段十二：諸獸混戰與末代星象

梅林的預言

呢段預言先講一連串野獸混戰（山牛、公羊、狼、獅、龍、野豬、公牛、狐狸等），最後以一段氣勢磅礴嘅「末日星象」作結——太陽、月亮、行星、黃道十二宮全部失常。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）

The Ass shall come unto the Goat of the long beard and shall change shapes with him. Thereupon shall the Mountain Ox wax wroth, and calling unto him the Wolf, shall become a horned Bull against them. … The ashes of his funeral pyre shall be turned into swans that shall swim upon the dry as it had been a river. … the Lion shall wrangle with the realm, and climb above the backs of the nobles. A Bull shall appear in the midst of the conflict, and shall smite the Lion with his right foot. … The Fox of Kaerdubali shall wreak revenge upon the Lion, and shall wholly devour him with her teeth. But the Adder of Lincoln shall coil about her …

'The stars shall turn their face away from them, and their wonted course shall be confounded. In the wrath of the stars shall the standing corn be withered and the dews of heaven shall be forbidden to fall. Root and branch shall change places, and the newness of the thing shall be as a miracle. The shining of the sun shall be dimmed by the amber of Mercury, and shall be a dread unto them that behold it. Stilbon of Arcady shall change his shield, and the helmet of Mars shall call unto Venus. … The malignity of Saturn the star shall fall upon earth with the rain of heaven, and shall slay mankind as it were with a crooked sickle. The twice six houses of the stars shall mourn over the wayward wandering of their guests. The Twins shall surcease from their wonted embrace, and shall call the Urn unto the fountains. … The Virgin shall forget her maiden shame, and climb up on the back of the Sagittary. The chariot of the Moon shall disturb the Zodiac, and the Pleiades shall burst into tears and lamentation. … With a baleful blast shall the winds do battle together, and the sound thereof shall be heard amongst the stars.'

白話解說

呢段講咩？ 前半係一大串野獸混戰：驢同公羊換形、山牛變公牛、獅子同公牛開打、「卡杜巴利嘅狐狸」吞獅子、「林肯嘅毒蛇」纏住佢、野豬肆虐、諸龍互撕。呢啲全部係中世紀權力鬥爭嘅動物象徵——每個動物代表一個貴族或勢力，互相傾軋。因原文極度繁複隱晦，具體比附冇標準答案，讀者宜當係「政治亂局」嘅一幅畫。

「末代星象」係咩？ 後半段係全書最壯觀嘅收尾，主題係「宇宙秩序崩壞」：星星轉面、運行失常，禾田枯萎、天不降雨，根同枝互換（反常），太陽俾水星暗影遮住、火星戰神向金星呼喚、土星帶住「歪鐮刀」落雨殺人、黃道十二宮全部哀悼、雙子座停止擁抱、天秤歪斜、處女座爬上人馬背、月亮戰車擾亂黃道、昴宿星團痛哭——即係話，整個宇宙都亂晒籠，代表世界末日或時代終結。

點解星象咁重要？ 中世紀嘅人相信天上星象反映人間命運。呢段用「行星失常」嚟營造末世感——太陽、月亮、水星、金星、火星、木星、土星（古人知道嘅七大行星）全部反常，正正代表「天翻地覆、人間大亂」。學者視之為基督教末世論同古典占星母題嘅結合，屬文學上嘅末日想像，而非真實天文觀測。

客觀睇： 全書以「野獸混戰」過渡到「宇宙崩壞」收結，層層遞進營造「由人間亂局到世界末日」嘅氣勢。呢種寫法令《梅林的預言》唔止係政治預言，更係一篇文學傑作——亦解釋咗點解佢會被後世讀者奉為權威幾百年。