🔊 One is a postulant for two years at least, often for four; a novice for four. It is rare that the definitive vows can be pronounced earlier than the age of twenty-three or twenty-four years. The Bernardines-Benedictines of Martin Verga do not admit widows to their order. In their cells, they deliver themselves up to many unknown macerations, of which they must never speak.

一个人至少要当两年的望教者,常常是四年；当初学生又是四年。通常在二十三或二十四岁之前很少能发终身愿。马丁·维尔加派伯尔纳-本笃修女会不接纳寡妇入会。在她们的禅室里,她们进行许多外界不知的苦行,而且对此绝口不提。

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postulant /ˈpɒstjʊlənt/

n. 见习生；修士或修女的候选人➕

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novice /ˈnɒvɪs/

n. 新手；见习修士/修女➕

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definitive /dɪˈfɪnɪtɪv/

adj. 最终的；决定性的；权威的➕

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vows /vaʊz/

n. 誓言；誓约（尤指宗教方面的）➕

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pronounced /prəˈnaʊnst/

v. (past participle). 宣告；宣布（正式地）➕

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macerations /ˌmæsəˈreɪʃənz/

n. 苦行；折磨（宗教上的自我克制）➕

🔊 On the day when a novice makes her profession, she is dressed in her handsomest attire, she is crowned with white roses, her hair is brushed until it shines, and curled. Then she prostrates herself; a great black veil is thrown over her, and the office for the dead is sung. Then the nuns separate into two files; one file passes close to her, saying in plaintive accents, "Our sister is dead;" and the other file responds in a voice of ecstasy, "Our sister is alive in Jesus Christ!"

初学生发愿那天,她身穿最华丽的服饰,头戴白玫瑰冠,头发梳得锃亮,卷出波浪。然后她俯伏在地；一块巨大的黑纱罩在她身上,接着唱起亡者日课。随后修女们分成两列；一列从她身边经过,用哀戚的语调说:“我们的姊妹死了。”另一列用狂喜的声音回答:“我们的姊妹在耶稣基督里活着！”

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profession /prəˈfeʃən/

n. 誓言；信仰声明（尤指加入宗教团体时的宣誓）➕

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attire /əˈtaɪə/

n. 服装；盛装➕

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prostrates /prɒˈstreɪts/

v. 俯伏；拜倒（表示敬意或忏悔）➕

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veil /veɪl/

n. 面纱；遮蔽物➕

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plaintive /ˈpleɪntɪv/

adj. 哀伤的；悲伤的➕

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ecstasy /ˈekstəsi/

n. 狂喜；入迷➕

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nuns /nʌnz/

n. 修女（复数）➕

🔊 At the epoch when this story takes place, a boarding-school was attached to the convent--a boarding-school for young girls of noble and mostly wealthy families, among whom could be remarked Mademoiselle de Saint-Aulaire and de Bélissen, and an English girl bearing the illustrious Catholic name of Talbot. These young girls, reared by these nuns between four walls, grew up with a horror of the world and of the age. One of them said to us one day, "The sight of the street pavement made me shudder from head to foot." They were dressed in blue, with a white cap and a Holy Spirit of silver gilt or of copper on their breast. On certain grand festival days, particularly Saint Martha's day, they were permitted, as a high favour and a supreme happiness, to dress themselves as nuns and to carry out the offices and practice of Saint-Benoît for a whole day. In the early days the nuns were in the habit of lending them their black garments. This seemed profane, and the prioress forbade it. Only the novices were permitted to lend. It is remarkable that these performances, tolerated and encouraged, no doubt, in the convent out of a secret spirit of proselytism and in order to give these children a foretaste of the holy habit, were a genuine happiness and a real recreation for the scholars. They simply amused themselves with it. "It was new; it gave them a change." Candid reasons of childhood, which do not, however, succeed in making us worldlings comprehend the felicity of holding a holy water sprinkler in one's hand and standing for hours together singing hard enough for four in front of a reading-desk.

在这个故事发生的时代,修道院附设了一所寄宿学校--专门收容出身贵族、大多家境富有的年轻女孩,其中有圣奥莱尔小姐、贝利森小姐,还有一位姓塔尔博特的英国姑娘,她家是天主教的名门望族。这些女孩被修女们围在四壁之内抚养长大,对世俗和时代充满了恐惧。其中一位有一天对我们说:“看到街上的石板路,我就从头到脚发抖。”她们身穿蓝色衣服,头戴白帽,胸前佩戴着镀金或铜制的圣灵像。在某些盛大节日,尤其是圣玛尔大节那天,作为莫大的恩宠和无上的幸福,她们被允许整日装扮成修女,执行圣本笃会的礼仪和功课。早先,修女们习惯把自己的黑衣借给她们。但院长嬷嬷认为这样有渎圣之嫌,便禁止了。只有初学生可以出借。值得注意的是,这些表演--无疑出于传教的隐秘意图,为了让这些孩子预先体验圣洁的装束--在修道院内受到容忍和鼓励,而对于学生们来说,这确是一种真正的幸福和实实在在的消遣。她们只是以此取乐。“这很新鲜；给她们换换花样。”这些天真的童年理由,却无法让我们这些世俗之人理解,手握圣水刷,站在读经台前连续几个小时足以为四个人唱诵的快乐。

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epoch /ˈiːpɒk/

n. 时代；纪元➕

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boarding-school /ˈbɔːdɪŋ skuːl/

n. 寄宿学校➕

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convent /ˈkɒnvənt/

n. 女修道院➕

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illustrious /ɪˈlʌstriəs/

adj. 杰出的；著名的➕

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profane /prəˈfeɪn/

adj. 亵渎的；世俗的➕

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prioress /ˈpraɪərɪs/

n. 女修道院院长➕

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forbade /fəˈbæd/

v. (past tense). 禁止（forbid的过去式）➕

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novices /ˈnɒvɪsɪz/

n. 见习修士/修女（复数）➕

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proselytism /ˈprɒsəlɪtɪzəm/

n. 劝诱改宗；传教活动➕

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foretaste /ˈfɔːteɪst/

n. 初步体验；预示➕

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genuine /ˈdʒenjuɪn/

adj. 真正的；真诚的➕

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recreation /ˌrekriˈeɪʃən/

n. 娱乐；消遣➕

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candid /ˈkændɪd/

adj. 坦率的；直言不讳的➕

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worldlings /ˈwɜːldlɪŋz/

n. 世俗之人；凡人（复数）➕

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comprehend /ˌkɒmprɪˈhend/

v. 理解；领悟➕

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felicity /fɪˈlɪsɪti/

n. 幸福；快乐➕

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sprinkler /ˈsprɪŋklə/

n. 洒水器；喷头➕

🔊 The pupils conformed, with the exception of the austerities, to all the practices of the convent. There was a certain young woman who entered the world, and who after many years of married life had not succeeded in breaking herself of the habit of saying in great haste whenever anyone knocked at her door, "forever!" Like the nuns, the pupils saw their relatives only in the parlour. Their very mothers did not obtain permission to embrace them.

除了苦行之外,学生们遵守修道院的一切惯例。有一位后来嫁入世俗的年轻女子,结婚多年后,仍未能改掉一听到敲门声就匆忙说“永远”的习惯。和修女们一样,学生们只能在会客室里见亲人。连她们的母亲也不准拥抱她们。

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conformed /kənˈfɔːmd/

v. (past tense). 遵守；顺应➕

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austerities /ɒˈsterɪtiz/

n. 苦行；严苛的生活（复数）➕

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parlour /ˈpɑːlə/

n. 会客厅；起居室➕

🔊 The following illustrates to what a degree severity on that point was carried. One day a young girl received a visit from her mother, who was accompanied by a little sister three years of age. The young girl wept, for she wished greatly to embrace her sister. Impossible. She begged that, at least, the child might be permitted to pass her little hand through the bars so that she could kiss it. This was almost indignantly refused.

以下事例可见对此规定严苛到何种程度。有一天,一个年轻女孩的母亲来访,还带着一个三岁的小妹妹。女孩哭了,她非常想拥抱妹妹。但不行。她恳求至少让妹妹把小手指从铁栅栏间伸过来,好让她亲一下。这个请求几乎被愤怒地拒绝了。

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severity /sɪˈverɪti/

n. 严重；严厉➕

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indignantly /ɪnˈdɪɡnəntli/

adv. 愤慨地➕

🔊 To give an idea of the pettiness of the details of the cloister, the following anecdote will serve: A woman, who was employed to assist in the chapel, took a pair of scissors, one day, and cut off a bit of the cloth of the canopy of the high altar which had become ragged, and left it on the table. At the end of the year, the prioress received a letter from the Mother-Provincial, who informed her that the council of the order had decided that the woman was to be dismissed from her employment; and, that, moreover, she was to pay for the cloth, a sum of twelve francs. The woman having said that she was unable to pay this sum, the prioress declared that she would retain seven francs out of her salary, and send the remaining five to the provincial. The woman then went away, and nothing further was heard of her. This difference, as the prioress said, was the talk of the entire convent for three months. The nuns declared that they had found a certain air of worldliness in the woman.

为了说明修道院琐碎事务的细微之处,下面这则轶事可以佐证:一位在教堂帮忙做工的妇女,有一天拿了把剪刀,剪下一块高坛华盖边缘磨损的布料,随手放在桌上。年终时,院长嬷嬷收到省会长嬷嬷的信,告知她修会理事会决定开除这名妇女,此外她还得赔偿那布料十二法郎。那妇女说她付不起这笔钱,院长嬷嬷便宣称要从她的工资中扣下七法郎,另外五法郎寄给省会长。那妇女随即离开了,从此再无音讯。正如院长嬷嬷所说,这件事在整个女修道院里议论了三个月。修女们都说,她们从那妇女身上看出了一种世俗的气息。

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pettiness /ˈpetɪnɪs/

n. 琐碎；小气➕

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cloister /ˈklɔɪstə/

n. 修道院；回廊➕

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anecdote /ˈænɪkdəʊt/

n. 轶事；趣闻➕

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chapel /ˈtʃæpəl/

n. 小教堂；礼拜堂➕

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canopy /ˈkænəpi/

n. 天篷；华盖➕

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altar /ˈɔːltə/

n. 祭坛；圣坛➕

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ragged /ˈræɡɪd/

adj. 破烂的；参差不齐的➕

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dismissed /dɪsˈmɪst/

v. (past tense). 解雇；驳回➕

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moreover /mɔːˈrəʊvə/

adv. 此外；而且➕

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retain /rɪˈteɪn/

v. 保留；保持➕

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salary /ˈsæləri/

n. 薪水；工资➕

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provincial /prəˈvɪnʃəl/

n. 省区长（宗教团体中）➕

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worldliness /ˈwɜːldlɪnɪs/

n. 世俗；世故➕

Book VI. Le Petit-Picpus – Chapter three: Austerities (第三章:苦修)

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