月亮和六便士 第十四章(1)

 　　Chapter 14 第十四章

　　During the journey back to England I thought much of Strickland.  在回伦敦的旅途上，关于思特里克兰德我又想了很多。

　　I tried to set in order what I had to tell his wife.  我试着把要告诉他妻子的事理出一个头绪来。

　　It was unsatisfactory, and I could not imagine that she would be content with me; I was not content with myself.  事情办得并不妙，我想象得出，她不会对我感到满意的，我对自己也不满意。

　　Strickland perplexed¹ me. I could not understand his motives².  思特里克兰德叫我迷惑不解。我不明白他行事的动机。

　　When I had asked him what first gave him the idea of being a painter, he was unable or unwilling³ to tell me.  当我问他，他最初为什么想起要学绘画的时候，他没能给我说清楚，也许他根本就不愿意告诉我。

　　I could make nothing of it.  我一点儿也搞不清楚。

　　I tried to persuade myself than an obscure feeling of revolt had been gradually coming to a head in his slow mind,  我企图这样解释这件事：在他的迟钝的心灵中逐渐产生了一种朦胧模糊的反叛意识。

　　but to challenge this was the undoubted fact that he had never shown any impatience⁴ with the monotony of his life.  但是，一件不容置疑的事实却驳斥了上述解释：他对自己过去那种单调的生活从来没有流露出什么厌烦不耐啊。

　　If, seized by an intolerable boredom⁵, he had determined⁶ to be a painter merely to break with irksome ties,  it would have been comprehensible,  如果他只是无法忍受无聊的生活而决心当一个画家，以图挣脱烦闷的枷锁，这是可以理解的，

　　and commonplace; but commonplace is precisely⁷ what I felt he was not.  也是极其平常的事；但是问题在于，我觉得他绝对不是一个平常的人。

　　At last, because I was romantic, I devised an explanation which I acknowledged to be far-fetched, but which was the only one that in any way satisfied me.  最后，也许我有些罗曼蒂克，我想象出一个解释来，尽管这个解释有些牵强，却是唯一能使我感到满意的。

　　It was this: I asked myself whether there was not in his soul some deep-rooted instinct of creation, which the circumstances of his life had obscured,  那就是：我怀疑是否在他的灵魂中深深埋藏着某种创作的欲望，这种欲望尽管为他的生活环境掩盖着，

　　but which grew relentlessly⁸, as a cancer may grow in the living tissues, till at last it took possession of his whole being and forced him irresistibly⁹ to action.  却一直在毫不留情地膨胀壮大，正象肿瘤在有机组织中不断长大一样，直到最后完全把他控制住，逼得他必须采取行动，毫无反抗能力。

　　The cuckoo lays its egg in the strange bird's nest, and when the young one is hatched it shoulders its foster-brothers out and breaks at last the nest that has sheltered it. 杜鹃把蛋下到别的鸟巢里，当雏鸟孵出以后，就把它的异母兄弟们挤出巢外，最后还要把庇护它的巢窝毁掉。

　　But how strange it was that the creative instinct should seize upon this dull stockbroker¹⁰, to his own ruin, perhaps,  但是奇怪的是，这种创作欲竟会抓住了一个头脑有些迟钝的证券经纪人，可能导致他的毁灭，

　　and to the misfortune of such as were dependent on him;  使那些依靠他生活的人陷入不幸。

　　and yet no stranger than the way in which the spirit of God has seized men, powerful and rich, pursuing them with stubborn vigilance till at last, conquered,  但是如果同上帝的玄旨妙义有时竟也把人们抓住这一点比起来，倒也不足为奇。这些人有钱有势，可是上帝却极其警觉地对他们紧追不舍，直到最后把他们完全征服，

　　they have abandoned the joy of the world and the love of women for the painful austerities of the cloister¹¹.  这时他们就抛弃掉世俗的欢乐、女人的爱情，甘心到寺院中过着凄苦冷清的生活。

　　Conversion¹² may come under many shapes, and it may be brought about in many ways.  皈依能以不同的形态出现，也可以通过不同的途径实现。

　　With some men it needs a cataclysm¹³, as a stone may be broken to fragments by the fury of a torrent;  有一些人通过激变，有如愤怒的激流把石块一下子冲击成齑粉；

　　but with some it comes gradually, as a stone may be worn away by the ceaseless fall of a drop of water.  另一些人则由于日积月累，好象不断的水滴，迟早要把石块磨穿。

　　Strickland had the directness of the fanatic¹⁴ and the ferocity of the apostle. 思特里克兰德有着盲信者的直截了当和使徒的狂热不羁。

1 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

2 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

3 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

4 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

5 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

8 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

9 irresistibly   

adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地

参考例句：

• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside. 她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was irresistibly attracted by her charm. 他不能自已地被她的魅力所吸引。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 stockbroker   

n.股票（或证券），经纪人（或机构）

参考例句：

• The main business of stockbroker is to help clients buy and sell shares.股票经纪人的主要业务是帮客户买卖股票。
• My stockbroker manages my portfolio for me.我的证券经纪人替我管理投资组合。

11 cloister   

n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝

参考例句：

• They went out into the stil,shadowy cloister garden.他们出了房间，走到那个寂静阴沉的修道院的园子里去。
• The ancient cloister was a structure of red brick picked out with white stone.古老的修道院是一座白石衬托着的红砖建筑物。

12 conversion   

n.转化，转换，转变

参考例句：

• He underwent quite a conversion.他彻底变了。
• Waste conversion is a part of the production process.废物处理是生产过程的一个组成部分。

13 cataclysm   

n.洪水，剧变，大灾难

参考例句：

• The extinct volcano's eruption would mean a cataclysm for the city.死火山又重新喷发，对这座城市来说意味着大难临头。
• The cataclysm flooded the entire valley.洪水淹没了整个山谷。

14 fanatic   

n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a football fanatic.亚历山大是个足球迷。
• I am not a religious fanatic but I am a Christian.我不是宗教狂热分子，但我是基督徒。