Chapter 08 THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER
第八章　小鬼和牧師

"This is awful!" cried the Governor, slowly recovering from the astonishment into which Pearl's response had thrown him. "Here is a child of three years old, and she cannot tell who made her! Without question, she is equally in the dark as to her soul, its present depravity and future destiny! Methinks, gentlemen, we need inquire no further!"
“這太可怕了！”總督叫著，漸漸從珠兒的應(yīng)答所帶給他的震驚中恢復(fù)過來?！斑@是個三歲的孩子，可她根本說不出是誰造出了她！毫無疑問，她對自己的靈魂，對目前的墮落，對未來的命運，全然一無所知！依我看，諸位先生，我們無需再問了。

Hester caught hold of Pearl, and drew her forcibly into her arms, confronting the old Puritan magistrate with almost a fierce expression. Alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure to keep her heart alive, she felt that she possessed indefeasible rights against the world, and was ready to defend them to the death.
海絲特抓住珠兒，強把她拉進(jìn)自己的懷里，面對著那幾乎是滿險兇相的清教徒長官。她被這個世界所拋棄，只剩下孤身一人，只有這一件珍寶才能維持她心靈的生存，她感到她有不可剝奪的權(quán)利來對抗這個世界，而且準(zhǔn)備好維護(hù)自己的權(quán)利一直到死。

"God gave me the child!" cried she. "He gave her in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!- she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a millionfold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!"
“上帝給了我這個孩子！”她大聲說道。“他把她給了我是為了補償你們從我手中奪走的一切。她是我的幸福！——也分毫不爽地是我的拆磨！是珠兒叫我還活在世上！也是珠兒叫我受著懲罰！你們看見沒有？她就是紅字，只不過能夠受到喜愛，因此也具有千萬倍的力量來報應(yīng)我的罪孽！你們帶不走她！我情愿先死給你們看！

"My poor woman," said the not unkind old minister, "the child shall be well cared for!- far better than thou canst do it!"
“我可憐的女人，”那不無慈悲的老牧師說，“這孩子會受到很好的照顧的！——遠(yuǎn)比你能辦到的要強。

"God gave her into my keeping," repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. "I will not give her up!"- And here, by a sudden impulse, she turned to the young clergyman, Mr. Dimmesdale, at whom, up to this moment, she had seemed hardly so much as once to direct her eyes.- "Speak thou for me!" cried she. "Thou wast my pastor, and hadst charge of my soul, and knowest me better than these men can. I will not lose the child! Speak for me! Thou knowest- for thou hast sympathies which these men lack- thou knowest what is in my heart, and what are a mother's rights, and how much the stronger they are, when that mother has but her child and the scarlet letter! Look thou to it! I will not lose the child! Look to it!"
“上帝把這孩子交給了我來撫養(yǎng)，”海絲特·白蘭重復(fù)說，嗓音大得簡直象喊叫了。“我絕不會放棄她的！”說到這里，她突然一陣沖動，轉(zhuǎn)向了年輕的牧師丁梅斯代爾先生，此前她簡直始終沒有正眼看過他。“你來替我說一句話嘛！”她說。“你原來是我的牧師，曾經(jīng)對我的靈魂負(fù)責(zé)，你比這些人更了解我。我不能失去這個孩子！替我說句話吧！你了解我——而且你還具有這些人所缺乏的同情心！你了解我心里的想法，也了解一個母親的權(quán)利，而當(dāng)那位母親只有她的孩子和紅字的時候，這種權(quán)利就更煙強烈！請你關(guān)注一下吧！我絕不會失去這個孩子的！關(guān)注一下吧！”