評論
打印
They were within two or three weeks of the holidays, when, one day, Cornelia Blimber called Paul into her room, and said, 'Dombey, I am going to send home your analysis.'
離假期還有兩三個星期的時候，有一天科妮莉亞·布林伯把保羅喊到她房間里，說：“董貝，我將把對您的分析評語寄到您的家里去。”
'Thank you, Ma'am,' returned Paul.
“謝謝您，夫人，”保羅回答道。
'You know what I mean, do you, Dombey?' inquired Miss Blimber, looking hard at him, through the spectacles.
“您知道我說的是什么嗎，董貝？”布林伯小姐通過眼鏡嚴厲地看著他，問道。
'No, Ma'am,' said Paul.
“不知道，夫人，”保羅說道。
'Dombey, Dombey,' said Miss Blimber, 'I begin to be afraid you are a sad boy. When you don't know the meaning of an expression, why don't you seek for information?'
“董貝，董貝，”布林伯小姐說道，“我開始擔(dān)心，您是個不可救藥的孩子了。當(dāng)您不知道一個語句的意義的時候，您為什么不要求解釋呢？”
'Mrs Pipchin told me I wasn't to ask questions,' returned Paul.
“皮普欽太太告訴我，我不許問問題，”保羅回答道。
'I must beg you not to mention Mrs Pipchin to me, on any account, Dombey,' returned Miss Blimber. 'I couldn't think of allowing it. The course of study here, is very far removed from anything of that sort. A repetition of such allusions would make it necessary for me to request to hear, without a mistake, before breakfast-time to-morrow morning, from Verbum personale down to simillimia cygno.'
“我得請求您不論在什么情況下也不要對我提到皮普欽太太，”布林伯小姐回答道。“我不能允許這樣做。我們這里的學(xué)習(xí)課程跟任何那一類東西有著天淵之別。如果再重復(fù)這樣的話，那就會迫使我要求您在明天早上吃早飯以前毫無差錯地向我回答問題，
從Verbumpersonale一直到Simillimacygno。”①
'I didn't mean, Ma'am - ' began little Paul.
夫人，我的意思并不是說——”保羅開始說道。
'I must trouble you not to tell me that you didn't mean, if you please, Dombey,' said Miss Blimber, who preserved an awful politeness in her admonitions. 'That is a line of argument I couldn't dream of permitting.'
“如果您同意，董貝，我必須麻煩您別跟我說，您的意思并不是說，”布林伯小姐說道；她在訓(xùn)戒中仍保持著令人敬畏的禮貌。“我決不允許采用這種方式來進行辯論。”
Paul felt it safest to say nothing at all, so he only looked at Miss Blimber's spectacles. Miss Blimber having shaken her head at him gravely, referred to a paper lying before her.'"Analysis of the character of P. Dombey." If my recollection serves me,' said Miss Blimber breaking off, 'the word analysis as opposed to synthesis, is thus defined by Walker. "The resolution of an object, whether of the senses or of the intellect, into its first elements." As opposed to synthesis, you observe. Now you know what analysis is, Dombey.'
保羅覺得最安全的辦法是什么話也別說，所以他只是看著布林伯小姐的眼鏡。布林伯小姐向他嚴肅地搖搖頭以后，轉(zhuǎn)向她面前的一張紙。“‘對保·董貝性格的分析’。如果我的記憶沒有錯，”布林伯小姐停止閱讀，說道，“分析這個詞與綜合的意義相反，沃克把它定義為‘把一個我們感覺或理解的客體分解為它的原始元素’。您看，它與綜合的意義是相反的。現(xiàn)在您知道分析是什么了，董貝。”
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①（拉丁文）意即“從‘人稱動詞’到‘更加像天鵝’。Simillimacygno是猶文納爾著名詩歌中的最后一句：“Raraavisinterris，nigroquesimillmacygno”（地上的鳥很少像黑天鵝）。
