Her refusal, though unexpected, did not permanently daunt Clare. His experience of women was great enough for him to be aware that the negative often meant nothing more than the preface to the affirmative; and it was little enough for him not to know that in the manner of the present negative there lay a great exception to the dallyings of coyness. That she had already permitted him to make love to her he read as an additional assurance, not fully trowing that in the fields and pastures to 'sigh gratis' is by no means deemed waste; love-making being here more often accepted inconsiderately and for its own sweet sake than in the carking anxious homes of the ambitious, where a girl's craving for an establishment paralyzes her healthy thought of a passion as an end.
苔絲的拒絕雖然出乎意外，但是這也不會(huì)長(zhǎng)期讓克萊爾氣餒。他對(duì)女人已經(jīng)有了經(jīng)驗(yàn)，這已經(jīng)足以使他懂得，否定常常只是肯定的開(kāi)端；但是他的經(jīng)驗(yàn)畢竟有限，還不足以知道目前這種否定完全是一個(gè)例外，和那種忸怩作態(tài)的調(diào)情不同。既然苔絲已經(jīng)允許他向她求愛(ài)了，他認(rèn)為這就是一種額外的保證，但是他并沒(méi)有完全認(rèn)識(shí)到，發(fā)生在田野里和牧場(chǎng)上的那些“免費(fèi)的嘆息”①，也決不是浪費(fèi)了；在這種地方，戀愛(ài)常常是沒(méi)有多加考慮就被接受了，這種戀愛(ài)只是為了戀愛(ài)自身的甜蜜，它和充滿(mǎn)野心的憂(yōu)慮焦躁的家庭不一樣，在那種家庭里，女孩子渴望的只是為了建立家業(yè)，這樣就損害了以感情為目的的健康思想。

'Tess, why did you say "no" in such a positive way?' he asked her in the course of a few days.
“苔絲，為什么你用這種堅(jiān)決的態(tài)度說(shuō)‘不’呢？”過(guò)了幾天他問(wèn)苔絲。

她吃了一驚。

'Don't ask me. I told you why - partly. I am not good enough not worthy enough.'
“不要問(wèn)我。我已經(jīng)告訴過(guò)你了——部分地告訴過(guò)你了。我配不上你——我不值得你愛(ài)?！?/div>

'How? Not fine lady enough?'
“怎么配不上？因?yàn)槟悴皇且晃磺Ы鹦〗銌?？?/div>

'Yes - something like that,' murmured she. 'Your friends would scorn me.'
“不錯(cuò)——和那差不多，”她低聲說(shuō)?！澳慵依锏娜藭?huì)瞧不起我的?！?/div>

'Indeed, you mistake them - my father and mother. As for my brothers, I don't care--' He clasped his fingers behind her back to keep her from slipping away. 'Now - you did not mean it, sweet? - I am sure you did not! You have made me so restless that I cannot read, or play, or do anything. I am in no hurry, Tess, but I want to know - to hear from your own warm lips - that you will some day be mine - any time you may choose; but some day?'
“你實(shí)在是把他們看錯(cuò)了——把我的父親和母親看錯(cuò)了。至于說(shuō)到我的哥哥，我并不在乎——”他從后面用雙手抱住苔絲，害怕她逃走了。“喂——你說(shuō)的不是真話(huà)吧，親愛(ài)的？——我敢肯定你不是說(shuō)的真話(huà)！你已經(jīng)弄得我坐立不安了，不能讀書(shū)、無(wú)心玩耍，什么事也沒(méi)法做。我不著急，苔絲，但是我想知道——想從你溫暖的嘴里親自聽(tīng)到——有一天你會(huì)是我的人——什么時(shí)間你可以選擇；但是總有一天吧？”

①免費(fèi)的嘆息（sigh gratis），引自莎士比亞的悲劇《哈姆雷特》，見(jiàn)該劇第二幕第二場(chǎng)。

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