译《化身博士》第九章:杰基尔医生的忏悔(二)
I blame myself for the things that happened later. It was not the fault of the drug. That was neither good nor evil. But it opened the prison doors and allowed Edward Hyde to escape. Soon he was out of control. He, you will remember, was wholly evil. Doctor Jekyll was not wholly good, however. He was a normal man with normal faults and weaknesses, and Hyde was too strong for him.
我对后面发生的事很自责。那不是药物之错,也不关善恶的错,但它却大开牢门,让爱德华·海德逃脱出来。很快他便失去了控制。你应该记得海德是纯粹的恶,而杰基尔博士却不是纯粹的善。他是个普通人,有着普通人的缺点和弱点,海德强他很多。
I welcomed Hyde, therefore I arranged everything very carefully. I bought a flat in a poor part of London, where I kept Hyde's clothes and employed a servant to do the housework. I took a dose of the drug whenever I wanted to forget my old, quiet, serious self for a time. In those early days -God forgive me! -I thought it was all very amusing. Doctor Jekyll was well known. Nobody knew Hyde, however, and in his body I was free to do as I wished.
我欢迎海德,因此妥善安排了一切。我在伦敦的贫民区买了间公寓放置海德的衣物,也雇了仆人打理家务。每当我想逃离老成、沉默寡言和严谨的自己一段时间时,我就会喝一剂药。在开始时――上帝饶恕我吧!――我只觉得好玩。杰基尔博士众人皆知,而海德却无人知晓,在这身体里便能做自己想做的事。
I will not go into details about my adventures and shameful acts as Hyde. Jekyll remained as good and kind as ever and always did his best to undo the harm that Hyde did. But as time went by, Jekyll became less and less able to control Hyde.
我不会详诉我作为海德的冒险经历和可耻行为。杰基尔始终保持着和蔼善良,竭力弥补海德造成的伤害。但时间越久,杰基尔越来越控制不住海德。
One night Hyde injured a child in the street and a passer-by saw him. That passer-by was your cousin. I recognized him when the two of you came to my window. Your cousin caught Hyde and an angry crowd collected. They asked for money for the childs family. In the end, in order to escape, Hyde had to give your cousin a cheque in the name of Jekyll.
一天晚上,海德在街上伤了一个女孩,有位路人撞见这一幕。那人就是你表兄。你俩到实验室的窗边时,认出的他。你表兄抓住海德,挤满了愤怒的人。他们代孩子的家人勒索钱财。最后,为了脱身,海德给了你表兄一张支票,署名是杰基尔。
I learned my lesson from this, and opened a new bank account in the name of Hyde. I even gave Hyde different handwriting. I was sure I was safe-but I was wrong.
我从这得到教训,用海德的名字在银行新开了帐户,还用了不同的笔迹。我确信自己很安全――但我错了。
Two months before the murder of Sir Danvers Carew I went out on one of my evil adventures. Before I went to bed, I took a dose of the drug and became Doctor Jekyll once more.I woke up in bed the next morning with a strange feeling that something was wrong.....I looked around the room, then down at my hand. Henry Jekyll's hand was large, white, and well-made, but the hand I saw that morning on the bedcover was thin, bony, greyish-brown, and hairy. It was the hand of Edward Hyde.
丹弗斯·克鲁爵士被杀的前两个月,我经历过可怕的冒险。上床睡觉前,我喝了一剂药变回杰基尔博士。第二天早上醒来时,感觉怪觉得不对劲……我看看房间四周,再将目光落到手上。亨利·杰基尔的手宽大、白皙、十分匀称,但那天早上我在床单上看到的手却十分瘦削,肤色暗沉、汗毛很多,那是爱德华·海德的手。
Sick with horror, I stared at it. 'I was Henry Jekyll when I went to bed,' I thought. 'And now I am Edward Hyde... What possible explanation can there be? And, more important, how can I get to my study and take the drug?'
我看着它,满眼惊恐,忍不住想“我睡觉时是亨利·杰基尔。现在变成了爱德华·海德……这要怎么解释?更要命的是,我要怎样回到实验室配药呢?”
Then I realized that the servants were quite used to the comings and goings of Hyde. I put on Hyde's clothes and marched confidently through the house. Poole stared in surprise to see Mr Hyde so early in the morning, but I did not care. Ten minutes later Doctor Jekyll had returned to his own shape and was sitting down, pretending to eat breakfast.
我突然意识到仆人们对海德的来去已习以为常了。我穿上海德的衣服,装模作样地穿过房子。普尔惊讶地瞪着眼睛,奇怪这么早看见海德先生,但我管不了那么多。10分钟后,杰基尔博士变回原来的样子,坐下来,装出吃早餐的样子。
Too worried to eat, I sat there thinking hard about my situation. I realized that in recent weeks Hyde had become bigger and stronger, both in body and character.
我担忧得没胃口吃饭,坐在那儿,仔细回想。我意识到最近几周,海德的体形越来越大,性格越来越强。
译《化身博士》第九章:杰基尔医生的忏悔(二)'What will I do,' I thought, 'if Hyde takes control?' I thought about the drug. Once, in the early days, it had failed completely, and sometimes I had had to take a double dose before I changed into Hyde. Now, however it was quite easy to become Hyde-the problem was to become Jekyll again after my adventures. My good self and my evil self were fighting for my mind and body -and my evil self was winning.
“如果海德控制了局面,我要怎么做?”我想。我又想到了药物。早先在开始的时候,有过彻底的失败,有时得用两倍的剂量才能变成海德。现在,很容易就能变成海德――问题是冒险之后很难变回杰基尔。我善的部分和恶的部分在争夺我的身心――恶的那部分渐渐占据上方。
I knew I had to choose between the two and I chose Doctor Jekyll. Perhaps I was not wholly serious about this, however, because I did not sell Hyde's flat or destroy his clothes. For two months I lived the life of a quiet and responsible man. But soon I began to miss Hyde-his strong young body, his love of life and his dark adventures in the narrow, nameless streets of London. One night, when my life as Jekyll seemed impossibly dull and boring, I mixed a dose of the drug and drank it.
我知道我必须在两者中做选择,我选杰基尔博士。或我还是没有严肃对待这事,因为我没卖掉海德公寓,也没毁了他的衣服。整整两个月,我都过着安静有责任心的生活。但很快我就开始想念海德――年轻强健的体魄,对生活的热爱以及在逼仄和无名的伦敦街道的不可告人冒险经历。一天晚上,我觉得杰基尔的生活极其无聊枯燥时,我制了一剂药,喝了下去。
It was like opening the door of a cage and letting a wild animal escape. That night I became a madman, and beat Sir Danvers to death-for no reason at all. I felt only a wild delight as I hit his body again and again. Afterwards I ran to the flat and destroyed all my papers. I was not ashamed of my crime. Instead I was filled with a high, sweet excitement. I relived the murder as I walked back home through the streets. I felt strong and masterful... Edward Hyde had a song on his lips as he mixed a dose of the drug. 'Your very good health, Sir Danvers!' he laughed as he drank. A moment of terrible pain, then poor Henry Jekyll fell to his knees and begged God to forgive him.
这就像开了囚笼的门,让猛兽逃了。那晚,我像是疯了,没有任何原因地将丹弗斯爵士殴打致死。当我一下又一下地打下去时,我只感觉到兴奋。随后我跑到公寓,烧毁所有文件,并没有对自己的罪行怀有愧疚。相反却得意洋洋,兴奋畅快。在回家的路上,我边走边回味杀人的滋味。我感觉自己强大,能主宰别人……爱德华·海德制药剂时,嘴里还哼着歌。“为你的健康干杯,丹弗斯爵士。”他笑着一饮而下。先是一阵剧痛,随后可伶的亨利·杰基尔双膝跪地,乞求上帝饶恕。
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PS:本书为牛津系列简易读物,由英国著名作家罗斯玛丽·博德根据英国作家查罗伯特·路易莎·斯蒂文森的同名小说改写。
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。