The King in Yellow — Page 7

那些邪恶的书页中没有违背任何明确的原则，没有宣扬任何教义，也没有冒犯任何信念。

No definite principles had been violated in those wicked pages, no doctrine promulgated, no convictions outraged.

它无法用任何已知的标准来评判，然而，尽管人们承认《黄衣之王》达到了艺术的最高境界，所有人都感到人性无法承受这种重压，也无法在那些潜藏着最纯粹毒素精华的文字中得以滋养。

It could not be judged by any known standard, yet, although it was acknowledged that the supreme note of art had been struck in The King in Yellow, all felt that human nature could not bear the strain, nor thrive on words in which the essence of purest poison lurked.

第一幕的平淡无奇与天真无邪，恰恰使得随后的打击以更为可怖的力量降临。

The very banality and innocence of the first act only allowed the blow to fall afterward with more awful effect.

我记得，1920年4月13日，第一座政府安乐死室在华盛顿广场南侧、伍斯特街与南第五大道之间正式建立。

It was, I remember, the 13th day of April, 1920, that the first Government Lethal Chamber was established on the south side of Washington Square, between Wooster Street and South Fifth Avenue.

那片街区原本由一批破旧的老建筑组成，曾用作面向外国人的咖啡馆和餐厅，于1898年冬天被政府收购。

The block which had formerly consisted of a lot of shabby old buildings, used as cafés and restaurants for foreigners, had been acquired by the Government in the winter of 1898.

那些法国和意大利的咖啡馆与餐厅被拆除了；整个街区被镀金的铁栏杆围了起来，改建成一座美丽的花园，园内有草坪、花卉和喷泉。

The French and Italian cafés and restaurants were torn down; the whole block was enclosed by a gilded iron railing, and converted into a lovely garden with lawns, flowers and fountains.

花园中央矗立着一座小巧的白色建筑，建筑风格严谨的古典主义，四周被繁茂的花丛所环绕。

In the centre of the garden stood a small, white building, severely classical in architecture, and surrounded by thickets of flowers.

六根爱奥尼亚式立柱支撑着屋顶，唯一的一扇门是青铜制成的。

Six Ionic columns supported the roof, and the single door was of bronze.

门前矗立着一组精美的大理石雕塑群——"命运三女神"，出自一位年轻的美国雕塑家鲍里斯·伊万之手，他在巴黎去世时年仅二十三岁。

A splendid marble group of the "Fates" stood before the door, the work of a young American sculptor, Boris Yvain, who had died in Paris when only twenty-three years old.