I can see the artist bite the end of his pencil and frown when it comes to drawing his Easter picture; —
我能看到艺术家咬住铅笔尾端，面对画他的复活节图片时皱起眉头； —

for his legitimate pictorial conceptions of figures pertinent to the festival are but four in number.
对于与节日相关的形象的合理构思，仅有四个；

First comes Easter, pagan goddess of spring. —
首先是复活节，春天的异教女神。在这个方面， —

Here his fancy may have free play. —
他的想象力可以自由发挥； —

A beautiful maiden with decorative hair and the proper number of toes will fill the bill. —
一个拥有装饰性发型和正确数量脚趾的美丽少女将符合要求； —

Miss Clarice St. Vavasour, the well-known model, will pose for it in the “Lethergogallagher,” or whatever it was that Trilby called it.
著名模特克拉丽丝·圣瓦瓦索小姐将为画作担任模特儿，就像特里尔比称呼的那个“莱瑟戈加拉赫”或其他名称；

Second - the melancholy lady with upturned eyes in a framework of lilies. —
第二个形象是框架中眼睛朝上的憔悴女士， —

This is magazine-covery, but reliable.
这在杂志封面上很常见，也很可靠；

Third - Miss Manhattan in the Fifth Avenue Easter Sunday parade.
第三个是在第五大道复活节主日游行中的曼哈顿小姐；

Fourth - Maggie Murphy with a new red feather in her old straw hat, happy and self-conscious, in the Grand Street turnout.
第四个是在格兰德街游行中的玛吉·墨菲，带着新的红色羽毛，快乐而自负；

Of course, the rabbits do not count. Nor the Easter eggs, since the higher criticism has hard-boiled them.
当然，兔子数量不计。复活节彩蛋也不计，因为高级批评学已经把它们煮熟了。

The limited field of its pictorial possibilities proves that Easter, of all our festival days, is the most vague and shifting in our conception. —
在我们的概念中，复活节是我们所有节日中最模糊和变幻无常的，由于其有限的图像可能性。 —

It belongs to all religions, although the pagans invented it. —
尽管复活节是异教徒发明的，但它属于所有宗教。 —

Going back still further to the first spring, we can see Eve choosing with pride a new green leaf from the tree ficus carica.
回溯到最早的春天，我们可以看到夏娃自豪地从无花果树上选择了一片新绿叶。

Now, the object of this critical and learned preamble is to set forth the theorem that Easter is neither a date, a season, a festival, a holiday nor an occasion. —
现在，这个批判性和学术性的序言的目的是阐述一个定理，即复活节既不是一个日期，也不是一个季节、一个节日、一个假日，也不是一个场合。 —

What it is you shall find out if you follow in the footsteps of Danny McCree.
如果你跟随丹尼·麦克里的脚步，你就能找到它是什么。

Easter Sunday dawned as it should, bright and early, in its place on the calendar between Saturday and Monday. —
复活节星期天按照它应有的方式黎明了，明亮而早起，在日历上坐落在星期六和星期一之间。5:24太阳升起， —

At 5:24 the sun rose, and at 10: —
在10:30时，丹尼跟随它的榜样。 —

30 Danny followed its example. —
他走进厨房， —

He went into the kitchen and washed his face at the sink. —
在洗手池洗脸。他的母亲正在煎培根。 —

His mother was frying bacon. —
—

She looked at his hard, smooth, knowing countenance as he juggled with the round cake of soap, and thought of his father when she first saw him stopping a hot grounder between second and third twenty-two years before on a vacant lot in Harlem, where the La Paloma apartment house now stands. —
她看着他那张坚毅、光滑、充满智慧的面容，当他玩弄着圆形肥皂蛋糕时，她想起了二十二年前在哈林空地上，那个现在立着La Paloma公寓楼的地方，她第一次见到他的父亲停住一个烫手的滚地球在二垒和三垒之间。 —

In the front room of the flat Danny’s father sat by an open window smoking his pipe, with his dishevelled gray hair tossed about by the breeze. —
在公寓的前房里，丹尼的父亲坐在一个敞开的窗前，抽着烟斗，被微风吹乱的灰色头发飘动着。 —

He still clung to his pipe, although his sight had been taken from him two years before by a precocious blast of giant powder that went off without permission. —
虽然他的视力两年前因为一次未经允许的巨大爆炸而丧失了，但他仍然紧紧抓着他的烟斗。 —

Very few blind men care for smoking, for the reason that they cannot see the smoke. —
很少有盲人喜欢吸烟，因为他们看不见烟雾。 —

Now, could you enjoy having the news read to you from an evening newspaper unless you could see the colors of the headlines?
现在，如果你只能听新闻念给你听，而看不到标题的颜色，你能欣赏吗？

”‘Tis Easter Day,” said Mrs. McCree.
“这是复活节，”Mcree太太说。

“Scramble mine,” said Danny.
“拼我的吧，”Danny说。

After breakfast he dressed himself in the Sabbath morning costume of the Canal Street importing house dray chauffeur - frock coat, striped trousers, patent leathers, gilded trace chain across front of vest, and wing collar, rolled-brim derby and butterfly bow from Schonstein’s (between Fourteenth Street and Tony’s fruit stand) Saturday night sale.
早餐后，他穿上了运河街进口货车司机的安息日晨装 - 燕尾服、条纹长裤、带金色链子的胸前背带，还有来自Schonstein’s（位于第十四街和Tony的水果摊之间）周六晚间特卖的滚边礼帽和蝴蝶领结。

“You’ll be goin’ out this day, of course, Danny,” said old man McCree, a little wistfully. —
“当然，Danny，你今天要出去的，”老McCree有点儿留恋地说。 —

”‘Tis a kind of holiday, they say. Well, it’s fine spring weather. —
“他们说这是一种假日。呵，这是美好的春日天气。 —

I can feel it in the air.”
我可以从空气中感觉到。”

“Why should I not be going out?” demanded Danny in his grumpiest chest tones. —
“丹尼最坏脾气的声音中要求：“为什么我不能外出？我应该待在家吗？ —

“Should I stay in? Am I as good as a horse? —
难道我不如一匹马吗？” —

One day of rest my team has a week. —
“我的团队一周只休息一天。 —

Who earns the money for the rent and the breakfast you’ve just eat, I’d like to know? Answer me that!”
那谁赚钱支付房租和你刚才吃的早餐费用，我想知道！告诉我！”

“All right, lad,” said the old man. “I’m not complainin’. —
“好吧，孩子，”老人说道。 “我不抱怨。 —

While me two eyes was good there was nothin’ better to my mind than a Sunday out. —
在我双眼看得见时，没有什么比周日外出更好的了。” —

There’s a smell of turf and burnin’ brush comin’ in the windy. —
“风中传来泥炭和燃烧的树枝的味道。我有烟草。 —

I have me tobaccy. A good fine day and rist to ye, lad. —
阳光明媚的一天，休息愉快，孩子。” —

Times I wish your mother had larned to read, so I might hear the rest about the hippopotamus - but let that be.”
“有时候我希望你母亲学会阅读，这样我就可以听到有关河马的更多故事 - 但就让它成为现在吧。”

“Now, what is this foolishness he talks of hippopotamuses?” asked Danny of his mother, as he passed through the kitchen. —
“现在，他所说的河马是什么傻话？” 丹尼在穿过厨房时问他的母亲。 —

“Have you been taking him to the Zoo? And for what?”
“你带他去动物园了吗？为什么？”

“I have not,” said Mrs. McCree. “He sets by the windy all day. —
“没有，”麦克里太太说道。 “他整天都坐在窗边。 —

‘Tis little recreation a blind man among the poor gets at all. —
在贫困人群中，一个盲人几乎没有休闲活动可以享受。” —

I’m thinkin’ they wander in their minds at times. —
我想他们有时会在心里徘徊。 —

One day he talks of grease without stoppin’ for the most of an hour. —
有一天他不停地说着油脂，差不多一个小时。 —

I looks to see if there’s lard burnin’ in the fryin’ pan. —
我看着锅里是否有猪油在燃烧。 —

There is not. He says I do not understand. —
没有。他说我不明白。 —

‘Tis weary days, Sundays, and holidays and all, for a blind man, Danny. There was no better nor stronger than him when he had his two eyes. —
对于盲人丹尼来说，疲倦的日子、星期天和节假日都是很累的。他还有两只眼睛时，没有比他更好更坚强的了。 —

‘Tis a fine day, son. Injoy yeself ag’inst the morning. —
孩子，今天是个好日子。早上好好享受吧。 —

There will be cold supper at six.”
晚上六点会有冷餐。

“Have you heard any talk of a hippopotamus?” asked Danny of Mike, the janitor, as he went out the door downstairs.
“你听说过河马的传闻吗？” 丹尼问着楼下的管理员迈克。

“I have not,” said Mike, pulling his shirtsleeves higher. —
“没有，”迈克拉起了他的衬衫袖子说道，” —

“But ‘tis the only subject in the animal, natural and illegal lists of outrages that I’ve not been compained to about these two days. —
但这是唯一一个我一连两天都没有被人抱怨过的，在动物、自然和违法名单里的话题。 —

See the landlord. Or else move out if ye like. —
请找地主去问问吧。不然的话，如果你愿意， —

Have ye hippopotamuses in the lease? No, then?”
就搬出去吧。合同里有写关于河马吗？没有，对吧？

“It was the old man who spoke of it,” said Danny. “Likely there’s nothing in it.”
“是老头子说的，”丹尼说道。“可能没有什么意思。”

Danny walked up the street to the Avenue and then struck northward into the heart of the district where Easter - modern Easter, in new, bright raiment - leads the pascal march. —
丹尼沿着街道走到了大道，然后向北走入了这个区域的核心地带，那里装饰着新的、明亮的复活节服饰 - 导引着复活节的行列。 —

Out of towering brown churches came the blithe music of anthems from the choirs. —
高耸的棕色教堂传来了来自唱诗班的欢乐音乐。 —

The broad sidewalks were moving parterres of living flowers - so it seemed when your eye looked upon the Easter girl.
宽阔的人行道上犹如移动的花坛 - 当你的目光看向复活节女孩时。

Gentlemen, frock-coated, silk-hatted, gardeniaed, sustained the background of the tradition. —
绅士们穿着燕尾服，戴着丝质礼帽，胸前戴着蒲公英花，为传统提供了背景。 —

Children carried lilies in their hands. —
孩子们手里拿着百合花。 —

The windows of the brownstone mansions were packed with the most opulent creations of flora, the sister of the Lady of the Lilies.
棕石公馆的窗户上摆满了最丰富的花卉装饰，这些花卉是百合夫人的姐妹。

Around a corner, white-gloved, pink-gilled and tightly buttoned, walked Corrigan, the cop, shield to the curb. —
绕过一个拐角，手戴白手套，脸色红润，扣子扣得紧紧的是警察科里根，他带着盾牌靠近路边走来。 —

Danny knew him.
丹尼认识他。

“Why, Corrigan,” he asked, “is Easter? —
“科里根，”他问道，“复活节是什么意思呢？ —

I know it comes the first you’re full after the moon rises on the seventeenth of March - but why? —
我知道它在三月十七日的满月之后的第一个满月后来临 - 但是为什么呢？” —

Is it a proper and religious ceremony, or does the Governor appoint it out of politics?”
这是一场合适而宗教性的仪式，还是州长出于政治目的而任命的？

”‘Tis an annual celebration,” said Corrigan, with the judicial air of the Third Deputy Police Commissioner, “peculiar to New York. It extends up to Harlem. —
“这是纽约特有的年度庆典，” Corrigan以法官般的态度说道，” 它一直延伸到哈林区。 —

Sometimes they has the reserves out at One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street. —
有时候他们会在125街组织后备军。 —

In my opinion ‘tis not political.”
在我看来，这不是出于政治考虑的。

“Thanks,” said Danny. “And say - did you ever hear a man complain of hippopotamuses? —
“谢谢，” Danny说道，”顺便问一下，你听过有人抱怨河马吗？ —

When not specially in drink, I mean.”
我指的是没有喝醉的时候。”

“Nothing larger than sea turtles,” said Corrigan, reflecting, “and there was wood alcohol in that.”
“没有比海龟更大的了，” Corrigan思考着说道，” 而那是含有甲醇的。”

Danny wandered. The double, heavy incumbency of enjoying simultaneously a Sunday and a festival day was his.
Danny漫步着。在同一时间享受周末和节日的沉重负担萦绕在他身上。

The sorrows of the hand-toiler fit him easily. —
手工劳动者的痛苦与他非常契合。 —

They are worn so often that they hang with the picturesque lines of the best tailor-made garments. —
他们经常穿戴着它们，以最优雅的裁剪形成画面。 —

That is why well-fed artists of pencil and pen find in the griefs of the common people their most striking models. —
这就是为什么丰衣足食的艺术家在普通人民的悲伤中找到了最引人注目的模特。 —

But when the Philistine would disport himself, the grimness of Melpomene, herself, attends upon his capers. —
但是当非利士人玩耍时，梅尔波姆涅女士自己也陪伴在他的跳跃之中。 —

Therefore, Danny set his jaw hard at Easter, and took his pleasure sadly.
因此，丹尼在复活节时铁定咬紧牙关，忧伤地获得快乐。

The family entrance of Dugan’s cafe was feasible; —
杜甘咖啡馆的家庭入口是可行的； —

so Danny yielded to the vernal season as far as a glass of bock. —
所以丹尼迎合了春天的季节，点了一杯波克啤酒。 —

Seated in a dark, linoleumed, humid back room, his heart and mind still groped after the mysterious meaning of the springtime jubilee.
坐在一个黑暗、用油布铺地、潮湿的后房里，他的心和思绪仍然追寻着春天欢乐的神秘意义。

“Say, Tim,” he said to the waiter, “why do they have Easter?”
“说，蒂姆，”他对侍者说，“他们为什么要过复活节呢？”

“Skiddoo!” said Tim, closing a sophisticated eye. —
“滚开！”蒂姆说着，眯起了一个见多识广的眼睛。 —

“Is that a new one? All right. —
“这是个新问题吗？行吧。 —

Tony Pastor’s for you last night, I guess. I give it up. —
昨晚你去了Tony Pastor的地方吧。我放弃了。 —

What’s the answer - two apples or a yard and a half?”
答案是两个苹果还是一码半？”

From Dugan’s Danny turned back eastward. —
从杜甘咖啡馆丹尼回到东边。 —

The April sun seemed to stir in him a vague feeling that he could not construe. —
四月的阳光似乎在他心中激起了一种他无法理解的模糊感觉。 —

He made a wrong diagnosis and decided that it was Katy Conlon.
他作了错误的诊断，决定那是凯蒂·康伦。

A block from her house on Avenue A he met her going to church. —
在A大道上离她家一条街的地方，他遇见她去教堂。 —

They pumped hands on the corner.
他们在街角握手。

“Gee! but you look dumpish and dressed up,” said Katy. “What’s wrong? —
“天啊！你看上去真懒散，还打扮得这么漂亮。”凯蒂说道，“怎么了？ —

Come away with me to church and be cheerful.”
跟我一起去教堂，让我们高兴点。”

“What’s doing at church?” asked Danny.
丹尼问道，“教堂在做什么？”

“Why, it’s Easter Sunday. Silly! —
”哦，今天是复活节星期天。笨蛋！ —

I waited till after eleven expectin’ you might come around to go.”
我等到十一点之后才来，以为你可能会过来一起去。”

“What does this Easter stand for, Katy,” asked Danny gloomily. “Nobody seems to know.”
丹尼郁闷地问道，“凯蒂，这个复活节代表什么，似乎没人知道。”

“Nobody as blind as you,” said Katy with spirit. —
凯蒂带着冲劲回答道，“没人比你更糊涂了， —

“You haven’t even looked at my new hat. —
你甚至都没看看我的新帽子和裙子。 —

And skirt. —
” —

Why, it’s when all the girls put on new spring clothes. Silly! —
”哦，这个时候所有的女孩都会穿上新的春季衣服。傻瓜！” —

Are you coming to church with me?”
你会跟我一起去教堂吗？

“I will,” said Danny. “If this Easter is pulled off there, they ought to be able to give some excuse for it. —
”会的，”丹尼说道，“如果这个复活节在那里举行，他们应该能给个解释。” —

Not that the hat ain’t a beauty. The green roses are great.”
”不是说帽子不漂亮。绿色的玫瑰花很漂亮。”

At church the preacher did some expounding with no pounding. —
在教堂里，牧师进行了一些讲解， —

He spoke rapidly, for he was in a hurry to get home to his early Sabbath dinner; —
没有大声演讲。他说得很快，因为他急着回家吃早餐。 —

but he knew his business. —
但他知道自己的业务。 —

There was one word that controlled his theme - resurrection. Not a new creation; —
有一个词支配着他的主题 - 复活。不是一个新的创造; —

but a new life arising out of the old. —
而是从旧的中产生出新的生命。 —

The congregation had heard it often before. —
教堂会众之前经常听到这个。 —

But there was a wonderful hat, a combination of sweet peas and lavender, in the sixth pew from the pulpit. —
但是有一个美妙的帽子，是一种甜豌豆和薰衣草的组合，在离讲台第六排的座位上。 —

It attracted much attention.
它吸引了很多注意力。

After church Danny lingered on a corner while Katy waited, with pique in her sky-blue eyes.
教堂散会后，丹尼在一个街角逗留，凯蒂带着天蓝色的生气等着他。

“Are you coming along to the house?” she asked. —
“你要一起去我家吗？”她问道。 —

“But don’t mind me. I’ll get there all right. —
“但我不介意。我会走到那里没问题。 —

You seem to be studyin’ a lot about something. All right. —
你似乎在专心于某件事。好吧。 —

Will I see you at any time specially, Mr. McCree?”
我什么时候能特别见到你，麦克里先生？”

“I’ll be around Wednesday night as usual,” said Danny, turning and crossing the street.
“我会像往常一样在星期三晚上出现，”丹尼说着，转身穿过街道。

Katy walked away with the green roses dangling indignantly. —
凯蒂带着绿色的玫瑰生气地摇摆着走开了。 —

Danny stopped two blocks away. —
丹尼停在离两个街区远的地方。 —

He stood still with his hands in his pockets, at the curb on the corner. —
他站在街角的路边，双手插在口袋里， —

His face was that of a graven image. —
他的脸就像一尊铸像一样。 —

Deep in his soul something stirred so small, so fine, so keen and leavening that his hard fibres did not recognize it. —
在他的内心深处，有一种微小、美妙、锐利且渗透的东西在激动不已，而他的坚硬纤维无法意识到它。 —

It was something more tender than the April day, more subtle than the call of the senses, purer and deeper-rooted than the love of woman - for had he not turned away from green roses and eyes that had kept him chained for a year? —
这是一种比四月天更温柔、比感官的呼唤更微妙、比对女人的爱更纯粹和根深蒂固的东西 - 因为他不是已经离开绿玫瑰和那双束缚了他一年的眼睛吗？ —

And Danny did not know what it was. The preacher, who was in a hurry to go to his dinner, had told him, but Danny had had no libretto with which to follow the drowsy intonation. —
但丹尼不知道那是什么东西。牧师赶着去吃午饭，告诉过他，但丹尼没有得到一本歌剧剧本来跟读那沉闷的吟诵。 —

But the preacher spoke the truth.
但牧师说的是真的。

Suddenly Danny slapped his leg and gave forth a hoarse yell of delight.
突然，丹尼拍了拍自己的腿，发出了一声沙哑的欢呼。

“Hippopotamus!” he shouted to an elevated road pillar. —
“河马！”他对着高架路的支柱喊道。” —

“Well, how is that for a bum guess? Why, blast my skylights! I know what he was driving at now.
这样猜岂不让人惊讶！我好家伙！现在我明白他的意思了。

“Hippopotamus! Wouldn’t that send you to the Bronx! —
“河马！这真让你去布朗克斯（Bronx）！ —

It’s been a year since he heard it; —
一年过去了他才听到它， —

and he didn’t miss it so very far. —
并且他没猜得太离谱。 —

We quit at 469 B. C., and this comes next. Well, a wooden man wouldn’t have guessed what he was trying to get out of him.”
我们在公元前469年停止了，接下来发生了什么事情。哪怕是一个木头人也猜不到他想从他身上得到什么。

Danny caught a crosstown car and went up to the rear flat that his labor supported.
丹尼乘坐一辆横穿城市的车到了后方的公寓，那是他劳动支持的地方。

Old man McCree was still sitting by the window. —
老麦克里依然坐在窗边。 —

His extinct pipe lay on the sill.
他熄灭了的烟斗放在窗台上。

“Will that be you, lad?” he asked.
“是你吗，小伙子？”他问道。

Danny flared into the rage of a strong man who is surprised at the outset of committing a good deed.
丹尼猛地爆发出愤怒，一个强壮的人在开始做好事时感到惊讶。

“Who pays the rent and buys the food that is eaten in this house?” he snapped, viciously. “Have I no right to come in?”
“是谁付房租和买食物在这个房子里？”他恶狠狠地说道。“我没有权利进来吗？”

“Ye’re a faithful lad,” said old man McCree, with a sigh. “Is it evening yet?”
老麦克里叹了口气说道，“你是个忠诚的小伙子。现在是晚上了吗？”

Danny reached up on a shelf and took down a thick book labeled in gilt letters, “The History of Greece.” Dust was on it half an inch thick. —
丹尼伸手从架子上拿下一个用金色字母标着的厚书，上面写着“希腊历史”。书上有半英寸厚的灰尘。 —

He laid it on the table and found a place in it marked by a strip of paper. —
他把书放在桌子上，找到一页被纸条标记的地方。 —

And then he gave a short roar at the top of his voice, and said:
然后他用最大的声音短暂地咆哮了一声，并说道：

“Was it the hippopotamus you wanted to be read to about then?”
“你是想听关于河马的故事吗？”

“Did I hear ye open the book?” said old man McCree. “Many and weary be the months since my lad has read it to me. —
“我听到你打开了那本书？”老人麦克里说道。“很多个漫长而疲惫的月份过去了，自从我儿子给我读过它。 —

I dinno; —
我不知道； —

but I took a great likings to them Greeks. —
但是我对那些希腊人很感兴趣。 —

Ye left off at a place. ‘Tis a fine day outside, lad. —
你在某个地方停下了。外面是一个美好的日子，年轻人。 —

Be out and take rest from your work. —
出去休息一下吧，放下你的工作。 —

I have gotten used to me chair by the windy and me pipe.”
我已经习惯了坐在窗边的椅子上，吹着我那根烟斗。”

“Pel-Peloponnesus was the place where we left off, and not hippopotamus,” said Danny. “The war began there. —
“我们上次说到的是佩洛波尼斯。与河马无关，”丹尼说。“战争就在那里开始了， —

It kept something doing for thirty years. —
持续了三十年。 —

The headlines says that a guy named Philip of Macedon, in 338 B. C., got to be boss of Greece by getting the decision at the battle of Cher-Cheronaea. —
标题说公元前338年，一个叫菲利普的马其顿人通过在克依罗尼亚战役中取得胜利而成为希腊的领导者。我来读给你听。 —

I’ll read it.”
”

With his hand to his ear, rapt in the Peloponnesian War, old man McCree sat for an hour, listening.
老人麦克里面举着手捧耳，全神贯注地听着关于佩洛波尼斯战争的故事，坐了一个小时。

Then he got up and felt his way to the door of the kitchen. —
然后他站起身，摸索着走向厨房的门。 —

Mrs. McCree was slicing cold meat. —
麦克里夫人正在切冷肉。 —

She looked up. Tears were running from old man McCree’s eyes.
她抬起头。老人麦克里的眼泪流淌出来。

“Do you hear our lad readin’ to me?” he said. —
“你听到我们的孩子给我读书了吗？”他说。 —

“There is none finer in the land. —
“这个国家再也找不到比他更好的朗读者了。 —

My two eyes have come back to me again.”
我双眼再次看到了光明。”

After supper he said to Danny: “‘Tis a happy day, this Easter. And now ye will be off to see Katy in the evening. —
晚饭后，他对丹尼说：“这是个幸福的复活节。现在你可以去看凯蒂了。挺好的。 —

Well enough.”
”

“Who pays the rent and buys the food that is eaten in this house?” said Danny, angrily. “Have I no right to stay in it? —
“是谁支付房租和买这个屋子里吃的东西？”丹尼生气地说。“我没有权利住在这里吗？” —

After supper there is yet to come the reading of the battle of Corinth, 146 B. C., when the kingdom, as they say, became an in-integral portion of the Roman Empire. —
晚餐之后，还要读的是关于公元前146年科林斯战役的内容，据说这个王国成为罗马帝国一个不可分割的部分。 —

Am I nothing in this house?”
我在这个家中算不算什么呢？