盲人 第8期

The Blind Man

阅读小提示：耐性终极考验到了！本文篇幅较长，同学们可要做好准备哦。文章按照故事情节层层发展，结构清晰易懂。原文为法语，但这个英文译本表达地道，形容词、动词等使用更是生动具体，很值得多读几遍，仔细琢磨和学习哦。

How is it that the sunlight gives us such joy? Whydoes this radiance[光辉], when it falls on the earth, fill uswith the joy of living? The whole sky is blue, the fieldsare green, the houses all white, and our enchanted[施魔法]eyes drink in those bright colors which bring delightto our souls. And then there springs[跳] up in our heartsa desire to dance, to run, to sing, a happy lightnessof thought, a sort of enlarged tenderness; we feel alonging to embrace the sun.

The blind, as they sit in the doorways, impassive[冷漠的]in their eternal[永恒的] darkness, remain as calm asever in the midst of this fresh gaiety[欢乐], and, notunderstanding what is taking place around them, theycontinually check their dogs as they attempt to play.

When, at the close of the day, they are returninghome on the arm of a young brother or a little sister,if the child says: “It was a very fine day!” the otheranswers: “I could notice that it was fine. Loulouwouldn’t keep quiet.”

I knew one of these men whose life was one of themost cruel martyrdoms[牺牲] that could possibly beconceived[想象].

He was a peasant, the son of a Norman[诺曼人的] farmer.As long as his father and mother lived, he was more orless taken care of; he suffered little save[除……之外] fromhis horrible infirmity[虚弱]; but as soon as the old peoplewere gone, an atrocious[残暴的] life of misery commenced[开始] for him. Dependent on a sister of his, everybody inthe farmhouse treated him as a beggar who was eatingthe bread of strangers. At every meal the very food heswallowed was made a subject of reproach[责备] againsthim; he was called a drone[依赖他人生活的人], a clown, and althoughhis brother-in-law had taken possession of hisportion of the inheritance[遗产], he was helped grudgingly[勉强地] to soup, getting just enough to save him from starving.

His face was very pale and his two big white eyeslooked like wafers[圣饼，威化饼]. He remained unmoved atall the insults[辱骂] hurled[猛掷] at him, so reserved[缄默的]that one could not tell whether he felt them.

Moreover,he had never known any ten-derness,hi smother having always treat-ed him unkindly and caring very little forhim; for in country places useless personsare considered a nuisance[讨厌的人], and the peasantswould be glad to kill the infirm of their species, aspoultry[家禽] do.

As soon as he finished his soup he went and satoutside the door in summer and in winter beside thefireside, and did not stir[移动] again all the evening.He made no gesture, no movement; only his eyelids,quivering[颤抖] from some nervous affection, fell down sometimes over his white, sightless orbs[眼球]. Had he anyintellect, any thinking faculty[机能], any consciousnessof his own existence? Nobody cared to inquire

For some years things went on in this fashion. But hisincapacity for work, as well as his impassiveness, eventuallyexasperated[激怒] his relatives, and he became alaughingstock, a sort of butt[靶垛] for merriment, a prey[猎物]to the inborn ferocity[凶残], to the savage[野蛮的] gaiety of thebrutes[畜生] who surrounded him.

It is easy to imagine all the cruel practical jokesinspired by his blindness. And, in order to have some fun inreturn for feeding him, they now converted[转变] his mealsinto hours of pleasure for the neighbors and of punishmentfor the helpless creature himself.

The peasants from the nearest houses came to thisentertainment; it was talked about from door to door, andevery day the kitchen of the farmhouse was full of people.Sometimes they placed before his plate, when he wasbeginning to eat his soup, a cat or dog. The animal instinctively[本能地] perceived[察觉] the man’s infirmity, and, softlyapproaching, commenced eating noiselessly, lapping[舔]up the soup daintily[挑剔地]; and, when they lapped the foodrather noisily, rousing the poor fellow’s attention, theywould prudently[谨慎地] scamper[蹦跳] away to avoid the blowof the spoon directed at random[随意地] by the blind man!

Then the spectators[观众] ranged along the wall wouldburst out laughing, nudge[用肘轻推] each other and stamptheir feet on the floor. And he, without ever uttering[发出] a word, would continue eating with his right hand, whilestretching out his left to protect his plate.

other time they made him chew corks[软木], bits ofwood, leaves or even filth[垃圾], which he was unable todistinguish[区分].

After this they got tired even of these practical jokes,and the brother-in-law, angry at having to support himalways, struck him, cuffed[掌掴，殴打] him incessantly[不间断地],laughing at his futile[无用的] efforts to ward off[挡开] orreturn the blows. Then came a new pleasure the pleasureof smacking[掴] his face. And the ploughmen[把犁人], theservant girls and even every passing vagabond[流氓] wereevery moment giving him cuffs, which caused his eyelashesto twitch[抽搐] spasmodically[间歇性地]. He did not knowwhere to hide himself and remained with his arms alwaysheld out to guard against people coming too close to him.

At last he was forced to beg.

He was placed somewhere on the high-road onmarket-days, and as soon as he heard the sound offootsteps or the rolling of a ve-hicle,he reached out his hat,stammering[口吃地说]:

“Charity, if you please!”

But the peasant was not lavish[慷慨的], and for wholeweeks he did not bring back a sou[昔日法国的一种货币].

Then he became the victim of furious[狂暴的], pitilesshatred. And this is how he died.

One winter the ground was covered with snow, andit was freezing hard. His brother-in-law led him onemorning a great distance along the high-road in orderthat he might solicit[恳求] alms[施舍]. The blind man wasleft there all day; and when night came on, the brotherin-law toldthe peopleof his housethat hecould find notrace of themendicant[乞丐]. Then headded:

“Pooh!Best notbotherabout him!He was coldand got someone to take him away.Never fear!He’s not lost.He’llturn up soon enough tomorrow to eat the soup.”

Next day he did not come back.

After long hours of waiting, stiffened with the cold,feeling that he was dying, the blind man began to walk.Being unable to find his way along the road, owing to itsthick coating of ice, he went on at random, falling intoditches[沟], getting up again, without uttering a sound, hissole object being to find some house where he couldtake shelter[避难].

But, by degrees, the descending[下降] snow made a numbness[麻木] steal over[渐渐弥漫] him, and his feeble[虚弱的] limbs beingincapable of carrying him farther, he sat down in themiddle of an open field. He did not get up again.

The white flakes which fell continuously buried him,so that his body, quite stiff and stark[荒凉的], disappeared underthe incessant accumulation[积累] of their rapidly thickeningmass, and nothing was left to indicate the placewhere he lay.

His relatives made a pretence of inquiring about himand searching for him for about a week. They even made ashow of weeping.

The winter was severe[严峻的], and the thaw[融化] did notset in quickly. Now, one Sunday, on their way to mass, thefarmers noticed a great flight of crows[乌鸦], who werewhirling[盘旋] incessantly above the open field, and thendescending like a shower of black rain at the same spot,ever going and coming.

The following week these gloomy[阴沉的] birds were stillthere. There was a crowd of them up in the air, as if theyhad gathered from all corners of the horizon, and theyswooped down with a great cawing[呱呱叫] into the shiningsnow, which they covered like black patches, and in whichthey kept pecking[啄食] obstinately[顽固地]. A young fellowwent to see what they were doing and discovered the bodyof the blind man, already half devoured[吞食], mangled[撕碎].His wan[苍白的] eyes had disappeared, pecked out by the long,voracious[贪婪的] beaks.

And I can never feel the glad radiance of sunlit dayswithout sadly remembering and pondering[沉思] over thefate of the beggar who was such an outcast in life-thathis horrible death was a relief to all who had knownhim.

阳光何以让我们如此欢乐？为什么当阳光洒落在地球上时，我们的生活会满溢幸福？整个天空湛蓝清澈，草地青葱翠绿，房屋雪白一片，我们着了魔似的眼睛将这些鲜明的颜色尽收眼底，这缤纷的颜色为我们的灵魂带来了如许快乐。我们的心中突然蹦出一种欲望，愿为其起舞，飞奔，歌唱；一阵轻盈欢快的思绪，一抹蔓延扩散的温柔；我们萌发出拥抱太阳的渴望。

盲人们坐在门口，面无表情地沉浸在他们永恒的黑暗里，在这清新的愉快气氛中仍然保持惯有的平静。他们对身边发生的事情一无所知，不时拉一拉试图跑开去玩耍的狗儿。

当一天即将结束，他们被小弟弟或小妹妹掺扶着回家时，如果孩子说：“今天天气真好！”对方便会回答：“我能感觉到天气确实很好。楼楼总是一刻都不肯停歇。”

我认识这样的一个盲人，他的人生就是你所能想象的最可怜的社会牺牲品。

他是一个农民，是一个诺曼农场主的儿子。他的父母尚在人世的时候，他还或多或少地得到一点儿照顾；除了自己可怕的虚弱体质外，他几乎没怎么受苦；然而老人去世后，他的生活开变得痛苦而悲惨。他只能依靠他的一个姐姐，而农场的每个人都将他视为以陌生人的面包果腹的乞丐。每一顿饭，他所吞下的食物都会成为受责备的话题；他被人叫做寄生虫、小丑。虽然其姐夫霸占了属于他的那份财产，但他得到的只有人们不情不愿给出的汤水，份量仅仅足够他免于挨饿。

他的脸色异常苍白，一双大大的白眼看起来像圆圆的圣饼。他对所有的厉声辱骂都无动于衷，他如此沉默不语，人们无法分辨他是否有所感受。

更甚者，他从未体会过何为温柔。过去他的母亲一直待他不好，极少关心他；因为在农村地区，没用的人被认为是讨厌鬼，农民们恨不得除掉自己种族中的弱者，就像家禽除掉同类（以获得更多生存机会）那样。

他喝完汤后，若是夏天，他就会走出去坐在门边，冬天则坐在炉火旁，一整晚都不再动弹。他没有任何动作，纹丝不动；只有那双眼皮会因为某些紧张的情绪而颤动着，偶尔翻落在他那瞎了的白眼球上。他有智力吗？他会思考吗？他对自己的存在是否有所意识？没有人会花心思去了解这一切。

好几年来，日子就是这样过去的。但他那没有工作能力又总是无动于衷的表现最终激怒了他的亲人；他成了人们的笑料、取乐的靶子、生性残暴之人的猎物，任由在他周围的禽兽从中获得野性的满足。

我们很容易想象得到人们因他的失明而开的尖酸刻薄的笑话。同时，为了从喂他进食中获得一些乐趣作为回报，他们把盲人的三餐视为邻居们取乐的时刻，以及对这个无助的人的惩罚。

住得最近的几家农户都参与到这项娱乐活动中；笑话被挨家挨户地传播开去，以致每天农场的厨房里都挤满了人。有时当盲人准备喝汤时，他们就在他的盘子前放上一只猫或狗。那动物本能地察觉到这人的虚弱无能，轻轻地走过去，开始静静地吃起来，挑剔地舔吃着汤水；而当猫狗们吵闹地舔吃食物，引起这可怜虫的注意时，它们就会谨慎地跳开，以免被盲人随手挥动的汤匙打中！

然后，靠墙站着观看的人会禁不住大笑，互相推搡着不停地跺脚。他则没有说一句话，右手继续勺着汤，左手则伸出来保护自己的盘子。

有时候，他们给他吃软木块、木屑、树叶甚至垃圾，而他根本无法分辨。

之后，他们甚至厌倦了这些玩笑。盲人的姐夫因为需要一直养着他而恼怒。他用棍子打他，不断地掴他，嘲笑他那试图挡开或回击所受的毒打的徒劳之举。随后，一个新的取乐招式出现了――赏他几个耳光。每时每刻，把犁人、女仆，甚至每一个路过的流氓无赖都会打他一下，使得他的眼睫毛不时地抽动。他不知道自己能藏在哪儿以避免受罪，只好一直伸出双手防止人们过于靠近自己。

最后，他被迫上街乞讨。

赶集日时，他被人带到大马路上，只要听到脚步声或车子路过的声音，他就会递出自己的帽子，结结巴巴地说：

“施舍点小钱吧，请发发慈悲！”

可是农民们并不慷慨，好几个星期他都没带回一个苏。

盲人后来成了愤怒、残暴与憎恶的受害者。以下就是他死去的缘由。

某年冬天，地上满是积雪，结了厚厚的一层冰。一天早上，盲人的姐夫把他带到离大马路很远的地方，只为了让他乞讨点东西。他被留在那里一整天；夜晚来临，他的姐夫对家人说他找不到盲人在哪儿了。然后他补充道：

“呼！最好不用再为他伤脑筋了！他肯定是觉得冷，让人把他带走了。别怕！他不会走丢的。明天吃饭的时候他就会出现的。”

第二天，他没有回来。

等了很长一段时间之后，盲人觉得身子被冻僵了，自己快要被冷死了，于是开始走起路来。他没办法沿路返回，因为路面结了很厚的冰层，他只能随便挑了个方向走，掉进田沟里又爬起来，还是一言不发――他只有一个目标，就是找到一个可以让他留宿的地方。

然而慢慢地，一直飘落而下的雪花使麻木占据了他的全身，虚弱的双腿再也无法助他走远了，他在田野中间坐了下来。这一坐，他就再也没有起来。

雪白的雪花不断落下，把他掩埋起来。他的身子变得僵直而悲凉，消失在快速堆积起来的大雪之下，再也看不出他躺下的地方。

他的亲人们假装四处询问他的去向，并到处找他，这把戏大概持续了一个星期。他们甚至还演了一场猫哭老鼠的假戏。

那年的冬天特别冷，冰雪迟迟未见消融。一个周日，去做弥撒的路上，农场主们发现一大群乌鸦在田野上空不断盘旋，随后又像一场黑雨那样降落在同一个地点，飞走了又飞回来。

接下来的一周，这些黑色的鸟儿仍在那儿。一群乌鸦在空中飞着，仿佛从地平线的各个角落集合到一起。它们呱呱大叫着向闪闪发光的积雪飞过去，聚成一片黑块，并朝着地面不停地啄食。一个年轻人走过去看看到底是怎么回事，结果发现了盲人的尸体。尸体已经被吃掉了一半，面目全非。他苍白的眼珠已被乌鸦那贪婪的长喙啄出，不见踪影了。

如果没有对这个被世人遗弃的乞丐的命运的悲痛反思与回忆，我便不能感受到这阳光灿烂的日子所带来的快乐――他恐怖的死状，对所有认识他的人来说都是一种解脱。

作者简介

莫泊桑（1850-1893），法国优秀的批判现实主义作家，出身于没落贵族家庭。一生创作了6部长篇小说和350多篇中短篇小说，他的文学成就以短篇小说最为突出，是与契诃夫和欧・亨利齐名的世界短篇小说之王，影响极大。著名作品有以普法战争为题材的《羊脂球》（1880）、《菲菲小姐》（1881）、《我的叔叔于勒》（1883）、《米隆老爹》（1883）、长篇小说《一生》（1883）、《漂亮朋友》（1885）（此两部小说已被列入世界长篇小说名著之林）。