AUGUST 8.
八月八日。

Believe me, dear Wilhelm, I did not allude to you when I spoke so severely of those who advise resignation to inevitable fate.
请相信我，亲爱的威廉，我在严厉批评那些建议对不可避免的命运顺从的人时，并没有指涉你。 —

I did not think it possible for you to indulge such a sentiment.
我没想到你也会持有这样的观点。但事实上， —

But in fact you are right.
你是对的。 —

I only suggest one objection.
我只想提出一个异议。 —

In this world one is seldom reduced to make a selection between two alternatives.
在这个世界上，很少有人需要在两个选择之间作出抉择。 —

There are as many varieties of conduct and opinion as there are turns of feature between an aquiline nose and a flat one.
在行为和观点上的变化就像鹰钩鼻和扁平鼻之间的脸型变化一样多样。

You will, therefore, permit me to concede your entire argument, and yet contrive means to escape your dilemma.
因此，你可以允许我完全接受你的观点，同时设法摆脱你的两难境地。

Your position is this, I hear you say:
你的立场是这样的，我听你说： —

“Either you have hopes of obtaining Charlotte, or you have none.
“要么你希望得到夏洛特，要么你不希望。” —

Well, in the first case, pursue your course, and press on to the fulfilment of your wishes.
好吧，在前一种情况下，继续你的行动，追求你的愿望。 —

In the second, be a man, and shake off a miserable passion, which will enervate and destroy you.” My dear friend, this is well and easily said.
在后一种情况下，做一个真正的男子汉，摆脱这个将使你软弱和毁灭的可怜的激情。 亲爱的朋友，这么说很容易，也很正确。

But would you require a wretched being, whose life is slowly wasting under a lingering disease, to despatch himself at once by the stroke of a dagger?
但你会要求一个生活在病痛中的可怜人立即用刀自尽吗？ —

Does not the very disorder which consumes his strength deprive him of the courage to effect his deliverance?
难道不是正是消耗他力量的疾病削弱了他实施解脱的勇气吗？

You may answer me, if you please, with a similar analogy, “Who would not prefer the amputation of an arm to the periling of life by doubt and procrastination!” But I know not if I am right, and let us leave these comparisons.
如果你愿意的话，你可以用类似的比喻来回答我，“谁不愿意切掉一只手臂，而不是因为犹豫和拖延而危及生命！”但我不知道自己是否正确，我们暂时不谈这些比较。

Enough! There are moments, Wilhelm, when I could rise up and shake it all off, and when, if I only knew where to go, I could fly from this place.
够了！威廉，有时候我真的想起身甩开一切，只要我知道去哪里，我可以飞离这个地方。

THE SAME EVENING.
同一个晚上。

My diary, which I have for some time neglected, came before me today; and I am amazed to see how deliberately I have entangled myself step by step.
我的日记，我有一段时间没有写了，今天又出现在我面前；我惊讶地看到我是如何一步步地陷入其中的。 —

To have seen my position so clearly, and yet to have acted so like a child!
竟然能如此清楚地看出我的处境，却又如孩子般行动！ —

Even still I behold the result plainly, and yet have no thought of acting with greater prudence.
即使现在我仍然清楚地看到结果，却没有更加谨慎地去行动的想法。

AUGUST lO.
8月10日。

If I were not a fool, I could spend the happiest and most delightful life here.
如果我不是一个傻瓜，我可以过上最幸福和令人愉快的生活在这里。 —

So many agreeable circumstances, and of a kind to ensure a worthy man’s happiness, are seldom united. Alas!
很少有如此多令人愉快的情况，而且这些情况足以确保一个可敬的人的幸福。唉！ —

I feel it too sensibly, – the heart alone makes our happiness!
我太敏感了，心灵才能带给我们幸福！ —

To be admitted into this most charming family, to be loved by the father as a son, by the children as a father, and by Charlotte!
能够进入这个最迷人的家庭，被父亲当作儿子般爱着，被孩子们当作父亲般爱着，还有夏洛特！ —

then the noble Albert, who never disturbs my happiness by any appearance of ill-humour, receiving me with the heartiest affection, and loving me, next to Charlotte, better than all the world!
然后贵族艾伯特，他从不因为任何不悦的表现而打扰我幸福的生活，充满最热烈的爱心接待我，并且除了夏洛特之外比世界上任何人都更爱我！ —

Wilhelm, you would be delighted to hear us in our rambles, and conversations about Charlotte.
威廉，你会乐于听到我们在漫步和谈话中的声音，我们对夏洛特的谈论。 —

Nothing in the world can be more absurd than our connection, and yet the thought of it often moves me to tears.
世界上没有比我们两人的联系更荒谬的事情了，然而这个想法经常让我流泪。

He tells me sometimes of her excellent mother; how, upon her death-bed, she had committed her house and children to Charlotte, and had given Charlotte herself in charge to him;
他有时告诉我她优秀的母亲；在她临终时，她把她的家和孩子们托付给夏洛特，并把夏洛特委托给他。 —

how, since that time, a new spirit had taken possession of her;
自从那时起，一种新的精神掌控了她； —

how, in care and anxiety for their welfare, she became a real mother to them;
她对他们的福祉充满关爱和焦虑，成为了他们的真正母亲。 —

how every moment of her time was devoted to some labour of love in their behalf, – and yet her mirth and cheerfulness had never forsaken her.
她所有的时间都用于为他们做一些充满爱的劳动，然而她的快乐和愉悦从未离开过她。 —

I walk by his side, pluck flowers by the way, arrange them carefully into a nosegay, then fling them into the first stream I pass, and watch them as they float gently away.
我与他并肩行走，顺路采摘花朵，将它们小心翼翼地编成花束，然后把它们扔进我经过的第一个小溪，看着它们轻轻漂走。 —

I forget whether I told you that Albert is to remain here.
我忘了是否告诉你，阿尔伯特将留在这里。 —

He has received a government appointment, with a very good salary;
他得到了一份政府职位，薪水非常不错； —

and I understand he is in high favour at court.
而且我听说他在宫廷中备受宠爱。 —

I have met few persons so punctual and methodical in business.
我很少见过在工作中如此守时和有条理的人。

AUGUST 12.
8月12日。

Certainly Albert is the best fellow in the world.
毫无疑问，阿尔伯特是世界上最好的人。 —

I had a strange scene with him yesterday.
昨天我和他有了一场奇怪的场面。 —

I went to take leave of him;
我去向他告别； —

for I took it into my head to spend a few days in these mountains, from where I now write to you.
因为我突然想在这些山里度过几天，现在就在这里给你写信。 —

As I was walking up and down his room, my eye fell upon his pistols.
当我在他的房间里来回走动时，我的眼睛落在了他的手枪上。 —

“Lend me those pistols,” said I, “for my journey.” “By all means,” he replied, “if you will take the trouble to load them;
“把那些手枪借给我吧，”我说，“因为我要去旅行。”他回答道：“当然，如果你愿意费点劲给它们上子弹的话， —

for they only hang there for form.” I took down one of them;
因为它们只是摆在那里装样子。”我拿下了其中一支手枪。 —

and he continued, “Ever since I was near suffering for my extreme caution, I will have nothing to do with such things.” I was curious to hear the story. “I was staying,” said he, “some three months ago, at a friend’s house in the country.
他继续说：“自从我差点因为过度小心而受罚以来，我对这些东西再也不感兴趣了。”我对听到这个故事很感兴趣。他说：“大约三个月前，我在乡下的一个朋友家里住过。 —

I had a brace of pistols with me, unloaded;
当时我随身带着一对没有上子弹的手枪， —

and I slept without any anxiety.
毫无担忧地入睡。 —

One rainy afternoon I was sitting by myself, doing nothing, when it occurred to me I do not know how that the house might be attacked, that we might require the pistols, that we might in short, you know how we go on fancying, when we have nothing better to do.
有一天下午，我独自一人坐着无所事事，突然想到（不知道是怎么想到的）房子可能被攻击，我们可能需要手枪，总之，你知道我们幻想什么的时候，又没有更好的事情可做。” —

I gave the pistols to the servant, to clean and load.
我把手枪交给仆人清洁和装填。 —

He was playing with the maid, and trying to frighten her, when the pistol went off – God knows how!
当时他正在和女仆玩耍，试图吓唬她，结果手枪不知何故就响了起来。 —

– the ramrod was in the barrel;
—— 夹在枪管里的推弹杆直接穿透了她的右手， —

and it went straight through her right hand, and shattered the thumb.
摧毁了拇指。 —

I had to endure all the lamentation, and to pay the surgeon’s bill; so, since that time, I have kept all my weapons unloaded.
我不得不忍受所有的哀悼，还得支付外科医生的费用；所以自那以后，我就把我所有的武器都拆卸了。 —

But, my dear friend, what is the use of prudence?
但是，亲爱的朋友，顾虑有什么用呢？ —

We can never be on our guard against all possible dangers.
我们永远无法对所有可能的危险保持警惕。 —

However,” – now, you must know I can tolerate all men till they come to “however;” – for it is self-evident that every universal rule must have its exceptions.
然而—— 现在你必须知道，我对所有人都能容忍，直到他们说到“然而”这个词为止；—— 因为显而易见，每个普遍规则都必须有其例外。 —

But he is so exceedingly accurate, that, if he only fancies he has said a word too precipitate, or too general, or only half true, he never ceases to qualify, to modify, and extenuate, till at last he appears to have said nothing at all.
但他太过精确，以至于即使他自认为自己说的词太草率、太笼统或者只是半真半假，他都不停地补充、修改和减轻语气，最后看起来好像他根本什么都没说。 —

Upon this occasion, Albert was deeply immersed in his subject:
在这次机会上，阿尔伯特完全沉浸在他的话题中： —

I ceased to listen to him, and became lost in reverie.
我不再听他说话，而陷入了幻想之中。 —

With a sudden motion, I pointed the mouth of the pistol to my forehead, over the right eye. “What do vou mean?” cried Albert, turning back the pistol. “It is not loaded,” said I. “And even if not,” he answered with impatience, “what can you mean?
我突然动作迅猛地将手枪对准了我的前额，右眼上方。“你是什么意思？”阿尔伯特大叫着转过手枪。“它没有装子弹，”我说。“即使没有装，”他不耐烦地回答道，“你怎么会那么疯狂地去自杀呢，这个想法令我感到震惊。” —

I cannot cornprehend how a man can be so mad as to shoot himself, and the bare idea of it shocks me.”
我说：“为什么在谈论一个行为的时候，要冒险说它是疯狂的、明智的、好的或坏的？这些都是什么意思呢？”

“But why should any one,” said I, “in speaking of an action, venture to pronounce it mad or wise, or good or bad? What is the meaning of all this?
“你有没有认真研究过我们行动的秘密动机？” —

Have you carefully studied the secret motives of our actions?
你能理解吗 — — 你能解释导致行动的原因，并使它们成为必然吗？ —

Do you understand – can you explain the causes which occasion them, and make them inevitable?
如果你能，你就不会那么仓促地作出决定了。” —

If you can, you will be less hasty with your decision.”
“但是你会同意，”阿尔伯特说，“尽管动机各不相同，但一些行为是犯罪的。”

“But you will allow,” said Albert;
—

“that some actions are criminal, let them spring from whatever motives they may.” I granted it, and shrugged my shoulders.
让他们产生什么动机并不重要。”我答应了，耸了耸肩。

“But still, my good friend,” I continued, “there are some exceptions here too. Theft is a crime;
“但是，我的好朋友，”我继续说道，“这里也有一些例外。偷窃是一种犯罪； —

but the man who commits it from extreme poverty, with no design but to save his family from perishing, is he an object of pity, or of punishment?
但是，那个出于极度贫困而犯下偷窃行为，没有别的意图，只是为了拯救自己的家人免于灭亡的人，他是可怜的对象还是应该受到惩罚呢？ —

Who shall throw the first stone at a husband, who, in the heat of just resentment, sacrifices his faithless wife and her perfidious seducer?
谁会扔第一颗石头给一个丈夫呢，那个丈夫在正义的愤怒之下，牺牲了他不忠诚的妻子和她背信弃义的诱惑者？ —

or at the young maiden, who, in her weak hour of rapture, forgets herself in the impetuous joys of love?
或者年轻的少女，在她软弱的狂喜时，忘记了自己在爱的冲动之中？ —

Even our laws, cold and cruel as they are, relent in such cases, and withhold their punishment.”
即使我们的法律是冷酷无情的，在这种情况下也会松动，不予惩罚。”

“That is quite another thing,” said Albert;
“那完全是另外一回事，”阿尔伯特说， —

“because a man under the influence of violent passion loses alI power of reflection, and is regarded as intoxicated or insane.”
“因为在强烈激情的影响下，一个人失去了一切思考能力，被视为陶醉或疯狂。”

“Oh! you people of sound understandings,” I replied, smiling, “are ever ready to exclaim ‘Extravagance, and madness, and intoxication!’ You moral men are so calm and so subdued!
“哦！你们这些理智的人们，”我微笑着回答道，“总是喊着‘夸张、疯狂、陶醉！’”，你们这些道德高尚的人都是如此冷静和克制！ —

You abhor the drunken man, and detest the extravagant;
你们厌恶酗酒的人，憎恶铺张浪费的人； —

you pass by, like the Levite, and thank God, like the Pharisee, that you are not like one of them.
你们像利未人一样路过，感谢上帝，像法利赛人一样庆幸自己不是他们中的一个。 —

I have been more than once intoxicated, my passions have always bordered on extravagance:
我曾多次陶醉过，我的激情总是接近狂热： —

I am not ashamed to confess it;
我并不羞愧地承认这一点； —

for I have learned, by my own experience, that all extraordinary men, who have accomplished great and astonishing actions, have ever been decried by the world as drunken or insane.
因为我通过自己的经历得知，所有那些完成了伟大而令人惊叹的事业的非凡人物，都曾被世人诟病为醉酒或疯狂。 —

And in private life, too, is it not intolerable that no one can undertake the execution of a noble or generous deed, without giving rise to the exclamation that the doer is intoxicated or mad?
而且在私人生活中，难道不令人难以忍受吗？一个人要去执行一项高尚或慷慨的行为，却引起别人大声叫嚷他醉酒或疯了？ —

Shame upon you, ye sages!”
你们这些智者真可耻！

“This is another of your extravagant humours,” said Albert:
“这又是你的另一种放肆的心情，”阿尔伯特说道：” —

“you always exaggerate a case, and in this matter you are undoubtedly wrong;
你总是夸大其词，在这件事上你无疑是错的； —

for we were speaking of suicide, which you compare with great actions, when it is impossible to regard it as anything but a weakness.
我们正在谈论自杀，你却将其与伟大的行为相提并论，当将其视为一种无能为力的弱点时，这是不可想象的。 —

It is much easier to die than to bear a life of misery with fortitude.”
死亡比坚忍地忍受痛苦的生活要容易得多。

I was on the point of breaking off the conversation, for nothing puts me so completely out of patience as the utterance of a wretched commonplace when I am talking from my inmost heart.
我正要打断这个对话，因为当我从内心深处说话时，听到可怜的陈词滥调会让我忍无可忍。 —

However, I composed myself, for I had often heard the same observation with sufficient vexation;
然而，我冷静下来了，因为我听到了同样的观点已经足够恼火。 —

and I answered him, therefore, with a little warmth, “You call this a weakness – beware of being led astray by appearances.
因此，我有些激动地回答他：“你把这称为一种弱点——小心别被表面现象所误导。 —

When a nation, which has long groaned under the intolerable yoke of a tyrant, rises at last and throws off its chains, do you call that weakness?
当一个长期忍受暴君压迫的民族最终起义并摆脱了镣铐，你称这是弱点吗？ —

The man who, to rescue his house from the flames, finds his physical strength redoubled, so that he lifts burdens with ease, which, in the absence of excitement, he could scarcely move;
那个为了从火焰中拯救房屋而发现自己的体力倍增的人，能轻松地举起平时很难移动的重物，你觉得这是弱点吗？ —

he who, under the rage of an insult, attacks and puts to flight half a score of his enemies, are such persons to be called weak?
那个在被侮辱激怒时，向半打的敌人发起攻击并击退他们的人，可以称之为弱者吗？ —

My good friend, if resistance be strength, how can the highest degree of resistance be a weakness?”
亲爱的朋友，如果抵抗就是力量，那么最高程度的抵抗怎么可能是一种弱点呢？

Albert looked steadfastly at me, and said, “Pray forgive me, but I do not see that the examples you have adduced bear any relation to the question.” “Very likely,” I answered;
阿尔伯特沉思地看着我，说道：“请原谅我，但我看不出你举的例子与问题有何关系。”“很可能，”我回答说： —

“for I have often been told that my style of illustration borders a little on the absurd.
“因为我经常被告知我的说明方法有点荒谬。” —

But let us see if we cannot place the matter in another point of view, by inquiring what can be a man’s state of mind who resolves to free himself from the burden of life, – a burden often so pleasant to bear, – for we cannot otherwise reason fairly upon the subject.
但是，我们来换个角度思考一下这个问题，从一个决心解脱生命负担的人的心理状态——这个负担通常是如此令人愉悦——这样我们才能公正地进行推理。

“Human nature,” I continued, “has its limits.
“人性有其限制。 —

It is able to endure a certain degree of joy, sorrow, and pain, but becomes annihilated as soon as this measure is exceeded.
它能够承受一定程度的喜悦、悲伤和痛苦，但一旦超过了这个度量，它就会消亡。” —

The question, therefore, is, not whether a man is strong or weak, but whether he is able to endure the measure of his sufferings.
因此，问题并不在于一个人是强壮还是脆弱，而在于他是否能够忍受他所遭受的苦难的程度。 —

The suffering may be moral or physical;
这种痛苦可以是道德的， —

and in my opinion it is just as absurd to call a man a coward who destroys himself, as to call a man a coward who dies of a malignant fever.”
也可以是身体的；在我看来，将自杀的人称为懦夫，就像将死于恶性发热的人称为懦夫一样荒谬。

“Paradox, all paradox!” exclaimed Albert.
“悖论，全是悖论！”阿尔伯特叫道。 —

“Not so paradoxical as you imagine,” I replied.
“不像你想象的那么悖论”，我回答说。 —

“You allow that we designate a disease as mortal when nature is so severely attacked, and her strength so far exhausted, that she cannot possibly recover her former condition under any change that may take place.
“你承认，当自然受到严重攻击，她的力量极度耗竭，无论发生何种变化她都无法恢复原状时，我们将一种疾病称为致命之症。

“Now, my good friend, apply this to the mind;
“现在，我的好朋友，请将这一点应用到精神上； —

observe a man in his natural, isolated condition;
观察一个人在其自然孤立的状态下； —

consider how ideas work, and how impressions fasten on him, till at length a violent passion seizes him, destroying all his powers of calm reflection, and utterly ruining him.
考虑思想是如何运作的，印象如何固守其心灵，直到最终一个狂热的激情抓住他，摧毁他的所有冷静思考的力量，并彻底毁坏他。

“It is in vain that a man of sound mind and cool temper understands the condition of such a wretched being, in vain he counsels him.
白费力气地，一个头脑清醒、冷静的人明白这样一个可怜人的处境，徒劳地给他建议。 —

He can no more communicate his own wisdom to him than a healthy man can instil his strength into the invalid, by whose bedside he is seated.”
他不能像一个健康的人在卧床不起的病人旁那样将自己的智慧灌输给他，无法通过这种方式转移自己的力量。

Albert thought this too general.
艾伯特觉得这样说太笼统了。 —

I reminded him of a girl who had drowned herself a short time previously, and I related her history.
我提醒他之前有个女孩自杀的事情，然后我讲述了她的经历。

She was a good creature, who had grown up in the narrow sphere of household industry and weekly appointed labour;
她是个好心肠的人，一直生活在狭窄的家务劳动和每周一定时间的工作中， —

one who knew no pleasure beyond indulging in a walk on Sundays, arrayed in her best attire, accompanied by her friends, or perhaps joining in the dance now and then at some festival, and chatting away her spare hours with a neighbour, discussing the scandal or the quarrels of the village, trifles sufficient to occupy her heart.
在周日时穿着最好的衣服和朋友们一起散步，偶尔在一些节日或者跳舞时享受快乐，还与邻居闲聊，谈论村里的八卦和争吵，这些琐事足以填满她的心。 —

At length the warmth of her nature is influenced by certain new and unknown wishes.
最终，她善良的本性被某些新的、未知的欲望所影响。 —

Inflamed by the flatteries of men, her former pleasures become by degrees insipid, till at length she meets with a youth to whom she is attracted by an indescribable feeling;
受到男人的奉承激起的炽热情感，她曾经的乐趣逐渐变得索然无味，直到最后她遇到了一个年轻人，她对他产生了一种无法言喻的感觉； —

upon him she now rests all her hopes;
她把所有的希望都寄托在他身上； —

she forgets the world around her; she sees, hears, desires nothing but him, and him only.
她忘记了周围的世界；她只看见、听见、渴望着的只有他，只有他。 —

He alone occupies all her thoughts.
他独自占据着她所有的思想。 —

Uncorrupted by the idle indulgence of an enervating vanity, her affection moving steadily toward its object, she hopes to become his, and to realise, in an everlasting union with him, all that happiness which she sought, all that bliss for which she longed.
没有被肆意满足的虚荣所腐蚀，她的感情坚定地朝着目标前进，她希望成为他的一部分，实现她一直追求的幸福，她渴望的那种无尽的幸福。 —

His repeated promises confirm her hopes:
他再三许下的承诺坚定了她的希望： —

embraces and endearments, which increase the ardour of her desires, overmaster her soul.
拥抱和亲昵使她的渴望更加炽热，淹没了她的灵魂。 —

She floats in a dim, delusive anticipation of her happiness;
她在对幸福的模糊、虚幻的预期中漂浮， —

and her feelings become excited to their utmost tension.
她的感情被激发到极限。 —

She stretches out her arms finally to embrace the object of all her wishes and her lover forsakes her.
她伸出双臂最终去拥抱她所有愿望的对象，而她的爱人却离开了她。 —

Stunned and bewildered, she stands upon a precipice.
目瞪口呆、困惑万分，她站在悬崖边。 —

All is darkness around her.
周围一片黑暗。 —

No prospect, no hope, no consolation – forsaken by him in whom her existence was centred!
没有前景、没有希望、没有宽慰——被以往她所依赖的人所遗弃！ —

She sees nothing of the wide world before her, thinks nothing of the many individuals who might supply the void in her heart;
她看不到眼前广袤的世界，也不考虑那些可能填补她内心空虚的人们； —

she feels herself deserted, forsaken by the world; and, blinded and impelled by the agony which wrings her soul, she plunges into the deep, to end her sufferings in the broad embrace of death.
她感到自己被世界抛弃，失去了依靠；在灵魂被折磨的痛苦驱使下，她向深渊投身，以死亡的广阔怀抱结束自己的痛苦。 —

See here, Albert, the history of thousands; and tell me, is not this a case of physical infirmity?
阿尔伯特，看看这里，成千上万人的经历，告诉我，这不是一种生理上的疾病吗？ —

Nature has no way to escape from the labyrinth:
自然无路可逃离这个迷宫： —

her powers are exhausted:
她的力量已经耗尽； —

she can contend no longer, and the poor soul must die.
她再也无法抵抗，可怜的灵魂必须死去。

“Shame upon him who can look on calmly, and exclaim, ‘The foolish girl! she should have waited;
“谁能冷静地看着然后说：‘这个愚蠢的女孩！她应该等待； —

she should have allowed time to wear off the impression;
她应该给时间消磨印象； —

her despair would have been softened, and she would have found another lover to comfort her.’ One might as well say, ‘The fool, to die of a fever!
她的绝望会被减轻，她会找到另一个情人来安慰她。’ 这就好像说‘傻瓜，死于发热！ —

why did he not wait till his strength was restored, till his blood became calm?
他为什么不等待直到恢复体力，直到他的血液平静下来？ —

all would then have gone well, and he would have been alive now.‘”
一切就会顺利，他现在还活着。’”

Albert, who could not see the justice of the comparison, offered some further objections, and, amongst others, urged that I had taken the case of a mere ignorant girl.
阿尔伯特无法理解这种比较的公正性，提出了进一步的反对意见，其中包括我只考虑了一个无知的女孩的情况。 —

But how any man of sense, of more enlarged views and experience, could be excused, he was unable to comprehend.
但是，如何原谅一个有理智、拥有更广阔视野和经验的男人，他无法理解。“我的朋友！ —

“My friend!” I exclaimed, “man is but man; and, whatever be the extent of his reasoning powers, they are of little avail when passion rages within, and he feels himself confined by the narrow limits of nature.
”我叫道，“人无非是人；无论他的推理能力有多出众，当激情肆虐时，他感到自己被自然的狭窄界限所束缚，这些能力几乎无济于事。” —

It were better, then – but we will talk of this some other time,” I said, and caught up my hat. Alas!
“那还是以后再谈吧，”我说着拿起了我的帽子。唉！我的心里满满的； —

my heart was full;
—

and we parted without conviction on either side.
我们分手时互相都没有坚定的信念。 —

How rarely in this world do men understand each other!
在这个世界上，人们彼此理解的时刻是如此罕见！

AUGUST 15.
八月十五日。

There can be no doubt that in this world nothing is so indispensable as love.
在这个世界上，没有什么比爱更为必不可少的了。 —

I observe that Charlotte could not lose me without a pang, and the very children have but one wish;
我观察到夏洛特离开我时并不会毫无感觉，而小孩子们也只有一个愿望；那就是明天我能再次去看望他们。今天下午我去调弦了夏洛特的钢琴。 —

that is, that I should visit them again to-morrow.
不过我没有调好，因为孩子们坚持让我给他们讲一个故事； —

I went this afternoon to tune Charlotte’s piano.
而夏洛特本人也催促我满足他们的要求。 —

But I could not do it, for the little ones insisted on my telling them a story;
我陪他们一起喝了茶， —

and Charlotte herself urged me to satisfy them.
并且现在他们对我和对夏洛特一样满意。 —

I waited upon them at tea, and they are now as fully contented with me as with Charlotte;
我给他们讲了我最好的关于公主被小矮人伺候的故事。 —

and I told them my very best tale of the princess who was waited upon by dwarfs.
通过这个活动，我不断提高了自己，并且对我的故事所引起的印象感到非常惊讶。 —

I improve myself by this exercise, and am quite surprised at the impression my stories create.
我只惋惜这样做还不足以使我起立而站岗。 —

If I sometimes invent an incident which I forget upon the next narration, they remind one directly that the story was different before;
如果我有时编造一件事情，然后在下次叙述时忘记了它，它们就直接提醒我故事之前是不同的； —

so that I now endeavour to relate with exactness the same anecdote in the same monotonous tone, which never changes.
所以现在我努力以准确的方式以同样的单调语调讲述同样的轶事，它从未改变过。 —

I find by this, how much an author injures his works by altering them, even though they be improved in a poetical point of view.
通过这个，我发现即使在诗意上改进了作品，作者也会对它们造成伤害。 —

The first impression is readily received.
第一印象很容易被接受。 —

We are so constituted that we believe the most incredible things;
我们有这样的构造，我们相信最不可思议的事情； —

and, once they are engraved upon the memory, woe to him who would endeavour to efface them.
一旦它们刻在记忆中，无论谁想要抹去它们都注定要灾难。

AUGUST 18.
8月18日。

Must it ever be thus, – that the source of our happiness must also be the fountain of our misery?
它难道必须永远如此——我们的幸福之源也必须成为我们痛苦的源泉吗？ —

The full and ardent sentiment which animated my heart with the love of nature, overwhelming me with a torrent of delight, and which brought all paradise before me, has now become an insupportable torment, a demon which perpetually pursues and harasses me.
曾经让我心中充满热烈和激情的对大自然的热爱，将我淹没在喜悦的洪流中，将整个天堂呈现在我面前，现在成为了一种无法忍受的折磨，一种不断追逐和困扰我的恶魔。 —

When in bygone days I gazed from these rocks upon yonder mountains across the river, and upon the green, flowery valley before me, and saw alI nature budding and bursting around;
当在过去的日子里，我从这些岩石上向河对岸的山脉以及我面前的绿色花园望去，并看到大自然中的一切都在蓬勃生长和绽放； —

the hills clothed from foot to peak with tall, thick forest trees; the valleys in all their varied windings, shaded with the loveliest woods;
山山坡坡从脚趾到山顶都被高大茂密的森林树木所覆盖；河谷在它们各自的曲折中被最美丽的树木所荫蔽； —

and the soft river gliding along amongst the lisping reeds, mirroring the beautiful clouds which the soft evening breeze wafted across the sky, – when I heard the groves about me melodious with the music of birds, and saw the million swarms of insects dancing in the last golden beams of the sun, whose setting rays awoke the humming beetles from their grassy beds, whilst the subdued tumult around directed my attention to the ground, and I there observed the arid rock compelled to yield nutriment to the dry moss, whilst the heath flourished upon the barren sands below me, all this displayed to me the inner warmth which animates all nature, and filled and glowed within my heart.
当我听到周围树林中鸟儿的音乐，看到无数昆虫在夕阳余辉中起舞时，这个柔和的夜风轻轻吹拂着美丽的云朵，软弱的河流轻轻滑过沙河之间，这一切都向我展示了贯穿自然的内在温暖，充满并燃烧在我内心。 —

I felt myself exalted by this overflowing fulness to the perception of the Godhead, and the glorious forms of an infinite universe became visible to my soul!
我被这种充盈的感觉提升到了对神灵的感知之中，无限宇宙的壮丽形态展现在我灵魂的眼前！ —

Stupendous mountains encompassed me, abysses yawned at my feet, and cataracts fell headlong down before me;
巍峨的山峦环绕着我，深渊在我的脚下张开，瀑布从高处倾泻而下。 —

impetuous rivers rolled through the plain, and rocks and mountains resounded from afar.
猛烈的河流在平原上滚动，岩石和山脉从远处回响。 —

In the depths of the earth I saw innumerable powers in motion, and multiplying to infinity;
我在地球的深处看到了无数的力量在运动，并不断繁衍到无穷无尽； —

whilst upon its surface, and beneath the heavens, there teemed ten thousand varieties of living creatures.
在地球的表面和天空下，有无数万种生物。 —

Everything around is alive with an infinite number of forms;
周围的一切都充满了无限多的形态； —

while mankind fly for security to their petty houses, from the shelter of which they rule in their imaginations over the wide-extended universe.
而人类为了安全而逃到他们渺小的房屋中，从那里他们在想象中统治着广阔无垠的宇宙。 —

Poor fool! in whose petty estimation all things are little.
可悲的傻瓜！在你狭小的评价中， —

From the inaccessible mountains, across the desert which no mortal foot has trod, far as the confines of the unknown ocean, breathes the spirit of the eternal Creator;
一切都微不足道。从无法到达的山脉，穿过没有人类足迹的沙漠，远至未知海洋的边界，呼吸着永恒造物主的灵息； —

and every atom to which he has given existence finds favour in his sight.
他赋予存在的每一个原子，在他的眼中都是受宠的。 —

Ah, how often at that time has the flight of a bird, soaring above my head, inspired me with the desire of being transported to the shores of the immeasurable waters, there to quaff the pleasures of life from the foaming goblet of the Infinite, and to partake, if but for a moment even, with the confined powers of my soul, the beatitude of that Creator who accomplishes all things in himself, and through himself!
啊，那时候，一只鸟在我头顶翱翔，总会激起我渴望被带到无边水域的欲望，在那里用涌动的无尽之杯尝享生活的乐趣，即便只有一刹那，也与我有限的心灵一同分享那位完成一切的造物主的圆满喜悦！

My dear friend, the bare recollection of those hours still consoles me.
亲爱的朋友，对那些时光的光景的光秃回忆至今仍然令我得到慰藉。 —

Even this effort to recall those ineffable sensations, and give them utterance, exalts my soul above itself, and makes me doubly feel the intensity of my present anguish.
甚至回忆起那种难以言喻的感觉，并将它们倾诉出来，让我的灵魂超越自身，让我加倍感受到我现在的痛苦的强烈程度。

It is as if a curtain had been drawn from before my eyes, and, instead of prospects of eternal life, the abyss of an ever open grave yawned before me.
就像我的眼前被拉开了一层帷幕，我所看到的不再是永恒生命的前景，而是一个永远敞开的坟墓的深渊在我面前张开。 —

Can we say of anything that it exists when all passes away, when time, with the speed of a storm, carries all things onward, – and our transitory existence, hurried along by the torrent, is either swallowed up by the waves or dashed against the rocks?
当一切都消失时，我们能否说某物存在？时间以风暴的速度带走一切事物，我们的短暂存在被奔腾的洪流冲刷或撞击到岩石上。 —

There is not a moment but preys upon you, – and upon all around you, not a moment in which you do not yourself become a destroyer.
没有一个时刻不在侵蚀着你，也侵蚀着你周围的一切，你在任何时刻都成为一个破坏者。 —

The most innocent walk deprives of life thousands of poor insects:
最无辜的步行行为夺去了成千上万只可怜的昆虫的生命。 —

one step destroys the fabric of the industrious ant, and converts a little world into chaos. No:
一步踏碎了勤劳的蚂蚁的世界，将一个小小的世界变成了混乱。不， —

it is not the great and rare calamities of the world, the floods which sweep away whole villages, the earthquakes which swallow up our towns, that affect me.
让我感到困扰的不是世界上那些大而罕见的灾难，那些能够摧毁整个村庄的洪水，能够吞没我们城市的地震。 —

My heart is wasted by the thought of that destructive power which lies concealed in every part of universal nature.
我的心被隐藏在宇宙自然的每一部分中的那种毁灭性力量所消磨。 —

Nature has formed nothing that does not consume itself, and every object near it:
自然创造的一切都在自我消耗，以及其附近的每一个物体。 —

so that, surrounded by earth and air, and all the active powers, I wander on my way with aching heart;
站在大地和空气的环绕之中，我带着痛苦的心情漫游在我的道路上； —

and the universe is to me a fearful monster, for ever devouring its own offspring.
而宇宙对我来说是一个可怕的怪物，它不停地吞噬着自己的后代。

AUGUST 21.
8月21日。

In vain do I stretch out my arms toward her when I awaken in the morning from my weary slumbers.
白天醒来时，我向她伸开双臂是徒劳的努力。 —

In vain do I seek for her at night in my bed, when some innocent dream has happily deceived me, and placed her near me in the fields, when I have seized her hand and covered it with countless kisses.
在我床上寻找她时也是徒劳的，当一些无辜的梦幻欺骗了我，将她放在田野中靠近我，当我抓住她的手并给它无数个吻。 —

And when I feel for her in the half confusion of sleep, with the happy sense that she is near, tears flow from my oppressed heart;
在半睡半醒之间想要触摸她时，我感到幸福，因为她就在我身边，压抑的心中流出了泪水； —

and, bereft of all comfort, I weep over my future woes.
没有任何安慰，我为自己未来的不幸而哭泣。

AUGUST 22.
8月22日。

What a misfortune, Wilhelm!
威廉，这是多么不幸啊！ —

My active spirits have degenerated into contented indolence. I cannot be idle, and yet I am unable to set to work.
我的积极精神已经变成了满足的懒散。我不能闲着，却也不能开始工作。 —

I cannot think: I have no longer any feeling for the beauties of nature, and books are distasteful to me.
我无法思考：我对大自然的美不再有感觉，书籍也变得索然无味。 —

Once we give ourselves up, we are totally lost.
一旦我们放弃自己，就会完全迷失。我常常希望自己是一个普通的劳工， —

Many a time and oft I wish I were a common labourer;
这样，在早晨醒来时，我只需追求一个前景、一个目标、一个希望。 —

that, awakening in the morning, I might have but one prospect, one pursuit, one hope, for the day which has dawned.
当我看到阿尔伯特埋头于一堆文件和羊皮纸中时，我常常羡慕他，我想如果我身处他的位置，我会很快乐。 —

I often envy Albert when I see him buried in a heap of papers and parchments, and I fancy I should be happy were I in his place.
常常被这种感觉所打动，我差点就给你和部长写信了，申请在大使馆任职，你认为我可能得到这个职位。 —

Often impressed with this feeling I have been on the point of writing to you and to the minister, for the appointment at the embassy, which you think I might obtain.
我相信我可能会得到。部长长久以来一直对我很看重，并经常催促我寻求就业。 —

I believe I might procure it.
这只需要一个小时的时间。 —

The minister has long shown a regard for me, and has frequently urged me to seek employment.
偶尔我会想起马的寓言。 —

It is the business of an hour only.
他厌倦了自由，让自己被装上鞍和缰绳， —

Now and then the fable of the horse recurs to me.
结果为此付出了生命。我不知道要做出什么决定。 —

Weary of liberty, he suffered himself to be saddled and bridled, and was ridden to death for his pains.
我纠结于这个问题。 —

I know not what to determine upon.
—

For is not this anxiety for change the consequence of that restless spirit which would pursue me equally in every situation of life?
这种对改变的焦虑并不是因为我对生活的每种情况都追求一种坐标的精神所致吗？

AUGUST 28.
八月二十八日。

If my ills would admit of any cure, they would certainly be cured here. This is my birthday, and early in the morning I received a packet from Albert.
如果我的病能够治愈，那么在这里一定能治愈。今天是我的生日，早上我收到了阿尔伯特寄来的一个包裹。 —

Upon opening it, I found one of the pink ribbons which Charlotte wore in her dress the first time I saw her, and which I had several times asked her to give me.
打开包裹，我发现了夏洛特第一次见面时穿的粉红丝带，我曾多次要求她给我。 —

With it were two volumes in duodecimo of Wetstein’s “Homer,” a book I had often wished for, to save me the inconvenience of carrying the large Ernestine edition with me upon my walks.
里面还有两卷十二开的韦特斯坦的《荷马》书，这本书我常常想要，可以省去我在散步时携带大本的《恩斯泰因》版的麻烦。 —

You see how they anticipate my wishes, how well they understand all those little attentions of friendship, so superior to the costly presents of the great, which are humiliating.
你看他们是如何预料我的愿望，他们是多么懂得那些友谊的小小关照，远胜于恼人的昂贵礼物，而后者却令人感到屈辱。 —

I kissed the ribbon a thousand times, and in every breath inhaled the remembrance of those happy and irrevocable days which filled me with the keenest joy.
我亲吻着丝带，一千次，每一次呼吸中都带着那些让我充满最强烈的喜悦的幸福而无法挽回的日子的回忆。 —

Such, Wilhelm, is our fate. I do not murmur at it:
亲爱的威廉，这就是我们的命运。我不会对此抱怨： —

the flowers of life are but visionary.
生活的花朵只是幻象。 —

How many pass away, and leave no trace behind – how few yield any fruit – and the fruit itself, how rarely does it ripen!
有多少人离去，不留下任何痕迹，多少人不结果实，果实本身成熟得多么罕见！ —

And yet there are flowers enough! and is it not strange, my friend, that we should suffer the little that does really ripen, to rot, decay, and perish unenjoyed?
然而，花儿足够了！难道不奇怪吗，我的朋友，我们竟然让那一点点真正成熟的东西腐烂、衰败，不得享用吗？ —

Farewell! This is a glorious summer.
再见！这是个辉煌的夏天。 —

I often climb into the trees in Charlotte’s orchard, and shake down the pears that hang on the highest branches.
我经常爬上夏洛特果园的树上，摇下那些挂在最高枝头的梨子。 —

She stands below, and catches them as they fall.
她站在下面，接住它们掉下来。

AUGUST 30.
8月30日。

Unhappy being that I am! Why do I thus deceive myself?
我是多么不幸的人啊！我为什么要这样欺骗自己？ —

What is to come of all this wild, aimless, endless passion? I cannot pray except to her.
这种狂野、毫无目的、永无止境的激情将会有什么结果？我只能向她祈祷。 —

My imagination sees nothing but her:
我的想象力只看得见她： —

all surrounding objects are of no account, except as they relate to her.
周围的一切都无关紧要，只要与她相关。 —

In this dreamy state I enjoy many happy hours, till at length I feel compelled to tear myself away from her.
在这种梦幻状态中，我享受许多快乐的时光，直到最后我感到被迫与她分开。 —

Ah, Wilhelm, to what does not my heart often compel me!
啊，威廉，我的心不经常驱使我做些什么！ —

When I have spent several hours in her company, till I feel completely absorbed by her figure, her grace, the divine expression of her thoughts, my mind becomes gradually excited to the highest excess, my sight grows dim, my hearing confused, my breathing oppressed as if by the hand of a murderer, and my beating heart seeks to obtain relief for my aching senses.
当我与她在一起度过了几个小时，直到我完全为她的外貌，她的优雅，以及她思想的神圣表达所吸引时，我的思绪逐渐兴奋到了极点，视线模糊，听力混乱，呼吸压抑，就像被一个杀人犯压迫着，我激动的心寻求缓解我痛苦的感官。 —

I am sometimes unconscious whether I really exist.
有时候我不知道自己是否真实存在。 —

If in such moments I find no sympathy, and Charlotte does not allow me to enjoy the melancholy consolation of bathing her hand with my tears, I feel compelled to tear myself from her, when I either wander through the country, climb some precipitous cliff, or force a path through the trackless thicket, where I am lacerated and torn by thorns and briers;
如果在这样的时刻我找不到共鸣，夏洛特不允许我用眼泪来沐浴她的手，我感到被迫离开她，要么漫游乡间，攀登陡峭的悬崖，要么穿越无人涉足的荆棘丛中，被荆棘和荆棘刺伤和撕裂； —

and thence I find relief.
然后我找到了解脱。 —

Sometimes I lie stretched on the ground, overcome with fatigue and dying with thirst;
有时候我躺在地上，筋疲力尽，口渴难耐； —

sometimes, late in the night, when the moon shines above me, I recline against an aged tree in some sequestered forest, to rest my weary limbs, when, exhausted and worn, I sleep till break of day.
有时候，在深夜里，当月光照耀在我头顶的时候，我倚靠在一棵古老的树上，在一片僻静的森林中休息疲惫的身躯，当我疲惫不堪、精疲力尽时，我就睡到天亮。 —

O Wilhelm! the hermit’s cell, his sackcloth, and girdle of thorns would be luxury and indulgence compared with what I suffer.
哦，威廉！与我所遭受的相比，隐士的牢房、他的粗麻布衣和刺棘的腰带都是奢侈和放纵。 —

Adieu! I see no end to this wretchedness except the grave.
再见！除了坟墓，我看不到这悲惨的痛苦有尽头。