The need for anxiety explains the character of the beautiful Marguerite de Valois, my aunt, who soon afterwards married the King of Navarre, whom we now see on the throne of France under the name of Henri IV. The need to gamble was the key to the character of this delightful princess; hence the quarrels and the reconciliations with her brothers from the age of sixteen onwards.And what does a young girl gamble with? The most precious thing she has: her reputation, the possibility of esteem for her entire life.
Memoirs of the Due d'Angouleme, natural son of Charles IX
对忧虑的需要，这就是我的姑母，美丽的玛格丽特·德·瓦罗亚的性格，她不久以后就嫁给了纳瓦拉国王，我们现在看见他以亨利四世这个名字统治着法国。对赌博的需要构成了这位可爱的公主的性格的秘密；从十六岁起跟她哥哥们之间发生的争吵与和解的起因就在于此。然而一个女孩子能拿什么进行赌博呢？拿她最宝贵的东西：她的名声，她整个一生受到的敬重。
《查理九世私生子，德·昂古列姆公爵回忆录》
'With Julien and me there is no contract to be signed, no lawyer; everything is heroic, everything will be left to chance. But for nobility, which he lacks, it is the love of Marguerite de Valois for young La Mole, the most distinguished man of his time. Is it my fault if the young men at Court are such ardent devotees of the Conventions, and turn pale at the mere thought of any adventure that is slightly out of the common? A little expedition to Greece or Africa is to them the height of audacity, and even then they can only go in a troop. As soon as they find themselves alone, they become afraid, not of Bedouin spears, but of ridicule, and that drives them mad.
“在于连和我之间，无须签订婚约，无须公证人；一切都是壮烈的，一切都将是偶然的产物。除了他所缺少的贵族身份外，完全是玛格丽特·德·瓦罗亚对当时最杰出的人、年轻的拉莫尔的爱情。难道这是我的错吗？宫里那些年轻人那么坚决地拥护礼仪，一想到稍微有些出格的冒险行动就吓得脸色发白。在他们眼里，到希腊或非洲走一趟，就是大胆到了顶，而且还只能成帮结伙的。他们一旦发现自己孤身一人，就害怕了，不是怕贝督因人的长矛，而是害怕成为笑柄，这种恐惧简直让他们发疯。
'My little Julien, on the contrary, will only act alone. Never, in that privileged being, is there the slightest thought of seeking the approval and support of others! He despises other people, that is why I do not despise him.
“我的小于连却相反、他只答欢单独行动。这个得天独厚的人从无一点儿从别人那里寻求支持和帮助的念头！他蔑视别人，正是为此我才不蔑视他。
'If, with his poverty, Julien had been noble, my love would be nothing more than a piece of vulgar folly, an unfortunate marriage; I should not object to that; it would lack that element which characterises great passion: the immensity of the difficulty to be overcome and the black uncertainty of events.'
“如果于连虽贫穷而身为贵族，那我的爱情就不过是一桩庸俗的蠢举、一桩平淡无奇的门不当户不对的婚姻了；我不要这样的爱情，没有丝毫伟大激情的特点，即需要克服的巨大困难和吉凶难料的变故。”
Mademoiselle de La Mole was so absorbed in these fine speculations that next day, quite unintentionally, she sang Julien's praises to the Marquis de Croisenois and her brother. Her eloquence went so far that they became annoyed.
德·拉莫尔小姐如此专注于这些美妙的推论，第二天竟不知不觉地对着德·克鲁瓦绎努瓦侯爵和她哥哥称赞起于连来了。她说得滔滔不绝，终于引起他们的不满。
'Beware of that young man, who has so much energy,' her brother cried; 'if the Revolution begins again, he will have us all guillotined.'
“当心这个精力如此旺盛的年轻人，”她哥哥叫了起来，“如果再来一场革命，他会把我们都绞死。”
She made no answer, and hastened to tease her brother and the Marquis de Croisenois over the fear that energy inspired in them. It was nothing more, really, than the fear of meeting something unexpected, the fear of being brought up short in the presence of the unexpected …
她小心避开正面回答，忙就精力引起的恐惧打趣她的哥哥和德·克鲁庄泽努瓦侯爵。“实际上，那不过是害怕碰上意外情况，害怕在意外情况中不知所措……”
'Still, gentlemen, still the fear of ridicule, a monster which, unfortunately, died in 1816.'
“哎呀呀，先生们，你们老是害怕成为笑柄，这个怪物不幸已于一八一六年死了。”
'There can be no more ridicule,' M. de La Mole used to say, 'in a country where there are two Parties.'
“在有两个党派的国家里，”德·拉莫尔先生说过，“不再有沦为笑柄这回事了。”
His daughter had assimilated this idea.
他的女儿理解了这个思想。
'And so, gentlemen,' she told Julien's enemies, 'you will be haunted by fear all your lives, and afterwards people will say of you:'"It was not a wolf, it was only a shadow."'
“因此”，她对于连的敌人们说，“你们一生中有的可怕呢，然后人们会对你们说：‘这不是一只狼，只是狼的影子。’”
Mathilde soon left them. Her brother's remark filled her with horror; it greatly disturbed her; but after sleeping on it, she interpreted it as the highest possible praise.
玛蒂尔德很快离开他们。她哥哥的话使她感到厌恶；他让她感到不安；但是第二天，她又从中看到了最美好的颂扬。
'In this age, when all energy is dead, his energy makes them afraid. I shall tell him what my brother said. I wish to see what answer he will make. But I shall choose a moment when his eyes are glowing. Then he cannot lie to me.
“在这个任何精力都已死亡的世纪，他的精力让他们害怕。我要告诉他我哥哥的话；我想看看他如何回答。可是我得选个他两眼放光的时候。那时他就不能对我说谎了。”
'Another Danton?' she went on after a long, vague spell of musing.'Very well! Let us suppose that the Revolution has begun. What parts would Croisenois and my brother play? It is all prescribed for them: sublime resignation. They would be heroic sheep, allowing their throats to be cut without a word. Their sole fear when dying would still be of committing a breach of taste. My little Julien would blow out the brains of the Jacobin who came to arrest him, if he had the slightest hope of escaping. He, at least, has no fear of bad taste.'
“他会是一个丹东！”她又胡思乱想了好一会儿，补充说，“那好吧！假定革命再度爆发，克鲁瓦泽努瓦和我哥哥会扮演什么角色呢？那是事先就定了的：崇高的逆来顺受。那将是英勇的绵羊，任人宰杀而不吭一声。他们死时唯一害怕的是不雅。我的小于连将打碎来逮捕他的雅各宾分子的脑袋，只要他有一线希望逃走。他可不怕不雅，他。”
These last words made her pensive again; they revived painful memories, and destroyed all her courage. They reminded her of the witticisms of MM. de Caylus, de Croisenois, de Luz, and her brother. These gentlemen were unanimous in accusing Julien of a priestly air, humble and hypocritical.
这最后一句话使她陷入沉思，唤醒了痛苦的回忆，打掉了她全部的勇气。这句话让她想起德·凯吕斯、德·克鲁瓦泽努瓦、德·吕兹、她哥哥诸先生的取笑。这些先生们一致指责于连有种教士气：谦卑而虚伪。
'But,' she went on, suddenly, her eye sparkling with joy, 'by the bitterness and the frequency of their sarcasms, they prove, in spite of themselves, that he is the most distinguished man that we have seen this winter. What do his faults, his absurdities matter? He has greatness, and they are shocked by it, they who in other respects are so kind and indulgent. He knows well that he is poor, and that he has studied to become a priest; they are squadron commanders, and have no need of study; it is a more comfortable life.
“但是，”她突然又想，眼睛里闪烁着喜悦，“不管他们愿意不愿意，他们那尖酸频繁的取笑恰恰证明了他是我们这个冬季见到的最出色的人。他的缺点，他的可笑，有什么关系？他大气磅礴，这使他们不快，尽管他们是那么善良，那么宽容。当然，他穷，他念书是为了当教士；他们是轻骑兵上尉，不需要念书，当然舒服多了。
'In spite of all the drawbacks of his eternal black coat, and of that priestly face, which he is obliged to assume, poor boy, if he is not to die of hunger, his merit alarms them, nothing could be clearer. And that priestly expression, he no longer wears it when we have been for a few moments by ourselves. Besides, when these gentlemen say anything which they consider clever and startling, is not their first glance always at Julien? I have noticed that distinctly. And yet they know quite well that he never speaks to them, unless he is asked a question. It is only myself that he addresses. He thinks that I have a lofty nature. He replies to their objections only so far as politeness requires. He becomes respectful at once. With me, he will discuss things for hours on end, he is not sure of his own ideas if I offer the slightest objection. After all, all this winter we have not heard a shot fired; the only possible way to attract attention has been by one's talk. Well, my father, a superior man, and one who will greatly advance the fortunes of our family, respects Julien. All the rest hate him, no one despises him, except my mother's religious friends.'
“他为了不致饿死，可怜的孩子，必须总穿黑衣服，有这一副教士的面孔，这给他带来种种不利，但他的长处仍然让他们害怕，这是再明显不过的了。而这一副教士面孔，只要我们单独呆一会儿，立刻就没有了。当这些先生们说出一句自以为微妙、出人意料的话时，他们第一眼不总是看于连吗？我很清楚地注意到了。然而他们很清楚，除非问到他，他是不跟他们说话的。他只跟我说话。他认为我灵魂高尚。他回答他们的异议仅以礼貌为限，恰到好处，然后立即敬而远之。跟我，他就几个钟头几个钟头地讨论，只要我稍有异议，他就对自己的想法没有把握了。总之，整个冬天我们没有放枪，只以言语引起别人的注意。而且，我父亲是个出类拔萃的人，能使我们家兴旺发达，他也敬重于连。其余的人都恨他，但没有人蔑视他，除了我母亲的那些伪善的女友。”
The Comte de Caylus had or pretended to have a great passion for horses; he spent all his time in his stables, and often took his luncheon there. This great passion, combined with his habit of never laughing, had won him a great esteem among his friends: he was the 'strong man' of their little circle.
德·凯吕斯伯爵酷爱或者装作酷爱马匹；他整天泡在马厩里，经常还在那里吃午饭。这种酷爱，再加上从来不笑的习惯，使他在朋友中间颇受尊敬：他是这个小圈子里的一只鹰。
As soon as it had assembled next day behind Madame de La Mole's armchair, Julien not being present, M. de Caylus, supported by Croisenois and Norbert, launched a violent attack upon the good opinion Mathilde had of Julien, without any reason and almost as soon as he saw Mademoiselle de La Mole. She detected this stratagem a mile off, and was charmed by it.
第二天，在德·拉莫尔夫人的安乐椅后面，他们几个一聚齐，趁于连不在场，德·凯吕斯先生就在克鲁瓦泽努瓦和诺贝尔的支持下，激烈地攻击玛蒂尔德对于连的好评，不过有些没来由，他几乎是刚刚看见德·拉莫尔小姐。她远远地就看出此中的奥妙，感到非常高兴。
'There they are all in league,' she said to herself, 'against a man who has not ten louis to his name, and can answer them only when he is questioned. They are afraid of him in his black coat. What would he be with epaulettes?'
“他们联合起来，”她心想，“反对一个有天才的人，他没有十个路易的年金，只有问到了才能回答。他穿着黑衣，他们尚且害怕。他若戴上肩章，又会怎样呢？”
Never had she been so brilliant. At the first onslaught, she covered Caylus and his allies with witty sarcasm. When the fire of these brilliant officers' pleasantries was extinguished:
她从来没有这么出色过。攻击一开始，她就用妙趣横生的讥讽把凯吕斯及其盟友团团围住。这些杰出军宫的玩笑的炮火一被打哑，她就对德·凯吕斯先生说：
'Tomorrow some country squire from the mountains of the Franche Comte,' she said to M. de Caylus, 'has only to discover that Julien is his natural son, and give him a name and a few thousand francs, and in six weeks he will have grown moustaches like yourselves, gentlemen; in six months he will be an officer of hussars like yourselves, gentlemen. And then the greatness of his character will no longer be a joke. I can see you reduced, My Lord Duketobe, to that old and worthless plea: the superiority of the nobility of the Court to the provincial nobility. But what defence have you left if I choose to take an extreme case, if I am so unkind as to make Julien's father a Spanish Duke, a prisoner of war at Besancon in Napoleon's time, who, from a scruple of conscience, acknowledges him on his deathbed?'
“只要明天弗朗什－孔泰山区有哪个乡绅发现于连是他的私生子，给他一个贵族身份和几千法郎，不出六个礼拜，他就会像你们一样，先生们，留起小胡子；不出六个月，他就会像你们一样，先生们，当上轻骑兵军官。那时候，他那性格的伟大就不再是笑柄了。我看您，未来的公爵先生，只剩下这个陈腐而荒谬的理由了：宫廷贵族高于外省贵族。但是，如果我想把您逼入绝境，如果我心存狡狯硬说于连的父亲是一位西班牙公爵，拿破仑时代作为战俘被囚禁在贝藏松，由于良心不安在临终时认了他，那您还剩下什么？”
All these assumptions of a birth out of wedlock were regarded by MM. de Caylus and de Croisenois as in distinctly bad taste. This was all that they saw in Mathilde's argument.
所有这些关于非婚生出身的假没，在德·凯吕斯先生和德·克鲁瓦泽努瓦先生看来，都是相当粗俗的。这就是他们在玛蒂尔德的议论中听看到的—切。
Obedient as Norbert was, his sister's meaning was so unmistakable that he assumed an air of gravity, little in keeping, it must be confessed, with his genial, smiling features. He ventured to say a few words:
不管诺贝尔多么顺从，她妹妹的话太露骨了，他不能不挂上一副严肃的神色，应该承认，这与他那张笑容满而、和善温厚的脸相上不协调，他斗胆说了儿句话。
'Are you unwell, dear?' Mathilde answered him with a mock-serious expression. 'You must be feeling very ill to reply to a joke with a sermon.
“您病了吗，我的朗友？”玛蒂尔德略显严肃地回答道，“您一定很不舒服，要不怎么用说教回答玩笑呢。
'A sermon, from you! Are you thinking of asking to be made a Prefect?'
“说教，您！您是想谋一个省长的职位吗？”
Mathilde very soon forgot the annoyance of the Comte de Caylus, Norbert's ill humour and the silent despair of M. de Croisenois. She had to make up her mind over a desperate idea which had taken possession of her.
德·凯吕斯伯爵恼怒的脸色，诺贝尔的不高兴和德·克鲁瓦泽努瓦先生的无声的绝望，玛蒂尔德很快都忘了，她得拿定主意，一个要命的念头刚刚抓住了她的心。
'Julien is quite sincere with me,' she told herself; 'at his age, in an inferior state of fortune, wretched as an astounding ambition makes him, he needs a woman friend. I can be that friend; but I see no sign in him of love. With the audacity of his nature, he would have spoken to me of his love.'
“于连跟我够真诚了，”她对自己说，“在他那个年纪，地位低下，又被一种惊人的抱负搞得那么不幸，他需要一个女朋友。也许我就是这个女朋友；可是我看不出他有什么爱情，以他那大胆的性格，他早该自我吐露这爱情了。”
This uncertainty, this inward discussion, which, from now onwards, occupied every moment of Mathilde's life, and in support of which, whenever Julien addressed her, she found fresh arguments, completely banished those periods of depression to which she was so liable.
这种不放心，这种自己跟自己的争论，从此让玛蒂尔德时时不得安宁；于连每次相她谈话，她都为此找出新的理由。于是，她平时难以解脱的厌倦时刻被驱散得一干二净了。
The daughter of a man of intelligence who might become a Minister, and restore their forests to the Clergy, Mademoiselle de La Mole had been, in the Convent of the Sacre Coeur, the object of the most extravagant flatteries. The harm done in this way can never be effaced. They had persuaded her that, in view of all her advantages of birth, fortune, etc., she ought to be happier than other girls. This is the source of the boredom from which princes suffer, and of all their follies.
德·拉莫尔小姐的父亲是个有才智的人，可能当上部长并把林产还给教会，因此她在圣心修道院时受到最为过分的阿谀奉承。这种不幸是永远无法弥补的。人们让她相信，由于出身、财产等带来的种种优越条件，她应该比别人更幸福，这乃是君王们的烦恼及其种种疯狂的根源。
Mathilde had not been immune to the fatal influence of this idea.However intelligent a girl may be, she cannot be on her guard for ten years against the flattery of an entire convent, especially when it appears to be so well founded.
玛蒂尔德未能逃脱这种想法带来的有害影响。无论一个人多么有才智，他办不能在十岁的时候就警惕全修道院的恭维，何况看起来又那么有根有据。
From the moment in which she decided that she was in love with Julien, she was no longer bored. Every day she congratulated herself on the decision she had made to indulge in a grand passion. 'This amusement has its dangers,' she thought. 'All the better! A thousand times better!
从决定爱于连的那—刻起，她不再厌倦了，每天她都庆幸自己决定投入一种伟大的激情之中是拿了个好主意。“这玩意儿有许多危险，”她想，“那更好！好上加好！”
'Without a grand passion, I was languishing with boredom at the best moment in a girl's life, between sixteen and twenty. I have already wasted my best years; with no pleasure but to listen to the nonsense talked by my mother's friends, who at Coblenz, in 1792, were not quite, one gathers, so strict in their conduct, as they are today in speech.'
“没有伟大的激情，我在从十六岁到二十岁这段人生最美好的时光里，被厌倦折磨得憔悴不堪。我已经失去我最美好的岁月了；我没有别的快乐，只好听我母亲的那些女友胡说八道，据说，她们一七九二年在科布伦茨，并不完全像今天她们说起话来那么正儿八经地。”
It was while Mathilde was still devoured by this great uncertainty that Julien was unable to understand the gaze which she kept fastened upon him. He did indeed find an increased coldness in Comte Herbert's manner, and a stiffening of pride in that of MM. de Caylus, de Luz and de Croisenois. He was used to it. This discomfiture befell him at times after an evening in which he had shone more brightly than befitted his position. But for the special welcome which Mathilde extended to him, and the curiosity which the whole scene inspired in him, he would have refrained from following into the garden these brilliant young men with the moustaches, when after dinner they escorted Mademoiselle de La Mole.
玛蒂尔德经受着这些重大疑问的折磨，于连却还对她停留在他身上的那种意味深长的目光茫然不解。他清楚地感到，在诺贝尔伯爵的态度里有了加倍的冷漠，德·凯吕斯先生、德·吕兹先生和德·克鲁瓦泽努瓦先生的态度又变得盛气凌人了。好在他已习以为常。那一次晚会上他显露与他的地位不相称的才华。他就有可能受到那种令人不快的对待。晚饭后，那些留小胡子的漂亮青年陪着德·拉莫尔小姐去花园，要不是她特殊待他，这里的一切激起了他的好奇，他才不会在后面跟着他们呢。
'Yes, I cannot possibly blind myself to the fact,' thought Julien, 'Mademoiselle de La Mole keeps looking at me in a strange fashion. But, even when her beautiful blue eyes seem to gaze at me with least restraint, I can always read in them a cold, malevolent scrutiny. Is it possible that this is love? How different from the look in Madame de Renal's eyes.'
“是的，我不能再闭目不见了，”于连对自己说，“德·拉莫尔小姐看我的方式很古怪。但是，就是在她那双美丽的蓝色大眼睛最无拘束地睁大凝视着我的时候，我也总是在其深处看到了考察、冷酷和恶毒。这难道可能是爱情吗？这与德·莱纳夫人的眼神有多大的不同啊？”
One evening after dinner, Julien, who had gone with M. de La Mole to his study, came rapidly out to the garden. As he walked boldly up to the group round Mathilde, he overheard a few words uttered in a loud voice. She was teasing her brother. Julien heard his own name uttered distinctly twice. He appeared; a profound silence at once fell, and vain efforts were made to break it. Mademoiselle de La Mole and her brother were too much excited to think of another topic of conversation. MM. de Caylus, de Croisenois, de Luz and another of their friends met Julien with an icy coldness. He withdrew.
一次晚饭后，于连跟着德·拉莫尔先生到他的书房去，然后迅即返回花园。玛蒂尔德那一伙人没注意他走近，他听见了几句话，声音很高。她正在折磨她哥哥。于连清楚地听见他的名字被提到两次。他们看见他来了，顿时出现一片沉寂，他们无论如何努力，这沉寂是过不去了。德·拉莫尔小姐和她哥哥都过于激动，找不到别的话说。德·凯吕斯先生，德·克鲁瓦泽努瓦先生，德·吕兹先生，还有一位他们的朋友，对待于连冷得像块冰。他走开了。