通译双语文库:聪明的消遣：毛姆谈英国文学简·奥斯汀与《傲慢与偏见》 1|Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice 1

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聪明的消遣：毛姆谈英国文学

简·奥斯汀与《傲慢与偏见》 1|Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice 1

属类：双语小说【分类】其他读物 -[作者: 毛姆] 阅读：[11927] 登录会员即可添加到文库收藏夹，方便以后查看

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简·奥斯汀的生平事迹可以几句话说完。她家是个古老家族，像英国很多最显赫的家族一样，是靠羊毛贸易发迹的，羊毛贸易一度是这个国家的支柱性产业。发财后，她家也像比她们更厉害的那些家族一样，买了地，逐渐加入了有地士绅的行列。但是奥斯汀所属的这个支系和其他支系相比，似乎只继承了巨大财富中的很少一点，他们落魄了。奥斯汀的父亲叫乔治·奥斯汀，祖父叫威廉·奥斯汀，祖父是汤布里奇那里的外科医生，这个职业在十八世纪初时被认为比律师这一职业高级不了多少。而我们从《劝导》中得知，即使到了奥斯汀生活的时期，律师也还无甚社会地位。《劝导》中有这样一段描写，“只不过是个爵士遗孀”的罗素夫人吃惊地发现从男爵的女儿艾略特小姐居然和律师的女儿克雷太太(1)有交往，而后者“对艾小姐而言，本该啥也不是，本该只是艾小姐敬而远之的对象”。外科医生威廉·奥斯汀去世得早，于是他的哥哥弗朗西斯·奥斯汀把孤儿乔治送进了汤布里奇学校，后来又送去了牛津的圣约翰学院。这些事实是我从查普曼博士的克拉克讲义中获知的，这些讲义现已出书，名为《简·奥斯汀：事实与问题》。我以下所写均受惠于这本好书。

The events of Jane Austen’s life can be told very briefly. The Austens were an old family whose fortunes, like those of many of the greatest families in England, had been founded on the wool trade, which was at one time the country’s staple industry; and having made money, again like others of greater importance, they had bought land and so, in course of time, joined the ranks of the landed gentry. But the branch of the family to which Jane Austen belonged seems to have inherited very little of such wealth as its other members possessed. It had come down in the world. Jane’s father, George Austen, was the son of William Austen, a surgeon of Tonbridge, a profession which at the beginning of the eighteenth century was regarded no more highly than the attorney’s; and, as we know from Persuasion, even in Jane Austen’s day, an attorney was a person of no social consequence. It shocks Lady Russell, “the widow only of a knight, ”that Miss Elliot, the daughter of a baronet, should have social relations with Mrs. Clay, daughter of an attorney, “who ought to have been nothing to her but the object of distant civility.”William Austen, the surgeon, died early, and his brother, Francis Austen, sent the orphaned boy to Tonbridge School and afterwards to St. John’s College, Oxford. These facts I learn from Dr. Chapman’s Clark Lectures, which he has published under the title Jane Austen: Facts and Problems. For all that follows I am indebted to this admirable book.

乔治·奥斯汀先是成了圣约翰学院的研究员，领圣职后，在哥德莫山姆的一个名为托马斯·奈特的亲戚的帮助下，获得了汉普郡史蒂文顿地方的牧师职位。两年后，伯父又给他买下了附近一个名叫迪恩的地方的圣职。我们对这位慷慨的亲戚一无所知，但可以猜想他就像《傲慢与偏见》里的加德纳先生一样，是个商人。

George Austen became a fellow of his college and, on taking orders, was presented with the living of Steventon, in Hampshire, by a kinsman, Thomas Knight of Godmersham. Two years later, George Austen’s uncle bought him the near-by living of Deane. Since we are told nothing of this generous man, we may surmise that, like Mr. Gardner in Pride and Prejudice, he was in trade.

乔治·奥斯汀牧师娶了托马斯·雷的女儿卡桑德拉·雷。托马斯·雷是牛津万灵学院的研究员，他还领着亨利镇附近哈珀斯顿的一份圣俸。我年轻时看卡桑德拉·雷这样的人，会认为她出身不俗，也就是说，像赫斯特蒙索的赫尔家一样，她是有地士绅和贵族的远亲。对外科医生的儿子来说，这门亲事让他上了一个台阶。他们生了两女六男共八个孩子，其中两个女儿是卡桑德拉和简。为了增加收入，史蒂文顿的这位牧师还开馆收徒，六个儿子就是在家受教的。其中两个后来上了牛津的圣约翰学院，因为从他们母亲一方的家谱看来，他们算是学院创建者的亲戚。还有一个儿子叫乔治，我们对他一无所知，查普曼认为他又聋又哑。另有两个儿子加入了海军，都取得了辉煌的成就。最幸运的是爱德华，他被托马斯·奈特收养，继承了后者在肯特郡和汉普郡的产业。

The Rev. George Austen married Cassandra Leigh, the daughter of Thomas Leigh, a Fellow of All Souls and incumbent of the living of Harpsden near Henley. She was what was known in my youth as well-connected; that is to say, like the Hares of Hurstmonceaux, she was distantly related to members of the landed gentry and the aristocracy. It was a step up for the surgeon’s son. Eight children were born of the marriage, two daughters, Cassandra and Jane, and six sons. To add to his income, the rector of Steventon took pupils, and his sons were educated at home. Two went to St. John’s College, Oxford, because through their mother they were Founder’s kin; of one, George by name, nothing is known, and Dr. Chapman suggests that he was deaf and dumb; two others entered the Navy and had careers of distinction: the lucky one was Edward, who was adopted by Thomas Knight and inherited his estates in Kent and Hampshire.

简·奥斯汀是小女儿，生于一七七五年。她二十六岁时，父亲辞了职，把职位让给了已领圣职的大儿子，自己搬到了巴斯。乔治·奥斯汀死于一八〇五年，几个月后，他的寡妻和两个女儿搬去了南安普敦。就是在这里，简给姐姐卡桑德拉写信，讲述她和母亲的一次拜访：“我们发现只有蓝丝太太一人在家。不论她如何夸耀子孙，除了一架大钢琴外，什么子孙也没出现……他们很有钱，过得很气派，她也似乎很喜欢有钱。我们向她暗示我们远非如此，很快她就会觉得我们不值得她结交了。”奥斯汀先生死时确实没给奥斯汀太太留下什么钱，但是儿子们添了些，足够她过得还算舒适。被领养的爱德华在欧洲大陆的游学之旅(2)结束后，娶了古德尼斯通从男爵布鲁克·布里奇的女儿伊丽莎白。其领养者托马斯·奈特死于一七九四年，三年后他的遗孀把哥德莫山姆和查顿的产业交给爱德华，自己拿了一份年金去了坎特伯雷生活。多年后，爱德华让他母亲在这两份产业中任选一处居住，她选了查顿。于是简·奥斯汀一直住在那里，除了中间偶尔访亲问友以外，有时拜访会持续好几个星期之久。最后因为生病，她不得不去了温彻斯特，因为那里的医生比农村的好。一八一七年她死于温彻斯特，安葬在温彻斯特大教堂。

Jane, Mrs. Austen’s younger daughter, was born in 1775. When she was twenty-six, her father resigned his living in favour of his eldest son, who had taken orders, and moved to Bath. He died in 1805, and some months later his widow and daughters settled in Southampton. It was while there that, after paying a call with her mother, Jane wrote to her sister Cassandra: “We found only Mrs. Lance at home, and whether she boasts any offspring besides a grand pianoforte did not appear…They live in a handsome style and are rich, and she seems to like to be rich; we gave her to understand that we were far from being so; she will soon feel that we are not worth her acquaintance.”Mrs. Austen was indeed left badly off, but her sons added enough to her income to enable her to live in tolerable comfort. Edward, after making the Grand Tour, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Brook Bridges, Bart. of Goodnestone; and three years after Thomas Knight’s death in 1794, his widow made over to him Godmersham and Chawton and retired to Canterbury with an annuity. A good many years later, Edward offered his mother a house on either of his estates; she chose Chawton; and there, with occasional visits, sometimes lasting for many weeks, to friends and relations, Jane lived till illness obliged her to go to Winchester in order to put herself in the hands of better doctors than could be found in the country. At Winchester in 1817 she died. She was buried in the Cathedral.

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	founding [’faʊndɪŋ]	n.建立;成立,
	wool [wʊl]	n.羊毛;绒线
	staple [’steɪpl]	vt. (用U形钉或订书钉)钉住;
	knight [naɪt]	n.骑士;爵士;武士
	Oxford [’ɒksfəd]	n.牛津城;牛津大学;牛津
	Clark [klɑːk]	n.克拉克(男子名);克拉克(新泽西州社区)
	Knight [naɪt]	n.骑士;爵士;武士
	hare [heə(r)]	n.野兔
	Chapman [’tʃæpmən]	n.叫卖小贩;商人
	deaf [def]	adj.聋的;充耳不闻的
	Kent [kent]	n.肯特(英国东南部州名)
	Lance [lɑːns]	n.枪矛;矛状器具;鱼叉;配矛骑兵
	offspring [’ɒfsprɪŋ]	n.后代;子孙;产物
	Canterbury [ˈkæntəbrɪ]	n.坎特伯雷(地名)
	annuity [ə’njuːəti]	n.年金;养老金;年金保险
	oblige [ə’blaɪdʒ]	vt.迫使;责成;使感激;施恩于;帮 ... 的忙;使…成为必要
	Cathedral [kə’θiːdrəl]	n.大教堂
	Cassandra [kə’sændrə]	n.【希神】卡珊多拉(特洛伊女预言家)
	pianoforte [piˌænəʊ’fɔːti]	n.钢琴
	acquaintance [ə’kweɪntəns]	n.熟人;相识;了解
	tolerable [’tɒlərəbl]	adj.还不错的;可容忍的
	Brook [brʊk]	n.小河;溪
	Winchester [’wɪntʃɪstə(r)]	n.温彻斯特(英格兰南部城市)