Chapter 1 Silas Marner, past and present(2)
第一章 塞拉斯·马南的过去和现在(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!’
“我们不应该说这种奇怪的无意识是发病了。”牧师帕斯顿先生对他们说，“不，不止如此。在他毫无意识的那一刻，我们年轻的朋友塞拉斯的灵魂是开放的，接受上帝可能发出的信号。我相信他是被上帝选中的！”
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.
塞拉斯在礼拜堂最好的朋友是威廉·戴恩，一个严肃的年轻人，一些人认为，他对自己的善良和聪明太言过其实了。然而，塞拉斯看不出这一点，他完全信任他的朋友。当塞拉斯和在同一个礼拜堂的年轻女士萨拉订婚时，他们仍维持着美好的友谊。事实上，塞拉斯很高兴萨拉不介意威廉有时会参加他们的周日散步。
Strangely, when Silas had his fit at the chapel meeting, William was the only one who disagreed with the minister.
奇怪的是，当塞拉斯在礼拜堂聚会上发病时，威廉是唯一一个不赞同牧师的人。
‘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?’
“在我看来，这更像是魔鬼的杰作，而不是上帝的选择，”威廉说。“看看你的内心深处，塞拉斯朋友。你的灵魂里是藏有邪恶的东西吗？”
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.
朋友的怀疑，使塞拉斯很伤心，他开始担心萨拉也会有同样的想法。她对他似乎露出反感的迹象，但当他问她时，她又不给予任何答复。
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.
当时，礼拜堂的领袖之一病得很重，因为他没有家人，一些年轻人主动提出晚上去他那守夜。一天晚上，塞拉斯独自守在老人的床边。在安静、漆黑的房间里，时间似乎过得很慢。但突然，他意识到老人已经没有呼吸了。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。“他的身体都冷了！已经死了一段时间了！为什么我没注意到？也许我又发作了一次。现在是凌晨四点了。为什么威廉没来？他答应两点钟过来的！”他急急忙忙跑出屋子，叫来医生和牧师，然后像往常一样去上班了，还在想为什么威廉没有来。
But that evening, after work, William came to his room, with the minister. They were both looking very serious.
但是那天晚上下班后，威廉和牧师来到他的房间。他们俩都神情严肃。
‘You must come to the chapel at once,’ said Mr Paston.
“你必须马上到礼拜堂来，”帕斯顿先生说。
‘But why?’ asked Silas, looking unhappily at them.
“但为什么呢？”塞拉斯不高兴地看着他们，问道。
‘You will hear when you get there,’ was the only answer.
“你到礼拜堂，就会知道，”这是唯一的答复。
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.
然后，在礼拜堂里，塞拉斯孤零零地站在所有曾经是他朋友的人面前。房间里静悄悄的。牧师手里拿着一柄袖珍刀.
‘Where did you leave this knife?’ he asked.
“你把这柄刀落哪儿了？”他问。
Silas was trembling at this strange question. ‘I don't remember,’ he answered.
塞拉斯被这个奇怪的问题问得发抖。“我不记得了，”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，你必须坦白！”牧师叫道。“告诉我们真相！这把刀，是你的刀，是在死者床边发现的，我昨天亲眼看到过的教堂的钱袋不见了！”
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.'
塞拉斯一时没说话。然后他说，“上帝知道我没偷钱。搜我房间也搜不出那笔钱。我没偷钱。”
‘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.’
“当钱被偷时，昨晚只有你在我们死去朋友的家里。”帕斯顿先生说，“威廉告诉我们他突然病了，这才使得他没去替换你。我们会搜你房间的。”
And when they went to Silas's room, William found the missing bag, now empty, under Silas's bed.
当他们走进塞拉斯的房间时，威廉在塞拉斯的床下发现了丢失的钱袋，但现在里面是空荡荡的。
‘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，“现在向我们承认你的罪行吧！将魔鬼从你的灵魂中驱走！”
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.'
塞拉斯看向那个他一直信任的人。“威廉，自我们成为朋友的九年时间里，我有对你撒过谎吗？但上帝会查明真相的。”
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!’
当他看着威廉的时候，他突然想起一些事，气得眼睛发红。他颤抖地说：“昨晚刀不在我身上！”
‘I don't know what you mean,’ replied William coldly.
“我不明白你什么意思，”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.
在光明街礼拜堂这个奇怪的小世界里，他们不相信法律，也不相信法官。他们认为只有上帝知道真相，所以他们同意用抽签决定发生了什么。他们都跪下祈祷上帝帮他们找出真相。塞拉斯和他们一起跪下，相信上帝会证明他的清白。当牧师从盖着的箱子里掏出一份文件时，礼拜堂里一片寂静。
draw lots抽签
PS:本书为书虫系列四级读物，由英国著名女作家乔治·艾略特所著、英国书虫系列著名作家克莱尔·韦斯特改写。
英文为书虫系列原文，译文是笔者翻译。本文仅因个人兴趣而译，故本文谢绝转载和各种商业用途，同时承诺若出现任何责任由作者承担，必要时简书可删除文章。