🔊 It is natural for us who were not living in those days to imagine that when half Russia had been conquered and the inhabitants were fleeing to distant provinces, and one levy after another was being raised for the defence of the fatherland, all Russians from the greatest to the least were solely engaged in sacrificing themselves, saving their fatherland, or weeping over its downfall. The tales and descriptions of that time without exception speak only of the self-sacrifice, patriotic devotion, despair, grief, and the heroism of the Russians. But it was not really so. It appears so to us because we see only the general historic interest of that time and do not see all the personal human interests that people had. Yet in reality those personal interests of the moment so much transcend the general interests that they always prevent the public interest from being felt or even noticed. Most of the people at that time paid no attention to the general progress of events but were guided only by their private interests, and they were the very people whose activities at that period were most useful. Those who tried to understand the general course of events and to take part in it by self-sacrifice and heroism were the most useless members of society, they saw everything upside down, and all they did for the common good turned out to be useless and foolish--like Pierre's and Mamonov's regiments which looted Russian villages, and the lint the young ladies prepared and that never reached the wounded, and so on. Even those, fond of intellectual talk and of expressing their feelings, who discussed Russia's position at the time involuntarily introduced into their conversation either a shade of pretence and falsehood or useless condemnation and anger directed against people accused of actions no one could possibly be guilty of. In historic events the rule forbidding us to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge is specially applicable. Only unconscious action bears fruit, and he who plays a part in an historic event never understands its significance. If he tries to realise it his efforts are fruitless.

我们这些没有亲身经历那个时代的人,很难避免会产生这样的想象:当半个俄国已被征服,居民纷纷逃往偏远省份,为了保卫祖国一次又一次地发出征召时,所有俄国人,从上到下,都一心忙于自我牺牲、拯救祖国,或为其沦陷而悲泣。关于那个时期的叙述和描写,无一例外只谈论俄国人的自我牺牲、爱国热忱、绝望、悲伤和英雄气概。但事实并非如此。我们之所以这样看,是因为我们只看到了那个时代普遍的历史意义,而看不到人们所具有的那些个人的人性关切。然而,在现实中,那些眼前的个人利益远远超越了普遍利益,以至于它们总是阻碍着公共利益的被感知,甚至被注意。当时大多数人并不关注事件的总体进程,只受个人私利的驱使,而恰恰是这些人,其活动在那个时期最为有用。那些试图理解事件总体进程、并通过自我牺牲和英雄主义参与其中的人,反而是社会中最无用的成员,他们把一切都看颠倒了,他们为大众利益所做的一切都显得无用且愚蠢--比如皮埃尔和马莫诺夫的团队抢劫俄国村庄,年轻小姐们准备的敷料纱布从未送到伤员手中,诸如此类。即使那些喜欢高谈阔论、表达情感的人在讨论当时俄国的处境时,也不由自主地在谈话中掺入一丝做作和虚伪,或是对那些被指控犯下无人能犯之罪行的人进行无用的谴责和愤怒。在历史事件中,“不可吃知识树上的果子”这一戒律尤其适用。只有无意识的行为才结出果实,而在历史事件中扮演角色的人,永远无法理解其意义。如果他试图去理解,他的努力将是徒劳的。

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conquered /ˈkɒŋkəd/

v. 征服,击败➕

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inhabitants /ɪnˈhæbɪtənts/

n. 居民,居住者➕

🔊 The more closely a man was engaged in the events then taking place in Russia the less did he realise their significance. In Petersburg and in the provinces at a distance from Moscow, ladies, and gentlemen in militia uniforms, wept for Russia and its ancient capital and talked of self-sacrifice and so on; but in the army which retired beyond Moscow there was little talk or thought of Moscow, and when they caught sight of its burned ruins no one swore to be avenged on the French, but they thought about their next pay, their next quarters, of Matreshka the vivandiere, and like matters.

一个人越是密切地参与当时在俄国发生的事件,就越是难以意识到它们的意义。在彼得堡以及远离莫斯科的外省,身着民兵制服的淑女绅士们为俄国及其古都哭泣,谈论着自我牺牲等等；但在撤退到莫斯科以外的军队里,很少有人谈论或想到莫斯科,当他们看到被烧毁的废墟时,也没有人发誓要向法国人复仇,而是想着下一笔军饷、下一个营地、随军女商贩玛特廖什卡之类的事情。

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militia /mɪˈlɪʃə/

n. 民兵组织,国民自卫队➕

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uniforms /ˈjuːnɪfɔːmz/

n. 制服➕

🔊 As the war had caught him in the service, Nicholas Rostov took a close and prolonged part in the defence of his country, but did so casually, without any aim at self-sacrifice, and he therefore looked at what was going on in Russia without despair and without dismally racking his brains over it. Had he been asked what he thought of the state of Russia, he would have said that it was not his business to think about it, that Kutuzov and others were there for that purpose, but that he had heard that the regiments were to be made up to their full strength, that fighting would probably go on for a long time yet, and that things being so it was quite likely he might be in command of a regiment in a couple of years' time. As he looked at the matter in this way, he learned that he was being sent to Voronezh to buy remounts for his division, not only without regret at being prevented from taking part in the coming battle, but with the greatest pleasure--which he did not conceal and which his comrades fully understood.

由于战争爆发时他正在军中服役,尼古拉·罗斯托夫以密切而持久的方式参与了自己祖国的防御,但却是偶然为之,毫无自我牺牲的目的,因此他看待俄国正在发生的事情时,既不绝望,也不忧心忡忡地绞尽脑汁。如果有人问他如何看待俄国的局势,他会说思考这事不归他管,有库图佐夫和其他人在那里操心,但他听说各团要补足兵员,战斗可能还要持续很长时间,既然如此,他很可能会在两年内指挥一个团。正因为他这样看待问题,当得知自己被派往沃罗涅日为他的师购买马匹时,他不仅没有因为无法参加即将到来的战斗而感到遗憾,反而非常高兴--这种喜悦他毫不掩饰,战友们也完全理解。

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prolonged /prəˈlɒŋd/

adj. 延长的,持久的➕

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remounts /riːˈmaʊnts/

n. 新马,补充的马匹（尤指军马）➕

🔊 A few days before the battle of Borodino, Nicholas received the necessary money and warrants, and having sent some hussars on in advance, he set out with post horses for Voronezh. Only a man who has experienced it--that is, has passed some months continuously in an atmosphere of campaigning and war--can understand the delight Nicholas felt when he escaped from the region covered by the army's foraging operations, provision trains, and hospitals. When--free from soldiers, wagons, and the filthy traces of a camp--he saw villages with peasants and peasant women, gentlemen's country houses, fields where cattle were grazing, post-houses with stationmasters asleep in them, he rejoiced as though seeing all this for the first time. What for a long while specially surprised and delighted him were the women, young and healthy, without a dozen officers making up to each of them; women, too, who were pleased and flattered that a passing officer should joke with them. In the highest spirits Nicholas arrived at night at a hotel in Voronezh, ordered things he had long been deprived of in camp, and next day, very clean-shaven and in a full-dress uniform he had not worn for a long time, went to present himself to the authorities.

在博罗季诺战役前几天,尼古拉收到了必要的款项和凭据,先派了几名骠骑兵先行,自己则乘驿马前往沃罗涅日。只有经历过那种生活的人--也就是说,在战地和战争的氛围中连续度过几个月的人--才能理解尼古拉脱离军队的征粮、运粮车和医院区域后所感到的喜悦。当他摆脱了士兵、辎重车以及肮脏的营地痕迹,看到村庄里的农民和农妇、乡间地主宅邸、牧放着牲口的田野、以及站长在打盹的驿站时,他欢欣鼓舞,仿佛第一次看到这一切。尤其让他惊讶和高兴的,是那些年轻健康的女子--没有几十个军官围着她们献殷勤；那些女子也乐于并感到荣幸,能有一位过路的军官与她们开玩笑。尼古拉兴高采烈地在夜里抵达沃罗涅日的一家旅馆,点了一顿久违的营地美食,第二天刮了脸,换上久未穿过的全套制服,前去拜见长官。

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warrants /ˈwɒrənts/

n. 凭证,授权文件➕

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foraging /ˈfɒrɪdʒɪŋ/

v. 搜寻食物（尤指动物）,（军队）征粮➕

🔊 The commander of the militia was a civilian general, an old man who was evidently pleased with his military designation and rank. He received Nicholas brusquely (imagining this to be characteristically military) and questioned him with an important air, as if considering the general progress of affairs and approving and disapproving with full right to do so. Nicholas was in such good spirits that this merely amused him. From the commander of the militia he drove to the governor. The governor was a brisk little man, very simple and affable. He indicated the stud farms at which Nicholas might procure horses, recommended to him a horse dealer in the town and a landowner fourteen miles out of town who had the best horses, and promised to assist him in every way.

民兵司令员是位文职将军,一个老头子,显然对自己的军职头衔和军衔非常得意。他粗鲁地接待了尼古拉(他认为这样才符合军人作风),并以重要人物般的口气盘问了一番,仿佛他正在考虑全局事务,并有充分的权力予以批准或否决。尼古拉心情极好,只觉得这很有趣。离开民兵司令员后,他又驱车去见省长。省长是个干练的小个子,非常朴实和蔼。他指出了几个尼古拉可能买到马的养马场,向他推荐了城里的一位马贩子和城外十四英里外一位拥有最好马匹的地主,并答应全力相助。

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civilian /sɪˈvɪliən/

adj. 平民的,非军事的➕

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affable /ˈæfəbəl/

adj. 和蔼可亲的,友善的➕

🔊 "You are Count Ilya Rostov's son? My wife was a great friend of your mother's. We are at home on Thursdays--today is Thursday, so please come and see us quite informally," said the governor, taking leave of him. Immediately on leaving the governor's, Nicholas hired post horses and, taking his squadron quartermaster with him, drove at a gallop to the landowner, fourteen miles away, who had the stud. Everything seemed to him pleasant and easy during that first part of his stay in Voronezh and, as usually happens when a man is in a pleasant state of mind, everything went well and easily.

“您是伊利亚·罗斯托夫伯爵的儿子吗?我太太和令堂是故交。我们家每逢周四待客--今天正是周四,请务必赏光,随意来坐坐,”省长告别时说道。从省长那里一出来,尼古拉立刻租了驿马,带着他的骑兵军需官,飞马赶往十四英里外那位拥有养马场的地主家。在沃罗涅日逗留的这段最初时光,一切在他看来都愉快而轻松,而且正如通常心情愉悦时所发生的那样,事事顺遂。

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informally /ɪnˈfɔːməli/

adv. 非正式地,随意地➕

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squadron /ˈskwɒdrən/

n. （陆军）骑兵中队,（海军）分遣舰队,（空军）中队➕

🔊 The landowner to whom Nicholas went was a bachelor, an old cavalryman, a horse fancier, a sportsman, the possessor of some century-old brandy and some old Hungarian wine, who had a snuggery where he smoked, and who owned some splendid horses. In very few words Nicholas bought seventeen picked stallions for six thousand rubles--to serve, as he said, as samples of his remounts. After dining and taking rather too much of the Hungarian wine, Nicholas--having exchanged kisses with the landowner, with whom he was already on the friendliest terms--galloped back over abominable roads, in the brightest frame of mind, continually urging on the driver so as to be in time for the governor's party. When he had changed, poured water over his head, and scented himself, Nicholas arrived at the governor's rather late, but with the phrase "better late than never" on his lips.

尼古拉去拜访的那位地主是个单身汉,老骑兵出身,爱马成痴,酷爱狩猎,藏有几瓶陈年白兰地和一些匈牙利老酒,有一个他抽烟的小窝,还拥有几匹骏马。尼古拉没费多少口舌,就以六千卢布买下了十七匹精选的种马--按他的说法,是作为他购买军马样本的。酒足饭饱,又喝了过多的匈牙利酒之后,尼古拉--与这位已经关系极其友好的地主拥吻告别--以最愉快的心情,在糟糕的道路上飞驰而归,一路催促车夫,以便赶上省长的晚会。当他换好衣服,用水冲了头,喷上香水后,尼古拉到达省长家时已有些晚了,但嘴上还挂着“迟到总比不到好”这句话。

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bachelor /ˈbætʃələ/

n. 单身汉,学士➕

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abominable /əˈbɒmɪnəbəl/

adj. 糟糕的,令人厌恶的➕

🔊 It was not a ball, nor had dancing been announced, but every one knew that Catherine Petrovna would play valses and the ecossaise on the clavichord and that there would be dancing, and so every one had come as to a ball.

那并非一场舞会,也没有宣布要跳舞,但人人都知道叶卡捷琳娜·彼得罗夫娜会在羽管键琴上演奏华尔兹和苏格兰舞曲,而且会有跳舞,所以每个人都像参加舞会一样来了。

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valses /ˈvælsɪz/

n. 华尔兹舞曲（复数）➕

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ecossaise /ˌeɪkɒˈseɪz/

n. 苏格兰舞曲（一种舞曲）➕

🔊 Provincial life in 1812 went on very much as usual, but with this difference, that it was livelier in the towns in consequence of the arrival of many wealthy families from Moscow, and as in everything that went on in Russia at that time a special recklessness was noticeable, an "in for a penny, in for a pound--who cares?" spirit, and the inevitable small talk, instead of turning on the weather and mutual acquaintances, now turned on Moscow, the army, and Napoleon.

1812年的外省生活一如既往地进行着,但有一点不同:由于许多富裕家庭从莫斯科迁来,城镇里更为热闹,而且在当时俄国发生的一切事情中,都能注意到一种特别的无所顾忌,一种“一不做二不休,管它呢”的心态,而必不可少的闲聊话题,也由天气和共同熟人转向了莫斯科、军队和拿破仑。

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provincial /prəˈvɪnʃəl/

adj. 省会的,地方的,偏狭的➕

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recklessness /ˈrekləsnəs/

n. 鲁莽,不顾后果➕

🔊 The society gathered together at the governor's was the best in Voronezh. There were a great many ladies and some of Nicholas' Moscow acquaintances, but there were no men who could at all vie with the cavalier of St. George, the hussar remount officer, the good-natured and well-bred Count Rostov. Among the men was an Italian prisoner, an officer of the French army; and Nicholas felt that the presence of that prisoner enhanced his own importance as a Russian hero. The Italian was, as it were, a war trophy. Nicholas felt this, it seemed to him that every one regarded the Italian in the same light, and he treated him cordially though with dignity and restraint.

省长家的聚会聚集了沃罗涅日最好的社交圈。有很多女士,其中一些是尼古拉在莫斯科的熟人,但男士中没有人能与那位圣乔治勋章的获得者、骠骑兵军马采购官、善良而有教养的罗斯托夫伯爵相提并论。在男士中有一位意大利俘虏,他是法国军队的军官；尼古拉觉得这位俘虏的出现提升了他作为俄国英雄的重要性。那个意大利人就像是战利品。尼古拉感觉到了这一点,在他看来,每个人都以同样的目光看待那个意大利人,因此他以亲切而带有尊严和克制的态度对待他。

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cavalier /ˌkævəˈlɪə/

n. 骑士,贵族武士➕

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trophy /ˈtrəʊfi/

n. 战利品,奖品➕

🔊 As soon as Nicholas entered in his hussar uniform, diffusing around him a fragrance of perfume and wine, and had uttered the words "better late than never" and heard them repeated several times by others, people clustered around him; all eyes turned on him, and he felt at once that he had entered into his proper position in the province--that of a universal favourite: a very pleasant position, and intoxicatingly so after his long privations. At posting stations, at inns, and in the landowner's snuggery, maid-servants had been flattered by his notice, and here too at the governor's party there were (as it seemed to Nicholas) an inexhaustible number of pretty young women, married and unmarried, impatiently awaiting his notice. The women and girls flirted with him and, from the first day, the people concerned themselves to get this fine young dare-devil of an hussar married and settled down. Among these was the governor's wife herself, who welcomed Rostov as a near relative and called him "Nicholas."

尼古拉一穿着他的骠骑兵制服走进来--周身散发出香水和酒的芬芳--并说出“迟到总比不到好”这句话,听到别人重复了几遍之后,人们便簇拥到他身边；所有人的目光都转向了他,他立刻感到自己在省里已经进入了他应有的位置--一个万人迷的位置:一个非常愉快的地位,在经历了长期的匮乏之后,这简直是令人陶醉。在驿站、旅馆和地主的抽烟小屋里,他的注意让女仆们感到受宠若惊,而在省长的晚会上,同样有(在尼古拉看来)数不清的漂亮少妇和姑娘们,已婚的和未嫁的,都在焦灼地等待他的注意。女士和姑娘们与他调情,从第一天起,人们就操心着要让这个漂亮而大胆的骠骑兵小伙子结婚安家。这其中就有省长大人的太太,她把罗斯托夫当作近亲来欢迎,并称他为“尼古拉”。

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diffusing /dɪˈfjuːzɪŋ/

v. 扩散,散发➕

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intoxicatingly /ɪnˈtɒksɪkeɪtɪŋli/

adv. 令人陶醉地➕

🔊 Catherine Petrovna did actually play valses and the ecossaise, and dancing began in which Nicholas still further captivated the provincial society by his agility. His particularly free manner of dancing even surprised them all. Nicholas was himself rather surprised at the way he danced that evening. He had never danced like that in Moscow and would even have considered such a very free and easy manner improper and in bad form, but here he felt it incumbent on him to astonish them all by something unusual, something they would have to accept as the regular thing in the capital though new to them in the provinces.

叶卡捷琳娜·彼得罗夫娜果然弹奏了华尔兹和苏格兰舞曲,跳舞开始了,尼古拉以其敏捷的舞步进一步征服了外省社交界。他那特别自由的舞姿甚至让所有人都感到惊讶。尼古拉自己也很惊讶于当晚的舞姿。他在莫斯科从未那样跳过舞,甚至会认为那样非常随意无礼、有失体统,但在这里,他觉得有责任以某种不同寻常的举动让他们所有人惊叹,这种举动在外省人看来是新奇,但在首都却是常规,他们必须接受。

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captivated /ˈkæptɪveɪtɪd/

v. 迷住,使着迷➕

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agility /əˈdʒɪləti/

n. 敏捷,灵活➕

🔊 All the evening Nicholas paid attention to a blue-eyed, plump and pleasing little blonde, the wife of one of the provincial officials. With the naïve conviction of young men in a merry mood that other men's wives were created for them, Rostov did not leave the lady's side and treated her husband in a friendly and conspiratorial style, as if, without speaking of it, they knew how capitally Nicholas and the lady would get on together. The husband, however, did not seem to share that conviction and tried to behave morosely with Rostov. But the latter's good-natured naïveté was so boundless that sometimes even he involuntarily yielded to Nicholas's good humour. Toward the end of the evening, however, as the wife's face grew more flushed and animated, the husband's became more and more melancholy and solemn, as though there were but a given amount of animation between them and as the wife's share increased the husband's diminished.

整个晚上,尼古拉都在注意一位蓝眼睛、丰满而讨人喜欢的小个子金发太太--她是省里一位官员的妻子。怀着快乐心情的年轻人那种天真的信念--认为别人的妻子是为他们创造的--罗斯托夫寸步不离地守在太太身边,并以友好而带有同谋意味的态度对待她的丈夫,仿佛他们心照不宣地知道尼古拉和这位太太会相处得多么棒。然而,丈夫似乎并不认同这一信念,试图对罗斯托夫板着脸。但后者的善良天真如此无边无际,以至于有时连丈夫也不由自主地被尼古拉的好脾气所感染。不过,在晚会接近尾声时,当那位太太的脸越来越红润、越来越兴奋时,她丈夫的脸色却越来越忧郁、越来越严肃,仿佛他们之间只有一定量的兴奋,而妻子的那份增加时,丈夫的就减少了。

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naïve /naɪˈiːv/

adj. 天真的,幼稚的➕

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melancholy /ˈmelənkəli/

adj. 忧郁的,悲伤的➕

Book Twelve: 1812 – Chapter four (第四章)

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