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“不是这么回事，因为您爱着玛格丽特，您是想做我的情人来报复她。我这样的女人是不会受欺骗的。遗憾的是我太年轻，太漂亮了，接受您要我扮演的角色是不合适的。” 'So you refuse?' “这么说，您拒绝了？” 'Yes.' “是的。” 'Would you rather have me for love than money? If so, I should be the one to refuse. Think, my dear Olympe. If I'd sent somebody or other along to offer you these same three hundred louis on my behalf and on the same terms that I have set out, you would have accepted. I preferred to deal with you directly. Say yes, and don't look for motives behind what I'm doing. Keep telling yourself that you're beautiful, that there's nothing surprising in the fact that I'm in love with you.' “难道您宁愿白白地爱我吗？那我是不会接受的。您想，亲爱的奥林普，我本来可以派一个人带着我的条件来代我送上这三百个路易，这样您可能会接受的。可是我还是喜欢和您当面谈。接受吧，别管我这样做的原因是什么；您说您长得漂亮，那么我爱上您也就不足为奇了。” Marguerite was a kept woman like Olympe, and yet the first time I saw her, I would never have dared say to her what I had just said to this woman. The difference was that I loved Marguerite, and had sensed instincts in her which were lacking in this other creature who, for all her very great beauty, even as I put the arrangement to her and prepared to agree terms, sickened me. 玛格丽特像奥林普一样是个妓女，但我在第一次看见她时决不敢对她说我刚才对这个女人说的话。这说明了我爱玛格丽特，这说明了我感到在玛格丽特身上有一些这个女人身上所缺少的东西。甚至就在我跟她谈这次交易的时候，尽管她长得千娇百媚，我还是非常讨厌这个和我谈生意的女人。 
当然啦，她最后还是接受了。中午我从她家里出来时我已经是她的情人了。为了我给她的六千法郎，她认为不能不好好地和我说些情话，亲热一番；但是我一离开她的床，就把这一切抛在脑后去了。 And yet men had ruined themselves for that woman. 然而也有人为了她而倾家荡产的。 Starting from that day, I subjected Marguerite to constant persecution. Olympe and she stopped seeing each other: you can easily understand why. I gave my new mistress a carriage and jewels, I gambled and, in a word, committed all the follies which a man in love with a woman like Olympe normally commits. Rumours of my new passion spread at once. 从这一天起，我每时每刻都在虐待玛格丽特。奥林普和她不再见面了，原因您也可想而知。我送了一辆马车和一些首饰给我新结交的情妇。我赌钱，最后我就像一个爱上了奥林普这样一个女人的男人一样做了各种各样的荒唐事，我又有了新欢的消息很快就传开了。 Even Prudence was taken in by them and ended up believing that I had completely forgotten Marguerite. Marguerite, either because she guessed the motive which drove me or because she was deceived like everyone else, responded with great dignity to the slights I inflicted on her every day. Yet she appeared to be ill, for everywhere I met her I found her looking paler and paler and increasingly sad. My love for her, exalted to the point where it felt as though it had turned to hate, revelled in the spectacle of her daily sufferings. Several times, in situations where I behaved with unspeakable cruelty, Marguerite looked at me with such imploring eyes that I reddened at the role I had chosen to play, and came near to asking for her forgiveness. 普律当丝也上了当，她终于也相信我已经完全忘记了玛格丽特。对玛格丽特来说，要么她已经猜到了我这样做的动机，要么她和别人一样受骗了。她怀着高度的自尊心来对付我每天给她的侮辱。不过她看上去很痛苦，因为不论我在哪里遇到她，我看到她的脸色总是一次比一次苍白，一次比一次忧伤。我对她的爱情过于强烈以致变成了仇恨，看到她每天都这样痛苦，我心里很舒服。有几次在我卑鄙残酷地折磨她时，玛格丽特用她苦苦哀求的眼光望着我，以致我对自己扮演的那种角色感到脸红，我几乎要求她原谅我了。 But my repentance never lasted longer than a flash of lightning. Besides, Olympe, who in the end had set aside all thought of self-respect and realized that by hurting Marguerite she could get anything she wanted out of me, constantly set me against her and, whenever she had the chance, insulted her with the relentless cowardice of a woman who has the backing of a man. 但是这种内疚的心情转瞬即逝，而奥林普最后把自尊心全都撇在一边，她知道只要折磨玛格丽特就可以从我这里得到她需要的一切。她不断地挑唆我和玛格丽特为难，一有机会她就凌辱玛格丽特，像一个后面有男人撑腰的女人一样，她的手段总是非常卑劣的。 
玛格丽特最后只能不再去参加舞会，也不去戏院看戏了，她害怕在那些地方遇到奥林普和我。这时候写匿名信就代替了当面挑衅，只要是见不得人的事，都往玛格丽特身上栽；让我情妇去散布，我自己也去散布。 I must have taken leave of my senses to allow affairs to come to such a pass. I was like a man who has got fighting drunk and falls into an uncontrollable rage in which his hand is quite capable of committing a crime without involving his mind. In the midst of it all, I went through torment. The way Marguerite reacted to all my attacks ? with a calmness that was as free of scorn as her dignity was of contempt ? made her my superior even in my eyes, but served only to provoke me further. 只有疯子才会做出这些事情来，那时候我精神亢奋，就像一个灌饱了劣酒的醉汉一样，很可能手里在犯罪，脑子里还没有意识到。在于这一切事情的时候，我心里是非常痛苦的。面对我这些挑衅，玛格丽特的态度是安详而不轻蔑，尊严而不鄙视，这使我觉得她比我高尚，也促使我更加生她的气。 One evening, Olympe had gone out somewhere and met Marguerite who, on this occasion, did not spare the stupid girl who insulted her, and things reached the point where Olympe was forced to back down. She came back seething. Marguerite, who had fainted, had to be carried home. 一天晚上，不知道奥林普在哪里碰到了玛格丽特，这一次玛格丽特没有放过这个侮辱她的蠢姑娘，一直到奥林普不得不让步才罢休。奥林普回来时怒气冲冲，玛格丽特则在昏厥中被抬了回去。 As soon as she came in, Olympe told me what had happened. She said that when Marguerite had seen that she was by herself, she had wanted revenge because Olympe was my mistress. She said that I had to write a letter saying that, whether I was with her or not, the woman I loved was to be respected. 奥林普回来以后，对我诉说了刚才发生的事情，她对我说，玛格丽特看到她只有一个人就想报仇，因为她做了我的情妇。奥林普要我写信告诉她，以后不管我在不在场，她都应该尊敬我所爱的女人。 I have no need to tell you that I agreed. I put everything bitter, shameful and cruel I could think of into that missive which I sent to her home address that same day. 不用多说，我同意这样做了。我把所有我能找到的挖苦的、羞辱的和残忍的话一古脑儿全写在这封信里面，这封信我当天就寄到了她的家里。 
这次打击太厉害了，这个不幸的女人不能再默默地忍受了。 I was confident that a reply would be delivered. Accordingly, I was determined not to go out all that day. 我猜想一定会收到回信的。因此我决定整天不出门。 Around two o'clock, there was a ring at the door and Prudence was shown in. 两点钟光景有人拉铃，我看到普律当丝进来了。 I tried to appear unconcerned as I asked her to what I owed her visit. But that day Madame Duvernoy was in no mood for laughter and, sounding terribly upset, she pointed out that since my return, that is for the last three weeks or so, I had not missed an opportunity to hurt Marguerite. It was making her ill. The scene the night before, and the letter I'd sent that morning, had forced her to take to her bed. 我试着装出一副若无其事的模样问她来找我有什么事。这天迪韦尔诺瓦太太可一丝笑容也没有，她用一种严肃而激动的声调对我说，自从我回到巴黎以后，也就是说将近三个星期以来，我没有放过一次机会不折磨玛格丽特，因此她生病了。昨天晚上那场风波和今天早晨我那封信使她躺倒在床上。 And so, without framing a single reproach, Marguerite had sent to ask for mercy, informing me that she no longer had either the emotional nor physical strength to endure what I was doing to her. 总之，玛格丽特并没有责备我，而是托人向我求情，说她精神上和肉体上再也忍受不了我对她的所作所为。 
“戈蒂埃小姐把我从她家里赶走，”我对普律当丝说，“那是她的权利，但是她要侮辱一个我所爱的女人，还借口说这个女人是我的情妇，这我是绝对不能答应的。” 'My dear, ' said Prudence, 'you're being ruled by the influence of a heartless, thoughtless, common girl. You love her, it's true, but that's no reason for tormenting a woman who can't defend herself.' “我的朋友，”普律当丝对我说，“您受了一个既无头脑又无心肝的姑娘的影响了；您爱她，这是真的，但这不能成为可以欺凌一个不能自卫的女人的理由呀。” 'Let Mademoiselle Gautier send her Count de N to me and the game will be even.' “让戈蒂埃小姐把她的N伯爵给我打发走，我就算了。” 'You know very well she'll never do that. So let her be, dear Armand. If you saw her, you'd be ashamed of the way you're behaving towards her. She's got no colour, and she's coughing. She's not long for this world now.' “您很清楚她是不会这样干的。因此，亲爱的阿尔芒，您让她安静点吧。如果您看到她，您会因为您对待她的方式感到惭愧。她脸色苍白，她咳嗽，她的日子不长了。” Prudence held out her hand to me and added: 普律当丝伸手给我，又加了一句： 
“来看看她吧，您来看她，她会非常高兴的。” 'I have no wish to meet Monsieur de N.' “我不愿碰到N先生。” 'Monsieur de N is never there. She can't stand him.' “N先生决不会在她家里，她受不了他。”
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