月亮和六便士 第五十八章(7)

Then I told them what I had learned about Charles Strickland in Tahiti. 这以后我把我听到的查理斯·思特里克兰德在塔希提的情形给他们讲了一遍。 I thought it unnecessary to say anything of Ata and her boy, but for the rest I was as accurate as I could be. 我认为没有必要提到爱塔和她生的孩子，但是其余的事我都如实说了。 When I had narrated¹ his lamentable² death I ceased. 在我谈完他惨死的情况以后我就没有再往下说了。 For a minute or two we were all silent. 有一两分钟大家都没有说话。 Then Robert Strickland struck a match and lit a cigarette. 后来罗伯特·思特里克兰德划了根火柴，点着了一支纸烟。 "The mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceeding small," he said, somewhat impressively. “上帝的磨盘转动很慢，但是却磨得很细，”罗伯特说，颇有些道貌岸然的样子。 Mrs. Strickland and Mrs. Ronaldson looked down with a slightly pious³ expression which indicated, 思特里克兰德太太和朵纳尔德逊太太满腹虔诚地低下头来。 I felt sure, that they thought the quotation⁴ was from Holy Writ⁵. 我一点儿也不怀疑，这母女两人所以表现得这么虔诚是因为她们都认为罗伯特刚才是从《圣经》上引证了一句话（罗伯特所说“上帝的磨盘”一语，许多外国诗人学者都曾讲过。美国诗人朗费罗也写过类似诗句，并非出自《圣经》）。 Indeed, I was unconvinced that Robert Strickland did not share their illusion. 说实在的，就连罗伯特本人是否绝对无此错觉，我也不敢肯定。 I do not know why I suddenly thought of Strickland's son by Ata. 不知为什么，我突然想到爱塔给思特里克兰德生的那个孩子。 They had told me he was a merry, light-hearted youth. 听别人说，这是个活泼、开朗、快快活活的小伙子。 I saw him, with my mind's eye, on the schooner⁶ on which he worked, wearing nothing but a pair of dungarees; 在想象中，我仿佛看见一艘双桅大帆船，这个年轻人正在船上干活儿，他浑身赤裸，只在腰间围着一块粗蓝布； and at night, when the boat sailed along easily before a light breeze, 天黑了，船儿被清风吹动着，轻快地在海面上滑行， and the sailors were gathered on the upper deck, while the captain and the supercargo lolled in deck-chairs, smoking their pipes, 水手们都聚集在上层甲板上，船长和一个管货的人员坐在帆布椅上自由自在地抽着烟斗。 I saw him dance with another lad, dance wildly, to the wheezy music of the concertina. 思特里克兰德的孩子同另一个小伙子跳起舞来，在暗哑的手风琴声中，他们疯狂地跳着。 Above was the blue sky, and the stars, and all about the desert of the Pacific Ocean. 头顶上是一片碧空，群星熠熠，太平洋烟波淼茫，浩瀚无垠。 A quotation from the Bible came to my lips, but I held my tongue, 《圣经》上的另一句话也到了我的唇边，但是我却控制着自己，没有说出来， for I know that clergymen think it a little blasphemous⁷ when the laity⁸ poach upon their preserves. 因为我知道牧师不喜欢俗人侵犯他们的领域，他们认为这是有渎神明的。 My Uncle Henry, for twenty-seven years Vicar of Whitstable, was on these occasions in the habit of saying that the devil could always quote scripture⁹ to his purpose. 我的亨利叔叔在威特斯台柏尔教区做了二十七年牧师，遇到这种机会就会说：魔鬼要干坏事总可以引证《圣经》。 He remembered the days when you could get thirteen Royal Natives for a shilling. 他一直忘不了一个先令就可以买十三只大牡蛎的日子。

1 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 lamentable   

adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的

参考例句：

• This lamentable state of affairs lasted until 1947.这一令人遗憾的事态一直持续至1947年。
• His practice of inebriation was lamentable.他的酗酒常闹得别人束手无策。

3 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

4 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

5 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

6 schooner   

n.纵帆船

参考例句：

• The schooner was driven ashore.那条帆船被冲上了岸。
• The current was bearing coracle and schooner southward at an equal rate.急流正以同样的速度将小筏子和帆船一起冲向南方。

7 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

8 laity   

n.俗人；门外汉

参考例句：

• The Church and the laity were increasingly active in charity work.教会与俗众越来越积极参与慈善工作。
• Clergy and laity alike are divided in their views.神职人员和信众同样都观点各异。

9 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。