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Neither Angel Clare nor his family had originally chosen farming as a profession for him．
無論安吉爾還是他的家人，最初都沒有選擇務農作為他的職業。
When he was a boy， people admired his great qualities．
當他還是個孩子時，他就有令人羨慕的聰穎天資。
Now he was a man， something vague and undecided in his look showed that he had no particular purpose in life．
現在他長大成人了，但神情里有一種模糊不定的東西顯示出他在生活中還沒有特定的目標。
He was the youngest son of a poor parson．
他是一位窮牧師的最小的孩子。
One day when he was studying at home， his father discovered that Angel had ordered a book of philosophy， which questioned the Church's teaching．
有一天，當安吉爾在家里學習時，他父親發現他訂購了一本哲學書，該書對教會的教育提出了質疑。
How could his son become a priest if he read such books？
如果他的兒子讀這種書，他還怎么做一名牧師呢？
Angel explained that he did not in fact wish to enter the Church like his brothers，
安吉爾解釋說他實際上并不想像哥哥們那樣從事神職工作，
because the Church's views were too strict and did not allow free thinking．
因為教會的觀念太刻板，沒有自由思想的余地。
The simple parson was shocked．
這讓虔誠的牧師感到震驚。
He was a man of fixed ideas and a firm believer．
他是一個頑固、執著而又堅定的信仰者。
And if Angel did not want to become a priest， what was the use of sending him to study at Cambridge？
如果安吉爾不打算成為一名牧師，那送他到劍橋讀書又有什么意義呢？
For the parson the whole point of going to university was to become a minister of God．
對這位牧師而言，上大學的唯一目的，就是將來從事神職，成為一名牧師。
‘I want to use my mind，’Angel insisted．
“我想發揮自己的才智，”安吉爾堅定地說道，
‘ I want to read philosophy．I want to question my belief，so that what is left after I have questioned it， will be even stronger．’
“我想研讀哲學。我想對自己的信仰提出質疑，這樣經過質疑留下的東西，會更加堅定有力。”
‘But Angel，your mother and I have saved and saved to send you to university like your brothers．
“但是，安吉爾，你的母親和我一省再省，想供你念大學，就像對你的哥哥們那樣。
But how can we send you there if it is not in the service of God？’
但是如果不是為了上帝服務，我們怎能送你去呢？”
So Angel did not have the advantage of a university education．
因此安吉爾失去了進大學接受教育的機會。
After some years studying at home he decided to learn farming．
在家自學了幾年后，他決心去學習務農。
He thought this kind of work could give him what he most valued，independence and freedom to think．
他認為這種工作能給予他最最寶貴的東西，那就是獨立思考的自由。
So he came to Talbothays at twenty－six，as a student．
于是在26歲時，他作為一名學徒來到了塔爾勃塞。
At first he stayed up in his room most of the time in the evenings，reading and playing his harp．
起先，到了晚上他就待在自己的房間里，靠讀讀書、彈彈豎琴度過大部分時間。
But he soon preferred to read human nature by taking his meals in the general dining－room with the dairy people．
可是不久，他更愿意到公共餐室和奶場其他人一道吃飯，來體會人類的天性。
The longer he stayed， the more Clare liked living with these simple country people．
和大家在一起的時間越長，克萊爾就越喜歡和這些淳樸的鄉下人生活在一起。
No longer did he see them as lacking in intelligence．
他不再把他們看做缺乏智慧、沒有見地的人了。
He realized they were no different from him： he and they were all people walking on the dusty road which ends in death．
他領悟到他們跟他沒有什么不同：他和他們一樣都是風塵仆仆的趕路人，他們的最終歸宿都是死亡。
He began to like working outside．
他開始喜歡上戶外的工作了。
He was learning about nature and about life．
他在學習更多關于自然和關于生活的知識。
He came to know the changing seasons，morning and evening，different winds，waters and mists，shade and silence，and the voices of nature．
他漸漸感悟到了變化的四季，清晨和黃昏，各種各樣的風，水域和云霧，陰影和沉寂，以及自然界發出的種種聲音。
All this he had never known before．
對這一切，他過去是一無所知的。
For several days after Tess's arrival，Clare，sitting reading a book，hardly noticed she was there．
苔絲到來后的頭幾天，克萊爾總是坐著看他的書，幾乎沒有注意到她在那兒。
But one morning at breakfast he was reading music and listening to the tune in his head，when he heard a musical voice which seemed to become part of his tune．
但是一天早上吃早飯時，他正在看一本樂譜，并沉浸在頭腦里出現的旋律中，這時他聽到了一個悅耳動聽的嗓音，聽起來就像他旋律中的一部分。
He looked round at Tess， seated at the table．
他掉頭看到了苔絲，坐在餐桌旁。
‘What a fresh and pure daughter of nature that dairymaid is！’thought Angel．
“那個女工多么嬌嫩純潔，真是大自然的女兒啊！”他思忖道。
He seemed to remember something about her，something which took him back into a happy past， before decision made his life difficult．
他像是記起了關于她的什么事情，記憶把他帶回到過去的一段快樂時光。那時，他還沒有做出讓生活變得困難的抉擇。
This memory made him look more often at Tess than the other dairymaids．
這種回憶也讓他更加關注苔絲，而不是其他女工。
