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先生，怪我太直率了，请你原谅。我本应当说，像容貌这样的问题，不是轻易可以当场回答的；应当说人的审美趣味各有不同；应当说漂亮并不重要，或者诸如此类的话。" "You ought to have replied no such thing. Beauty of littleconsequence, indeed! And so, under pretence of softening theprevious outrage, of stroking and soothing me into placidity, youstick a sly penknife under my ear! Go on: what fault do you findwith me, pray? I suppose I have all my limbs and all my featureslike any other man?"" 你本来就不应当这样来回答。漂亮并不重要，确实如此！原来你是假装要缓和一下刚才的无礼态度，抚慰我使我心平气和，而实际上你是在我耳朵下面狡猾地捅了一刀。讲下去，请问你发现我有什么缺点？我想我像别人一样有鼻子有眼睛的。" "Mr. Rochester, allow me to disown my first answer: I intended nopointed repartee: it was only a blunder."" 罗切斯特先生，请允许我收回我第一个回答。我并无妙语伤人的意思，只不过是失言而已。" "Just so: I think so: and you shall be answerable for it.Criticise me: does my forehead not please you?"" 就是这么回事，我想是这样。而你要对此负责。你就挑我的毛病吧，我的前额使你不愉快吗？" He lifted up the sable waves of hair which lay horizontally over hisbrow, and showed a solid enough mass of intellectual organs, but anabrupt deficiency where the suave sign of benevolence should haverisen. 他抓起了横贴在额前的波浪似的黑发，露出一大块坚实的智力器官，但是却缺乏那种本该有的仁慈敦厚的迹象。 
好吧，小姐，我是个傻瓜吗？" "Far from it, sir. You would, perhaps, think me rude if I inquiredin return whether you are a philanthropist?"" 绝对不是这样，先生。要是我反过来问你是不是一个慈善家，你也会认为我粗暴无礼吗？" "There again! Another stick of the penknife, when she pretended topat my head: and that is because I said I did not like the societyof children and old women (low be it spoken!). No, young lady, I amnot a general philanthropist; but I bear a conscience;" and hepointed to the prominences which are said to indicate that faculty,and which, fortunately for him, were sufficiently conspicuous;giving, indeed, a marked breadth to the upper part of his head:"and, besides, I once had a kind of rude tenderness of heart. WhenI was as old as you, I was a feeling fellow enough, partial to theunfledged, unfostered, and unlucky; but Fortune has knocked me aboutsince: she has even kneaded me with her knuckles, and now I flattermyself I am hard and tough as an India-rubber ball; pervious,though, through a chink or two still, and with one sentient point inthe middle of the lump. Yes: does that leave hope for me?"" 你又来了！又捅了我一刀，一面还假装拍拍我的头。那是因为我曾说我不喜欢同孩子和老人在一起（轻声点儿！）。不，年轻小姐，我不是一个一般意义上的慈善家，不过我有一颗良心。"于是他指了指据说是表示良心的突出的地方。幸亏对他来说，那地方很显眼，使他脑袋的上半部有着引人注目的宽度。"此外，我曾有过一种原始的柔情。在我同你一样年纪的时候，我是一个富有同情心的人，偏爱羽毛未丰、无人养育和不幸的人，但是命运却一直打击我，甚至用指关节揉面似地揉我，现在我庆幸自己像一个印度皮球那样坚韧了，不过通过一两处空隙还能渗透到里面。在这一块东西的中心，还有一个敏感点。是的，那使我还能有希望吗？" "Hope of what, sir?"" 希望什么，先生？" "Of my final re-transformation from India-rubber back to flesh?"" 希望我最终从印度皮球再次转变为血肉之躯吗？" 
他肯定是酒喝多了，"我想。我不知道该如何来回答这个奇怪的问题。我怎么知道他是不是可能被转变过来呢？ "You looked very much puzzled, Miss Eyre; and though you are notpretty any more than I am handsome, yet a puzzled air becomes you;besides, it is convenient, for it keeps those searching eyes ofyours away from my physiognomy, and busies them with the worstedflowers of the rug; so puzzle on. Young lady, I am disposed to begregarious and communicative to-night."" 你看来大惑不解，爱小姐，而你虽然并不漂亮，就像我并不英俊一样，但那种迷惑的神情却同你十分相称。此外，这样倒也好，可以把你那种搜寻的目光，从我的脸上转移到别处去，忙着去看毛毯上的花朵。那你就迷惑下去吧。年轻小姐，今儿晚上我爱凑热闹，也很健谈。" With this announcement he rose from his chair, and stood, leaninghis arm on the marble mantelpiece: in that attitude his shape wasseen plainly as well as his face; his unusual breadth of chest,disproportionate almost to his length of limb. I am sure mostpeople would have thought him an ugly man; yet there was so muchunconscious pride in his port; so much ease in his demeanour; such alook of complete indifference to his own external appearance; sohaughty a reliance on the power of other qualities, intrinsic oradventitious, to atone for the lack of mere personal attractiveness,that, in looking at him, one inevitably shared the indifference,and, even in a blind, imperfect sense, put faith in the confidence. 宣布完毕，他便从椅子上立起来。他伫立着，胳膊倚在大理石壁炉架上。这种姿势使他的体形像面容一样可以看得一清二楚。他的胸部出奇地宽阔，同他四肢的长度不成比例。我敢肯定，大多数人都认为他是个丑陋的男人，但是他举止中却无意识地流露出那么明显的傲慢，在行为方面又那么从容自如，对自已的外表显得那么毫不在乎，又是那么高傲地依赖其他内在或外来的特质的力量，来弥补自身魅力的缺乏。因此，你一瞧着他，就会不由自主地被他的漠然态度所感染，甚至盲目片面地对他的自信表示信服。 "I am disposed to be gregarious and communicative to-night," herepeated, "and that is why I sent for you: the fire and thechandelier were not sufficient company for me; nor would Pilot havebeen, for none of these can talk. Adele is a degree better, butstill far below the mark; Mrs. Fairfax ditto; you, I am persuaded,can suit me if you will: you puzzled me the first evening I invitedyou down here. I have almost forgotten you since: other ideas havedriven yours from my head; but to-night I am resolved to be at ease;to dismiss what importunes, and recall what pleases. It wouldplease me now to draw you out--to learn more of you--thereforespeak."" 今天晚上我爱凑热闹，也健谈，"他重复了这句话。"这就是我要请你来的原因。炉火和吊灯还不足陪伴我，派洛特也不行，因为它们都不会说话。阿黛勒稍微好一些，但还是远远低于标准。费尔法克斯太太同样如此。而你，我相信是合我意的，要是你愿意。第一天晚上我邀请你下楼到这里来的时候，你就使我迷惑不解。从那时候起，我已几乎把你忘了。脑子里尽想着其他事情，顾不上你。不过今天晚上我决定安闲自在些，忘掉纠缠不休的念头，回忆回忆愉快的事儿。现在我乐于把你的情况掏出来，进一步了解你，所以你就说吧 " Instead of speaking, I smiled; and not a very complacent orsubmissive smile either. 我没有说话，却代之以微笑，既不特别得意，也不顺从。 
说吧，"他催促着。 "What about, sir?"" 说什么呢，先生。" "Whatever you like. I leave both the choice of subject and themanner of treating it entirely to yourself."" 爱说什么就说什么，说的内容和方式，全由你自己选择吧。" Accordingly I sat and said nothing: "If he expects me to talk forthe mere sake of talking and showing off, he will find he hasaddressed himself to the wrong person," I thought. 结果我还是端坐着，什么也没有说。"要是他希望我为说而说，炫耀一番，那他会发现他找错了人啦，"我想。 "You are dumb, Miss Eyre."" 你一声不吭，爱小姐。" 
我依然一声不吭。他向我微微低下头来，匆匆地投过来一瞥，似乎要探究我的眼睛。 "Stubborn?" he said, "and annoyed. Ah! it is consistent. I put myrequest in an absurd, almost insolent form. Miss Eyre, I beg yourpardon. The fact is, once for all, I don't wish to treat you likean inferior: that is" (correcting himself), "I claim only suchsuperiority as must result from twenty years' difference in age anda century's advance in experience. This is legitimate, et j'ytiens, as Adele would say; and it is by virtue of this superiority,and this alone, that I desire you to have the goodness to talk to mea little now, and divert my thoughts, which are galled with dwellingon one point--cankering as a rusty nail."" 固执？"他说，"而且生气了。噢，这是一致的。我提出要求的方式，荒谬而近乎蛮横。爱小姐，请你原谅。实际上，我永远不想把你当作下人看待。那就是（纠正我自己），我有比你强的地方，但那只不过是年龄上大二十岁，经历上相差一个世纪的必然结果。这是合理的，就像阿黛勒会说的那样，et j' y tiens。而凭借这种优势，也仅仅如此而已，我想请你跟我谈一会儿，转移一下我的思想苦苦纠缠在一点上，像一根生锈的钉子那样正在腐蚀着。" He had deigned an explanation, almost an apology, and I did not feelinsensible to his condescension, and would not seem so. 他己降格作了解释。近乎道歉。我对他的屈尊俯就并没有无动于衷，也不想显得如此。 "I am willing to amuse you, if I can, sir--quite willing; but Icannot introduce a topic, because how do I know what will interestyou? Ask me questions, and I will do my best to answer them."" 先生，只要我能够，我是乐意为你解闷的，十分乐意。不过我不能随便谈个话题，因为我怎么知道你对什么感兴趣呢？你提问吧，我尽力回答。" "Then, in the first place, do you agree with me that I have a rightto be a little masterful, abrupt, perhaps exacting, sometimes, onthe grounds I stated, namely, that I am old enough to be yourfather, and that I have battled through a varied experience withmany men of many nations, and roamed over half the globe, while youhave lived quietly with one set of people in one house?"" 那么首先一个问题是，你同不同意，基于我所陈述的理由，我有权在某些时候稍微专横、唐突或者严厉些呢？我的理由是，按我的年纪。我可以做你的父亲，而且有着多变的人生阅历，同很多国家的很多人打过交道。漂泊了半个地球。而你却是太太平平地跟同一类人生活在同一幢房子里。"
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