As we were still talking about Pranzini, M. Maloureau, who had been attorney general under the Empire, said: “Oh!
正当我们还在讨论普兰津尼的时候，曾经在帝国时期担任总检察长的马卢鲁先生说：“哦！ —

I formerly knew a very curious affair, curious for several reasons, as you will see.
我曾经经历了一个非常奇怪的案件，几个方面都很奇特，你会明白的。

“I was at that time imperial attorney in one of the provinces.
“那时候我是一位帝国地区检察官。 —

I had to take up the case which has remained famous under the name of the Moiron case.
我处理了一个案件，后来以莫伊朗案而闻名。

“Monsieur Moiron, who was a teacher in the north of France, enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout the whole country.
“莫伊朗先生是法国北部的一名教师，在整个地区享有很好的声誉。 —

He was a person of intelligence, quiet, very religious, a little taciturn;
他是一位聪明、安静、虔诚的人，有点沉默寡言； —

he had married in the district of Boislinot, where he exercised his profession.
他在博瓦利诺地区结婚，并在那里从事教职。 —

He had had three children, who had died of consumption, one after the other.
他已经有了三个孩子，他们一个接一个地死于肺结核。 —

From this time he seemed to bestow upon the youngsters confided to his care all the tenderness of his heart.
从那时起，他似乎将自己托付给他照顾的年轻人给予了他心里所有的温暖。 —

With his own money he bought toys for his best scholars and for the good boys;
他用自己的钱给最优秀的学生和好孩子买玩具。 —

he gave them little dinners and stuffed them with delicacies, candy and cakes:
他给他们提供了小餐，并给他们塞满了美食，糖果和蛋糕： —

Everybody loved this good man with his big heart, when suddenly five of his pupils died, in a strange manner, one after the other.
每个人都喜欢这个心地善良的人，突然之间，他的五个学生接连一个接一个地死去，死因很奇怪。 —

It was supposed that there was an epidemic due to the condition of the water, resulting from drought;
据说这是由于干旱导致水质恶化而引起的传染病流行。 —

they looked for the causes without being able to discover them, the more so that the symptoms were so peculiar.
他们寻找原因，但找不到，因为症状非常特殊。 —

The children seemed to be attacked by a feeling of lassitude;
孩子们似乎受到疲劳感的侵袭； —

they would not eat, they complained of pains in their stomachs, dragged along for a short time, and died in frightful suffering.
他们不愿意吃东西，抱怨胃痛，短时间内病情加重，痛苦不堪地死去。

“A post-mortem examination was held over the last one, but nothing was discovered.
对最后一个进行了尸检，但没有发现任何东西。 —

The vitals were sent to Paris and analyzed, and they revealed the presence of no toxic substance.
内脏被送往巴黎进行分析，结果并未发现任何有毒物质。

“For a year nothing new developed; then two little boys, the best scholars in the class, Moiron’s favorites, died within four days of each other.
一年过去了没有新的进展，然后两个小男孩，莫瑞昂最喜欢的学生，在四天内相继死去。 —

An examination of the bodies was again ordered, and in both of them were discovered tiny fragments of crushed glass.
再度对两具尸体进行了检查，并在其中发现了微小的玻璃碎片。 —

The conclusion arrived at was that the two youngsters must imprudently have eaten from some carelessly cleaned receptacle.
得出的结论是这两个年轻人可能不慎从一些清洁不当的容器中吃了东西。 —

A glass broken over a pail of milk could have produced this frightful accident, and the affair would have been pushed no further if Moiron’s servant had not been taken sick at this time.
一块掉进了一桶牛奶里的玻璃能够导致这个可怕的事故，如果莫伊隆的仆人此时没有生病，事情就不会再进一步发展了。 —

The physician who was called in noticed the same symptoms he had seen in the children.
被请来的医生注意到了他在孩子们身上看到过的相同症状。 —

He questioned her and obtained the admission that she had stolen and eaten some candies that had been bought by the teacher for his scholars.
他询问了她，并获得了她偷吃了一些老师为学生们买的糖果的承认。

“On an order from the court the schoolhouse was searched, and a closet was found which was full of toys and dainties destined for the children.
法院的命令下，学校被搜索了一遍，发现了一个储藏满了玩具和糖果的柜子，这些都是为孩子们准备的。 —

Almost all these delicacies contained bits of crushed glass or pieces of broken needles!
几乎所有这些美食都含有碎玻璃或断针！

“Moiron was immediately arrested;
“莫伊隆立即被逮捕， —

but he seemed so astonished and indignant at the suspicion hanging over him that he was almost released.
然而他对自己受到的怀疑显得如此震惊和愤慨，以至于差点被释放出来。” —

How ever, indications of his guilt kept appearing, and baffled in my mind my first conviction, based on his excellent reputation, on his whole life, on the complete absence of any motive for such a crime.
“然而，他的罪行迹象却一直出现，让我对他的初步判断感到困惑，这个判断是基于他杰出的声誉、他的整个人生、以及对这样一种犯罪完全没有动机的情况。”

“Why should this good, simple, religious man have killed little children, and the very children whom he seemed to love the most, whom he spoiled and stuffed with sweet things, for whom he spent half his salary in buying toys and bonbons?
“为什么这个善良、朴实、虔诚的人会杀害小孩子，而且是他看似最爱的那些孩子，他宠溺他们、给他们塞满糖果，还花掉自己工资一半买玩具和糖果给他们？”

“One must consider him insane to believe him guilty of this act.
“把他判定为疯狂才能相信他犯下这种行为。” —

Now, Moiron seemed so normal, so quiet, so rational and sensible that it seemed impossible to adjudge him insane.
“不过，莫伊隆看起来很正常、很安静、很理智，似乎不可能判定他疯狂。”

“However, the proofs kept growing!
“然而，证据却越来越多！ —

In none of the candies that were bought at the places where the schoolmaster secured his provisions could the slightest trace of anything suspicious be found.
在学校教师采办食物的地方买到的所有糖果中，都找不到任何可疑的痕迹。”

“He then insisted that an unknown enemy must have opened his cupboard with a false key in order to introduce the glass and the needles into the eatables.
“然后他坚称一个不明敌人一定是用假钥匙开了他的橱柜，把玻璃和针放进了食物里。 —

And he made up a whole story of an inheritance dependent on the death of a child, determined on and sought by some peasant, and promoted thus by casting suspicions on the schoolmaster.
他编了一个关于一个依赖于孩子死亡的遗产的整个故事，这个遗产是由一个农民追求的，并通过对校长投以怀疑的方式来推动。 —

This brute, he claimed, did not care about the other children who were forced to die as well.
他声称，这个畜生不在乎其他被迫死去的孩子。

“The story was possible.
“这个故事是有可能的。 —

The man appeared to be so sure of himself and in such despair that we should undoubtedly have acquitted him, notwithstanding the charges against him, if two crushing discoveries had not been made, one after the other.
这个人似乎对自己非常确定，非常绝望，如果没有接连发现两个令人震惊的发现，我们肯定会宣判他无罪，尽管有对他的指控。

“The first one was a snuffbox full of crushed glass;
“第一个发现是一只装满碎玻璃的鼻烟盒； —

his own snuffbox, hidden in the desk where he kept his money!
这是他自己的鼻烟盒，在他藏钱的抽屉里被隐藏起来！

“He explained this new find in an acceptable manner, as the ruse of the real unknown criminal.
“他对这个新发现做出了一个可以接受的解释，说是真正的不明罪犯的诡计。 —

But a mercer from Saint-Marlouf came to the presiding judge and said that a gentleman had several times come to his store to buy some needles;
但圣马尔鲁夫的一个丝绸商来到审判官面前，说有个绅士多次来他店里买针，总是要求最细的针，然后折断来看是否满意。 —

and he always asked for the thinnest needles he could find, and would break them to see whether they pleased him.
接着，有十几个人面前，那个男人被带到前面，立刻被认出是莫尔翁。 —

The man was brought forward in the presence of a dozen or more persons, and immediately recognized Moiron.
审讯揭示，的确有教师在那个商人提到的日子去了圣马尔鲁夫。 —

The inquest revealed that the schoolmaster had indeed gone into Saint-Marlouf on the days mentioned by the tradesman.
在选择美食上孩子们的可怕证词以及他在他们面前让他们吃师傅带来的食物，并清理掉一切蛛丝马迹的关心，我不想多说。

“I will pass over the terrible testimony of children on the choice of dainties and the care which he took to have them eat the things in his presence, and to remove the slightest traces.
公众的愤怒要求对其进行极刑，变得越来越坚定，推翻了所有的反对意见。

“Public indignation demanded capital punishment, and it became more and more insistent, overturning all objections.
莫尔翁被判处死刑，他的上诉被驳回。

“Moiron was condemned to death, and his appeal was rejected.
只剩下皇帝的赦免可以挽救他的性命。我从父亲那里得知皇帝不会给予赦免。 —

Nothing was left for him but the imperial pardon.
请把他带到庭前。 —

I knew through my father that the emperor would not grant it.

“One morning, as I was working in my study, the visit of the prison almoner was announced.
“一天早上，当我在书房工作时，狱牧师的来访被宣布。 —

He was an old priest who knew men well and understood the habits of criminals.
他是一位老牧师，对人类很了解，理解罪犯的习惯。 —

He seemed troubled, ill at ease, nervous.
他似乎很困扰，不安，紧张。 —

After talking for a few minutes about one thing and another, he arose and said suddenly:
在谈了几分钟别的事情后，他突然起身说: —

‘If Moiron is executed, monsieur, you will have put an innocent man to death.’
“如果莫伊隆被执行，先生，你将会杀死一个无辜的人。”

“Then he left without bowing, leaving me behind with the deep impression made by his words.
“然后他没有鞠躬就离开了，留下了他的话给我带来的深刻印象。 —

He had pronounced them in such a sincere and solemn manner, opening those lips, closed and sealed by the secret of confession, in order to save a life.
“一个小时后我动身去巴黎，我的父亲立即要求我被准许与皇帝会面。

“An hour later I left for Paris, and my father immediately asked that I be granted an audience with the emperor.
“第二天我被接见了。陛下正在一个小接待室里办公时我们被引进。

“The following day I was received.
“然后朕撰文这样写下。 —

His majesty was working in a little reception room when we were introduced.
” —

I described the whole case, and I was just telling about the priest’s visit when a door opened behind the sovereign’s chair and the empress, who supposed he was alone, appeared.
我叙述了整个案件，当我刚描述到牧师的来访时，皇帝椅子后面的一扇门开了，那位以为他独自一人的皇后出现了。 —

His majesty, Napoleon, consulted her.
陛下，拿破仑向她征求意见。 —

As soon as she had heard the matter, she exclaimed:
她一听到事情就大声喊道： —

‘This man must be pardoned. He must, since he is innocent.’
“这人必须被赦免。因为他是无辜的。”

“Why did this sudden conviction of a religious woman cast a terrible doubt in my mind?
为什么这位虔诚的女士的突然确信让我心中充满了可怕的疑问？

“Until then I had ardently desired a change of sentence.
直到那时， —

And now I suddenly felt myself the toy, the dupe of a cunning criminal who had employed the priest and confession as a last means of defence.
我一直热切地希望改变判决。现在我突然感到自己成了一个狡猾的罪犯利用牧师和忏悔作为最后的辩护手段的玩物、傀儡。

“I explained my hesitancy to their majesties.
我向陛下们解释了我的犹豫不决。 —

The emperor remained undecided, urged on one side by his natural kindness and held back on the other by the fear of being deceived by a criminal;
皇帝在一边被他本性的善良所推动，在另一边被被犯人欺骗的恐惧所阻止； —

but the empress, who was convinced that the priest had obeyed a divine inspiration, kept repeating: ‘Never mind!
但皇后深信牧师听从了神的启示，一再重复着：“没关系！” —

It is better to spare a criminal than to kill an innocent man!’ Her advice was taken.
“容忍一个罪犯，胜过杀害无辜者！” 她的建议被采纳了。 —

The death sentence was commuted to one of hard labor.
死刑被改判为苦役。

“A few years later I heard that Moiron had again been called to the emperor’s attention on account of his exemplary conduct in the prison at Toulon and was now employed as a servant by the director of the penitentiary.
“几年后，我听说莫伊隆因在土伦监狱表现出色而再次引起了皇帝的关注，现在受雇于教养院院长作为仆人。”

“For a long time I heard nothing more of this man.
“很长一段时间以后，我再也没有听到关于这个人的消息。 —

But about two years ago, while I was spending a summer near Lille with my cousin, De Larielle, I was informed one evening, just as we were sitting down to dinner, that a young priest wished to speak to me.
但大约两年前，当我与我的表弟德拉列尔一起在里尔度过夏天时，正当我们坐下来吃晚餐时，有人告诉我，一个年轻的牧师想见我。”

“I had him shown in and he begged me to come to a dying man who desired absolutely to see me.
我让他进来，他请求我去看望一个临终病人，这个人非常希望见到我。 —

This had often happened to me in my long career as a magistrate, and, although I had been set aside by the Republic, I was still often called upon in similar circumstances.
作为一个长期从事法官职业的人，这种情况在我身上经常发生，尽管我已经被共和国放逐，但我仍经常在类似的情况下被召唤。 —

I therefore followed the priest, who led me to a miserable little room in a large tenement house.
因此，我跟随着这位牧师，他带我来到一个大宅院里的一个破旧的小房间。

“There I found a strange-looking man on a bed of straw, sitting with his back against the wall, in order to get his breath.
在那里，我发现一个长相奇怪的男人躺在一堆稻草上，背靠着墙壁，为了喘息。 —

He was a sort of skeleton, with dark, gleaming eyes.
他是个瘦骨嶙峋的人，眼睛黑而闪亮。

“As soon as he saw me, he murmured:
“当他看到我时，他喃喃地说道： —

‘Don’t you recognize me?’
‘你难道没有认出我吗？’

“’No.’
“‘没有。’

“’I am Moiron.’
“‘我是莫伊伦。’

“I felt a shiver run through me, and I asked ‘The schoolmaster?’
“我感到一阵发抖，问道：‘那个学校教师？’

“’Yes.’
“‘是的。’

“’How do you happen to be here?’
“‘你怎么会在这里？’

“’The story is too long. I haven’t time to tell it.
“‘这个故事太长了，我没有时间讲。 —

I was going to die —and that priest was brought to me—and as I knew that you were here I sent for you.
我本来要死了——然后那个牧师被带到了我面前——因为我知道你在这里，所以叫你过来。 —

It is to you that I wish to confess—since you were the one who once saved my life.’
我想向你忏悔——因为曾经你救过我的命。’

“His hands clutched the straw of his bed through the sheet and he continued in a hoarse, forcible and low tone:
“他的手紧紧地抓住床上的稻草，透过床单用嘶哑、有力且低沉的声音继续说道： —

‘You see—I owe you the truth—I owe it to you—for it must be told to some one before I leave this earth.
‘你看，我应该向你坦白——我有责任向你坦白——因为在我离开这个世界之前，有人必须听到这个真相。

“’It is I who killed the children—all of them.
“‘是我杀死了那些孩子——全部都是我做的。 —

I did it—for revenge!
我是为了报复！’

“’Listen. I was an honest, straightforward, pure man—adoring God—this good Father—this Master who teaches us to love, and not the false God, the executioner, the robber, the murderer who governs the earth.
“’听着。我曾经是一个诚实、直率、纯洁的人——崇尚上帝——这位善良之父——这位教导我们去爱而不是那个虚假的上帝，行刑者，强盗，谋杀犯者，他统治着这个世界。 —

I had never done any harm;
我从未做过任何伤害； —

I had never committed an evil act.
我从未犯下邪恶的行为。 —

I was as good as it is possible to be, monsieur.
我尽我所能地善良，先生。

“’I married and had children, and I loved them as no father or mother ever loved their children.
“’我结婚了，有了孩子，我爱他们如同没有父母能够爱他们的孩子那样。 —

I lived only for them. I was wild about them.
我为他们而活。我对他们着迷。 —

All three of them died! Why? why? What had I done?
他们三个都死了！为什么？为什么？ —

I was rebellious, furious;
我愤怒，愤慨； —

and suddenly my eyes were opened as if I were waking up out of a sleep.
突然间，我的眼睛像是从一个梦中醒来一样。 —

I understood that God is bad. Why had He killed my children?
我明白上帝是邪恶的。为什么他杀了我的孩子？ —

I opened my eyes and saw that He loves to kill.
我睁开眼睛，看见他喜欢杀人。 —

He loves only that, monsieur.
他只喜欢那个，先生。 —

He gives life but to destroy it! God, monsieur, is a murderer! He needs death every day.
他给予生命只是为了毁灭它！上帝，先生，是一个杀人犯！他每天都需要死亡。 —

And He makes it of every variety, in order the better to be amused.
为了更好地取乐，他制造各种各样的死亡。” —

He has invented sickness and accidents in order to give Him diversion all through the months and the years;
他发明了疾病和意外，以便在一整年的时间里为自己提供娱乐； —

and when He grows tired of this, He has epidemics, the plague, cholera, diphtheria, smallpox, everything possible! But this does not satisfy Him;
而当他对此感到厌倦时，他制造了流行病、瘟疫、霍乱、白喉、天花等各种疾病！但这并不能满足他； —

all these things are too similar;
所有这些都太相似了； —

and so from time to time He has wars, in order to see two hundred thousand soldiers killed at once, crushed in blood and in the mud, blown apart, their arms and legs torn off, their heads smashed by bullets, like eggs that fall on the ground.
所以不时地，他发动战争，一次性屠杀二十万士兵，他们被鲜血和泥浆淹没、被炮弹撕裂、四肢断脱、头颅被子弹击碎，就像掉在地上的鸡蛋；

“’But this is not all. He has made men who eat each other.
“但这还不是全部。他创造了互相噬食的人类。 —

And then, as men become better than He, He has made beasts, in order to see men hunt them, kill them and eat them.
而当人类比他更优秀时，他制造了野兽，以便看到人类追捕、杀死并吃掉它们。 —

That is not all. He has made tiny little animals which live one day, flies who die by the millions in one hour, ants which we are continually crushing under our feet, and so many, many others that we cannot even imagine.
这还不是全部。他创造了只能活一天的微小动物，例如一小时内就会死去成百上千只的苍蝇，我们不断试图踩死的蚂蚁，以及其他无数我们甚至都无法想象的动物。 —

And all these things are continually killing each other and dying.
而所有这些东西不断地相互残杀和死亡。 —

And the good Lord looks on and is amused, for He sees everything, the big ones as well as the little ones, those who are in the drops of water and those in the other firmaments.
那位仁慈的主呵视着这一切，他既看得到巨大的，也看得到微小的，无论是那在水滴中的，还是那在其他天空中的。 —

He watches them and is amused. Wretch!
他观看着它们，并为之感到好笑。可怜的家伙！

“’Then, monsieur, I began to kill children.
“‘然后，先生，我开始杀害儿童。 —

I played a trick on Him. He did not get those.
我欺骗了他。他没有得到那些。 —

It was not He, but I! And I would have killed many others, but you caught me. There!
那不是他，而是我！我本来还会杀害很多其他人，但你抓住了我。就在那儿！

“’I was to be executed. I! How He would have laughed!
“‘我本来要被处决。我！他肯定会笑死的！ —

Then I asked for a priest, and I lied.
然后我去找了一位牧师，我撒了谎。 —

I confessed to him. I lied and I lived.
我向他忏悔。我撒谎，我活下来了。

“’Now, all is over. I can no longer escape from Him. I no longer fear Him, monsieur; I despise Him too much.’
“‘现在，一切都结束了。我再也逃不脱他了。我不再害怕他，先生；我太鄙视他了。’

“This poor wretch was frightful to see as he lay there gasping, opening an enormous mouth in order to utter words which could scarcely be heard, his breath rattling, picking at his bed and moving his thin legs under a grimy sheet as though trying to escape.
“这个可怜的家伙躺在那里呼吸困难，张大着巨大的嘴巴几乎听不到他说的话，他的呼吸发出嘎嘎声，抓着床单，瘦小的腿在肮脏的床单下动来动去，仿佛试图逃脱一样。

“Oh! The mere remembrance of it is frightful!
“哦！仅是想起来就令人害怕！

“’You have nothing more to say?’ I asked.
“’你没有别的话要说了吗？”我问道。

“’No, monsieur.’
“’没有，先生。”

“’Then, farewell.’
“’那么，再见。”

“’Farewell, monsieur, till some day——’
“’再见，先生，直到某一天——’

“I turned to the ashen-faced priest, whose dark outline stood out against the wall, and asked:
“我转向那位面色如灰的牧师，他在墙上显出清晰的轮廓，问道：’ —

‘Are you going to stay here, Monsieur l’Abbe?’
你打算留在这里，阿贝先生吗？’

“’Yes.’
“’是的。

“Then the dying man sneered: ‘Yes, yes, He sends His vultures to the corpses.’
“然后，那个垂死的人讥笑道：’是的，是的，他派遣他的秃鹫去啄尸体。

“I had had enough of this.
“我受够了。 —

I opened the door and ran away.”
我打开门，逃跑了。”