張培基英譯中國現代散文選(一) 之《談結婚》

談結婚 
  ——郁達夫 
   前些日子，林語堂先生似乎曾說過(1)女子的唯一事業，是在結婚，現在一位法國大文豪來滬，對去訪問他的新聞記者的談話之中，又似乎說，男子欲成事業，應該不要結婚。 
   華盛頓·歐文(2)是一個獨身的男子，但《見聞短記》里的一篇歌頌妻子的文章(3)，卻寫的那么優美可愛。同樣查而斯·蘭姆(4)也是獨身的男子，而愛麗亞的《獨身者的不平》(5)一篇，又冷嘲熱諷，將結婚的男女和婚后必然的果子——小孩們——等，俏皮到了那一步田地。 
   究竟是結婚的好呢，還是不結婚的好？這問題似乎同先有雞還是先有雞蛋一樣(6)，常常有人提起，而也常常沒有人解決過的問題(7)。照大體看來，想租房子的時候，是無眷莫問的，想做官的時候，又是朝里無裙(8)莫做官的，想寫文章的時候，是獨身者(9)不能寫我的妻的，凡此種種似乎都是結婚的好。可是要想結婚，第一要有錢，第二要有閑，第三要有職，這潘驢(10)……的五個條件，卻也不容易辦到(11)。更何況結婚之后，“兒子自己要來(12)”，在這世界人口過剩，經濟恐慌，教育破產，世風不古的時候，萬一不慎，同蘭姆所說的一樣，兒子們去上了斷頭臺(13)，那真是連祖宗三代的楣都要倒盡，那里還有什么“官人請！娘子請！”的唱隨之樂(14)可說呢？ 
   左思右想，總覺得結婚也不好的，不結婚也是不好的。

注釋： 
郁達夫，一生短暫，在戀愛與婚姻上有很多坎坷經歷。小品文《談結婚》寥寥數語，看似游戲筆墨，但莊諧并出，寓理于趣，感嘆人生多苦難，對現實百態深表不滿。 
(1)“似乎曾說過……”意即“說過一些話，大意是……”，譯為said something to the effect that…，其中to the effect that…作“大意是……”解。 
(2)“華盛頓·歐文”是美國作家Washington Irving (1783-1859)。《見聞短記》（Sketch Book）為其著名代表作。 
(3)“一篇歌頌妻子的文章”的篇名為The Wife。 
(4)“查而斯·蘭姆”是英國散文家Charles Lamb (1775-1834)。筆名愛麗亞（alia），著有《愛麗亞散文集》（Essays of Alia）。 
(5)“《獨身者的不平》”指《愛麗亞散文集》中的一篇。 
(6)“這個問題似乎同先有雞呢還是先有雞蛋一樣”譯為That sounds like the chicken-and-egg question，其中chicken-and-egg（或chicken and egg ）是成語，作“雞與蛋孰先難定”或“因果難定”解。 
(7)“常常沒有人解決過的問題”可譯為has never been resolved，現譯為remains a perpetual puzzle，變反說為正說。 
(8)“裙”指“裙帶關系”意即“藉以相互依靠的姻親關系”，現譯為petticoat influence。 
(9)“獨身者”指“獨身男作家”，故譯為an unmarried male writer。 
(10)“潘驢”源自《金瓶梅》第三回，指“潘安的貌”和“驢大行貨”，在文中分別指第四、第五兩個條件。現分別譯為gook looks和potentness。 
(11)“卻也很不易辦到”意即“卻也不易都具備”，譯為of which all are not always available，等于of which not all are always available。 
(12)“兒子自己要來”譯為your offspring will come to this world of themselves，其中短語of themselves和automatically同義。 
(13)“走上了斷頭臺”，本可譯為be sent to the guillotine，但因蘭姆文中說的絞刑架，故譯為be sent to the gallows。 
(14)“‘官人請！娘子請！’的唱隨之樂”不宜逐字直譯，現意譯為wedded bliss（閨房之樂），簡單明了。

A Chat about Marriage 
                    ——Yu Dafu 
     The other day, Mr. Lin Yutang said something to the effect that women’s only career lies in matrimony. Now, an eminent French writer declared at a press interview after arriving in Shanghai that men should stay bachelors if they want to achieve success in life. 
     Washington Irving was a confirmed bachelor, but in his Sketch Book there is an article extolling the wife as a graceful and lovely life-long partner. Charles Lamb, also a single man, in A Bachelor’s Complaint of the Behaviour of Married People, one of his essays signed “Elia”, speaks mockingly of married people with their inevitable postnuptial fruits—the children. 
     Marriage or no marriage, which is more desirable? That sounds like the chicken-and- egg question, which, though often discussed, remains a perpetual puzzle. Generally speaking, one who has no family dependants is not supposed to rent a house, one who has no petticoat influence in the government should refrain from becoming an official, an unmarried male writer is in no position to writer about “my wife”. All these seem to hint at the advantage of marriage. But, to get married, you need to have five perquisites, namely, money, leisure, employment, good looks and potentness, of which all are not always available. What is more, after your marriage, your offspring will come to this world of themselves. And in a world with overpopulation, economic crisis, educational bankruptcy and deteriorating public morals, they may, just as Charles Lamb says, through their own acts of indiscretion, be sent to the gallows. With such a terrible misfortune befalling your family, how could you still have wedded bliss to speak of? 
    Thinking the matter over and over again, I cannot but come to the conclusion that neither matrimony nor bachelorship has anything to recommend itself.