英語沙龍十年合集珍藏版第三輯A Farewell Letter From the Count of Monte Cris
A Farewell Letter From the Count of Monte Cristo
My Dear Maximilian，
There is a felucca1） for you at anchor2)．Jacopo will conduct you to Leghorn，where M．Noirtier waits his granddaughter，whom he wished to bless before you lead her to the altar．All that is in this grotto3)，my friend，my house in the Champs Elysées，and my chteau at Tréport，are the marriage gift bestowed by Edmond Dantes upon the son of his old master，Morrel．Mademoiselle de Villefort will share them with you；for I entreat4) her to give to the poor the immense fortune reverting5) to her from her father，now a madman，and her brother，who died last September with his mother．Tell the angel who will watch over your future destiny，Morrel，to pray sometimes for a man who，like Satan，thought himself，for an instant，equal to God；but who now acknowledges，with Christian humility，that God alone possesses supreme power and in finite wisdom．Perhaps those prayers may soften the remorse6) he feels in his heart．
As for you，Morrel，this is the secret of my conduct towards you．There is neither happiness nor misery in the world；there is only the comparison of one state with another，nothing more．He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness．We must have felt what it is to die，Morrel，that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life．
Live，then，and be happy，beloved children of my heart，and never forget，that until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man，all human wisdom is contained in these two words，――“wait and hope”．
Your friend，
Edmond Dantes，
Count of Monte Cristo
基督山伯爵的告別信
大仲馬（Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie Dum as Père １８０２～１８７０）是法國文學(xué)史上一位著名的作家，發(fā)表了大量的作品，其《基督山伯爵》是當(dāng)時(shí)歐洲影響最大的一部杰作。該書的英譯本有多種，這里選用的英文參考了無名氏的版本。譯注的信件是該書主人公唐泰斯（Edmond Dantes），即基督山伯爵，在故事結(jié)束時(shí)給莫雷爾留下的，信中反映了主人公對(duì)恩仇往事的醒悟和對(duì)未來人生的追求。
親愛的馬克西米利安：
島邊為你們停泊著一艘小帆船。雅各布會(huì)把你們帶到萊航（里窩那）去，諾瓦蒂埃先生正在那兒等著他的孫女兒，希望能在您領(lǐng)她上圣壇前先為她祝福。我的朋友，這座巖洞里的全部財(cái)寶，我在香榭麗舍林蔭大道的宅邸，以及在特雷波爾的城堡，都是愛德蒙·唐泰斯送給老主人莫雷爾兒子的結(jié)婚禮物。德·維爾福小姐也將與您分享這份禮物，因?yàn)槲蚁胝埶阉龔囊呀?jīng)發(fā)瘋的父親的名下，以及從已于９月份同她繼母一起去世的弟弟的名下繼承的財(cái)產(chǎn)，全部捐贈(zèng)給受苦的窮人。
莫雷爾，請告訴這位將終生陪伴您的天使，讓她有時(shí)為這樣一個(gè)人祈禱。這個(gè)人一度曾經(jīng)像撒旦那樣，自以為能跟上帝匹敵，但后來終于懷著一個(gè)基督徒的謙卑心情認(rèn)識(shí)到，只有上帝才擁有至高無上的權(quán)力和無窮無盡的智慧。她的祈禱，也許可以減輕一些他在心底里感到的內(nèi)疚。
對(duì)于您來說，莫雷爾，我的所作所為是一個(gè)秘密。其實(shí)在這個(gè)世界上既無所謂幸福，也無所謂不幸，有的只是一種狀態(tài)和另一種狀態(tài)的比較而已。只有體驗(yàn)過極度不幸的人，才能品嘗到最大的幸福。我們必須感受過死的痛苦，才可能珍視生的歡樂。
幸福地生活下去吧，我心愛的孩子們。請你們永遠(yuǎn)記?。涸谏系蹫槿藗兘沂疚磥砬榫爸?，人類的全部智慧就包含在這幾個(gè)字里：
等待和希望。
您的朋友
愛德蒙·唐泰斯
基督山伯爵
NOTE 注釋：
1. felucca [fe5lQkE] n. (尤指地中海沿岸)三桅小帆船
2. anchor [5ANkE] n. 錨
3. grotto [5^rCtEu] n. 洞穴, 巖穴
4. entreat [In5tri:t] vt. 懇求；懇請
5. revert [ri5vE:t] v. 回復(fù)
6. remorse [ri5mC:s] n. 內(nèi)疚，自責(zé)
