段八：荒淫盛世、商業野豬與倫敦之樹

梅林的預言

呢段預言講一個「盛世」——女人行路似蛇、金星城堡重建、遍地荒淫，然後「商業野豬」（Boar of commerce）降臨，繼而出現一棵遮蔽全島、生咗三條樹枝嘅倫敦大樹。以下為公有領域英譯（Sebastian Evans 1904 譯）原文節錄。

原文（公有領域英譯）

There shall be peace in his time, and the harvests shall be multiplied by the bounty of the soil. Women shall become serpents in their gait, and all their steps be full of pride. The castles of Venus shall be builded new, nor shall Cupid's arrows cease to wound. Every fountain shall be turned into blood, and two Kings shall encounter in nigh combat for the Lioness of the ford of the staff. Every soil shall riot in luxury, neither shall mankind cease to follow after lust. All these things shall three ages see, until the buried Kings be brought to light in the city of London. Again shall famine return; again mortality return; and the citizens shall mourn over the desolation of their cities. Then shall the Boar of commerce arrive in the land, who shall recall the scattered flocks unto the pastures they have lost. His breast shall be meat unto the hungry and his tongue as drink unto them that thirst. From his mouth shall issue forth rivers that shall slake the parching gullets of men. Thereafter shall a tree rise up above the Tower of London, that thrusting forth three branches only shall overshadow all the face of the whole island with the spreading breadth of the leaves thereof.'

白話解說

呢段講咩？ 開頭先講「佢在位時有和平、收成豐盛」，但女人行路似蛇、滿身驕傲，金星城堡重建、丘比特箭不停傷人，泉水變血、兩位國王為「渡口嘅母獅」開打——即係話，呢個「盛世」其實係荒淫同戰爭並存嘅年代。原文話「三個世代都會見到呢啲嘢，直到倫敦城嘅被埋國王出土」。

「商業野豬」係邊個？ 之後「商業野豬」（Boar of commerce）降臨，叫返散失嘅羊群返去牧場，佢嘅胸係餓人嘅肉、佢嘅舌係口渴者嘅水、佢個口流出河嚟解人渴。呢個意象好鮮明：一位「商業救主」會恢復經濟、養活百姓。學者多將佢比附為一位重視貿易同民生嘅君主，具體比附各異。

「倫敦大樹」係咩？ 跟住出現一棵生喺倫敦塔之上嘅樹，只生三條樹枝，但葉子遮蓋成個島。呢個意象學者多解作一個王朝／國家嘅統治象徵，「三條樹枝」代表三個繼承分支。下文（見段九）會講北風點樣吹走其中一條樹枝——即係話，呢個王朝會有內部分裂同爭權。

「三位國王」： 原文講「兩位國王為渡口嘅母獅而戰」——「母獅」通常象徵一個王國或繼承權，即係話兩位君主會為咗王位／領土而開戰。

客觀睇： 呢段用「盛世」起筆，實則暗藏荒淫與戰亂，再帶出「商業救主」同「王朝大樹」嘅隱喻。學者普遍視為用文學象徵重寫中世紀英格蘭嘅經濟復興與王室紛爭，並非真實預測。