書蟲四級《紅字》：4.魔鬼派來的人

4．A man sent by the Devil

4．魔鬼派來的人

For three years the man calling himself Roger Chillingworth had made his home in the town. Only Hester Prynne knew the secrets of his past life, which he had put behind him, but he held the lock and key to her silence and felt quite safe. His plans had changed. There were new, darker arrangements to make; new, secret things to do with his time. He had studied medicine and knew enough for other people to accept and welcome him as a doctor. Medical men were difficult to find in New England at that time.

三年過去了，這個自稱羅杰·奇林沃思的人在鎮(zhèn)上定居下來。只有赫斯特知道他隱藏起來的過去的秘密，但是他掌握著讓她緘口不言的鎖和鑰匙，并且覺得很安全。他的計劃已經(jīng)改變了。更加陰險的新計劃即將形成；他要花時間做一些新的秘密活動。他學過醫(yī)藥，對此的研究已經(jīng)使他被人們認可為一名醫(yī)生。當時在新英格蘭，精通醫(yī)術(shù)的人尚不多見。

Soon after his arrival, he became friendly with Mr Dimmesdale, and made the young man his religious guide. It was at this time, however, that the young priest's health began to fail. He grew thin and pale; his voice, though still rich and sweet, now had a sadness and tiredness about it. And sometimes, when he was alarmed by something, he would put his hand over his heart, and his eyes would fill with pain.

他來到此地不久，就對丁梅斯代爾先生很友好，還讓這個年輕人作他的宗教導師。就在此時，丁梅斯代爾先生的身體開始漸漸衰弱下去。他變得蒼白消瘦；他的嗓音雖仍然豐潤甜美，卻含著憂郁和疲憊。有時，他會突然被驚動，然后用手捂住心口，眼睛里充滿了痛苦。

The young priest was greatly respected in the town; people thought he was a selfless and deeply religious man. They worried that his long hours of study and hard work for the church were damaging his health, so they were pleased when Roger Chillingworth became a friend of the young man and also offered to be his doctor. 'God has sent this man to help our priest!' they said.

這位青年牧師在城鎮(zhèn)中很受尊敬，人們都認為他是一個無私而虔誠的教徒，擔心他鉆研學問過多，教區(qū)工作太重，會損害他的健康，因此當他們看到羅杰·奇林沃思和這個青年人成為朋友并自告奮勇成為他的醫(yī)生后，都感到很欣慰。“上帝派了這個人來幫助我們的牧師。”他們說。

But Mr Dimmesdale would not listen to his friends, and gently turned away all advice. 'I need no medicine,' he said.

但丁梅斯代爾先生卻沒有聽從朋友們的建議，他委婉地拒絕了所有的善意。“我不需要吃藥。”他說。

But how could he say so when each week his face became paler and thinner; his voice trembled more than before; and putting his hand over his heart became a habit? Was he tired of his work? Did he wish to die?

但他怎么能這樣講呢？每過一周，他的面頰就會變得越發(fā)蒼白消瘦；聲音也比先前顫抖得更加厲害；而且他用手捂住心口的動作已經(jīng)變成了一種習慣。難道他厭倦了工作？難道他想死嗎？

The older priests put these questions to him, and reminded him that refusing medical help—perhaps help sent by God—was a sin. Mr Dimmesdale listened in silence, and finally promised to take advice from the doctor.

年長的牧師們向他提出質(zhì)疑，并且提醒他醫(yī)藥的幫助或許是上帝賜予的福旨，對此加以拒絕可是有罪的。丁梅斯代爾先生默默不語地聽著，終于答應聽取醫(yī)生的建議。

Though if God wished it,' he said, 'I would be happy to leave behind my work, my worries and my sins and be buried in my grave.'

“雖說這是上帝的旨意，”他說，“可我寧愿丟下工作、煩惱和罪孽，被埋葬在墳墓之中。”

*　*　*

*　*　*

So this was how the mysterious Roger Chillingworth became the medical adviser of Mr Arthur Dimmesdale. The two men, one young and one old, began to spend much time together, walking along beside the sea or in the forest, often collecting plants to use for making medicines. Chillingworth watched and listened to his patient, asking questions carefully, digging deeper and deeper into the other man's thoughts and feelings. They spoke about public and private things; about health and religion; even about personal matters. But no secret, however much Chillingworth suspected there was one, ever came out of their discussions.

就這樣，神秘的老羅杰·奇林沃思成了阿瑟·丁梅斯代爾先生的健康顧問。這一老一少開始常常一起活動：在海濱、林中長時間散步，經(jīng)常采集一些植物用于制藥。奇林沃思觀察著他的病人，聽他說話，仔細地提問，越來越深地探究他的思想和情感。他們所談的涉及公事和私事，健康和宗教，甚至涉及個人的隱私。醫(yī)生雖然揣測這里肯定是有秘密的，但他們的討論卻始終沒能把任何秘密揭露出來。

After a time, at the suggestion of Roger Chillingworth, the friends of Mr Dimmesdale arranged for the two men to live in the same house. They thought it was the best and most sensible arrangement, at least until Mr Dimmesdale decided to marry some suitable young lady. (Although for some reason they did not understand, the young man refused to even think about marriage.) Now the good doctor could keep an even closer watch on their young friend's health.

過了一段時間，在羅杰·奇林沃思的建議之下，丁梅斯代爾先生的朋友們安排他倆住在了同一棟房子里。他們認為這是最好、最合理的安排，至少是在丁梅斯代爾先生決定娶某位年輕女士為妻之前。（盡管出于一些他們無法理解的原因，這個青年人想都不愿意去想婚姻的問題。）現(xiàn)在，這位良醫(yī)可以更加密切地關(guān)注他們年輕朋友的健康了。

The house was next to the town's graveyard, and Mr Dimmesdale had an apartment in the front of the building, where he could enjoy the morning sun and where there was plenty of room for his many books. In rooms on the other side of the house, Roger Chillingworth arranged his papers, and the special things needed for making medicines.

他倆的房子緊挨著鎮(zhèn)上的墓地，丁梅斯代爾先生住前面一個套間，在這里他可以享受早上的陽光，還有寬敞的地方可以放置豐富的藏書。在房子另一側(cè)的幾間屋子中，羅杰·奇林沃思安放了他的資料和各種制藥用的特殊器具。

However, not all the townspeople were happy. Many people suspected that the mysterious doctor was not all he pretended to be. One old man, who had come from London more than thirty years ago, was sure that Chillingworth had lived in that city, using another name. Others spoke of the change in the man since he had come to live in the town. At first, his expression had been calm, thoughtful, the face of a man who spent his time studying. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face. Some people even believed that Chillingworth had been sent by the Devil and was after the young priest's soul. Everyone, however, was confident that Mr Dimmesdale would be the winner of this battle.

然而，并非鎮(zhèn)上的所有居民都對此表示歡迎。很多人都懷疑這個神秘的醫(yī)生根本就不像他所表現(xiàn)出的那樣。有一位三十多年前從倫敦來的老人非常確定地說，奇林沃思曾經(jīng)住在倫敦，當時叫的是另外一個名字。還有一些人說，羅杰·奇林沃思自從在鎮(zhèn)上定居以來發(fā)生了明顯的變化。起初，他外表安詳，若有所思，一派學者模樣。而如今，他臉上卻是一種丑陋而邪惡的表情。一些人甚至認為奇林沃思是魔鬼的使者，要攫取這位青年牧師的靈魂。不過每個人都相信丁梅斯代爾先生會是這場戰(zhàn)役的勝利者。

As the months and years went by, the change in Roger Chillingworth grew greater. He had begun with the calmness of a judge, wanting only to know the truth. But as he continued, the need to know burned in him like a fever, and he dug into the priest's soul, like a man searching for gold. And poor Mr Dimrnesdale, sick at heart, too afraid to call any man his friend, could not recognize an enemy either.

隨著時間的流逝，奇林沃思的變化越來越明顯。起初他帶著裁判者的冷靜而來，那時他只想找出真相。但是隨著計劃的展開，迫切想知道答案的愿望就像高燒一樣折磨著他。他像一個淘金者一樣掘進牧師的靈魂。而可憐的丁梅斯代爾先生由于內(nèi)心的折磨，懼怕把任何人視為朋友，因此也無法辨認出誰是敵人。

One day, he was in Chillingworth's room, looking out of the window at the graveyard opposite, while the older man was arranging some plants that he had collected.

一天，他待在奇林沃思的房間里，透過窗子看著對面的墓地，而老人正在整理采集來的一些植物。

Where did you get the plants with the dark leaves?' the priest asked Chillingworth.

“你從哪里找到這些黑葉子植物的？”牧師問奇林沃思。

From the graveyard,' answered the other man. 'I found them growing on a grave without a gravestone, or anything to tell me the dead man's name. Perhaps these black plants grew out of a heart that hid some terrible secret, one that was buried with him.'

“墓地里。”醫(yī)生回答說，“在一座墳墓上發(fā)現(xiàn)的，墳前沒有墓碑，也沒別的東西表明死者的名字。可能這種黑色植物是從死者的心里長出來的，那顆心里藏著可怕的秘密，隨著他一起埋葬了。”

Perhaps the poor man wanted to tell it, but could not,' said Mr Dimmesdale. He was silent for a while, then went on, 'Tell me, doctor, is my health any better since you began to take care of this poor, weak body of mine?'

“也許這個可憐的人是想說出來的，但他就是辦不到。”丁梅斯代爾先生說。他沉默了片刻，接著說：“告訴我，醫(yī)生，從您開始照顧我這虛弱、可憐的身體以來，我的健康狀況是否有所好轉(zhuǎn)？”

Before Chillingworth could answer, they heard a young child laughing. The sound came from the graveyard, and the priest looked down from the open window and saw Hester Prynne and little Pearl walking along the path. Pearl looked as beautiful as the day, but was behaving badly. She jumped from grave to grave, finally dancing on one of the larger graves until her mother called out to her.

奇林沃思還沒來得及回答，他們就聽到了一個小孩子的笑聲。這笑聲從墓地里傳來。牧師從打開的窗子向外望去，只見赫斯特·普林和小珍珠在小徑上走著。珍珠看上去和白晝一樣美麗，但是十分淘氣。她從一個墓上跳到另一個墳墓上，最后在一個比較大的墳墓上跳起舞來，直到她母親把她叫住。

Pearl, stop it! Behave yourself!' cried Hester Prynne.

“珍珠，別跳了！乖一點兒！”赫斯特·普林喊道。

The girl stopped, but only to collect the purple flowers from a tall plant. She took a handful of them, and fastened their needle-like edges to the scarlet letter on her mother's dress. Hester did not pull them off.

珍珠停了下來，又開始從一株高大的植物上采摘紫色的小花。她摘了滿滿一把之后，便把針尖一樣的花邊別在母親衣服上的紅字周圍。赫斯特并沒有把它們?nèi)∠聛怼?/p>

Roger Chillingworth had joined Mr Dimmesdale at the window. 'That child has no respect for others,' he said, 'no idea of right or wrong. I saw her the other day throwing water at the Governor himself! What, in heaven's name, is she? A child of the devil? Has she no kindliness in her?'

羅杰·奇林沃思和丁梅斯代爾先生一起站到窗前。“那孩子對別人一點兒都不敬重。”他說，“也沒有是非概念。那天我看到她竟然往總督身上潑水！我的天，這到底是個什么孩子??？難道她是惡魔的孩子嗎？難道她的天性中一絲善良都沒有嗎？”

I do not know,' replied Mr Dimmesdale, quietly.

“我不知道。”丁梅斯代爾先生靜靜地回答。

The girl probably heard their voices. She looked up, laughed, then threw one of the purple flowers at Mr Dimmesdale. And when the young priest jumped back with a little cry, she was delighted and laughed even louder.

那孩子可能是聽到了他們的聲音。她笑著抬起頭來，朝丁梅斯代爾先生扔來一朵紫色小花。年輕的牧師將身子向后一閃，發(fā)出了一聲輕呼，珍珠高興起來，笑得更開心了。

Hester Prynne also looked up at that moment, and all four of these persons now stared at each other silently until the child laughed again, and shouted:

此時，赫斯特·普林也抬起頭來，于是這四個人便誰也不說話地面面相覷，直到孩子又笑起來，大叫著：

Come away, mother! Come away, or that nasty old man up there will catch you! He has already caught the priest! But he won't catch little Pearl!' And she pulled her mother away, then danced off between the graves.

“走吧，媽媽！走吧，要不上面那個討厭的老頭就來抓你了！他已經(jīng)抓住了牧師。可他抓不住小珍珠！”然后她蹦蹦跳跳地拽著母親從墳墓間走開了。

There goes a woman,' said Roger Chillingworth, after a pause, 'who cannot hide her shame. It is there, for all to see. But is Hester Prynne more, or less, miserable than people who keep their sinfulness hidden?'

“那個女人，”羅杰·奇林沃思沉默了一會兒后接著說，“無法掩飾她的恥辱，那恥辱就在那兒，所有人都看得到。和那些把罪惡隱藏起來的人比，赫斯特·普林的痛苦是多還是少呢？”

I cannot answer for her,' said Mr Dimmesdale, his face pale. 'There was a look of pain in her face which it hurt me to see, but I think it must be better for sinners to be free to show their pain, as this poor woman Hester does, than to cover it all up in their heart.'

“我無法為她作答。”丁梅斯代爾先生說，他的臉色蒼白。“她臉上有一種痛楚的表情，我看了覺得很難過。但是我認為，一個犯了罪的人能夠像這可憐的婦人赫斯特這樣，可以自由地表達自己的痛苦，總比全都悶在心里好。”

There was another pause, then the doctor said, 'You asked a little while ago for my opinion on your health.'

又是一陣沉默，醫(yī)生說：“剛才你問我對你的健康有何看法。”

I did,' said Mr Dimmesdale. 'Speak freely. Do not be afraid to tell me the truth, whether it is good news or bad.'

“是啊，”牧師回答說，“我請你坦率地講出來，別怕告訴我真相，是好是壞都沒關(guān)系。”

Your illness is a strange one,' said Chillingworth, going back to his plants. 'I find it difficult to understand. Let me ask you, as a friend as well as your doctor, have you told me everything? Is there anything you have not told me which might help me find the true reason for your illness?'

“你的病很奇怪。”奇林沃思一邊說著一邊又擺弄起他的那些植物。“我覺得很困惑。讓我以朋友和醫(yī)生的雙重身份來問你，你是否已經(jīng)把一切都告訴我了呢？是不是還有什么沒對我說？也許這些事恰恰可以幫我找出你真正的病因。”

How can you ask?' replied the priest. 'It would be stupid to call in a doctor and then hide the injury.'

“你怎么會這樣問？”牧師回答道，“請來醫(yī)生，卻又向他隱瞞病情，這不是很愚蠢嘛。”

Roger Chillingworth stared hard at the other man's face. 'Yes, but the injury or evil we can see is often only half the problem,' he said. 'Sometimes it is the sickness of a man's soul that is the reason for his sick body. And then, how can a doctor help his patient to get better unless his patient tells him what is troubling his soul?'

羅杰·奇林沃思目光炯炯地盯著牧師的面孔。“是的，不過通常我們?nèi)庋劭梢钥吹降膫』蜃飷褐皇菃栴}的一半。”他說，“有時，身體有病的原因很可能是靈魂染疾。如果病人不坦白說出是什么在折磨自己的靈魂，醫(yī)生是沒有辦法幫助他恢復的。”

No, not to you!' cried Mr Dimmesdale, his eyes suddenly wild and bright. 'Only God can save a man whose sickness is a sickness of the soul! Let him do with me what he will! But who are you to involve yourself in this matter? Who are you to stand between a sufferer and his God?'

“不！我不會對你說！”丁梅斯代爾先生喊叫起來，他的眼睛突然變得狂野，閃著光亮。“只有上帝可以救治靈魂上的疾病。讓他隨心所欲地處置我吧。可是，你算什么？竟要來插一手？竟敢置身于受磨難的人和他的上帝之間？”

And he ran angrily from the room.

他憤怒地沖出了房間。

Roger Chillingworth smiled to himself. 'Nothing is lost. We shall be friends again. But look how his passion takes hold of him! He has done a wild thing before now, this godly Mr Dimmesdale, in the hot passion of his heart.'

羅杰·奇林沃思暗自笑道：“一無所失。我們很快還會重新成為朋友的。不過看看吧，激情如何完全左右了這個人！這位虔誠的丁梅斯代爾先生，以前也曾在內(nèi)心激情的驅(qū)使之下，干出過荒唐事來！”

Not long afterwards, as expected, the young priest returned and apologized. He asked his friend to continue to care for him, and the doctor agreed to do so.

不久之后，就像他預料的那樣，年輕的牧師回來道歉，請求他的朋友繼續(xù)照料他，醫(yī)生同意了。

*　*　*

*　*　*

A few days after this, Mr Dimmesdale falls asleep in his chair, while reading in his study. Later, Roger Chillingworth comes into the room and sees that the other man is sleeping. He steps forward, and pulls open the priest's shirt.

幾天后，丁梅斯代爾先生在書房里看書時，坐在椅子上睡著了。后來，羅杰·奇林沃思走進他的房間，發(fā)現(xiàn)他睡著了，于是走上前，扯開了牧師的襯衣。

After a short pause, he turns away, but with what a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror!

醫(yī)生稍停了一瞬，轉(zhuǎn)身走了。然而，他的表情卻那么狂野，交織著驚奇、歡樂和恐懼！