A CARRIAGE with four fine sleek horses drove in at the big so-called Red Gate of the N—- Monastery. While it was still at a distance, the priests and monks who were standing in a group round the part of the hostel allotted to the gentry, recognised by the coachman and horses that the lady in the carriage was Princess Vera Gavrilovna, whom they knew very well.
一辆四匹骏马拉的车驶入了所谓的N修道院的大红门。当车离得还很远时，站在为上流社会人士准备的旅舍周围的僧侣们认出了车夫和马匹，知道坐在车里的是他们很熟悉的维拉·加夫里洛夫娜公主。

An old man in livery jumped off the box and helped the princess to get out of the carriage. —
一名身穿礼服的老人从车顶跳下来，帮助公主下车。 —

She raised her dark veil and moved in a leisurely way up to the priests to receive their blessing; —
她掀起了黑色面纱，悠闲地向僧侣们走去，接受他们的祝福； —

then she nodded pleasantly to the rest of the monks and went into the hostel.
然后她友好地向其余的僧侣点头，走进了旅舍。

“Well, have you missed your princess?” she said to the monk who brought in her things. —
“嗯，你们有没有想念你们的公主？”她对拿着她东西进来的僧侣说。 —

“It’s a whole month since I’ve been to see you. But here I am; behold your princess. —
“我一个月没来探访你们了。但现在我来了；瞧，你们的公主来了。 —

And where is the Father Superior? My goodness, I am burning with impatience! —
圣院长在哪里呢？天啊，我迫不及待！ —

Wonderful, wonderful old man! You must be proud of having such a Superior.”
太棒了，太棒了的老先生！有这样一位院长，你一定感到非常自豪。”

When the Father Superior came in, the princess uttered a shriek of delight, crossed her arms over her bosom, and went up to receive his blessing.
圣院长进来时，公主高兴地尖叫起来，交叉罩住胸前，走上前去接受他的祝福。

“No, no, let me kiss your hand,” she said, snatching it and eagerly kissing it three times. —
“不，不，让我亲吻你的手，”她说着，抢过来，急切地吻了三下。 —

“How glad I am to see you at last, holy Father! —
“见到你真高兴，圣院长！ —

I’m sure you’ve forgotten your princess, but my thoughts have been in your dear monastery every moment. —
我相信您已经忘记了您的公主，但我的思念一直都在您亲爱的修道院中。 —

How delightful it is here! This living for God far from the busy, giddy world has a special charm of its own, holy Father, which I feel with my whole soul although I cannot express it!”
这里的生活真美妙！远离喧嚣、狂乱的世界，专心事奉上帝，有种独特的魅力，圣院长，我全心感受到了虽然无法表达！”

The princess’s cheeks glowed and tears came into her eyes. —
公主的脸颊泛红，眼泪涌上了眼眶。 —

She talked incessantly, fervently, while the Father Superior, a grave, plain, shy old man of seventy, remained mute or uttered abruptly, like a soldier on duty, phrases such as:
她不停地、热切地交谈，而圣院长，一个七旬的严肃、朴实、害羞的老人，保持沉默或者像值班士兵那样以类似的方式突然说话，比如：

“Certainly, Your Excellency… . Quite so. I understand.”
“当然，阁下。我明白。”

“Has Your Excellency come for a long stay?” he inquired.
“阁下是来长住的吗？”他问道。

“I shall stay the night here, and to-morrow I’m going on to Klavdia Nikolaevna’s—it’s a long time since I’ve seen her—and the day after to- morrow I’ll come back to you and stay three or four days. —
“我会在这里过夜，明天去见Klavdia Nikolaevna，我很久没有见过她了，后天就会回来再待三四天。 —

I want to rest my soul here among you, holy Father… .”
“我想在你们当中休养我的心灵，圣父。”

The princess liked being at the monastery at N—-. For the last two years it had been a favourite resort of hers; —
公主喜欢去 N—-修道院。在过去的两年里，这里一直是她最喜欢的度假胜地； —

she used to go there almost every month in the summer and stay two or three days, even sometimes a week. —
她几乎每个月夏天都会去那里待两三天，甚至有时一周。 —

The shy novices, the stillness, the low ceilings, the smell of cypress, the modest fare, the cheap curtains on the windows—all this touched her, softened her, and disposed her to contemplation and good thoughts. —
害羞的新进修士们，寂静，低矮的天花板，柏树的气味，简朴的食物，窗户上廉价的窗帘——所有这些让她感动，变得温柔，让她倾向于冥想和美好的想法。 —

It was enough for her to be half an hour in the hostel for her to feel that she, too, was timid and modest, and that she, too, smelt of cypress-wood. —
只需要待在宿舍半个小时，她就会感到自己也是胆怯和温和的，也会闻到柏木的香味。 —

The past retreated into the background, lost its significance, and the princess began to imagine that in spite of her twenty-nine years she was very much like the old Father Superior, and that, like him, she was created not for wealth, not for earthly grandeur and love, but for a peaceful life secluded from the world, a life in twilight like the hostel.
往事逐渐退入幕后，失去了意义，公主开始想象自己，尽管已经二十九岁，很像老院长，想象自己像他一样，不是为了财富，不是为了世俗的尊荣和爱情，而是为了一个与世隔绝的安宁的生活，一个像宿舍一样由黄昏构成的生活。

It happens that a ray of light gleams in the dark cell of the anchorite absorbed in prayer, or a bird alights on the window and sings its song; —
隐士专心祈祷时，暗室里会闪现一道光芒，或者鸟会停在窗台上歌唱； —

the stern anchorite will smile in spite of himself, and a gentle, sinless joy will pierce through the load of grief over his sins, like water flowing from under a stone. —
严肃的隐士会不自觉地微笑，一种温和无罪的喜悦会穿透他对罪恶的沉重悲伤，如同水从石底流出。 —

The princess fancied she brought from the outside world just such comfort as the ray of light or the bird. —
公主觉得自己给外面的世界带来了这样的慰藉，就像一道光芒或一只鸟。 —

Her gay, friendly smile, her gentle eyes, her voice, her jests, her whole personality in fact, her little graceful figure always dressed in simple black, must arouse in simple, austere people a feeling of tenderness and joy. —
她快乐友好的微笑，温和的眼神，声音，幽默，事实上她整个人，那个总是穿着简单黑色衣服、小巧优雅的身影必然会唤起简朴、严肃的人们的温柔和喜悦。 —

Every one, looking at her, must think: “God has sent us an angel… . —
每个人看着她都会想：“上帝派了一个天使给我们。… —

” And feeling that no one could help thinking this, she smiled still more cordially, and tried to look like a bird.
”感觉到没有人能不这样想，她笑得更热情了，努力让自己看起来像一只鸟。

After drinking tea and resting, she went for a walk. The sun was already setting. —
喝了茶休息一会儿后，她去散步了。太阳已经开始落山了。 —

From the monastery garden came a moist fragrance of freshly watered mignonette, and from the church floated the soft singing of men’s voices, which seemed very pleasant and mournful in the distance. —
从修道院花园里传来了扑鼻的新浇过水的香水草的芬芳，从教堂里飘出男声的轻轻歌唱，远远地听来有种悦耳而凄凉的感觉。 —

It was the evening service. In the dark windows where the little lamps glowed gently, in the shadows, in the figure of the old monk sitting at the church door with a collecting-box, there was such unruffled peace that the princess felt moved to tears.
这是晚祷。在黑暗的窗户里，微弱的灯光温柔地闪耀着，在阴影中，坐在教堂门口的老僧人捧着一个募捐箱，那里的宁静让公主感动得热泪盈眶。

Outside the gate, in the walk between the wall and the birch-trees where there were benches, it was quite evening. —
在大门外，在靠墙和白桦树之间的小路上有长椅，现在已经是完全傍晚。 —

The air grew rapidly darker and darker. The princess went along the walk, sat on a seat, and sank into thought.
空气渐渐变得更黑。公主沿着小路走着，坐在长椅上，陷入沉思。

She thought how good it would be to settle down for her whole life in this monastery where life was as still and unruffled as a summer evening; —
她想着如果一辈子都在这样一个生活像夏日傍晚那样宁静和平的修道院里定居该多好； —

how good it would be to forget the ungrateful, dissipated prince; —
该多好能忘掉那个忘恩负义、放荡不羁的王子； —

to forget her immense estates, the creditors who worried her every day, her misfortunes, her maid Dasha, who had looked at her impertinently that morning. —
忘掉她巨大的领地、每天为催债的债主而烦扰的日子、她的不幸、今天早上对她无礼的侍女达莎。 —

It would be nice to sit here on the bench all her life and watch through the trunks of the birch-trees the evening mist gathering in wreaths in the valley below; —
一生坐在长椅上，透过白桦树的树干看着山谷里夕阳下升起的薄雾该多好； —

the rooks flying home in a black cloud like a veil far, far away above the forest; —
乌鸦像面黑色面纱一样的飞向远处的森林，笼罩了整个天空； —

two novices, one astride a piebald horse, another on foot driving out the horses for the night and rejoicing in their freedom, playing pranks like little children; —
两个新手，一个骑着花斑马，另一个步行赶着马群回家，为夜晚的自由感到快乐，像小孩子般顽皮； —

their youthful voices rang out musically in the still air, and she could distinguish every word. —
他们年轻的声音在寂静的空气中响彻，公主能够听清每个词。 —

It is nice to sit and listen to the silence: —
坐着倾听那片寂静确实很美妙： —

at one moment the wind blows and stirs the tops of the birch- trees, then a frog rustles in last year’s leaves, then the clock on the belfry strikes the quarter. —
一瞬间风吹动树梢，然后一只青蛙在去年的落叶中窸窣作响，之后钟楼上的钟敲响了一刻。 —

… One might sit without moving, listen and think, and think… .
。 。 。 一个人或许可以坐在那里不动，静静倾听，思考。 。 。

An old woman passed by with a wallet on her back. —
一位老太太背着一个钱包走过。 —

The princess thought that it would be nice to stop the old woman and to say something friendly and cordial to her, to help her. —
公主想停下老太太，对她说些友好和亲切的话，帮助她。 —

… But the old woman turned the corner without once looking round.
但老太太转过拐角，一次也没有回头。

Not long afterwards a tall man with a grey beard and a straw hat came along the walk. —
不一会儿，一位胡须灰白、戴着稻草帽的高个子男人走过。 —

When he came up to the princess, he took off his hat and bowed. —
当他走到公主面前时，他脱下帽子鞠了一躬。 —

From the bald patch on his head and his sharp, hooked nose the princess recognised him as the doctor, Mihail Ivanovitch, who had been in her service at Dubovki. —
从他的秃头和尖尖的钩状鼻子上，公主认出他是在杜博夫基为她效力的医生米哈伊尔·伊万诺维奇。 —

She remembered that some one had told her that his wife had died the year before, and she wanted to sympathise with him, to console him.
她记得有人告诉过她，他的妻子在前年去世了，她想要同情他，安慰他。

“Doctor, I expect you don’t recognise me?” she said with an affable smile.
“医生，我想你认不出我了？”她微笑着说。

“Yes, Princess, I recognised you,” said the doctor, taking off his hat again.
“是的，公主，我认出您了。”医生又脱下帽子。

“Oh, thank you; I was afraid that you, too, had forgotten your princess. —
“哦，谢谢；我曾担心你也忘记了你的公主。 —

People only remember their enemies, but they forget their friends. —
人们只记得他们的敌人，而忘了他们的朋友。 —

Have you, too, come to pray?”
你也来祈祷吗？”

“I am the doctor here, and I have to spend the night at the monastery every Saturday.”
“我在这里做医生，每个星期六晚上都要在修道院过夜。”

“Well, how are you?” said the princess, sighing. —
“那你最近怎么样？”公主叹了口气。 —

“I hear that you have lost your wife. What a calamity!”
“我听说你失去了你的妻子。真是一场灾难！”

“Yes, Princess, for me it is a great calamity.”
“是的，公主，对我来说这是一场大灾难。”

“There’s nothing for it! We must bear our troubles with resignation. —
“没办法！我们必须顺从地忍受我们的磨难。” —

Not one hair of a man’s head is lost without the Divine Will.”
“人头上的一根汗毛也不会缺少，都是神意。”

“Yes, Princess.”
“是的，公主。”

To the princess’s friendly, gentle smile and her sighs the doctor responded coldly and dryly: “Yes, Princess. —
“对于公主友善、温和的微笑和叹息，医生冷漠干燥地回应道：‘是的，公主’。” —

” And the expression of his face was cold and dry.
他的脸上的表情冷淡干燥。

“What else can I say to him?” she wondered.
“我还能对他说些什么呢？”她想。

“How long it is since we met!” she said. “Five years! —
“我们多久没有见面了！”她说。“五年了！ —

How much water has flowed under the bridge, how many changes in that time; —
在这段时间里，水流过了多少桥，发生了多少变化； —

it quite frightens one to think of it! You know, I am married… . —
一想起来，真让人害怕！你知道，我结婚了…… —

I am not a countess now, but a princess. —
我现在不是伯爵夫人，而是公主。 —

And by now I am separated from my husband too.”
而且我现在已经和我的丈夫分居了。”

“Yes, I heard so.”
“是的，我听说了。”

“God has sent me many trials. No doubt you have heard, too, that I am almost ruined. —
“上帝给我送来了许多考验。你也肯定听说了，我几乎破产了。 —

My Dubovki, Sofyino, and Kiryakovo have all been sold for my unhappy husband’s debts. —
我的杜博夫基、索菲诺和基尔亚科沃都为我不幸的丈夫的债务被出卖了。” —

And I have only Baranovo and Mihaltsevo left. It’s terrible to look back: —
我现在只剩下巴拉诺沃和米哈尔采沃了。回首往事，令人心痛： —

how many changes and misfortunes of all kinds, how many mistakes!”
许许多多的变化和种种不幸，还有许多错误！

“Yes, Princess, many mistakes.”
“是的，公主，许多错误。”

The princess was a little disconcerted. She knew her mistakes; —
公主有点不安。她知道自己犯过的错误； —

they were all of such a private character that no one but she could think or speak of them. —
那些错误都是私人性质的，除了她自己，没有人能谈论或思考。 —

She could not resist asking:
她忍不住问道：

“What mistakes are you thinking about?”
“你在想什么错误呢？”

“You referred to them, so you know them … —
“你提到过它们，所以你知道它们…” —

” answered the doctor, and he smiled. “Why talk about them!”
医生回答道，并微笑着。“何必谈论它们呢！”

“No; tell me, doctor. I shall be very grateful to you. —
“不，告诉我吧，医生。我会非常感激你。 —

And please don’t stand on ceremony with me. —
并且请不要跟我讲客套话。 —

I love to hear the truth.”
我喜欢听实话。”

“I am not your judge, Princess.”
“我不是你的评判者，公主。”

“Not my judge! What a tone you take! You must know something about me. Tell me!”
“不是我的评判者！你说话的口气怎么这样！你一定对我了解。告诉我吧！”

“If you really wish it, very well. Only I regret to say I’m not clever at talking, and people can’t always understand me.”
“如果你真的希望，好吧。只是很遗憾地说，我并不擅长言辞，人们并不总能理解我。”

The doctor thought a moment and began:
医生思考了一会儿，然后开始说：

“A lot of mistakes; but the most important of them, in my opinion, was the general spirit that prevailed on all your estates. —
“很多错误，但在我看来，最重要的是你所有庄园普遍存在的一种总体精神。 —

You see, I don’t know how to express myself. —
看吧，我不知道该怎么表达。 —

I mean chiefly the lack of love, the aversion for people that was felt in absolutely everything. —
我主要指的是缺乏爱，体现在万事万物中的对人们的厌恶。 —

Your whole system of life was built upon that aversion. —
你整个生活体系都建立在那种厌恶之上。 —

Aversion for the human voice, for faces, for heads, steps … —
对人的声音、脸庞、头部、步伐……都有厌恶之情。 —

in fact, for everything that makes up a human being. —
事实上，对构成一个人的一切都有厌恶之感。 —

At all the doors and on the stairs there stand sleek, rude, and lazy grooms in livery to prevent badly dressed persons from entering the house; —
在所有的门口和楼梯上站着穿礼服的漂亮、粗鲁和懒惰的男仆，以防止衣着不整洁的人进入这栋房子； —

in the hall there are chairs with high backs so that the footmen waiting there, during balls and receptions, may not soil the walls with their heads; —
在大厅里有高靠背的椅子，这样等待着的男仆在舞会和招待会期间不会用头部弄脏墙壁； —

in every room there are thick carpets that no human step may be heard; —
每个房间里都铺着厚实的地毯，以便无人步入时响动； —

every one who comes in is infallibly warned to speak as softly and as little as possible, and to say nothing that might have a disagreeable effect on the nerves or the imagination. —
每个进来的人必须要被告诫要尽可能轻声细语，不说任何可能对神经或想象力造成不愉快影响的话语； —

And in your room you don’t shake hands with any one or ask him to sit down— just as you didn’t shake hands with me or ask me to sit down… .”
而在你的房间里，你不握手或让任何人坐下 — 就像你没有握手或让我坐下一样……”

“By all means, if you like,” said the princess, smiling and holding out her hand. —
“当然，如果你愿意的话，”公主笑着说着，伸出手来； —

“Really, to be cross about such trifles… .”
“真是，为这种小事生气……”

“But I am not cross,” laughed the doctor, but at once he flushed, took off his hat, and waving it about, began hotly: —
“但我并不生气，”医生笑了，但立刻脸红了，摘下帽子，挥舞着它，激动地开始说： —

“To be candid, I’ve long wanted an opportunity to tell you all I think… . —
“坦白地说，我早就想要一个机会告诉你我所有的想法……” —

That is, I want to tell you that you look upon the mass of mankind from the Napoleonic standpoint as food for the cannon. —
“也就是说，我想告诉你，你从拿破仑的角度看待大众，认为他们不过是被大炮炮弹吞噬的食物。 —

But Napoleon had at least some idea; you have nothing except aversion.”
但拿破仑至少还有一些想法；你什么都没有，除了厌恶。”

“I have an aversion for people?” smiled the princess, shrugging her shoulders in astonishment. “I have!”
“我对人们有厌恶？” 公主微笑着耸了耸肩，惊讶地说。 “我有！”

“Yes, you! You want facts? By all means. —
“是的，你！你想要事实？毫无疑问。 —

In Mihaltsevo three former cooks of yours, who have gone blind in your kitchens from the heat of the stove, are living upon charity. —
在Mihaltsevo，您厨房里由于火炉的热度而变瞎的三位以前为您工作的厨师现在仅能靠施舍度日。 —

All the health and strength and good looks that is found on your hundreds of thousands of acres is taken by you and your parasites for your grooms, your footmen, and your coachmen. —
您数以百万亩的土地上所有的健康、力量和美好外表都被您和您的寄生虫给拿走，留给了您的男仆、仆役和车夫们。 —

All these two-legged cattle are trained to be flunkeys, overeat themselves, grow coarse, lose the ‘image and likeness,’ in fact. —
所有这些两条腿的牲口都受过训练成为马屁精，贪吃、变得粗鲁，失去了‘形象和相似’，事实上。 —

… Young doctors, agricultural experts, teachers, intellectual workers generally—think of it! —
. . 。年轻医生、农业专家、教师、知识分子——想想看！ —

—are torn away from their honest work and forced for a crust of bread to take part in all sorts of mummeries which make every decent man feel ashamed! —
——被迫放弃他们诚实的工作，为了一口面包参与各种让每个正派人感到羞愧的滑稽表演！ —

Some young men cannot be in your service for three years without becoming hypocrites, toadies, sneaks. —
有些年轻人在你的服务中待上三年就会变成伪君子、马屁精、耳语者。 —

… Is that a good thing? Your Polish superintendents, those abject spies, all those Kazimers and Kaetans, go hunting about on your hundreds of thousands of acres from morning to night, and to please you try to get three skins off one ox. —
. . 。这是好事吗？你的波兰督办，那些卑鄙间谍，所有那些卡齐默尔斯和凯塔恩斯，从早到晚在你数百万英亩的土地上四处打转，为了取悦你们，想办法从一头牛身上弄下三层皮。 —

Excuse me, I speak disconnectedly, but that doesn’t matter. —
对不起，我讲话有点支离破碎，但那不重要。 —

You don’t look upon the simple people as human beings. —
你将普通百姓看成不是人。 —

And even the princes, counts, and bishops who used to come and see you, you looked upon simply as decorative figures, not as living beings. —
甚至过去来见你的王子、伯爵和主教，你只把他们看作装饰品，而不是活生生的人。 —

But the worst of all, the thing that most revolts me, is having a fortune of over a million and doing nothing for other people, nothing!”
但最糟糕的是，让我最反感的是，拥有超过一百万的财富，却不为他人做任何事，什么也不做！

The princess sat amazed, aghast, offended, not knowing what to say or how to behave. —
公主惊讶地坐着，震惊、生气，不知道该说什么或怎么举动。 —

She had never before been spoken to in such a tone. —
她从未被人以这种口吻对待过。 —

The doctor’s unpleasant, angry voice and his clumsy, faltering phrases made a harsh clattering noise in her ears and her head. —
医生不愉快、愤怒的声音和笨拙、结结巴巴的措辞在她耳朵和头脑里发出刺耳的嘈杂声。 —

Then she began to feel as though the gesticulating doctor was hitting her on the head with his hat.
然后，她开始感觉到手舞足蹈的医生用帽子敲打着她的头。

“It’s not true!” she articulated softly, in an imploring voice. —
“这不是真的！”她轻声地发出，带着恳求的声音。 —

“I’ve done a great deal of good for other people; —
“我为其他人做了很多好事；” —

you know it yourself!”
你自己心里清楚！

“Nonsense!” cried the doctor. “Can you possibly go on thinking of your philanthropic work as something genuine and useful, and not a mere mummery? —
“胡说八道！”医生大叫道。“你可能继续相信你的慈善工作是真正有用的，而不是一场假象？ —

It was a farce from beginning to end; it was playing at loving your neighbour, the most open farce which even children and stupid peasant women saw through! —
从头到尾都是闹剧；它只是在玩弄对邻里的爱，甚至孩子和愚蠢的农妇也能看穿！ —

Take for instance your— what was it called? —
以你为例─那是什么来着？ —

—house for homeless old women without relations, of which you made me something like a head doctor, and of which you were the patroness. —
── 为无亲无友的老太婆建立的房屋，你让我成为了什么，一个类似首席医生的责任人，而你是赞助人。 —

Mercy on us! What a charming institution it was! —
天啊！那是多么迷人的机构！ —

A house was built with parquet floors and a weathercock on the roof; —
一个建筑物被建造，地板用镶木地板，屋顶上有风标； —

a dozen old women were collected from the villages and made to sleep under blankets and sheets of Dutch linen, and given toffee to eat.”
从村子里搜集了十几位老太婆，给她们盖被子和荷兰亚麻床单，还给她们吃牛轧糖。

The doctor gave a malignant chuckle into his hat, and went on speaking rapidly and stammering:
医生邪恶地咯咯笑了一声，继续快速结巴地说道：

“It was a farce! The attendants kept the sheets and the blankets under lock and key, for fear the old women should soil them—‘Let the old devil’s pepper-pots sleep on the floor. —
“简直是个闹剧！务员把床单和被子锁在柜子里，害怕老太婆弄脏──‘让老鬼的胡椒罐在地板上睡觉吧。 —

’ The old women did not dare to sit down on the beds, to put on their jackets, to walk over the polished floors. —
’老太婆们不敢坐在床上，穿上外套，走过打磨光滑的地板。 —

Everything was kept for show and hidden away from the old women as though they were thieves, and the old women were clothed and fed on the sly by other people’s charity, and prayed to God night and day to be released from their prison and from the canting exhortations of the sleek rascals to whose care you committed them. —
一切都是为了外观而保留起来，远离老太婆们，好像她们是小偷一样，老太婆们又是由别人的慈善行为得到衣食照料，日夜向上帝祈祷，希望被释放出来脱离囚禁和这些油腔滑调的无赖们的劝诱。 —

And what did the managers do? It was simply charming! —
经理们又做了些什么呢？简直让人受不了！ —

About twice a week there would be thirty-five thousand messages to say that the princess—that is, you—were coming to the home next day. —
每周大约两次，会传达三万五千个消息说公主──也就是你──明天要来看望这些老人。 —

That meant that next day I had to abandon my patients, dress up and be on parade. Very good; —
这意味着第二天我不得不放下患者，打扮起来参加检阅。 很好； —

I arrive. The old women, in everything clean and new, are already drawn up in a row, waiting. —
我到了。老妇人们，整洁而崭新的一切，已经排成一排，等待着。 —

Near them struts the old garrison rat—the superintendent with his mawkish, sneaking smile. —
在她们附近昂首阔步的是老守卫鼠——带着他那虚伪、卑鄙的微笑的总务主管。 —

The old women yawn and exchange glances, but are afraid to complain. We wait. —
老妇人们打了个哈欠，互相交换眼神，但害怕抱怨。我们等待。 —

The junior steward gallops up. Half an hour later the senior steward; —
初级管家奔来了。半小时后是高级管家； —

then the superintendent of the accounts’ office, then another, and then another of them … —
然后是财务办公室主管，然后又是另一个，再然后是另一个…… —

they keep arriving endlessly. They all have mysterious, solemn faces. —
他们不断地到来。他们全都带着神秘、庄重的表情。 —

We wait and wait, shift from one leg to another, look at the clock—all this in monumental silence because we all hate each other like poison. —
我们等啊等，脚来回踱动，看着钟表——这一切都在庄严的沉默中进行，因为我们都像毒药一样互相憎恶。 —

One hour passes, then a second, and then at last the carriage is seen in the distance, and … and …”
一个小时过去了，然后又一个小时，最后终于在远处看到了马车，然后……然后……”

The doctor went off into a shrill laugh and brought out in a shrill voice:
医生发出尖锐的笑声，用尖锐的声音说道：

“You get out of the carriage, and the old hags, at the word of command from the old garrison rat, begin chanting: —
“你下了马车，然后老妇人们在老守卫鼠的命令下开始诵唱： —

‘The Glory of our Lord in Zion the tongue of man cannot express. —
‘我们主的荣耀在锡安，人的舌头无法描述。 —

. .’ A pretty scene, wasn’t it?”
. .’ 是个漂亮的场景，不是吗？”

The doctor went off into a bass chuckle, and waved his hand as though to signify that he could not utter another word for laughing. —
医生发出低沉的笑声，挥了挥手，好像表明他笑得无法再说下去了。 —

He laughed heavily, harshly, with clenched teeth, as ill-natured people laugh; —
他笑声沉重，刺耳，牙齿紧咬，就像脾气坏的人那样笑； —

and from his voice, from his face, from his glittering, rather insolent eyes it could be seen that he had a profound contempt for the princess, for the home, and for the old women. —
从他的声音、他的脸、他那微微傲慢的闪光眼睛中可以看出，他对公主、对这座宅邸、对老妇人们都怀着深深的鄙视。 —

There was nothing amusing or laughable in all that he described so clumsily and coarsely, but he laughed with satisfaction, even with delight.
他描述的一切都既笨拙又粗鲁，没有什么可笑或令人发笑的，但他却满意地、甚至高兴地笑了起来。

“And the school?” he went on, panting from laughter. —
“学校呢？”他接着说着，笑得上气不接下气。 —

“Do you remember how you wanted to teach peasant children yourself? —
“你还记得你曾想亲自教农民的孩子们吗？ —

You must have taught them very well, for very soon the children all ran away, so that they had to be thrashed and bribed to come and be taught. —
你一定教得很好，因为很快孩子们都跑开了，以至于他们不得不受到责打和贿赂才会过来上课。 —

And you remember how you wanted to feed with your own hands the infants whose mothers were working in the fields. —
还记得你想亲手喂那些母亲在田间劳作的婴儿们吗？ —

You went about the village crying because the infants were not at your disposal, as the mothers would take them to the fields with them. —
你走村串户地大哭，因为婴儿们不在你的掌控之中，母亲们会带他们去田里。 —

Then the village foreman ordered the mothers by turns to leave their infants behind for your entertainment. —
后来村子的领班命令母亲们轮流把他们的婴儿留下来让你娱乐。 —

A strange thing! They all ran away from your benevolence like mice from a cat! And why was it? —
何等奇怪！他们都像老鼠躲避猫儿一样逃离了你的仁慈！为什么呢？ —

It’s very simple. Not because our people are ignorant and ungrateful, as you always explained it to yourself, but because in all your fads, if you’ll excuse the word, there wasn’t a ha’p’orth of love and kindness! —
很简单。不是因为我们的人愚昧无知和忘恩负义，正如你常常自以为是地解释的那样，而是因为在你的所谓热衷之中没有半点爱和善意！ —

There was nothing but the desire to amuse yourself with living puppets, nothing else… . —
只有一股想要用活玩偶逗乐自己的欲望。… —

A person who does not feel the difference between a human being and a lap-dog ought not to go in for philanthropy. —
一个人如果分不清人和宠物的区别，就不应该从事慈善事业。 —

I assure you, there’s a great difference between human beings and lap-dogs!”
我向你保证，人和宠物之间存在着很大的区别！”

The princess’s heart was beating dreadfully; —
公主的心怦怦乱跳； —

there was a thudding in her ears, and she still felt as though the doctor were beating her on the head with his hat. —
她耳中嗡嗡作响，仍感觉医生正用帽子敲击她的头。 —

The doctor talked quickly, excitedly, and uncouthly, stammering and gesticulating unnecessarily. —
医生说话快速、兴奋，举止粗野，说话结结巴巴，不必要地做出手势。 —

All she grasped was that she was spoken to by a coarse, ill-bred, spiteful, and ungrateful man; —
她只感到被一个粗鲁、没教养、恶毒和忘恩负义的男人对待； —

but what he wanted of her and what he was talking about, she could not understand.
但她无法理解他想要什么以及他在说些什么。

“Go away!” she said in a tearful voice, putting up her hands to protect her head from the doctor’s hat; “go away!”
“走开！”她哭泣着说，举起手保护头免受医生的帽子伤害；”走开！”

“And how you treat your servants!” the doctor went on, indignantly. —
医生义愤填膺地继续说道：”你怎么对待你的仆人！” —

“You treat them as the lowest scoundrels, and don’t look upon them as human beings. —
“你把他们当作最卑鄙的浪子对待，根本不把他们当成人看待。 —

For example, allow me to ask, why did you dismiss me? —
举个例子，我可以问一下，为什么你要解雇我呢？ —

For ten years I worked for your father and afterwards for you, honestly, without vacations or holidays. —
十年来，我诚实地为你父亲和后来为你工作，从不请假或放假。 —

I gained the love of all for more than seventy miles round, and suddenly one fine day I am informed that I am no longer wanted. —
我曾赢得七十英里内众人的爱，但突然有一天，我被告知不再受欢迎。 —

What for? I’ve no idea to this day. I, a doctor of medicine, a gentleman by birth, a student of the Moscow University, father of a family—am such a petty, insignificant insect that you can kick me out without explaining the reason! —
为什么？直到今天我也不明白。我是医学博士，出身高贵，莫斯科大学的学生，一个有家庭的绅士——竟被视为无足轻重的小昆虫，可以毫无解释地将我赶出门外！ —

Why stand on ceremony with me! I heard afterwards that my wife went without my knowledge three times to intercede with you for me—you wouldn’t receive her. —
为何对我如此拘谨！后来我听说，我的妻子背着我三次去求情给您，您都不接见她。 —

I am told she cried in your hall. And I shall never forgive her for it, never!”
据我了解她曾在您家大厅里哭过。我永远不会原谅她，永远！

The doctor paused and clenched his teeth, making an intense effort to think of something more to say, very unpleasant and vindictive. —
医生停顿了一下，咬紧牙关，努力想再说点什么，非常不愉快和报复性。 —

He thought of something, and his cold, frowning face suddenly brightened.
他想到了什么，他冷漠皱眉的脸突然亮了起来。

“Take your attitude to this monastery!” he said with avidity. —
“看看你对待这个修道院的态度！”他兴奋地说。 —

“You’ve never spared any one, and the holier the place, the more chance of its suffering from your loving-kindness and angelic sweetness. —
“你从不心软，圣地越是遭受你的仁慈和天使般甜美的对待的机会就更大。 —

Why do you come here? What do you want with the monks here, allow me to ask you? —
你为什么来这里？请容我问你，你想要什么？ —

What is Hecuba to you or you to Hecuba? It’s another farce, another amusement for you, another sacrilege against human dignity, and nothing more. —
你和修道院的僧侣有什么关系？这又是另一个闹剧，另一种娱乐，对人类尊严的又一种亵渎，仅此而已。 —

Why, you don’t believe in the monks’ God; —
你根本不信僧侣们的上帝； —

you’ve a God of your own in your heart, whom you’ve evolved for yourself at spiritualist séances. —
你心中有自己的上帝，是你在通灵会上自己演变出来的。 —

You look with condescension upon the ritual of the Church; you don’t go to mass or vespers; —
你看待教堂的仪式带着傲慢；你不去听弥撒或晚祷； —

you sleep till midday… . Why do you come here? … —
你睡到中午才起床…… 为什么你来这里？…… —

You come with a God of your own into a monastery you have nothing to do with, and you imagine that the monks look upon it as a very great honour. —
你带着自己心中的上帝来到一个与你无关的修道院，却以为僧侣们把这视为极大的荣耀。 —

To be sure they do! You’d better ask, by the way, what your visits cost the monastery. —
当然！顺便问一下，你的拜访对修道院的费用是多少。 —

You were graciously pleased to arrive here this evening, and a messenger from your estate arrived on horseback the day before yesterday to warn them of your coming. —
您今晚慷慨地到达这里，而您庄园的使者前天乘马赶到，提前告知他们您的到来。 —

They were the whole day yesterday getting the rooms ready and expecting you. —
昨天整天，他们为您准备房间并期待着您的到来。 —

This morning your advance-guard arrived—an insolent maid, who keeps running across the courtyard, rustling her skirts, pestering them with questions, giving orders. —
今天早上，您的前卫部队到达了——一个傲慢的女仆，一直在庭院里来回奔走，衣裙哗啦哗啦作响，烦扰他们提问、下令。 —

… I can’t endure it! The monks have been on the lookout all day, for if you were not met with due ceremony, there would be trouble! —
… 我受不了了！修道士们整天都在观察，因为如果您没有受到应有的礼遇，就会惹麻烦！ —

You’d complain to the bishop! ‘The monks don’t like me, your holiness; —
您会去投诉主教！“修士们不喜欢我，圣尊； —

I don’t know what I’ve done to displease them. —
我不知道我做错了什么。 —

It’s true I’m a great sinner, but I’m so unhappy! —
我是个大罪人，但我很不幸！ —

’ Already one monastery has been in hot water over you. —
”已经有一个修道院因您而惹上麻烦。 —

The Father Superior is a busy, learned man; —
老院长是位忙碌、博学的人； —

he hasn’t a free moment, and you keep sending for him to come to your rooms. —
他一刻都不得闲，而您却一直让他来到您的房间。 —

Not a trace of respect for age or for rank! —
毫无对年长或地位的尊重！ —

If at least you were a bountiful giver to the monastery, one wouldn’t resent it so much, but all this time the monks have not received a hundred roubles from you!”
要是您对修道院慷慨解囊，人们或许就不会那么生气了，但这段时间修士们连一百卢布都没有收到过！”

Whenever people worried the princess, misunderstood her, or mortified her, and when she did not know what to say or do, she usually began to cry. —
每当有人困扰公主、误解她、或使她丢面子，而她不知道该说什么或怎么办时，她通常会开始哭泣。 —

And on this occasion, too, she ended by hiding her face in her hands and crying aloud in a thin treble like a child. —
而这次也没能例外，她最终把脸埋在双手中，尖细的高音像个孩子一样大声啼哭起来。 —

The doctor suddenly stopped and looked at her. —
医生突然停下来看着她。 —

His face darkened and grew stern.
他的脸色阴沉，表情变得严肃。

“Forgive me, Princess,” he said in a hollow voice. —
“原谅我，王女陛下”，他用沉闷的声音说道。 —

“I’ve given way to a malicious feeling and forgotten myself. —
“我受到了恶意情绪的影响，忘记了自己。 —

It was not right.”
这是不对的。”

And coughing in an embarrassed way, he walked away quickly, without remembering to put his hat on.
他尴尬地咳嗽一下，匆匆离去，甚至忘记戴上帽子。

Stars were already twinkling in the sky. The moon must have been rising on the further side of the monastery, for the sky was clear, soft, and transparent. —
天空中已经闪烁着星星。月亮一定是在修道院的那一边升起了，因为天空清澈、柔和、透明。 —

Bats were flitting noiselessly along the white monastery wall.
蝙蝠在白色的修道院墙上无声地飞舞。

The clock slowly struck three quarters, probably a quarter to nine. —
钟慢慢地敲响了3刻，可能是9点的前一刻。 —

The princess got up and walked slowly to the gate. —
王女走过去，慢慢走向大门。 —

She felt wounded and was crying, and she felt that the trees and the stars and even the bats were pitying her, and that the clock struck musically only to express its sympathy with her. —
她感到受伤，正在哭泣，感到树木、星星甚至蝙蝠都在同情她，而时钟悠扬地敲响只是为了表达对她的同情。 —

She cried and thought how nice it would be to go into a monastery for the rest of her life. —
她哭泣着，想着如果能度过余生在一个修道院里该有多好。 —

On still summer evenings she would walk alone through the avenues, insulted, injured, misunderstood by people, and only God and the starry heavens would see the martyr’s tears. —
在夏日的宁静夜晚，她将独自穿过林荫，受到侮辱、受伤、被人误解，只有上帝和满天繁星会看到她殉道者的眼泪。 —

The evening service was still going on in the church. —
教堂里的晚祷仍在进行。 —

The princess stopped and listened to the singing; —
王女停下来聆听着歌声。 —

how beautiful the singing sounded in the still darkness! —
在寂静的黑暗中，歌声听起来是多么美丽！ —

How sweet to weep and suffer to the sound of that singing!
在那歌声的伴奏下，哭泣和承受是多么甜蜜！

Going into her rooms, she looked at her tear-stained face in the glass and powdered it, then she sat down to supper. —
进入她的房间，她看着镜子里泪痕斑斑的脸，往上打了粉，然后坐下来吃晚餐。 —

The monks knew that she liked pickled sturgeon, little mushrooms, Malaga and plain honey-cakes that left a taste of cypress in the mouth, and every time she came they gave her all these dishes. —
这些僧侣知道她喜欢腌鲟鱼、小蘑菇、马拉加和味道像柏树的普通蜂蜜糕，每次她来他们都给她这些菜。 —

As she ate the mushrooms and drank the Malaga, the princess dreamed of how she would be finally ruined and deserted—how all her stewards, bailiffs, clerks, and maid-servants for whom she had done so much, would be false to her, and begin to say rude things; —
当她吃着蘑菇、喝着马拉加的时候，公主幻想着自己最终会被毁灭和被遗弃，她为那些为她做了那么多事的管家、领地管理员、书记员和女仆们会背叛她，并开始说粗话； —

how people all the world over would set upon her, speak ill of her, jeer at her. —
全世界的人们都会对她起哄、说她坏话、嘲笑她。 —

She would renounce her title, would renounce society and luxury, and would go into a convent without one word of reproach to any one; —
她会放弃她的头衔，放弃社交和奢华，会进入一个修道院，不会对任何人抱怨一句； —

she would pray for her enemies—and then they would all understand her and come to beg her forgiveness, but by that time it would be too late… .
她会为她的敌人祈祷——那时他们会明白她，来求饶，但那时已经太迟了……

After supper she knelt down in the corner before the ikon and read two chapters of the Gospel. —
晚饭后，在角落里她跪在圣像前读了两章福音。 —

Then her maid made her bed and she got into it. —
然后她的女仆整理了床，她上床睡觉了。 —

Stretching herself under the white quilt, she heaved a sweet, deep sigh, as one sighs after crying, closed her eyes, and began to fall asleep.
她在白色被子下舒展身子，发出了一声甜蜜的深深叹息，像是哭泣后才叹息一样，闭上眼睛，开始入睡。

In the morning she waked up and glanced at her watch. It was half-past nine. —
早晨醒来时，她看了眼手表。已经是九点半了。 —

On the carpet near the bed was a bright, narrow streak of sunlight from a ray which came in at the window and dimly lighted up the room. —
床边的地毯上有一道明亮而窄小的阳光条，那是透过窗户射进来的一束光，微弱地照亮了房间。 —

Flies were buzzing behind the black curtain at the window. —
黑色窗帘后面苍蝇在嗡嗡作响。 —

“It’s early,” thought the princess, and she closed her eyes.
“还早，”公主想，然后闭上了眼睛。

Stretching and lying snug in her bed, she recalled her meeting yesterday with the doctor and all the thoughts with which she had gone to sleep the night before: —
躺在床上伸展身体时，她回忆起昨天与医生的会面，以及前一晚入睡时所想的一切： —

she remembered she was unhappy. Then she thought of her husband living in Petersburg, her stewards, doctors, neighbours, the officials of her acquaintance . —
她记得自己很不开心。然后她想起了住在彼得堡的丈夫、管家、医生、邻居和熟识的官员们。 —

. . a long procession of familiar masculine faces passed before her imagination. —
一个熟悉的男性面孔队伍在她的想象中闪过。 —

She smiled and thought, if only these people could see into her heart and understand her, they would all be at her feet.
她微笑着想，如果这些人能窥视她的心灵并理解她，他们都会对她俯首称臣。

At a quarter past eleven she called her maid.
十一点一刻她叫来了她的女仆。

“Help me to dress, Dasha,” she said languidly. —
“帮我穿衣服，达莎，”她懒洋洋地说。 —

“But go first and tell them to get out the horses. —
“但先去告诉他们备好马车。 —

I must set off for Klavdia Nikolaevna’s.”
我要去克拉芙迪娅·尼古拉耶夫娜那里。”

Going out to get into the carriage, she blinked at the glaring daylight and laughed with pleasure: —
走到马车旁上车时，她眯着眼睛望着耀眼的阳光，快乐地笑了： —

it was a wonderfully fine day! As she scanned from her half-closed eyes the monks who had gathered round the steps to see her off, she nodded graciously and said:
这是一个美好的日子！当她斜眼扫视围在台阶前的僧侣们时，她优雅地点头说：

“Good-bye, my friends! Till the day after tomorrow.”
“再见，我的朋友们！后天见。”

It was an agreeable surprise to her that the doctor was with the monks by the steps. —
医生也在台阶旁的僧侣们中让她感到惊喜。 —

His face was pale and severe.
他的脸色苍白而严肃。

“Princess,” he said with a guilty smile, taking off his hat, “I’ve been waiting here a long time to see you. —
“公主，”他带着一丝内疚的微笑，脱下帽子说，“我已经在这里等你很久了。 —

Forgive me, for God’s sake… . I was carried away yesterday by an evil, vindictive feeling and I talked . —
求你原谅，求上帝饶恕我。昨天我被一种邪恶、复仇心情所冲昏了头脑，我说了一番话。 —

. . nonsense. In short, I beg your pardon.”
一派胡言。总而言之，我请您原谅。”

The princess smiled graciously, and held out her hand for him to kiss. He kissed it, turning red.
公主亲切地微笑着，伸出手让他亲吻。他亲了一下手，脸红了。

Trying to look like a bird, the princess fluttered into the carriage and nodded in all directions. —
公主试图模仿鸟儿的样子，飘然地走进马车，对四面八方点头示意。 —

There was a gay, warm, serene feeling in her heart, and she felt herself that her smile was particularly soft and friendly. —
她心中充满了愉快、温暖、宁静的感觉，觉得自己的微笑特别柔和友好。 —

As the carriage rolled towards the gates, and afterwards along the dusty road past huts and gardens, past long trains of waggons and strings of pilgrims on their way to the monastery, she still screwed up her eyes and smiled softly. —
马车朝着城门驶去，之后沿着尘土飞扬的道路经过小屋和花园，经过长长的货车队和前往修道院的朝圣者队伍，她闭着眼睛微笑着。 —

She was thinking there was no higher bliss than to bring warmth, light, and joy wherever one went, to forgive injuries, to smile graciously on one’s enemies. —
她想，没有比无论走到哪里都带来温暖、光明和喜悦更高的幸福，原谅伤害，友好地微笑着面对敌人。 —

The peasants she passed bowed to her, the carriage rustled softly, clouds of dust rose from under the wheels and floated over the golden rye, and it seemed to the princess that her body was swaying not on carriage cushions but on clouds, and that she herself was like a light, transparent little cloud… .
她经过的农民向她鞠躬，马车悄无声息地行驶着，车轮下掀起阵阵尘土，飘过金黄的麦田。公主觉得自己的身体不是晃动在车厢坐垫上，而是像在云层上摇曳，仿佛自己就是一团轻盈、透明的小云。

“How happy I am!” she murmured, shutting her eyes. “How happy I am!”
“多么幸福啊！”她喃喃自语着闭上眼睛。“多么幸福啊！”