🔊 And Levin remembered a scene he had lately witnessed between Dolly and her children. The children, left to themselves, had begun cooking raspberries over the candles and squirting milk into each other’s mouths with a syringe. Their mother, catching them at these pranks, began reminding them in Levin’s presence of the trouble their mischief gave to the grown-up people, and that this trouble was all for their sake, and that if they smashed the cups they would have nothing to drink their tea out of, and that if they wasted the milk, they would have nothing to eat, and die of hunger.

列文想起前不久目睹多莉和孩子们在一起的一幕。孩子们没人管,先是把树莓放在蜡烛上烤,又用注射器互相往嘴里喷牛奶。母亲撞见他们胡闹,当着列文的面教训他们,说他们这样调皮捣蛋会给大人添麻烦,而大人做这一切都是为了他们；还说要是打碎了茶杯,就没东西喝茶了；要是糟蹋了牛奶,就没东西吃了,会饿死的。

🔊

syringe /sɪˈrɪndʒ/

n. 注射器➕

🔊 And Levin had been struck by the passive, weary incredulity with which the children heard what their mother said to them. They were simply annoyed that their amusing play had been interrupted, and did not believe a word of what their mother was saying. They could not believe it indeed, for they could not take in the immensity of all they habitually enjoyed, and so could not conceive that what they were destroying was the very thing they lived by.

列文注意到,孩子们听母亲说话时,脸上带着消极、厌倦又不相信的神情。他们只是恼恨自己好玩的把戏被打断了,母亲说的话他们一个字也不信。他们确实没法相信,因为他们从来意识不到自己平时享用的东西是多么庞大,所以根本无法想象他们正在毁掉的正是自己赖以生存的东西。

🔊

passive /ˈpæsɪv/

adj. 被动的,消极的➕

🔊

weary /ˈwɪəri/

adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的➕

🔊

incredulity /ˌɪnkrəˈdjuːləti/

n. 怀疑,不相信➕

🔊

conceive /kənˈsiːv/

v. 构想,设想,怀孕➕

🔊

immensity /ɪˈmensəti/

n. 巨大,广阔➕

🔊

habitually /həˈbɪtʃuəli/

adv. 习惯地,惯常地➕

🔊 “That all comes of itself,” they thought, “and there’s nothing interesting or important about it because it has always been so, and always will be so. And it’s all always the same. We’ve no need to think about that, it’s all ready. But we want to invent something of our own, and new. So we thought of putting raspberries in a cup, and cooking them over a candle, and squirting milk straight into each other’s mouths. That’s fun, and something new, and not a bit worse than drinking out of cups.”

“那些东西自己就会来,”他们想,“没什么意思,也没什么要紧,因为向来如此,以后也永远如此。一切都是老样子。我们不用想那些,反正都准备好了。我们就要自己发明点新东西。所以我们才想到把树莓放在杯子里,用蜡烛烤,再直接把牛奶喷到对方嘴里。这才好玩,这是新鲜事儿,一点也不比用杯子喝差。”

🔊

invent /ɪnˈvent/

v. 发明；创造➕

🔊 “Isn’t it just the same that we do, that I did, searching by the aid of reason for the significance of the forces of nature and the meaning of the life of man?” he thought.

“我们做的,我做的,不就是同一回事吗？我借助理性去探寻自然力的意义和人生的意义,不也是这样吗？”他心想。

🔊

significance /sɪɡˈnɪfɪkəns/

n. 重要性,意义➕

🔊 “And don’t all the theories of philosophy do the same, trying by the path of thought, which is strange and not natural to man, to bring him to a knowledge of what he has known long ago, and knows so certainly that he could not live at all without it? Isn’t it distinctly to be seen in the development of each philosopher’s theory, that he knows what is the chief significance of life beforehand, just as positively as the peasant Fyodor, and not a bit more clearly than he, and is simply trying by a dubious intellectual path to come back to what everyone knows?

“一切哲学理论不也是这样吗？它们想通过一条与人性格格不入的、奇怪的思维道路,把人们引向他们早已知道、而且知道得那么确切、没有它就活不下去的东西。难道不是明摆着吗？每个哲学家的理论发展过程都表明,他事先就知道人生的主要意义,就像农民费奥多尔那样肯定,而且并不比他更清楚,他只是想通过一条可疑的理性道路,回到人人皆知的东西上去。

🔊

theories /ˈθɪəriz/

n. 理论（复数）➕

🔊

philosophy /fɪˈlɒsəfi/

n. 哲学➕

🔊

philosopher /fɪˈlɒsəfər/

n. 哲学家➕

🔊

dubious /ˈdjuːbiəs/

adj. 可疑的,犹豫不决的➕

🔊

intellectual /ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəl/

adj. 智力的,有知识的➕

🔊

positively /ˈpɒzətɪvli/

adv. 肯定地,积极地➕

🔊

peasant /ˈpezənt/

n. 农民,农夫➕

🔊 “Now then, leave the children to themselves to get things alone and make their crockery, get the milk from the cows, and so on. Would they be naughty then? Why, they’d die of hunger! Well, then, leave us with our passions and thoughts, without any idea of the one God, of the Creator, or without any idea of what is right, without any idea of moral evil.

“好,现在让这些孩子自己去弄东西,自己做陶器,自己去挤牛奶,等等。他们还会调皮捣蛋吗？那他们早就饿死了！好,那么让我们也抛开对唯一的上帝、造物主的任何观念,抛开对是非善恶的任何观念,只带着我们的激情和思想,试试看能怎样。

🔊

crockery /ˈkrɒkəri/

n. 陶器,餐具➕

🔊

passions /ˈpæʃənz/

n. 激情,热情（复数）➕

🔊

Creator /kriˈeɪtər/

n. 造物主,创造者➕

🔊

moral evil /ˈmɒrəl ˈiːvəl/

n. 道德邪恶➕

🔊 “Just try and build up anything without those ideas!

“没有那些观念,你倒试着建立什么东西看看！

🔊 “We only try to destroy them, because we’re spiritually provided for. Exactly like the children!

“我们只会去破坏它们,因为我们在精神上已经衣食无忧了。简直跟那些孩子一模一样！

🔊

spiritually /ˈspɪrɪtʃuəli/

adv. 精神上地,宗教上地➕

🔊 “Whence have I that joyful knowledge, shared with the peasant, that alone gives peace to my soul? Whence did I get it?

“我那种和农夫共有的、能给我心灵带来安宁的喜悦知识,是从哪里来的？我又是从哪里得到的？

🔊

Whence /wens/

adv. （古语）从哪里➕

🔊

soul /səʊl/

n. 灵魂,心灵➕

🔊 “Brought up with an idea of God, a Christian, my whole life filled with the spiritual blessings Christianity has given me, full of them, and living on those blessings, like the children I did not understand them, and destroy, that is try to destroy, what I live by. And as soon as an important moment of life comes, like the children when they are cold and hungry, I turn to Him, and even less than the children when their mother scolds them for their childish mischief, do I feel that my childish efforts at wanton madness are reckoned against me.

“我从小受到上帝观念和基督徒观念的熏陶,我整个一生都充满了基督教赐予我的精神财富,我活在那些财富之中,就像那些孩子一样,并不理解它们,却破坏着--也就是说试图破坏--我赖以生存的东西。可一旦生命的重要时刻来临,就像孩子挨饿受冻时一样,我就转向他；而且,比起孩子们因顽皮捣蛋被母亲责骂时感受到的责备,我更少感到自己那些疯狂的幼稚行为会受到清算。

🔊

Christianity /ˌkrɪstiˈænəti/

n. 基督教➕

🔊

blessings /ˈblesɪŋz/

n. 祝福,恩赐（复数）➕

🔊

wanton /ˈwɒntən/

adj. 任性的,恶意的,放纵的➕

🔊

madness /ˈmædnəs/

n. 疯狂,精神错乱➕

🔊

reckoned /ˈrekənd/

v. 认为,计算（过去式）➕

🔊 “Yes, what I know, I know not by reason, but it has been given to me, revealed to me, and I know it with my heart, by faith in the chief thing taught by the church.

“是的,我所知道的,不是靠理性知道的,而是赐予我的,启示给我的,我用心知道它,凭着对教会所教导的主要东西的信仰。

🔊

revealed /rɪˈviːld/

v. 揭示,透露（过去分词）➕

🔊

faith /feɪθ/

n. 信仰,信任➕

🔊 “The church! the church!” Levin repeated to himself. He turned over on the other side, and leaning on his elbow, fell to gazing into the distance at a herd of cattle crossing over to the river.

“教会！教会！”列文反复念叨着。他翻了个身,用胳膊肘撑着,向远处望去,望着正在过河的一群牲口。

🔊

gazing /ˈɡeɪzɪŋ/

v. 凝视（现在分词）➕

🔊

herd /hɜːrd/

n. 兽群,牧群➕

🔊 “But can I believe in all the church teaches?” he thought, trying himself, and thinking of everything that could destroy his present peace of mind. Intentionally he recalled all those doctrines of the church which had always seemed most strange and had always been a stumbling block to him.

“可是我能相信教会教导的一切吗？”他想着,一边考验自己,一边回忆起一切可能破坏他此刻内心平静的东西。他故意想起教会那些一向觉得最奇怪、对他而言始终是绊脚石的教义。

🔊

doctrines /ˈdɒktrɪnz/

n. 教义,学说（复数）➕

🔊

stumbling block /ˈstʌmblɪŋ blɒk/

n. 障碍物,绊脚石➕

🔊

Intentionally /ɪnˈtenʃənəli/

adv. 故意地,有意地➕

🔊

recalled /rɪˈkɔːld/

v. 回忆,召回（过去式）➕

🔊 “The Creation? But how did I explain existence? By existence? By nothing? The devil and sin. But how do I explain evil?... The atonement?...

“创世？可我以前怎么解释存在？用存在？用虚无？魔鬼和罪。可我怎么解释恶呢？……救赎？……

🔊

Creation /kriˈeɪʃən/

n. 创造,创作,宇宙➕

🔊

existence /ɪɡˈzɪstəns/

n. 存在,生存➕

🔊

atonement /əˈtəʊnmənt/

n. 赎罪,弥补➕

🔊 “But I know nothing, nothing, and I can know nothing but what has been told to me and all men.”

“可我什么都不知道,什么都不知道,除了告诉我和所有人的那些话,我什么也不可能知道。”

🔊 And it seemed to him that there was not a single article of faith of the church which could destroy the chief thing--faith in God, in goodness, as the one goal of man’s destiny. Under every article of faith of the church could be put the faith in the service of truth instead of one’s desires. And each doctrine did not simply leave that faith unshaken, each doctrine seemed essential to complete that great miracle, continually manifest upon earth, that made it possible for each man and millions of different sorts of men, wise men and imbeciles, old men and children--all men, peasants, Lvov, Kitty, beggars and kings to understand perfectly the same one thing, and to build up thereby that life of the soul which alone is worth living, and which alone is precious to us.

他似乎觉得,教会信仰的每一条教义,都不能破坏主要的东西--对上帝的信仰,对良善的信仰,把它当作人生的唯一目标。教会的每一条教义底下,都可以放上为真理服务而非为私欲服务的信仰。而每一条教义,非但没有动摇那种信仰,反而似乎是为了完成那个不断在大地上显现的伟大奇迹所必需的--正是这个奇迹使得每个人,以及千百万形形色色的人、智者与愚者、老人与孩子--所有的人,农民、利沃夫、基蒂、乞丐和国王,都能够完完全全理解同一件事,并由此建立起那种唯一值得活、唯一珍贵的灵魂生活。

🔊

destiny /ˈdestɪni/

n. 命运；天命➕

🔊

doctrine /ˈdɒktrɪn/

n. 教义；学说➕

🔊

essential /ɪˈsenʃl/

adj. 必要的；本质的➕

🔊

miracle /ˈmɪrəkl/

n. 奇迹➕

🔊

continually /kənˈtɪnjuəli/

adv. 持续地；不断地➕

🔊

manifest /ˈmænɪfest/

adj. 明显的；明白的➕

🔊

imbeciles /ˈɪmbəsiːlz/

n. 低能者；愚蠢的人（复数）➕

🔊

peasants /ˈpeznts/

n. 农民；乡下人（复数）➕

🔊

beggars /ˈbeɡərz/

n. 乞丐（复数）➕

🔊

thereby /ˌðeərˈbaɪ/

adv. 因此；从而➕

🔊

precious /ˈpreʃəs/

adj. 珍贵的；宝贵的➕

🔊 Lying on his back, he gazed up now into the high, cloudless sky. “Do I not know that that is infinite space, and that it is not a round arch? But, however I screw up my eyes and strain my sight, I cannot see it not round and not bounded, and in spite of my knowing about infinite space, I am incontestably right when I see a solid blue dome, and more right than when I strain my eyes to see beyond it.”

他仰面躺着,望着高空那无云的苍穹。“难道我不知道那是无限的空间,而不是一个圆拱吗？可是,不管我怎么眯起眼睛、尽力去看,我都不能把它看成不是圆的、没有边界的；尽管我知道无限空间,但当我看见一个坚实的蓝色穹顶时,我无疑是对的,这比我在极目远眺试图看到穹顶之外的时候更正确。”

🔊

gazed /ɡeɪzd/

v. 凝视（gaze的过去式）➕

🔊

infinite /ˈɪnfɪnət/

adj. 无限的；无穷的➕

🔊

arch /ɑːrtʃ/

n. 拱门；拱形结构➕

🔊

strain /streɪn/

v. 拉紧；尽力使用（眼睛、耳朵等）➕

🔊

incontestably /ˌɪnkənˈtestəbli/

adv. 无可争辩地；不容置疑地➕

🔊

solid /ˈsɒlɪd/

adj. 坚固的；实心的；固体的➕

🔊

dome /dəʊm/

n. 圆顶；穹顶➕

🔊 Levin ceased thinking, and only, as it were, listened to mysterious voices that seemed talking joyfully and earnestly within him.

列文停止思考,只是仿佛在倾听体内那些神秘的声音,它们似乎在快活而认真地说着话。

🔊

ceased /siːst/

v. 停止（cease的过去式）➕

🔊

mysterious /mɪˈstɪəriəs/

adj. 神秘的；难以理解的➕

🔊

joyfully /ˈdʒɔɪfəli/

adv. 高兴地；快乐地➕

🔊

earnestly /ˈɜːrnɪstli/

adv. 认真地；诚挚地➕

🔊 “Can this be faith?” he thought, afraid to believe in his happiness. “My God, I thank Thee!” he said, gulping down his sobs, and with both hands brushing away the tears that filled his eyes.

“这难道就是信仰吗？”他心想,不敢相信自己的幸福。“我的上帝啊,我感谢你！”他说着,咽下了抽泣,用双手擦去涌满眼眶的泪水。

🔊

gulping /ˈɡʌlpɪŋ/

v. 吞咽（gulp的现在分词）➕

🔊

sobs /sɒbz/

n. 抽泣（sob的复数）➕

Part Eight – Chapter thirteen (第十三章)

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