萬物簡史 第106期:勢不兩立的科學(14)

In the district of Sydenham in south London, at aplace called Crystal Palace Park, there stands astrange and forgotten sight: the world's first life-sized models of dinosaurs. Not many people travelthere these days, but once this was one of the mostpopular attractions in London—in effect, as RichardFortey has noted, the world's first theme park.

在倫敦南部的西德納姆區(qū)，有個地方名叫水晶宮公園。那里聳立著一片被人遺忘的奇觀：世界上第一批實物大小的恐龍模型。近來去那里的人不太多，但一度這里是倫敦游客最多的勝地之一——事實上，正如理查德·福蒂說的，它是世界上第一個主題公園。

Quite a lot about the models is not strictly correct. The iguanodon's thumb has been placed onits nose, as a kind of spike, and it stands on four sturdy legs, making it look like a rather stoutand awkwardly overgrown dog. (In life, the iguanodon did not crouch on all fours, but wasbipedal.) Looking at them now you would scarcely guess that these odd and lumbering beastscould cause great rancor and bitterness, but they did. Perhaps nothing in natural history hasbeen at the center of fiercer and more enduring hatreds than the line of ancient beasts knownas dinosaurs.

嚴格來說，那些模型在許多方面是不正確的。禽龍的大拇指頂在鼻子上，變成了一根尖刺;它長著四條粗壯的腿，看上去像一條肥肥胖胖、不成比例的狗。(其實，禽龍不用四條腿蹲著，而是一種兩足動物。)現(xiàn)在望著它們，你幾乎想不到這些古怪而行動緩慢的動物會引起積怨和仇恨，但事實卻是如此。在自然史上，也許從來沒有哪種動物像名叫恐龍的古代動物那樣成為強烈而又持久的仇恨的中心。

At the time of the dinosaurs' construction, Sydenham was on the edge of London and itsspacious park was considered an ideal place to re-erect the famous Crystal Palace, the glass andcast-iron structure that had been the centerpiece of the Great Exhibition of 1851, and fromwhich the new park naturally took its name. The dinosaurs, built of concrete, were a kind ofbonus attraction. On New Year's Eve 1853 a famous dinner for twenty-one prominentscientists was held inside the unfinished iguanodon. Gideon Mantell, the man who had foundand identified the iguanodon, was not among them. The person at the head of the table wasthe greatest star of the young science of paleontology. His name was Richard Owen and by thistime he had already devoted several productive years to making Gideon Mantell's life hell.

建造恐龍模型的時候，西德納姆位于倫敦邊緣，寬敞的公園被認為是重建著名的水晶宮的理想之地。玻璃和鑄鐵結構的水晶宮曾是1851年博覽會的中心場所。新建的公園很自然地以此冠名。用混凝土建成的恐龍模型是一種很有經(jīng)濟效益的景觀。1853年除夕，在尚未完工的禽龍模型內(nèi)為21名科學家舉行了一次著名的晚宴。那位發(fā)現(xiàn)并確認禽龍的人吉迪恩·曼特爾不在其中。坐在餐桌上手的是古生物學這門年輕的科學里最偉大的人物，他的名字叫理查德·歐文。到這個時候，他已經(jīng)花費幾年心血，成果累累，害得吉迪思·曼特爾的日子很不好過。