🔊 I felt that I was getting warm on the trail, and I thought I should hear more if I applied to the doctor who had looked after Strickland in his last illness. Dr. Coutras was a Frenchman of great stature, almost a giant, and he was excessively stout. His body was shaped like a huge melon set on two pegs. His face, red and fleshy, shone with good-humour, and his small eyes twinkled behind great bags of flesh. He was a man who enjoyed life, and his laugh, loud and resonant, was ready to burst forth on the smallest provocation. He was the typical French colonist: hearty, jovial, and fond of his belly. In his company it was impossible not to feel that to eat and drink were the most important things in life. He was a good story-teller, and in his mouth a tale lost nothing.

我感觉自己快要找到线索了,心想如果去找那位在斯特里克兰临终时照料他的医生,或许能听到更多。库特拉斯医生是个身材魁梧的法国人,几乎像个巨人,而且胖得惊人。他的身体就像一个大西瓜搁在两根木桩上。他红润丰满的脸上洋溢着和善的光彩,小眼睛在厚重的眼袋后面闪闪发亮。他是个热爱生活的人,笑声洪亮而富有感染力,一有小事就能爆发出来。他是典型的法国殖民者:热情、快活、贪吃。和他在一起,你不可能不觉得吃喝是人生头等大事。他很会讲故事,经他一说,故事一点也不会失色。

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stature /ˈstætʃə(r)/

n. 身高,身材；（在某个领域或群体中的）声望,地位➕

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excessively /ɪkˈsesɪvli/

adv. 过分地,过度地➕

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stout /staʊt/

adj. 肥胖的,健壮的；结实的➕

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fleshy /ˈfleʃi/

adj. 多肉的,肥胖的➕

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good-humour /ɡʊd ˈhjuːmə(r)/

n. 好心情,好脾气➕

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twinkled /ˈtwɪŋkld/

v. 闪烁,闪耀➕

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resonant /ˈrezənənt/

adj. 洪亮的,回响的；引起共鸣的➕

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provocation /ˌprɒvəˈkeɪʃn/

n. 挑衅,激怒➕

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colonist /ˈkɒlənɪst/

n. 殖民者➕

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jovial /ˈdʒəʊviəl/

adj. 快活的,愉快的➕

🔊 He told me that he had first seen Strickland in the street, and noticing his look of illness, had gone up to him and asked what was the matter. Strickland, turning on him a face of fury, told him to go to hell. Dr. Coutras was not a man to take an insult lightly, and, seizing Strickland by the shoulder, he gave him a shaking that made his teeth rattle. Then he thought better of it and, looking at him more closely, saw that he was in a high fever. Being a doctor, his professional instinct got the better of his personal resentment, and he took him home with him. Strickland had pneumonia, and it was a mercy that Dr. Coutras arrived in time.

他告诉我,他第一次在街上见到斯特里克兰时,注意到他一脸病容,便上前询问他怎么了。斯特里克兰怒容满面地转过身来,叫他滚开。库特拉斯医生可不是个轻易受辱的人,他抓住斯特里克兰的肩膀,猛摇一通,摇得他牙齿咯咯作响。但随后他冷静下来,更仔细地看了看,发现他发着高烧。作为医生,他的职业本能压过了个人怨恨,便把他带回了家。斯特里克兰得了肺炎,幸亏库特拉斯医生及时赶到。

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fury /ˈfjʊəri/

n. 狂怒,暴怒➕

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rattle /ˈrætl/

v. 使发出咯咯/咔嗒声；使紧张不安➕

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pneumonia /njuːˈməʊniə/

n. 肺炎➕

🔊 For six weeks Strickland was at death's door, but at last his constitution, tougher than one would have thought possible in a man who had lived so recklessly, triumphed, and he began to recover. He was very weak, and it was a long time before he could leave his bed, but at last he was able to get up and sit in the verandah, smoking a pipe and reading. He spoke little, and when he did it was to ask for something or to make some commonplace remark. He was not grateful for the care that had been taken of him. When he saw that he was getting well, he left Dr. Coutras's house without a word of thanks, and no one knew where he had gone. It was not till two months later that Dr. Coutras heard of him again. He was living in a native hut about eight kilometres from the town, with a native woman. He sent for Dr. Coutras because the woman was ill, and when the doctor arrived he found Strickland painting on the walls of the hut.

六个星期里,斯特里克兰命悬一线,但最终他的体质--比人们想象中一个生活如此放荡的人所能拥有的还要强健--战胜了病魔,他开始康复。他虚弱极了,很久才能下床,但终于能起身坐在阳台上,抽着烟斗看书。他很少说话,开口也只是要东西或说些无关紧要的话。对于别人对他的照料,他并无感激之意。看到自己好转后,他一声不吭地离开了库特拉斯医生家,连句谢谢都没说,没人知道他去哪儿了。直到两个月后,库特拉斯医生才又听说他的消息。他住在离镇子约八公里的一间土著小屋里,和一个土著女人在一起。他派人请库特拉斯医生去,因为那女人病了；医生赶到时,发现斯特里克兰正在小屋的墙上作画。

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constitution /ˌkɒnstɪˈtjuːʃn/

n. 体质,体格；宪法➕

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recklessly /ˈrekləsli/

adv. 鲁莽地,不顾后果地➕

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verandah /vəˈrændə/

n. 阳台,走廊➕

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commonplace /ˈkɒmənpleɪs/

adj. 平凡的,普通的➕

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grateful /ˈɡreɪtfl/

adj. 感激的,感谢的➕

🔊 "I was angry with him," said Dr. Coutras, "for I thought he had treated me badly, but when I saw him I could not be angry any longer. He was so thin and weak that I felt sorry for him. He had a beard of a week's growth, and his clothes were in rags. I asked him how he was getting on. He did not answer. He went on painting. I looked at the walls. I had never seen anything like it. I was staggered. I asked him if I might come again and bring a friend who was interested in these things. He shrugged his shoulders. I took that for consent."

“我本来生他的气,”库特拉斯医生说,“因为我觉得他待我不公,但一看到他,我就气不起来了。他瘦弱不堪,让我心生怜悯。他胡子拉碴,衣衫褴褛。我问他过得怎么样。他没有回答,继续作画。我看着墙壁,从未见过那样的东西。我惊呆了。我问他我能不能再来,带一个对这些感兴趣的朋友。他耸了耸肩。我当他是同意了。”

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beard /bɪəd/

n. 胡须,络腮胡子➕

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rags /ræɡz/

n. (pl.). 破旧衣服；破布➕

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shrugged /ʃrʌɡd/

v. 耸肩（表示不知道、不在乎等）➕

🔊 Dr. Coutras went again, taking with him a Frenchman who was staying in the island, a man who had been a journalist and was writing a book on the early navigators. They were both amazed at what they saw. Dr. Coutras told me that he could not describe it. He said that the walls were covered with a strange and fantastic composition. It was not a picture of anything on earth. It was a vision of the beginning of the world, the garden of Eden, with Adam and Eve-que sais-je? It was a hymn to the beauty of the human form, male and female, and the praise of Nature, sublime, indifferent, lovely, and cruel. It gave you an awful sense of the infinity of space and of the endlessness of time. Because he worked on the walls of the hut, and there was no means of taking them away, I suppose the pictures have perished. They were the last things that Strickland painted.

库特拉斯医生又去了一次,带了一个住在岛上的法国人,那人曾是记者,正在写一本关于早期航海家的书。两人都对所见之物惊叹不已。库特拉斯医生告诉我,他无法描述。他说墙上覆盖着一幅奇异而梦幻的构图。那不是描绘世上任何事物的画。那是世界之初的幻象,伊甸园的花园,有亚当与夏娃--天晓得？它是对男女形体之美的颂歌,是对自然--崇高、冷漠、可爱又残酷--的赞美。它让你对空间的无限和时间的永恒产生一种可怕的敬畏感。因为他是在小屋的墙上作画,无法取走,我想那些画已经毁掉了。它们是斯特里克兰最后的作品。

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fantastic /fænˈtæstɪk/

adj. 奇异的,极好的➕

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composition /ˌkɒmpəˈzɪʃn/

n. 作品（尤指音乐或美术作品）；构成➕

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vision /ˈvɪʒn/

n. 幻象,景象；远见➕

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hymn /hɪm/

n. 赞美诗,圣歌➕

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sublime /səˈblaɪm/

adj. 崇高的,壮丽的➕

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indifferent /ɪnˈdɪfrənt/

adj. 冷漠的,漠不关心的；一般的➕

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infinity /ɪnˈfɪnəti/

n. 无限,无穷➕

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perished /ˈperɪʃt/

v. 死亡；毁灭,腐烂➕

🔊 He was very ill when Dr. Coutras saw him. He was dying of leprosy. The native woman who lived with him was in a terrible state of fear. She told Dr. Coutras that he had been working night and day on the paintings, and then he would sit for hours looking at them without speaking. She thought he was going mad. Sometimes he had fits of rage and tore up everything he could lay hands on. Then he would sink into a sort of stupor. He hardly ate anything. She was afraid to leave him, but she had to go into the bush to get food, and when she came back she would find him sitting just as she had left him, staring at the walls. He did not know that he had leprosy. When Dr. Coutras told him, he received the news with indifference. He did not seem to care. Dr. Coutras was so much impressed by the pictures that he made an effort to save Strickland. He tried to persuade him to come to the hospital at Papeete, where he could be made comfortable. Strickland refused. He did not want to be moved. He knew he was dying, and he wished to die in the hut he had made for himself.

库特拉斯医生见到他时,他已经病得很重。他正因麻风病濒临死亡。和他住在一起的土著女人恐惧万分。她告诉库特拉斯医生,他日夜不停地在画那些画,然后会一连几个小时坐着看画,一言不发。她觉得他快要疯了。有时他会勃然大怒,把能拿到的东西都撕碎。然后又会陷入一种麻木状态。他几乎不吃东西。她不敢离开他,但不得不去丛林里找食物,回来时发现他还像她离开时那样坐着,盯着墙壁。他不知道自已得了麻风病。当库特拉斯医生告诉他时,他无动于衷地接受了这个消息。他似乎毫不在乎。库特拉斯医生被那些画深深震撼,努力想救斯特里克兰。他试图说服他去帕皮提的医院,那里能让他舒服些。斯特里克兰拒绝了。他不想被挪动。他知道自己快死了,希望死在自己搭建的小屋里。

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leprosy /ˈleprəsi/

n. 麻风病➕

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fits /fɪts/

n. (pl.). 阵发,发作（尤指情绪或疾病的）➕

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rage /reɪdʒ/

n. 狂怒,暴怒➕

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stupor /ˈstjuːpə(r)/

n. 昏迷状态,恍惚➕

🔊

impressed /ɪmˈprest/

v. 给…留下深刻印象➕

🔊 Dr. Coutras was a busy man, and he could not stay long. He left some medicines and promised to come again in a week. When he returned, he found Strickland much weaker, but he was still working on the paintings. He was too weak to stand, and he painted sitting on the ground. He was almost blind. The native woman was in despair. She begged Dr. Coutras to do something, but the doctor knew that nothing could be done. A few days later the woman came running to Dr. Coutras's house in the early morning to say that Strickland was dead. He had died in the night. He was buried under the mango-tree behind the hut.

库特拉斯医生是个大忙人,不能久留。他留下些药,答应一周后再来。等他回来时,发现斯特里克兰更加虚弱,但仍在作画。他虚弱得站不起来,坐在地上画。他几乎瞎了。土著女人绝望了。她恳求库特拉斯医生做点什么,但医生知道无能为力。几天后,女人一大早就跑到库特拉斯医生家,说斯特里克兰死了。他是在夜里死的。他被葬在小屋后面的芒果树下。

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despair /dɪˈspeə(r)/

n. 绝望➕

🔊

buried /ˈberid/

v. 埋葬；掩埋➕

🔊 When Dr. Coutras went to the hut after Strickland's death, he was astonished to see that the walls had been scraped clean. The woman told him that, after burying Strickland, she had done as he ordered. She had set fire to the hut and burned it to the ground. Dr. Coutras was horrified. He asked her why she had done such a thing. She said that Strickland had told her to. He had made her promise that, after his death, she would burn the hut with everything in it. She had sworn to do so. Dr. Coutras could not understand. He asked her if she had not realized the value of the paintings. She said she did not care. They were his, and he had told her to destroy them. So she had done it.

斯特里克兰死后,库特拉斯医生去小屋时,惊讶地发现墙壁被刮得干干净净。女人告诉他,埋葬斯特里克兰后,她按他的吩咐做了。她放火烧了小屋,把它夷为平地。库特拉斯医生吓坏了。他问她为什么这么做。她说斯特里克兰叫她做的。他让她发誓,死后她会烧掉小屋和里面的一切。她发誓照办。库特拉斯医生无法理解。他问她难道没意识到那些画的价值吗。她说她不在乎。那是他的画,他叫她毁掉。所以她就做了。

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scraped /skreɪpt/

v. 刮,擦➕

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horrified /ˈhɒrɪfaɪd/

adj. 惊恐的,感到恐惧的➕

🔊

sworn /swɔːn/

v. 发誓（swear 的过去分词）➕

🔊 Dr. Coutras shrugged his shoulders. He was a practical man. He thought it a pity, but there was nothing more to be said. The woman went back to her people, and the hut was left to decay in the bush. The mango-tree grew over the grave, and now no one knows where Strickland lies.

库特拉斯医生耸了耸肩。他是个务实的人。他觉得可惜,但也没别的好说。女人回到了族人那里,小屋在丛林里荒废了。芒果树长满了坟墓,如今没人知道斯特里克兰葬在何处。

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decay /dɪˈkeɪ/

v. 腐烂,腐朽；衰败➕

🔊 I was silent for a while, thinking of the end of this strange and tormented man. Then Dr. Coutras said: "I have told you that he was a great artist. I did not know it when I first saw him. I only realized it when I saw those paintings on the walls of his hut. They were tremendous. I felt as though I were suddenly transported into a world where the values were changed. I stood before them, awestruck. I knew that I was in the presence of a work of genius."

我沉默了片刻,想着这个奇特而饱受折磨的人的结局。然后库特拉斯医生说:“我跟你说过,他是个伟大的艺术家。我第一次见他时并不知道。直到看到小屋墙上的那些画,我才意识到。它们太惊人了。我感觉自己仿佛突然被带到了一个价值观念截然不同的世界。我站在它们面前,敬畏不已。我知道自己正面对着一件天才之作。”

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tormented /tɔːˈmentɪd/

adj. 受折磨的,痛苦的➕

🔊

tremendous /trəˈmendəs/

adj. 巨大的,极大的；极好的➕

🔊

transported /trænˈspɔːtɪd/

v. 运送；使产生身临其境的联想➕

🔊

awestruck /ˈɔːstrʌk/

adj. 敬畏的,惊叹的➕

🔊 "And no one else has ever seen them?" I asked.

“再没别人看过吗？”我问。

🔊 "No one. They are lost for ever. It is a great pity, but perhaps it is just as well. He painted them for himself, and he was satisfied. He achieved what he wanted. His life was complete. He had made a world and saw that it was good. Then, in pride and contempt, he destroyed it."

“没有。它们永远消失了。很可惜,但或许这样也好。他是为自己画的,而且满足了。他实现了自己的愿望。他的人生圆满了。他创造了一个世界,并看它为善。然后,带着骄傲和轻蔑,他毁了它。”

🔊

contempt /kənˈtempt/

n. 轻蔑,鄙视➕

🔊 Dr. Coutras took a sip of his brandy and leaned back in his chair.

库特拉斯医生抿了一口白兰地,靠回椅背。

🔊 "I will tell you what I think of him. He was a man who dared to dream, and his dream was so powerful that it possessed him. He was like a saint who has a vision of God. For him, the vision was everything. He cared nothing for the world, and the world cared nothing for him. He was a great artist, and he was a monster. But I am glad to have known him."

“我来告诉你我对他的看法。他是个敢于梦想的人,他的梦想如此强大,完全占据了他。他就像一位目睹上帝显圣的圣徒。对他而言,那幻象就是一切。他不在乎世界,世界也不在乎他。他是个伟大的艺术家,也是个怪物。但我很高兴认识他。”

🔊

dared /deəd/

v. 敢于➕

🔊

possessed /pəˈzest/

v. （想法、感情）主宰,占据；拥有➕

🔊

saint /seɪnt/

n. 圣人,圣徒➕

🔊

monster /ˈmɒnstə(r)/

n. 怪物；残忍的人➕

Chapter fifty-two (第五十二章)

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