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月亮和六便士|Moon and Sixpence

第四十八章|Chapter XLVIII

属类： 双语小说 【分类】世界名著 -[作者: 毛姆] 阅读：[29064]
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1
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我原打算到这儿就结束我这本书的内容，我最初的想法是，在书的开头部分叙述斯特里克兰在塔希提岛上的最后岁月，以及他可怕的死亡。然后再倒叙，讲述我所知道的他早年的生活，这是我的初衷，倒不是我任性，而是因为我想让斯特里克兰带着我所不了解的，他孤独心灵中的幻想出发到一个未知的岛屿，这座岛屿能够点燃他的想象力。

1
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It is here that I purposed to end my book. My first idea was to begin it with the account of Strickland’s last years in Tahiti and with his horrible death, and then to go back and relate what I knew of his beginnings.This I meant to do, not from wilfulness, but because I wished to leave Strickland setting out with I know not what fancies in his lonely soul for the unknown islands which fired his imagination.

2
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我喜欢他的这样一幅画面，在四十七岁的年纪开始画画，而这个年龄大多数男人已经安顿下来，在老婆孩子热炕头的舒服生活中度日，可他却在寻找一个新世界。我好像能够看见他伫立在船头，目光凝视灰蒙蒙的大海，迎面是凛冽的北风，浪花四溅，远眺渐渐消失的法国海岸线，命中注定他再也看不见这些景象了。我想他的举止中有种豪迈气概，心灵中有种无畏精神。

2
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I liked the picture of him, starting at the age of forty-seven, when most men have already settled comfortably in a groove, for a new world.I saw him, the sea grey under the mistral and foam-fecked, watching the vanishing coast of France, which he was destined never to see again；and I thought there was something gallant in his bearing and dauntless in his soul.

3
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我希望这样来做结尾，留下某种希望，这样写似乎强调了人类不可征服的精神，但是我发现自己无法驾驭它，某种程度上，我不能很好地理清这个故事，尝试了一两次以后，我不得不放弃了；我在故事的开头就用了通常的方式，并暗自决定我只讲述我所知道的斯特里克兰的生活，我所了解的事实怎样，就按顺序把它原原本本地写出来。

3
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I wished so to end on a note of hope.It seemed to emphasize the unconquerable spirit of man.But I could not manage it.Somehow I could not get into my story, and after trying once or twice I had to give it up；I started from the beginning in the usual way, and made up my mind I could only tell what I knew of Strickland’s life in the order in which I learnt the facts.

4
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对于那些现在看来只是不完整片断的事实，我就力求站在一名生物学家的角度，从一根骨头上，不仅要重构一个已经灭绝了的动物的外表，还要还原它的生活习性。斯特里克兰没有给在塔希提岛上跟他有联系的人留下任何特殊的印象。

4
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Those that I have now are fragmentary. I am in the position of a biologist who from a single bone must reconstruct not only the appearance of an extinct animal, but its habits.Strickland made no particular impression on the people who came in contact with him in Tahiti.

5
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对他们来说，他只不过是个经济上持续窘迫的游民，能够多少让人注意的是，他能画几幅画的特殊才能，而这些画对于他们来说，是荒诞不经的。直到他死了若干年以后，来自巴黎和柏林画商的代理人们来寻找可能仍然遗留在岛上他的画作，岛上的人才知道，在他们当中曾经生活过一位伟大的人物。

5
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To them he was no more than a beach-comber in constant need of money, remarkable only for the peculiarity that he painted pictures which seemed to them absurd；and it was not till he had been dead for some years and agents came from the dealers in Paris and Berlin to look for any pictures which might still remain on the island, that they had any idea that among them had dwelt a man of consequence.

6
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他们才想起来，如果当初他们能花一点点钱买上几幅他的画，现在可值相当一大笔钱了，他们简直无法原谅自己白白让这样一个好机会溜掉了。

6
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They remembered then that they could have bought for a song canvases which now were worth large sums, and they could not forgive themselves for the opportunity which had escaped them.

7
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岛上有一位犹太生意人名叫科恩，用不同寻常的方式弄到过斯特里克兰的一幅画。科恩是个法国籍的小老头，有着一双柔和、善良的眼睛和令人愉快的微笑，半是商人，半是水手，自己有一艘快艇，他开着快艇勇敢地在包莫图斯群岛、马克萨斯和塔希提群岛之间来回穿梭，给当地运去需要的商品，带回椰子干、贝壳和珍珠。

7
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There was a Jewish trader called Cohen, who had come by one of Strickland’s pictures in a singular way.He was a little old Frenchman, with soft kind eyes and a pleasant smile, half trader and half seaman, who owned a cutter in which he wandered boldly among the Paumotus and the Marquesas, taking out trade goods and bringing back copra, shell, and pearls.

8
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我想去找他，因为有人告诉我他有一颗很大的黑珍珠，他愿意很便宜地出手，但是当我发现，他的要价还是超出了我的支付能力时，我开始跟他谈论起斯特里克兰来了，发现他跟斯特里克兰很熟。

8
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I went to see him because I was told he had a large black pearl which he was willing to sell cheaply, and when I discovered that it was beyond my means I began to talk to him about Strickland.He had known him well.

9
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“你知道，我对他感兴趣是因为他是个画家，”他告诉我，“没有多少画家肯到我们岛上来，我很可怜他，因为他是个蹩脚的画家，我给了他第一份工作。我在半岛上有一个种植园，想请一个白人做监工。

9
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“You see, I was interested in him because he was a painter，”he told me.“We don’t get many painters in the islands, and I was sorry for him because he was such a bad one. I gave him his frst job.I had a plantation on the peninsula, and I wanted a white overseer.

10
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除非你有一个白人监督着本地人，否则的话，这些当地人从来不出活儿。我对他说：‘你会有很多时间画画，你能挣上一笔钱。’我知道他都快饿死了，但我还是给了他不错的薪水。”

10
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You never get any work out of the natives unless you have a white man over them.I said to him：‘You’ll have plenty of time for painting, and you can earn a bit of money.’I knew he was starving, but I offered him good wages.”

11
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“我想他不会是一个很令人满意的监工。”我笑着说。

11
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“I can’t imagine that he was a very satisfactory overseer，”I said, smiling.

12
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“我已经够体谅他了，我一向对艺术家充满同情，你知道，我们家的传统就是这样。但是他只干了几个月，当攒够钱可以买颜料和画布的时候，他就离开了我。那时，有个地方让他着迷，他想离开跑到树林里去。

12
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“I made allowances. I have always had a sympathy for artists.It is in our blood, you know.But he only remained a few months.When he had enough money to buy paints and canvases he left me.The place had got hold of him by then, and he wanted to get away into the bush.

13
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但我还能时不时地看到他，每隔几个月他就会在帕皮提露面，待上一小段时间；一旦他从某个人那里搞到钱，就会再次消失。来帕皮提的几次中，有一次他来找我，请求我贷给他二百法郎的款子，他看上去有一周都没吃上饭了，我不忍心拒绝他，当然了，我也从没指望我的钱还能回来。

13
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But I continued to see him now and then.He would turn up in Papeete every few months and stay a little while；he’d get money out of someone or other and then disappear again.It was on one of these visits that he came to me and asked for the loan of two hundred francs.He looked as if he hadn’t had a meal for a week, and I hadn’t the heart to refuse him.Of course, I never expected to see my money again.

14
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哦，一年之后，他又一次来找我，随身还带着一幅画，他没有提欠我钱的事儿，但是他说：‘这儿有一幅你种植园的画，我专门为你画的。’我看了看这幅画，不知道说什么好，可我还是谢了他。他走了以后，我把这幅画拿给我妻子看。”

14
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Well, a year later he came to see me once more, and he brought a picture with him.He did not mention the money he owed me, but he said：’Here is a picture of your plantation that I’ve painted for you.’I looked at it.I did not know what to say, but of course I thanked him, and when he had gone away I showed it to my wife.”

15
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“‘你瞧这幅画怎么样？’”我问道。

15
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“What was it like？”I asked.

16
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“‘你别问我，我根本看不懂它，我这辈子从没见过这种东西。’‘那我们拿它怎么办呢？’我问妻子。‘我们绝不能把它挂起来。’她说道，‘别人会笑话我们的。’因为我妻子没有扔东西的习惯，这是她的癖好，所以她把它拿到阁楼上，扔进了杂物堆中。

16
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“Do not ask me. I could not make head or tail of it.I never saw such a thing in my life.‘What shall we do with it？’I said to my wife.‘We can never hang it up，’she said.‘People would laugh at us.’So she took it into an attic and put it away with all sorts of rubbish, for my wife can never throw anything away.It is her mania.

17
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接下来，你自己都可以想象，就在战争爆发前，我哥哥在巴黎给我写信，信上说：‘你知道一个生活在塔希提岛上的英国人的事吗？好像他是个天才，他的画现在能卖大价钱，看看你能不能弄到他画的任何东西，把它寄给我，我们有钱可赚。’

17
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Then, imagine to yourself, just before the war my brother wrote to me from Paris, and said：‘Do you know anything about an English painter who lived in Tahiti？It appears that he was a genius, and his pictures fetch large prices.See if you can lay your hands on anything and send it to me.There’s money to be made.’

18
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于是，我对我妻子说：‘那幅斯特里克兰送我的画怎么样了？有可能还在阁楼上吗？’‘百分之百在，’她回答说，‘我是绝不扔任何东西的，这一点你是知道的，这是我的癖好。’

18
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So I said to my wife：‘What about that picture that Strickland gave me？’Is it possible that it is still in the attic？’‘Without doubt，’she answered，‘for you know that I never throw anything away.It is my mania.’

19
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我们爬到阁楼上——我们住在这栋房子里已经有三十年了，在这三十年中我都不知道我们积攒下了多少破烂——终于在一堆杂物中找到了那幅画。我又一次端详这幅画，说道：‘谁会想到我们在半岛种植园里的监工，我还借过他二百法郎，竟然是个天才？你能看出这幅画哪点画得好吗？’

19
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We went up to the attic, and there, among I know not what rubbish that had been gathered during the thirty years we have inhabited that house, was the picture.I looked at it again, and I said：‘Who would have thought that the overseer of my plantation on the peninsula, to whom I lent two hundred francs, had genius？Do you see anything in the picture？’

20
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‘我看不出来，’她说道，‘它一点也不像我们的种植园，而且我也从来没见过长着蓝叶子的椰子树，但是在巴黎的那些人都疯了，也许你哥哥能把它卖上个二百法郎，正好抵上你借给斯特里克兰的钱。’无论如何，我们把它打包寄给了我哥哥。

20
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‘No，’she said，‘it does not resemble the plantation and I have never seen coconuts with blue leaves；but they are mad in Paris, and it may be that your brother will be able to sell it for the two hundred francs you lent Strickland.’Well, we packed it up and we sent it to my brother.

21
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最后，我们收到一封他的回信。你猜他信上写了什么？‘我收到了你寄来的画，’他说，‘我得实话实说，一开始我还以为你在跟我开玩笑，为这样一幅画，我真不应该花上邮寄费。

21
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And at last I received a letter from him.What do you think he said？‘I received your picture，’he said，‘and I confess I thought it was a joke that you had played on me.I would not have given the cost of postage for the picture.

22
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我忐忑不安地把它拿给曾向我说起这事的先生看。当他说这幅画是个杰作，愿意出价三万法郎买它时，你能想象出我的震惊吗？我敢说我要是出再高的价他也会接受的，可是说实话，当时我被惊得目瞪口呆，脑筋根本转不过来了，在我回过神之前，我就接受了他的报价。’”

22
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I was half afraid to show it to the gentleman who had spoken to me about it.Imagine my surprise when he said it was a masterpiece, and offered me thirty thousand francs.I dare say he would have paid more, but frankly I was so taken aback that I lost my head；I accepted the offer before I was able to collect myself.’”

23
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随后，科恩先生又说了几句让人刮目相看的话。

23
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Then Monsieur Cohen said an admirable thing.

24
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“我真希望可怜的斯特里克兰还活着呢，当我把二万九千八百法郎卖他画的钱给他时，真不知道他会说些什么。”

24
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“I wish that poor Strickland had been still alive. I wonder what he would have said when I gave him twenty-nine thousand eight hundred francs for his picture.”

序号 英文/音标 中文解释 更多操作

willfulness

[’wɪlfəlnɪs]

n.任性;存心.

fancy

[’fænsi]

n. 【C】设想；幻想；空想;

comfortably

[’kʌmftəbli]

舒适地，自在地;

groove

[ɡruːv]

n.槽

unconquerable

[ʌn’kɒŋkərəbl]

adj.不可征服的;克服不了的;压抑不住的

fragmentary

[’fræɡməntri]

adj.碎片的;碎块的;碎屑状的;零碎的;不完全的

extinct

[ɪk’stɪŋkt]

adj.灭绝的;熄灭的;消亡的

dwell

[dwel]

vi.居住;存在;冥想;详细阐述

trader

[’treɪdə(r)]

n.商人;商船

singular

[’sɪŋɡjələ(r)]

a. 非凡的；卓越的;

cutter

[’kʌtə(r)]

n.切割器;刀具

pearl

[pɜːl]

n.珍珠

peninsula

[pə’nɪnsjələ]

n.半岛

starve

[stɑːv]

vi.挨饿;受饿;极度匮乏

overseer

[’əʊvəsɪə(r)]

n.监督人;工头

allowance

[ə’laʊəns]

n.津贴

franc

[fræŋk]

n.法郎

rubbish

[’rʌbɪʃ]

n.垃圾

Tahiti

[təˈhiːtɪ]

n.塔希提岛(南太平洋)

mania

[’meɪniə]

n. 【U】【医】躁狂(症) (＝violent madness)， 疯狂;

inhabit

[ɪn’hæbɪt]

v.居住于;占据;栖息

postage

[’pəʊstɪdʒ]

n.邮费;邮资已付邮戳

admirable

[’ædmərəbl]

adj.令人钦佩的;令人赞赏的

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