要时刻把门锁好！

Always Lock the Door!

The four glasses which were standing in front of the diners were now still nearly half full, which is a sign, as a general rule, that the guests are quite so. They were beginning to speak without waiting for an answer; no one took any notice of anything except what was going on inside him, either in his mind or stomach; voices grew louder, gestures more animated, eyes brighter.

放在客人面前的四只杯子仍然是半满的，一般来说，这表明客人们也都半醉了。人们各说各的，不理会是否有人应答；除了自己心中想的或口中吃的之外，他们什么都不关心。他们嗓音越来越大，动作夸张，两眼发亮。

It was a bachelors' dinner of confirmed old bachelors. They had instituted this regular banquet twenty years before, christening it "The Celibate, " and at the time there were fourteen of them, all fully determined never to marry. Now there were only four of them left; three were dead and the other seven were married. These four stuck firmly to it, and, as far as lay in their power, they scrupulously observed the rules which had been laid down at the beginning of their curious association. They had sworn, hand—in—hand, to turn aside every woman they could from the right path, and their friends' wives for choice, and more especially those of their most intimate friends. For this reason, as soon as any of them left the society, in order to set up in domestic life for himself, he took care to quarrel definitely with all his former companions.

这是一次单身汉的聚会。真真正正的老单身汉。他们二十年前就规定了这种定期聚餐，名曰 “独身会” 。当时有十四名成员，大家都决定终身不娶。由于其中三个死了，七个结婚，现在只剩下四个了。这四人都在他们能力范围内严格遵守这个奇特组织成立之初立下的规定。他们曾经手握着手宣誓，尽一切努力使每一个女人都偏离正道，尤其是他们朋友的妻子，特别是好朋友的妻子。所以，他们当中的任何成员决定脱离组织建立家庭时，可就得小心了——所有以前的同伴都必然会和他闹翻。

Besides this, they were pledged at every dinner to relate most minutely their last adventures, which had given rise to this familiar phrase amongst them:

另外，每次聚会时他们都必须详细地坦白最近的艳遇，因此他们都非常熟悉这样一句俗语：

"To lie like an old bachelor. " They professed, moreover, the most profound contempt for woman whom they talked of as an animal made solely for their pleasure. Every moment they quoted Schopenhauer, who was their god, and his well—known essay "On Women; " they wished that harems and towers might be reintroduced, and had the ancient maxim: "Mulier, perpetuus infans, " woven into their table—linen, and below it, the line of Alfred de Vigny's:

“说谎吧，就像一个老单身汉那样。” 此外，他们还宣称非常蔑视女人，称她们为 “供享乐的动物。” 他们每时每刻都在宣讲他们的上帝：哲学家叔本华，以及他关于《论女人》的著名文章，他们要求恢复一夫多妻制的后宫体系。聚会用的桌布也绣着古言阿尔弗雷德·德维尼的诗句： “妇人乎，终其生也孺子。”

La femme, enfant malade et douze fois impure. Woman is a perpetual child.

女人，啊，病弱的孩子加上十二倍的淫荡。女人永远是孩子。

Woman, a sick child and twelve times impure. So that by dint of despising women they lived only for them, while all their efforts and all their desires were directed towards them. Those of them who had married called them old fops, made fun of them, and—feared them.

女人是虚弱的儿童加上十二倍的淫荡。由于想贬低女人，他们只为女人而活，将自己全部的心血和欲望都倾注在女人身上。他们之中那些最终结了婚的称他们为老不正经，既取笑他们又害怕他们。

When they began to feel the exhilarating effects of the champagne, this was the moment that their old bachelor experiences began. On the day in question, these old fellows, for they were old by this time, and the older they got the more extraordinary good fortune in the way of love affairs they had to relate, were quite inexhaustible. For the last month, to hear them, each of them had played the gallant with at least one woman a day; and what women! the youngest, the noblest, the richest, and the most beautiful! After they had finished their tales, one of them, he who having spoken first had been obliged to listen to all the others, rose and said: "Now that we have finished drawing the long—bow, I should like to tell you, not my last, but my first adventure, —I mean the first adventure of my life, my first fall, —for it is a moral fall after all, in the arms of Venus. Oh! I am not going to tell you my first—what shall I call it? —my first appearance; certainly not. The leap over the first hedge (I am speaking figuratively) has nothing interesting about it. It is generally rather a disagreeable one, and one picks oneself up rather abashed, with one charming illusion the less, with a vague feeling of disappointment and sadness. That realization of love the first time one experiences it is rather repugnant; we had dreamt of it as being so different, so delicate, so refined. It leaves a physical and moral sense of disgust behind it, just like as when one has happened to have put one's hand into some clammy matter and feels in a hurry to wash it off. You may rub it as hard as you like, but the moral feeling remains. " Yes! but one very soon gets quite used to it; there is no doubt about that. For my part, however, I am very sorry it was not in my power to give the Creator the benefit of my advice when He was arranging these little matters. I wonder what I should have done? I am not quite sure, but I think with the English savant, John Stuart Mill, I should have managed differently; I should have found some more convenient and more poetical combination; yes—more poetical.

到了他们享用喝香槟酒的愉快时刻了，这一刻也正是单身男人开讲秘史的时刻。话说这天，这些老家伙（因为此刻他们年纪都不小了）越老越有艳福，情史多得一个接一个。这四个人讲到，在上个月，每人每天至少都能勾搭上一个女人！都是些可人儿！全都是些最年轻、最漂亮、最高贵、最富有的女人。每人讲完自已的艳福后，那个第一个发言后不得不听完其他所有人发言的人站起来说道：既然我们大家现在都讲完了，我给大家讲讲我的第一次艳遇，不是最近的第一次，而是我人生中的第一次，第一次坠落。怎么说呢，是一次道德的沦落，落进了一个女人的怀抱。唉！我当然不会讲我的第一次……该怎么形容呢……不会讲我的第一次出击。当我第一次跳过树篱时（我把它形象化了），那毫无趣味可言。甚至可以说是令人不愉快的，跌倒后颇为窘迫地爬起来，没有浪漫色彩，倒有些淡淡的失望和悲伤。第一次得到爱情时，会感到十分厌烦；我们曾把爱情幻想得如此与众不同，如此精致而优雅。事后它留给我们一种身体上和道德上的恶心感，就像某人碰巧把手伸进某种冰冷而湿粘的东西中，急于想尽快洗掉。你可以用力地清洗，但道德上的痕迹始终无法清除。是的！但人们都会尽快适应的，这一点毋庸置疑。对于我来说，没能在造物者安排这些事情时提出我良好的建议，深感遗憾。我在想我该做些什么？虽然还不确定，但是我想如果和英国伟人约翰·斯图亚特·米尔一起的话，我本可以以不同的方式安排这一切，本可以找到一种更舒适、更富于诗意的组合方式；对，更富有诗意。

"I really think that the Creator showed Himself to be too much of a naturalist... too... what shall I say? His invention lacks poetry. " However, what I am going to tell you is about my first woman of the world, the first woman in society I ever made love to; —I beg your pardon, I ought to say the first woman of the world that ever triumphed over me. For at first it is we who allow ourselves to be taken, while, later on—well, then it is quite another matter. "She was a friend of my mother's, a charming woman in every way. When such women are chaste, it is generally from sheer stupidity, and when they are in love they are furiously so. And then—we are accused of corrupting them! Yes, yes, of course! With them it is always the rabbit that begins and never the sportsman. I know all about it; they don't seem to put their fingers near us, but they do it all the same, and do what they like with us, without it being noticed, and then they actually accuse us of having ruined them, dishonored them, humiliated them, and all the rest of it.

我真的觉得上帝将他自己表现得太自然主义了……过于……应该怎么形容呢？他的创造发明缺少诗意。 “尽管如此，我还得要说说我的第一个女人，第一个与我共享云雨之欢的女人。对不起，我应该说世界上第一个曾经征服了我的女人。开始时我们互相喜欢，而之后却是另一番情形了。” 这个女人是我母亲的一个朋友，在各个方面都十分有魅力。这种女人保持贞洁一般是出于愚昧无知，而当她们陷入爱情时，她们的愚昧更是一发不可收拾。而且那时——人们总说是我们腐蚀了她们！好吧，好吧，当然是这样！和她们在一起时，从来都是兔子先找茬而不是猎人。这些我知道得很清楚。她们不露声色地接近我们，肆意玩弄我们，然后却反过来说是我们毁了她们，玷污了她们，羞辱了她们，等等等等。

"The woman in question certainly had a great desire to be humiliated by me. She may have been about thirty—five, while I was scarcely two—and—twenty. I no more thought of dishonoring her than I did of turning Trappist. Well, one day when I was calling on her, and while I was looking at her dress with considerable astonishment, for she had on a morning wrapper which was open as wide as a church—door when the bells are ringing for service, she took my hand and squeezed it—squeezed it, you know, like they will do at such moments—and said, with a deep sigh, one of those sighs, you know, which come from right down the bottom of the chest: 'Oh! don't look at me like that, child!’ I got as red as a tomato, and felt more nervous than usual, naturally. I was very much inclined to bolt, but she held my hand tightly, and putting it onto her well—developed bust, she said: ' Just feel how my heart beats! 'Of course it was beating, and I began to understand what was the matter, but I did not know what to do. I have changed considerably since then. " As I remained standing there, with one hand on the soft covering of her heart, while I held my hat in the other, and continuing to look at her with a confused, silly smile—a timid, frightened smile—she suddenly drew back, and said in an irritated voice:

我要讲的这位，正是一位极度渴望着被我玷污的女人。她大约三十五岁，而我还不到二十二岁。我从来没想过要玷污她，就像我从来没想过要当修道士一样。一天，我去拜访她，看到她的衣着时我相当惊讶，那是一件晨装，裸露的地方就像教堂打铃做弥撒时敞开的大门一样开阔。她拉住我的手紧紧地、紧紧地握着，你们知道的，就像他们在那种情形下会做的那样——她深深地叹了口气，那正是出自心底的叹息，然后说道： ‘哦！孩子，不要那样地看着我！’ 自然，我的脸变得像蕃茄一样红，比平时更加紧张。我很想赶快逃走，但她紧紧握着我的手，把它放到她发育很好的胸部，说： ‘感受一下我的心在怎样跳动！’ 当然她的心脏是跳动着的，我开始明白是怎么个意思了，只是不知道该做什么。从那时开始我完全变了。我就这样一只手放在她柔软的心房上，另一手拿着帽子，呆呆地站在那里，继续用一种满是困惑的傻笑——那是一种胆怯的、惊恐的笑容，看着她；她突然一缩身体，愤怒地说道：

'Young man, what are you doing? You are indecent and badly brought up. ' "You may be sure I took my hand away quickly, stopped smiling, and stammering out some excuse, I got up and took my leave as if I had lost my head. " But I was caught, and dreamt of her. I thought her charming, adorable; I fancied that I loved her, that I had always loved her, and I determined to see her again. "When I saw her again she gave me a little smile like an actress might behind the scenes. Oh, how that little smile upset me! And she shook hands with a long, significant pressure. " From that day it seems that I made love to her; at least, she declared afterwards that I had ruined her, captured her, dishonored her, with rare Machiavelism, with consummate cleverness, with the perseverance of a mathematician, and the cunning of an Apache Indian.

“ ‘年轻人，看看你做的好事？真是一个下流而没教养的家伙。” 你们都能想到：我当然是赶紧把手缩回来，不再傻笑，吞吞吐吐地道了歉，站起身惊慌失措地逃走了。但是我的魂已经被她勾走了，满脑子都是她。我觉得她迷人可爱，我想我爱她，爱她一辈子，我决定再次和她见面。当我再次见到她时，她对我微微一笑，就像女演员展现在荧幕上的笑容一样。哦，那笑容真是令我心情激荡啊！她长时间紧紧地握着我的手。从那天起，别人觉得我在追求她，至少后来她也声称是我用一种罕见的计谋手段、过人的智慧、数学家式的毅力、印地安人式的狡猾，毁了她、俘获她、玷污了她。

"But one thing troubled me strangely; where was my triumph to be accomplished? I lived with my family, and on this point my family was most particular. I was not bold enough to venture to go to an hotel in broad daylight with a woman on my arm, and I did not know whom to ask for advice. " Now, my fair friend had often said in joke that every young man ought to have a room for himself somewhere or other from home. We lived in Paris, and this was a sort of inspiration. I took a room, and she came. She came one day in November; I should have liked to put off her visit because I had no fire, and I had no fire because the chimney smoked. The very evening before, I had spoken to my landlord, a retired shopkeeper, about it, and he had promised that he would send for the chimneysweep in a day or two to get it all put to rights. "As soon as she came in, I said: 'There is no fire because my chimney smokes. ' " She did not even appear to hear me, but stammered: 'That does not matter, I have...; ' and when I looked surprised, she stopped short in confusion, and then went on: 'I don't know what I am saying; I am mad.... I have lost my head.... Oh! what am I doing? Why did I come? How unhappy I am! What a disgrace, what a disgrace!’ And she threw herself sobbing into my arms. I thought that she really felt remorse, and swore that I would respect her. Then, however, she sank down at my knees, sighing: ' But don't you see that I love you, that you have overcome me, that it seems as though you had thrown a charm over me?’ "Then I thought it was about time to show myself a man. But she trembled, got up, ran and hid behind a wardrobe, crying out: 'Oh! don't look at me; no! no! If only you did not see me, if we were only in the dark! I am ashamed in the light. Cannot you imagine it? What a dreadful dream! Oh! this light, this light!’ " I rushed to the window; I closed the outside shutters, drew the curtains, and hung a coat over a ray of light that peeped in, and then, stretching out my hands so as not to fall over the chairs, with my heart beating, and felt for her, and found her. It was a fresh journey for the two of us then, groping our way, with our hands united, towards the other corner where the sofa stood. I don't suppose we went straight, for first of all I knocked against the mantelpiece, and then against a chest of drawers, before finding what we wanted. After we sat down I forgot everything, and we almost went to sleep in each other's arms. I was half dreaming; but in my dream I fancied that someone was calling me and crying for help; then I received a violent blow, and opened my eyes. ‘O—h!’ The setting sun, magnificent and red, shone full into the room through the door, which was wide open, and seemed to look at us from the verge of the horizon, illuminating us both, especially my companion, who was screaming, struggling, and twisting, and trying with hands and feet to get under the sofa, while in the middle of the room stood my landlord by the side of the concierge and a chimneysweep, as black as the devil, who were looking at us with stupid eyes.

但是有一件奇怪的事一直困扰我，我所得到的胜利到底是什么呢？我和父母住在一起，而在这一点上我家人很保守。我也不敢冒险大白天地搂着一个女人招摇地去宾馆吧，我真不知道跟谁说说这事。这时我漂亮的女朋友总会开玩笑式地说： “除了家外，每个年轻男人都应该，在某处有间自已的房子。” 我们住在巴黎，她的话使我茅塞顿开。我有个房间的话，她就会来的。十一月份的一天，她来了，我本想让她晚几天再来的，因为房子里没生火，而之所以没生火是由于烟囱漏烟。就在头天晚上，我就和房东说了，他是个年老的商人，他保证在一两天内会派人清扫维修烟囱。她一进来，我就说： “ ‘由于烟囱漏烟，所以没生火。’” “她好像根本没听我的话，只是吞吞吐吐说： ‘没关系，我有……，’ 当看到我大吃一惊时，她突然迟疑了一下接着说： ‘真不知道我在说什么，我简直疯了……我迷迷糊糊哦！我在做什么呀？我为什么要来？我太不幸了！真丢人，真丢人！’ 她哭着扑进我的怀里。” “我认为她真的在自责，我发誓会尊重她。然后她身体滑落下来双手抱着我的双膝，颤抖地说： ‘但是你难道没看出来我爱你，你已经俘获了我、迷倒了我？’” “我想现在是我一显男人本色的时候了。但她颤抖着站起来，跑到衣柜后面躲起来，哭着说： ‘哦！不要看着我，不要！不要！除非我们都在黑暗中，你看不到我！在阳光下我感到惭愧。你能想象到吗？那真是一场恶梦！哦！这阳光，这阳光！’” “我赶紧跑到窗户那里，关上外面的百叶窗，拉下窗帘，在透光的地方挂上大衣遮挡，然后我张开手臂以防被椅子绊倒摸索着前行，我的心脏怦怦直跳，我终于找到她了。” “当时这对于我俩来说这是一次新鲜的旅程，我们双手握在一起，摸索着向沙发所在的另一角落方向前行。我们走的肯定不是直线，因为首先我碰到壁炉上，而后是柜子，最后到了沙发那里。接下来我们忘情地交织在一起，最后在彼此的臂弯里睡去。” “我好像做了个梦，梦中好像有人在叫我，请求帮忙，然后我被狠狠地揍了一拳，醒了。” “ ‘唉！’ 华丽而绯红的夕阳从大敞的房门处映照过来，它仿佛是从接近地平线的地方射过来的，照亮了我们尤其是我身旁的女伴，她尖叫着、挣扎着、舞动着，手脚并用试图躲进沙发下，这时在房屋正中站着房东，门房还有一个脸色像鬼一样黝黑的扫烟囱的男人，他们正目光呆滞地望着我们。”

"I stood up in rage, ready to jump at his throat, and shouted: " 'What the deuce are you doing in my room? ' "The chimneysweep laughed so that he let his brush fall on the floor. The porter looked as if he were going out of his mind, and the landlord stammered: " ‘But, Monsieur, it was—it was—about the chimney—the chimney, the chimney which—’ " 'Go to the devil! ' I roared. So he took off his hat, which he had kept on in his confusion, and said, in a confused but very civil manner: " 'I beg your pardon, Monsieur; if I had known, I should not have disturbed you; I should not have come. The concierge told me you had gone out. Pray excuse me. ' And they all went out. "Ever since that time I never draw the curtains but am always very careful to lock the door first. "

我愤怒地站起来，准备跳过去掐住门房的脖子，对他吼道： “ ‘你们到底来我屋里做什么？’” 扫烟囱的男人大笑起来，连刷子都掉到了地板上。门房看起来还没反过神，昏头昏脑的，房东则吞吞吐吐地说： “ ‘但是，先生，那个烟囱，关于那个烟囱，它——’” 。 ‘滚出去！’” 我吼道。于是房东拿下帽子，看起来仍然迷迷糊糊的，用一种不安但非常礼貌的口吻说： “ ‘请您原谅，先生，如果我事先知道的话，肯定不会打搅您的，我真不该来。只是听门房说您出去了。请原谅。’ 他们一起走了。” 因此从那以后，我从来不拉窗帘，但是一定要小心地把门锁好。”

An Adventure in Paris