The Sorrows of the Millionaire百萬富翁的悲哀

The millionaire class， a small but growing one， into which any of us may be flung to-morrow by the accidents of commerce， is perhaps the most neglected in the community. As far as I know， this is the first Tract1 that has ever been written for millionaires.

百萬富翁是個小群體，但在不斷壯大——誰都說不準我們當中哪位將來做生意發橫財便會躋身其中。也許這是個最不受人關注的群體。據我所知，這算是專為百萬富翁撰寫的第一份宣傳冊了。

In the advertisements of the manufactures of the country I find that everything is produced for the million and nothing for the millionaire. Children， boys， youths， “gents”， ladies， artisans， professional men， even peers and kings are catered for2; but the millionaire’s custom3 is evidently not worth having： there are too few of him.

看了國內各種商品的廣告，我發現一切都是為百萬民眾而生產，并無一物專為百萬富翁而制造。兒童、少年、青年、“紳士”、女士、手藝人、職員，甚至貴族和國王，全都受到了關注；而百萬富翁的消費習慣顯然不值一顧——誰叫他們人數少得可憐呢。

Whilst the poorest have their Rag Fair， a duly4 organized and busy market in Houndsditch， where you can buy a boot for a penny， you may search the world in vain for the market where the ￡50 boot， the special dear line of hats at forty guineas， the cloth of gold bicycling suit， and the Cleopatra claret5， four pearls to the bottle， can be purchased wholesale.

窮人可到霍茲迪茨大街的“舊貨市場”購物——那兒按期開市，生意興隆，一便士就能買只靴子。搜遍全世界可能也難找到哪個市場像這里這樣可以大批購買五十英鎊的靴子、四十基尼的高檔帽子、金線面料的騎行服，以及每瓶有四顆珍珠的克利奧帕特拉女王牌紅葡萄酒。

Thus the unfortunate millionaire has the responsibility of prodigious wealth without the possibility of enjoying himself more than any ordinary rich man. Indeed，in many things he cannot enjoy himself more than many poor men do， nor even so much; for a drum-major is better dressed; a trainer’s stable-lad often rides a better horse; the first class carriage is shared by office-boys taking their young ladies out for the evening; everybody who goes down to Brighton for Sunday rides in the Pullman car; and of what use is it to be able to pay for a peacock’s-brain sandwich when there is nothing to be had but ham or beef？

所以啊，可憐的百萬富翁們雖腰纏萬貫，卻無法消受，其享樂并不優于普通富佬。其實，在很多事情上，他們所得到的享受并不比許多窮人強，甚至劣于那些窮人：鼓手長穿得比他們好；馴馬師的馬倌騎的馬往往比他們的強；坐頭等馬車的是那些晚間攜年輕女友出外兜風的辦公室雜役；周日去布萊頓度假的人都可以乘坐臥鋪車。如果除了火腿和牛肉別的什么也吃不上，那即便掏得起錢買夾孔雀腦的三明治又有什么用？

The injustice of this state of things has not been sufficiently considered. A man with an income of ￡25 a year can multiply his comfort beyond all calculation by doubling his income. A man with ￡50 a year can at least quadruple his comfort by doubling his income. Probably up to even ￡250 a year doubled income means doubled comfort. After that the increment6 of comfort grows less in proportion to the increment of income until a point is reached at which the victim is satiated7 and even surfeited8 with everything that money can procure. To expect him to enjoy another hundred thousand pounds because men like money， is exactly as if you were to expect a confectioner9’s shopboy to enjoy two hours more work a day because boys are fond of sweets.

這種不公平的現象一直都沒有得到足夠的重視。年收入25英鎊的人，如收入增加一倍，生活就可改善好幾倍。年收入50英鎊的人，收入增加一倍，生活至少可以改善至原來的四倍。甚至年收入達到250英鎊的人，收入翻一番，生活改善的程度也可能翻一番。超過了這個數，財富增加所帶來的生活質量的提高程度就會逐漸減少——到最后，富翁成了財富的犧牲品，對一切金錢能夠買來的東西都會因易于滿足而生厭甚至惡心。不要指望他們因為天性愛錢就會為再多賺十萬英鎊而喜悅，就像別指望糖果店伙計因為喜歡糖果而樂于每天多干兩小時活兒。

What can the wretched millionaire do that needs a million？ Does he want a fleet of yachts， a Rotten Row10 full of carriages， an army of servants， a whole city of town houses， or a continent for a game preserve？ Can he attend more than one theatre in one evening， or wear more than one suit at a time， or digest more meals than his butler？

可悲的百萬富翁要那么多錢干什么呢？莫非想要成群結隊的游艇，想要能排滿海德公園跑馬道的馬車，渴望仆從前呼后擁，渴望把一城的房子據為己有，或是想買下一片大陸設為禁獵區？是一晚上能跑好幾家戲院看戲，一身能穿好幾套衣服，還是能比府上管家多吃幾頓飯？

Is it a luxury to have more money to take care of， more begging-letters to read， and to be cut off from those delicious Alnaschar11 dreams in which the poor man， sitting down to consider what he will do in the always possible event of some unknown relative leaving him a fortune， forgets his privation12？

有更多財富要打理，有更多化緣信要讀，還做不成黃粱美夢——這些是難得的享受嗎？窮人做起那樣的美夢就會忘卻自己的貧困，想著天上掉餡餅，萬一某個素不相識的親戚給他留下一筆財產，他該怎么辦。

And yet there is no sympathy for this hidden sorrow of plutocracy13. The poor alone are pitied. Societies spring up14 in all directions to relieve all sorts of comparatively happy people， from discharged prisoners in the first rapture of their regained liberty to children revelling15 in the luxury of an unlimited appetite; but no hand is stretched out to the millionaire， except to beg. In all our dealings with him lies implicit16 the delusion that he has nothing to complain of， and that he ought to be ashamed of rolling in wealth17 whilst others are starving.

然而，對于百萬富翁內心的悲哀，竟無人同情。世人只對窮人表示憐憫。各種社會團體如雨后春筍般涌現，以救濟各類相對而言比較幸運的人，其中有初嘗重獲自由喜悅的獲釋犯人，也有為痛痛快快飽餐一頓而欣喜若狂的孩子。但除了乞討，沒有人向百萬富翁伸手。跟他們打交道時，我們內心有一種錯覺，認為他們沒什么可抱怨的，認為他們應該感到羞愧——因為別人忍饑挨餓，而他們卻在錢堆里打滾。

【原文介紹及翻譯解析】

蕭伯納（1856—1950），英國現代杰出的現實主義戲劇作家，世界著名的幽默與諷刺語言大師。他的戲劇最突出的特點是緊密結合現實政治斗爭，敢于觸及資本主義社會最本質的問題，把剝削階級的丑惡嘴臉暴露在公眾面前。在藝術手法上，他善于通過人物對話和思想感情交鋒來表現性格沖突和主題思想。蕭伯納的戲劇性語言尖銳潑辣，充滿機智，妙語警句脫口而出。他最著名的劇作有《鰥夫的房產》《華倫夫人的職業》《武器與人》《真相畢露》等。其喜劇作品《賣花女》因先后被改編為音樂劇《窈窕淑女》和好萊塢同名賣座電影而家喻戶曉。上世紀三十年代初，蕭伯納訪問蘇聯和中國，與高爾基、魯迅結下誠摯的友誼。

蕭伯納的散文和他的戲劇一樣詼諧幽默，緊緊聯系社會實際，在“抒發感情”和“點評時弊”的過程中起到影響和教育讀者的作用。這種“教育”絕不呆板，而是妙趣橫生——其精美、別致的語言，時而令人捧腹大笑，時而叫人深思反省。翻譯他的作品需把握好尺度，不能任意發揮。在重現原作意境和藝術魅力的過程中，允許譯者酌情凸顯自己的個性與特點。譯者的天賦越高，創作的個性特點表現得也就越突出。所謂譯者的個性，不僅包括個人對客觀世界的感受和認識，也包括深入領會原作者對世界的感受、領會原作的創作手法及原作者的創作觀念之后所產生的思想；對于這些感受和觀念，譯者可盡可能運用本族語中各種手段予以傳達，同時保留自己的個性。但譯者的個性是以服從原作的個性為前提的，所以譯者的個性不能掩蓋或超過原作者的個性。雖然譯作和原作表現的都是同一客觀現象和藝術真實，但原作是第一性的，譯作是第二性的。譯作在表現客觀現象和藝術真實時，不能拋開原作，而應周密考慮原作的修辭、句法等因素，也要顧及原作的風格和思想內容。打個比方說：原作是一幅創作的畫，以藝術真實為表現內容，而譯作是一幅臨摹的畫，它所表現的也是藝術真實，然而卻以創作的畫為藍本。在翻譯的每一個環節，譯者都必須保持好平衡——既要發揮自己的創造力，凸顯自己的特性，也要忠實地再現原作者的個性，即反映原作的風格。

1 tract（宣傳）小冊子。這里指蕭伯納于1901年由The Fabian Society出版的十幾頁的小冊子Socialism for Millionaires，其中包含若干篇短文，本文為第一篇。" 2 cater for滿足需要（或欲望）；迎合。" 3 custom（個人的）習慣。" 4 duly按期地，按時地。

5 claret紅葡萄酒。" 6 increment增加。

7 satiate使充分滿足；使多給而生膩。" 8 surfeit使厭膩。" 9 confectioner糖果商；糖果店。" 10 Rotten Row倫敦海德公園里的騎馬道。" 11 Alnaschar《天方夜譚》里的一個喜歡幻想的人物。此處喻“黃粱美夢”。" 12 privation貧困。" 13 plutocracy（總稱）富豪。" 14 spring up突然出現。此處可譯為“如雨后春筍般涌現”。

15 revel陶醉；狂歡。" 16 implicit不明言的，含蓄的。" 17 roll in wealth直譯為“在錢堆里打滾”，有“富得流油”的意思。