IVAN ABRAMITCH ZHMUHIN, a retired Cossack officer, who had once served in the Caucasus, but now lived on his own farm, and who had once been young, strong, and vigorous, but now was old, dried up, and bent, with shaggy eyebrows and a greenish-grey moustache, was returning from the town to his farm one hot summer’s day. —-
伊万·阿布拉米奇·兹姆霍夫是一名退伍的哥萨克军官，曾在高加索服役，如今独自在自己的农场生活。他曾经年轻、强壮、朝气蓬勃，但现在老了，干瘪了，驼背了，有着一对浓密的眉毛和一抹青灰色的小胡子。在一个炎热的夏日，他从城里回到自己的农场。 —-

In the town he had confessed and received absolution, and had made his will at the notary’s (a fortnight before he had had a slight stroke), and now all the while he was in the railway carriage he was haunted by melancholy, serious thoughts of approaching death, of the vanity of vanities, of the transitoriness of all things earthly. —-
他在城里忏悔并受到赦免，在公证人那里立下遗嘱（两周前他曾经轻微中风）。如今，在火车车厢里，他被丧失幡然悔悟的忧郁和严肃的思想所困扰，思考着死亡的临近、虚空的虚无，以及一切尘世事物的转瞬即逝。 —-

At the station of Provalye—there is such a one on the Donetz line—a fair-haired, plump, middle-aged gentleman with a shabby portfolio stepped into the carriage and sat down opposite. —-
在普罗瓦列车站（顿涅茨克线上有这样一个站点），上来了一个金发、丰满、中年的绅士，手持一个破旧的公文包坐在对面。 —-

They got into conversation.
他们开始交谈。

“Yes,” said Ivan Abramitch, looking pensively out of window, “it is never too late to marry. —-
“是的，”伊万·阿布拉米奇忧郁地望着窗外说道，“要结婚从来都不算晚。 —-

I myself married when I was forty-eight; —-
我自己结婚时已经四十八岁了； —-

I was told it was late, but it has turned out that it was not late or early, but simply that it would have been better not to marry at all. —-
有人说那时已经晚了，但事实证明，不晚也不早，只是最好根本就不要结婚。 —-

Everyone is soon tired of his wife, but not everyone tells the truth, because, you know, people are ashamed of an unhappy home life and conceal it. —-
每个人对自己的妻子很快就会感到厌倦，但并不是每个人都敢说出真相，因为你知道，人们为了家庭的不幸而感到羞愧而隐瞒。 —-

It’s ‘Manya this’ and ‘Manya that’ with many a man by his wife’s side, but if he had his way he’d put that Manya in a sack and drop her in the water. —-
许多人在妻子身边都是称她为”玛娜”，但如果按他们自己的方式，他们会把那个玛娜装在麻袋里扔进水中。 —-

It’s dull with one’s wife, it’s mere foolishness. —-
和妻子在一起很无聊，纯粹是愚蠢。 —-

And it’s no better with one’s children, I make bold to assure you. —-
和孩子们在一起也不会更好，我敢毫不客气地向您保证。 —-

I have two of them, the rascals. There’s nowhere for them to be taught out here in the steppe; —-
我有两个顽童。在这片大草原上没地方可以教他们； —-

I haven’t the money to send them to school in Novo Tcherkask, and they live here like young wolves. —-
—-

Next thing they will be murdering someone on the highroad.”
我没有钱送他们去新切尔卡斯克上学，他们就像年轻的狼一样生活在这里。

The fair-haired gentleman listened attentively, answered questions briefly in a low voice, and was apparently a gentleman of gentle and modest disposition. —-
这个金发先生聚精会神地听着，用低沉的声音简短地回答问题，显然是个温和谦逊的绅士。 —-

He mentioned that he was a lawyer, and that he was going to the village Dyuevka on business.
他提到他是个律师，正在前往村庄杜叶夫卡办公。

“Why, merciful heavens, that is six miles from me! —-
“哎呀，天哪，那离我有六英里远!” 泽穆欣的语气好像有人在与他争论。 —-

” said Zhmuhin in a tone of voice as though someone were disputing with him. —-
“但是请原谅，车站此刻没有马车了。 —-

“But excuse me, you won’t find horses at the station now. —-
以我看，你最好的办法就是直接过来找我，过夜，你知道的，早上再坐我的马车过去。” —-

To my mind, the very best thing you can do, you know, is to come straight to me, stay the night, you know, and in the morning drive over with my horses.”
律师思考了一会儿，并接受了邀请。

The lawyer thought a moment and accepted the invitation.
当他们到达车站时，太阳已经在草原上低垂。

When they reached the station the sun was already low over the steppe. —-
他们从车站到农场的路上一言不发，颠簸使得交谈变得不可能。 —-

They said nothing all the way from the station to the farm: the jolting prevented conversation. —-
马车颠簸着上下跳动，发出吱吱声，仿佛在呜咽，而坐得极其不舒服的律师绝望地凝视着前方，希望看到农场的出现。 —-

The trap bounded up and down, squeaked, and seemed to be sobbing, and the lawyer, who was sitting very uncomfortably, stared before him, miserably hoping to see the farm. —-
在他们驶过五六英里之后，远处出现了一个坡度较低的房子和一个由竖立的黑色扁石板围起来的庭院； —-

After they had driven five or six miles there came into view in the distance a low-pitched house and a yard enclosed by a fence made of dark, flat stones standing on end; —-
屋顶是翠绿色的，灰泥脱落，窗户像睁着的眼睛一样狭窄。 —-

the roof was green, the stucco was peeling off, and the windows were little narrow slits like screwed-up eyes. —-
农场正好处在阳光照耀之中，周围没有水源和树木的迹象。 —-

The farm stood in the full sunshine, and there was no sign either of water or trees anywhere round. —-
在邻近的地主和农民中，这个农场被称为佩琴延斯家的农场。 —-

Among the neighbouring landowners and the peasants it was known as the Petchenyegs’ farm. —-
多年前，一位经过附近的土地测量员在农场过夜并与伊凡·阿布拉米奇长时间交谈后，对此地印象并不好，在早上离开时冷酷地对他说： —-

Many years before, a land surveyor, who was passing through the neighbourhood and put up at the farm, spent the whole night talking to Ivan Abramitch, was not favourably impressed, and as he was driving away in the morning said to him grimly:
“你的农场显得很荒凉和无趣，在这种地方生活真不容易。”

“You are a Petchenyeg,* my good sir!”
“您是个彭切内格人，我的好先生！”

• The Petchenyegs were a tribe of wild Mongolian nomads who made frequent inroads upon the Russians in the tenth and eleventh centuries. —-
  * 彭切内格人是十至十一世纪时常侵袭俄罗斯人的蛮荒蒙古游牧民族。 —-

—Translator’s Note.
——译者注。

From this came the nickname, the Petchenyegs’ farm, which stuck to the place even more when Zhmuhin’s boys grew up and began to make raids on the orchards and kitchen-gardens. —-
因此，这个地方被戏称为彭切内格人的农场，当然也因为兹姆欣的孩子们长大后开始洗劫果园和菜园而更名声大噪。 —-

Ivan Abramitch was called “You Know,” as he usually talked a very great deal and frequently made use of that expression.
伊凡·阿布拉莫维奇被称为 “您懂的”，因为他平时说话非常多，经常用这个表达。

In the yard near a barn Zhmuhin’s sons were standing, one a young man of nineteen, the other a younger lad, both barefoot and bareheaded. —-
在谷仓旁边的院子里，兹姆欣的儿子站在那儿，一个是十九岁的年轻人，另一个是更小的孩子，两个都赤脚赤头。 —-

Just at the moment when the trap drove into the yard the younger one flung high up a hen which, cackling, described an arc in the air; —-
恰在这时，马车驶进了院子，更小的那个扔起一只母鸡，母鸡咯咯地在空中划过一道弧线； —-

the elder shot at it with a gun and the hen fell dead on the earth.
年长的那个用枪射击它，母鸡就死在地上。

“Those are my boys learning to shoot birds flying,” said Zhmuhin.
“这是我儿子们在学习射击飞鸟，”兹姆欣说。

In the entry the travellers were met by a little thin woman with a pale face, still young and beautiful; —-
在门厅里，旅客们遇到了一个瘦瘦的小女人，面色苍白，还年轻美丽； —-

from her dress she might have been taken for a servant.
从她的着装看，可能被误认为是一个仆人。

“And this, allow me to introduce her,” said Zhmuhin, “is the mother of my young cubs. —-
“这个，让我给您介绍一下，”兹姆欣说，“是我的幼崽们的母亲。 —-

Come, Lyubov Osipovna,” he said, addressing her, “you must be spry, mother, and get something for our guest. —-
快点，吕波夫奥西波夫娜，”他对她说，“你必须灵活点，娘啊，给我们的客人准备些东西。 —-

Let us have supper. Look sharp!”
咱们来吃晚饭。快点！”

The house consisted of two parts: in one was the parlour and beside it old Zhmuhin’s bedroom, both stuffy rooms with low ceilings and multitudes of flies and wasps, and in the other was the kitchen in which the cooking and washing was done and the labourers had their meals; —-
这座房子有两个部分：一个是客厅，旁边是老兹姆欣的卧室，两个密闭的房间，天花板低，蝇蜂成群，另一个部分是厨房，也是做饭和洗衣的地方，农民在那里用餐； —-

here geese and turkey-hens were sitting on their eggs under the benches, and here were the beds of Lyubov Osipovna and her two sons. —-
这里雁和火鸡母鸟正躺在长凳下面孵化它们的蛋，这里还有Lyubov Osipovna和她的两个儿子的床。 —-

The furniture in the parlour was unpainted and evidently roughly made by a carpenter; —-
客厅的家具没有经过上漆，显然是木匠粗制而成的； —-

guns, game-bags, and whips were hanging on the walls, and all this old rubbish was covered with the rust of years and looked grey with dust. —-
枪支、猎物袋和马鞭挂在墙上，所有这些旧破烂都被多年的锈蚀和灰尘覆盖着。 —-

There was not one picture; in the corner was a dingy board which had at one time been an ikon.
只有一块低劣的木板，曾经是圣像的角落。

A young Little Russian woman laid the table and handed ham, then beetroot soup. —-
一个年轻的小俄罗斯女人摆放着餐桌，拿出火腿，然后是甜菜汤。 —-

The visitor refused vodka and ate only bread and cucumbers.
访客拒绝了伏特加酒，只吃面包和黄瓜。

“How about ham?” asked Zhmuhin.
“火腿怎么样？”Zhmuhin问道。

“Thank you, I don’t eat it,” answered the visitor, “I don’t eat meat at all.”
“谢谢，我不吃肉，”访客回答说，“我根本不吃肉。”

“Why is that?”
“为什么呢？”

“I am a vegetarian. Killing animals is against my principles.”
“我是个素食主义者。杀生违背了我的原则。”

Zhmuhin thought a minute and then said slowly with a sigh:
Zhmuhin想了一会儿，然后叹了口气，缓慢地说道：

“Yes . . . to be sure. . . . I saw a man who did not eat meat in town, too. —-
“是啊……确实……我在城里也见过一个不吃肉的人。 —-

It’s a new religion they’ve got now. Well, it’s good. —-
现在有一种新的宗教。唉，这太好了。 —-

We can’t go on always shooting and slaughtering, you know; —-
我们不能总是打猎和屠宰，你知道的； —-

we must give it up some day and leave even the beasts in peace. —-
总有一天我们必须放弃这一切，让甚至连动物都享受和平。” —-

It’s a sin to kill, it’s a sin, there is no denying it. —-
杀戮是罪孽，毫无疑问。 —-

Sometimes one kills a hare and wounds him in the leg, and he cries like a child. —-
有时候人们杀兔子只是在腿上伤到它，它就像小孩子一样哭泣。 —-

. . . So it must hurt him!”
所以它一定很痛苦！

“Of course it hurts him; animals suffer just like human beings.”
“当然他会痛苦；动物们和人类一样会受苦。

“That’s true,” Zhmuhin assented. “I understand that very well,” he went on, musing, “only there is this one thing I don’t understand: —-
“那是对的，” 普金同意道。他沉思着说道，”我很明白这一点，” 对了，有一件事我不明白： —-

suppose, you know, everyone gave up eating meat, what would become of the domestic animals—fowls and geese, for instance?”
设想一下，要是每个人都不吃肉了，那家禽和鹅会怎么办呢？

“Fowls and geese would live in freedom like wild birds.”
“家禽和鹅会像野鸟一样自由地生活。

“Now I understand. To be sure, crows and jackdaws get on all right without us. Yes. . . . —-
“现在我明白了。当然，乌鸦和喜鹊没有我们也能过得好。是的…… —-

Fowls and geese and hares and sheep, all will live in freedom, rejoicing, you know, and praising God; —-
家禽、鹅、兔子和羊群都将自由地生活着，喜悦着，并赞美着上帝； —-

and they will not fear us, peace and concord will come. —-
他们将不再害怕我们，和平与和谐将降临。 —-

Only there is one thing, you know, I can’t understand,” Zhmuhin went on, glancing at the ham. —-
不过，有一件事我不明白，” 普金继续说道，瞥了一眼火腿。 —-

“How will it be with the pigs? What is to be done with them?”
“那猪怎么办呢？该怎么处理呢？

“They will be like all the rest—that is, they will live in freedom.”
“它们会像其他的动物一样，自由地生活。

“Ah! Yes. But allow me to say, if they were not slaughtered they would multiply, you know, and then good-bye to the kitchen-gardens and the meadows. —-
“啊！ 是的。但请允许我说，如果它们不被屠宰，它们会繁殖，你知道的，菜园和草地就要打道回府了。 —-

Why, a pig, if you let it free and don’t look after it, will ruin everything in a day. —-
怎么说呢，一只猪如果你放飞不管它，它会在一天内破坏一切。 —-

A pig is a pig, and it is not for nothing it is called a pig. . . .”
一只猪就是一只猪，不是没有原因被称为猪……

They finished supper. Zhmuhin got up from the table and for a long while walked up and down the room, talking and talking. —-
他们吃完晚饭后，兹穆金起身离开餐桌，在房间里来回走了很久，滔滔不绝地讲着。 —-

. . . He was fond of talking of something important or serious and was fond of meditating, and in his old age he had a longing to reach some haven, to be reassured, that he might not be so frightened of dying. —-
他喜欢谈论一些重要或严肃的事情，喜欢冥想，在年老的时候他渴望达到某个避风港，得到安慰，以免对死亡感到害怕。 —-

He had a longing for meekness, spiritual calm, and confidence in himself, such as this guest of theirs had, who had satisfied his hunger on cucumbers and bread, and believed that doing so made him more perfect; —-
他渴望温顺、精神上的平静和对自己的信心，就像他们的客人一样，他在黄瓜和面包上解了饿，并相信这样做使他更完美； —-

he was sitting on a chest, plump and healthy, keeping silent and patiently enduring his boredom, and in the dusk when one glanced at him from the entry he looked like a big round stone which one could not move from its place. —-
他坐在一个箱子上，圆圆胖胖的，保持着沉默，耐心地忍受着无聊，黄昏时，从门口扫视他时，他看起来像一块无法移动的大圆石。 —-

If a man has something to lay hold of in life he is all right.
如果一个人在生活中有东西可以抓住，他就没事。

Zhmuhin went through the entry to the porch, and then he could be heard sighing and saying reflectively to himself: —-
兹穆金穿过门廊，然后可以听到他叹了口气，自言自语地说： —-

“Yes. . . . To be sure. . . . “ By now it was dark, and here and there stars could be seen in the sky. —-
“是的……确实是……” 现在已经很黑了，天空中可以看到星星点点。 —-

They had not yet lighted up indoors. Someone came into the parlour as noiselessly as a shadow and stood still near the door. —-
室内还没有点灯。有人悄无声息地走进客厅，站在门口停住了。 —-

It was Lyubov Osipovna, Zhmuhin’s wife.
那是兹穆金的妻子，柳博芙·奥西波夫娜。

“Are you from the town?” she asked timidly, not looking at her visitor.
“您是从城里来的吗？”她小心翼翼地问道，没有看着她的访客。

“Yes, I live in the town.”
“是的，我住在城里。

“Perhaps you are something in the learned way, sir; —-
“也许您是某个学术方面的人，先生； —-

be so kind as to advise us. We ought to send in a petition.”
请您好心给予我们一些建议。我们应该递交一份请愿书。”

“To whom?” asked the visitor.
“给谁？”访客问道。

“We have two sons, kind gentleman, and they ought to have been sent to school long ago, but we never see anyone and have no one to advise us. —-
“我们有两个儿子，亲切的绅士，他们早该上学了，但我们从来没见到人也没有人来给我们建议。 —-

And I know nothing. For if they are not taught they will have to serve in the army as common Cossacks. —-
而我一无所知。如果他们不受教育，他们将不得不作为普通的哥萨克兵役。 —-

It’s not right, sir! They can’t read and write, they are worse than peasants, and Ivan Abramitch himself can’t stand them and won’t let them indoors. —-
这是不对的，先生！他们不识字，比农民还差，而且连伊万·阿布拉米奇自己都受不了他们，不准他们进屋。 —-

But they are not to blame. The younger one, at any rate, ought to be sent to school, it is such a pity! —-
但他们不该受到责备。至少年纪较小的那个应该去上学，太可惜了！ —-

” she said slowly, and there was a quiver in her voice; —-
”她慢慢地说道，声音有些颤抖； —-

and it seemed incredible that a woman so small and so youthful could have grown-up children. —-
让人难以置信，这么个如此娇小年轻的女人竟然有成年子女。 —-

“Oh, it’s such a pity!”
“哦，太可惜了！”

“You don’t know anything about it, mother, and it is not your affair,” said Zhmuhin, appearing in the doorway. —-
“你对此一无所知，母亲，这不关你的事，”兹木欣出现在门口说道。 —-

“Don’t pester our guest with your wild talk. —-
“别用你的疯话来烦我们的客人。 —-

Go away, mother!”
走开，妈妈！”

Lyubov Osipovna went out, and in the entry repeated once more in a thin little voice: —-
琳达·欧西波夫娜走出去，在门厅里用细小的声音又重复了一遍: —-

“Oh, it’s such a pity!”
“哦，太可惜了！”

A bed was made up for the visitor on the sofa in the parlour, and that it might not be dark for him they lighted the lamp before the ikon. —-
客人在起居室的沙发上安排了一张床，为了让他不感到黑暗，他们点燃了大厅的灯。 —-

Zhmuhin went to bed in his own room. And as he lay there he thought of his soul, of his age, of his recent stroke which had so frightened him and made him think of death. —-
兹木欣回到自己的房间睡觉。当他躺在那里时，他思考着自己的灵魂，思考着自己的年龄，思考着最近吓到他并使他想起死亡的中风。 —-

He was fond of philosophizing when he was in quietness by himself, and then he fancied that he was a very earnest, deep thinker, and that nothing in this world interested him but serious questions. —-
当他独自安静时，他喜欢思辨，然后他觉得自己是一个非常认真、深思熟虑的思想家，这个世界上除了严肃的问题外，没有什么能引起他的兴趣。 —-

And now he kept thinking and he longed to pitch upon some one significant thought unlike others, which would be a guide to him in life, and he wanted to think out principles of some sort for himself so as to make his life as deep and earnest as he imagined that he felt himself to be. —-
现在他不断思考，渴望找到一些与众不同的重要思想，能够指引他的一生，他希望能够为自己的生活思考出一些原则，使之像他所感受到的那样深沉和认真。 —-

It would be a good thing for an old man like him to abstain altogether from meat, from superfluities of all sorts. —-
对于像他这样的老人来说，完全戒掉肉食，摒弃一切的多余物品是一件好事。 —-

The time when men give up killing each other and animals would come sooner or later, it could not but be so, and he imagined that time to himself and clearly pictured himself living in peace with all the animals, and suddenly he thought again of the pigs, and everything was in a tangle in his brain.
男人们停止互相残杀和残害动物的时代，迟早会到来，不可避免地会到来，他想象着那个时代，并清晰地向自己展示了与所有动物和平共处的生活，突然他又想起了猪的事情，一切都乱了他的脑袋。

“It’s a queer business, Lord have mercy upon us,” he muttered, sighing heavily. —-
“这真是个奇怪的事情，愿上帝怜悯我们”，他喃喃自语，沉重地叹了口气。 —-

“Are you asleep?” he asked.
“你睡着了吗？”他问道。

“No.”
“没有。”

Zhmuhin got out of bed and stopped in the doorway with nothing but his shirt on, displaying to his guest his sinewy legs, that looked as dry as sticks.
扎穆欣从床上起来，只穿着一件衬衣，站在门口，露出了干瘪如木棍般的有力腿。

“Nowadays, you know,” he began, “all sorts of telegraphs, telephones, and marvels of all kinds, in fact, have come in, but people are no better than they were. —-
“如今，你知道的，各种各样的电报、电话和各种奇迹都出现了，但人们并没有变得更好。 —-

They say that in our day, thirty or forty years ago, men were coarse and cruel; —-
他们说在我们那个年代，三四十年前，男人们粗鲁而残忍； —-

but isn’t it just the same now? We certainly did not stand on ceremony in our day. —-
但现在不也是一样吗？我们当然不会跟以前一样拘谨。 —-

I remember in the Caucasus when we were stationed by a little river with nothing to do for four whole months—I was an under-officer at that time—something queer happened, quite in the style of a novel. —-
我记得在高加索山区，当时我们驻扎在一条小河旁四个月没事可做——那时我是一名下级军官——发生了一些奇怪的事情，完全类似小说中的情节。 —-

Just on the banks of that river, you know, where our division was encamped, a wretched prince whom we had killed not long before was buried. —-
就在那条河的岸边，你知道的，我们师的一个可怜的王子不久前被我们杀死并埋葬了。 —-

And at night, you know, the princess used to come to his grave and weep. —-
每天晚上，你知道的，王妃会来到他的坟墓前哭泣。 —-

She would wail and wail, and moan and moan, and make us so depressed we couldn’t sleep, and that’s the fact. —-
她会嚎啕大哭，伤心地哭泣，把我们弄得丧气沉沉，无法入睡，这是事实。 —-

We couldn’t sleep one night, we couldn’t sleep a second; well, we got sick of it. —-
我们一晚上无法入睡，第二天晚上还是睡不着；好吧，我们受够了。 —-

And from a common-sense point of view you really can’t go without your sleep for the devil knows what (excuse the expression). —-
从常识的角度来看，你真的不能没有睡眠，否则鬼知道会发生什么（请原谅我的措辞）。 —-

We took that princess and gave her a good thrashing, and she gave up coming. —-
我们抓住了那个公主，狠狠地揍了她，于是她再也不来了。 —-

There’s an instance for you. Nowadays, of course, there is not the same class of people, and they are not given to thrashing and they live in cleaner style, and there is more learning, but, you know, the soul is just the same: —-
这是一个例子。如今，当然已经没有同样的阶级，他们也不倾向于暴力，他们过着更干净的生活方式，并且有更多的学问，但是，你知道，灵魂还是一样的。 —-

there is no change. Now, look here, there’s a landowner living here among us; —-
没有改变。现在，听着，这里有一个地主； —-

he has mines, you know; all sorts of tramps without passports who don’t know where to go work for him. —-
他拥有矿山，你知道的；各种无护照的流浪汉都为他工作，不知道去哪里。 —-

On Saturdays he has to settle up with the workmen, but he doesn’t care to pay them, you know, he grudges the money. —-
星期六他必须与工人结算，但他不愿意付钱，你知道，他吝啬那笔钱。 —-

So he’s got hold of a foreman who is a tramp too, though he does wear a hat. —-
所以他找到了一个也是流浪汉的领班，尽管他戴着帽子。 —-

‘Don’t you pay them anything,’ he says, ‘not a kopeck; —-
‘你一个子儿也别付给他们，’他说，‘一分钱都不用给； —-

they’ll beat you, and let them beat you,’ says he, ‘but you put up with it, and I’ll pay you ten roubles every Saturday for it. —-
他们会揍你的，让他们揍你，’他说，‘但你忍耐住，每个星期六我给你十卢布。 —-

’ So on the Saturday evening the workmen come to settle up in the usual way; —-
’所以星期六晚上，工人们按照惯例来结算； —-

the foreman says to them: ‘Nothing!’ Well, word for word, as the master said, they begin swearing and using their fists. —-
领班对他们说：‘什么都没有！’话不多讲，就像老板说的一样，他们开始咒骂和动手。 —-

. . . They beat him and they kick him . . . —-
…他们打他，踢他… —-

you know, they are a set of men brutalized by hunger—they beat him till he is senseless, and then they go each on his way. —-
你知道，他们是一群被饥饿变得残忍的人 - 他们把他打得昏迷不醒，然后每个人走各自的路。 —-

The master gives orders for cold water to be poured on the foreman, then flings ten roubles in his face. —-
老板下令给领班泼冷水，然后向他脸上扔了十卢布。 —-

And he takes it and is pleased too, for indeed he’d be ready to be hanged for three roubles, let alone ten. —-
他接过钱，也很高兴，毕竟，为了三卢布他宁愿被绞死，更不用说十卢布了。 —-

Yes . . . and on Monday a new gang of workmen arrive; —-
是的……周一会有一批新的工人来； —-

they work, for they have nowhere to go . . . . —-
他们为了生计而工作，没有其他地方去…… —-

On Saturday it is the same story over again.”
到了星期六，又是一样的故事重演。

The visitor turned over on the other side with his face to the back of the sofa and muttered something.
游客翻身，面朝沙发的背面嘟哝了些什么。

“And here’s another instance,” Zhmuhin went on. —-
“这里还有另外一个例子，”赞胡明继续说。 —-

“We had the Siberian plague here, you know—the cattle die off like flies, I can tell you—and the veterinary surgeons came here, and strict orders were given that the dead cattle were to be buried at a distance deep in the earth, that lime was to be thrown over them, and so on, you know, on scientific principles. —-
“你们知道，我们这里曾发生过西伯利亚瘟疫——你不能想象牲畜死得像苍蝇一样多——当时兽医来了，下达了严格的指令，死掉的牲畜必须深埋在地下远离人群，并且要加上石灰等等，你懂的，遵循科学原理。 —-

My horse died too. I buried it with every precaution, and threw over three hundredweight of lime over it. —-
我的马也死了。我用一切预防措施将它埋葬，还撒了三百公斤石灰在上面。 —-

And what do you think? My fine fellows—my precious sons, I mean—dug it up, skinned it, and sold the hide for three roubles; —-
你觉得怎么样？我这些好样的家伙——我宝贵的儿子们，我的意思是——竟然把马挖出来，剥了皮，卖掉了皮革，得了三卢布； —-

there’s an instance for you. So people have grown no better, and however you feed a wolf he will always look towards the forest; —-
这就是一个例子。人们并没有变得更好，无论你怎么喂养狼，它始终会向着森林； —-

there it is. It gives one something to think about, eh? —-
就是这样。这让人反思，不是吗？ —-

How do you look at it?”
你怎么看待这个问题？

On one side a flash of lightning gleamed through a chink in the window- blinds. —-
在窗帘的缝隙中，一道闪电划破了一侧。 —-

There was the stifling feeling of a storm coming, the gnats were biting, and Zhmuhin, as he lay in his bedroom meditating, sighed and groaned and said to himself: —-
在大暴风雨即将来临的压抑气息中，蚊子在叮咬，赞胡明躺在卧室里思考，叹息着，呻吟着，自言自语道： —-

“Yes, to be sure ——” and there was no possibility of getting to sleep. Somewhere far, far away there was a growl of thunder.
“是的，确实——”睡觉是不可能的。远远的地方传来一阵雷声。

“Are you asleep?”
“你在睡觉吗？”

“No,” answered the visitor.
“不，”来访者回答道。

Zhmuhin got up, and thudding with his heels walked through the parlour and the entry to the kitchen to get a drink of water.
热蒙走了起来，用脚跺着走过客厅和门廊到厨房里取水。

“The worst thing in the world, you know, is stupidity,” he said a little later, coming back with a dipper. —-
“你知道，世界上最糟糕的事情就是愚蠢，”他稍后回来时说着，手里拿着一个水瓢。 —-

“My Lyubov Osipovna is on her knees saying her prayers. —-
“我妻子李约博夫娜现在跪在地上念祷告。 —-

She prays every night, you know, and bows down to the ground, first that her children may be sent to school; —-
你知道的，她每天晚上都会祷告，弯下腰，先是祈求她的孩子能上学； —-

she is afraid her boys will go into the army as simple Cossacks, and that they will be whacked across their backs with sabres. —-
她害怕她的儿子们会成为简单的哥萨克士兵，被军刀猛击在背上。 —-

But for teaching one must have money, and where is one to get it? —-
但是要教育孩子就得有钱，可钱从哪里来呢？ —-

You may break the floor beating your head against it, but if you haven’t got it you haven’t. —-
你可以把你的头撞在地板上，但如果你没有钱，你就没有了。 —-

And the other reason she prays is because, you know, every woman imagines there is no one in the world as unhappy as she is. —-
她祈祷的另一个原因是因为，你知道，每个女人都会想象没有比她更不幸的人了。 —-

I am a plain-spoken man, and I don’t want to conceal anything from you. —-
我是一个直言不讳的人，我不想对你隐瞒任何事情。 —-

She comes of a poor family, a village priest’s daughter. —-
她出身贫寒，是一个村里的牧师的女儿。 —-

I married her when she was seventeen, and they accepted my offer chiefly because they hadn’t enough to eat; —-
我在她十七岁时娶了她，他们主要是因为吃不饱才接受了我的求婚； —-

it was nothing but poverty and misery, while I have anyway land, you see—a farm—and after all I am an officer; —-
那只有贫穷和苦难，而我至少有土地，你知道——一块农场——而且毕竟我是一个军官； —-

it was a step up for her to marry me, you know. —-
对她而言，嫁给我是向上迈了一步，你知道的。 —-

On the very first day when she was married she cried, and she has been crying ever since, all these twenty years; —-
在她结婚的第一天，她就哭了，并且这二十年来一直在哭泣； —-

she has got a watery eye. And she’s always sitting and thinking, and what do you suppose she is thinking about? —-
她眼睛发涩。她总是坐着思考，你猜她在想什么呢？ —-

What can a woman think about? Why, nothing. —-
一个女人会想什么呢？哦，没什么。 —-

I must own I don’t consider a woman a human being.”
我必须承认我不认为女人是人类。

The visitor got up abruptly and sat on the bed.
访客突然站起来坐在床上。

“Excuse me, I feel stifled,” he said; “I will go outside.”
“不好意思，我感觉闷得慌，我要出去一下。”他说。

Zhmuhin, still talking about women, drew the bolt in the entry and they both went out. —-
谢穆金还在谈论着女人，他拉开门上的门闩，他们一起走了出去。 —-

A full moon was floating in the sky just over the yard, and in the moonlight the house and barn looked whiter than by day; —-
满月在天空中漂浮在院子上方，月光中，房屋和谷仓看起来比白天还要白； —-

and on the grass brilliant streaks of moonlight, white too, stretched between the black shadows. —-
在草地上，光芒闪耀的月光，也是白的，沿着黑影之间延伸。 —-

Far away on the right could be seen the steppe, above it the stars were softly glowing—and it was all mysterious, infinitely far away, as though one were gazing into a deep abyss; —-
右方远处可以看到草原，草原上方星星柔和地闪耀着-它们都是神秘的，无限遥远，好似凝视着深邃的深渊； —-

while on the left heavy storm-clouds, black as soot, were piling up one upon another above the steppe; —-
而左方密集的暴风云，黑得像煤炭一样，堆积在草原上方； —-

their edges were lighted up by the moon, and it looked as though there were mountains there with white snow on their peaks, dark forests, the sea. —-
云朵的边缘被月亮照亮，看起来好像那里有雪顶的山峰，黑暗的森林和大海。 —-

There was a flash of lightning, a faint rumble of thunder, and it seemed as though a battle were being fought in the mountains.
一道闪电，隐隐传来的雷鸣声，看起来好像山中正在进行一场战斗。

Quite close to the house a little night-owl screeched monotonously:
离房子很近，一只小夜鸮发出单调的叫声：

“Asleep! asleep!”
“睡着了！睡着了！”

“What time is it now?” asked the visitor.
“现在几点了？”访客问道。

“Just after one.”
“刚过一点。”

“How long it is still to dawn!”
“天亮还有多久啊！”

They went back to the house and lay down again. —-
他们回到了屋子里重新躺下。 —-

It was time to sleep, and one can usually sleep so splendidly before rain; —-
现在是睡觉的时间了，通常在下雨前人们能睡得很香甜； —-

but the old man had a hankering after serious, weighty thoughts; —-
但是老人渴望有些严肃而沉重的思考； —-

he wanted not simply to think but to meditate, and he meditated how good it would be, as death was near at hand, for the sake of his soul to give up the idleness which so imperceptibly swallowed up day after day, year after year, leaving no trace; —-
他想不仅仅是思考，还要沉思，思考如何为了灵魂的救赎，在生命即将终结之际放弃这种无形地吞噬了一天又一天、一年又一年的懒散； —-

to think out for himself some great exploit—for instance, to walk on foot far, far away, or to give up meat like this young man. —-
他想为自己想出一些伟大的壮举——比如，远远地步行前往某个地方，或者像年轻人那样戒除荤食。 —-

And again he pictured to himself the time when animals would not be killed, pictured it clearly and distinctly as though he were living through that time himself; —-
并且他再次把想象力投射到了动物无需被杀害的时代，清晰而明确地描绘着，仿佛他自己正在亲历那个时代； —-

but suddenly it was all in a tangle again in his head and all was muddled.
但突然间他的思绪又变得混乱起来，一切都乱七八糟了。

The thunderstorm had passed over, but from the edges of the storm-clouds came rain softly pattering on the roof. —-
雷雨过去了，但从暴风云边缘传来的雨点轻轻地敲击着屋顶。 —-

Zhmuhin got up, stretching and groaning with old age, and looked into the parlour. —-
老人站起身，伸展着老迈的身体，看进了客厅。 —-

Noticing that his visitor was not asleep, he said:
注意到他的客人还没有睡着，他说：

“When we were in the Caucasus, you know, there was a colonel there who was a vegetarian, too; —-
“我们在高加索地区的时候，您知道，那里有个上校也是个素食主义者； —-

he didn’t eat meat, never went shooting, and would not let his servants catch fish. —-
他不吃肉，从不去打猎，也不让仆人捕鱼。 —-

Of course, I understand that every animal ought to live in freedom and enjoy its life; —-
当然，我明白每只动物都应该生活在自由中，并享受它的生命； —-

only I don’t understand how a pig can go about where it likes without being looked after. . . .”
只是我不明白一只猪是如何在没有人照料的情况下随心所欲地活动的……

The visitor got up and sat down. His pale, haggard face expressed weariness and vexation; —-
访客站起来又坐下。他苍白而疲惫的脸上表达出疲惫和烦恼。 —-

it was evident that he was exhausted, and only his gentleness and the delicacy of his soul prevented him from expressing his vexation in words.
显然他筋疲力尽，只有他的温和和他灵魂的精致使他没有用言语表达出他的不满。

“It’s getting light,” he said mildly. “Please have the horse brought round for me.”
“天亮了，”他温和地说道。“请替我把马准备好。”

“Why so? Wait a little and the rain will be over.”
“为什么呢？等一会雨就会停的。”

“No, I entreat you,” said the visitor in horror, with a supplicating voice; —-
“不，请你了，”访客恐惧地用哀求的语气说道； —-

“it is essential for me to go at once.”
“我必须立刻走。”

And he began hurriedly dressing.
他开始匆匆忙忙地穿衣服。

By the time the horse was harnessed the sun was rising. —-
车马套好的时候太阳已经升起。 —-

It had just left off raining, the clouds were racing swiftly by, and the patches of blue were growing bigger and bigger in the sky. —-
雨刚刚停了，云朵在快速飞驰，天空中的蓝色斑块越来越大。 —-

The first rays of the sun were timidly reflected below in the big puddles. —-
阳光的第一缕在下方的大水坑中胆怯地映照出来。 —-

The visitor walked through the entry with his portfolio to get into the trap, and at that moment Zhmuhin’s wife, pale, and it seemed paler than the day before, with tear-stained eyes, looked at him intently without blinking, with the naïve expression of a little girl, and it was evident from her dejected face that she was envying him his freedom—oh, with what joy she would have gone away from there! —-
访客带着他的文件夹穿过入口走向马车，就在那一刻，兹穆欣的妻子苍白，似乎比前一天还要苍白，眼睛泪汪汪地凝视着他，毫不眨眼，带着一个像小女孩一样纯真的表情，从她沮丧的脸上可以看出，她在羡慕他的自由 – 噢，她多么乐意离开那里啊！ —-

—and she wanted to say something to him, most likely to ask advice about her children. —-
——她想对他说些什么，很可能是请教关于孩子的事情。 —-

And what a pitiable figure she was! This was not a wife, not the head of a house, not even a servant, but more like a dependent, a poor relation not wanted by anyone, a nonentity . —-
而她是多么可怜的一个人啊！她不是一个妻子，不是一个家庭的主人，甚至不是一个仆人，而更像是一个不受任何人欢迎的贫穷亲戚，一个无足轻重的人。 —-

. . . Her husband, fussing about, talking unceasingly, was seeing his visitor off, continually running in front of him, while she huddled up to the wall with a timid, guilty air, waiting for a convenient minute to speak.
……她的丈夫忙前忙后地送客，在他前面不停地奔跑，而她却蜷缩在墙边，带着胆怯和愧疚的神情，等待一个方便的时机说话。

“Please come again another time,” the old man kept repeating incessantly; —-
“请再来一次，”老人一直不停地重复着； —-

“what we have we are glad to offer, you know.”
“我们乐意提供我们所拥有的，你知道的。”

The visitor hurriedly got into the trap, evidently with relief, as though he were afraid every minute that they would detain him. —-
来访者显然松了一口气地匆忙上了马车，仿佛他时刻都担心他们会留下他。 —-

The trap lurched about as it had the day before, squeaked, and furiously rattled the pail that was tied on at the back. —-
马车像前一天一样晃动着，发出吱吱作响的声音，猛烈地摇动着后面绑着的桶子。 —-

He glanced round at Zhmuhin with a peculiar expression; —-
他用一种奇特的表情看了一圈Zhmuhin； —-

it looked as though he wanted to call him a Petchenyeg, as the surveyor had once done, or some such name, but his gentleness got the upper hand. —-
看起来他好像想叫他一个 Petchenyeg，就像测量员曾经做过的那样，或者叫他一些类似的名字，但是他的温和占了上风。 —-

He controlled himself and said nothing. But in the gateway he suddenly could not restrain himself; —-
他克制自己，什么也没说。但是在大门口他突然忍不住了； —-

he got up and shouted loudly and angrily:
他站起来，愤怒地大声喊道：

“You have bored me to death.”
“你把我烦死了。”

And he disappeared through the gate.
然后他通过大门消失了。

Near the barn Zhmuhin’s sons were standing; —-
在谷仓旁边，Zhmuhin的两个儿子站着； —-

the elder held a gun, while the younger had in his hands a grey cockerel with a bright red comb. —-
大儿子拿着一支枪，而小儿子手里拿着一只灰色的顶着一只亮红鸡冠的公鸡。 —-

The younger flung up the cockerel with all his might; —-
小儿子用力将公鸡向上扔起； —-

the bird flew upwards higher than the house and turned over in the air like a pigeon. —-
鸟向上飞了比房子还高，并在空中像鸽子一样翻转。 —-

The elder boy fired and the cockerel fell like a stone.
大儿子开枪，那只公鸡像石头一样掉了下来。

The old man, overcome with confusion, not knowing how to explain the visitor’s strange, unexpected shout, went slowly back into the house. —-
老人陷入困惑，不知如何解释访客奇怪且突然的大喊声，他缓慢地走回了房子里。 —-

And sitting down at the table he spent a long while meditating on the intellectual tendencies of the day, on the universal immorality, on the telegraph, on the telephone, on velocipedes, on how unnecessary it all was; —-
坐在桌前，他花了很长时间思考当今的知识趋势，普遍的不道德行为，电报，电话，脚踏车，以及这一切的无必要性； —-

little by little he regained his composure, then slowly had a meal, drank five glasses of tea, and lay down for a nap.
他渐渐恢复了镇定，然后慢慢地进餐，喝了五杯茶，躺下打盹。