AT SUPPER no more was said of politics and societies, but a conversation turned on the subject most agreeable to Nikolay—reminiscences of 1812. —
在晚餐时，没有再谈论政治和社会问题，而是转到了对尼古拉来说最愉快的话题——1812年的回忆。 —

Denisov started the talk, and Pierre was particularly cordial and amusing. —
德尼索夫开了头，而彼得特别友善和幽默。 —

And the party broke up on the friendliest terms. —
最后大家以友善的方式结束了这个聚会。 —

Nikolay, after undressing in his study, and giving instructions to his steward, who was awaiting him, went in his dressing-gown to his bedroom, and found his wife still at her writing-table: —
尼古拉在书房换下衣服，给等着他的管家下达指示，然后穿着睡袍走进卧室，发现妻子还在写字台前。 —

she was writing something.
她正在写些什么。

“What are you writing, Marie?” asked Nikolay. Countess Marya flushed. —
“玛丽，你在写些什么？”尼古拉问道。玛丽伯爵脸红了。 —

She was afraid that what she was writing would not be understood and approved by her husband.
她担心自己写的东西不会被丈夫理解和认同。

She would have liked to conceal what she was writing from him, and at the same time, she was glad he had caught her, and she had to tell him.
她本想把自己写的东西瞒着他，但同时却很高兴他发现了，并且她必须告诉他。

“It’s my diary, Nikolay,” she said, handing him a blue note-book, filled with her firm, bold handwriting.
“这是我的日记，尼古拉，”她递给他一本蓝色的笔记本，上面密密麻麻写满了她坚定有力的字迹。

“A diary!” … said Nikolay with a shade of mockery, and he took the note-book. —
“日记！”尼古拉带着一丝嘲讽地说道，然后接过了笔记本。 —

He saw written in French:
他看到上面用法语写着：

“December 4.—Andryusha” (their elder boy) “would not be dressed when he waked up this morning, and Mademoiselle Louise sent for me. —
“12月4日——安德鲁夏”（他们的大儿子）“早上醒来时不愿穿衣服，于是路易丝小姐找到了我。 —

He was naughty and obstinate. I tried threatening him, but he only got more ill-tempered. —
他很淘气，很顽固。我试着威胁他，但他反而更脾气不好。 —

Then I undertook to manage him, left him, and helped nurse get the other children up, and told him I did not love him. —
然后我决定管理他，离开了他，帮助保姆把其他孩子弄起来，并告诉他我不爱他。 —

For a long while he was quiet, as though he were surprised. —
很长一段时间他都很安静，好像很惊讶似的。” —

Then he rushed out to me in his night-shirt, and sobbed so that I could not soothe him for a long while. —
然后他穿着睡袍冲出来，哭得我无法安抚他很长一段时间。 —

It was clear that what distressed him most was having grieved me. —
很明显，他最痛苦的是让我伤心。 —

Then, when I gave him his report in the evening, he cried piteously again as he kissed me. —
然后，当我在晚上给他看报告时，他再次痛苦地哭着亲吻我。 —

One can do anything with him by tenderness.”
通过温柔，你可以做任何事情。

“What is his report?” asked Nikolay.
“他的报告是什么？”尼古拉问道。

“I have begun giving the elder ones little marks in the evening of how they have behaved.”
“我开始在晚上给他们这些年长的孩子打分，记录下他们的行为方式。”

Nikolay glanced at the luminous eyes watching him, and went on turning over, and read the diary. —
尼古拉看着那双注视着他的明亮的眼睛，继续翻阅并阅读着那本日记。 —

Everything in the children’s lives was noted down in it that seemed to the mother of interest as showing the character of the children, or leading to general conclusions as to methods of bringing them up. —
其中记录了孩子们生活中的一切，这些事情对于母亲来说都是有意义的，能够展示孩子们的性格，或者给出抚养他们的方法的普遍结论。 —

It consisted mostly of the most trifling details; —
它主要由最琐碎的细节组成； —

but they did not seem so either to the mother or the father, as he now, for the first time, read this record of his children’s lives. —
但对于母亲和父亲来说，这些细节似乎并不琐碎，正如他第一次看到这本记录着孩子们生活的记录时。 —

On the 5th of December there was the note:
12月5日，有这样一份记录：

“Mitya was naughty at table. Papa said he should have no pudding. He had none; —
“米太在餐桌上调皮。爸爸说他不能吃布丁。他没有得到； —

but he looked so miserably and greedily at the others while they were eating. —
但是他在别人吃东西的时候看起来如此可怜和贪婪。 —

I believe that punishing them by depriving them of sweet things only develops greediness. —
我相信通过剥夺他们甜食来惩罚他们只会培养贪婪。 —

Must tell Nikolay.”
必须告诉尼古拉。”

Nikolay put the book down and looked at his wife. —
尼古拉把书放下来，看着他的妻子。 —

The luminous eyes looked at him doubtfully, to see whether he approved or not. —
那些明亮的眼睛怀疑地看着他，想知道他是否赞同。 —

There could be no doubt of Nikolay’s approval, of his enthusiastic admiration of his wife.
尼古拉的赞同是毫无疑问的，他对妻子的热情钦佩是显而易见的。

Perhaps there was no need to do it so pedantically; —
或许没有必要这样一丝不苟地做； —

perhaps there was no need of it all, thought Nikolay; —
也许根本没有必要这样做，尼古拉想着； —

but this untiring, perpetual spiritual effort, directed only at the children’s moral welfare, enchanted him. —
但是他对孩子们的道德福祉的这种不知疲倦的、持之以恒的精神努力让他着迷。 —

If Nikolay could have analysed his feelings, he would have found that the very groundwork of his steady and tender love and pride in his wife was always this feeling of awe at her spirituality, at that elevated moral world that he could hardly enter, in which his wife always lived.
尼古拉如果能够分析自己的感受，他会发现他对妻子的稳定而温柔的爱和自豪感的基础就是对她的超凡精神世界的敬畏，这个世界他几乎无法进入，但他的妻子总是生活在其中。

He was proud that she was so clever and so good, recognising his own insignificance beside her in the spiritual world, and he rejoiced the more that she, with her soul, not only belonged to him, but was a part of his very self.
他为妻子那样聪明又善良而感到自豪，与她在精神世界中相比，他自己的渺小感更加强烈，而且他更加高兴的是，她真正属于他，与他的灵魂融为一体。

“I quite, quite approve, my darling!” he said, with a significant air. —
“亲爱的，我完全赞成！”他意味深长地说。 —

“And,” after a brief pause, he added, “And I have behaved badly to-day. —
“而且，”在短暂的停顿后，他又补充道：“今天我表现得很差劲。 —

You were not in the study. Pierre and I were arguing, and I lost my temper. I couldn’t help it. —
你不在书房。皮埃尔和我在争论，我忍不住发怒了。不得不这样。 —

He is such a child. I don’t know what would become of him if Natasha didn’t keep him at her apron-strings. —
他就像个孩子。如果娜塔莎没有把他拴在她的围裙上，不知道他会怎么样。 —

Can you imagine what he went to Petersburg about?…They have made a…”
你能想象他去彼得堡是为了什么吗？…他们居然做了一个…”

“Yes, I know,” said Countess Marya. “Natasha told me.”
“是的，我知道。”玛丽亚伯爵夫人说。“娜塔莎告诉我了。”

“Oh, well, you know, then,” Nikolay went on, getting hot at the mere recollection of the discussion. —
“噢，好吧，那你知道了，”尼古拉继续说，仅仅回想起那场争论就觉得怒火上升。 —

“He wants to persuade me that it’s the duty of every honest man to work against the government when one’s sworn allegiance and duty. —
“他想说服我，每一个诚实的人都有责任在宣誓效忠和职责之时反对政府。 —

…I am sorry you were not there. As it was, they all fell upon me, Denisov, and Natasha, too. —
……很抱歉你不在那里。事实上，他们都对我、德尼索夫和娜塔莎下手了。 —

…Natasha is too amusing. We know she twists him round her little finger, but when it comes to discussion—she hasn’t an idea to call her own—she simply repeats his words,” added Nikolay, yielding to that irresistible impulse that tempts one to criticise one’s nearest and dearest. —
……娜塔莎太有趣了。我们知道她能够左右他的心意，但当涉及讨论时，她没有自己的主意，只是简单地重复他的话，”尼古拉补充道，屈服于那种诱使人批评自己最亲近的人的无法抗拒的冲动。 —

Nikolay was unaware that what he was saying of Natasha might be said word for word of himself in relation to his wife.
尼古拉没有意识到他对娜塔莎所说的话也可以逐字逐句地用来形容他自己对待妻子的方式。

“Yes, I have noticed that,” said Countess Marya.
“是的，我注意到了，”玛丽亚女爵士说道。

“When I told him that duty and sworn allegiance come before everything, he began arguing God knows what. —
“当我告诉他义务和效忠高于一切时，他开始争辩不知道什么。” —

It was a pity you were not there. What would you have said?”
很可惜你不在那里。你会说什么呢？”

“To my thinking, you were quite right. I told Natasha so. —
“我认为你完全正确。我告诉娜塔莎了。 —

Pierre says that every one is suffering, and being ill-treated and corrupted, and that it’s our duty to help our neighbours. —
皮埃尔说每个人都在受苦、受虐待和腐化，我们有责任帮助我们的邻居。 —

Of course, he is right,” said Countess Marya; —
当然，他是对的，”玛丽亚女爵士说道； —

“but he forgets that we have other nearer duties, which God Himself has marked out for us, and that we may run risks for ourselves, but not for our children.”
“但他忘了我们还有其他更紧迫的责任，是上帝亲自给我们划定的，我们可以为自己冒险，但不能为孩子们冒险。”

“Yes, yes, that’s just what I told him,” cried Nikolay, who actually fancied he had said just that. —
“是的，是的，那正是我告诉他的，”尼古拉喊道，实际上他觉得自己确实是这么说的。 —

“And they had all their say out about loving one’s neighbour, and Christianity, and all the rest of it, before Nikolinka, who had slipped in there, and was pulling all my things to pieces.”
“他们在尼古林卡走进来之前，都对爱邻舍、基督教和其他一切发表了自己的看法，还把我的所有东西都拆得一团糟。”

“Ah, do you know, Nikolay, I am so often worried about Nikolinka,” said Countess Marya. “He is such an exceptional boy. —
“啊，你知道吗，尼古拉，我经常担心尼古林卡，”玛丽亚女爵士说道。“他是如此特别的孩子。 —

And I am afraid I neglect him for my own. All of us have our children; —
我担心我对他忽视了，只关注了自己的孩子。我们所有人都有我们的孩子； —

we all have our own ties; while he has nobody. —
我们都有我们自己的联系; 而他却没有任何人。 —

He is always alone with his thoughts.”
他总是独自一人沉浸在自己的思绪中。

“Well, I don’t think you have anything to reproach yourself with on his account. —
嗯，我不认为你需要为他的事情自责。 —

Everything the fondest mother could do for her son you have done, and are doing, for him. —
你所做的，对他来说，就像是最亲爱的母亲所能做的一切，而你一直在为他做着。 —

And of course I am glad you do. He is a splendid boy, splendid! —
当然，我很高兴你这样做。他是个了不起的孩子，了不起！ —

This evening he was lost in a sort of dream listening to Pierre. —
今晚他陷入了一种沉思中，倾听着皮埃尔的话。 —

And only fancy, we got up to go in to supper. I look; —
然后我们起身去吃晚餐。我看了一眼； —

and there he has broken everything on my table to fragments, and he told me of it at once. —
他把我桌子上的一切都打碎了，他立刻告诉了我。 —

I have never known him to tell a fib. He’s a splendid boy! —
我从来没见过他撒谎。他是个了不起的孩子！ —

” repeated Nikolay, who did not in his heart like Nikolinka, but always felt moved to acknowledge that he was a splendid fellow.
”尼古拉重复说道，他内心并不喜欢尼古林卡，但总是感到不得不承认他是个出色的家伙。

“Still I am not the same as a mother,” said Countess Marya. “I feel that it’s not the same, and it worries me. —
“但我不像一个母亲那样，”玛丽亚女爵说道。“我觉得不一样，这让我担心。 —

He’s a wonderful boy; but I am awfully afraid for him. —
他是个了不起的孩子；但我非常担心他。 —

Companionship will be good for him.”
和伙伴相处对他有好处。

“Oh, well, it’s not for long; next summer I shall take him to Petersburg,” said Nikolay. —
”嗯，嗯，这不会长久的；明年夏天我会带他去彼得堡，“尼古拉说道。 —

“Yes, Pierre always was, and always will be, a dreamer,” he went on, returning to the discussion in the study, which had evidently worked on his feelings. —
“是的，皮埃尔一直都是一个梦想家，而且将来也会如此，”他继续讨论在书房里的话题，显然这已经触动了他的情感。 —

“Why, what concern is all that of mine—Araktcheev’s misdoings, and all the rest of it—what concern was it of mine, when at the time of our marriage I had so many debts that they were going to put me in prison, and a mother who couldn’t see it or understand it. —
“为什么，这一切与我的关系何干——阿拉赫切耶夫的过错，以及其他一切——当我们结婚时，我有那么多债务，差点被送进监狱，母亲却无法看到或理解这一切。” —

And then you, and the children, and my work. —
然后还有你，还有孩子们，还有我的工作。 —

It’s not for my own pleasure I am from morning to night looking after the men, or in the counting-house. —
早上到晚上，我不是为了自己的快乐而照料这些人，或者在办公室。 —

No, I know I must work to comfort my mother, repay you, and not leave my children in beggary, as I was left myself.”
不，我知道我必须工作来安抚我的母亲，偿还你的恩情，并不让我的孩子们陷入乞讨的境地，就像我自己曾经被遗弃一样。”

Countess Marya wanted to tell him that man does not live by bread alone; —
玛利亚伯爵想要告诉他，人不能靠面包生活； —

that he attached too much importance to this work. —
他对这项工作过于看重。 —

But she knew that she must not say this, and that it would be useless. —
但她知道自己不能说这些，而且也没有用。 —

She only took his hand and kissed it. He accepted this gesture on his wife’s part as a sign of assent and approval of his words, and after a few moments of silent thought he went on thinking aloud.
她只是握住了他的手并亲吻了一下。他接受了妻子这种举动，视为对他话语的同意和认可的表示，经过几分钟的沉思后，他继续自言自语地思考。

“Do you know, Marie,” he said, “Ilya Mitrofanitch” (this was a steward of his) “was here to-day from the Tambov estate, and he tells me they will give eighty thousand for the forest. —
“你知道吗，玛丽亚，”他说，“伊利亚·米特罗法尼奇”（这是他的一个管家）“今天来自坦波夫庄园，他告诉我他们愿意出八万购买森林。 —

” And with an eager face Nikolay began talking of the possibility of buying Otradnoe back within a very short time. —
”尼古拉急切地说着能在很短时间内买回奥特拉德诺耶的可能性。 —

“Another ten years of life, and I shall leave the children … in a capital position.”
“再活十年，我就能让孩子们……处于一种非常好的境地。”

Countess Marya listened to her husband, and understood all he said to her. —
玛丽亚伯爵听着丈夫的话，明白他对她所说的一切。 —

She knew that when he was thus thinking aloud, he would sometimes ask what he had been saying, and was vexed when he noticed she had been thinking of something else. —
她知道当他这样自言自语时，有时候会问自己刚才说了什么，如果他注意到她在想别的事情，她会感到烦恼。 —

But she had to make a great effort to attend, because she did not feel the slightest interest in what he was saying to her. —
但她必须付出很大的努力去注意，因为她对他对她说的话没有丝毫兴趣。 —

She looked at him, and though she would not exactly think of other things, her feelings were elsewhere. —
她看着他，尽管她不会具体地想其他事情，但她的感受却在其他地方。 —

She felt a submissive, tender love for this man, who could never understand all that she understood; and she seemed, for that very reason, to love him the more, with a shade of passionate tenderness. —
她对这个男人产生了一种屈从而温柔的爱，他永远无法理解她所理解的一切；因此，她似乎更加热爱他，带着一丝热情和温柔。 —

Apart from that feeling, which absorbed her entirely, and prevented her from following the details of her husband’s plans, thoughts kept floating through her brain that had nothing in common with what he was saying. —
除了完全投入其中的感觉外，她的思绪也飘散开来，与丈夫的计划毫无关联，她无法跟随他所说的细节。 —

She thought of her nephew (what her husband had said of his excitement over Pierre’s talk had made a great impression on her), and various traits of his tender, sensitive character rose to her mind; —
她想起了她的侄子（丈夫说他对彼得的谈话感到兴奋，这给她留下了很深的印象），她脑海中浮现出他那温柔、敏感的品质。 —

and while she thought of her nephew, she thought, too, of her own children. —
当她想起侄子的时候，她也会想起自己的孩子。 —

She did not compare her nephew with her own children, but she compared her own feeling for him, and her feeling for her children, and felt, with sorrow, that in her feeling for Nikolinka there was something wanting.
她并没有把侄子和自己的孩子做比较，但她比较了自己对他的感情和对孩子的感情，并感到遗憾的是，在对尼古琳卡的感情中，有些东西是不够的。

Sometimes the idea had occurred to her that this difference was due to his age; —
有时候她会想到这种差别是由于他的年龄造成的； —

but she felt guilty towards him, and in her soul vowed to amend, and to do the impossible, that is, in this life, to love her husband, and her children, and Nikolinka, and all her fellow-creatures, as Christ loved men. —
但她觉得对他有罪，她在心里发誓要改正，并且去做不可能的事情，也就是在这个生活中去像基督对待人一样地去爱她的丈夫、孩子、尼古琳卡和她的同伴。 —

Countess Marya’s soul was always striving towards the infinite, the eternal, and the perfect, and so she could never be at peace. —
玛丽亚女伯爵的灵魂总是向着无限、永恒和完美努力，所以她永远无法得到平静。 —

A stern expression came into her face from that hidden, lofty suffering of the spirit, weighed down by the flesh. —
一种严肃的表情从精神的高尚苦难中浮现在她的脸上，她被肉体所压迫。 —

Nikolay gazed at her. “My God! What will become of us, if she dies, as I dread, when she looks like that? —
尼古拉琳卡凝视着她。“天啊！如果她像那样看着我病倒了，我们该怎么办？ —

” he thought, and standing before the holy images, he began to repeat his evening prayer.
“他想着，在圣像前站着，他开始默念晚祷。