Chapter 15 HESTER AND PEARL
第十五章　海絲特和珠兒

SO Roger Chillingworth- a deformed old figure, with a face that haunted men's memories longer than they liked- took leave of Hester Prynne, and went stooping away along the earth. He gathered here and there an herb, or grubbed up a root, and put it into the basket on his arm. His grey beard almost touched the ground, as he crept onward. Hester gazed after him a little while, looking with a half fantastic curiosity to see whether the tender grass of early spring would not be blighted beneath him, and show the wavering track of his footsteps, sere and brown, across its cheerful verdure. She wondered what sort of herbs they were, which the old man was so sedulous to gather. Would not the earth, quickened to an evil purpose by the sympathy of his eye, greet him with poisonous shrubs, of species hitherto unknown, that would start up under his fingers? Or might it suffice him, that every wholesome growth should be converted into something deleterious and malignant at his touch? Did the sun, which shone so brightly everywhere else, really fall upon him? Or was there, as it rather seemed, a circle of ominous shadow moving along with his deformity, whichever way he turned himself? And whither was he now going? Would he not suddenly sink into the earth, leaving a barren and blasted spot, where, in due course of time, would be seen deadly nightshade, dogwood, henbane, and whatever else of vegetable wickedness the climate could produce, all flourishing with hideous luxuriance? Or would he spread bat's wings and flee away, looking so much the uglier, the higher he rose towards heaven?
就這樣，羅杰·齊靈渥斯——那個身材畸形的老人，他那張面孔會長時間地縈繞在人們的腦海，想忘都忘不掉——離開了海絲特·白蘭，一路彎著腰走開了。他東一處西一處地采集一棵藥草或挖掘一個樹根，然后裝進(jìn)他挎著的提籃里。他深貓著腰朝前走著，灰白的胡須幾乎觸到了地面。海絲特在他身后盯視了一小會兒，懷著一種有點(diǎn)想入非非的好奇心，想看清楚早春的嫩草會不會在他腳下枯萎，那一片欣欣向榮的蔥翠會不會顯出一條枯褐、彎曲的足跡。她不曉得那老人如此勤快地采集的是哪種藥草。墳地會不會在他目光的感應(yīng)下立刻產(chǎn)生邪意，在他手指的一觸之下馬上生出一種從不知名的毒草來迎接他呢？或者說，大地會不會把每一種良木益草在他接觸之后都變成毒木莠草來滿足他呢？那普照四方的明亮的太陽是不是也當(dāng)真能照到他身上呢？或者說，是不是有一圈不樣的陰影，當(dāng)真象看上去的那樣，始終伴隨著他那畸形的身軀，任憑他走到哪里都如影隨形呢？那么，現(xiàn)在他又往哪里去了呢？他會不會突然沉入地下？從而留下一塊枯荒之地，很需要經(jīng)過一段時間，才會看見龍葵、山茱萸、殺生草以及其它種種在這一氣候中能夠生長的毒草，可怕地滋生蔓延起來?；蛘哒f，他會不會展開蝙蝠的翅膀騰空飛去，飛得越高，樣子越丑呢？

"Be it sin or no," said Hester Prynne bitterly, as she still gazed after him, "I hate the man!"
“不管是不是罪過，”海絲特·白蘭一邊繼續(xù)注視著他的背影，一邊狠狠地說，“我反正恨這個人！”