IT happened not so long ago in the Moscow circuit court. —-
这不久前发生在莫斯科巡回法院的事情。 —-

The jurymen, left in the court for the night, before lying down to sleep fell into conversation about strong impressions. —-
陪审员们在法庭上过夜之前，坐下来聊起了一些深刻的印象。 —-

They were led to this discussion by recalling a witness who, by his own account, had begun to stammer and had gone grey owing to a terrible moment. —-
他们开始讨论这个话题是因为想起了一个证人的故事，据他自己说，他因为一个可怕的时刻开始口吃并变白了头发。 —-

The jurymen decided that before going to sleep, each one of them should ransack among his memories and tell something that had happened to him. —-
陪审员们决定，在睡觉之前，每个人都应该回忆起自己的经历，并讲述一些发生在他们身上的事情。 —-

Man’s life is brief, but yet there is no man who cannot boast that there have been terrible moments in his past.
人生短暂，但几乎没有一个人不能夸耀自己曾经有过可怕的时刻。

One juryman told the story of how he was nearly drowned; —-
一位陪审员讲述了他差点淹死的故事； —-

another described how, in a place where there were neither doctors nor chemists, he had one night poisoned his own son through giving him zinc vitriol by mistake for soda. —-
另一位陪审员描述了在一个没有医生和药房的地方的一次夜晚，他因为误把锌硫酸给了自己的儿子，以为是苏打水而导致对方中毒。 —-

The child did not die, but the father nearly went out of his mind. —-
孩子没有死，但父亲差点精神崩溃。 —-

A third, a man not old but in bad health, told how he had twice attempted to commit suicide: —-
第三位陪审员，不算老但身体不好，讲述了他两次试图自杀的经历：第一次是开枪自杀，第二次是跳火车道自杀。 —-

the first time by shooting himself and the second time by throwing himself before a train.
第四位，一个穿着花哨，胖乎乎的小个子，告诉我们以下的故事：

The fourth, a foppishly dressed, fat little man, told us the following story:
“我还不到二十二二十三岁的时候，爱上了现在的妻子并向她求婚。

“I was not more than twenty-two or twenty-three when I fell head over ears in love with my present wife and made her an offer. —-
现在我真想打自己一顿，后悔当初这么早结婚，但当时如果纳塔莎拒绝我，我不知道会怎么样。 —-

Now I could with pleasure thrash myself for my early marriage, but at the time, I don’t know what would have become of me if Natasha had refused me. —-
我的爱情绝对是真实的，就像小说里描述的那样，狂热、热情之极。 —-

My love was absolutely the real thing, just as it is described in novels—frantic, passionate, and so on. —-
我的幸福让我感到无法承受，我不知道如何逃离它，我让我父亲、朋友和仆人们厌烦地不停谈论我的激情。 —-

My happiness overwhelmed me and I did not know how to get away from it, and I bored my father and my friends and the servants, continually talking about the fervour of my passion. —-
幸福的人是最让人讨厌的人。 —-

Happy people are the most sickening bores. —-
—-

I was a fearful bore; I feel ashamed of it even now. . . .
我过去是个胆小乏味的人；即使现在，我仍然为此感到羞愧……

“Among my friends there was in those days a young man who was beginning his career as a lawyer. —-
“在那些日子里，我的朋友圈里有一个年轻人正在开始他的律师事业。 —-

Now he is a lawyer known all over Russia; —-
现在他是全俄知名的律师； —-

in those days he was only just beginning to gain recognition and was not rich and famous enough to be entitled to cut an old friend when he met him. —-
那些日子里，他刚刚开始受到认可，还不够富有和有名望，不足以在见到老朋友时割礼。 —-

I used to go and see him once or twice a week. —-
我过去一周会去看他一两次。 —-

We used to loll on sofas and begin discussing philosophy.
我们会懒洋洋地躺在沙发上，开始讨论哲学。

“One day I was lying on his sofa, arguing that there was no more ungrateful profession than that of a lawyer. —-
“有一天，我躺在他的沙发上，争论说没有比律师这个职业更不感恩的了。 —-

I tried to prove that as soon as the examination of witnesses is over the court can easily dispense with both the counsels for the prosecution and for the defence, because they are neither of them necessary and are only in the way. —-
我试图证明，一旦证人的审讯结束，法庭可以轻易地抛弃控方和辩方律师，因为他们都是多余的，只会碍事。 —-

If a grown-up juryman, morally and mentally sane, is convinced that the ceiling is white, or that Ivanov is guilty, to struggle with that conviction and to vanquish it is beyond the power of any Demosthenes. —-
如果一个成年的陪审团员，在道德和心智上都健全，坚信天花板是白的，或者说伊万诺夫有罪，与这一信念斗争并战胜它，任何德摩斯特尼也无能为力。 —-

Who can convince me that I have a red moustache when I know that it is black? —-
谁能说服我，告诉我我有红色的胡子，当我知道它是黑色的？ —-

As I listen to an orator I may perhaps grow sentimental and weep, but my fundamental conviction, based for the most part on unmistakable evidence and fact, is not changed in the least. —-
当我听一个演说家时，我可能变得感伤并流泪，但我的根本信念，大部分基于明显的证据和事实，一点也没有改变。 —-

My lawyer maintained that I was young and foolish and that I was talking childish nonsense. —-
我的律师坚持认为我年轻愚蠢，说的是幼稚的胡话。 —-

In his opinion, for one thing, an obvious fact becomes still more obvious through light being thrown upon it by conscientious, well- informed people; —-
在他看来，首先，明显的事实通过认真、博闻强识的人的阐述变得更加明显； —-

for another, talent is an elemental force, a hurricane capable of turning even stones to dust, let alone such trifles as the convictions of artisans and merchants of the second guild. —-
其次，才华是一种元素力量，一种能够把石头化为尘土的飓风，更何况是二级工匠和商人的信念这些琐事。 —-

It is as hard for human weakness to struggle against talent as to look at the sun without winking, or to stop the wind. —-
与才华搏斗对于人类的脆弱来说，就像眼睛看太阳而不眨眼，或者阻止风一样困难。 —-

One simple mortal by the power of the word turns thousands of convinced savages to Christianity; —-
一个平凡的凡人凭借言辞的力量，使成千上万个野蛮人皈依基督教； —-

Odysseus was a man of the firmest convictions, but he succumbed to the Syrens, and so on. —-
奥德修斯是个坚定信念的人，但他不敌美人鱼的诱惑，等等。 —-

All history consists of similar examples, and in life they are met with at every turn; —-
所有的历史都由类似的例子构成，在生活中处处可见； —-

and so it is bound to be, or the intelligent and talented man would have no superiority over the stupid and incompetent.
否则，聪明有才华的人就不会比愚蠢无能的人有任何优势。

“I stuck to my point, and went on maintaining that convictions are stronger than any talent, though, frankly speaking, I could not have defined exactly what I meant by conviction or what I meant by talent. —-
“我坚持我的观点，并继续主张，信念比任何才华都更坚定，尽管说实话，我可能无法准确地定义信念和才华的含义。 —-

Most likely I simply talked for the sake of talking.
很可能我只是为了说而说。

“‘Take you, for example,’ said the lawyer. —-
“‘以你为例，’律师说。 —-

‘You are convinced at this moment that your fiancée is an angel and that there is not a man in the whole town happier than you. —-
“你此刻坚信你的未婚妻是个天使，整个城镇没有比你更幸福的人。 —-

But I tell you: ten or twenty minutes would be enough for me to make you sit down to this table and write to your fiancée, breaking off your engagement.
“但我告诉你：给我10或20分钟，我就能让你坐在这张桌子旁，写信给你的未婚妻，解除婚约。

“I laughed.
“我笑了。

“‘Don’t laugh, I am speaking seriously,’ said my friend. —-
“‘别笑，我说的很认真，’我的朋友说道。 —-

‘If I choose, in twenty minutes you will be happy at the thought that you need not get married. —-
“‘如果我愿意，20分钟内你就会为不用结婚感到高兴。 —-

Goodness knows what talent I have, but you are not one of the strong sort.’
“天知道我有什么才华，但你并不是强者中的一个。

“‘Well, try it on!’ said I.
“‘好吧，试试吧！’我说道。

“‘No, what for? I am only telling you this. —-
“‘不，没必要。我只是在告诉你这一点。 —-

You are a good boy and it would be cruel to subject you to such an experiment. —-
你是个乖孩子，让你接受这样的实验实在太残忍了。 —-

And besides I am not in good form to-day.’
况且，我今天不在好状态。

“We sat down to supper. The wine and the thought of Natasha, my beloved, flooded my whole being with youth and happiness. —-
“我们坐下来吃晚餐。葡萄酒和思念我心爱的娜塔莎让我整个人都充满了青春和幸福。 —-

My happiness was so boundless that the lawyer sitting opposite to me with his green eyes seemed to me an unhappy man, so small, so grey. . . .
我的幸福是如此无尽，以至于坐在我对面那位眼睛绿得发亮的律师在我眼里都成了个不幸的人，如此渺小，如此灰暗…

“‘Do try!’ I persisted. ‘Come, I entreat you!
“『试试看！』我坚持说道。『来吧，我恳求你！

“The lawyer shook his head and frowned. Evidently I was beginning to bore him.
律师摇了摇头，皱起了眉头。显然我开始让他感到厌烦了。

“‘I know,’ he said, ‘after my experiment you will say, thank you, and will call me your saviour; —-
“『我知道，』他说，『在我的实验之后，你会说谢谢，并称我为你的救星。 —-

but you see I must think of your fiancée too. She loves you; —-
但是你得考虑一下你未婚妻。她爱你，你抛弃她会使她受伤。而她多么迷人啊！我真羡慕你。 —-

your jilting her would make her suffer. And what a charming creature she is! I envy you.’
“律师叹了口气，喝了一口酒，开始谈论起我的娜塔莎有多么迷人。

“The lawyer sighed, sipped his wine, and began talking of how charming my Natasha was. —-
他对描述有着非凡的才能。 —-

He had an extraordinary gift of description. —-
他可以对一个女人的睫毛或小指腔讲个不停。 —-

He could knock you off a regular string of words about a woman’s eyelashes or her little finger. —-
我津津乐道地倾听着。 —-

I listened to him with relish.
‘我这一生见过很多女人，’他说道，‘但我向你保证，作为一个朋友，你的娜塔莎·安德列耶夫娜是一颗珍珠，一个罕见的女孩。

“‘I have seen a great many women in my day,’ he said, ‘but I give you my word of honour, I speak as a friend, your Natasha Andreyevna is a pearl, a rare girl. —-
当然，她有她的缺点——很多缺点，如果你喜欢的话——但她仍然很迷人。 —-

Of course she has her defects—many of them, in fact, if you like—but still she is fascinating.’
‘律师开始谈论起我的未婚妻的缺点。

“And the lawyer began talking of my fiancée’s defects. —-
现在我很清楚，他当时是在谈论女人的普遍问题，她们的弱点。但当时我觉得他只是在谈论娜塔莎。 —-

Now I understand very well that he was talking of women in general, of their weak points in general, but at the time it seemed to me that he was talking only of Natasha. —-
他对她翻起鼻子、尖叫声、尖锐的笑声、神气活现的样子陶醉不已，而这些恰恰是我不喜欢她的地方。 —-

He went into ecstasies over her turn-up nose, her shrieks, her shrill laugh, her airs and graces, precisely all the things I so disliked in her. —-
在他看来，那一切都是无比甜美、优雅和女性化的。 —-

All that was, to his thinking, infinitely sweet, graceful, and feminine.
‘在我没有注意到的情况下，他很快从狂热的语气转到了一种父亲般的告诫语气，然后再转到一种轻蔑的语气。

“Without my noticing it, he quickly passed from his enthusiastic tone to one of fatherly admonition, and then to a light and derisive one. —-
. . . 没有主审法官，也没有人来限制律师的扯淡。 —-

. . . There was no presiding judge and no one to check the diffusiveness of the lawyer. —-
我根本没时间开口，而且，我能说什么呢？ —-

I had not time to open my mouth, besides, what could I say? —-
除了我情意绵绵地对她矢口否认外，我啥也说不上来。 —-

What my friend said was not new, it was what everyone has known for ages, and the whole venom lay not in what he said, but in the damnable form he put it in. —-
我朋友说的并不新奇，这早已是众所周知的事实，而整个痛苦在于他所表达的可恶形式。 —-

It really was beyond anything!
这真是超乎寻常的事情！

“As I listened to him then I learned that the same word has thousands of shades of meaning according to the tone in which it is pronounced, and the form which is given to the sentence. —-
“当时我听他说话的时候才意识到，同一个词语根据发音的语调和句子的结构，可以有成千上万种意义的变化。 —-

Of course I cannot reproduce the tone or the form; —-
当然，我无法复制出那种语调和形式； —-

I can only say that as I listened to my friend and walked up and down the room, I was moved to resentment, indignation, and contempt together with him. —-
我只能说，当我听着朋友的话在房间里走来走去时，我也产生了愤恨、愤慨和轻视的情绪。 —-

I even believed him when with tears in his eyes he informed me that I was a great man, that I was worthy of a better fate, that I was destined to achieve something in the future which marriage would hinder!
他泪流满面地告诉我，我是一个伟大的人，我值得更好的命运，婚姻会阻碍我未来的成就！我甚至相信了他！

“‘My friend!’ he exclaimed, pressing my hand. ‘I beseech you, I adjure you: —-
“‘我的朋友！’他紧握着我的手喊道，‘我恳求你，我拜托你： —-

stop before it is too late. Stop! May Heaven preserve you from this strange, cruel mistake! —-
在为时已晚之前停下来。停！愿天保佑你免受这个奇怪而残忍的错误的伤害！ —-

My friend, do not ruin your youth!’
我的朋友，不要毁掉你的青春！”

“Believe me or not, as you choose, but the long and the short of it was that I sat down to the table and wrote to my fiancée, breaking off the engagement. —-
“信不信由你，我坐下来写信给我的未婚妻，解除了婚约。 —-

As I wrote I felt relieved that it was not yet too late to rectify my mistake. —-
在写信的时候，我感到很高兴，还不算太晚来纠正我的错误。 —-

Sealing the letter, I hastened out into the street to post it. —-
我密封了信，匆忙走出家门去寄信。 —-

The lawyer himself came with me.
律师也跟着我一起去了。

“‘Excellent! Capital!’ he applauded me as my letter to Natasha disappeared into the darkness of the box. —-
“‘好极了！太棒了！’当我的信寄给娜塔莎后消失在信箱的黑暗中时，他热烈地夸奖我。 —-

‘I congratulate you with all my heart. —-
‘我真心地祝贺你。” —-

I am glad for you.’
我为你感到高兴。

“After walking a dozen paces with me the lawyer went on:
律师和我走了几步之后说：

“‘Of course, marriage has its good points. —-
“当然，婚姻有它的好处。 —-

I, for instance, belong to the class of people to whom marriage and home life is everything.’
例如，我属于那种把婚姻和家庭生活视为一切的人。

“And he proceeded to describe his life, and lay before me all the hideousness of a solitary bachelor existence.
“他热情地描述着自己的生活，向我展示了独身汉生活的种种丑陋。

“He spoke with enthusiasm of his future wife, of the sweets of ordinary family life, and was so eloquent, so sincere in his ecstasies that by the time we had reached his door, I was in despair.
“他滔滔不绝地谈论着他未来的妻子，普通家庭生活的甜蜜，并且他的狂喜是如此真诚，以至于在我们到达他的门口时，我陷入了绝望。

“‘What are you doing to me, you horrible man?’ I said, gasping. ‘You have ruined me! —-
“‘你这个可怕的人对我做了什么？’我喘着气说。‘你害了我！ —-

Why did you make me write that cursed letter? —-
你为什么让我写那该死的信？ —-

I love her, I love her!’
我爱她，我爱她！’

“And I protested my love. I was horrified at my conduct which now seemed to me wild and senseless. It is impossible, gentlemen, to imagine a more violent emotion than I experienced at that moment. —-
“我宣称我爱她。我对自己的行为感到震惊，现在它对我来说似乎是疯狂和荒谬的。无法想象比我当时经历的更剧烈的情绪了。 —-

Oh, what I went through, what I suffered! —-
哦，我经历了什么，我受了多少苦！ —-

If some kind person had thrust a revolver into my hand at that moment, I should have put a bullet through my brains with pleasure.
如果当时有善良的人把一把左轮手枪递给我，我定会乐意开枪自杀。

“‘Come, come . . .’ said the lawyer, slapping me on the shoulder, and he laughed. —-
“‘别哭了，别哭了。”律师拍了拍我的肩膀，笑了。 —-

‘Give over crying. The letter won’t reach your fiancée. —-
‘别哭了。信不会寄到你未婚妻手上。 —-

It was not you who wrote the address but I, and I muddled it so they won’t be able to make it out at the post-office. —-
写地址的不是你，而是我，我搞糊涂了，邮局的人搞不清楚。” —-

It will be a lesson to you not to argue about what you don’t understand.’
“这将是给你的一个教训，不要争论你不理解的事情。”

“Now, gentlemen, I leave it to the next to speak.”
“现在，先生们，我留给下一个发言。”

The fifth juryman settled himself more comfortably, and had just opened his mouth to begin his story when we heard the clock strike on Spassky Tower.
第五个陪审员舒舒服服地坐下来，正要开口开始他的故事，我们听到了斯巴斯基塔上的钟声。

“Twelve . . .” one of the jurymen counted. —-
“十二点……”一个陪审员数了一下。 —-

“And into which class, gentlemen, would you put the emotions that are being experienced now by the man we are trying? —-
“那么，先生们，你们认为我们正在审判的人现在正在经历的情感属于哪一类？” —-

He, that murderer, is spending the night in a convict cell here in the court, sitting or lying down and of course not sleeping, and throughout the whole sleepless night listening to that chime. —-
“那个杀人犯正在监狱里度过这个晚上，坐着或躺着，当然不会睡觉，整个不眠之夜都在听着那钟声。” —-

What is he thinking of? What visions are haunting him?”
“他在想什么？他脑海中出现了什么幻象？”

And the jurymen all suddenly forgot about strong impressions; —-
而陪审员们突然都忘记了强烈的印象； —-

what their companion who had once written a letter to his Natasha had suffered seemed unimportant, even not amusing; —-
他们曾经给他们的那位写信给他的娜塔莎的同伴所经历的似乎不重要，甚至不好笑； —-

and no one said anything more; they began quietly and in silence lying down to sleep.
没有人再说什么了，他们开始静静地躺下睡觉。