英语沙龙十年合集珍藏版第三辑A Farewell Letter From the Count of Monte Cris
A Farewell Letter From the Count of Monte Cristo
My Dear Maximilian，
There is a felucca1） for you at anchor2)．Jacopo will conduct you to Leghorn，where M．Noirtier waits his granddaughter，whom he wished to bless before you lead her to the altar．All that is in this grotto3)，my friend，my house in the Champs Elysées，and my chteau at Tréport，are the marriage gift bestowed by Edmond Dantes upon the son of his old master，Morrel．Mademoiselle de Villefort will share them with you；for I entreat4) her to give to the poor the immense fortune reverting5) to her from her father，now a madman，and her brother，who died last September with his mother．Tell the angel who will watch over your future destiny，Morrel，to pray sometimes for a man who，like Satan，thought himself，for an instant，equal to God；but who now acknowledges，with Christian humility，that God alone possesses supreme power and in finite wisdom．Perhaps those prayers may soften the remorse6) he feels in his heart．
As for you，Morrel，this is the secret of my conduct towards you．There is neither happiness nor misery in the world；there is only the comparison of one state with another，nothing more．He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness．We must have felt what it is to die，Morrel，that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life．
Live，then，and be happy，beloved children of my heart，and never forget，that until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man，all human wisdom is contained in these two words，――“wait and hope”．
Your friend，
Edmond Dantes，
Count of Monte Cristo
基督山伯爵的告别信
大仲马（Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie Dum as Père １８０２～１８７０）是法国文学史上一位著名的作家，发表了大量的作品，其《基督山伯爵》是当时欧洲影响最大的一部杰作。该书的英译本有多种，这里选用的英文参考了无名氏的版本。译注的信件是该书主人公唐泰斯（Edmond Dantes），即基督山伯爵，在故事结束时给莫雷尔留下的，信中反映了主人公对恩仇往事的醒悟和对未来人生的追求。
亲爱的马克西米利安：
岛边为你们停泊着一艘小帆船。雅各布会把你们带到莱航（里窝那）去，诺瓦蒂埃先生正在那儿等着他的孙女儿，希望能在您领她上圣坛前先为她祝福。我的朋友，这座岩洞里的全部财宝，我在香榭丽舍林荫大道的宅邸，以及在特雷波尔的城堡，都是爱德蒙·唐泰斯送给老主人莫雷尔儿子的结婚礼物。德·维尔福小姐也将与您分享这份礼物，因为我想请她把她从已经发疯的父亲的名下，以及从已于９月份同她继母一起去世的弟弟的名下继承的财产，全部捐赠给受苦的穷人。
莫雷尔，请告诉这位将终生陪伴您的天使，让她有时为这样一个人祈祷。这个人一度曾经像撒旦那样，自以为能跟上帝匹敌，但后来终于怀着一个基督徒的谦卑心情认识到，只有上帝才拥有至高无上的权力和无穷无尽的智慧。她的祈祷，也许可以减轻一些他在心底里感到的内疚。
对于您来说，莫雷尔，我的所作所为是一个秘密。其实在这个世界上既无所谓幸福，也无所谓不幸，有的只是一种状态和另一种状态的比较而已。只有体验过极度不幸的人，才能品尝到最大的幸福。我们必须感受过死的痛苦，才可能珍视生的欢乐。
幸福地生活下去吧，我心爱的孩子们。请你们永远记住：在上帝为人们揭示未来情景之前，人类的全部智慧就包含在这几个字里：
等待和希望。
您的朋友
爱德蒙·唐泰斯
基督山伯爵
NOTE 注释：
1. felucca [fe5lQkE] n. (尤指地中海沿岸)三桅小帆船
2. anchor [5ANkE] n. 锚
3. grotto [5^rCtEu] n. 洞穴, 岩穴
4. entreat [In5tri:t] vt. 恳求；恳请
5. revert [ri5vE:t] v. 回复
6. remorse [ri5mC:s] n. 内疚，自责
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