T HERE is in Russia an emeritus Professor Nikolay Stepanovitch, a chevalier and privy councillor; —
有一个俄罗斯的荣誉教授尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，是一名骑士和内阁参议员； —

he has so many Russian and foreign decorations that when he has occasion to put them on the students nickname him “The Ikonstand. —
当他有机会戴上他收到的俄罗斯和外国勋章时，学生们会以“伊昆斯坦德”来戏称他； —

” His acquaintances are of the most aristocratic; —
他的熟人都是最有贵族气质的； —

for the last twenty-five or thirty years, at any rate, there has not been one single distinguished man of learning in Russia with whom he has not been intimately acquainted. —
至少在过去二三十年里，俄罗斯没有一位著名学者不与他有亲密交往； —

There is no one for him to make friends with nowadays; —
如今已经没有人可以成为他的朋友； —

but if we turn to the past, the long list of his famous friends winds up with such names as Pirogov, Kavelin, and the poet Nekrasov, all of whom bestowed upon him a warm and sincere affection. —
但如果我们回顾过去，他与那些著名朋友的名单中最后几个名字是皮罗戈夫、卡维林和诗人涅克拉索夫，他们都对他视若挚友； —

He is a member of all the Russian and of three foreign universities. And so on, and so on. —
他是所有俄罗斯和三所外国大学的成员。等等，等等； —

All that and a great deal more that might be said makes up what is called my “name.”
所有这些以及更多事实构成了我被称之为“名字”的原因；

That is my name as known to the public. In Russia it is known to every educated man, and abroad it is mentioned in the lecture-room with the addition “honoured and distinguished. —
这就是公众对我的名字的认识。在俄罗斯，每个受过教育的人都知道我，而在国外，人们在讲堂里提到我的名字时通常会加上“受尊敬的和卓越的”； —

” It is one of those fortunate names to abuse which or to take which in vain, in public or in print, is considered a sign of bad taste. —
这是那种非常幸运的名字，公众谴责或滥用这个名字，无论是在公共场合还是在文字中，都被认为是没有品位的表现； —

And that is as it should be. You see, my name is closely associated with the conception of a highly distinguished man of great gifts and unquestionable usefulness. —
这应该是这样的。你看，我的名字与一个极具天赋、才华横溢、无可置疑的出色人物的概念紧密相连； —

I have the industry and power of endurance of a camel, and that is important, and I have talent, which is even more important. —
我有着骆驼一样的勤奋和耐力，这很重要，而且我也有才华，这更加重要； —

Moreover, while I am on this subject, I am a well-educated, modest, and honest fellow. —
再说一遍，当谈到这个话题时，我是一个受过良好教育、谦逊、诚实的家伙； —

I have never poked my nose into literature or politics; —
我从未插手过文学或政治； —

I have never sought popularity in polemics with the ignorant; —
我从未在与无知者之间的辩论中追求声望； —

I have never made speeches either at public dinners or at the funerals of my friends. —
我没有在公共宴会上演讲，也没有在朋友的葬礼上讲话过。 —

… In fact, there is no slur on my learned name, and there is no complaint one can make against it. It is fortunate.
事实上，对我的学名并没有贬损，也没有什么抱怨可以针对它。这是幸运的。

The bearer of that name, that is I, see myself as a man of sixty-two, with a bald head, with false teeth, and with an incurable tic douloureux. —
那个名字的持有者，也就是我，视自己为一个六十二岁的男人，秃头，戴着假牙，患有不可治愈的三叉神经痛。 —

I am myself as dingy and unsightly as my name is brilliant and splendid. —
我本人像我的名字一样灰暗而不起眼。 —

My head and my hands tremble with weakness; —
我的头和手因虚弱而颤抖； —

my neck, as Turgenev says of one of his heroines, is like the handle of a double bass; —
我的脖子，如屠格涅夫所说的他的女主人一样，像一把大提琴手柄； —

my chest is hollow; my shoulders narrow; when I talk or lecture, my mouth turns down at one corner; —
我的胸膛是空的；我的肩膀狭窄；当我讲话或演讲时，我的嘴角会下垂； —

when I smile, my whole face is covered with aged-looking, deathly wrinkles. —
当我微笑时，整张脸布满了苍老死寂的皱纹。 —

There is nothing impressive about my pitiful figure; —
我悲惨的身躯并没有什么吸引人之处； —

only, perhaps, when I have an attack of tic douloureux my face wears a peculiar expression, the sight of which must have roused in every one the grim and impressive thought, “Evidently that man will soon die.”
只是，也许当我发作三叉神经痛时，我的脸上会露出一种特殊的表情，让每个人都会想到压抑且令人印象深刻的念头，“显然那个人很快就会死。”

I still, as in the past, lecture fairly well; —
和过去一样，我还能讲得不错； —

I can still, as in the past, hold the attention of my listeners for a couple of hours. —
和过去一样，我仍然能吸引听众的注意力几个小时。 —

My fervour, the literary skill of my exposition, and my humour, almost efface the defects of my voice, though it is harsh, dry, and monotonous as a praying beggar’s. —
我的热情，我叙述的文学技巧，以及幽默，几乎掩盖了我嘶哑、干燥、单调如乞丐祈祷声般的声音的缺陷。 —

I write poorly. That bit of my brain which presides over the faculty of authorship refuses to work. —
我写作很差。我那掌管着写作才能的大脑部分拒绝工作。 —

My memory has grown weak; there is a lack of sequence in my ideas, and when I put them on paper it always seems to me that I have lost the instinct for their organic connection; —
我的记忆力已经减退；我的思维缺乏连贯性，当我把它们写在纸上时，总觉得自己失去了它们有机联系的本能； —

my construction is monotonous; my language is poor and timid. Often I write what I do not mean; —
我的结构单调乏味; 我的语言贫乏胆怯。经常写下了不是我的本意; —

I have forgotten the beginning when I am writing the end. —
我在写结尾时把开头忘得一干二净。 —

Often I forget ordinary words, and I always have to waste a great deal of energy in avoiding superfluous phrases and unnecessary parentheses in my letters, both unmistakable proofs of a decline in mental activity. —
经常会忘记普通的词语，总是不得不耗费大量精力来避免信函中多余的短语和不必要的插入，这是智力活动减退的明显迹象。 —

And it is noteworthy that the simpler the letter the more painful the effort to write it. —
值得注意的是，信函越简单，写下的难度就越大。 —

At a scientific article I feel far more intelligent and at ease than at a letter of congratulation or a minute of proceedings. —
在写科学文章时，我感觉自己很聪明很自在，远胜于写一封祝贺信或一份会议记录。 —

Another point: I find it easier to write German or English than to write Russian.
另外一点：我发现写德语或英语比写俄语更容易。

As regards my present manner of life, I must give a foremost place to the insomnia from which I have suffered of late. —
关于我目前的生活方式，必须把失眠放在首位，最为突出和基本的特征。 —

If I were asked what constituted the chief and fundamental feature of my existence now, I should answer, Insomnia. —
如果被问及现在构成我生活的头等和基本特征是什么，我会回答，失眠。 —

As in the past, from habit I undress and go to bed exactly at midnight. —
像往常一样，出于习惯，我准时在午夜解衣并上床。 —

I fall asleep quickly, but before two o’clock I wake up and feel as though I had not slept at all. Sometimes I get out of bed and light a lamp. —
我很快入睡，但在两点之前就醒来，感觉好像没睡过。有时我会起床开灯。 —

For an hour or two I walk up and down the room looking at the familiar photographs and pictures. —
一两个小时我走来走去，照看着熟悉的照片和画作。 —

When I am weary of walking about, I sit down to my table. —
当我走累了，坐在桌前。 —

I sit motionless, thinking of nothing, conscious of no inclination; —
我坐得静静的，什么也不想，没有任何倾向； —

if a book is lying before me, I mechanically move it closer and read it without any interest—in that way not long ago I mechanically read through in one night a whole novel, with the strange title “The Song the Lark was Singing”; —
如果桌上有本书，我会机械地把它移近并阅读它，却毫无兴趣——不久前，我机械地通宵读完了一本带着奇怪标题的小说“云雀在唱的歌”； —

or to occupy my attention I force myself to count to a thousand; —
或者为了让自己专心，强迫自己数到一千； —

or I imagine the face of one of my colleagues and begin trying to remember in what year and under what circumstances he entered the service. —
或者我想象一下我的一个同事的脸，开始努力回忆他是在哪一年以及在什么情况下进入服务的。 —

I like listening to sounds. Two rooms away from me my daughter Liza says something rapidly in her sleep, or my wife crosses the drawing-room with a candle and invariably drops the matchbox; —
我喜欢听声音。离我两个房间远的地方，我的女儿莉莎在睡梦中快速地说些什么，或者我妻子拿着蜡烛穿过客厅，总是会掉下火柴盒； —

or a warped cupboard creaks; or the burner of the lamp suddenly begins to hum—and all these sounds, for some reason, excite me.
或者受潮的橱柜发出吱吱声；或者灯的灯芯突然开始嗡嗡作响——所有这些声音，出于某种原因，都让我兴奋。

To lie awake at night means to be at every moment conscious of being abnormal, and so I look forward with impatience to the morning and the day when I have a right to be awake. —
在夜晚醒来意味着随时意识到自己是不正常的，所以我迫不及待地期待早上和有权清醒的一天。 —

Many wearisome hours pass before the cock crows in the yard. —
许多疲惫的小时在公鸡在院子里啼叫之前过去。 —

He is my first bringer of good tidings. As soon as he crows I know that within an hour the porter will wake up below, and, coughing angrily, will go upstairs to fetch something. —
他是我第一个带来好消息的人。他一叫，我就知道一个小时内门房会在楼下醒来，愤怒地咳嗽，并上楼取东西。 —

And then a pale light will begin gradually glimmering at the windows, voices will sound in the street….
然后，灰白的光线会逐渐在窗户上闪烁，街上会传来声音….

The day begins for me with the entrance of my wife. —
对我来说，一天从妻子的进门开始。 —

She comes in to me in her petticoat, before she has done her hair, but after she has washed, smelling of flower-scented eau-de-Cologne, looking as though she had come in by chance. —
她穿着灯笼裤进来见我，还没有理好头发，但已经洗漱过，身上散发着花香味的科隆水香味，看起来好像是偶然进来的。 —

Every time she says exactly the same thing: —
她每次说的话都一模一样： —

“Excuse me, I have just come in for a minute. —
“对不起，我只进来一会儿。 —

… Have you had a bad night again?”
…你又失眠了吗？”

Then she puts out the lamp, sits down near the table, and begins talking. —
然后她熄灭灯，坐在桌子旁边，开始说话。 —

I am no prophet, but I know what she will talk about. Every morning it is exactly the same thing. —
我不是预言家，但我知道她会谈论什么。每天早晨都是完全一样的事情。 —

Usually, after anxious inquiries concerning my health, she suddenly mentions our son who is an officer serving at Warsaw. —
通常，在对我的健康情况表示关心后，她突然提到我们在华沙服役的儿子，他是一名军官。 —

After the twentieth of each month we send him fifty roubles, and that serves as the chief topic of our conversation.
每个月二十号之后，我们给他寄五十卢布，这成了我们谈论的主要话题。

“Of course it is difficult for us,” my wife would sigh, “but until he is completely on his own feet it is our duty to help him. —
“当然这对我们来说很困难。”我妻子叹息道，“但在他完全独立站稳脚跟之前，帮助他是我们的责任。 —

The boy is among strangers, his pay is small. —
这个孩子在陌生人中间，薪水很少。 —

… However, if you like, next month we won’t send him fifty, but forty. —
…不过，如果你愿意的话，下个月我们不寄五十，改为四十。 —

What do you think?”
你觉得呢？”

Daily experience might have taught my wife that constantly talking of our expenses does not reduce them, but my wife refuses to learn by experience, and regularly every morning discusses our officer son, and tells me that bread, thank God, is cheaper, while sugar is a halfpenny dearer—with a tone and an air as though she were communicating interesting news.
日常经验可能教会了我的妻子，不停地谈论我们的开销并不会减少它们，但我的妻子拒绝从经验中学习，每天早晨定期谈论我们的军官儿子，并告诉我，感谢上帝，面包便宜了，糖涨了半便士——她的语调和神态仿佛在传达有趣的消息。

I listen, mechanically assent, and probably because I have had a bad night, strange and inappropriate thoughts intrude themselves upon me. —
我机械地听着，表示同意，可能是因为前一晚睡得不好，一些奇怪和不合时宜的想法涌入我的脑海。 —

I gaze at my wife and wonder like a child. —
我凝视着我的妻子，像个孩子一样感到困惑。 —

I ask myself in perplexity, is it possible that this old, very stout, ungainly woman, with her dull expression of petty anxiety and alarm about daily bread, with eyes dimmed by continual brooding over debts and money difficulties, who can talk of nothing but expenses and who smiles at nothing but things getting cheaper—is it possible that this woman is no other than the slender Varya whom I fell in love with so passionately for her fine, clear intelligence, for her pure soul, her beauty, and, as Othello his Desdemona, for her “sympathy” for my studies? —
在困惑中自问，难道这位老、非常胖、笨拙的女人，她那满脸小小的担忧和对每天的面包和钱的担忧的表现，以及不谈论开销以外的任何事，不对任何东西笑得出来，是不是就是我曾如此热烈地爱上的那个Varya，因为她出色的智慧，纯洁的灵魂，她的美丽，以及如奥赛罗他的德斯德莫娜一样，对我的学业的“支持”？ —

Could that woman be no other than the Varya who had once borne me a son?
那个女人可能就是曾经给我生过一个儿子的Varya吗？

I look with strained attention into the face of this flabby, spiritless, clumsy old woman, seeking in her my Varya, but of her past self nothing is left but her anxiety over my health and her manner of calling my salary “our salary,” and my cap “our cap. —
我拼命地审视着这个松弛、没生气、笨拙的老女人的脸，试图在她身上找到我的Varya，但除了她对我的健康感到忧虑和将我的工资称为“我们的工资”，我的帽子称为“我们的帽子”的举止以外，她过去的自我已经一无所有。 —

” It is painful for me to look at her, and, to give her what little comfort I can, I let her say what she likes, and say nothing even when she passes unjust criticisms on other people or pitches into me for not having a private practice or not publishing text-books.
看她让我难受，为了尽量让她感到安慰，我听任她说什么，甚至当她对别人不公正地批评或挖苦我没有私人诊所或没有出版教科书时也不出声。

Our conversation always ends in the same way. —
我们的谈话总是以同样的方式结束。 —

My wife suddenly remembers with dismay that I have not had my tea.
我妻子突然惊恐地想起我还没喝茶。

“What am I thinking about, sitting here?” she says, getting up. —
“我在这里坐着想什么呢？”她站起来说。 —

“The samovar has been on the table ever so long, and here I stay gossiping. —
“茶炊已经放在桌子上很久了，我还在闲聊呢。” —

My goodness! how forgetful I am growing!”
“天呐！我怎么这么健忘啊！”

She goes out quickly, and stops in the doorway to say:
她快步走出去，停在门口说道：

“We owe Yegor five months’ wages. Did you know it? —
“我们欠叶戈尔五个月的工资。你知道吗？ —

You mustn’t let the servants’ wages run on; how many times I have said it! —
你不能让工人的工资拖欠；我说过多少次！ —

It’s much easier to pay ten roubles a month than fifty roubles every five months!”
每月付十卢布比每五个月付五十卢布容易多了！”

As she goes out, she stops to say:
她走的时候停下来说：

“The person I am sorriest for is our Liza. The girl studies at the Conservatoire, always mixes with people of good position, and goodness knows how she is dressed. —
“我最心疼的是我们的莉莎。这个女孩在音乐学院学习，总是跟身份高贵的人混在一起，天知道她穿得如何。 —

Her fur coat is in such a state she is ashamed to show herself in the street. —
她的毛皮大衣破破烂烂的，都不好意思在街上露面。 —

If she were somebody else’s daughter it wouldn’t matter, but of course every one knows that her father is a distinguished professor, a privy councillor.”
如果她是别人家的女儿就无所谓了，但是每个人都知道她的父亲是一位杰出的教授，一位内阁议员。”

And having reproached me with my rank and reputation, she goes away at last. —
然后她责备我我的地位和声望，最后终于离开了。 —

That is how my day begins. It does not improve as it goes on.
我的一天就是这样开始的，而且一天比一天更糟。

As I am drinking my tea, my Liza comes in wearing her fur coat and her cap, with her music in her hand, already quite ready to go to the Conservatoire. —
当我喝茶的时候，我的莉莎进来了，穿着毛皮大衣，戴着帽子，手里拿着她的乐谱，准备去音乐学院了。 —

She is two-and-twenty. She looks younger, is pretty, and rather like my wife in her young days. —
她二十二岁。她看起来更年轻，漂亮，有点像我年轻时的妻子。 —

She kisses me tenderly on my forehead and on my hand, and says:
她温柔地亲吻我的额头和手，说：

“Good-morning, papa; are you quite well?”
“早上好，爸爸；您还好吗?”

As a child she was very fond of ice-cream, and I used often to take her to a confectioner’s. —
作为一个孩子，她非常喜欢冰淇淋，我经常带她去甜点店。 —

Ice-cream was for her the type of everything delightful. If she wanted to praise me she would say: —
对她而言，冰淇淋是一切愉快的代表。如果她想夸我，她会说: —

“You are as nice as cream, papa.” We used to call one of her little fingers “pistachio ice,” the next, “cream ice,” the third “raspberry,” and so on. —
“你跟奶油一样好，爸爸。”我们常常称她的一个小手指为“开心果冰淇淋”，下一个是“奶油冰淇淋”，第三个是“覆盆子”，依此类推。 —

Usually when she came in to say good-morning to me I used to sit her on my knee, kiss her little fingers, and say:
通常她来向我请安时，我会把她抱在腿上，亲吻她的小手指，说:

“Creamy ice… pistachio… lemon….”
“奶油冰淇淋…开心果…柠檬….”

And now, from old habit, I kiss Liza’s fingers and mutter: “Pistachio… cream… lemon. —
而现在，出于老习惯，我亲吻莉莎的手指并喃喃自语:“开心果… 奶油… 柠檬。” —

..” but the effect is utterly different. I am cold as ice and I am ashamed. —
但效果完全不同。我冷如冰，我感到羞耻。 —

When my daughter comes in to me and touches my forehead with her lips I start as though a bee had stung me on the head, give a forced smile, and turn my face away. —
当我的女儿进来亲吻我额头时，我像被蜜蜂蜇了一样愣住，勉强笑了笑，把脸转开。 —

Ever since I have been suffering from sleeplessness, a question sticks in my brain like a nail. —
自从我失眠以来，一个问题像刺一样扎在我脑中。 —

My daughter often sees me, an old man and a distinguished man, blush painfully at being in debt to my footman; —
我的女儿经常看到我，一个老人、一个显赫的人，因欠家仆债而痛苦难忍； —

she sees how often anxiety over petty debts forces me to lay aside my work and to walk up and down the room for hours together, thinking; —
她看到我为小债发愁，不得不放下工作，在房间里来回踱步几个小时； —

but why is it she never comes to me in secret to whisper in my ear: —
但为什么她从未私下亲近地跟我耳语： —

“Father, here is my watch, here are my bracelets, my earrings, my dresses…. Pawn them all; —
“父亲，这是我的手表，这是我的手镯，耳坠，裙子… 全都典当了吧； —

you want money…”? How is it that, seeing how her mother and I are placed in a false position and do our utmost to hide our poverty from people, she does not give up her expensive pleasure of music lessons? —
你需要钱…”? 她为何看到母亲和我置身虚位，竭力掩盖我们的贫困真相，却不放弃昂贵的音乐课程乐趣？ —

I would not accept her watch nor her bracelets, nor the sacrifice of her lessons—God forbid! —
我不会接受她的手表也不会接受她的手镯，更不会接受她的教诲的牺牲—天啊！ —

That isn’t what I want.
这不是我想要的。

I think at the same time of my son, the officer at Warsaw. He is a clever, honest, and sober fellow. —
同时我也想到了我的儿子，波兰华沙的一名军官。他是一个聪明、诚实、清醒的人。 —

But that is not enough for me. I think if I had an old father, and if I knew there were moments when he was put to shame by his poverty, I should give up my officer’s commission to somebody else, and should go out to earn my living as a workman. —
但这对我来说还不够。我想如果我有一个年迈的父亲，如果我知道有时候他因为贫困感到羞耻，我会放弃我的军官职位，让给别人，去打工谋生。 —

Such thoughts about my children poison me. What is the use of them? —
对孩子们的这些想法毒害着我。有什么用呢？ —

It is only a narrow-minded or embittered man who can harbour evil thoughts about ordinary people because they are not heroes. —
只有一个心胸狭窄或心怀怨恨的人才会因为他们不是英雄而对普通人心存恶念。 —

But enough of that!
但言归正传！

At a quarter to ten I have to go and give a lecture to my dear boys. —
十点钟差一刻我要去给我亲爱的男孩们上一堂讲座。 —

I dress and walk along the road which I have known for thirty years, and which has its history for me. —
我穿好衣服，沿着我已经熟悉了三十年，对我来说有着历史的这条路走去。 —

Here is the big grey house with the chemist’s shop; —
这是那座有着化妆品店的大灰色房子； —

at this point there used to stand a little house, and in it was a beershop; —
曾经在这个地方有一座小房子，里面是一家啤酒店； —

in that beershop I thought out my thesis and wrote my first love-letter to Varya. I wrote it in pencil, on a page headed “Historia morbi. —
在那家啤酒店我构思了我的论文，并写下了给瓦利娅的第一封情书。我是用铅笔写的，标题写着“病史”。 —

” Here there is a grocer’s shop; at one time it was kept by a little Jew, who sold me cigarettes on credit; —
这里是一家杂货店；曾经有一位小犹太人经营它，给我赊账卖烟； —

then by a fat peasant woman, who liked the students because “every one of them has a mother”; —
然后是一位喜欢学生的胖乡下妇女，因为“他们每个人都有一个母亲”； —

now there is a red-haired shopkeeper sitting in it, a very stolid man who drinks tea from a copper teapot. —
现在是一个红头发的店主坐在里面，一个非常沉稳的人，他用铜水壶泡茶。 —

And here are the gloomy gates of the University, which have long needed doing up; —
这里是大学阴郁的大门，早就需要修整了； —

I see the bored porter in his sheep-skin, the broom, the drifts of snow. —
我看见了无聊的门卫穿着羊皮外套，扫帚，积雪。 —

… On a boy coming fresh from the provinces and imagining that the temple of science must really be a temple, such gates cannot make a healthy impression. —
… 对于一个刚从乡下来的少年，想像科学殿堂必定是一个真正的殿堂，这样的门可能对他产生不健康的印象。 —

Altogether the dilapidated condition of the University buildings, the gloominess of the corridors, the griminess of the walls, the lack of light, the dejected aspect of the steps, the hat-stands and the benches, take a prominent position among predisposing causes in the history of Russian pessimism. —
整个大学建筑的破旧状态、走廊的阴暗、墙壁的肮脏、光线的匮乏、阶梯的沮丧气氛、帽架和长椅贫乏的风景，在俄罗斯悲观主义历史中起着突出的作用。 —

… Here is our garden… I fancy it has grown neither better nor worse since I was a student. —
… 这里是我们的花园… 我想自从我还是学生时起，它既没有变得更好，也没有变得更糟。 —

I don’t like it. It would be far more sensible if there were tall pines and fine oaks growing here instead of sickly-looking lime-trees, yellow acacias, and skimpy pollard lilacs. —
我不喜欢它。如果这里有高大的松树和橡树代替体弱的榆树、黄色的洋槐和矮小的丛生丁香，会更合理。 —

The student whose state of mind is in the majority of cases created by his surroundings, ought in the place where he is studying to see facing him at every turn nothing but what is lofty, strong and elegant. —
学生的心态在大多数情况下是由他周围环境创造的，他在学习的地方应该在每一个转角都看见高尚、强大和优雅的东西。 —

… God preserve him from gaunt trees, broken windows, grey walls, and doors covered with torn American leather!
… 希望上帝保佑他远离消瘦的树木、破碎的窗户、灰色的墙壁和覆盖着破烂的美洲皮革的门！

When I go to my own entrance the door is flung wide open, and I am met by my colleague, contemporary, and namesake, the porter Nikolay. —
当我到达自己的入口时，门敞开着，迎接我的是我的同事、同班同学，也是我的同名之人，门卫尼古拉。 —

As he lets me in he clears his throat and says:
当他让我进去时，清了清嗓子说：

“A frost, your Excellency!”
“很冷，阁下！”

Or, if my great-coat is wet:
或者，如果我大衣潮湿：

“Rain, your Excellency!”
“下雨了，阁下！”

Then he runs on ahead of me and opens all the doors on my way. —
然后他在我前面跑开，为我打开沿途所有的门。 —

In my study he carefully takes off my fur coat, and while doing so manages to tell me some bit of University news. —
在我的书房里，他小心地帮我脱下皮大衣，而在此过程中还设法告诉我一些大学的新闻。 —

Thanks to the close intimacy existing between all the University porters and beadles, he knows everything that goes on in the four faculties, in the office, in the rector’s private room, in the library. —
多亏了大学所有守门人和学穆之间密切的亲密关系，他知道四个系的一切动态，办公室里发生的一切，校长私人办公室中的事情，还有图书馆里面的情况。 —

What does he not know? When in an evil day a rector or dean, for instance, retires, I hear him in conversation with the young porters mention the candidates for the post, explain that such a one would not be confirmed by the minister, that another would himself refuse to accept it, then drop into fantastic details concerning mysterious papers received in the office, secret conversations alleged to have taken place between the minister and the trustee, and so on. —
他不知道什么？比如说，当校长或者院长在一个不祥的日子里退休时，我听到他在和年轻的守门人交谈时提到了竞聘该职位的候选人，解释说有些人是部长不会认可的，另一些人自己也会拒绝接受，然后便陷入对办公室接收的神秘文件，据称发生在部长和托管人之间的秘密会谈等离奇细节。 —

With the exception of these details, he almost always turns out to be right. —
除了这些细节之外，他几乎总是正确的。 —

His estimates of the candidates, though original, are very correct, too. —
他对于候选人的评估，虽然很独到，也非常准确。 —

If one wants to know in what year some one read his thesis, entered the service, retired, or died, then summon to your assistance the vast memory of that soldier, and he will not only tell you the year, the month and the day, but will furnish you also with the details that accompanied this or that event. —
如果想知道某人是在哪一年读完了论文，加入了这个服务，退休，或者过世，那就召唤这位士兵所拥有的广博记忆，他不仅会告诉你这一年，这个月和这一天，也会为你提供伴随这一事件的细节。 —

Only one who loves can remember like that.
只有热爱才能记忆如此。

He is the guardian of the University traditions. —
他是大学传统的守护者。 —

From the porters who were his predecessors he has inherited many legends of University life, has added to that wealth much of his own gained during his time of service, and if you care to hear he will tell you many long and intimate stories. —
他从曾经的守门人那里继承了许多大学生活的传奇，也通过在任职时获得的宝贵经验添加了自己的财富，如果你想听，他会讲很多具有长远和亲密故事。 —

He can tell one about extraordinary sages who knew everything, about remarkable students who did not sleep for weeks, about numerous martyrs and victims of science; —
他能讲述那些无所不知的非凡哲学家的故事，关于长时间不睡觉的卓越学生，以及无数科学的殉道者和受害者； —

with him good triumphs over evil, the weak always vanquishes the strong, the wise man the fool, the humble the proud, the young the old. —
在他口中，好总是战胜邪恶，弱者总是战胜强者，智者战胜愚夫，谦卑之人战胜骄傲之人，年轻人战胜老者。 —

There is no need to take all these fables and legends for sterling coin; —
没有必要把所有这些寓言和传奇视为真金； —

but filter them, and you will have left what is wanted: —
但是过滤一下，剩下的就是想要的东西： —

our fine traditions and the names of real heroes, recognized as such by all.
我们的优秀传统和得到所有人认可的真正英雄的名字。

In our society the knowledge of the learned world consists of anecdotes of the extraordinary absentmindedness of certain old professors, and two or three witticisms variously ascribed to Gruber, to me, and to Babukin. —
在我们的社会中，学界的知识包括某些老教授极度健忘的轶事，以及被各种各样归因于格鲁伯、我和巴布金的两三句妙语。 —

For the educated public that is not much. —
对于受过教育的公众而言，这并不算什么。 —

If it loved science, learned men, and students, as Nikolay does, its literature would long ago have contained whole epics, records of sayings and doings such as, unfortunately, it cannot boast of now.
如果文学像尼古拉一样热爱科学、学识渊博的人和学生们，那么它的文学作品早就会包含整部史诗，记录了说过的话和做过的事情，但不幸的是，现在它却不能自夸。

After telling me a piece of news, Nikolay assumes a severe expression, and conversation about business begins. —
在告诉我一条消息后，尼古拉变得认真起来，谈论生意的话题开始了。 —

If any outsider could at such times overhear Nikolay’s free use of our terminology, he might perhaps imagine that he was a learned man disguised as a soldier. —
如果有外人在那时候偷听到尼古拉使用我们的术语的自由用词，他也许会想象他是一个扮成士兵的学者。 —

And, by the way, the rumours of the erudition of the University porters are greatly exaggerated. —
顺便说一下，关于大学门房员的博学传闻是大大夸张了。 —

It is true that Nikolay knows more than a hundred Latin words, knows how to put the skeleton together, sometimes prepares the apparatus and amuses the students by some long, learned quotation, but the by no means complicated theory of the circulation of the blood, for instance, is as much a mystery to him now as it was twenty years ago.
尼古拉知道一百多个拉丁词，懂得组装骨骼，有时准备仪器，并用一些长篇的学术引文来逗乐学生，但是二十年前给他写的复杂的循环理论现在对他来说还是一个谜。

At the table in my study, bending low over some book or preparation, sits Pyotr Ignatyevitch, my demonstrator, a modest and industrious but by no means clever man of five-and-thirty, already bald and corpulent; —
在我的书房的桌子旁，弯着腰看着某本书或准备工作的是我的示范员彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇，一个勤勉而不太聪明的三十五岁的男人，已经秃头且肥胖； —

he works from morning to night, reads a lot, remembers well everything he has read—and in that way he is not a man, but pure gold; —
他从早到晚都在工作，大量阅读，能记住所读过的一切，并且在这方面他不是一个人，而是纯金； —

in all else he is a carthorse or, in other words, a learned dullard. —
在其他方面他就像一匹卡车马或者说，一个学者的怯懦。 —

The carthorse characteristics that show his lack of talent are these: —
表现出他缺乏天赋的卡车马特征是这样的： —

his outlook is narrow and sharply limited by his specialty; —
他的观念是狭窄的，被他的专业领域严格限制； —

outside his special branch he is simple as a child.
在他的专业领域之外，他就像一个傻孩子。

“Fancy! what a misfortune! They say Skobelev is dead.”
“想象！多么不幸！他们说斯科别列夫死了。”

Nikolay crosses himself, but Pyotr Ignatyevitch turns to me and asks:
尼古拉在胸前划了一个十字，但彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇转向我问：

“What Skobelev is that?”
“那是哪个斯科别列夫？”

Another time—somewhat earlier—I told him that Professor Perov was dead. —
另一次——稍早之前——我告诉他彼得罗夫教授去世了。 —

Good Pyotr Ignatyevitch asked:
好的彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇问：

“What did he lecture on?”
“他讲了些什么？”

I believe if Patti had sung in his very ear, if a horde of Chinese had invaded Russia, if there had been an earthquake, he would not have stirred a limb, but screwing up his eye, would have gone on calmly looking through his microscope. —
我相信如果派蒂在他耳边唱歌，如果一群中国人入侵俄罗斯，如果发生地震，他也不会动一下，只是眯起眼睛，继续镇定地凝视着显微镜。 —

What is he to Hecuba or Hecuba to him, in fact? —
对他来说，赫库柏算什么？赫库柏对他来说算什么？ —

I would give a good deal to see how this dry stick sleeps with his wife at night.
我多想看看这根干枯的家伙晚上是怎么和他妻子一起睡觉的。

Another characteristic is his fanatical faith in the infallibility of science, and, above all, of everything written by the Germans. —
另一个特点是他对科学的绝对信仰以及对德国人所写的一切的绝对信任。 —

He believes in himself, in his preparations; —
他相信自己，相信他的准备； —

knows the object of life, and knows nothing of the doubts and disappointments that turn the hair of talent grey. —
了解生活的目的，对能让才华之人的头发变白的怀疑和失望一无所知。 —

He has a slavish reverence for authorities and a complete lack of any desire for independent thought. —
他对权威有一种奴性的崇拜，完全缺乏独立思考的欲望。 —

To change his convictions is difficult, to argue with him impossible. —
改变他的信念很困难，和他辩论则是不可能的。 —

How is one to argue with a man who is firmly persuaded that medicine is the finest of sciences, that doctors are the best of men, and that the traditions of the medical profession are superior to those of any other? —
如何与一个笃信医学是最优秀的科学、医生是最优秀的人、医学传统高于其他任何传统的人辩论？ —

Of the evil past of medicine only one tradition has been preserved—the white tie still worn by doctors; —
医学的过去只保留了一个传统——医生们仍然戴着的白领带； —

for a learned—in fact, for any educated man the only traditions that can exist are those of the University as a whole, with no distinction between medicine, law, etc. —
对于一个博学—事实上，对于任何受过教育的人，存在的唯一传统应当是大学整体的传统，不分医学、法学等。 —

But it would be hard for Pyotr Ignatyevitch to accept these facts, and he is ready to argue with you till the day of judgment.
但对彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇来说，接受这些事实是困难的，他准备与你争论到世界末日。

I have a clear picture in my mind of his future. —
我脑海中已经清晰地描绘出了他的未来。 —

In the course of his life he will prepare many hundreds of chemicals of exceptional purity; —
在他的一生中，他将制备许多数量异常纯净的化学物质； —

he will write a number of dry and very accurate memoranda, will make some dozen conscientious translations, but he won’t do anything striking. —
他将会写一些干巴巴而非常准确的备忘录，会做大约十几份尽职的翻译，但他不会做出什么引人注目的事。 —

To do that one must have imagination, inventiveness, the gift of insight, and Pyotr Ignatyevitch has nothing of the kind. —
要做到这一点，一个人必须具备想象力，创造力，洞察力的天赋，而彼得·伊格纳捷维奇一无所知。 —

In short, he is not a master in science, but a journeyman.
简而言之，他不是科学大师，而是个熟练工。

Pyotr Ignatyevitch, Nikolay, and I, talk in subdued tones. We are not quite ourselves. —
彼得·伊格纳捷维奇、尼古拉和我用低沉的声调交谈。我们都有些不像自己了。 —

There is always a peculiar feeling when one hears through the doors a murmur as of the sea from the lecture-theatre. —
当透过门板传来讲堂里如海洋般的喧嚣声时，总会有一种特殊的感觉。 —

In the course of thirty years I have not grown accustomed to this feeling, and I experience it every morning. —
在三十年的时间里，我对这种感觉始终无法习惯，每天早上都会经历一次。 —

I nervously button up my coat, ask Nikolay unnecessary questions, lose my temper. —
我紧张地系紧外套，向尼古拉提出不必要的问题，发脾气。 —

… It is just as though I were frightened; —
……就好像我害怕了； —

it is not timidity, though, but something different which I can neither describe nor find a name for.
这不是胆怯，而是一种我既不能描述也找不到名字的不同感觉。

Quite unnecessarily, I look at my watch and say: “Well, it’s time to go in.”
我看了一眼手表，然后说：“嗯，该进去了。”

And we march into the room in the following order: —
我们按照以下顺序走进房间： —

foremost goes Nikolay, with the chemicals and apparatus or with a chart; after him I come; —
尼古拉走在最前面，手持化学试剂和器具或者一幅图表；接着是我； —

and then the carthorse follows humbly, with hanging head; —
然后，一头拖犁的工马谦卑地跟在后面，低着头； —

or, when necessary, a dead body is carried in first on a stretcher, followed by Nikolay, and so on. —
或者在必要时，先把一具尸体放在担架上运进去，然后是尼古拉，依此类推。 —

On my entrance the students all stand up, then they sit down, and the sound as of the sea is suddenly hushed. Stillness reigns.
我进入时，学生们都起立，然后坐下，而像海洋般的声音突然安静下来。宁静笼罩着整个房间。

I know what I am going to lecture about, but I don’t know how I am going to lecture, where I am going to begin or with what I am going to end. —
我知道我要讲什么，但不知道该如何讲，从哪里开始，以什么结束。 —

I haven’t a single sentence ready in my head. —
我脑中还没有一个句子准备好。 —

But I have only to look round the lecture-hall (it is built in the form of an amphitheatre) and utter the stereotyped phrase, “Last lecture we stopped at. —
但我只需环顾讲堂（它建成了一个圆形的露天剧场），说出老套的短语：“上一次讲座我们停在这儿。” —

..” when sentences spring up from my soul in a long string, and I am carried away by my own eloquence. —
..” 我灵魂深处的句子就像一串长绳涌现出来，我被自己的雄辩所带走。 —

I speak with irresistible rapidity and passion, and it seems as though there were no force which could check the flow of my words. —
我讲话的速度和激情是不可抗拒的，似乎没有力量能够阻止我言辞的流淌。 —

To lecture well—that is, with profit to the listeners and without boring them—one must have, besides talent, experience and a special knack; —
要讲好课——也就是说，对听众有益处，又不令他们感到无聊，除了才华外，还必须有经验和特殊技巧； —

one must possess a clear conception of one’s own powers, of the audience to which one is lecturing, and of the subject of one’s lecture. —
除了要拥有清晰的自己能力的概念、所讲课程的主题和听课的观众之外，还必须了解自己在做什么； —

Moreover, one must be a man who knows what he is doing; —
此外，必须是一个懂得自己正在做什么的人。 —

one must keep a sharp lookout, and not for one second lose sight of what lies before one.
必须保持警惕，不放过任何一秒，不让眼前的事物失去关注。

A good conductor, interpreting the thought of the composer, does twenty things at once: —
一位优秀的指挥，解读作曲家的思想，要同时做二十件事情： —

reads the score, waves his baton, watches the singer, makes a motion sideways, first to the drum then to the wind-instruments, and so on. —
阅读乐谱，挥动指挥棒，观察歌手，做出侧身的动作，先是对打击乐，然后是管乐器，等等。 —

I do just the same when I lecture. Before me a hundred and fifty faces, all unlike one another; —
我在讲课时也做同样的事情。在我面前有一百五十张各不相同的面孔； —

three hundred eyes all looking straight into my face. —
三百只眼睛直勾勾地看着我的脸。 —

My object is to dominate this many-headed monster. —
我的目的是要控制这个众口。 —

If every moment as I lecture I have a clear vision of the degree of its attention and its power of comprehension, it is in my power. —
如果我在讲课时每时每刻都清楚地感觉到它的注意力和理解力，那就取决于我。 —

The other foe I have to overcome is in myself. —
另一个我必须克服的敌人是我自己。 —

It is the infinite variety of forms, phenomena, laws, and the multitude of ideas of my own and other people’s conditioned by them. —
这是由我个人和他们受限的无限多的形式、现象、规律和想法所决定的。 —

Every moment I must have the skill to snatch out of that vast mass of material what is most important and necessary, and, as rapidly as my words flow, clothe my thought in a form in which it can be grasped by the monster’s intelligence, and may arouse its attention, and at the same time one must keep a sharp lookout that one’s thoughts are conveyed, not just as they come, but in a certain order, essential for the correct composition of the picture I wish to sketch. —
每时每刻，我必须有技巧地从大量的材料中抓取最重要和必要的部分，并且像流水般迅速，用一个可以被众口理解的形式表达我的思想，并激发它的关注，同时必须时刻保持警惕，确保我的思想被传达出去，不仅仅是一股脑地呈现，而是按一定的顺序，这对于构建我想要描绘的画面是至关重要的。 —

Further, I endeavour to make my diction literary, my definitions brief and precise, my wording, as far as possible, simple and eloquent. —
此外，我努力使我的措辞文学化，我的定义简明而准确，我的措辞尽可能简单而雄辩。 —

Every minute I have to pull myself up and remember that I have only an hour and forty minutes at my disposal. —
每分钟都要提醒自己，我只有一个小时四十分钟可用。 —

In short, one has one’s work cut out. At one and the same minute one has to play the part of savant and teacher and orator, and it’s a bad thing if the orator gets the upper hand of the savant or of the teacher in one, or vice versa.
简而言之，一切都准备就绪。在同一分钟里，我必须既是学者、老师、演讲者，如果演讲者在学者或老师身上占上风，或者反之，那就糟了。

You lecture for a quarter of an hour, for half an hour, when you notice that the students are beginning to look at the ceiling, at Pyotr Ignatyevitch; —
你讲了十五分钟，半个小时，当你注意到学生开始看天花板，看彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇时， —

one is feeling for his handkerchief, another shifts in his seat, another smiles at his thoughts. —
有人在摸手绢，另一个在椅子上挪动位置，另一个对自己的想法微笑。 —

… That means that their attention is flagging. Something must be done. —
那意味着他们的注意力开始松懈。必须有所作为。 —

Taking advantage of the first opportunity, I make some pun. —
趁机我说了个双关语。 —

A broad grin comes on to a hundred and fifty faces, the eyes shine brightly, the sound of the sea is audible for a brief moment. —
150张脸上露出灿烂笑容，眼睛闪闪发亮，海的声音瞬间可闻。 —

… I laugh too. Their attention is refreshed, and I can go on.
我也笑了。他们的注意力恢复了，我可以继续讲下去。

No kind of sport, no kind of game or diversion, has ever given me such enjoyment as lecturing. —
没有任何一种运动、游戏或消遣，能带给我像讲课这样的乐趣。 —

Only at lectures have I been able to abandon myself entirely to passion, and have understood that inspiration is not an invention of the poets, but exists in real life, and I imagine Hercules after the most piquant of his exploits felt just such voluptuous exhaustion as I experience after every lecture.
只有在讲课中，我才能完全投入激情，明白灵感并非诗人的虚构，而存在于现实生活中，我想象赫拉克勒斯在最激烈的战斗后也感受到了与我一样的饱满、劳累。

That was in old times. Now at lectures I feel nothing but torture. —
那是很久以前的事了。现在在讲课时，我只感到折磨。 —

Before half an hour is over I am conscious of an overwhelming weakness in my legs and my shoulders. —
不到半个小时，我就感到腿脚发软、肩膀发软。 —

I sit down in my chair, but I am not accustomed to lecture sitting down; —
虽然坐在椅子上，但我不习惯坐着授课； —

a minute later I get up and go on standing, then sit down again. —
一会儿后站起来继续，然后又坐下。 —

There is a dryness in my mouth, my voice grows husky, my head begins to go round. —
口干舌燥，声音变得沙哑，头开始晕眩。 —

… To conceal my condition from my audience I continually drink water, cough, often blow my nose as though I were hindered by a cold, make puns inappropriately, and in the end break off earlier than I ought to. —
为了掩饰我此刻的状态，我不断喝水，咳嗽，时常擤鼻子好像受了感冒，不合时宜地讲冷笑话，最后比应该早结束。 —

But above all I am ashamed.
但最重要的是我感到羞愧。

My conscience and my intelligence tell me that the very best thing I could do now would be to deliver a farewell lecture to the boys, to say my last word to them, to bless them, and give up my post to a man younger and stronger than me. —
良心和理智告诉我，我现在应该做的最好的事情就是给男孩子们做个告别讲座，说最后的话，为他们祝福，将我的岗位让给比我年轻、更健康的人。 —

But, God, be my judge, I have not manly courage enough to act according to my conscience.
但是，上帝作证，我没有足够的男子汉勇气根据良心行事。

Unfortunately, I am not a philosopher and not a theologian. —
不幸的是，我既不是哲学家也不是神学家。 —

I know perfectly well that I cannot live more than another six months; —
我很清楚我不能活过另外六个月； —

it might be supposed that I ought now to be chiefly concerned with the question of the shadowy life beyond the grave, and the visions that will visit my slumbers in the tomb. —
也许应该认为我现在应该主要关心的是墓地里那些阴影般的生活和将访问我在坟墓中的幻象。 —

But for some reason my soul refuses to recognize these questions, though my mind is fully alive to their importance. —
但由于某种原因，我的灵魂拒绝承认这些问题，尽管我的思想对它们的重要性非常清醒。 —

Just as twenty, thirty years ago, so now, on the threshold of death, I am interested in nothing but science. —
就像二三十年前一样，如今我在临死之际，只对科学感兴趣。 —

As I yield up my last breath I shall still believe that science is the most important, the most splendid, the most essential thing in the life of man; —
当我交出最后一口气时，我仍然相信科学是人生中最重要、最辉煌、最必要的东西； —

that it always has been and will be the highest manifestation of love, and that only by means of it will man conquer himself and nature. —
它总是并将是爱的最高表现形式，只有通过它才能人类征服自己和自然。 —

This faith is perhaps naive and may rest on false assumptions, but it is not my fault that I believe that and nothing else; —
这种信仰也许有些天真，可能建立在错误的假设上，但我相信那并且别无选择； —

I cannot overcome in myself this belief.
我不能克服我自己这种信念。

But that is not the point. I only ask people to be indulgent to my weakness, and to realize that to tear from the lecture-theatre and his pupils a man who is more interested in the history of the development of the bone medulla than in the final object of creation would be equivalent to taking him and nailing him up in his coffin without waiting for him to be dead.
但这不是重点，我只是请求人们对我的弱点宽容，并意识到将一个更感兴趣于骨髓发展历程而不是造物终极目标的人从讲堂和他的学生中撕裂，等同于把他钉在他的棺材里，而不等待他死去。

Sleeplessness and the consequent strain of combating increasing weakness leads to something strange in me. —
失眠和因对抗逐渐增强的虚弱而产生的压力导致我产生了一些奇怪的东西。 —

In the middle of my lecture tears suddenly rise in my throat, my eyes begin to smart, and I feel a passionate, hysterical desire to stretch out my hands before me and break into loud lamentation. —
在我的讲座中，眼泪突然涌上喉咙，双眼开始发热，我感到一种激动的、歇斯底里的欲望，想要伸出双手在我面前，大声哭诉。 —

I want to cry out in a loud voice that I, a famous man, have been sentenced by fate to the death penalty, that within some six months another man will be in control here in the lecture-theatre. —
我想要大声喊出我这位著名人士被命运判处死刑，大约在六个月内另一个人将在这里控制一切。 —

I want to shriek that I am poisoned; new ideas such as I have not known before have poisoned the last days of my life, and are still stinging my brain like mosquitoes. —
我想要尖叫说我被毒害了；新的想法，我以前从未知道的，已经毒害了我生命的最后时刻，并仍在我的脑子里像蚊子一样刺着。 —

And at that moment my position seems to me so awful that I want all my listeners to be horrified, to leap up from their seats and to rush in panic terror, with desperate screams, to the exit.
在那一刻，我的处境对我来说是如此可怕，我希望我的所有听众都感到震惊，从座位上跃起，惊恐万分地冲向出口，发出绝望的尖叫。

It is not easy to get through such moments.
度过这样的时刻并不容易。

II
II

After my lecture I sit at home and work. I read journals and monographs, or prepare my next lecture; —
在我讲完课之后，我会坐在家里工作。我会阅读期刊和专著，或准备下一堂课； —

sometimes I write something. I work with interruptions, as I have from time to time to see visitors.
有时我也会写点东西。我工作时会有中断，因为我不时会接待访客。

There is a ring at the bell. It is a colleague come to discuss some business matter with me. —
门铃响了。一位同事来讨论一些商务事宜。 —

He comes in to me with his hat and his stick, and, holding out both these objects to me, says:
他拿着帽子和拐杖走进来，递给我这两样东西，说：

“Only for a minute! Only for a minute! Sit down, collega! Only a couple of words.”
“只待一会儿！只待一会儿！坐下，同事！只说几句话。”

To begin with, we both try to show each other that we are extraordinarily polite and highly delighted to see each other. —
我们都互相试图表现出极其礼貌和高兴见到对方。 —

I make him sit down in an easy-chair, and he makes me sit down; —
我让他坐到一把椅子上，他也让我坐下； —

as we do so, we cautiously pat each other on the back, touch each other’s buttons, and it looks as though we were feeling each other and afraid of scorching our fingers. —
这时，我们谨慎地拍拍对方的背，摸摸对方的纽扣，看起来好像在摸索对方，生怕烫着了手。 —

Both of us laugh, though we say nothing amusing. —
我们都会笑，尽管我们说的并不好笑。 —

When we are seated we bow our heads towards each other and begin talking in subdued voices. —
坐下后，我们就低声细语地谈话。 —

However affectionately disposed we may be to one another, we cannot help adorning our conversation with all sorts of Chinese mannerisms, such as “As you so justly observed,” or “I have already had the honour to inform you”; —
无论我们之间有多么深厚的感情，我们都忍不住在谈话时加入各种中国式的礼节，比如“正如您所正当地观察到的”，或者“我已经有荣幸告知您”； —

we cannot help laughing if one of us makes a joke, however unsuccessfully. —
如果我们其中一个开个玩笑，我们都会禁不住笑出声来，无论这个笑话有多无趣。 —

When we have finished with business my colleague gets up impulsively and, waving his hat in the direction of my work, begins to say good-bye. —
商务结束后，我的同事情不自禁地站起来，向着我工作的方向挥一挥帽子，开始告别。 —

Again we paw one another and laugh. I see him into the hall; —
再次我们互相握手笑着。我看着他走进门厅； —

when I assist my colleague to put on his coat, while he does all he can to decline this high honour. Then when Yegor opens the door my colleague declares that I shall catch cold, while I make a show of being ready to go even into the street with him. —
当我帮助同事穿外套，他却竭尽全力谢绝这份高贵的荣誉。当叶戈打开门时，我的同事宣称我会着凉，而我则做出准备跟他一起走出街头的样子。 —

And when at last I go back into my study my face still goes on smiling, I suppose from inertia.
最后当我回到书房时，我的脸仍然保持微笑，我想是出于惯性。

A little later another ring at the bell. Somebody comes into the hall, and is a long time coughing and taking off his things. —
过了一会儿门铃再次响起。有人走进门厅，咳嗽着脱衣服。 —

Yegor announces a student. I tell him to ask him in. —
叶戈宣称是个学生。我让他请进来。 —

A minute later a young man of agreeable appearance comes in. —
一分钟后，一个相貌悦目的年轻人走了进来。 —

For the last year he and I have been on strained relations; —
在过去的一年里，他和我之间的关系很紧张； —

he answers me disgracefully at the examinations, and I mark him one. —
考试时他对我无礼，我记了他一笔。 —

Every year I have some seven such hopefuls whom, to express it in the students’ slang, I “chivy” or “floor. —
每年有大约七名这样的有希望的学生，用学生的俚语来说，我会“追捕”或“击倒”他们。 —

” Those of them who fail in their examination through incapacity or illness usually bear their cross patiently and do not haggle with me; —
那些由于能力不足或疾病而考试不及格的学生通常会坦然接受失败，不会与我争执； —

those who come to the house and haggle with me are always youths of sanguine temperament, broad natures, whose failure at examinations spoils their appetites and hinders them from visiting the opera with their usual regularity. —
那些来到我家与我争执的学生总是那些性情豁达，性格开朗的青年，他们考试不及格会影响到他们的胃口，也不能像以往那样定期去听歌剧。 —

I let the first class off easily, but the second I chivy through a whole year.
我让第一类学生轻松通过，但第二类学生我会在整整一年里追捕。

“Sit down,” I say to my visitor; “what have you to tell me?”
“坐下，”我对来访者说，“你有什么事情要告诉我？”

“Excuse me, professor, for troubling you,” he begins, hesitating, and not looking me in the face. “I would not have ventured to trouble you if it had not been. —
“请原谅，教授，打扰您了，”他开始犹豫地说，没有正视我。“如果不是因为。 —

.. I have been up for your examination five times, and have been ploughed. —
我参加了您的考试五次，都没有通过。 —

… I beg you, be so good as to mark me for a pass, because…”
请您好心标记我及格，因为…

The argument which all the sluggards bring forward on their own behalf is always the same; —
所有懒惰的人所提出的论点总是一样的； —

they have passed well in all their subjects and have only come to grief in mine, and that is the more surprising because they have always been particularly interested in my subject and knew it so well; —
他们在所有科目中都考得很好，只是在我的科目上失败了，这更让人惊讶，因为他们一直对我的科目特别感兴趣，也很了解； —

their failure has always been entirely owing to some incomprehensible misunderstanding.
他们的失败总是完全由于某种难以理解的误解。

“Excuse me, my friend,” I say to the visitor; “I cannot mark you for a pass. —
“对不起，朋友，”我对访客说；“我不能给您及格分。 —

Go and read up the lectures and come to me again. —
去读一下讲座，然后再来找我。 —

Then we shall see.”
然后我们再看。”

A pause. I feel an impulse to torment the student a little for liking beer and the opera better than science, and I say, with a sigh:
一个停顿。我感到一股冲动，想有点折磨这个学生，因为他更喜欢啤酒和歌剧，而不是科学，我叹了口气说：

“To my mind, the best thing you can do now is to give up medicine altogether. —
“在我看来，你现在最好的做法是彻底放弃医学。 —

If, with your abilities, you cannot succeed in passing the examination, it’s evident that you have neither the desire nor the vocation for a doctor’s calling.”
如果你凭借你的能力无法通过考试，很明显你对医生这个职业既没有渴望也没有天赋。”

The sanguine youth’s face lengthens.
这位多愁善感的年轻人脸色一沉。

“Excuse me, professor,” he laughs, “but that would be odd of me, to say the least of it. —
“对不起，教授，”他笑了，“但这对我来说会很奇怪，至少可以这样说。 —

After studying for five years, all at once to give it up.”
学习了五年，突然间就放弃，这会很奇怪。”

“Oh, well! Better to have lost your five years than have to spend the rest of your life in doing work you do not care for.”
“哦，嗯！失去五年总比余生都从事自己不喜欢的工作要好。”

But at once I feel sorry for him, and I hasten to add:
但是我立刻为他感到遗憾，我赶紧补充道：

“However, as you think best. And so read a little more and come again.”
“不过，你认为怎样就怎样。所以再读一点，然后再来。”

“When?” the idle youth asks in a hollow voice.
“什么时候？”这个游手好闲的年轻人用沧桑的声音问。

“When you like. Tomorrow if you like.”
“随你。明天如果你愿意的话。”

And in his good-natured eyes I read:
他善良的眼睛中我看到：

“I can come all right, but of course you will plough me again, you beast!”
“我肯定能来，但当然你会再度犁我，你这畜生！”

“Of course,” I say, “you won’t know more science for going in for my examination another fifteen times, but it is training your character, and you must be thankful for that.”
“当然，”我说，“你为了参加我的考试再多十五次也学不到更多科学知识，但这会锻炼你的性格，你应该感激。”

Silence follows. I get up and wait for my visitor to go, but he stands and looks towards the window, fingers his beard, and thinks. It grows boring.
随之而来的是沉默。我站起来等待我的访客离开，但他却站在那里望向窗外，挠着胡须，陷入沉思。这让人感到无聊。

The sanguine youth’s voice is pleasant and mellow, his eyes are clever and ironical, his face is genial, though a little bloated from frequent indulgence in beer and overlong lying on the sofa; —
这名满面春风的年轻人的声音悦耳动听，他的眼睛聪明而具有讽刺意味，他的脸庞和蔼可亲，尽管因频繁饮用啤酒和长时间躺在沙发上而略显浮肿； —

he looks as though he could tell me a lot of interesting things about the opera, about his affairs of the heart, and about comrades whom he likes. —
他看起来似乎可以告诉我很多关于歌剧、关于他的爱情生活和喜欢的伙伴们的有趣事情。 —

Unluckily, it is not the thing to discuss these subjects, or else I should have been glad to listen to him.
不幸的是，讨论这些话题并不合适，否则我会很乐意倾听他说话。

“Professor, I give you my word of honour that if you mark me for a pass I… I’ll…”
“教授，请您收下我的诚信保证，如果您给我打及格分，我…我会…”

As soon as we reach the “word of honour” I wave my hands and sit down to the table. —
一旦听到“诚信保证”这个词，我便挥挥手，坐到桌前。 —

The student ponders a minute longer, and says dejectedly:
学生苦思片刻，沮丧地说道：

“In that case, good-bye… I beg your pardon.”
“那好吧，再见…我向您道歉。”

“Good-bye, my friend. Good luck to you.”
“再见，我的朋友。祝你好运。”

He goes irresolutely into the hall, slowly puts on his outdoor things, and, going out into the street, probably ponders for some time longer; —
他踌躇着走进大厅，慢慢地穿上外套，然后走出街道，可能又要苦思良久； —

unable to think of anything, except “old devil,” inwardly addressed to me, he goes into a wretched restaurant to dine and drink beer, and then home to bed. —
除了对我心中默默发出的“老混蛋”之外，他脑海中无法想到其他事情，便进入了一家破旧的餐厅用餐喝啤酒，然后回家睡觉。 —

“Peace be to thy ashes, honest toiler.”
“愿劳动者的灵魂安息。”

A third ring at the bell. A young doctor, in a pair of new black trousers, gold spectacles, and of course a white tie, walks in. —
门铃响起第三声。一名穿着一条新的黑裤子、金色眼镜和当然是白色领带的年轻医生走了进来。 —

He introduces himself. I beg him to be seated, and ask what I can do for him. —
他自我介绍。我请他坐下，并询问我能为他做什么。 —

Not without emotion, the young devotee of science begins telling me that he has passed his examination as a doctor of medicine, and that he has now only to write his dissertation. —
这位年轻的科学爱好者颇为激动地告诉我，他已经通过了医学博士的考试，现在只需写出毕业论文。 —

He would like to work with me under my guidance, and he would be greatly obliged to me if I would give him a subject for his dissertation.
他希望在我的指导下与我共同工作，并感激不尽如果我能给他一个论文课题。

“Very glad to be of use to you, colleague,” I say, “but just let us come to an understanding as to the meaning of a dissertation. —
“非常高兴能为你效劳，同行，”我说，“但让我们就论文的含义达成一致吧。 —

That word is taken to mean a composition which is a product of independent creative effort. —
这个词是指独立创造努力的产物。 —

Is that not so? A work written on another man’s subject and under another man’s guidance is called something different….”
不是吗？在另一个人的主题下并在另一个人的指导下编写的作品被称为其他事物….”

The doctor says nothing. I fly into a rage and jump up from my seat.
医生什么也没说。我勃然大怒，从座位上跳了起来。

“Why is it you all come to me?” I cry angrily. “Do I keep a shop? I don’t deal in subjects. —
“你们为什么都来找我呢？”我愤怒地喊道。“我不是开店的吗？我不做课题生意。 —

For the thousand and oneth time I ask you all to leave me in peace! —
我已经第一千零一次要求你们离我远点！ —

Excuse my brutality, but I am quite sick of it!”
抱歉我的粗暴，但我受够了！”

The doctor remains silent, but a faint flush is apparent on his cheek- bones. —
医生保持沉默，但他脸颊上露出一丝微弱的红晕。 —

His face expresses a profound reverence for my fame and my learning, but from his eyes I can see he feels a contempt for my voice, my pitiful figure, and my nervous gesticulation. —
他的脸上表达着对我的名声和学识的深深敬意，但从他的眼睛里我能感觉到他对我的声音、可怜的形象和紧张的手势感到蔑视。 —

I impress him in my anger as a queer fish.
在我的愤怒中，我让他感到我是个奇怪的人。

“I don’t keep a shop,” I go on angrily. “And it is a strange thing! —
“我不做生意，”我愤怒地继续说。“这太奇怪了！ —

Why don’t you want to be independent? Why have you such a distaste for independence?”
为什么你不想独立呢？为什么你如此厌恶独立呢？”

I say a great deal, but he still remains silent. By degrees I calm down, and of course give in. —
虽然我说了很多话，但他仍然保持沉默。渐渐地，我平静下来，并且当然屈服。 —

The doctor gets a subject from me for his theme not worth a halfpenny, writes under my supervision a dissertation of no use to any one, with dignity defends it in a dreary discussion, and receives a degree of no use to him.
医生从我这里得到一个毫无价值的课题，在我的监督下写了一篇毫无价值的论文，以尊严为它辩护，在乏味的讨论中得到了一个对他毫无用处的学位。

The rings at the bell may follow one another endlessly, but I will confine my description here to four of them. —
门铃声可能无休止地响起，但我在这里只描述了四次。 —

The bell rings for the fourth time, and I hear familiar footsteps, the rustle of a dress, a dear voice….
第四次铃声响起，我听到熟悉的脚步声，裙子的沙沙声，一个亲爱的声音…

Eighteen years ago a colleague of mine, an oculist, died leaving a little daughter Katya, a child of seven, and sixty thousand roubles. —
十八年前，我的一位同事，一位眼科医生，去世了，留下了一个七岁的小女儿卡蒂娅和六万卢布。 —

In his will he made me the child’s guardian. —
他在遗嘱中指定我为孩子的监护人。 —

Till she was ten years old Katya lived with us as one of the family, then she was sent to a boarding-school, and only spent the summer holidays with us. —
直至她十岁时，卡蒂娅都与我们一家人住在一起，然后被送往寄宿学校，只有暑假才和我们在一起。 —

I never had time to look after her education. —
我从未有时间来照顾她的教育。 —

I only superintended it at leisure moments, and so I can say very little about her childhood.
我只在空闲时监督她的教育，因此我对她的童年记忆很少。

The first thing I remember, and like so much in remembrance, is the extraordinary trustfulness with which she came into our house and let herself be treated by the doctors, a trustfulness which was always shining in her little face. —
我记得的第一件事，而且记忆犹新的是她进入我们家时表现出的非凡信任，她让医生照料她，这种信任总是闪耀在她的小脸上。 —

She would sit somewhere out of the way, with her face tied up, invariably watching something with attention; —
她总是坐在一个角落里，脸上包着绷带，目不转睛地观察着一些事物； —

whether she watched me writing or turning over the pages of a book, or watched my wife bustling about, or the cook scrubbing a potato in the kitchen, or the dog playing, her eyes invariably expressed the same thought—that is, “Everything that is done in this world is nice and sensible. —
无论她是看着我写字或翻书页，还是看着我妻子忙碌，或是看着厨娘在厨房里洗马铃薯，或看着狗在玩耍，她的眼神总是表达出同一个想法——“这个世界上所做的一切都是美好而明智的。” —

” She was curious, and very fond of talking to me. —
她很好奇，也很喜欢和我聊天。 —

Sometimes she would sit at the table opposite me, watching my movements and asking questions. —
有时候，她会坐在我对面的桌边，观察我的动作并提问题。 —

It interested her to know what I was reading, what I did at the University, whether I was not afraid of the dead bodies, what I did with my salary.
她很感兴趣知道我在读什么书，我在大学里做什么，是否害怕尸体，我工资用来做什么。

“Do the students fight at the University?” she would ask.
“大学里的学生会打架吗？” 她问。

“They do, dear.”
“会的，亲爱的。”

“And do you make them go down on their knees?”
“你会让他们跪下吗？”

“Yes, I do.”
“是的，我愿意。”

And she thought it funny that the students fought and I made them go down on their knees, and she laughed. —
她觉得那些学生打架很有趣，我让他们跪下去，她笑了。 —

She was a gentle, patient, good child. It happened not infrequently that I saw something taken away from her, saw her punished without reason, or her curiosity repressed; —
她是一个温柔、耐心、乖巧的孩子。经常看到有事情被从她身边拿走，看到她无缘无故受罚，或者她的好奇心被抑制； —

at such times a look of sadness was mixed with the invariable expression of trustfulness on her face—that was all. —
这种时候她脸上的那种信任的表情中掺杂着悲伤的神情—仅此而已。 —

I did not know how to take her part; only when I saw her sad I had an inclination to draw her to me and to commiserate her like some old nurse: —
我不知道该如何站在她这一边；只有当看到她伤心时，我会有一种想要把她拉到我身边，并像某个老保姆一样同情她的倾向： —

“My poor little orphan one!”
“我可怜的小孤儿！”

I remember, too, that she was fond of fine clothes and of sprinkling herself with scent. —
我记得，她喜欢穿漂亮的衣服，喜欢洒上香水。 —

In that respect she was like me. I, too, am fond of pretty clothes and nice scent.
在这方面她和我很像。我也喜欢漂亮的衣服和好闻的香水。

I regret that I had not time nor inclination to watch over the rise and development of the passion which took complete possession of Katya when she was fourteen or fifteen. —
我很后悔没有时间和兴趣去关注Katya在十四或十五岁时完全沉迷的激情的升起和发展。 —

I mean her passionate love for the theatre. —
我的意思是她对戏剧的热爱。 —

When she used to come from boarding-school and stay with us for the summer holidays, she talked of nothing with such pleasure and such warmth as of plays and actors. —
每当她从寄宿学校回来，和我们一起过暑假的时候，她谈论最多和最热烈的就是戏剧和演员。 —

She bored us with her continual talk of the theatre. My wife and children would not listen to her. —
她对戏剧的不停谈论让我们感到厌烦。我妻子和孩子不愿意听她说。 —

I was the only one who had not the courage to refuse to attend to her. —
只有我没有勇气拒绝听她。 —

When she had a longing to share her transports, she used to come into my study and say in an imploring tone:
当她渴望分享她的激动时，她会走进我的书房，祈求地说：

“Nikolay Stepanovitch, do let me talk to you about the theatre!”
“Nikolay Stepanovitch，让我跟你谈一谈关于戏剧的事情！”

I pointed to the clock, and said:
我指着时钟说：

“I’ll give you half an hour—begin.”
“我给你半小时——开始。”

Later on she used to bring with her dozens of portraits of actors and actresses which she worshipped; then she attempted several times to take part in private theatricals, and the upshot of it all was that when she left school she came to me and announced that she was born to be an actress.
后来她带来了数十幅她崇拜的演员和女演员的肖像画；然后她几次尝试参加私人戏剧演出，结果是当她离开学校时，她来找我宣布她生来就是演员。

I had never shared Katya’s inclinations for the theatre. —
我从来没有像Katya那样钟爱戏剧。 —

To my mind, if a play is good there is no need to trouble the actors in order that it may make the right impression; —
在我看来，如果一部戏好，就无需打扰演员以便产生正确的印象； —

it is enough to read it. If the play is poor, no acting will make it good.
只需读一读。如果戏剧糟糕，再好的演出也无济于事。

In my youth I often visited the theatre, and now my family takes a box twice a year and carries me off for a little distraction. —
在我年轻的时候，我经常去剧院，现在我家每年都包一次包厢，带我去消遣一会。 —

Of course, that is not enough to give me the right to judge of the theatre. —
当然，这并不足以使我有资格评判戏剧。 —

In my opinion the theatre has become no better than it was thirty or forty years ago. —
我认为戏剧变得并没有比三四十年前好。 —

Just as in the past, I can never find a glass of clean water in the corridors or foyers of the theatre. —
就像过去一样，在剧院的走廊或大堂里，我从来找不到一杯干净的水。 —

Just as in the past, the attendants fine me twenty kopecks for my fur coat, though there is nothing reprehensible in wearing a warm coat in winter. —
就像过去一样，服务员让我付二十戈比的摩擦费，尽管在冬天穿一件暖和的外套并没有什么不妥。 —

As in the past, for no sort of reason, music is played in the intervals, which adds something new and uncalled-for to the impression made by the play. —
和以前一样，在中场休息时播放音乐，这给剧情增加了一些新的，不必要的印象。 —

As in the past, men go in the intervals and drink spirits in the buffet. —
和以前一样，男人们中场休息时去吧台喝烈酒。 —

If no progress can be seen in trifles, I should look for it in vain in what is more important. —
如果在小事上看不到进步，那么在更重要的事情上我将徒劳寻找。 —

When an actor wrapped from head to foot in stage traditions and conventions tries to recite a simple ordinary speech, “To be or not to be,” not simply, but invariably with the accompaniment of hissing and convulsive movements all over his body, or when he tries to convince me at all costs that Tchatsky, who talks so much with fools and is so fond of folly, is a very clever man, and that “Woe from Wit” is not a dull play, the stage gives me the same feeling of conventionality which bored me so much forty years ago when I was regaled with the classical howling and beating on the breast. —
当一个全身包裹在舞台传统和套路中的演员试图朗诵一个简单普通的台词“生存还是毁灭”，不是简单地，而是总是伴随着嘶嘶声和全身的痉挛动作时，或者当他想不惜一切让我相信Tchatsky，一个与愚人频繁交谈且喜欢愚蠢的人，是一个非常聪明的人，以及《聪明的悲剧》不是一部乏味的戏时，舞台给我的感觉就像是以前四十年前我被经典的哀号和胸膛拍打所厌烦的那样为表面的。 —

And every time I come out of the theatre more conservative than I go in.
每次从剧院出来，我比进去时更保守。

The sentimental and confiding public may be persuaded that the stage, even in its present form, is a school; —
感情真挚和信赖的公众可能会相信舞台，即使是在现在的形式下，也是一所学校； —

but any one who is familiar with a school in its true sense will not be caught with that bait. —
但是任何熟悉真正学校的人都不会上当的。 —

I cannot say what will happen in fifty or a hundred years, but in its actual condition the theatre can serve only as an entertainment. —
我不知道五十年或一百年后会发生什么，但就目前的情况而言，剧院只能作为一种娱乐。 —

But this entertainment is too costly to be frequently enjoyed. —
但这种娱乐成本太高，无法经常享受。 —

It robs the state of thousands of healthy and talented young men and women, who, if they had not devoted themselves to the theatre, might have been good doctors, farmers, schoolmistresses, officers; —
它剥夺国家数千名健康和有才华的年轻男女，如果他们没有把自己献给剧院，他们可能会成为优秀的医生、农民、女教师、军官； —

it robs the public of the evening hours—the best time for intellectual work and social intercourse. —
它剥夺了公众的晚间时光——这是进行智力活动和社交的最佳时间。 —

I say nothing of the waste of money and the moral damage to the spectator when he sees murder, fornication, or false witness unsuitably treated on the stage.
我不多说浪费金钱以及对观众造成的道德伤害，当他看到谋杀、淫乱或虚假证言在舞台上被不当处理时。

Katya was of an entirely different opinion. —
卡特亚完全持不同意见。 —

She assured me that the theatre, even in its present condition, was superior to the lecture- hall, to books, or to anything in the world. —
她向我保证，即使在目前的条件下，剧院仍优于讲堂、书籍或世界上的任何东西。 —

The stage was a power that united in itself all the arts, and actors were missionaries. —
舞台是一个集合了所有艺术的力量，演员是传教士。 —

No art nor science was capable of producing so strong and so certain an effect on the soul of man as the stage, and it was with good reason that an actor of medium quality enjoys greater popularity than the greatest savant or artist. —
任何艺术或科学都无法像舞台那样对人的灵魂产生如此强大、如此确定的影响，一个中等素质的演员享有比最伟大的学者或艺术家更大的声誉是有充分理由的。 —

And no sort of public service could provide such enjoyment and gratification as the theatre.
没有任何公共服务能像剧院那样提供如此多的享受和满足。

And one fine day Katya joined a troupe of actors, and went off, I believe to Ufa, taking away with her a good supply of money, a store of rainbow hopes, and the most aristocratic views of her work.
有一天，卡特亚加入了一支演员团，我相信她去了乌法，带走了不少钱，一堆五彩斑斓的希望，以及对她工作的最贵族化的观念。

Her first letters on the journey were marvellous. —
她旅行途中的第一封信令人惊叹。 —

I read them, and was simply amazed that those small sheets of paper could contain so much youth, purity of spirit, holy innocence, and at the same time subtle and apt judgments which would have done credit to a fine masculine intellect. —
我读过她们，简直惊讶于那些小纸片竟然蕴含如此多的青春、心灵的纯洁、神圣的无辜，同时又有着对事物微妙而恰当的判断，简直可以媲美优秀的男性头脑。 —

It was more like a rapturous paean of praise she sent me than a mere description of the Volga, the country, the towns she visited, her companions, her failures and successes; —
这更像是她送给我的一首充满赞美的颂歌，而不仅仅是描述她游览过的伏尔加河、乡村、城镇，她的同伴、成功和失败； —

every sentence was fragrant with that confiding trustfulness I was accustomed to read in her face—and at the same time there were a great many grammatical mistakes, and there was scarcely any punctuation at all.
每一句都散发着那种可信赖的信任感，就好像我习惯在她的脸上看到的一样 —— 同时也有很多语法错误，几乎没有任何标点符号。

Before six months had passed I received a highly poetical and enthusiastic letter beginning with the words, “I have come to love. —
不到六个月，我收到了她又一封极富诗意和热情的来信，开头是这样的：“我已经爱上了……” —

..” This letter was accompanied by a photograph representing a young man with a shaven face, a wide-brimmed hat, and a plaid flung over his shoulder. —
这封信附有一张照片，上面是一个年轻人的形象，他刮了胡子，头戴宽檐帽，肩上披着格子毯。 —

The letters that followed were as splendid as before, but now commas and stops made their appearance in them, the grammatical mistakes disappeared, and there was a distinctly masculine flavour about them. —
接下来的信仍然象征着以前的壮丽，但是这次在其中出现了逗号和句号，语法错误消失了，信内透露着明显的男性风格。 —

Katya began writing to me how splendid it would be to build a great theatre somewhere on the Volga, on a cooperative system, and to attract to the enterprise the rich merchants and the steamer owners; —
卡苏娜开始写信告诉我，在伏尔加河某处合作建立一座伟大的剧院会多么壮观，吸引富有的商人和轮船主加入这个企业； —

there would be a great deal of money in it; there would be vast audiences; —
这里将有大量金钱投入；会有庞大的观众群体； —

the actors would play on co-operative terms. —
演员们将按合作方式表演。 —

… Possibly all this was really excellent, but it seemed to me that such schemes could only originate from a man’s mind.
或许这一切真的很出色，但我觉得这样的计划只可能来自一个男人的头脑。

However that may have been, for a year and a half everything seemed to go well: —
不过，不管怎样，一年半的时间里一切似乎都很顺利： —

Katya was in love, believed in her work, and was happy; —
卡苏娜坠入爱河，信仰自己的事业，快乐无比； —

but then I began to notice in her letters unmistakable signs of falling off. —
但后来我开始在她的信中注意到明显的衰退迹象。 —

It began with Katya’s complaining of her companions—this was the first and most ominous symptom; if a young scientific or literary man begins his career with bitter complaints of scientific and literary men, it is a sure sign that he is worn out and not fit for his work. —
一开始是卡苏娜抱怨她的同伴 —— 这是最初也是最不祥的症状；如果一个年轻的科学家或文学家在事业初期就开始对同行科学家或作家悲愤不已，那就是他精疲力尽，不适合自己的工作的明确标志。 —

Katya wrote to me that her companions did not attend the rehearsals and never knew their parts; —
卡苏娜写信告诉我她的同伴们不参加排练，也从未记住他们的台词； —

that one could see in every one of them an utter disrespect for the public in the production of absurd plays, and in their behaviour on the stage; —
每一个人都可以看到，他们对于制作荒谬剧目和在舞台上的行为都毫不尊重观众； —

that for the benefit of the Actors’ Fund, which they only talked about, actresses of the serious drama demeaned themselves by singing chansonettes, while tragic actors sang comic songs making fun of deceived husbands and the pregnant condition of unfaithful wives, and so on. —
为了演员基金会的利益，她们只是空谈，严肃戏剧演员却低贱地唱小情歌，悲剧演员演唱滑稽歌曲，取笑被欺骗的丈夫和不忠妻子怀孕的状况等等。 —

In fact, it was amazing that all this had not yet ruined the provincial stage, and that it could still maintain itself on such a rotten and unsubstantial footing.
事实上令人惊奇的是，这一切尚未毁掉这个省级舞台，它竟然还能在如此腐朽和不牢固的基础上维持下去。

In answer I wrote Katya a long and, I must confess, a very boring letter. —
我在回信中给卡蒂娅写了一封漫长且无聊的信，我必须承认。 —

Among other things, I wrote to her:
在其他事情之中，我写道：“我曾经碰到一些老戏剧演员，非常值得尊敬的人，他们对我表现出友善的态度；

“I have more than once happened to converse with old actors, very worthy men, who showed a friendly disposition towards me; —
从和他们的交谈中我了解到，他们的工作不是由自己的智慧和自由选择来控制，而是受到时尚和观众心情的影响。 —

from my conversations with them I could understand that their work was controlled not so much by their own intelligence and free choice as by fashion and the mood of the public. —
最优秀的人在他们那个年代不得不在悲剧、歌剧、巴黎喜剧以及闹剧中演出，他们总是同样确信自己走在正确的道路上并且对社会有用。 —

The best of them had had to play in their day in tragedy, in operetta, in Parisian farces, and in extravaganzas, and they always seemed equally sure that they were on the right path and that they were of use. —
所以，你看，罪恶的根源不在演员身上，而更深远地应该追求到艺术本身和整个社会对艺术的态度。” —

So, as you see, the cause of the evil must be sought, not in the actors, but, more deeply, in the art itself and in the attitude of the whole of society to it.”
我的这封信只是激怒了卡蒂娅。她回信说：

This letter of mine only irritated Katya. She answered me:
“你和我就像在不同歌剧中演唱的角色。

“You and I are singing parts out of different operas. —
我写信给你的时候，并没有谈到对你友好的值得尊敬的人，而是一群无耻之徒，他们身上没有任何值得尊敬之处。 —

I wrote to you, not of the worthy men who showed a friendly disposition to you, but of a band of knaves who have nothing worthy about them. —
他们是一群野蛮人，上了舞台只是因为别的地方没人要他们，自称艺术家却只是因为厚颜无耻。 —

They are a horde of savages who have got on the stage simply because no one would have taken them elsewhere, and who call themselves artists simply because they are impudent. —
有很多愚蠢的家伙、酗酒者、阴谋者和诽谤者，但他们之中一个有才华的人都没有。 —

There are numbers of dull-witted creatures, drunkards, intriguing schemers and slanderers, but there is not one person of talent among them. —
我无法向你描述，我所热爱的艺术已经落入我憎恶之人手中； —

I cannot tell you how bitter it is to me that the art I love has fallen into the hands of people I detest; —
这令我多么痛苦。” —

how bitter it is that the best men look on at evil from afar, not caring to come closer, and, instead of intervening, write ponderous commonplaces and utterly useless sermons. —
最优秀的人们远远地看着罪恶，却无动于衷，不愿靠近，并且丝毫不介入，只是写出沉重的陈词滥调和完全无用的说教。 —

…” And so on, all in the same style.
接下来又说：“……” 如此雷同的风格。

A little time passed, and I got this letter: “I have been brutally deceived. —
过了一段时间，我收到这封信：“我被残酷欺骗了。 —

I cannot go on living. Dispose of my money as you think best. —
我无法继续生活。请自行处置我的钱财。 —

I loved you as my father and my only friend. Good-bye.”
你是我视为父亲和唯一朋友的人。再见。”

It turned out that he, too, belonged to the “horde of savages. —
事实证明，他也属于“野蛮人的团伙。 —

” Later on, from certain hints, I gathered that there had been an attempt at suicide. —
” 后来从一些暗示中，我得知曾有过自杀的企图。 —

I believe Katya tried to poison herself. —
我想凯特娅试图毒死自己。 —

I imagine that she must have been seriously ill afterwards, as the next letter I got was from Yalta, where she had most probably been sent by the doctors. —
我想她之后一定病得很严重，因为接下来我收到的信是从叶卡捷琳娜，她很可能是被医生送去那里的。 —

Her last letter contained a request to send her a thousand roubles to Yalta as quickly as possible, and ended with these words:
她最后的信中请求尽快给她寄一千卢布到叶卡捷琳娜，并以这些话结束：

“Excuse the gloominess of this letter; yesterday I buried my child. —
“请原谅这封信的忧郁；昨天我埋葬了我的孩子。 —

” After spending about a year in the Crimea, she returned home.
” 在克里米亚待了一年左右后，她回到了家。

She had been about four years on her travels, and during those four years, I must confess, I had played a rather strange and unenviable part in regard to her. —
她游历了大约四年，在那四年里，我必须承认，在她身边，我的角色有些奇怪而不值得称道。 —

When in earlier days she had told me she was going on the stage, and then wrote to me of her love; —
在早些时候，当她告诉我她要走上舞台，然后又写信告诉我她的爱情时； —

when she was periodically overcome by extravagance, and I continually had to send her first one and then two thousand roubles; —
当她时不时地被铺张浪费所克制，我不得不一次又一次地给她寄一千卢布甚至两千卢布； —

when she wrote to me of her intention of suicide, and then of the death of her baby, every time I lost my head, and all my sympathy for her sufferings found no expression except that, after prolonged reflection, I wrote long, boring letters which I might just as well not have written. —
当她写信告诉我她打算自杀，然后又告诉我她的孩子去世了，每次我都惊慌失措，我的同情之情找不到表达的方式，只能在长时间的思考后写了一些冗长乏味的信，其实我写了也未尝不写。 —

And yet I took a father’s place with her and loved her like a daughter!
可是我对她像父亲一样关心，像女儿一样爱着她！

Now Katya is living less than half a mile off. —
如今卡蒂亚住在离这不到半英里的地方。 —

She has taken a flat of five rooms, and has installed herself fairly comfortably and in the taste of the day. —
她租了一套五间房的公寓，相当舒适地安顿下来，符合时尚的品味。 —

If any one were to undertake to describe her surroundings, the most characteristic note in the picture would be indolence. —
如果要描述她的周围环境，画面中最显著的特点是懒惰。 —

For the indolent body there are soft lounges, soft stools; for indolent feet soft rugs; —
懒惰的身体有软沙发，软凳子；懒惰的脚有柔软的地毯； —

for indolent eyes faded, dingy, or flat colours; —
懒惰的眼睛对于褪色、暗淡或平淡的颜色感到满足； —

for the indolent soul the walls are hung with a number of cheap fans and trivial pictures, in which the originality of the execution is more conspicuous than the subject; —
懒惰的灵魂看着墙上挂着许多廉价的扇子和琐碎的画，其中执行的独创性比主题更显著； —

and the room contains a multitude of little tables and shelves filled with utterly useless articles of no value, and shapeless rags in place of curtains. —
房间里有许多小桌子和架子上摆满了毫无价值的、形状混乱的织物，窗帘变成了形状不定的抹布。 —

… All this, together with the dread of bright colours, of symmetry, and of empty space, bears witness not only to spiritual indolence, but also to a corruption of natural taste. —
…所有这一切，再加上对明亮颜色、对对称和空旷空间的畏惧，不仅表明了精神上的懒惰，还表明了对自然品味的腐化。 —

For days together Katya lies on the lounge reading, principally novels and stories. —
几天的时间里，卡蒂亚躺在沙发上读书，主要是小说和故事。 —

She only goes out of the house once a day, in the afternoon, to see me.
下午她每天只出门一次，去看我。

I go on working while Katya sits silent not far from me on the sofa, wrapping herself in her shawl, as though she were cold. —
我在工作，而卡蒂亚坐在离我不远的沙发上沉默着，裹着围巾，就像感到寒冷一样。 —

Either because I find her sympathetic or because I was used to her frequent visits when she was a little girl, her presence does not prevent me from concentrating my attention. —
或许因为我觉得她讨人喜欢，或许因为她小时候常常来访，当她坐在沙发上时并没有影响我集中注意力。 —

From time to time I mechanically ask her some question; she gives very brief replies; —
偶尔我机械地问她一些问题；她给出非常简洁的回答。 —

or, to rest for a minute, I turn round and watch her as she looks dreamily at some medical journal or review. —
或者，为了休息一会儿，我转过身来看着她，她正梦游般地看着某个医学杂志或评论。 —

And at such moments I notice that her face has lost the old look of confiding trustfulness. —
在这样的时刻，我注意到她的脸上失去了过去信任的表情。 —

Her expression now is cold, apathetic, and absent-minded, like that of passengers who had to wait too long for a train. —
她现在的表情是冷漠、无动于衷的，像是等候火车等得太久的乘客一样。 —

She is dressed, as in old days, simply and beautifully, but carelessly; —
她穿着像以往一样简单而美丽，但漫不经心； —

her dress and her hair show visible traces of the sofas and rocking-chairs in which she spends whole days at a stretch. —
她的衣服和头发上都有着明显的痕迹，显示出她整天都坐在沙发和摇椅上的痕迹。 —

And she has lost the curiosity she had in old days. —
她失去了她往昔的好奇心。 —

She has ceased to ask me questions now, as though she had experienced everything in life and looked for nothing new from it.
她现在已经不再向我提问题了，仿佛她已经经历了生活中的一切，不再期待新事物。

Towards four o’clock there begins to be sounds of movement in the hall and in the drawing-room. —
四点左右，大厅和客厅里开始有动静声。 —

Liza has come back from the Conservatoire, and has brought some girl-friends in with her. —
莉莎从音乐学院回来，带来了一些女朋友。 —

We hear them playing on the piano, trying their voices and laughing; —
我们听到她们在钢琴上演奏，尝试着唱歌并笑个不停； —

in the dining-room Yegor is laying the table, with the clatter of crockery.
在餐厅里，叶戈正在摆放餐具，发出碟碗的叮当声。

“Good-bye,” said Katya. “I won’t go in and see your people today. —
“再见，”凯特亚说。“今天我不进去看你的家人。 —

They must excuse me. I haven’t time. Come and see me.”
他们请原谅。我没时间。来看我吧。”

While I am seeing her to the door, she looks me up and down grimly, and says with vexation:
当我送她到门口时，她严肃地打量着我，不悦地说道：

“You are getting thinner and thinner! Why don’t you consult a doctor? —
“你越来越瘦了！为什么不去看医生呢？ —

I’ll call at Sergey Fyodorovitch’s and ask him to have a look at you.”
“我会去找谢尔盖·费奥多罗维奇，让他看看你。”

“There’s no need, Katya.”
“不需要，卡特亚。”

“I can’t think where your people’s eyes are! They are a nice lot, I must say!”
“我真不知道你们家人的眼睛都长哪儿去了！我必须说，他们还真是一群好人！”

She puts on her fur coat abruptly, and as she does so two or three hairpins drop unnoticed on the floor from her carelessly arranged hair. —
她突然穿上毛皮大衣，头发随意地塞进帽子下，三四根发簪不小心从她松散整理过的头发里掉到地板上。 —

She is too lazy and in too great a hurry to do her hair up; —
她太懒了，又匆忙，没有时间把头发弄好； —

she carelessly stuffs the falling curls under her hat, and goes away.
她随意地把掉落的卷发塞进帽子里，然后离开。

When I go into the dining-room my wife asks me:
当我走进餐厅时，我的妻子问我：

“Was Katya with you just now? Why didn’t she come in to see us? It’s really strange….”
“刚才卡特亚和你在一起吗？她为什么不进来看看我们？真是奇怪….”

“Mamma,” Liza says to her reproachfully, “let her alone, if she doesn’t want to. —
“妈妈，”丽莎责备地对她说，“别管她，如果她不想来。 —

We are not going down on our knees to her.”
我们可不会向她乞求。”

“It’s very neglectful, anyway. To sit for three hours in the study without remembering our existence! —
“无论如何都很疏忽。坐在书房里三个小时却连我们的存在都没想起来！ —

But of course she must do as she likes.”
不过她当然可以随心所欲。”

Varya and Liza both hate Katya. This hatred is beyond my comprehension, and probably one would have to be a woman in order to understand it. —
瓦里雅和丽莎都恨卡特亚。这种恨意超出了我的理解范围，也许只有一个女人才能理解。 —

I am ready to stake my life that of the hundred and fifty young men I see every day in the lecture-theatre, and of the hundred elderly ones I meet every week, hardly one could be found capable of understanding their hatred and aversion for Katya’s past—that is, for her having been a mother without being a wife, and for her having had an illegitimate child; —
我敢拿我的性命打赌，在我每天在讲堂里见到的150个年轻男子中，以及每周见到的100个老男人中，几乎找不到一个能理解她们对卡特亚过去的憎恶和厌恶——也就是说，对她不是妻子却当了母亲，对她有了私生子的憎恶； —

and at the same time I cannot recall one woman or girl of my acquaintance who would not consciously or unconsciously harbour such feelings. —
同时，我想不起我认识的任何一个女人或女孩，不管是有意识的还是无意识的，不怀有这种感情。 —

And this is not because woman is purer or more virtuous than man: —
这并不是因为女人比男人更纯洁或更有美德。 —

why, virtue and purity are not very different from vice if they are not free from evil feeling. —
难道，如果没有摆脱邪恶的情感，那么德行和纯洁与恶行并没有太大的区别。 —

I attribute this simply to the backwardness of woman. —
我认为这仅仅是因为女性的落后。 —

The mournful feeling of compassion and the pang of conscience experienced by a modern man at the sight of suffering is, to my mind, far greater proof of culture and moral elevation than hatred and aversion. —
现代男性在看到苦难时所感受到的悲痛同情和良知的刺痛，对我来说远比仇恨和厌恶是文化和道德高度的更大证明。 —

Woman is as tearful and as coarse in her feelings now as she was in the Middle Ages, and to my thinking those who advise that she should be educated like a man are quite right.
现在女性的泪水和感情粗鲁程度与中世纪时代并无二致，我认为那些建议女性接受男性教育的人是完全正确的。

My wife also dislikes Katya for having been an actress, for ingratitude, for pride, for eccentricity, and for the numerous vices which one woman can always find in another.
我的妻子也讨厌卡蒂亚，因为她曾经是一名女演员，因为忘恩负义，因为骄傲，因为古怪，以及女人总能在另一位女性身上找到的众多恶习。

Besides my wife and daughter and me, there are dining with us two or three of my daughter’s friends and Alexandr Adolfovitch Gnekker, her admirer and suitor. —
除了我的妻子和女儿还有我之外，还与我们一起用餐的是我女儿的两三个朋友以及她的仰慕者兼求爱者亚历山德尔·阿道夫维奇·格涅克尔。 —

He is a fair-haired young man under thirty, of medium height, very stout and broad-shouldered, with red whiskers near his ears, and little waxed moustaches which make his plump smooth face look like a toy. —
他是一个金发的年轻人，不到三十岁，个子中等身材魁梧，耳朵旁边有红色的胡子，留着小小的扭曲胡子，使他那圆滚滚的光滑脸庞看起来像一个玩具。 —

He is dressed in a very short reefer jacket, a flowered waistcoat, breeches very full at the top and very narrow at the ankle, with a large check pattern on them, and yellow boots without heels. —
他穿着一件非常短的翻领夹克，一件带有花纹的马甲，上面非常宽松下面非常紧身，并带有大格子图案，脚踝处非常窄，穿着没有鞋跟的黄色靴子。 —

He has prominent eyes like a crab’s, his cravat is like a crab’s neck, and I even fancy there is a smell of crab-soup about the young man’s whole person. —
他有像螃蟹一样突出的眼睛，领带就像螃蟹的脖子，我甚至觉得整个年轻人身上有螃蟹汤的味道。 —

He visits us every day, but no one in my family knows anything of his origin nor of the place of his education, nor of his means of livelihood. —
他每天都来看望我们，但是我的家人对他的来历、教育背景以及生活来源一无所知。 —

He neither plays nor sings, but has some connection with music and singing, sells somebody’s pianos somewhere, is frequently at the Conservatoire, is acquainted with all the celebrities, and is a steward at the concerts; —
他既不弹钢琴也不唱歌，但与音乐和歌唱有某种联系，在某处销售某人的钢琴，经常在音乐学院出现，熟悉所有名人，并在音乐会上任管家； —

he criticizes music with great authority, and I have noticed that people are eager to agree with him.
他以极大的权威批评音乐，我注意到人们都渴望赞同他。

Rich people always have dependents hanging about them; the arts and sciences have the same. —
富人身边总是有依赖者；艺术和科学也是如此。 —

I believe there is not an art nor a science in the world free from “foreign bodies” after the style of this Mr. Gnekker. —
我相信世界上没有一门艺术或一门科学是不受“外来物质”影响的，就像格涅克尔这位先生的风格一样。 —

I am not a musician, and possibly I am mistaken in regard to Mr. Gnekker, of whom, indeed, I know very little. —
我不是音乐家，也对格涅克先生知之甚少，可能我是错的。 —

But his air of authority and the dignity with which he takes his stand beside the piano when any one is playing or singing strike me as very suspicious.
但是他在钢琴旁站立时展现出的权威感和庄严让我觉得很可疑。

You may be ever so much of a gentleman and a privy councillor, but if you have a daughter you cannot be secure of immunity from that petty bourgeois atmosphere which is so often brought into your house and into your mood by the attentions of suitors, by matchmaking and marriage. —
即使你是绅士和一名私议员，但如果你有一个女儿，你也不能完全避免那种小资产阶级的氛围，这种氛围常常是由追求者的关注、媒人和婚姻所带来的。 —

I can never reconcile myself, for instance, to the expression of triumph on my wife’s face every time Gnekker is in our company, nor can I reconcile myself to the bottles of Lafitte, port and sherry which are only brought out on his account, that he may see with his own eyes the liberal and luxurious way in which we live. —
例如，我永远无法接受妻子每次格涅克在场时脸上展现的得意表情，也无法接受只会为他拿出的拉菲、波尔图和雪利酒，以便他亲眼看到我们生活的大方和奢华。 —

I cannot tolerate the habit of spasmodic laughter Liza has picked up at the Conservatoire, and her way of screwing up her eyes whenever there are men in the room. —
我无法忍受莉莎在音乐学院学到的痉挛般的笑声和在有男人在场时瞪大眼睛的举止。 —

Above all, I cannot understand why a creature utterly alien to my habits, my studies, my whole manner of life, completely different from the people I like, should come and see me every day, and every day should dine with me. —
最重要的是，我无法理解一个完全不合我的习惯、学习和整个生活方式、与我喜欢的人完全不同的人，为什么每天都要来看我，每天都要和我共进晚餐。 —

My wife and my servants mysteriously whisper that he is a suitor, but still I don’t understand his presence; —
我妻子和仆人神秘地低声说他是一个求婚者，但我仍然不明白他为何一直在这里； —

it rouses in me the same wonder and perplexity as if they were to set a Zulu beside me at the table. And it seems strange to me, too, that my daughter, whom I am used to thinking of as a child, should love that cravat, those eyes, those soft cheeks….
这就像他们让一个祖鲁人坐在我旁边一样，在我内心引发了同样的惊奇和困惑。同时，我也觉得奇怪的是，我一直视为孩子的女儿，居然喜欢那条领带、那对眼睛、那张柔软的脸颊……

In the old days I used to like my dinner, or at least was indifferent about it; —
以前我喜欢我的晚餐，或者至少对它无所谓； —

now it excites in me no feeling but weariness and irritation. —
现在它在我内心中引发的感觉只有疲倦和烦躁。 —

Ever since I became an “Excellency” and one of the Deans of the Faculty my family has for some reason found it necessary to make a complete change in our menu and dining habits. —
自从我成为“阁下”和学院的教授之后，我的家人似乎找了个理由，为我们的菜单和进餐习惯做了彻底的改变。 —

Instead of the simple dishes to which I was accustomed when I was a student and when I was in practice, now they feed me with a puree with little white things like circles floating about in it, and kidneys stewed in madeira. —
现在他们让我吃我过去是学生和执业律师时不习惯的菜肴，现在他们用纯蓕泥和其中浮着像圆圈的小白色东西的菜，还有用马德拉酒炖的肾脏。 —

My rank as a general and my fame have robbed me for ever of cabbage-soup and savoury pies, and goose with apple-sauce, and bream with boiled grain. —
作为一名将军和一名有名望的人，我永远失去了对白菜汤、可口派、苹果酱鹅和蒸饭的喜爱。 —

They have robbed me of our maid-servant Agasha, a chatty and laughter-loving old woman, instead of whom Yegor, a dull-witted and conceited fellow with a white glove on his right hand, waits at dinner. —
他们让我失去了我们的女佣阿加莎，一个健谈和爱笑的老太太，而现在伊戈尔，一个愚蠢自大的家伙，右手套着白手套，来伺候我。 —

The intervals between the courses are short, but they seem immensely long because there is nothing to occupy them. —
菜肴之间的间隔很短，但因为没有什么事情可以填补它们，感觉时间非常漫长。 —

There is none of the gaiety of the old days, the spontaneous talk, the jokes, the laughter; —
过去的欢乐氛围已经消失， spontaneous talk, the jokes, the laughter; —

there is nothing of mutual affection and the joy which used to animate the children, my wife, and me when in old days we met together at meals. —
互相的深情和乐趣也不再存在，以前我们一家人聚在一起吃饭时总是那么充满活力和快乐。 —

For me, the celebrated man of science, dinner was a time of rest and reunion, and for my wife and children a fete—brief indeed, but bright and joyous—in which they knew that for half an hour I belonged, not to science, not to students, but to them alone. —
对于我这个著名的科学家来说，晚餐是休息和团聚的时光，对于我的妻子和孩子来说是一个节日-虽然短暂，但是明亮和愉快，他们知道在这半个小时里我属于他们，不是属于科学，也不是属于学生。 —

Our real exhilaration from one glass of wine is gone for ever, gone is Agasha, gone the bream with boiled grain, gone the uproar that greeted every little startling incident at dinner, such as the cat and dog fighting under the table, or Katya’s bandage falling off her face into her soup-plate.
我们原先因为一杯酒而产生的真正兴奋已经永远消失，消失的是Agasha, 消失的是配米饭的鲷鱼，消失的是每当晚餐时一些小惊人事情发生时所带来的喧闹，比如猫和狗在桌子底下打架，或者Katya的绷带掉进汤盘里时的情景。

To describe our dinner nowadays is as uninteresting as to eat it. —
现在描述我们的晚餐就像吃掉它一样无聊。 —

My wife’s face wears a look of triumph and affected dignity, and her habitual expression of anxiety. —
我妻子脸上带着一种胜利和做作的尊严的表情，她一贯的焦虑表情。 —

She looks at our plates and says, “I see you don’t care for the joint. Tell me; —
她看着我们的盘子说：“我看得出你们不喜欢这块肉。告诉我；” —

you don’t like it, do you?” and I am obliged to answer: —
“你不喜欢吗？” 我必须回答： —

“There is no need for you to trouble, my dear; the meat is very nice.” And she will say: —
“不用为难自己，亲爱的；这肉很好。” 她会说： —

“You always stand up for me, Nikolay Stepanovitch, and you never tell the truth. —
“你总是替我说话，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，从来不说实话。 —

Why is Alexandr Adolfovitch eating so little?” And so on in the same style all through dinner. —
为什么亚历山大·阿道尔福维奇吃这么少？” 同样地，整个晚餐都是这样的风格。 —

Liza laughs spasmodically and screws up her eyes. —
莉莎痉挛地笑着，眯起眼睛。 —

I watch them both, and it is only now at dinner that it becomes absolutely evident to me that the inner life of these two has slipped away out of my ken. —
我看着他们俩，直到晚餐时才绝对清楚地意识到，这两个人的内心生活已经远离了我的视线。 —

I have a feeling as though I had once lived at home with a real wife and children and that now I am dining with visitors, in the house of a sham wife who is not the real one, and am looking at a Liza who is not the real Liza. A startling change has taken place in both of them; —
我有一种感觉，仿佛我曾经和一个真正的妻子和孩子一起生活在家里，现在我正在和访客一起吃饭，在一个不是真正的妻子的房子里，看着一个不是真正的莉莎。他们俩发生了惊人的变化； —

I have missed the long process by which that change was effected, and it is no wonder that I can make nothing of it. —
我错过了那种变化发生的漫长过程,所以难以理解。 —

Why did that change take place? I don’t know. —
那种变化为何发生？我不知道。 —

Perhaps the whole trouble is that God has not given my wife and daughter the same strength of character as me. —
也许问题的关键是上帝没有赐予我妻子和女儿同样的坚强性格。 —

From childhood I have been accustomed to resisting external influences, and have steeled myself pretty thoroughly. —
自小我习惯于抵抗外部影响，并经过了相当彻底的锤炼。 —

Such catastrophes in life as fame, the rank of a general, the transition from comfort to living beyond our means, acquaintance with celebrities, etc. —
生活中的名誉、成为将军、从舒适过渡到超越我们的财务实力、结识名人等等的灾难几乎没有对我产生影响，我仍然完整无损，无愧色； —

, have scarcely affected me, and I have remained intact and unashamed; —
但对于我妻子和丽莎，她们没有经历过同样磨炼的过程，性格较弱，所有这些就像雪崩一样压垮了她们。 —

but on my wife and Liza, who have not been through the same hardening process and are weak, all this has fallen like an avalanche of snow, overwhelming them. —
然而，对我妻子和丽莎来说，她们没有经历同样的锤炼，性格较弱，这一切就像雪崩一样压垮了她们。 —

Gnekker and the young ladies talk of fugues, of counterpoint, of singers and pianists, of Bach and Brahms, while my wife, afraid of their suspecting her of ignorance of music, smiles to them sympathetically and mutters: —
我看着甘尼克和年轻女士们谈论赋格、对位、歌手和钢琴家、巴赫和勃拉姆斯，而我的妻子害怕他们怀疑她对音乐一无所知，同情地笑着对他们说： —

“That’s exquisite… really! You don’t say so!. —
“真精致…真的！你别说! —

..” Gnekker eats with solid dignity, jests with solid dignity, and condescendingly listens to the remarks of the young ladies. —
甘尼克以稳重尊严地进餐，以稳重尊严地开玩笑，屈尊聆听年轻女士们的谈话。 —

From time to time he is moved to speak in bad French, and then, for some reason or other, he thinks it necessary to address me as “Votre Excellence.”
不时，他会用糟糕的法语讲话，然后出于某种原因，他觉得有必要称呼我为“阁下”。

And I am glum. Evidently I am a constraint to them and they are a constraint to me. —
我心情郁闷。显然我让他们感到尴尬，他们也让我感到尴尬。 —

I have never in my earlier days had a close knowledge of class antagonism, but now I am tormented by something of that sort. —
以前我从未深入了解过阶级斗争，但现在我受到了某种程度的煎熬。 —

I am on the lookout for nothing but bad qualities in Gnekker; —
我只看见甘尼克的坏品质; —

I quickly find them, and am fretted at the thought that a man not of my circle is sitting here as my daughter’s suitor. —
我很快就找到了，而且对不属于我的圈子的人坐在这里，作为我女儿的求婚者感到烦恼。 —

His presence has a bad influence on me in other ways, too. —
他的存在也以其他方式对我产生了不良影响。 —

As a rule, when I am alone or in the society of people I like, never think of my own achievements, or, if I do recall them, they seem to me as trivial as though I had only completed my studies yesterday; —
通常，当我独自一人或与我喜欢的人在一起时，我从不想起我自己的成就，或者如果我回忆起来，他们对我来说似乎微不足道，就好像我昨天刚完成了学业一样; —

but in the presence of people like Gnekker my achievements in science seem to be a lofty mountain the top of which vanishes into the clouds, while at its foot Gnekkers are running about scarcely visible to the naked eye.
但当有像甘尼克这样的人在场时，我在科学上的成就似乎是一座高耸入云的山峰，而山脚下的甘尼克则微不可见。

After dinner I go into my study and there smoke my pipe, the only one in the whole day, the sole relic of my old bad habit of smoking from morning till night. —
饭后，我进入书房，点上我的烟斗，这是整天里唯一的一支烟，也是我从早到晚抽烟的旧习惯的唯一遗留。 —

While I am smoking my wife comes in and sits down to talk to me. —
当我抽烟时，我的妻子走进来坐下来和我交谈。 —

Just as in the morning, I know beforehand what our conversation is going to be about.
和早上一样，我事先就知道我们的谈话会是关于什么的。

“I must talk to you seriously, Nikolay Stepanovitch,” she begins. —
“我必须与你认真谈谈，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，”她开始说。 —

“I mean about Liza…. Why don’t you pay attention to it?”
“我是说有关莉莎的事情…. 你为什么不关心呢？”

“To what?”
“关于什么？”

“You pretend to notice nothing. But that is not right. We can’t shirk responsibility. —
“你假装什么都没注意到。但那不对。我们不能推卸责任。” —

… Gnekker has intentions in regard to Liza…. What do you say?”
“…涅凯尔对莉莎有意思…. 你怎么看？”

“That he is a bad man I can’t say, because I don’t know him, but that I don’t like him I have told you a thousand times already.”
“我不能说他是个坏人，因为我不认识他，但我已经跟你说过一千次我不喜欢他。”

“But you can’t… you can’t!”
“但你不能… 你不能！”

She gets up and walks about in excitement.
她兴奋地站起来走来走去。

“You can’t take up that attitude to a serious step,” she says. —
“你不能对这件严肃的事情采取这种态度”，她说。 —

“When it is a question of our daughter’s happiness we must lay aside all personal feeling. —
“涉及到我们女儿的幸福时，我们必须放下一切个人感情。 —

I know you do not like him…. Very good. —
我知道你不喜欢他…. 很好。 —

.. if we refuse him now, if we break it all off, how can you be sure that Liza will not have a grievance against us all her life? —
“…如果我们现在拒绝他，如果我们断绝一切，你怎么能确定莉莎一辈子不会对我们怀恨？ —

Suitors are not plentiful nowadays, goodness knows, and it may happen that no other match will turn up. —
“如今追求者不多，老天知道，可能不会出现其他匹配。 —

… He is very much in love with Liza, and she seems to like him. —
“…他非常爱莉莎，而她似乎也喜欢他。 —

… Of course, he has no settled position, but that can’t be helped. —
“…当然，他现在没有稳定的职位，但没办法。 —

Please God, in time he will get one. He is of good family and well off.”
“如若天意，他以后会有的。他家世好，也很有钱。”

“Where did you learn that?”
“你在哪里学到那个的？”

“He told us so. His father has a large house in Harkov and an estate in the neighbourhood. —
“他告诉我们的。他父亲在哈尔科夫有一处大房子，还有周围的庄园。” —

In short, Nikolay Stepanovitch, you absolutely must go to Harkov.”
“总而言之，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，你绝对必须去哈尔科夫。”

“What for?”
“为什么？”

“You will find out all about him there…. You know the professors there; —
“你会在那里找出关于他的一切… 你知道那里的教授们； —

they will help you. I would go myself, but I am a woman. I cannot….”
他们会帮助你。我自己想去，但我是一个女人。我不行…”

“I am not going to Harkov,” I say morosely.
“我不会去哈尔科夫，”我沮丧地说。

My wife is frightened, and a look of intense suffering comes into her face.
我的妻子害怕了，她的脸上露出一种剧烈痛苦的表情。

“For God’s sake, Nikolay Stepanovitch,” she implores me, with tears in her voice—“for God’s sake, take this burden off me! —
“求你了，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，”她的声音带着泪水恳求着，“求你从我身上卸下这个负担！ —

I am so worried!”
我太担心了！”

It is painful for me to look at her.
看着她让我感到痛苦。

“Very well, Varya,” I say affectionately, “if you wish it, then certainly I will go to Harkov and do all you want.”
“好的，瓦莉娅，”我充满深情地说，“如果你希望的话，我一定会去哈尔科夫，做你想要的一切。”

She presses her handkerchief to her eyes and goes off to her room to cry, and I am left alone.
她拿手帕捂住眼睛，走进房间哭泣，我留在原地。

A little later lights are brought in. The armchair and the lamp-shade cast familiar shadows that have long grown wearisome on the walls and on the floor, and when I look at them I feel as though the night had come and with it my accursed sleeplessness. —
过了一会儿，灯光被打开。扶手椅和灯罩在墙壁和地板上投下早已令人厌倦的熟悉影子，当我看着它们，就感觉夜晚来临，以及那该死的失眠。 —

I lie on my bed, then get up and walk about the room, then lie down again. —
我躺在床上，起身在房间里走动，又重新躺下。 —

As a rule it is after dinner, at the approach of evening, that my nervous excitement reaches its highest pitch. —
通常在晚饭后，接近傍晚时分，我的神经紧张达到最高点。 —

For no reason I begin crying and burying my head in the pillow. —
无缘无故地我开始哭泣，把头埋在枕头里。 —

At such times I am afraid that some one may come in; I am afraid of suddenly dying; —
这种时刻我害怕有人会进来；我害怕突然死去； —

I am ashamed of my tears, and altogether there is something insufferable in my soul. —
我为我的眼泪感到羞耻，总之，我的灵魂里有一种难以忍受的东西。 —

I feel that I can no longer bear the sight of my lamp, of my books, of the shadows on the floor. —
我感到我已经无法忍受看到我的灯，看到我的书，或者地板上的阴影。 —

I cannot bear the sound of the voices coming from the drawing-room. —
我无法忍受听到从客厅传来的声音。 —

Some force unseen, uncomprehended, is roughly thrusting me out of my flat. —
有一种看不见、无法理解的力量粗暴地将我推出了我的公寓。 —

I leap up hurriedly, dress, and cautiously, that my family may not notice, slip out into the street. Where am I to go?
我匆忙地跳起来，穿衣服，小心翼翼地溜出家门，以免被家人察觉。我该去哪里？

The answer to that question has long been ready in my brain. To Katya.
这个问题的答案早就准备好了。去找卡蒂亚。

III
III

As a rule she is lying on the sofa or in a lounge-chair reading. —
通常她躺在沙发上或躺椅上阅读。 —

Seeing me, she raises her head languidly, sits up, and shakes hands.
看到我，她慵懒地抬起头，坐起来，握手。

“You are always lying down,” I say, after pausing and taking breath. —
“你总是躺着，”我停顿片刻喘口气后说道。 —

“That’s not good for you. You ought to occupy yourself with something.”
“这对你不好。你应该找点事情做。”

“What?”
“做什么？”

“I say you ought to occupy yourself in some way.”
“我说你应该找点事情去做。”

“With what? A woman can be nothing but a simple workwoman or an actress.”
“做什么？一个女人只能当个简单的工人或是演员。”

“Well, if you can’t be a workwoman, be an actress.”
“如果你不想当个工人，那就当演员吧。”

She says nothing.
她什么也没说。

“You ought to get married,” I say, half in jest.
“你应该结婚，”我半开玩笑地说。

“There is no one to marry. There’s no reason to, either.”
“没人可以嫁的。也没有理由嫁。”

“You can’t live like this.”
“你不能这样过下去。”

“Without a husband? Much that matters; I could have as many men as I like if I wanted to.”
“没有丈夫？还有很多重要的事情；如果我愿意的话，我可以有很多男人。”

“That’s ugly, Katya.”
“那很丑，卡特亚。”

“What is ugly?”
“什么丑？”

“Why, what you have just said.”
“你刚才说的话。”

Noticing that I am hurt and wishing to efface the disagreeable impression, Katya says:
看到我受伤了，希望消除令人不快的印象，卡特亚说：

“Let us go; come this way.”
“我们走吧；跟我来。”

She takes me into a very snug little room, and says, pointing to the writing-table:
她带我进了一个非常舒适的小房间，指着写字台说：

“Look… I have got that ready for you. You shall work here. —
“看…我已经为你准备好了。你可以在这里工作。 —

Come here every day and bring your work with you. —
每天都来这里，带上你的工作。 —

They only hinder you there at home. Will you work here? —
在家里他们只会阻碍你。你会在这里工作吗？ —

Will you like to?”
你会喜欢吗？”

Not to wound her by refusing, I answer that I will work here, and that I like the room very much. —
为了不伤害她，我答应在这里工作，并表示我很喜欢这个房间。 —

Then we both sit down in the snug little room and begin talking.
然后我们俩坐在这个舒适的小房间里开始交谈。

The warm, snug surroundings and the presence of a sympathetic person does not, as in old days, arouse in me a feeling of pleasure, but an intense impulse to complain and grumble. —
温暖舒适的环境和有个体贴的人在场并没有像从前那样让我感到愉快，而是引起了我强烈的抱怨和埋怨冲动。 —

I feel for some reason that if I lament and complain I shall feel better.
我不知何故觉得如果我抱怨和埋怨，我会感觉好些。

“Things are in a bad way with me, my dear—very bad….”
“事情对我来说很糟糕，亲爱的——非常糟糕….”

“What is it?”
“怎么了？”

“You see how it is, my dear; the best and holiest right of kings is the right of mercy. —
“你看，亲爱的；国王最好、最神圣的权利是怜悯之权。 —

And I have always felt myself a king, since I have made unlimited use of that right. —
自从我拥有了那种权利，我就一直觉得自己是个国王。 —

I have never judged, I have been indulgent, I have readily forgiven every one, right and left. —
我从未审判过，一向宽容大量，随时都原谅每一个人。 —

Where others have protested and expressed indignation, I have only advised and persuaded. —
在别人抗议和表示愤怒的时候，我只是劝告和说服。 —

All my life it has been my endeavour that my society should not be a burden to my family, to my students, to my colleagues, to my servants. —
我的一生中，我一直致力于让我的社会对我的家人、学生、同事、仆人不构成负担。 —

And I know that this attitude to people has had a good influence on all who have chanced to come into contact with me. —
我知道这种对人的态度对于所有与我有过接触的人都产生了良好的影响。 —

But now I am not a king. Something is happening to me that is only excusable in a slave; —
但是现在我不再是国王了。我正在发生一些只有奴隶才能犯的错； —

day and night my brain is haunted by evil thoughts, and feelings such as I never knew before are brooding in my soul. —
白天黑夜，我脑海里充满着邪恶的思想，我的灵魂里孵化着一些我以前从未经历过的情感。 —

I am full of hatred, and contempt, and indignation, and loathing, and dread. —
我满心仇恨、蔑视、愤慨、厌恶和惧怕。 —

I have become excessively severe, exacting, irritable, ungracious, suspicious. —
我变得极端严厉、苛刻、易怒、不礼貌和多疑。 —

Even things that in old days would have provoked me only to an unnecessary jest and a good- natured laugh now arouse an oppressive feeling in me. —
甚至那些在以前只会引起我发表不必要的笑话和友好的笑声的事情现在都会引发我内心的沉重感觉。 —

My reasoning, too, has undergone a change: in old days I despised money; —
我的推理也发生了改变：在以前我鄙视金钱； —

now I harbour an evil feeling, not towards money, but towards the rich as though they were to blame: in old days I hated violence and tyranny, but now I hate the men who make use of violence, as though they were alone to blame, and not all of us who do not know how to educate each other. —
现在我怀有一种邪恶感情，不是针对金钱，而是针对富人，好像他们该受责备：以前我憎恶暴力和暴政，但现在我憎恨那些使用暴力的人，好像他们独自应受责备，而不是我们所有不知如何相互教育的人。 —

What is the meaning of it? If these new ideas and new feelings have come from a change of convictions, what is that change due to? —
如果这些新想法和新感觉是因为信念的改变而产生的，那这种改变是由于什么造成的？ —

Can the world have grown worse and I better, or was I blind before and indifferent? —
世界可能变得更糟，而我变得更好，或者以前我是盲目和漠然的？ —

If this change is the result of a general decline of physical and intellectual powers—I am ill, you know, and every day I am losing weight—my position is pitiable; —
如果这种改变是由于身体和智力能力的普遍下降——你知道我病了，而且我每天都在变瘦——我的处境很可怜； —

it means that my new ideas are morbid and abnormal; —
这意味着我的新想法是病态和异常的； —

I ought to be ashamed of them and think them of no consequence….”
我应该为它们感到羞耻，并认为它们毫无重要性….”

“Illness has nothing to do with it,” Katya interrupts me; —
“疾病与此无关，”Katya打断我； —

“it’s simply that your eyes are opened, that’s all. —
“你只是眼界开阔了，仅此而已。 —

You have seen what in old days, for some reason, you refused to see. —
你已经看到了过去，出于某种原因，你拒绝去看的东西。 —

To my thinking, what you ought to do first of all, is to break with your family for good, and go away.”
在我看来，你首先应该做的是与家人断绝关系，并离开。”

“You are talking nonsense.”
“你在胡说。”

“You don’t love them; why should you force your feelings? Can you call them a family? —
“你不爱他们；你为什么要强迫自己有感情？你能称他们为家人吗？ —

Nonentities! If they died today, no one would notice their absence tomorrow.”
毫无存在感！如果他们今天死去，明天没有人会注意到他们的缺席。”

Katya despises my wife and Liza as much as they hate her. —
Katya鄙视我的妻子和莉莎，正如她们憎恨她一样。 —

One can hardly talk at this date of people’s having a right to despise one another. —
在这个时代，人们彼此轻视并没有什么道理。 —

But if one looks at it from Katya’s standpoint and recognizes such a right, one can see she has as much right to despise my wife and Liza as they have to hate her.
但如果从Katya的角度来看，并承认这种轻视的权利，就会发现她正如我的妻子和莉莎一样有权鄙视他们。

“Nonentities,” she goes on. “Have you had dinner today? —
“无名之辈，”她继续说道。“你们今天吃过晚饭了吗？ —

How was it they did not forget to tell you it was ready? —
他们怎么会忘记告诉你晚饭已经准备好了呢？ —

How is it they still remember your existence?”
他们怎么还记得你的存在？

“Katya,” I say sternly, “I beg you to be silent.”
“卡特亚，”我严肃地说，“我请求你闭嘴。”

“You think I enjoy talking about them? I should be glad not to know them at all. —
“你以为我乐意谈论他们吗？我应该庆幸自己不认识他们。 —

Listen, my dear: give it all up and go away. —
听着，亲爱的：放弃一切离开吧。 —

Go abroad. The sooner the better.”
出国吧。越快越好。”

“What nonsense! What about the University?”
“多荒谬！大学呢？”

“The University, too. What is it to you? There’s no sense in it, anyway. —
“大学又如何。与你何干？反正毫无意义。 —

You have been lecturing for thirty years, and where are your pupils? —
你已经讲课三十年了，你的学生们都去哪了？ —

Are many of them celebrated scientific men? Count them up! —
有多少名声远扬的科学家出自你门下？数数看！ —

And to multiply the doctors who exploit ignorance and pile up hundreds of thousands for themselves, there is no need to be a good and talented man. —
为了增加那些剥削无知、为自己赚取数万的医生，无需成为一个善良有才华的人。 —

You are not wanted.”
你没有人要。”

“Good heavens! how harsh you are!” I cry in horror. “How harsh you are! —
“天哪！你怎么这么刻薄！”我惊恐地喊道。“你怎么这么刻薄！ —

Be quiet or I will go away! I don’t know how to answer the harsh things you say!”
安静点，否则我走！我不知道如何回答你说的那些刻薄的话！”

The maid comes in and summons us to tea. At the samovar our conversation, thank God, changes. —
女佣进来叫我们喝茶。我们在热水瓶旁边的谈话，感谢上帝，改变了。 —

After having had my grumble out, I have a longing to give way to another weakness of old age, reminiscences. —
吐完苦水之后，我渴望再次陷入老年时的另一个软弱，回忆往事。 —

I tell Katya about my past, and to my great astonishment tell her incidents which, till then, I did not suspect of being still preserved in my memory, and she listens to me with tenderness, with pride, holding her breath. —
我告诉卡特雅我的过去，令我大为惊讶的是，我告诉她一些事情，直到那时，我竟然不知道它们仍然存留在我的记忆中，而她倾听着我，充满温柔和自豪，屏住呼吸。 —

I am particularly fond of telling her how I was educated in a seminary and dreamed of going to the University.
我特别喜欢告诉她，我是如何在修道学院受教育，并梦想上大学。

“At times I used to walk about our seminary garden…” I would tell her. —
“有时我会在我们修道院的花园里散步…”我会告诉她。 —

“If from some faraway tavern the wind floated sounds of a song and the squeaking of an accordion, or a sledge with bells dashed by the garden- fence, it was quite enough to send a rush of happiness, filling not only my heart, but even my stomach, my legs, my arms. —
“如果从遥远的小酒馆里飘来一阵歌声和手风琴的尖叫声，或者一辆带着铃铛的雪橇飞驰而过花园的围墙，这就足以让一股幸福感涌上心头，填满我的心，甚至填满我的胃、腿和手臂。 —

… I would listen to the accordion or the bells dying away in the distance and imagine myself a doctor, and paint pictures, one better than another. —
我会倾听手风琴或铃声在远处渐行渐远，然后想象自己是一名医生，并描绘出一幅又一幅优美的画面。 —

And here, as you see, my dreams have come true. I have had more than I dared to dream of. —
如你所见，我的梦想成真了。我得到的远远超出了我曾经梦想的。 —

For thirty years I have been the favourite professor, I have had splendid comrades, I have enjoyed fame and honour. —
三十年来，我一直是最受喜爱的教授，有着出色的同事，享有名誉和荣誉。 —

I have loved, married from passionate love, have had children. —
我曾经从激情中爱过，结过婚，有过孩子。 —

In fact, looking back upon it, I see my whole life as a fine composition arranged with talent. —
事实上，回顾过去，我看到自己的整个生活就像是一部才华横溢的精美作品。 —

Now all that is left to me is not to spoil the end. For that I must die like a man. —
现在我所剩下的就是不要破坏结局。为此，我必须像个有血性的人一样死去。 —

If death is really a thing to dread, I must meet it as a teacher, a man of science, and a citizen of a Christian country ought to meet it, with courage and untroubled soul. —
如果死亡真的是一件可怕的事，我必须以一个老师、一位科学家，以及一个基督教国家的公民应有的勇气和平静的心态来迎接它。 —

But I am spoiling the end; I am sinking, I fly to you, I beg for help, and you tell me ‘Sink; —
但我正在破坏结局；我沉下去，我飞向你，我请求帮助，而你告诉我“沉下去；这才是你应该做的。” —

that is what you ought to do.’”
但我正要做的要转变过来，我要死像个顶天立地的人。

But here there comes a ring at the front-door. Katya and I recognize it, and say:
但这时门口响起了电话铃声。卡蒂亚和我认出了它，并说：

“It must be Mihail Fyodorovitch.”
“肯定是弥海尔·费奥多罗维奇。”

And a minute later my colleague, the philologist Mihail Fyodorovitch, a tall, well-built man of fifty, clean-shaven, with thick grey hair and black eyebrows, walks in. —
一分钟后，我的同事，语言学家弥海尔·费奥多罗维奇，一个五十岁的高个子，体格强健，胡须修剪整洁，厚厚的灰发和黑眉毛，走了进来。 —

He is a good-natured man and an excellent comrade. —
他是一个性情温和的人，也是一个极好的同伴。 —

He comes of a fortunate and talented old noble family which has played a prominent part in the history of literature and enlightenment. —
他出生在一个幸运而有才华的老贵族家庭，这个家族在文学和启蒙历史上扮演着重要角色。 —

He is himself intelligent, talented, and very highly educated, but has his oddities. —
他本人聪明、有才华、受过很好的教育，但有他的怪癖。 —

To a certain extent we are all odd and all queer fish, but in his oddities there is something exceptional, apt to cause anxiety among his acquaintances. —
在某种程度上，我们都有些怪癖，都是些奇怪的家伙，但他的怪癖有些异常，容易引起他的熟人担忧。 —

I know a good many people for whom his oddities completely obscure his good qualities.
我认识很多人，他们看到他的怪癖完全掩盖了他的优点。

Coming in to us, he slowly takes off his gloves and says in his velvety bass:
走进来之后，他慢慢脱下手套，用他那柔和的低音说：

“Good-evening. Are you having tea? That’s just right. It’s diabolically cold.”
“晚上好。你们在喝茶吗？那太好了。天气该死的冷。”

Then he sits down to the table, takes a glass, and at once begins talking. —
然后他坐到桌子旁，拿起一个玻璃杯，立刻开始说话。 —

What is most characteristic in his manner of talking is the continually jesting tone, a sort of mixture of philosophy and drollery as in Shakespeare’s gravediggers. —
他说话最具特点的是连续不断的开玩笑的语调，一种哲学和诙谐的混合，就像莎士比亚的挖墓人。 —

He is always talking about serious things, but he never speaks seriously. —
他总是谈论严肃的事情，但从不严肃地说。 —

His judgments are always harsh and railing, but, thanks to his soft, even, jesting tone, the harshness and abuse do not jar upon the ear, and one soon grows used to them. —
他的判断总是尖刻和责骂，但多亏他柔和、均匀、开玩笑的语调，尖刻和辱骂并不刺耳，人们很快就习惯了。 —

Every evening he brings with him five or six anecdotes from the University, and he usually begins with them when he sits down to table.
每天晚上，他都带来五六个大学的轶事，而且他通常在坐下来吃饭时就开始讲这些轶事。

“Oh, Lord!” he sighs, twitching his black eyebrows ironically. —
“哦，主啊！”他叹了口气，讽刺地扭动着黑色的眉毛。 —

“What comic people there are in the world!”
“这世界真是有趣的人啊！”

“Well?” asks Katya.
“嗯？”卡特亚问道。

“As I was coming from my lecture this morning I met that old idiot N. N—— on the stairs. —
“我今早从讲座回来时，在楼梯上遇到了那个老傻瓜N. N——。 —

… He was going along as usual, sticking out his chin like a horse, looking for some one to listen to his grumblings at his migraine, at his wife, and his students who won’t attend his lectures. —
他像往常一样走着，伸出下巴像马一样，寻找愿意听他抱怨头痛、他妻子和不去听他讲座的学生的人。 —

‘Oh,’ I thought, ‘he has seen me—I am done for now; —
‘哦，’我想，‘他看见我了——现在完了； —

it is all up….’”
全完了….’”

And so on in the same style. Or he will begin like this:
他就会像这样开始：

“I was yesterday at our friend Z. Z——‘s public lecture. —
“昨天我参加了我们朋友 Z. Z—— 的公开讲座。 —

I wonder how it is our alma mater—don’t speak of it after dark—dare display in public such noodles and patent dullards as that Z. Z—— Why, he is a European fool! —
不知道我们的母校怎么敢在公共场合展示像 Z. Z—— 这样的蠢货和乏味之人——别在夜晚提起它——天哪，他简直是个欧洲傻瓜！ —

Upon my word, you could not find another like him all over Europe! He lectures—can you imagine? —
老实说，你在整个欧洲都找不到第二个像他这样的！他讲课—你能想象吗？ —

—as though he were sucking a sugar- stick—sue, sue, sue;… he is in a nervous funk; —
——就像在吸糖棒——嘘，嘘，嘘；… 他紧张的要命； —

he can hardly decipher his own manuscript; —
他几乎看不清自己的手稿； —

his poor little thoughts crawl along like a bishop on a bicycle, and, what’s worse, you can never make out what he is trying to say. —
他可怜的小思想缓慢得像一个骑自行车的主教，更糟糕的是，你永远搞不清他想要说什么。 —

The deadly dulness is awful, the very flies expire. —
这种死气沉沉简直可怕，甚至苍蝇都要死掉。 —

It can only be compared with the boredom in the assembly-hall at the yearly meeting when the traditional address is read—damn it!”
它只能与每年会议大厅上读传统致辞时的无聊相媲美——该死！”

And at once an abrupt transition:
突然又转换内容：

“Three years ago—Nikolay Stepanovitch here will remember it—I had to deliver that address. —
“三年前—尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇应该还记得—我不得不发表那篇讲话。 —

It was hot, stifling, my uniform cut me under the arms—it was deadly! —
天气炎热，令人窒息，我的制服勒得我夹生了——实在太难熬了！ —

I read for half an hour, for an hour, for an hour and a half, for two hours. —
我读了半个小时，一个小时，一个半小时，两个小时。 —

… ‘Come,’ I thought; ‘thank God, there are only ten pages left! —
… ‘来吧，’ 我想；‘感谢上帝，只剩下十页了！ —

’ And at the end there were four pages that there was no need to read, and I reckoned to leave them out. —
’ 结尾时还有四页根本没必要读，我打算跳过它们。” —

‘So there are only six really,’ I thought; ‘that is, only six pages left to read. —
“所以只剩下六页了，”我想，“也就是说，只剩下六页可读了。” —

’ But, only fancy, I chanced to glance before me, and, sitting in the front row, side by side, were a general with a ribbon on his breast and a bishop. —
“但是，想不到，我碰巧往前看了一眼，前排两人并排坐着，一个是胸前挂着绶带的将军，一个是主教。” —

The poor beggars were numb with boredom; —
可怜的乞丐们无聊得发懵； —

they were staring with their eyes wide open to keep awake, and yet they were trying to put on an expression of attention and to pretend that they understood what I was saying and liked it. —
他们睁大眼睛试图保持清醒，却装出专心致志的表情，假装理解我在说什么并且喜欢。 —

‘Well,’ I thought, ‘since you like it you shall have it! —
“好吧，”我想，“既然你们喜欢，那我就再给你们那四页。” —

I’ll pay you out;’ so I just gave them those four pages too.”
‘This is Verres!’”

As is usual with ironical people, when he talks nothing in his face smiles but his eyes and eyebrows. At such times there is no trace of hatred or spite in his eyes, but a great deal of humour, and that peculiar fox-like slyness which is only to be noticed in very observant people. —
像讽刺性强的人常有的慣例，他说话时脸上沒有笑容，但眼睛和眉毛却是笑的。在这种时候，眼睛里完全看不出任何恨意或怨恨，而是充满了幽默，以及只有非常细心的人才会注意到的狡黌。 —

Since I am speaking about his eyes, I notice another peculiarity in them. —
由于我正在说他的眼睛，我注意到他眼里的另一个特点。 —

When he takes a glass from Katya, or listens to her speaking, or looks after her as she goes out of the room for a moment, I notice in his eyes something gentle, beseeching, pure….
当他从凯蒂那里拿起一杯酒，或听她说话，或在她稍事离开时注视着她时，我在他的眼睛里看到某种温柔、恳求、纯洁……

The maid-servant takes away the samovar and puts on the table a large piece of cheese, some fruit, and a bottle of Crimean champagne—a rather poor wine of which Katya had grown fond in the Crimea. —
女仆拿走了热水壶，将一块大奶酪、一些水果和一瓶克里米亚香槟放在桌子上——凯蒂在克里米亚对这种品质比较差的葡萄酒很有兴趣。 —

Mihail Fyodorovitch takes two packs of cards off the whatnot and begins to play patience. —
米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇从茶几上取下两副扑克牌，开始玩纸牌游戏。 —

According to him, some varieties of patience require great concentration and attention, yet while he lays out the cards he does not leave off distracting his attention with talk. —
据他说，有些花色的纸牌需要非常集中的注意力，然而在他摆放纸牌的时候，他并没有停止分心让言谈干扰他的注意力。 —

Katya watches his cards attentively, and more by gesture than by words helps him in his play. —
凯蒂仔细地观察他的牌，更多的是通过动作而不是语言在游戏中帮助他。 —

She drinks no more than a couple of wine-glasses of wine the whole evening; —
整个晚上她只喝了几杯酒； —

I drink four glasses, and the rest of the bottle falls to the share of Mihail Fyodorovitch, who can drink a great deal and never get drunk.
我喝了四杯，剩下的一瓶葡萄酒都被米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇给拿下了，他可以喝很多却不会醉。

Over our patience we settle various questions, principally of the higher order, and what we care for most of all—that is, science and learning—is more roughly handled than anything.
在我们的耐心中，我们解决了各种问题，主要是更高级别的问题，而我们最关心的事情——科学和学问——比任何事情都更受粗暴待遇。

“Science, thank God, has outlived its day,” says Mihail Fyodorovitch emphatically. —
“感谢上帝，科学已经过时了，”米哈伊尔·费奥多洛维奇断然地说。 —

“Its song is sung. Yes, indeed. Mankind begins to feel impelled to replace it by something different. —
“它的歌唱已经唱完了。的确是这样。人类开始感觉到有必要用不同的东西来取代它。 —

It has grown on the soil of superstition, been nourished by superstition, and is now just as much the quintessence of superstition as its defunct granddames, alchemy, metaphysics, and philosophy. —
它在迷信的土壤上生长，被迷信养育，现在与那些已经消亡的阿尔凯米、形而上学和哲学一样，已经成为迷信的精华。 —

And, after all, what has it given to mankind? —
归根结底，它给人类带来了什么呢？ —

Why, the difference between the learned Europeans and the Chinese who have no science is trifling, purely external. —
噢，欧洲的学者和毫不懂科学的中国人之间的差别微乎其微，纯粹是表面上的。 —

The Chinese know nothing of science, but what have they lost thereby?”
中国人对科学一无所知，但他们因此又失去了什么呢？

“Flies know nothing of science, either,” I observe, “but what of that?”
“蝇虫也一无所知科学，”我说，“可是那又怎样呢？”

“There is no need to be angry, Nikolay Stepanovitch. I only say this here between ourselves. —
“不必生气，尼古拉·斯捯帕诺维奇。我只是私下里这样说。 —

.. I am more careful than you think, and I am not going to say this in public—God forbid! —
..我比你想象的更小心，我不会公开说这些话—天佑！” —

The superstition exists in the multitude that the arts and sciences are superior to agriculture, commerce, superior to handicrafts. —
这种迷信存在于大众中，即艺术和科学优于农业、商业和手工业。 —

Our sect is maintained by that superstition, and it is not for you and me to destroy it. God forbid!”
我们的派别依靠着那种迷信，我们无权毁灭它。天佑！

After patience the younger generation comes in for a dressing too.
耐心之后，轮到年轻一代遭受批评。

“Our audiences have degenerated,” sighs Mihail Fyodorovitch. —
“我们的观众退化了，”米哈伊尔·费奥多洛维奇叹息道。 —

“Not to speak of ideals and all the rest of it, if only they were capable of work and rational thought! —
“不要说起理想和其他的，如果他们能够做事并进行理性思考就好了！ —

In fact, it’s a case of ‘I look with mournful eyes on the young men of today.’”
事实上，这是一种“我怀着悲痛的眼光看着今天的年轻人。”

“Yes; they have degenerated horribly,” Katya agrees. —
“是的；他们堕落得很厉害，”卡捷亚同意道。 —

“Tell me, have you had one man of distinction among them for the last five or ten years?”
“告诉我，在过去五到十年里，你的学生中有过一个杰出的人吗？”

“I don’t know how it is with the other professors, but I can’t remember any among mine.”
“我不知道其他教授怎么样，但我记不起我那些学生中有任何一个。”

“I have seen in my day many of your students and young scientific men and many actors—well, I have never once been so fortunate as to meet—I won’t say a hero or a man of talent, but even an interesting man. —
“我有过看过许多你们的学生和年轻的科学家，还有许多演员——可是我从来没有碰到过——我不说英雄或有才华的人，就连一个有趣的人都没有过。 —

It’s all the same grey mediocrity, puffed up with self-conceit.”
都是同样的灰色平庸，自负地膨胀着。”

All this talk of degeneration always affects me as though I had accidentally overheard offensive talk about my own daughter. —
这种关于堕落的讨论总是让我像偶然听到别人对我的女儿说亵渎之语一样难受。 —

It offends me that these charges are wholesale, and rest on such worn-out commonplaces, on such wordy vapourings as degeneration and absence of ideals, or on references to the splendours of the past. —
我觉得这些指责都是一概而论，立足于那些陈词滥调上、立足于那些浮夸的话语，如堕落、缺乏理想，或者提到过去的辉煌。 —

Every accusation, even if it is uttered in ladies’ society, ought to be formulated with all possible definiteness, or it is not an accusation, but idle disparagement, unworthy of decent people.
任何控诉，即使在女士们的社交场合发表，也应尽可能明确表达，否则它不是控诉，而是闲言碎语，不值得正派人士倾听。

I am an old man, I have been lecturing for thirty years, but I notice neither degeneration nor lack of ideals, and I don’t find that the present is worse than the past. —
我是一个老人，讲课已经三十年了，但我既没有察觉到堕落，也没有发现缺乏理想，我也不觉得现在比过去更糟。 —

My porter Nikolay, whose experience of this subject has its value, says that the students of today are neither better nor worse than those of the past.
我的门卫尼古拉，他对这个问题的经验有其价值，他说今天的学生既不比过去好也不比过去坏。

If I were asked what I don’t like in my pupils of today, I should answer the question, not straight off and not at length, but with sufficient definiteness. —
如果有人问我今天的学生让我不喜欢什么，我会回答这个问题，不是直截了当地，也不会冗长，但会足够明确。 —

I know their failings, and so have no need to resort to vague generalities. —
我知道他们的缺点，所以无需诉诸模糊的概括。 —

I don’t like their smoking, using spirituous beverages, marrying late, and often being so irresponsible and careless that they will let one of their number be starving in their midst while they neglect to pay their subscriptions to the Students’ Aid Society. —
我不喜欢他们抽烟，饮用酒精饮料，晚婚，而且他们常常如此不负责任，粗心大意，以至于在他们中间有人挨饿而他们却忽略了缴纳学生互助协会的会费。 —

They don’t know modern languages, and they don’t express themselves correctly in Russian; —
他们不懂得现代语言，他们在俄语中也表达不准确； —

no longer ago than yesterday my colleague, the professor of hygiene, complained to me that he had to give twice as many lectures, because the students had a very poor knowledge of physics and were utterly ignorant of meteorology. —
我的同事，卫生学教授，昨天向我抱怨说他不得不进行两倍的讲座，因为学生们对物理知识非常薄弱，对气象学完全无知。 —

They are readily carried away by the influence of the last new writers, even when they are not first- rate, but they take absolutely no interest in classics such as Shakespeare, Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, or Pascal, and this inability to distinguish the great from the small betrays their ignorance of practical life more than anything. —
他们容易被最新的作家影响，即使那些作家并不是一流的，但他们对莎士比亚、马可·奥勒留、叶比斯提提斯或帕斯卡等经典作品却毫无兴趣，而无法区分伟大与渺小的缺陷暴露了他们对实际生活的无知。 —

All difficult questions that have more or less a social character (for instance the migration question) they settle by studying monographs on the subject, but not by way of scientific investigation or experiment, though that method is at their disposal and is more in keeping with their calling. —
对于一切具有社会性质的难题（例如移民问题），他们都通过研读专题论文来解决，而不是通过科学调查或实验，尽管这种方法可以做到并且更符合他们的职业。 —

They gladly become ward-surgeons, assistants, demonstrators, external teachers, and are ready to fill such posts until they are forty, though independence, a sense of freedom and personal initiative, are no less necessary in science than, for instance, in art or commerce. —
他们乐意担任住院医生、助手、示范老师、外聘教师，愿意填补这些职位直到四十岁，尽管独立性、自由感和个人主动性在科学中同样必不可少，例如在艺术或商业中一样。 —

I have pupils and listeners, but no successors and helpers, and so I love them and am touched by them, but am not proud of them. —
我有学生和听众，但没有继承人和帮手，因此我爱他们、被他们感动，但并不为他们感到骄傲。 —

And so on, and so on….
诸如此类，如此类。

Such shortcomings, however numerous they may be, can only give rise to a pessimistic or fault-finding temper in a faint-hearted and timid man. —
无论这些缺点有多么多，只会在软弱和胆小的人中引起悲观或挑剔情绪。 —

All these failings have a casual, transitory character, and are completely dependent on conditions of life; —
所有这些缺点都是偶然、暂时的，并完全取决于生活条件； —

in some ten years they will have disappeared or given place to other fresh defects, which are all inevitable and will in their turn alarm the faint-hearted. —
十年后，它们将消失或被其他新的缺陷所取代，这些缺陷都是不可避免的，并将再次使软弱的人感到惊恐。 —

The students’ sins often vex me, but that vexation is nothing in comparison with the joy I have been experiencing now for the last thirty years when I talk to my pupils, lecture to them, watch their relations, and compare them with people not of their circle.
学生的过失常常使我烦恼，但与我过去三十年来与学生交谈、讲课、观察他们的关系，并将他们与非他们的圈子的人进行比较时体验到的喜悦相比，那种烦恼微不足道。

Mihail Fyodorovitch speaks evil of everything. —
米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇对一切恶言相向。 —

Katya listens, and neither of them notices into what depths the apparently innocent diversion of finding fault with their neighbours is gradually drawing them. —
卡蒂亚听着，两人都没有注意到，看似无害的找邻居毛病的习惯渐渐引导他们滑入到恶意嘲笑和讥讽的习惯与方式中。 —

They are not conscious how by degrees simple talk passes into malicious mockery and jeering, and how they are both beginning to drop into the habits and methods of slander.
他们没有意识到，逐渐从简单的谈话演变为恶意嘲弄和讥笑，他们两人开始陷入诽谤的习惯与手段中。

“Killing types one meets with,” says Mihail Fyodorovitch. —
“你总能遇到令人讨厌的类型，”米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇说道。 —

“I went yesterday to our friend Yegor Petrovitch’s, and there I found a studious gentleman, one of your medicals in his third year, I believe. —
“昨天我去了我们朋友叶戈尔·彼得罗维奇那，我遇到了一个勤奋的绅士，我相信是你们第三年的医学生。” —

Such a face!… in the Dobrolubov style, the imprint of profound thought on his brow; —
这样一张脸！……在杜布罗卢博夫的风格里，他额头上显示出深思的印记； —

we got into talk. ‘Such doings, young man,’ said I. ‘I’ve read,’ said I, ‘that some German—I’ve forgotten his name—has created from the human brain a new kind of alkaloid, idiotine. —
我们开始谈话。“这种举止，年轻人，”我说。“我读过，”我说，“有位德国人——我忘了他的名字——从人脑中创造出一种新的生物碱，白痴素。 —

’ What do you think? He believed it, and there was positively an expression of respect on his face, as though to say, ‘See what we fellows can do! —
你认为呢？他相信了，他脸上甚至出现了一丝尊敬的表情，仿佛在说，‘看看我们这些家伙能做什么！ —

’ And the other day I went to the theatre. I took my seat. —
刚才我去了剧院。我坐下来。 —

In the next row directly in front of me were sitting two men: —
在我正前方的下一排座位上坐着两个人： —

one of ‘us fellows’ and apparently a law student, the other a shaggy-looking figure, a medical student. —
一个‘我们这些家伙’，显然是一名法律学生，另一个是一个毛发蓬乱的人物，医学生。 —

The latter was as drunk as a cobbler. He did not look at the stage at all. —
后者烂醉如泥。他一点也不看舞台。 —

He was dozing with his nose on his shirt-front. —
他的鼻子几乎贴在衬衫前襟上，正在打盹。 —

But as soon as an actor begins loudly reciting a monologue, or simply raises his voice, our friend starts, pokes his neighbour in the ribs, and asks, ‘What is he saying? —
但是，每当有演员大声朗诵独白，或者只是提高嗓门，我们的朋友就惊醒，捅一下他的邻居，问道，“他在说什么？ —

Is it elevating?’ ‘Yes,’ answers one of our fellows. ‘B-r-r- ravo! —
这是振奋人心吗？”“是的，”我们这些家伙中的一位回答。“太棒了！ —

’ roars the medical student. ‘Elevating! Bravo! —
”醉酒的医学生大喊。“振奋人心！太棒了！ —

’ He had gone to the theatre, you see, the drunken blockhead, not for the sake of art, the play, but for elevation! —
”你看，那个醉醺醺的笨蛋去了剧院，不是为了艺术，戏剧，而是为了振奋！ —

He wanted noble sentiments.”
他想要高贵的情感。”

Katya listens and laughs. She has a strange laugh; —
卡特亚听着笑了。她的笑声很奇怪； —

she catches her breath in rhythmically regular gasps, very much as though she were playing the accordion, and nothing in her face is laughing but her nostrils. —
她呼吸着，以规律的节奏性喘息，非常像是在拉手风琴，她脸上没有笑容，只有她的鼻孔在笑。 —

I grow depressed and don’t know what to say. —
我感到沮丧，不知道该说些什么。 —

Beside myself, I fire up, leap up from my seat, and cry:
我克制不住情绪，从座位上跳起来，大声喊道：

“Do leave off! Why are you sitting here like two toads, poisoning the air with your breath? Give over!”
“别这样！你们为什么坐在这里像两只蟾蜍一样，用呼吸毒害空气？住口吧！”

And without waiting for them to finish their gossip I prepare to go home. —
我没有等他们结束闲聊，就准备回家。 —

And, indeed, it is high time: it is past ten.
而且，现在是时候了：已经过了十点。

“I will stay a little longer,” says Mihail Fyodorovitch. —
“我还会再待一会儿，”米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇说。 —

“Will you allow me, Ekaterina Vladimirovna?”
“你同意吗，叶卡捷琳娜·弗拉基米罗芙娜？”

“I will,” answers Katya.
“我同意，”卡蒂亚回答道。

“Bene! In that case have up another little bottle.”
“好！那就再上一小瓶。”

They both accompany me with candles to the hall, and while I put on my fur coat, Mihail Fyodorovitch says:
他们两个一起用蜡烛送我到门厅，当我穿上毛皮大衣时，米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇说：

“You have grown dreadfully thin and older looking, Nikolay Stepanovitch. —
“你变得惊人的瘦了，看上去老了，尼古拉伊·斯捧巴洛维奇。 —

What’s the matter with you? Are you ill?”
你怎么了？你病了吗？”

“Yes; I am not very well.”
“是的，我不太舒服。”

“And you are not doing anything for it…” Katya puts in grimly.
“你为此一点都不做……”卡蒂亚严肃地插话道。

“Why don’t you? You can’t go on like that! —
“为什么不呢？你不能就这样下去！ —

God helps those who help themselves, my dear fellow. —
上帝帮助那些自助的人，我亲爱的朋友。 —

Remember me to your wife and daughter, and make my apologies for not having been to see them. —
请代我向您的妻子和女儿问候，并为我没有去看望她们表示歉意。 —

In a day or two, before I go abroad, I shall come to say good-bye. —
在出国前的一两天，我会来道别的。 —

I shall be sure to. I am going away next week.”
我一定会的。我下周要离开。”

I come away from Katya, irritated and alarmed by what has been said about my being ill, and dissatisfied with myself. —
我从卡特雅那里离开时，因听到关于我病情的话感到恼火和惊讶，对自己感到不满。 —

I ask myself whether I really ought not to consult one of my colleagues. —
我问自己是否真的不应该请教一下我的同事。 —

And at once I imagine how my colleague, after listening to me, would walk away to the window without speaking, would think a moment, then would turn round to me and, trying to prevent my reading the truth in his face, would say in a careless tone: —
立刻我就想象到了我的同事听我说完后，走到窗前不发一言，思索片刻，然后转身对我说着漫不经心的口气试图防止我在他脸上看出真相的表情： —

“So far I see nothing serious, but at the same time, collega, I advise you to lay aside your work. —
“就目前为止我没看到什么严重的问题，但与此同时，同事，我建议你先放下工作。 —

…” And that would deprive me of my last hope.
…”，而这将剥夺我最后的希望。

Who is without hope? Now that I am diagnosing my illness and prescribing for myself, from time to time I hope that I am deceived by my own illness, that I am mistaken in regard to the albumen and the sugar I find, and in regard to my heart, and in regard to the swellings I have twice noticed in the mornings; —
谁又是没有希望的呢？现在我自己诊断自己的疾病，并给自己开药，时不时地希望自己对蛋白质和糖分，对心脏，对早晨两次发现的肿胀都看错了； —

when with the fervour of the hypochondriac I look through the textbooks of therapeutics and take a different medicine every day, I keep fancying that I shall hit upon something comforting. All that is petty.
每天我掏出治疗学教材，信心十足，每天服用不同的药物，我总是幻想自己能找到一些安慰。这一切都是琐碎的。

Whether the sky is covered with clouds or the moon and the stars are shining, I turn my eyes towards it every evening and think that death is taking me soon. —
无论天空是被云覆盖还是月亮和星星在闪耀，每天晚上我都会望着它，想着死亡很快会降临。 —

One would think that my thoughts at such times ought to be deep as the sky, brilliant, striking. —
人们可能认为在这种时候我的思想应该像天空一样深邃，明亮，惊艳。 —

… But no! I think about myself, about my wife, about Liza, Gnekker, the students, people in general; —
…但不！我想着我自己，我的妻子，莉萨，涅克尔，学生，一般人； —

my thoughts are evil, petty, I am insincere with myself, and at such times my theory of life may be expressed in the words the celebrated Araktcheev said in one of his intimate letters: —
我的想法是邪恶的，琐碎的，我在自己面前是虚伪的，在这种时候我对人生的理论可能可以用著名的阿拉克切耶夫在他的一封私人信中说过的话来表达： —

“Nothing good can exist in the world without evil, and there is more evil than good. —
“世界上没有善良可以存在而没有邪恶，而且邪恶比善良更多。 —

” That is, everything is disgusting; there is nothing to live for, and the sixty-two years I have already lived must be reckoned as wasted. —
这就是说，一切都是令人恶心的；没有值得活下去的东西，而我已经度过的六十二年必须算作浪费。 —

I catch myself in these thoughts, and try to persuade myself that they are accidental, temporary, and not deeply rooted in me, but at once I think:
我陷入这些想法，试图说服自己这些只是偶然的、暂时的，没有深深扎根在我内心，但我马上又想到：

“If so, what drives me every evening to those two toads?”
“如果是这样，是什么让我每天晚上都去那两只蛤蟆那里？

And I vow to myself that I will never go to Katya’s again, though I know I shall go next evening.
我向自己发誓，再也不会去看Katya，尽管我知道第二天晚上还是会去。

Ringing the bell at the door and going upstairs, I feel that I have no family now and no desire to bring it back again. —
在按门铃、上楼的时候，我感到我现在没有家庭，也没有再希望把它带回来。 —

It is clear that the new Araktcheev thoughts are not casual, temporary visitors, but have possession of my whole being. —
显然，新的阿拉克切耶夫的思想不是偶然的、暂时的客人，而是占据着我的整个存在。 —

With my conscience ill at ease, dejected, languid, hardly able to move my limbs, feeling as though tons were added to my weight, I get into bed and quickly drop asleep.
内疚不安的良心，沮丧、萎靡不振，几乎无法动弹我的四肢，感觉好像身上又增加了几吨重量，我爬进床里很快就入睡了。

And then—insomnia!
然后——失眠！

IV
IV

Summer comes on and life is changed.
夏天来了，生活发生了改变。

One fine morning Liza comes in to me and says in a jesting tone:
有一天早晨，丽莎进来对我说着玩笑话：

“Come, your Excellency! We are ready.”
“来吧，阁下！我们准备好了。”

My Excellency is conducted into the street, and seated in a cab. —
我的阁下被引导到街上，坐在一辆马车上。 —

As I go along, having nothing to do, I read the signboards from right to left. —
当我走着，无所事事，我从右到左读着招牌。 —

The word “Traktir” reads “Ritkart”; that would just suit some baron’s family: —
“Traktir” 这个词读作“Ritkart”; 这个名字完全适合某个男爵家族： —

Baroness Ritkart. Farther on I drive through fields, by the graveyard, which makes absolutely no impression on me, though I shall soon lie in it; —
男爵夫人Ritkart。我继续驾车经过田野，经过墓地，这对我完全没什么印象，尽管我很快也会躺在那里； —

then I drive by forests and again by fields. There is nothing of interest. —
然后我又经过了森林和田野。一点都没有什么有趣的事情。 —

After two hours of driving, my Excellency is conducted into the lower storey of a summer villa and installed in a small, very cheerful little room with light blue hangings.
驾驶两个小时后，我阁下被领入一个夏日别墅的底层，并安排在一个有浅蓝色窗帘的小房间里。

At night there is sleeplessness as before, but in the morning I do not put a good face upon it and listen to my wife, but lie in bed. —
晚上还是跟以前一样失眠，但早上我不是装出一副愉快的面孔听取我妻子的话，而是躺在床上。 —

I do not sleep, but lie in the drowsy, half-conscious condition in which you know you are not asleep, but dreaming. —
我没有睡着，而是处于一种昏昏欲睡、半意识的状态，知道自己不是在睡觉，而是在做梦。 —

At midday I get up and from habit sit down at my table, but I do not work now; —
中午我起床后按照习惯坐到我的桌子前，但我现在不工作； —

I amuse myself with French books in yellow covers, sent me by Katya. Of course, it would be more patriotic to read Russian authors, but I must confess I cherish no particular liking for them. —
我用凯特亚寄给我的封面为黄色的法国书来消遣自己。当然，读俄罗斯作家更具爱国主义精神，但我必须承认我对他们没有特别的喜好。 —

With the exception of two or three of the older writers, all our literature of today strikes me as not being literature, but a special sort of home industry, which exists simply in order to be encouraged, though people do not readily make use of its products. —
除了两三位老一辈作家，我们今天的文学品对我来说不像文学，而更像一种特殊的家庭产业，存在只是为了鼓励，尽管人们并不经常使用其产品。 —

The very best of these home products cannot be called remarkable and cannot be sincerely praised without qualification. —
即使是最出色的家庭产品也不能称之为显著，也不能真诚地无保留地称赞。 —

I must say the same of all the literary novelties I have read during the last ten or fifteen years; —
我不得不说我在过去十至十五年里读过的所有文学新作； —

not one of them is remarkable, and not one of them can be praised without a “but. —
一个也不出彩，一个也不能没有“但是”的赞美。 —

” Cleverness, a good tone, but no talent; —
才智，好的口吻，但没有才华； —

talent, a good tone, but no cleverness; or talent, cleverness, but not a good tone.
才华，好的口吻，但没有才智；或者才华，才智，但没有好的口吻。

I don’t say the French books have talent, cleverness, and a good tone. —
我不是说法国书有才华，才智和好的口吻。 —

They don’t satisfy me, either. But they are not so tedious as the Russian, and it is not unusual to find in them the chief element of artistic creation—the feeling of personal freedom which is lacking in the Russian authors. —
他们也不能满足我。但相比俄国作家，它们并非那么乏味，而且在它们身上可以发现艺术创作的主要元素——缺乏在俄国作家身上所缺失的个人自由感。 —

I don’t remember one new book in which the author does not try from the first page to entangle himself in all sorts of conditions and contracts with his conscience. —
我记不得有一本新书作者不是从第一页开始就试图纠缠自己在各种条件和与良心的契约中。 —

One is afraid to speak of the naked body; —
人们害怕谈论裸体； —

another ties himself up hand and foot in psychological analysis; —
另一个被心理分析束缚得手脚并用； —

a third must have a “warm attitude to man”; —
第三个必须对人有“热情的态度”； —

a fourth purposely scrawls whole descriptions of nature that he may not be suspected of writing with a purpose. —
第四个故意整段描写自然，以免被怀疑写作有目的。 —

… One is bent upon being middle-class in his work, another must be a nobleman, and so on. —
… 一个渴望在作品中显得中产阶级，另一个必须是一个贵族，如此等等。 —

There is intentionalness, circumspection, and self-will, but they have neither the independence nor the manliness to write as they like, and therefore there is no creativeness.
他们的行为是刻意的、小心的、和自我的，但他们既没有独立性也没有男子气概去写自己喜欢的东西，因此缺乏创造力。

All this applies to what is called belles-lettres.
所有这些只适用于所谓的文学作品。

As for serious treatises in Russian on sociology, for instance, on art, and so on, I do not read them simply from timidity. —
至于在俄罗斯有关社会学、艺术等方面的认真论著，我只是因为胆怯而不读。 —

In my childhood and early youth I had for some reason a terror of doorkeepers and attendants at the theatre, and that terror has remained with me to this day. —
我从小到年轻时期对剧院的看门人和服务员有一种莫名的恐惧，而那种恐惧一直伴随着我至今。 —

I am afraid of them even now. It is said that we are only afraid of what we do not understand. —
即使现在我仍然为他们感到害怕。据说我们只会害怕我们不理解的东西。 —

And, indeed, it is very difficult to understand why doorkeepers and theatre attendants are so dignified, haughty, and majestically rude. —
而事实上，很难理解为什么门卫和剧院服务员如此尊严、高傲和威严地无礼。 —

I feel exactly the same terror when I read serious articles. —
当我阅读认真的文章时，我感到完全相同的恐惧。 —

Their extraordinary dignity, their bantering lordly tone, their familiar manner to foreign authors, their ability to split straws with dignity—all that is beyond my understanding; —
它们异常的尊严、挖苦的高高在上的口气、对外国作家的熟稔态度、以尊严分割苞谷的能力——所有这些都超出了我的理解范围。 —

it is intimidating and utterly unlike the quiet, gentlemanly tone to which I am accustomed when I read the works of our medical and scientific writers. —
这让我感到很害怕，完全不像我读到我们医学和科学作家的作品时所习惯的那种安静，绅士的语调。 —

It oppresses me to read not only the articles written by serious Russians, but even works translated or edited by them. —
阅读严肃俄罗斯人写的文章甚至是他们翻译或编辑的作品让我感到压抑。 —

The pretentious, edifying tone of the preface; —
序言中那些矫揉造作、满篇嘉言的语调； —

the redundancy of remarks made by the translator, which prevent me from concentrating my attention; —
译者做出的多余评论，使我无法集中注意力； —

the question marks and “sic” in parenthesis scattered all over the book or article by the liberal translator, are to my mind an outrage on the author and on my independence as a reader.
自由译者滥用了疑问号和括号内的“原注”，如散落在整本书或文章中，对于作者和我作为读者的独立性来说，简直是一种侮辱。

Once I was summoned as an expert to a circuit court; —
有一次我被法庭召唤为专家； —

in an interval one of my fellow-experts drew my attention to the rudeness of the public prosecutor to the defendants, among whom there were two ladies of good education. —
在休息时间，我的一个同行专家指出了公诉人对被告的粗鲁，其中有两位受过良好教育的女士。 —

I believe I did not exaggerate at all when I told him that the prosecutor’s manner was no ruder than that of the authors of serious articles to one another. —
我认为，当我告诉他，那名检察官的态度并不比撰写严肃文章的作者对待彼此更加粗鲁时，我并没有夸大事实。 —

Their manners are, indeed, so rude that I cannot speak of them without distaste. —
事实上，他们的态度是如此粗鲁，以至于我在没有厌恶的情况下无法谈论。 —

They treat one another and the writers they criticize either with superfluous respect, at the sacrifice of their own dignity, or, on the contrary, with far more ruthlessness than I have shown in my notes and my thoughts in regard to my future son-in-law Gnekker. —
他们或者对彼此和被批评的作家表现出多余的尊重，以牺牲自己的尊严，或者正相反，比我在对待未来女婿格内克尔的笔记和思考中展现的残酷要多得多。 —

Accusations of irrationality, of evil intentions, and, indeed, of every sort of crime, form an habitual ornament of serious articles. —
对不合理行为的指控、对恶意意图的指责，甚至对各种犯罪行为的谴责，都成为严肃文章的常见修饰。 —

And that, as young medical men are fond of saying in their monographs, is the ultima ratio! —
就像年轻医生在他们的专著中喜欢说的那样，这就是“最后的理由”！ —

Such ways must infallibly have an effect on the morals of the younger generation of writers, and so I am not at all surprised that in the new works with which our literature has been enriched during the last ten or fifteen years the heroes drink too much vodka and the heroines are not over-chaste.
这种风气必将不可避免地影响到年轻一代作家的品行，所以我一点也不惊讶，在过去的十五年里我们文学中所丰富的新作品里，男主角会饮得过多，女主角也未必贞洁。

I read French books, and I look out of the window which is open; —
我读法国书籍，外面打开了窗户； —

I can see the spikes of my garden-fence, two or three scraggy trees, and beyond the fence the road, the fields, and beyond them a broad stretch of pine-wood. —
我能看到花园篱笆的尖顶，两三棵瘦弱的树木，篱笆之外是公路、田野，再往前是一大片松树林。 —

Often I admire a boy and girl, both flaxen-headed and ragged, who clamber on the fence and laugh at my baldness. —
经常我欣赏一对男女孩子，他们都金发，穿着褴褛，爬上篱笆笑着看着我的秃头。 —

In their shining little eyes I read, “Go up, go up, thou baldhead! —
在他们明亮的小眼睛里我读到，“上去吧，上去吧，你这个秃头！ —

” They are almost the only people who care nothing for my celebrity or my rank.
他们几乎是唯一不关心我的名望和地位的人。

Visitors do not come to me every day now. —
现在不是每天都有访客来见我。 —

I will only mention the visits of Nikolay and Pyotr Ignatyevitch. —
我只会提到尼古拉和彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇的访问。 —

Nikolay usually comes to me on holidays, with some pretext of business, though really to see me. —
尼古拉通常在假日来见我，借口是有些业务，实际上是来看我。 —

He arrives very much exhilarated, a thing which never occurs to him in the winter.
他来时总是很兴奋，这在冬天从未发生过。

“What have you to tell me?” I ask, going out to him in the hall.
我走出大厅去迎接他，问道：“你有什么要告诉我？”

“Your Excellency!” he says, pressing his hand to his heart and looking at me with the ecstasy of a lover—“your Excellency! —
“阁下！”他说着，手按着胸口，眼含激情地看着我，“阁下！” —

God be my witness! Strike me dead on the spot! —
上帝作证!立刻击毙我吧！ —

Gaudeamus egitur juventus!”
让我们庆祝青年！

And he greedily kisses me on the shoulder, on the sleeve, and on the buttons.
他贪婪地在我的肩膀、袖口和纽扣上亲吻我。

“Is everything going well?” I ask him.
“一切都好吗？”我问他。

“Your Excellency! So help me God!…”
“阁下！上帝帮助我！…”

He persists in grovelling before me for no sort of reason, and soon bores me, so I send him away to the kitchen, where they give him dinner.
他毫无理由地继续在我面前卑躬屈膝，并很快让我感到厌烦，于是我把他打发到厨房去吃饭。

Pyotr Ignatyevitch comes to see me on holidays, too, with the special object of seeing me and sharing his thoughts with me. —
彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇也会在假期来看我，目的是见我一面，并与我分享他的思想。 —

He usually sits down near my table, modest, neat, and reasonable, and does not venture to cross his legs or put his elbows on the table. —
他通常坐在我桌子附近，谦虚、整洁、理智，不敢交叉双腿或把手肘放在桌子上。 —

All the time, in a soft, even, little voice, in rounded bookish phrases, he tells me various, to his mind, very interesting and piquant items of news which he has read in the magazines and journals. —
他总是用轻柔、平和的小声音，用围绕书本的措辞告诉我一些他认为非常有趣、令人兴奋的新闻，这些新闻是他在杂志和期刊上读到的。 —

They are all alike and may be reduced to this type: “A Frenchman has made a discovery; —
它们都类似，可以归纳为这种类型：“一个法国人作出了一个发现； —

some one else, a German, has denounced him, proving that the discovery was made in 1870 by some American; —
另一个人，一个德国人，指控他，证明这个发现是在1870年由某个美国人做出的； —

while a third person, also a German, trumps them both by proving they both had made fools of themselves, mistaking bubbles of air for dark pigment under the microscope. —
而第三个人，同样是一个德国人，通过证明他们俩都弄错了，将空气泡认作显微镜下的深色颜料，击败他们两个。 —

” Even when he wants to amuse me, Pyotr Ignatyevitch tells me things in the same lengthy, circumstantial manner as though he were defending a thesis, enumerating in detail the literary sources from which he is deriving his narrative, doing his utmost to be accurate as to the date and number of the journals and the name of every one concerned, invariably mentioning it in full—Jean Jacques Petit, never simply Petit. Sometimes he stays to dinner with us, and then during the whole of dinner-time he goes on telling me the same sort of piquant anecdotes, reducing every one at table to a state of dejected boredom. —
即使当彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇想逗我笑时，他也以同样冗长、详细的方式向我讲述事情，就像在为一篇论文辩护，详细列举他从中得出故事的文学来源，尽其所能确保日期和期刊数量的准确性，每次都以全名提及相关人员，从不简单地称为Petit。 —

If Gnekker and Liza begin talking before him of fugues and counterpoint, Brahms and Bach, he drops his eyes modestly, and is overcome with embarrassment; —
如果格涅克和丽莎在他面前谈论赋格和对位法、勃拉姆斯和巴赫，他会谦卑地垂下眼，满怀尴尬； —

he is ashamed that such trivial subjects should be discussed before such serious people as him and me.
他为这些琐碎的话题在他和我的这样严肃的人面前被讨论而感到羞愧。

In my present state of mind five minutes of him is enough to sicken me as though I had been seeing and hearing him for an eternity. —
在我现在的心态下，他只待了五分钟就足以让我感到作呕，就好像我见到他和听到他已经过了一万年。 —

I hate the poor fellow. His soft, smooth voice and bookish language exhaust me, and his stories stupefy me. —
我讨厌这个可怜的家伙。他那软软的、流畅的嗓音和书生气的语言让我精疲力竭，他的故事使我变得麻木。 —

… He cherishes the best of feelings for me, and talks to me simply in order to give me pleasure, and I repay him by looking at him as though I wanted to hypnotize him, and think, “Go, go, go! —
他对我怀有最美好的感情，简单地和我交谈只是为了让我开心，而我却用一副想要催眠他的眼神看着他，并在心里想着，“走，走，走！ —

…” But he is not amenable to thought-suggestion, and sits on and on and on….
但他不受思想影响，依然坐在那儿，坐啊坐啊……

While he is with me I can never shake off the thought, “It’s possible when I die he will be appointed to succeed me,” and my poor lecture-hall presents itself to me as an oasis in which the spring is died up; —
他在我身边时，我永远无法摆脱“万一我去世了，他可能会被任命接替我的位置”这个念头，而我可怜的讲堂在我眼里成了一个泉水枯竭的绿洲； —

and I am ungracious, silent, and surly with Pyotr Ignatyevitch, as though he were to blame for such thoughts, and not I myself. —
我对彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇态度冷淡、沉默、乖戾，就好像他应该为这些念头负责，而不是我自己。 —

When he begins, as usual, praising up the German savants, instead of making fun of him good-humouredly, as I used to do, I mutter sullenly:
当他像往常一样赞扬德国学者时，我不像以前那样幽默地取笑他，而是闷闷不乐地嘟囔道：

“Asses, your Germans!…”
“蠢货，你的德国人！…”

That is like the late Professor Nikita Krylov, who once, when he was bathing with Pirogov at Revel and vexed at the water’s being very cold, burst out with, “Scoundrels, these Germans! —
这似乎有点像已故的尼基塔·克里洛夫教授，曾经和皮罗戈夫一起在列宁格勒沐浴，生气水太冷，便爆发出“混蛋，这帮德国人！ —

” I behave badly with Pyotr Ignatyevitch, and only when he is going away, and from the window I catch a glimpse of his grey hat behind the garden-fence, I want to call out and say, “Forgive me, my dear fellow!”
”我对彼得·伊格纳季耶维奇表现得很糟糕，只有在他走后，透过窗户看见他灰色帽子的花园篱笆后，我才想喊出来说：“请原谅我，亲爱的朋友！”

Dinner is even drearier than in the winter. —
夏天的晚餐甚至比冬天还要沉闷。 —

Gnekker, whom now I hate and despise, dines with us almost every day. —
格涅克几乎每天都和我们一起吃饭，现在我恨他、蔑视他。 —

I used to endure his presence in silence, now I aim biting remarks at him which make my wife and daughter blush. —
我过去只是默默忍受他的存在，现在却对他发出讽刺的言论，让我的妻子和女儿都脸红。 —

Carried away by evil feeling, I often say things that are simply stupid, and I don’t know why I say them. —
受邪恶情绪驱动，我经常说出一些愚蠢的话，我不知道为什么要说这些话。 —

So on one occasion it happened that I stared a long time at Gnekker, and, a propos of nothing, I fired off:
因此有一次我盯着格涅克看了很久，突然间，毫无缘由地说道：

“An eagle may perchance swoop down below a cock, But never will the fowl soar upwards to the clouds…”
“一只老鹰或许会俯冲至一只公鸡下方，但绝不会如禽鸟般翱翔云端…”

And the most vexatious thing is that the fowl Gnekker shows himself much cleverer than the eagle professor. —
最令人烦恼的是，禽鸟格内克尔表现得比老鹰教授聪明得多。 —

Knowing that my wife and daughter are on his side, he takes up the line of meeting my gibes with condescending silence, as though to say:
我知道我的妻子和女儿站在他这边，所以他选择采取见我取笑时的居高临下的沉默，好像在说：

“The old chap is in his dotage; what’s the use of talking to him?”
“老家伙已经老糊涂了；跟他讲话有什么用呢？”

Or he makes fun of me good-naturedly. It is wonderful how petty a man may become! —
或者他幽默地取笑我。一个人竟会变得如此琐碎，太神奇了！ —

I am capable of dreaming all dinner-time of how Gnekker will turn out to be an adventurer, how my wife and Liza will come to see their mistake, and how I will taunt them—and such absurd thoughts at the time when I am standing with one foot in the grave!
我有能力整个晚餐时间梦想格内克尔将会变成冒险者，我的妻子和莉莎会认识到他们的错误，以及我将如何讥讽他们…这种荒谬的想法在我已站在坟墓边的时候！

There are now, too, misunderstandings of which in the old days I had no idea except from hearsay. —
现在也会有误会，以前我只是通过传闻听说过。 —

Though I am ashamed of it, I will describe one that occurred the other day after dinner.
虽然我为此感到羞愧，但我还是要描述一件发生在几天前晚餐后的事情。

I was sitting in my room smoking a pipe; my wife came in as usual, sat down, and began saying what a good thing it would be for me to go to Harkov now while it is warm and I have free time, and there find out what sort of person our Gnekker is.
我正坐在自己的房间里抽烟斗；我的妻子像往常一样走进来，坐下，开始说我现在天气暖和而且有空闲时间去哈尔科夫，看看我们的格内克尔是什么样的人。

“Very good; I will go,” I assented.
“好极了；我会去的，”我应允道。

My wife, pleased with me, got up and was going to the door, but turned back and said:
我的妻子对我满意地站起来，正要走到门口，但又回过头说：

“By the way, I have another favour to ask of you. —
“顺便说一下，还有一个请求要向你提的。 —

I know you will be angry, but it is my duty to warn you. —
我知道你会生气的，但我有责任提醒你。 —

… Forgive my saying it, Nikolay Stepanovitch, but all our neighbours and acquaintances have begun talking about your being so often at Katya’s. —
…请原谅我说这个，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，但我们所有的邻居和熟人都开始谈论你经常去凯蒂那里的事情。 —

She is clever and well- educated; I don’t deny that her company may be agreeable; —
她聪明受过良好教育；我不否认她的陪伴可能很愉快； —

but at your age and with your social position it seems strange that you should find pleasure in her society. —
但考虑到您的年龄和社会地位，您竟然对她的社交感到愉悦，似乎有些奇怪。 —

… Besides, she has such a reputation that…”
…此外，她有着如此的名声…

All the blood suddenly rushed to my brain, my eyes flashed fire, I leaped up and, clutching at my head and stamping my feet, shouted in a voice unlike my own:
所有的血涌进了我的脑海，眼前闪过火花，我跳了起来，抓住头部，踮起脚尖，用一种我自己都不认识的声音喊道：

“Let me alone! let me alone! let me alone!”
“别理我！别理我！别理我！”

Probably my face was terrible, my voice was strange, for my wife suddenly turned pale and began shrieking aloud in a despairing voice that was utterly unlike her own. —
也许我的脸神情可怕，声音异常，因为我的妻子突然脸色苍白，开始绝望地尖叫起来，那声音完全不像她的声音。 —

Liza, Gnekker, then Yegor, came running in at our shouts….
莉扎、格涅克，然后是叶戈，听到我们的叫喊赶了进来…

“Let me alone!” I cried; “let me alone! Go away!”
“别理我！”我喊道，“别理我！滚开！”

My legs turned numb as though they had ceased to exist; I felt myself falling into someone’s arms; —
我的腿失去了知觉，就像它们已经不存在一样；我感到自己摔倒在某人怀里； —

for a little while I still heard weeping, then sank into a swoon which lasted two or three hours.
一阵苦苦哭泣声仍在耳边回荡，后来我陷入了一个持续两三个小时的昏迷中。

Now about Katya; she comes to see me every day towards evening, and of course neither the neighbours nor our acquaintances can avoid noticing it. —
现在说说卡特亚；她每天傍晚都来看我，当然邻居和熟人都会注意到。 —

She comes in for a minute and carries me off for a drive with her. —
她进来一分钟，就把我带走兜风。 —

She has her own horse and a new chaise bought this summer. —
她有自己的马和今年夏天买的新马车。 —

Altogether she lives in an expensive style; —
总的来说，她的生活方式很奢侈； —

she has taken a big detached villa with a large garden, and has taken all her town retinue with her—two maids, a coachman… I often ask her:
她租了一座带大花园的大独立别墅，还把所有城里的侍从也带了过来——两个女仆，一个车夫…我经常问她：

“Katya, what will you live on when you have spent your father’s money?”
“卡特亚，你花光了父亲的钱后，将靠什么过活呢？”

“Then we shall see,” she answers.
“那么我们就看看吧，”她回答道。

“That money, my dear, deserves to be treated more seriously. —
“亲爱的，那笔钱值得更认真地对待。 —

It was earned by a good man, by honest labour.”
它是一个好人通过诚实的劳动赚来的。”

“You have told me that already. I know it.”
“你已经告诉过我了。我知道。”

At first we drive through the open country, then through the pine-wood which is visible from my window. —
开始我们穿过开阔的乡间，然后穿过从我的窗户可见的松树林。 —

Nature seems to me as beautiful as it always has been, though some evil spirit whispers to me that these pines and fir trees, birds, and white clouds on the sky, will not notice my absence when in three or four months I am dead. —
自然对我来说一直是那么美丽，尽管有邪恶的精灵对我耳语，告诉我这些松树、云雀、白云和天空上的白云，在三四个月后我死去时将不会注意到我的离去。 —

Katya loves driving, and she is pleased that it is fine weather and that I am sitting beside her. —
卡特娅喜欢驾驶，她很高兴天气晴朗，我坐在她旁边。 —

She is in good spirits and does not say harsh things.
她心情很好，没有说尖酸的话。

“You are a very good man, Nikolay Stepanovitch,” she says. —
“你是一个非常好的人，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，”她说。 —

“You are a rare specimen, and there isn’t an actor who would understand how to play you. —
“你是一个稀有的典范，没有一个演员会懂得如何演绎你。 —

Me or Mihail Fyodorovitch, for instance, any poor actor could do, but not you. —
比如说我或米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇，任何贫穷的演员都可以演，但不是你。 —

And I envy you, I envy you horribly! Do you know what I stand for? What?”
我羡慕你，我可怕地羡慕你！你知道我代表什么吗？什么？”

She ponders for a minute, and then asks me:
她沉思了一分钟，然后问我：

“Nikolay Stepanovitch, I am a negative phenomenon! Yes?”
“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，我是一个消极现象！是吗？”

“Yes,” I answer.
“是的，”我回答道。

“H’m! what am I to do?”
“嗯！我该怎么办呢？”

What answer was I to make her? It is easy to say “work,” or “give your possessions to the poor,” or “know yourself,” and because it is so easy to say that, I don’t know what to answer.
我该给她什么回答呢？说“工作”，或者“把你的财产给穷人”，或者“了解自己”都很容易，因为这么容易说出口，我不知道该怎么回答。

My colleagues when they teach therapeutics advise “the individual study of each separate case. —
我的同事们在教导疗法时建议“对每个病例进行个体化研究”。 —

” One has but to obey this advice to gain the conviction that the methods recommended in the textbooks as the best and as providing a safe basis for treatment turn out to be quite unsuitable in individual cases. —
只要遵从这个建议，就会意识到在各个病例中，教科书推荐的方法并不能提供安全的治疗基础，而实际上并不适用。 —

It is just the same in moral ailments.
道德方面也是一样的情况。

But I must make some answer, and I say:
但我必须做出回答，我说：

“You have too much free time, my dear; you absolutely must take up some occupation. —
“亲爱的，你太闲了；你绝对得找一些事情做。 —

After all, why shouldn’t you be an actress again if it is your vocation?”
毕竟，如果演戏是你的天职，为什么你不再当个演员呢？”

“I cannot!”
“我不能！”

“Your tone and manner suggest that you are a victim. I don’t like that, my dear; —
“你的语气和态度让人觉得你是个受害者。亲爱的，我不喜欢这样；那是你自己的错。记住，你是因为和人与方法产生分歧才开始的，但你并没有付出努力让任何一方变得更好。 —

it is your own fault. Remember, you began with falling out with people and methods, but you have done nothing to make either better. —
你没有与邪恶作斗争，而是被它击倒，你不是斗争的牺牲品，而是你自己无能的牺牲品。 —

You did not struggle with evil, but were cast down by it, and you are not the victim of the struggle, but of your own impotence. —
当然，你当时年轻而且缺乏经验；现在一切或许会不同。 —

Well, of course you were young and inexperienced then; now it may all be different. —
是的，真的，去登台吧。你会工作，你会服务于一门神圣的艺术。” —

Yes, really, go on the stage. You will work, you will serve a sacred art.”
“别装了，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，” 卡蒂亚打断我。

“Don’t pretend, Nikolay Stepanovitch,” Katya interrupts me. —
“你的建议没有意义。” —

“Let us make a compact once for all; we will talk about actors, actresses, and authors, but we will let art alone. —
让我们一次性达成协议; 我们可以谈论演员，女演员和作者，但是艺术我们就不要谈了。 —

You are a splendid and rare person, but you don’t know enough about art sincerely to think it sacred. —
你是一个出色而难得的人，但你对艺术了解的不够真诚，认为它神圣。 —

You have no instinct or feeling for art. —
你对艺术没有直觉或感觉。 —

You have been hard at work all your life, and have not had time to acquire that feeling. —
你一生辛勤工作，没有时间培养那种感觉。 —

Altogether… I don’t like talk about art,” she goes on nervously. —
总之…我不喜欢谈论艺术，”她紧张地继续说道。 —

“I don’t like it! And, my goodness, how they have vulgarized it!”
“我不喜欢！天啊，他们是如何庸俗化了它！

“Who has vulgarized it?”
“谁庸俗化了它？”

“They have vulgarized it by drunkenness, the newspapers by their familiar attitude, clever people by philosophy.”
“他们被酗酒庸俗化了，报纸用他们熟悉的姿态庸俗化了，聪明人用哲学庸俗化了。”

“Philosophy has nothing to do with it.”
“哲学与此无关。”

“Yes, it has. If any one philosophizes about it, it shows he does not understand it.”
“是的，它有关。如果有人对此进行哲学思考，那表明他没有理解它。”

To avoid bitterness I hasten to change the subject, and then sit a long time silent. —
为了避免争吵，我赶紧改变话题，然后沉默许久。 —

Only when we are driving out of the wood and turning towards Katya’s villa I go back to my former question, and say:
只有当我们驶出这片树林，转向卡佳的别墅时，我才重新提出之前的问题，并说道：

“You have still not answered me, why you don’t want to go on the stage.”
“你还没有回答我，为什么不想走上舞台。”

“Nikolay Stepanovitch, this is cruel!” she cries, and suddenly flushes all over. —
“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，这太残忍了！”她大声说道，突然满脸通红。 —

“You want me to tell you the truth aloud? Very well, if… if you like it! —
“你希望我当着你的面讲出真相吗？好吧，如果…如果你喜欢的话！ —

I have no talent! No talent and… and a great deal of vanity! So there!”
我没有才华！没有才华而且…还有很多虚荣心！所以！”

After making this confession she turns her face away from me, and to hide the trembling of her hands tugs violently at the reins.
她说完这番自白后，把脸转向我，为了掩饰手颤抖的情况，用力地拉了拉缰绳。

As we are driving towards her villa we see Mihail Fyodorovitch walking near the gate, impatiently awaiting us.
在我们驶向她别墅的路上，我们看到米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇正在门口附近，焦急地等待我们。

“That Mihail Fyodorovitch again!” says Katya with vexation. —
“那个米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇又来了！”Katya生气地说道。 —

“Do rid me of him, please! I am sick and tired of him… bother him!”
“请让我摆脱他！我受够了他…讨厌他！”

Mihail Fyodorovitch ought to have gone abroad long ago, but he puts off going from week to week. —
米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇早该出国了，但他一拖再拖，一周接着一周不走。 —

Of late there have been certain changes in him. —
最近他有了一些变化。 —

He looks, as it were, sunken, has taken to drinking until he is tipsy, a thing which never used to happen to him, and his black eyebrows are beginning to turn grey. —
他看上去像是消瘦了，开始喝酒，喝到有点醉，这以前从未发生过，他的黑眉毛也开始变灰。 —

When our chaise stops at the gate he does not conceal his joy and his impatience. —
当我们的马车停在门口时，他无法掩饰他的喜悦和焦急。 —

He fussily helps me and Katya out, hurriedly asks questions, laughs, rubs his hands, and that gentle, imploring, pure expression, which I used to notice only in his eyes, is now suffused all over his face. —
他匆忙地帮我和Katya下车，急急忙忙地问问题，笑着，擦着手，那种我过去只注意到他眼中的温和、恳求的表情现在充盈在他整张脸上。 —

He is glad and at the same time he is ashamed of his gladness, ashamed of his habit of spending every evening with Katya. And he thinks it necessary to explain his visit by some obvious absurdity such as: —
他高兴又为自己的高兴感到羞愧，为自己每天晚上都和Katya在一起的习惯感到羞愧。而且他认为有必要用一些明显荒谬的借口来解释他的访问，比如：“我路过这里，想顺便进来看看。” —

“I was driving by, and I thought I would just look in for a minute.”
我们三个走进室内；首先喝茶，然后摆上熟悉的扑克牌、大块芝士、水果和一瓶克里米亚香槟。

We all three go indoors; first we drink tea, then the familiar packs of cards, the big piece of cheese, the fruit, and the bottle of Crimean champagne are put upon the table. —
我们的谈话内容并不新颖；和冬天时一样。 —

The subjects of our conversation are not new; they are just the same as in the winter. —
我们抨击大学、学生、文学和剧院； —

We fall foul of the University, the students, and literature and the theatre; —
我们没有任何真诚的谈话，我们谈的都是空话。 —

the air grows thick and stifling with evil speaking, and poisoned by the breath, not of two toads as in the winter, but of three. —
空气变得浓重而令人窒息，充满着邪恶的言语，被三只毒蛤蟆的气息所污染，而不是冬天的两只。 —

Besides the velvety baritone laugh and the giggle like the gasp of a concertina, the maid who waits upon us hears an unpleasant cracked “He, he! —
除了浑厚的男低音笑声和像手风琴呼吸般的傻笑声外，等待我们的女仆还听到了不愉快的断裂的“嘿嘿！” 声，像是一出杂耍中将军的的咯咯声。 —

” like the chuckle of a general in a vaudeville.
“夏

V
V

There are terrible nights with thunder, lightning, rain, and wind, such as are called among the people “sparrow nights. —
有着雷电交加、大雨滂沱、狂风呼啸的可怕夜晚，人们称之为“麻雀夜”。 —

” There has been one such night in my personal life.
在我的个人生活中曾有一夜如此。

I woke up after midnight and leaped suddenly out of bed. —
午夜过后我惊醒，突然跳下床。 —

It seemed to me for some reason that I was just immediately going to die. Why did it seem so? —
我觉得有种不知何故自己会立即死去的感觉。为什么会这样呢？ —

I had no sensation in my body that suggested my immediate death, but my soul was oppressed with terror, as though I had suddenly seen a vast menacing glow of fire.
我的身体没有感觉表明我会立即死去，但我的灵魂被恐怖所压迫，就好像我突然看到了一团巨大的威胁性的火光。

I rapidly struck a light, drank some water straight out of the decanter, then hurried to the open window. —
我匆忙地点亮灯，直接从玻璃瓶里喝了些水，然后赶紧跑向敞开的窗户。 —

The weather outside was magnificent. There was a smell of hay and some other very sweet scent. —
窗外的天气极好。有一股干草和其他非常甜美香味。 —

I could see the spikes of the fence, the gaunt, drowsy trees by the window, the road, the dark streak of woodland, there was a serene, very bright moon in the sky and not a single cloud, perfect stillness, not one leaf stirring. —
我可以看到篱笆的尖刺，窗边苍白昏昏欲睡的树木，道路，黑色的树林，天空中有一轮宁静明亮的月亮，一丝云彩也没有，完美的静谧，没有一叶被风吹动。 —

I felt that everything was looking at me and waiting for me to die….
我感觉一切都在看着我，等待我死去…

It was uncanny. I closed the window and ran to my bed. —
这太离奇了。我关上窗户回到床上。 —

I felt for my pulse, and not finding it in my wrist, tried to find it in my temple, then in my chin, and again in my wrist, and everything I touched was cold and clammy with sweat. —
我摸了一下我的脉搏，在手腕找不到后，试图在太阳穴、下巴，还有手腕上找，每次碰到的东西都被冷汗打湿了。 —

My breathing came more and more rapidly, my body was shivering, all my inside was in commotion; —
我呼吸变得越来越急促，身体颤抖，内心一片混乱； —

I had a sensation on my face and on my bald head as though they were covered with spiders’ webs.
我感觉到脸和光头好像被蜘蛛网覆盖了。

What should I do? Call my family? No; it would be no use. —
我该怎么办呢？打电话给家人吗？不，没用。 —

I could not imagine what my wife and Liza would do when they came in to me.
我无法想象妻子和莉莎进来时会怎么做。

I hid my head under the pillow, closed my eyes, and waited and waited…. My spine was cold; —
我把头藏在枕头下，闭上眼睛，等待着等待着…. 我的脊椎冰冷； —

it seemed to be drawn inwards, and I felt as though death were coming upon me stealthily from behind.
感觉脊椎被吸了进去，我觉得死神悄然从背后接近。

“Kee-vee! kee-vee!” I heard a sudden shriek in the night’s stillness, and did not know where it was—in my breast or in the street—“Kee-vee! kee-vee!”
“Kee-vee！kee-vee！“我听到夜晚寂静中突然的尖叫，不知道声音从哪里传来——是从我的胸膛里，还是从街上——“Kee-vee！kee-vee！“

“My God, how terrible!” I would have drunk some more water, but by then it was fearful to open my eyes and I was afraid to raise my head. —
“我的上帝，多么可怕！”我本想喝点水，但这时睁开眼睛太可怕了，我害怕抬起头来。 —

I was possessed by unaccountable animal terror, and I cannot understand why I was so frightened: —
我被一种无法解释的动物恐惧所支配，我不明白为什么我如此害怕： —

was it that I wanted to live, or that some new unknown pain was in store for me?
是因为我想活下去，还是因为会有些新的未知痛苦在等着我？

Upstairs, overhead, some one moaned or laughed. I listened. —
楼上，头顶上传来一个人的呻吟或笑声。我听着。 —

Soon afterwards there was a sound of footsteps on the stairs. —
不久之后，楼梯上传来脚步声。 —

Some one came hurriedly down, then went up again. —
有人匆匆下来，然后又上去了。 —

A minute later there was a sound of steps downstairs again; —
一分钟后，楼下又传来脚步声； —

some one stopped near my door and listened.
有人停在我门旁边，倾听着。

“Who is there?” I cried.
“谁在那里？”我大声喊道。

The door opened. I boldly opened my eyes, and saw my wife. —
门开了。我勇敢地睁开眼睛，看见了我的妻子。 —

Her face was pale and her eyes were tear-stained.
她脸色苍白，眼睛布满泪痕。

“You are not asleep, Nikolay Stepanovitch?” she asked.
“你没睡着，Nikolay Stepanovitch？”她问道。

“What is it?”
“怎么了？”

“For God’s sake, go up and have a look at Liza; there is something the matter with her….”
“求求你，上去看看Liza；她有些不对劲….”

“Very good, with pleasure,” I muttered, greatly relieved at not being alone. —
“好的，乐意为之，”我嘟囔道，心情大为宽慰，不再孤单。 —

“Very good, this minute….”
“好的，现在就去….”

I followed my wife, heard what she said to me, and was too agitated to understand a word. —
我跟着妻子，听见她对我说的话，心情太过激动，无法理解一丁点儿。 —

Patches of light from her candle danced about the stairs, our long shadows trembled. —
她手中蜡烛的光斑在楼梯上跳动，我们的长影子在不停颤抖。 —

My feet caught in the skirts of my dressing-gown; —
我的睡袍被脚步绊住了； —

I gasped for breath, and felt as though something were pursuing me and trying to catch me from behind.
我喘不过气来，感觉好像有什么东西在追赶我，试图从背后抓住我。

“I shall die on the spot, here on the staircase,” I thought. “On the spot. —
“我要死在这里，就在楼梯上，”我想。“就在这里。” —

…” But we passed the staircase, the dark corridor with the Italian windows, and went into Liza’s room. —
……但我们走过了楼梯，走过了有意大利窗户的黑暗走廊，进入了Liza的房间。 —

She was sitting on the bed in her nightdress, with her bare feet hanging down, and she was moaning.
她穿着睡衣坐在床上，光着脚，正在呻吟。

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” she was muttering, screwing up her eyes at our candle. —
“我的天啊！我的天啊！”她喃喃自语，瞪大眼睛看着我们的蜡烛。 —

“I can’t bear it.”
“我受不了。”

“Liza, my child,” I said, “what is it?”
“莉莎，我的孩子，”我说，“怎么了？”

Seeing me, she began crying out, and flung herself on my neck.
看到我，她开始大声哭起来，扑到我的脖子上。

“My kind papa!…” she sobbed—“my dear, good papa. —
“我亲爱的爸爸！…”她抽泣着说，“我亲爱的，好爸爸。 —

.. my darling, my pet, I don’t know what is the matter with me. —
.. 我亲爱的，我的宠物，我不知道我怎么了。 —

… I am miserable!”
… 我好痛苦！”

She hugged me, kissed me, and babbled fond words I used to hear from her when she was a child.
她拥抱着我，亲吻我，说着小时候我经常听到她说的柔情话语。

“Calm yourself, my child. God be with you,” I said. —
“镇定一点，孩子。愿上帝与你同在，”我说。 —

“There is no need to cry. I am miserable, too.”
“不用哭。我也很痛苦。”

I tried to tuck her in; my wife gave her water, and we awkwardly stumbled by her bedside; —
我试图给她掖好被子；我的妻子给她喝水，我们笨手笨脚地在她床边摇摇摆摆； —

my shoulder jostled against her shoulder, and meanwhile I was thinking how we used to give our children their bath together.
我的肩膀碰到她的肩膀，与此同时我在想着我们曾经一起给孩子们洗澡的情景。

“Help her! help her!” my wife implored me. “Do something!”
“帮帮她！帮帮她！”我的妻子恳求我。“做点什么！”

What could I do? I could do nothing. There was some load on the girl’s heart; —
我能做什么？我什么也做不了。这女孩心中有重负； —

but I did not understand, I knew nothing about it, and could only mutter:
但我不明白，我一无所知，只能喃喃自语：

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing; it will pass. Sleep, sleep!”
“没事，没事；一切都会过去的。睡吧，睡吧！”

To make things worse, there was a sudden sound of dogs howling, at first subdued and uncertain, then loud, two dogs howling together. —
使情况变得更糟糕的是，突然听到了狗吠声，起初是被压抑和不确定的，然后剧烈地响起，两只狗一起嚎叫。 —

I had never attached significance to such omens as the howling of dogs or the shrieking of owls, but on that occasion it sent a pang to my heart, and I hastened to explain the howl to myself.
我从未将狗嚎或猫头鹰的尖叫看作不祥的兆头，但那一次，它让我心如刀割，我急忙解释自己的妄念。

“It’s nonsense,” I thought, “the influence of one organism on another. —
“这是胡说八道，”我想，“一个生物对另一个的影响。 —

The intensely strained condition of my nerves has infected my wife, Liza, the dog—that is all. —
我的神经处于极度紧张的状态，传染给了我的妻子丽莎，还有狗—仅此而已。 —

… Such infection explains presentiments, forebodings….”
“…这种感染解释了预感、预感……”

When a little later I went back to my room to write a prescription for Liza, I no longer thought I should die at once, but only had such a weight, such a feeling of oppression in my soul that I felt actually sorry that I had not died on the spot. —
后来，我回到房间里为丽莎开药方时，我不再认为我会立即死去，只是我的灵魂如此沉重，如此压抑，以至于我实际上有点后悔自己没有当场死去。 —

For a long time I stood motionless in the middle of the room, pondering what to prescribe for Liza. But the moans overhead ceased, and I decided to prescribe nothing, and yet I went on standing there….
我在屋子中央站了很长时间，思考为丽莎开什么药方。但楼上的呻吟声停止了，我决定什么也不开，但我却还在那里站着……

There was a deathlike stillness, such a stillness, as some author has expressed it, “it rang in one’s ears. —
死一般的寂静，有一种作者曾经说过的寂静，“在人的耳边嗡嗡作响。” —

” Time passed slowly; the streaks of moonlight on the window-sill did not shift their position, but seemed as though frozen. —
“时间缓缓过去；窗台上的月光斑并没有改变位置，看起来就像被冻结了一样。 —

… It was still some time before dawn.
“直到天亮还有一段时间。

But the gate in the fence creaked, some one stole in and, breaking a twig from one of those scraggy trees, cautiously tapped on the window with it.
但篱笆门吱吱作响，有人悄悄进来，折断了那些干枯树木的一根树枝，小心翼翼地用它敲打着窗户。

“Nikolay Stepanovitch,” I heard a whisper. “Nikolay Stepanovitch.”
“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，”我听到有人低声说道。“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇。”

I opened the window, and fancied I was dreaming: —
我打开窗户，觉得自己在做梦： —

under the window, huddled against the wall, stood a woman in a black dress, with the moonlight bright upon her, looking at me with great eyes. —
在窗外，靠在墙边的一个女人穿着黑色连衣裙，月光照亮她，用着大大的眼睛看着我。 —

Her face was pale, stern, and weird-looking in the moonlight, like marble, her chin was quivering.
她的脸在月光下苍白、严肃、看起来怪异，像大理石，她的下巴在颤抖。

“It is I,” she said—“I… Katya.”
“是我，”她说道，“我…卡蒂娅。”

In the moonlight all women’s eyes look big and black, all people look taller and paler, and that was probably why I had not recognized her for the first minute.
在月光下，所有女人的眼睛看起来都又大又黑，所有人看起来都更高大更苍白，这可能是我刚开始没有认出她的原因。

“What is it?”
“怎么了？”

“Forgive me!” she said. “I suddenly felt unbearably miserable. —
“原谅我！”她说道。“我突然感到难以忍受地悲伤。 —

.. I couldn’t stand it, so came here. There was a light in your window and. —
.. 我受不了，所以来到这里。你窗户里有光。 —

.. and I ventured to knock…. I beg your pardon. Ah! —
.. 我冒昧敲门….请原谅我。哎呀！ —

if you knew how miserable I am! What are you doing just now?”
如果你知道我有多痛苦！你现在在做什么？”

“Nothing…. I can’t sleep.”
“什么都不做….我睡不着。”

“I had a feeling that there was something wrong, but that is nonsense.”
“我感觉有些不对劲，但那是胡扯。”

Her brows were lifted, her eyes shone with tears, and her whole face was lighted up with the familiar look of trustfulness which I had not seen for so long.
她的眉毛上扬，眼睛闪着泪光，整张脸上都洋溢着我好久没见到的信任的眼神。

“Nikolay Stepanovitch,” she said imploringly, stretching out both hands to me, “my precious friend, I beg you, I implore you. —
“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，”她恳求地说，双手伸向我，“我宝贵的朋友，我请求你，我哀求你。 —

… If you don’t despise my affection and respect for you, consent to what I ask of you.”
.. 如果你不鄙视我对你的感情和尊重，请答应我的请求。”

“What is it?”
“什么事？”

“Take my money from me!”
“把我的钱拿走！”

“Come! what an idea! What do I want with your money?”
“来吧！多么荒谬的想法！我要你的钱做什么？”

“You’ll go away somewhere for your health…. You ought to go for your health. —
“你应该去别的地方养养身子….你应该为了身体去。” —

Will you take it? Yes? Nikolay Stepanovitch darling, yes?”
你要拿吗？是的？尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，亲爱的，是的？”

She looked greedily into my face and repeated: “Yes, you will take it?”
她贪婪地看着我的脸，重复道：“是的，你要拿吗？”

“No, my dear, I won’t take it,” I said. “Thank you.”
“不，亲爱的，我不要，”我说。“谢谢。”

She turned her back upon me and bowed her head. —
她转过头，低下头。 —

Probably I refused her in a tone which made further conversation about money impossible.
我可能以一种拒绝的口气拒绝了她，使关于钱的进一步谈话变得不可能。

“Go home to bed,” I said. “We will see each other tomorrow.”
“回家休息吧，”我说。“我们明天再见。”

“So you don’t consider me your friend?” she asked dejectedly.
“那么你不把我当朋友？”她沮丧地问道。

“I don’t say that. But your money would be no use to me now.”
“我不是那个意思。但你的钱对我现在没有用。”

“I beg your pardon…” she said, dropping her voice a whole octave. “I understand you. —
“请原谅……”她说，声音降了整个八度。“我明白了。” —

.. to be indebted to a person like me… a retired actress. —
..欠一个像我这样的人……一个退休的女演员。 —

… But, good-bye….”
…但，再见……”

And she went away so quickly that I had not time even to say good-bye.
她走得如此匆忙，以至于我连道个再见的时间都没有。

VI
VI

I am in Harkov.
我在哈尔科夫。

As it would be useless to contend against my present mood and, indeed, beyond my power, I have made up my mind that the last days of my life shall at least be irreproachable externally. —
由于与我目前的心情争辩是无用的，而且超出了我的能力，我已决定我生命的最后时光至少在外表上是无可指摘的。 —

If I am unjust in regard to my wife and daughter, which I fully recognize, I will try and do as she wishes; —
如果我对妻子和女儿不公正，我完全意识到这一点，我会尽力按照她的意愿去做； —

since she wants me to go to Harkov, I go to Harkov. —
因为她想让我去哈尔科夫，我就去哈尔科夫。 —

Besides, I have become of late so indifferent to everything that it is really all the same to me where I go, to Harkov, or to Paris, or to Berditchev.
此外，我最近变得对一切都如此漠不关心，所以我无论去哈尔科夫、巴黎还是别尔迪切夫都觉得无所谓。

I arrived here at midday, and have put up at the hotel not far from the cathedral. —
我在正午抵达这里，并在离大教堂不远的一家旅馆住下了。 —

The train was jolting, there were draughts, and now I am sitting on my bed, holding my head and expecting tic douloureux. —
火车颠簸不已，过道有风，现在我坐在床上扶着头，预料到将发作的三叉神经痛。 —

I ought to have gone today to see some professors of my acquaintance, but I have neither strength nor inclination.
我本应当今天去看看一些我认识的教授的，但我既没力气也没心情。

The old corridor attendant comes in and asks whether I have brought my bed-linen. —
一位老过道服务员进来问我是否带来了床单。 —

I detain him for five minutes, and put several questions to him about Gnekker, on whose account I have come here. —
我拦住他五分钟，询问了他几个关于我来这里的格涅克尔的问题。 —

The attendant turns out to be a native of Harkov; —
服务员原来是哈尔科夫本地人； —

he knows the town like the fingers of his hand, but does not remember any household of the surname of Gnekker. —
他对这座城市了如指掌，但不记得有姓格涅克尔的任何家庭。 —

I question him about the estate—the same answer.
我询问他有关庄园的情况——同样的回答。

The clock in the corridor strikes one, then two, then three. —
过道里的时钟敲响一、两、三下。 —

… These last months in which I am waiting for death seem much longer than the whole of my life. —
…我在等待死亡的这几个月似乎比我整个生命还要漫长。 —

And I have never before been so ready to resign myself to the slowness of time as now. —
我从来没有像现在这样愿意接受时间的慢慢流逝。 —

In the old days, when one sat in the station and waited for a train, or presided in an examination-room, a quarter of an hour would seem an eternity. —
在过去，当一个人坐在车站等待火车，或者主持考场时，一个小时会显得像是永远。 —

Now I can sit all night on my bed without moving, and quite unconcernedly reflect that tomorrow will be followed by another night as long and colourless, and the day after tomorrow.
现在，我可以整晚坐在床上一动不动，完全冷静地思考明天会有另一个同样漫长和单调的夜晚，后天也是如此。

In the corridor it strikes five, six, seven…. It grows dark.
走廊里传来五点，六点，七点… 天渐渐暗了。

There is a dull pain in my cheek, the tic beginning. —
我的脸颊有一种隐隐作痛的感觉，面部抽搐开始了。 —

To occupy myself with thoughts, I go back to my old point of view, when I was not so indifferent, and ask myself why I, a distinguished man, a privy councillor, am sitting in this little hotel room, on this bed with the unfamiliar grey quilt. —
为了让自己有所作为，我回到了以前的想法，当时我并不那么冷漠，问自己为什么我这样一个卓越的人，一位内阁大臣，在这个小旅馆房间里坐在陌生的灰色被子上。 —

Why am I looking at that cheap tin washing-stand and listening to the whirr of the wretched clock in the corridor? —
为什么我在盯着那个廉价的锡洗手台，听着走廊里那个可怜时钟的嗡鸣声？ —

Is all this in keeping with my fame and my lofty position? —
这一切与我的名声和崇高的地位相称吗？ —

And I answer these questions with a jeer. —
对这些问题，我嘲笑回答。 —

I am amused by the naivete with which I used in my youth to exaggerate the value of renown and of the exceptional position which celebrities are supposed to enjoy. —
我对年轻时过分夸大名望和名人们所应享有的例外地位的感觉感到好笑。 —

I am famous, my name is pronounced with reverence, my portrait has been both in the Niva and in the Illustrated News of the World; —
我很有名，我的名字被人尊敬地念出来，我的肖像曾出现在《尼瓦报》和《世界插图新闻》上； —

I have read my biography even in a German magazine. And what of all that? —
我在德国杂志上甚至读过我的传记。但这一切又如何呢？ —

Here I am sitting utterly alone in a strange town, on a strange bed, rubbing my aching cheek with my hand. —
在这里，我独自一人坐在一个陌生的城镇，一个陌生的床上，用手摩擦着我疼痛的脸颊。 —

… Domestic worries, the hard-heartedness of creditors, the rudeness of the railway servants, the inconveniences of the passport system, the expensive and unwholesome food in the refreshment-rooms, the general rudeness and coarseness in social intercourse—all this, and a great deal more which would take too long to reckon up, affects me as much as any working man who is famous only in his alley. —
家庭烦恼、债权人的冷酷、铁路工人的无礼、通行证制度的不便、餐厅里昂贵不健康的食物、社交交往中的粗鲁和粗暴，以及其他太多的令人头疼的事情，对我和那些只在自己领地有名的工人一样有影响。 —

In what way, does my exceptional position find expression? —
我的例外地位以何种方式表现？ —

Admitting that I am celebrated a thousand times over, that I am a hero of whom my country is proud. —
承认我被千百次赞誉，成为一个英雄让我的国家自豪。 —

They publish bulletins of my illness in every paper, letters of sympathy come to me by post from my colleagues, my pupils, the general public; —
他们在每家报纸上发布我的病情公告，同事、学生、一般公众寄来了慰问信; —

but all that does not prevent me from dying in a strange bed, in misery, in utter loneliness. —
但这一切都无法阻止我在一个陌生的床上，在痛苦和彻底孤独中死去。 —

Of course, no one is to blame for that; but I in my foolishness dislike my popularity. —
当然，没有人需要对此负责; 但我却因为自己的受欢迎而感到烦恼。 —

I feel as though it had cheated me.
我感觉好像被它欺骗了。

At ten o’clock I fall asleep, and in spite of the tic I sleep soundly, and should have gone on sleeping if I had not been awakened. —
十点钟我入睡，在痉挛的困扰下，我睡得很香，本来会一直睡下去的，如果没有被惊醒的话。 —

Soon after one came a sudden knock at the door.
大约一点钟后，突然有人敲门。

“Who is there?”
“是谁？”

“A telegram.”
“快递。”

“You might have waited till tomorrow,” I say angrily, taking the telegram from the attendant. —
“你明天再来不行吗？”我生气地说着，从随从手中接过了快递。 —

“Now I shall not get to sleep again.”
“现在我再也睡不着了。”

“I am sorry. Your light was burning, so I thought you were not asleep.”
“抱歉。因为看到你灯还亮着，我以为你没睡着。”

I tear open the telegram and look first at the signature. From my wife.
我撕开快递，先看了签名。来自我的妻子。

“What does she want?”
“她想要什么？”

“Gnekker was secretly married to Liza yesterday. Return.”
“格涅克尔昨天和丽萨秘密结婚了。马上回来。”

I read the telegram, and my dismay does not last long. —
我读了这封电报，我的沮丧并没有持续很久。 —

I am dismayed, not by what Liza and Gnekker have done, but by the indifference with which I hear of their marriage. —
我并不因丽莎和格涅克尔的举动而感到沮丧，而是因为听到他们结婚的消息时所表现出的冷漠。 —

They say philosophers and the truly wise are indifferent. It is false: —
他们说哲学家和真正的智者是冷漠的。这是错误的： —

indifference is the paralysis of the soul; —
冷漠是灵魂的瘫痪； —

it is premature death.
它是过早的死亡。

I go to bed again, and begin trying to think of something to occupy my mind. —
我再次躺在床上，开始想着一个能让我分心的事情。 —

What am I to think about? I feel as though everything had been thought over already and there is nothing which could hold my attention now.
我该思考什么？我觉得好像所有事情都已经被想过了，现在没有什么能引起我的注意力。

When daylight comes I sit up in bed with my arms round my knees, and to pass the time I try to know myself. —
黎明时分，我坐起身子，双臂环抱膝盖，为了消磨时间，我试图了解自己。 —

“Know thyself” is excellent and useful advice; —
“认识自己”是出色而有用的建议； —

it is only a pity that the ancients never thought to indicate the means of following this precept.
只可惜古人从未考虑过如何实现这个箴言。

When I have wanted to understand somebody or myself I have considered, not the actions, in which everything is relative, but the desires.
当我想要了解某人或我自己时，我考虑的不是行为，因为一切都是相对的，而是欲望。

“Tell me what you want, and I will tell you what manner of man you are.”
“告诉我你想要什么，我就告诉你你是何等的人。”

And now I examine myself: what do I want?
现在我审视自己：我想要什么？

I want our wives, our children, our friends, our pupils, to love in us, not our fame, not the brand and not the label, but to love us as ordinary men. —
我希望我们的妻子、孩子、朋友、学生，爱的是我们本身，而不是我们的名誉、标签或品牌。 —

Anything else? I should like to have had helpers and successors. Anything else? —
还有别的吗？我想要有帮手和接班人。还有别的吗？ —

I should like to wake up in a hundred years’ time and to have just a peep out of one eye at what is happening in science. —
我希望在一百年后醒来，睁开一只眼睛，看看科学界正在发生什么。 —

I should have liked to have lived another ten years… What further? Why, nothing further. —
我本来想再活十年…还有什么呢？为什么？没更多了。 —

I think and think, and can think of nothing more. —
我思考啊思考，想不出更多了。 —

And however much I might think, and however far my thoughts might travel, it is clear to me that there is nothing vital, nothing of great importance in my desires. —
无论我如何思考，无论我的思绪飘向何方，显而易见，我渴望中并没有任何重要的、生命至关重要的东西。 —

In my passion for science, in my desire to live, in this sitting on a strange bed, and in this striving to know myself—in all the thoughts, feelings, and ideas I form about everything, there is no common bond to connect it all into one whole. —
在我对科学的热情中，在我渴望生活中，在这陌生的床上坐着，以及在努力了解自己中——在关于一切的所有想法、感觉和理念中，没有一个共同的纽带将所有这些连接成一个整体。 —

Every feeling and every thought exists apart in me; —
我内心的每种感觉和每个想法都存在着各自独立； —

and in all my criticisms of science, the theatre, literature, my pupils, and in all the pictures my imagination draws, even the most skilful analyst could not find what is called a general idea, or the god of a living man.
在我对科学、戏剧、文学、我的学生的所有批判中，以及我想象绘制的所有画面中，即使是最熟练的分析家也找不到所谓的一般观念，或活人的神灵。

And if there is not that, then there is nothing.
如果没有那个，那就什么都没有。

In a state so poverty-stricken, a serious ailment, the fear of death, the influences of circumstance and men were enough to turn upside down and scatter in fragments all which I had once looked upon as my theory of life, and in which I had seen the meaning and joy of my existence. —
在如此贫瘠的状态下，一场严重的疾病、死亡的恐惧、环境和人的影响足以颠覆和打碎我曾经视为人生哲学、我曾经看到存在意义和乐趣的一切。 —

So there is nothing surprising in the fact that I have over-shadowed the last months of my life with thoughts and feelings only worthy of a slave and barbarian, and that now I am indifferent and take no heed of the dawn. —
所以，对我生命的最后几个月被我认为只适合奴隶和野蛮人的思想和情感所掩盖，并且现在我对黎明毫不在意，这一点并不奇怪。 —

When a man has not in him what is loftier and mightier than all external impressions a bad cold is really enough to upset his equilibrium and make him begin to see an owl in every bird, to hear a dog howling in every sound. —
当一个人内心没有比所有外在印象更崇高更强大的东西时，一场严重的感冒真的足以打乱他的平衡，使他开始在每只鸟里看到猫头鹰，在每个声音里听到狗的嚎叫。 —

And all his pessimism or optimism with his thoughts great and small have at such times significance as symptoms and nothing more.
在这种时候，他的悲观或乐观以及他的大大小小的思想都只有作为症状的意义，没有其他。

I am vanquished. If it is so, it is useless to think, it is useless to talk. —
我已经输了。如果是这样，思考就是无用的，谈论也是无用的。 —

I will sit and wait in silence for what is to come.
我会坐着静静等待即将到来的事情。

In the morning the corridor attendant brings me tea and a copy of the local newspaper. —
早晨，走廊服务员给我送来茶和一份当地报纸。 —

Mechanically I read the advertisements on the first page, the leading article, the extracts from the newspapers and journals, the chronicle of events. —
机械地阅读着第一页的广告、主要文章、报纸和期刊摘录以及事件记事。 —

… In the latter I find, among other things, the following paragraph: —
…在后面我发现了以下段落: —

“Our distinguished savant, Professor Nikolay Stepanovitch So-and-so, arrived yesterday in Harkov, and is staying in the So-and-so Hotel.”
“我们著名的学者，尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇·某某教授，昨天抵达哈尔科夫，住在某某酒店。”

Apparently, illustrious names are created to live on their own account, apart from those that bear them. —
显然，杰出的名字是为了自己而存在的，而不是为了背负它们的人。 —

Now my name is promenading tranquilly about Harkov; —
现在我的名字正在哈尔科夫平静地漫步； —

in another three months, printed in gold letters on my monument, it will shine bright as the sun itself, while I shall be already under the moss.
再过三个月，我的名字将以金色字体印在我的纪念碑上，就像太阳一样明亮，而我自己早已长满了苔藓。

A light tap at the door. Somebody wants me.
门上轻轻敲了一下。有人找我。

“Who is there? Come in.”
“谁在那儿？请进。”

The door opens, and I step back surprised and hurriedly wrap my dressing-gown round me. —
门打开，我吃惊地退后，急忙裹上我的睡袍。 —

Before me stands Katya.
站在我面前的是卡特雅。

“How do you do?” she says, breathless with running upstairs. —
“你好？”她喘着气跑上楼。 —

“You didn’t expect me? I have come here, too…. I have come, too!”
“你没想到我会来吧？我也来了….我也来了！”

She sits down and goes on, hesitating and not looking at me.
她坐下继续说，犹犹豫豫，不敢看着我。

“Why don’t you speak to me? I have come, too… today. —
“为什么不跟我说话？我也来了…今天。 —

… I found out that you were in this hotel, and have come to you.”
……我发现你在这家酒店，就来找你了。”

“Very glad to see you,” I say, shrugging my shoulders, “but I am surprised. —
“很高兴见到你，”我耸耸肩，“但我很惊讶。 —

You seem to have dropped from the skies. —
你似乎从天而降。 —

What have you come for?”
你来干什么？”

“Oh… I’ve simply come.”
“哦…我只是来了。”

Silence. Suddenly she jumps up impulsively and comes to me.
沉默。突然她冲动地跳起来走到我跟前。

“Nikolay Stepanovitch,” she says, turning pale and pressing her hands on her bosom—“Nikolay Stepanovitch, I cannot go on living like this! —
“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，”她说，脸色苍白，双手紧紧按在胸前，“尼古拉·斯捷潘诺维奇，我无法再这样活下去了！ —

I cannot! For God’s sake tell me quickly, this minute, what I am to do! —
我无法！求求你，告诉我，现在就告诉我，我该怎么办！ —

Tell me, what am I to do?”
告诉我，我该怎么做？”

“What can I tell you?” I ask in perplexity. “I can do nothing.”
“我能告诉你什么呢？”我困惑地问道，“我无能为力。”

“Tell me, I beseech you,” she goes on, breathing hard and trembling all over. —
“告诉我，我请求你，”她喘着气，全身颤抖着继续说道。 —

“I swear that I cannot go on living like this. —
“我发誓我不能再这样活下去。 —

It’s too much for me!”
这对我来说太多了！”

She sinks on a chair and begins sobbing. She flings her head back, wrings her hands, taps with her feet; —
她跌坐在椅子上开始啜泣。她仰起头，握紧双手，用脚轻敲； —

her hat falls off and hangs bobbing on its elastic; —
她的帽子掉了下来，橡皮筋上晃动着； —

her hair is ruffled.
她的头发凌乱着。

“Help me! help me!” she implores me. “I cannot go on!”
“帮帮我！帮帮我！”她恳求着我。“我无法继续下去！”

She takes her handkerchief out of her travelling-bag, and with it pulls out several letters, which fall from her lap to the floor. —
她从旅行包里拿出手帕，用它拉出了几封信，信纸从她的膝盖上掉到地板上。 —

I pick them up, and on one of them I recognize the handwriting of Mihail Fyodorovitch and accidentally read a bit of a word “passionat…”
我捡起来，其中一封我认出是米哈伊尔·费奥多罗维奇的笔迹，无意中读到一个字的一部分“热情…”

“There is nothing I can tell you, Katya,” I say.
“卡特亚，我实在没什么可告诉你的。”我说。

“Help me!” she sobs, clutching at my hand and kissing it. —
“帮帮我！”她抽泣着抓住我的手，亲吻着。 —

“You are my father, you know, my only friend! You are clever, educated; —
“你是我的父亲，你知道的，我的唯一的朋友！你聪明，有文化； —

you have lived so long; you have been a teacher! —
你活了这么久；你曾经是个老师！ —

Tell me, what am I to do?”
告诉我，我该怎么办？”

“Upon my word, Katya, I don’t know….”
“天哪，卡特亚，我不知道…”

I am utterly at a loss and confused, touched by her sobs, and hardly able to stand.
我完全不知所措，困惑不解，被她的抽泣感动，几乎站立不住。

“Let us have lunch, Katya,” I say, with a forced smile. “Give over crying.”
“我们去吃午饭吧，卡特亚，”我带着勉强的微笑说。“别再哭了。”

And at once I add in a sinking voice:
我立刻沉声补充道：

“I shall soon be gone, Katya….”
“我很快就会离开的，卡特亚….”

“Only one word, only one word!” she weeps, stretching out her hands to me.
“只有一个字，只有一个字！”她哭泣着，向我伸出双手。

“What am I to do?”
“我该怎么办？”

“You are a queer girl, really…” I mutter. “I don’t understand it! —
“你真是一个古怪的女孩，真的…”我嘟囔道。“我不明白！ —

So sensible, and all at once crying your eyes out….”
那么明智，突然间眼泪涌出来….。”

A silence follows. Katya straightens her hair, puts on her hat, then crumples up the letters and stuffs them in her bag—and all this deliberately, in silence. —
随之而来的是沉默。卡特娅整理了一下头发，戴上了帽子，然后把信件揉成一团塞进包里——所有这一切都是有意识地，在沉默中完成的。 —

Her face, her bosom, and her gloves are wet with tears, but her expression now is cold and forbidding. —
她的脸、胸前和手套都被泪水打湿了，但此刻她的表情冷漠而威严。 —

… I look at her, and feel ashamed that I am happier than she. —
…我看着她，感到自己比她更幸福，感到羞愧。 —

The absence of what my philosophic colleagues call a general idea I have detected in myself only just before death, in the decline of my days, while the soul of this poor girl has known and will know no refuge all her life, all her life!
“我在我要死的时候，才发现自己这有些什么我那些哲学同事所称的普适观念的缺失，而这个可怜女孩的灵魂，一辈子都将没有庇护，一辈子！

“Let us have lunch, Katya,” I say.
“我们去吃午饭，卡特娅，”我说。

“No, thank you,” she answers coldly. Another minute passes in silence. —
“不，谢谢，”她冷冷地回答。又过了一分钟的沉黙。 —

“I don’t like Harkov,” I say; “it’s so grey here—such a grey town.”
“我不喜欢哈科夫，”我说。“这里太灰暗了—是个灰暗的城市。”

“Yes, perhaps…. It’s ugly. I am here not for long, passing through. I am going on today.”
“是的，或许….它很丑。我只是路过这里，时间不长。今天我就要走了。”

“Where?”
“去哪里？”

“To the Crimea… that is, to the Caucasus.”
“去克里米亚…也就是高加索。”

“Oh! For long?”
“哦！要在那里待多久？”

“I don’t know.”
“我不知道。”

Katya gets up, and, with a cold smile, holds out her hand without looking at me.
卡特娅站起身来，冷冷地微笑着，伸出手来，却没有看着我。

I want to ask her, “Then, you won’t be at my funeral?” but she does not look at me; —
我想问她：“那么，你不会来参加我的葬礼吗？”但她不看我； —

her hand is cold and, as it were, strange. I escort her to the door in silence. —
她的手很冷，仿佛陌生。我无声地护送她走向门口； —

She goes out, walks down the long corridor without looking back; —
她走出去，走过长长的走廊，没有回头看； —

she knows that I am looking after her, and most likely she will look back at the turn.
她知道我在照看她，可能会在拐角处回头看看；

No, she did not look back. I’ve seen her black dress for the last time: —
不，她没有回头看。我最后一次看到了她的黑色礼服； —

her steps have died away. Farewell, my treasure!
她的脚步消失了。再见，我的宝贝！