While Sancho Panza and his wife, Teresa Cascajo, held the above irrelevant conversation, Don Quixote’s niece and housekeeper were not idle, for by a thousand signs they began to perceive that their uncle and master meant to give them the slip the third time, and once more betake himself to his, for them, ill-errant chivalry. —
当桑乔·帕恩萨和他的妻子特丽莎·卡斯卡霍进行上述无关紧要的谈话时，堂吉诃德的侄女和女管家可不闲着，通过无数迹象他们开始察觉到他们的叔叔和主人想要再次溜掉，再次投身于他们看来不太正常的骑士冒险生涯。 —

They strove by all the means in their power to divert him from such an unlucky scheme; —
他们竭尽所能试图劝阻他放弃这个倒霉的计划； —

but it was all preaching in the desert and hammering cold iron. —
但这一切都是徒劳无功，无用的劝说和铁打成冰。 —

Nevertheless, among many other representations made to him, the housekeeper said to him, “In truth, master, if you do not keep still and stay quiet at home, and give over roaming mountains and valleys like a troubled spirit, looking for what they say are called adventures, but what I call misfortunes, I shall have to make complaint to God and the king with loud supplication to send some remedy.”
尽管如此，在向他提出很多其他建议中，女管家对他说：“实话说，主人，如果您不安静地呆在家里，不再像个受困扰的灵魂一样漫游山山坡坡，寻找他们所谓的冒险，但我称之为不幸，我将不得不大声向上帝和国王祈求派遣一些救济措施。”

To which Don Quixote replied, “What answer God will give to your complaints, housekeeper, I know not, nor what his Majesty will answer either; —
对此，堂吉诃德回答说：“房管，您的抱怨会得到上帝怎样的回应，我不知道，陛下会如何回答也不知晓； —

I only know that if I were king I should decline to answer the numberless silly petitions they present every day; —
我仅知道如果我是国王，我应该拒绝回答每天他们呈递的这些愚蠢的请愿； —

for one of the greatest among the many troubles kings have is being obliged to listen to all and answer all, and therefore I should be sorry that any affairs of mine should worry him.”
因为国王所面临的众多烦恼之一就是被迫听取所有人的请求并回复所有请求，因此我会很抱歉如果我的事务令他烦恼。”

Whereupon the housekeeper said, “Tell us, senor, at his Majesty’s court are there no knights?”
于是女管家说：“请告诉我们，先生，在陛下的宫廷中有没有骑士？”

“There are,” replied Don Quixote, “and plenty of them; —
“有，”堂吉诃德回答，“而且很多； —

and it is right there should be, to set off the dignity of the prince, and for the greater glory of the king’s majesty.”
这是合乎情理的，应该有，以昭扬王子的尊严，增添国王陛下的荣耀。”

“Then might not your worship,” said she, “be one of those that, without stirring a step, serve their king and lord in his court?”
“那么您尊贵的人，”她说，“难道不能成为那些在宫廷中，无需迈出一步，为他们的国王和主人服务的人之一吗？”

“Recollect, my friend,” said Don Quixote, “all knights cannot be courtiers, nor can all courtiers be knights-errant, nor need they be. —
“请记住，我的朋友，”堂吉诃德说，“并非所有的骑士都能成为宫廷人，宫廷里的所有人也不必成为骑士-冒险家，也不需要。 —

There must be all sorts in the world; and though we may be all knights, there is a great difference between one and another; —
世界上必须有各种各样的人；虽然我们都是骑士，但一个和另一个之间有很大的区别； —

for the courtiers, without quitting their chambers, or the threshold of the court, range the world over by looking at a map, without its costing them a farthing, and without suffering heat or cold, hunger or thirst; —
因为宫廷人，在不离开他们的房间，或者宫廷的门槛，通过看地图就可以环游世界，而这对他们没有任何损失，也不受饥寒或渴，不受日晒雨淋之苦； —

but we, the true knights-errant, measure the whole earth with our own feet, exposed to the sun, to the cold, to the air, to the inclemencies of heaven, by day and night, on foot and on horseback; —
但我们，真正的骑士-冒险家，我们用自己的双脚测量整个地球，暴露于阳光、严寒、空气、天地之间，在白天和黑夜，步行或骑马；” —

nor do we only know enemies in pictures, but in their own real shapes; —
我们不仅通过图片认识敌人，还能看到他们真实的形态； —

and at all risks and on all occasions we attack them, without any regard to childish points or rules of single combat, whether one has or has not a shorter lance or sword, whether one carries relics or any secret contrivance about him, whether or not the sun is to be divided and portioned out, and other niceties of the sort that are observed in set combats of man to man, that you know nothing about, but I do. —
在任何风险和任何场合，我们都要攻击他们，毫不在乎孩子气的观点或单挑的规则，无论是拿着更短的矛还是剑，是否携带遗物或任何秘密装置，不管太阳是否被分割和划分出来，以及其他在你所不了解的人对人设定战斗中遵守的细节。 —

And you must know besides, that the true knight-errant, though he may see ten giants, that not only touch the clouds with their heads but pierce them, and that go, each of them, on two tall towers by way of legs, and whose arms are like the masts of mighty ships, and each eye like a great mill-wheel, and glowing brighter than a glass furnace, must not on any account be dismayed by them. —
并且您必须知道，真正的骑士，即使看到十个巨人，不仅接触云彩，而且穿透了它们，并且每个巨人都有两座高塔作为双腿，他们的胳膊像庞大船只的桅杆，每只眼睛像巨大的滚轮，比玻璃熔炉还要亮，绝对不能因此而惊慌。 —

On the contrary, he must attack and fall upon them with a gallant bearing and a fearless heart, and, if possible, vanquish and destroy them, even though they have for armour the shells of a certain fish, that they say are harder than diamonds, and in place of swords wield trenchant blades of Damascus steel, or clubs studded with spikes also of steel, such as I have more than once seen. —
相反，他必须带着英勇的态度和无畏的心去进攻和攻击他们，并且尽可能地征服和消灭他们，即使他们的装甲是某种比钻石还要坚硬的鱼的贝壳，并且行使达马斯库斯钢的锋利剑或同样是钢铁尖刺的有棱角的棍棒，我已见过不止一次。 —

All this I say, housekeeper, that you may see the difference there is between the one sort of knight and the other; —
我说这些，管家，是为了让您看到这两类骑士之间的区别； —

and it would be well if there were no prince who did not set a higher value on this second, or more properly speaking first, kind of knights-errant; —
如果没有一个王子高度重视这第二种，或者更恰当地讲第一种骑士，那就好了； —

for, as we read in their histories, there have been some among them who have been the salvation, not merely of one kingdom, but of many.”
因为正如我们在史书中所读到的，曾有一些骑士，他们不仅是一个王国的救星，而且还是许多王国的救星。”

“Ah, senor,” here exclaimed the niece, “remember that all this you are saying about knights-errant is fable and fiction; —
“啊，先生，”侄女在这里喊道，“请记住，你现在所说关于骑士的一切都是虚构和幻想； —

and their histories, if indeed they were not burned, would deserve, each of them, to have a sambenito put on it, or some mark by which it might be known as infamous and a corrupter of good manners.”
如果这些史书没有被焚烧，它们本应该每一本都被标上一个疆土，或者一些标记，用以表明它是不名誉的，是有损于良好风俗习惯的。”

“By the God that gives me life,” said Don Quixote, “if thou wert not my full niece, being daughter of my own sister, I would inflict a chastisement upon thee for the blasphemy thou hast uttered that all the world should ring with. —
“就是说我现在的全侄女，作为我亲姐姐的女儿，要不是这样，我会惩罚你说出了这样亵渎的话，让全世界都应当将你谴责。 —

What! can it be that a young hussy that hardly knows how to handle a dozen lace-bobbins dares to wag her tongue and criticise the histories of knights-errant? —
什么！一个年轻的小娘子，几乎不知道如何操作一打花边纸筒，竟然敢伸出舌头批评骑士的历史？ —

What would Senor Amadis say if he heard of such a thing? —
如果阿玛迪斯先生听到这种事情，他会怎么说呢？ —

He, however, no doubt would forgive thee, for he was the most humble-minded and courteous knight of his time, and moreover a great protector of damsels; —
不过，毫无疑问，他会原谅你，因为他是他那个时代最谦逊礼貌的骑士，而且也是一个伟大的少女保护者； —

but some there are that might have heard thee, and it would not have been well for thee in that case; —
但是有些人也许已经听到了你的话，你可就惨了； —

for they are not all courteous or mannerly; some are ill-conditioned scoundrels; —
因为他们并不都彬彬有礼；有些是品行恶劣的无赖； —

nor is it everyone that calls himself a gentleman, that is so in all respects; —
也不是每个自称绅士的人在所有方面都是这样； —

some are gold, others pinchbeck, and all look like gentlemen, but not all can stand the touchstone of truth. —
有些是金子，有些是秀才，所有人看起来都像绅士，但并非所有人都经得起真理的试金石； —

There are men of low rank who strain themselves to bursting to pass for gentlemen, and high gentlemen who, one would fancy, were dying to pass for men of low rank; —
低贱出身的人有些拼命要混成绅士，而高贵的绅士却似乎渴望被视为低贱之人； —

the former raise themselves by their ambition or by their virtues, the latter debase themselves by their lack of spirit or by their vices; —
前者通过野心或美德，提升自我，后者因缺乏精神或恶习而贬低自我； —

and one has need of experience and discernment to distinguish these two kinds of gentlemen, so much alike in name and so different in conduct.”
要识别这两种看起来名字相同但行为迥异的绅士，需要经验和洞察力。

“God bless me!” said the niece, “that you should know so much, uncle — enough, if need be, to get up into a pulpit and go preach in the streets — and yet that you should fall into a delusion so great and a folly so manifest as to try to make yourself out vigorous when you are old, strong when you are sickly, able to put straight what is crooked when you yourself are bent by age, and, above all, a caballero when you are not one; —
“天啊！”侄女说道，“您居然了解这么多，叔叔，如果需要的话，足以登上讲坛，在街头传道教义，却又犯了如此巨大的谬见和如此明显的愚蠢，试图使自己看起来强壮，其实年迈，试图让弯曲处变直，自己其实已经身患疾病，尤其是试图让自己成为骑士，而实际上您并非那样； —

for though gentlefolk may he so, poor men are nothing of the kind!”
因为绅士可能如此，贫穷人则不是这种人！”

“There is a great deal of truth in what you say, niece,” returned Don Quixote, “and I could tell you somewhat about birth that would astonish you; —
“你说的很有道理，侄女，”堂吉诃德回答道，“我可以告诉你一些关于血统的事情，这会让你感到惊讶； —

but, not to mix up things human and divine, I refrain. —
不过，不要混淆人之间和神之间的事物，我先忍住了。 —

Look you, my dears, all the lineages in the world (attend to what I am saying) can be reduced to four sorts, which are these: —
听我说，亲爱的朋友们，世界上所有的血统（请注意我的话）可以归结为四类，就是这些： —

those that had humble beginnings, and went on spreading and extending themselves until they attained surpassing greatness; —
那些起源卑微，不断扩张和延伸，直至达到卓越的伟大； —

those that had great beginnings and maintained them, and still maintain and uphold the greatness of their origin; —
那些起源伟大，一直保持着，并继续维护和支持其起源的伟大； —

those, again, that from a great beginning have ended in a point like a pyramid, having reduced and lessened their original greatness till it has come to nought, like the point of a pyramid, which, relatively to its base or foundation, is nothing; —
再次，那些起源伟大，最终以金字塔尖的方式结束，将其原始伟大减少至虚无，就像金字塔的顶点相对于其底部或基础来说是无意义的一样； —

and then there are those — and it is they that are the most numerous — that have had neither an illustrious beginning nor a remarkable mid-course, and so will have an end without a name, like an ordinary plebeian line. —
然后有那些——它们是最多的——那些既没有光荣的开端，也没有显著的中途之路，因此将以无名的结束，就像普通平民血统一样。 —

Of the first, those that had an humble origin and rose to the greatness they still preserve, the Ottoman house may serve as an example, which from an humble and lowly shepherd, its founder, has reached the height at which we now see it. —
对于第一种，那些起源卑微并升华至今仍保持伟大的人家，奥斯曼家族可以作为一个例子，其始祖是一个卑微的牧羊人，它已经达到了我们现在看到的高度。 —

For examples of the second sort of lineage, that began with greatness and maintains it still without adding to it, there are the many princes who have inherited the dignity, and maintain themselves in their inheritance, without increasing or diminishing it, keeping peacefully within the limits of their states. —
对于第二种开始伟大并仍然保持不变的血统，有许多王子继承了尊贵的地位，并在继承中保持着不增不减，和平地保持在其国家的范围之内。 —

Of those that began great and ended in a point, there are thousands of examples, for all the Pharaohs and Ptolemies of Egypt, the Caesars of Rome, and the whole herd (if I may such a word to them) of countless princes, monarchs, lords, Medes, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and barbarians, all these lineages and lordships have ended in a point and come to nothing, they themselves as well as their founders, for it would be impossible now to find one of their descendants, and, even should we find one, it would be in some lowly and humble condition. —
对于那些开始伟大但最终消失的例子，有成千上万的实例，因为埃及的所有法老和托勒密王朝、罗马的凯撒大帝，以及无数的诸侯、君主、领主，美索不达米亚人、亚述人、波斯人、希腊人和野蛮人群体，所有这些世系和权贵最终消失得无影无踪，他们自己和他们的创始人，因为现在几乎不可能找到他们的后代，即使我们找到一个，他也会在一些卑微和谦卑的境况中。 —

Of plebeian lineages I have nothing to say, save that they merely serve to swell the number of those that live, without any eminence to entitle them to any fame or praise beyond this. —
至于平民的世系，我没有什么好说的，除了他们仅仅用来增加生活的人数，并没有任何卓越之处，也无法获得任何超越这一点的名声或赞誉。 —

From all I have said I would have you gather, my poor innocents, that great is the confusion among lineages, and that only those are seen to be great and illustrious that show themselves so by the virtue, wealth, and generosity of their possessors. —
从我所说的一切中，你们应该明白，我的可怜的孩子们，血统之间的混乱是多么之大，只有那些表现出由其主人的品德、财富和慷慨所显示的卓越和辉煌的人才看得见。 —

I have said virtue, wealth, and generosity, because a great man who is vicious will be a great example of vice, and a rich man who is not generous will be merely a miserly beggar; —
我说过品德、财富和慷慨，因为一个邪恶的伟人将成为邪恶的伟大榜样，而一个不慷慨的富人将只会成为吝啬的乞丐； —

for the possessor of wealth is not made happy by possessing it, but by spending it, and not by spending as he pleases, but by knowing how to spend it well. —
因为财富的持有者并不是通过拥有财富而变得幸福，而是通过花费它，不仅仅是随心所欲地花费，而是懂得如何正确花费它。 —

The poor gentleman has no way of showing that he is a gentleman but by virtue, by being affable, well-bred, courteous, gentle-mannered, and kindly, not haughty, arrogant, or censorious, but above all by being charitable; —
贫穷的绅士没有别的方式能够显示他是个绅士，只有通过品德，变得和蔼可亲、有教养、彬彬有礼、文雅、温和，不傲慢、不自大、不爱挑剔，最重要的是要慷慨； —

for by two maravedis given with a cheerful heart to the poor, he will show himself as generous as he who distributes alms with bell-ringing, and no one that perceives him to be endowed with the virtues I have named, even though he know him not, will fail to recognise and set him down as one of good blood; —
因为一个心悦诚服地给穷人两个马雷韦迪（西班牙的货币单位），将展现出他和那些敲响钟声施舍的人一样慷慨，任何人都会认为他具有我所列举的美德，即使他不认识他，也不会忽视并把他认定为有着良好血统的人； —

and it would be strange were it not so; praise has ever been the reward of virtue, and those who are virtuous cannot fail to receive commendation. —
难道这样做才会令人感到奇怪吗？赞扬始终是品德的奖赏，那些有品德的人必定会受到赞美。 —

There are two roads, my daughters, by which men may reach wealth and honours; —
我的女儿们，人们可以通过两种途径获得财富和荣誉； —

one is that of letters, the other that of arms. —
一种是通过文学，另一种是通过武器。 —

I have more of arms than of letters in my composition, and, judging by my inclination to arms, was born under the influence of the planet Mars. I am, therefore, in a measure constrained to follow that road, and by it I must travel in spite of all the world, and it will be labour in vain for you to urge me to resist what heaven wills, fate ordains, reason requires, and, above all, my own inclination favours; —
我的构成更多是武器而不是文字，根据我的武器倾向判断，我在火星的影响下出生。因此，在某种程度上，我被迫走这条道路，不管全世界如何劝阻，我都必须按照天意、命运、理智要求和最重要的是我的个人倾向来行动； —

for knowing as I do the countless toils that are the accompaniments of knight-errantry, I know, too, the infinite blessings that are attained by it; —
了解到无数的骑士冒险所伴随的无数磨难，我也知道通过骑士冒险获得的无尽祝福； —

I know that the path of virtue is very narrow, and the road of vice broad and spacious; —
我知道美德之路十分狭窄，邪恶之路宽广而宽敞； —

I know their ends and goals are different, for the broad and easy road of vice ends in death, and the narrow and toilsome one of virtue in life, and not transitory life, but in that which has no end; —
我知道它们的终点和目标不同，邪恶的宽广平易之路以死亡告终，而美德的狭隘辛苦之路以生命为终点，而且不是暂时的生命，而是永恒无尽的； —

I know, as our great Castilian poet says, that —
你要知道，正如我们伟大的卡斯蒂利亚诗人所说，

It is by rugged paths like these they go
它们是通过这样崎岖的道路前行

That scale the heights of immortality,
登上永生之巅

Unreached by those that falter here below.”
那些在这里踌躇不前的人不曾达到。

“Woe is me!” exclaimed the niece, “my lord is a poet, too! —
“哎呀我！”侄女叫道，“我的大人也是个诗人呢！ —

He knows everything, and he can do everything; —
他什么都懂，什么都会； —

I will bet, if he chose to turn mason, he could make a house as easily as a cage.”
我打赌，如果他愿意当石匠，他能像做笼子一样轻松地盖房子。”

“I can tell you, niece,” replied Don Quixote, “if these chivalrous thoughts did not engage all my faculties, there would be nothing that I could not do, nor any sort of knickknack that would not come from my hands, particularly cages and tooth-picks.”
“我告诉你，侄女，”唐吉柯德回答道，“如果这些骑士的思想没有占据我所有的心思，那将没有什么我做不到的，也不会有任何小玩意儿不会从我手里做出来，特别是笼子和牙签。”

At this moment there came a knocking at the door, and when they asked who was there, Sancho Panza made answer that it was he. —
就在此时，有人敲门，当他们问是谁的时候，圣丹齐宣回答说是他。 —

The instant the housekeeper knew who it was, she ran to hide herself so as not to see him; —
女管家一认出是他，立刻就跑去躲起来，不想见到他； —

in such abhorrence did she hold him. The niece let him in, and his master Don Quixote came forward to receive him with open arms, and the pair shut themselves up in his room, where they had another conversation not inferior to the previous one.
她对他如此厌恶。侄女让他进来，他的主人唐吉柯德也走出来张开双臂迎接他们，两人关在房间里，又进行了一场不逊于之前的对话。