My Little Darling: So you are crying from morning until night and from night until morning, because your husband leaves you;
亲爱的，你整天从早到晚，从晚到早都在哭泣，因为你的丈夫离开了你； —

you do not know what to do and so you ask your old aunt for advice;
你不知道该怎么办，于是向你的老姑姑请教。 —

you must consider her quite an expert.
你一定认为她是个行家。 —

I don’t know as much as you think I do, and yet I am not entirely ignorant of the art of loving, or, rather, of making one’s self loved, in which you are a little lacking.
我并不像你认为的那样了解得多，但我对爱的艺术并不完全陌生，或者说，对于让自己被爱的方式并不陌生。我可以承认， —

I can admit that at my age.
在我这个年纪。

You say that you are all attention, love, kisses and caresses for him.
你说你对他十分关注、充满爱意、亲吻和抚摸他。 —

Perhaps that is the very trouble;
也许这正是问题所在； —

I think you kiss him too much.
我觉得你亲吻他太多了。

My dear, we have in our hands the most terrible power in the world: LOVE.
亲爱的，我们手中握有世界上最可怕的力量：爱。

Man is gifted with physical strength, and he exercises force.
男人天生具有体力，而他运用力量。 —

Woman is gifted with charm, and she rules with caresses.
女人天生具有魅力，她以亲吻统治着世界。 —

It is our weapon, formidable and invincible, but we should know how to use it.
这是我们的武器，可怕而无敌，但我们要知道如何使用它。

Know well that we are the mistresses of the world!
要知道，我们是世界的女主人！ —

To tell the history of Love from the beginning of the world would be to tell the history of man himself:
要讲述爱的历史，就是要讲述人类自身的历史： —

Everything springs from it, the arts, great events, customs, wars, the overthrow of empires.
一切都源自它，艺术、伟大的事件、风俗、战争、帝国崩溃。

In the Bible you find Delila, Judith;
在圣经中找到了大利拉、茱迪斯； —

in fables we find Omphale, Helen;
在寓言中找到了奥姆菲丽、海伦； —

in history the Sabines, Cleopatra and many others.
在历史中有萨宾人、克利奥帕特拉等等。

Therefore we reign supreme, all-powerful. But, like kings, we must make use of delicate diplomacy.
因此，我们统治至高，无所不能。但是，就像国王一样，我们必须运用灵巧的外交手段。

Love, my dear, is made up of imperceptible sensations.
亲爱的，爱由微妙的感觉组成。 —

We know that it is as strong as death, but also as frail as glass.
我们知道它比死亡更强大，但也比玻璃更脆弱。 —

The slightest shock breaks it, and our power crumbles, and we are never able to raise it again.
最轻微的震动就会破碎它，我们的权力瓦解了，再也无法重新建立起来。

We have the power of making ourselves adored, but we lack one tiny thing, the understanding of the various kinds of caresses.
我们拥有让自己被崇拜的力量，但我们缺少一点，就是理解各种爱抚的方式。 —

In embraces we lose the sentiment of delicacy, while the man over whom we rule remains master of himself, capable of judging the foolishness of certain words.
在拥抱中我们失去了细致的感觉，而我们统治的那个男人仍然保持着自我控制的能力，能够判断某些话语的愚蠢。 —

Take care, my dear; that is the defect in our armor.
亲爱的，保重好，这就是我们盔甲的缺陷， —

It is our Achilles’ heel.
我们的致命弱点。

Do you know whence comes our real power? From the kiss, the kiss alone! When we know how to hold out and give up our lips we can become queens.
你知道我们真正的力量来自哪里吗？来自吻，只有吻！当我们懂得坚持并放弃我们的双唇时，我们可以成为女王。

The kiss is only a preface, however, but a charming preface.
然而，吻只是一个前奏，但是一个迷人的前奏。 —

More charming than the realization itself.
比实现本身更迷人。 —

A preface which can always be read over again, whereas one cannot always read over the book.
一个前奏可以一直重读，而不能总是重读整本书。

Yes, the meeting of lips is the most perfect, the most divine sensation given to human beings, the supreme limit of happiness:
是的，唇唇相触是赋予人类最完美、最神圣的感觉，是幸福的极限： —

It is in the kiss alone that one sometimes seems to feel this union of souls after which we strive, the intermingling of hearts, as it were.
只有在吻之中，有时候才能感受到我们追求的灵魂的结合，心灵的交融。

Do you remember the verses of Sully-Prudhomme:
还记得Sully-Prudhomme的诗句吗：

Caresses are nothing but anxious bliss,
爱的抚摸只是焦虑的幸福，

Vain attempts of love to unite souls through a kiss.
爱的努力通过吻将两个灵魂合二为一是徒劳无功。

One caress alone gives this deep sensation of two beings welded into one —it is the kiss.
只有一个爱抚才能给予这种深深的感觉，两个人物似被熔合成一体——这就是吻。 —

No violent delirium of complete possession is worth this trembling approach of the lips, this first moist and fresh contact, and then the long, lingering, motionless rapture.
没有暴力的狂想完全占据者是不值得这颤抖的唇附近的接触，这第一次湿润而新鲜的接触，然后是长时间的、停滞不动的狂喜。

Therefore, my dear, the kiss is our strongest weapon, but we must take care not to dull it.
因此，亲爱的，亲吻是我们最强有力的武器，但我们必须小心不要磨损它。 —

Do not forget that its value is only relative, purely conventional.
不要忘记它的价值只是相对的，完全是约定俗成的。 —

It continually changes according to circumstances, the state of expectancy and the ecstasy of the mind.
它在不同的情况下不断变化，与心灵的期待和狂喜有关。 —

I will call attention to one example.
我会举一个例子。

Another poet, Francois Coppee, has written a line which we all remember, a line which we find delightful, which moves our very hearts.
另一位诗人，弗朗索瓦·科佩，写过一句我们都记得的诗句，一句让我们感到愉悦，触动我们内心的诗句。

After describing the expectancy of a lover, waiting in a room one winter’s evening, his anxiety, his nervous impatience, the terrible fear of not seeing her, he describes the arrival of the beloved woman, who at last enters hurriedly, out of breath, bringing with her part of the winter breeze, and he exclaims:
在描述等待的恋人时，一个冬日的晚上，他的焦虑、他的紧张不安，对见不到她的可怕恐惧之后，他描述了心爱的女人的到来，她匆忙地进来，上气不接下气，带着一部分冬风，他惊呼道：

Oh! the taste of the kisses first snatched through the veil.
哦！通过面纱夺走的吻的滋味。

Is that not a line of exquisite sentiment, a delicate and charming observation, a perfect truth?
这不是一句精致感受的话，一种微妙而迷人的观察，一种完美的真实？ —

All those who have hastened to a clandestine meeting, whom passion has thrown into the arms of a man, well do they know these first delicious kisses through the veil;
所有那些匆忙赶往秘密会面的人，那些被激情推向男人怀抱的人，他们深知透过面纱的第一次美妙的亲吻； —

and they tremble at the memory of them.
他们对这些亲吻的回忆感到颤抖。 —

And yet their sole charm lies in the circumstances, from being late, from the anxious expectancy, but from the purely—or, rather, impurely, if you prefer—sensual point of view, they are detestable.
然而，它们的魅力仅存在于特定的环境中，因为迟到，因为焦急的期待，但从纯粹的──或者更确切地说，如果你愿意──肉欲的角度来看，它们是可恶的。

Think! Outside it is cold.
想一下！外面很冷。 —

The young woman has walked quickly;
年轻的女人走得很快； —

the veil is moist from her cold breath.
面纱上因她的寒冷呼吸而潮湿。 —

Little drops of water shine in the lace.
小水滴在蕾丝上闪烁。 —

The lover seizes her and presses his burning lips to her liquid breath.
情人抓住她，把炽热的嘴唇贴在她湿润的呼吸上。 —

The moist veil, which discolors and carries the dreadful odor of chemical dye, penetrates into the young man’s mouth, moistens his mustache.
潮湿的面纱渗入年轻男子的口中，沾湿了他的胡须。 —

He does not taste the lips of his beloved, he tastes the dye of this lace moistened with cold breath.
他不能品尝他心爱女子的嘴唇，只能尝到面纱上湿润的化学染料的味道。 —

And yet, like the poet, we would all exclaim:
然而，就像诗人一样，我们都会惊呼：

Oh! the taste of the kisses first snatched through the veil.
哦！透过面纱初次抢夺的吻的味道。

Therefore, the value of this caress being entirely a matter of convention, we must be careful not to abuse it.
因此，这个拥抱的价值完全是一种约定俗成的事情，我们必须小心不要滥用它。

Well, my dear, I have several times noticed that you are very clumsy.
亲爱的，几次我都注意到你很笨拙。然而， —

However, you were not alone in that fault;
你并不是唯一一个有这个缺点的人； —

the majority of women lose their authority by abusing the kiss with untimely kisses.
大多数女人通过不恰当的亲吻而失去了权威。 —

When they feel that their husband or their lover is a little tired, at those times when the heart as well as the body needs rest, instead of understanding what is going on within him, they persist in giving inopportune caresses, tire him by the obstinacy of begging lips and give caresses lavished with neither rhyme nor reason.
当她们感觉丈夫或情人有点疲倦时，那些心灵和身体都需要休息的时候，她们却坚持给予不合时宜的拥抱，用顽固的嘴唇疲惫他，给予毫无道理的拥抱。

Trust in the advice of my experience. First, never kiss your husband in public, in the train, at the restaurant.
请相信我的经验之言。首先，在公共场合、火车上、餐厅里，别亲吻你的丈夫。 —

It is bad taste; do not give in to your desires.
那是不雅的；不要屈从于你的欲望。 —

He would feel ridiculous and would never forgive you.
他会感到荒谬，并且永远不会原谅你。

Beware of useless kisses lavished in intimacy.
当心在亲密之中浪费的无用的吻。 —

I am sure that you abuse them.
我确定你滥用它们。 —

For instance, I remember one day that you did something quite shocking.
例如，我记得有一天你做了一件相当令人震惊的事情。 —

Probably you do not remember it.
也许你不记得了。

All three of us were together in the drawing-room, and, as you did not stand on ceremony before me, your husband was holding you on his knees and kissing you at great length on the neck, the lips and throat.
我们三个人都在客厅里，由于你没有对我太拘谨，你丈夫正把你抱在膝上，亲吻着你的脖子、嘴唇和喉咙。 —

Suddenly you exclaimed: “Oh! the fire!
突然你大喊：“哦！火！ —

” You had been paying no attention to it, and it was almost out.
”你一直没有注意到它，它几乎快熄灭了。 —

A few lingering embers were glowing on the hearth.
壁炉上还有几颗残留的余烬闪烁着。然后他站起来， —

Then he rose, ran to the woodbox, from which he dragged two enormous logs with great difficulty, when you came to him with begging lips, murmuring:
跑去取木箱，费了很大的劲才拖出两根巨大的木头，就在这时你走向他，用恳求的嘴唇低语着：“亲我！”他费力地转过头，试图同时抬起那两根木头。

“Kiss me!” He turned his head with difficulty and tried to hold up the logs at the same time.
请将我作为编号3的那句话删除，因为它是重复的。 —

Then you gently and slowly placed your mouth on that of the poor fellow, who remained with his neck out of joint, his sides twisted, his arms almost dropping off, trembling with fatigue and tired from his desperate effort.
然后你轻轻地慢慢地把嘴唇放在可怜的家伙的嘴上，他的脖子扭着，腹部扭曲，胳膊几乎要脱臼了，疲惫不堪，筋疲力尽。 —

And you kept drawing out this torturing kiss, without seeing or understanding.
而你却不停地抽出这折磨人的吻，却看不见也听不懂。 —

Then when you freed him, you began to grumble:
然后当你释放他时，你竟然开始抱怨： —

“How badly you kiss!” No wonder!
“你吻得多糟糕啊！”难怪！

Oh, take care of that! We all have this foolish habit, this unconscious need of choosing the most inconvenient moments.
哦，要小心！我们都有这种愚蠢的习惯，这种不自觉的选择最不方便的时刻。 —

When he is carrying a glass of water, when he is putting on his shoes, when he is tying his scarf—in short, when he finds himself in any uncomfortable position —then is the time which we choose for a caress which makes him stop for a whole minute in the middle of a gesture with the sole desire of getting rid of us!
在他端着一杯水的时候，穿上鞋子的时候，系围巾的时候——简而言之，在他发现自己处于任何不舒服的位置时，我们就选择了一个拥抱，让他停下来整整一分钟，中断了一个动作，只为了要摆脱我们！

Do not think that this criticism is insignificant. Love, my dear, is a delicate thing.
不要认为这种批评微不足道。爱情，亲爱的，是一件娇嫩的事情。 —

The least little thing offends it;
最细微的事情都会冒犯它。 —

know that everything depends on the tact of our caresses.
要知道一切都取决于我们抚摸的技巧。 —

An ill-placed kiss may do any amount of harm.
一个错误的吻可能会造成任何程度的伤害。

Try following my advice.
试着遵循我的建议。

Your old aunt,
你的老姑妈，

COLLETTE.
科莱特。

This story appeared in the Gaulois in November, 1882, under the pseudonym of “Maufrigneuse.”
这个故事于1882年11月在高卢人报上以“莫夫里涅兹”为笔名发表。