The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 4
尽管他们所画的人物形象再可笑、再失真不过，却不乏赞助人和仰慕者；
Although nothing could be more ludicrous and unnatural than the figures they drew, they did not want patrons and admirers;
世人竟真的开始沾染上骑士精神的风气，
and the world actually began to be infected with the spirit of knight-errantry,
直到塞万提斯以一部无与伦比的讽刺之作，矫正了世人的品味，
when Cervantes, by an inimitable piece of ridicule, reformed the taste of mankind,
将骑士精神以其本来面目呈现出来，
representing chivalry in the right point of view,
并将传奇故事转化为更加有益而有趣的用途，让它穿上喜剧的戏服，揭示日常生活中的种种愚行。
and converting romance to purposes far more useful and entertaining, by making it assume the sock, and point out the follies of ordinary life.
其他西班牙和法国作家也采用了同样的方法，
The same method has been practised by other Spanish and French authors,
其中最为成功的莫过于勒萨日先生，
and by none more successfully than by Monsieur Le Sage,
他在《吉尔·布拉斯历险记》中以无穷的幽默与睿智，描绘了世间的奸诈与人性的弱点。
who, in his Adventures of Gil Blas, has described the knavery and foibles of life, with infinite humour and sagacity.
以下篇章乃以其篇章结构为蓝本，
The following sheets I have modelled on his plan,
然而我保留了自行变通的自由，凡觉得他所设定的特定情境过于罕见、荒诞，或过于局限于故事发生地的国情之处，便加以调整。
taking me liberty, however, to differ from him in the execution, where I thought his particular situations were uncommon, extravagant, or peculiar to the country in which the scene is laid.
吉尔·布拉斯所遭受的种种不幸，大多只令人发笑，而非引人怜悯；
The disgraces of Gil Blas are, for the most part, such as rather excite mirth than compassion;
他自己也对此一笑而过；
he himself laughs at them;
而他从困境到幸福、或至少到安逸的转变来得如此突然，以至于读者来不及同情他，他自己也来不及深尝苦难的滋味。
and his transitions from distress to happiness, or at least ease, are so sudden, that neither the reader has time to pity him, nor himself to be acquainted with affliction.
依我之见，这种处理方式不仅偏离了情理，
This conduct, in my opinion, not only deviates from probability,
更压制了那种正当的义愤——而正是这种义愤，本应激励读者去抵制世间卑鄙龌龊的人性与风气。
but prevents that generous indignation, which ought to animate the reader against the sordid and vicious disposition of the world.
Vocabulary
- Although
- 虽然、尽管
- nothing
- 没有任何东西、毫无
- could
- 能够、可能
- be
- 是、存在
- more
- 更多、更加
- ludicrous
- 荒唐可笑的、极其愚蠢的
- and
- 和、与
- unnatural
- 不自然的、违反常理的
- than
- 比、超过
- figures
- 人物、形象、数字
- they
- 他们、她们、它们
- drew
- 画、绘制、吸引
- did
- 做、实施
- not
- 不、没有
- want
- 想要、需要
- patrons
- 赞助者、顾客、保护人
- admirers
- 崇拜者、仰慕者
- world
- 世界、世人、领域
- actually
- 实际上、真正地
- began
- 开始、着手
- infected
- 感染、受污染的
- spirit
- 精神、灵魂、风气
- inimitable
- 无法模仿的、独特的
- piece
- 作品、件、片段
- ridicule
- 嘲笑、嘲讽、讽刺
- reformed
- 改革、改正、革新
- taste
- 品味、审美、爱好
- mankind
- 人类、人种
- representing
- 代表、表现、描绘
- chivalry
- 骑士精神、骑士制度
- right
- 正确的、右边、权利
- point
- 要点、观点、指向
- view
- 观点、景象、看法
- converting
- 转换、改变、转变
- romance
- 浪漫、冒险故事、传奇
- purposes
- 目的、意图、用途
- far
- 远、远得多、很
- useful
- 有用的、实用的
- entertaining
- 有趣的、娱乐的、令人愉快的
- making
- 制造、制作、使得
- assume
- 假设、承担、采取
- sock
- 袜子、打击
- follies
- 愚蠢、荒唐的事、傻事
- ordinary
- 普通的、平常的、日常的
- life
- 生活、生命、人生
- same
- 相同的、一样的
- method
- 方法、手段、方式
- been
- 是、曾是
- practised
- 实践、实行、练习
- other
- 其他的、另外的
- Spanish
- 西班牙的、西班牙语
- French
- 法国的、法语
- authors
- 作者、著者
- none
- 没有一个、无人
- successfully
- 成功地、顺利地
- Sage
- 智者、贤者、鼠尾草
- Adventures
- 冒险、奇遇、冒险故事
- described
- 描述、描绘、记述
- knavery
- 流氓行为、欺诈、无赖行径
- foibles
- 弱点、缺点、小毛病
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