1st Gent. All times are good to seek your wedded home Bringing a mutual delight.
第一位绅士：在任何时间，寻找归宿皆善，带来共同的快乐。

2d Gent. Why, true. The calendar hath not an evil day For souls made one by love, and even death Were sweetness, if it came like rolling waves While they two clasped each other, and foresaw No life apart.
第二位绅士：是的，事实如此。对于那些因爱而结合在一起的灵魂来说，日子都是美好的，甚至死亡也会像滚滚浪潮一样甜美，如果它们紧紧相拥在一起，预见到再无分离的生活。

Mr. and Mrs. Casaubon, returning from their wedding journey, arrived at Lowick Manor in the middle of January. —
卡索本先生和太太在他们新婚之旅归来后，于一月中旬抵达洛威克庄园。 —

A light snow was falling as they descended at the door, and in the morning, when Dorothea passed from her dressing-room avenue the blue-green boudoir that we know of, she saw the long avenue of limes lifting their trunks from a white earth, and spreading white branches against the dun and motionless sky. —
当多萝西娅从她的化妆间走过我们熟知的蓝绿色小房间时，外面正在飘着轻轻的雪，她看到长长的菩提树林将它们的树干探入白色的大地，白色的树枝在暗淡静止的天空下展开。 —

The distant flat shrank in uniform whiteness and low-hanging uniformity of cloud. —
远处的平地铺展着一片白色，低垂的云层也呈现出一致的白色。 —

The very furniture in the room seemed to have shrunk since she saw it before: —
室内的家具似乎自她上次见到它们以来已经萎缩： —

the slag in the tapestry looked more like a ghost in his ghostly blue-green world; —
挂毯中的炉渣更像是他在幽灵般的蓝绿色世界中的鬼魂； —

the volumes of polite literature in the bookcase looked more like immovable imitations of books. —
书架上的那些文学著作看起来更像是不可移动的书籍模拟品。 —

The bright fire of dry oak-boughs burning on the dogs seemed an incongruous renewal of life and glow–like the figure of Dorothea herself as she entered carrying the red-leather cases containing the cameos for Celia.
烧在地炉上闪亮的橡木枝柴火似乎与生命和光的再生格格不入——就像多萝西娅本人一样，带着腮红盒进来，里面装着为西莉亚准备的贵重贝壳雕件。

She was glowing from her morning toilet as only healthful youth can glow: —
她从早间的整理中出来，只有青春健康才会有的发光： —

there was gem-like brightness on her coiled hair and in her hazel eyes; —
她盘起的头发和榛果色眼睛中闪烁着宝石般的光辉； —

there was warm red life in her lips; her throat had a breathing whiteness above the differing white of the fur which itself seemed to wind about her neck and cling down her blue-gray pelisse with a tenderness gathered from her own, a sentient commingled innocence which kept its loveliness against the crystalline purity of the outdoor snow. —
她唇上有温暖的红色生命；她的喉咙在被领子围绕的领子上面呈现出一种呼吸般的白色，这种纯洁与蓝灰色斗篷形成鲜明对比，似乎从她自身获得了一种充满感知力的融洽清白，对比起户外雪的晶莹洁净，依然保持着它的美丽。 —

As she laid the cameo- cases on the table in the bow-window, she unconsciously kept her hands on them, immediately absorbed in looking out on the still, white enclosure which made her visible world.
当她把贝壳盒放在弓形窗前的桌子上时，不经意间保持着手放在上面，完全沉浸在看着把她带入视界的寂静、白色庭院之中。

Mr. Casaubon, who had risen early complaining of palpitation, was in the library giving audience to his curate Mr. Tucker. —
卡索本先生因心悸早早起床，正在书房里接见他的副牧师塔克先生。 —

By-and-by Celia would come in her quality of bridesmaid as well as sister, and through the next weeks there would be wedding visits received and given; —
等待着西莉亚会作为伴娘兼姐妹进来，接下来几周会收到和拜访婚礼的访客； —

all in continuance of that transitional life understood to correspond with the excitement of bridal felicity, and keeping up the sense of busy ineffectiveness, as of a dream which the dreamer begins to suspect. —
这一切都在延续着那种过渡的生活，理解为与新婚的幸福相对应，保持着忙碌无效的感觉，就像梦境中开始怀疑自己的那种梦。 —

The duties of her married life, contemplated as so great beforehand, seemed to be shrinking with the furniture and the white vapor-walled landscape. —
她婚后生活中所期待的责任，在事前看起来是如此重大，却似乎随着家具和被白雾包围的风景缩水了。 —

The clear heights where she expected to walk in full communion had become difficult to see even in her imagination; —
她预期会在其中完全相通的明朗高度，现在已经变得难以在她的想象中看到； —

the delicious repose of the soul on a complete superior had been shaken into uneasy effort and alarmed with dim presentiment. —
心灵在一个完全优越者身上的甜蜜安息被动摇成了不安的努力，并伴随着莫名的不祥预感。 —

When would the days begin of that active wifely devotion which was to strengthen her husband’s life and exalt her own? —
那种活跃的妻子奉献的日子何时才会开始，这会强化她丈夫的生活并提升她自己的呢？ —

Never perhaps, as she had preconceived them; but somehow– still somehow. —
或许从未，正如她之前构想的；但以某种方式–仍然以某种方式。 —

In this solemnly pledged union of her life, duty would present itself in some new form of inspiration and give a new meaning to wifely love.
在她生命中这个庄严承诺的联合中，责任会以某种新的灵感形式呈现，并赋予妻子爱新的含义。

Meanwhile there was the snow and the low arch of dun vapor– there was the stifling oppression of that gentlewoman’s world, where everything was done for her and none asked for her aid– where the sense of connection with a manifold pregnant existence had to be kept up painfully as an inward vision, instead of coming from without in claims that would have shaped her energies. —
与之形成强烈对比的是，这里有雪和浓浊的阴霾：这里有那位绅士世界中的压迫感，所有的事情都是为她做好的，没有人向她寻求援助–内心保持与豁然多彩的存在的联系感是痛苦的，而不是来自外界要求形塑她的能量。 —

– “What shall I do?” “Whatever you please, my dear:” —
“我该怎么办？”“亲爱的，随你便。” —

that had been her brief history since she had left off learning morning lessons and practising silly rhythms on the hated piano. —
自从她停止了早课和在讨厌的钢琴上练习愚蠢的节奏以来，这就是她的简短历史。 —

Marriage, which was to bring guidance into worthy and imperative occupation, had not yet freed her from the gentlewoman’s oppressive liberty: —
婚姻本应带来指引，让她从绅士压迫性的自由中解脱出来，但却尚未这样做； —

it had not even filled her leisure with the ruminant joy of unchecked tenderness. —
甚至没有让她的闲暇充满了无约束的柔情的沉思的快乐。 —

Her blooming full-pulsed youth stood there in a moral imprisonment which made itself one with the chill, colorless, narrowed landscape, with the shrunken furniture, the never-read books, and the ghostly stag in a pale fantastic world that seemed to be vanishing from the daylight.
她盛开舒张的青春在一种道德的囚禁中站立，这种囚禁与寒冷、没有色彩、狭窄的景观、缩水的家具、从不阅读的书籍，以及在灰白幻想世界中的幽灵鹿融为一体，仿佛从白昼中消失。

In the first minutes when Dorothea looked out she felt nothing but the dreary oppression; —
当多萝西娅朝窗外看时，她只感到沉闷的压迫； —

then came a keen remembrance, and turning away from the window she walked round the room. —
然后，一阵痛切的回忆涌上心头，她转身离开窗户，绕着房间走了一圈。 —

The ideas and hopes which were living in her mind when she first saw this room nearly three months before were present now only as memories: —
当她第一次看到这个房间时，在将近三个月前所寄予的想法和希望，如今只存留在记忆中： —

she judged them as we judge transient and departed things. —
她评判它们如同我们评判那些短暂和离去的事物。 —

All existence seemed to beat with a lower pulse than her own, and her religious faith was a solitary cry, the struggle out of a nightmare in which every object was withering and shrinking away from her. —
所有存在似乎都在跳动着比她自己更低的脉搏，她的宗教信仰成了一声孤独的呼声，是从噩梦中挣扎出来的，其中每一个对象都在离她远去前枯萎缩小。 —

Each remembered thing in the room was disenchanted, was deadened as an unlit transparency, till her wandering gaze came to the group of miniatures, and there at last she saw something which had gathered new breath and meaning: —
房间里的每一个记忆物品都失去了魅力，如同一个待点燃的不透明物，直到她的目光游走到一组小画像那里，最后她看到了某些物品重新获得了新的生机和意义： —

it was the miniature of Mr. Casaubon’s aunt Julia, who had made the unfortunate marriage– of Will Ladislaw’s grandmother. —
那是卡索本先生姨妈茱莉娅的小画像，她曾经结下了不幸的婚姻–威尔·拉迪斯劳的祖母。 —

Dorothea could fancy that it was alive now–the delicate woman’s face which yet had a headstrong look, a peculiarity difficult to interpret. —
多丽西亚凭想象觉得它现在活了起来–那个脸上虽然带有某种固执的女人。 —

Was it only her friends who thought her marriage unfortunate? —
是只有她的朋友认为她的婚姻不幸福吗? —

or did she herself find it out to be a mistake, and taste the salt bitterness of her tears in the merciful silence of the night? —
或者是她自己也发现了这是一个错误，并在宁静的夜晚的慈祥沉默中尝到她眼泪的咸苦? —

What breadths of experience Dorothea seemed to have passed over since she first looked at this miniature! —
多丽西亚似乎已经跨过了一片体验的海洋，自第一次看到这幅小画像以来。 —

She felt a new companionship with it, as if it had an ear for her and could see how she was looking at it. —
她感觉到了一种新的亲近感，似乎它有耳朵能听她，在接近它的时候可以看到她是如何看待它的。 —

Here was a woman who had known some difficulty about marriage. —
这里是一个关于婚姻有所困扰的女人。 —

Nay, the colors deepened, the lips and chin seemed to get larger, the hair and eyes seemed to be sending out light, the face was masculine and beamed on her with that full gaze which tells her on whom it falls that she is too interesting for the slightest movement of her eyelid to pass unnoticed and uninterpreted. —
不，颜色变得更深，唇和下巴似乎变大，头发和眼睛似乎散发出光芒，脸显得男性化，用那种全神贯注的凝视望着她，告诉她，她太有趣了，连最微小的眨眼动作也不会被忽略和解读。 —

The vivid presentation came like a pleasant glow to Dorothea: —
这种生动的展现给了多丽西亚一种愉悦的温暖感： —

she felt herself smiling, and turning from the miniature sat down and looked up as if she were again talking to a figure in front of her. —
她觉得自己在微笑，离开小画像坐下来，并看似再次与面前的形象交谈。 —

But the smile disappeared as she went on meditating, and at last she said aloud–
但当她继续沉思时，微笑消失了，最后她大声说道–

“Oh, it was cruel to speak so! How sad–how dreadful!”
“哦，说这样太残忍了！多么悲哀–多么可怕！”

She rose quickly and went out of the room, hurrying along the corridor, with the irresistible impulse to go and see her husband and inquire if she could do anything for him. —
她迅速起身走出房间，匆匆穿过走廊，不可抑制地想去看看她丈夫，问问能否为他做点什么。 —

Perhaps Mr. Tucker was gone and Mr. Casaubon was alone in the library. —
也许塔克先生已经走了，卡索邦先生独自一人在图书馆里。 —

She felt as if all her morning’s gloom would vanish if she could see her husband glad because of her presence.
她觉得如果丈夫看到她在场会感到高兴，那么她早上的忧郁就会消失。

But when she reached the head of the dark oak there was Celia coming up, and below there was Mr. Brooke, exchanging welcomes and congratulations with Mr. Casaubon.
但是当她走到暗橡木楼梯的顶端时，西莉娅正朝这边走来，楼下有布鲁克先生和卡索邦先生交换着问候和祝贺。

“Dodo!” said Celia, in her quiet staccato; —
“朵朵！”西莉娅带着安静的断音说， —

then kissed her sister, whose arms encircled her, and said no more. —
然后亲吻了她的姐姐，两人都以隐秘的方式流了一点眼泪，而多萝西娅则下楼去迎接叔叔。 —

I think they both cried a little in a furtive manner, while Dorothea ran down-stairs to greet her uncle.
“亲爱的，我不用问你好不好。”布鲁克先生在亲吻她的额头之后说道。

“I need not ask how you are, my dear,” said Mr. Brooke, after kissing her forehead. —
“我看罗马对你有好处–幸福、壁画、古代建筑那一类的东西。 —

“Rome has agreed with you, I see–happiness, frescos, the antique–that sort of thing. —
我很高兴你又回来了，而且现在你对艺术了如指掌，对吧？ —

Well, it’s very pleasant to have you back again, and you understand all about art now, eh? —
但是卡索邦有点苍白，我告诉他–有点苍白，你知道。 —

But Casaubon is a little pale, I tell him–a little pale, you know. —
在假期里苦读有些过分了。 —

Studying hard in his holidays is carrying it rather too far. —
过去有时我也做得过了头”–布鲁克先生依然握着多萝西娅的手，但转向卡索邦先生–“讲地理位置学、废墟、庙宇之类–我当时觉得自己找到了线索，但后来意识到自己可能过头了，什么也许都得不到。 —

I overdid it at one time”–Mr. Brooke still held Dorothea’s hand, but had turned his face to Mr. Casaubon–“about topography, ruins, temples–I thought I had a clew, but I saw it would carry me too far, and nothing might come of it. —
在这类事情上你可以走得很远，但什么也得不到，你知道。” —

You may go any length in that sort of thing, and nothing may come of it, you know.”
“你可以走得很远，但什么也得不到，你知道。”

Dorothea’s eyes also were turned up to her husband’s face with some anxiety at the idea that those who saw him afresh after absence might be aware of signs which she had not noticed.
多萝西娅的眼睛也转向她丈夫的脸上，有些担心，担心那些久未见面的人可能会注意到她没有注意到的迹象。

“Nothing to alarm you, my dear,” said Mr. Brooke, observing her expression. —
“别担心，亲爱的，” 布鲁克先生说，看到她的表情。 —

“A little English beef and mutton will soon make a difference. —
“一点英国的牛肉和羊肉很快就会有所改善。” —

It was all very well to look pale, sitting for the portrait of Aquinas, you know–we got your letter just in time. —
坐在为阿奎那画肖像的时候苍白一点倒也无妨，你知道——我们及时收到了你的信。 —

But Aquinas, now–he was a little too subtle, wasn’t he? —
但是阿奎那，他是否有些过于微妙了呢？ —

Does anybody read Aquinas?”
有人读过阿奎那吗？

“He is not indeed an author adapted to superficial minds,” said Mr. Casaubon, meeting these timely questions with dignified patience.
“他的著作确实不适合肤浅的头脑，” 卡索本先生用有尊严的耐心应对这些及时的问题。

“You would like coffee in your own room, uncle?” said Dorothea, coming to the rescue.
“你想在你自己的房间喝咖啡吗，叔叔？” 多萝西娅出面救场。

“Yes; and you must go to Celia: she has great news to tell you, you know. I leave it all to her.”
“是的；你必须去找西莉亚：她有重大的消息要告诉你，你知道的。我把一切都交给她。”

The blue-green boudoir looked much more cheerful when Celia was seated there in a pelisse exactly like her sister’s, surveying the cameos with a placid satisfaction, while the conversation passed on to other topics.
在蓝绿色的闺房里，希莉雅坐在那里，穿着一件和她姐姐完全一样的披肩，满意地审视着象牙浮雕，而谈话转移到其他话题上。

“Do you think it nice to go to Rome on a wedding journey?” —
“你认为去罗马度蜜月好吗？” 西莉亚说，脸上总是在最小的场合上闪烁出敏感的红晕，这让多萝西娅习以为常。 —

said Celia, with her ready delicate blush which Dorothea was used to on the smallest occasions.
“并不是所有人都适合——比如说，不适合你，亲爱的，” 多萝西娅平静地说。

“It would not suit all–not you, dear, for example,” said Dorothea, quietly. —
没有人会知道她对去罗马度蜜月的看法。 —

No one would ever know what she thought of a wedding journey to Rome.
“卡德沃雷夫人说人们结婚后长途旅行是愚蠢的。

“Mrs. Cadwallader says it is nonsense, people going a long journey when they are married. —
“她不适合所有人，包括你，亲爱的。”多萝西娅安静地说。 —

She says they get tired to death of each other, and can’t quarrel comfortably, as they would at home. —
她说他们厌倦了对方，不能像在家里那样舒服地争吵。 —

And Lady Chettam says she went to Bath.” Celia’s color changed again and again–seemed
她说她去了巴斯。西莉亚的脸色一次又一次地变化，似乎

“To come and go with tidings from the heart, As it a running messenger had been.”
“犹如心灵的消息来去，犹如它是一位奔跑的使者。”

It must mean more than Celia’s blushing usually did.
它一定比西莉亚通常的脸红含义更深。

“Celia! has something happened?” said Dorothea, in a tone full of sisterly feeling. —
“西莉亚！发生了什么事吗？”多萝西娅说，语气充满姐妹般的情感。 —

“Have you really any great news to tell me?”
“你真的有什么重要的消息要告诉我吗？”

“It was because you went away, Dodo. Then there was nobody but me for Sir James to talk to,” said Celia, with a certain roguishness in her eyes.
“是因为你离开了，朵朵。然后只剩下我和詹姆士爵士说话了。”西莉亚带着一丝淘气的眼神说。

“I understand. It is as I used to hope and believe,” said Dorothea, taking her sister’s face between her hands, and looking at her half anxiously. —
“我明白了。正如我曾经希望和相信的那样。”多萝西娅双手捧着妹妹的脸，半担心地看着她。 —

Celia’s marriage seemed more serious than it used to do.
西莉亚的婚姻似乎比以前更加严肃了。

“It was only three days ago,” said Celia. “And Lady Chettam is very kind.”
“就在三天前。”西莉亚说。“查特姆夫人非常友善。”

“And you are very happy?”
“你很幸福吗？”

“Yes. We are not going to be married yet. Because every thing is to be got ready. —
“是的。我们还没有结婚。因为一切都要准备好。 —

And I don’t want to be married so very soon, because I think it is nice to be engaged. —
我不想那么快结婚，因为我觉得订婚是很美好的事情。 —

And we shall be married all our lives after.”
我们结婚后会一生一世。”

“I do believe you could not marry better, Kitty. Sir James is a good, honorable man,” said Dorothea, warmly.
“我相信你找不到比他更好的丈夫了，基蒂。詹姆士爵士是一个好人，诚实的人。”多萝西娅热情地说道。

“He has gone on with the cottages, Dodo. He will tell you about them when he comes. —
“他已经开始做小屋了，朵朵。等他回来会告诉你的。 —

Shall you be glad to see him?”
你会高兴见到他吗？”

“Of course I shall. How can you ask me?”
“当然会。你怎么问这个？”

“Only I was afraid you would be getting so learned,” said Celia, regarding Mr. Casaubon’s learning as a kind of damp which might in due time saturate a neighboring body.
“只是我担心你会变得太博学了,” 希利亚说，她将卡瑟本先生的学识视为一种可能会渗透到周围的湿气。”