The Flying Dutchman - Летучий голландец
The Flying Dutchman is the name of a phantom
ship said to be seen in stormy weather off the Cape of
Good Hope, and thought to forebode ill luck. The legend
has it that the ship is doomed never to enter a port on
account of a m urder committed on board; another version is that the captain, a Dutchman, homeward bound,
met with long-continued head winds off the Cape; but
swore he would round the Cape and not go back, if he
strove till the day of doom. He was taken at his word,
and there he still is, but never succeeds in rounding the
point. He sometimes hails passing vessels and requests
them to take letters home from him. The legend is supposed to have originated at the sight of some ship reflected from the clouds. It has been made the groundwork of a novel by Frederick M arryat The Phantom
Ship and of W ag n er’s opera Der Fliegende Hollander.
In modern speech the phrase is used to describe permanent wanderers, and also, ironically, restless people.
Выражение летучий голландец восходит к легенде о моряке, поклявшемся обогнуть на своем корабле мыс Доброй Надежды, хотя бы ему на это потребовалась вечность. 2. С тех пор корабль-призрак обречен на вечное плавание вдали от берегов. 3. Легенда о корабле-призраке получила распространение в художественной литературе. 4. Знаменитый немецкий композитор Рихард Вагнер написал на этот сюжет оперу «Летучий голландец».