★以下是英文寫作翻譯頻道為大家整理的《經(jīng)典名著英語美文閱讀-茶花女：Chapter 3》，供大家參考。更多內(nèi)容請看本站寫作翻譯頻道。
Chapter 3 第三章 All the famous names from the world of fashionable vice were there. They were being slyly observed by a number of society ladies who had again used the sale as a pretext for claiming the right to see, at close quarters, women in whose company they would not otherwise have had occasion to find themselves, and whose easy pleasures they perhaps secretly envied. 十六日下午一點鐘，我到昂坦街去了。 在大門口就能聽到拍賣估價人的喊叫聲。房間里擠滿了好奇的人。所有花街柳巷的名媛都到場了，有幾個貴婦人在偷偷打量她們。這一次她們又可以借著參加拍賣的名義，仔細(xì)瞧瞧那些她們從來沒有機會與之共同相處的女人，也許她們私下還在暗暗羨慕這些女人自由放蕩的享樂生活呢。 The Duchesse de F rubbed shoulders with Mademoiselle A, one of sorriest specimens of our modern courtesans; the Marquise de T shrank from buying an item of furniture for which the bidding was led by Madame D, the most elegant and most celebrated adulteress of our age; the Duc d'Y, who is believed in Madrid to be ruining himself in Paris, and in Paris to be ruining himself in Madrid, and who, when all is said and done, cannot even spend all his income, while continuing to chat with Madame M, one of our wittiest tale-tellers, who occasionally agrees to write down what she says and to sign what she writes, was exchanging confidential glances with Madame de N, the beauty who may be regularly seen driving on the Champs-Elysees, dressed almost invariably in pink or blue, in a carriage drawn by two large black horses sold to her by Tony for ten thousand francs...and paid for in full; lastly, Mademoiselle R, who by sheer talent makes twice what ladies of fashion make with their dowries, and three times as much as what the rest make out of their love affairs, had come in spite of the cold to make a few purchases, and it was not she who attracted the fewest eyes. F公爵夫人的胳膊撞上了A小姐；A小姐是當(dāng)今妓女圈子里一位典型的薄命紅顏；T侯爵夫人正在猶豫要不要把D夫人一個勁兒在抬價的那件家具買下來；D夫人是當(dāng)代最風(fēng)流最有名的蕩婦。那位Y公爵，在馬德里風(fēng)傳他在巴黎破了產(chǎn)，而在巴黎又風(fēng)傳他在馬德里破了產(chǎn)，而實際上連每年的年金都沒有花完。這會兒他一面在跟M太太聊天，一面卻在和N夫人眉來眼去調(diào)情。M太太是一位風(fēng)趣詼諧的講故事的好手，她常想把自己講的東西寫下來，并簽上自己的大名。漂亮的N夫人經(jīng)常在香榭麗舍大街上散步，穿的衣衫離不了粉紅和天藍(lán)兩種顏色，有兩匹高大的黑色駿馬為她駕車，這兩匹馬，托尼①向她要價一萬法郎……她如數(shù)照付；最后還有R小姐，她靠自己的才能掙得的地位使那些靠嫁妝的上流社會婦人自愧勿如，那些靠愛情生活的女人更是望塵莫及。她不顧天氣寒冷，趕來購買一些東西，也引來了人們的注目。①托尼：當(dāng)時一位的馬商。 We could go on quoting the initials of many of those who had gathered in that drawing room and who were not a little astonished at the company they kept; but we should, we fear, weary the reader. 我們還可以舉出云集在這間屋里的很多人的姓氏起首字母，他們在這里相遇連他們自己也感到非常驚訝，不過為了不使讀者感到厭煩，恕我不再一一介紹。 Suffice it to say that everyone was in the highest spirits and that, of all the women there, many had known the dead girl and gave no sign that they remembered her. 我必須一提的是，當(dāng)時大家都興高采烈。女人中間雖有很多人是死者生前的熟人，但這會兒似乎對死者毫無懷念之情。 There was much loud laughter; the auctioneers shouted at the tops of their voices; the dealers who had crowded on to the benches placed in front of the auction tables called vainly for silence in which to conduct their business in peace. Never was a gathering more varied and more uproarious. 大家高聲談笑，拍賣估價人聲嘶力竭地大聲叫喊。坐滿在拍賣桌前板凳上的商人們拼命叫大家安靜，好讓他們穩(wěn)穩(wěn)當(dāng)當(dāng)做生意，但誰也不睬他們。像這樣各色人等混雜，環(huán)境喧鬧不堪的集會倒是從未見過。 I slipped unobtrusively into the middle of the distressing tumult, saddened to think that all this was taking place next to the very room where the unfortunate creature whose furniture was being sold up to pay her debts, had breathed her last. Having come to observe rather than to buy, I watched the faces of the tradesmen who had forced the sale and whose features lit up each time an item reached a price they had never dared hope for. 我默默地混進了這堆紛亂的人群。我在想，這情景發(fā)生在這個可憐的女人咽氣的臥室近旁，為的是拍賣她的家具來償付她生前的債務(wù)，想到這里，心中不免感到無限惆悵。我與其說是來買東西的，倒不如說是來看熱鬧的，我望著幾個拍賣商的臉，每當(dāng)一件物品叫到他們意料不到的高價時，他們就喜笑顏開，心花怒放。 Honest, men all, who had speculated in the prostitution of this woman, had obtained a one hundred per cent return on her, had dogged the last moments of her life with writs, and came after she was dead to claim both the fruits of their honourable calculations and the interest accruing on the shameful credit they had given her. 那些在這個女人的神女生涯上搞過投機買賣的人，那些在她身上發(fā)過大財?shù)娜耍切┰谒龔浟糁H拿著貼了印花的借據(jù)來和她糾纏不休的人，還有那些在她死后就來收取他們冠冕堂皇的帳款和卑鄙可恥的高額利息的人，所有那些人可全都是正人君子哪！ How right were the Ancients who had one God for merchants and thieves! Dresses, Indian shawls, jewels, came under the hammer at an unbelievable rate. None of it took my fancy, and I waited on. 難怪古人說，商人和盜賊信的是同一個天主，說得何其正確！長裙、開司米披肩、首飾，一下子都實完了，快得令人難以置信，可是沒有一件東西是我用得著的，我一直在等待。 Suddenly I heard a voice shout: 'A book fully bound, gilt-edges, entitled: Manon Lescaut. There's something written on the first page: ten francs. ' 突然，我聽到在喊叫：“精裝書一冊，裝訂考究，書邊燙金，書名《瑪儂·萊斯科》①，扉頁上寫著幾個字，十法郎。” 有相當(dāng)長一段時間的冷場，以后，有一個人叫道： ①《瑪儂·萊斯科》：十八世紀(jì)法國普萊服神父（１６９７—１７６３）寫的一部戀愛小說。 'Twelve, ' said a voice, after a longish silence. “十二法郎?！?'Fifteen, ' I said. “十五法郎，”我說。 Why? I had no idea. No doubt for that 'something written'. 為什么我要出這個價錢呢？我自己也不清楚，大概是為了那上面寫著的幾個字吧。 'Fifteen, ' repeated the auctioneer. “十五法郎，”拍賣估價人又叫了一次。 'Thirty, ' said the first bidder, in a tone which seemed to defy anybody to go higher. “三十法郎，”第一個出價的人又叫了，口氣似乎是對別人加價感到惱火。 It was becoming a fight. 這下子就變成一場較量了。 'Thirty-five!' I cried, in the same tone of voice. “三十五法郎！”我用同樣的口氣叫道。 'Forty.' “四十法郎！” 'Fifty.' “五十法郎！” 'Sixty.' “六十法郎！” 'A hundred.' “一百法郎！” I confess that if I had set out to cause a stir, I would have succeeded completely, for my last bid was followed by a great silence, and people stared at me to see who this man was who seemed so intent on possessing the volume. 我承認(rèn)如果我是想要引人注意的話，那么我已經(jīng)完全達(dá)到了目的，因為在這一次爭著加碼的時候，全場鴉雀無聲，大家都瞅著我，想看看這位似乎一心要得到這本書的先生究竟是何等樣人。 Apparently the tone in which I had made my latest bid was enough for my opponent: he chose therefore to abandon a struggle which would have served only to cost me ten times what the book was worth and, with a bow, he said very graciously but a little late: 'It's yours, sir.' 我最后一次叫價的口氣似乎把我那位對手給鎮(zhèn)住了，他想想還是退出這場角逐的好，這場角逐徒然使我要花十倍于原價的錢去買下這本書。于是，他向我彎了彎腰，非?？蜌獾兀ūM管遲了些）對我說：“我讓了，先生。” No other bids were forthcoming, and the book was knocked down to me. 那時也沒有別人再抬價，書就歸了我。 Since I feared a new onset of obstinacy which my vanity might conceivably have borne but which would have assuredly proved too much for my purse, I gave my name, asked for the volume to be put aside and left by the stairs. I must have greatly intrigued the onlookers who, having witnessed this scene, doubtless wondered why on earth I had gone there to pay a hundred francs for a book that I could have got anywhere for ten or fifteen at most. 因為我怕我的自尊心會再一次激起我的倔脾氣，而我身邊又不寬裕，我請他們記下我的姓名，把書留在一邊，就下了樓。那些目擊者肯定對我作了種種猜測，他們一準(zhǔn)會暗暗思忖，我花一百法郎的高價來買這么一本書究竟是為了什么，這本書到處都可以買到，只要花上十個法郎，至多也不過十五個法郎。 An hour later, I had sent round for my purchase. 一個小時以后，我派人把我買下的那本書取了回來。 On the first page, written in ink in an elegant hand, was the dedication of the person who had given the book. This dedication consisted simply of these words: 'Manon to Marguerite, Humility.' 扉頁上是贈書人用鋼筆寫的兩行秀麗的字跡：瑪儂對瑪格麗特 慚愧 It was signed: Armand Duval. 下面的署名是阿爾芒·迪瓦爾。 What did this word 'Humility' mean? Was it that Manon, in the opinion of this Monsieur Armand Duval, acknowledged Marguerite as her superior in debauchery or in true love? The second interpretation seemed the more likely, for the first was impertinently frank, and Marguerite could never have accepted it, whatever opinion she had of herself. “慚愧”這兩個字用在這里是什么意思？根據(jù)阿爾芒·迪瓦爾先生的意見，瑪儂是不是承認(rèn)瑪格麗特?zé)o論在生活放蕩方面，還是在內(nèi)心感情方面，都要比自己更勝一籌？ I went out again and thought no more of the book until that night, when I retired to bed. 第二種在感情方面解釋的可能性似乎要大一些，因為第一種解釋是唐突無禮的，不管瑪格麗特對自己有什么樣的看法，她也是不會接受的。我又出去了，一直到晚上睡覺時，我才想到那本書。 Manon Lescaut is a truly touching story every detail of which is familiar to me and yet, whenever I hold a copy in my hand, an instinctive feeling for it draws me on. I open it and for the hundredth time I live again with the abbe Prevost's heroine. Now, his heroine is so lifelike that I feel that I have met her. In my new circumstances, the kind of comparison drawn between her and Marguerite added an unexpected edge to my reading, and my forbearance was swelled with pity, almost love, for the poor girl, the disposal of whose estate I could thank for possessing the volume. Manon died in a desert, it is true, but in the terms of the man who loved her with all the strength of his soul and who, when she was dead, dug a grave for her, watered it with his tears and buried his heart with her; whereas Marguerite, a sinner like Manon, and perhaps as truly converted as she, had died surrounded by fabulous luxury, if I could believe what I had seen, on the bed of her own past, but no less lost in the desert of the heart which is much more arid, much vaster and far more pitiless than the one in which Manon had been interred. 當(dāng)然，《瑪儂·萊斯科》是一個動人的故事，我雖然熟悉故事里每一個情節(jié)，可是不論什么時候，只要手頭有這本書，我對這本書的感情總是吸引著我，我打開書本，普萊服神父塑造的女主人公似乎又在眼前，這種情況幾乎反復(fù)一百多次了。這位女主人公給描繪得那么栩栩如生，真切動人，仿佛我真的見過她似的。此時又出現(xiàn)了把瑪儂和瑪格麗特作比較這種新情況，更增添了這本書對我的意料不到的吸引力。出于對這個可憐的姑娘的憐憫，甚至可以說是喜愛，我對她愈加同情了，這本書就是我從她那里得到的遺物。誠然，瑪儂是死在荒涼的沙漠里的，但是她是死在一個真心愛她的情人的懷抱里的。瑪儂死后，這個情人為她挖了一個墓穴，他的眼淚灑落在她身上，并且連同他的心也一起埋葬在里面了。而瑪格麗特呢，她像瑪儂一樣是個有罪的人，也有可能像瑪儂一樣棄邪歸正了；但正如我所看到的那樣，她是死在富麗豪華的環(huán)境里的。她就死在她過去一直睡覺的床上，但在她的心里卻是一片空虛，就像被埋葬在沙漠中一樣，而且這個沙漠比埋葬瑪儂的沙漠更干燥、更荒涼、更無情。 Indeed Marguerite, as I had learned from friends informed of the circumstances of her final moments, had seen no true consolation settle at her bedside during the two months when she lay slowly and painfully dying. 我從幾個了解她臨終情況的朋友那里聽說，瑪格麗特在她長達(dá)兩個月的無比痛苦的病危期間，誰都沒有到她床邊給過她一點真正的安慰。 Then, from Manon and Marguerite, my thoughts turned to those women whom I knew and whom I could see rushing gaily towards the same almost invariable death. 我從瑪儂和瑪格麗特，轉(zhuǎn)而想到了我所認(rèn)識的那些女人，我看著她們一邊唱歌，一邊走向那幾乎總是千篇一律的最后歸宿。 Poor creatures! If it is wrong to love them, the least one can do is to pity them. You pity the blind man who has never seen the light of day, the deaf man who has never heard the harmonies of nature, the mute who has never found a voice for his soul, and yet, under the specious pretext of decency, you will not pity that blindness of heart, deafness of soul and dumbness of conscience which turn the brains of poor, desperate women and prevent them, despite themselves, from seeing goodness, hearing the Lord and speaking the pure language of love and religion. 可憐的女人哪！如果說愛她們是一種過錯，那么至少也應(yīng)該同情她們。你們同情見不到陽光的瞎子，同情聽不到大自然音響的聾子，同情不能用聲音來表達(dá)自己思想的啞巴；但是，在一種虛假的所謂廉恥的借口之下，你們卻不愿意同情這種心靈上的瞎子，靈魂上的聾子和良心上的啞巴。這些殘疾逼得那個不幸的受苦的女人發(fā)瘋，使她無可奈何地看不到善良，聽不到天主的聲音，也講不出愛情、信仰的純潔的語言。 Hugo wrote Marion Delorme, Musset wrote Bernerette, Alexandre Dumas wrote Fernande. 雨果刻畫了瑪麗翁·德·蘿爾姆；繆塞創(chuàng)作了貝爾娜雷特；大仲馬塑造了費爾南特；① Thinkers and poets throughout the ages have offered the courtesan the oblation of their mercy and, on occasion, some great man has brought them back to the fold through the gift of his love and even his name. If I dwell on this point, it is because among those who will read these pages, many may already be about to throw down a book in which they fear they will see nothing but an apology for vice and prostitution, and doubtless the youth of the present author is a contributing factor in providing grounds for their fears. Let those who are of such a mind be undeceived. Let them read on, if such fears alone gave them pause. 各個時期的思想家和詩人都把仁慈的憐憫心奉獻(xiàn)給娼家女子。有時候一個偉人挺身而出，用他的愛情、甚至以他的姓氏來為她們恢復(fù)名譽。我之所以要再三強調(diào)這一點，因為在那些開始看我這本書的讀者中間，恐怕有很多人已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備把這本書拋開了，生怕這是一本專門為邪惡和*欲辯護的書，而且作者的年齡想必更容易使人產(chǎn)生這種顧慮。希望這些人別這么想，如果僅僅是為了這一點，那還是請繼續(xù)看下去的好。①雨果、繆塞和大仲馬都是法國十九世紀(jì)作家?，旣愇獭さ隆ぬ}爾姆，貝爾娜雷特和費爾南特這三個人都是他們作品中寫到的妓女。 I am quite simply persuaded of a principle which states that: To any woman whose education has not imparted knowledge of goodness, God almost invariably opens up two paths which will lead her back to it; these paths are suffering and love. They are rocky paths; women who follow them will cut their feet and graze their hands, but will at the same time leave the gaudy rags of vice hanging on the briars which line the road, and shall reach their journey's end in that naked state for which no one need feel shame in the sight of the Lord. 我只信奉一個原則：沒有受到過“善”的教育的女子，天主幾乎總是向她們指出兩條道路，讓她們能殊途同歸地走到他的跟前：一條是痛苦，一條是愛情。這兩條路走起來都十分艱難。那些女人在上面走得兩腳流血，兩手破裂；但與此同時，她們把罪孽的盛裝留在沿途的荊棘上，赤條條地抵達(dá)旅途的盡頭，而這樣全身赤*地來到天主跟前，是用不著臉紅的。 Any who encounter these brave wayfarers are duty bound to comfort them and to say to all the world that they have encountered them, for by proclaiming the news they show the way. 遇到這些勇敢的女旅客的人們都應(yīng)該幫助她們，并且跟大家說他們曾經(jīng)遇到過這些女人，因為在宣傳這件事情的時候，也就是指出了道路。 It is not a simple matter of erecting two signposts at the gateway to life, one bearing the inscription: 'The Way of Goodness' and the other carrying this warning: ' The way of evil', and of saying to those who come: 'Choose! ' Each of us, like Christ himself, must point to those paths which will redirect from the second way to the first the steps of those who have allowed themselves to be tempted by the approach roads; and above all let not the beginning of these paths be too painful, nor appear too difficult of access. 要解決這個問題不能簡單地在人生道路的入口處豎上兩塊牌子：一塊是告示，寫著“善之路”；另一塊是警告，寫著“惡之路”；并且向那些走來的人說：“選擇吧！”而必須像基督那樣，向那些受到環(huán)境誘惑的人指出從第二條路通往第一條路的途徑；尤其是不能讓這些途徑的開頭那一段太險峻，顯得太不好走。 Christianity is ever-present, with its wonderful parable of the prodigal son, to urge us to counsels of forbearance and forgiveness. Jesus was full of love for souls of women wounded by the passions of men, and He loved to bind their wounds, drawing from those same wounds the balm which would heal them. Thus he said to Mary Magdalene: ' Your sins, which are many, shall be forgiven, because you loved much' ?a sublime pardon which was to awaken a sublime faith. 基督教關(guān)于浪子回頭的動人的寓言，目的就是勸告我們對人要仁慈，要寬容。耶穌對那些深受情欲之害的靈魂充滿了愛，他喜歡在包扎他們傷口的時候，從傷口本身取出治傷口的香膏敷在傷口上。因此，他對瑪特萊娜說：“你將獲得寬恕，因為你愛得多①，”這種崇高的寬恕行為自然喚起了一種崇高的信仰。①見《圣經(jīng)·路加福音》第七章，第四十四至四十八節(jié)。 Why should we judge more strictly than Christ? Why, clinging stubbornly to the opinions of the world which waxes hard so that we shall think it strong, why should we too turn away souls that bleed from wounds oozing with the evil of their past, like infected blood from a sick body, as they wait only for a friendly hand to bind them up and restore them to a convalescent heart? It is to my generation that I speak, to those for whom the theories of Monsieur de Voltaire are, happily, defunct, to those who, like myself, can see that humanity has, these fifteen years past, been engaged in one of its boldest leaps forward. The knowledge of good and evil is ours forever; religion is rebuilding, the respect for holy things has been restored to us, and, if the world is not yet wholly good, then at least it is becoming better. The efforts of all intelligent men tend to the same goal, and all those firm in purpose are yoked to the same principle: let us be good, let us be young, let us be true! Evil is but vanity: let us take pride in Goodness and, above all, let us not despair. Let us not scorn the woman who is neither mother nor sister nor daughter nor wife. Let us not limit respect to the family alone nor reduce forbearance to mere egoism. 為什么我們要比基督嚴(yán)厲呢？這個世界為了要顯示它的強大，故作嚴(yán)厲，我們也就頑固地接受了它的成見。為什么我們要和它一樣丟棄那些傷口里流著血的靈魂呢？從這些傷口里，像病人滲出污血一樣滲出了他們過去的罪惡。這些靈魂在等待著一只友誼的手來包扎他們的傷口，治愈他們心頭的創(chuàng)傷。我這是在向我同時代的人呼吁，向那些伏爾泰先生的理論幸而對之已經(jīng)不起作用的人們呼吁，向那些像我一樣地懂得十五年以來人道主義正在突飛猛進的人呼吁。善惡的學(xué)識已經(jīng)得到公認(rèn)，信仰又重新建立，我們對神圣的事物又重新開始尊敬。如果還不能說這個世界是十全十美的，至少可以說比以前大有改善。聰明人全都致力于同一個目的，一切偉大的意志都服從于同一個原則：我們要善良，要朝氣蓬勃，要真實！邪惡只不過是一種空虛的東西，我們要為行善而感到驕傲，最重要的是，我們千萬不要喪失信心。不要輕視那些既不是母親、姐妹，又不是女兒、妻子的女人。不要減少對親族的尊重，和對自私的寬容。 Since there is more rejoicing in heaven for the repentance of one sinner than for a hundred just men who have never sinned, let us try to give heaven cause to rejoice. Heaven may repay us with interest. Let us leave along our way the charity of our forgiveness for those whom earthly desires have brought low, who shall perhaps be saved by hope in heaven and, as wise old dames say when they prescribe remedies of their own making, if it dies no good then at least it can do no harm. 既然上天對一個懺悔的罪人比對一百個從來沒有犯過罪的正直的人更加喜歡，就讓我們盡力討上天的喜歡吧，上天會賜福給我們的。在我們行進的道路上，給那些被人間欲望所斷送的人留下我們的寬恕吧，也許一種神圣的希望可以拯救他們，就像那些老婆子在勸人接受她們的治療方法時所說的：即使沒有什么好處，也不會有什么壞處。 In truth, it must seem very forward of me to seek to derive such great results from the slender subject which I treat; but I am of those who believe that the whole is in the part. The child is small, and yet he is father to the man; the brain is cramped, and yet it is the seat of thought; the eye is but a point, yet it encompasses leagues of space. 當(dāng)然，我想從細(xì)小的論題里面得出偉大的結(jié)論，似乎太狂妄、太大膽了。但是，一切都存在于渺小之中，我就是相信這種說法的人。孩子雖然幼小，但他是未來的成人；腦袋雖然狹窄，但它蘊藏著無限的思想；眼珠兒才不過一丁點兒大，它卻可以看到廣闊的天地。
Chapter 3 第三章 All the famous names from the world of fashionable vice were there. They were being slyly observed by a number of society ladies who had again used the sale as a pretext for claiming the right to see, at close quarters, women in whose company they would not otherwise have had occasion to find themselves, and whose easy pleasures they perhaps secretly envied. 十六日下午一點鐘，我到昂坦街去了。 在大門口就能聽到拍賣估價人的喊叫聲。房間里擠滿了好奇的人。所有花街柳巷的名媛都到場了，有幾個貴婦人在偷偷打量她們。這一次她們又可以借著參加拍賣的名義，仔細(xì)瞧瞧那些她們從來沒有機會與之共同相處的女人，也許她們私下還在暗暗羨慕這些女人自由放蕩的享樂生活呢。 The Duchesse de F rubbed shoulders with Mademoiselle A, one of sorriest specimens of our modern courtesans; the Marquise de T shrank from buying an item of furniture for which the bidding was led by Madame D, the most elegant and most celebrated adulteress of our age; the Duc d'Y, who is believed in Madrid to be ruining himself in Paris, and in Paris to be ruining himself in Madrid, and who, when all is said and done, cannot even spend all his income, while continuing to chat with Madame M, one of our wittiest tale-tellers, who occasionally agrees to write down what she says and to sign what she writes, was exchanging confidential glances with Madame de N, the beauty who may be regularly seen driving on the Champs-Elysees, dressed almost invariably in pink or blue, in a carriage drawn by two large black horses sold to her by Tony for ten thousand francs...and paid for in full; lastly, Mademoiselle R, who by sheer talent makes twice what ladies of fashion make with their dowries, and three times as much as what the rest make out of their love affairs, had come in spite of the cold to make a few purchases, and it was not she who attracted the fewest eyes. F公爵夫人的胳膊撞上了A小姐；A小姐是當(dāng)今妓女圈子里一位典型的薄命紅顏；T侯爵夫人正在猶豫要不要把D夫人一個勁兒在抬價的那件家具買下來；D夫人是當(dāng)代最風(fēng)流最有名的蕩婦。那位Y公爵，在馬德里風(fēng)傳他在巴黎破了產(chǎn)，而在巴黎又風(fēng)傳他在馬德里破了產(chǎn)，而實際上連每年的年金都沒有花完。這會兒他一面在跟M太太聊天，一面卻在和N夫人眉來眼去調(diào)情。M太太是一位風(fēng)趣詼諧的講故事的好手，她常想把自己講的東西寫下來，并簽上自己的大名。漂亮的N夫人經(jīng)常在香榭麗舍大街上散步，穿的衣衫離不了粉紅和天藍(lán)兩種顏色，有兩匹高大的黑色駿馬為她駕車，這兩匹馬，托尼①向她要價一萬法郎……她如數(shù)照付；最后還有R小姐，她靠自己的才能掙得的地位使那些靠嫁妝的上流社會婦人自愧勿如，那些靠愛情生活的女人更是望塵莫及。她不顧天氣寒冷，趕來購買一些東西，也引來了人們的注目。①托尼：當(dāng)時一位的馬商。 We could go on quoting the initials of many of those who had gathered in that drawing room and who were not a little astonished at the company they kept; but we should, we fear, weary the reader. 我們還可以舉出云集在這間屋里的很多人的姓氏起首字母，他們在這里相遇連他們自己也感到非常驚訝，不過為了不使讀者感到厭煩，恕我不再一一介紹。 Suffice it to say that everyone was in the highest spirits and that, of all the women there, many had known the dead girl and gave no sign that they remembered her. 我必須一提的是，當(dāng)時大家都興高采烈。女人中間雖有很多人是死者生前的熟人，但這會兒似乎對死者毫無懷念之情。 There was much loud laughter; the auctioneers shouted at the tops of their voices; the dealers who had crowded on to the benches placed in front of the auction tables called vainly for silence in which to conduct their business in peace. Never was a gathering more varied and more uproarious. 大家高聲談笑，拍賣估價人聲嘶力竭地大聲叫喊。坐滿在拍賣桌前板凳上的商人們拼命叫大家安靜，好讓他們穩(wěn)穩(wěn)當(dāng)當(dāng)做生意，但誰也不睬他們。像這樣各色人等混雜，環(huán)境喧鬧不堪的集會倒是從未見過。 I slipped unobtrusively into the middle of the distressing tumult, saddened to think that all this was taking place next to the very room where the unfortunate creature whose furniture was being sold up to pay her debts, had breathed her last. Having come to observe rather than to buy, I watched the faces of the tradesmen who had forced the sale and whose features lit up each time an item reached a price they had never dared hope for. 我默默地混進了這堆紛亂的人群。我在想，這情景發(fā)生在這個可憐的女人咽氣的臥室近旁，為的是拍賣她的家具來償付她生前的債務(wù)，想到這里，心中不免感到無限惆悵。我與其說是來買東西的，倒不如說是來看熱鬧的，我望著幾個拍賣商的臉，每當(dāng)一件物品叫到他們意料不到的高價時，他們就喜笑顏開，心花怒放。 Honest, men all, who had speculated in the prostitution of this woman, had obtained a one hundred per cent return on her, had dogged the last moments of her life with writs, and came after she was dead to claim both the fruits of their honourable calculations and the interest accruing on the shameful credit they had given her. 那些在這個女人的神女生涯上搞過投機買賣的人，那些在她身上發(fā)過大財?shù)娜耍切┰谒龔浟糁H拿著貼了印花的借據(jù)來和她糾纏不休的人，還有那些在她死后就來收取他們冠冕堂皇的帳款和卑鄙可恥的高額利息的人，所有那些人可全都是正人君子哪！ How right were the Ancients who had one God for merchants and thieves! Dresses, Indian shawls, jewels, came under the hammer at an unbelievable rate. None of it took my fancy, and I waited on. 難怪古人說，商人和盜賊信的是同一個天主，說得何其正確！長裙、開司米披肩、首飾，一下子都實完了，快得令人難以置信，可是沒有一件東西是我用得著的，我一直在等待。 Suddenly I heard a voice shout: 'A book fully bound, gilt-edges, entitled: Manon Lescaut. There's something written on the first page: ten francs. ' 突然，我聽到在喊叫：“精裝書一冊，裝訂考究，書邊燙金，書名《瑪儂·萊斯科》①，扉頁上寫著幾個字，十法郎。” 有相當(dāng)長一段時間的冷場，以后，有一個人叫道： ①《瑪儂·萊斯科》：十八世紀(jì)法國普萊服神父（１６９７—１７６３）寫的一部戀愛小說。 'Twelve, ' said a voice, after a longish silence. “十二法郎?！?'Fifteen, ' I said. “十五法郎，”我說。 Why? I had no idea. No doubt for that 'something written'. 為什么我要出這個價錢呢？我自己也不清楚，大概是為了那上面寫著的幾個字吧。 'Fifteen, ' repeated the auctioneer. “十五法郎，”拍賣估價人又叫了一次。 'Thirty, ' said the first bidder, in a tone which seemed to defy anybody to go higher. “三十法郎，”第一個出價的人又叫了，口氣似乎是對別人加價感到惱火。 It was becoming a fight. 這下子就變成一場較量了。 'Thirty-five!' I cried, in the same tone of voice. “三十五法郎！”我用同樣的口氣叫道。 'Forty.' “四十法郎！” 'Fifty.' “五十法郎！” 'Sixty.' “六十法郎！” 'A hundred.' “一百法郎！” I confess that if I had set out to cause a stir, I would have succeeded completely, for my last bid was followed by a great silence, and people stared at me to see who this man was who seemed so intent on possessing the volume. 我承認(rèn)如果我是想要引人注意的話，那么我已經(jīng)完全達(dá)到了目的，因為在這一次爭著加碼的時候，全場鴉雀無聲，大家都瞅著我，想看看這位似乎一心要得到這本書的先生究竟是何等樣人。 Apparently the tone in which I had made my latest bid was enough for my opponent: he chose therefore to abandon a struggle which would have served only to cost me ten times what the book was worth and, with a bow, he said very graciously but a little late: 'It's yours, sir.' 我最后一次叫價的口氣似乎把我那位對手給鎮(zhèn)住了，他想想還是退出這場角逐的好，這場角逐徒然使我要花十倍于原價的錢去買下這本書。于是，他向我彎了彎腰，非?？蜌獾兀ūM管遲了些）對我說：“我讓了，先生。” No other bids were forthcoming, and the book was knocked down to me. 那時也沒有別人再抬價，書就歸了我。 Since I feared a new onset of obstinacy which my vanity might conceivably have borne but which would have assuredly proved too much for my purse, I gave my name, asked for the volume to be put aside and left by the stairs. I must have greatly intrigued the onlookers who, having witnessed this scene, doubtless wondered why on earth I had gone there to pay a hundred francs for a book that I could have got anywhere for ten or fifteen at most. 因為我怕我的自尊心會再一次激起我的倔脾氣，而我身邊又不寬裕，我請他們記下我的姓名，把書留在一邊，就下了樓。那些目擊者肯定對我作了種種猜測，他們一準(zhǔn)會暗暗思忖，我花一百法郎的高價來買這么一本書究竟是為了什么，這本書到處都可以買到，只要花上十個法郎，至多也不過十五個法郎。 An hour later, I had sent round for my purchase. 一個小時以后，我派人把我買下的那本書取了回來。 On the first page, written in ink in an elegant hand, was the dedication of the person who had given the book. This dedication consisted simply of these words: 'Manon to Marguerite, Humility.' 扉頁上是贈書人用鋼筆寫的兩行秀麗的字跡：瑪儂對瑪格麗特 慚愧 It was signed: Armand Duval. 下面的署名是阿爾芒·迪瓦爾。 What did this word 'Humility' mean? Was it that Manon, in the opinion of this Monsieur Armand Duval, acknowledged Marguerite as her superior in debauchery or in true love? The second interpretation seemed the more likely, for the first was impertinently frank, and Marguerite could never have accepted it, whatever opinion she had of herself. “慚愧”這兩個字用在這里是什么意思？根據(jù)阿爾芒·迪瓦爾先生的意見，瑪儂是不是承認(rèn)瑪格麗特?zé)o論在生活放蕩方面，還是在內(nèi)心感情方面，都要比自己更勝一籌？ I went out again and thought no more of the book until that night, when I retired to bed. 第二種在感情方面解釋的可能性似乎要大一些，因為第一種解釋是唐突無禮的，不管瑪格麗特對自己有什么樣的看法，她也是不會接受的。我又出去了，一直到晚上睡覺時，我才想到那本書。 Manon Lescaut is a truly touching story every detail of which is familiar to me and yet, whenever I hold a copy in my hand, an instinctive feeling for it draws me on. I open it and for the hundredth time I live again with the abbe Prevost's heroine. Now, his heroine is so lifelike that I feel that I have met her. In my new circumstances, the kind of comparison drawn between her and Marguerite added an unexpected edge to my reading, and my forbearance was swelled with pity, almost love, for the poor girl, the disposal of whose estate I could thank for possessing the volume. Manon died in a desert, it is true, but in the terms of the man who loved her with all the strength of his soul and who, when she was dead, dug a grave for her, watered it with his tears and buried his heart with her; whereas Marguerite, a sinner like Manon, and perhaps as truly converted as she, had died surrounded by fabulous luxury, if I could believe what I had seen, on the bed of her own past, but no less lost in the desert of the heart which is much more arid, much vaster and far more pitiless than the one in which Manon had been interred. 當(dāng)然，《瑪儂·萊斯科》是一個動人的故事，我雖然熟悉故事里每一個情節(jié)，可是不論什么時候，只要手頭有這本書，我對這本書的感情總是吸引著我，我打開書本，普萊服神父塑造的女主人公似乎又在眼前，這種情況幾乎反復(fù)一百多次了。這位女主人公給描繪得那么栩栩如生，真切動人，仿佛我真的見過她似的。此時又出現(xiàn)了把瑪儂和瑪格麗特作比較這種新情況，更增添了這本書對我的意料不到的吸引力。出于對這個可憐的姑娘的憐憫，甚至可以說是喜愛，我對她愈加同情了，這本書就是我從她那里得到的遺物。誠然，瑪儂是死在荒涼的沙漠里的，但是她是死在一個真心愛她的情人的懷抱里的。瑪儂死后，這個情人為她挖了一個墓穴，他的眼淚灑落在她身上，并且連同他的心也一起埋葬在里面了。而瑪格麗特呢，她像瑪儂一樣是個有罪的人，也有可能像瑪儂一樣棄邪歸正了；但正如我所看到的那樣，她是死在富麗豪華的環(huán)境里的。她就死在她過去一直睡覺的床上，但在她的心里卻是一片空虛，就像被埋葬在沙漠中一樣，而且這個沙漠比埋葬瑪儂的沙漠更干燥、更荒涼、更無情。 Indeed Marguerite, as I had learned from friends informed of the circumstances of her final moments, had seen no true consolation settle at her bedside during the two months when she lay slowly and painfully dying. 我從幾個了解她臨終情況的朋友那里聽說，瑪格麗特在她長達(dá)兩個月的無比痛苦的病危期間，誰都沒有到她床邊給過她一點真正的安慰。 Then, from Manon and Marguerite, my thoughts turned to those women whom I knew and whom I could see rushing gaily towards the same almost invariable death. 我從瑪儂和瑪格麗特，轉(zhuǎn)而想到了我所認(rèn)識的那些女人，我看著她們一邊唱歌，一邊走向那幾乎總是千篇一律的最后歸宿。 Poor creatures! If it is wrong to love them, the least one can do is to pity them. You pity the blind man who has never seen the light of day, the deaf man who has never heard the harmonies of nature, the mute who has never found a voice for his soul, and yet, under the specious pretext of decency, you will not pity that blindness of heart, deafness of soul and dumbness of conscience which turn the brains of poor, desperate women and prevent them, despite themselves, from seeing goodness, hearing the Lord and speaking the pure language of love and religion. 可憐的女人哪！如果說愛她們是一種過錯，那么至少也應(yīng)該同情她們。你們同情見不到陽光的瞎子，同情聽不到大自然音響的聾子，同情不能用聲音來表達(dá)自己思想的啞巴；但是，在一種虛假的所謂廉恥的借口之下，你們卻不愿意同情這種心靈上的瞎子，靈魂上的聾子和良心上的啞巴。這些殘疾逼得那個不幸的受苦的女人發(fā)瘋，使她無可奈何地看不到善良，聽不到天主的聲音，也講不出愛情、信仰的純潔的語言。 Hugo wrote Marion Delorme, Musset wrote Bernerette, Alexandre Dumas wrote Fernande. 雨果刻畫了瑪麗翁·德·蘿爾姆；繆塞創(chuàng)作了貝爾娜雷特；大仲馬塑造了費爾南特；① Thinkers and poets throughout the ages have offered the courtesan the oblation of their mercy and, on occasion, some great man has brought them back to the fold through the gift of his love and even his name. If I dwell on this point, it is because among those who will read these pages, many may already be about to throw down a book in which they fear they will see nothing but an apology for vice and prostitution, and doubtless the youth of the present author is a contributing factor in providing grounds for their fears. Let those who are of such a mind be undeceived. Let them read on, if such fears alone gave them pause. 各個時期的思想家和詩人都把仁慈的憐憫心奉獻(xiàn)給娼家女子。有時候一個偉人挺身而出，用他的愛情、甚至以他的姓氏來為她們恢復(fù)名譽。我之所以要再三強調(diào)這一點，因為在那些開始看我這本書的讀者中間，恐怕有很多人已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備把這本書拋開了，生怕這是一本專門為邪惡和*欲辯護的書，而且作者的年齡想必更容易使人產(chǎn)生這種顧慮。希望這些人別這么想，如果僅僅是為了這一點，那還是請繼續(xù)看下去的好。①雨果、繆塞和大仲馬都是法國十九世紀(jì)作家?，旣愇獭さ隆ぬ}爾姆，貝爾娜雷特和費爾南特這三個人都是他們作品中寫到的妓女。 I am quite simply persuaded of a principle which states that: To any woman whose education has not imparted knowledge of goodness, God almost invariably opens up two paths which will lead her back to it; these paths are suffering and love. They are rocky paths; women who follow them will cut their feet and graze their hands, but will at the same time leave the gaudy rags of vice hanging on the briars which line the road, and shall reach their journey's end in that naked state for which no one need feel shame in the sight of the Lord. 我只信奉一個原則：沒有受到過“善”的教育的女子，天主幾乎總是向她們指出兩條道路，讓她們能殊途同歸地走到他的跟前：一條是痛苦，一條是愛情。這兩條路走起來都十分艱難。那些女人在上面走得兩腳流血，兩手破裂；但與此同時，她們把罪孽的盛裝留在沿途的荊棘上，赤條條地抵達(dá)旅途的盡頭，而這樣全身赤*地來到天主跟前，是用不著臉紅的。 Any who encounter these brave wayfarers are duty bound to comfort them and to say to all the world that they have encountered them, for by proclaiming the news they show the way. 遇到這些勇敢的女旅客的人們都應(yīng)該幫助她們，并且跟大家說他們曾經(jīng)遇到過這些女人，因為在宣傳這件事情的時候，也就是指出了道路。 It is not a simple matter of erecting two signposts at the gateway to life, one bearing the inscription: 'The Way of Goodness' and the other carrying this warning: ' The way of evil', and of saying to those who come: 'Choose! ' Each of us, like Christ himself, must point to those paths which will redirect from the second way to the first the steps of those who have allowed themselves to be tempted by the approach roads; and above all let not the beginning of these paths be too painful, nor appear too difficult of access. 要解決這個問題不能簡單地在人生道路的入口處豎上兩塊牌子：一塊是告示，寫著“善之路”；另一塊是警告，寫著“惡之路”；并且向那些走來的人說：“選擇吧！”而必須像基督那樣，向那些受到環(huán)境誘惑的人指出從第二條路通往第一條路的途徑；尤其是不能讓這些途徑的開頭那一段太險峻，顯得太不好走。 Christianity is ever-present, with its wonderful parable of the prodigal son, to urge us to counsels of forbearance and forgiveness. Jesus was full of love for souls of women wounded by the passions of men, and He loved to bind their wounds, drawing from those same wounds the balm which would heal them. Thus he said to Mary Magdalene: ' Your sins, which are many, shall be forgiven, because you loved much' ?a sublime pardon which was to awaken a sublime faith. 基督教關(guān)于浪子回頭的動人的寓言，目的就是勸告我們對人要仁慈，要寬容。耶穌對那些深受情欲之害的靈魂充滿了愛，他喜歡在包扎他們傷口的時候，從傷口本身取出治傷口的香膏敷在傷口上。因此，他對瑪特萊娜說：“你將獲得寬恕，因為你愛得多①，”這種崇高的寬恕行為自然喚起了一種崇高的信仰。①見《圣經(jīng)·路加福音》第七章，第四十四至四十八節(jié)。 Why should we judge more strictly than Christ? Why, clinging stubbornly to the opinions of the world which waxes hard so that we shall think it strong, why should we too turn away souls that bleed from wounds oozing with the evil of their past, like infected blood from a sick body, as they wait only for a friendly hand to bind them up and restore them to a convalescent heart? It is to my generation that I speak, to those for whom the theories of Monsieur de Voltaire are, happily, defunct, to those who, like myself, can see that humanity has, these fifteen years past, been engaged in one of its boldest leaps forward. The knowledge of good and evil is ours forever; religion is rebuilding, the respect for holy things has been restored to us, and, if the world is not yet wholly good, then at least it is becoming better. The efforts of all intelligent men tend to the same goal, and all those firm in purpose are yoked to the same principle: let us be good, let us be young, let us be true! Evil is but vanity: let us take pride in Goodness and, above all, let us not despair. Let us not scorn the woman who is neither mother nor sister nor daughter nor wife. Let us not limit respect to the family alone nor reduce forbearance to mere egoism. 為什么我們要比基督嚴(yán)厲呢？這個世界為了要顯示它的強大，故作嚴(yán)厲，我們也就頑固地接受了它的成見。為什么我們要和它一樣丟棄那些傷口里流著血的靈魂呢？從這些傷口里，像病人滲出污血一樣滲出了他們過去的罪惡。這些靈魂在等待著一只友誼的手來包扎他們的傷口，治愈他們心頭的創(chuàng)傷。我這是在向我同時代的人呼吁，向那些伏爾泰先生的理論幸而對之已經(jīng)不起作用的人們呼吁，向那些像我一樣地懂得十五年以來人道主義正在突飛猛進的人呼吁。善惡的學(xué)識已經(jīng)得到公認(rèn)，信仰又重新建立，我們對神圣的事物又重新開始尊敬。如果還不能說這個世界是十全十美的，至少可以說比以前大有改善。聰明人全都致力于同一個目的，一切偉大的意志都服從于同一個原則：我們要善良，要朝氣蓬勃，要真實！邪惡只不過是一種空虛的東西，我們要為行善而感到驕傲，最重要的是，我們千萬不要喪失信心。不要輕視那些既不是母親、姐妹，又不是女兒、妻子的女人。不要減少對親族的尊重，和對自私的寬容。 Since there is more rejoicing in heaven for the repentance of one sinner than for a hundred just men who have never sinned, let us try to give heaven cause to rejoice. Heaven may repay us with interest. Let us leave along our way the charity of our forgiveness for those whom earthly desires have brought low, who shall perhaps be saved by hope in heaven and, as wise old dames say when they prescribe remedies of their own making, if it dies no good then at least it can do no harm. 既然上天對一個懺悔的罪人比對一百個從來沒有犯過罪的正直的人更加喜歡，就讓我們盡力討上天的喜歡吧，上天會賜福給我們的。在我們行進的道路上，給那些被人間欲望所斷送的人留下我們的寬恕吧，也許一種神圣的希望可以拯救他們，就像那些老婆子在勸人接受她們的治療方法時所說的：即使沒有什么好處，也不會有什么壞處。 In truth, it must seem very forward of me to seek to derive such great results from the slender subject which I treat; but I am of those who believe that the whole is in the part. The child is small, and yet he is father to the man; the brain is cramped, and yet it is the seat of thought; the eye is but a point, yet it encompasses leagues of space. 當(dāng)然，我想從細(xì)小的論題里面得出偉大的結(jié)論，似乎太狂妄、太大膽了。但是，一切都存在于渺小之中，我就是相信這種說法的人。孩子雖然幼小，但他是未來的成人；腦袋雖然狹窄，但它蘊藏著無限的思想；眼珠兒才不過一丁點兒大，它卻可以看到廣闊的天地。