IN THE LARGE BEST ROOM of the peasant Andrey Savostyanov’s cottage, at two o’clock, a council met. —
在安德烈·萨沃斯亚诺夫农民的小屋的大客厅里,两点钟时，一场会议召开了。 —

The men and women and children of the peasant’s big family all crowded together in the room on the other side of the passage. —
农民庞大的家庭的男人、女人和孩子都挤在走廊另一边的房间里。 —

Only Andrey’s little grandchild, Malasha, a child of six, whom his highness had petted, giving her sugar while he drank his tea, stayed behind by the big stove in the best room. —
只有安德烈的小孙女玛拉莎，一个六岁的孩子，他的殿下抚摸过她，给她糖果，而他喝茶的时候，她一个人留在了最好的房间里的大火炉旁边。 —

Malasha peeped out from on the stove with shy delight at the faces, the uniforms, and the crosses of the generals, who kept coming into the room one after another, and sitting in a row on the broad benches in the best corner under the holy images. —
玛拉莎从火炉上胆怯地偷看着进来的将军们的面孔、制服和十字架，他们一个接一个地走进屋子，坐在庄严的长凳上，在神圣形象下的最佳角落里。 —

“Granddad” himself, as Malasha in her own mind called Kutuzov, was sitting apart from the rest in the dark corner behind the stove. —
“爷爷”亲爱的卡图佐夫，在最暗的火炉后面的角落中独自一人坐着。 —

He sat sunk all of a heap in a folding armchair, and was continually clearing his throat and straightening the collar of his coat, which, though it was unbuttoned, still seemed to gall his neck. —
他一堆一堆地坐在可折叠扶手椅上，不停地清嗓子并整理外套的领子，尽管外套没有系上，但他的领子似乎仍然扯着他的脖子。 —

The generals, as they came in one after another, walked up to the commander-in-chief: —
将军们一个接一个地走进来后都走到了他面前: —

he shook hands with some, to others he merely nodded.
他与一些人握手，而对另一些人只是点了点头。

The adjutant, Kaisarov, would have drawn back a curtain from the window facing Kutuzov, but the latter shook his hand angrily at him, and Kaisarov saw that his highness did not care for them to see his face.
副官卡依萨罗夫本想拉开面对卡图佐夫的窗帘，但卡图佐夫愤怒地向他摆手，卡依萨罗夫看到他殿下并不希望他们看到他的脸。

Round the peasant’s deal table, on which lay maps, plans, pencils, and papers, there was such a crowd that the orderlies brought in another bench, and set it near the table. —
在农民家的橡木桌旁，放着地图、计划、铅笔和纸，人群如此拥挤，士兵们又添了一把椅子，放在桌子旁边。 —

Yermolov, Kaisarov, and Toll seated themselves on this bench. —
耶尔莫洛夫、卡依萨罗夫和托尔坐在这把椅子上。 —

In the foremost place, under the holy images, sat Barclay de Tolly, with his Order of St. George on his neck, with his pale, sickly face and high forehead that met his bald head. —
在神圣形象下的最前面，坐着巴克莱·德·托利，他身上佩戴着圣乔治勋章，脸色苍白、病态，额头高高的与秃顶相接。 —

He had been in the throes of fever for the last two days, and was shivering and shaking now. —
过去两天他一直在发高烧，现在正在颤抖。 —

Beside him sat Uvarov, speaking to him with rapid gesticulations in the same low voice in which everybody spoke. —
在他旁边坐着乌瓦罗夫，用相同的低语调和迅速的手势与他交谈，而所有人都在用这种低语调交谈。 —

Little chubby Dohturov was listening attentively with his eyebrows raised and his hands clasped over his stomach. —
小胖胖的多特洛夫认真地听着，他扬起眉毛，双手交叉放在肚子上。 —

On the other side, resting his broad head on his hand, sat Count Osterman-Tolstoy, with his bold features and brilliant eyes, apparently plunged in his own thoughts. —
另一边，奥斯特曼-托尔斯泰伯爵坐着，他的宽大头部靠在手上，他那大胆的面容和明亮的眼睛似乎陷入了自己的思考中。 —

Raevsky sat twisting his black curls on his temples, as he always did, and looking with impatience from Kutuzov to the door. —
雷夫斯基一直以来都用手指搓着捻着他太阳穴上的黑发，不耐烦地从库图佐夫看向门口。 —

Konovnitsyn’s firm, handsome, good-humoured face was bright with a sly and kindly smile. —
科诺夫尼金斯的脸庞结实、英俊，带着诡秘而友好的微笑。 —

He caught Malasha’s eye, and made signs to her with his eyes, that set the little girl smiling.
他捕捉到了玛拉莎的目光，用眼神示意她，使这个小女孩儿露出了微笑的表情。

They were all waiting for Bennigsen, who, on the pretext of a fresh inspection of the position, was engaged in finishing his luxurious dinner. —
他们都在等待本尼森，他借着对阵地的再次检查为借口，正在享用着盛宴。 —

They waited for him from four to six o’clock, and all that time did not enter on their deliberations, but talked of extraneous matters in subdued tones.
他们等了他两个小时，从下午四点等到六点，但整个时间他们没有开始正式的讨论，而是用低声交谈着其他事情。

Only when Bennigsen had entered the hut, Kutuzov moved out of his corner and came up to the table, but sat there so that his face did not come within the light of the candles on it.
只有在本尼森走进小屋后，库图佐夫从角落里走出来，走向会议桌，但他坐得远离烛光，脸不受照亮。

Bennigsen opened the council by the question: —
本尼森率先开启了会议，他提出了一个问题： —

Whether to abandon the holy and ancient capital of Russia, or to defend it?
是放弃这座神圣而古老的俄罗斯首都，还是保卫它？

A prolonged silence followed. Every face was knitted, and in the stillness Kutuzov could be heard angrily coughing and clearing his throat. —
随之而来的是一段漫长的沉默，每个人脸上都紧皱着眉头，而在寂静中，库图佐夫愤怒地咳嗽并清了清嗓子。 —

All eyes were fixed on him. Malasha too gazed at “Granddad.”
所有人的目光都集中在他身上，玛拉莎也盯着爷爷看。

She was nearest of all to him, and saw that his face was working; —
她离他最近，看到他的脸庞颤动着，他似乎要哭出来。但这不能持续太久。 —

he seemed to be going to cry. But that did not last long.
“这座神圣而古老的俄罗斯首都！”他突然大声喊道，声音中带着愤怒，重复着本尼森的话，从中突出了其中的虚假成分。

“The holy and ancient capital of Russia! —
“请允许我告诉阁下，这个问题对于一个俄罗斯人来说无意义。” —

” he cried suddenly, in a wrathful voice, repeating Bennigsen’s words, and thereby underlining the false note in them. —
他愤怒的声音彻底凸显了这句话的错误之处。 —

“Allow me to tell your excellency that that question has no meaning to a Russian. —
请允许我告诉您，这个问题对于一个俄罗斯人来说是没有意义的。 —

” (He lurched his unwieldy figure forward.) “Such a question cannot be put; —
“（他笨拙地向前窜动身躯）。“这样的问题是不能提出的； —

there is no sense in such a question. The question I have asked these gentlemen to meet to discuss is the question of the war. —
这样的问题没有任何意义。我请这些绅士们共同讨论的问题是战争问题。 —

The question is: The safety of Russia lies in her army. —
问题是：俄罗斯的安全在于她的军队。 —

Is it better to risk the loss of the army and of Moscow by giving battle, or to abandon Moscow without a battle? —
冒着失去军队和莫斯科的风险进行战斗，还是放弃莫斯科而不战而败？ —

That is the question on which I desire to learn your opinion. —
这就是我想要了解你们意见的问题。 —

” He lurched back into his low chair again.
“他又笨拙地坐回了他的低椅子上。

A debate began. Bennigsen did not yet consider that the game was lost. —
辩论开始了。本尼根还没有认为这场游戏已经输了。 —

Overruled by the opinion of Barclay and others in admitting the impossibility of maintaining a defensive position at Fili, he proceeded to prove his Russian patriotism and devotion to Moscow by proposing to move the army during the night from the right to the left flank of the position, and to aim a blow at the French right flank next day. —
在巴克利和其他人认为在费利不能保持防御位置的意见压倒下，他提议在夜间将军队从右侧转移到左侧，并在第二天对付法国的右侧。 —

Opinions were divided, and arguments were advanced for and against this project. —
意见分歧，对这个计划进行了赞成和反对的论证。 —

Yermolov, Dohturov, and Raevsky sided with Bennigsen. —
耶莫洛夫、多赫托洛夫和雷夫斯基支持本尼根。 —

Led by a feeling that a sacrifice was called for before abandoning the city, and by other personal considerations, these generals seemed unable to grasp that the council then sitting could not affect the inevitable course of events, and that Moscow was already in effect abandoned. —
出于在放弃城市之前需要做出牺牲的感觉，以及其他个人考虑，这些将军们似乎无法理解正在开会的委员会无法改变事件不可避免的进程，莫斯科已经事实上被放弃了。 —

The other generals understood this, and leaving the question of Moscow on one side, talked of the direction the army ought to take in retreating.
其他将军们明白这一点，将莫斯科的问题放在一边，讨论军队撤退的方向。

Malasha, who kept her eyes fixed on what was passing before her, saw the council in quite a different light. —
玛拉莎注视着眼前发生的一切，对委员会的看法完全不同。 —

It seemed to her that the whole point at issue was a personal struggle between “Granddad” and “Longcoat,” as she called Bennigsen to herself. —
她觉得争议的重点是“老爷爷”和“长袍”之间的个人斗争，她自己这样称呼本尼根。 —

She saw that they were angry when they spoke to one another, and in her heart she was on “Granddad’s” side. —
她看到他们在互相交谈时很生气，她在心里站在“老爷爷”的一边。 —

In the middle of the conversation, she caught the swift, subtle glance that “Granddad” gave Bennigsen, and immediately after she noted with glee that “Granddad’s” words had put “Longcoat” down. —
在谈话的中间，她注意到“爷爷”微妙的目光投向了本尼根，紧接着她喜滋滋地发现“爷爷”的话让“长袍”难堪。 —

Bennigsen suddenly flushed, and strode angrily across the room. —
贝宁森突然涨红了脸，愤怒地穿过房间。 —

The words that had thus affected Bennigsen were Kutuzov’s quietly and softly uttered comment on his proposal to move the troops from the right to the left flank in the night in order to attack the French right.
这番话深深地打动了本尼金斯坦，库图佐夫静静地、柔和地表示不同意他将军队从右翼转移到左翼的提议，并在夜晚进攻法国右翼。

“I cannot approve of the count’s plan, gentlemen,” said Kutuzov. —
“各位先生，我不能赞同伯爵的计划，”库图佐夫说道。 —

“Movements of troops in close proximity to the enemy are always risky, and military history affords many examples of disasters arising from them. —
“在与敌人接近的情况下进行军队调动总是有风险的，军事史上有很多由此带来的灾难的例子。” —

For instance …” (Kutuzov seemed to ponder, seeking an example, and then looking with a frank, na? —
举个例子……”（库图佐夫似乎在思考，寻找一个例子，然后朝着本尼森露出了一个坦率、天真的表情）“……好吧，就拿弗里德兰战役来说吧，我相信伯爵应该还记得，由于部队位置的改变过于接近敌人，这场战役并不完全成功……” —

ve expression at Bennigsen) … “well, the battle of Friedland, which, as I have no doubt the count remembers, was not … completely successful owing to the change of the position of the troops in too close proximity to the enemy …”
一阵沉默随之而来，对所有人来说似乎都很漫长。

A momentary silence followed that seemed lengthy to all.
辩论重新开始了；但是中间经常会有停顿，而且大家都觉得没什么好说的。

The debate was renewed; but pauses often interrupted it, and it was felt that there was nothing to talk about.
在其中一个停顿中，库图佐夫叹了一口重气，好像在准备发言。

In one of these pauses Kutuzov heaved a heavy sigh, as though preparing to speak. —
大家都看向他。 —

All looked round at him.
“好吧，各位先生，看来是我要为这损失赔钱了。”他说着，缓缓起身，走到桌子旁。

“Well, gentlemen, I see that it is I who will have to pay for the broken pots,” he said. —
“各位，我听到了你们的意见。你们中有些人可能不同意我。 —

And slowly rising from his seat, he walked up to the table. —
但是我”（他停了一下），“身为我沙皇和我的国家委托的权威，下令撤退。” —

“Gentlemen, I have heard your opinions. Some of you will not agree with me. —
在那之后，将军们开始像葬礼后人们离散时的庄重和慎重地离开。 —

But I” (he stopped), “by the authority intrusted me by my Tsar and my country, give the order to retire.”
几位将军用不同于之前在会议上谈话的高低音向总司令发出了一些私下的通报。

After that the generals began to disperse with the solemnity and circumspect taciturnity with which people separate after a funeral. —
长久以来一直等着在其他房间吃晚饭的马拉莎从炉子上倒退下来，她赤脚的脚趾紧紧抓住炉子的凸起物，并在将军们的腿之间滑出门外。 —

Several of the generals made some communication to the commander-in-chief in a low voice, pitched in quite a different scale from that in which they had been talking at the council.
将军们离开后，库图佐夫坐在桌子前很久，沉思着那个可怕的问题：

Malasha, who had long been expected in the other room to supper, dropped backwards down from the stove, her bare toes clinging to the projections of the stove, and slipping between the generals’ legs, she darted out at the door.
“什么时候，什么时候成为明确的事实莫斯科必须被放弃？”

After dismissing the generals, Kutuzov sat a long while with his elbows on the table, pondering that terrible question: —
几位将军离开后，库图佐夫沉思了很久，将胳膊肘搁在桌子上，思考着这个可怕的问题。 —

“When, when had it become inevitable that Moscow should be abandoned? —
当要把各位将军解散后，库图佐夫在桌上支撑着长时间地坐着，考虑着这个可怕的问题：“何时，何时成为不可避免的事实，莫斯科将被放弃？” —

When was the thing done that made it inevitable, and who is to blame for it?”
什么事情让它变得不可避免，谁应该为此负责？

“This I did not expect!” he said to the adjutant, Schneider, who came in to him late at night; —
“这我没有预料到！”他深夜对军官施耐德说道; —

“this I did not expect! This I never thought of!”
“这我没有预料到！我从未想过！”

“You must rest, your highness,” said Schneider.
“您殿下，您需要休息。”施耐德说道。

“Yes; but they shall eat horse-flesh like the Turks! —
“是的；但他们将像土耳其人一样吃马肉！” —

” Kutuzov cried, not heeding him, as he brought his podgy fist down on the table. —
足不出户地以用力一击桌子，库图佐夫喊道，完全不理会他。 —

“They too, shall eat it, if only …!”
“如果只要……他们也将吃下去！”