那些无法抗拒的名篇30:Tess of the d'Urbervilles德伯家的苔丝(节选)
30 德伯家的苔丝
On an evening in the latter part of May a middle-aged man was walking homeward from Shaston to the village of Marlott, in the adjoining Vale of Blakemore or Blackmoor. The pair of legs that carried him were rickety, and mere was a bias in his gait which inclined him somewhat to the left of a straight line. He occasionally gave a smart nod, as if in confirmation of some opinion, though he was not thinking of anything in particular. An empty egg一basket was slung upon his arm, the nap of his hat was ruffled, a patch being quite worn away at its brim where his thumb came in taking it off. Presently he was met by an elderly parson astride on a gray mare, who, as he rode, hummed a wandering tune. "Good night t' ee，”said the man with the basket.
五月下旬的一个傍晚，一位中年男子正从沙斯顿赶回自己的家乡—马洛特。该村庄坐落在与沙斯顿毗邻的布雷克摩(或布莱克摩)山谷里。这位中年人拖着两条蹒跚的腿，步态倾斜，整个身子总是向左边歪着。他偶尔也把头轻巧地一点，仿佛是对什么事情表示赞同，其实他什么都没想。他胳膊上挎着一只盛鸡蛋的空篮子，帽子的绒面皱皱巴巴的，摘帽子时大拇指接触的那个地方已经磨损了一大块。不一会儿，一个骑着灰色母马、随口哼着小调的老牧师迎面而来。“你好。”挎着篮子的男子说。
"Good night, Sir John,"said the parson.
“你好，约翰爵士。”牧师说道。
The pedestrian，after another pace or two, halted，and turned round.
步行的男子又走了一两步，站住了，转过身来。
"Now, sir, begging your pardon, we met last market-day on this road about this time, and I said `Good-night; and you made reply `Good night, Sir John; as now."
“呢，先生，俺真不明白，上回赶集的那天，差不多也是在这个时候，俺俩在这条路上相遇了，俺对你说了一声‘你好’，你也是像方才一样回答:‘你好，约翰爵士。’”
"I did," said the parson.
“不错，我是这么说的。”牧师说道。
"And once before that near a month ago."
“在那以前还有过一回，大概一个月以前。”
"I may have."
“或许是的。”
"Then what might your meaning be in calling me‘Sir John’ these different times, when I be plain Jack Durbeyfield，the haggler?"
“那么，你干吗三番两次地叫俺‘约翰爵士’呀?俺只不过是个普普通通的小贩，名叫杰克·德贝菲尔呀。”
The parson rode a step or two nearer.
牧师拍马走近了一两步。
"It was only my whim，”he said, and, after a moment's hesitation:"It was on account of a discovery I made some little time ago, whilst I was hunting up pedigrees for the new county history. I am Parson Tringham，the antiquary, of Stagfoot Lane. Don't you really know, Durbeyfield, that you are the lineal representative of the ancient and knightly family of the d' Urbervilles, who derived their descent from Sir Pagan d' Urberville, that renowned knight who came from Normandy with William the Conqueror, as appears by Battle Abbey Roll?"
“那是我的一时兴起。”牧师说道，然后又迟疑了一会儿说，“那是因为不久前我为编写新郡志而考查各个家谱时，偶尔发现了这件事。我是斯塔福特路的特林厄姆牧师。德贝菲尔，你真的不知道你是古老高贵的爵士世家德伯维尔的直系子孙吗?德伯维尔的始祖是佩根·德伯维尔爵士，根据《功臣谱》的记载，这位著名的武将是跟随征服王从诺曼底来的。”
"Never heard it before, sir!"
“以前俺可从来没听说过这事呀，先生!”
"Well it's true. Throw up your chin a moment, so that I may catch me profile of your face better. Yes, that' s the d' Urberville nose and chin一a little debased. Your ancestor was one of the twelve knights who assisted the Lord of Estremavilla in Normandy in his conquest of Glamorganshire. Branches of your family held manors over all this part of England, their names appear in the Pipe Rolls in the time of King Stephen. In the reign of King John one of them was rich enough to give a manor to the Knights Hospitallers, and in Edward the Second's time your forefather Brian was summoned to Westminster to attend the great Council there. You declined a little in Oliver Cromwell's time, but to no serious extent, and in Charles the Second's reign you were made Knights of the Royal Oak for your loyalty. Aye, there have been generations of Sir Johns among you, and if knighthood were hereditary, like a baronetcy; as it practically was in old times, when men were knighted from father to son, you would be Sir, John now."
“这是真的。把你的下巴抬起来一点点，让我好好看看你的脸。不错，这正是德伯维尔的鼻子和下巴—但有一点儿衰落。辅佐诺曼底的埃斯特玛维拉勋爵征服格拉摩根郡有12个武将，你的祖先就是其中一个。你家族的分支在英格兰这一带拥有好多庄园，他们的名字出现在斯蒂芬王朝时代的《国库年报》里。在约翰王统治时代，其中有几个富豪还把受封领地捐赠给了僧兵团。在爱德华二世时代，你的祖先布赖恩被召到威斯敏斯特参加过大议会。在克伦威尔时代，你们家族有所衰败，但不算严重。在查理二世时代，你们家由于忠于君主，被封为‘御橡爵士’。呃，你的家族中已有好几代约翰爵士了，假如爵士封号也像男爵那样，可以世袭相传，那么，你现在不就是约翰爵士了吗?实际上，在过去，爵士封号就是世袭的。”
"Ye don't say so!"
“可你没有这样说过呀!”
"In short," concluded the parson，decisively smacking his leg with his switch，"there's hardly such another family in England."
“简而言之，”牧师态度坚决地用马鞭抽了一下自己的腿，下结论说，“在英格兰，你们这样的家族简直找不出第二家。”
"Daze my eyes, and isn’t there?" said Durbeyfield. "And here have I been knocking about, year after year, from pillar to post, as if I was no more than the commonest feller in the parish... And how long hev this news about me been knowed，Pa' son Tringham?"
“真令我吃惊，在英格兰找不出第二家吗?”德贝菲尔说，“可是我一直在这一带四处漂泊，一年又一年的，糟糕透顶了，好像我同这个教区里的最普通的人没什么两样……特林汉姆牧师，关于我们家族的这件事，大家知道吗，有多久了?”
The clergyman explained that, as far as he was aware，it had quite died out of knowledge，and could hardly be said to be known at all. His own investigations had begun on a day in the preceding spring when，having been engaged in tracing the vicissitudes of the d’Urberville family, he had observed Durbeyfield's name on his wagon, and had thereupon been led to make inquiries about his father and grandfather till he had no doubt on the subject.
牧师解释说，据他所知，这件事儿已经被大家遗忘了，很难说有什么人知道。他自己的调查是从去年春天开始的，他碰巧看到了刻在马车上的德贝菲尔这个姓氏，由于对德伯维尔家族的盛衰变迁极感兴趣，他就展开了对德贝菲尔父亲和祖父的调查，直至彻底弄清楚了这个问题。
"At first I resolved not to disturb you with such a useless piece of information," said he. "However, our impulses are too strong for our judgment sometimes. I thought you might perhaps know something of it all the while."
“起初，我并不想把这个毫无价值的事实讲给你听，免得打扰了你，”他说，“但是，我们的冲动有时候强于我们的判断力。我本以为你或多或少知道一些情况呢。”
"Well, I have heard once or twice,'tis true, that my family had seen better days afore they came to Blackmoor. But i took no notice o' t, thinking it to mean that we had once kept two horses where we now keep only one. I've got a wold silver spoon, and a wold graven seal at home, too; but, Lord, what's a spoon and seal?... And to think that I and these noble d' Urbervilles were one flesh all the time. ' Twas said that my gr't-grandfer had secrets, and didn't care to talk of where he came from... And where do we raise our smoke, now, parson, if I may make so bold, I mean, where do we d'Urbervilles liver?"
“是啊，的确是的，有过一两回，俺听说俺家在来布莱克摩山谷之前，日子要好过得多。可俺却没在意，只是以为俺家曾经有过两匹马儿，而不像现在这样，只有一匹。俺家里倒是有一把古老的银匙，也有一个古老的印章，可是，先生，银匙和印章又能说明什么呢?……哪里想到俺会和这些高贵的德伯维尔血肉相连。据说俺老爷子有些秘密事儿，他不肯说出他是打哪儿来的……那么，俺冒昧地问一句，眼下俺家的人在哪儿呢?俺是说，俺德伯维尔家的人眼下住在哪儿呢?”
"You don't live anywhere. You are extinct as a county family."
“哪儿都没有了。作为郡里的贵族人家，已经绝嗣了。”
"That' s bad."
“真是伤心呐。”
"Yes what the mendacious family chronicles call extinct in the male line that is, gone down gone under."
“是啊，那些编造家史的人，总是把衰败了的男系世家称作绝嗣家族。”
作者介绍:
托马斯·哈代(1840-1928)，英国伟大的小说家和诗人，在文坛上享有盛誉。哈代共发表了14部长篇小说，4个短篇小说集，8卷诗和两部诗剧。就哈代的整个小说创作来说，可以分为三个阶段。第一个阶段的小说是抒发田园理想的颂歌，带有浪漫主义风格，主要有《绿荫下》、《远离尘嚣》等。第二个阶段的作品描写威塞克斯社会的悲剧，主要有《还乡》、《卡斯特桥市长》等。第三个阶段的作品描写威塞克斯破产农民的前途和命运，主要有《德伯家的苔丝》、《无名的裘德》等。
德贝菲尔在偶尔得知自己是古老的武士后裔时，这个小贩高兴得手舞足蹈。他幻想着让苔丝去认毫无渊源的“本家”，这样能帮他摆脱经济上的困境。苔丝在被“本家”亚雷奸污后，遭到了社会的耻笑和指责。后来，苔丝遇到了“真命天子”安玑，但这段姻缘在新婚之夜突变，爱人远走巴西。由于生活所迫，苔丝杀死了乘虚而入的亚雷。
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