月亮和六便士 第三十八章(3)

 Stroeve sighed a little and was silent. 施特略夫轻轻叹了一口气，沉默了一会儿。

His thoughts dwelt among pictures of what might have been, and the safety of the life he had refused filled him with longing¹. 他的思想萦回在可能发生的这些图景上，他自动放弃的这种安全稳定的生活使他无限眷恋。

The world is hard and cruel. We are here none knows why, and we go none knows whither. “世界是无情的、残酷的。我们生到人世间没有人知道为了什么，我们死后没有人知道到何处去。

We must be very humble². We must see the beauty of quietness. 我们必须自甘卑屈。我们必须看到冷清寂寥的美妙。

We must go through life so inconspicuously that Fate does not notice us. 在生活中我们一定不要出风头、露头角，惹起命运对我们注目。

And let us seek the love of simple, ignorant people. 让我们去寻求那些淳朴、敦厚的人的爱情吧。

Their ignorance is better than all our knowledge. 他们的愚昧远比我们的知识更为可贵。

Let us be silent, content in our little corner, meek³ and gentle like them. 让我们保持着沉默，满足于自己小小的天地，象他们一样平易温顺吧。

That is the wisdom of life. 这就是生活的智慧。”

To me it was his broken spirit that expressed itself, and I rebelled against his renunciation. But I kept my own counsel. 这一番话我听着象是他意志消沉的自白，我不同意他这种自暴自弃的态度。但是我也不想同他争辩，宣讲我的处世方针。

What made you think of being a painter? I asked. “是什么使你想起当画家来呢？”我问他道。

He shrugged⁴ his shoulders. 他耸了耸肩膀。

It happened that I had a knack⁵ for drawing. “我凑巧有点儿绘画的才能。

I got prizes for it at school. 在学校读书的时候画图画得过奖。

My poor mother was very proud of my gift, and she gave me a box of water-colours as a present. 我的可怜的母亲很为我这种本领感到自豪，买了一盒水彩送给我。

She showed my sketches⁶ to the pastor⁷ and the doctor and the judge. 她还把我的图画拿给牧师、医生和法官去看。

And they sent me to Amsterdam to try for a scholarship, and I won it. 后来这些人把我送到阿姆斯特丹，让我试一试能不能考取奖学金入大学。我考取了。

Poor soul, she was so proud; and though it nearly broke her heart to part from me, she smiled, and would not show me her grief. 可怜的母亲，她骄傲得了不得。尽管同我分开使她非常难过，她还是强颜欢笑，不叫我看出她的伤心来。

She was pleased that her son should be an artist. 她非常高兴，自己的儿子能成为个艺术家。

1 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

4 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。

6 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。