Chapter XX
第二十章
The struggle for admission to college was ended, and I could now enter Radcliffe whenever I pleased. Before I entered college, however, it was thought best that I should study another year under Mr. Keith. It was not, therefore, until the fall of 1900 that my dream of going to college was realized.
為踏入大學校門所做的拼搏結束了,現在,只要我愿意,我隨時都可以進入拉德克利夫學院。然而,在入學之前,人們認為最為穩妥的計劃,就是我應該在凱斯先生門下再學一年。因此,直到1900年秋天,我才實現了上大學的夢想。
I remember my first day at Radcliffe. It was a day full of interest for me. I had looked forward to it for years. A potent force within me, stronger than the persuasion of my friends, stronger even than the pleadings of my heart, had impelled me to try my strength by the standards of those who see and hear. I knew that there were obstacles in the way; but I was eager to overcome them. I had taken to heart the words of the wise Roman who said, "To be banished from Rome is but to live outside of Rome." Debarred from the great highways of knowledge, I was compelled to make the journey across country by unfrequented roads—that was all; and I knew that in college there were many bypaths where I could touch hands with girls who were thinking, loving and struggling like me.
我仍然記得入學第一天的情景,對我而言,那真是興味盎然的一天。我期盼這一天已經很多年了。在我心里蘊涵著一股強大的力量,它比朋友們的規勸更具有說服力,它甚至比我內心的祈求更加強烈,它驅策我竭盡全力向那些耳目功能俱全的正常人看齊。我深知行路艱難,但是我有克服一切困難的雄心。我將睿智的古羅馬格言銘記于心:“雖然被逐出羅馬,卻依舊活在羅馬城下。”我已被阻擋在知識的大道之外,那么我只能迫使自己穿越人跡罕至的鄉村小路——這就是我所做的一切。我當然知道大學里面遍布著許多條這樣的小路,在行進途中,我用雙手觸摸到的姑娘們都懷著和我一樣的心理,她們勤于思考,熱愛知識,而且斗志昂揚。
I began my studies with eagerness. Before me I saw a new world opening in beauty and light, and I felt within me the capacity to know all things. In the wonderland of Mind I should be as free as another. Its people, scenery, manners, joys, tragedies should be living, tangible interpreters of the real world.
我滿懷激情地開始了我的大學生涯。在我面前,我看到了一個光明而美麗的新世界;內心深處,我已經做好了接納一切知識的準備。在神奇的精神王國里,我會擁有像其他人一樣的自由。這個王國的子民、風景、習俗、歡樂和悲傷也應該是鮮活而真切的。