But what after all is one night? A short space, especially when the darknessdims so soon, and so soon a bird sings, a cock crows, or a faintgreen quickens, like a turning leaf, in the hollow of the wave. —
但究竟一夜算得了什么呢？一个短暂的时刻，特别是当黑暗很快降临，鸟儿啼鸣，公鸡啼叫，或者淡绿色迅速苏醒，在波浪的凹陷处，就像一片叶子翻转。 —

Night,however, succeeds to night. The winter holds a pack of them in store anddeals them equally, evenly, with indefatigable fingers. —
然而，夜晚接连着夜晚。冬天把它们储藏起来，用不知疲倦的手指平等地散发它们。 —

They lengthen;they darken. Some of them hold aloft clear planets, plates of brightness.
它们变长了，变暗了。有些挥舞着晶莹的行星，明亮如盘。

The autumn trees, ravaged as they are, take on the flash of tattered flagskindling in the gloom of cool cathedral caves where gold letters onmarble pages describe death in battle and how bones bleach and burn faraway in Indian sands. —
尽管被蹂躏，秋天的树依然在阴暗的大教堂洞穴中闪耀，就像燃烧在凉意中的破旗帜，上面金色字母在大理石页上描绘着阵亡的过程，描述骨头在印度沙漠中漂白燃烧。 —

The autumn trees gleam in the yellow moonlight,in the light of harvest moons, the light which mellows the energy of labour,and smooths the stubble, and brings the wave lapping blue to theshore.
秋天的树在黄色月光中闪耀，在收获月光中闪烁，这种光线缓和了劳动的能量，平滑了麦秸，将波浪拍到海岸边。

It seemed now as if, touched by human penitence and all its toil, divinegoodness had parted the curtain and displayed behind it, single,distinct, the hare erect; —
现在，仿佛被人类的忏悔和辛勤的劳动所感动，神圣的善良缓缓拉开帷幕，独立显露其中，直立的野兔； —

the wave falling; the boat rocking; which, did wedeserve them, should be ours always. —
波浪起伏；船摇晃；这些，如果我们配得上，应该永远属于我们。 —

But alas, divine goodness, twitchingthe cord, draws the curtain; it does not please him; —
但是，可惜，神圣的善良一扯绳索，就拉上了帷幕，他并不满意； —

he covers histreasures in a drench of hail, and so breaks them, so confuses them that itseems impossible that their calm should ever return or that we shouldever compose from their fragments a perfect whole or read in the litteredpieces the clear words of truth. —
他用一阵冰雹淹没他的宝藏，打散它们，混淆它们，以至于似乎它们的宁静永远不会回来，我们也永远无法从它们的碎片中组合出完美的整体，或者读出散乱的片段中的真理。 —

For our penitence deserves a glimpseonly; —
因为我们的忏悔只值一瞥； —

our toil respite only.
我们的劳动只值一息之间。

The nights now are full of wind and destruction; —
现在的夜晚充满了风和破坏； —

the trees plunge andbend and their leaves fly helter skelter until the lawn is plastered withthem and they lie packed in gutters and choke rain pipes and scatterdamp paths. —
树垂下弯曲，叶子乱飞，直到草坪布满它们，它们堵塞了水槽，扰乱了潮湿的路径。 —

Also the sea tosses itself and breaks itself, and should anysleeper fancying that he might find on the beach an answer to his doubts,a sharer of his solitude, throw off his bedclothes and go down by himselfto walk on the sand, no image with semblance of serving and divinepromptitude comes readily to hand bringing the night to order and
海也在翻腾自己，打破自己，如果有任何熟睡者幻想他在海滩上找到疑惑的答案，找到与他同在的人，于是扔掉他的被褥独自下楼走在沙滩上，期待那样一幅图像，似乎由服务和神圣的迅速带来夜晚的秩序，

making the world reflect the compass of the soul. The hand dwindles inhis hand; —
使世界反射灵魂的罗盘。他的手在他的手中变小； —

the voice bellows in his ear. Almost it would appear that it isuseless in such confusion to ask the night those questions as to what, andwhy, and wherefore, which tempt the sleeper from his bed to seek ananswer.
他的声音在他耳中咆哮。几乎看起来，如果在这样混乱中向夜晚提出那些引诱熟睡者走出床找答案的问题，这样做就毫无用处，问“什么”、“为什么”、“为何”，他们几乎不能在混乱中得到答案。

[Mr Ramsay, stumbling along a passage one dark morning, stretchedhis arms out, but Mrs Ramsay having died rather suddenly the night before,his arms, though stretched out, remained empty.]]
[拉姆齐先生一个阴暗的清晨踉跄地走过走廊，伸出双臂，但因为拉姆齐夫人前一晚意外去世，他的双臂虽然伸出来了，却空无一物。]