章节正文
the mountains, their summits lost to view in
the golden mist of the morning; and towards the
south rose the white mass of Elbruz, closing the
chain of icy peaks, among which fibrous clouds,
which had rushed in from the east, were already
roaming. I walked to the extremity of the ledge
and gazed down. My head nearly swam. At the
foot of the precipice all seemed dark and cold as
in a tomb; the moss-grown jags of the rocks,
hurled down by storm and time, were awaiting
their prey.
The ledge on which we were to fight formed
an almost regular triangle. Six paces were mea-
sured from the projecting corner, and it was de-
cided that whichever had first to meet the fire of
his opponent should stand in the very corner with
his back to the precipice; if he was not killed
the adversaries would change places.
I determined to relinquish every advantage to
Grushnitski; I wanted to test him. A spark of
magnanimity might awake in his soul -- and then
all would have been settled for the best. But his
vanity and weakness of character had perforce to
triumph! . . . I wished to give myself the full
right to refrain from sparing him if destiny were
to favour me. Who would not have concluded
such an agreement with his conscience?
"Cast the lot, doctor!" said the captain.
The doctor drew a silver coin from his pocket
and held it up.
"Tail!" cried Grushnitski hurriedly, like a
man suddenly aroused by a friendly nudge.
"Head," I said.
The coin spun in the air and fell, jingling. We
all rushed towards it.
"You are lucky," I said to Grushnitski. "You
are to fire first! But remember that if you do
not kill me I shall not miss -- I give you my word
of honour."
He flushed up; he was ashamed to kill an un-
armed man. I looked at him fixedly; for a
moment it seemed to me that he would throw
himself at my feet, imploring forgiveness" target="_blank" title="n.原谅，饶恕；宽仁">forgiveness; but
how to confess so base a plot? . . . One expe-
dient only was left to him -- to fire in the air! I
was convinced that he would fire in the air! One
consideration alone might prevent him doing so --
the thought that I would demand a second
duel.
"Now is the time!" the doctor whispered to
me, plucking me by the sleeve. "If you do not
tell them now that we know their intentions, all
is lost. Look, he is loading already. . . If you
will not say anything, I will" . . .
"On no account, doctor!" I answered, hold-
ing him back by the arm. "You will spoil every-
thing. You have given me your word not to
interfere. . . What does it matter to you?
Perhaps I wish to be killed" . . .
He looked at me in astonishment.
"Oh, that is another thing! . . . Only do not
complain of me in the other world" . . .
Meanwhile the captain had loaded his pistols
and given one to Grushnitski, after whispering
something to him with a smile; the other he gave
to me.
I placed myself in the corner of the ledge, plant-
ing my left foot firmly against the rock and bend-
ing slightly forward, so that, in case of a slight
wound, I might not fall over backwards.
Grushnitski placed himself opposite me and, at
a given signal, began to raise his pistol. His knees
shook. He aimed right at my forehead. . . Un-
utterable fury began to seethe within my
breast.
Suddenly he dropped the muzzle of the pistol
and, pale as a sheet, turned to his second.
"I cannot," he said in a hollow voice.
"Coward!" answered the captain.
A shot rang out. The bullet grazed my knee.
Involuntarily I took a few paces forward in
order to get away from the edge as quickly as
possible.
"Well, my dear Grushnitski, it is a pity that
you have missed!" said the captain. "Now it is
your turn, take your stand! Embrace me first:
we shall not see each other again!"
They embraced; the captain could scarcely re-
frain from laughing.
"Do not be afraid," he added, glancing cun-
ningly at Grushnitski; "everything in this world
is nonsense. . . Nature is a fool, fate a turkey-
hen, and life a copeck!"[1]
[1] Popular phrases, equivalent to: "Men are fools, fortune
is blind, and life is not worth a straw."
After that tragicphrase, uttered with becoming
gravity, he went back to his place. Ivan Ignate-
vich, with tears, also embraced Grushnitski, and
there the latter remained alone, facing me. Ever
since then, I have been trying to explain to myself
what sort of feeling it was that was boiling within
my breast at that moment: it was the vexation
of injured vanity, and contempt, and wrath en-
gendered at the thought that the man now look-
ing at me with such confidence, such quiet inso-
lence, had, two minutes before, been about to kill
me like a dog, without exposing himself to the
least danger, because had I been wounded a little
more severely in the leg I should inevitably have
fallen over the cliff.
For a few moments I looked him fixedly in the
face, trying to discern thereon even a slight trace
of repentance. But it seemed to me that he was
restraining a smile.
"I should advise you to say a prayer before you
die," I said.
"Do not worry about my soul any more than
your own. One thing I beg of you: be quick
about firing."
"And you do not recant your slander? You
do not beg my forgiveness" target="_blank" title="n.原谅，饶恕；宽仁">forgiveness? . . . Bethink you
well: has your conscience nothing to say to
you?"
"Mr. Pechorin!" exclaimed the captain of
dragoons. "Allow me to point out that you are
not here to preach. . . Let us lose no time, in
case anyone should ride through the gorge and
we should be seen."
"Very well. Doctor, come here!"
The doctor came up to me. Poor doctor! He
was paler than Grushnitski had been ten minutes
before.
The words which followed I purposely pro-
nounced with a pause between each -- loudly
and distinctly, as the sentence of death is pro-
nounced:
"Doctor, these gentlemen have forgotten, in
their hurry, no doubt, to put a bullet in
my pistol. I beg you to load it afresh -- and
properly!"
"Impossible!" cried the captain, "impossible!
I loaded both pistols. Perhaps the bullet has
rolled out of yours. . . That is not my fault!
And you have no right to load again. . . No
right at all. It is altogether against the rules,
I shall not allow it" . . .
"Very well!" I said to the captain. "If so,
then you and I shall fight on the same terms" . . .
He came to a dead stop.
Grushnitski stood with his head sunk on his
breast, embarrassed and gloomy.
"Let them be!" he said at length to the cap-
tain, who was going to pull my pistol out of the
doctor's hands. "You know yourself that they
are right."
In vain the captain made various signs to him.
Grushnitski would not even look.
Meanwhile the doctor had loaded the pistol and
handed it to me. On seeing that, the captain spat
and stamped his foot.
"You are a fool, then, my friend," he said: "a
common fool! . . . You trusted to me before, so
you should obey me in everything now. . . But
serve you right! Die like a fly!" . . .
He turned away, muttering as he went:
"But all the same it is absolutely against the
rules."
"Grushnitski!" I said. "There is still time:
recant your slander, and I will forgive you every-
thing. You have not succeeded in making a fool
of me; my self-esteem is satisfied. Remem-
ber -- we were once friends" . . .
His face flamed, his eyes flashed.
"Fire!" he answered. "I despise myself and
I hate you. If you do not kill me I will lie in
wait for you some night and cut your throat.
There is not room on the earth for both of
us" . . .
I fired.
When the smoke had cleared away, Grushnitski
was not to be seen on the ledge. Only a slender
column of dust was still eddying at the edge of
the precipice.
There was a simultaneous cry from the rest.
"Finita la commedia!" I said to the doctor.
He made no answer, and turned away with
horror.
I shrugged my shoulders and bowed to Grush-
nitski's seconds.
CHAPTER XXI
AS I descended by the path, I observed Grush-
nitski's bloodstained corpse between the
clefts of the rocks. Involuntarily, I closed my
eyes.
Untying my horse, I set off home at a walking
pace. A stone lay upon my heart. To my eyes
the sun seemed dim, its beams were powerless to
warm me.
I did not ride up to the village, but turned to
the right, along the gorge. The sight of a man
would have been painful to me: I wanted to be
the golden mist of the morning; and towards the
south rose the white mass of Elbruz, closing the
chain of icy peaks, among which fibrous clouds,
which had rushed in from the east, were already
roaming. I walked to the extremity of the ledge
and gazed down. My head nearly swam. At the
foot of the precipice all seemed dark and cold as
in a tomb; the moss-grown jags of the rocks,
hurled down by storm and time, were awaiting
their prey.
The ledge on which we were to fight formed
an almost regular triangle. Six paces were mea-
sured from the projecting corner, and it was de-
cided that whichever had first to meet the fire of
his opponent should stand in the very corner with
his back to the precipice; if he was not killed
the adversaries would change places.
I determined to relinquish every advantage to
Grushnitski; I wanted to test him. A spark of
magnanimity might awake in his soul -- and then
all would have been settled for the best. But his
vanity and weakness of character had perforce to
triumph! . . . I wished to give myself the full
right to refrain from sparing him if destiny were
to favour me. Who would not have concluded
such an agreement with his conscience?
"Cast the lot, doctor!" said the captain.
The doctor drew a silver coin from his pocket
and held it up.
"Tail!" cried Grushnitski hurriedly, like a
man suddenly aroused by a friendly nudge.
"Head," I said.
The coin spun in the air and fell, jingling. We
all rushed towards it.
"You are lucky," I said to Grushnitski. "You
are to fire first! But remember that if you do
not kill me I shall not miss -- I give you my word
of honour."
He flushed up; he was ashamed to kill an un-
armed man. I looked at him fixedly; for a
moment it seemed to me that he would throw
himself at my feet, imploring forgiveness" target="_blank" title="n.原谅，饶恕；宽仁">forgiveness; but
how to confess so base a plot? . . . One expe-
dient only was left to him -- to fire in the air! I
was convinced that he would fire in the air! One
consideration alone might prevent him doing so --
the thought that I would demand a second
duel.
"Now is the time!" the doctor whispered to
me, plucking me by the sleeve. "If you do not
tell them now that we know their intentions, all
is lost. Look, he is loading already. . . If you
will not say anything, I will" . . .
"On no account, doctor!" I answered, hold-
ing him back by the arm. "You will spoil every-
thing. You have given me your word not to
interfere. . . What does it matter to you?
Perhaps I wish to be killed" . . .
He looked at me in astonishment.
"Oh, that is another thing! . . . Only do not
complain of me in the other world" . . .
Meanwhile the captain had loaded his pistols
and given one to Grushnitski, after whispering
something to him with a smile; the other he gave
to me.
I placed myself in the corner of the ledge, plant-
ing my left foot firmly against the rock and bend-
ing slightly forward, so that, in case of a slight
wound, I might not fall over backwards.
Grushnitski placed himself opposite me and, at
a given signal, began to raise his pistol. His knees
shook. He aimed right at my forehead. . . Un-
utterable fury began to seethe within my
breast.
Suddenly he dropped the muzzle of the pistol
and, pale as a sheet, turned to his second.
"I cannot," he said in a hollow voice.
"Coward!" answered the captain.
A shot rang out. The bullet grazed my knee.
Involuntarily I took a few paces forward in
order to get away from the edge as quickly as
possible.
"Well, my dear Grushnitski, it is a pity that
you have missed!" said the captain. "Now it is
your turn, take your stand! Embrace me first:
we shall not see each other again!"
They embraced; the captain could scarcely re-
frain from laughing.
"Do not be afraid," he added, glancing cun-
ningly at Grushnitski; "everything in this world
is nonsense. . . Nature is a fool, fate a turkey-
hen, and life a copeck!"[1]
[1] Popular phrases, equivalent to: "Men are fools, fortune
is blind, and life is not worth a straw."
After that tragicphrase, uttered with becoming
gravity, he went back to his place. Ivan Ignate-
vich, with tears, also embraced Grushnitski, and
there the latter remained alone, facing me. Ever
since then, I have been trying to explain to myself
what sort of feeling it was that was boiling within
my breast at that moment: it was the vexation
of injured vanity, and contempt, and wrath en-
gendered at the thought that the man now look-
ing at me with such confidence, such quiet inso-
lence, had, two minutes before, been about to kill
me like a dog, without exposing himself to the
least danger, because had I been wounded a little
more severely in the leg I should inevitably have
fallen over the cliff.
For a few moments I looked him fixedly in the
face, trying to discern thereon even a slight trace
of repentance. But it seemed to me that he was
restraining a smile.
"I should advise you to say a prayer before you
die," I said.
"Do not worry about my soul any more than
your own. One thing I beg of you: be quick
about firing."
"And you do not recant your slander? You
do not beg my forgiveness" target="_blank" title="n.原谅，饶恕；宽仁">forgiveness? . . . Bethink you
well: has your conscience nothing to say to
you?"
"Mr. Pechorin!" exclaimed the captain of
dragoons. "Allow me to point out that you are
not here to preach. . . Let us lose no time, in
case anyone should ride through the gorge and
we should be seen."
"Very well. Doctor, come here!"
The doctor came up to me. Poor doctor! He
was paler than Grushnitski had been ten minutes
before.
The words which followed I purposely pro-
nounced with a pause between each -- loudly
and distinctly, as the sentence of death is pro-
nounced:
"Doctor, these gentlemen have forgotten, in
their hurry, no doubt, to put a bullet in
my pistol. I beg you to load it afresh -- and
properly!"
"Impossible!" cried the captain, "impossible!
I loaded both pistols. Perhaps the bullet has
rolled out of yours. . . That is not my fault!
And you have no right to load again. . . No
right at all. It is altogether against the rules,
I shall not allow it" . . .
"Very well!" I said to the captain. "If so,
then you and I shall fight on the same terms" . . .
He came to a dead stop.
Grushnitski stood with his head sunk on his
breast, embarrassed and gloomy.
"Let them be!" he said at length to the cap-
tain, who was going to pull my pistol out of the
doctor's hands. "You know yourself that they
are right."
In vain the captain made various signs to him.
Grushnitski would not even look.
Meanwhile the doctor had loaded the pistol and
handed it to me. On seeing that, the captain spat
and stamped his foot.
"You are a fool, then, my friend," he said: "a
common fool! . . . You trusted to me before, so
you should obey me in everything now. . . But
serve you right! Die like a fly!" . . .
He turned away, muttering as he went:
"But all the same it is absolutely against the
rules."
"Grushnitski!" I said. "There is still time:
recant your slander, and I will forgive you every-
thing. You have not succeeded in making a fool
of me; my self-esteem is satisfied. Remem-
ber -- we were once friends" . . .
His face flamed, his eyes flashed.
"Fire!" he answered. "I despise myself and
I hate you. If you do not kill me I will lie in
wait for you some night and cut your throat.
There is not room on the earth for both of
us" . . .
I fired.
When the smoke had cleared away, Grushnitski
was not to be seen on the ledge. Only a slender
column of dust was still eddying at the edge of
the precipice.
There was a simultaneous cry from the rest.
"Finita la commedia!" I said to the doctor.
He made no answer, and turned away with
horror.
I shrugged my shoulders and bowed to Grush-
nitski's seconds.
CHAPTER XXI
AS I descended by the path, I observed Grush-
nitski's bloodstained corpse between the
clefts of the rocks. Involuntarily, I closed my
eyes.
Untying my horse, I set off home at a walking
pace. A stone lay upon my heart. To my eyes
the sun seemed dim, its beams were powerless to
warm me.
I did not ride up to the village, but turned to
the right, along the gorge. The sight of a man
would have been painful to me: I wanted to be
- advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ]
n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词) - weakness [´wi:knis] n.虚弱；弱点，缺点 (初中英语单词)
- character [´kæriktə] n.特性；性质；人物；字 (初中英语单词)
- agreement [ə´gri:mənt] n.同意；一致；协议 (初中英语单词)
- ashamed [ə´ʃeimd] a.惭愧；不好意思 (初中英语单词)
- confess [kən´fes] vt.供认；坦白；承认 (初中英语单词)
- sleeve [sli:v] n.袖子；袖套 (初中英语单词)
- account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
- firmly [´fə:mli] ad.坚固地，稳定地 (初中英语单词)
- slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
- pistol [´pistl] n.手枪 vt.用手枪射击 (初中英语单词)
- forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)
- bullet [´bulit] n.子弹 (初中英语单词)
- embrace [im´breis] vt.&n.拥抱；采纳；信奉 (初中英语单词)
- phrase [freiz] n.短语；词组；措词 (初中英语单词)
- vanity [´væniti] n.虚荣；自负；空虚 (初中英语单词)
- advise [əd´vaiz] vt.忠告；建议；通知 (初中英语单词)
- conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)
- preach [pri:tʃ] v.宣扬；鼓吹 n.训诫 (初中英语单词)
- distinctly [di´stiŋktli] ad.清楚地，明晰地 (初中英语单词)
- sentence [´sentəns] n.判决 vt.宣判；处刑 (初中英语单词)
- altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)
- absolutely [´æbsəlu:tli] ad.绝对地；确实 (初中英语单词)
- forgive [fə´giv] vt.原谅，谅解，宽恕 (初中英语单词)
- despise [di´spaiz] vt.轻视，藐视 (初中英语单词)
- extremity [ik´stremiti] n.末端；危机 (高中英语单词)
- opponent [ə´pəunənt] a.对立的 n.对手 (高中英语单词)
- refrain [ri´frein] v.抑制；忍住 n.迭句 (高中英语单词)
- destiny [´destini] n.命运 (高中英语单词)
- forgiveness [fə´givnis] n.原谅，饶恕；宽仁 (高中英语单词)
- nonsense [´nɔnsəns] n.胡说 int.胡说!废话 (高中英语单词)
- equivalent [i´kwivələnt] a.相等的 n.同等物 (高中英语单词)
- tragic [´trædʒik] a.悲剧的；悲惨的 (高中英语单词)
- contempt [kən´tempt] n.轻蔑；受辱；不顾 (高中英语单词)
- severely [si´viəli] ad.剧烈地；严格地 (高中英语单词)
- discern [di´sə:n] v.辩认出 (高中英语单词)
- seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
- painful [´peinfəl] a.痛(苦)的；费力的 (高中英语单词)
- precipice [´presipis] n.悬崖；危急的处境 (英语四级单词)
- triangle [´traiæŋgəl] n.三角(形)；三角关系 (英语四级单词)
- hurriedly [´hʌridli] ad.仓促地，忙乱地 (英语四级单词)
- muzzle [´mʌzəl] n.枪口，炮口 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- inevitably [in´evitəbli] ad.不可避免地；必然地 (英语四级单词)
- slander [´slɑ:ndə] vt.&n.诽谤(罪) (英语四级单词)
- corpse [kɔ:ps] n.尸体 (英语四级单词)
- whichever [witʃ´evə] a.&pron.无论哪个(些) (英语六级单词)
- relinquish [ri´liŋkwiʃ] vt.放弃；撤回；停止 (英语六级单词)
- seethe [si:ð] vi.沸腾；骚动 (英语六级单词)
- repentance [ri´pentəns] n.悔悟，悔改；忏悔 (英语六级单词)
- bethink [bi´θiŋk] vt.想起；思考 (英语六级单词)
- involuntarily [in´vɔləntərili] ad.不 自觉地 (英语六级单词)
- powerless [´pauələs] a.软弱的；无资源的 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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