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THE BATTLE OF THE RED AND THE BLACK ANTS

By Henry David Thoreau

THE BATTLE OF THE RED AND THE BLACK ANTS, From Walden, by Henry David Thoreau, Chapter XII, “Brute Neighbors.”

Henry David Thoreau （1817-1862）, American philosopher. Thoreau built himself a hut in the woods near Walden Pond in Walden, Massachusetts, U.S.A., and did only enough work to keep himself alive. He spent most of his time observing things about him.

One day when I went out to my wood-pile, or rather my pile of stumps, I observed two large ants, the one red, the other much larger, nearly half an inch long, and black, fiercely contending with one another. Having once got hold they never let go, but struggled and wrestled and rolled on the chips incessantly. Looking farther I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants, that it was not a “duellum” but a “bellum,” a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black. The legions of these Myrmidons covered all the hills and vales in my woodyard, and the ground was already strewn with the dead and dying, both red and black. It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed, the only battlefield I ever trod while the battle was raging;internecine war; the red republicans on the one hand and the black imperialists on the other hand. On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely.

I watched a couple that were fast locked in each other’s embraces in a little sunny valley amid the chips; now at noonday prepared to fight till the sun went down, or life went out. The smaller red champion had fastened himself like a vise on his adversary’s front, and through all the tumblings on that field never for an instant ceased to gnaw at one of his feelers near the root, having already caused the other to go by the board; while the stronger black one dashed him from side to side, and, as I saw on looking nearer, had already divested him of several of his members. They fought with more pertinacity than bulldogs. Neither manifested the least disposition to retreat. It was evident that their battle-cry was “Conquer or die.”

In the meanwhile there came along a single red ant on the hillside of this valley, evidently full of excitement, who either had dispatched his foe, or had not yet taken part in the battle; probably the latter, for he had lost none of his limbs;whose mother had charged him to return with his shield or upon it. He drew near with rapid pace till he stood on his guard within half an inch of the combatants; then, watching his opportunity, he sprang upon the black warrior, and commenced his operations near the root of his right foreleg, leaving the foe to select among his own members; and so there were three united for life, as if a new kind of attraction had been invented which put all other locks and cements to shame. I should not have wondered by this time to find that they had their respective musical bands stationed on some eminent chip, and playing their national airs the while, to excite the show and cheer the dying combatants. I was myself excited somewhat even as if they had been men. The more you think of it, the less the difference.

Notes

wood-pile, collection of firewood, heaped in a pile.

stumps, the part of the tree that remains after the trunk and the branches have been cut off, usually a little of the trunk left protruding from the ground and the roots. Thoreau’s wood-pile is made up of these upturned stumps now dry and ready to be chopped up and burned.

contending, fighting; struggling.

chips, the thin pieces that fly out when one is chopping wood. These chips lay strewn over the whole ground, in Thoreau’s woodyard.

incessantly, without stopping.

combatants, fighters; warriors; contenders.

“duellum”and“bellum.”Duellum is a contest between two persons, while bellum is the Latin word for war, a contest between two races, a war between many persons.

pitted, matched in a fight; fighting; set in a pit to fight.

legions. The legion was a body of soldiers, from 3,000 to 5,000 men, forming the principal unit of the ancient Roman army. The word is used here to denote a military force or army.

Myrmidons. According to Greek mythology, the Myrmidons were a fierce Thessalian tribe, in northeast Greece, who colonized the island of Ægina. Homer immortalized them as the warriors of Achilles, the great Greek hero. They were said to be descendants of ants （Greek myrmex=ants）, metamorphosed into men. In this essay, the Myrmidons are taken as representatives of the best type of fighters.

hills and vales, the uneven ground of his woodyard.

internecine war, war to the death; war in which neither side was willing to yield, in which the ultimate result would be destruction of both sides.

Why did the author use red with republicans, and black with imperialists?

resolutely, decidedly; steadfastly; full of resolution and determination.

life went out, they were no longer alive; they were killed.

sun went down, night came, when it was the custom in ancient times to stop the battle. After a night of rest, the battle was continued the next morning.

vise, a tool or device having two jaws, closing by a screw, lever, cam，and the like. Here, the jaws of the ants are compared to the jaws of the vise.

adversary, opponent; enemy.

feelers, organs in the ant for testing things by touch or for searching for food. You might call them the arms of the ants.

to go by the board, to go over the board or side of the ship; hence, figuratively, to suffer complete destruction or overthrow.

dashed, flung; threw; knocked.

divested, taken away from him; removed from him.

members, feelers and other parts of ants.

pertinacity, stubbornness; obstinacy. That species of dog known as bulldog, with its large jaws and stocky body, is noted for its stubbornness. Once a bulldog has his jaws on any part of your anatomy, he will not let loose, even if beaten to death with a stick.

manifested, showed; displayed.

dispatched, put to death; sent out of the world.

return with his shield or upon it. This is the well-known charge or parting instruction of a Spartan mother to her son upon his departure to war. The meaning of the mother is very clear. Her son was either to return from the war victorious and honored, or to die fighting bravely for his country. It was the custom then to place the bodies of dead heroes upon their shields to convey their corpse home for burial. Return with your shield victorious and alive; or, be carried back upon your shield, honored among the dead. This story comes down to us through Plutarch, in whose “Apothegms of the Laconian Women,” the story appears thus: “Another （Spartan mother） on handing her boy his shield, exhorting him, said, ‘My son, either this or upon this.’” This truly Laconic exhortation is generally extended to read as Thoreau gives it. Sparta is in Laconia, in the southern part of ancient Greece. The Spartans were noted for their military organization and vigorous discipline and steady valor. The Spartans were likewise known for expressing much in a few words. This concise mode of expressing oneself is now called “laconic.”

three united for life. The two red ants and the one black ant were biting one at the other and were so closely embraced together that they seemed to make one ant instead of being three separate ants.

locks and cements serve the purpose of linking things together or of fusing them. Now, however, these three ants were fused together closer than any cement could fuse them, and locked tighter together than any lock could unite them. They have found an attraction that is superior to the attraction of locks and cement, that puts the other things to shame.

eminent, high above the ground, in an elevated position.

excite the show, make the show more exciting; rouse the fighters to a more fervent pitch of excitement.

Questions

1. Show by what means Thoreau magnifies the battle of the ants so as to decrease the difference between ants and men.

参考译文

【作品简介】

《红蚂蚁大战黑蚂蚁》一文选自亨利·戴维·梭罗所著《瓦尔登湖》的第十二章《禽兽为邻》。

【作者简介】

亨利·戴维·梭罗（1817—1862），美国哲学家。梭罗在马萨诸塞州瓦尔登的瓦尔登湖附近的森林给自己盖了个小屋，干的活儿只够维持生存就适可而止。他把大部分时间都花在了观察周围的事物上。

红蚂蚁大战黑蚂蚁

有一天，我出门到我的木材堆去，更确切地说，是树根堆。我看见了两只大蚂蚁在争斗，一只红的，另一只是黑的，比红的大许多，差不多有半英寸那么长。双方一交手，就谁也不肯放松，搏斗着，扭打着，在木片上不停地滚来滚去。再向远处看去，我惊叹不已，木材堆上这样厮杀的勇士四处可见，看来不是“单挑”，而是“群架”，是一场发生在两个蚂蚁族群之间的战争。红蚂蚁总是挑战黑蚂蚁，通常是两只红蚂蚁对一只黑蚂蚁。我的堆木场上所有的斜坡和山谷上四处可见这些能征善战的弥尔弥冬军团，地上躺满已死的和快死了的蚂蚁，有红蚂蚁，也有黑蚂蚁。这是我亲眼目睹的唯一一场战役，是我第一次踏上正在酣战中的战地。这一场两败俱伤的生死对决，一方是红色的共和党，一方是黑色的保皇派。双方都在进行殊死搏斗，尽管耳畔不闻嘶吼，我从来没有看到人类的士兵这样奋不顾身。

在一片阳光灿烂的木片小山谷里，一对蚂蚁死死地抱住了对方，此时正值正午，艳阳高照，它们准备战斗到日落，或者战斗到生命的最后一刻。那精瘦的红色勇士像老虎钳一样紧紧咬住死敌的额头不放。双方在战场上滚来滚去，红色勇士在咬断对方的一根触须以后，又咬定了对手另一根触须的根部，一刻也不肯放松。而更强壮的黑蚂蚁则把对手甩过来甩过去。我凑近了看个仔细，发现红蚂蚁的身体有几个部位已经被黑蚂蚁扯掉了。它们比斗牛犬斗得还要顽强。双方都没有一丝一毫的退却表现，显然他们的战争口号是“不成功便成仁”。

在小山谷的山腰上出现一只红蚂蚁独行侠，显而易见，它斗志昂扬，要么是刚刚置一个对手于死地，要么就是刚刚投入战斗。大约是后者，因为它的四肢健全完好。它的母亲命令它要么手持盾牌胜利归来，要么躺在盾牌上被抬回来。它冲了过来，与对手拉开约半英寸的距离，等时机一到，就向黑武士扑了上去，一下咬住对方的右前腿，完全不顾对手会在自己身上哪个部位反咬一口。所以，此时是三只蚂蚁黏在一起生死搏命，好像产生出一种新的迷人的黏合剂似的，让所有的锁链和水泥都自愧不如。这时，我如果看到他们各自的军乐队，在突起的木片上演奏国歌来助阵，鼓舞那些奄奄一息的斗士，我也不会感到惊奇。甚至我自己都已经血脉偾张，把它们视为人类了。你越想就越觉得它们和人类没有什么不同。

（张白桦　译）

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