月亮和六便士 第1章(4)

 　　Charles Strickland lived obscurely. He made enemies rather than friends.  讲到查理斯·思特里克兰德，生前知道他的人并不多。他树了不少敌人，但没有交下什么朋友。

　　It is not strange, then, that those who wrote of him should have eked¹ out their scanty² recollections with a lively fancy,  因此，那些给他写文章的人必须借助于活跃的想象以弥补贫乏的事实，看来也就不足为奇了。

　　and it is evident that there was enough in the little that was known of him to give opportunity to the romantic scribe;  非常清楚，尽管人们对思特里克兰德生平的事迹知道得并不多，也尽够浪漫主义的文人从中找到大量铺陈敷衍的材料，

　　there was much in his life which was strange and terrible, in his character something outrageous³, and in his fate not a little that was pathetic.  他的生活中有不少离奇可怕的行径，他的性格里有不少荒谬绝伦的怪僻，他的命运中又不乏悲壮凄怆的遭遇。

　　In due course a legend arose of such circumstantiality that the wise historian would hesitate to attack it. 经过一段时间，从这一系列事情的演绎附会中便产生了一个神话，明智的历史学家对这种神话是不会贸然反对的。

　　But a wise historian is precisely⁴ what the Rev⁵. Robert Strickland is not.  罗伯特·思特里克兰德牧师偏偏不是这样一位明智的历史学家。

　　He wrote his biography "Strickland： The Man and His Work， " by his son， Robert Strickland. Wm. Heinemann， 1913. 他公开申明自己写这部传记【《思特里克兰德，生平与作品》，画家的儿子罗伯特·思特里克兰德撰写，1913年海因曼出版。（作者注）】

　　avowedly⁶ to "remove certain misconceptions which had gained currency" in regard to the later part of his father's life,  他认为有关他父亲的后半生人们误解颇多，就是为了“排除某些成为流传的误解”，

　　and which had "caused considerable pain to persons still living."  这些谬种流传“给生者带来很大的痛苦”。

　　It is obvious that there was much in the commonly received account of Strickland's life to embarrass a respectable family.  谁都清楚，在外界传播的思特里克兰德生平轶事里有许多使一个体面的家庭感到难堪的事。

　　I have read this work with a good deal of amusement, and upon this I congratulate myself, since it is colourless and dull.  我读这本传记的时候忍不住哑然失笑，但也暗自庆幸，幸好这本书写得实在枯燥乏味。

　　Mr. Strickland has drawn⁷ the portrait of an excellent husband and father, a man of kindly⁸ temper, industrious⁹ habits, and moral disposition¹⁰.  思特里克兰德牧师在传记里刻划的是一个体贴的丈夫和慈祥的父亲，一个性格善良、作风勤奋、品行端正的君子。

　　The modern clergyman has acquired in his study of the science which I believe is called exegesis¹¹ an astonishing facility for explaining things away,  当代的教士在研究人们称之为《圣经》诠释这门学问中都学会了遮掩粉饰的惊人本领，

　　but the subtlety¹² with which the Rev. Robert Strickland has "interpreted" all the facts in his father's life  但罗伯特·思特里克兰德牧师用以“解释” 他父亲行状

　　which a dutiful son might find it inconvenient¹³ to remember must surely lead him in the fullness of time to the highest dignities of the Church.  （这些开行动都是一个孝顺的儿子认为值得记住的）的那种精思敏辩，在时机成熟时肯定会导致他在教会中荣获显职的。

　　I see already his muscular calves¹⁴ encased in the gaiters episcopal.  我好象已经看到他那筋骨强健的小腿套上了主教的皮裹腿了。

　　It was a hazardous¹⁵, though maybe a gallant¹⁶ thing to do,  他做的是一件危险的，但或许是很勇敢的事，

　　since it is probable that the legend commonly received has had no small share in the growth of Strickland's reputation;  因为思特里克兰德之所以名传遐迩，

　　for there are many who have been attracted to his art by the detestation in which they held his character  在很大程度上要归功于人们普遍接受了的传说。他的艺术对很多人有那么大的魅力，或者是由于人们对他性格的嫌恶，

　　or the compassion¹⁷ with which they regarded his death; and the son's well-meaning efforts threw a singular chill upon the father's admirers.  或者是对他惨死的同情；而儿子的这部旨在为父亲遮羞掩丑的传记对于父亲的崇拜者却不啻当头浇了一盆冷水。

1 eked   

v.（靠节省用量）使…的供应持久( eke的过去式和过去分词 )；节约使用；竭力维持生计；勉强度日

参考例句：

• She eked out the stew to make another meal. 她省出一些钝菜再做一顿饭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She eked out her small income by washing clothes for other people. 她替人洗衣以贴补微薄的收入。 来自辞典例句

2 scanty   

adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的

参考例句：

• There is scanty evidence to support their accusations.他们的指控证据不足。
• The rainfall was rather scanty this month.这个月的雨量不足。

3 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

5 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

6 avowedly   

adv.公然地

参考例句：

• He was avowedly in the wrong. 他自认错了。 来自辞典例句
• Their policy has been avowedly marxist. 他们的政策被公开地宣称为马克思主义政策。 来自互联网

7 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

8 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

9 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

10 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

11 exegesis   

n.注释，解释

参考例句：

• An allegorical exegesis of scripture supported these views.一个寓言圣经注释支持这些观点。
• Within this context,Fraser is capable of exegesis that goes beyond the obvious.在这一背景下，弗雷泽能够作些富有新意的诠释。

12 subtlety   

n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别

参考例句：

• He has shown enormous strength,great intelligence and great subtlety.他表现出充沛的精力、极大的智慧和高度的灵活性。
• The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.大多数听众都没有觉察到他讲话的微妙之处。

13 inconvenient   

adj.不方便的，令人感到麻烦的

参考例句：

• You have come at a very inconvenient time.你来得最不适时。
• Will it be inconvenient for him to attend that meeting?他参加那次会议会不方便吗？

14 calves   

n.(calf的复数)笨拙的男子，腓；腿肚子( calf的名词复数 )；牛犊；腓；小腿肚v.生小牛( calve的第三人称单数 )；（冰川）崩解；生（小牛等），产（犊）；使（冰川）崩解

参考例句：

• a cow suckling her calves 给小牛吃奶的母牛
• The calves are grazed intensively during their first season. 小牛在生长的第一季里集中喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

16 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

17 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。