Researchers uncensor Marie Antoinette’s secret letters to Swedish count

 

研究人員揭開瑪麗安東尼給瑞典伯爵秘密情書遭塗黑內容

【摘要2021.11.3.三.自由】◎管淑平

New light has been shed on secret letters between Marie Antoinette and a man long rumored to be her lover, after scientists deciphered mysteriously redacted portions of their affectionate correspondence.

科學家破解瑪麗安東尼與傳言中情人之間秘密書信被神秘塗黑部分，進一步了解這些濃情蜜意的情書內容。

The French queen’s missives were composed during the revolutionary upheaval of the early 1790s. The wife of Louis XVI was able to smuggle out letters to her friend Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count.

這些法國皇后的書信，是1970年代初期革命正炙時所寫，這位路易十六國王之妻設法將信偷偷送出去給她的友人、瑞典伯爵費爾森。

Researchers used a novel method of X-ray imaging that was able to differentiate between the different compositions of ink used in the original text and the redactions.

研究人員利用能夠區分原始文字和塗黑所用墨水成分的新X光成像法。

In all they were able to reveal obscured passages from eight of the 15 letters studied, coming to the surprising conclusion that the censor of the letters was Fersen himself. (AFP)

他們研究15封信，總共得以揭露其中8封信的被遮蓋段落，並得出令人驚訝的結論，刪掉這些內容的人正是費爾森自己。（法新社）

新聞辭典

shed (new) light on sth：片語，對某事物提供（進一步、更多）了解、解釋。例句：The new finding has shed some light on the problem.（這項新發現多少解釋了這個問題。）

affectionate：形容詞，充滿愛的、深情的。例句：He just gave her a affectionate kiss.（他剛給她深情的一吻。）

differentiate：動詞，使不同，區別。例句：It is not right to differentiate between people on the basis of their race.（因種族而對人差別待遇是不對的。）