🔊 Since we are engaged in giving details as to what the convent of the Petit-Picpus was in former times, and since we have ventured to open a window on that discreet retreat, the reader will permit us one other little digression, utterly foreign to this book, but characteristic and useful, since it shows that the cloister even has its original figures.

既然我们正在详细描述小比克布斯的修道院往昔的模样,又既然我们斗胆为那处隐秘的避静之地打开了一扇窗,那么请允许读者再容忍我们一次小小的离题--这段题外话虽与本书内容无涉,却因其独特性与启发性而值得一叙,因为它足以证明,即便是修道院也自有其奇人异士。

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convent /ˈkɒnvənt/

n. 修道院,女修道院➕

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discreet /dɪˈskriːt/

adj. 谨慎的,低调的➕

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digression /daɪˈɡreʃən/

n. 离题,偏离主题➕

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utterly /ˈʌtəli/

adv. 完全地,彻底地➕

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cloister /ˈklɔɪstə/

n. 回廊,修道院➕

🔊 In the Little Convent there was a centenarian who came from the Abbey of Fontevrault. She had even been in society before the Revolution. She talked a great deal of M. de Miromesnil, Keeper of the Seals under Louis XVI and of a Presidentess Duplat, with whom she had been very intimate. It was her pleasure and her vanity to drag in these names on every pretext. She told wonders of the Abbey of Fontevrault--that it was like a city, and that there were streets in the monastery.

在小修院里,有一位来自丰特夫罗修道院的百岁老人。她甚至在大革命前曾涉足社交界。她滔滔不绝地谈起路易十六时期的掌玺大臣德·米罗梅尼先生,以及她与之过从甚密的杜普拉庭长夫人。她乐此不疲,且虚荣心作祟,总爱找各种借口提及这些名字。她讲述丰特夫罗修道院的奇闻--说那里犹如一座城市,修道院内甚至有街道。

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centenarian /ˌsɛntɪˈnɛriən/

n. 百岁老人➕

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abbey /ˈæbi/

n. 修道院,大教堂➕

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intimate /ˈɪntɪmət/

adj. 亲密的,熟悉的➕

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vanity /ˈvænɪti/

n. 虚荣,自负➕

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pretext /ˈpriːtɛkst/

n. 借口,托词➕

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monastery /ˈmɒnəstri/

n. 修道院,寺院➕

🔊 She talked with a Picard accent which amused the pupils. Every year, she solemnly renewed her vows, and at the moment of taking the oath, she said to the priest, "Monseigneur Saint-François gave it to Monseigneur Saint-Julien, Monseigneur Saint-Julien gave it to Monseigneur Saint-Eusebius, Monseigneur Saint-Eusebius gave it to Monseigneur Saint-Procopius, etc., etc.; and thus I give it to you, father." And the schoolgirls would begin to laugh, not in their sleeves, but under their veils; charming little stifled laughs which made the vocal mothers frown.

她说话带着皮卡第口音,逗得女生们发笑。每年,她都要庄重地重发一次愿,在发誓的那一刻,她对神父说:“圣方济各主教将之传给圣朱利安主教,圣朱利安主教将之传给圣欧瑟伯主教,圣欧瑟伯主教将之传给圣普罗科皮乌斯主教,等等等等；如今我便将它传给您,神父。”于是女生们便笑起来,不是掩口偷笑,而是在面纱下轻笑；那动人的、强忍着的笑声,令有投票权的嬷嬷皱起了眉头。

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solemnly /ˈsɒləmli/

adv. 庄严地,严肃地➕

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vows /vaʊz/

n. (pl.). 誓言,誓约➕

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oath /əʊθ/

n. 誓言,宣誓➕

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veils /veɪlz/

n. (pl.). 面纱,遮蔽物➕

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stifled /ˈstaɪfld/

adj. 被抑制的,压抑的➕

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vocal /ˈvəʊkəl/

adj. 声音的,直言不讳的➕

🔊 On another occasion, the centenarian was telling stories. She said that "in her youth the Bernardine monks were every whit as good as the mousquetaires." It was a century which spoke through her, but it was the eighteenth century. She told about the custom of the four wines, which existed before the Revolution in Champagne and Bourgogne. When a great personage, a marshal of France, a prince, a duke, and a peer, traversed a town in Burgundy or Champagne, the city fathers came out to harangue him and presented him with four silver gondolas into which they had poured four different sorts of wine. On the first goblet this inscription could be read, monkey wine; on the second, lion wine; on the third, sheep wine; on the fourth, hog wine. These four legends express the four stages descended by the drunkard; the first, intoxication, which enlivens; the second, that which irritates; the third, that which dulls; and the fourth, that which brutalizes.

另一次,这位百岁老人讲起了故事。她说:“我年轻时,贝尔纳教派的修士们个个不逊于火枪手。”在她身上,一个世纪在说话,而这正是18世纪。她讲起了大革命前存在于香槟和勃艮第的四酒习俗。每当一位大人物--法国的元帅、亲王、公爵兼贵族--穿越勃艮第或香槟的某个市镇时,市镇官员们便会出来向他致辞,并献上四只银质小舟,里面盛着四种不同的酒。第一只酒杯上刻着猴酒,第二只上刻着狮酒,第三只上刻着羊酒,第四只上刻着猪酒。这四种题词对应着醉鬼坠入的四个阶段:第一阶段是令人欢快的陶醉,第二阶段是令人暴躁的易怒,第三阶段是令人迟钝的麻木,第四阶段是令人兽化的野蛮。

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personage /ˈpɜːsənɪdʒ/

n. 要人,显赫人物➕

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traversed /trəˈvɜːst/

v. (past tense). 穿越,横过➕

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harangue /həˈræŋ/

v. 长篇训斥,慷慨激昂地演讲➕

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gondolas /ˈɡɒndələz/

n. (pl.). 贡多拉船（威尼斯小船）➕

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goblet /ˈɡɒblət/

n. 高脚杯,酒杯➕

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inscription /ɪnˈskrɪpʃən/

n. 铭文,题字➕

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drunkard /ˈdrʌŋkəd/

n. 酒鬼,醉汉➕

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intoxication /ɪnˌtɒksɪˈkeɪʃən/

n. 陶醉,醉酒➕

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enlivens /ɪnˈlaɪvənz/

v. (third person singular). 使活跃,使有生气➕

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brutalizes /ˈbruːtəlaɪzɪz/

v. (third person singular). 使残忍,使野蛮➕

🔊 In a cupboard, under lock and key, she kept a mysterious object of which she thought a great deal. The rule of Fontevrault did not forbid this. She would not show this object to anyone. She shut herself up, which her rule allowed her to do, and hid herself, every time that she desired to contemplate it. If she heard a footstep in the corridor, she closed the cupboard again as hastily as it was possible with her aged hands. As soon as it was mentioned to her, she became silent, she who was so fond of talking. The most curious were baffled by her silence and the most tenacious by her obstinacy. Thus it furnished a subject of comment for all those who were unoccupied or bored in the convent. What could that treasure of the centenarian be, which was so precious and so secret? Some holy book, no doubt? Some unique chaplet? Some authentic relic? They lost themselves in conjectures. When the poor old woman died, they rushed to her cupboard more hastily than was fitting, perhaps, and opened it. They found the object beneath a triple linen cloth, like some consecrated paten. It was a Faenza platter representing little Loves flitting away pursued by apothecary lads armed with enormous syringes. The chase abounds in grimaces and in comical postures. One of the charming little Loves is already fairly spitted. He is resisting, fluttering his tiny wings, and still making an effort to fly, but the dancer is laughing with a satanical air. Moral: Love conquered by the colic. This platter, which is very curious, and which had, possibly, the honour of furnishing Molière with an idea, was still in existence in September, one thousand eight hundred forty-five; it was for sale by a bric-a-brac merchant in the Boulevard Beaumarchais.

在一个上锁的柜子里,她珍藏着一件神秘物品,视若珍宝。丰特夫罗的戒律并未禁止此举。她从不将此物示人。每当她想对着它凝神沉思时,她就会把自己关起来--戒律允许她这样做--并躲起来。若是听到走廊里有脚步声,她便用那双老迈的手尽可能迅速地重新关上柜子。只要有人向她提起它,她便缄口不言--她本是那样喜欢说话的人。最好奇的被她沉默难倒,最执着的被她的顽固挫败。于是,这便成了修道院里那些无所事事或百无聊赖之人的话题。那位百岁老人的宝藏会是什么呢？那般珍贵,那般神秘？无疑是一本圣书？一串独特的念珠？一件货真价实的圣物？她们陷入了种种猜测。可怜的老妇人去世后,她们迫不及待地冲向她的柜子--或许有点过于匆忙--并打开了它。她们发现那物件裹在三层亚麻布之下,仿佛一块祝圣过的圣盘。那是一个法恩扎陶盘,画面上小爱神们翩然飞逃,后面追着几个手持巨大注射器的药剂师学徒。追逐中尽是鬼脸和滑稽姿态。其中一个可爱的小爱神已被牢牢叉住。他挣扎着,扑扇着小翅膀,还在奋力想飞,但追逐者露出魔鬼般的笑容。寓意:爱情被腹痛征服。这只极有趣味的盘子,或许有幸为莫里哀提供了灵感,直至一八四五年九月仍存于世；当时在博马舍大道上的一家旧货商那里出售。

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contemplate /ˈkɒntəmpleɪt/

v. 沉思,仔细考虑➕

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hastily /ˈheɪstɪli/

adv. 匆忙地,仓促地➕

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baffled /ˈbæfld/

adj. 困惑的,被难住的➕

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tenacious /tɪˈneɪʃəs/

adj. 坚韧的,顽强的➕

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obstinacy /ˈɒbstɪnəsi/

n. 固执,倔强➕

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unoccupied /ʌnˈɒkjupaɪd/

adj. 空闲的,未被占用的➕

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authentic /ɔːˈθentɪk/

adj. 真实的,正宗的➕

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relic /ˈrelɪk/

n. 遗物,遗迹➕

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conjectures /kənˈdʒektʃəz/

n. (pl.). 推测,猜想➕

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triple /ˈtrɪpəl/

adj. 三倍的,三重的➕

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linen /ˈlɪnɪn/

n. 亚麻布,亚麻制品➕

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consecrated /ˈkɒnsɪkreɪtɪd/

adj. 奉献的,圣化的➕

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paten /ˈpætən/

n. 圣餐盘,圣饼碟➕

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flitting /ˈflɪtɪŋ/

v. (present participle). 掠过,轻快地飞过➕

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apothecary /əˈpɒθɪkəri/

n. 药剂师,药房➕

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syringes /sɪˈrɪndʒɪz/

n. (pl.). 注射器➕

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abounds /əˈbaʊndz/

v. (third person singular). 充满,丰富➕

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grimaces /ɡrɪˈmeɪsɪz/

n. (pl.). 鬼脸,痛苦的表情➕

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spitted /ˈspɪtɪd/

v. (past participle). 刺穿,串在签子上➕

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fluttering /ˈflʌtərɪŋ/

v. (present participle). 拍打（翅膀）,飘动➕

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satanical /səˈtænɪkəl/

adj. 恶魔般的,邪恶的➕

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colic /ˈkɒlɪk/

n. 疝气,腹绞痛➕

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bric-a-brac /ˈbrɪk ə ˌbræk/

n. 小古玩,小摆设➕

🔊 This good old woman would not receive any visits from outside because, said she, the "parlour is too gloomy."

这位善良的老妇人不愿接待任何外来的访客,因为她说,“会客室太阴郁了。”

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parlour /ˈpɑːrlə/

n. 客厅,会客室➕

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gloomy /ˈɡluːmi/

adj. 阴暗的,忧郁的➕

IX. A Century Under a Guimpe – Chapter nine: A Century Under a Guimpe (第九章:修女头巾下的一世纪)

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