Chapter 1 Silas Marner, past and present(2)
第一章 塞拉斯·馬南的過去和現在(二)
‘We should not call this strange unconsciousness a fit, ' the minister, Mr Paston, told them. ‘No, it's much more than that. In that moment, when he is absent from us, our young friend Silas's soul is open, open to a possible message from God. I believe he has been chosen by God!’
“我們不應該說這種奇怪的無意識是發病了。”牧師帕斯頓先生對他們說，“不，不止如此。在他毫無意識的那一刻，我們年輕的朋友塞拉斯的靈魂是開放的，接受上帝可能發出的信號。我相信他是被上帝選中的！”
Silas's best friend at chapel was William Dane, a serious young man who was, some people thought, a little too sure of his own goodness and cleverness. Silas, however, could see no fault in him, and trusted his friend completely. They remained good friends, when Silas became engaged to a young woman Sarah, who belonged to the same chapel. In fact Silas was delighted that Sarah did not mind if William joined them sometimes on their Sunday walks.
塞拉斯在禮拜堂最好的朋友是威廉·戴恩，一個嚴肅的年輕人，一些人認爲，他對自己的善良和聰明太言過其實了。然而，塞拉斯看不出這一點，他完全信任他的朋友。當塞拉斯和在同一個禮拜堂的年輕女士薩拉訂婚時，他們仍維持着美好的友誼。事實上，塞拉斯很高興薩拉不介意威廉有時會參加他們的週日散步。
Strangely, when Silas had his fit at the chapel meeting, William was the only one who disagreed with the minister.
奇怪的是，當塞拉斯在禮拜堂聚會上發病時，威廉是唯一一個不贊同牧師的人。
‘To me it looks more like the devil's work than God's,’ William had said. ‘Look deep into yourself, friend Silas. Is there any evil hiding in your Soul?’
“在我看來，這更像是魔鬼的傑作，而不是上帝的選擇，”威廉說。“看看你的內心深處，塞拉斯朋友。你的靈魂裏是藏有邪惡的東西嗎？”
Silas was hurt that his friend doubted him, and he began to be worried, too, about Sarah. She seemed to be showing signs of dislike towards him, but when he asked her about it, she did not give him any answer.
朋友的懷疑，使塞拉斯很傷心，他開始擔心薩拉也會有同樣的想法。她對他似乎露出反感的跡象，但當他問她時，她又不給予任何答覆。
At that time one of the chapel leaders was dangerously ill, and because he had no family, some of the young men offered to sit with him at night. One night Silas was sitting alone at the old man’s bedside. Time seemed to pass slowly in the quiet, dark room. But suddenly he realized that the man was no longer breathing. He was dead.
當時，禮拜堂的領袖之一病得很重，因爲他沒有家人，一些年輕人主動提出晚上去他那守夜。一天晚上，塞拉斯獨自守在老人的牀邊。在安靜、漆黑的房間裏，時間似乎過得很慢。但突然，他意識到老人已經沒有呼吸了。他死了。
‘Strange!’ thought Silas. ‘His body's cold! He's been dead for some time! Why didn't I notice? Perhaps I’ve had another fit. And it's already four o'clock in the morning. Why hasn't William come? He promised he’d come at two o’clock!’ He hurried out of the house to call the doctor and the minister, and then went to work as usual, still wondering why William had not arrived.
“奇怪！”塞拉斯想。“他的身體都冷了！已經死了一段時間了！爲什麼我沒注意到？也許我又發作了一次。現在是凌晨四點了。爲什麼威廉沒來？他答應兩點鐘過來的！”他急急忙忙跑出屋子，叫來醫生和牧師，然後像往常一樣去上班了，還在想爲什麼威廉沒有來。
But that evening, after work, William came to his room, with the minister. They were both looking very serious.
但是那天晚上下班後，威廉和牧師來到他的房間。他們倆都神情嚴肅。
‘You must come to the chapel at once,’ said Mr Paston.
“你必須馬上到禮拜堂來，”帕斯頓先生說。
‘But why?’ asked Silas, looking unhappily at them.
“但爲什麼呢？”塞拉斯不高興地看着他們，問道。
‘You will hear when you get there,’ was the only answer.
“你到禮拜堂，就會知道，”這是唯一的答覆。
Then, in the chapel, Silas stood alone, in front of all the people who were once his friends. The room was silent. There was a pocket-knife in the minister’s hand.
然後，在禮拜堂裏，塞拉斯孤零零地站在所有曾經是他朋友的人面前。房間裏靜悄悄的。牧師手裏拿着一柄袖珍刀.
‘Where did you leave this knife?’ he asked.
“你把這柄刀落哪兒了？”他問。
Silas was trembling at this strange question. ‘I don't remember,’ he answered.
塞拉斯被這個奇怪的問題問得發抖。“我不記得了，”他回答。
‘Silas, Silas, you must confess!’ cried the minister. ‘Tell us the truth! This knife, your knife, was found at the dead man's bedside, and the bag of church money, which I saw there myself only yesterday, has gone!’
“塞拉斯，塞拉斯，你必須坦白！”牧師叫道。“告訴我們真相！這把刀，是你的刀，是在死者牀邊發現的，我昨天親眼看到過的教堂的錢袋不見了！”
Silas did not speak for a moment. Then he said, ‘God knows I did not steal the money. Search my room you won't find the money. I’m not a thief.'
塞拉斯一時沒說話。然後他說，“上帝知道我沒偷錢。搜我房間也搜不出那筆錢。我沒偷錢。”
‘You were the only one in our dead friend's house last night, when the money was stolen,’ said Mr Paston. ‘William tells us he was suddenly ill, which prevented him from coming to take your place. We will search your room.’
“當錢被偷時，昨晚只有你在我們死去朋友的家裏。”帕斯頓先生說，“威廉告訴我們他突然病了，這才使得他沒去替換你。我們會搜你房間的。”
And when they went to Silas's room, William found the missing bag, now empty, under Silas's bed.
當他們走進塞拉斯的房間時，威廉在塞拉斯的牀下發現了丟失的錢袋，但現在裏面是空蕩蕩的。
‘Silas, my friend,’ cried William, ‘confess your crime to us now! Send the devil away from your soul!'
“塞拉斯，我的朋友，”威廉喊道，“現在向我們承認你的罪行吧！將魔鬼從你的靈魂中驅走！”
Silas turned to the man he had always trusted. ‘William, in the nine years since we've been friends, have I ever told you a lie? But God will prove the truth.'
塞拉斯看向那個他一直信任的人。“威廉，自我們成爲朋友的九年時間裏，我有對你撒過謊嗎？但上帝會查明真相的。”
As he looked at William, he suddenly remembered something, and reddened. He said in a trembling voice. ‘The knife wasn't in my pocket last night!’
當他看着威廉的時候，他突然想起一些事，氣得眼睛發紅。他顫抖地說：“昨晚刀不在我身上！”
‘I don't know what you mean,’ replied William coldly.
“我不明白你什麼意思，”威廉冷冷地回。
In the strange little world of the Light Street chapel, they did not believe in the law or judges. They thought only God knew the answers, so they agreed to draw lots to decide what had happened. They all went down on their knees to ask for God’s help in finding the truth. Silas knelt with them, sure that God would prove his honesty. There was silence, as the minister took one of the papers out of the covered box.
在光明街禮拜堂這個奇怪的小世界裏，他們不相信法律，也不相信法官。他們認爲只有上帝知道真相，所以他們同意用抽籤決定發生了什麼。他們都跪下祈禱上帝幫他們找出真相。塞拉斯和他們一起跪下，相信上帝會證明他的清白。當牧師從蓋着的箱子裏掏出一份文件時，禮拜堂裏一片寂靜。
draw lots抽籤
PS:本書爲書蟲系列四級讀物，由英國著名女作家喬治·艾略特所著、英國書蟲系列著名作家克萊爾·韋斯特改寫。
英文爲書蟲系列原文，譯文是筆者翻譯。本文僅因個人興趣而譯，故本文謝絕轉載和各種商業用途，同時承諾若出現任何責任由作者承擔，必要時簡書可刪除文章。