Come, quando i vapori umidi e spessi
当沉重潮湿的水汽开始稀释时，

A diradar cominciansi, la spera
太阳微弱地透过它们的缝隙…

Del sol debilemente entra per essi….
看，简直就像是在驱赶阴霾…

                                     Purgatorio, xvii.

炼狱十七。

From behind the house rises the murmuring of the river. —
屋后传来河流的低声啜泣。 —

All day long the rain has been beating against the window-panes; —
整天雨声敲打着窗户玻璃； —

a stream of water trickles down the window at the corner where it is broken. —
窗角的破裂处水流淌下来。 —

The yellowish light of the day dies down. —
一天里的黄昏逐渐降临。 —

The room is dim and dull.
房间昏暗而沉闷。

The new-born child stirs in his cradle. Although the old man left his sabots at the door when he entered, his footsteps make the floor creak. —
新生的孩子在摇篮中挪动。老人进门时虽然把木屐放在门口，但他走动时地板却发出吱吱作响的声音。 —

The child begins to whine. The mother leans out of her bed to comfort it; —
孩子开始哭泣，母亲躺在床上去安慰它； —

and the grandfather gropes to light the lamp, so that the child shall not be frightened by the night when he awakes. —
爷爷摸索着点亮灯，以免孩子醒来会被黑夜吓到。 —

The flame of the lamp lights up old Jean Michel’s red face, with its rough white beard and morose expression and quick eyes. —
灯光照亮了老让·米歇尔的脸，那粗糙的白色胡须、阴郁的表情和敏锐的双眼。 —

He goes near the cradle. His cloak smells wet, and as he walks he drags his large blue list slippers, Louisa signs to him not to go too near. —
他走近摇篮。他的斗篷散发着潮湿的气味，走路时拖着他的大蓝色布拖鞋，路易丝示意他不要走得太近。 —

She is fair, almost white; her features are drawn; —
她白皙几乎如同白纸；她的容颜憔悴； —

her gentle, stupid face is marked with red in patches; —
她温柔而愚蠢的脸上布满了红斑; —

her lips are pale and’ swollen, and they are parted in a timid smile; —
她嘴唇苍白而肿胀，微微一笑显得胆怯; —

her eyes devour the child—and her eyes are blue and vague; —
她的眼睛注视着孩子—那双眼睛是蓝色而模糊的; —

the pupils are small, but there is an infinite tenderness in them.
瞳孔很小，但其中蕴藏着无限的温柔。

The child wakes and cries, and his eyes are troubled. Oh! how terrible! —
孩子醒来哭泣，眼中充满困惑。噢! 多么可怕! —

The darkness, the sudden flash of the lamp, the hallucinations of a mind as yet hardly detached from chaos, the stifling, roaring night in which it is enveloped, the illimitable gloom from which, like blinding shafts of light, there emerge acute sensations, sorrows, phantoms—those enormous faces leaning over him, those eyes that pierce through him, penetrating, are beyond his comprehension! —
黑暗，灯光的突然闪现，还有那仍未完全从混沌中摆脱的头脑的幻觉，将他笼罩在压抑、咆哮的夜晚中，那无穷无尽的黑暗中，急猛的感觉、悲伤、幻像涌现出来，巨大的脸庞俯视他，那透过他穿透他，超越他理解力的眼睛! —

… He has not the strength to cry out; terror holds him motionless, with eyes and mouth wide open and he rattles in his throat. —
… 他没有力量大声呼喊；恐惧让他一动不动，眼睛和嘴巴都大大张开，喉咙里发出嘎嘎声。 —

His large head, that seems to have swollen up, is wrinkled with the grotesque and lamentable grimaces that he makes; —
他那看起来已经肿胀起来的大脑袋满是可笑又悲哀的面部扭曲表情; —

the skin of his face and hands is brown and purple, and spotted with yellow….
脸和手的皮肤黝黑带紫，布满黄色斑点…。

“Dear God!” said the old man with conviction: “How ugly he is!”
“天啊!“老人确信地说: “他真是丑陋!”

He put the lamp down on the table.
他把灯放在桌子上。

Louisa pouted like a scolded child. Jean Michel looked at her out of the corner of his eye and laughed.
路易莎撅起嘴像个受责备的孩子。让·米歇尔斜眼看着她笑了。

“You don’t want me to say that he is beautiful? You would not believe it.
“你不想让我说他很漂亮吗？你不会相信的。

Come, it is not your fault. They are all like that.”
来吧，这不是你的错。他们都是这样的.”

The child came out of the stupor and immobility into which he had been thrown by the light of the lamp and the eyes of the old man. —
孩子从灯光和老人的眼睛所带来的麻木和静止中苏醒。 —

He began to cry. Perhaps he instinctively felt in his mother’s eyes a caress which made it possible for him to complain. —
他开始哭了。也许他本能地感到母亲眼中的爱抚，让他能够抱怨。 —

She held out her arms for him and said:
她伸出双臂，说道：

“Give him to me.”
“把他给我。”

The old man began, as usual, to air his theories:
老人开始像往常一样展开他的理论：

“You ought not to give way to children when they cry. You must just let them cry.”
“孩子哭的时候你不应该让他们随心所欲。你必须让他们哭。”

But he came and took the child and grumbled:
但他走过来接过孩子，抱怨道：

“I never saw one quite so ugly.”
“我从来没见过这么丑的一个。”

Louisa took the child feverishly and pressed it to her bosom. —
Louisa 心急地接过孩子，紧紧抱着他。 —

She looked at it with a bashful and delighted smile.
她带着胆怯而开心的微笑看着他。

“Oh, my poor child!” she said shamefacedly. “How ugly you are—how ugly! and how I love you!”
“哦，我可怜的孩子！”她羞愧地说道。“你多么丑啊—多么丑！但我却是多么爱你！”

Jean Michel went back to the fireside. He began to poke the fire in protest, but a smile gave the lie to the moroseness and solemnity of his expression.
Jean Michel 回到火炉前。他开始为了抗议而拨弄火苗，但微笑却证明了他表情中的忧郁和庄严是虚伪的。

“Good girl!” he said. “Don’t worry about it. He has plenty of time to alter. —
“乖孩子！”他说。“不要担心。他还有足够的时间去改变。 —

And even so, what does it matter? Only one thing is asked of him: —
而且，即使如此，又有何关系呢？只要求一个事情： —

that he should grow into an honest man.”
他要成长为一个诚实的人。”

The child was comforted by contact with his mother’s warm body. —
孩子被母亲温暖的身体所安抚。 —

He could be heard sucking her milk and gurgling and snorting. —
他能听到吮吸奶水声、咕噜声和鼻息声。 —

Jean Michel turned in his chair, and said once more, with some emphasis:
让·米歇尔转过椅子，再次强调说：

“There’s nothing finer than an honest man.”
“最好的就是一个诚实的人了。”

He was silent for a moment, pondering whether it would not be proper to elaborate this thought; —
他沉默了片刻，考虑是否有必要进一步阐述这个想法； —

but he found nothing more to say, and after a silence he said irritably:
但他找不到更多的话要说，沉黙片刻后不悦地说道：

“Why isn’t your husband here?”
“你丈夫怎么不在这里呢？”

“I think he is at the theater,” said Louisa timidly. “There is a rehearsal.”
“我想他在剧院，” 路易莎小声地说道。”有彩排。”

“The theater is closed. I passed it just now. One of his lies.”
“剧院关门了。我刚才经过。又是他的谎言之一。”

“No. Don’t be always blaming him. I must have misunderstood. —
“不，不要总是责备他。我一定是弄错了。 —

He must have been kept for one of his lessons.”
他一定是为了教课而耽搁了。”

“He ought to have come back,” said the old man, not satisfied. —
“他应该回来了，” 老人说得不满。 —

He stopped for a moment, and then asked, in a rather lower voice and with some shame:
他停顿了一下，然后用更低的声音和一些羞愧地问：

“Has he been … again?”
“他又……了吗？”

“No, father—no, father,” said Louisa hurriedly.
“不，父亲——不，父亲，” 路易莎匆忙说道。

The old man looked at her; she avoided his eyes.
老人看着她，她避开了他的眼睛。

“It’s not true. You’re lying.”
“这不是真的。你在撒谎。”

She wept in silence.
她默默流泪。

“Dear God!” said the old man, kicking at the fire with his foot. —
“老天！”老人用脚踢了一脚火。 —

The poker fell with a clatter. The mother and the child trembled.
火钳噹地一声掉落。母亲和孩子颤抖着。

“Father, please—please!” said Louisa. “You will make him cry.”
“父亲，请—求求你！”Louisa说道。“你会让他哭的。”

The child hesitated for a second or two whether to cry or to go on with his meal; —
孩子犹豫了一两秒钟，是哭还是继续吃饭； —

but not being able to do both at once, he went on with the meal.
但无法同时做两件事，他选择继续吃饭。

Jean Michel continued in a lower tone, though with outbursts of anger:
Jean Michel继续低声说话，虽然愤怒地爆发：

“What have I done to the good God to have this drunkard for my son? —
“我对上帝做了什么，居然让我生了一个酗酒者作儿子？ —

What is the use of my having lived as I have lived, and of having denied myself everything all my life! —
我这辈子已经这样过了，一直自我约束！ —

But you—you—can’t you do anything to stop it? Heavens! —
可是你—你—你难道不能做点什么来制止吗？天哪！ —

That’s what you ought to do…. You should keep him at home!…”
你应该这样做…. 你应该把他留在家里！…”

Louisa wept still more.
Louisa哭得更厉害。

“Don’t scold me!… I am unhappy enough as it is! I have done everything I could. —
“不要责备我！… 我已经够不幸的了！我已经尽力了。 —

If you knew how terrified I am when I am alone! Always I seem to hear his step on the stairs. —
如果你知道我一个人的时候有多害怕！总觉得听到他上楼梯的脚步声。” —

Then I wait for the door to open, or I ask myself: ‘O God! —
然后我等待门打开，或者我问自己：“哦，上帝！他会是什么样子呢？”…想到这个让我感到恶心！ —

what will he look like?’ … It makes me ill to think of it!”
“她被抽泣所震撼。老人变得焦虑。

She was shaken by her sobs. The old man grew anxious. —
“她被抽泣所震撼。老人变得焦虑。 —

He went to her and laid the disheveled bedclothes about her trembling shoulders and caressed her head with his hands.
他走到她身边，将凌乱的床单围在她颤抖的肩膀上，并用手轻抚着她的头。

“Come, come, don’t be afraid. I am here.”
“来，来，不要害怕。我在这里。”

She calmed herself for the child’s sake, and tried to smile.
为了孩子的缘故，她让自己冷静下来，试着微笑起来。

“I was wrong to tell you that.”
“我告诉你那件事是错的。”

The old man shook his head as he looked at her.
老人看着她摇了摇头。

“My poor child, it was not much of a present that I gave you.”
“我可怜的孩子，我给你的礼物不怎么样。”

“It’s my own fault,” she said. “He ought not to have married me. He is sorry for what he did.”
“这是我的错，”她说。”他不该娶我。他为自己所做的事感到后悔。”

“What, do you mean that he regrets?…”
“什么，你是说他后悔了？…”

“You know. You were angry yourself because I became his wife.”
“你知道的。你自己也生气，因为我成为了他的妻子。”

“We won’t talk about that. It is true I was vexed. —
“我们不谈那个。我确实很生气。 —

A young man like that—I can say so without hurting you—a young man whom I had carefully brought up, a distinguished musician, a real artist—might have looked higher than you, who had nothing and were of a lower class, and not even of the same trade. —
像他这样的年轻人——我可以毫不伤害你的感情地说——我精心培养的一个年轻人，一位杰出的音乐家，一位真正的艺术家——本可以看得更高一些，而不是选择你这样一个一无所有、属于较低阶层的、甚至不是同一行业的人。 —

For more than a hundred years no Krafft has ever married a woman who was not a musician! —
一百多年来，没有一位克拉夫特家族的人娶过不是音乐家的女人！ —

But, you know, I bear you no grudge, and am fond of you, and have been ever since I learned to know you. —
但是，你知道，我并没有怨恨你，我喜欢你，这样一直以来。 —

Besides, there’s no going back on a choice once it’s made; —
另外，做出选择后就没有回头的余地； —

there’s nothing left but to do one’s duty honestly.”
唯一剩下的就是老老实实地履行自己的责任。”

He went and sat down again, thought for a little, and then said, with the solemnity in which he invested all his aphorisms:
他又坐下来思考了一会儿，然后郑重其事地说道：

“The first thing in life is to do one’s duty.”
“人生第一要务就是履行自己的职责。”

He waited for contradiction, and spat on the fire. —
他等待着有人反驳，然后朝火堆吐了口唾沫。 —

Then, as neither mother nor child raised any objection, he was for going on, but relapsed into silence.
既然妈妈和孩子都没有提出异议，他便准备继续讲下去，但最终陷入了沉默。

They said no more. Both Jean Michel, sitting by the fireside, and Louisa, in her bed, dreamed sadly. —
他们不再说话了。坐在火边的让·米歇尔和躺在床上的露易莎都饶有兴致地沉浸在悲伤的梦境中。 —

The old man, in spite of what he had said, had bitter thoughts about his son’s marriage, and Louisa was thinking of it also, and blaming herself, although she had nothing wherewith to reproach herself.
老人尽管说过那番话，心里对儿子的婚姻仍有怨念，而露易莎也在思考着，虽然她没有什么可自责的地方。

She had been a servant when, to everybody’s surprise, and her own especially, she married Melchior Krafft, Jean Michel’s son. —
露易莎在嫁给让·米歇尔的儿子梅尔希奥·克拉夫特时，所有人都感到惊讶，包括她自己。 —

The Kraffts were without fortune, but were considerable people in the little Rhine town in which the old man had settled down more than fifty years before. —
克拉夫特家虽然无财产，但在老人安顿下来的莱茵小镇中是颇有来头的人物。 —

Both father and son were musicians, and known to all the musicians of the country from Cologne to Mannheim. —
父子两人都是音乐家，受到从科隆到曼海姆等地的所有音乐家的认可。 —

Melchior played the violin at the Hof-Theater, and Jean Michel had formerly been director of the grand-ducal concerts. —
梅尔希奥在宫廷剧院拉小提琴，而让·米歇尔曾是大公爵音乐会的指挥。 —

The old man had been profoundly humiliated by his son’s marriage, for he had built great hopes upon Melchior; —
老人对儿子的婚姻感到深深羞辱，因为他对梅尔希奥寄予了很大的希望； —

he had wished to make him the distinguished man which he had failed to become himself. —
他曾希望让他成为自己未能成为的杰出人物。 —

This mad freak destroyed all his ambitions. —
这场疯狂的婚事摧毁了他所有的抱负。 —

He had stormed at first, and showered curses upon Melchior and Louisa. —
起初他发了火，痛骂梅尔希奥和露易莎。 —

But, being a good-hearted creature, he forgave his daughter-in-law when he learned to know her better; —
但作为一个心地善良的人，当他更加了解自己的儿媳时，便原谅了她； —

and he even came by a paternal affection for her, which showed itself for the most part in snubs.
甚至，他对她有一种像父亲般的情感，大部分表现为责备。

No one ever understood what it was that drove Melchior to such a marriage—least of all Melchior. —
没有人能理解梅尔基奥为何会选择这样的婚姻，最不理解的是梅尔基奥自己。 —

It was certainly not Louisa’s beauty. She had no seductive quality: —
肯定不是因为路易莎的美貌。她没有诱人的魅力： —

she was small, rather pale, and delicate, and she was a striking contrast to Melchior and Jean Michel, who were both big and broad, red-faced giants, heavy-handed, hearty eaters and drinkers, laughter-loving and noisy. —
她个子矮小，相貌苍白纤细，与身材高大、红润的健·米歇尔和梅尔基奥形成鲜明对比，后者俨然是大个子、健壮、满面红光、喜爱大口吃喝、爱笑闹腾。 —

She seemed to be crushed by them; no one noticed her, and she seemed to wish to escape even what little notice she attracted. —
她仿佛被他们压迫，没有人注意到她，看起来她甚至希望逃避引起的那么一丁点关注。 —

If Melchior had been a kind-hearted man, it would have been credible that he should prefer Louisa’s simple goodness to every other advantage; —
如果梅尔基奥是个心地善良的人，他偏爱路易莎的纯真善良胜过其他一切优点就不足为奇； —

but a vainer man never was. It seemed incredible that a young man of his kidney, fairly good-looking, and quite conscious of it, very foolish, but not without talent, and in a position to look for some well-dowered match, and capable even—who knows? —
但他是个更爱自恋的人。很难想象一位这样的年轻男人，相貌尚可、心知自己相貌不错、虽然很愚蠢但并非无才干、可以在城镇上寻找某位嫁妆丰厚的配偶，甚至有可能——谁知道呢？ —

—of turning the head of one of his pupils among the people of the town, should suddenly have chosen a girl of the people—poor, uneducated, without beauty, a girl who could in no way advance his career.
——诱惑他其中一个学生，但他却突然选择了一个平民——贫穷、没有受过教育、不美貌的女孩，一个毫无助于他事业的女孩。

But Melchior was one of those men who always do the opposite of what is expected of them and of what they expect of themselves. —
然而梅尔基奥却是那种总是做出人们所不期待的事，也不符合他们对自己的期望的人。 —

It is not that they are not warned—a man who is warned is worth two men, says the proverb. —
这并不是说他们没受到警告——被警告的人胜过两个人，俗语说得好。 —

They profess never to be the dupe of anything, and that they steer their ship with unerring hand towards a definite point. —
他们声称永远不会被任何事情愚弄，自己驾驶的船朝一个明确的目标稳稳前进。 —

But they reckon without themselves, for they do not know themselves. —
但他们没考虑到自己，因为他们不了解自己。 —

In one of those moments of forgetfulness which are habitual with them they let go the tiller, and, as is natural when things are left to themselves, they take a naughty pleasure in rounding on their masters. —
在他们习惯性的遗忘瞬间，他们松开舵柄，并且，当事情自行其是时，他们会非常愉快地背叛他们的主人。 —

The ship which is released from its course at once strikes a rock, and Melchior, bent upon intrigue, married a cook. —
梅尔基奥，热衷于阴谋，娶了一位厨师。 —

And yet he was neither drunk nor in a stupor on the day when he bound himself to her for life, and he was not under any passionate impulse; —
然而他并非醉酒或迷迷糊糊，当他终生与她绑定时，也并非出于任何激情冲动； —

far from it. But perhaps there are in us forces other than mind and heart, other even than the senses—mysterious forces which take hold of us in the moments when the others are asleep; —
远非如此。但也许在我们身上还存在着除了头脑、心灵以外的力量，甚至比感官更神秘的力量——这些力量会在其他力量沉睡时占据我们； —

and perhaps it was such forces that Melchior had found in the depths of those pale eyes which had looked at him so timidly one evening when he had accosted the girl on the bank of the river, and had sat down beside her in the reeds—without knowing why—and had given her his hand.
也许正是这样的力量让梅尔基奥尔在那一天傍晚的时候发现了那双苍白眼睛深处的神秘，当他走向那名女孩，坐在芦苇丛旁，不知为何伸出手给了她；

Hardly was he married than he was appalled by what he had done, and he did not hide what he felt from poor Louisa, who humbly asked his pardon. —
他刚刚结婚就为自己的所作所为感到震惊，他没有向可怜的路易莎隐瞒自己的内心感受，而她却虚心请求他的原谅； —

He was not a bad fellow, and he willingly granted her that; —
他并不是一个坏人，他乐意接受她的请求； —

but immediately remorse would seize him again when he was with his friends or in the houses of his rich pupils, who were disdainful in their treatment of him, and no longer trembled at the touch of his hand when he corrected the position of their fingers on the keyboard. —
但当他和朋友们或者那些富有学生的家中，在他们不把他当回事，当他在键盘上纠正他们手指的位置时再也不会因他的触碰而颤抖时，悔恨便再次袭来； —

Then he would return gloomy of countenance, and Louisa, with a catch at her heart, would read in it with the first glance the customary reproach; —
然后他愁容满面地回家，而路易莎往往心神不安地用第一眼看到的表情便读懂了关于习惯性指责的一切； —

or he would stay out late at one inn or another, there to seek self-respect or kindliness from others. —
或者他会在某家酒馆待到深夜，寻求自尊和他人的友好； —

On such evenings he would return shouting with laughter, and this was more doleful for Louisa than the hidden reproach and gloomy rancor that prevailed on other days. —
这种情况下他会兴高采烈地回来，对于路易莎来说，这比其他日子里潜在的指责和阴郁的怨恨更加凄惨； —

She felt that she was to a certain extent responsible for the fits of madness in which the small remnant of her husband’s sense would disappear, together with the household money. —
她感到自己在一定程度上要为丈夫的疯狂而感到内疚，以及家中资金的不断流失负责； —

Melchior sank lower and lower. At an age when he should have been engaged in unceasing toil to develop his mediocre talent, he just let things slide, and others took his place.
梅尔基奥尔每况愈下。在应该奋发努力培养自己平庸才能的年龄，他却任由事态恶化，让他人赢得了他的位置；

But what did that matter to the unknown force which had thrown him in with the little flaxen-haired servant? —
但这又与那无名的力量何干，让他与那名金发小女仆相遇呢？ —

He had played his part, and little Jean-Christophe had just set foot on this earth whither his destiny had thrust him.
他完成了他的角色，小让-克里斯托夫刚刚踏上了这个他的命运引领他去的地球；

Night was fully come. Louisa’s voice roused old Jean Michel from the torpor into which he had sunk by the fireside as he thought of the sorrows of the past and present.
夜幕已深。路易莎亲切地唤醒老让-米歇尔，使他从为过去和现在的痛苦沉思中的昏昏欲睡中清醒过来；

“It must be late, father,” said the young woman affectionately. —
“父亲，已经很晚了，”年轻女人亲切地说； —

“You ought to go home; you have far to go.”
“你应该回家了，路途遥远。”

“I am waiting for Melchior,” replied the old man.
老人回答说：“我在等梅尔希翁。”

“Please, no. I would rather you did not stay.”
“拜托，不要留下来会更好。”

“Why?”
“为什么？”

The old man raised his head and looked fiercely at her.
老人抬起头，瞪着她。

She did not reply.
她没有回答。

He resumed.
他继续说。

“You are afraid. You do not want me to meet him?”
“你害怕了。你不想让我见他？”

“Yes, yes; it would only make things worse. —
“是的，是的；那只会让事情变得更糟。 —

You would make each other angry, and I don’t want that. —
你们会互相惹怒，我不想看到那样的情况。 —

Please, please go!”
请，拜托，走吧！”

The old man sighed, rose, and said:
老人叹了口气，站起来说：

“Well … I’ll go.”
“好吧…我走。”

He went to her and brushed her forehead with his stiff beard. —
他走到她跟前，用僵硬的胡须轻轻刷了刷她的额头。 —

He asked if she wanted anything, put out the lamp, and went stumbling against the chairs in the darkness of the room. —
他问她是否需要什么，关掉了灯，然后在房间的黑暗中摸索着撞到椅子上。 —

But he had no sooner reached the staircase than he thought of his son returning drunk, and he stopped at each step, imagining a thousand dangers that might arise if Melchior were allowed to return alone….
但是他一到达楼梯口就想到自己的醉酒的儿子会回来，他每走一步都停下来，想象着如果让梅尔希翁一个人回来可能会发生的千种危险…

In the bed by his mother’s side the child was stirring again. —
在床上，孩子又开始蠕动，母亲在他身边。 —

An unknown sorrow had arisen from the depths of his being. He stiffened himself against her. —
一种未知的悲哀从他的内心深处升起。他对此变得坚强。 —

He twisted his body, clenched his fists, and knitted his brows. —
他扭动身体，握紧拳头，皱起眉头。 —

His suffering increased steadily, quietly, certain of its strength. —
他的痛苦在悄然中持续增加，坚定而无声。 —

He knew not what it was, nor whence it came. —
他不知道这是什么，也不知道它从何而来。 —

It appeared immense,—infinite, and he began to cry lamentably. —
它似乎巨大，无限，于是他开始难过地哭泣。 —

His mother caressed him with her gentle hands. Already his suffering was less acute. —
母亲用温柔的手抚摸他。痛苦已经不那么尖锐了。 —

But he went on weeping, for he felt it still near, still inside himself. —
但他继续哭泣，因为他仍然感觉到它依然近在咫尺，仍在他心里。 —

A man who suffers can lessen his anguish by knowing whence it comes. —
一个痛苦的人可以通过了解痛苦的来源来减轻痛苦。 —

By thought he can locate it in a certain portion of his body which can be cured, or, if necessary, torn away. —
通过思考，他可以将它定位在身体的某个部位，可以治愈，或者在必要时，将其斩断。 —

He fixes the bounds of it, and separates it from himself. A child has no such illusive resource. —
他界定了它的界限，将其与自己分开。一个孩子没有这种虚幻的解脱办法。 —

His first encounter with suffering is more tragic and more true. —
他与痛苦的第一次相遇更加悲剧，更加真实。 —

Like his own being, it seems infinite. He feels that it is seated in his bosom, housed in his heart, and is mistress of his flesh. —
像他自己的存在一样，痛苦似乎是无限的。他感觉到它就坐在他的心口，寄居在他的心脏，支配着他的肉体。 —

And it is so. It will not leave his body until it has eaten it away.
而事实也正是如此。它不会离开他的身体，直到吞噬掉它。

His mother hugs him to her, murmuring: “It is done—it is done! —
母亲紧紧拥抱着他，低声说：“结束了，结束了！”。 —

Don’t cry, my little Jesus, my little goldfish….” But his intermittent outcry continues. —
不要哭，我的小耶稣，我的小金鱼……” 但他断断续续的哭声依然持续。 —

It is as though this wretched, unformed, and unconscious mass had a presentiment of a whole life of sorrow awaiting, him, and nothing can appease him….
仿佛这个可怜的、未成形、没有意识的东西预感到了等待着他的整个悲伤人生，没有什么能安抚他。

The bells of St. Martin rang out in the night. Their voices are solemn and slow. —
圣马丁教堂的钟声在夜晚响起。它们的声音庄严而缓慢。 —

In the damp air they come like footsteps on moss. —
在潮湿的空气中，它们像是在苔藓上的脚步声。 —

The child became silent in the middle of a sob. —
孩子在哭声中突然变得安静。 —

The marvelous music, like a flood of milk, surged sweetly through him. The night was lit up; —
奇妙的音乐如奶涛般甜蜜地涌过他。夜晚亮了起来； —

the air was moist and tender. His sorrow disappeared, his heart began to laugh, and he slid, into his dreams with a sigh of abandonment.
空气湿润而温柔。他的悲伤消失了，他的心开始笑了起来，带着一声放弃的叹息沉入梦乡。

The three bells went on softly ringing in the morrow’s festival. —
三只钟在明天的庆典中轻声响起。 —

Louisa also dreamed, as she listened to them, of her own past misery and of what would become in the future of the dear little child sleeping by her side. —
Louisa也在倾听着它们的同时做梦，梦见了自己过去的痛苦，以及现在和她身边的可爱小孩会发生什么。 —

She had been for hours lying in her bed, weary and suffering. —
她已经躺在床上好几个小时，既疲惫又痛苦。 —

Her hands and her body were burning; —
她的手和身体发烫； —

the heavy eiderdown crushed her; she felt crushed and oppressed by the darkness; —
厚厚的羽绒被压得她喘不过气来；她感到被黑暗所压迫和困扰； —

but she dared not move. She looked at the child, and the night did not prevent her reading his features, that looked so old. —
但她不敢动。她看着那个孩子，夜晚无法阻止她看透他那看起来如此苍老的容颜。 —

Sleep overcame her; fevered images passed through her brain. —
睡意袭来；幻想在她脑海中闪过。 —

She thought she heard Melchior open the door, and her heart leaped. —
她似乎听到梅尔基翁打开门的声音，她的心跳加快。 —

Occasionally the murmuring of the stream rose more loudly through the silence, like the roaring of some beast. —
偶尔，小溪的低语声在寂静中更加清晰，像是某种野兽的咆哮。 —

The window once or twice gave a sound under the beating of the rain. —
窗户在雨打中发出一两声响声。 —

The bells rang out more slowly, and then died down, and Louisa slept by the side of her child.
钟声响得更缓慢，然后逐渐平息，Louisa 睡在孩子的身边。

All this time Jean Michel was waiting outside the house, dripping with rain, his beard wet with the mist. —
此时，让·米歇尔站在屋外，淋着雨，胡须被薄雾打湿。 —

He was waiting for the return of his wretched son: —
他在等待他那可怜的儿子的归来： —

for his mind, never ceasing, had insisted on telling him all sorts of tragedies brought about by drunkenness; —
因为他的脑海里不断地告诉他醉酒可能带来的各种悲剧； —

and although he did not believe them, he could not hate slept a wink if he had gone away without having seen his son return. —
尽管他并不相信这些，但如果不见到儿子归来，他根本无法入睡。 —

The sound of the bells made him: melancholy, for he remembered all his shattered hopes. —
钟声让他感到沮丧，因为他想起了自己所有破碎的希望。 —

He thought of what he was doing at such an hour in the street, and for very shame he wept.
他想着自己在这个时候还在街上干什么，出于羞愧，他哭了起来。

* * * * *

The vast tide of the days moves slowly. Day and night come up and go down with unfailing regularity, like the ebb and low of an infinite ocean. —
日子的巨大潮流缓缓流动。白天和黑夜如无限海洋的潮起潮落般有规律地来去。 —

Weeks and months go by, and then begin again, and the succession of days is like one day.
周周月月轮回不已，日子的连续就像一天。

The day is immense, inscrutable, marking the even beat of light and darkness, and the beat of the life of the torpid creature dreaming in the depths of his cradle—his imperious needs, sorrowful or glad—so regular that the night and the day which bring them seem by them to be brought about.
日子是巨大的，深不可测的，标示着光明与黑暗的平稳拍动，以及在摇篮深处做梦的迟钝生物生命的拍动——他那迫切的需求，悲伤或欢乐——如此规律，以至于给予它们的黑夜和白昼似乎是为了它们而来的。

The pendulum of life moves heavily, and in its slow beat the whole creature seems to be absorbed. —
生命的钟摆沉重地摆动，在它缓慢的节拍中整个生物似乎被吸收其中。 —

The rest is no more than dreams, snatches of dreams, formless and swarming, and dust of atoms dancing aimlessly, a dizzy whirl passing, and bringing laughter or horror. —
其余不过是梦，零星的梦，无形且繁杂，以及无序飞舞的微尘，旋转着来去，带来笑声或恐怖。 —

Outcry, moving shadows, grinning shapes, sorrows, terrors, laughter, dreams, dreams…. —
哭泣，移动的阴影，咧着嘴的形状，悲伤，恐惧，笑声，梦，梦…. —

All is a dream, both day and night…. And in such chaos the light of friendly eyes that smile upon him, the flood of joy that surges through his body from his mother’s body, from her breasts filled with milk—the force that is in him, the immense, unconscious force gathering in him, the turbulent ocean roaring in the narrow prison of the child’s body. —
一切都是梦，无论白天还是黑夜….在这样的混乱中，友好眼睛的光辉微笑，从母亲的身体里流向他的快乐洪流，从她装满奶的乳房里流向他的身体里的力量，蕴含在他内心中的巨大，无意识的力量在他体内聚集，孩子身体里隆隆作响的汹涌大海。 —

For eyes that could see into it there would be revealed whole worlds half buried in the darkness, nebulæ —
若有明眼人，将会发现整个宇宙世界半埋于黑暗中，载体形成，一个未来世界。 —

taking shape, a universe in the making. His being is limitless. —
他的存在是无限的。 —

He is all that there is….
他就是所以的一切….

Months pass…. Islands of memory begin to rise above the river of his life. —
几个月过去…. 回忆的岛屿开始在他生活的河流中升起。 —

At first they are little uncharted islands, rocks just peeping above the surface of the waters. —
在开始，它们是小小未被探索的岛屿，岩石刚刚冒出水面。 —

Round about them and behind in the twilight of the dawn stretches the great untroubled sheet of water; —
在它们周围和后面，在黎明的微光中延伸着巨大无忧的水域； —

then new islands, touched to gold by the sun.
然后，新的岛屿，被阳光染成金色。

So from the abyss of the soul there emerge shapes definite, and scenes of a strange clarity. —
因此，从灵魂深渊中，明确的形状出现，以及一些奇异清晰的场景。 —

In the boundless day which dawns once more, ever the same, with its great monotonous beat, there begins to show forth the round of days, hand in hand, and some of their forms are smiling, others sad. —
在再次开始的无边日子中，每日的轮回开始显现，拉手，以及它们的形态有的微笑，有的悲伤。 —

But ever the links of the chain are broken, and memories are linked together above weeks and months….
但链条的环节总是断裂，记忆连接在一起经过周和月….

The River … the Bells … as long as he can remember—far back in the abysses of time, at every hour of his life—always their voices, familiar and resonant, have rung out….
河流…钟声…他记忆的尽头，遥远的时间深渊中，在他生命的每个时刻，他们的声音，熟悉而共鸣地回响….

Night—half asleep—a pale light made white the window…. The river murmurs. —
半睡的时候，夜晚，一束苍白的光照亮了窗户….河水喃喃。 —

Through the silence its voice rises omnipotent; it reigns over all creatures. —
在沉默中，它的声音崛起伟大无所不在；它统治着所有生物。 —

Sometimes it caresses their sleep, and seems almost itself to die away in the roaring of its torrent. —
有时它轻轻抚摸着他们的睡梦，似乎自己也在它的奔流声中逐渐消失。 —

Sometimes it grows angry, and howls like a furious beast about to bite. The clamor ceases. —
有时它愤怒地咆哮，像一只愤怒的野兽即将咬人。喧嚣停止。 —

Now there is a murmuring of infinite tenderness, silvery sounds like clear little bells, like the laughter of children, or soft singing voices, or dancing music—a great mother voice that never, never goes to sleep! —
现在有一种无穷的温柔 murmuring，清脆的声音如小铃铛，如儿童的笑声，或轻柔的歌声，或优美的音乐——一种永不入睡的伟大母亲之音! —

It rocks the child, as it has rocked through the ages, from birth to death, the generations that were before him; —
它摇摆着这个孩子，如同它从一代到另一代摇摆过的，从他出生到他死亡； —

it fills all his thoughts, and lives in all his dreams, wraps him round with the cloak of its fluid harmonies, which still will be about him when he lies in the little cemetery that sleeps by the water’s edge, washed by the Rhine….
它充塞了他的所有思绪，生活在他的所有梦中，用它流动的和谐披风把他裹住，即使当他躺在靠水边的小墓园里，被莱茵河冲刷的时候，这披风仍将环绕在他周围……

The bells…. It is dawn! They answer each other’s call, sad, melancholy, friendly, gentle. —
钟声……这是黎明!它们互相回应着，悲伤、忧郁、友好、温柔。 —

At the sound of their slow voices there rise in him hosts of dreams—dreams of the past, desires, hopes, regrets for creatures who are gone, unknown to the child, although he had his being in them, and they live again in him. —
在它们缓慢的声音中，他心中涌现出无数梦想—过去的梦想，欲望，希望，为那些已经离去的、对这个孩子来说是陌生的人们的遗憾，尽管他在他们身上生活着，而他们又在他身上重生。 —

Ages of memory ring out in that music. So much mourning, so many festivals! —
那音乐里鸣响着记忆的时代。那么多的悲伤，那么多的庆祝! —

And from the depths of the room it is as though, when they are heard, there passed lovely waves of sound through the soft air, free winging birds, and the moist soughing of the wind. —
当他们被听到时，似乎有美丽的声波通过柔软的空气传递，自由翱翔的鸟儿，和湿漉漉的风声。 —

Through the window smiles a patch of blue sky; a sunbeam slips through the curtains to the bed. —
透过窗户，一片蓝天在微笑；一束阳光从帘子间透进被子。 —

The little world known to the eyes of the child, all that he can see from his bed every morning as he awakes, all that with so much effort he is beginning to recognize and classify, so that he may be master of it—his kingdom is lit up. —
孩子看得到的小世界，每天早晨醒来时都可以看到的，他正努力辨识和分类的一切，以便成为它的主人——他的王国被照亮了。 —

There is the table where people eat, the cupboard where he hides to play, the tiled floor along which he crawls, and the wall-paper which in its antic shapes holds for him so many humorous or terrifying stories, and the clock which chatters and stammers so many words which he alone can understand. —
那是人们进餐的桌子，他玩耍时躲藏的橱柜，他爬行的瓷砖地板，还有以它古怪的形状，对他来说包含了那么多幽默或可怕故事的壁纸，以及那只唠叨和结结巴巴说出他独自能理解的许多词语的时钟。 —

How many things there are in this room! He does not know them all. —
这个房间里有多少东西!他并不认识它们所有。 —

Every day he sets out on a voyage of exploration in this universe which is his. —
每天他在这个属于他的宇宙中开始一次探险之旅。 —

Everything is his. —
一切都属于他。 —

Nothing is immaterial; everything has its worth, man or fly, Everything lives—the cat, the fire, the table, the grains of dust which dance in a sunbeam. —
一切都有其价值，无论是人还是蝇；一切都有生命——猫、火、桌子、在阳光中舞动的尘埃。 —

The room is a country, a day is a lifetime. —
房间就是一个国家，一天就是一生。 —

How is a creature to know himself in the midst of these vast spaces? The world is so large! —
在这广阔的空间中，一个生物如何认识自己？这个世界如此之大！ —

A creature is lost in it. And the faces, the actions, the movement, the noise, which make round about him an unending turmoil! —
一个生物在其中迷失了。四周的面孔、行动、运动、噪音，构成一个无休止的混乱！ —

… He is weary; his eyes close; he goes to sleep. —
…… 他累了；他的眼睛闭上；他入睡了。 —

That sweet deep sleep that overcomes him suddenly at any time, and wherever he may be—on his mother’s lap, or under the table, where he loves to hide! —
那甜蜜的沉睡，随时降临，无论在哪里——他母亲的膝上，或者藏在桌子下他喜欢躲藏的地方！ —

… It is good. All is good….
…… 一切都很好。

These first days come buzzing up in his mind like a field of corn or a wood stirred by the wind, and cast in shadow by the great fleeting clouds….
这些初日振动着他的思绪，如同被风吹拂的谷穗或树林，被巨大的飞云投上阴影。

The shadows pass; the sun penetrates the forest. —
阴影消逝；阳光穿透森林。 —

Jean-Christophe begins to find his way through the labyrinth of the day.
让-克里斯托夫开始在白昼的迷宫中找到自己的方向。

It is morning. His parents are asleep. He is in his little bed, lying on his back. —
现在是早晨。他的父母还在睡觉。他躺在小床上，仰面望着天花板。 —

He looks at the rays of light dancing on the ceiling. There is infinite amusement in it. —
他看着光线在天花板上跳舞。其中有无限的娱乐。 —

Now he laughs out loud with one of those jolly children’s laughs which stir the hearts of those that hear them. —
现在他发出那种激动人心的、喜悦的孩子笑声。 —

His mother leans out of her bed towards him, and says: “What is it, then, little mad thing?” —
他的妈妈从床上俯身过来对着他说：“怎么了，小疯子？” —

Then he laughs again, and perhaps he makes an effort to laugh because he has an audience. —
然后他再次笑了，也许他努力要笑是因为有观众在场。 —

His mamma looks severe, and lays a finger on her lips to warn him lest he should wake his father: —
他的妈妈看起来严厉，伸出手指摸了摸她的嘴唇，警告他不要吵醒爸爸： —

but her weary eyes smile in spite of herself. They whisper together. —
但是她疲惫的眼神却在不经意间微笑着。他们私下交流。 —

Then there is a furious growl from his father. Both tremble. —
然后他的爸爸发出了一声凶猛的咆哮。两人都颤抖起来。 —

His mother hastily turns her back on him, like a naughty little girl: she pretends to be asleep. —
他的母亲匆忙转过身去，像个顽皮的小女孩：她假装睡着了。 —

Jean-Christophe buries himself in his bed, and holds his breath…. Dead silence.
让-克里斯托夫埋头躲进被窝，屏住呼吸……死一般的寂静。

After some time the little face hidden under the clothes comes to the surface again. —
过了一会儿，在被子下藏着的小脸又露出来了。 —

On the roof the weathercock creaks. The rain-pipe gurgles; the Angelus sounds. —
屋顶上的风向标发出吱吱声。雨管发出咕噜声；晚祷钟声响起。 —

When the wind comes from the east, the distant bells of the villages on the other bank of the river give answer. —
当风从东方来时，对岸村庄的钟声传来回音。 —

The sparrows foregathered in the ivy-clad wall make a deafening noise, from which three or four voices, always the same, ring out more shrilly than the others, just as in the games of a band of children. —
藤蔓墙上聚集的麻雀发出震耳欲聋的喧嚣声，其中三四种声音总是比其他鸟叫尖锐，就像孩子们一群玩耍时一样。 —

A pigeon coos at the top of a chimney. The child abandons himself to the lullaby of these sounds. —
一只鸽子在烟囱顶上咕咕作响。孩子沉浸在这些声音的摇篮曲中。 —

He hums to himself softly, then a little more loudly, then quite loudly, then very loudly, until once more his father cries out in exasperation: —
他轻声哼着，然后稍高声，再然后真的很响，直到他的父亲再次如疯了一样吼叫： —

“That little donkey never will be quiet! Wait a little, and I’ll pull your ears!” —
“那只小驴永远不会安静！再等一会儿，我就揪你的耳朵！” —

Then Jean-Christophe buries himself in the bedclothes again, and does not know whether to laugh or cry. —
然后让-克里斯托夫再次埋头在床单中，不知道是该笑还是哭。 —

He is terrified and humiliated; and at the same time the idea of the donkey with which his father has compared him makes him burst out laughing. —
他被吓坏了，被羞辱了；同时，由于父亲把他比作小驴的这个想法让他忍不住大笑起来。 —

From the depths of his bed he imitates its braying. This time he is whipped. —
从被窝的深处，他模仿驴的叫声。这一次他挨了打。 —

He sheds every tear that is in him. What has he done? He wanted so much to laugh and to get up! —
他流尽了所有的眼泪。他做了什么？他多么想笑，多么想站起来！ —

And he is forbidden to budge. How do people sleep forever? —
他被禁止动弹。人们怎么会永远地睡下去呢？ —

When will they get up?…
他们什么时候才会醒来？…

One day he could not contain himself. He heard a cat and a dog and something queer in the street. —
有一天，他控制不住自己。他听见了街上猫狗和什么奇怪的声音。 —

He slipped out of bed, and, creeping awkwardly with his bare feet on the tiles, he tried to go down the stairs to see what it was; —
他从床上溜出来，赤脚在瓷砖上蹒跚而行，试图下楼看看是什么； —

but the door was shut. To open it, he climbed on to a chair; —
但是门是关着的。为了打开门，他爬到了椅子上； —

the whole thing collapsed, and he hurt himself and howled. —
整个椅子都倒塌了，他撞伤了自己，大声哭了起来。 —

And once more at the top of the stairs he was whipped. —
再次站在楼梯顶端的他受到责备。 —

He is always being whipped!…
他总是被责骂！…

He is in church with his grandfather. He is bored. He is not very comfortable. —
他和爷爷一起在教堂里。他很无聊。他并不很舒服。 —

He is forbidden to stir, and all the people are saying all together words that he does not understand. —
他被禁止动弹，所有的人一起说着他听不懂的话。 —

They all look solemn and gloomy. It is not their usual way of looking. —
他们看起来都庄严而忧郁。这不是他们平常的样子。 —

He looks at them, half frightened. Old Lena, their neighbor, who is sitting next to him, looks very cross; —
他看着他们，有些害怕。身旁坐着的老邻居莱娜看起来很生气； —

there are moments when he does not recognize even his grandfather. He is afraid a little. —
有时连他的爷爷他都认不出来。他有点害怕。 —

Then he grows used to it, and tries to find relief from boredom by every means at his disposal. —
然后他习惯了，试图通过各种方法来减轻无聊。 —

He balances on one leg, twists his neck to look at the ceiling, makes faces, pulls his grandfather’s coat, investigates the straws in his chair, tries to make a hole in them with his finger, listens to the singing of birds, and yawns so that he is like to dislocate his jaw.
他单腿站立，扭头仰望天花板，做鬼脸，拉着祖父的大衣，查看椅子上的吸管，试图用手指在上面捅个洞，听着鸟儿的歌声，打着哈欠以至于脸颊都快脱臼了。

Suddenly there is a deluge of sound; the organ is played. A thrill goes down his spine. —
突然间，音乐响彻整个空间；管风琴奏响。一股激动从他的脊背传来。 —

He turns and stands with his chin resting on the back of his chair, and he looks very wise. —
他转过身，下巴抵在椅背上，显得很聪明。 —

He does not understand this noise; he does not know the meaning of it; —
他不明白这个噪音；他不知道它的含义； —

it is dazzling, bewildering, and he can hear nothing clearly. But it is good. —
它既令人眼花缭乱，又令人困惑，他听不到清晰的声音。但这真是美好。 —

It is as though he were no longer sitting there on an uncomfortable chair in a tiresome old house. —
就好像他并不坐在这个令人不舒服的椅子上，在一座令人厌烦的老房子里。 —

He is suspended in mid-air, like a bird; —
他仿佛悬浮在半空中，像一只鸟； —

and when the flood of sound rushes from one end of the church to the other, filling the arches, reverberating from wall to wall, he is carried with it, flying and skimming hither and thither, with nothing to do but to abandon himself to it. —
当激流的声音从教堂的一端冲向另一端，填满拱顶，从墙壁回荡，他随之而去，飞翔、滑翔，只需把自己交付给它。 —

He is free; he is happy. The sun shines…. He falls asleep.
他自由了；他快乐。阳光灿烂… 他睡着了。

His grandfather is displeased with him. He behaves ill at Mass.
他的祖父对他不满。他在弥撒中表现不佳。

He is at home, sitting on the ground, with his feet in his hands. —
他坐在家里，双脚捧在手中。 —

He has just decided that the door-mat is a boat, and the tiled floor a river. —
他刚决定门垫是一条船，地板是一条河。 —

He all but drowned in stepping off the carpet. —
他几乎淹死在踩出地毯的瞬间。 —

He is surprised and a little put out that the others pay no attention to the matter as he does when he goes into the room. —
他惊讶并有点生气，因为别人没有像他一样关注他进房间时的事情。 —

He seizes his mother by the skirts. “You see it is water! You must go across by the bridge.” —
他抓住母亲的裙摆。“你看，这是水！你必须走过这座桥。” —

(The bridge is a series of holes between the red tiles. —
桥是红瓦之间一系列的洞。 —

) His mother crosses without even listening to him. —
他母亲甚至没听他说话就走过去了。 —

He is vexed, as a dramatic author is vexed when he sees his audience talking during his great work.
他恼火了，就像一位戏剧作者看到观众在他的伟大作品中谈笑一样恼火。

Next moment he thinks no more of it. The tiled floor is no longer the sea. —
下一刻，他就不再想这件事了。瓷砖地板不再是海洋。 —

He is lying down on it, stretched full-length, with his chin on the tiles, humming music of his own composition, and gravely sucking his thumb and dribbling. —
他趴在地板上，伸直身体，下巴压在瓷砖上，哼着自己编的音乐，认真吮吸着拇指并滴口水。 —

He is lost in contemplation of a crack between the tiles. —
他陷入对瓷砖缝隙的思考中。 —

The lines of the tiles grimace like faces. —
瓷砖的线条扭曲成像脸孔。 —

The imperceptible hole grows larger, and becomes a valley; there are mountains about it. —
隐约的洞变大了，成为一条山谷；周围有群山。 —

A centipede moves: it is as large as an elephant. —
一只蜈蚣移动着：它像一头大象一样大。 —

Thunder might crash, the child would not hear it.
雷响了也没关系，这孩子听不见。

No one bothers about him, and he has no need of any one. —
没有人关心他，他也不需要任何人。 —

He can even do without door-mat boats, and caverns in the tiled floor, with their fantastic fauna. —
他甚至可以不需要门垫船，和瓷砖地板上的洞穴及其奇特的动物。 —

His body is enough. What a source of entertainment! —
他的身体就足够了。多么娱乐的源泉啊！ —

He spends hours in looking at his nails and shouting with laughter. —
他花了好几个小时看着自己的指甲，然后大声笑起来。 —

They have all different faces, and are like people that he knows. And the rest of his body! —
他们每一个都有不同的面孔，像他认识的人一样。还有他的身体其他部分！ —

… He goes on with the inspection of all that he has. How many surprising things! —
他继续检查他所有的东西。有多少令人惊讶的东西啊！ —

There are so many marvels. He is absorbed in looking at them.
有如此多的奇迹。他全神贯注地看着它们。

But he was very roughly picked up when they caught him at it.
但当他们抓住他时，他被很粗暴地拎起来。

Sometimes he takes advantage of his mother’s back being turned, to escape from the house. —
有时他趁母亲转过身去的时候溜出屋子。 —

At first they used to run after him and bring him back. —
起初他们会追逐他把他带回来。 —

Then they got used to letting him go alone, only so he did not go too far away. —
后来他们习惯了让他独自去，只要他别走太远。 —

The house is at the end of the town; the country begins almost at once. —
这所房子在城镇的尽头；乡村几乎就在眼前。 —

As long as he is within sight of the windows he goes without stopping, very deliberately, and now and then hopping on one foot. —
只要他在窗外的视线范围内，他就会毫不停顿地前进，时不时蹦着一只脚。 —

But as soon as he has passed the corner of the road, and the brushwood hides him from view, he changes abruptly. —
但一旦他走过街角，灌木丛把他藏了起来，他就突然变了。 —

He stops there, with his finger in his mouth, to find out what story he shall tell himself that day; —
他停在那里，手指含在嘴里，琢磨着今天要告诉自己什么故事； —

for he is full of stories. —
因为他充满了故事。 —

True, they are all very much like each other, and every one of them could be told in a few lines. —
的确，它们都很相似，每一个都可以用几行来叙述。 —

He chooses. Generally he takes up the same story, sometimes from the point where it left off, sometimes from the beginning, with variations. —
他选择。通常他继续同一个故事，有时从离开的地方开始，有时从头开始，有所变化。 —

But any trifle—a word heard by chance—is enough to set his mind off on another direction.
但任何微不足道的事情——偶然听到的一个词——就足以让他的思维朝另一个方向发展。

Chance was fruitful of resources. It is impossible to imagine what can be made of a simple piece of wood, a broken bough found alongside a hedge. —
偶然充满了资源。不可想象一个简单的木块，一根在篱笆旁边找到的断枝可以被制造成什么。 —

(You break them off when you do not find them.) It was a magic wand. —
当你找不到它们时，就会打断它们。这是一根魔杖。 —

If it were long and thin, it became a lance, or perhaps a sword; —
如果它又细又长，它就成了一支长矛，或许是一把剑； —

to brandish it aloft was enough to cause armies to spring from the earth. —
高举它足以让军队从大地上涌现。 —

Jean-Christophe was their general, marching in front of them, setting them an example, and leading them to the assault of a hillock. —
尚-克里斯托夫是他们的将军，走在前面，给他们树立榜样，并带领他们攻击一座小山。 —

If the branch were flexible, it changed into a whip. —
如果树枝柔韧，它会变成一根鞭子。 —

Jean-Christophe mounted on horseback and leaped precipices. —
尚-克里斯托夫骑在马上，跳过悬崖。 —

Sometimes his mount would slip, and the horseman would find himself at the bottom of the ditch, sorrily looking at his dirty hands and barked knees. —
有时他的坐骑会滑倒，骑士会发现自己在沟底，黯然看着自己脏兮兮的手和皮肉磨损的膝盖。 —

If the wand were lithe, then Jean-Christophe would make himself the conductor of an orchestra: —
如果魔杖柔软，那么尚-克里斯托夫将成为一个管弦乐团的指挥： —

he would be both conductor and orchestra; he conducted and he sang; —
他既是指挥又是管弦乐团；他指挥并且歌唱； —

and then he would salute the bushes, with their little green heads stirring in the wind.
然后向丛林致意，那些在风中摇曳着的小绿头。

He was also a magician. He walked with great strides through the fields, looking at the sky and waving his arms. —
他还是一位魔术师。他大步走过田野，仰望天空，挥舞双臂。 —

He commanded the clouds. He wished them to go to the right, but they went to the left. —
他指挥云彩。他希望它们向右走，但它们却向左走。 —

Then he would abuse them, and repeat his command. —
然后他会斥责它们，重复命令。 —

He would watch them out of the corner of his eye, and his heart would beat as he looked to see if there were not at least a little one which would obey him. —
他会从眼角看着它们，当他看到能够听从他命令的最小的那一个时，他的心会跳动。 —

But they went on calmly moving to the left. —
但它们继续平静地向左移动。 —

Then he would stamp his foot, and threaten them with his stick, and angrily order them to go to the left; —
然后他会 stamp 他的脚，并用手杖威胁他们，生气地命令他们去左边; —

and this time, in truth, they obeyed him. He was happy and proud of his power. —
而这一次，他们确实服从了他。他对自己的力量感到高兴和自豪。 —

He would touch the flowers and bid them change into golden carriages, as he had been told they did in the stories; —
他会触摸花朵，并命令它们变成金色的马车，就像他在故事中听说的一样; —

and, although it never happened, he was quite convinced that it would happen if only he had patience. —
虽然这从未发生过，但他完全相信只要有耐心，这种事情会发生。 —

He would look for a grasshopper to turn into a hare; —
他会寻找一只蚱蜢变成一只野兔; —

he would gently lay his stick on its back, and speak a rune. The insect would escape: —
他会 gently 地把手杖放在它的背上，念咒语。虫子会逃走: —

he would bar its way. A few moments later he would be lying on his belly near to it, looking at it. —
他会挡住它的去路。片刻之后，他会躺在它的附近，看着它。 —

Then he would have forgotten that he was a magician, and just amuse himself with turning the poor beast on its back, while he laughed aloud at its contortions.
然后他会忘记自己是一个魔术师，只是玩笑地把可怜的动物翻到背上，一边大笑着看它扭动。

It occurred to him also to tie a piece of string to his magic wand, and gravely cast it into the river, and wait for a fish to come and bite. —
他突然想到用一根绳子绑在他的魔杖上，严肃地把它扔进河里，等待鱼上钩。 —

He knew perfectly well that fish do not usually bite at a piece of string without bait or hook; —
他很清楚鱼通常不会啃一根没鱼饵或钩的绳子; —

but he thought that for once in a way, and for him, they might make an exception to their rule; —
但他认为也许这一次，对他来说，它们可以例外; —

and in his inexhaustible confidence, he carried it so far as to fish in the street with a whip through the grating of a sewer. —
在他无穷无尽的信心中，他甚至在街上用鞭子通过下水道的格子里垂钓。 —

He would draw up the whip from time to time excitedly, pretending that the cord of it was more heavy, and that he had caught a treasure, as in a story that his grandfather had told him….
他会激动地不时拉起鞭子，假装绳子更沉，他捉到了一个宝藏，就像他祖父讲给他听的故事里那样….

And always in the middle of all these games there used to occur to him moments of strange dreaming and complete forgetfulness. —
在所有这些游戏的中间总会发生一些奇怪的梦幻和完全忘记的时刻。 —

Everything about him would then be blotted out; —
关于他的一切会在这时候被抹去; —

he would not know what he was doing, and was not even conscious of himself. —
他不知道自己在做什么，甚至没有意识到自己。 —

These attacks would take him unawares. Sometimes as he walked or went upstairs a void would suddenly open before him. —
这些攻击会让他措手不及。有时当他走路或上楼时，一个空白突然在他面前展开。 —

He would seem then to have lost all thought. —
他似乎已经失去了所有的思维。 —

But when he came back to himself, he was shocked and bewildered to find himself in the same place on the dark staircase. —
但当他重新恢复意识时，惊慌和困惑地发现自己还在黑暗的楼梯上。 —

It was as though he had lived through a whole lifetime—in the space of a few steps.
就好像他在短短几步之间度过了整个一生。

His grandfather used often to take him with him on his evening walk. —
他的祖父经常带他一起散步。 —

The little boy used to trot by his side and give him his hand. —
小男孩会在他身边跑步，给他握手。 —

They used to go by the roads, across plowed fields, which smelled strong and good. —
他们会经过道路，穿过闻起来浓郁而好闻的犁过的田地。 —

The grasshoppers chirped. Enormous crows poised along the road used to watch them approach from afar, and then fly away heavily as they came up with them.
蚱蜢在唧唧叫。沿路停着的巨大的乌鸦会注视着他们从远处走来，然后在他们接近时沉重地飞走。

His grandfather would cough. Jean-Christophe knew quite well what that meant. —
他的祖父会咳嗽。让-克里斯托夫很清楚那意味着什么。 —

The old man was burning with the desire to tell a story; —
老人渴望讲一个故事； —

but he wanted it to appear that the child had asked him for one. Jean-Christophe did not fail him; —
但他希望看起来是孩子要求他讲的。让-克里斯托夫没有让他失望； —

they understood each other. The old man had a tremendous affection for his grandson, and it was a great joy to find in him a willing audience. —
他们互相理解。老人对他的孙子非常疼爱，发现在他身上一个乐意倾听的听众是一大快乐。 —

He loved to tell of episodes in his own life, or stories of great men, ancient and modern. —
他喜欢讲述自己生活中的片段，或者古代和现代伟人的故事。 —

His voice would then become emphatic and filled with emotion, and would tremble with a childish joy, which he used to try to stifle. —
他的声音会变得有力而充满情感，并带着一种幼稚的喜悦颤抖，他试图压抑住这种情感。 —

He seemed delighted to hear his own voice. —
他似乎很高兴听到自己的声音。 —

Unhappily, words used to fail him when he opened his mouth to speak. —
不幸的是，当他张开嘴开口说话时，他常常词不达意。 —

He was used to such disappointment, for it always came upon him with his outbursts of eloquence. —
他习惯了这样的失望，因为每当他言辞激昂时，失望总会袭击他。 —

And as he used to forget it with each new attempt, he never succeeded in resigning himself to it.
而且他每次都会忘记这一点，因此他从未成功地接受了这一点。

He used to talk of Regulus, and Arminius, of the soldiers of Lü —
他习惯提到雷古卢斯、阿米尼乌斯、鲁茨的士兵们、克尔纳 和试图暗杀拿破仑皇帝的弗雷德里克·施塔布斯。 —

tzow, of Koerner, and of Frédéric Stabs, who tried to kill the Emperor Napoleon. —
当他讲述这些不可思议的英勇事迹时，他的脸庞也会绽放光彩。 —

His face would glow as he told of incredible deeds of heroism. —
他以庄严的声音念着历史性的词语，令人难以忽视，他还巧妙地试图让听众在激动人心的时刻保持紧张感。 —

He used to pronounce historic words in such a solemn voice that it was impossible to hear them, and he used to try artfully to keep his hearer on tenterhooks at the thrilling moments. —
他总是无法顺利表达，面对热情洋溢对英雄事迹讲述。 —

He would stop, pretend to choke, and noisily blow his nose; —
他会停下来，假装喉咙哽咽，大声擤鼻涕； —

and his heart would leap when the child asked, in a voice choking with impatience: —
当孩子急切地问道的时候，他的心会猛然一跳： —

“And then, grandfather?”
“然后，爷爷呢？”

There came a day, when Jean-Christophe was a little older, when he perceived his grandfather’s method; —
有一天，让·克里斯托夫稍微长大些时，他意识到了祖父的讲故事的方法； —

and then he wickedly set himself to assume an air of indifference to the rest of the story, and that hurt the poor old man. —
于是他恶作剧地开始装出对故事结尾不在意的样子，伤害了可怜的老人； —

But for the moment Jean-Christophe is altogether held by the power of the story-teller. —
但此刻，让·克里斯托夫完全被讲故事者的魅力所吸引； —

His blood leaped at the dramatic passages. —
他在戏剧性的段落中热血沸腾； —

He did not know what it was all about, neither where nor when these deeds were done, or whether his grandfather knew Arminius, or whether Regulus were not—God knows why! —
他不知道所有这些事情是什么意思，它们是在哪里和什么时候发生的，或者他的祖父是否认识阿尔米尼乌斯，或者雷古卢斯是否不是——天知道为什么！； —

—some one whom he had seen at church last Sunday. —
可能是他上周天在教堂里看到的某个人。 —

But his heart and the old man’s heart swelled with joy and pride in the tale of heroic deeds, as though they themselves had done them; —
但他和老人的心都因英雄事迹的故事而激动和骄傲，仿佛他们自己做过一样； —

for the old man and the child were both children.
因为老人和孩子都是孩子。

Jean-Christophe was less happy when his grandfather interpolated in the pathetic passages one of those abstruse discourses so dear to him. —
当他的祖父在悲情段落中插入那些他非常喜欢的晦涩演讲时，让·克里斯托夫就不那么高兴了。 —

There were moral thoughts generally traceable to some idea, honest enough, but a little trite, such as “Gentleness is better than violence,” or “Honor is the dearest thing in life,” or “It is better to be good than to be wicked”—only they were much more involved. —
内容通常能追溯到某种想法，虽然挺诚实的，但有点陈词滥调，比如“温和胜于暴力”，或“荣誉是生命中最珍贵的东西”，或“宁可做好人，不要做坏人”——只是更为复杂。 —

Jean-Christophe’s grandfather had no fear of the criticism of his youthful audience, and abandoned himself to his habitual emphatic manner; —
让·克里斯托夫的祖父对年轻观众的批评并不畏惧，而是沉溺于他习惯的强调性风格； —

he was not afraid of repeating the same phrases, or of not finishing them, or even, if he lost himself in his discourse, of saying anything that came into his head, to stop up the gaps in his thoughts; —
他并不害怕重复相同的短语，或者不把它们讲完，甚至，如果他在演讲中迷失了自己，他就会说出任何脑海中突然冒出来的东西，来填补他思维的空缺； —

and he used to punctuate his words, in order to give them greater force, with inappropriate gestures. —
他习惯用不恰当的手势来加强他的话语。 —

The boy used to listen with profound respect, and he thought his grandfather very eloquent, but a little tiresome.
这个男孩曾深深地尊重地听着他的祖父，认为他很雄辩，但有点令人厌烦。

Both of them loved to return again and again to the fabulous legend of the Corsican conqueror who had taken Europe. —
他们两个都喜欢一次又一次地回到那个传奇的故事，讲述那个曾经征服欧洲的科西嘉征服者。 —

Jean-Christophe’s grandfather had known him. He had almost fought against him. —
让·克里斯朵夫的祖父见过他。他几乎和他对战过。 —

But he was a man to admit the greatness of his adversaries: he had said so twenty times. —
但他是一个愿意承认对手伟大的人：他说过这句话二十次。 —

He would have given one of his arms for such a man to have been born on this side of the Rhine. Fate had decreed otherwise; —
他宁愿自己的一只胳膊让这样的人在莱茵河这边出生。命运决定了另外一番安排； —

he admired him, and had fought against him—that is, he had been on the point of fighting against him. —
他崇拜他，曾和他对抗过——也就是说，他差点和他交战过。 —

But when Napoleon had been no farther than ten leagues away, and they had marched out to meet him, a sudden panic had dispersed the little band in a forest, and every man had fled, crying, “We are betrayed!” —
但当拿破仑只有十里远的时候，他们走出去迎接他时，一股恐慌突然让这支小队在森林中四散，每个人都逃跑着，喊着：“我们被出卖了！” —

In vain, as the old man used to tell, in vain did he endeavor to rally the fugitives; —
正如老人经常讲述的那样徒劳无功，他努力地试图聚集逃亡的人； —

he threw himself in front of them, threatening them and weeping: —
他跳到他们的面前，威胁和哭泣： —

he had been swept away in the flood of them, and on the morrow had found himself at an extraordinary distance from the field of battle—For so he called the place of the rout. —
他被淹没在逃亡的浪潮中，第二天发现自己离战场异常遥远—因此他称之为溃败之地。 —

But Jean-Christophe used impatiently to bring him back to the exploits of the hero, and he was delighted by his marvelous progress through the world. —
但让-克里斯朵夫常常不耐烦地让他回到英雄的业绩上，他对他在世界中的神奇进步感到高兴。 —

He saw him followed by innumerable men, giving vent to great cries of love, and at a wave of his hand hurling themselves in swarms upon flying enemies—they were always in flight. —
他看到他被无数人跟随，发出巨大的爱的呼声，举起手的一挥，他们群起而攻之逃亡的敌人—他们总是在逃。 —

It was a fairy-tale. The old man added a little to it to fill out the story; —
这简直像个童话。老人稍作添加以填补故事； —

he conquered Spain, and almost conquered England, which he could not abide.
他征服了西班牙，几乎征服了无法忍受的英国。

Old Krafft used to intersperse his enthusiastic narratives with indignant apostrophes addressed to his hero. —
老克拉夫特过去常常在他热情洋溢的叙述中穿插着愤怒的呼语，向他的英雄发牢骚。 —

The patriot awoke in him, more perhaps when he told of the Emperor’s defeats than of the Battle of Jena. He would stop to shake his fist at the river, and spit contemptuously, and mouth noble insults—he did not stoop to less than that. —
当他讲述皇帝的失败而非伊瑙拿战役时，爱国主义在他心中被唤起得更多。他会停下来向河水摇拳，并轻蔑地吐口水，摆出崇高的侮辱—他不会做得比这更低贱。 —

He would call him “rascal,” “wild beast,” “immoral.” —
他会称他为”流氓”，”野兽”，”不道德者”。 —

And if such words were intended to restore to the boy’s mind a sense of justice, it must be confessed that they failed in their object; —
如果这些话语本意是为了让男孩重新认识到正义，必须承认它们未能达到预期的效果； —

for childish logic leaped to this conclusion: —
因为孩子般的逻辑跳跃到了这样的结论： —

“If a great man like that had no morality, morality is not a great thing, and what matters most is to be a great man.” —
“如果像那样的伟人没有道德观，道德观并不重要，最重要的是成为一个伟大的人。” —

But the old man was far from suspecting the thoughts which were running along by his side.
但老人远没有察觉到他身边飘荡的想法。

They would both be silent, pondering each after his own fashion, these admirable stories—except when the old man used to meet one of his noble patrons taking a walk. —
他们俩都会保持沉默，各自思考着这些令人钦佩的故事——除非老人碰巧遇见他那一些贵族保护人在散步时。 —

Then he would stop, and bow very low, and breathe lavishly the formulæ —
然后他会停下来，鞠躬得很低，极为恭维地说着客套话; —

of obsequious politeness. The child used to blush for it without knowing why. —
使孩子莫名地感到尴尬。 —

But his grandfather at heart had a vast respect for established power and persons who had “arrived”; —
但他的祖父内心深处对权势和那些已经”成功”的人有着极大的尊重; —

and possibly his great love for the heroes of whom he told was only because he saw in them persons who had arrived at a point higher than the others.
也有可能是因为他对自己讲述的英雄人物有着极大的热爱，仅仅是因为他看到他们已经达到比其他人更高的地位。

When it was very hot, old Krafft used to sit under a tree, and was not long in dozing off. —
天气很热的时候，老克拉夫特会坐在树荫下，很快就进入梦乡。 —

Then Jean-Christophe used to sit near him on a heap of loose stones or a milestone, or some high seat, uncomfortable and peculiar; —
那时候，让-克里斯托夫会坐在他附近的一堆碎石或石墩上，非常不舒服和另类; —

and he used to wag his little legs, and hum to himself, and dream. —
他会摇动他的小腿，自己哼唱着，陷入梦乡。 —

Or sometimes he used to lie on his back and watch the clouds go by; —
有时候他会仰卧着，看着漂浮的云彩; —

they looked like oxen, and giants, and hats, and old ladies, and immense landscapes. —
它们看起来像牛，巨人，帽子，老太太，和巨大的风景。 —

He used to talk to them in a low voice, or be absorbed in a little cloud which a great one was on the point of devouring. —
他会用低声与它们交谈，或者专注于一个即将被巨大云朵吞噬的小云。 —

He was afraid of those which were very black, almost blue, and of those which went very fast. —
他害怕那些非常黑的、几乎是蓝色的云，还有那些飞行速度非常快的云。 —

It seemed to him that they played an enormous part in life, and he was surprised that neither his grandfather nor his mother paid any attention to them. —
他觉得它们在生活中扮演着巨大的角色，很惊讶他的祖父或母亲都没注意它们。 —

They were terrible beings if they wished to do harm. —
如果它们愿意为恶，那它们就是可怕的存在。 —

Fortunately, they used to go by, kindly enough, a little grotesque, and they did not stop. —
幸运的是，它们总是慈祥地飘过去，略带荒谬感，并不停留。 —

The boy used in the end to turn giddy with watching them too long, and he used to fidget with his legs and arms, as though he were on the point of falling from the sky. —
男孩最后看得头晕眼花，开始不安地扭动着他的腿和胳膊，仿佛他马上要从天空中跌落。 —

His eyelids then would wink, and sleep would overcome him. Silence…. —
然后他的眼皮开始眨动，睡意袭来。安静…… —

The leaves murmur gently and tremble in the sun; a faint mist passes through the air; —
树叶在阳光下轻声低语并颤抖着；一缕淡淡的薄雾飘过空中； —

the uncertain flies hover, booming like an organ; —
不定的苍蝇嗡嗡飞舞，像管风琴般回响； —

the grasshoppers, drunk with the summer, chirp eagerly and hurriedly; all is silent…. —
醉心于夏日的蚱蜢急促刺耳地鸣叫；一切都沉寂…… —

Under the vault of the trees the cry of the green woodpecker has magic sounds. —
在树荫下，绿色啄木鸟的叫声如魔法般悦耳动听。 —

Far away on the plain a peasant’s voice harangues his oxen; —
在平原的远处，一个农民的声音呼唤着他的牛； —

the shoes of a horse ring out on the white road. Jean-Christophe’s eyes close. —
一匹马的蹄铁在白色道路上发出清脆的声响。让·克里斯托夫的眼睛合上。 —

Near him an ant passes along a dead branch across a furrow. He loses consciousness…. —
在他身旁，一只蚂蚁沿着一根枯枝穿过一道犁沟。他失去了意识…… —

Ages have passed. He wakes. The ant has not yet crossed the twig.
时光流逝。他醒来。那只蚂蚁还没有穿过那根小枝。

Sometimes the old man would sleep too long, and his face would grow rigid, and his long nose would grow longer, and his mouth stand open. —
有时老人会睡得太久，他的脸会变得僵硬，他那长长的鼻子会变得更长，嘴巴张得大大的。 —

Jean-Christophe used then to look at him uneasily, and in fear of seeing his head change gradually into some fantastic shape. —
那时让·克里斯托夫会焦虑地看着他，害怕看见他的头逐渐变成奇异的形状。 —

He used to sing loudly, so as to wake him up, or tumble down noisily from his heap of stones. —
他会高声唱歌，以唤醒老人，或者从一堆石头上闯下来发出巨大的声响。 —

One day it occurred to him to throw a handful of pine-needles in his grandfather’s face, and tell him that they had fallen from the tree. —
有一天他灵机一动，向他爷爷脸上扔了一把松针，并告诉他是从树上落下来的。 —

The old man believed him, and that made Jean-Christophe laugh. —
老人相信了他，这让让·克里斯托夫笑了起来。 —

But, unfortunately, he tried the trick again, and just when he had raised his hand he saw his grandfather’s eyes watching him. —
但不幸的是，他再次尝试这个把戏，就在他抬起手的时候看到了他祖父的眼睛盯着他。 —

It was a terrible affair. The old man was solemn, and allowed no liberty to be taken with the respect due to himself. —
这是一起可怕的事件。老人庄严肃穆，不允许对他本人应得的尊重有任何侵犯。 —

They were estranged for more than a week.
他们相互疏远了超过一个星期。

The worse the road was, the more beautiful it was to Jean-Christophe. —
路越崎岖，对让·克里斯托夫来说就越美丽。 —

Every stone had a meaning for him; he knew them all. —
对他而言，每块石头都有特定意义；他全都认识。 —

The shape of a rut seemed to him to be a geographical accident almost of the same kind as the great mass of the Taunus. —
一道车辙的形状在他看来几乎是类似于附近泰努斯山脉的地理事故。 —

In his head he had the map of all the ditches and hillocks of the region extending two kilometers round about the house, and when he made any change in the fixed ordering of the furrows, he thought himself no less important than an engineer with a gang of navvies; —
他的脑海中保存着小屋周围两公里范围内所有沟壑丘陵的地图，当他改变田块排布时，他觉得自己比起拥有一队劳工的工程师也不遑多让； —

and when with his heel he crushed the dried top of a clod of earth, and filled up the valley at the foot of it, it seemed to him that his day had not been wasted.
当他用脚跟踩碎一个土块的干顶部，填平其底部谷地时，他感到这一天并未浪费。

Sometimes they would meet a peasant in his cart on the highroad, and, if the peasant knew Jean-Christophe’s grandfather they would climb up by his side. —
有时他们在大路上会遇到乘着马车的农民，如果农民认识让·克里斯托夫的祖父，他们就会爬上车边。 —

That was a Paradise on earth. The horse went fast, and Jean-Christophe laughed with delight, except when they passed other people walking; —
那真是人间天堂。马儿跑得飞快，让·克里斯托夫高兴地笑了，除非他们经过步行的其他人； —

then he would look serious and indifferent, like a person accustomed to drive in a carriage, but his heart was filled with pride. —
然后他会看起来严肃漠然，像一个习惯坐马车的人，但他心里充满了自豪。 —

His grandfather and the man would talk without bothering about him. —
他祖父和那人会谈话而不理他。 —

Hidden and crushed by their legs, hardly sitting, sometimes not sitting at all, he was perfectly happy. —
被他们的腿隐藏和挤压，几乎不能坐着，有时干脆无法坐着，他却完全快乐。 —

He talked aloud, without troubling about any answer to what he said. —
他大声说话，不在意有无回答他说的话。 —

He watched the horse’s ears moving. What strange creatures those ears were! —
他看着马耳朵的动静。那些耳朵多么奇怪的生物！ —

They moved in every direction—to right and left; —
他们朝四面八方移动——左右摇晃； —

they hitched forward, and fell to one side, and turned backwards in such a ridiculous way that he: —
他们前冲，一侧倾斜，倒退，姿态荒谬至极，以至于他： —

burst out laughing. He would pinch his grandfather to make him look at them; —
忍不住笑了出来。他捏着祖父，想让他看看它们； —

but his grandfather was not interested in them. —
但他的祖父对它们不感兴趣。 —

He would repulse Jean-Christophe, and tell him to be quiet. Jean-Christophe would ponder. —
他会推开让-克里斯托夫，告诉他安静下来。让-克里斯托夫思索着。 —

He thought that when people grow up they are not surprised by anything, and that when they are strong they know everything; —
他认为人长大后对任何事都不会感到惊讶，而变得强壮后就样样知道； —

and he would try to be grown up himself, and to hide his curiosity, and appear to be indifferent.
他努力让自己看起来像个大人，隐藏好奇心，表现得漠不关心。

He was silent them The rolling of the carriage made him drowsy. —
他就这样沉默了。马车的走动让他昏昏欲睡。 —

The horse’s little bells danced—ding, ding; dong, ding. —
马铃小铃铛叮当作响——叮叮；咚，叮。 —

Music awoke in the air, and hovered about the silvery bells, like a swarm of bees. —
音乐在空气中唤醒，绕着银铃飞舞，像一群蜜蜂。 —

It beat gaily with the rhythm of the cart—an endless source of song, and one song came on another’s heels. —
它欢快地与车厢的韵律搭配——无尽的歌曲源泉，一首歌曲接一首歌曲。 —

To Jean-Christophe they were superb. There was one especially which he thought so beautiful that he tried to draw his grandfather’s attention to it. —
对让-克里斯托夫来说，它们是极好的。有一首尤为美妙，他觉得它很美，想让祖父注意。 —

He sang it aloud. They took no heed of him. —
他高声唱出来。他们无动于衷。 —

He began it again in a higher key, then again shrilly, and then old Jean Michel said irritably: —
他用更高的音调再次开始，然后锐利地再来一遍，老让·米歇尔不耐烦地说： —

“Be quiet; you are deafening me with your trumpet-call!” That took away his breath. —
“安静；你的喇叭声把我震聋了！” 这让他屏息。 —

He blushed and was silent and mortified. —
他脸红了，沉默不语，感到羞愧。 —

He crushed with his contempt the two stockish imbeciles who did not understand the sublimity of his song, which opened wide the heavens! —
他鄙视地打压了那两个呆头呆脑的蠢货，他们不理解他那首打开天堂之门的高妙之歌！ —

He thought them very ugly, with their week-old beards, and they smelled very ill.
他觉得他们很丑，胡须已经长了一周，而且闻起来很难闻。

He found consolation, in watching the horse’s shadow. That an astonishing sight. —
他在看马的影子时找到了慰藉。那是一个惊人的景象。 —

The beast ran along with them lying on its side. —
那个野兽与他们并排奔跑，躺在一边。 —

In the evening, when they returned, it covered a part of the field. —
黄昏时，当他们回来时，它遮住了一部分田野。 —

They came upon a rick, and the shadow’s head would rise up and then return to its place when they had passed. —
他们走到了一堆草垛旁，影子的头会升起然后再回到原位，当他们经过时。 —

Its snout was flattened out like a burst balloon; its ears were large, and pointed like candles. —
它的鼻子被压扁得像一个爆炸的气球；耳朵又大又尖，像蜡烛一样。 —

Was it really a shadow or a creature? Jean-Christophe would not have liked to encounter it alone. —
那到底是个影子还是个生物？让·克里斯托夫不愿意独自遇见它。 —

He would not have run after it as he did after his grandfather’s shadow, so as to walk on its head and trample it under foot. —
他不会像追随爷爷的影子那样追逐它，踩在它的头上将其践踏。 —

The shadows of the trees when the sun was low were also objects of meditation. —
当太阳低垂时，树的影子也成了沉思的对象。 —

They made barriers along the road, and looked like phantoms, melancholy and grotesque, saying, “Go no farther!” —
它们沿路形成屏障，看起来像幽灵，悲伤而奇怪，说：“不要再走！” —

and the creaking axles and the horse’s shoes repeated, “No farther!”
而那吱吱作响的车轮与马蹄声则反复着：“不要再走！”

Jean-Christophe’s grandfather and the driver never ceased their endless chatter. —
让·克里斯托夫的祖父和车夫喋喋不休。 —

Sometimes they would raise their voices, especially when they talked of local affairs or things going wrong. —
有时他们会提高声音，特别是当谈论地方事务或出了什么问题时。 —

The child would cease to dream, and look at them uneasily. —
孩子停止了做梦，不安地看着他们。 —

It seemed to him that they were angry with each other, and he was afraid that they would come to blows. —
他觉得他们在生彼此的气，担心他们会动手打架。 —

However, on the contrary, they best understood each other in their common dislikes. —
然而，恰恰相反，他们最擅长的就是共同讨厌的事情。 —

For the most part, they were without haired or the least passion; —
大部分时候，他们之间没有恨意或激情; —

they talked of small matters loudly, just for the pleasure of talking, as is the joy of the people. —
他们大声谈论一些小事情，只是为了说说而已，这是人们的乐趣。 —

But Jean-Christophe, not understanding their conversation, only heard the loud tones of their voices and saw their agitated faces, and thought fearfully: —
但让·克里斯托夫听不懂他们的对话，只能听到他们的声音和看到他们激动的脸，心里害怕地想： —

“How wicked he looks! Surely they hate each other! —
“他看起来多么恶毒！他们肯定相互仇恨! —

How he rolls his eyes, and how wide he opens his mouth! —
他滚动着眼睛，张开嘴巴! —

He spat on my nose in his fury. O Lord, he will kill my grandfather!…”
他愤怒地朝我鼻子吐口水。哦，主啊，他会杀死我的祖父!…”

The carriage stopped. The peasant said: “Here you are.” The two deadly enemies shook hands. —
马车停下来。农民说：“到了。”两个死敌握手。 —

Jean-Christophe’s grandfather got down first; the peasant handed him the little boy. —
让·克里斯托夫的祖父先下车；农民把小男孩递给了祖父。 —

The whip flicked the horse, the carriage rolled away, and there they were by the little sunken road near the Rhine. The sun dipped down below the fields. —
鞭子轻轻抽打了马，马车缓缓驶离，他们就站在莱茵河附近的小沿河路旁。太阳在田野下沉。 —

The path wound almost to the water’s edge. —
小路几乎蜿蜒到水边。 —

The plentiful soft grass yielded under their feet, crackling. —
茂密柔软的草在他们的脚下发出咯吱声。 —

Alder-trees leaned over the river, almost half in the water. A cloud of gnats danced. —
赤杨树倾斜在河面上，几乎有一半在水里。一群小小的飞虫翩翩起舞。 —

A boat passed noiselessly, drawn on by the peaceful current, striding along. —
一条船无声地驶过，被和平的洪流牵引着，大步前行。 —

The water sucked the branches of the willows with a little noise like lips. —
水吸吮着柳树的枝干，发出像唇般轻柔的噪音。 —

The light was soft and misty, the air fresh, the river silvery gray. —
光线柔和而朦胧，空气清新，河水呈银白色。 —

They reached their home, and the crickets chirped, and on the threshold smiled his mother’s dear face….
他们抵达了家，蟋蟀唧唧叫，他妈妈亲爱的脸庞在门槛上微笑着….

Oh, delightful memories, kindly visions, which will hum their melody in their tuneful flight through life! —
啊，美好的回忆，友善的幻象，它们将在生命的旅途中低吟其旋律！ —

… Journeys in later life, great towns and moving seas, dream countries and loved faces, are not so exactly graven in the soul as these childish walks, or the corner of the garden seen every day through the window, through the steam and mist made by the child’s mouth glued to it for want of other occupation….
……以后的旅行，繁华的城镇和汹涌的海洋，梦幻之地和所爱的面孔，并不如这些童年的漫步，或是每天通过窗户看见的花园一角那样清晰地刻在灵魂中……

Evening now, and the house is shut up. Home … the refuge from all terrifying things—darkness, night, fear, things unknown. —
现在是晚上，房子已经关闭。家园… 是躲避一切可怕事物的避所——黑暗、夜晚、恐惧、未知之物。 —

No enemy can pass the threshold…. The fire flares. A golden duck turns slowly on the spit; —
没有敌人可以越过门槛…… 火焰在燃烧。 一只金色的鸭子在转动着，慢慢地烤制着; —

a delicious smell of fat and of crisping flesh scents the room. —
一股美味的脂肪和酥脆肉的香味充盈整个房间。 —

The joy of eating, incomparable delight, a religious enthusiasm, thrills of joy! —
这无与伦比的愉悦，是一种无与伦比的快乐，宗教般的狂热，愉悦的快感！ —

The body is too languid with the soft warmth, and the fatigues of the day, and the familiar voices. —
身体因柔软的温暖、一天的疲劳和熟悉的声音而变得有些倦怠。 —

The act of digestion plunges it in ecstasy, and faces, shadows, the lampshade, the tongues of flame dancing with a shower of stars in the fireplace—all take on a magical appearance of delight. —
消化的过程使其陶醉，房间里的脸庞、影子、灯罩、壁炉里舞动的火苗化成一幅令人陶醉的魔幻景象。 —

Jean-Christophe lays his cheek on his plate, the better to enjoy all this happiness….
让-克里斯托夫把脸颊放在盘子上，更好地享受这一切幸福……

He is in his soft bed. How did he come there? He is overcome with weariness. —
他躺在软绵绵的床上。他是怎么到那里的？疲惫袭来。 —

The buzzing of the voices in the room and the visions of the day are intermingled in his mind. —
房间里声音嗡嗡作响，一天的景象在他的脑海中交织。 —

His father takes his violin; the shrill sweet sounds cry out complaining in the night. —
他的父亲拿走了他的小提琴；尖锐而甜美的声音在夜晚发出抱怨的哭声。 —

But the crowning joy is when his mother comes and takes Jean-Christophe’s hands. —
但最大的喜悦是当他母亲走过来握住了让-克里斯托夫的双手。 —

He is drowsy, and, leaning over him, in a low voice she sings, as he asks, an, old song with words that have no meaning. —
他昏昏欲睡，母亲伸过身去，用低声哼唱着，这是一首无意义的老歌。 —

His father thinks such music stupid, but Jean-Christophe never wearies of it. —
他父亲认为这样的音乐愚蠢，但让-克里斯托夫却永远不会厌倦。 —

He holds his breath, and is between laughing and crying. His heart is intoxicated. —
他屏住呼吸，忍不住笑和哭。他的心被陶醉着。 —

He does not know where he is, and he is overflowing with tenderness. —
他不知道自己在哪，他充满了温情。 —

He throws his little arms round his mother’s neck, and hugs her with all his strength. —
他用双臂环抱母亲的脖子，尽情地拥抱着她。 —

She says, laughing:
她笑着说：

“You want to strangle me?”
“你想要勒死我吗？”

He hugs her close. How he loves her! How he loves everything! Everybody, everything! —
他紧紧地拥抱着她。他是多么爱她啊！他爱所有的人，所有的事物！ —

All is good, all is beautiful…. He sleeps. The cricket on the hearth cheeps. —
一切都是好的，都是美丽的……他睡着了。壁炉上的蟋蟀在叽叽喳喳。 —

His grandfather’s tales, the great heroes, float by in the happy night…. —
他祖父的传说，那些伟大的英雄，在幸福的夜晚飘过…… —

To be a hero like them!… Yes, he will be that … he is that…. —
像他们一样成为英雄！……是的，他将成为那样的人……他就是。 —

Ah, how good it is to live!
啊，活着是多么美好！

What an abundance of strength, joy, pride, is in that little creature! What superfluous energy! —
那个小生物中蕴藏着多少力量、快乐、自豪啊！多余的能量！ —

His body and mind never cease to move; they are carried round and round breathlessly. —
他的身体和心灵从未停止移动；他们无休止地被带来带去。 —

Like a little salamander, he dances day and night in the flames. —
就像一只小火蜥蜴，他日夜在火焰中跳舞。 —

His is an unwearying enthusiasm finding its food in all things. —
他有着不知疲倦的热情，在一切事物中找到了滋养。 —

A delicious dream, a bubbling well, a treasure of inexhaustible hope, a laugh, a song, unending drunkenness. —
一场美味的梦，一口气泡的井，一箱无穷尽的希望宝藏，一阵笑声，一曲歌，不停止的狂欢。 —

Life does not hold him yet; always he escapes it. He swims in the infinite. How happy he is! —
生活还不能困住他；他总是逃避。他在无限中游泳。他是多么幸福！ —

He is made to be happy! There is nothing in him that does not believe in happiness, and does not cling to it with all his little strength and passion!…
他天生是快乐的！他的一切都信仰幸福，并以全力和激情紧紧抓住它！…

Life will soon see to it that he is brought to reason.
生活很快就会强迫他理智起来。