PYOTR MIHALITCH IVASHIN was very much out of humour: —
皮奥特·米哈里奇·伊瓦辛心情很不好： —

his sister, a young girl, had gone away to live with Vlassitch, a married man. —
他的妹妹，一个年轻女孩，已经去和婚内男子弗拉西奇一起生活了。 —

To shake off the despondency and depression which pursued him at home and in the fields, he called to his aid his sense of justice, his genuine and noble ideas—he had always defended free-love! —
为了摆脱在家里和田野中追求他的沮丧和抑郁，他召集起他的正义感，他那真挚而高尚的想法——他一直捍卫自由恋爱！ —

—but this was of no avail, and he always came back to the same conclusion as their foolish old nurse, that his sister had acted wrongly and that Vlassitch had abducted his sister. —
——但这无济于事，他总是得出同样的结论，像愚蠢的老保姆那样，他的妹妹的行为是错误的，弗拉西奇诱拐了他的妹妹。 —

And that was distressing.
而那种情景令人痛苦。

His mother did not leave her room all day long; the old nurse kept sighing and speaking in whispers; —
他的母亲整天都呆在房间里；老保姆不停地叹息并低声说话； —

his aunt had been on the point of taking her departure every day, and her trunks were continually being brought down to the hall and carried up again to her room. —
他的姑妈每天都要离开，她的行李箱不断地被搬到大厅，然后再搬回她的房间。 —

In the house, in the yard, and in the garden it was as still as though there were some one dead in the house. —
无论在房子里、院子里还是花园里，都像是家里有人死了一样静悄悄的。 —

His aunt, the servants, and even the peasants, so it seemed to Pyotr Mihalitch, looked at him enigmatically and with perplexity, as though they wanted to say “Your sister has been seduced; —
他的姑妈、仆人，甚至农民，皮奥特·米哈里奇觉得，都在神秘地看着他，困惑地看着他，仿佛他们想说“你妹妹被勾引了； —

why are you doing nothing?” And he reproached himself for inactivity, though he did not know precisely what action he ought to have taken.
为什么你什么都不做呢？” 他责备自己的无所作为，尽管他不清楚自己应该采取什么行动。

So passed six days. On the seventh—it was Sunday afternoon—a messenger on horseback brought a letter. —
于是六天就这样过去了。第七天——星期天下午——一个骑马的信使送来了一封信。 —

The address was in a familiar feminine handwriting: “Her Excy. Anna Nikolaevna Ivashin. —
信封上是熟悉的女性笔迹：“她的尊贵 安娜·尼古拉耶夫娜·伊瓦辛夫人。 —

” Pyotr Mihalitch fancied that there was something defiant, provocative, in the handwriting and in the abbreviation “Excy.” And advanced ideas in women are obstinate, ruthless, cruel.
“皮奥特·米哈里奇觉得这手写信中的缩写“尊贵”和缩写的“夫人”中有一种挑衅的、挑衅的意味。妇女的先进思想是顽固的、无情的、残忍的。

“She’d rather die than make any concession to her unhappy mother, or beg her forgiveness,” thought Pyotr Mihalitch, as he went to his mother with the letter.
“她宁愿死也不向她不幸的母亲作出任何让步，或向她道歉，”皮奥特·米哈里奇想到，当他拿着信去找他的母亲时。

His mother was lying on her bed, dressed. —
他的母亲躺在床上，穿着衣服。 —

Seeing her son, she rose impulsively, and straightening her grey hair, which had fallen from under her cap, asked quickly:
看到儿子，她冲动地站起来，整理了一下从帽子下松散了的灰发，急忙问道：

“What is it? What is it?”
“怎么了？怎么了？”

“This has come …” said her son, giving her the letter.
“这个来了……”她的儿子说着，递给她一封信。

Zina’s name, and even the pronoun “she” was not uttered in the house. —
在这个家里，没有人提到过芝娜的名字，甚至代词“她”也没人说起。 —

Zina was spoken of impersonally: “this has come,” “Gone away,” and so on… . —
芝娜常常被替代性地谈论：“这个来了”，“走了”，等等…… —

The mother recognised her daughter’s handwriting, and her face grew ugly and unpleasant, and her grey hair escaped again from her cap.
母亲认出了女儿的字迹，她的脸变得难看而不悦，灰发再次从帽子下松了出来。

“No!” she said, with a motion of her hands, as though the letter scorched her fingers. —
“不！”她用手势摆手，仿佛这封信灼伤了她的手指。 —

“No, no, never! Nothing would induce me!”
“不，绝对不会！什么事情都不行！”

The mother broke into hysterical sobs of grief and shame; —
母亲突然陷入了羞愧和悲痛的歇斯底里哭泣； —

she evidently longed to read the letter, but her pride prevented her. —
她显然很想读那封信，但她的自尊心阻止了她。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch realised that he ought to open the letter himself and read it aloud, but he was overcome by anger such as he had never felt before; —
彼得·米哈利奇意识到自己应该打开那封信，大声朗读出来，但他被一种前所未有的愤怒所克制； —

he ran out into the yard and shouted to the messenger:
他跑到院子里，冲着送信人大喊道：

“Say there will be no answer! There will be no answer! Tell them that, you beast!”
“告诉他们不用回信！不用回信！告诉他们，你这畜生！”

And he tore up the letter; then tears came into his eyes, and feeling that he was cruel, miserable, and to blame, he went out into the fields.
然后他撕毁了那封信；接着泪水涌入他的眼睛，他感到自己残酷、可悲、有过错，便走出了田野。

He was only twenty-seven, but he was already stout. —
他只有二十七岁，但已经很胖了。 —

He dressed like an old man in loose, roomy clothes, and suffered from asthma. —
他穿着宽松的衣服，像个老人，患有哮喘。 —

He already seemed to be developing the characteristics of an elderly country bachelor. —
他看起来已经具备了老年乡下单身汉的特征。 —

He never fell in love, never thought of marriage, and loved no one but his mother, his sister, his old nurse, and the gardener, Vassilitch. —
他从未坠入爱河，从未考虑过结婚，只爱着他的母亲、姐姐、老护士和园丁瓦西里奇。 —

He was fond of good fare, of his nap after dinner, and of talking about politics and exalted subjects. —
他喜欢美食，喜欢午饭后的小睡，喜欢谈论政治和崇高的话题。 —

He had in his day taken his degree at the university, but he now looked upon his studies as though in them he had discharged a duty incumbent upon young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five; —
他在大学获得了学位，但现在认为那些学习只是年轻人在18至25岁之间应尽的责任; —

at any rate, the ideas which now strayed every day through his mind had nothing in common with the university or the subjects he had studied there.
无论如何，现在他心中闪过的思想与大学或在那里学习的主题无关。

In the fields it was hot and still, as though rain were coming. —
在田野里燥热而寂静，仿佛即将下雨。 —

It was steaming in the wood, and there was a heavy fragrant scent from the pines and rotting leaves. Pyotr Mihalitch stopped several times and wiped his wet brow. —
参天的树林里弥漫着热气，松树和腐烂的叶子发出浓重的香气。彼得·米哈力奇停下几次，擦拭湿漉漉的额头。 —

He looked at his winter corn and his spring oats, walked round the clover-field, and twice drove away a partridge with its chicks which had strayed in from the wood. —
他看了看自己的冬小麦和春燕麦，绕着三叶草地走了一圈，两次赶走了从树林里迷路进来的鹧鸪和它的幼鸟。 —

And all the while he was thinking that this insufferable state of things could not go on for ever, and that he must end it one way or another. —
他一直在想这些难以忍受的状况不能永远持续下去，他必须以一种或另一种方式结束它。 —

End it stupidly, madly, but he must end it.
结束愚蠢地，疯狂地，但他必须结束它。

“But how? What can I do?” he asked himself, and looked imploringly at the sky and at the trees, as though begging for their help.
“但是怎么办？我能做什么？” 他自问，向天空和树木恳求帮助。

But the sky and the trees were mute. His noble ideas were no help, and his common sense whispered that the agonising question could have no solution but a stupid one, and that to-day’s scene with the messenger was not the last one of its kind. —
但天空和树木都无言以对。他的高尚理念无济于事，他的常识告诉他，这个令人煎熬的问题除了愚蠢的解决办法外别无他法，而今天与信使的一幕并不是最后一幕。 —

It was terrible to think what was in store for him!
为他未来所等待的事情感到可怕！

As he returned home the sun was setting. By now it seemed to him that the problem was incapable of solution. —
当他回家时，太阳已经下山。现在他觉得这个问题根本无法解决。 —

He could not accept the accomplished fact, and he could not refuse to accept it, and there was no intermediate course. —
他无法接受已成为事实的现实，也无法拒绝接受它，没有其他中间选择。 —

When, taking off his hat and fanning himself with his handkerchief, he was walking along the road, and had only another mile and a half to go before he would reach home, he heard bells behind him. —
当他脱下帽子用手绢扇风走在路上，离家只有一英里半的路程时，他听到了身后的钟声。 —

It was a very choice and successful combination of bells, which gave a clear crystal note. —
这是一支非常精选和成功的钟声组合，发出清晰晶莹的音符。 —

No one had such bells on his horses but the police captain, Medovsky, formerly an officer in the hussars, a man in broken-down health, who had been a great rake and spendthrift, and was a distant relation of Pyotr Mihalitch. —
除了警长梅多夫斯基，曾是骑兵军官、身体状况不佳的人，一个曾经是纨绔子弟、挥金如土的人，同时也是彼得·米哈利奇的远亲之外，没有人家的马匹上有这样的铃铛。 —

He was like one of the family at the Ivashins’ and had a tender, fatherly affection for Zina, as well as a great admiration for her.
他在伊瓦辛家就像家里人一样，并且对芝娜充满了深情的父爱，同时也非常钦佩她。

“I was coming to see you,” he said, overtaking Pyotr Mihalitch. —
“我本来要来看你的，”他赶上彼得·米哈利奇说。 —

“Get in; I’ll give you a lift.”
“上车；我载你。”

He was smiling and looked cheerful. Evidently he did not yet know that Zina had gone to live with Vlassitch; —
他面带微笑，看起来很愉快。显然他还不知道芝娜已经搬去和弗拉西奇住； —

perhaps he had been told of it already, but did not believe it. —
也许他已经被告知了，但不相信。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch felt in a difficult position.
彼得·米哈利奇感到处境为难。

“You are very welcome,” he muttered, blushing till the tears came into his eyes, and not knowing how to lie or what to say. —
“你非常受欢迎，”他低声说，脸涨得泪水都快流出来，不知道该撒谎还是说什么。 —

“I am delighted,” he went on, trying to smile, “but . —
“我很高兴，”他试图微笑继续说，“但是。 —

. . Zina is away and mother is ill.”
. . 芝娜不在家，母亲生病了。”

“How annoying!” said the police captain, looking pensively at Pyotr Mihalitch. —
“烦人！”警长沉思着看着彼得·米哈利奇。 —

“And I was meaning to spend the evening with you. —
“我计划今晚和你在一起。 —

Where has Zinaida Mihalovna gone?”
“谢娜依达·米哈洛夫娜去哪了？”

“To the Sinitskys’, and I believe she meant to go from there to the monastery. —
“去了西尼茨基家，我想她打算从那里去修道院。 —

I don’t quite know.”
我不太清楚。”

The police captain talked a little longer and then turned back. —
警长聊了一会儿，然后转身离开。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch walked home, and thought with horror what the police captain’s feelings would be when he learned the truth. —
彼得·米哈利奇走回家，恐惧地想着警长得知真相后的感受。 —

And Pyotr Mihalitch imagined his feelings, and actually experiencing them himself, went into the house.
彼得·米哈利奇想象着他的感受，实际上自己也在经历着这些感受，走进了房子。

“Lord help us,” he thought, “Lord help us!”
“主啊，保佑我们，”他想，“主啊，保佑我们！”

At evening tea the only one at the table was his aunt. —
在晚茶时刻，桌子上只有他的姨妈一个人。 —

As usual, her face wore the expression that seemed to say that though she was a weak, defenceless woman, she would allow no one to insult her. —
和往常一样，她的脸上带着似乎在说，虽然她是个软弱无助的女人，但绝不容许任何人侮辱她。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch sat down at the other end of the table (he did not like his aunt) and began drinking tea in silence.
彼得·米哈利奇坐在桌子另一端（他不喜欢他的姨妈）默默地喝着茶。

“Your mother has had no dinner again to-day,” said his aunt. —
“你母亲今天晚饭没吃，”他的姨妈说。 —

“You ought to do something about it, Petrusha. —
“你应该做点什么，彼得，有忧伤时饿着自己没有用。” —

Starving oneself is no help in sorrow.”
彼得·米哈利奇觉得他的姨妈干涉别人的事情并让自己离开取决于谢娜是否走了，这种想法很荒谬。

It struck Pyotr Mihalitch as absurd that his aunt should meddle in other people’s business and should make her departure depend on Zina’s having gone away. —
他很想对她说些粗鲁的话，但克制住了自己。 —

He was tempted to say something rude to her, but restrained himself. —
他们各自保持沉默。 —

And as he restrained himself he felt the time had come for action, and that he could not bear it any longer. —
当他约束自己时，他感到是时候采取行动了，他再也无法忍受。 —

Either he must act at once or fall on the ground, and scream and bang his head upon the floor. —
要么他必须立即行动，要么倒在地上，尖叫，并在地板上撞头。 —

He pictured Vlassitch and Zina, both of them progressive and self- satisfied, kissing each other somewhere under a maple tree, and all the anger and bitterness that had been accumulating in him for the last seven days fastened upon Vlassitch.
他想象着弗拉西奇和琴娜，两人都是进步和自满的，相互在一棵枫树下亲吻，过去七天里积蓄的愤怒和苦涩全都集中在弗拉西奇身上。

“One has seduced and abducted my sister,” he thought, “another will come and murder my mother, a third will set fire to the house and sack the place. —
“一个已经诱拐了我的妹妹，”他想，“另一个会前来谋害我母亲，又一个会放火烧房子，抢掠家产。 —

… And all this under the mask of friendship, lofty ideas, unhappiness!”
… 这一切都是在友谊、高尚理念、不幸的面具之下进行的!”

“No, it shall not be!” Pyotr Mihalitch cried suddenly, and he brought his fist down on the table.
“不，不会！ ”彼得·米哈利奇突然喊道，并用拳头砰地一声敲在桌子上。

He jumped up and ran out of the dining-room. —
他跳起来，冲出餐厅。 —

In the stable the steward’s horse was standing ready saddled. —
马厩里管家的马已经备好了鞍具。 —

He got on it and galloped off to Vlassitch.
他骑上马，奔向弗拉西奇。

There was a perfect tempest within him. He felt a longing to do something extraordinary, startling, even if he had to repent of it all his life afterwards. —
内心掀起了一场完美的暴风雨。他渴望做些非同寻常、惊人的事情，即使他以后一辈子都要为此悔恨。 —

Should he call Vlassitch a blackguard, slap him in the face, and then challenge him to a duel? —
他该称呼弗拉西奇为无赖，打他的脸，然后挑衅他决斗吗？ —

But Vlassitch was not one of those men who do fight duels; —
但弗拉西奇并不是那种会打枪决斗的人； —

being called a blackguard and slapped in the face would only make him more unhappy, and would make him shrink into himself more than ever. —
被称为无赖并被打脸只会让他更加不幸，只会让他更加消沉。 —

These unhappy, defenceless people are the most insufferable, the most tiresome creatures in the world. —
这些不幸、手无寸铁的人是世界上最令人无法忍受、最令人厌烦的生物。 —

They can do anything with impunity. When the luckless man responds to well-deserved reproach by looking at you with eyes full of deep and guilty feeling, and with a sickly smile bends his head submissively, even justice itself could not lift its hand against him.
他们可以为所欲为。不幸的人对应应有之事的谴责只会用充满深沉及内疚的眼神看着你，微微一笑低下头表示顺从，即便正义本身也无法对他伸出援手。

“No matter. I’ll horsewhip him before her eyes and tell him what I think of him,” Pyotr Mihalitch decided.
“无所谓。我会当着她的面马鞭抽他，告诉他我对他的看法，”彼得•米哈里奇决定说。

He was riding through his wood and waste land, and he imagined Zina would try to justify her conduct by talking about the rights of women and individual freedom, and about there being no difference between legal marriage and free union. —
他正骑马穿过自己的树林和荒地，想象着琼娜会试图通过谈论女性权利和个人自由，谈论法定婚姻和自由结合之间没有区别来为自己的行为辩护。 —

Like a woman, she would argue about what she did not understand. —
像个女人一样，她会谈论她不理解的事情。 —

And very likely at the end she would ask, “How do you come in? —
很可能最后她会问，“你是怎么进来的？ —

What right have you to interfere?”
你有什么权利干涉？”

“No, I have no right,” muttered Pyotr Mihalitch. “But so much the better… . —
“不，我没有权利，”彼得•米哈里奇喃喃自语。“但越是苛刻，越是没有干涉的权利，越好。” —

The harsher I am, the less right I have to interfere, the better.”
天气闷热。一团团小虫飞舞在地面上，在荒地里，虫鸟发出哀怨的叫声。

It was sultry. Clouds of gnats hung over the ground and in the waste places the peewits called plaintively. —
一切都预示着要下雨，但他看不到天空中有一丝云彩。 —

Everything betokened rain, but he could not see a cloud in the sky. —
彼得•米哈里奇越过自己庄园的界限，飞奔在一片平坦的田野上。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch crossed the boundary of his estate and galloped over a smooth, level field. —
他经常沿着这条路走，对每棵灌木、每个坑洼都了如指掌。 —

He often went along this road and knew every bush, every hollow in it. —
现在，在远处看起来像黑暗悬崖的地方，在昏暗中是一座红色的教堂； —

What now in the far distance looked in the dusk like a dark cliff was a red church; —
他能想象出一切细节，甚至包括门口的灰泥和常常在教堂围墙内吃草的小牛。 —

he could picture it all down to the smallest detail, even the plaster on the gate and the calves that were always grazing in the church enclosure. —
离教堂右侧三分之一英里的地方有一座像黑色模糊斑点的小树林，那是科尔托诺维奇伯爵的地产。 —

Three-quarters of a mile to the right of the church there was a copse like a dark blur—it was Count Koltonovitch’s. —
教堂的后面就是弗拉西奇庄园的开始。 —

And beyond the church Vlassitch’s estate began.
在这片荒地开满黄花变成沼泽地下有淤泥，这层淤泥可以保存好几年。

From behind the church and the count’s copse a huge black storm-cloud was rising, and there were ashes of white lightning.
从教堂和伯爵的丛林后面，一个巨大的黑色风暴云升起了，还有白色闪电的灰烬。

“Here it is!” thought Pyotr Mihalitch. “Lord help us, Lord help us!”
“就是这里！”彼得·米哈利奇心想。“主啊，帮助我们，主啊，帮助我们！”

The horse was soon tired after its quick gallop, and Pyotr Mihalitch was tired too. —
马匹很快在快速的奔跑后变得疲惫，彼得·米哈利奇也感到疲倦。 —

The storm-cloud looked at him angrily and seemed to advise him to go home. —
风暴云生气地看着他，似乎建议他回家。 —

He felt a little scared.
他感到有点害怕。

“I will prove to them they are wrong,” he tried to reassure himself. —
“我会证明他们错了，”他试图安慰自己。 —

“They will say that it is free-love, individual freedom; —
“他们会说这是自由恋爱，个人自由； —

but freedom means self-control and not subjection to passion. —
但自由意味着自我控制，而不是对激情的服从。 —

It’s not liberty but license!”
这不是自由，而是放纵！”

He reached the count’s big pond; it looked dark blue and frowning under the cloud, and a smell of damp and slime rose from it. —
他到了伯爵的大池塘；池塘在乌云下显得深蓝而阴沉，从中散发出潮湿和泥泞的气味。 —

Near the dam, two willows, one old and one young, drooped tenderly towards one another. —
在水坝附近，有两棵柳树，一棵老的，一棵年轻的，温柔地弯向彼此。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch and Vlassitch had been walking near this very spot only a fortnight before, humming a students’ song:
彼得·米哈利奇和弗拉希奇两周前就在这附近散步过，哼着学生歌曲：

“‘Youth is wasted, life is nought, when the heart is cold and loveless.’”
“‘青春被浪费，生命毫无价值，当心冷如冰而无爱’。”

A wretched song!
一首可怜的歌！

It was thundering as Pyotr Mihalitch rode through the copse, and the trees were bending and rustling in the wind. —
雷声隆隆，彼得·米哈利奇骑马穿过丛林时，树木在风中摇曳作响。 —

He had to make haste. It was only three-quarters of a mile through a meadow from the copse to Vlassitch’s house. —
他不得不赶紧了。从小树林到弗拉西奇的房子只有三分之一里路。 —

Here there were old birch-trees on each side of the road. —
这里的道路两旁有古老的白桦树。 —

They had the same melancholy and unhappy air as their owner Vlassitch, and looked as tall and lanky as he. —
它们和它们的主人弗拉西奇一样，都带着同样的忧郁和不幸的神情，看起来又高又瘦。 —

Big drops of rain pattered on the birches and on the grass; —
大雨点拍打在白桦树和草地上； —

the wind had suddenly dropped, and there was a smell of wet earth and poplars. —
风突然停了，空气弥漫着湿土和杨树的气味。 —

Before him he saw Vlassitch’s fence with a row of yellow acacias, which were tall and lanky too; —
在他面前，他看到了弗拉西奇的篱笆，篱笆旁种着一排黄色的刺槐树，它们也高大而苗条； —

where the fence was broken he could see the neglected orchard.
篱笆破了可以看到被忽略的果园。

Pyotr Mihalitch was not thinking now of the horsewhip or of a slap in the face, and did not know what he would do at Vlassitch’s. —
彼得·米哈利奇此刻不再想着马鞭或是脸上的一记耳光，并且不知道他会在弗拉西奇家里做什么。 —

He felt nervous. He felt frightened on his own account and on his sister’s, and was terrified at the thought of seeing her. —
他感到紧张。他为自己和姐姐感到害怕，并且对见她感到恐惧。 —

How would she behave with her brother? What would they both talk about? —
姐弟俩会怎样相处？他们会聊些什么？ —

And had he not better go back before it was too late? —
是否最好在为时已晚前回去？ —

As he made these reflections, he galloped up the avenue of lime-trees to the house, rode round the big clumps of lilacs, and suddenly saw Vlassitch.
当他想到这些时，他飞驰着穿过了两侧是菩提树的林荫道，绕过了大丛紫丁香，突然看到了弗拉西奇。

Vlassitch, wearing a cotton shirt, and top-boots, bending forward, with no hat on in the rain, was coming from the corner of the house to the front door. —
弗拉西奇身穿一件棉衬衫，穿着高筒靴，弯着身子，在雨中没有戴帽子，正从屋子的角落走向前门。 —

He was followed by a workman with a hammer and a box of nails. —
他身后跟着一个工人，手里拿着锤子和一盒钉子。 —

They must have been mending a shutter which had been banging in the wind. —
它们一定在修理在风中被砰砰作响的百叶窗。 —

Seeing Pyotr Mihalitch, Vlassitch stopped.
看见彼得·米哈利奇，弗拉西奇停了下来。

“It’s you!” he said, smiling. “That’s nice.”
“是你！”他笑着说。“太好了。”

“Yes, I’ve come, as you see,” said Pyotr Mihalitch, brushing the rain off himself with both hands.
“是的，你看到了，我来了，”彼得·米哈利奇用双手甩去身上的雨水说道。

“Well, that’s capital! I’m very glad,” said Vlassitch, but he did not hold out his hand: —
“太好了！我很高兴，”弗拉西奇说，但他没有伸出手：显然他不敢，而是等待彼得·米哈利奇伸出手来。 —

evidently he did not venture, but waited for Pyotr Mihalitch to hold out his. —
“这样会对燕麦有好处，”他望着天空说。 —

“It will do the oats good,” he said, looking at the sky.
“是的。”

“Yes.”
他们默默地走进了屋子。门厅右边是通往另一个门厅和书房的门，左边是一个小屋，在冬天由管家使用。

They went into the house in silence. To the right of the hall was a door leading to another hall and then to the drawing-room, and on the left was a little room which in winter was used by the steward. —
彼得·米哈利奇和弗拉西奇走进了这个小屋。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch and Vlassitch went into this little room.
“你是在哪里被雨淋到的？”

“Where were you caught in the rain?”
“离这儿不远，就在房子附近。”

“Not far off, quite close to the house.”
彼得·米哈利奇坐在床上。他很高兴听到雨声，房间的黑暗也让他感到舒服。

Pyotr Mihalitch sat down on the bed. He was glad of the noise of the rain and the darkness of the room. —
这样更好：这样变得不那么可怕，也不必看到同伴的脸。 —

It was better: it made it less dreadful, and there was no need to see his companion’s face. —
他心中已经没有愤怒，只有恐惧和对自己的恼火。 —

There was no anger in his heart now, nothing but fear and vexation with himself. —
他觉得自己开始得不好，这次拜访没有什么好结果。 —

He felt he had made a bad beginning, and that nothing would come of this visit.
他感到自己开始得不好，这次拜访没有什么好结果。

Both were silent for some time and affected to be listening to the rain.
两人都沉默了一会儿，假装在倾听雨声。

“Thank you, Petrusha,” Vlassitch began, clearing his throat. —
“谢谢你，彼得鲁沙，”弗拉西奇清了清嗓子开始说。 —

“I am very grateful to you for coming. It’s generous and noble of you. —
“你能来我非常感激。这种慷慨和高尚的行为。 —

I understand it, and, believe me, I appreciate it. Believe me.”
我理解了，相信我，我很感激。相信我。”

He looked out of the window and went on, standing in the middle of the room:
他望着窗外，站在屋子中间继续说：

“Everything happened so secretly, as though we were concealing it all from you. —
“一切都发生得那么莫名其妙，仿佛我们都在向你隐瞒一样。 —

The feeling that you might be wounded and angry has been a blot on our happiness all these days. —
担忧你可能会受伤并感到愤怒一直是我们幸福中的一个污点。 —

But let me justify myself. We kept it secret not because we did not trust you. —
但让我为自己辩解。我们隐瞒并不是因为我们不信任你。 —

To begin with, it all happened suddenly, by a kind of inspiration; there was no time to discuss it. —
一切从头到尾都来得那么突然，几乎是出于一种灵感；没有时间去讨论。 —

Besides, it’s such a private, delicate matter, and it was awkward to bring a third person in, even some one as intimate as you. —
此外，这是如此私密、微妙的事情，把第三个人牵扯进来会很尴尬，即使是像你这样亲密的人。 —

Above all, in all this we reckoned on your generosity. You are a very noble and generous person. —
最重要的是，在所有这些中我们指望的是你的慷慨。你是一个非常高尚和慷慨的人。 —

I am infinitely grateful to you. If you ever need my life, come and take it.”
我对你无限感激。如果你需要我的生命，来拿吧。”

Vlassitch talked in a quiet, hollow bass, always on the same droning note; —
弗拉西奇用低沉、空洞的男低音说话，总是在同一个单调的音调中； —

he was evidently agitated. Pyotr Mihalitch felt it was his turn to speak, and that to listen and keep silent would really mean playing the part of a generous and noble simpleton, and that had not been his idea in coming. —
显然他很激动。皮奥特尔·米哈利奇觉得现在该轮到自己说话了，只是听着和保持沉默实际上意味着扮演一个慷慨和高尚的傻瓜的角色，并不是他来的目的。 —

He got up quickly and said, breathlessly in an undertone:
他迅速站起来，用低沉的声音喘息着说：

“Listen, Grigory. You know I liked you and could have desired no better husband for my sister; —
“听着，格里戈里。你知道我喜欢你，也希望找不到比你更好的丈夫给我妹妹； —

but what has happened is awful! It’s terrible to think of it!”
但发生的事情太可怕了！想起来真是太可怕！”

“Why is it terrible?” asked Vlassitch, with a quiver in his voice. —
“为什么可怕？”瓦拉希奇问道，声音带着颤抖。 —

“It would be terrible if we had done wrong, but that isn’t so.”
“如果我们做错了事，那就是可怕的。但事实并非如此。”

“Listen, Grigory. You know I have no prejudices; —
“听着，格里戈里。你知道我没有偏见； —

but, excuse my frankness, to my mind you have both acted selfishly. —
但请原谅我的坦率，我认为你们两个都是自私的。 —

Of course, I shan’t say so to my sister—it will distress her; —
当然，我不会对我妹妹说这些话——那会让她伤心； —

but you ought to know: mother is miserable beyond all description.”
但你应该知道：母亲痛苦到了难以形容的地步。”

“Yes, that’s sad,” sighed Vlassitch. —
“是的，这很悲伤。”瓦拉希奇叹息道。 —

“We foresaw that, Petrusha, but what could we have done? —
“我们预料到了，彼特鲁沙，但我们能做什么呢？ —

Because one’s actions hurt other people, it doesn’t prove that they are wrong. —
因为一个人的行为伤害了其他人，并不意味着他们是错的。 —

What’s to be done! Every important step one takes is bound to distress somebody. —
怎么办！每一次重要的决定都不可避免地会让某些人感到痛苦。 —

If you went to fight for freedom, that would distress your mother, too. What’s to be done! —
如果你为自由而战，那也会让你母亲感到痛苦。怎么办！ —

Any one who puts the peace of his family before everything has to renounce the life of ideas completely.”
任何把家庭和睦放在首位的人都必须完全放弃思想的生活。”

There was a vivid flash of lightning at the window, and the lightning seemed to change the course of Vlassitch’s thoughts. —
窗外闪过一道明亮的闪电，这道闪电似乎改变了瓦拉希奇的思绪。 —

He sat down beside Pyotr Mihalitch and began saying what was utterly beside the point.
他坐在彼得·米哈利奇旁边，开始说些和要点完全无关的话。

“I have such a reverence for your sister, Petrusha,” he said. —
“我对你姐姐是如此尊敬，彼得沙，”他说。 —

“When I used to come and see you, I felt as though I were going to a holy shrine, and I really did worship Zina. Now my reverence for her grows every day. —
“以前我来看你时，感觉就像是去了一个神圣的神龛，我真的很崇拜芝娜。现在我对她的尊敬每天都在增加。 —

For me she is something higher than a wife—yes, higher!” Vlassitch waved his hands. —
对我来说，她比妻子更高一等—是的，更高！”瓦拉希挥动着手。 —

“She is my holy of holies. Since she is living with me, I enter my house as though it were a temple. —
“她是我心目中的神圣之物。自从她和我生活在一起，我进入自己的房子就像进入了一座庙宇。 —

She is an extraordinary, rare, most noble woman!”
她是一位非凡的、稀有的、极其高贵的女人！”

“Well, he’s off now!” thought Pyotr Mihalitch; he disliked the word “woman.”
“好了，他现在发神经了！”彼得·米哈利奇心想；他讨厌“女人”这个词。

“Why shouldn’t you be married properly?” he asked. —
“你为什么不好好结婚？”他问。 —

“How much does your wife want for a divorce?”
“你妻子要多少钱离婚？”

“Seventy-five thousand.”
“七万五千。”

“It’s rather a lot. But if we were to negotiate with her?”
“这相当多。但是如果我们和她协商呢？”

“She won’t take a farthing less. She is an awful woman, brother,” sighed Vlassitch. —
“她一文不肯少拿。她是一个可怕的女人，兄弟，”瓦拉希叹了口气。 —

“I’ve never talked to you about her before—it was unpleasant to think of her; —
“以前我从未跟你谈过她—想起她让人感到不愉快； —

but now that the subject has come up, I’ll tell you about her. —
但既然谈到这个话题了，我就告诉你她的事情。 —

I married her on the impulse of the moment—a fine, honourable impulse. —
我是在一时冲动下娶了她—一种美好、光荣的冲动。 —

An officer in command of a battalion of our regiment—if you care to hear the details—had an affair with a girl of eighteen; —
我们团的一个营长，如果你愿意听细节的话，跟一个十八岁的女孩有染； —

that is, to put it plainly, he seduced her, lived with her for two months, and abandoned her. —
换句话说，就是他诱奸了她，跟她同居了两个月，然后抛弃了她。 —

She was in an awful position, brother. She was ashamed to go home to her parents; —
她处境很糟，兄弟。她羞于回家见她的父母； —

besides, they wouldn’t have received her. Her lover had abandoned her; —
再加上他们也不会接纳她。她的情人抛弃了她； —

there was nothing left for her but to go to the barracks and sell herself. —
她只能去营房里卖身求活。 —

The other officers in the regiment were indignant. —
团里的其他军官都很不满。 —

They were by no means saints themselves, but the baseness of it was so striking. —
他们自己也并不是圣人，但是这种卑鄙行为太令人震惊了。 —

Besides, no one in the regiment could endure the man. —
况且，团里没有一个人能忍受那个男人。 —

And to spite him, you understand, the indignant lieutenants and ensigns began getting up a subscription for the unfortunate girl. —
为了羞辱他，你明白吧，愤怒的少尉和少尉开始为那个可怜女孩募捐。 —

And when we subalterns met together and began to subscribe five or ten roubles each, I had a sudden inspiration. —
当我们准尉聚在一起开始每人捐五到十卢布时，我突然有了灵感。 —

I felt it was an opportunity to do something fine. —
我觉得这是一个可以做一些伟大事情的机会。 —

I hastened to the girl and warmly expressed my sympathy. —
我迅速赶到那个女孩那里，热情地表达我的同情。 —

And while I was on my way to her, and while I was talking to her, I loved her fervently as a woman insulted and injured. —
在我走去她那里的路上，以及和她交谈时，我深深地爱着她，认为她是受到侮辱和伤害的女人。 —

Yes… . Well, a week later I made her an offer. —
是的……好吧，一个星期后我向她求婚。 —

The colonel and my comrades thought my marriage out of keeping with the dignity of an officer. —
团长和我的同志们认为我的婚姻与军官的尊严不相称。 —

That roused me more than ever. I wrote a long letter, do you know, in which I proved that my action ought to be inscribed in the annals of the regiment in letters of gold, and so on. —
这使我比以往更加激动。我写了一封长信，你知道，我在信中证明我的行动应该以金字形式镌刻在团队的史册中，等等。 —

I sent the letter to my colonel and copies to my comrades. —
我把信寄给了我的团长，同时也给了我的战友们复印件。 —

Well, I was excited, and, of course, I could not avoid being rude. —
嗯，我当时很激动，当然，我无法避免变得粗鲁。 —

I was asked to leave the regiment. I have a rough copy of it put away somewhere; —
我被要求离开团。我在某个地方找到了其中的一份草稿； —

I’ll give it to you to read sometime. It was written with great feeling. —
过段时间我会让你阅读。这封信写得充满感情。 —

You will see what lofty and noble sentiments I was experiencing. —
你会看到我当时正在经历的高尚崇高的情感。 —

I resigned my commission and came here with my wife. —
我辞去了我的军职，和我的妻子一起来到了这里。 —

My father had left a few debts, I had no money, and from the first day my wife began making acquaintances, dressing herself smartly, and playing cards, and I was obliged to mortgage the estate. —
我父亲留下了一些债务，我没有钱，从第一天起我的妻子就开始交朋友，打扮得很时髦，打扑克，我不得不抵押地产。 —

She led a bad life, you understand, and you are the only one of the neighbours who hasn’t been her lover. —
她过着放荡的生活，你知道，而你是唯一一个邻居不曾成为她的情人的人。 —

After two years I gave her all I had to set me free and she went off to town. Yes… . —
两年后，我把我所有的东西都给了她来获得自由，她去了城里。是的…… —

And now I pay her twelve hundred roubles a year. She is an awful woman! —
现在我每年要给她一千二百卢布。她是个可怕的女人！ —

There is a fly, brother, which lays an egg in the back of a spider so that the spider can’t shake it off: —
有一种食蝇的小虫，会在蜘蛛的背部产卵，让蜘蛛摆脱不掉； —

the grub fastens upon the spider and drinks its heart’s blood. —
那虫子依附在蜘蛛上，喝取它的心血。 —

That was how this woman fastened upon me and sucks the blood of my heart. —
这个女人依附在我身上，并吸取我心脏的血液，就像这样。 —

She hates and despises me for being so stupid; that is, for marrying a woman like her. —
她讨厌并鄙视我，因为我如此愚蠢；也就是说，因为娶了一个像她这样的女人。 —

My chivalry seems to her despicable. ‘A wise man cast me off,’ she says, ‘and a fool picked me up. —
我的骑士风度在她看来是可鄙的。“一个聪明人抛弃了我，”她说，“一个傻瓜把我捡了起来。” —

’ To her thinking no one but a pitiful idiot could have behaved as I did. —
在她看来，除了一个可怜的白痴外，没有人会像我一样行事。 —

And that is insufferably bitter to me, brother. —
这对我来说是无法忍受的苦涩，兄弟。 —

Altogether, I may say in parenthesis, fate has been hard upon me, very hard.”
总的来说，我可以在括号中说，命运对我是很残酷的，非常残酷。

Pyotr Mihalitch listened to Vlassitch and wondered in perplexity what it was in this man that had so charmed his sister. —
彼得·米哈力奇听着弗拉西奇的话，感到困惑，不知道这个人身上有什么东西会如此吸引他的姐姐。 —

He was not young—he was forty-one—lean and lanky, narrow-chested, with a long nose, and grey hairs in his beard. —
他并不年轻，他四十一岁，身材瘦高，胸部狭窄，鼻子长，胡须中有些许灰发。 —

He talked in a droning voice, had a sickly smile, and waved his hands awkwardly as he talked. —
他说话声音沉闷，微笑病态，谈话时手势笨拙。 —

He had neither health, nor pleasant, manly manners, nor savoir-faire, nor gaiety, and in all his exterior there was something colourless and indefinite. —
他既没有健康、也没有令人愉悦的绅士风度、还缺乏世故灵巧和快乐，在他整个外表中都有一种苍白和不确定的感觉。 —

He dressed without taste, his surroundings were depressing, he did not care for poetry or painting because “they have no answer to give to the questions of the day” —that is, he did not understand them; —
他穿着毫无品味，在他周围令人沮丧，他不关心诗歌或绘画，因为“它们对当今的问题无法解答” —也就是说，他不理解它们； —

music did not touch him. He was a poor farmer.
音乐也无法触动他。他是个贫穷的农场主。

His estate was in a wretched condition and was mortgaged; —
他的农场状态极差，而且抵押了； —

he was paying twelve percent on the second mortgage and owed ten thousand on personal securities as well. —
他为第二笔抵押支付着百分之十二的利息，还欠下了一万抵押券。 —

When the time came to pay the interest on the mortgage or to send money to his wife, he asked every one to lend him money with as much agitation as though his house were on fire, and, at the same time losing his head, he would sell the whole of his winter store of fuel for five roubles and a stack of straw for three roubles, and then have his garden fence or old cucumber-frames chopped up to heat his stoves. —
到了付抵押贷款利息或寄钱给妻子的时候，他如同房子着火一般地请求每个人借钱，并且同时丢掉整个冬季的燃料五卢布和一堆稻草三卢布，然后让自己的花园围墙或旧黄瓜架被砍成柴火用来取暖。 —

His meadows were ruined by pigs, the peasants’ cattle strayed in the undergrowth in his woods, and every year the old trees were fewer and fewer: —
他的草地被猪毁了，农民的牲畜在他的树林里漫游，而每年老树越来越少： —

beehives and rusty pails lay about in his garden and kitchen-garden. —
蜂箱和生锈的桶在他的花园和菜园里到处都是。 —

He had neither talents nor abilities, nor even ordinary capacity for living like other people. —
他既没有才华也没有能力，甚至连像其他人那样正常生活的普通能力也没有。 —

In practical life he was a weak, naïve man, easy to deceive and to cheat, and the peasants with good reason called him “simple.”
在实际生活中，他是个软弱、天真的人，容易受骗，容易被欺骗，农民们理所当然地称他为“简单”。

He was a Liberal, and in the district was regarded as a “Red,” but even his progressiveness was a bore. —
他是个自由主义者，在该地区被视为“红色分子”，但即使他的进步思想也感到无聊。 —

There was no originality nor moving power about his independent views: —
他独立的观点既没有独创性也没有感动力： —

he was revolted, indignant, and delighted always on the same note; —
他总是激愤、愤慨、快乐，但一个调调； —

it was always spiritless and ineffective. —
总是毫无精神和效果。 —

Even in moments of strong enthusiasm he never raised his head or stood upright. —
即使在强烈热情的时刻，他也从不昂首挺胸。 —

But the most tiresome thing of all was that he managed to express even his best and finest ideas so that they seemed in him commonplace and out of date. —
但最让人厌倦的是，他甚至设法表达他最好和最精妙的想法，使他们在他看来显得平庸和过时。 —

It reminded one of something old one had read long ago, when slowly and with an air of profundity he would begin discoursing of his noble, lofty moments, of his best years; —
这让人想起很久以前读过的某些旧东西，当他慢条斯理地开始谈论他的高尚、伟大时刻，他的黄金时代时； —

or when he went into raptures over the younger generation, which has always been, and still is, in advance of society; —
或者当他对总是走在社会前面的年轻一代感到狂热时； —

or abused Russians for donning their dressing-gowns at thirty and forgetting the principles of their alma mater. —
或者因为俄罗斯人三十岁就穿着睡袍，忘记了自己的母校原则而责骂他们。 —

If you stayed the night with him, he would put Pissarev or Darwin on your bedroom table; if you said you had read it, he would go and bring Dobrolubov.
如果你与他过夜，他会在你卧室的桌子上放皮萨列夫或达尔文；如果你说你读过，他就会去拿多布罗卢博夫。

In the district this was called free-thinking, and many people looked upon this free-thinking as an innocent and harmless eccentricity; —
在该地区，这被称为自由思想，许多人认为这种自由思想是一种无害的古怪； —

it made him profoundly unhappy, however. —
但这让他深感不幸。 —

It was for him the maggot of which he had just been speaking; —
对他来说，这是他刚才所说的那只蛆； —

it had fastened upon him and was sucking his life-blood. —
它已经扎根在他身上，吸取着他的生命之血。 —

In his past there had been the strange marriage in the style of Dostoevsky; —
在他的过去中曾经发生过一场奇怪的婚姻，风格恰似陀思妥也夫斯基； —

long letters and copies written in a bad, unintelligible hand-writing, but with great feeling, endless misunderstandings, explanations, disappointments, then debts, a second mortgage, the allowance to his wife, the monthly borrowing of money—and all this for no benefit to any one, either himself or others. —
长篇信札和用难以理解的糟糕手写写成的副本，但充满了强烈的感情，无尽的误会，解释，失望，然后是债务，第二次抵押，给妻子的津贴，每月的借款等等—所有这些对任何人都没有好处，也无益于自己或其他人。 —

And in the present, as in the past, he was still in a nervous flurry, on the lookout for heroic actions, and poking his nose into other people’s affairs; —
就像过去一样，他现在仍然神经紧张，寻找英雄般的行动，并插手别人的事务； —

as before, at every favourable opportunity there were long letters and copies, wearisome, stereotyped conversations about the village community, or the revival of handicrafts or the establishment of cheese factories—conversations as like one another as though he had prepared them, not in his living brain, but by some mechanical process. —
每当有利的时机，便有长篇信札和副本，令人厌倦的，刻板的谈话关于村社，或手工艺复兴，或奶酪工厂的建立—这些谈话彼此之间如出一辙，好像他不是在自己的活脑中准备，而是通过某种机械过程。 —

And finally this scandal with Zina of which one could not see the end!
最终这桩与芝娜有关的丑闻，还没有尽头可以见！

And meanwhile Zina was young—she was only twenty-two—good-looking, elegant, gay; —
与此同时，芝娜年轻—她只有二十二岁—容貌俏丽，优雅，活泼； —

she was fond of laughing, chatter, argument, a passionate musician; —
她喜欢笑声，喋喋不休，争论，是一位充满激情的音乐家； —

she had good taste in dress, in furniture, in books, and in her own home she would not have put up with a room like this, smelling of boots and cheap vodka. —
她对服饰，家具，书籍有着良好的品位，在自己的家中，她绝对不会容忍一个如这般的散发着靴子和廉价伏特加味道的房间。 —

She, too, had advanced ideas, but in her free- thinking one felt the overflow of energy, the vanity of a young, strong, spirited girl, passionately eager to be better and more original than others. —
她也持有先进的观念，但在她的自由思想中，人们感受到了一种能量的过剩，一个年轻，强壮，性格坚强的女孩的虚荣心，急切地渴望比别人更好，更独特。 —

… How had it happened that she had fallen in love with Vlassitch?
… 她怎么会爱上弗拉斯希奇呢？

“He is a Quixote, an obstinate fanatic, a maniac,” thought Pyotr Mihalitch, “and she is as soft, yielding, and weak in character as I am. —
“他是一个堂吉诃德，一个执拗的狂热者，一个疯子，” 彼得·米哈利奇想， “而她软弱、易屈从，性格懦弱，就像我一样。 —

… She and I give in easily, without resistance. She loves him; —
… 她和我都容易屈服，没有抵抗。她爱他； —

but, then, I, too, love him in spite of everything.”
但是，尽管种种，我也爱他。”

Pyotr Mihalitch considered Vlassitch a good, straightforward man, but narrow and one-sided. —
彼得·米哈利奇认为弗拉斯希奇是一个好人，直率但狭隘和片面。 —

In his perturbations and his sufferings, and in fact in his whole life, he saw no lofty aims, remote or immediate; —
在他的困扰和苦难中，事实上在他的整个生活中，他看不到远大或远近的崇高目标； —

he saw nothing but boredom and incapacity for life. —
他所看到的只是无聊和无法生活的无能。 —

His self-sacrifice and all that Vlassitch himself called heroic actions or noble impulses seemed to him a useless waste of force, unnecessary blank shots which consumed a great deal of powder. —
他的牺牲和瓦拉西奇本人所称的英雄行为或高贵冲动，在他看来是无用的力量浪费，不必要的空炮弹，消耗了大量的火药。 —

And Vlassitch’s fanatical belief in the extraordinary loftiness and faultlessness of his own way of thinking struck him as naïve and even morbid; —
瓦拉西奇对自己思维方式的非凡高尚和无缺的信念让他觉得天真甚至病态； —

and the fact that Vlassitch all his life had contrived to mix the trivial with the exalted, that he had made a stupid marriage and looked upon it as an act of heroism, and then had affairs with other women and regarded that as a triumph of some idea or other was simply incomprehensible.
瓦拉西奇一生中都设法混合琐碎和卓越的事物，他结了一场愚蠢的婚姻并将其视为英雄行为，然后跟其他女人有了一些事，并把这看作某种想法的胜利，这简直是令人难以理解的。

Nevertheless, Pyotr Mihalitch was fond of Vlassitch; —
尽管如此，彼得·米哈利奇很喜欢瓦拉西奇； —

he was conscious of a sort of power in him, and for some reason he had never had the heart to contradict him.
他觉得他身上有一种力量，出于某种原因，他从未忍心与他对抗。

Vlassitch sat down quite close to him for a talk in the dark, to the accompaniment of the rain, and he had cleared his throat as a prelude to beginning on something lengthy, such as the history of his marriage. —
瓦拉西奇坐得离他很近，打算在黑暗中谈谈，伴随着雨声，他清了清嗓子，准备开始谈论一些漫长的事情，比如他的婚姻史。 —

But it was intolerable for Pyotr Mihalitch to listen to him; —
但彼得·米哈利奇无法忍受听他说话； —

he was tormented by the thought that he would see his sister directly.
他在苦恼着自己很快就会见到他的姐姐。

“Yes, you’ve had bad luck,” he said gently; —
“是的，你运气不好，”他轻声说道； —

“but, excuse me, we’ve been wandering from the point. —
“但请原谅，我们已经离题了。 —

That’s not what we are talking about.”
这不是我们正在讨论的。”

“Yes, yes, quite so. Well, let us come back to the point,” said Vlassitch, and he stood up. —
“是的，是的，好吧，让我们回到正题上来，”瓦拉西奇说着站了起来。 —

“I tell you, Petrusha, our conscience is clear. —
“我告诉你，彼得舒哈，我们的良心是清白的。 —

We are not married, but there is no need for me to prove to you that our marriage is perfectly legitimate. —
我们并没有结婚，但我并不需要向你证明我们的婚姻是完全合法的。 —

You are as free in your ideas as I am, and, happily, there can be no disagreement between us on that point. —
你在思想上和我一样自由，幸运的是，在这一点上我们不会有分歧。 —

As for our future, that ought not to alarm you. —
至于我们的未来，你不必担心。 —

I’ll work in the sweat of my brow, I’ll work day and night— in fact, I will strain every nerve to make Zina happy. —
我会辛勤工作，日以继夜地工作——事实上，我会竭尽全力让芝娜快乐。 —

Her life will be a splendid one! You may ask, am I able to do it. I am, brother! —
她的生活将会是辉煌的！你可能会问，我是否能做到。我能，兄弟！ —

When a man devotes every minute to one thought, it’s not difficult for him to attain his object. —
当一个人把每一分钟都致力于一个想法时，他要达到目标并不困难。 —

But let us go to Zina; it will be a joy to her to see you.”
但让我们去找芝娜吧；见到你对她来说将是一种快乐。

Pyotr Mihalitch’s heart began to beat. He got up and followed Vlassitch into the hall, and from there into the drawing-room. —
彼得·米哈利奇的心开始跳动。他站起来跟随弗拉西奇走进了大厅，再从那里走进了客厅。 —

There was nothing in the huge gloomy room but a piano and a long row of old chairs ornamented with bronze, on which no one ever sat. —
在巨大而昏暗的房间里只有一架钢琴和一排装饰着青铜的古老椅子，从未有人坐过。 —

There was a candle alight on the piano. From the drawing-room they went in silence into the dining-room. —
钢琴上点着一支蜡烛。他们无言地从客厅进入餐厅。 —

This room, too, was large and comfortless; —
这个房间也是又大又冷清； —

in the middle of the room there was a round table with two leaves with six thick legs, and only one candle. —
房间正中央放着一张有两片叶子的圆桌，有六条厚腿，只点着一支蜡烛。 —

A clock in a large mahogany case like an ikon stand pointed to half-past two.
一个放在大红木壳中的钟指向两点半。

Vlassitch opened the door into the next room and said:
弗拉西奇打开下一个房间的门说:

“Zina, here is Petrusha come to see us!”
“芝娜，这里是彼得亚来看我们！”

At once there was the sound of hurried footsteps and Zina came into the dining-room. —
突然间传来匆忙的脚步声，Zina走进了饭厅。 —

She was tall, plump, and very pale, and, just as when he had seen her for the last time at home, she was wearing a black skirt and a red blouse, with a large buckle on her belt. —
她又高又丰满，皮肤苍白，就像他在家最后一次见到她时一样，穿着一条黑色半身裙和一件红色衬衣，腰间还系着一个大扣子。 —

She flung one arm round her brother and kissed him on the temple.
她伸出一只手臂搂住了她的哥哥，亲了他的太阳穴一下。

“What a storm!” she said. “Grigory went off somewhere and I was left quite alone in the house.”
“多么大的风暴啊！”她说，“格里戈里到处去了，我一个人被留在了房子里。”

She was not embarrassed, and looked at her brother as frankly and candidly as at home; —
她完全没有尴尬之感，像在家里一样坦率而坦诚地看着她的哥哥； —

looking at her, Pyotr Mihalitch, too, lost his embarrassment.
看着她，彼得·米哈利奇也失去了尴尬感。

“But you are not afraid of storms,” he said, sitting down at the table.
“但是你不怕风暴，”他说着坐到了桌子旁。

“No,” she said, “but here the rooms are so big, the house is so old, and when there is thunder it all rattles like a cupboard full of crockery. —
“不怕，”她说，“但是这里房间太大了，房子太旧了，雷声响起时整个房子都会发出象碗橱里装满陶瓷器皿一样的剧烈震动。 —

It’s a charming house altogether,” she went on, sitting down opposite her brother. —
这间房子整体上很迷人，”她继续说着，坐到了她哥哥对面。 —

“There’s some pleasant memory in every room. —
“每个房间都有些美好的回忆。 —

In my room, only fancy, Grigory’s grandfather shot himself.”
在我的房间，想象一下，格里戈里的祖父曾在那里开枪自尽。”

“In August we shall have the money to do up the lodge in the garden,” said Vlassitch.
“八月份我们将有钱整修花园里的小屋，”弗拉西奇说。

“For some reason when it thunders I think of that grandfather,” Zina went on. —
“不知为何，雷声响起时我总会想起那位祖父，”Zina接着说。 —

“And in this dining-room somebody was flogged to death.”
“而在这个饭厅里曾有人被鞭打致死。”

“That’s an actual fact,” said Vlassitch, and he looked with wide-open eyes at Pyotr Mihalitch. —
“这是事实，”弗拉西奇说着，睁大眼睛看着彼得·米哈利奇。 —

“Sometime in the forties this place was let to a Frenchman called Olivier. —
在四十年代的某个时候，这个地方被租给了一个名叫奥利维尔的法国人。 —

The portrait of his daughter is lying in an attic now—a very pretty girl. —
他女儿的肖像现在躺在一个阁楼里——一个非常漂亮的女孩。 —

This Olivier, so my father told me, despised Russians for their ignorance and treated them with cruel derision. —
据我父亲告诉我，这个奥利维尔鄙视俄国人的无知，并残忍地嘲笑他们。 —

Thus, for instance, he insisted on the priest walking without his hat for half a mile round his house, and on the church bells being rung when the Olivier family drove through the village. —
比如，他坚持要求牧师在他的房子周围半英里的路程内脱帽行走，并且当奥利维尔家人驱车经过村庄时教堂的钟声要响起。 —

The serfs and altogether the humble of this world, of course, he treated with even less ceremony. —
对于农奴和这个世界上的卑微者，他当然更加不客气。 —

Once there came along this road one of the simple-hearted sons of wandering Russia, somewhat after the style of Gogol’s divinity student, Homa Brut. He asked for a night’s lodging, pleased the bailiffs, and was given a job at the office of the estate. —
有一次，有个像高尔高尔笔下的“神学生”霍马·布鲁特那样纯朴的俄罗斯人沿着这条路走过来。他请求住一晚，讨好了管家，被安排在庄园的办公室工作。 —

There are many variations of the story. Some say the divinity student stirred up the peasants, others that Olivier’ s daughter fell in love with him. —
这个故事有很多版本。有人说那个神学生煽动了农民，还有人说奥利维尔的女儿爱上了他。 —

I don’t know which is true, only one fine evening Olivier called him in here and cross-examined him, then ordered him to be beaten. —
我不知道哪个是真的，只知道有一天傍晚奥利维尔把他叫进了这里审讯，然后命令打他。 —

Do you know, he sat here at this table drinking claret while the stable-boys beat the man. —
你知道，他坐在这张桌子前喝着红酒，而马夫们在打他。 —

He must have tried to wring something out of him. —
他一定是想从他身上揪出点什么来。 —

Towards morning the divinity student died of the torture and his body was hidden. —
待到清晨，神学生死于酷刑，他的尸体被隐藏起来。 —

They say it was thrown into Koltovitch’s pond. —
人们说被扔进科尔托维奇的池塘里。 —

There was an inquiry, but the Frenchman paid some thousands to some one in authority and went away to Alsace. —
进行了调查，但法国人向当局某人支付了一些钱，然后去了阿尔萨斯。 —

His lease was up just then, and so the matter ended.”
就在那时，他的租约到期了，事件就这样结束了。”

“What scoundrels!” said Zina, shuddering.
“这些恶棍！”琦娜颤抖着说道。

“My father remembered Olivier and his daughter well. —
“我父亲很好地记得奥利维尔和他的女儿。 —

He used to say she was remarkably beautiful and eccentric. —
他过去常说她异常美丽而古怪。 —

I imagine the divinity student had done both—stirred up the peasants and won the daughter’s heart. —
我想这位神学生一举两得——激起了农民们的愤怒并赢得了女儿的心。 —

Perhaps he wasn’t a divinity student at all, but some one travelling incognito.”
也许他根本不是神学生，而是某位化名而来的旅行者。”

Zina grew thoughtful; the story of the divinity student and the beautiful French girl had evidently carried her imagination far away. —
子娜陷入了沉思；神学生和美丽的法国女孩的故事显然让她的想象力飞到了很远的地方。 —

It seemed to Pyotr Mihalitch that she had not changed in the least during the last week, except that she was a little paler. —
彼特尔·米哈利奇觉得，在过去的一周里她似乎并没有改变，只是稍微苍白了一点。 —

She looked calm and just as usual, as though she had come with her brother to visit Vlassitch. —
她看起来平静，和往常一样，仿佛只是和她哥哥来拜访瓦拉斯捷。 —

But Pyotr Mihalitch felt that some change had taken place in himself. —
但彼特尔·米哈利奇感到自己身上发生了一些变化。 —

Before, when she was living at home, he could have spoken to her about anything, and now he did not feel equal to asking her the simple question, “How do you like being here? —
以前，当她还住在家里的时候，他可以和她谈论任何事情，而现在他觉得没法问她一个简单的问题，“你喜欢这里吗？ —

” The question seemed awkward and unnecessary. Probably the same change had taken place in her. —
”这个问题似乎尴尬又多余。可能她也发生了同样的变化。 —

She was in no haste to turn the conversation to her mother, to her home, to her relations with Vlassitch; —
她并没有急着把谈话引向她的母亲、家庭、与瓦拉斯捷的关系； —

she did not defend herself, she did not say that free unions are better than marriages in the church; —
她没有为自己辩护，也没有说自由结合比教堂婚姻更好； —

she was not agitated, and calmly brooded over the story of Olivier… . —
她并没有激动，平静地思考奥利维尔的故事…… —

And why had they suddenly begun talking of Olivier?
他们为什么突然开始谈论奥利维尔呢？

“You are both of you wet with the rain,” said Zina, and she smiled joyfully; —
“你们都被雨淋湿了，”子娜说道，然后她喜悦地微笑着；” —

she was touched by this point of resemblance between her brother and Vlassitch.
她被她哥哥和弗拉西奇之间的这种相似之处所触动。

And Pyotr Mihalitch felt all the bitterness and horror of his position. —
彼得·米哈利奇感到了他位置的苦涩和恐怖。 —

He thought of his deserted home, the closed piano, and Zina’s bright little room into which no one went now; —
他想着他被遗弃的家，合上的钢琴，再也没人进去的琴房。 —

he thought there were no prints of little feet on the garden-paths, and that before tea no one went off, laughing gaily, to bathe. —
他想不再有小脚印在花园小径上，茶前再也没有欢快笑声的人去游泳。 —

What he had clung to more and more from his childhood upwards, what he had loved thinking about when he used to sit in the stuffy class-room or the lecture theatre—brightness, purity, and joy, everything that filled the house with life and light, had gone never to return, had vanished, and was mixed up with a coarse, clumsy story of some battalion officer, a chivalrous lieutenant, a depraved woman and a grandfather who had shot himself. —
他从小就依恋的东西，他坐在闷热的教室或讲堂里时爱思考的东西——光明、纯洁和快乐，那些使房子充满生机和光明的一切，永远消失了，不再回来，消失了，和某个落拓的联队军官、一名侠义的中尉、一个堕落的女人和一个开枪自杀的祖父的故事交织在一起。 —

… And to begin to talk about his mother or to think that the past could ever return would mean not understanding what was clear.
… 而开始谈论他的母亲或者认为过去能够再次出现意味着不理解那清楚的事实。

Pyotr Mihalitch’s eyes filled with tears and his hand began to tremble as it lay on the table. —
彼得·米哈利奇的眼睛里充满了泪水，手放在桌子上开始颤抖。 —

Zina guessed what he was thinking about, and her eyes, too, glistened and looked red.
海伦猜到他在想什么，她的眼睛也发亮，看起来发红。

“Grigory, come here,” she said to Vlassitch.
“格里戈里，过来”她对弗拉西奇说。

They walked away to the window and began talking of something in a whisper. —
他们走到窗前，低声说着什么。 —

From the way that Vlassitch stooped down to her and the way she looked at him, Pyotr Mihalitch realised again that everything was irreparably over, and that it was no use to talk of anything. —
从弗拉西奇弯下身子亲近她的样子以及她看着他的方式，彼得·米哈利奇再次意识到一切都已经无法挽回，谈论任何事情都是没用的。 —

Zina went out of the room.
海伦走出了房间。

“Well, brother!” Vlassitch began, after a brief silence, rubbing his hands and smiling. —
“好了，兄弟！”弗拉西奇在短暂的沉默后开始说，揉着手笑着。 —

“I called our life happiness just now, but that was, so to speak, poetical license. —
“刚才我称我们的生活为幸福，但那只是，可以这么说，诗意的修辞。 —

In reality, there has not been a sense of happiness so far. —
实际上，到目前为止并没有幸福的感觉。 —

Zina has been thinking all the time of you, of her mother, and has been worrying; —
齐娜时刻都在惦记着你和她的母亲，一直在感到担忧； —

looking at her, I, too, felt worried. Hers is a bold, free nature, but, you know, it’s difficult when you’re not used to it, and she is young, too. —
看着她，我也感到担心。她是一个勇敢、自由的性格，但你知道，当你不习惯时，这是困难的，而且她还很年轻。 —

The servants call her ‘Miss’; it seems a trifle, but it upsets her. —
仆人们称她为“小姐”; 这似乎是小事，但这让她感到不安。 —

There it is, brother.”
那就是这样，哥哥。”

Zina brought in a plateful of strawberries. —
齐娜端进了一盘草莓。 —

She was followed by a little maidservant, looking crushed and humble, who set a jug of milk on the table and made a very low bow: —
她身后跟着一个模样灰暗谦卑的小女仆，放下了一瓶牛奶并深深鞠了一躬： —

she had something about her that was in keeping with the old furniture, something petrified and dreary.
她身上有一种与旧家具相得益彰的东西，一种僵硬而沉闷的东西。

The sound of the rain had ceased. Pyotr Mihalitch ate strawberries while Vlassitch and Zina looked at him in silence. —
雨声停了。皮奥特尔·米哈利奇一边吃草莓，弗拉西奇和齐娜一言不发地看着他。 —

The moment of the inevitable but useless conversation was approaching, and all three felt the burden of it. —
必然而无用的对话即将到来的时刻已经到了，三人都感到了这沉重的负担。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch’s eyes filled with tears again; —
皮奥特尔·米哈利奇的眼睛再次湿润了； —

he pushed away his plate and said that he must be going home, or it would be getting late, and perhaps it would rain again. —
他推开盘子，说他必须回家了，否则天就黑了，或许会再下雨。 —

The time had come when common decency required Zina to speak of those at home and of her new life.
现在到了齐娜应该提到家里和她新生活的时候了。

“How are things at home?” she asked rapidly, and her pale face quivered. “How is mother?”
“家里的情况怎么样？”她快速地问道，她苍白的脸颊颤抖着。“母亲怎么样了？”

“You know mother …” said Pyotr Mihalitch, not looking at her.
“你知道母亲……”皮奥特尔·米哈利奇说道，没有看她。

“Petrusha, you’ve thought a great deal about what has happened,” she said, taking hold of her brother’s sleeve, and he knew how hard it was for her to speak. —
“彼得，你已经思考了发生的事情很多次了，”她说着拉着她哥哥的袖子，他知道她说话有多困难。 —

“You’ve thought a great deal: tell me, can we reckon on mother’s accepting Grigory . —
“你想了很多：告诉我，我们能指望母亲接受格里戈里吗？” —

. . and the whole position, one day?”
“以及整个局面，有朝一日会吗？”

She stood close to her brother, face to face with him, and he was astonished that she was so beautiful, and that he seemed not to have noticed it before. —
她站在她兄弟面前，几乎贴着他，他惊讶地发现她是如此美丽，以至于他似乎以前没有注意到。 —

And it seemed to him utterly absurd that his sister, so like his mother, pampered, elegant, should be living with Vlassitch and in Vlassitch’s house, with the petrified servant, and the table with six legs—in the house where a man had been flogged to death, and that she was not going home with him, but was staying here to sleep.
他觉得很荒谬，他的姐姐，如同他母亲一样，娇生惯养、优雅，竟然和弗拉西奇生活在一起，住在弗拉西奇的房子里，有个僵硬的仆人，还有六条腿的桌子——在这座曾经有个人被鞭打致死的房子里，而且她没有跟他回家，而是留在这里过夜。

“You know mother,” he said, not answering her question. “I think you ought to have . —
“你了解母亲，”他说，没有回答她的问题。“我认为你应该。” —

. . to do something, to ask her forgiveness or something… .”
“做些什么，向她道歉或者其他什么。…”

“But to ask her forgiveness would mean pretending we had done wrong. —
“但是向她道歉就意味着假装我们做了错误的事情。 —

I’m ready to tell a lie to comfort mother, but it won’t lead anywhere. I know mother. —
我愿意撒谎来安慰母亲，但这不会有任何帮助。我了解母亲。 —

Well, what will be, must be!” said Zina, growing more cheerful now that the most unpleasant had been said. —
“好吧，命中注定的事情终会发生！”琳娜说，现在变得更加开朗，因为最不愉快的话已经说出口。 —

“We’ll wait for five years, ten years, and be patient, and then God’s will be done.”
“我们会等五年，十年，耐心等待，然后听天由命。”

She took her brother’s arm, and when she walked through the dark hall she squeezed close to him. —
她挽着她兄弟的胳膊，走过黑暗的走廊时靠得很近。 —

They went out on the steps. Pyotr Mihalitch said good-bye, got on his horse, and set off at a walk; —
他们走出台阶。 彼得米哈利奇说了再见，骑上马，缓步而行; —

Zina and Vlassitch walked a little way with him. —
琳娜和弗拉西奇跟他走了一小段路。 —

It was still and warm, with a delicious smell of hay; —
天依然宁静而温暖，有着干草的美妙气味； —

stars were twinkling brightly between the clouds. —
星星在云层间明亮地闪烁。 —

Vlassitch’s old garden, which had seen so many gloomy stories in its time, lay slumbering in the darkness, and for some reason it was mournful riding through it.
弗拉西奇的老花园，其时间中发生了许多阴郁故事，此刻正躺在黑暗中沉睡，不知为何，穿过它时感到有一种悲伤。

“Zina and I to-day after dinner spent some really exalted moments,” said Vlassitch. —
“今天午饭后，我和芝娜度过了一些真正崇高的时刻。”弗拉西奇说。 —

“I read aloud to her an excellent article on the question of emigration. —
“我大声读给她一篇关于移民问题的精彩文章。 —

You must read it, brother! You really must. It’s remarkable for its lofty tone. —
兄弟，你一定要读这篇文章！它的语调非常高尚。 —

I could not resist writing a letter to the editor to be forwarded to the author. —
我忍不住写信给编辑，请他转寄给作者。 —

I wrote only a single line: ‘I thank you and warmly press your noble hand.’”
我只写了一行：“我感谢您，热情地握住您高尚的手。”

Pyotr Mihalitch was tempted to say, “Don’t meddle in what does not concern you,” but he held his tongue.
皮奥特尔·米哈利奇很想说，“不要管闲事”，但他忍住了。

Vlassitch walked by his right stirrup and Zina by the left; —
弗拉西奇从右辔边走，芝娜从左辔边走； —

both seemed to have forgotten that they had to go home. —
他们似乎忘记了他们要回家。 —

It was damp, and they had almost reached Koltovitch’s copse. —
天气潮湿，他们几乎到了科尔托维奇的树林。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch felt that they were expecting something from him, though they hardly knew what it was, and he felt unbearably sorry for them. —
皮奥特尔·米哈利奇感觉他们期待着他，尽管他们几乎不知道期待什么，他对他们深感抱歉。 —

Now as they walked by the horse with submissive faces, lost in thought, he had a deep conviction that they were unhappy, and could not be happy, and their love seemed to him a melancholy, irreparable mistake. —
现在他们带着顺从的表情靠近马匹，陷入沉思，他深信他们是不幸的，不可能幸福，他们的爱对他来说是一种忧伤、不可弥补的错误。 —

Pity and the sense that he could do nothing to help them reduced him to that state of spiritual softening when he was ready to make any sacrifice to get rid of the painful feeling of sympathy.
怜悯和他无力帮助他们的感觉让他陷入了一种精神软化的状态，他愿意做出任何牺牲，以摆脱这种令人痛苦的同情。

“I’ll come over sometimes for a night,” he said.
“我有时会过来住一晚，”他说。

But it sounded as though he were making a concession, and did not satisfy him. —
但这听起来好像他在做出让步，并不能让他满意。 —

When they stopped near Koltovitch’s copse to say good-bye, he bent down to Zina, touched her shoulder, and said:
当他们停在科尔托维奇树丛附近告别时，他俯身对着齐娜，触摸了她的肩膀，并说道：

“You are right, Zina! You have done well. —
“你是对的，齐娜！你做得很好。” —

” To avoid saying more and bursting into tears, he lashed his horse and galloped into the wood. —
为了避免说出更多的话并哭泣，他抽打了马，飞奔进了树林。 —

As he rode into the darkness, he looked round and saw Vlassitch and Zina walking home along the road—he taking long strides, while she walked with a hurried, jerky step beside him—talking eagerly about something.
当他骑马进入黑暗之中时，他回头看到弗拉西奇和齐娜沿着路回家走着—他大步迈着，而她急促、急促地跟在他身边—急切地谈论着什么。

“I am an old woman!” thought Pyotr Mihalitch. —
“我是个老妇人！”彼得·米哈利奇想。 —

“I went to solve the question and I have only made it more complicated—there it is!”
“我去解决问题，结果只是让事情变得更加复杂—那就是事实！”

He was heavy at heart. When he got out of the copse he rode at a walk and then stopped his horse near the pond. —
他心情沉重。当他走出树丛时，他放慢马速走着，然后在池塘边停下马。 —

He wanted to sit and think without moving. —
他想坐下来静静地思考。 —

The moon was rising and was reflected in a streak of red on the other side of the pond. —
月亮升起，倒映在池塘另一边的一抹红色涂痕上。 —

There were low rumbles of thunder in the distance. —
远处传来低沉的雷声。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch looked steadily at the water and imagined his sister’s despair, her martyr-like pallor, the tearless eyes with which she would conceal her humiliation from others. —
彼得·米哈利奇稳定地望着水面，想象着姐姐的绝望，她那像殉道者般苍白的脸色，她用无泪的眼睛来掩饰自己的屈辱。 —

He imagined her with child, imagined the death of their mother, her funeral, Zina’s horror… . —
他想象着她怀孕，想象着母亲的去世，她的葬礼，齐娜的恐惧…… —

The proud, superstitious old woman would be sure to die of grief. —
那位骄傲、迷信的老妇人一定会因悲痛而死去。 —

Terrible pictures of the future rose before him on the background of smooth, dark water, and among pale feminine figures he saw himself, a weak, cowardly man with a guilty face.
可怕的未来画面在平滑、深色的水面上升起，苍白的女性身影之间，他看到自己，一个软弱、懦弱、有罪之人，带着有罪的脸。

A hundred paces off on the right bank of the pond, something dark was standing motionless: —
在池塘右岸离他一百步远的地方，有一个黑暗的东西静静地站着。 —

was it a man or a tall post? Pyotr Mihalitch thought of the divinity student who had been killed and thrown into the pond.
是一个男人还是一根高大的柱子？彼得·米哈利奇想起了被杀害并扔进池塘的神学生。

“Olivier behaved inhumanly, but one way or another he did settle the question, while I have settled nothing and have only made it worse,” he thought, gazing at the dark figure that looked like a ghost. —
“奥利维尔的行为是非人道的，但总归他解决了问题，而我什么也没有解决，只是让情况变得更糟。”他看着那个看起来像幽灵的黑影，想道。 —

“He said and did what he thought right while I say and do what I don’t think right; —
“他说做他认为对的事，而我说做我认为不对的事； —

and I don’t know really what I do think… .”
我真的不知道自己在想些什么……”

He rode up to the dark figure: it was an old rotten post, the relic of some shed.
他骑向那个黑暗的身影：那是一根古老腐烂的柱子，是某个小屋的遗迹。

From Koltovitch’s copse and garden there came a strong fragrant scent of lilies of the valley and honey-laden flowers. —
科尔托维奇家的树丛和花园传来一阵浓郁芬芳的百合和饱含蜜糖的花朵的香味。 —

Pyotr Mihalitch rode along the bank of the pond and looked mournfully into the water. —
彼得·米哈利奇沿着池塘岸边骑行，忧郁地望着水面。 —

And thinking about his life, he came to the conclusion he had never said or acted upon what he really thought, and other people had repaid him in the same way. —
想到自己的生活，他得出结论：自己从未说过或按照自己真正想法行事，而别人也以同样的方式回报了他。 —

And so the whole of life seemed to him as dark as this water in which the night sky was reflected and water-weeds grew in a tangle. —
于是整个生活对他来说就像这池水一样黑暗，夜空在其中倒影，水草纠缠交织。 —

And it seemed to him that nothing could ever set it right.
对他来说，似乎没有什么能够让一切变得对头。