🔊 Every limit is a beginning as well as an ending. Who can quit young lives after being long in company with them, and not desire to know what befell them in their after-years? For the fragment of a life, however typical, is not the sample of an even web: promises may not be kept, and an ardent outset may be followed by declension; latent powers may find their long-waited opportunity; a past error may urge a grand retrieval.

每一个终点既是开端,也是终点。谁能在长期陪伴年轻的生命之后,离他们而去,却不想知道他们在往后的岁月中遭遇了什么？因为生命的片段,无论多么典型,都不是一张匀称织网的样本:诺言可能不会兑现,热烈的开端之后可能随之而来的是衰退；潜在的力量可能找到长久等待的机遇；过去的错误可能催生伟大的救赎。

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befell /bɪˈfel/

v. 发生；降临（尤指不幸的事）➕

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fragment /ˈfræɡmənt/

n. 碎片；片段➕

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ardent /ˈɑːrdnt/

adj. 热情的；热烈的➕

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latent /ˈleɪtnt/

adj. 潜在的；潜伏的➕

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retrieval /rɪˈtriːvl/

n. 取回；挽回；检索➕

🔊 Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning, as it was to Adam and Eve, who kept their honeymoon in Eden, but had their first little one among the thorns and thistles of the wilderness. It is still the beginning of the home epic--the gradual conquest or irremediable loss of that complete union which makes the advancing years a climax, and age the harvest of sweet memories in common.

婚姻,作为众多叙事的终点,仍然是一个伟大的开端,正如它之于亚当和夏娃,他们在伊甸园中度过了蜜月,却在荒野的荆棘与蒺藜中迎来了他们的第一个孩子。它仍然是家庭史诗的开端--那种完全的结合,或逐渐征服,或不可挽回地丧失,这种结合使逝去的岁月成为高潮,使老年成为共同甜美回忆的丰收。

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bourne /bɔːrn/

n. 目的地；界限（古语或文学用语）➕

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narratives /ˈnærətɪvz/

n. 叙述；故事（复数）➕

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wilderness /ˈwɪldərnəs/

n. 荒野；未开垦的地区➕

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epic /ˈepɪk/

n. 史诗；叙事诗➕

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conquest /ˈkɒŋkwest/

n. 征服；战胜➕

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irremediable /ˌɪrɪˈmiːdiəbl/

adj. 无法补救的；不可治愈的➕

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climax /ˈklaɪmæks/

n. 高潮；顶点➕

🔊 Some set out, like Crusaders of old, with a glorious equipment of hope and enthusiasm and get broken by the way, wanting patience with each other and the world. All who have cared for Fred Vincy and Mary Garth will like to know that these two made no such failure, but achieved a solid mutual happiness. Fred surprised his neighbors in various ways. He became rather distinguished in his side of the county as a theoretic and practical farmer, and produced a work on the "Cultivation of Green Crops and the Economy of Cattle-Feeding" which won him high congratulations at agricultural meetings. In Middlemarch admiration was more reserved: most persons there were inclined to believe that the merit of Fred's authorship was due to his wife, since they had never expected Fred Vincy to write on turnips and mangel-wurzel. But when Mary wrote a little book for her boys, called "Stories of Great Men, taken from Plutarch," and had it printed and published by Gripp & Co., Middlemarch, every one in the town was willing to give the credit of this work to Fred, observing that he had been to the University, "where the ancients were studied," and might have been a clergyman if he had chosen. In this way it was made clear that Middlemarch had never been deceived, and that there was no need to praise anybody for writing a book, since it was always done by somebody else. Moreover, Fred remained unswervingly steady. Some years after his marriage he told Mary that his happiness was half owing to Farebrother, who gave him a strong pull-up at the right moment. I cannot say that he was never again misled by his hopefulness: the yield of crops or the profits of a cattle sale usually fell below his estimate; and he was always prone to believe that he could make money by the purchase of a horse which turned out badly--though this, Mary observed, was of course the fault of the horse, not of Fred's judgment. He kept his love of horsemanship, but he rarely allowed himself a day's hunting; and when he did so, it was remarkable that he submitted to be laughed at for cowardliness at the fences, seeming to see Mary and the boys sitting on the five-barred gate, or showing their curly heads between hedge and ditch.

有些人出发时,如同过去的十字军,带着辉煌的希望与热忱装备,却在途中受挫,对彼此和世界缺乏耐心。所有关心弗雷德·文西和玛丽·加思的人都会乐于知道,这两个人并没有遭遇这样的失败,而是实现了稳固的相互幸福。弗雷德以各种方式让邻居们惊讶。他在本郡的乡间成为一位颇为杰出的理论与实践的农夫,并撰写了一部关于《绿色作物栽培与牛饲养经济》的著作,在农业会议上赢得了高度赞誉。在米德尔马契,人们的钦佩则更为保留:那里的大多数人倾向于认为,弗雷德著作的功劳应归于他的妻子,因为他们从未指望弗雷德·文西会写关于芜菁和甜菜的文章。但当玛丽为她的儿子们写了一本小书,名为《取自普鲁塔克的伟人故事》,并由米德尔马契的格里普公司印刷出版时,镇上每个人都愿意将这部作品的功劳归于弗雷德,指出他曾上大学,“那里研究古人”,如果他愿意的话,本可以成为一名牧师。这样一来,便清楚地表明米德尔马契从未被欺骗,也无需因为某人写了一本书而赞扬他,因为那总是由别人代劳的。此外,弗雷德始终坚定不移。婚后数年,他告诉玛丽,他的幸福有一半归功于费尔布拉泽,他在关键时刻给了他强有力的推动。我不能说他从此再没有被自己的乐观误导过:收成或牲口销售的利润通常低于他的估计；而且他总是倾向于相信可以通过购买一匹后来表现不佳的马赚钱--尽管玛丽注意到,这当然是马的错,而不是弗雷德的判断问题。他保留了骑术的热爱,但很少允许自己出去狩猎一天；当他这样做时,值得注意的是,他甘愿因在栅栏前的胆怯而被人嘲笑,仿佛看到了玛丽和儿子们坐在五栏大门上,或者在树篱与沟渠之间露出他们卷曲的头。

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distinguished /dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/

adj. 杰出的；著名的➕

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theoretic /ˌθɪəˈretɪk/

adj. 理论上的（=theoretical）➕

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cultivation /ˌkʌltɪˈveɪʃn/

n. 耕种；培养；栽培➕

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admiration /ˌædməˈreɪʃn/

n. 钦佩；赞赏➕

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merit /ˈmerɪt/

n. 优点；价值；功绩➕

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unswervingly /ʌnˈswɜːvɪŋli/

adv. 坚定不移地➕

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cowardliness /ˈkaʊədlinəs/

n. 懦弱；胆怯➕

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prone /proʊn/

adj. 易于…的；有…倾向的➕

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purchase /ˈpɜːrtʃəs/

n. 购买；购得物➕

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hedge /hedʒ/

n. 树篱；篱笆➕

🔊 There were three boys: Mary was not discontented that she brought forth men-children only; and when Fred wished to have a girl like her, she said, laughingly, "that would be too great a trial to your mother." Mrs. Vincy in her declining years, and in the diminished lustre of her housekeeping, was much comforted by her perception that two at least of Fred's boys were real Vincys, and did not "feature the Garths." But Mary secretly rejoiced that the youngest of the three was very much what her father must have been when he wore a round jacket, and showed a marvellous nicety of aim in playing at marbles, or in throwing stones to bring down the mellow pears. Ben and Letty Garth, who were uncle and aunt before they were well in their teens, disputed much as to whether nephews or nieces were more desirable; Ben contending that it was clear girls were good for less than boys, else they would not be always in petticoats, which showed how little they were meant for; whereupon Letty, who argued much from books, got angry in replying that God made coats of skins for both Adam and Eve alike--also it occurred to her that in the East the men too wore petticoats. But this latter argument, obscuring the majesty of the former, was one too many, for Ben answered contemptuously, "The more spooneys they!" and immediately appealed to his mother whether boys were not better than girls. Mrs. Garth pronounced that both were alike naughty, but that boys were undoubtedly stronger, could run faster, and throw with more precision to a greater distance. With this oracular sentence Ben was well satisfied, not minding the naughtiness; but Letty took it ill, her feeling of superiority being stronger than her muscles. Fred never became rich--his hopefulness had not led him to expect that; but he gradually saved enough to become owner of the stock and furniture at Stone Court, and the work which Mr. Garth put into his hands carried him in plenty through those "bad times" which are always present with farmers. Mary, in her matronly days, became as solid in figure as her mother; but, unlike her, gave the boys little formal teaching, so that Mrs. Garth was alarmed lest they should never be well grounded in grammar and geography. Nevertheless, they were found quite forward enough when they went to school; perhaps, because they had liked nothing so well as being with their mother. When Fred was riding home on winter evenings he had a pleasant vision beforehand of the bright hearth in the wainscoted parlor, and was sorry for other men who could not have Mary for their wife; especially for Mr. Farebrother. "He was ten times worthier of you than I was," Fred could now say to her, magnanimously. "To be sure he was," Mary answered; "and for that reason he could do better without me.

他们有三个儿子:玛丽对于只生了男孩并不感到不满；当弗雷德希望要一个像她一样的女孩时,她笑着说:“那对你母亲来说会是太大的考验。”文西太太在晚年,在她的家政光彩减退之时,因意识到弗雷德的儿子中至少有两个是真正的文西家人,且没有“长出加思家的特征”而感到十分安慰。但玛丽暗自庆幸,三个中最小的一个非常像她父亲当年穿着圆夹克时的样子,在弹子游戏或投石击落熟梨时表现出惊人的精准度。本和莱蒂·加思, 他们还未到十多岁就成了叔叔和姨妈,对于侄子还是侄女更令人满意争论不休；本争辩说,显然女孩不如男孩好,否则她们就不会总是穿裙子,这正好说明她们的本意是多么微不足道；对此,莱蒂大量引经据典,愤怒地回答说,上帝为亚当和夏娃都做了皮衣--她还想到,在东方,男人也穿裙子。但后一个论点,掩盖了前一个的威严,就有些多余了,因为本轻蔑地回答道:“那他们更傻！”并立刻向他母亲求证男孩是否比女孩好。加思太太宣称两者都一样顽皮,但男孩无疑更强壮,跑得更快,投掷得更精准、更远。听到这个神谕般的结论,本十分满意,并不在意顽皮的说法；但莱蒂对此感到不快,她的优越感比她的肌肉更强烈。弗雷德从未变得富有--他的乐观并没有让他期待这一点；但他逐渐积攒了足够的钱,成为斯通庄园的牲畜和家具的所有者,而加思先生交给他的工作使他在农民们总是遇到的“不景气时期”中过得富足。玛丽到了主妇的年纪后,身材变得和她母亲一样敦实；但与她母亲不同的是,她很少对儿子们进行正式教学,以至于加思太太担心他们永远不会打好语法和地理的基础。然而,当他们上学时,却发现他们已经相当超前了；也许是因为他们最喜欢的事就是和母亲在一起。当弗雷德在冬夜骑马回家时,他事先会愉快地想象镶板客厅里明亮的炉火,并为其他没有玛丽做妻子的人感到遗憾；尤其是费尔布拉泽先生。“他比我更配得上你十倍,”弗雷德现在可以宽宏大量地对她说。“当然如此,”玛丽回答；“正因如此,没有我他也能过得更好。”

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discontented /ˌdɪskənˈtentɪd/

adj. 不满的；不满足的➕

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lustre /ˈlʌstər/

n. 光泽；光彩➕

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marvellous /ˈmɑːrvələs/

adj. 奇妙的；极好的➕

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nicety /ˈnaɪsəti/

n. 精确；细微之处；优雅➕

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mellow /ˈmeloʊ/

adj. 成熟的；柔和的；醇美的➕

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contemptuously /kənˈtemptʃuəsli/

adv. 轻蔑地➕

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oracular /ɔːˈrækjələr/

adj. 神谕的；预言的；权威性的➕

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superiority /suːˌpɪriˈɔːrəti/

n. 优越；优势➕

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wainscoted /ˈweɪnskətɪd/

adj. 装有壁板的➕

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magnanimously /mæɡˈnænɪməsli/

adv. 宽宏大量地➕

🔊 But you--I shudder to think what you would have been--a curate in debt for horse-hire and cambric pocket-handkerchiefs!" On inquiry it might possibly be found that Fred and Mary still inhabit Stone Court--that the creeping plants still cast the foam of their blossoms over the fine stone-wall into the field where the walnut-trees stand in stately row--and that on sunny days the two lovers who were first engaged with the umbrella-ring may be seen in white-haired placidity at the open window from which Mary Garth, in the days of old Peter Featherstone, had often been ordered to look out for Mr. Lydgate.

但要是你--我不敢想你会变成什么样子--一个欠着马租和细布手帕债的助理牧师！”若去打听,或许会发现弗雷德和玛丽仍住在斯通庄园--蔓生植物依然将泡沫般的花朵洒向精美的石墙,落入那片胡桃树成排矗立的田地里--而在晴朗的日子里,那两位最初以伞环订婚的恋人,或许会满头白发、安详地出现在敞开的窗口旁,那个在从前彼得·费瑟斯通的日子里,玛丽·加思常被吩咐去那里瞭望利德盖特先生的窗口。

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shudder /ˈʃʌdər/

v. 战栗；发抖➕

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curate /ˈkjʊərət/

n. 助理牧师➕

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cambric /ˈkæmbrɪk/

n. 细薄布；细棉布➕

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inquiry /ɪnˈkwaɪəri/

n. 询问；调查➕

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inhabit /ɪnˈhæbɪt/

v. 居住于；栖息➕

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stately /ˈsteɪtli/

adj. 庄严的；宏伟的➕

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placidity /pləˈsɪdəti/

n. 平静；温和➕

🔊 Lydgate's hair never became white. He died when he was only fifty, leaving his wife and children provided for by a heavy insurance on his life. He had gained an excellent practice, alternating, according to the season, between London and a Continental bathing-place; having written a treatise on Gout, a disease which has a good deal of wealth on its side. His skill was relied on by many paying patients, but he always regarded himself as a failure: he had not done what he once meant to do. His acquaintances thought him enviable to have so charming a wife, and nothing happened to shake their opinion. Rosamond never committed a second compromising indiscretion. She simply continued to be mild in her temper, inflexible in her judgment, disposed to admonish her husband, and able to frustrate him by stratagem. As the years went on he opposed her less and less, whence Rosamond concluded that he had learned the value of her opinion; on the other hand, she had a more thorough conviction of his talents now that he gained a good income, and instead of the threatened cage in Bride Street provided one all flowers and gilding, fit for the bird of paradise that she resembled. In brief, Lydgate was what is called a successful man. But he died prematurely of diphtheria, and Rosamond afterwards married an elderly and wealthy physician, who took kindly to her four children. She made a very pretty show with her daughters, driving out in her carriage, and often spoke of her happiness as "a reward"--she did not say for what, but probably she meant that it was a reward for her patience with Tertius, whose temper never became faultless, and to the last occasionally let slip a bitter speech which was more memorable than the signs he made of his repentance. He once called her his basil plant; and when she asked for an explanation, said that basil was a plant which had flourished wonderfully on a murdered man's brains. Rosamond had a placid but strong answer to such speeches. Why then had he chosen her? It was a pity he had not had Mrs. Ladislaw, whom he was always praising and placing above her. And thus the conversation ended with the advantage on Rosamond's side. But it would be unjust not to tell, that she never uttered a word in depreciation of Dorothea, keeping in religious remembrance the generosity which had come to her aid in the sharpest crisis of her life.

利德盖特的头发从未变白。他年仅五十就去世了,留下妻子和子女,靠他高额的人寿保险维持生计。他拥有极好的行医业务,根据季节在伦敦和欧洲大陆海滨浴场之间交替；他写了《痛风论》,这是一种常常与财富相伴的疾病。他的医术受到许多付费病人的信赖,但他始终认为自己是个失败者:他没有完成他曾经想做的事。他的熟人们认为他拥有如此迷人的妻子令人羡慕,而且没有什么事能动摇他们的看法。罗莎蒙德再也没有犯下第二次有失检点的轻率行为。她只是继续保持着温和的脾气、固执的判断,喜欢说教丈夫,并且能通过策略挫败他。随着岁月流逝,他越来越不反对她,由此罗莎蒙德得出结论说他已经认识到了她意见的价值；另一方面,她现在更加确信他的才华,因为他收入颇丰,而且没有住进那个令人生畏的新娘街笼子,而是提供了一个她像极乐鸟一般的、充满鲜花与金饰的笼子。简而言之,利德盖特是个所谓的成功人士。但他因白喉过早去世,之后罗莎蒙德嫁给了一位年长富有的内科医生,他对她的四个孩子很好。她带着女儿们坐着马车外出,场面十分好看,并常常把她的幸福说成是“一种奖赏”--她没有说是对什么的奖赏,但可能是指对她耐心对待特蒂斯的奖赏,他的脾气从未变得完美无缺,到最后还偶尔会漏出一句尖刻的言辞,比他表示的悔恨更令人难忘。他曾一度称她为他的罗勒；当她要求解释时,他说罗勒是一种在被害者的大脑上奇妙生长茂盛的植物。罗莎蒙德对这样的言辞报以平静而有力的回答。那他当初为何选择她呢？可惜他没有娶拉迪斯拉夫太太,他总夸她,把她置于自己之上。于是对话以罗莎蒙德占上风而告终。但若不提及她在生活中最尖锐的危机中曾受到慷慨相助,并且出于宗教性的铭记,从未说过一句贬低多萝西娅的话,那便是不公正的。

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treatise /ˈtriːtɪs/

n. 论文；专著➕

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acquaintances /əˈkweɪntənsɪz/

n. 熟人（复数）➕

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inflexible /ɪnˈfleksəbl/

adj. 不灵活的；僵硬的；不可改变的➕

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admonish /ədˈmɒnɪʃ/

v. 告诫；劝告➕

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stratagem /ˈstrætədʒəm/

n. 计谋；策略➕

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conviction /kənˈvɪkʃn/

n. 坚信；信念；定罪➕

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prematurely /ˈpremətʃərli/

adv. 过早地；提前地➕

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diphtheria /dɪfˈθɪəriə/

n. 白喉（疾病）➕

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physician /fɪˈzɪʃn/

n. 内科医生；医师➕

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repentance /rɪˈpentəns/

n. 悔改；忏悔➕

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depreciation /dɪˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃn/

n. 贬低；贬值；折旧➕

🔊 Dorothea herself had no dreams of being praised above other women, feeling that there was always something better which she might have done, if she had only been better and known better. Still, she never repented that she had given up position and fortune to marry Will Ladislaw, and he would have held it the greatest shame as well as sorrow to him if she had repented. They were bound to each other by a love stronger than any impulses which could have marred it. No life would have been possible to Dorothea which was not filled with emotion, and she had now a life filled also with a beneficent activity which she had not the doubtful pains of discovering and marking out for herself. Will became an ardent public man, working well in those times when reforms were begun with a young hopefulness of immediate good which has been much checked in our days, and getting at last returned to Parliament by a constituency who paid his expenses. Dorothea could have liked nothing better, since wrongs existed, than that her husband should be in the thick of a struggle against them, and that she should give him wifely help. Many who knew her, thought it a pity that so substantive and rare a creature should have been absorbed into the life of another, and be only known in a certain circle as a wife and mother. But no one stated exactly what else that was in her power she ought rather to have done--not even Sir James Chettam, who went no further than the negative prescription that she ought not to have married Will Ladislaw. But this opinion of his did not cause a lasting alienation; and the way in which the family was made whole again was characteristic of all concerned. Mr. Brooke could not resist the pleasure of corresponding with Will and Dorothea; and one morning when his pen had been remarkably fluent on the prospects of Municipal Reform, it ran off into an invitation to the Grange, which, once written, could not be done away with at less cost than the sacrifice (hardly to be conceived) of the whole valuable letter. During the months of this correspondence Mr. Brooke had continually, in his talk with Sir James Chettam, been presupposing or hinting that the intention of cutting off the entail was still maintained; and the day on which his pen gave the daring invitation, he went to Freshitt expressly to intimate that he had a stronger sense than ever of the reasons for taking that energetic step as a precaution against any mixture of low blood in the heir of the Brookes. But that morning something exciting had happened at the Hall. A letter had come to Celia which made her cry silently as she read it; and when Sir James, unused to see her in tears, asked anxiously what was the matter, she burst out in a wail such as he had never heard from her before.

多萝西娅自己从未梦想过比别的女人更受赞扬,她总觉得只要自己更好、更明白事理,总还有能做得更好的事。尽管如此,她从不后悔为了嫁给威尔·拉迪斯拉夫而放弃地位和财富,而他也认为,如果她后悔了,那将是他最大的耻辱和悲哀。他们被一种比任何可能损害它的冲动都更强烈的爱所束缚。对于多萝西娅来说,没有充满情感的生活是不可能的,而现在她拥有的生活也充满了有益的活动,而这些活动她无需经历发现和为自己规划的模糊痛苦。威尔成为一位热心的公众人物,在那些改革开始时充满对即刻利益的年轻希望的时代--这在我们的时代已经受到很大抑制--他工作出色,最终由一个支付他费用的选区送回了议会。由于不公正的存在,多萝西娅再喜欢不过的是丈夫能置身于反对它们的斗争之中,而她也能给予他作为妻子的帮助。许多认识她的人都觉得惋惜,这样一个实质性的、罕见的造物竟然被融入了他人的生活,只在某个圈子里以妻子和母亲的身份为人所知。但没有人确切指出她本应做其他别的什么事--即使是詹姆斯·切特姆爵士,也仅止于否定性的告诫:她本不该嫁给威尔·拉迪斯拉夫。但这一看法并未导致长久的疏远；而这个家庭重新团圆的方式,体现了有关各方的性格特征。布鲁克先生无法抗拒与威尔和多萝西娅通信的乐趣；有一个早上,他的笔在论及市政改革的前景时异常流畅,竟顺势写了一份请他们到庄园的邀请,一旦写就,便无法以低于舍弃（简直无法想象）整封宝贵信件的代价来撤销。在这几个月的通信中,布鲁克先生在与詹姆斯·切特姆爵士的谈话中不断预设或暗示,断绝限定继承权的意图仍在维持；而当他那支笔发出大胆邀请的那一天,他特地去了弗雷希特,明确表示他比以往更有理由采取这一积极步骤,作为防止布鲁克家族继承人掺杂低贱血统的预防措施。但那天早上,庄园里发生了一件令人激动的事。一封寄给西莉亚的信让她读得默默流泪；当詹姆斯爵士不习惯看到她哭泣的样子,焦急地问她怎么了时,她突然发出一声他从未听过的哀号。

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repented /rɪˈpentɪd/

v. 后悔（过去式）➕

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impulses /ˈɪmpʌlsɪz/

n. 冲动（复数）➕

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marred /mɑːrd/

v. 损坏；玷污（过去分词）➕

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beneficent /bɪˈnefɪsnt/

adj. 仁慈的；慈善的➕

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constituency /kənˈstɪtʃuənsi/

n. 选区；选民➕

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substantive /səbˈstæntɪv/

adj. 实质的；重要的➕

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alienation /ˌeɪliəˈneɪʃn/

n. 疏远；离间➕

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presupposing /ˌpriːsəˈpoʊzɪŋ/

v. 预先假定（现在分词）➕

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entail /ɪnˈteɪl/

n. 限定继承权；不动产的继承限制➕

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precaution /prɪˈkɔːʃn/

n. 预防措施➕

🔊 "Dorothea has a little boy. And you will not let me go and see her. And I am sure she wants to see me. And she will not know what to do with the baby--she will do wrong things with it. And they thought she would die. It is very dreadful! Suppose it had been me and little Arthur, and Dodo had been hindered from coming to see me! I wish you would be less unkind, James!" "Good heavens, Celia!" said Sir James, much wrought upon, "what do you wish? I will do anything you like. I will take you to town to-morrow if you wish it." And Celia did wish it. It was after this that Mr. Brooke came, and meeting the Baronet in the grounds, began to chat with him in ignorance of the news, which Sir James for some reason did not care to tell him immediately. But when the entail was touched on in the usual way, he said, "My dear sir, it is not for me to dictate to you, but for my part I would let that alone. I would let things remain as they are." Mr. Brooke felt so much surprised that he did not at once find out how much he was relieved by the sense that he was not expected to do anything in particular. Such being the bent of Celia's heart, it was inevitable that Sir James should consent to a reconciliation with Dorothea and her husband. Where women love each other, men learn to smother their mutual dislike. Sir James never liked Ladislaw, and Will always preferred to have Sir James's company mixed with another kind: they were on a footing of reciprocal tolerance which was made quite easy only when Dorothea and Celia were present. It became an understood thing that Mr. and Mrs. Ladislaw should pay at least two visits during the year to the Grange, and there came gradually a small row of cousins at Freshitt who enjoyed playing with the two cousins visiting Tipton as much as if the blood of these cousins had been less dubiously mixed. Mr. Brooke lived to a good old age, and his estate was inherited by Dorothea's son, who might have represented Middlemarch, but declined, thinking that his opinions had less chance of being stifled if he remained out of doors. Sir James never ceased to regard Dorothea's second marriage as a mistake; and indeed this remained the tradition concerning it in Middlemarch, where she was spoken of to a younger generation as a fine girl who married a sickly clergyman, old enough to be her father, and in little more than a year after his death gave up her estate to marry his cousin--young enough to have been his son, with no property, and not well-born. Those who had not seen anything of Dorothea usually observed that she could not have been "a nice woman," else she would not have married either the one or the other. Certainly those determining acts of her life were not ideally beautiful.

“多萝西娅生了一个小男孩。可你却不让我去看她。我肯定她想见我。她不知道该怎么照顾孩子--她会做错事的。他们以为她会死的。太可怕了！假如是我和小亚瑟,而多多被阻止来看我,那该怎么办！我希望你别这么不近人情,詹姆斯！”“天哪,西莉亚！”詹姆斯爵士内心大受触动,“你想要什么？我什么都愿意做。如果你愿意,我明天就带你去城里。”西莉亚确实愿意。就在这之后,布鲁克先生来了,在庭园里遇到了从男爵,开始与他聊天,并不知道这个消息,詹姆斯爵士出于某种原因并未立刻告诉他。但当话题像往常一样触及限定继承权时,他说:“我亲爱的先生,我无意对你指手画脚,但就我而言,我会放弃那件事。我会让一切维持现状。”布鲁克先生感到非常惊讶,以至于没有立刻意识到自己是多么释然,因为他感到无需做什么特别的事。既然西莉亚的心意如此,詹姆斯爵士不可避免地同意与多萝西娅和她的丈夫和解。在女性彼此相爱的地方,男人们学会抑制相互的厌恶。詹姆斯爵士从不喜欢拉迪斯拉夫,而威尔也总是希望与詹姆斯爵士的交往中混合另一种人:他们处于一种相互容忍的关系,只有在多萝西娅和西莉亚都在场时才变得非常轻松。慢慢地,拉迪斯拉夫夫妇每年至少到庄园拜访两次成了惯例,而在弗雷希特渐渐有了一排小表亲,他们与两个访问蒂普顿的表亲玩耍时的快乐,丝毫不亚于这些表亲的血统不那么可疑。布鲁克先生活到了高龄,他的庄园由多萝西娅的儿子继承,他本可以代表米德尔马契,但婉拒了,认为如果他不进入议院,他的观点更不容易被压制。詹姆斯爵士从未停止认为多萝西娅的第二次婚姻是个错误；事实上,在米德尔马契,这成了关于她的传统说法,那里的人们对年轻一代说,她是一个好姑娘,嫁给了一个病弱的牧师,年龄足以做她的父亲,而在他死后不到一年,她就放弃了家产,嫁给了他的表弟--年龄小到足以做他的儿子,没有财产,出身也不好。那些从未见过多萝西娅的人通常评论说,她不可能是个“好女人”,否则她不会嫁给这一个或者那一个。的确,她生命中那些决定性的行为并非理想中的美好。

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dreadful /ˈdredfl/

adj. 可怕的；极其糟糕的➕

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hindered /ˈhɪndərd/

v. 阻碍（过去分词）➕

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wrought /rɔːt/

v. 使激动；引起（古语过去式）➕

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ignorance /ˈɪɡnərəns/

n. 无知➕

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inevitable /ɪnˈevɪtəbl/

adj. 不可避免的➕

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reconciliation /ˌrekənsɪliˈeɪʃn/

n. 和解；调和➕

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smother /ˈsmʌðər/

v. 压抑；使窒息➕

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reciprocal /rɪˈsɪprəkl/

adj. 相互的；互惠的➕

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stifled /ˈstaɪfld/

v. 抑制；扼杀（过去分词）➕

🔊 They were the mixed result of young and noble impulse struggling amidst the conditions of an imperfect social state, in which great feelings will often take the aspect of error, and great faith the aspect of illusion. For there is no creature whose inward being is so strong that it is not greatly determined by what lies outside it. A new Theresa will hardly have the opportunity of reforming a conventual life, any more than a new Antigone will spend her heroic piety in daring all for the sake of a brother's burial: the medium in which their ardent deeds took shape is forever gone. But we insignificant people with our daily words and acts are preparing the lives of many Dorotheas, some of which may present a far sadder sacrifice than that of the Dorothea whose story we know. Her finely touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

它们是年轻而崇高的冲动在一个不完善的社会状态条件下挣扎的混合产物,在这种状态下,伟大的情感常常带有错误的面貌,伟大的信念常常带有幻觉的面貌。因为没有一个人的内在是如此强大,以至于不受外部事物的重大影响。一个新的特蕾莎很难有机会改革修道院生活,就如同一个新的安提戈涅不会再为哥哥的安葬而冒险奉献她的英雄虔诚:她们炽热行为所依托的媒介已经永远消失了。但我们这些微不足道的人,凭借我们日常的言行,正在为许多多萝西娅准备生活,其中一些可能会呈现出远比我们所知的这位多萝西娅更为悲惨的牺牲。她那细腻的心灵仍然结出了美好的果实,尽管并不广泛可见。她那丰沛的天性,如同那条被居鲁士截断力量的河流,在世间没有大名气的渠道中消耗殆尽。但她对周围人的影响却是不可估量地扩散的:因为世界的日益美好,部分有赖于非历史性的行为；而你我的处境之所以没有变得更糟,一半要归功于那些许多忠诚地过着隐秘生活、埋葬在无人知晓的坟墓中的人们。

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impulse /ˈɪmpʌls/

n. 冲动；推动力➕

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amidst /əˈmɪdst/

prep. 在…当中➕

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illusion /ɪˈluːʒn/

n. 幻觉；错觉➕

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insignificant /ˌɪnsɪɡˈnɪfɪkənt/

adj. 微不足道的；不重要的➕

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incalculably /ɪnˈkælkjələbli/

adv. 无法计算地；极大地➕

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diffusive /dɪˈfjuːsɪv/

adj. 扩散的；弥漫的➕

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unhistoric /ˌʌnhɪˈstɒrɪk/

adj. 非历史的；不被历史记载的➕

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unvisited /ʌnˈvɪzɪtɪd/

adj. 无人参观的；未被访问的➕

Book 8. Sunset And Sunrise – Chapter sixteen: Finale (第十六章 终曲)

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Book 8. Sunset And Sunrise – Chapter sixteen: Finale (第十六章终曲)