"Oh! shocking!" cried Miss Bingley. "I never heard any thing so abominable. How shall we punish him for such a speech?"
“噢,吓坏人!”彬格莱小姐叫起来了。“我从来没听到过这么毒辣的话。──亏他说得出,该怎么罚他呀?”
"Nothing so easy, if you have but the inclination," said Elizabeth. "We can all plague and punish one another. Teaze him -- laugh at him. -- Intimate as you are, you must know how it is to be done."
“要是你存心罚他,那是再容易不过的事,”伊丽莎白说。“彼此都可以罚来罚去,折磨来折磨去。作弄他一番吧──讥笑他一番吧。你们既然这么相熟,你该懂得怎么对付他呀。”
"But upon my honour I do not. I do assure you that my intimacy has not yet taught me that. Teaze calmness of temper and presence of mind! No, no -- I feel he may defy us there. And as to laughter, we will not expose ourselves, if you please, by attempting to laugh without a subject. Mr. Darcy may hug himself."
“天地良心,我不懂得。不瞒你说,我们虽然相熟,可是要懂得怎样来对付他,不差得远呢。想要对付这种性格冷静和头脑机灵的人,可不容易!不行,不行,我想我们是搞不过他的。至于讥笑他,说句你不生气的话,我们可不能凭空笑人家,弄得反而惹人笑话。让达西先生去自鸣得意吧。”
"Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!" cried Elizabeth. "That is an uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for it would be a great loss to me to have many such acquaintance. I dearly love a laugh."
“原来达西先生是不能让人笑话的!”伊丽莎白嚷道。“这种优越的条件倒真少有,我希望一直不要多,这样的朋友多了,我的损失可大啦。我特别喜欢笑话。”
"Miss Bingley," said he, "has given me credit for more than can be. The wisest and the best of men, nay, the wisest and best of their actions, may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke."
“彬格莱小姐过奖我啦。”他说。“要是一个人把开玩笑当作人生最重要的事,那么,最聪明最优秀的人───不,最聪明最优秀的行为───也就会变得可笑了。”
"Certainly," replied Elizabeth -- "there are such people, but I hope I am not one of them. I hope I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can. -- But these, I suppose, are precisely what you are without."
“那当然罗,”伊丽莎白回答道,“这样的人的确有,可是我希望我自己不在其内。我希望我怎么样也不会讥笑聪明的行为或者是良好的行为。愚蠢和无聊,荒唐和矛盾,这的确叫我觉得好笑,我自己也承认,我只要能够加以讥笑,总是加以讥笑。不过我觉得这些弱点正是你身上所没有的。”
"Perhaps that is not possible for any one. But it has been the study of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a strong understanding to ridicule."
“或许谁都还会有这些弱点,否则可真糟了,绝顶的聪慧也要招人嘲笑了。我一生都在研究该怎么样避免这些弱点。”
"Such as vanity and pride."
“例如虚荣和傲慢就是属于这一类弱点。”
"Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride -- where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good regulation."
“不错,虚荣的确是个弱点。可是傲慢──只要你果真聪明过人──你就会傲慢得比较有分寸。”
Elizabeth turned away to hide a smile.
伊丽莎白掉过头去,免得人家看见她发笑。