🔊 At that time, as always happens, the highest society that met at court and at the grand balls was divided into several circles, each with its own particular tone. The largest of these was the French circle of the Napoleonic alliance, the circle of Count Rumyántsev and Caulaincourt. In this group Hélène, as soon as she had settled in Petersburg with her husband, took a very prominent place. She was visited by the members of the French embassy and by many belonging to that circle and noted for their intellect and polished manners.

那时,宫廷和盛大舞会上聚集的上流社会,如同往常一样,分成了若干小圈子,每个圈子各有其独特的风气。其中最大的一个是拿破仑联盟的法语圈子,即鲁缅采夫和科兰古的圈子。这个圈子里,埃莱娜一随丈夫在彼得堡安顿下来,便占据了极为显赫的位置。法国大使馆的成员以及许多属于该圈子、以才智和优雅举止著称的人士都来拜访她。

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prominent /ˈprɒmɪnənt/

adj. 突出的,显著的➕

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intellect /ˈɪntəlekt/

n. 智力,思维能力➕

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polished /ˈpɒlɪʃt/

adj. 优雅的,精炼的➕

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alliance /əˈlaɪəns/

n. 联盟,同盟➕

🔊 Hélène had been at Erfurt during the famous meeting of the Emperors and had brought from there these connections with the Napoleonic notabilities. At Erfurt her success had been brilliant. Napoleon himself had noticed her in the theater and said of her: "C'est un superbe animal." Her success as a beautiful and elegant woman did not surprise Pierre, for she had become even handsomer than before. What did surprise him was that during these last two years his wife had succeeded in gaining the reputation "d'une femme charmante, aussi spirituelle que belle." The distinguished Prince de Ligne wrote her eight-page letters. Bilíbin saved up his epigrams to produce them in Countess Bezúkhova's presence. To be received in the Countess Bezúkhova's salon was regarded as a diploma of intellect. Young men read books before attending Hélène's evenings, to have something to say in her salon, and secretaries of the embassy, and even ambassadors, confided diplomatic secrets to her, so that in a way Hélène was a power. Pierre, who knew she was very stupid, sometimes attended, with a strange feeling of perplexity and fear, her evenings and dinner parties, where politics, poetry, and philosophy were discussed. At these parties his feelings were like those of a conjuror who always expects his trick to be found out at any moment. But whether because stupidity was just what was needed to run such a salon, or because those who were deceived found pleasure in the deception, at any rate it remained unexposed and Hélène Bezúkhova's reputation as a lovely and clever woman became so firmly established that she could say the emptiest and stupidest things and everybody would go into raptures over every word of hers and look for a profound meaning in it of which she herself had no conception.

在两位皇帝著名的会晤期间,埃莱娜曾在埃尔福特逗留,并从那里带回了与拿破仑显贵们的联系。在埃尔福特,她的成功辉煌灿烂。拿破仑本人曾在剧院里注意到她,并评论道:“C'est un superbe animal。”她作为美丽优雅女人的成功并未令皮埃尔惊讶,因为她变得比以前更迷人了。真正令他惊讶的是,在过去的两年里,他的妻子成功地赢得了“d'une femme charmante, aussi spirituelle que belle”的名声。杰出的利涅亲王给她写了八页长的信。比利宾积攒他的警句,准备在别祖霍娃伯爵夫人面前展示。能被邀请到别祖霍娃伯爵夫人的沙龙,被视为智力的证明。年轻人去参加埃莱娜的晚会前要先读书,以便在她的沙龙里有话可说；大使馆秘书,甚至大使,都向她吐露外交秘密,因此在某种程度上,埃莱娜是一种权力。皮埃尔知道她很愚蠢,却有时带着一种奇怪的困惑和恐惧参加她的晚会和宴席,那里讨论政治、诗歌和哲学。在这些聚会上,他的感觉就像一个变戏法的人,总觉得自己的把戏随时会被揭穿。但不知是因为经营这样一个沙龙正好需要这种愚蠢,还是因为受骗的人在这骗局中找到了乐趣,总之骗局未被揭穿,而埃莱娜·别祖霍娃作为可爱聪明女人的名声变得如此根深蒂固,以至于她能说出最空洞最愚蠢的话,每个人都会对她的每句话欣喜若狂,并从中寻找她本人毫无概念的深刻含义。

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notabilities /ˌnəʊtəˈbɪlɪtiz/

n. 名人,显要人物➕

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brilliant /ˈbrɪliənt/

adj. 杰出的,辉煌的➕

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epigrams /ˈepɪɡræmz/

n. 警句,讽刺短诗➕

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perplexity /pəˈpleksəti/

n. 困惑,茫然➕

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profound /prəˈfaʊnd/

adj. 深刻的,意义深远的➕

🔊 Pierre was just the husband needed for a brilliant society woman. He was that absent-minded crank, a grand seigneur husband who was in no one's way, and far from spoiling the high tone and general impression of the drawing room, he served, by the contrast he presented to her, as an advantageous background to his elegant and tactful wife. Pierre during the last two years, as a result of his continual absorption in abstract interests and his sincere contempt for all else, had acquired in his wife's circle, which did not interest him, that air of unconcern, indifference, and benevolence toward all, which cannot be acquired artificially and therefore inspires involuntary respect. He entered his wife's drawing room as one enters a theater, was acquainted with everybody, equally pleased to see everyone, and equally indifferent to them all. Sometimes he joined in a conversation which interested him and, regardless of whether any "gentlemen of the embassy" were present or not, lispingly expressed his views, which were sometimes not at all in accord with the accepted tone of the moment. But the general opinion concerning the queer husband of "the most distinguished woman in Petersburg" was so well established that no one took his freaks seriously.

皮埃尔正是那种光芒四射的社会名媛所需要的丈夫。他是那种心不在焉的怪人,一位大贵族式的丈夫,不妨碍任何人,非但不破坏客厅的高雅格调和整体印象,反而通过与他优雅机敏的妻子的对比,成为了她有利的背景。过去的两年里,由于他持续专注于抽象的兴趣和对其他一切的真诚蔑视,皮埃尔在他不感兴趣的妻子圈子里,养成了一种对所有人的漠不关心、冷淡和善的态度,这种态度无法人为习得,因而激发起不由自主的尊重。他进入妻子的客厅就像进入剧院一样,认识每一个人,对见到每个人同样高兴,对所有人又同样漠不关心。有时他会加入一场他感兴趣的谈话,不论是否有“大使馆的先生们”在场,他会结结巴巴地表达自己的观点,这些观点有时完全不符合当前公认的风气。但是,关于“彼得堡最杰出女性”的古怪丈夫的普遍看法已经根深蒂固,以至于没有人把他的怪癖当回事。

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absent-minded /ˈæbsənt ˈmaɪndɪd/

adj. 心不在焉的,健忘的➕

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crank /kræŋk/

n. 古怪的人,怪人➕

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grand seigneur /ɡrænd seɪˈnjɜːr/

n. 大老爷,贵族式人物➕

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contempt /kənˈtempt/

n. 轻视,蔑视➕

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benevolence /bəˈnevələns/

n. 仁慈,善心➕

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drawing room /ˈdrɔːɪŋ ruːm/

n. 客厅,会客厅➕

🔊 Among the many young men who frequented her house every day, Borís Drubetskóy, who had already achieved great success in the service, was the most intimate friend of the Bezúkhov household since Hélène's return from Erfurt. Hélène spoke of him as "mon page" and treated him like a child. Her smile for him was the same as for everybody, but sometimes that smile made Pierre uncomfortable. Toward him Borís behaved with a particularly dignified and sad deference. This shade of deference also disturbed Pierre. He had suffered so painfully three years before from the mortification to which his wife had subjected him that he now protected himself from the danger of its repetition, first by not being a husband to his wife, and secondly by not allowing himself to suspect.

在许多每天出入她家的年轻人中,鲍里斯·德鲁别茨科伊,他已在军队中取得了巨大成功,是别祖霍夫家里的最亲密的朋友,自从埃莱娜从埃尔福特回来后便是如此。埃莱娜称他为“mon page”,并像对待孩子一样对待他。她对他的笑容与对其他人一样,但有时那笑容让皮埃尔感到不安。鲍里斯对他表现出一副特别庄重而伤感的恭敬态度。这种恭敬的色调也让皮埃尔不安。三年前他因妻子给他带来的屈辱而痛苦万分,如今他保护自己免于重复这种危险,首先是不再作妻子的丈夫,其次是不允许自己产生怀疑。

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frequented /frɪˈkwentɪd/

v. 经常光顾,常去➕

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intimate /ˈɪntɪmət/

adj. 亲密的,密切的➕

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deference /ˈdefərəns/

n. 尊重,顺从➕

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mortification /ˌmɔːtɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/

n. 屈辱,羞愧➕

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repetition /ˌrepəˈtɪʃn/

n. 重复,反复➕

🔊 "No, now that she has become a bluestocking she has finally renounced her former infatuations," he told himself. "There has never been an instance of a bluestocking being carried away by affairs of the heart"--a statement which, though gathered from an unknown source, he believed implicitly. Yet strange to say Borís' presence in his wife's drawing room (and he was almost always there) had a physical effect upon Pierre; it constricted his limbs and destroyed the unconsciousness and freedom of his movements.

“不,既然她成了女学究,她终于放弃了她以前的迷恋,”他对自己说。“从未有过女学究为情所困的例子”--这个说法虽然来自一个未知的出处,但他深信不疑。然而奇怪的是,鲍里斯出现在他妻子的客厅里（他几乎总在那里）对皮埃尔产生了生理上的影响；它束缚了他的四肢,破坏了他的无意识状态和行动的自由。

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bluestocking /ˈbluːstɒkɪŋ/

n. 女学者,有学问的女人（有时含贬义）➕

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renounced /rɪˈnaʊnst/

v. 放弃,宣布放弃➕

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infatuations /ɪnˌfætʃuˈeɪʃnz/

n. 迷恋,痴情➕

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implicitly /ɪmˈplɪsɪtli/

adv. 完全地,绝对地（指信任）；含蓄地➕

🔊 "What a strange antipathy," thought Pierre, "yet I used to like him very much."

“多么奇怪的厌恶,”皮埃尔想,“可我以前非常喜欢他。”

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antipathy /ænˈtɪpəθi/

n. 反感,厌恶➕

🔊 In the eyes of the world Pierre was a great gentleman, the rather blind and absurd husband of a distinguished wife, a clever crank who did nothing but harmed nobody and was a first-rate, good-natured fellow. But a complex and difficult process of internal development was taking place all this time in Pierre's soul, revealing much to him and causing him many spiritual doubts and joys.

在世人的眼中,皮埃尔是一个伟大的绅士,一位杰出妻子的相当盲目可笑的丈夫,一个聪明的怪人,什么也不做却也不伤害任何人,是个一流的好心人。但在这整个时期,皮埃尔的灵魂深处正在进行着复杂而艰难的内在发展过程,向他揭示了许多事物,给他带来许多精神上的怀疑和喜悦。

🔊

absurd /əbˈsɜːd/

adj. 荒谬的,可笑的➕

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internal /ɪnˈtɜːnl/

adj. 内部的,内在的➕

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spiritual /ˈspɪrɪtʃuəl/

adj. 精神的,心灵的➕

Book Six: 1808 - 10 – Chapter nine (第九章)

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