Justine 淑女的眼泪 Chapter 37

And therewith I pierce the next hedge; this one was thicker than the first: the further I progressed, the stouter ¹ they became. The hole was made, however, but there was firm ground beyond... nothing more betrayed the same horrors I had just encountered; and thus I arrived at the brink ² of the moat without having met with the wall Omphale had spoken of; indeed, there turned out to be none at all, and it is likely that the monks ³ mentioned it merely to add to our fear. Less shut in when beyond the sextuple enclosure, I was better able to distinguish objects: my eyes at once beheld ⁴ the church and the bulk of the adjacent building; the moat bordered each of them; I was careful not to attempt to cross it at this point; I moved along the edge and finally discovering myself opposite one of the forest roads, I resolved to make my crossing there and to dash down that road as soon as I had climbed up the other side of the ditch; it was very deep but, to my good fortune, dry and lined with brick, which eliminated all possibilities of slipping; then leapt: a little dazed by my fall, it was a few moments before I got to my feet... I went ahead, got to the further side without meeting any obstacle, but how was I to climb it! I spent some time seeking a means and at last found one where several broken bricks at once gave me the opportunity to use the others as steps and to dig foot-holds in order to mount; I had almost reached the top.when something gave way beneath my weight and I fell back into the moat under the debris ⁶ I dragged with me; I thought myself dead; this involuntary fall had been more severe than the other; I was, as well, entirely ⁷ covered with the material which had followed me; some had struck my head... it was cut and bleeding. O God! I cried out in despair, go no further; stay there; 'tis a warning sent from Heaven; God does not want me to go on: perhaps I am deceived in my ideas, perhaps evil is useful on earth, and when God's hand desires it, perhaps it is a sin to resist it! But, soon revolted by that doctrine ⁸, the too wretched fruit of the corruption ⁹ which had surrounded me, I extricated ¹⁰ myself from the pile of rubble ¹¹ on top of me and finding it easier to climb by the breach ¹² I had just made, for now there were new holes, I try once again, I take courage, a moment later I find myself at the crest ¹³. Because of all this I had strayed away from the path I had seen, but having taken careful note of its position, I found it again, and began to run. Before day-break I reached the forest's edge and was soon upon that little hill from which, six long months before, I had, to my sorrow, espied ¹⁴ that frightful ¹⁵ monastery ¹⁶; I rest a few minutes, I am bathed in perspiration ¹⁷; my first thought is to fall upon my knees and beg God to forgive the sins I unwillingly ¹⁸ committed in that odious ¹⁹ asylum ²⁰ of crime and impurity ²¹; tears of regret soon flowed from my eyes. Alas ²²! I said, I was far less a criminal when last year I left this same road, guided by a devout ²³ principle so fatally deceived! O God! In what state may I now behold ²⁴ myself! These lugubrious ²⁵ reflections were in some wise mitigated ²⁶ by the pleasure of discovering I was free; I continued along the road toward Dijon, supposing it would only be in that capital my complaints could be legitimately ²⁷ lodged ²⁸...., ,At this point Madame de Lorsange persuaded Therese to catch her breath for a few minutes at least; she needed the rest; the emotion she put into her narrative ²⁹, the wounds these dreadful recitals ³⁰ reopened in her soul, everything, in short, obliged her to resort to a brief respite ³¹. Monsieur de Corville had refreshments ³² brought in, and after collecting her forces, our heroine set out again to pursue her deplorable adventures in great detail, as you shall see., ,By the second day all my initial fears of pursuit had dissipated; the weather was extremely warm and, following my thrifty ³³ habit, I left the road to find a sheltered place where I could eat a light meal that would fortify ³⁴ me till evening. Off the road to the right stood a little grove ³⁵ of trees through which wound a limpid ³⁶ stream; this seemed a good spot for my lunch. My thirst quenched ³⁷ by this pure cool water, nourished by a little bread, my back leaning against a tree trunk, I breathed deep draughts ³⁸ of clear, serene ³⁹ air which relaxed me and was soothing ⁴⁰. Resting there, my thoughts dwelled upon the almost unexampled fatality ⁴¹ which, despite the thorns strewn thick along the career of Virtue ⁴², repeatedly brought me back, whatever might happen, to the worship of that Divinity and to acts of love and resignation toward the Supreme ⁴³ Being from Whom Virtue emanates ⁴⁴ and of Whom it is the image. A kind of enthusiasm came and took possession of me; alas! I said to myself, He abandons me not, this God I adore, for even at this instant I find the means to recover my strength. Is it not to Him I owe this merciful favor? And are there not persons in the world to whom it is refused? I am then not completely unfortunate because there are some who have more to complain of than I.... Ah! am I not much less so than the unlucky ones I left in that den ⁴⁵ of iniquity ⁴⁶ and vice ⁴⁷ from which God's kindness caused me to emerge as if by some sort of miracle?... And full of gratitude ⁴⁸ I threw myself upon my knees, raised my eyes, and fixing the sun, for it seemed to me the Divinity's most splendid achievement, the one which best manifests His greatness, I was drawing from that Star's sublimity ⁴⁹ new motives ⁵⁰ for prayer and good works when all of a sudden I felt myself seized by two men who, having cast something over my head to prevent me from seeing and crying out, bound me like a criminal and dragged me away without uttering a word.#p#分页标题#e#, , ,"Ah," I say to one of my guides, "ah Monsieur, will you tell me where I am being conducted? May I not ask what you intend to do with me ?", ,"Be at ease, my child," the man replied, "and do not let the precautions we are obliged to take cause you any fright; we are leading you to a good master; weighty considerations engage him to procure ⁵² a maid for his wife by means of this mysterious process, but never fear, you will find yourself well off.", ,Why hadn't she thought of putting on stouter shoes last night? 她昨天晚上怎么没想起换上一双硬些的鞋呢？,The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘
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