(单词翻译:单击)
名著阅读
'Mr Carker grinned at him like a shark, but in an absent, thoughtful manner.
'Whether,' submitted Mr Perch, after a short silence, and another cough, 'it mightn't be best for me to tell him, that if he was seen here any more he would be given into custody; and to keep to it! With respect to bodily fear,' said Mr Perch, 'I'm so timid, myself, by nature, Sir, and my nerves is so unstrung by Mrs Perch's state, that I could take my affidavit easy.'
'Let me see this fellow, Perch,' said Mr Carker. 'Bring him in!'
'Yes, Sir. Begging your pardon, Sir,' said Mr Perch, hesitating at the door, 'he's rough, Sir, in appearance.'
'Never mind. If he's there, bring him in. I'll see Mr Gills directly. Ask him to wait.'
Mr Perch bowed; and shutting the door, as precisely and carefully as if he were not coming back for a week, went on his quest among the sparrows in the court. While he was gone, Mr Carker assumed his favourite attitude before the fire-place, and stood looking at the door; presenting, with his under lip tucked into the smile that showed his whole row of upper teeth, a singularly crouching apace.
The messenger was not long in returning, followed by a pair of heavy boots that came bumping along the passage like boxes. With the unceremonious words 'Come along with you!' - a very unusual form of introduction from his lips - Mr Perch then ushered into the presence a strong-built lad of fifteen, with a round red face, a round sleek head, round black eyes, round limbs, and round body, who, to carry out the general rotundity of his appearance, had a round hat in his hand, without a particle of brim to it.
Obedient to a nod from Mr Carker, Perch had no sooner confronted the visitor with that gentleman than he withdrew. The moment they were face to face alone, Mr Carker, without a word of preparation, took him by the throat, and shook him until his head seemed loose upon his shoulders.
The boy, who in the midst of his astonishment could not help staring wildly at the gentleman with so many white teeth who was choking him, and at the office walls, as though determined, if he were choked, that his last look should be at the mysteries for his intrusion into which he was paying such a severe penalty, at last contrived to utter -
'Come, Sir! You let me alone, will you!'
'Let you alone!' said Mr Carker. 'What! I have got you, have I?' There was no doubt of that, and tightly too. 'You dog,' said Mr Carker, through his set jaws, 'I'll strangle you!'
Biler whimpered, would he though? oh no he wouldn't - and what was he doing of - and why didn't he strangle some- body of his own size and not him: but Biler was quelled by the extraordinary nature of his reception, and, as his head became stationary, and he looked the gentleman in the face, or rather in the teeth, and saw him snarling at him, he so far forgot his manhood as to cry.
'I haven't done nothing to you, Sir,' said Biler, otherwise Rob, otherwise Grinder, and always Toodle.
'You young scoundrel!' replied Mr Carker, slowly releasing him, and moving back a step into his favourite position. 'What do you mean by daring to come here?'
'I didn't mean no harm, Sir,' whimpered Rob, putting one hand to his throat, and the knuckles of the other to his eyes. 'I'll never come again, Sir. I only wanted work.'
'Work, young Cain that you are!' repeated Mr Carker, eyeing him narrowly. 'Ain't you the idlest vagabond in London?'
The impeachment, while it much affected Mr Toodle Junior, attached to his character so justly, that he could not say a word in denial. He stood looking at the gentleman, therefore, with a frightened, self-convicted, and remorseful air. As to his looking at him, it may be observed that he was fascinated by Mr Carker, and never took his round eyes off him for an instant.
'Ain't you a thief?' said Mr Carker, with his hands behind him in his pockets.
'No, sir,' pleaded Rob.
'You are!' said Mr Carker.
卡克先生像鲨鱼一样向他咧着嘴笑,但露出心不在焉、若有所思的神情。
“是不是,”珀奇先生在短短的沉默和再咳嗽了一次以后,恭恭敬敬地说道,“最好由我对他说,如果他再到这里来的话,就要把他监禁起来,永远不放出来!至于说对他施行暴力恐吓,”珀奇先生说道,“就我本人来说,我生性是个胆小的人,先生,珀奇太太的状况又把我的神经弄得十分混乱,因此我是很容易屈服招供的。”
“让我看一看这个家伙,珀奇,”卡克先生说,“把他领进来!”
“遵命,先生。请原谅,先生,”珀奇先生在门口迟疑地说道,“他的外貌是粗野的,先生。”
“没关系。如果他在这里的话,那么就把他领进来吧。我过一会儿就接见吉尔斯先生,请他等一下。”
珀奇先生鞠了个躬,严严实实、小小心心地把门关好,仿佛他准备一个星期也不再回到这里来似的,然后他走到庭院里往麻雀中间去寻找。他走了以后,卡克先生在壁炉前面采取了他所喜爱的姿势,站在那里看着门;他收缩下唇,露出微笑,显露出上面的整排牙齿,奇怪地戒备着,就像猫蹲在那里等待耗子似的。
信差不久就回来了,跟随着他的是笨重的长统皮靴在走廊里咯噔咯噔的响声,就像击拳的声音一样。珀奇先生很不客气地喊了一声:“你过来!”——这是从他嘴里说出的很不寻常的引见方式——然后领进了一个体格强壮、十五岁的小伙子;他脸孔圆圆的、红红的,头圆圆的、光光的,眼睛圆圆的、黑黑的,手和脚圆圆的,身体圆圆的,手里还拿着一顶圆圆的、完全没有帽檐的帽子,这使他整个身姿的圆形达到了完备无缺的地步。
珀奇先生刚把这位来访的人领到卡克先生面前,看到卡克先生向他点了一下头,就立刻顺从地退下去了。等到他们两人开始单独面对面的时候,卡克先生预先没有说一句话,就抓住他的喉咙,摇晃着他的身子,直到他的头似乎就要离开肩膀为止。
那孩子在万分惊讶之中,不由自主疯狂似地凝视着这位露出这么多白牙、把他卡得不能透气的先生和办公室的墙壁,仿佛他已下定了决心,如果他真被窒息死去的话,那么他最后一眼也得把他由于闯到这里而遭到如此恶厉惩罚的秘密给探究出来似的;他终于发出了声音:
“好啦,先生!您放开我吧,好不好!”
“放开你!”卡克先生说道,“什么!我已经抓住你了,是不是?”这点是毫无疑问的,而且是抓得紧紧的。“你这条狗,”
卡克先生咬牙切齿地说道,“我要勒死你!”拜勒抽噎着。他果真要勒死他吗?啊,不,他不会的!那么他为什么要那么做呢?他为什么不勒死跟他个子相同的什么人,而要勒死他呢?可是拜勒被这不寻常的接待方式压制得完全驯服;当他的头安定下来,不再摇晃,他望着那位先生的脸,更正确地说,望着他的牙齿,看到他对他咆哮如雷的时候,他竟完全忘掉了他的丈夫气概,放声大哭起来。
“我没有做什么对不起你的事情,先生,”拜勒说道;他就是罗布,也就是磨工,而且永远是图德尔。
“你这年轻的无赖!”卡克先生回答道,一边慢慢地放开了他,并往后退了一步,恢复了他所喜爱的姿势,“你胆敢跑到这里来,打算干什么?”
“我没有什么坏的用意,先生,”罗布啜泣着,一只手抚摸着喉咙,另一只手的指节擦着眼睛。“我再也不到这里来了,先生。我只是想找工作做。”
“工作?你是个年轻的该隐!”卡克先生逼视着他,说道,“难道你不是伦敦最游手好闲的流浪汉吗?”
这个指责虽然很影响小图德尔先生的情绪,但却完全符合他的身份,所以他说不出一句否认的话。他就站在那里,怀着惊恐不安、自知有罪、悔恨不已的神情望着这位先生。可以指出一点的是,当他望着他的时候,他被卡克先生强烈地吸引住了,圆圆的眼睛片刻也没有离开他。
“你不是一个小偷吗?”卡克先生手插在衣袋里,说道。
“不是,先生。”罗布争辩道。
“你就是!”卡克先生说。
背景阅读
本书简介:
《董贝父子》是狄更斯最重要的作品之一,发表于1848年。小说描写了董贝父子公司的盛衰史。董贝是个贪得无厌的大资本家,妻子儿女都成了他追逐利润的工具和摆设。公司经理卡克尔是个奸诈小人,骗取了董贝的信任后又一手造成了他的破产。在现实的教训中,董贝的思想发生了转变。最后,虽然他已无法重整家业,却成全了真正的家庭幸福。
书评: 董贝怎么可能幸福?
来自: 暂停(豆瓣网)
董贝是《董贝父子》的主人公,这个狄更斯笔下的人物,是风光一时的董贝父子公司的老板,据说是“19世纪企业精神”的象征。
说到企业,先得比规模,在董贝眼中,“世界是为了董贝父子经商而创造的,太阳和月亮是为了给他们光亮而创造的。河川和海洋是为了让他们航船而构成的;虹霓使他们有逢到好天气的希望;风的顺逆影响他们实业的成败……”,他的公司称霸四海,以至于董贝自认是世界的中心。看这气势,怎么着也不比“真功夫”之类的中国家族企业小。而这个1840年代领全球资本主义发展之先的企业家,遇到的最大问题是如何为他的家族企业寻找继承人。为了生个堪当大任的儿子,董贝精心购买了自己的第二次婚姻,而这正是他事业与人生崩溃的开始。
网络、风投,这些今天中国富豪们嘴里的名词,董贝听都没听过的。但人们为之困扰的问题,其实最彻底地暴露了他们的真实状况。从家族企业内部对财富继承与财富分配的纠结与冲突来看,2010年代的中国商人仍然在为董贝在170年前所痛苦的事情寻求解决。解决得不好,夫妻反目或者兄弟阋墙的例子不在少数。而整本《董贝父子》,与其说在讲述富翁的商海风云,不如说在告诉我们,把商业逻辑引入家庭所导致的不幸。
如恩格斯所说,董贝是一个“除了快快发财以外,不知道世界上还有别的快乐”的人,当他的贸易帝国土崩瓦解、失去了唯一的快乐来源之后,董贝企图举刀自杀。女儿却用爱感化了他,他最终认识到自己是有罪的,“需要得到宽恕”,随之步入幸福的晚年。
乍听起来,今天的中国富商或许该羡慕英国前辈重获幸福的运气,但必须负责任地追问一句,董贝的幸福如何可能?原本已经与资本“人剑合一”的董贝,怎么可能好象换了一个人一样?
这个提问并不苛刻,早就有人认为,董贝的转变毁了一本出色的小说,董贝的幸福是浅薄无力的,因为他根本没有解决家族企业面临的核心矛盾。换个角度说,他们不相信董贝在失去公司、失去财富之后还有可能幸福,他们也不相信那种唤醒董贝的爱,他们认为让爱出场显得很蹩脚,还不如设计成——董贝中了彩票,解决了债务危机,公司于是免于破产,他又娶了一房和自己女儿差不多年纪的娇妻——更有说服力。
决定人们想象力边界的是他的价值观。董贝在最窘迫的时候,看到了人生的真相。其实我们常常都会被带到一个环境里,显出我们最深刻的内心需要,显出我们的本来面目,让我们无可推委,“退潮的时候,才知道谁在裸泳”。这恰恰是改变的机会。我们不求离开世界,只求不被世界的冰冷所制。当然,我们有选择的自由,或者任凭败坏的部分在我们生命里扩散,或者像董贝一样,承认自己的过犯,把生命的锚挂在他原先生存的平面之外的点上,因着这种联合,他得以更新生命,幸福因此成为可能。
而对于依然俯身在这个世界中的人们来说,平面之外的任何事物,几乎都是不可理解的。这个世界不是明明服在金钱支配之下吗?服在物质的规律之下吗?服在市场的法则之下吗?无论小学大学,还是EMBA总裁班,都在孜孜不倦地告诉我们这些,恨不得用混凝土把我们的心砌成一座空坟,生怕我们对于灵魂产生一丁点想象力。几乎所有与幸福有关的细节,都被不约而同地省略了。最终,一个人拥有了不受环境不受金钱影响的幸福的可能,竟然彻底成为一件不可理解之事,好象他不可思议、无可救药地堕落了。
江山易改,本性难移。最大的神迹是生命的改变。让我们到历史里寻找另外一个“不可能”的故事,来帮助我们理解董贝的可能。
与董贝同时代的沙夫茨伯里伯爵,通过六十年的努力,推动国会先后通过煤矿法令——禁止妇女和女孩在井下工作、精神病法令——确保精神病人获得人道对待、十小时工厂法令——管制妇女儿童的工作时间、公共宿舍法令——改善穷苦阶层的住宿条件,他还创立收容所、救济院、“贫民免费学校联盟”,被公认为改变了整个英国的社会状况。
1885年他去世的时候,万人空巷,人们举着布条,上面写着“我饿了,你们给我吃”、“我渴了,你们给我喝”、“我赤身露体,你们给我穿”、“我病了,你们看顾我”。这是《圣经•马太福音》里耶稣对门徒说的话,“我实在告诉你们,这些事你们既做在我这弟兄中一个最小的身上,就是做在我身上了”。这是关于爱的教训,无数英国人受益于沙夫茨伯里伯爵对爱的信心,尽管这爱、这信心,无法用理性证明,无法用股权分割,无法委托交易转让。
从18世纪末到19世纪末将近一百年里,发生在英国的宗教大复兴,裨补了工业革命的弊端,大大唤醒了人们的良知,带来废除奴隶制度、监狱改革、抑制赌博和决斗的改变,使英国不至在积累物质财富的过程中,因为尖锐的阶级对立而掀起类似法国大革命的血腥灾难。这为大时代里的个人幸福,提供了一种更广泛的社会可能性,董贝的重获幸福正在这种可能性之下。
当董贝沉浸在资产负债表里,浑然不知自己可能拥有另外一种活法。所幸当他主动或被迫从自己的营营役役里抬起头时,被这样的时代氛围所提醒,逃出了资本理性、经济原理对心灵的辖制。
幸福并不需要对金钱弃之如粪土,在家庭关系里也不必耻于言利,人类正常健康的感情并非如此脆弱敏感。只是我们的环境里实在缺少一个合适的声音,既遥远又近切,值得我们信赖的声音,远得仿佛来自永恒,近得仿佛体贴入微,在遭遇纷争、血气乍涌的时候轻声提醒我们。