🔊 The incidents the reader is about to peruse were not all known at M. sur M. But the small portion of them which became known left such a memory in that town that a serious gap would exist in this book if we did not narrate them in their most minute details. Among these details the reader will encounter two or three improbable circumstances, which we preserve out of respect for the truth.

读者即将细读的这些事件,在滨海蒙特勒伊并非尽人皆知。但其中为人所知的那一小部分,在这座城镇留下了如此深重的记忆,以至于我们若不以最细致的笔触将其娓娓道来,本书便会留下一个严重的缺漏。在这些细节中,读者将会遇到两三个看似离奇的情景,而我们出于对真相的尊重,仍将其保留了下来。

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peruse /pəˈruːz/

v. 仔细阅读；细读➕

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improbable /ɪmˈprɒbəbl/

adj. 不大可能的；未必确实的➕

🔊 On the afternoon following the visit of Javert, M. Madeleine went to see Fantine according to his wont.

在沙威来访后的第二天下午,马德兰先生照例前去看望芳汀。

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wont /wəʊnt/

n. 习惯；惯常做法➕

🔊 Before entering Fantine's room, he had Sister Simplice summoned.

在进入芳汀的房间之前,他让人把桑普利斯修女叫了过来。

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summoned /ˈsʌmənd/

v. 召唤；传唤；召集（过去式）➕

🔊 The two nuns who performed the services of nurse in the infirmary, Lazariste ladies, like all sisters of charity, bore the names of Sister Perpétue and Sister Simplice. Sister Perpétue was an ordinary villager, a sister of charity in a coarse style, who had entered the service of God as one enters any other service. She was a nun as other women are cooks. This type is not so very rare. The monastic orders gladly accept this heavy peasant earthenware, which is easily fashioned into a Capuchin or an Ursuline. These rustics are utilized for the rough work of devotion. The transition from a drover to a Carmelite is not in the least violent; the one turns into the other without much effort; the fund of ignorance common to the village and the cloister is a preparation ready at hand, and places the boor at once on the same footing as the monk: a little more amplitude in the smock, and it becomes a frock. Sister Perpétue was a robust nun from Marines near Pontoise, who chattered her patois, droned, grumbled, sugared the potion according to the bigotry or the hypocrisy of the invalid, treated her patients abruptly, roughly, was crabbed with the dying, almost flung God in their faces, stoned their death agony with prayers mumbled in a rage; was bold, honest, and ruddy.

在病房中担任护士职务的那两位修女,是拉撒路会的修女,和所有慈善修女一样,她们的名字分别是佩尔佩图修女和桑普利斯修女。佩尔佩图修女是个普普通通的乡下女子,一个粗线条的慈善修女,她侍奉上帝就像从事任何其他职业一样。她当修女,就像别的女人当厨娘。这种类型并不少见。修道院很乐意接纳这种粗笨的农家陶器,它们很容易被塑造成嘉布遣会或乌尔苏拉会的修女。这些乡下人被用来做虔诚的粗活。从赶牲畜的农人变成加尔默罗会的修女,一点也不算突兀；从一种变成另一种,几乎不费什么力气；村庄与修道院共有的无知底蕴,是一种现成的准备,能让那村夫立刻与僧侣平起平坐:罩衫稍微宽大些,便成了僧袍。佩尔佩图修女是个健壮的修女,来自蓬图瓦兹附近的马林,她唠叨着土话,哼哼唧唧,嘟嘟囔囔,根据病人的迷信或虚伪的程度来给汤药加糖,对待病人粗暴生硬,对垂死之人也是粗声粗气,几乎是把上帝劈头盖脸地扔给他们,用气冲冲嘟囔出来的祈祷来砸碎他们的临终挣扎；她大胆、诚实,而且面色红润。

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infirmary /ɪnˈfɜːməri/

n. 医院；医务室（尤指学校或监狱）➕

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monastic /məˈnæstɪk/

adj. 修道院的；僧侣的；简朴克己的➕

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hypocrisy /hɪˈpɒkrəsi/

n. 虚伪；伪善➕

🔊 Sister Simplice was white, with a waxen pallor. Beside Sister Perpétue, she was the taper beside the candle. Vincent de Paul has divinely traced the features of the Sister of Charity in these admirable words, in which he mingles as much freedom as servitude: "They shall have for their convent only the house of the sick; for cell only a hired room; for chapel only their parish church; for cloister only the streets of the town and the wards of the hospitals; for enclosure only obedience; for gratings only the fear of God; for veil only modesty." This ideal was realized in the living person of Sister Simplice: she had never been young, and it seemed as though she would never grow old. No one could have told Sister Simplice's age. She was a person--we dare not say a woman--who was gentle, austere, well-bred, cold, and who had never lied. She was so gentle that she appeared fragile; but she was more solid than granite. She touched the unhappy with fingers that were charmingly pure and fine. There was, so to speak, silence in her speech; she said just what was necessary, and she possessed a tone of voice which would have equally edified a confessional or enchanted a drawing-room. This delicacy accommodated itself to the serge gown, finding in this harsh contact a continual reminder of heaven and of God. Let us emphasize one detail. Never to have lied, never to have said, for any interest whatever, even in indifference, any single thing which was not the truth, the sacred truth, was Sister Simplice's distinctive trait; it was the accent of her virtue. She was almost renowned in the congregation for this imperturbable veracity. The Abbé Sicard speaks of Sister Simplice in a letter to the deaf-mute Massieu. However pure and sincere we may be, we all bear upon our candor the crack of the little, innocent lie. She did not. Little lie, innocent lie--does such a thing exist? To lie is the absolute form of evil. To lie a little is not possible: he who lies, lies the whole lie. To lie is the very face of the demon.

桑普利斯修女则一身洁白,带着蜡般的苍白。在佩尔佩图修女身旁,她好比蜡烛旁的烛芯。文森特·德·保罗曾用这些令人赞叹的话语,神圣地勾勒出慈善修女的特征,其中他将自由与服从融为一体:“她们的女修道院只有病人的家；她们的静修室只有租来的房间；她们的小教堂只有教区的教堂；她们的修道院只有城镇的街道和医院的病房；她们的围墙只有服从；她们的铁栅只有对上帝的敬畏；她们的面纱只有谦逊。”这个理想在活生生的桑普利斯修女身上得到了体现:她似乎从未年轻过,也似乎永远不会衰老。没人能说出桑普利斯修女的年龄。她是一个--我们不敢说一个女人--温柔、严肃、有教养、冷漠、从不说谎的人。她如此温柔,以至于显得脆弱；但她比花岗岩还要坚实。她用纯洁而优美的手指触碰不幸的人。她的言语中,可以说有一种寂静；她只说必要的话,并且拥有一种既能启迪忏悔室,又能迷醉客厅的声音。这种细腻与粗布道袍相得益彰,在那种粗粝的接触中,不断让她想起天堂和上帝。让我们强调一个细节。从不说谎,绝不为任何利益,即使在无关紧要的事情上,也绝不说任何不真实的话,绝不说任何不是神圣真理的话,这是桑普利斯修女的显著特征；这是她美德的基调。西西卡神父在给聋哑人马西奥的信中提到了桑普利斯修女。无论我们多么纯洁真诚,我们的坦率上都带着无辜小谎的裂纹。她没有。小谎,无辜的谎--这种东西存在吗？说谎是恶的绝对形式。说一点谎是不可能的:说谎的人,是在说着整个谎言。说谎就是魔鬼的面孔。

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pallor /ˈpælə/

n. （脸色）苍白➕

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servitude /ˈsɜːvɪtjuːd/

n. 奴役；劳役；苦役➕

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austere /ɔːˈstɪə/

adj. 简朴的；严厉的；苦行的➕

🔊 Satan has two names; he is called Satan and Lying. That is what she thought; and as she thought, so she did. The result was the whiteness which we have mentioned--a whiteness which covered even her lips and her eyes with radiance. Her smile was white, her glance was white. There was not a single spider's web, not a grain of dust, on the glass window of that conscience. On entering the order of Saint Vincent de Paul, she had taken the name of Simplice by special choice. Simplice of Sicily, as we know, is the saint who preferred to allow both her breasts to be torn off rather than to say that she had been born at Segesta when she had been born at Syracuse--a lie which would have saved her. This patron saint suited this soul.

撒旦有两个名字:他被称为撒旦和谎言。她就是这么想的；她怎么想就怎么做。结果就是我们提到的那种洁白--一种甚至照亮了她的嘴唇和眼睛的洁白。她的微笑是洁白的,她的目光是洁白的。在那良知的玻璃窗上,没有一丝蛛网,没有一粒尘埃。加入圣文森特·德·保罗修会时,她特意选择了桑普利斯这个名字。众所周知,西西里的桑普利斯是那位宁愿被割去双乳,也不肯说出自己出生于塞杰斯塔（事实上她出生于锡拉库萨）的圣女--那个谎言本可以救她一命。这位主保圣女正合她的灵魂。

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radiance /ˈreɪdiəns/

n. 光辉；光芒；容光焕发➕

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conscience /ˈkɒnʃəns/

n. 良心；道德心➕

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patron /ˈpeɪtrən/

n. 守护神；赞助人；主顾➕

🔊 Sister Simplice, on her entrance into the order, had had two faults which she had gradually corrected: she had a taste for dainties, and she liked to receive letters. She never read anything but a book of prayers printed in Latin, in coarse type. She did not understand Latin, but she understood the book.

桑普利斯修女刚加入修会时,有两个缺点,后来渐渐改正了:她爱吃精美点心,也喜欢收信。她只读一本用拉丁文印刷、字体粗糙的祈祷书。她不懂拉丁文,但她懂那本书。

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entrance /ˈentrəns/

n. 入口；进入；入场➕

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faults /fɔːlts/

n. 缺点；过错；故障（复数）➕

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gradually /ˈɡrædʒuəli/

adv. 逐渐地；逐步地➕

🔊 This pious woman had conceived an affection for Fantine, probably feeling a latent virtue there, and she had devoted herself almost exclusively to her care.

这位虔诚的妇人对芳汀生出一种情谊,大概是感觉到那里潜藏着美德,于是几乎全身心投入地照料她。

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pious /ˈpaɪəs/

adj. 虔诚的；笃信宗教的➕

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latent /ˈleɪtnt/

adj. 潜在的；潜伏的；隐藏的➕

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exclusively /ɪkˈskluːsɪvli/

adv. 专门地；排外地；独占地➕

🔊 M. Madeleine took Sister Simplice apart and recommended Fantine to her in a singular tone, which the sister recalled later on.

马德兰先生把桑普利斯修女拉到一旁,用一种特别的语气将芳汀托付给她,那种语气修女后来还记忆犹新。

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singular /ˈsɪŋɡjələ/

adj. 独特的；非凡的；单数的➕

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recalled /rɪˈkɔːld/

v. 回忆；召回；撤回（过去式）➕

🔊 On leaving the sister, he approached Fantine.

离开修女后,他走近了芳汀。

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approached /əˈprəʊtʃt/

v. 接近；靠近；与……打交道（过去式）➕

🔊 Fantine awaited M. Madeleine's appearance every day as one awaits a ray of warmth and joy. She said to the sisters, "I only live when Monsieur le Maire is here."

芳汀每天都盼着马德兰先生出现,就像盼着一缕温暖和喜悦的阳光。她对修女们说:“只有市长先生来的时候,我才觉得自己活着。”

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awaited /əˈweɪtɪd/

v. 等待；预期（过去式）➕

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appearance /əˈpɪərəns/

n. 出现；外貌；外观➕

🔊 She had a great deal of fever that day. As soon as she saw M. Madeleine she asked him:-- "And Cosette?"

那天她烧得很厉害。一见到马德兰先生,她就问他:“珂赛特呢？”

🔊 He replied with a smile:-- "Soon."

他微笑着回答:“快了。”

🔊 M. Madeleine was the same as usual with Fantine. Only he remained an hour instead of half an hour, to Fantine's great delight. He urged everyone repeatedly not to allow the invalid to want for anything. It was noticed that there was a moment when his countenance became very sombre. But this was explained when it became known that the doctor had bent down to his ear and said to him, "She is losing ground fast."

马德兰先生对芳汀的态度和往常一样。只是他待了整整一个小时,而不是半小时,这让芳汀非常高兴。他一再叮嘱众人,不要让病人缺少任何东西。有人注意到他有一刻脸色变得非常阴沉。但后来得知医生俯身对他耳语了一句“她病情恶化得很快”,大家便明白了。

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urged /ɜːdʒd/

v. 催促；力劝；敦促（过去式）➕

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countenance /ˈkaʊntɪnəns/

n. 面容；表情；赞同➕

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sombre /ˈsɒmbə/

adj. 阴沉的；忧郁的；昏暗的➕

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losing ground /ˈluːzɪŋ ɡraʊnd/

phr. 退步；失利；失去优势➕

🔊 Then he returned to the town-hall, and the clerk observed him attentively examining a road map of France which hung in his study. He wrote a few figures on a bit of paper with a pencil.

随后他回到市政厅,文书注意到他专心致志地审视着书房里挂着的一幅法国公路地图。他用铅笔在一张小纸上写下了几个数字。

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attentively /əˈtentɪvli/

adv. 专注地；注意地；周到地➕

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road map /rəʊd mæp/

n. 路线图；蓝图；计划➕

Book VII. The Champmathieu Affair – Chapter one: Sister Simplice (第一章:桑普利斯修女)