“One of us two must bowen douteless, And, sith a man is more reasonable Than woman is, ye (men) moste be suffrable. —
我们两个人当中必定有一个人会屈服，因为男人比女人更有理智，你们（男人）应该更有容忍心。 —

–CHAUCER: Canterbury Tales.
–乔叟: 坎特伯雷故事集。

The bias of human nature to be slow in correspondence triumphs even over the present quickening in the general pace of things: —
人类天性使得东西的快速增长也战胜不了人们在通信上的迟缓： —

what wonder then that in 1832 old Sir Godwin Lydgate was slow to write a letter which was of consequence to others rather than to himself? —
因此在1832年，老高德温·利德盖特太迟才写封信，对别人而言信件的重要性远远超过对他自己。 —

Nearly three weeks of the new year were gone, and Rosamond, awaiting an answer to her winning appeal, was every day disappointed. —
新年将近三周，罗莎蒙德每天都在等待着她诚恳的呼吁收到回复，却每天都失望。 —

Lydgate, in total ignorance of her expectations, was seeing the bills come in, and feeling that Dover’s use of his advantage over other creditors was imminent. —
利德盖特完全不知道她的期待，看着帐单涌入，感觉着多佛对他的利益似乎就要到手。 —

He had never mentioned to Rosamond his brooding purpose of going to Quallingham: —
他从未提及要去夸林汉姆的计划； —

he did not want to admit what would appear to her a concession to her wishes after indignant refusal, until the last moment; —
他并不想透露给罗莎蒙德，因为这会让她觉得是在愤怒拒绝后的退让，直到最后一刻； —

but he was really expecting to set off soon. —
但他确实期待着很快出发。 —

A slice of the railway would enable him to manage the whole journey and back in four days.
铁路的一截会让他四天内完成整个旅程。

But one morning after Lydgate had gone out, a letter came addressed to him, which Rosamond saw clearly to be from Sir Godwin. —
但有一天早晨，利德盖特已经离家出走后，有一封信寄给了他，罗莎蒙德清楚看出是从高德温那里寄来的。 —

She was full of hope. Perhaps there might be a particular note to her enclosed; —
她充满了希望。也许里面还有一则专门写给她的便条； —

but Lydgate was naturally addressed on the question of money or other aid, and the fact that he was written to, nay, the very delay in writing at all, seemed to certify that the answer was thoroughly compliant. —
但信里自然是向利德盖特询问金钱或其他帮助，事实上他获得了回信，甚至延迟回信，似乎证明答复是完全顺从的。 —

She was too much excited by these thoughts to do anything but light stitching in a warm corner of the dining-room, with the outside of this momentous letter lying on the table before her. —
她因这些想法而激动异常，只得在餐厅的一个温暖角落里轻轻缝纫，这封重要信件的外信就摆在她面前的桌子上。 —

About twelve she heard her husband’s step in the passage, and tripping to open the door, she said in her lightest tones, “Tertius, come in here– here is a letter for you.”
大约中午她听到丈夫经过走廊的脚步声，迅速走到门口打开门，用最轻松的语气说道：“德特里乌斯，进来吧–这里有一封给你的信。”

“Ah?” he said, not taking off his hat, but just turning her round within his arm to walk towards the spot where the letter lay. —
“啊？”他说道，没有摘下帽子，只是将她转向，走向那封信放着的地方。 —

“My uncle Godwin!” he exclaimed, while Rosamond reseated herself, and watched him as he opened the letter. —
“我叔叔戈德温！”他惊呼道，而罗莎蒙重新坐下来，看着他打开那封信。 —

She had expected him to be surprised.
她预料到他会感到惊讶。

While Lydgate’s eyes glanced rapidly over the brief letter, she saw his face, usually of a pale brown, taking on a dry whiteness; —
而莱德盖特的眼睛迅速地浏览了这封简短的信，她看到他原本黝黑的脸色变得苍白干燥； —

with nostrils and lips quivering he tossed down the letter before her, and said violently–
他将信扔在她面前，愤怒地说道–

“It will be impossible to endure life with you, if you will always be acting secretly–acting in opposition to me and hiding your actions.”
“如果你总是秘密行动，反对我并隐藏你的行动，那么与你共度一生将是不可能的。”

He checked his speech and turned his back on her–then wheeled round and walked about, sat down, and got up again restlessly, grasping hard the objects deep down in his pockets. —
他控制住自己的话语，转过身去，然后又匆匆走动，坐下，又焦躁地站起来，紧紧握着口袋深处的物品。 —

He was afraid of saying something irremediably cruel.
他害怕说出一些不可挽回的残酷话语。

Rosamond too had changed color as she read. The letter ran in this way:–
罗莎蒙读信时也变了颜色。信中写道:

“DEAR TERTIUS,–Don’t set your wife to write to me when you have anything to ask. —
“亲爱的第三，-当你有事要问时，不要让你的妻子给我写信。 —

It is a roundabout wheedling sort of thing which I should not have credited you with. —
这是一种迂回讨好的方式，我本不会认为你会采用这种方式。 —

I never choose to write to a woman on matters of business. —
我从不选择用女人来处理业务事项。 —

As to my supplying you with a thousand pounds, or only half that sum, I can do nothing of the sort. —
至于我是否供应你一千英镑，或者只有一半的金额，我无法这样做。 —

My own family drains me to the last penny. —
我自己的家庭已经把我榨干了。 —

With two younger sons and three daughters, I am not likely to have cash to spare. —
有两个年轻的儿子和三个女儿，我不太可能有闲钱。” —

You seem to have got through your own money pretty quickly, and to have made a mess where you are; —
看起来你很快就花光了自己的钱，你所在的地方也搞得一团糟; —

the sooner you go somewhere else the better. —
你越早离开那里越好。 —

But I have nothing to do with men of your profession, and can’t help you there. —
但我与你们这个行业的人无关，无法帮助你。 —

I did the best I could for you as guardian, and let you have your own way in taking to medicine. —
作为你的监护人，我为你尽力了，也让你自由选择了医学这条路。 —

You might have gone into the army or the Church. —
你本可以选择进入军队或教堂。 —

Your money would have held out for that, and there would have been a surer ladder before you. —
你的钱本来够你做这两件事的，并且会有更稳定的前途。 —

Your uncle Charles has had a grudge against you for not going into his profession, but not I. I have always wished you well, but you must consider yourself on your own legs entirely now. —
你叔叔查尔斯一直怨你没有选择他的职业，但我并非如此。我一直希望你顺利，但现在你必须完全依靠自己。 —

Your affectionate uncle, GODWIN LYDGATE.”
你的亲爱的叔叔，戈德温·里德盖特。

When Rosamond had finished reading the letter she sat quite still, with her hands folded before her, restraining any show of her keen disappointment, and intrenching herself in quiet passivity under her husband’s wrath. —
罗莎蒙读完信后静静坐着，双手叠在面前，克制着内心的巨大失望，在丈夫的愤怒下保持沉默。 —

Lydgate paused in his movements, looked at her again, and said, with biting severity–
里德盖特停下动作，再次看着她，严厉地说道–

“Will this be enough to convince you of the harm you may do by secret meddling? —
这足以让你意识到，秘密干预你可能会带来的危害了吗？ —

Have you sense enough to recognize now your incompetence to judge and act for me–to interfere with your ignorance in affairs which it belongs to me to decide on?”
你是否有足够的理智去意识到，你无权为我判断、行动，干预那些该由我决定的事务？

The words were hard; but this was not the first time that Lydgate had been frustrated by her. —
这些话很刻薄，但这并非里德盖特第一次因她而受挫。 —

She did not look at him, and made no reply.
她没有看着他，也没有回应。

“I had nearly resolved on going to Quallingham. —
“我几乎已经决定去考林厄姆。” —

It would have cost me pain enough to do it, yet it might have been of some use. —
要做这件事需要付出足够的痛苦，但它可能会有一些用处。 —

But it has been of no use for me to think of anything. —
但是对我来说，想任何事都没有用。 —

You have always been counteracting me secretly. —
你一直在暗中对抗我。 —

You delude me with a false assent, and then I am at the mercy of your devices. —
你用虚假的同意欺骗我，然后我完全受你的设备控制。 —

If you mean to resist every wish I express, say so and defy me. —
如果你打算抵制我提出的每一个愿望，就直说，与我对抗。 —

I shall at least know what I am doing then.”
至少我会知道我在做什么。

It is a terrible moment in young lives when the closeness of love’s bond has turned to this power of galling. —
年轻生活中的那一刻是令人可怕的：爱的纽带的亲密性已经变成这种令人烦恼的权力。 —

In spite of Rosamond’s self-control a tear fell silently and rolled over her lips. —
尽管罗莎蒙德有自制力，但一滴眼泪悄无声息地落下滚过她的嘴唇。 —

She still said nothing; but under that quietude was hidden an intense effect: —
她仍旧什么都没有说；但在那宁静之下隐藏着强烈的影响：她对丈夫感到如此厌恶，以至于希望从未见过他。 —

she was in such entire disgust with her husband that she wished she had never seen him. —
厄德赛尔对她的粗鲁和完全缺乏感情让他与多佛以及其他债权人并列，这些人只顾自己，不在乎对她多让人讨厌。 —

Sir Godwin’s rudeness towards her and utter want of feeling ranged him with Dover and all other creditors– disagreeable people who only thought of themselves, and did not mind how annoying they were to her. —
即使是她的父亲也不友善，本可以为他们做更多。 —

Even her father was unkind, and might have done more for them. —
实际上，在罗莎蒙德的世界里，只有一个人她不认为有过失，那就是那个拥有金色辫子和交叉在胸前的小手的优雅女子，她从未表现不得体，总是为了最好的事情行动——最好的事情自然是她最喜欢的事情。 —

In fact there was but one person in Rosamond’s world whom she did not regard as blameworthy, and that was the graceful creature with blond plaits and with little hands crossed before her, who had never expressed herself unbecomingly, and had always acted for the best–the best naturally being what she best liked.
犹豫了一下，看着她的莱德盖特开始感觉到那种令人半疯狂的无助感，当他们的激情遭受到一个看似无辜的沉默时，那种温顺和受害者般的气象似乎让他们感到错了，最后甚至使最公正的愤怒都感染了对其公正性的怀疑。

Lydgate pausing and looking at her began to feel that half-maddening sense of helplessness which comes over passionate people when their passion is met by an innocent-looking silence whose meek victimized air seems to put them in the wrong, and at last infects even the justest indignation with a doubt of its justice. —
他需要通过缓和言辞来恢复自己处于正确的完整感。 —

He needed to recover the full sense that he was in the right by moderating his words.
他和这位黑线的女士应举行坚定的婚礼，他是Lydpate的来访者，有,ng幯需求万饺owance，请s忽然eyed afte的gentament of Weto，y orderation的完全lead。

“Can you not see, Rosamond,” he began again, trying to be simply grave and not bitter, “that nothing can be so fatal as a want of openness and confidence between us? —
“你难道看不出来，罗莎蒙德，”他再次开始说，试图保持简单的庄重而不是苦涩，“没有什么比我们之间缺乏坦诚和信任更致命的了吗？ —

It has happened again and again that I have expressed a decided wish, and you have seemed to assent, yet after that you have secretly disobeyed my wish. —
我已经好几次表达了明确的意愿，你似乎答应了，但之后却秘密违抗了我的意愿。 —

In that way I can never know what I have to trust to. —
这样我永远无法知道我能相信什么。 —

There would be some hope for us if you would admit this. —
如果你能承认这一点，我们就有一点希望。 —

Am I such an unreasonable, furious brute? —
我难道是一个不讲理、暴躁的畜生吗？ —

Why should you not be open with me?” Still silence.
你为什么不能对我坦诚？

“Will you only say that you have been mistaken, and that I may depend on your not acting secretly in future?” —
“你只会说你错了，承诺以后不会再秘密行动吗？”李德盖特急切地说，但语气中有一些请求，而罗莎蒙德很快就察觉出来了。 —

said Lydgate, urgently, but with something of request in his tone which Rosamond was quick to perceive. —
她冷静地说。 —

She spoke with coolness.
“对于你用过的那些话，我绝对不能做出承认或承诺。

“I cannot possibly make admissions or promises in answer to such words as you have used towards me. —
我不习惯听到那种语言。 —

I have not been accustomed to language of that kind. —
你说过我的 秘密干预'，我的干涉无知’，和我的 `虚伪的赞同’。 —

You have spoken of my secret meddling,' and myinterfering ignorance,’ and my `false assent.’ —
我从来没有用那种方式对你说话，我认为你应该道歉。 —

I have never expressed myself in that way to you, and I think that you ought to apologize. —
你还说过和我生活在一起是不可能的。 —

You spoke of its being impossible to live with me. —
毫无疑问，最近你并没有让我的生活变得愉快。 —

Certainly you have not made my life pleasant to me of late. —
” —

I think it was to be expected that I should try to avert some of the hardships which our marriage has brought on me.” —
我想，应该料到我应该尽力避免婚姻给我带来的某些困难。 —

Another tear fell as Rosamond ceased speaking, and she pressed it away as quietly as the first.
罗莎蒙的话说完后，又有一滴泪落下，她悄然地擦去了它。

Lydgate flung himself into a chair, feeling checkmated. —
李德格特一屁股坐到椅子上，感到被逼入绝境。 —

What place was there in her mind for a remonstrance to lodge in? —
她的心里哪有地方可以容纳反驳的意见呢？ —

He laid down his hat, flung an arm over the back of his chair, and looked down for some moments without speaking. —
他放下帽子，胳膊搭在椅子背上，沉默了一会儿看着下方。 —

Rosamond had the double purchase over him of insensibility to the point of justice in his reproach, and of sensibility to the undeniable hardships now present in her married life. —
罗莎蒙对他有着双重的影响力，一方面面对他的指责无动于衷，另一方面却对她婚姻现实中不可否认的困难倍感敏感。 —

Although her duplicity in the affair of the house had exceeded what he knew, and had really hindered the Plymdales from knowing of it, she had no consciousness that her action could rightly be called false. —
尽管她在房子的事情上的欺骗超出了他所知，确实阻止了普林代尔家知道实情，她并没有意识到自己的行为可以被称为虚假。 —

We are not obliged to identify our own acts according to a strict classification, any more than the materials of our grocery and clothes. —
我们无需严格区分自己的行为，就像我们购买的杂货和衣物一样。 —

Rosamond felt that she was aggrieved, and that this was what Lydgate had to recognize.
罗莎蒙感到自己受到了委屈，李德格特应该认识到这一点。

As for him, the need of accommodating himself to her nature, which was inflexible in proportion to its negations, held him as with pincers. —
至于他，必须迎合她那种按照否定程度刚硬无比的本性，这种迫切程度就像钳子一样将他紧紧抓住。 —

He had begun to have an alarmed foresight of her irrevocable loss of love for him, and the consequent dreariness of their life. —
他已经开始预见到她对他爱的无法挽回的丧失，以及由此造成的他们生活的荒凉。 —

The ready fulness of his emotions made this dread alternate quickly with the first violent movements of his anger. —
他情感的迅速涨满使得这种恐惧与他的愤怒之初的剧烈动作交替出现。 —

It would assuredly have been a vain boast in him to say that he was her master.
如果他不仅仅将从自己最高的决心中堕落，而且还将陷入可怕的家庭仇恨的束缚？

“You have not made my life pleasant to me of late”–“the hardships which our marriage has brought on me”–these words were stinging his imagination as a pain makes an exaggerated dream. —
“最近你没有让我的生活变得愉快”——”我们婚姻带给我的困难”——这些话像一种痛苦让他的想象力生疼。 —

If he were not only to sink from his highest resolve, but to sink into the hideous fettering of domestic hate?
如果他不仅沦为他最高决心的失败，而且还沦落为家庭仇恨的可怕枷锁呢？

“Rosamond,” he said, turning his eyes on her with a melancholy look, “you should allow for a man’s words when he is disappointed and provoked. —
他转过头来，用忧郁的眼神看着她说：“罗莎蒙，你应该体谅一个失望和恼怒时的男人的言辞。 —

You and I cannot have opposite interests. I cannot part my happiness from yours. —
你我之间没有对立的利益。我无法将我的幸福与你的幸福分开。 —

If I am angry with you, it is that you seem not to see how any concealment divides us. —
如果我生你的气，那是因为你似乎看不到任何隐瞒会让我们分开。 —

How could I wish to make anything hard to you either by my words or conduct? —
我怎么会希望用我的言行让你过得更困难呢？ —

When I hurt you, I hurt part of my own life. —
伤害你就是伤害我的人生的一部分。 —

I should never be angry with you if you would be quite open with me.”
如果你能对我完全坦诚，我就永远不会生你的气。”

“I have only wished to prevent you from hurrying us into wretchedness without any necessity,” said Rosamond, the tears coming again from a softened feeling now that her husband had softened. —
“我只是希望阻止你在没有必要的情况下将我们急速推向不幸,“罗莎蒙说，眼泪再次涌现，表达了一种感伤，因为她的丈夫已经软化了。 —

“It is so very hard to be disgraced here among all the people we know, and to live in such a miserable way. —
“在所有我们认识的人中被羞辱，过着这样悲惨的生活是多么难受啊。 —

I wish I had died with the baby.”
我真希望和孩子一起去世了。”

She spoke and wept with that gentleness which makes such words and tears omnipotent over a loving-hearted man. —
她说着，眼泪和善之处让这些话语和泪水对一个有爱心的男人来说是无法抗拒的。 —

Lydgate drew his chair near to hers and pressed her delicate head against his cheek with his powerful tender hand. —
莱德盖特将椅子移近她，用他那有力而温柔的手将她纤细的头抵在他的脸颊上。 —

He only caressed her; he did not say anything; for what was there to say? —
他只是爱抚着她；他什么都没有说；因为有什么可说的呢？ —

He could not promise to shield her from the dreaded wretchedness, for he could see no sure means of doing so. —
他无法承诺保护她免受可怕的不幸之苦，因为他看不到确保这一点的方法。 —

When he left her to go out again, he told himself that it was ten times harder for her than for him: he had a life away from home, and constant appeals to his activity on behalf of others. —
当他离开她再次出去时，他告诉自己，这对她来说比对他困难十倍：他有一种远离家的生活，并需要一直活跃地为别人努力。 —

He wished to excuse everything in her if he could– but it was inevitable that in that excusing mood he should think of her as if she were an animal of another and feebler species. —
他希望能对她的一切进行辩解——但在那种解释的心情下，他不可避免地将她看作是另一种更弱小物种的动物。 —

Nevertheless she had mastered him.
尽管如此，她已经掌握了他。