“How happy is he born and taught That serveth not another’s will; —
“一个不侍奉他人意志的人是多么幸福， —

Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his only skill! … … . —
他的铠甲是他诚实的思想，唯一的技能是简单的真理！ —

This man is freed from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall; —
这个人摆脱了奴役的束缚，不怀希望上升或害怕跌落； —

Lord of himself though not of lands; And having nothing yet hath all.” —
他虽然不是土地的主人，却是自己的主人；虽然一无所有，却拥有一切。” —

–SIR HENRY WOTTON.
– 亨利·沃顿

Dorothea’s confidence in Caleb Garth’s knowledge, which had begun on her hearing that he approved of her cottages, had grown fast during her stay at Freshitt, Sir James having induced her to take rides over the two estates in company with himself and Caleb, who quite returned her admiration, and told his wife that Mrs. Casaubon had a head for business most uncommon in a woman. —
多萝西娅对卡勒布·加思的知识产生了信心，这种信心始于她听说他赞同她的小屋，在弗雷希特逗留期间迅速增长，史偕姆让她和自己以及卡勒布一起骑马去两个地产，卡勒布非常欣赏她，并告诉他的妻子卡索本夫人在女人中具有非常罕见的商业头脑。 —

It must be remembered that by “business” Caleb never meant money transactions, but the skilful application of labor.
必须记住，卡勒布所指的“商业”从不是指金钱交易，而是对劳动的巧妙运用。

“Most uncommon!” repeated Caleb. “She said a thing I often used to think myself when I was a lad: —
“非常罕见！”卡勒布重复道。“她说的是我年轻时常常自己想的一件事：‘加思先生，如果我能活到老，我想感到高兴，因为我在一片伟大的土地上进行了改良，建了许多好的小屋，因为这种工作在进行时是种健康的工作，在完成后，人们因此受益。’” —

–`Mr. Garth, I should like to feel, if I lived to be old, that I had improved a great piece of land and built a great many good cottages, because the work is of a healthy kind while it is being done, and after it is done, men are the better for it.’ —
那正是她说的话：她以这种方式看待事情。 —

Those were the very words: she sees into things in that way.”
“但是女性特有的，我希望是这样的，”苏珊说，她有点怀疑卡索本太夫人是否坚持正确的顺从原则。

“But womanly, I hope,” said Mrs. Garth, half suspecting that Mrs. Casaubon might not hold the true principle of subordination.
“噢，你无法想象！”卡勒布摇了摇头。

“Oh, you can’t think!” said Caleb, shaking his head. —
“你会喜欢听她说话的，苏珊。她说话直截了当，声音像音乐。 —

“You would like to hear her speak, Susan. She speaks in such plain words, and a voice like music. —
我的上帝！它使我想起了《弥赛亚》中的片段——‘随后出现了众多的天兵，赞美上帝说；’ —

Bless me! it reminds me of bits in the Messiah'--and straightway there appeared a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying;’ —
它有一种音调，让你的耳朵满足。” —

it has a tone with it that satisfies your ear.”
这个声音非常令他耳濡目染，它使他指尖有点发痒，想要用颈部的肌肉让他的听觉完全投入到这个音乐中，尽管他知道这很可能会引起带着紫色娇嫩涌泉的贪婪目光联想到与他眼泪的肿胀有关的那一个童年的笑容。

Caleb was very fond of music, and when he could afford it went to hear an oratorio that came within his reach, returning from it with a profound reverence for this mighty structure of tones, which made him sit meditatively, looking on the floor and throwing much unutterable language into his outstretched hands.
卡勒布非常喜欢音乐，如果经济允许，他会去听一场附近的清唱剧，回来后对这强大的音符结构充满敬畏，他会坐着沉思，低头看着地板，双手伸展，流露出许多难以言喻的情感。

With this good understanding between them, it was natural that Dorothea asked Mr. Garth to undertake any business connected with the three farms and the numerous tenements attached to Lowick Manor; —
由于他们之间的良好了解，朵罗西娅自然而然地请加思先生负责与洛威克庄园相关的三个农场和众多附属住宅的任何事务； —

indeed, his expectation of getting work for two was being fast fulfilled. —
事实上，他期望能找到工作给两个人的预期正迅速实现。 —

As he said, “Business breeds.” And one form of business which was beginning to breed just then was the construction of railways. —
正如他所说，“生意正在滋生。”而当时开始滋生的一种生意形式是修建铁路。 —

A projected line was to run through Lowick parish where the cattle had hitherto grazed in a peace unbroken by astonishment; —
一条拟议中的线路将穿过洛威克教区，那里的牛群过去曾在一片和平中吃草，没有受到震惊； —

and thus it happened that the infant struggles of the railway system entered into the affairs of Caleb Garth, and determined the course of this history with regard to two persons who were dear to him. —
因此，铁路系统的初生之犊涉及了卡勒布·加思的事务，并决定了本故事涉及的两个他非常珍视的人的命运。 —

The submarine railway may have its difficulties; —
潜水铁路可能存在困难； —

but the bed of the sea is not divided among various landed proprietors with claims for damages not only measurable but sentimental. —
但海床并没有被不同的地主分割开来，他们对索赔的要求不仅是可衡量的，还涉及情感。 —

In the hundred to which Middlemarch belonged railways were as exciting a topic as the Reform Bill or the imminent horrors of Cholera, and those who held the most decided views on the subject were women and landholders. —
在Middlemarch所属的百货公司，铁路和改革法案或霍乱即将到来的恐怖一样令人兴奋，对这个问题有最坚定看法的人是妇女和地主。 —

Women both old and young regarded travelling by steam as presumptuous and dangerous, and argued against it by saying that nothing should induce them to get into a railway carriage; —
无论年长还是年轻的妇女都认为乘坐蒸汽火车是鲁莽和危险的，并且以绝对不让他们进入铁路车厢为理由反对它； —

while proprietors, differing from each other in their arguments as much as Mr. Solomon Featherstone differed from Lord Medlicote, were yet unanimous in the opinion that in selling land, whether to the Enemy of mankind or to a company obliged to purchase, these pernicious agencies must be made to pay a very high price to landowners for permission to injure mankind.
而地主则不同，彼此在论据上各持己见，就像所罗门·菲瑟斯通先生和梅德利科特勋爵之间的分歧一样，但他们却一致认为，在出售土地时，无论是给那位人类之敌还是给不得不购买的公司，这些有害机构都必须向地主支付非常高的价格，以准许损害人类。

But the slower wits, such as Mr. Solomon and Mrs. Waule, who both occupied land of their own, took a long time to arrive at this conclusion, their minds halting at the vivid conception of what it would be to cut the Big Pasture in two, and turn it into three-cornered bits, which would be “nohow;” —
而像所罗门先生和沃尔夫夫人这样理解较慢的人，他们俩都拥有自己的土地，需要很长时间才能得出这个结论，他们的思绪在如何将大牧场分割成三角形碎片并转变为“不可能”的活草地上犹豫不决； —

while accommodation-bridges and high payments were remote and incredible.
而配套桥梁和高额付款则显得遥不可及和难以置信。

“The cows will all cast their calves, brother,” said Mrs. Waule, in a tone of deep melancholy, “if the railway comes across the Near Close; —
“弟弟，如果铁路穿过近圈地，所有母牛都会流产，”沃尔夫夫人沉重地说道，“如果那匹母马怀孕了，她也可能如此。 —

and I shouldn’t wonder at the mare too, if she was in foal. —
我不会对这一点感到惊讶。 —

It’s a poor tale if a widow’s property is to be spaded away, and the law say nothing to it. —
如果一个寡妇的财产要被砸掉，而法律对此却不说一句，那就是一个可悲的故事。 —

What’s to hinder ‘em from cutting right and left if they begin? —
如果他们开始了，有什么能阻止他们胡作非为呢？ —

It’s well known, I can’t fight.”
人都知道，我是打不过他们的。

“The best way would be to say nothing, and set somebody on to send ‘em away with a flea in their ear, when they came spying and measuring,” said Solomon. —
“最好的办法就是不说什么，让别人去赶他们走，当他们来侦查和测量的时候，给他们一个难堪的回答，”所罗门说。 —

“Folks did that about Brassing, by what I can understand. —
从我了解的情况来看，人们在布拉辛吉也是这么做的。 —

It’s all a pretence, if the truth was known, about their being forced to take one way. —
如果真相大白，那一切都是一场伪装，他们并不是被迫按照某种方式行事。 —

Let ‘em go cutting in another parish. And I don’t believe in any pay to make amends for bringing a lot of ruffians to trample your crops. —
让他们去另一个教区砸吧。我不相信通过支付赔偿就可以弥补因为带来一群暴徒践踏庄稼所带来的伤害。 —

Where’s a company’s pocket?”
公司的口袋在哪里？

“Brother Peter, God forgive him, got money out of a company,” said Mrs. Waule. “But that was for the manganese. —
“彼得兄弟，愿上帝原谅他，曾经从一家公司拿过钱，”瓦勒夫人说道。 “但那是为了锰矿。 —

That wasn’t for railways to blow you to pieces right and left.”
那不是为了修铁路到处炸你们的身体。

“Well, there’s this to be said, Jane,” Mr. Solomon concluded, lowering his voice in a cautious manner–“the more spokes we put in their wheel, the more they’ll pay us to let ‘em go on, if they must come whether or not.”
“好吧，简，这样说也有道理，”所罗门先生以一种谨慎的方式降低声音说道，”我们在他们的车轮中插入的刺越多，他们才会越愿意付钱让我们放他们走，无论他们是否必须前来。

This reasoning of Mr. Solomon’s was perhaps less thorough than he imagined, his cunning bearing about the same relation to the course of railways as the cunning of a diplomatist bears to the general chill or catarrh of the solar system. —
所罗门先生的这种推理也许没有他自己想象的那么深刻，他的狡诈与铁路的发展之间的关系，犹如一位外交家的狡猾与太阳系的普遍寒冷或感冒的关系。 —

But he set about acting on his views in a thoroughly diplomatic manner, by stimulating suspicion. —
但他开始以一种完全外交手段行事，激发怀疑。 —

His side of Lowick was the most remote from the village, and the houses of the laboring people were either lone cottages or were collected in a hamlet called Frick, where a water-mill and some stone-pits made a little centre of slow, heavy-shouldered industry.
他在洛威克的那一边离村庄最远，劳动人民的房屋要么是独立的茅屋，要么聚集在一个叫弗里克的村庄里，那里有一个水磨和一些采石场，构成了一个缓慢、沉重肩膀的行业小中心。

In the absence of any precise idea as to what railways were, public opinion in Frick was against them; —
在对铁路究竟是什么的概念不清的情况下，弗里克的公共舆论对铁路持反对态度； —

for the human mind in that grassy corner had not the proverbial tendency to admire the unknown, holding rather that it was likely to be against the poor man, and that suspicion was the only wise attitude with regard to it. —
因为人类的大脑在那片草地角落里，并没有传说中对未知事物的倾慕倾向，相反，更倾向于怀疑贫穷人，认为怀疑是对待未知最明智的态度。 —

Even the rumor of Reform had not yet excited any millennial expectations in Frick, there being no definite promise in it, as of gratuitous grains to fatten Hiram Ford’s pig, or of a publican at the “Weights and Scales” who would brew beer for nothing, or of an offer on the part of the three neighboring farmers to raise wages during winter. —
甚至改革的传闻也没有激起富里克镇的千禧期望，因为其中没有明确的承诺，比如给海拉姆·福特养猪提供免费粮食，或者在“衡量和衡量”酒馆有人会免费酿酒，或者三个邻近农民在冬季提高工资的打算。 —

And without distinct good of this kind in its promises, Reform seemed on a footing with the bragging of pedlers, which was a hint for distrust to every knowing person. —
没有这种承诺中的明确好处，改革似乎和小贩的吹嘘一样引起精明人的怀疑。 —

The men of Frick were not ill-fed, and were less given to fanaticism than to a strong muscular suspicion; —
富里克的人们吃得不错，并且更倾向于强壮的怀疑，而不是狂热; —

less inclined to believe that they were peculiarly cared for by heaven, than to regard heaven itself as rather disposed to take them in– a disposition observable in the weather.
不太倾向于相信他们被上天特别关照，而更倾向于认为甚至上天本身也更倾向于欺骗他们–这种倾向在天气中也可以观察到。

Thus the mind of Frick was exactly of the sort for Mr. Solomon Featherstone to work upon, he having more plenteous ideas of the same order, with a suspicion of heaven and earth which was better fed and more entirely at leisure. —
因此，富里克镇的思维恰好适合所罗门·费瑟斯通的操作，他有更丰富的相同类型的想法，对上天和地球的怀疑更足，更完全地有闲暇。 —

Solomon was overseer of the roads at that time, and on his slow-paced cob often took his rounds by Frick to look at the workmen getting the stones there, pausing with a mysterious deliberation, which might have misled you into supposing that he had some other reason for staying than the mere want of impulse to move. —
当时所罗门是道路监督员，经常骑着他的缓慢的小马绕富里克镇巡视，看着那里的工人们搬石头，停下来沉思良久，这种神秘的从容可能会误导你认为他停留的理由不只是缺乏移动的冲动。 —

After looking for a long while at any work that was going on, he would raise his eyes a little and look at the horizon; —
在长时间观看正在进行的工作后，他会稍微抬起眼睛看向地平线; —

finally he would shake his bridle, touch his horse with the whip, and get it to move slowly onward. —
最后他会晃动缰绳，用鞭子轻轻打马，让它慢慢前行。 —

The hour-hand of a clock was quick by comparison with Mr. Solomon, who had an agreeable sense that he could afford to be slow. —
对比所罗门，钟表的时针简直快得多了，他觉得自己慢悠悠地也挺好。 —

He was in the habit of pausing for a cautious, vaguely designing chat with every hedger or ditcher on his way, and was especially willing to listen even to news which he had heard before, feeling himself at an advantage over all narrators in partially disbelieving them. —
他习惯于在路上与每个修篱或挖沟的人谨慎、含糊地聊天，尤其乐于倾听即使是他早就听过的消息，感到自己在部分地对说故事者持怀疑态度上处于优势。 —

One day, however, he got into a dialogue with Hiram Ford, a wagoner, in which he himself contributed information. —
然而，有一天，他与瓦格纳师傅海拉姆·福特进行了一场对话，他自己也提供了一些信息。 —

He wished to know whether Hiram had seen fellows with staves and instruments spying about: —
他想知道海拉姆是否看到有人拿着杆和仪器在四处打探: —

they called themselves railroad people, but there was no telling what they were or what they meant to do. —
他们自称是铁路公司的人，但没人知道他们是谁或他们打算做什么。 —

The least they pretended was that they were going to cut Lowick Parish into sixes and sevens.
他们最少声称他们要把洛维克教区分割成六七块。

“Why, there’ll be no stirrin’ from one pla-ace to another,” said Hiram, thinking of his wagon and horses.
“为什么,从一个地方到另一个地方都不会有动静，”海勒姆说着，想着他的马车和马匹。

“Not a bit,” said Mr. Solomon. “And cutting up fine land such as this parish! —
“一点也不错，”所罗门先生说。“砍伐这样的好地，如此的乡村！ —

Let ‘em go into Tipton, say I. But there’s no knowing what there is at the bottom of it. —
让他们去提普顿吧，我这么说。但是不知道其中究竟隐藏着什么。 —

Traffic is what they put for’ard; but it’s to do harm to the land and the poor man in the long-run.”
他们说是为了交通，但其实是为了长远来看伤害土地和穷人。”

“Why, they’re Lunnon chaps, I reckon,” said Hiram, who had a dim notion of London as a centre of hostility to the country.
“噢，他们应该是伦敦佬吧，”海勒姆猜测道，对伦敦有些模糊的概念，认为那里是对乡村的敌意中心。

“Ay, to be sure. And in some parts against Brassing, by what I’ve heard say, the folks fell on ‘em when they were spying, and broke their peep-holes as they carry, and drove ‘em away, so as they knew better than come again.”
“对，当然。听说有的地方对布拉辛不满，那些人潜伏过去窥探，被人们袭击，打碎了他们的窥视孔，赶走了他们，以至于他们知道再也不敢回来。”

“It war good foon, I’d be bound,” said Hiram, whose fun was much restricted by circumstances.
“这肯定是场不错的插曲，”海勒姆说，他的娱乐活动在非常局限的情况下。

“Well, I wouldn’t meddle with ‘em myself,” said Solomon. —
“那我可不想和他们搅和在一起，”所罗门说。 —

“But some say this country’s seen its best days, and the sign is, as it’s being overrun with these fellows trampling right and left, and wanting to cut it up into railways; —
“但有人说这个国家已经见过它最好的时日了，迹象是，它正被这些家伙们横冲直撞地蹂躏，想要把它切割成铁路； —

and all for the big traffic to swallow up the little, so as there shan’t be a team left on the land, nor a whip to crack.”
全部都是为了那些大交通体来吞噬那些小的，以至于在土地上就不会留下一匹马队，也不会有鞭子作响声。”

“I’ll crack my whip about their ear’n, afore they bring it to that, though,” said Hiram, while Mr. Solomon, shaking his bridle, moved onward.
“在他们做成这样之前，我会在他们耳边抽响我的鞭子，”海勒姆说着，而所罗门先生摇着缰绳，向前走去。

Nettle-seed needs no digging. The ruin of this countryside by railroads was discussed, not only at the “Weights and Scales,” but in the hay-field, where the muster of working hands gave opportunities for talk such as were rarely had through the rural year.
荨麻籽不需要挖掘。这片乡村被铁路带来的毁灭在“分量与秤”酒吧中讨论，也在干草地上讨论，在那里，工作的人手在稀有的农村年份里提供了谈话的机会。

One morning, not long after that interview between Mr. Farebrother and Mary Garth, in which she confessed to him her feeling for Fred Vincy, it happened that her father had some business which took him to Yoddrell’s farm in the direction of Frick: —
就在玛丽·加思和法尔布鲁斯特先生之间的那次谈话之后不久，她向他坦诚了她对弗雷德·温西的感情，恰巧她父亲有些事情要到弗里克方向的尤德雷尔农场去： —

it was to measure and value an outlying piece of land belonging to Lowick Manor, which Caleb expected to dispose of advantageously for Dorothea (it must be confessed that his bias was towards getting the best possible terms from railroad companies). —
他要测量和估价一个属于洛威克庄园的偏远土地，卡勒布指望能够为多萝西娅有利地处置它（必须承认，他倾向于从铁路公司那里获取最好的条件）。 —

He put up his gig at Yoddrell’s, and in walking with his assistant and measuring-chain to the scene of his work, he encountered the party of the company’s agents, who were adjusting their spirit-level. —
他停车在尤德雷尔农场，和他的助手一起走着，拿着测量链到他工作的地方，他遇到了公司的代理团队，他们正在调整他们的水准器。 —

After a little chat he left them, observing that by-and-by they would reach him again where he was going to measure. —
一番闲聊后，他离开了他们，观察着他们很快就会再次到达他要去量度的地方。 —

It was one of those gray mornings after light rains, which become delicious about twelve o’clock, when the clouds part a little, and the scent of the earth is sweet along the lanes and by the hedgerows.
这是一天那种轻雨后的灰蒙蒙的早晨，到了十二点左右，云朵逐渐散开，大地的气味在小巷和篱笆旁变得宜人。

The scent would have been sweeter to Fred Vincy, who was coming along the lanes on horseback, if his mind had not been worried by unsuccessful efforts to imagine what he was to do, with his father on one side expecting him straightway to enter the Church, with Mary on the other threatening to forsake him if he did enter it, and with the working-day world showing no eager need whatever of a young gentleman without capital and generally unskilled. —
这种气味对弗雷德·文西来说本来会更香甜些，但他正骑着马沿着小巷来，心里被不断尝试想象应该怎么办困扰着：他的父亲一边期待他立即投身教会，而玛丽则威胁说如果他真的投身教会就会抛弃他，而在工作日的世界中，一个没有资本且一般而言没有专业技能的年轻绅士却毫无用武之地。 —

It was the harder to Fred’s disposition because his father, satisfied that he was no longer rebellious, was in good humor with him, and had sent him on this pleasant ride to see after some greyhounds. —
对弗雷德来说，这更难以接受，因为他的父亲满意于他不再叛逆，与他相处得很愉快，所以派他去玩弄一些灰狗。 —

Even when he had fixed on what he should do, there would be the task of telling his father. —
即使他决定好了应该干什么，告诉他父亲也是一项艰巨的任务。 —

But it must be admitted that the fixing, which had to come first, was the more difficult task: —
但必须承认，首先要解决的困难是做出决定： —

–what secular avocation on earth was there for a young man (whose friends could not get him an “appointment”) which was at once gentlemanly, lucrative, and to be followed without special knowledge? —
– 在这个世上有什么一种对于一名年轻人来说(他的朋友们找不到他一个”职位”)既绅士、又有利可图，又无需特殊知识就能从事的世俗职业吗？ —

Riding along the lanes by Frick in this mood, and slackening his pace while he reflected whether he should venture to go round by Lowick Parsonage to call on Mary, he could see over the hedges from one field to another. —
弗雷德沿着弗里克的小巷骑着马思索着他是否应该绕道到劳威克牧师住所去拜访玛丽时，心情未变略有松懈。 —

Suddenly a noise roused his attention, and on the far side of a field on his left hand he could see six or seven men in smock-frocks with hay-forks in their hands making an offensive approach towards the four railway agents who were facing them, while Caleb Garth and his assistant were hastening across the field to join the threatened group. —
突然一片声响引起了他的注意，他的左手一片田地的另一端，他看到六七个穿着工作衣裳，手里拿着草叉的人正对着四名铁路工作人员构成威胁，而卡勒布·加思和他的助手正在匆匆穿过田野赶往被威胁的人群。 —

Fred, delayed a few moments by having to find the gate, could not gallop up to the spot before the party in smock-frocks, whose work of turning the hay had not been too pressing after swallowing their mid-day beer, were driving the men in coats before them with their hay-forks; —
弗雷德因得找到大门而耽搁了一会儿，没能在那带路追前，故事中的穿工作衣裳的一伙人(在满足了午饭啤酒后，他们搅拌干草的工作并不急迫)用草叉驱赶着带着外套的人； —

while Caleb Garth’s assistant, a lad of seventeen, who had snatched up the spirit-level at Caleb’s order, had been knocked down and seemed to be lying helpless. —
而卡勒布·加思的助手，一个十七岁的少年，在卡勒布的命令下拿起水平仪，被打倒在地，似乎无力自拔。 —

The coated men had the advantage as runners, and Fred covered their retreat by getting in front of the smock-frocks and charging them suddenly enough to throw their chase into confusion. —
穿外套的人跑得更快，弗雷德冲着工作衣裳的一伙人突然冲刺，足够出其不意，使他们的追逐混乱不堪。 —

“What do you confounded fools mean?” shouted Fred, pursuing the divided group in a zigzag, and cutting right and left with his whip. —
“你们这些该死的傻瓜想干什么？”弗雷德大声喊道，沿着曲折的路追赶着分散的一伙，并用鞭子左右挥舞。 —

“I’ll swear to every one of you before the magistrate. —
“我要在法院面前对你们每个人发誓。 —

You’ve knocked the lad down and killed him, for what I know. —
你们把那个小伙子打倒了，说不定已经打死了他。 —

You’ll every one of you be hanged at the next assizes, if you don’t mind,” said Fred, who afterwards laughed heartily as he remembered his own phrases.
“如果你们不介意的话，下次审判时，你们每个人都将被绞死，”弗雷德说道，后来他记起自己说过的这些词而发出了狂笑。

The laborers had been driven through the gate-way into their hay-field, and Fred had checked his horse, when Hiram Ford, observing himself at a safe challenging distance, turned back and shouted a defiance which he did not know to be Homeric.
当工人们被赶进牧场时，弗雷德停住了马，这时海勒姆·福特觉察到自己与他们保持了安全的挑衅距离，便掉头大喊着一声挑战，他自己却不知道这话是出自荷马史诗。

“Yo’re a coward, yo are. Yo git off your horse, young measter, and I’ll have a round wi’ ye, I wull. —
“你是个懦夫，你是。你从马上下来，年轻的主人，我会和你一决高下。” —

Yo daredn’t come on wi’out your hoss an’ whip. —
“你连不带着马和鞭子也不敢上前。 —

I’d soon knock the breath out on ye, I would.”
我会很快打败你，我会。”

“Wait a minute, and I’ll come back presently, and have a round with you all in turn, if you like,” said Fred, who felt confidence in his power of boxing with his dearly beloved brethren. —
“等一会，我马上就回来，如果你们愿意的话，我会轮番和你们打一场，”弗雷德说道，对自己与这些心爱的兄弟们拳击能力感到自信。 —

But just now he wanted to hasten back to Caleb and the prostrate youth.
但此刻他想要赶紧回去看看凯勒和受伤的年轻人。

The lad’s ankle was strained, and he was in much pain from it, but he was no further hurt, and Fred placed him on the horse that he might ride to Yoddrell’s and be taken care of there.
这个小伙子的脚踝扭伤了，非常疼痛，但没有别的伤势，弗雷德扶他上马，让他骑去尤德里家，受到照顾。

“Let them put the horse in the stable, and tell the surveyors they can come back for their traps,” said Fred. “The ground is clear now.”
“让他们把马关进马厩，告诉那些测量员他们可以回来取他们的工具。”弗雷德说。“现在场地已经清空了。”

“No, no,” said Caleb, “here’s a breakage. —
“不，不，”凯勒说，“这里有损坏。 —

They’ll have to give up for to-day, and it will be as well. —
他们今天必须停工，这样也好。 —

Here, take the things before you on the horse, Tom. They’ll see you coming, and they’ll turn back.”
拿着你马上的东西，汤姆。他们会看见你过来，就会掉头离开。”

“I’m glad I happened to be here at the right moment, Mr. Garth,” said Fred, as Tom rode away. —
“我很高兴我在恰当时刻出现在这里，加思先生，”弗雷德说，汤姆骑着马走后。 —

“No knowing what might have happened if the cavalry had not come up in time.”
“要不是骑兵及时赶到，不知道会发生什么事情。”

“Ay, ay, it was lucky,” said Caleb, speaking rather absently, and looking towards the spot where he had been at work at the moment of interruption. —
“嗯，嗯，真是走运，”凯勒说，语气有些恍惚，望着被打断的那个时刻他所在的地方。 —

“But–deuce take it–this is what comes of men being fools–I’m hindered of my day’s work. —
“但是-天呐-这就是愚蠢男人的下场-让我耽误了一天的工作。” —

I can’t get along without somebody to help me with the measuring-chain. However!” —
我没有人帮我量尺子也搞不定。不过！” —

He was beginning to move towards the spot with a look of vexation, as if he had forgotten Fred’s presence, but suddenly he turned round and said quickly, “What have you got to do to-day, young fellow?”
他开始朝着那个地方走去，一脸烦恼的表情，好像忘记了弗雷德在场，但突然他转身快速说道：“你今天有什么事情要做，年轻人？”

“Nothing, Mr. Garth. I’ll help you with pleasure–can I?” —
“没事，加斯先生。我很乐意帮忙-可以吗？” —

said Fred, with a sense that he should be courting Mary when he was helping her father.
弗雷德说，觉得自己在帮助她父亲的同时应该去追求玛丽。

“Well, you mustn’t mind stooping and getting hot.”
“嗯，你得弯腰，变得累热。”

“I don’t mind anything. Only I want to go first and have a round with that hulky fellow who turned to challenge me. —
“我什么都不在乎。只是我想先和那个胖大个比试一番，他刚才向我挑战。这会是一个很好的教训。我不会超过五分钟。” —

It would be a good lesson for him. I shall not be five minutes.”
“胡说八道！”卡莱布断然地说。

“Nonsense!” said Caleb, with his most peremptory intonation. —
“我会亲自去和他们谈的。这只是些无知。肯定有人说了谎。这些可怜的蠢货不知道更好。” —

“I shall go and speak to the men myself. It’s all ignorance. —
“那我就跟你一起去吧，”弗雷德说。 —

Somebody has been telling them lies. The poor fools don’t know any better.”
“不，不，你留在这儿。我不需要你这位年轻人。我自己能应付。”

“I shall go with you, then,” said Fred.
卡莱布是个强壮的男人，除了害怕伤害别人和害怕演讲之外，几乎不知道什么是恐惧。

“No, no; stay where you are. I don’t want your young blood. I can take care of myself.”
“但此时他觉得有责任要做一番劝说。

Caleb was a powerful man and knew little of any fear except the fear of hurting others and the fear of having to speechify. —
“我会和你在一起的。” —

But he felt it his duty at this moment to try and give a little harangue. —
但他感到有责任在这一刻稍微讲几句话。 —

There was a striking mixture in him–which came from his having always been a hard-working man himself–of rigorous notions about workmen and practical indulgence towards them. —
他身上有一种醒目的混合物——这是因为他自己一直是一个辛勤工作的人——他对工人有着严格的观念，但又对他们实际上比较宽容。 —

To do a good day’s work and to do it well, he held to be part of their welfare, as it was the chief part of his own happiness; —
他认为做一天好的工作并做好它是他们的福祉的一部分，因为这也是他自己幸福的主要部分。 —

but he had a strong sense of fellowship with them. —
但他与他们有着很强的同伴感。 —

When he advanced towards the laborers they had not gone to work again, but were standing in that form of rural grouping which consists in each turning a shoulder towards the other, at a distance of two or three yards. —
当他走向劳工们时，他们还没有重新开始工作，而是站在一起一种农村的排列方式，每个人相距两三码，转过肩膀面对对方。 —

They looked rather sulkily at Caleb, who walked quickly with one hand in his pocket and the other thrust between the buttons of his waistcoat, and had his every-day mild air when he paused among them.
他们有点不高兴地看着凯勒布，他迅速地走着，一只手插在口袋里，另一只手插在背心的纽扣之间，当他停在他们中间时，他展现出了他日常温和的风度。

“Why, my lads, how’s this?” he began, taking as usual to brief phrases, which seemed pregnant to himself, because he had many thoughts lying under them, like the abundant roots of a plant that just manages to peep above the water. —
“嘿，伙计们，怎么回事？”他开始说，像往常一样，他习惯于简明扼要的词语，因为他脑海中有很多想法，就像一棵植物那样在水面上探出头来，有着丰富的根系。 —

“How came you to make such a mistake as this? —
“你们怎么犯了这样的错误？ —

Somebody has been telling you lies. You thought those men up there wanted to do mischief.”
肯定有人骗了你们。你们认为那些上面的人想要做坏事。”

“Aw!” was the answer, dropped at intervals by each according to his degree of unreadiness.
“哦！”每个人按照他们不同的不愿意程度偶尔说了一句。

“Nonsense! No such thing! They’re looking out to see which way the railroad is to take. —
“胡说！才不是呢！他们只是在看铁路要走哪个方向。 —

Now, my lads, you can’t hinder the railroad: it will be made whether you like it or not. —
伙计们，你们阻止不了铁路：它将会修建，无论你们喜欢还是不喜欢。 —

And if you go fighting against it, you’ll get yourselves into trouble. —
如果你们对抗它，你们将会惹上麻烦。 —

The law gives those men leave to come here on the land. —
法律允许这些人来这里地上。 —

The owner has nothing to say against it, and if you meddle with them you’ll have to do with the constable and Justice Blakesley, and with the handcuffs and Middlemarch jail. —
业主也没有异议，如果你们乱来，你们会遇到警察和布雷克斯利法官，会见到手铐和米德尔马奇监狱。 —

And you might be in for it now, if anybody informed against you.”
如果有人检举你们，你们现在就可能会惹上麻烦。”

Caleb paused here, and perhaps the greatest orator could not have chosen either his pause or his images better for the occasion.
哈里纳伯尔不是个令人讨厌的人，要不然惹火上身的，没个好果子

“But come, you didn’t mean any harm. Somebody told you the railroad was a bad thing. That was a lie. —
艾哈迈德迅速打断：“哈里纳伯尔。”哈里纳伯尔犹豫了一下，但或许最伟大的演说家也无法更好地选择他的停顿和比喻来配合这个场合。 —

It may do a bit of harm here and there, to this and to that; —
“但是来吧，你没恶意。肯定是有人告诉你铁路是个坏东西。那纯属谎言。 —

and so does the sun in heaven. But the railway’s a good thing.”
可能不时地对这里和那里有些不好的影响；

“Aw! good for the big folks to make money out on,” said old Timothy Cooper, who had stayed behind turning his hay while the others had been gone on their spree; —
但铁路却是一件好事。” —

–“I’n seen lots o’ things turn up sin’ I war a young un–the war an’ the peace, and the canells, an’ the oald King George, an’ the Regen’, an’ the new King George, an’ the new un as has got a new ne-ame–an’ it’s been all aloike to the poor mon. —
“啊！对那些大人来说，赚钱太容易了。”老提莫西·库珀说，他留下来继续搅拌干草，而其他人已经醉在他们的狂欢中； —

What’s the canells been t’ him? They’n brought him neyther me-at nor be-acon, nor wage to lay by, if he didn’t save it wi’ clemmin’ his own inside. —
“我从年轻时就见过很多事情发生——战争和和平，运河，老乔治王，摄政王，新乔治王，还有一个改了名字的新人—对穷人来说，这一切都一样。运河对他们有什么好处？既不给他们食物，也不给他们灯塔，更不给他们任何积蓄的机会，除非靠饿着自己的肚子去省吃俭用。” —

Times ha’ got wusser for him sin’ I war a young un. An’ so it’ll be wi’ the railroads. —
自从我年轻的时候，他的情况就变得更糟了。而铁路也会如此。 —

They’ll on’y leave the poor mon furder behind. —
他们只会让穷人离更远。 —

But them are fools as meddle, and so I told the chaps here. —
但那些愚蠢的人尽管插手，我告诉这里的家伙们。 —

This is the big folks’s world, this is. But yo’re for the big folks, Muster Garth, yo are.”
这是大人物们的世界，这可是。而加思先生，你是属于大人物们的。

Timothy was a wiry old laborer, of a type lingering in those times– who had his savings in a stocking-foot, lived in a lone cottage, and was not to be wrought on by any oratory, having as little of the feudal spirit, and believing as little, as if he had not been totally unacquainted with the Age of Reason and the Rights of Man. Caleb was in a difficulty known to any person attempting in dark times and unassisted by miracle to reason with rustics who are in possession of an undeniable truth which they know through a hard process of feeling, and can let it fall like a giant’s club on your neatly carved argument for a social benefit which they do not feel. —
提摩西是一位精干的老劳动者，属于那个时代的一种存在，他把积蓄放在袜子里，住在一座独立的小屋，对于贵族精神几乎毫无感觉，也不相信，仿佛他从未听说过《理性时代》和《人权宣言》。卡勒布陷入了一个困境，任何在黑暗时代试图与乡下人争辩的人都会遇到的困境，而这些乡下人拥有一个无可否认的真相，是通过艰难的感受过程获得的，他们可以将它像一个巨人的大棒一样摔在你为一个社会利益精心设计的论据上，而他们并不感受到这种利益。 —

Caleb had no cant at command, even if he could have chosen to use it; —
卡勒布并没有虚伪的措辞，即使他可以选择使用。 —

and he had been accustomed to meet all such difficulties in no other way than by doing his “business” faithfully. He answered–
而他习惯于以忠实地“做生意”的方式来解决所有这些困难。他回答道-

“If you don’t think well of me, Tim, never mind; that’s neither here nor there now. —
“如果你们对我评价不高，提摩西，没关系；现在这不重要。 —

Things may be bad for the poor man–bad they are; —
穷人可能过得很糟–确实很糟； —

but I want the lads here not to do what will make things worse for themselves. —
但我想这里的小伙子们不要做会让自己情况更糟的事情。 —

The cattle may have a heavy load, but it won’t help ‘em to throw it over into the roadside pit, when it’s partly their own fodder.”
牲畜可能承受着沉重的负担，但把它们丢进路边的坑里并不会有所帮助，尤其当这部分是它们自己的饲料时。”

“We war on’y for a bit o’ foon,” said Hiram, who was beginning to see consequences. —
“我们只是为了一点乐子而已，” 开始看到后果的海拉姆说道。 —

“That war all we war arter.”
“这就是我们追求的一切。”

“Well, promise me not to meddle again, and I’ll see that nobody informs against you.”
“好吧，答应我不再插手，我会确保没有人告发你们。”

“I’n ne’er meddled, an’ I’n no call to promise,” said Timothy.
“我从来没有插手，也没必要答应，” 提摩西说。

“No, but the rest. Come, I’m as hard at work as any of you to-day, and I can’t spare much time. —
“不，但其他人。来吧，今天我和你们一样努力工作，我没时间多说。” —

Say you’ll be quiet without the constable.”
“说你会安静，不用警官。”

“Aw, we wooant meddle–they may do as they loike for oos”– were the forms in which Caleb got his pledges; —
“啊，我们不会干涉–他们可以随便做”– 这是卡勒布得到誓言的方式； —

and then he hastened back to Fred, who had followed him, and watched him in the gateway.
然后他匆忙回到弗雷德身边，后者跟着他，看着他在大门口。

They went to work, and Fred helped vigorously. —
他们开始工作，弗雷德积极帮忙。 —

His spirits had risen, and he heartily enjoyed a good slip in the moist earth under the hedgerow, which soiled his perfect summer trousers. —
他的精神振奋起来，他很享受在篱笆下湿润的泥土中滑了一跤，弄脏了他完美的夏季裤子。 —

Was it his successful onset which had elated him, or the satisfaction of helping Mary’s father? —
是他成功的进攻让他兴高采烈，还是帮助玛丽的父亲让他感到满足？ —

Something more. The accidents of the morning had helped his frustrated imagination to shape an employment for himself which had several attractions. —
更多。早晨的事故帮助了他受挫的想象，为自己塑造了一个有吸引力的工作。 —

I am not sure that certain fibres in Mr. Garth’s mind had not resumed their old vibration towards the very end which now revealed itself to Fred. For the effective accident is but the touch of fire where there is oil and tow; —
我不确定加思·加思先生的头脑中的某些纤维是否重新对现在展现给弗雷德的结局产生了共鸣。因为有效的意外事件只是对油和麻的火星； —

and it al ways appeared to Fred that the railway brought the needed touch. —
而弗雷德总是觉得铁路给予了必要的触动。 —

But they went on in silence except when their business demanded speech. —
但除了业务所需的谈话外，他们继续保持沉默。 —

At last, when they had finished and were walking away, Mr. Garth said–
最后，当他们完成工作离开时，加思先生说道–

“A young fellow needn’t be a B. A. to do this sort of work, eh, Fred?”
“年轻人不必是文科学士来做这种工作，对吧，弗雷德？”

“I wish I had taken to it before I had thought of being a B. A.,” said Fred. He paused a moment, and then added, more hesitatingly, “Do you think I am too old to learn your business, Mr. Garth?”
“我希望在想成为文科学士之前就从事这项工作了，”弗雷德说。他停顿了一会，然后更犹豫地补充说：”你觉得我学你的生意，加思先生，我是不是太老了？”

“My business is of many sorts, my boy,” said Mr. Garth, smiling. —
“我的生意有很多种，孩子，”加思先生笑着说。 —

“A good deal of what I know can only come from experience: —
“我所知道的大部分内容都需要通过经验才能得到： —

you can’t learn it off as you learn things out of a book. —
你无法像学习书本里的知识那样学会它。 —

But you are young enough to lay a foundation yet.” —
但你年纪轻，还有时间打下基础。” —

Caleb pronounced the last sentence emphatically, but paused in some uncertainty. —
卡勒布强调地说了最后一句，但在某种不确定中停顿了一下。 —

He had been under the impression lately that Fred had made up his mind to enter the Church.
最近，他似乎有所印象，认为弗雷德已决定要进入教堂。

“You do think I could do some good at it, if I were to try?” said Fred, more eagerly.
“如果我尝试的话，你觉得我可以做出一些成绩吗？”弗雷德更加热切地问道。

“That depends,” said Caleb, turning his head on one side and lowering his voice, with the air of a man who felt himself to be saying something deeply religious. —
“这取决于,” 卡勒布边转头一边压低声音，神情庄严，仿佛在说着非常虔诚的话。 —

“You must be sure of two things: you must love your work, and not be always looking over the edge of it, wanting your play to begin. —
“你必须确定两件事：你必须热爱自己的工作，并且不要总是期待着玩乐的时刻到来。 —

And the other is, you must not be ashamed of your work, and think it would be more honorable to you to be doing something else. —
另外一点是，你不要为自己的工作感到羞耻，认为做其他事情会更光荣。 —

You must have a pride in your own work and in learning to do it well, and not be always saying, There’s this and there’s that–if I had this or that to do, I might make something of it. —
你必须对自己的工作和学习如何做好它感到自豪，不要总是说，如果我有这个或那个工作，我可能会有所成就。 —

No matter what a man is–I wouldn’t give twopence for him”– here Caleb’s mouth looked bitter, and he snapped his fingers– “whether he was the prime minister or the rick-thatcher, if he didn’t do well what he undertook to do.”
无论一个人是什么–我对他不屑一顾”，在这里卡勒布的嘴看起来很苦，他弹了弹手指–“无论他是首相还是盖草屋的，如果他不能把自己承诺的事情做好，我连两便士都不会给他。

“I can never feel that I should do that in being a clergyman,” said Fred, meaning to take a step in argument.
“对于成为一名牧师，我始终认为我做不到,” 弗雷德意图从中提出一点争论。

“Then let it alone, my boy,” said Caleb, abruptly, “else you’ll never be easy. —
“那就不要碰它，孩子,” 卡勒布突然说道，”要不然你永远不会安心。 —

Or, if you are easy, you’ll be a poor stick.”
或者，如果你确实安心了，你将是一个无足轻重的人。

“That is very nearly what Mary thinks about it,” said Fred, coloring. —
“这基本上就是玛丽对此的看法,” 弗雷德脸红了。 —

“I think you must know what I feel for Mary, Mr. Garth: —
“我想你一定知道我对玛丽的感受，Garth先生； —

I hope it does not displease you that I have always loved her better than any one else, and that I shall never love any one as I love her.”
我希望你不会不高兴，我一直比任何人都更爱她，而且永远不会再爱其他人如同爱她一样。”

The expression of Caleb’s face was visibly softening while Fred spoke. —
当Fred说话时，Caleb的脸上的表情明显柔和了下来。 —

But he swung his head with a solemn slowness, and said–
但他缓慢而庄严地摇了摇头，说道 -

“That makes things more serious, Fred, if you want to take Mary’s happiness into your keeping.”
“Fred，如果你想把玛丽的幸福交给你来负责，情况就更严重了。”

“I know that, Mr. Garth,” said Fred, eagerly, “and I would do anything for her. —
“我知道，Garth先生，” Fred急切地说，“我会为她做任何事。 —

She says she will never have me if I go into the Church; —
她说如果我进教会，她永远不会嫁给我； —

and I shall be the most miserable devil in the world if I lose all hope of Mary. Really, if I could get some other profession, business– anything that I am at all fit for, I would work hard, I would deserve your good opinion. —
如果我失去了对玛丽的所有希望，我会成为世界上最不幸福的家伙。实际上，如果我能从事其他职业，比如生意 - 任何我适合的事情，我会努力工作，我会值得你的好评。 —

I should like to have to do with outdoor things. I know a good deal about land and cattle already. —
我很想涉足户外事务。我已经对土地和牲畜有相当多的了解。 —

I used to believe, you know–though you will think me rather foolish for it–that I should have land of my own. —
你知道，我曾经相信 - 虽然你会觉得我相当愚蠢 - 我会有自己的土地。 —

I am sure knowledge of that sort would come easily to me, especially if I could be under you in any way.”
我确信我这种知识会很容易掌握，尤其是如果我能以任何方式在你之下工作。”

“Softly, my boy,” said Caleb, having the image of “Susan” before his eyes. —
“别急，我的孩子。” Caleb说着，眼前浮现出“苏珊”的形象。 —

“What have you said to your father about all this?”
“你跟你父亲说这些了吗？”

“Nothing, yet; but I must tell him. I am only waiting to know what I can do instead of entering the Church. —
“还没；但我必须告诉他。我只是在等待知道我可以做些什么，而不是进入教会。 —

I am very sorry to disappoint him, but a man ought to be allowed to judge for himself when he is four-and-twenty. —
我很抱歉让他失望，但一个二十四岁的男人应该有权自己判断。” —

How could I know when I was fifteen, what it would be right for me to do now? —
我十五岁的时候怎么能知道现在该做什么呢？ —

My education was a mistake.”
我的教育是一个错误。

“But hearken to this, Fred,” said Caleb. “Are you sure Mary is fond of you, or would ever have you?”
“但是，听我说，弗雷德”，迦勒说。“你确定玛丽喜欢你，或者会接受你吗？”

“I asked Mr. Farebrother to talk to her, because she had forbidden me– I didn’t know what else to do,” said Fred, apologetically. —
“我请费尔布罗瑟和她谈过，因为她禁止我——我不知道还能做什么，”弗雷德道歉地说。 —

“And he says that I have every reason to hope, if I can put myself in an honorable position–I mean, out of the Church I dare say you think it unwarrantable in me, Mr. Garth, to be troubling you and obtruding my own wishes about Mary, before I have done anything at all for myself. —
“他说如果我能站在一个光荣的位置上，也就是远离教会，我是有希望的——我敢说你认为我这样做是不应该的，加思先生，向你烦扰和表明我对玛丽的愿望，在我自己为自己做任何事情之前。” —

Of course I have not the least claim–indeed, I have already a debt to you which will never be discharged, even when I have been, able to pay it in the shape of money.”
“当然我没有任何权利——事实上我已经欠你一笔永远无法偿还的债，即使有一天我能从金钱上还清它。”

“Yes, my boy, you have a claim,” said Caleb, with much feeling in his voice. —
“是的，我的孩子，你有权利，”迦勒感情地说道。 —

“The young ones have always a claim on the old to help them forward. —
“年轻人永远有权利让老人帮助他们向前迈进。” —

I was young myself once and had to do without much help; —
“我曾经也年轻过，不得不承受许多困难。 —

but help would have been welcome to me, if it had been only for the fellow-feeling’s sake. —
但如果有人给我帮助，我会欢迎的，就算只是出于同情之心。” —

But I must consider. Come to me to-morrow at the office, at nine o’clock. —
“但我得考虑一下。明天九点，来我办公室找我。” —

At the office, mind.”
“记住，是办公室。”

Mr. Garth would take no important step without consulting Susan, but it must be confessed that before he reached home he had taken his resolution. —
加思先生不会在没有咨询苏珊的情况下采取重要的决定，但必须坦白承认，他在回家的路上已经下定决心。 —

With regard to a large number of matters about which other men are decided or obstinate, he was the most easily manageable man in the world. —
在其他男人坚定或固执的许多问题上，他是世界上最容易相处的人。 —

He never knew what meat he would choose, and if Susan had said that they ought to live in a four-roomed cottage, in order to save, he would have said, “Let us go,” without inquiring into details. —
他从不知道自己会选择什么肉，如果苏珊说他们应该住在一个四间房的小屋子里，为了节省，他会毫不犹豫地说：“我们走吧”，而不去了解细节。 —

But where Caleb’s feeling and judgment strongly pronounced, he was a ruler; —
但凡凯勒的感情和判断力坚定无比，他就是一个统治者； —

and in spite of his mildness and timidity in reproving, every one about him knew that on the exceptional occasions when he chose, he was absolute. —
即使他在斥责时温和而胆小，周围的每个人都知道，在他选择的那些特殊场合，他是绝对的； —

He never, indeed, chose to be absolute except on some one else’s behalf. —
他从来没有选择过在自己身上表现为绝对的； —

On ninety-nine points Mrs. Garth decided, but on the hundredth she was often aware that she would have to perform the singularly difficult task of carrying out her own principle, and to make herself subordinate.
在99个问题上，加思夫人负责决定，但在第100个问题上，她常常意识到自己将不得不屈服于自己的原则，并且使自己服从；

“It is come round as I thought, Susan,” said Caleb, when they were seated alone in the evening. —
“正如我所想的一样，苏珊，” 凯勒在晚上他们独处时说。 —

He had already narrated the adventure which had brought about Fred’s sharing in his work, but had kept back the further result. —
他已经叙述了导致弗雷德分享他工作的冒险，但隐瞒了进一步的结果。 —

“The children are fond of each other– I mean, Fred and Mary.”
“ 孩子们互相喜欢——我的意思是，弗雷德和玛丽。”

Mrs. Garth laid her work on her knee, and fixed her penetrating eyes anxiously on her husband.
加思夫人把手工放在膝盖上，焦急地盯着丈夫。

“After we’d done our work, Fred poured it all out to me. —
“在我们完成工作后，弗雷德把一切都向我倾诉。 —

He can’t bear to be a clergyman, and Mary says she won’t have him if he is one; —
他无法忍受当牧师，而玛丽说如果他成为牧师她不会嫁给他； —

and the lad would like to be under me and give his mind to business. —
小伙子想跟我学习做事生意。 —

And I’ve determined to take him and make a man of him.”
我已决定接纳他，把他培养成一个男子汉。”

“Caleb!” said Mrs. Garth, in a deep contralto, expressive of resigned astonishment.
“凯勒！”加思夫人用一种深沉的女中音表达了她的惊讶和顺从。

“It’s a fine thing to do,” said Mr. Garth, settling himself firmly against the back of his chair, and grasping the elbows. —
“这是一件好事，” 加思先生坐直了身体，牢牢抓住椅子扶手。 —

“I shall have trouble with him, but I think I shall carry it through. —
“与他相处会很费劲，但我认为我会坚持下去。” —

The lad loves Mary, and a true love for a good woman is a great thing, Susan. It shapes many a rough fellow.”
这小伙子爱着玛丽，对一个好女人的真爱是一件伟大的事情，苏珊。它能改变许多粗糙的人。

“Has Mary spoken to you on the subject?” said Mrs Garth, secretly a little hurt that she had to be informed on it herself.
“玛丽有没有跟你提起过这件事？”加思太太说，心里有点隐隐感到受伤，因为她自己竟然要被告知。

“Not a word. I asked her about Fred once; I gave her a bit of a warning. —
“一句话也没有。我曾经问过她谈到弗雷德的事；我曾经给了她点警告。 —

But she assured me she would never marry an idle self-indulgent man– nothing since. —
但她向我保证她永远不会嫁给一个懒惰纵容自己的男人——自那以后再也没有提过。 —

But it seems Fred set on Mr. Farebrother to talk to her, because she had forbidden him to speak himself, and Mr. Farebrother has found out that she is fond of Fred, but says he must not be a clergyman. —
但似乎弗雷德让费尔布鲁撒着她谈话，因为她禁止他亲自开口，费尔布鲁发现她爱弗雷德，但是他说他不能成为一名牧师。 —

Fred’s heart is fixed on Mary, that I can see: —
弗雷德的心已经坚定地投在玛丽身上，我能看得出来，这让我对这个小伙子有了好感——而且我们一直都喜欢他，苏珊。” —

it gives me a good opinion of the lad–and we always liked him, Susan.”
“我想对玛丽来说真是太可惜了，”加思太太说。

“It is a pity for Mary, I think,” said Mrs. Garth.
“为什么——太可惜了？”

“Why–a pity?”
“因为，卡勒布，我认为她本可以嫁给一个比弗雷德·温茨好二十倍的男人。”

“Because, Caleb, she might have had a man who is worth twenty Fred Vincy’s.”
“啊？”卡勒布惊讶地说。

“Ah?” said Caleb, with surprise.
“我坚信费尔布鲁撒先生对她有感情，打算向她求婚；

“I firmly believe that Mr. Farebrother is attached to her, and meant to make her an offer; —
但是当然，现在弗雷德已经把他当使者了，那更好的前景也就没了。” —

but of course, now that Fred has used him as an envoy, there is an end to that better prospect.” —
加思太太说话时态度非常严厉。 —

There was a severe precision in Mrs. Garth’s utterance. —
她感到恼火和失望，但她决心避免废话。 —

She was vexed and disappointed, but she was bent on abstaining from useless words.
她说，“费尔布鲁肯定是打算向她求婚的，现在却被弗雷德利用成使者，那更好的前景就没了。”

Caleb was silent a few moments under a conflict of feelings. —
卡勒布在矛盾的情感下沉默了一会儿。 —

He looked at the floor and moved his head and hands in accompaniment to some inward argumentation. At last he said–
他看着地板，头和手随着内心的争执在移动。 最后他说–

“That would have made me very proud and happy, Susan, and I should have been glad for your sake. —
“若是那样，苏珊，那将使我非常骄傲和快乐，我会为你感到高兴。 —

I’ve always felt that your belongings have never been on a level with you. —
我一直觉得你的财产与你本人不相称。 —

But you took me, though I was a plain man.”
但你却接纳了我，虽然我是一个平凡之人。”

“I took the best and cleverest man I had ever known,” said Mrs. Garth, convinced that she would never have loved any one who came short of that mark.
“我接纳了我所认识的最好、最聪明的人,“加思太夫人确信她永远不会爱上任何不符合这一标准的人。

“Well, perhaps others thought you might have done better. But it would have been worse for me. —
“也许别人认为你本可以找到更好的人。但对我来说那会更糟。 —

And that is what touches me close about Fred. The lad is good at bottom, and clever enough to do, if he’s put in the right way; —
关于弗雷德这一点让我感动。 这个年轻人本质上是善良的，足够聪明，只要给他正确的启蒙; —

and he loves and honors my daughter beyond anything, and she has given him a sort of promise according to what he turns out. —
他爱并尊敬我女儿胜过一切，而她也对他给了一种承诺，条件是他能表现出色。 —

I say, that young man’s soul is in my hand; —
我说，那个年轻人的灵魂掌握在我手里; —

and I’ll do the best I can for him, so help me God! —
我将尽我所能帮助他，愿上帝扶助! —

It’s my duty, Susan.”
这是我的职责，苏珊。”

Mrs. Garth was not given to tears, but there was a large one rolling down her face before her husband had finished. —
加思太夫人不常哭泣，但在她丈夫讲完之前，有一滴大眼泪顺着她的脸颊滚落。 —

It came from the pressure of various feelings, in which there was much affection and some vexation. —
这泪滴源自于各种情感的压力，其中包含了许多爱和一些恼怒。 —

She wiped it away quickly, saying–
她迅速擦干了眼泪，说–

“Few men besides you would think it a duty to add to their anxieties in that way, Caleb.”
“凯勒，除了你之外，很少有男人认为这样增加焦虑是一种责任。”

“That signifies nothing–what other men would think. —
“这并不代表什么——其他人会怎么想。” —

I’ve got a clear feeling inside me, and that I shall follow; —
“我内心有一种清晰的感觉，我会跟随它。” —

and I hope your heart will go with me, Susan, in making everything as light as can be to Mary, poor child.”
我希望你的心情会和我一样，苏珊，尽量让一切变得轻松，为可怜的玛丽。

Caleb, leaning back in his chair, looked with anxious appeal towards his wife. —
卡勒布在椅子上靠在后面，焦虑地望着他的妻子。 —

She rose and kissed him, saying, “God bless you, Caleb! —
她站起来吻了他一下，说道，“上帝保佑你，卡勒布！我们的孩子有个好父亲。” —

Our children have a good father.”
但她走出去大声哭泣，弥补了她话语的压抑。

But she went out and had a hearty cry to make up for the suppression of her words. —
她确信丈夫的行为会被误解，对弗雷德她保持理智和失望。 —

She felt sure that her husband’s conduct would be misunderstood, and about Fred she was rational and unhopeful. —
在她的理性和卡勒布的慷慨中，哪一个会显示更多远见呢? —

Which would turn out to have the more foresight in it–her rationality or Caleb’s ardent generosity?
那会显示出更多远见–她的理性还是卡勒布的热情慷慨呢？

When Fred went to the office the next morning, there was a test to be gone through which he was not prepared for.
弗雷德第二天早上去了办公室，有一项测试需要进行，而他并没有做好准备。

“Now Fred,” said Caleb, “you will have some desk-work. —
“现在，弗雷德，” 卡勒布说，“你将会有些座位工作。 —

I have always done a good deal of writing myself, but I can’t do without help, and as I want you to understand the accounts and get the values into your head, I mean to do without another clerk. —
我自己总是做很多写作，但我也离不开帮助，因为我希望你能理解账目并记住价值，我打算不再雇用其他职员。 —

So you must buckle to. How are you at writing and arithmetic?”
所以你必须努力工作。你擅长写作和算数吗？

Fred felt an awkward movement of the heart; he had not thought of desk-work; —
弗雷德感到心脏不舒服；他没有想到会有座位工作； —

but he was in a resolute mood, and not going to shrink. —
但他心意坚定，不打算逃避。 —

“I’m not afraid of arithmetic, Mr. Garth: —
“我不害怕算数，加思先生； —

it always came easily to me. I think you know my writing.”
对我来说总是很容易的。我想你知道我的书法。”

“Let us see,” said Caleb, taking up a pen, examining it carefully and handing it, well dipped, to Fred with a sheet of ruled paper. —
“让我们看看,” 卡勒布说，拿起一支笔，仔细检查后递给弗雷德一张规定纸。 —

“Copy me a line or two of that valuation, with the figures at the end.”
“给我抄写几行估价，结尾加上数字。”

At that time the opinion existed that it was beneath a gentleman to write legibly, or with a hand in the least suitable to a clerk. —
那时候有这样一种看法，认为一个绅士写字要能辨认，或者用一种适合文员的字体。 —

Fred wrote the lines demanded in a hand as gentlemanly as that of any viscount or bishop of the day: the vowels were all alike and the consonants only distinguishable as turning up or down, the strokes had a blotted solidity and the letters disdained to keep the line– in short, it was a manuscript of that venerable kind easy to interpret when you know beforehand what the writer means.
弗雷德写出被要求的几行，用一种像当时任何子爵或主教一样绅士的手写：元音全相似，辅音只能从上或从下区分，笔画带有模糊的坚实感，字母不愿保持在同一行上——简而言之，这是一种古老易于解释的手稿，只要你事先知道作者的意思。

As Caleb looked on, his visage showed a growing depression, but when Fred handed him the paper he gave something like a snarl, and rapped the paper passionately with the back of his hand. —
卡勒布看着，面色逐渐沮丧，但当弗雷德递给他纸时，他发出类似的咆哮声，用手背激烈地拍打了纸。 —

Bad work like this dispelled all Caleb’s mildness.
像这样劣质的工作让卡勒布失去了所有的温和。

“The deuce!” he exclaimed, snarlingly. “To think that this is a country where a man’s education may cost hundreds and hundreds, and it turns you out this!” —
“该死！” 他怒气冲冲地说。 “想想这是一个一个人的教育可能花费数百上千，结果却出现了这种情况！” —

Then in a more pathetic tone, pushing up his spectacles and looking at the unfortunate scribe, “The Lord have mercy on us, Fred, I can’t put up with this!”
然后以更加可怜的语气，推起眼镜，看着那位可怜的抄写员说：“上帝怜悯我们，弗雷德，我受不了这个！”

“What can I do, Mr. Garth?” said Fred, whose spirits had sunk very low, not only at the estimate of his handwriting, but at the vision of himself as liable to be ranked with office clerks.
“我该怎么办，加思先生？”弗雷德的精神沉到了谷底，不仅是因为他笔迹被评价不佳，还因为他想象自己有可能被归为办公室职员。

“Do? Why, you must learn to form your letters and keep the line. —
“该怎么办呢？你必须学会书写字母并保持在线上。 —

What’s the use of writing at all if nobody can understand it?” —
如果没人能读懂，写字有什么用呢？”加思充满活力地问道，完全专注于工作的质量太差。 —

asked Caleb, energetically, quite preoccupied with the bad quality of the work. —
“请问，这个世界上是不是太缺业务了，你们就非得把难题传遍全国？ —

“Is there so little business in the world that you must be sending puzzles over the country? —
但人们就是这种被养育出来的。 —

But that’s the way people are brought up. —
要不是苏珊帮我把信读明白，有些人寄给我的信我要浪费一大堆时间。 —

I should lose no end of time with the letters some people send me, if Susan did not make them out for me. —
真让人恶心。”说完，加思把纸一扔。 —

It’s disgusting.” Here Caleb tossed the paper from him.
此时，任何偷窥办公室的外人可能会感到奇怪，为什么这位愤怒的商人和那位英俊的年轻人之间发生了什么戏剧，这位年轻人的金发肤色因为尴尬咬着嘴唇而泛起斑斑斑斑。

Any stranger peeping into the office at that moment might have wondered what was the drama between the indignant man of business, and the fine-looking young fellow whose blond complexion was getting rather patchy as he bit his lip with mortification. —
弗雷德心里十分纠结。加思先生在采访开始时那么善良和鼓励，以至于感激和希望达到了一个高潮，而失败也是成比例的。 —

Fred was struggling with many thoughts. Mr. Garth had been so kind and encouraging at the beginning of their interview, that gratitude and hopefulness had been at a high pitch, and the downfall was proportionate. —
他从未考虑过写字工作–实际上，跟大多数小伙子一样，他想要一份不会让人不愉快的工作。 —

He had not thought of desk-work–in fact, like the majority of young gentlemen, he wanted an occupation which should be free from disagreeables. —
我不能说不可能发生的后果，如果他没有明确承诺自己要去洛威克见玛丽，并告诉她自己要在她父亲那里工作。 —

I cannot tell what might have been the consequences if he had not distinctly promised himself that he would go to Lowick to see Mary and tell her that he was engaged to work under her father. —
他不想在那里让自己失望。 —

He did not like to disappoint himself there.
“我很抱歉”，这是他能够说出的所有话。但加思先生已经在慢慢软化。

“I am very sorry,” were all the words that he could muster. But Mr. Garth was already relenting.
然而，弗雷德正在为很多想法挣扎。

“We must make the best of it, Fred,” he began, with a return to his usual quiet tone. —
“我们必须尽力而为，弗雷德，”他开始说，恢复了他平常安静的语气。 —

“Every man can learn to write. I taught myself. —
“每个人都可以学会写作。我是自学成才的。 —

Go at it with a will, and sit up at night if the day-time isn’t enough. We’ll be patient, my boy. —
“要全力以赴，如果白天不够，晚上也要坚持学习。我们会耐心等待的，我的孩子。 —

Callum shall go on with the books for a bit, while you are learning. —
“卡勒姆会继续帮忙处理账目一段时间，等你学会了写作。 —

But now I must be off,” said Caleb, rising. “You must let your father know our agreement. —
“但现在我必须离开了，”卡勒布站起身来说。“你得通知你父亲我们的协议。 —

You’ll save me Callum’s salary, you know, when you can write; —
“你学会了写作以后就不用付卡勒姆的薪水了； —

and I can afford to give you eighty pounds for the first year, and more after.”
“我可以给你每年80英镑起，以后还会更多。”

When Fred made the necessary disclosure to his parents, the relative effect on the two was a surprise which entered very deeply into his memory. —
当弗雷德告诉父母必要的事实时，两位父母的不同反应给他留下了深刻的印象。 —

He went straight from Mr. Garth’s office to the warehouse, rightly feeling that the most respectful way in which he could behave to his father was to make the painful communication as gravely and formally as possible. —
他直接从加思先生的办公室走到了仓库，他觉得自己对父亲最尊重的方式就是尽可能庄严和正式地说明这个令人痛苦的决定。 —

Moreover, the decision would be more certainly understood to be final, if the interview took place in his father’s gravest hours, which were always those spent in his private room at the warehouse.
此外，如果会谈发生在父亲最庄严的时刻，也就是他在仓库私人房间里度过的时刻，这个决定也更能被理解为最终决定。

Fred entered on the subject directly, and declared briefly what he had done and was resolved to do, expressing at the end his regret that he should be the cause of disappointment to his father, and taking the blame on his own deficiencies. —
弗雷德直截了当地开始了话题，简要说明了自己已经做出的决定，并且决心下定决心，最后表达了自己对自己成为父亲失望的原因的遗憾，并把责任归咎于自己的不足。 —

The regret was genuine, and inspired Fred with strong, simple words.
这份遗憾是真实的，让弗雷德用坚定、简练的话语表达出了他的内心。

Mr. Vincy listened in profound surprise without uttering even an exclamation, a silence which in his impatient temperament was a sign of unusual emotion. —
文斯先生居然以深深的惊讶默然不语，即使在他急躁的脾气中，这样的寂静也意味着情感的异常激动。 —

He had not been in good spirits about trade that morning, and the slight bitterness in his lips grew intense as he listened. —
他当天早上就没有为贸易感到乐观，而听到弗雷德讲完后，他嘴角微微带着的苦涩感变得更加强烈。 —

When Fred had ended, there was a pause of nearly a minute, during which Mr. Vincy replaced a book in his desk and turned the key emphatically. —
弗雷德讲完后，几乎有一分钟的沉默，期间文斯先生把一本书放回书桌，有力地转上锁的钥匙。 —

Then he looked at his son steadily, and said–
然后他认真地看着他的儿子，说道–

“So you’ve made up your mind at last, sir?”
“所以你最终作出决定了，先生？”

“Yes, father.”
“是的，父亲。”

“Very well; stick to it. I’ve no more to say. —
“很好；坚持吧。我没有别的话要说了。 —

You’ve thrown away your education, and gone down a step in life, when I had given you the means of rising, that’s all.”
你把你的教育抛在脑后，选择了一条下去的路，而我已经给了你上升的机会，仅此而已。”

“I am very sorry that we differ, father. I think I can be quite as much of a gentleman at the work I have undertaken, as if I had been a curate. —
“父亲，很抱歉我们意见不合。我觉得通过从事我选择的工作，我完全可以成为一位绅士，就好像我本应是位牧师一样。 —

But I am grateful to you for wishing to do the best for me.”
但我很感激您为我着想。”

“Very well; I have no more to say. I wash my hands of you. —
“很好；我没有别的话。我与你无关了。 —

I only hope, when you have a son of your own he will make a better return for the pains you spend on him.”
我只希望，当你有了自己的儿子时，他会更好地回报你为他付出的辛苦。”

This was very cutting to Fred. His father was using that unfair advantage possessed by us all when we are in a pathetic situation and see our own past as if it were simply part of the pathos. —
这对弗雷德来说非常伤人。他的父亲正利用我们在悲惨境地时所具有的不公平优势，看待自己的过去好像只是悲剧的一部分。 —

In reality, Mr. Vincy’s wishes about his son had had a great deal of pride, inconsiderateness, and egoistic folly in them. —
实际上，温茜先生关于儿子的愿望中，有很多骄傲、轻率和自私愚蠢的成分。 —

But still the disappointed father held a strong lever; —
但即便如此，失望的父亲仍拥有强大的杠杆手段； —

and Fred felt as if he were being banished with a malediction.
弗雷德感觉自己就像被驱逐和诅咒一样。

“I hope you will not object to my remaining at home, sir?” he said, after rising to go; —
“我希望你不反对我留在家里，父亲？”他站起离去后说道； —

“I shall have a sufficient salary to pay for my board, as of course I should wish to do.”
“我将有足够的薪水支付我的膳食费用，我当然希望这样做。”

“Board be hanged!” said Mr. Vincy, recovering himself in his disgust at the notion that Fred’s keep would be missed at his table. —
“板子被吊起来吧！”文森先生说道，恢复自己对于弗雷德的保有在自己餐桌上不会被怀念的反感。 —

“Of course your mother will want you to stay. But I shall keep no horse for you, you understand; —
“当然你妈妈会希望你留下来。但是我不会为你留马，你知道的； —

and you will pay your own tailor. You will do with a suit or two less, I fancy, when you have to pay for ‘em.”
并且你会自己付裁缝费。我想当你不得不自己付这些钱的时候，你也会减少几套衣服吧。”

Fred lingered; there was still something to be said. At last it came.
弗雷德犹豫了一下；还有些话要说。最后，他说出了这些话。

“I hope you will shake hands with me, father, and forgive me the vexation I have caused you.”
“我希望你能跟我握手，父亲，原谅我给你带来的烦恼。”

Mr. Vincy from his chair threw a quick glance upward at his son, who had advanced near to him, and then gave his hand, saying hurriedly, “Yes, yes, let us say no more.”
坐在椅子上的文森先生迅速看了一眼自己的儿子，他已经向他走近，然后匆匆地伸出手来，说道，“是的，是的，我们不再提了。”

Fred went through much more narrative and explanation with his mother, but she was inconsolable, having before her eyes what perhaps her husband had never thought of, the certainty that Fred would marry Mary Garth, that her life would henceforth be spoiled by a perpetual infusion of Garths and their ways, and that her darling boy, with his beautiful face and stylish air “beyond anybody else’s son in Middlemarch,” would be sure to get like that family in plainness of appearance and carelessness about his clothes. —
弗雷德对他母亲详细解释了很多事情，但她无法安慰，她眼前出现的是她的丈夫或许从未想到的事实，那就是弗雷德会娶玛丽 · 加思，她的生活从现在开始将被加思家族和他们的方式无休止地干扰，她心爱的孩子，那张漂亮的脸和别人家孩子“迈尔德马奇中没有任何一个儿子能比拟”的时尚气息，注定会变得像那个家族一样外表平凡，对衣着漫不经心。 —

To her it seemed that there was a Garth conspiracy to get possession of the desirable Fred, but she dared not enlarge on this opinion, because a slight hint of it had made him “fly out” at her as he had never done before. —
在她看来，加思家族有阴谋要占有令人垂涎的弗雷德，但她不敢深谈这种观点，因为稍微提及这一点就会让他对她“爆发”，像从未有过一样。 —

Her temper was too sweet for her to show any anger, but she felt that her happiness had received a bruise, and for several days merely to look at Fred made her cry a little as if he were the subject of some baleful prophecy. —
她的性情太温和，无法表现出任何愤怒，但她感到自己的幸福受到了打击，几天来，只要看着弗雷德让她流泪，好像他是某种不祥预言的主题。 —

Perhaps she was the slower to recover her usual cheerfulness because Fred had warned her that she must not reopen the sore question with his father, who had accepted his decision and forgiven him. —
也许她恢复平静的速度较慢，因为弗雷德警告她不要再与接受了他的决定并原谅了他的父亲重新挑起这个痛处的问题。 —

If her husband had been vehement against Fred, she would have been urged into defence of her darling. —
如果她丈夫对弗雷德的态度强烈反对，她会不得不为她心爱的孩子辩护。 —

It was the end of the fourth day when Mr. Vincy said to her–
是第四天结束的时候，文森先生对她说道 –

“Come, Lucy, my dear, don’t be so down-hearted. —
“来吧，露西，亲爱的，不要这么沮丧。 —

You always have spoiled the boy, and you must go on spoiling him.”
你总是宠坏这个孩子，现在也要继续宠着他。”

“Nothing ever did cut me so before, Vincy,” said the wife, her fair throat and chin beginning to tremble again, “only his illness.”
“在文森，再没什么事情像这样刺痛我了，”妻子说道，她那美丽的喉咙和下巴开始再次颤抖，“只有他的病。”

“Pooh, pooh, never mind! We must expect to have trouble with our children. —
“呸，呸，别在意！我们得预料孩子们会给我们添麻烦。” —

Don’t make it worse by letting me see you out of spirits.”
“不要让我看见你情绪低落，那样只会让情况变得更糟。”

“Well, I won’t,” said Mrs. Vincy, roused by this appeal and adjusting herself with a little shake as of a bird which lays down its ruffled plumage.
“好吧，我不会的，”范西夫人被这番话唤醒，微微摇了摇身体，好像是一只整理蓬乱羽毛的鸟。

“It won’t do to begin making a fuss about one,” said Mr. Vincy, wishing to combine a little grumbling with domestic cheerfulness. —
“开始为一个人闹别扭可不行，”范西先生想要在家庭欢乐中融入一点牢骚。 —

“There’s Rosamond as well as Fred.”
“除了弗雷德，还有罗莎蒙。”

“Yes, poor thing. I’m sure I felt for her being disappointed of her baby; —
“是的，可怜的家伙。我肯定她对于没有孩子感到失望；” —

but she got over it nicely.”
“但她很好地克服了。”

“Baby, pooh! I can see Lydgate is making a mess of his practice, and getting into debt too, by what I hear. —
“孩子，呸！我看得出莱德盖特在搞砸他的诊所，并且还在负债，根据我听到的。 —

I shall have Rosamond coming to me with a pretty tale one of these days. —
我看以后罗莎蒙会有一个动人的故事来找我。 —

But they’ll get no money from me, I know. Let his family help him. —
但他们别想从我这里弄到钱，我知道。 —

I never did like that marriage. But it’s no use talking. —
我从来就不喜欢那门婚姻。但说也无益。 —

Ring the bell for lemons, and don’t look dull any more, Lucy. I’ll drive you and Louisa to Riverston to-morrow.”
“给我铃铛叫来柠檬，不要再显得消沉了，露西。明天我会开车带你和路易莎到里弗斯顿。”