🔊 The painful surprise of Napoleon is well known. Grouchy hoped for, Blücher arriving. Death instead of life. Fate has these turns; the throne of the world was expected; it was Saint Helena that was seen.

拿破仑的意外之苦是众所周知的。格鲁希期盼的是布吕歇尔的到来。迎来的却是死亡而非生机。命运就是如此反复无常；世人期待的是世界的王座；看到的却是圣赫勒拿岛。

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painful /ˈpeɪnfəl/

adj. 痛苦的；令人疼痛的➕

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Fate /feɪt/

n. 命运；天意➕

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throne /θroʊn/

n. 王座；王位➕

🔊 If the little shepherd who served as guide to Bülow, Blücher's lieutenant, had advised him to debouch from the forest above Frichemont, instead of below Plancenoit, the form of the nineteenth century might, perhaps, have been different. Napoleon would have won the battle of Waterloo. By any other route than that below Plancenoit, the Prussian army would have come out upon a ravine impassable for artillery, and Bülow would not have arrived.

倘若给比洛--布吕歇尔的副手--充当向导的那个小牧童劝他从弗里什蒙上面那片树林里出来,而不是从普朗斯努瓦下面出来,那么19世纪的面貌或许就会改写。拿破仑本可以赢得滑铁卢战役。若是走了普朗斯努瓦下面以外的任何一条路,普鲁士军队就会遇到火炮无法通过的沟壑,比洛也就无法赶到。

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ravine /rəˈviːn/

n. 沟壑；峡谷➕

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impassable /ɪmˈpæsəbəl/

adj. 无法通行的；不可逾越的➕

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artillery /ɑːrˈtɪləri/

n. 火炮；炮兵（部队）➕

🔊 Now the Prussian general, Muffling, declares that one hour's delay, and Blücher would not have found Wellington on his feet. "The battle was lost." It was time that Bülow should arrive, as will be seen.

如今普鲁士将军米夫林断言,再迟一个小时,布吕歇尔就会发现威灵顿早已无力再战。 “这场仗已经输了。” 接下来你便会看到,比洛来得正是时候。

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declares /dɪˈklɛrz/

v. 宣布；声明（第三人称单数形式）➕

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delay /dɪˈleɪ/

n. 延迟；耽搁➕

🔊 He had, moreover, been very much delayed. He had bivouacked at Dion-le-Mont, and had set out at daybreak; but the roads were impassable, and his divisions stuck fast in the mire. The ruts were up to the hubs of the cannons. Moreover, he had been obliged to pass the Dyle on the narrow bridge of Wavre; the street leading to the bridge had been fired by the French, so the caissons and ammunition-wagons could not pass between two rows of burning houses, and had been obliged to wait until the conflagration was extinguished. It was midday before Bülow's vanguard had been able to reach Chapelle-Saint-Lambert.

何况,他已经被严重耽搁了。他在迪翁勒蒙宿营,天一亮就出发；但道路泥泞不堪,他的各个师都深陷泥沼。车辙深及炮车轮毂。而且,他不得不在狭窄的瓦夫尔桥上渡过迪勒河；通往那座桥的街道已被法军纵火焚烧,因此弹药车和辎重车无法在两排燃烧的房屋之间通过,只好等到大火熄灭才得以通行。直到正午时分,比洛的先头部队才赶到圣朗贝礼拜堂。

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bivouacked /ˈbɪvuːækt/

v. 露营；临时宿营➕

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mire /maɪər/

n. 泥沼；困境➕

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ruts /rʌts/

n. 车辙；惯例➕

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hubs /hʌbz/

n. 轮毂；中心➕

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caissons /ˈkeɪsənz/

n. 弹药箱；沉箱➕

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ammunition-wagons /ˌæmjuˈnɪʃən ˌwæɡənz/

n. 弹药车➕

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conflagration /ˌkɒnfləˈɡreɪʃən/

n. 大火；火灾➕

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extinguished /ɪkˈstɪŋɡwɪʃt/

v. 扑灭；熄灭➕

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vanguard /ˈvænɡɑːrd/

n. 先锋；前卫；先驱➕

🔊 Had the action been begun two hours earlier, it would have been over at four o'clock, and Blücher would have fallen on the battle won by Napoleon. Such are these immense risks proportioned to an infinite which we cannot comprehend.

如果战事提前两个小时打响,那么下午四点就会结束,而布吕歇尔将会扑向由拿破仑赢得的战斗。这些巨大的风险就如此这般与我们所无法理解的无限相勾连。

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immense /ɪˈmens/

adj. 巨大的；无边的➕

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proportioned /prəˈpɔːrʃənd/

v. 使成比例；相称➕

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infinite /ˈɪnfɪnɪt/

adj. 无限的；无尽的➕

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comprehend /ˌkɒmprɪˈhend/

v. 理解；领悟➕

🔊 The Emperor had been the first, as early as midday, to descry with his field-glass, on the extreme horizon, something which had attracted his attention. He had said, "I see yonder a cloud, which seems to me to be troops." Then he asked the Duc de Dalmatie, "Soult, what do you see in the direction of Chapelle-Saint-Lambert?" The marshal, levelling his glass, answered, "Four or five thousand men, Sire; evidently Grouchy." But it remained motionless in the mist. All the glasses of the staff had studied "the cloud" pointed out by the Emperor. Some said: "It is trees." The truth is, that the cloud did not move. The Emperor detached Domon's division of light cavalry to reconnoitre in that quarter.

皇帝本人早在正午时分就第一个用他的望远镜看到了天边某样引起他注意的东西。他说道:“我看到那边有一团云,在我看来像是部队。”然后他问达尔马提亚公爵:“苏尔特,你在圣朗贝礼拜堂方向看到了什么？”元帅举起望远镜答道:“四五千人,陛下；显然是格鲁希。”但那团云在雾中纹丝不动。参谋部所有人的望远镜都研究了皇帝所指出的“那团云”。有人说:“那是树木”。事实上,那团云并未移动。皇帝派出了多蒙的轻骑兵师去那个方向侦察。

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descry /dɪˈskraɪ/

v. 望见；发现（远处的东西）➕

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field-glass /ˈfiːld ɡlæs/

n. 野外望远镜；双筒望远镜➕

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reconnoitre /ˌrekəˈnɔɪtər/

v. 侦察；勘察➕

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cavalry /ˈkævəlri/

n. 骑兵；装甲部队➕

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motionless /ˈmoʊʃənləs/

adj. 不动的；静止的➕

🔊 Bülow had not moved, in fact. His vanguard was very feeble, and could accomplish nothing. He was obliged to wait for the body of the army corps, and he had received orders to concentrate his forces before entering into line; but at five o'clock, perceiving Wellington's peril, Blücher ordered Bülow to attack, and uttered these remarkable words: "We must give air to the English army." A little later, the divisions of Losthin, Hiller, Hacke, and Ryssel deployed before Lobau's corps, the cavalry of Prince William of Prussia debouched from the forest of Paris, Plancenoit was in flames, and the Prussian cannonballs began to rain even upon the ranks of the guard in reserve behind Napoleon.

事实上,比洛并没有动。他的先头部队非常弱小,毫无作为。他不得不等待军团的后续主力,并且他接到命令要在进入战线之前集中兵力；但到了五点,察觉到威灵顿的危境,布吕歇尔命令比洛进攻,并说出了那句著名的话:“我们必须给英军留出喘息空间。”稍后,洛斯廷、希勒、哈克和里塞尔等师在洛鲍的军团前展开,普鲁士的威廉王子的骑兵从巴黎的森林中出现,普朗斯努瓦陷入火海,普鲁士的炮弹甚至开始倾泻到拿破仑后方作为预备队的近卫军阵列中。

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feeble /ˈfiːbəl/

adj. 虚弱的；无力的➕

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accomplish /əˈkɑːmplɪʃ/

v. 完成；实现➕

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concentrate /ˈkɑːnsəntreɪt/

v. 集中；聚集➕

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perceiving /pərˈsiːvɪŋ/

v. 察觉；意识到➕

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peril /ˈperɪl/

n. 危险；风险➕

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uttered /ˈʌtərd/

v. 说出；发出（声音）➕

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remarkable /rɪˈmɑːrkəbəl/

adj. 显著的；非凡的➕

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deployed /dɪˈplɔɪd/

v. 部署；展开➕

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cannonballs /ˈkænənbɔːlz/

n. 炮弹➕

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reserve /rɪˈzɜːrv/

n. 预备队；储备➕

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army corps /ˈɑːrmi kɔːr/

n. 军团；军➕

Book I. Waterloo – Chapter eleven: A BAD GUIDE TO NAPOLEON; A GOOD GUIDE TO BÜLOW (第十一章:给拿破仑的糟糕向导；给比洛的好向导)

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