1st Gent. Where lies the power, there let the blame lie too. 2d Gent. Nay, power is relative; —
第一位绅士：权力在哪里，责任就应在哪里。 第二位绅士：不，权力是相对的； —

you cannot fright The coming pest with border fortresses, Or catch your carp with subtle argument. —
你不能用边境要塞来吓阻即将到来的瘟疫，也不能用巧妙的论点来捕捉你的鲤鱼。 —

All force is twain in one: cause is not cause Unless effect be there; —
所有力量都是一体的：原因不是原因，除非影响物也存在； —

and action’s self Must needs contain a passive. —
而行动本身必须包含被动因素。 —

So command Exists but with obedience.”
因此，指挥只存在于服从之中。”

Even if Lydgate had been inclined to be quite open about his affairs, he knew that it would have hardly been in Mr. Farebrother’s power to give him the help he immediately wanted. —
即使莱德盖特有意对自己的事务保持完全坦诚，他也知道费尔布罗瑟先生几乎没能力立刻给予他所需的帮助。 —

With the year’s bills coming in from his tradesmen, with Dover’s threatening hold on his furniture, and with nothing to depend on but slow dribbling payments from patients who must not be offended–for the handsome fees he had had from Freshitt Hall and Lowick Manor had been easily absorbed–nothing less than a thousand pounds would have freed him from actual embarrassment, and left a residue which, according to the favorite phrase of hopefulness in such circumstances, would have given him “time to look about him.”
随着来自他的商人的一年账单的到来，多佛对他家具恐吓的威胁，以及除了来自患者的缓慢付款之外别无依靠–因为他从弗雷希特庄园和洛威克庄园获得的丰厚费用很容易被吸收–只有一千英镑才能使他摆脱实际困扰，并留下一笔剩余资金，根据这种情况下人们常说的乐观短语，这将给他“看看周围的时间”。

Naturally, the merry Christmas bringing the happy New Year, when fellow-citizens expect to be paid for the trouble and goods they have smilingly bestowed on their neighbors, had so tightened the pressure of sordid cares on Lydgate’s mind that it was hardly possible for him to think unbrokenly of any other subject, even the most habitual and soliciting. —
自然地，圣诞节带来了快乐的新年，当同胞们期待着为他们友邻高兴地奉送的辛劳和商品付款时，理财压力紧逼着李德格心头，使他几乎不可能一直只想着其他事情，即使是最习惯和引人注目的事情也不例外。 —

He was not an ill-tempered man; his intellectual activity, the ardent kindness of his heart, as well as his strong frame, would always, under tolerably easy conditions, have kept him above the petty uncontrolled susceptibilities which make bad temper. —
他并不是个脾气坏的人；他的智力活跃、炽热的心肠，以及强壮的身体，通常能够使他摆脱小小情绪和控制不了的敏感性。 —

But he was now a prey to that worst irritation which arises not simply from annoyances, but from the second consciousness underlying those annoyances, of wasted energy and a degrading preoccupation, which was the reverse of all his former purposes. —
但他现在成了最糟糕的人之一，根源并不只是因为恼怒，而是恼怒背后潜藏着的第二层感知，即耗费的精力和让人窘迫的关注，这是与他先前所有目标完全相反的。 —

“This is what I am thinking of; and that is what I might have been thinking of,” was the bitter incessant murmur within him, making every difficulty a double goad to impatience.
“这是我在想的；而那是我本来可以想的，”是他内心苦涩不断的私语，使每一点困难成为对焦躁的双倍驱使。

Some gentlemen have made an amazing figure in literature by general discontent with the universe as a trap of dulness into which their great souls have fallen by mistake; —
有些绅士凭借着对宇宙的一般不满，在想到他们的伟大灵魂因错误而掉入无聊陷阱时，便在文学领域崭露头角； —

but the sense of a stupendous self and an insignificant world may have its consolations. —
不过，对于本身深思广度世界的存有巨大感觉，而世界微不足道，这种感觉可能会有其慰藉。 —

Lydgate’s discontent was much harder to bear: —
李德格的不满却难以忍受： —

it was the sense that there was a grand existence in thought and effective action lying around him, while his self was being narrowed into the miserable isolation of egoistic fears, and vulgar anxieties for events that might allay such fears. —
他感到周围有着一种伟大的思想和有价值的行动存在，而他个人却被狭窄化为只有自我担忧和为消除这种担忧而细小的焦虑所沉溺，这与他先前的目标完全相反。 —

His troubles will perhaps appear miserably sordid, and beneath the attention of lofty persons who can know nothing of debt except on a magnificent scale. —
他的困扰或许看似卑微下贱，并不值得高尚人士的关注，后者无从了解债务除了在宏伟规模上之外。 —

Doubtless they were sordid; and for the majority, who are not lofty, there is no escape from sordidness but by being free from money-craving, with all its base hopes and temptations, its watching for death, its hinted requests. —
无疑，这些困扰很卑微；对于大多数人来说，要摆脱卑贱只能通过不贪财，摆脱所有其卑劣的希望和诱惑，它的苦苦追求死亡，它明示的申请。 —

its horse-dealer’s desire to make bad work pass for good, its seeking for function which ought to be another’s, its compulsion often to long for Luck in the shape of a wide calamity.
它那马术交易员希望将差劲作品冒充好货的欲望，它那企求功能本该属于别人的需求，往往迫使渴望幸运以灾祸的形式。

It was because Lydgate writhed under the idea of getting his neck beneath this vile yoke that he had fallen into a bitter moody state which was continually widening Rosamond’s alienation from him. —
正是因为李德格对于将自己的生命颈项套上这个卑贱的枷锁的想法而痛苦地扭曲，使他陷入了一种苦涩的愁闷状态，这种状态不断地加深了罗莎蒙对他的疏远。 —

After the first disclosure about the bill of sale, he had made many efforts to draw her into sympathy with him about possible measures for narrowing their expenses, and with the threatening approach of Christmas his propositions grew more and more definite. —
在首次透露了抵押单据之后，他做了很多努力，试图使她与他同情，以便设想可能缩减他们开支的措施，并且随着圣诞节的逼近，他的提议变得越来越具体。 —

“We two can do with only one servant, and live on very little,” he said, “and I shall manage with one horse.” —
“我们两个可以只用一名仆人，生活很节俭，我只需要一匹马。” —

For Lydgate, as we have seen, had begun to reason, with a more distinct vision, about the expenses of living, and any share of pride he had given to appearances of that sort was meagre compared with the pride which made him revolt from exposure as a debtor, or from asking men to help him with their money.
正如我们所看到的，对于里德盖特来说，他开始更清晰地思考生活的开支，而他在外表方面的任何些微的自尊，都无法与使他拒绝作为债务人暴露或请求他人帮助金钱的自尊相比。

“Of course you can dismiss the other two servants, if you like,” said Rosamond; —
“当然，如果你愿意的话，你可以解雇其他两个仆人，”罗莎蒙说； —

“but I should have thought it would be very injurious to your position for us to live in a poor way. —
“但我想，我们生活贫困可能对你的地位非常有害。 —

You must expect your practice to be lowered.”
你必须预料你的医学实践会受到影响。”

“My dear Rosamond, it is not a question of choice. We have begun too expensively. —
“亲爱的罗莎蒙，这不是一个选择的问题。我们的开支已经太大了。 —

Peacock, you know, lived in a much smaller house than this. It is my fault: —
你知道，皮科克过去住的房子比这小得多。这是我的错： —

I ought to have known better, and I deserve a thrashing–if there were anybody who had a right to give it me–for bringing you into the necessity of living in a poorer way than you have been used to. —
我应该更明智些，我活该挨一顿揍–如果有人有权责罚我–把你置于比你习惯的生活水平更低的境地。 —

But we married because we loved each other, I suppose. —
但我们结婚是因为我们彼此相爱，我想。 —

And that may help us to pull along till things get better. —
这也许能帮助我们度过难关，等事情变好了。 —

Come, dear, put down that work and come to me.”
来，亲爱的，放下手中的工作，到我这儿来。”

He was really in chill gloom about her at that moment, but he dreaded a future without affection, and was determined to resist the oncoming of division between them. —
那一刻，他对她心存忧郁，但他害怕没有感情的未来，并决心抵制他们之间隔阂的到来。 —

Rosamond obeyed him, and he took her on his knee, but in her secret soul she was utterly aloof from him. —
罗莎蒙听从了他的话，他把她抱在膝上，但她内心深处完全疏远他。 —

The poor thing saw only that the world was not ordered to her liking, and Lydgate was part of that world. —
可怜的她只看到世界并没有按照她的喜好而顺利运转，而里德盖特是这个世界的一部分。 —

But he held her waist with one hand and laid the other gently on both of hers; —
但他用一只手环抱着她的腰，温柔地另一只手轻轻放在她的手上； —

for this rather abrupt man had much tenderness in his manners towards women, seeming to have always present in his imagination the weakness of their frames and the delicate poise of their health both in body and mind. —
因为这位相对直率的男人在对待女性时有很多温柔，似乎他的想象中始终存在着她们体魄的脆弱和身心健康的微妙平衡。 —

And he began again to speak persuasively.
他再次开始说服地说话。

“I find, now I look into things a little, Rosy, that it is wonderful what an amount of money slips away in our housekeeping. —
“现在我稍微琢磨了一下，罗西，发现在我们的家庭开支中钱花得可真不少。 —

I suppose the servants are careless, and we have had a great many people coming. —
我想是因为仆人们粗心大意，而且我们迎来送往的人也不少。 —

But there must be many in our rank who manage with much less: —
但我们这个阶层也有很多人能用更少的钱度日：我想他们可能得用平凡的东西，留心节约。 —

they must do with commoner things, I suppose, and look after the scraps. —
这些事情似乎钱花得不多，例如温彻医生一切都尽可能简朴，而他的患者群很广。 —

It seems, money goes but a little way in these matters, for Wrench has everything as plain as possible, and he has a very large practice.”
呵呵，如果你想按照温彻家的方式生活！”

“Oh, if you think of living as the Wrenches do!” —
罗莎蒙娜转过头去，说：”哦，你曾表示鄙视那种生活方式。” —

said Rosamond, with a little turn of her neck. —
“是的，他们在各方面都品位低劣–他们把经济搞得丑陋。我们没必要那样做。 —

“But I have heard you express your disgust at that way of living.”
我只是说他们避免支出，尽管温彻医生业务兴隆。”

“Yes, they have bad taste in everything–they make economy look ugly. We needn’t do that. —
“为什么你不能也有一个好的业务，泰修斯？皮科克医生曾经成功。 —

I only meant that they avoid expenses, although Wrench has a capital practice.”
你要更小心，不得罪人，还要像其他医生一样发药。我敢肯定你刚开始时办得不错，拿下了几间好房子。

“Why should not you have a good practice, Tertius? Mr. Peacock had. —
另类行为可不见得明智；你应该考虑大家都喜欢什么，”罗莎蒙娜用一种坚定的口吻劝告说。 —

You should be more careful not to offend people, and you should send out medicines as the others do. I am sure you began well, and you got several good houses. —
莱德盖特的怒火上涌：他原本准备对女性的脆弱多包涵一些，但不能忍受女性的支配。 —

It cannot answer to be eccentric; you should think what will be generally liked,” said Rosamond, in a decided little tone of admonition.
“为什么不能，泰修斯？皮科克医生曾经成功。

Lydgate’s anger rose: he was prepared to be indulgent towards feminine weakness, but not towards feminine dictation. —
你要更小心，不得罪人，还要像其他医生一样发药。我敢肯定你开始时办得不错，拿下了几间好房子。 —

The shallowness of a waternixie’s soul may have a charm until she becomes didactic. —
游水精灵灵魂的浅薄也许有一种迷人之处，直到她开始变得说教。 —

But he controlled himself, and only said, with a touch of despotic firmness–
但他控制住了自己，只是带着一丝专横的坚定说道 -

“What I am to do in my practice, Rosy, it is for me to judge. That is not the question between us. —
“我的实践该怎么做，Rosy，这是我来判断的。这不是我们之间的问题。 —

It is enough for you to know that our income is likely to be a very narrow one– hardly four hundred, perhaps less, for a long time to come, and we must try to re-arrange our lives in accordance with that fact.”
你只需要知道我们的收入很可能会很有限-或许不到四百，甚至更少，未来很长一段时间，而我们必须试着根据这一事实重新安排我们的生活。”

Rosamond was silent for a moment or two, looking before her, and then said, “My uncle Bulstrode ought to allow you a salary for the time you give to the Hospital: —
Rosamond 沉默了一两分钟，凝视前方，然后说道，“我叔叔 Bulstrode 应该给你一份工资，作为你为医院工作的报酬： —

it is not right that you should work for nothing.”
这样你不应该白白地工作。”

“It was understood from the beginning that my services would be gratuitous. —
“从一开始就明确了我的服务将是无偿的。 —

That, again, need not enter into our discussion. —
这也不必放在我们的讨论中。 —

I have pointed out what is the only probability,” said Lydgate, impatiently. —
我已经指出了唯一的可能性，”Lydgate 不耐烦地说。 —

Then checking himself, he went on more quietly–
然后控制住自己，他更加平静地继续说道 -

“I think I see one resource which would free us from a good deal of the present difficulty. —
“我认为有一种办法可以让我们摆脱现在的一大部分困难。 —

I hear that young Ned Plymdale is going to be married to Miss Sophy Toller. —
我听说年轻的 Ned Plymdale 将要与 Sophy Toller 小姐结婚。 —

They are rich, and it is not often that a good house is vacant in Middlemarch. —
他们很有钱，在米德尔马奇很少会有一所好房子空出来。 —

I feel sure that they would be glad to take this house from us with most of our furniture, and they would be willing to pay handsomely for the lease. —
我确信他们会乐意从我们这里租下这所房子，还有大部分家具，并且他们愿意付出慷慨的租金。 —

I can employ Trumbull to speak to Plymdale about it.”
我可以让 Trumbull 去和 Plymdale 谈谈这件事。

Rosamond left her husband’s knee and walked slowly to the other end of the room; —
罗莎蒙离开了丈夫的膝盖，慢慢走向房间的另一头； —

when she turned round and walked towards him it was evident that the tears had come, and that she was biting her under-lip and clasping her hands to keep herself from crying. —
当她转过身向他走来时，显然是泪流满面，她咬着下唇，紧紧握住双手以克制自己不去哭泣； —

Lydgate was wretched–shaken with anger and yet feeling that it would be unmanly to vent the anger just now.
李德盖特感到非常痛苦——愤怒之余还有一种觉得现在发泄这种愤怒是没有男子气概的感觉；

“I am very sorry, Rosamond; I know this is painful.”
“我很抱歉，罗莎蒙；我知道这是痛苦的；”

“I thought, at least, when I had borne to send the plate back and have that man taking an inventory of the furniture–I should have thought that would suffice.”
“我原以为，至少，当我已经忍受得把银器送回去，让那个人清点家具——我本以为那足够了；”

“I explained it to you at the time, dear. —
“我在当时已经向你解释过了，亲爱的；” —

That was only a security and behind that Security there is a debt. —
那只是把家具作为担保品，担保品背后是一个债务； —

And that debt must be paid within the next few months, else we shall have our furniture sold. —
而那笔债务必须在接下来的几个月内偿还，否则我们的家具将被抵押出售； —

If young Plymdale will take our house and most of our furniture, we shall be able to pay that debt, and some others too, and we shall be quit of a place too expensive for us. —
如果年轻的普林戴尔愿意租下我们的房子和大部分家具，我们就能偿还那笔债务，还有一些其他的，我们也就摆脱了一个对我们来说太昂贵的地方； —

We might take a smaller house: Trumbull, I know, has a very decent one to let at thirty pounds a-year, and this is ninety.” —
我们可以搬到一个较小的房子去：特伦布尔，我知道他有一个每年三十英镑的还算不错的房子可以出租，而现在我们的这个是九十英镑； —

Lydgate uttered this speech in the curt hammering way with which we usually try to nail down a vague mind to imperative facts. —
李德盖特以这种用来劈开迷糊头脑的坚决方式说完了这番话； —

Tears rolled silently down Rosamond’s cheeks; —
罗莎蒙的泪水静静流下来； —

she just pressed her handkerchief against them, and stood looking at the large vase on the mantel-piece. —
她只是用手帕轻轻擦去泪水，站在壁炉架上的大花瓶前凝视着； —

It was a moment of more intense bitterness than she had ever felt before. —
这一刻比她以往所感受到的痛苦更加深刻； —

At last she said, without hurry and with careful emphasis–
最后她语速不慌不忙，强调地说道——

“I never could have believed that you would like to act in that way.”
“我从来没有想到你会喜欢那种行为方式。”

“Like it?” burst out Lydgate, rising from his chair, thrusting his hands in his pockets and stalking away from the hearth; —
“喜欢？” 李德盖特急不可耐地站起身，把手插进口袋里，跨过炉边走开； —

“it’s not a question of liking. Of course, I don’t like it; —
“这不是一个喜欢的问题。当然，我不喜欢； —

it’s the only thing I can do.” He wheeled round there, and turned towards her.
这是我唯一能做的事情。” 他转身回头，朝着她说。

“I should have thought there were many other means than that,” said Rosamond. —
“我本以为除了那种方式，还有很多其他方法,” 罗莎蒙说。 —

“Let us have a sale and leave Middlemarch altogether.”
“我们举行一次拍卖，然后彻底离开米德尔马치吧。”

“To do what? What is the use of my leaving my work in Middlemarch to go where I have none? —
“去做什么？离开我在米德尔马治的工作，去哪里也没有任何事业。 —

We should be just as penniless elsewhere as we are here,” said Lydgate still more angrily.
我们在别的地方也会和在这里一样一贫如洗,” 李德盖特更愤怒地说。

“If we are to be in that position it will be entirely your own doing, Tertius,” said Rosamond, turning round to speak with the fullest conviction. —
“如果我们陷入这种境地，那完全是你的错，泰尔修斯,” 罗莎蒙转过身来充满信念地说。 —

“You will not behave as you ought to do to your own family. You offended Captain Lydgate. —
“你对自己的家人不像应该的那样去做。你冒犯了利德盖特船长。 —

Sir Godwin was very kind to me when we were at Quallingham, and I am sure if you showed proper regard to him and told him your affairs, he would do anything for you. —
在夸林厄姆的时候古德温爵士对我非常好，我相信如果你对他表示适当的尊重并告诉他你的事情，他会为你做任何事。 —

But rather than that, you like giving up our house and furniture to Mr. Ned Plymdale.”
但与其如此，你宁愿把我们的房子和家具送给内德·普林代尔。

There was something like fierceness in Lydgate’s eyes, as he answered with new violence, “Well, then, if you will have it so, I do like it. —
当李德盖特以新的激烈表达回答时，他的眼中闪现出一丝凶狠：”好吧，如果你愿意这样，那么我确实喜欢。 —

I admit that I like it better than making a fool of myself by going to beg where it’s of no use. —
我承认，我喜欢这样，胜过去无用地乞求把自己搞得像个傻瓜。 —

Understand then, that it is what I like to do.“
明白了吗，这就是我 喜欢做的事情。”

There was a tone in the last sentence which was equivalent to the clutch of his strong hand on Rosamond’s delicate arm. —
在最后一句话中有一种语气，它就像他强壮的手紧紧抓住罗莎蒙德纤弱的手臂一样。 —

But for all that, his will was not a whit stronger than hers. —
但尽管如此，他的意志并不比她的坚强一丝一毫。 —

She immediately walked out of the room in silence, but with an intense determination to hinder what Lydgate liked to do.
她立刻默默地走出房间，但内心下定决心阻止琳德盖特喜欢做的事情。

He went out of the house, but as his blood cooled he felt that the chief result of the discussion was a deposit of dread within him at the idea of opening with his wife in future subjects which might again urge him to violent speech. —
他走出房子，但当他的血液冷却时，他感觉到讨论的主要结果是对未来与妻子交谈可能再次引发他激烈言辞的恐惧沉积在他的内心。 —

It was as if a fracture in delicate crystal had begun, and he was afraid of any movement that might mate it fatal. —
这就好像精致水晶中发生了一道裂缝，他害怕任何可能使其变得致命的动作。 —

His marriage would be a mere piece of bitter irony if they could not go on loving each other. —
如果他们不能继续彼此相爱，他的婚姻将变成一种苦涩的讽刺。 —

He had long ago made up his mind to what he thought was her negative character–her want of sensibility, which showed itself in disregard both of his specific wishes and of his general aims. —
很久以前，他就已坚定地认定她是负面的性格–她缺乏敏感性，这表现在她对他具体愿望和总体目标的忽视之中。 —

The first great disappointment had been borne: —
第一个巨大的失望已经承受过: —

the tender devotedness and docile adoration of the ideal wife must be renounced, and life must be taken up on a lower stage of expectation, as it is by men who have lost their limbs. —
理想妻子的温柔奉献和顺从崇拜必须被放弃，生活必须从对期望更低的阶段重新开始，就像失去肢体的人一样。 —

But the real wife had not only her claims, she had still a hold on his heart, and it was his intense desire that the hold should remain strong. —
但真正的妻子不仅拥有自己的权利，她仍然抓住他的心，他强烈希望这种抓住还能保持强烈。 —

In marriage, the certainty, “She will never love me much,” is easier to bear than the fear, “I shall love her no more.” —
在婚姻中，“她永远不会很爱我”这种确定性，比“我不会再爱她”这种恐惧更容易承受。 —

Hence, after that outburst, his inward effort was entirely to excuse her, and to blame the hard circumstances which were partly his fault. —
因此，在那次爆发之后，他内心里唯一的努力是为她辩解，并责怪那些在一定程度上是他的错的困难境况。 —

He tried that evening, by petting her, to heal the wound he had made in the morning, and it was not in Rosamond’s nature to be repellent or sulky; —
那天晚上，他试图通过宠爱她来治愈他早上造成的伤害，罗莎蒙德的性格并不是冷漠或板着脸的； —

indeed, she welcomed the signs that her husband loved her and was under control. —
事实上，她欢迎丈夫爱她并且受到控制的迹象。 —

But this was something quite distinct from loving him. —
但这与爱他是完全不同的。 —

Lydgate would not have chosen soon to recur to the plan of parting with the house; —
在这个时候，莱德盖特肯定不会选择立即重新考虑出售房子的计划； —

he was resolved to carry it out, and say as little more about it as possible. —
他已经决心实施，尽可能少再提这件事； —

But Rosamond herself touched on it at breakfast by saying, mildly–
但是在早餐时，罗莎蒙提到了这件事，温和地说道——

“Have you spoken to Trumbull yet?”
“你和特朗布尔说过了吗？”

“No,” said Lydgate, “but I shall call on him as I go by this morning. No time must be lost.” —
“没有，”莱德盖特说道，”但我今天上午路过会去拜访他。绝对不能拖延。” —

He took Rosamond’s question as a sign that she withdrew her inward opposition, and kissed her head caressingly when he got up to go away.
他把罗莎蒙的问题看作她内心反对的信号，起身离开时亲昵地吻了吻她的头。

As soon as it was late enough to make a call, Rosamond went to Mrs. Plymdale, Mr. Ned’s mother, and entered with pretty congratulations into the subject of the coming marriage. —
一到可以拜访的时间，罗莎蒙就去了尼德的母亲普林代尔夫人那里，并和她热情地聊起即将到来的婚礼这个话题。 —

Mrs. Plymdale’s maternal view was, that Rosamond might possibly now have retrospective glimpses of her own folly; —
普林代尔夫人母性的看法是，罗莎蒙可能现在才开始回顾自己的愚蠢； —

and feeling the advantages to be at present all on the side of her son, was too kind a woman not to behave graciously.
考虑到目前优势完全在她儿子这边，她是一位善良的女性，不会不友好。

“Yes, Ned is most happy, I must say. And Sophy Toller is all I could desire in a daughter-in-law. —
“是的，我必须说尼德非常幸福。索菲·托勒是我能期望的完美的儿媳。 —

Of course her father is able to do something handsome for her–that is only what would be expected with a brewery like his. —
当然，她的父亲有能力为她做些慷慨的事情——这是预料之中的事情，拥有这样一个酿酒厂。 —

And the connection is everything we should desire. But that is not what I look at. —
而这段关系是我们所期望的一切。但我不是关注这点。 —

She is such a very nice girl–no airs, no pretensions, though on a level with the first. —
她是一个非常好的女孩——没有架子，没有虚伪，尽管处于顶尖地位。 —

I don’t mean with the titled aristocracy. —
我不是指有头衔的贵族。 —

I see very little good in people aiming out of their own sphere. —
我觉得人们追求自己领域之外的东西没什么好处。” —

I mean that Sophy is equal to the best in the town, and she is contented with that.”
我是说Sophy与镇上最好的人不相上下，而她对此感到满足。

“I have always thought her very agreeable,” said Rosamond.
“我一直认为她非常讨人喜欢，”罗莎蒙德说。

“I look upon it as a reward for Ned, who never held his head too high, that he should have got into the very best connection,” continued Mrs. Plymdale, her native sharpness softened by a fervid sense that she was taking a correct view. —
“我认为这是对尼德的一种奖赏，他从不摆出高高在上的架子，他竟然进入了最上流的圈子，” 西丽亚贝克太太继续说，她的尖刻本性被一种热切的感觉软化，她觉得自己看问题很正确。 —

“And such particular people as the Tollers are, they might have objected because some of our friends are not theirs. —
“像托勒一家这样挑剔的人也许反对，因为我们的一些朋友并不是他们的朋友。 —

It is well known that your aunt Bulstrode and I have been intimate from our youth, and Mr. Plymdale has been always on Mr. Bulstrode’s side. —
大家都知道你的姑姑布尔斯特罗德和我从年轻时就很亲近，而且普林代尔先生一直站在布尔斯特罗德先生那一边。 —

And I myself prefer serious opinions. But the Tollers have welcomed Ned all the same.”
而我自己更喜欢持有认真见解的人。但托勒一家照样欢迎尼德。”

“I am sure he is a very deserving, well-principled young man,” said Rosamond, with a neat air of patronage in return for Mrs. Plymdale’s wholesome corrections.
“我肯定他是一个非常有价值、有原则的年轻人，”罗莎蒙德以一种端庄的优越感回应西丽亚贝克太太的健康矫正。

“Oh, he has not the style of a captain in the army, or that sort of carriage as if everybody was beneath him, or that showy kind of talking, and singing, and intellectual talent. —
“哦，他不像陆军上校那样有风度，或者表现出每个人都在他之下，或者那种炫耀的谈话、歌唱和智能才能。 —

But I am thankful he has not. It is a poor preparation both for here and Hereafter.”
但我感激他没有。这对现在和来世都是一种贫瘠的准备。”

“Oh dear, yes; appearances have very little to do with happiness,” said Rosamond. —
“哦，亲，是的；外表与幸福几乎无关，”罗莎蒙德说。 —

“I think there is every prospect of their being a happy couple. —
“我觉得他们成为一对幸福的夫妇的前景很大。 —

What house will they take?”
他们会租哪家房子？”

“Oh, as for that, they must put up with what they can get. —
“哦，至于那一点，他们只能接受能得到的。 —

They have been looking at the house in St. Peter’s Place, next to Mr. Hackbutt’s; —
他们看中了圣彼得广场上的那栋房子，就在哈克巴特先生的旁边； —

it belongs to him, and he is putting it nicely in repair. —
这栋房子属于他，他正在精心修缮它。 —

I suppose they are not likely to hear of a better. —
我想 他们不太可能听到更好的。 —

Indeed, I think Ned will decide the matter to-day.”
的确，我认为尼德今天会决定这个问题。

“I should think it is a nice house; I like St. Peter’s Place.”
“我觉得这是一栋漂亮的房子；我喜欢圣彼得广场。”

“Well, it is near the Church, and a genteel situation. —
“嗯，它靠近教堂，是一个体面的位置。” —

But the windows are narrow, and it is all ups and downs. —
但窗户很窄，而且都是上下的。 —

You don’t happen to know of any other that would be at liberty?” —
你不知道还有其他哪些房子可以出租吗？ —

said Mrs. Plymdale, fixing her round black eyes on Rosamond with the animation of a sudden thought in them.
普利姆代尔夫人看着罗莎蒙德，她那双圆黑的眼睛里突然闪现出一个想法。

“Oh no; I hear so little of those things.”
“哦不；我很少听到这类事情。”

Rosamond had not foreseen that question and answer in setting out to pay her visit; —
罗莎蒙德出门拜访时没有预料到那个问题和回答； —

she had simply meant to gather any information which would help her to avert the parting with her own house under circumstances thoroughly disagreeable to her. —
她只是打算收集任何信息，以帮助她避免以极其令人不快的方式放弃自己的房子。 —

As to the untruth in her reply, she no more reflected on it than she did on the untruth there was in her saying that appearances had very little to do with happiness. —
至于她回答中的谎言，她没有考虑过，就像她说出外表与幸福几乎无关一样。 —

Her object, she was convinced, was thoroughly justifiable: —
她确信她的目的是完全合理的： —

it was Lydgate whose intention was inexcusable; —
是莱德盖特的意图是不可饶恕的； —

and there was a plan in her mind which, when she had carried it out fully, would prove how very false a step it would have been for him to have descended from his position.
她脑海中有一个计划，当她完全实施它时，会证明他放弃自己的地位是多么错误的决定。

She returned home by Mr. Borthrop Trumbull’s office, meaning to call there. —
她走进博思罗普·特兰布尔先生的办公室，打算去那里拜访。 —

It was the first time in her life that Rosamond had thought of doing anything in the form of business, but she felt equal to the occasion. —
这是罗莎蒙德生命中第一次考虑做任何形式的生意，但她觉得自己足以胜任。 —

That she should be obliged to do what she intensely disliked, was an idea which turned her quiet tenacity into active invention. —
她被迫做自己极度讨厌的事情，这个想法使她内心的顽强变得积极起来。 —

Here was a case in which it could not be enough simply to disobey and be serenely, placidly obstinate: —
这是一个情况，简单地不服从和保持坚决不屈已经不够： —

she must act according to her judgment, and she said to herself that her judgment was right–“indeed, if it had not been, she would not have wished to act on it.”
她必须按照自己的判断行事，她告诉自己她的判断是对的–“事实上，如果不是对的，她就不会希望按照它行动。”

Mr. Trumbull was in the back-room of his office, and received Rosamond with his finest manners, not only because he had much sensibility to her charms, but because the good-natured fibre in him was stirred by his certainty that Lydgate was in difficulties, and that this uncommonly pretty woman–this young lady with the highest personal attractions–was likely to feel the pinch of trouble– to find herself involved in circumstances beyond her control. —
特朗布尔先生当时在办公室的后屋里，用他最好的礼仪接待了罗莎蒙德，不仅是因为他对她的魅力很敏感，而且因为他肯定莱德盖特有困难，而这个异常漂亮的女人–这位拥有最高个人魅力的年轻女士–可能会感受到困难之苦–发现自己卷入了无法控制的环境。 —

He begged her to do him the honor to take a seat, and stood before her trimming and comporting himself with an eager solicitude, which was chiefly benevolent. —
他恳求她对自己表示荣幸坐下，然后站在她面前，带着一种渴望的热切关心，主要还是出于善意。 —

Rosamond’s first question was, whether her husband had called on Mr. Trumbull that morning, to speak about disposing of their house.
罗莎蒙德的第一个问题是，她丈夫今天上午是否去找特朗布尔先生，想着卖掉他们的房子。

“Yes, ma’am, yes, he did; he did so,” said the good auctioneer, trying to throw something soothing into his iteration. —
“是的，夫人，是的，他这么做了，他确实这么做了，”好意的拍卖师说，试图在重复中加入一些安抚的语气。 —

“I was about to fulfil his order, if possible, this afternoon. —
“我正准备在可能的情况下来执行他的命令，今天下午。 —

He wished me not to procrastinate.”
他希望我不要拖延.”

“I called to tell you not to go any further, Mr. Trumbull; —
“我打电话来告诉你不要再继续了，特朗布尔先生； —

and I beg of you not to mention what has been said on the subject. —
我请求你不要提及已经讨论过的话题。 —

Will you oblige me?”
能否帮我一个忙?”

“Certainly I will, Mrs. Lydgate, certainly. —
“当然可以，莱德盖特夫人，当然。 —

Confidence is sacred with me on business or any other topic. —
对于业务或任何其他话题，我都视信任为神圣。” —

I am then to consider the commission withdrawn?” —
那么我就考虑撤回委任吗？ —

said Mr. Trumbull, adjusting the long ends of his blue cravat with both hands, and looking at Rosamond deferentially.
特朗布尔先生说道，双手调整着蓝色领结的长条，并尊重地看着罗莎蒙德。

“Yes, if you please. I find that Mr. Ned Plymdale has taken a house– the one in St. Peter’s Place next to Mr. Hackbutt’s. —
是的，请。我发现内德·普林代尔先生已经租了一栋房子——就在圣彼得广场，靠近哈克巴特先生的隔壁。 —

Mr. Lydgate would be annoyed that his orders should be fulfilled uselessly. —
如果这么做，利德盖特先生会感到烦恼，因为他的命令没有被有效执行。 —

And besides that, there are other circumstances which render the proposal unnecessary.”
除此之外，还有其他情况使得这个建议没有必要。

“Very good, Mrs. Lydgate, very good. I am at your commands, whenever you require any service of me,” said Mr. Trumbull, who felt pleasure in conjecturing that some new resources had been opened. —
特朗布尔先生说：“非常好，利德盖特太太，非常好。只要您需要我的任何服务，我都愿意效劳。”他猜测着可能出现了一些新的资源，感到高兴。 —

“Rely on me, I beg. The affair shall go no further.”
“请相信我，我请求您。这件事不会再继续下去。”

That evening Lydgate was a little comforted by observing that Rosamond was more lively than she had usually been of late, and even seemed interested in doing what would please him without being asked. —
那天晚上，利德盖特略微宽慰地注意到罗莎蒙德比以往兴奋一些，甚至似乎对能够让他高兴的事情感兴趣，而不用被要求。 —

He thought, “If she will be happy and I can rub through, what does it all signify? —
他想，“如果她能快乐，而我能挺过去，这一切又算得了什么呢？ —

It is only a narrow swamp that we have to pass in a long journey. —
这只是我们长途旅行中必须通过的一个狭窄泥潭。 —

If I can get my mind clear again, I shall do.”
如果我能再次使头脑清晰，我就能做到。”

He was so much cheered that he began to search for an account of experiments which he had long ago meant to look up, and had neglected out of that creeping self-despair which comes in the train of petty anxieties. —
他感到如此振奋，以至于开始搜索他很久以前就打算查阅的实验报告，而这一点他因为随之而来的种种小小焦虑而疏忽了。 —

He felt again some of the old delightful absorption in a far-reaching inquiry, while Rosamond played the quiet music which was as helpful to his meditation as the plash of an oar on the evening lake. —
他再次在一个远大的探究中沉浸，享受着那种令人愉悦的吸引，而罗莎蒙德弹奏的柔和音乐对他的冥想起到了帮助作用，这种音乐就像是傍晚湖面上划桨的声音。 —

It was rather late; he had pushed away all the books, and was looking at the fire with his hands clasped behind his head in forgetfulness of everything except the construction of a new controlling experiment, when Rosamond, who had left the piano and was leaning back in her chair watching him, said–
已经很晚了；他把所有的书都推开了，双手握在脑后，忘我地看着火，心无旁骛地思考着一个新的控制性实验的构想，而此时罗莎蒙德离开钢琴，倚在椅子上看着他说道——

“Mr. Ned Plymdale has taken a house already.”
内德·普林代尔先生已经租了一栋房子。

Lydgate, startled and jarred, looked up in silence for a moment, like a man who has been disturbed in his sleep. —
里德盖特吃惊而又受到惊吓，沉默地抬起头来，就像是被惊醒的人一样。 —

Then flushing with an unpleasant consciousness, he asked–
然后，他脸红，意识到自己有些不愉快，问道–

“How do you know?”
“你是怎么知道的?”

“I called at Mrs. Plymdale’s this morning, and she told me that he had taken the house in St. Peter’s Place, next to Mr. Hackbutt’s.”
“今天早上我去了普林代尔太太家，她告诉我他已经租下了圣彼得广场的那栋房子，就在哈克巴特先生的隔壁。”

Lydgate was silent. He drew his hands from behind his head and pressed them against the hair which was hanging, as it was apt to do, in a mass on his forehead, while he rested his elbows on his knees. —
里德盖特沉默了。他从头后面抽出双手，用手掌按住了那一缕常常凌乱悬垂在额前的头发，同时他的手肘靠在膝盖上。 —

He was feeling bitter disappointment, as if he had opened a door out of a suffocating place and had found it walled up; —
他感到了一种苦涩的失望，就像是打开了一扇通往一处窒息之地的门，结果发现门外是封死的一样； —

but he also felt sure that Rosamond was pleased with the cause of his disappointment. —
但是他也确信罗莎蒙德对他的失望感到高兴。 —

He preferred not looking at her and not speaking, until he had got over the first spasm of vexation. After all, he said in his bitterness, what can a woman care about so much as house and furniture? —
他不愿意看着她，也不想说话，直到他克服了最初的恼怒。毕竟，他用苦涩之情说，对于一个女人来说，会有什么比房子和家具更重要的呢？ —

a husband without them is an absurdity. When he looked up and pushed his hair aside, his dark eyes had a miserable blank non-expectance of sympathy in them, but he only said, coolly–
一个没有这些东西的丈夫实在是滑稽。当他抬起头，挽回了乱蓬蓬的头发时，他深邃的眼睛中透着一种可怜的空虚，一种等不到同情感的空虚，但他只是冷淡地说道–

“Perhaps some one else may turn up. I told Trumbull to be on the look-out if he failed with Plymdale.”
“也许会出现其他人。如果和普林代尔谈崩了，我让特朗布尔留意其他渠道。”

Rosamond made no remark. She trusted to the chance that nothing more would pass between her husband and the auctioneer until some issue should have justified her interference; —
罗莎蒙德没有说话。她信任机会，希望在某种结果证明她干涉的必要之前，她先阻止了她立即害怕的事件发生。 —

at any rate, she had hindered the event which she immediately dreaded. —
至少，她已经阻止了她立即害怕的事件发生。 —

After a pause, she said–
沉默片刻后，她说–

“How much money is it that those disagreeable people want?”
“那些讨厌的人要多少钱?”

“What disagreeable people?”
“哪些讨厌的人?”

“Those who took the list–and the others. —
“那些拿了名单的人——和其他人。 —

I mean, how much money would satisfy them so that you need not be troubled any more?”
我是说，要有多少钱能满足他们，这样你就不用再烦恼了呢？”

Lydgate surveyed her for a moment, as if he were looking for symptoms, and then said, “Oh, if I could have got six hundred from Plymdale for furniture and as premium, I might have managed. —
莱德格特对她进行了一会儿的观察，仿佛在寻找症状，然后说，“哦，如果我能从普林代尔那里获得六百镑用于家具和保险金，我可能会处理得来。 —

I could have paid off Dover, and given enough on account to the others to make them wait patiently, if we contracted our expenses.”
我本可以还清多佛的债务，给其他人足够的预付款，让他们耐心等待，如果我们节省开支的话。”

“But I mean how much should you want if we stayed in this house?”
“但是如果我们留在这栋房子里，你需要多少钱呢？”

“More than I am likely to get anywhere,” said Lydgate, with rather a grating sarcasm in his tone. —
“比我在别处能得到的要多，”莱德格特带着相当刻薄的讽刺口气说道。 —

It angered him to perceive that Rosamond’s mind was wandering over impracticable wishes instead of facing possible efforts.
他发现罗莎蒙的想法飘忽不定，只是空想那些不切实际的愿望，这让他感到恼火。

“Why should you not mention the sum?” said Rosamond, with a mild indication that she did not like his manners.
“你为什么不直接说出数字？”罗莎蒙说道，语气中透露出她对他的态度不满。

“Well,” said Lydgate in a guessing tone, “it would take at least a thousand to set me at ease. —
“嗯，”莱德格特用猜测的口吻说道，“至少要一千镑才能让我放心。 —

But,” he added, incisively, “I have to consider what I shall do without it, not with it.”
不过，”他一针见血地补充道，“我得考虑没有这笔钱时该怎么办，而不是有了这笔钱时该怎么办。”

Rosamond said no more.
罗莎蒙不再言语。

But the next day she carried out her plan of writing to Sir Godwin Lydgate. —
但第二天她执行了写信给戈德温·莱德格特爵士的计划。 —

Since the Captain’s visit, she had received a letter from him, and also one from Mrs. Mengan, his married sister, condoling with her on the loss of her baby, and expressing vaguely the hope that they should see her again at Quallingham. —
自从船长来访之后，她收到了他的一封信，还有他已婚的姐姐曼格安夫人的来信，表示对她失去孩子的慰问，并含糊地表达了希望再次在夸林汉姆见到她的期望。 —

Lydgate had told her that this politeness meant nothing; —
莱德格特告诉她，这种客气并没有任何意义； —

but she was secretly convinced that any backwardness in Lydgate’s family towards him was due to his cold and contemptuous behavior, and she had answered the letters in her most charming manner, feeling some confidence that a specific invitation would follow. —
但她内心深处确信，莱德格特家人对他的冷漠和轻蔑行为造成了任何在对他身上的倒退，她以最迷人的方式回复了这些信件，对于接到具体的邀请很有信心。 —

But there had been total silence. The Captain evidently was not a great penman, and Rosamond reflected that the sisters might have been abroad. —
但是一片寂静。船长显然不是很擅长写字，罗莎蒙想到姐妹们可能已经外出了。 —

However, the season was come for thinking of friends at home, and at any rate Sir Godwin, who had chucked her under the chin, and pronounced her to be like the celebrated beauty, Mrs. Croly, who had made a conquest of him in 1790, would be touched by any appeal from her, and would find it pleasant for her sake to behave as he ought to do towards his nephew. —
然而，现在是该想起家乡朋友的时候了，无论如何，吉德温爵士曾捏了她下巴，认为她像著名的美人克洛利夫人，据说她在1790年已经征服了他，他会被她的任何恳求所感动，并且至少会为了她的缘故而表现出他该有的态度对待他的侄子。 —

Rosamond was naively convinced of what an old gentleman ought to do to prevent her from suffering annoyance. —
罗莎蒙天真地确信老绅士们应该做些什么来防止她受到困扰。 —

And she wrote what she considered the most judicious letter possible– one which would strike Sir Godwin as a proof of her excellent sense– pointing out how desirable it was that Tertius should quit such a place as Middlemarch for one more fitted to his talents, how the unpleasant character of the inhabitants had hindered his professional success, and how in consequence he was in money difficulties, from which it would require a thousand pounds thoroughly to extricate him. —
她写了她认为可能最明智的信–一封会使吉德温爵士看到她出色头脑的证明–指出了特提乌斯应该为了他的才能而离开像米德尔马奇这样的地方是多么理想，居民的不愉快品质如何妨碍了他的职业成功，以及由此所引起的金钱困难，需要花费一千英镑来完全帮他摆脱。 —

She did not say that Tertius was unaware of her intention to write; —
她没有说特提乌斯不知道她打算写信； —

for she had the idea that his supposed sanction of her letter would be in accordance with what she did say of his great regard for his uncle Godwin as the relative who had always been his best friend. —
因为她觉得他对她信了这封信将对号入座符合她对他的大舅吉德温作为一直以来对他最好的朋友这一说法。 —

Such was the force of Poor Rosamond’s tactics now she applied them to affairs.
这就是可怜的罗莎蒙现在应用到事务上的战术。

This had happened before the party on New Year’s Day, and no answer had yet come from Sir Godwin. —
这发生在元旦那天的聚会之前，吉德温爵士还没有回信。 —

But on the morning of that day Lydgate had to learn that Rosamond had revoked his order to Borthrop Trumbull. —
但在那天早晨，莱德盖特得知罗莎蒙取消了他对博索普·特伦布尔的命令。 —

Feeling it necessary that she should be gradually accustomed to the idea of their quitting the house in Lowick Gate, he overcame his reluctance to speak to her again on the subject, and when they were breakfasting said–
他觉得她必须逐渐适应他们离开洛威克门那所房子的想法，于是克服了再次就这个主题和她谈话的不情愿，并且在吃早餐时说–

“I shall try to see Trumbull this morning, and tell him to. —
“我今天上午会去见特伦布尔，并告诉他。 —

advertise the house in the Pioneer' and theTrumpet.’ —
在《先驱报》和《号角报》上登广告出租房子。 —

If the thing were advertised, some one might be inclined to take it who would not otherwise have thought of a change. —
如果该事物被广告出来，可能会有一些人愿意租下来，而以前他们可能根本没有考虑换房子。 —

In these country places many people go on in their old houses when their families are too large for them, for want of knowing where they can find another. —
在这些乡间地方，很多人在家人已经变得太多时还住在他们原来的房子里，因为不知道哪里可以找到别的房子。 —

And Trumbull seems to have got no bite at all.”
而特伦布尔似乎完全没有消息。

Rosamond knew that the inevitable moment was come. —
罗莎蒙德知道不可避免的时刻已经到来。 —

“I ordered Trumbull not to inquire further,” she said, with a careful calmness which was evidently defensive.
“我告诉特兰布尔不要再进一步打听了”，她说，语气小心翼翼，显然是在自卫。

Lydgate stared at her in mute amazement. Only half an hour before he had been fastening up her plaits for her, and talking the “little language” of affection, which Rosamond, though not returning it, accepted as if she had been a serene and lovely image, now and then miraculously dimpling towards her votary. —
莱德盖特目瞪口呆地盯着她。就在半个小时前，他还在为她梳理发辫，用着爱的“小语言”交谈，而罗莎蒙德虽然没有回应，却像是一个宁静而可爱的形象，偶尔对她的崇拜者微微一笑。 —

With such fibres still astir in him, the shock he received could not at once be distinctly anger; —
身体里仍然有这样的纤维在运转，他所受的冲击一时不能准确地转化为愤怒； —

it was confused pain. He laid down the knife and fork with which he was carving, and throwing himself back in his chair, said at last, with a cool irony in his tone–
而是一种混乱的痛苦。他放下他用来切肉的刀叉，靠在椅子上，最后带着一种冷嘲讽的口气说道–

“May I ask when and why you did so?”
“我可以问一下你是什么时候以及为什么这样做的吗？”

“When I knew that the Plymdales had taken a house, I called to tell him not to mention ours to them; —
“当我知道普莱姆代尔家已经租到了房子，我打电话告诉他不要向他们提起我们的这件事； —

and at the same time I told him not to let the affair go on any further. —
同样的时间，我告诉他不要让这段事再继续下去。 —

I knew that it would be very injurious to you if it were known that you wished to part with your house and furniture, and I had a very strong objection to it. —
我知道如果你想出售房子和家具这件事被知晓会对你非常有害，而我非常强烈地反对。 —

I think that was reason enough.”
我认为那已经足够了。

“It was of no consequence then that I had told you imperative reasons of another kind; —
“那我告诉你另外一种紧急原因没关系； —

of no consequence that I had come to a different conclusion, and given an order accordingly?” —
那我得出了不同的结论，然后据此下了命令，就不重要了？ —

said Lydgate, bitingly, the thunder and lightning gathering about his brow and eyes.
“莱德盖特尖刻地说，他的眉头和眼睛埋头正逐渐聚集。

The effect of any one’s anger on Rosamond had always been to make her shrink in cold dislike, and to become all the more calmly correct, in the conviction that she was not the person to misbehave whatever others might do. She replied–
任何人的愤怒对罗莎蒙德来说总是让她冷淡地厌恶，更变得更加冷静正确，坚信不管别人怎么做，她永远不是那种会犯错的人。她回答道—

“I think I had a perfect right to speak on a subject which concerns me at least as much as you.”
“我认为在至少和你同等关心的事情上我有权发表意见。

“Clearly–you had a right to speak, but only to me. —
“显然–你有权说话，但只能对我说。 —

You had no right to contradict my orders secretly, and treat me as if I were a fool,” said Lydgate, in the same tone as before. —
你没有权利秘密地反驳我的命令，然后对我像我是个傻瓜一样处理，”莱德盖特以前的语气说道。 —

Then with some added scorn, “Is it possible to make you understand what the consequences will be? —
然后带着一些轻蔑说，”让你明白后果有用吗？ —

Is it of any use for me to tell you again why we must try to part with the house?”
我再告诉你为什么我们必须努力尝试出售这所房子有用吗？

“It is not necessary for you to tell me again,” said Rosamond, in a voice that fell and trickled like cold water-drops. —
“不需要你再告诉我，”罗莎蒙德的声音像冷水滴一样下来。 —

“I remembered what you said. You spoke just as violently as you do now. —
“我记得你说过的。你说话就像现在这么强烈。 —

But that does not alter my opinion that you ought to try every other means rather than take a step which is so painful to me. —
但是这并不改变我认为你应该尽一切办法而不是采取对我如此痛苦的一步的观点。 —

And as to advertising the house, I think it would be perfectly degrading to you.”
至于宣传房子，我觉得这对你来说是非常丢脸的。

“And suppose I disregard your opinion as you disregard mine?”
“如果我不理会你的意见，你也不理会我的意见呢？”

“You can do so, of course. But I think you ought to have told me before we were married that you would place me in the worst position, rather than give up your own will.”
“你当然可以这样做。但我认为你应该在我们结婚之前告诉我，你宁愿将我置于最糟糕的境地，也不愿放弃自己的意愿。”

Lydgate did not speak, but tossed his head on one side, and twitched the corners of his mouth in despair. —
莱德盖特没有说话，只是扭动头，绝望地扯动嘴角。 —

Rosamond, seeing that he was not looking at her, rose and set his cup of coffee before him; —
罗莎蒙看到他没有看着她，站起来把他的咖啡放在面前； —

but he took no notice of it, and went on with an inward drama and argument, occasionally moving in his seat, resting one arm on the table, and rubbing his hand against his hair. —
但他毫不理会，继续心里面的戏剧和争论，偶尔在座位上动一下，一只手扶着桌子，用手揉着头发。 —

There was a conflux of emotions and thoughts in him that would not let him either give thorough way to his anger or persevere with simple rigidity of resolve. —
内心涌现出各种情感和思绪，使他无法完全发泄愤怒，也无法坚定决心。 —

Rosamond took advantage of his silence.
罗莎蒙趁他沉默之际发表了自己的意见。

“When we were married everyone felt that your position was very high. —
“我们结婚时，所有人都觉得你的地位非常高。 —

I could not have imagined then that you would want to sell our furniture, and take a house in Bride Street, where the rooms are like cages. —
我当时无法想象你会想要出售我们的家具，搬到布赖德街的一座房子，那里的房间就像笼子一样。 —

If we are to live in that way let us at least leave Middlemarch.”
如果我们要这样生活，至少让我们离开米德尔马奇吧。”

“These would be very strong considerations,” said Lydgate, half ironically–still there was a withered paleness about his lips as he looked at his coffee, and did not drink–“these would be very strong considerations if I did not happen to be in debt.”
“这些将是非常有力的考虑因素，”莱德盖特半开玩笑地说，但他看着咖啡的嘴唇苍白干瘪，没有喝就是–“如果我碰巧不欠债。”

“Many persons must have been in debt in the same way, but if they are respectable, people trust them. I am sure I have heard papa say that the Torbits were in debt, and they went on very well. —
“许多人可能也曾同样负债，但如果他们是体面的人，人们会信任他们。我肯定听爸爸说过托比特家也负债，他们过得很好。 —

It cannot be good to act rashly,” said Rosamond, with serene wisdom.
冲动行事肯定是不好的，”罗莎蒙以平静的智慧说道。

Lydgate sat paralyzed by opposing impulses: —
莱德盖特坐在那里，被相反的冲动所束缚： —

since no reasoning he could apply to Rosamond seemed likely to conquer her assent, he wanted to smash and grind some object on which he could at least produce an impression, or else to tell her brutally that he was master, and she must obey. —
由于他无法找到任何说服罗莎蒙的理由，他想找个物体摔碎磨碎，至少可以在上面留下印记，或者粗暴地告诉她他就是主宰，她必须服从。 —

But he not only dreaded the effect of such extremities on their mutual life–he had a growing dread of Rosamond’s quiet elusive obstinacy, which would not allow any assertion of power to be final; —
他不仅害怕这种极端情况对彼此生活的影响–他越来越害怕罗莎蒙那种安静、难以捉摸的固执，不会让任何权力的表现变得终结； —

and again, she had touched him in a spot of keenest feeling by implying that she had been deluded with a false vision of happiness in marrying him. —
而且，她暗示自己在嫁给他时被一种幸福的虚假幻象所蒙蔽，触及了他最敏感的地方。 —

As to saying that he was master, it was not the fact. —
说自己是主宰，这并不是事实。 —

The very resolution to which he had wrought himself by dint of logic and honorable pride was beginning to relax under her torpedo contact. —
他凭逻辑和尊严的决心正开始在她冷酷的触及下松动。 —

He swallowed half his cup of coffee, and then rose to go.
他喝了半杯咖啡，然后站起来离开。

“I may at least request that you will not go to Trumbull at present– until it has been seen that there are no other means,” said Rosamond. —
“我至少能请求你目前不要去Trumbull，直到确认没有其他方法为止”，罗莎蒙说。 —

Although she was not subject to much fear, she felt it safer not to betray that she had written to Sir Godwin. —
虽然她并不害怕，但觉得最好不要让别人知道她写信给了高德温爵士。 —

“Promise me that you will not go to him for a few weeks, or without telling me.”
“答应我，你不会在几周内去找他，或者不告诉我就去”，她说。

Lydgate gave a short laugh. “I think it is I who should exact a promise that you will do nothing without telling me,” he said, turning his eyes sharply upon her, and then moving to the door.
李德格特笑了一下。“我想应该由我来要求你不要做任何事而不告诉我”，他说，眼睛尖锐地盯着她，然后走向门口。

“You remember that we are going to dine at papa’s,” said Rosamond, wishing that he should turn and make a more thorough concession to her. —
“你记得我们要去爸爸那儿吃饭”，罗莎蒙希望他能转身更彻底地向她让步。 —

But he only said “Oh yes,” impatiently, and went away. —
但他只是不耐烦地说“噢是的”，然后走了。 —

She held it to be very odious in him that he did not think the painful propositions he had had to make to her were enough, without showing so unpleasant a temper. —
她认为他做出这么令人痛苦的建议已经足够了，他竟然表现出如此令人不愉快的脾气，她觉得他很可恶。 —

And when she put the moderate request that he would defer going to Trumbull again, it was cruel in him not to assure her of what he meant to do. —
当她提出让他暂时不去找特朗布尔时，他不回答她他打算怎么做，这对她来说是残酷的。 —

She was convinced of her having acted in every way for the best; —
她深信自己已尽力而为； —

and each grating or angry speech of Lydgate’s served only as an addition to the register of offences in her mind. —
任何莉德盖特的刺耳或愤怒的言辞都只会在罗莎蒙的心中增加罪行记录。 —

Poor Rosamond for months had begun to associate her husband with feelings of disappointment, and the terribly inflexible relation of marriage had lost its charm of encouraging delightful dreams. —
可怜的罗莎蒙几个月来已经开始将她丈夫与失望的情绪联系在一起，而那种极其僵化的婚姻关系已经失去了鼓舞美好梦想的魅力。 —

It had freed her from the disagreeables of her father’s house, but it had not given her everything that she had wished and hoped. —
婚姻使她摆脱了父亲家的不快，但并没有给予她所有她所希望和期望的一切。 —

The Lydgate with whom she had been in love had been a group of airy conditions for her, most of which had disappeared, while their place had been taken by every-day details which must be lived through slowly from hour to hour, not floated through with a rapid selection of favorable aspects. —
她曾爱上的莉德盖特是她脑中一系列轻盈的条件，现在大部分都已消失，而它们的位置已被必须从钟点一点点经历的日常细节所取代，而不是通过快速选择有利方面飘然而过。 —

The habits of Lydgate’s profession, his home preoccupation with scientific subjects, which seemed to her almost like a morbid vampire’s taste, his peculiar views of things which had never entered into the dialogue of courtship– all these continually alienating influences, even without the fact of his having placed himself at a disadvantage in the town, and without that first shock of revelation about Dover’s debt, would have made his presence dull to her. —
莉德盖特的职业习惯，他家中对科学课题的全神贯注，这些对她来说几乎像一种病态吸血鬼般的口味，以及他奇特的观点在他们的约会中从未提及的事–所有这些不断疏远的影响，即使没有他使自己在城里处于不利地位的事实，也没有多佛的债务的揭示带来的第一次震撼，都会使他的存在对她而言变得沉闷。 —

There was another presence which ever since the early days of her marriage, until four months ago, had been an agreeable excitement, but that was gone: —
自从结婚早期以来，直到四个月前，还有另一个存在给她带来愉快的刺激，但那已经消失了。 —

Rosamond would not confess to herself how much the consequent blank had to do with her utter ennui; —
罗莎蒙不愿向自己承认，她对这种导致她完全厌倦的空虚有多么大的关系； —

and it seemed to her (perhaps she was right) that an invitation to Quallingham, and an opening for Lydgate to settle elsewhere than in Middlemarch–in London, or somewhere likely to be free from unpleasantness–would satisfy her quite well, and make her indifferent to the absence of Will Ladislaw, towards whom she felt some resentment for his exaltation of Mrs. Casaubon.
她觉得(也许她是对的)，邀请到Quallingham和给莉德盖特一个在中世年之外定居的机会–在伦敦或者可能没有不愉快的地方–将完全满足她，使她对威尔·拉迪斯劳的升华以及他凯索邦夫人不满感到冷淡。

That was the state of things with Lydgate and Rosamond on the New Year’s Day when they dined at her father’s, she looking mildly neutral towards him in remembrance of his ill-tempered behavior at breakfast, and he carrying a much deeper effect from the inward conflict in which that morning scene was only one of many epochs. —
在新年那天，当他们在她父亲家吃晚饭时，罗莎蒙对他保持着温和的中立，还记得他在早餐桌上的坏脾气，而他则在那早晨的一幕仅仅是许多转折中的一个时刻，内心的冲突给他带来了更深层次的影响。 —

His flushed effort while talking to Mr. Farebrother–his effort after the cynical pretence that all ways of getting money are essentially the same, and that chance has an empire which reduces choice to a fool’s illusion–was but the symptom of a wavering resolve, a benumbed response to the old stimuli of enthusiasm.
他与费尔布拉制先生交谈时的涨红努力–他在讽刺性假装中寻找金钱的各种途径都是本能摇摆的迹象，对热情的旧刺激做出的麻木反应。

What was he to do? He saw even more keenly than Rosamond did the dreariness of taking her into the small house in Bride Street, where she would have scanty furniture around her and discontent within: —
他该怎么办？他比罗莎蒙更清楚地看到了把她带到布莱德街的小屋里的沮丧，她周围会有少量的家具，内心却充满不满： —

a life of privation and life with Rosamond were two images which had become more and more irreconcilable ever since the threat of privation had disclosed itself. —
生活的匮乏和与罗莎蒙的生活是两个越发不可调和的形象，自从匮乏的威胁显露出来以来，两者之间变得越来越不可调和。 —

But even if his resolves had forced the two images into combination, the useful preliminaries to that hard change were not visibly within reach. —
但即使他的决心迫使这两个形象合二为一，那种艰难变化的有用前提却并不明显可及。 —

And though he had not given the promise which his wife had asked for, he did not go again to Trumbull. —
虽然他没有给妻子要求的承诺，但他也没有再去特朗布尔。 —

He even began to think of taking a rapid journey to the North and seeing Sir Godwin. —
他甚至开始考虑迅速北上，去见高德温爵士。 —

He had once believed that nothing would urge him into making an application for money to his uncle, but he had not then known the full pressure of alternatives yet more disagreeable. —
他曾经相信不会被逼着向叔叔求钱，但那时他还不知道更加令人不愉快的替代选择的压力。 —

He could not depend on the effect of a letter; —
他不能依靠一封信的效果； —

it was only in an interview, however disagreeable this might be to himself, that he could give a thorough explanation and could test the effectiveness of kinship. —
只有在面谈中，无论这对他自己有多不愉快，他才能进行彻底的解释，并测试亲属关系的有效性。 —

No sooner had Lydgate begun to represent this step to himself as the easiest than there was a reaction of anger that he–he who had long ago determined to live aloof from such abject calculations, such self-interested anxiety about the inclinations and the pockets of men with whom he had been proud to have no aims in common–should have fallen not simply to their level, but to the level of soliciting them.
李德盖一想到这一步对他来说是最容易的时候，就感到愤怒的反应，他–曾经早就决定远离这种卑鄙的算计，关心自己与那些他曾经自豪地没有共同目标的人的利益的焦虑–竟然不仅沦落到他们的水平，而且沦落到请求他们的水平。