Lvov, the husband of Natalia, Kitty’s sister, had spent all his life in foreign capitals, where he had been educated, and had been in the diplomatic service.
Lvov，娜塔莉亚的丈夫，基蒂的姐姐，一生都在外国首都度过，接受过教育，并从事外交工作。

During the previous year he had left the diplomatic service, not owing to any “unpleasantness” (he never had any “unpleasantness” with anyone), and was transferred to the department of the court of the palace in Moscow, in order to give his two boys the best education possible.
在前一年，他离开了外交部，不是因为有过任何“不愉快”（他从未与任何人有过“不愉快”），而是调到了莫斯科宫廷部门，为他的两个儿子提供最好的教育。

In spite of the striking contrast in their habits and views and the fact that Lvov was older than Levin, they had seen a great deal of one another that winter, and had taken a great liking to each other.
尽管他们的习惯和观点有着鲜明的对比，而且Lvov比列文年长，但他们那个冬天彼此见了很多次，并且彼此十分喜欢对方。

Lvov was at home, and Levin went in to him unannounced.
列文没有事先通知，直接走进了Lvov的家。

Lvov, in a house coat with a belt and in chamois leather shoes, was sitting in an armchair, and with a pince-nez with blue glasses he was reading a book that stood on a reading desk, while in his beautiful hand he held a half-burned cigarette daintily away from him.
Lvov穿着一件束腰的家居服，脚上是麂皮鞋。他坐在扶手椅上，戴着配有蓝色眼镜的眼镜架，读着放在书桌上的一本书，而他的美丽的手里拿着一支烟，娴熟地将已经燃了一半的卷烟慎重地放在一旁。

His handsome, delicate, and still youthful-looking face, to which his curly, glistening silvery hair gave a still more aristocratic air, lighted up with a smile when he saw Levin.
他那俊朗、精致且依然年轻的面容，配以他那闪闪发亮的卷发和银色的头发，更显得富贵之气。当他看到列文时，他的脸上露出了微笑。

“Capital! I was meaning to send to you. How’s Kitty? Sit here, it’s more comfortable.” —
“太好了！我正打算找你。基蒂怎么样？坐这里，这里更舒服。” —

He got up and pushed up a rocking chair. —
他站起身来，推了一把摇椅。 —

“Have you read the last circular in the Journal de St. Petersbourg? —
“你看了《圣彼得堡日报》最新的通讯了吗？” —

I think it’s excellent,” he said with a slight French accent.
他带着一种轻微的法国口音说：“我觉得它非常优秀。”

Levin told him what he had heard from Katavasov was being said in Petersburg, and after talking a little about politics, he told him of his interview with Metrov, and the learned society’s meeting. —
列文告诉他彼得堡正在传说什么，然后又谈了一些政治问题，接着他告诉他他与梅特罗夫的面谈以及学术会议的事情。 —

To Lvov it was very interesting.
对于列沃夫来说，这非常有趣。

“That’s what I envy you, that you are able to mix in these interesting scientific circles,” he said. —
他说：“我真是羡慕你，你能够参与这些有趣的科学活动。” —

And as he talked, he passed as usual into French, which was easier to him. —
他一边说，一边惯常地切换成了法语，这对他来说容易些。 —

“It’s true I haven’t the time for it. My official work and the children leave me no time; —
他说：“确实，我没有时间。我的官方工作和孩子们都让我没有时间。” —

and then I’m not ashamed to own that my education has been too defective.”
然后，我不为自己的教育水平感到羞愧。

“That I don’t believe,” said Levin with a smile, feeling, as he always did, touched at Lvov’s low opinion of himself, which was not in the least put on from a desire to seem or to be modest, but was absolutely sincere.
“我不相信这个，”列文笑着说道，他总是感到触动，因为列弗对自己的低估并不是为了显得或者说是谦虚，而是真心实意的。

“Oh, yes, indeed! I feel now how badly educated I am. —
“哦，是的，确实如此！我现在感到我受教育很差。 —

To educate my children I positively have to look up a great deal, and in fact simply to study myself. —
为了教育我的孩子，我必须大量地查阅资料，甚至仅仅是为了让自己学习。 —

For it’s not enough to have teachers, there must be someone to look after them, just as on your land you want laborers and an overseer. —
因为仅仅拥有教师是不够的，还必须有人照顾他们，就像在你的土地上，你需要劳动者和一个监工。 —

See what I’m reading”–he pointed to Buslaev’s Grammar on the desk–“it’s expected of Misha, and it’s so difficult. —
看看我在读什么”–他指着桌子上的布斯拉耶夫的语法书–“这是米沙应该学的，但是太难了。 —

… Come, explain to me…. Here he says…”
…来，解释给我听….这里他说…

Levin tried to explain to him that it couldn’t be understood, but that it had to be taught; —
列文试图向他解释这个是不能理解的，而必须教授的； —

but Lvov would not agree with him.
但列弗不同意他的观点。

“Oh, you’re laughing at it!”
“哦，你在嘲笑它！”

“On the contrary, you can’t imagine how, when I look at you, I’m always learning the task that lies before me, that is the education of one’s children.”
“相反，你无法想象每次我看着你时，我都在学习面前的任务，那就是教育子女。”

“Well, there’s nothing for you to learn,” said Lvov.
“嗯，你没有需要学习的东西。” 列文说道。

“All I know,” said Levin, “is that I have never seen better brought-up children than yours, and I wouldn’t wish for children better than yours.”
列文说道：“我只知道，我从未见过比你们更好教养的孩子，而且我也不希望有比你们更好的孩子。”

Lvov visibly tried to restrain the expression of his delight, but he was positively radiant with smiles.
列夫明显试图控制住自己喜悦的表情，但他面部洋溢着微笑。

“If only they’re better than I! That’s all I desire. —
“只要他们比我好！这就是我所希望的。” —

You don’t know yet all the work,” he said, “with boys who’ve been left like mine to run wild abroad.”
他说:“你还不知道所有的努力，和像我的孩子那样到国外闯荡的男孩子们。”

“You’ll catch all that up. They’re such clever children. —
“你会赶上他们的。他们是这么聪明的孩子。” —

The great thing is the education of character. —
“关键是品格的教育。” —

That’s what I learn when I look at your children.”
“当我看着你的孩子时，我正在学习这一点。”

“You talk of the education of character. You can’t imagine how difficult that is! —
“你谈论品格教育。你无法想象那是多么困难！” —

You have hardly succeeded in combating one tendency when others crop up, and the struggle begins again. —
“刚刚成功对抗了一种倾向，其他又冒出来，斗争就又开始了。” —

If one had not a support in religion–you remember we talked about that–no father could bring children up relying on his own strength alone without that help.”
如果一个人在宗教方面没有支持，你记得我们谈过那个问题，没有宗教的支持，没有父亲能够单凭自己的力量把孩子养大。

This subject, which always interested Levin, was cut short by the entrance of the beauty Natalia Alexandrovna, dressed to go out.
列文一直对这个话题很感兴趣，但是他们的谈话被穿着出门打扮的美丽的娜塔莉娅·亚历山德罗芙娜打断了。

“I didn’t know you were here,” she said, unmistakably feeling no regret, but a positive pleasure, in interrupting this conversation on a topic she had heard so much of that she was by now weary of it. —
“我不知道你在这里，”她明显没有任何的遗憾，而是对打断这个她听过很多次的话题表示了明显的高兴，她早已对此感到厌倦。 —

“Well, how is Kitty? I am dining with you today. —
“好吧，咱们今天一起吃饭吧。你们知道吗，阿森西先生，你开车去吧，” —

I tell you what, Arseny,” she turned to her husband, “you take the carriage.”
然后，夫妻俩开始计划当天的安排。

And the husband and wife began to discuss their arrangements for the day. —
由于丈夫必须开车去见一个公务上的人，而妻子必须去参加音乐会和某个委员会的公开会议，讨论东方问题，所以需要考虑和安排的事情很多。 —

As the husband had to drive to meet someone on official business, while the wife had to go to the concert and some public meeting of a committee on the Eastern Question, there was a great deal to consider and settle. —
作为他们的一员，列文必须参与他们的计划。 —

Levin had to take part in their plans as one of themselves. —
则译生上的有关用他人的语言加参与他们所计划的活动。 —

It was settled that Levin should go with Natalia to the concert and the meeting, and that from there they should send the carriage to the office for Arseny, and he should call for her and take her to Kitty’s; —
确定了列文应该和娜塔莉娅一起参加音乐会和会议，并且从那里派马车去办公室接阿尔谢尼，然后他应该去接她去基蒂那里。 —

or that, if he had not finished his work, he should send the carriage back and Levin would go with her.
或者如果他的工作还没有完成，他应该把马车送回来，列文会和她一起去。

“He’s spoiling me,” Lvov said to his wife, “he assures me that our children are splendid, when I know how much that’s bad there is in them.”
“他溺爱我，” 列沃夫对他妻子说，”他告诉我我们的孩子们很棒，但我知道他们中间有多少坏东西。”

“Arseny goes to extremes, I always say,” said his wife. —
“阿尔谢尼总是走极端，我总是这么说。”他妻子说。 —

“If you look for perfection, you will never be satisfied. —
” 如果你追求完美，你永远都不会满足。 —

And it’s true, as papa says,– that when we were brought up there was one extreme–we were kept in the basement, while our parents lived in the best rooms; —
而且，正如爸爸说的那样，当我们长大的时候，有一个极端–我们被关在地下室，而我们的父母住在最好的房间里； —

now it’s just the other way–the parents are in the wash house, while the children are in the best rooms. —
现在正好相反–父母在洗衣房里，而孩子们在最好的房间里。 —

Parents now are not expected to live at all, but to exist altogether for their children.”
现在父母被期望根本不生活，完全为了他们的孩子而存在。”

“Well, what if they like it better?” Lvov said, with his beautiful smile, touching her hand. —
“嗯，如果他们更喜欢呢？”列沃夫含着迷人的微笑，碰了下她的手说道。 —

“Anyone who didn’t know you would think you were a stepmother, not a true mother.”
“任何不认识你的人都会以为你是继母，而不是亲生母亲。”

“No, extremes are not good in anything,” Natalia said serenely, putting his paper knife straight in its proper place on the table.
“不，任何事情极端都不好，”娜塔莉娅平静地说着，把他的书刀放回了桌子上正确的位置上。

“Well, come here, you perfect children,” Lvov said to the two handsome boys who came in, and after bowing to Levin, went up to their father, obviously wishing to ask him about something.
“好了，你们这两个完美的孩子过来吧，”列沃夫对进来的两个英俊的男孩说道，然后向列温鞠了一躬，接着他们走到他们的父亲身边，显然想要问他一些事情。

Levin would have liked to talk to them, to hear what they would say to their father, but Natalia began talking to him, and then Lvov’s colleague in the service, Mahotin, walked in, wearing his court uniform, to go with him to meet someone, and a conversation was kept up without a break upon Herzegovina, Princess Korzinskaya, the town council, and the sudden death of Madame Apraksina.
列温想和他们交谈，听听他们对父亲会说些什么，但是娜塔莉娅开始和他说话了，然后列沃夫的同事马霍汀走了进来，穿着法庭制服，要和他一起去见一个人，于是关于赫尔齐哥维纳、科尔津斯卡亲王、市议会、以及阿普拉克西娜夫人突然去世的谈话就一直没有中断。

Levin even forgot the commission intrusted to him. He recollected it as he was going into the hall.
甚至连交给他的任务，列温都忘记了。他正走进大厅时才想起来。

“Oh, Kitty told me to talk to you about Oblonsky,” he said, as Lvov was standing on the stairs, seeing his wife and Levin off.
“哦，凯蒂告诉我要和你谈谈奥布隆斯基，”他说道，当利沃夫夫妇要离开时，他站在楼梯上看着他们。

“Yes, yes, maman wants us, les beaux-freres, to attack him,” he said, blushing. “But why should I?”
“是的，是的，妈咪想让我们，这些好兄弟，来攻击他，”他说着，脸红了起来。 “但是为什么我要这样做呢？”

“Well, then, I will attack him,” said Madame Lvova, with a smile, standing in her white sheepskin cape, waiting till they had finished speaking. “Come, let us go.”
“好吧，那么我来攻击他吧，”利沃娃夫人笑着说道，她穿着白色羊皮大衣，等着他们说完。 “来吧，我们走吧。”