, my love urged forward

To run for to meet it, to take it.

And I stretched myself forth to receive it;

With its beauty of colour I decked me,

And my Mantle of sparkling colours

I wrapped entirely all o’er me.

而[现在]它那国王般的动作是不是向我倾泻而出，

又在赐给他的人手里急行，好叫我收下这份圣德。

同理，我的博爱之心与我的躯体一同推进

诺斯替的灵知啊

为了迎接它，为了接受它。

我伸出手接受它；

我用它的色彩之美装饰着我，用我那闪闪发光的色彩斗篷

我把一切都裹在身上了。

XX.

I clothed me therewith, and ascended

To the Gate of Greeting and Homage.

I bowed my head and did homage

To the Glory of Him who had sent it,

Whose commands I [now] had accomplished,

And who had, too, done what He’d promised.

[And there] at the Gate of His House-sons

I mingled myself with His Princes;

For He had received me with gladness,

And I was with Him in His Kingdom;

我穿上那件被灵知祝福的长袍，

我登上叩问与觐见之门。

我低下头，向那差遣我的荣耀致敬，

我[现在]服从他的所有神谕，

谁人做到了他所承诺的。国王的儿子们将出现在此门

我和他的王子们混同；因为他们举天同庆地接待我，我与他、他的王国同在；

XXI.

To whom the whole of His Servants

With sweet-sounding voices sing praises.

He had promised that with him to the Court

Of the King of Kings I should speed,

And taking with me my Pearl

Should with him be seen by our King.

他的众仆人

都用甜美的声音赞美他。

他答应我

和他一起去万王之王的宫廷，

我迫不及待，

带上我的珍珠，

只为让我们敬爱的王见识它。

The Hymn of Judas Thomas the Apostle,which he spake in prison, is ended.

使徒犹大-托马斯在狱中所说的赞美诗到此结束。