神秘食罪者Sineater，西方鬼故事衍生出的“罪与救赎”｜双语阅读(4)

took sick and died 患病致死
the notion that unforgiven sins were haunting the village 村庄被不可饶恕的罪恶笼罩着

那时候的人们似乎有一种观念，认为死者往生时，若没有食罪者清除他们身上的罪孽，他们的鬼魂就会在活人的世界里萦绕不去。
这位食罪者所做的就是将社会从罪恶的负面后果中拯救出来。因此，尽管他们在某种程度上被视为社区中的贱民，但也有人认为这有一种价值感。就像基督承担了世人的罪过，但他必须为此而死。所以芒斯洛他同意被诅咒、愿意下地狱。
What the sin eater was doing was saving society from the negative consequences of sin. So while they were viewed somewhat as a pariah within the community, there is also this sense of this is a value. Right, yes. Christ taken with sins of the world, but he has to die for that to make it happen. And so Munslow, he’s agreed to be damned.
saving society from 拯救社会于
be damned 被诅咒下地狱
中国文化里其实也有类似的说法：佛说，我不入地狱，谁入地狱。