雙語·《刀鋒》 第六章 七

CHAPTER SIX 7
第六章 七

I must interrupt myself to make it plain that I am not attempting here to give anything in the nature of a description of the philosophical system known as Vedanta. I have not the knowledge to do so, but even if I had this would not be the proper place for it.Our conversation was a long one and Larry told me a great deal more than I have felt it possible to set down in what after all purports to be a novel.My concern is with Larry.I should not have touched on such an intricate subject at all except that it seemed to me that without at least some slight account of his speculations and the singular experiences that were perhaps occasioned by them I could not give plausibility to the line of conduct which he was led to adopt and with which I shall presently acquaint the reader.It irks me that I cannot hope with any words of mine to give an idea of the pleasantness of his voice that invested even his most casual utterances with persuasiveness, or of the constant change in his expression, from grave to gently gay, from reflective to playful, that accompanied his thoughts like the ripple of a piano when the violins with a great sweep sing the several themes of a concerto.Although he spoke of serious things he spoke of them quite naturally, in a conversational tone, with a certain diffidence, perhaps, but without any more constraint than if he had been speaking of the weather and the crops.If I have given the impression that there was anything didactic in his manner the fault is mine.His modesty was as evident as his sincerity.
首先我得聲明，本人此處無意把筆墨花費在闡述所謂“吠檀多”的哲學(xué)思想體系上。對吠檀多我知之甚少，無力為之。即便我能為之，此處也不是我為此揮灑筆墨的地方。我和拉里的談話是一次長談，他講的內(nèi)容極為豐富，但由于本書的框架為小說，不便一一陳述。我所關(guān)心的是拉里本人，馬上就會向讀者交代他將會采取的一些行動，而他的行動與他的思想以及那些特殊的遭遇有著千絲萬縷的聯(lián)系，所以我覺得應(yīng)該略加敘述，否則讀者會以為他的所言所行缺乏道理。如若不是出于這種考慮，我是不會涉及錯綜復(fù)雜的印度宗教的。他的聲音猶如天籟，隨便說句話，便可打動人心；他的臉部表情經(jīng)常隨著他的思想在變化，從嚴(yán)肅認(rèn)真變?yōu)檩p松歡快，從沉思變?yōu)閼蛑o，就像小提琴在演奏協(xié)奏曲的幾個曲調(diào)時拉出一串動聽的音符，鋼琴也隨之奏鳴。我只恨自己才疏學(xué)淺，無法用語言加以展現(xiàn)。盡管說的都是嚴(yán)肅的事情，他卻語氣自然，似拉家常，也許帶幾分矜持，但完全不是克制，仿佛在談天氣和收成一樣。如果他給讀者的印象是迂腐的說教，那都是由于我筆拙所致。他既謙虛又誠懇，這一點顯而易見。

There was no more than a sprinkling of people in the café.The roisterers had long since departed.The sad creatures who make a business of love had gone to their sordid dwellings.Now and then a tired-looking man came in to have a glass of beer and a sandwich, or one, who seemed only half awake, for a cup of coffee.White-collar workers.One had been on a night shift and was going home to bed；the other, roused by the call of an alarm clock, was on his unwilling way to the long day’s labour.Larry appeared as unconscious of the time as of the surroundings.I have found myself in the course of my life in many strange situations.More than once I have been within a hair’s breadth of death.More than once I have touched hands with romance and known it.I have ridden a pony through Central Asia along the road that Marco Polo took to reach the fabulous lands of Cathay；I have drunk a glass of Russian tea in a prim parlour in Petrograd while a soft-spoken little man in a black coat and striped trousers told me how he had assassinated a grand duke；I have sat in a drawing-room in Westminster and listened to the serene geniality of a piano trio of Haydn’s while the bombs were crashing without；but I do not think I have ever found myself in a stranger situation than when I sat on the red-plush seats of that garish restaurant for hour after hour while Larry talked of God and eternity, of the Absolute and the weary wheel of endless becoming.
此時，飯館里只剩下零零星星幾個客人。那些喝醉了酒鬧事的人早已離去，那幾個做皮肉生意的可憐蟲回她們藏污納垢的住所去了。時不時會有一個倦容滿面的人走進(jìn)來喝杯咖啡、吃塊三明治，或者走進(jìn)來一個好像還沒有完全睡醒的人，喝上一杯咖啡醒神。他們都是些腦力工作者。第一類人是下了夜班回家睡覺去的，第二類則是被鬧鐘叫醒，不情愿地去上白班的。拉里似乎對時間以及周圍的情況全然不加留意。我這一輩子遇到過許多離奇古怪的事情，非止一次和死神擦肩而過，非止一次邂逅愛情，并心里有所感應(yīng)。我曾經(jīng)騎著一匹小馬穿越中亞，所走的就是馬可·波羅當(dāng)年去神秘的中國走過的那條路；曾經(jīng)在彼得堡一間整潔的會客室里一面喝俄國茶，一面聽一個上穿黑衣下穿條紋褲的矮子細(xì)聲細(xì)氣地講述他刺殺一個大公的經(jīng)歷；曾經(jīng)坐在英國議會大廈一間客廳里傾聽著海頓的恬靜、柔和的鋼琴三重奏，而窗外卻是一片炸彈爆炸的聲音。但我覺得以前的那點事情都不如眼前的情況離奇——在一家裝飾花哨的餐館里，我坐在一把紅棉絨椅子上聽拉里一個小時又一個小時地高談闊論，大談上帝和永恒，談“無限”以及無休無止的生命輪回。