The lawyer had presented a plea of insanity.
律师提出了精神失常的辩护。否则， —

How could anyone explain this strange crime otherwise?
谁能解释这起奇怪的犯罪事件呢？

One morning, in the grass near Chatou, two bodies had been found, a man and a woman, well known, rich, no longer young and married since the preceding year, the woman having been a widow for three years before.
一个早晨，在沙图附近的草地上，发现了两具尸体，一男一女，他们都是有名的、富有的、年纪不轻且已婚，女方在前一年成为寡妇之前已经丧偶三年了。

They were not known to have enemies;
他们似乎没有敌人， —

they had not been robbed.
也没有被抢劫。 —

They seemed to have been thrown from the roadside into the river, after having been struck, one after the other, with a long iron spike.
他们似乎被人用一根长铁钉一个接一个地打击后，被扔到了路边的河里。

The investigation revealed nothing. The boatmen, who had been questioned, knew nothing.
调查没有发现任何线索。被询问的船夫一无所知。 —

The matter was about to be given up, when a young carpenter from a neighboring village, Georges Louis, nicknamed “the Bourgeois, ” gave himself up.
当一位邻村的年轻木匠乔治·路易斯，绰号”布尔乔亚”向警方自首时，这个案件差不多要被放弃了。

To all questions he only answered this:
对于所有的问题，他只是这样回答：

“I had known the man for two years, the woman for six months.
“我认识那个男人已经有两年了，那个女人认识了六个月。 —

They often had me repair old furniture for them, because I am a clever workman.”
他们经常让我修理旧家具，因为我是个聪明的工匠。”

And when he was asked:
当问到他为什么杀了他们时，

“Why did you kill them?”
他只是回答了以下这句话。

He would obstinately answer:
他顽固地回答道：

“I killed them because I wanted to kill them.”
“我杀死他们是因为我想杀死他们。”

They could get nothing more out of him.
他们从他那里得不到任何更多的信息。

This man was undoubtedly an illegitimate child, put out to nurse and then abandoned.
这个人无疑是一个私生子，被送去哺乳然后被抛弃。 —

He had no other name than Georges Louis, but as on growing up he became particularly intelligent, with the good taste and native refinement which his acquaintances did not have, he was nicknamed “the Bourgeois, ” and he was never called otherwise.
他除了乔治·路易斯这个名字以外再没有其他名字，但是随着他长大，他变得特别聪明，拥有他的熟人所没有的良好品味和天然的优雅，他被昵称为“市民”，别的名字从未被使用过。 —

He had become remarkably clever in the trade of a carpenter, which he had taken up.
他已经变得在木工行业中非常聪明了，这是他从事的工作。 —

He was also said to be a socialist fanatic, a believer in communistic and nihilistic doctrines, a great reader of bloodthirsty novels, an influential political agitator and a clever orator in the public meetings of workmen or of farmers.
据说他还是一个社会主义狂热者，相信共产主义和虚无主义的教义，是一个血腥小说的狂热读者，在工人或农民的公开会议上是一个有影响力的政治鼓动者和聪明的演说家。

His lawyer had pleaded insanity.
他的律师辩称他精神失常。

Indeed, how could one imagine that this workman should kill his best customers, rich and generous (as he knew), who in two years had enabled him to earn three thousand francs (his books showed it)?
确实，谁能想象到这个工人会杀害他最好的顾客，那些富有而慷慨的人（他知道）。两年时间里，他靠他们赚了三千法郎（按他的账簿记录）。 —

Only one explanation could be offered: insanity, the fixed idea of the unclassed individual who reeks vengeance on two bourgeois, on all the bourgeoisie, and the lawyer made a clever allusion to this nickname of “The Bourgeois, ” given throughout the neighborhood to this poor wretch.
唯一的解释只能是：疯狂，那个没有身份的人的固定念头是对两个市民、对整个资产阶级进行报复。这个贫困的可怜虫在附近被戏称为“市民”，律师机智地提到了这个绰号。 —

He exclaimed:
他大声说：

“Is this irony not enough to unbalance the mind of this poor wretch, who has neither father nor mother?
“这样的讽刺难道还不足以使一个没有父母的可怜虫心智失衡吗？他是一个热心的共和主义者。 —

He is an ardent republican.
—

What am I saying? He even belongs to the same political party, the members of which, formerly shot or exiled by the government, it now welcomes with open arms this party to which arson is a principle and murder an ordinary occurrence.
“我在说什么？他甚至属于同一个政治党派，该党派的成员们曾被政府处决或流放，而现在政府却张开双臂欢迎他们。这个党派的原则是纵火，谋杀也是家常便饭。

“These gloomy doctrines, now applauded in public meetings, have ruined this man.
“这些阴郁的思想现在在公共会议上受到赞扬，却毁了这个人。 —

He has heard republicans—even women, yes, women—ask for the blood of M. Gambetta, the blood of M. Grevy; his weakened mind gave way;
他听到共和党人——甚至女性，是的，女性——呼喊着要甘贝塔的鲜血，格列维的鲜血；他衰弱的心智崩溃了； —

he wanted blood, the blood of a bourgeois!
他渴望鲜血，资产阶级的鲜血！

“It is not he whom you should condemn, gentlemen; it is the Commune!”
“各位先生，你们该谴责的不是他，而是公社！”

Everywhere could be heard murmurs of assent.
到处都能听到赞同的窃窃私语。 —

Everyone felt that the lawyer had won his case.
每个人都感到律师赢得了这个案件。 —

The prosecuting attorney did not oppose him.
公诉人没有反对他。

Then the presiding judge asked the accused the customary question:
然后审判长问被告常见的问题：

“Prisoner, is there anything that you wish to add to your defense?”
“囚犯，你有什么要为你的辩护补充的吗？”

The man stood up.
这个人站起来了。

He was a short, flaxen blond, with calm, clear, gray eyes.
他是个身材矮小、金发的男孩，拥有平静、明亮的灰色眼睛。 —

A strong, frank, sonorous voice came from this frail-looking boy and, at the first words, quickly changed the opinion which had been formed of him.
他这个看起来脆弱的男孩有着强壮、直率而洪亮的声音，他一开口，便迅速改变了人们对他的看法。

He spoke loud in a declamatory manner, but so distinctly that every word could be understood in the farthest corners of the big hall:
他大声地、雄辩地讲话，但是非常清晰，大厅的最远角落都可以听得见他的每一个字。

“Your honor, as I do not wish to go to an insane asylum, and as I even prefer death to that, I will tell everything.
“你们的尊贵，因为我不愿去精神病院，甚至宁愿选择死亡，所以我会说出一切。

“I killed this man and this woman because they were my parents.
“我杀了这个男人和这个女人，因为他们是我的父母。

“Now, listen, and judge me.
“现在，请听我所述，并对我进行判断。

“A woman, having given birth to a boy, sent him out, somewhere, to a nurse.
“一个女人生了一个男孩，把他送到了某个地方的保姆那里。 —

Did she even know where her accomplice carried this innocent little being, condemned to eternal misery, to the shame of an illegitimate birth;
她甚至都不知道她的帮凶把这个可怜的小孩子带到了哪里，注定了他要承受永远的苦难，背负着非婚生子的耻辱； —

to more than that—to death, since he was abandoned and the nurse, no longer receiving the monthly pension, might, as they often do, let him die of hunger and neglect!
不仅仅是如此——他甚至会面临死亡，因为他被抛弃了，而那个保姆，不再收到每月的抚养费，就有可能像其他人一样，让他挨饿和被忽视而死亡！

“The woman who nursed me was honest, better, more noble, more of a mother than my own mother.
“哺育我的妇女比我的亲生母亲更诚实、更优秀、更高尚、更像个母亲。她养育了我。 —

She brought me up. She did wrong in doing her duty.
但她在履行她的责任时犯了错。” —

It is more humane to let them die, these little wretches who are cast away in suburban villages just as garbage is thrown away.
“让他们这些可怜的小家伙像垃圾一样被抛弃在郊区村庄里死去更加人道一些。”

“I grew up with the indistinct impression that I was carrying some burden of shame.
“我在模糊的印象中长大，感到自己背负着一些耻辱的重担。 —

One day the other children called me a ‘b——-’.
一天，其他的孩子叫我‘bitch’。” —

They did not know the meaning of this word, which one of them had heard at home.
“他们并不知道这个词的意思，其中一个人在家里听到过。” —

I was also ignorant of its meaning, but I felt the sting all the same.
“我对它的意思也一无所知，但我还是感受到了刺痛。”

“I was, I may say, one of the cleverest boys in the school.
“我可以说，我是学校里最聪明的男孩之一。” —

I would have been a good man, your honor, perhaps a man of superior intellect, if my parents had not committed the crime of abandoning me.
“如果我的父母没有犯下遗弃我这个罪行，我也许会成为一个好人，甚至是一个智慧超群的人。”

“This crime was committed against me.
“这个罪行是对我的犯下的。 —

I was the victim, they were the guilty ones.
我是受害者，他们是罪人。” —

I was defenseless, they were pitiless.
“我无助，他们无情。 —

Their duty was to love me, they rejected me.
他们有责任爱我，却拒绝了我。”

“I owed them life—but is life a boon? To me, at any rate, it was a misfortune.
“我对他们的生命有所亏欠——但生命对我来说只是不幸。 —

After their shameful desertion, I owed them only vengeance.
在他们可耻地背弃我后，我只欠他们报复。 —

They committed against me the most inhuman, the most infamous, the most monstrous crime which can be committed against a human creature.
他们对我犯下了对人类来说最不人道、最无耻、最可怕的罪行。

“A man who has been insulted, strikes;
被侮辱的人会还击； —

a man who has been robbed, takes back his own by force.
被抢劫的人会用武力夺回自己的东西。 —

A man who has been deceived, played upon, tortured, kills;
被欺骗、被玩弄、被折磨的人会杀人； —

a man who has been slapped, kills;
被打耳光的人会杀人； —

a man who has been dishonored, kills.
被侮辱的人会杀人。 —

I have been robbed, deceived, tortured, morally slapped, dishonored, all this to a greater degree than those whose anger you excuse.
我被抢劫、被欺骗、被折磨、被道德上的打击、被侮辱，这些都比那些被你们原谅愤怒的人要过分。

“I revenged myself, I killed. It was my legitimate right.
我复仇了，我杀了人。这是我的合法权利。 —

I took their happy life in exchange for the terrible one which they had forced on me.
我用他们幸福的生命换取了他们强加给我的可怕生活。

“You will call me parricide! Were these people my parents, for whom I was an abominable burden, a terror, an infamous shame;
你可能会称我为亲生子弟之杀人犯！而这些人又是我的父母吗？他们对我来说只是一个可耻的负担、一个可怕的恐惧、一种可耻的耻辱。” —

for whom my birth was a calamity and my life a threat of disgrace?
对于我来说，我的出生是一场灾难，我的生活是一种耻辱的威胁。 —

They sought a selfish pleasure;
他们寻求自私的快乐； —

they got an unexpected child.
他们得到了一个意外的孩子。 —

They suppressed the child.
他们压制了这个孩子。 —

My turn came to do the same for them.
轮到我为他们做同样的事情了。

“And yet, up to quite recently, I was ready to love them.
“而且，直到最近，我还准备着爱他们。

“As I have said, this man, my father, came to me for the first time two years ago.
“就像我说的，这个人，我的父亲，两年前第一次来找我。 —

I suspected nothing. He ordered two pieces of furniture.
我一点也没察觉。他订了两件家具。 —

I found out, later on, that, under the seal of secrecy, naturally, he had sought information from the priest.
后来我才知道，他在隐秘条件下向神父寻求情报。

“He returned often. He gave me a lot of work and paid me well.
“他经常回来。给了我很多工作，也给我很好的报酬。 —

Sometimes he would even talk to me of one thing or another.
有时他甚至会和我谈论这个那个。 —

I felt a growing affection for him.
我对他的感情越来越深。

“At the beginning of this year he brought with him his wife, my mother.
“今年年初他带着他的妻子，也就是我的母亲来了。 —

When she entered she was trembling so that I thought her to be suffering from some nervous disease.
她进来时颤抖得像是患了神经病一样。 —

Then she asked for a seat and a glass of water.
然后她要了个座位和一杯水。 —

She said nothing; she looked around abstractedly at my work and only answered ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ at random, to all the questions which he asked her.
她一句话也没有说，只是漫不经心地看着我的作品，对他问她的所有问题都随机地回答“是”和“不是”。 —

When she had left I thought her a little unbalanced.
当她离开后，我觉得她有点失去平衡。

“The following month they returned. She was calm, self-controlled. That day they chattered for a long time, and they left me a rather large order.
“下个月他们回来了。她很冷静，自控力很强。那天他们聊了很长时间，并且给我留下了一份相当大的订单。 —

I saw her three more times, without suspecting anything.
我还见过她三次，没有怀疑过什么。但是有一天， —

But one day she began to talk to me of my life, of my childhood, of my parents. I answered:
她开始跟我谈论我的生活，我的童年，我的父母。我回答道： —

‘Madame, my parents were wretches who deserted me.’ Then she clutched at her heart and fell, unconscious. I immediately thought:
“夫人，我的父母是些抛弃我不管的坏人。”然后她捂住心脏，晕倒了。我立刻想到： —

‘She is my mother!’ but I took care not to let her notice anything.
“她就是我的母亲！”但是我小心翼翼地不让她察觉到什么。 —

I wished to observe her.
我希望观察她。

“I, in turn, sought out information about them.
反过来，我开始寻找关于他们的信息。 —

I learned that they had been married since last July, my mother having been a widow for only three years.
我了解到他们自去年七月结婚以来，我的母亲只过了三年寡居生活。 —

There had been rumors that they had loved each other during the lifetime of the first husband, but there was no proof of it.
关于他们在第一个丈夫还活着的时候相爱的传闻一直流传，但没有证据。 —

I was the proof—the proof which they had at first hidden and then hoped to destroy.
我就是证据——一开始他们隐藏了，后来又希望摧毁的证据。

“I waited. She returned one evening, escorted as usual by my father.
“我等待着。她一如既往地由我父亲陪伴回来。 —

That day she seemed deeply moved, I don’t know why.
那天她似乎被深深地感动了，我不知道为什么。 —

Then, as she was leaving, she said to me:
然后，当她要离开时，她对我说：’我希望你成功， —

‘I wish you success, because you seem to me to be honest and a hard worker;
因为你给我看起来是诚实而勤奋的人；你总有一天会考虑结婚。我来帮助你自由选择适合你的女人。 —

some day you will undoubtedly think of getting married.
我曾经不情愿地结过一次婚， —

I have come to help you to choose freely the woman who may suit you.
我知道它会带来多少痛苦。 —

I was married against my inclination once and I know what suffering it causes.
现在我富有，无子，自由，掌握着我的财富。这是你的嫁妆。 —

Now I am rich, childless, free, mistress of my fortune. Here is your dowry.’
“她递给我一个大大的信封。

“She held out to me a large, sealed envelope.
“我直视着她的眼睛，然后说：’你是我妈妈吗？

“I looked her straight in the eyes and then said:
“她后退了几步， —

‘Are you my mother?’
用手捂住了脸不看我。

“She drew back a few steps and hid her face in her hands so as not to see me.
我毫不犹豫地答道：’你是我的母亲吗？ —

He, the man, my father, supported her in his arms and cried out to me:
他，那个男人，我的父亲，将她支撑在怀中，向我大喊道： —

‘You must be crazy!’
“你一定疯了！”

“I answered: ‘Not in the least.
“我回答道：‘一点也不。 —

I know that you are my parents.
我知道你们是我的父母， —

I cannot be thus deceived.
我不可能被欺骗。’” —

Admit it and I will keep the secret;
承认了吧，我会保守这个秘密； —

I will bear you no ill will;
我不会怨恨你们。 —

I will remain what I am, a carpenter.’
我还会继续作为一个木匠。

“He retreated towards the door, still supporting his wife who was beginning to sob.
“他朝着门退去，仍然支撑着开始哭泣的妻子。” —

Quickly I locked the door, put the key in my pocket and continued:
我迅速地锁上门，把钥匙放进口袋，继续说道： —

‘Look at her and dare to deny that she is my mother.’
“看着她，敢否认她是我的母亲。”

“Then he flew into a passion, very pale, terrified at the thought that the scandal, which had so far been avoided, might suddenly break out;
“然后他勃然大怒，脸色铁青，对于这种迄今为止被避免的丑闻可能突然爆发的想法感到恐惧不已； —

that their position, their good name, their honor might all at once be lost.
他们的地位、良名和荣誉可能一下子全都丧失。他结结巴巴地说： —

He stammered out:
—

‘You are a rascal, you wish to get money from us!
“你这个无赖，你想从我们这里勒索钱！ —

That’s the thanks we get for trying to help such common people!’
我们努力帮助这样的普通人，却换来这样的回报！

“My mother, bewildered, kept repeating:
“我母亲困惑不解地不停重复着： —

‘Let’s get out of here, let’s get out!’
“我们赶紧离开这里，走吧！

“Then, when he found the door locked, he exclaimed:
“然后，当他发现门被锁住时，他叫道： —

‘If you do not open this door immediately, I will have you thrown into prison for blackmail and assault!’
“如果你不立即打开这扇门，我会让你被投入监狱，以谋诬陷和殴打罪名！

“I had remained calm; I opened the door and saw them disappear in the darkness.
“我一直保持冷静；我打开了门，看着他们在黑暗中消失。

“Then I seemed to have been suddenly orphaned, deserted, pushed to the wall.
“然后，我突然感到像是被丢弃了，被抛弃了，被逼到了墙角。 —

I was seized with an overwhelming sadness, mingled with anger, hatred, disgust;
“一种压倒性的悲伤、愤怒、厌恶涌上心头； —

my whole being seemed to rise up in revolt against the injustice, the meanness, the dishonor, the rejected love.
“整个我仿佛对不公正、卑鄙、可耻、被拒绝的爱产生了反抗。” —

I began to run, in order to overtake them along the Seine, which they had to follow in order to reach the station of Chaton.
我开始跑起来，为了赶上他们沿着塞纳河前进，他们必须沿着河走才能到达夏通火车站。

“I soon caught up with them. It was now pitch dark.
“我很快追上了他们。此时已是漆黑一片。 —

I was creeping up behind them softly, that they might not hear me.
我轻轻地悄悄靠近他们，以免被他们听到。 —

My mother was still crying.
我母亲还在哭泣。 —

My father was saying: ‘It’s all your own fault.
我父亲说：“这全都是你自己的错， —

Why did you wish to see him?
你为什么要去见他？ —

It was absurd in our position.
在我们的情况下这太荒谬了。 —

We could have helped him from afar, without showing ourselves.
我们本可以远距离帮助他，而不用让自己暴露。 —

Of what use are these dangerous visits, since we can’t recognize him?’
这些危险的探访有什么用呢，既然我们无法认出他来？

“Then I rushed up to them, beseeching. I cried:
“然后我冲上前去，恳求着。我大声哭喊：

“’You see! You are my parents.
“你们看！你们是我的父母。 —

You have already rejected me once;
你们已经一次拒绝过我， —

would you repulse me again?’
你们还会再次拒绝我吗？

“Then, your honor, he struck me.
“然后，阁下，他打了我。 —

I swear it on my honor, before the law and my country.
我在我的荣誉，法律和国家面前宣誓。 —

He struck me, and as I seized him by the collar, he drew from his pocket a revolver.
他打了我，当我抓住他的衣领时，他从口袋里掏出一把左轮手枪。

“The blood rushed to my head, I no longer knew what I was doing, I had my compass in my pocket;
“血涌上了我的头，我不再知道我在做什么，我的口罩还在口袋里； —

I struck him with it as often as I could.
我用它尽可能多地打了他几下。

“Then she began to cry: ‘Help! murder!’ and to pull my beard. It seems that I killed her also.
“然后她开始哭喊：‘救命！谋杀！’还抓住我的胡子。看来我也杀死了她。 —

How do I know what I did then?
我又怎么知道那时候我做了什么呢？

“Then, when I saw them both lying on the ground, without thinking, I threw them into the Seine.
“然后，当我看到他们俩躺在地上时，不经思索，我将他们扔进了塞纳河。

“That’s all. Now sentence me.”
“就是这样。现在判我吧。”

The prisoner sat down. After this revelation the case was carried over to the following session.
囚犯坐下了。在这一揭示之后，案件推迟到下次开庭。 —

It comes up very soon. If we were jurymen, what would we do with this parricide?
很快就要审理了。如果我们是陪审团，对这个亲生父母杀子者我们该怎么办呢？