評(píng)論
打印
I'm not sure if he'll wish to see me. I think I may remind him of a time he prefers to forget. But I'll come all the same. Is there any chance of seeing any of his pictures?
“我不知道他是不是愿意看到我。我怕我會(huì)使他想起一段他寧愿忘掉的日子。但是我想我還是得去一趟。有沒(méi)有可能看到他的什么作品？”
Not from him. He won't show you a thing. There's a little dealer I know who has two or three. But you mustn't go without me; you wouldn't understand. I must show them to you myself.
“從他那里看不到。他什么也不給你看。我認(rèn)識(shí)一個(gè)小畫(huà)商，手里有兩三張他的畫(huà)。但是你要是去，一定得讓我陪著你；你不會(huì)看懂的。我一定要親自指點(diǎn)給你看。”
Dirk, you make me impatient, said Mrs. Stroeve. "How can you talk like that about his pictures when he treated you as he did?" She turned to me. "Do you know, when some Dutch people came here to buy Dirk's pictures he tried to persuade them to buy Strickland's? He insisted on bringing them here to show."
“戴爾克，你簡(jiǎn)直叫我失去耐性了，”施特略夫太太說(shuō)。“他那樣對(duì)待你，你怎么還能這樣談?wù)撍漠?huà)？”她轉(zhuǎn)過(guò)來(lái)對(duì)我說(shuō)：“你知道，有一些人到這里來(lái)買(mǎi)戴爾克的畫(huà)，他卻勸他們買(mǎi)思特里克蘭德的。他非讓思特里克蘭德把畫(huà)拿到這里給他們看不可。”
What did you think of them? I asked her, smiling.
“你覺(jué)得思特里克蘭德的畫(huà)怎么樣？”我笑著問(wèn)她。
They were awful.
“糟糕極了。”
Ah, sweetheart, you don't understand.
“啊，親愛(ài)的，你不懂。”
Well, your Dutch people were furious with you. They thought you were having a joke with them.
“哼，你的那些荷蘭老鄉(xiāng)簡(jiǎn)直氣壞了。他們認(rèn)為你是在同他們開(kāi)玩笑。”
Dirk Stroeve took off his spectacles and wiped them. His flushed face was shining with excitement.
戴爾克·施特略夫摘下眼鏡來(lái)，擦了擦。他的一張通紅的面孔因?yàn)榕d奮而閃著亮光。
Why should you think that beauty, which is the most precious thing in the world, lies like a stone on the beach for the careless passer-by to pick up idly? Beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul. And when he has made it, it is not given to all to know it. To recognize it you must repeat the adventure of the artist. It is a melody that he sings to you, and to hear it again in your own heart you want knowledge and sensitiveness and imagination.
“為什么你認(rèn)為美——世界上最寶貴的財(cái)富——會(huì)同沙灘上的石頭一樣，一個(gè)漫不經(jīng)心的過(guò)路人隨隨便便地就能夠撿起來(lái)？美是一種美妙、奇異的東西，藝術(shù)家只有通過(guò)靈魂的痛苦折磨才能從宇宙的混沌中塑造出來(lái)。在美被創(chuàng)造出以后，它也不是為了叫每個(gè)人都能認(rèn)出來(lái)的。要想認(rèn)識(shí)它，一個(gè)人必須重復(fù)藝術(shù)家經(jīng)歷過(guò)的一番冒險(xiǎn)。他唱給你的是一個(gè)美的旋律，要是想在自己心里重新聽(tīng)一遍就必須有知識(shí)、有敏銳的感覺(jué)和想象力。”
Why did I always think your pictures beautiful, Dirk? I admired them the very first time I saw them.
“為什么我總覺(jué)得你的畫(huà)很美呢，戴爾克？你的畫(huà)我第一次看到就覺(jué)得好得了不得。”
Stroeve's lips trembled a little.
施特略夫的嘴唇顫抖了一會(huì)兒。
Go to bed, my precious. I will walk a few steps with our friend, and then I will come back.
“去睡覺(jué)吧，寶貝兒。我要陪我的朋友走幾步路，一會(huì)兒就回來(lái)。”
