翻译 刘炳善译文赏析

第十一课

刘炳善译文赏析

A Bachelor's Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People

By Charles Lamb

As

a

single

man,

I

have

spent

a

good

deal

of

my

time

in

noting

down

the

infirmities

of

Married People, to console myself for those superior pleasures, which they tell me I have lost by

remaining as I am.

I cannot say that the quarrels of men and their wives ever made any great impression upon

me, or had much tendency to strengthen me in those anti-social resolutions, which I took up long

ago

upon

more

substantial

considerations.

What

oftenest

offends

me

at

the

houses

of

married

persons where I visit, is an error of quite a different description;--it is that they are too loving.

Not too loving neither: that does not explain my meaning. Besides, why should that offend

me? The very act of separating themselves from the rest of the world, to have the fuller enjoyment

of each other's society, implies that they prefer one another to all the world.

But what I complain of is, that they carry this preference so undisguisedly, they perk it up in

the faces of us single people so shamelessly, you cannot be in their company a moment without

being

made

to

feel,

by

some

indirect

hint

or

open

avowal,

that

you

are

not

the

object

of

this

preference. Now there are some things which give no offence, while implied or taken for granted

merely;

but

expressed,

there

is

much

offence

in

them.

If

a

man

were

to

accost

the

first

homely- featured or plain-dressed young woman of his acquaintance, and tell her bluntly, that she

was not handsome or rich enough for him, and he could not marry her, he would deserve to be

kicked for his ill manners; yet no less is implied in the fact, that having access and opportunity of

putting the question to her, he has never yet thought fit to do it. The young woman understands

this as clearly as if it were put into words; but no reasonable young woman would think of making

this the ground of a quarrel. Just as little right have a married couple to tell me by speeches, and

looks that are scarce less plain than speeches, that I am not the happy man,--the lady's choice. It is

enough that I know I am not: I do not want this perpetual reminding.

The display of superior knowledge or riches may be made sufficiently mortifying; but these

admit of a palliative. The knowledge which is brought out to insult me, may accidentally improve

me; and in the rich man's houses and pictures,--his parks and gardens, I have a temporary usufruct

at least. But the display of married happiness has none of these palliatives: it is throughout pure,

unrecompensed, unqualified insult.

Marriage by its best title is a monopoly, and not of the least invidious sort. It is the cunning of

most possessors of any exclusive privilege to keep their advantage as much out of sight as possible,

that

their

less

favoured

neighbours,

seeing

little

of

the

benefit,

may

the

less

be

disposed

to

question the right. But these married monopolists thrust the most obnoxious part of their patent

into our faces.

Nothing is to me more distasteful than that entire complacency and satisfaction which beam

in the countenances of a new- married couple, in that of the lady particularly: it tells you, that her

lot

is

disposed

of

in

this

world:

that

you

can

have

no hopes

of

her.

It

is

true,

I

have

none;

nor

wishes either, perhaps: but this is one of those truths which ought, as I said before, to be taken for

granted, not expressed.

The

excessive

airs

which

those

people

give

themselves,

founded

on

the

ignorance

of

us

unmarried

people,

would

be

more

offensive

if

they

were

less

irrational.

We

will

allow

them

to

understand

the

mysteries

belonging

to

their

own

craft

better

than

we

who

have

not

had

the

happiness to be made free of the company: but their arrogance is not content within these limits. If

a single person presume to offer his opinion in their presence, though upon the most indifferent

subject, he is immediately silenced as an incompetent person. Nay, a young married lady of my

acquaintance, who, the best of the jest was, had not changed her condition above a fortnight before,

in a question on which I had the misfortune to differ from her, respecting the properest mode of

breeding oysters for the London market, had the assurance to ask with a sneer, how such an old

Bachelor as I could pretend to know any thing about such matters.

But

what

I

have

spoken

of

hitherto

is

nothing

to

the

airs

which

these

creatures

give

themselves when they come, as they generally do, to have children. When I consider how little of

a rarity children are, --that every street and blind alley swarms with them, --that the poorest people

commonly have them in most abundance,-- that there are few marriages that are not blest with at

least one of these bargains,-- how often they turn out ill, and defeat the fond hopes of their parents,

taking to vicious courses, which end in poverty, disgrace, the gallows, &c.--I cannot for my life

tell

what

cause

for

pride

there

can

possibly

be

in

having

them.

If

they

were

young

phoenixes,

indeed, that were born but one in a year, there might be a pretext. But when they are so common

—

I

do

not

advert

to

the

insolent

merit

which

they

assume

with

their

husbands

on

these

occasions. Let them look to that. But why we, who are not their natural-born subjects, should be

expected to bring our spices, myrrh, and incense,--our tribute and homage of admiration,--I do not

see.

一个单身汉对已婚男女言行无状之哀诉（片段）

查尔斯·兰姆

作

刘炳善

译

我，

身为光棍汉，

曾经花了不少功夫记录下 那些已婚男女的毛病，

为的是看一看她们所

说的我由于坚持独身 而失去的至高无上的快乐到底是怎么一回事——这，

对我来说，

也是一

种安慰。

我的意思并不是说，

夫妻反目、

吵吵闹闹给我留下了多么深刻的印象，

加强了我孑然一

身，

独来独往的决心；

因为这种态度乃是我在很久以前出于实质性的考虑早就采取了的。

到

结了婚的人家去串门儿，

常惹我生气的倒是另一种相反的过错——就是说 ，

他们夫妻之间感

情太好。

要说我是为了他们感情太好而生气嘛——这还不能把我的意思说清楚。

况 且，

人家两口

感情好，

招惹我什么啦？ 他们既然自愿离开人群，

充分享受伉俪之乐，

就表明人家把两个 人

卿卿我我泡在一起看得比全世界都更重要。

我抱怨的是：

他们总把这种燕婉私情不加掩饰地摆到表面儿上来，

不害臊地在我们单身

汉面前炫耀卖弄；

你一来到他们 中间，

马上就会从他们的间接暗示或者公开声明当中得到启

发：

他们之间的感情，

你是没有份儿的。

本 来嘛，

有些事不必明说，

谁也不会见怪；

挑明了，

倒惹人讨厌。

假如一个人碰见他认识的一位容貌不美 ，

衣着朴素的姑娘，

马上向人家贸贸然

声明：因为她既不漂亮，钱也不多，所以没法儿娶她；那么，为了这个人的无礼，该拿脚踢

他。不过，既有机会见面，又能提出婚姻之事，却从不觉得有必要一试，这本身也就把意思

暗示出来了。不说出来，人家照样明白，明理的姑娘也绝不会为此大闹一场。同样，一对夫

< br>妇也没有权利用语言以及跟语言差不多一样清楚的表示向我通知；我不是那位太太的意中

< br>人，不是她所选择的配偶。我知道我不是，这就完了；用不着别人对我没完没了的提醒。

< br>

夸耀自己在知识上、

财产上的优势，

< br>已经够叫人生气——不过，

这些总还带有一定的缓

和条件 。向我卖弄的知识，也许能使我增广见闻；阔人家的宅院、图画、园囿、花圃，我至

少还 能享受一点儿暂时使用权。

但是，

人家向我夸耀结婚的幸福，< /p>

对我可就一点儿好处也没

有了——它从头到底纯粹是无报偿、无条 件的侮辱。

婚姻，

究极说来，乃是一 种垄断，而且还是一种容易招人妒忌的垄断。

凡是独占了什么

特 权的人，

多半都很滑头，

他们尽量不让那些没有他们幸运的邻居 们看见他们捞到手的好处，

这样也就不至引起人们对于他们的权利发生怀疑。