Based on the film, Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas,
by Juan López Moctezuma (1977)
Libretto by ZJC (2026)
Principal Cast
Character
Description
ALUCARDA
The ‘Crossroads’ daughter of the Desert and European Gothic ancestry. An untamed, elemental force.
JUSTINE
A fragile, grieving orphan whose transformation provides the opera’s tragic heart.
THE BRUJA
An ancient, earthy figure who acts as the ‘Memory of the Desert.’
FATHER LÁZARO
The rigid, uncompromising arm of the Church.
DR. OSZEK
A Viennese psychoanalyst and man of science.
SISTER ANGÉLICA
The kindest face of the Convent, who becomes the voice of mourning.
LUCY WESTENRA
Alucarda’s mother. Appears in the Prologue only.
Silent Roles
Character
Description
MOTHER SUPERIOR
A terrifying presence who never speaks. She watches from the shadows.
THE BRUJO
A beautiful, disturbing boy. He appears, gestures, and is sacrificed—all in silence.
CINTIA
The girl who committed suicide. Appears as a body in the funeral procession.
Chorus
Group
Description
THE NUNS
Female chorus. They move and sing in rigid unison, descending into hysteria.
VOICES OF THE WIND
Offstage voices that mimic the wailing of the Zone.
Setting
The Zone of Silence, Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico. 1910.
PROLOGUE: The Birth at the Crossroads
The ruins of a colonial palace in the Chihuahuan Desert. The architecture is skeletal, half-swallowed by sand. A violet twilight hangs over the horizon.
LUCY WESTENRA lies on a bed of dry corn husks and tattered silk. She is drenched in sweat and blood. The BRUJA moves with earthy grace, tending to her with bowls of water and bundles of herbs.
A sudden, piercing cry—LUCY screams in childbirth.
LUCY (Weak, her voice a ghost) ¡Ay!… el aire… no puedo… respirar el polvo… / Oh!… the air… I can’t… breathe the dust…
BRUJA (Deep and steady) Empuje, señora. El desierto está escuchando. No le tenga miedo al Silencio… dele su aliento. / Push on, ma’am. The desert is listening. Don’t be afraid of the Silence… give it your breath.
A final surge. The sharp, thin cry of a newborn baby.
BRUJA [cont.] (Lifting the child) Es una niña, señora… y es preciosa. Tiene los ojos de la obsidiana. / She’s a girl, ma’am… and she’s beautiful. She has eyes like obsidian.
LUCY (Reaching out with trembling hands) Mi niña… mi pequeña luz de sombra… Naciste donde los mapas terminan. Pobre criaturita… me gustaría verte crecer… Pero la sangre me reclama. La tierra me llama por mi nombre.
My little girl… my little light of shadow… You were born where the maps end. Poor little creature… I would like to see you grow… But my blood calls me back. The earth calls me by my name.
(She grabs the Midwife’s arm with surprising strength)
Llévela al Convento. Por favor… prométame que la protegerá. No deje que se la lleven. No deje que él la encuentre.
Take her to the convent. Please… promise me you’ll protect her. Don’t let them take her. Don’t let him find her.
BRUJA ¿Quién, señora? ¿El padre? / Who, ma’am? The father?
LUCY (Eyes wide, looking at a shadow no one else can see) El pasado. El hambre que cruza el mar. ¡Júrelo! ¡Júrelo por la Virgen y por la Muerte!
The past. The hunger that crosses the sea. Swear it! Swear it by the Virgin and by Death!
BRUJA (Solemnly, crossing herself and then touching the baby’s forehead with a pinch of Desert soil) Lo juro. La protegeré. La llevaré a las puertas de piedra. Ella será una hija del Convento… hasta que el desierto la reclame. / I swear it. I will protect her. I will take her to the stone gates. She will be a daughter of the Convent… until the desert claims her.
LUCY falls back. Her breathing rattles. She whispers one last name.
LUCY …Alucarda… / …Alucarda…
She dies.
The BRUJA wraps the baby in a blood-stained lace shawl. She exits the ruins into the vast, purple night. Sand begins to blow into the room, covering the body of LUCY WESTENRA.
FADE TO BLACK.
ACT I
Scene 1: The Gates of Stone
Outside the high, limestone walls of the Convent. The Desert sun is high and bleaching. A dusty wagon sits before the massive wooden gates. The architecture is austere, imposing, European in its denial of the surrounding Desert.
JUSTINE, dressed in a heavy black mourning dress, is helped down from the wagon by a DRIVER. She looks fragile, her eyes wide with shock.
DRIVER ¡Justine! ¡Al fin has llegado! No es lugar para una niña sola, pero aquí los muros son gruesos. / Justine! You’ve finally arrived! This is no place for a girl alone, but the walls here are thick.
JUSTINE ¿Es este mi nuevo hogar? El aire… el aire aquí no se mueve. Todo parece… de piedra. / Is this my new home? The air… the air here doesn’t move. Everything seems… made of stone.
The small side-door of the gate creaks open. SISTER ANGÉLICA enters, warm and kind.
ANGÉLICA Por aquí, Justine. Cuando nos dijeron que tus padres habían muerto, mi corazón lloró contigo. Te hemos estado esperando. Pasa… deja el polvo del camino afuera. / This way, Justine. When we heard your parents had died, my heart ached with yours. We’ve been waiting for you. Come in… leave the dust of the road outside.
JUSTINE (Looking back at the vast Desert) El hombre que me trajo dijo que el desierto tiene voz. ¿Es cierto, Hermana? / The man who brought me here said the desert has a voice. Is that true, Sister?
ANGÉLICA (Smiling, guiding her inside) Aquí solo escuchamos la voz de Dios, pequeña. En el silencio de la oración, el mundo desaparece. Aquí encontrarás una nueva vida. Ven. Olvida el sol. Olvida la arena. / Here we hear only the small voice of God. In the silence of prayer, the world disappears. Here you will find a new life. Come. Forget the sun. Forget the sand.
They walk through the threshold into the Convent hallway. The acoustic changes—stone walls, echoing reverb.
ANGÉLICA [cont.] Aquí el tiempo no corre como afuera. Rezamos, estudiamos, y nos preparamos para ser esposas de lo eterno. No tengas miedo. Yo seré tu guía. / Time doesn’t flow here like it does outside. We pray, we study, and we prepare to be brides of eternity. Don’t be afraid. I will be your guide.
A shadow streaks across the white wall. ALUCARDA appears—perched on a high stone ledge, her hair wild, her white shift stained. She stops and stares at JUSTINE from a distance.
ANGÉLICA [cont.] (Sighing) Y esa es Alucarda. Ignórala, Justine. Ella… ella llegó aquí en una noche de tormenta, envuelta en encaje y sangre. No conoce las reglas. Es como el viento que sopla en la Zona del Silencio: no se puede atrapar. / And that’s Alucarda. Ignore her, Justine. She… she arrived here on a stormy night, wrapped in lace and blood. She doesn’t know the rules. She’s like the wind that blows in the Zone of Silence: uncatchable.
ALUCARDA lets out a short, mocking laugh and vanishes into the shadows. JUSTINE watches the spot where she was, mesmerized.
JUSTINE (To herself) Ella no parece de piedra. Ella parece… fuego. / She doesn’t look like stone. She looks like… fire.
FADE.
Scene 2: The Garden of Stone and Thorns
The Convent Cloister. A rectangular garden enclosed by arches. Meticulously kept but sterile—mostly sand, a few struggling rosebushes, a dry fountain. The heat is shimmering.
JUSTINE sits on a stone bench, clutching a black prayer book. She tries to pray, but her eyes keep wandering to the horizon.
ALUCARDA appears suddenly, hanging upside down from a low tree branch. She is eating a prickly pear fruit, her fingers stained purple.
ALUCARDA (Light, mocking) ¿Por qué lees ese libro de muertos, Justine? Las letras no se mueven. Las sombras, sí. / Why are you reading that book of the dead, Justine? The letters don’t move. The shadows do.
JUSTINE (Startled, standing) ¡Alucarda! Me asustaste. Es… es mi devocionario. Me ayuda a no sentirme tan sola. / Alucarda! You scared me. It’s… it’s my prayer book. It helps me not to feel so alone.
ALUCARDA drops to the ground with feline grace. She circles JUSTINE.
ALUCARDA La soledad no es un libro. La soledad es este muro. (She touches the stone wall) Siente… la piedra está fría, pero el sol la quiere quemar. Tú eres como la piedra, Justine. Te visten de negro para que el sol no te encuentre.
Loneliness isn’t a book. Loneliness is this wall. Feel… the stone is cold, but the sun wants to burn it. You are like the stone, Justine. They dress you in black so the sun won’t find you.
JUSTINE (Defensive, yet intrigued) Sor Angélica dice que el negro es respeto. Mis padres… ellos acaban de… / Sister Angelica says that black is respect. My parents… they just…
ALUCARDA (Stopping directly in front of her) Tus padres son tierra ahora. Como mi madre. Ella vive en las ruinas, donde el viento no pide permiso para entrar. ¿Quieres verla? ¿Quieres ver lo que hay detrás de ese muro? / Your parents are dust now. Like my mother. She lives in the ruins, where the wind doesn’t ask permission to enter. Do you want to see her? Do you want to see what’s behind that wall?
JUSTINE No podemos salir. La Madre Superiora dice que el desierto es un lugar de pecado. Que allí habita el Silencio. / We can’t leave. The Mother Superior says the desert is a place of sin. That Silence dwells there.
ALUCARDA takes JUSTINE’S hand, her purple-stained fingers leaving marks on her skin.
ALUCARDA El Silencio no es pecado, Justine. El Silencio es música que ellos no saben cantar. Mi madre me habla desde la arena. Me dice que tú no eres una huérfana… eres una semilla. / Silence is not a sin, Justine. Silence is music they don’t know how to sing. My mother speaks to me from the sand. She tells me you are not an orphan… you are a seed.
They sing.
ALUCARDA Ven conmigo a donde el mapa se borra, donde las cruces no tienen sombra. Deja que el polvo te limpie el luto, deja que el hambre se vuelva fruto.
Come with me to where the map fades, where the crosses cast no shadows. Let the dust cleanse your mourning, let hunger become fruit.
JUSTINE Tengo miedo de lo que no tiene nombre, del viento que llora y del sol que corrompe. Pero tus ojos… tus ojos son pozos, donde el miedo se vuelve… hermoso.
I fear the nameless, of the weeping wind and the corrupting sun. But your eyes… your eyes are wells, where fear becomes… beautiful.
Their voices weave together.
ALUCARDA Júrame, Justine. Júrame que si cruzamos ese muro, no volverás a cerrar los ojos ante la oscuridad. / Promise me, Justine. Promise me that if we cross that wall, you will never close your eyes to the darkness again.
JUSTINE Lo juro, Alucarda. Llévame al Silencio. / I swear it, Alucarda. Take me to Silence.
They slip through a hidden gap in the garden wall where the stones have crumbled. The Convent bells begin to toll for Vespers—harsh, metallic, alarmed.
They vanish into the purple haze of the Zone of Silence.
FADE.
Scene 3: The Oracle of Dust
A desolate Desert landscape. In the background, the palace ruins shimmer in the sunlight. The sky has an eerie, almost electric hue.
ALUCARDA and JUSTINE run through the Desert, laughing. In the distance, a procession of figures in black carries a rustic coffin.
JUSTINE (Stopping, panting) ¿Qué es eso, Alucarda? Nunca había visto un lugar que se sintiera tan… vacío y tan lleno a la vez. / What is that, Alucarda? I’ve never seen a place that felt so… empty and so full at the same time.
ALUCARDA (Pointing at the ruins) Es otro secreto, Justine. Como tú y como yo. El desierto guarda lo que la iglesia quiere enterrar. ¡Vamos a buscar más! / It’s another secret, Justine. Just like you and me. The Desert holds what the Church wants to bury. Let’s go find more!
JUSTINE (Looking at the funeral procession) Mira… ¿quiénes son? / Look… who are they?
ALUCARDA Van a enterrar a Cintia. Se quitó la vida porque no aguantaba el peso de la cruz. La llevan a tierra no sagrada… donde por fin podrá descansar del cielo. / They are going to bury Cintia. She took her own life because she couldn’t bear the weight of the cross. They are taking her to unconsecrated ground… where she can finally rest from heaven.
JUSTINE (Hugging herself) Me dan miedo los funerales. Me recuerdan que el frío siempre llega. / Funerals scare me. They remind me that the cold always comes.
ALUCARDA No tengas miedo. Todos tenemos que morir, Justine. Y te prometo que hay una felicidad después de la muerte que los sacerdotes no conocen. No está lejos. ¡Ven! / Don’t be afraid. We all have to die, Justine. And I promise you there is a happiness after death that priests don’t know about. It’s not far off. Come!
THE BRUJA appears from among the bushes. She doesn’t walk; she seems to emerge from the earth itself.
BRUJA Hijas… miren lo que el viento ha traído. ¿Quieren jugar un juego? Un juego donde el futuro no se escribe con tinta, sino con sombras. / Daughters… look what the wind has brought. Do you want to play a game? A game where the future isn’t written in ink, but in shadows.
JUSTINE (Backing away) Creo que deberíamos irnos, Alucarda. Sus ojos… no tienen luz. / I think we should leave, Alucarda. Her eyes… they have no light.
BRUJA (Laughing) ¿Escuchan? ¿Qué oyen? ¿Nada? Eso es porque el Silencio tiene mucho que decir. El viento me cuenta por qué muere la gente, quién busca un amuleto para no ser olvidado… Vengan, no muerdo… a menos que el destino lo pida. / Do you hear? What do you hear? Nothing? That’s because Silence has much to say. The wind tells me why people die, who seeks an amulet so as not to be forgotten… Come, I don’t bite… unless destiny demands it.
She leads them toward a small adobe hut. THE BRUJO sits on the ground—beautiful, disturbing; an indigenous cherubino. He takes JUSTINE’S hand with unexpected strength, studies it, then releases it as if burned.
The BRUJA observes.
BRUJA Nada más que silencio, hija. Un silencio que grita. Sombras… sombras que se muerden la cola. Ten cuidado, Alucarda… ella ya es tuya. / Nothing but silence, my daughter. A silence that screams. Shadows… shadows that bite their own tails. Be careful, Alucarda… she’s already yours.
The BRUJA’s monologue.
BRUJA Ahora verán las maravillas que guardo. Yo estudio la alquimia del desierto… puedo convertir este polvo en piedras preciosas, y las piedras en sueños que nunca imaginaste. Tienes sueños extraños, niña… profundos, cortantes, como los pájaros que se pierden en el bosque. Vienes del rocío, pero las criaturas de la noche te están esperando. Tienes que ser valiente… porque el camino de regreso al Convento se está borrando.
Now you will see the wonders I hold. I study the alchemy of the desert… I can turn this dust into precious stones, and the stones into dreams you never imagined. You have strange dreams, child… deep, sharp, like birds lost in the forest. You come from the dew, but the creatures of the night await you. You must be brave… for the path back to the Convent is fading away.
ALUCARDA laughs and pulls JUSTINE’S hand. They run toward the ruins.
BRUJA (Shouting at the wind) ¡Hijas! ¿A dónde van? ¡No pueden huir de lo que ya llevan en la sangre! / Daughters! Where are you going? You can’t run from what’s already in your blood!
The girls disappear into the distance. The BRUJA watches. The BRUJO sits, still, his eyes following them.
FADE.
Scene 4: The Shrine of the Holy Death
The interior of the Ruined Palace. A small, hidden alcove contains a modest altar to SANTA MUERTE: white candles, marigolds, and small cadaverous figures draped in lace. Outside, the Desert wind whistles through the stone.
ALUCARDA leads JUSTINE by the hand, her voice hushed and reverent.
ALUCARDA Mira, Justine. Aquí no hay confesionarios. Nadie te pide que te azotes por tus pecados. / Look, Justine. There are no confessionals here. Nobody’s asking you to flog yourself for your sins.
JUSTINE (Fearful, looking at the skeletal figure) ¿Quién es ella, Alucarda? Parece… la muerte. / Who is she, Alucarda? She looks like… death.
ALUCARDA Es la Santa Muerte. La que nos cuida cuando los hombres de negro nos olvidan. Ella no te pide que sufras para ser santa. Ella solo te pide que seas tú. / It’s Santa Muerte. The one who watches over us when the men in black forget us. She doesn’t ask you to suffer to be a saint. She only asks you to be yourself.
JUSTINE (Shivering) No… Alucarda, vámonos. Este lugar no nos quiere aquí. / No… Alucarda, let’s go. This place doesn’t want us here.
ALUCARDA approaches her, her voice becoming obsessive and dark.
ALUCARDA Todos tenemos miedo. Pero hablo de morir amando… morir juntas para que podamos vivir eternamente con la misma sangre corriendo siempre por nuestras venas. Yo vivo en ti, Justine… ¿morirías por mí? Te quiero tanto… nunca he estado enamorada de nadie, excepto de ti.
We’re all afraid. But I’m talking about dying loving… dying together so we can live eternally with the same blood always running through our veins. I live in you, Justine… would you die for me? I love you so much… I’ve never been in love with anyone, except you.
JUSTINE (Breathless) ¿Lo dices en serio? / Are you serious?
ALUCARDA No sabes cuánto. Llámame cruel, llámame egoísta… el amor siempre lo es. Tienes que amarme hasta la muerte. Recuerdo una noche… casi me asesinaron. Me hirieron aquí, y nunca volví a ser la misma.
You have no idea. Call me cruel, call me selfish… love always is. You have to love me until death. I remember one night… they almost killed me. They hurt me here, and I was never the same again.
JUSTINE ¿Estuviste a punto de morir? / Were you close to death?
ALUCARDA draws a knife.
ALUCARDA Sí. Casi. Hagamos un pacto. Si tenemos que irnos de esta vida, lo haremos juntas. / Yes. Almost. Let’s make a pact. If we have to leave this life, we’ll do it together.
JUSTINE (Stretching out her hand, hesitating) Está bien… si eso te hace feliz. / That’s fine… if it makes you happy.
As the knife nears JUSTINE’S palm, ALUCARDA freezes. Her eyes lock onto a coffin in the shadows.
ALUCARDA Espera… «Lucille Westenra… muerta hace años». Justine… esta es mi madre. Nunca le he visto la cara. / Wait… “Lucille Westenra… dead for years.” Justine… this is my mother. I’ve never seen her face.
ALUCARDA heaves the lid open. Inside is the skeleton of LUCY, still wrapped in blood-stained lace.
JUSTINE ¡Santo cielo! ¡Dios mío! ¡Oh, Dios mío! / Good heavens! My God! Oh my God!
ALUCARDA screams—a raw, high-pitched sound. They flee.
The stage shifts to the exterior of the ruins—blue and cold. JUSTINE chases ALUCARDA through the sand.
JUSTINE ¡Alucarda! ¡Espera! ¡Te dije que este lugar me asustaba! ¡Vuelve! ¿Qué te ha pasado? / Alucarda! Wait! I told you this place scared me! Come back! What happened to you?
ALUCARDA (Trembling, her confidence shattered) Hace frío… estoy temblando… Volvamos, Justine. Lo que tenemos que hacer es volver… volvamos al Convento. / It’s cold… I’m shivering… Let’s go back, Justine. What we have to do is go back… let’s go back to the Convent.
They stand in the Desert, lost.
FADE.
Scene 5: The Anatomy of Evil
The Main Hall of the Convent. Stark, cold, echoing. FATHER LÁZARO stands in a high pulpit, looking down at a sea of black-and-white habits. THE NUNS are in a state of high-strung devotion.
LÁZARO El demonio no toca a la puerta; el demonio la derriba. Entra en el cuerpo, usa los órganos para su propio placer… se apodera de la voluntad por encima de la fuerza humana. ¡Aquí está escrito! ¡En el libro sagrado! / The devil doesn’t knock; he breaks down the door. He enters the body, uses the organs for his own pleasure… he seizes control of the will beyond human strength. It is written here! In the holy book!
(He slams the Bible against the pulpit.)
Desde los tiempos del Señor, la Tlahuelpuchi y otros demonios han perseguido las almas cristianas. No hacen distinción entre hombres, mujeres o niños. ¡Él, el Diablo, usa vuestros cuerpos como si fueran suyos! Destruye, pervierte la lengua, distorsiona los labios… ¡En vez de plegarias, sale espuma de la boca! / Since the time of the Lord, Tlahuelpuchi and other demons have haunted Christian souls. They make no distinction between men, women, or children. He, the Devil, uses your bodies as if they were his own! He destroys, perverts the tongue, distorts the lips… Instead of prayers, foam comes from the mouth!
THE NUNS begin to sway.
LÁZARO Debemos vivir bajo la norma, la única verdad. Si no, el Diablo encontrará un sitio en vuestro interior y se llevará vuestras almas al fuego eterno. ¡Arderán para siempre! ¡Sus cuerpos sufrirán torturas que la mente no puede imaginar! ¡La cólera de Satán no tiene piedad! / We must live by the law, the only truth. Otherwise, the Devil will find a place within you and drag your souls to eternal fire. They will burn forever! Your bodies will suffer tortures beyond comprehension! Satan’s wrath knows no mercy!
(With a thunderous roar)
¡ARREPIÉNTANSE! / REPENT!
Chaos erupts. THE NUNS scream, cry, collapse into hysteria. In the midst of the panic, JUSTINE, who has been staring at ALUCARDA with wide, unblinking eyes, suddenly buckles. Her knees hit the stone floor.
ALUCARDA (Catching her) Justine… ¿Qué te pasa? Mírame. / Justine… What’s wrong? Look at me.
JUSTINE stares at ALUCARDA. Her eyes roll back. She falls limp.
A chilling tableau: ALUCARDA holding the unconscious JUSTINE, ANGÉLICA looking at ALUCARDA.
FADE.
Scene 6: The Blood Wedding of the Shadows
Justine’s cell. Cold stone, a single crucifix on the wall, a small iron bed. Outside, the Zone is screaming.
ANGÉLICA and GERMANA hover over JUSTINE. ALUCARDA stands in the shadows of the doorway, watching.
ANGÉLICA (Softly) ¿Te encuentras mejor, hija? El sermón de Lázaro fue… pesado para un alma tan joven. / Are you feeling better, daughter? Lazarus’ sermon was… heavy for such a young soul.
JUSTINE (Weakly) No lo sé… siento que el aire me pesa. / I don’t know… I feel like the air is heavy.
THE NUNS exit. The door clicks shut. The atmosphere changes.
ALUCARDA moves toward the bed with manic intensity.
ALUCARDA ¡Monstruos! ¡Te hicieron esto! No les cuentes nuestro secreto, Justine. Las voces han regresado… vienen del pasado. Todo se aclaró en el desierto: solo quedamos tú y yo. / Monsters! They did this to you! Don’t tell them our secret, Justine. The voices have returned… they come from the past. Everything became clear in the desert: only you and I remain.
JUSTINE Oh, Alucarda… estoy tan asustada. / Oh, Alucarda… I’m so scared.
ALUCARDA enters a trance.
ALUCARDA Nos lo pagarán… poco a poco. La Llorona… Nahual… Tlahuelpuchi… / They’ll pay for it… little by little. La Llorona… Nahual… Tlahuelpuchi…
JUSTINE ¡Alucarda! ¿Qué te pasa? ¡Por Dios, contesta! / Alucarda! What’s wrong? For God’s sake, answer me!
ALUCARDA begins to thrash. She rips the Crucifix from JUSTINE’S neck with a violent snap.
The room explodes into a storm. Thunder shakes the stone. Lightning flashes.
THE BRUJA steps out of the shadows, laughing.
BRUJA ¡Jajaja! Tienes razón. Se lo haremos pagar. ¡Llamala! ¡Llamala! / Hahaha! You’re right. We’ll make her pay. Call her! Call her!
ALUCARDA (In a soaring, desperate cry) ¡SANTA MUERTE! ¡CIHUATETEO! ¡LA LLORONA! / SANTA MUERTE! CIHUATETEO! LLORONA!
Red lightning. THE GIRLS appear stripped of their Convent clothes—naked and vulnerable yet empowered. THE BRUJA looms over them like a dark priestess.
ALUCARDA (Kneeling before Justine) Mírame, Justine. Eres tan guapa. Mírame… mírame… / Look at me, Justine. You’re so beautiful. Look at me… look at me…
The BRUJA guides the knife. She cuts their breasts. The red hue of the storm floods the room. She smears the blood onto their lips.
BRUJA Ahora… únanse una con otra. Y luego… únanse en mí. Únanse en el Silencio. / Now… unite with one another. And then… unite in me. Unite in Silence.
THE BRUJA vanishes into the shadows. ALUCARDA leans in.
ALUCARDA Mírame, querida Justine… / Look at me, my dear Justine…
ALUCARDA drinks the blood from JUSTINE’S lips. A moment of horror and profound intimacy. She licks the wound clean.
The Convent bells begin to toll—not for prayer, but in alarm.
BLACKOUT.
Scene 7: The Two Altars (The Ecstasy of Blood)
The stage is split. STAGE LEFT: SISTER ANGÉLICA’S cell—stark white, a crucifix, a candle. STAGE RIGHT: The Desert Shrine—shadowy, lit by torches, a skeletal figure of SANTA MUERTE draped in marigolds. A storm is brewing.
ANGÉLICA kneels in her cell.
ANGÉLICA Padre nuestro que estás en los cielos… santificado sea tu nombre. Hágase tu voluntad, así en la tierra como en el cielo. / Our Father who art in heaven… hallowed be thy name. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
On the Desert side, THE BRUJO—beautiful, naked, terrifying—leads ALUCARDA and JUSTINE. They are also naked, their skin shimmering under the lightning. Dozens of figures emerge from the shadows—a naked congregation. They begin a concentric, hypnotic dance.
ANGÉLICA continues to pray, her voice becoming more desperate.
ANGÉLICA Líbranos de la maldad, oh querido Dios… dame fuerza para mantenerme alejada del pecado. / Deliver us from evil, oh dear God… give me strength to stay away from sin.
The dance intensifies. ALUCARDA and JUSTINE touch, their movements fluid and transgressive.
A figure representing DOÑA BELLA SEBASTIANA—the skeletal Bride of Death—joins THE GIRLS’ hands. The dance behind them turns into a chaotic orgy of movement.
In the Convent cell, blood begins to seep from ANGÉLICA’S eyes, running down her cheeks like red tears.
ANGÉLICA (In a final, soaring cry) ¡POR FAVOR, PROTÉGELA, SEÑOR! / PLEASE PROTECT HER, LORD!
A massive wound opens on THE BRUJO’S neck. He crumples as a sacrifice.
In the cell, it begins to RAIN BLOOD. The white walls are splattered crimson. ANGÉLICA, her face smeared in gore, begins to float, lifted by the sheer psychic violence of the ritual. She is smiling—a terrifying, glassy-eyed beatitude.
BLACKOUT.
ACT II
Scene 1: The Gospel of the Skin
A stark, whitewashed classroom in the Convent. Large windows reveal the harsh Chihuahuan sun. A blackboard is covered in Latin verses. NUNS sit in rows.
GERMANA leads a lesson on the life of St. Teresa of Avila.
GERMANA Y así, la Santa se entregó al dardo del ángel… Una herida que no duele en la carne, sino en el espíritu. Una sumisión perfecta. / And so, the Saint surrendered to the angel’s dart… A wound that does not hurt the flesh, but the spirit. A perfect submission.
ALUCARDA and JUSTINE sit at the back. They exchange a look of secret shared power.
ALUCARDA (Interrupting) ¿Sumisión? O fue deseo, Hermana? / Submission? Or was it desire, Sister?
THE NUNS gasp.
GERMANA (Startled, angry) Alucarda… hablamos de la gracia divina. No de deseos terrenales. / Alucarda… we’re talking about divine grace. Not earthly desires.
ALUCARDA ¿No lo sientes? Debajo de ese hábito negro… ¿no sientes que tu piel tiene hambre? Nosotras vimos a la Niña Blanca. Ella no pide oraciones. Ella pide vida. / Don’t you feel it? Beneath that black habit… don’t you feel your skin is hungry? We saw the White Girl. She doesn’t ask for prayers. She asks for life.
GERMANA ¡Cállate! ¡Hijas de Satán! ¡Fuera de aquí! / Shut up! Daughters of Satan! Get out of here!
THE GIRLS sing.
ALUCARDA & JUSTINE No hay pecado en el deseo, no hay infierno en el placer. El cuerpo es el único templo que el tiempo no puede romper.
There is no sin in desire, there is no hell in pleasure. The body is the only temple that time cannot break.
THE GIRLS move through the rows. Everywhere they touch a NUN, that NUN begins to shake or weep.
ALUCARDA Mírame, Germana. Anoche la sangre llovió sobre Angélica. ¿Quieres saber a qué sabe la eternidad? / Look at me, Germana. Last night blood rained down on Angelica. Do you want to know what eternity tastes like?
THE NUNS break. One laughs hysterically; another flagellates herself with her rosary. The classroom descends into religious mania.
GERMANA (Falling to her knees, screaming) ¡Lázaro! ¡Lázaro, ayúdenos! ¡El desierto está dentro! ¡Las paredes están sangrando! / Lazarus! Lazarus, help us! The desert is within! The walls are bleeding!
ALUCARDA and JUSTINE stand on the desks, looking down at the writhing NUNS. Outside, the sky turns a deep, bruised purple.
BLACKOUT.
Scene 2: The Weakening
Justine’s cell. JUSTINE lies in a stupor, pale as wax. ANGÉLICA sits nearby, her face a mask of desperate love.
ANGÉLICA (To herself) No te dejaré, mi niña. No te dejaré. / I won’t leave you, my child. I won’t leave you.
DR. OSZEK enters, followed by MOTHER SUPERIOR, who stands in the doorway, watching in silence.
DR. OSZEK Necesito más luz. / I need more light.
ANGÉLICA opens a window.
ANGÉLICA Empeora minuto a minuto, doctor. / It’s getting worse by the minute, doctor.
OSZEK checks JUSTINE’S pulse.
DR. OSZEK ¿Cuánto hace que esta así? / How long has it been like this?
ANGÉLICA Desde esta mañana, doctor. / Since this morning, doctor.
MOTHER SUPERIOR watches, unmoved, silent.
DR. OSZEK Su pulso es muy débil. El corazón también. Esta chica está muy enferma. / Her pulse is very weak. Her heart is weak too. This girl is very sick.
JUSTINE stirs. Her eyes open—just slightly. She sees the Crucifix around ANGÉLICA’S neck. She screams.
DR. OSZEK [cont.] ¿Qué te pasa hija, que te pasa? Tranquilízate… tranquilízate. Así… así. / What’s wrong, daughter? What’s wrong? Calm down… calm down. Like this… like this.
JUSTINE passes out. ANGÉLICA weeps silently. MOTHER SUPERIOR watches, unmoved. OSZEK stares at his hands.
FADE.
Scene 3: The Trial of the Flesh
FATHER LÁZARO’S study. A dark, oppressive room dominated by a massive, bleeding crucifix. ALUCARDA sits in a hard wooden chair, unnervingly calm. GERMANA stands by the door.
GERMANA (Hissing) Es tu turno ahora, Alucarda. El Padre te sacará el veneno. / It’s your turn now, Alucarda. The Father will draw out the poison.
LÁZARO enters. He moves with heavy, rhythmic steps. ALUCARDA rises slowly, crosses the stage with the grace of a predator, and kneels before him with mocking, exaggerated piety.
LÁZARO (His voice a low rumble) Dime, hija mía… / Tell me, my daughter…
ALUCARDA (Voice like silver) Yo… yo… / I… I…
LÁZARO Sí. Adelante. / Yes. Continue.
ALUCARDA Me han dicho que viniera aquí. Me pidieron responder una pregunta y lo hice… y la Hermana Germana se enfadó mucho conmigo. / They told me to come here. They asked me to answer a question and I did… and Sister Germana got very angry with me.
LÁZARO Y por una buena razón. Me han explicado lo que pasó. ¿Has pecado, Alucarda? / And for good reason. They’ve explained what happened to me. Have you sinned, Alucarda?
ALUCARDA (Looking up, eyes wide) No recuerdo haber hecho nada malo. / I don’t remember doing anything wrong.
LÁZARO (Leaning over her) Los mentirosos arderán en el infierno por la eternidad. ¿Estás segura? No pierdas esta oportunidad. Puedes contar la verdad ahora y aquí. / Liars will burn in hell for eternity. Are you sure? Don’t miss this opportunity. You can tell the truth right now, right here.
ALUCARDA rises slowly until she is standing dangerously close.
ALUCARDA No he mentido. Amo la vida… con Justine. Nos hemos vuelto muy unidas. Yo la amo, y usted… usted se hace llamar bendito. Usted cree en la ‘vida eterna’ y adora a un Dios muerto… pero yo adoro la Vida. Usted adora la Muerte. / I haven’t lied. I love life… with Justine. We’ve become very close. I love her, and you… you call yourself blessed. You believe in ‘eternal life’ and worship a dead God… but I worship Life. You worship Death.
ALUCARDA Yo quiero a Justine. Y usted… usted solo quiere matar. Hemos hecho un pacto y lo sellamos con nuestra sangre. ¡La culpa no es nuestra, es suya! Se cubre el cuerpo con esa negra sotana porque se avergüenza de él. Tiene miedo a la vida… / I love Justine. And you… you only want to kill. We made a pact and sealed it with our blood. The fault is not ours, it’s yours! You cover your body with that black cassock because you’re ashamed of it. You’re afraid of life…
(She grabs the edge of his robe, her face inches from his.)
¿Pero le gustaría poseerme, verdad? ¡Pues tómeme! ¡Quítese esa sotana! ¡Sea el hombre que oculta bajo su miedo! / But you’d like to possess me, wouldn’t you? Well, take me! Take off that cassock! Be the man you hide beneath your fear!
LÁZARO lets out a guttural, primal scream. He falls backward, tripping over his own chair.
GERMANA (Rushing over) ¿Pero qué pasa, Padre? ¿Qué ha pasado? / But what’s wrong, Father? What happened?
LÁZARO (Cowering on the floor) ¡Sáquela de aquí! ¡Fuera! ¡Dios mío, no… no… no! / Get her out of here! Get out! Oh my God, no… no… no!
ALUCARDA stands over him, laughing. GERMANA drags her out as LÁZARO begins to pray frantically in Latin, his voice cracking.
FADE.
Scene 4: The Cathedral of Pain
The basement of the Convent. A vaulted stone cellar. The air is thick with dampness and the smell of copper. FATHER LÁZARO and THE NUNS are stripped to the waist, their backs crisscrossed with bloody welts. They move in a rhythmic, agonizing dance of self-flagellation.
LÁZARO (Ragged, punctuated by the crack of the whip) ¡Lo que dijo era horrible! ¡No eran palabras de una niña… era el demonio hablando por su boca! ¡Solo el Diablo! / What she said was horrible! Those weren’t the words of a little girl… it was the devil speaking through her! Only the Devil!
GERMANA (Wailing as she strikes herself) ¡Por favor, Señor, no nos abandones ante la dificultad! ¡Líbranos! / Please, Lord, do not abandon us in our time of difficulty! Deliver us!
NUNS ¡El Diablo! ¡El Diablo está entre nosotros! / The Devil! The Devil is among us!
LÁZARO signals for them to stop. They collapse, panting. He produces a heavy, ancient Vatican record.
LÁZARO ¿Creen que estar en la Iglesia nos protege? He leído los archivos del Vaticano… incidentes confirmados. En 1479, en el monasterio de Cameron, las monjas ladraban como perros y predecían el futuro. ¡Convirtieron el santuario en un templo de Satán! / Do you think being in the Church protects us? I’ve read the Vatican archives… confirmed incidents. In 1479, at the Cameron monastery, the nuns barked like dogs and predicted the future. They turned the sanctuary into a temple of Satan!
GERMANA (Reading from the book) En 1550, las monjas de Nazareth subían a los árboles como gatos… levitaban durante horas en el aire del demonio. / In 1550, the nuns of Nazareth climbed trees like cats… they levitated for hours in the devil’s air.
NUN III ¡En Roma! Tres huérfanas como estas… dos enfermaron, la tercera enloqueció. ¡Murieron las tres! ¡Justine y Alucarda están poseídas! / In Rome! Three orphans like these… two fell ill, the third went mad. All three died! Justine and Alucarda are possessed!
TERESA (A lone voice) No… el diablo puede estar en cualquier parte, pero no en esas pobres chicas. / No… the devil can be anywhere, but not in those poor girls.
LÁZARO (Turning on her) ¡Es una conspiración! Satán elige a las criaturas más delicadas para destruir a la Sagrada Iglesia Católica. Tal vez no sea el Rey de las Tinieblas… pero es uno de sus mensajeros. ¿Cuánto tiempo hace que Justine se comporta así? / It’s a conspiracy! Satan chooses the most vulnerable creatures to destroy the Holy Catholic Church. Perhaps he isn’t the King of Darkness… but he’s one of his messengers. How long has Justine been acting this way?
TERESA Casi una semana. Dijo que… que le molestaba la luz. / Almost a week. He said that… that the light bothered him.
LÁZARO (With terrifying triumph) ¡Eso es! Un diablo heliofóbico. La sexta categoría de los infiernos. El que odia la luz y actúa en las sombras. ¡Para salvarlas, debemos destruir al mensajero! / That’s it! A heliophobic devil. The sixth category of Hell. One who hates the light and acts in the shadows. To save them, we must destroy the messenger!
(He raises his bloody whip like a scepter.)
¡Tenemos que preparar un Exorcismo! / We need to prepare an exorcism!
THE NUNS gasp and cross themselves. The static of the Zone swells, swallowing the sound of their prayers.
FADE.
Scene 5: The Theft of the Innocent
Justine’s room. Dimly lit. JUSTINE is deathly still on the bed. ANGÉLICA hovers over her.
ANGÉLICA ¡Justine… mi pobre Justine! No dejaré que te toquen con sus látigos. No dejaré que te lleven a ese sótano de sombras. Te esconderé… donde el desierto no pueda encontrarte y la Iglesia no pueda romperte. / Justine… my poor Justine! I won’t let them touch you with their whips. I won’t let them take you to that cellar of shadows. I’ll hide you… where the desert can’t find you and the Church can’t break you.
She struggles to lift JUSTINE.
ANGÉLICA Vamos, pequeña… ayúdame. El aire aquí está envenenado. Tenemos que correr antes de que el sol se ponga. / Come on, little one… help me. The air here is poisoned. We have to run before the sun sets.
The door is kicked open. THREE NUNS enter. They move with mechanical, cold efficiency.
NUN I (Sharp, accusing) ¿Hermana? ¿Qué está haciendo? El Padre Lázaro ha reclamado a la niña para la purificación. / Sister? What are you doing? Father Lazarus has claimed the girl for purification.
ANGÉLICA (Shielding Justine) ¡No! ¡Ella no es un demonio! / No! She’s not a demon!
THE NUNS advance. A struggle.
NUNS ¡Apártate, Angélica! Tienes que salir. ¡Abran la puerta! / Step aside, Angelica! You have to leave. Open the door!
ANGÉLICA ¡No! ¡Justine! ¡No dejaré que se la lleven! ¡Es mi sangre! ¡Es mi alma! / No! Justine! I won’t let them take her! She’s my blood! She’s my soul!
THE NUNS grab JUSTINE’S arms and legs. They drag her from the bed. JUSTINE remains limp, her head lolling back.
ANGÉLICA (Screaming) ¿A dónde se la llevan? ¡Justine! ¡Contéstame! / Where are they taking her? Justine! Answer me!
THE NUNS push ANGÉLICA back into the room and slam the door. The bolt slides into place.
ANGÉLICA collapses against the wood.
ANGÉLICA (A long, haunting wail) ¡Ay, mi niña… mi niña…! / Oh, my little girl… my little girl…!
She weeps. The sound of her sorrow echoes.
FADE.
Scene 6: The Exorcism (The Breaking of the Vessel)
The Torture Chamber of the Convent. A suffocating space of red stone. JUSTINE, almost lifeless, is tied to a wooden cross. The instruments of ‘purification’ gleam under the torches. Smoke fills the air.
A NUN drags ALUCARDA inside. Upon seeing JUSTINE, ALUCARDA lets out a wail.
THE NUNS drag her to a second cross and chain her up.
FATHER LÁZARO enters.
LÁZARO No desesperes, hija mía… estamos aquí para librarte del Mal. No son ustedes, es el demonio quien se resiste. ¡Lo demostraré exponiendo la Marca Diaboli! ¡Desvístanla! / Do not despair, my daughter… we are here to free you from Evil. It is not you, it is the devil who resists. I will prove it by revealing the Mark of the Devil! Undress her!
ALUCARDA (A heartbreaking lament) Justine… no… ¡Morirán pronto! ¡Sentirán el fuego que yo ya conozco! / Justine… no… They will die soon! They will feel the fire I already know!
THE NUNS undress JUSTINE. At the sight of her naked body, THE NUNS enter a collective hysteria—they crawl, howl, pound the floor.
LÁZARO (Exalted) ¡Ahí está la evidencia! ¡No pueden oír el nombre del Salvador! ¡Están poseídas! ¡Cállenla! / There’s the proof! They can’t hear the Savior’s name! They’re possessed! Silence her!
ALUCARDA is gagged.
LÁZARO begins the Great Exorcism.
LÁZARO ¡Yo te ordeno, espíritu diabólico! Por aquel que juzga el mundo… ¡Abandona estos cuerpos! ¡Vuelve a las profundidades! Humíllate ante Cristo, que salva a las almas del fuego. ¡Dios Padre te lo ordena! ¡La Sagrada Cruz te lo ordena! / I command you, demonic spirit! By Him who judges the world… Leave these bodies! Return to the depths! Humble yourself before Christ, who saves souls from the fire. God the Father commands you! The Holy Cross commands you!
THE NUNS intensify their torment. JUSTINE breathes her last. Her head falls.
The door crashes open. ANGÉLICA and DR. OSZEK enter.
ANGÉLICA (A blood-curdling scream) ¡Justine! ¡Mi niña! / Justine! My girl!
DR. OSZEK ¡Paren! ¡Deténganse! ¡Esto es la expresión más primitiva de ignorancia que he visto! ¡Usted… Lázaro… acaba de matar a Justine! / Stop! Halt! This is the most primitive expression of ignorance I have ever seen! You… Lazarus… have just killed Justine!
LÁZARO (Cold) ¡Cómo se atreve a interrumpir un rito sagrado, Doctor! / How dare you interrupt a sacred rite, Doctor!
OSZEK examines ALUCARDA.
DR. OSZEK Malditos sean… desátenla. Me llevaré a esta chica antes de que la maten también. Su ‘fe’ es un matadero. / Damn them… untie her. I’ll take this girl before they kill her too. Their ‘faith’ is a slaughterhouse.
OSZEK takes ALUCARDA in his arms. She is catatonic, staring at JUSTINE’S body.
THE NUNS lower JUSTINE and hand her to ANGÉLICA.
ANGÉLICA holds JUSTINE’S bloodied body in a grotesque Pietà. OSZEK leaves with ALUCARDA. LÁZARO remains impassive, like a stone statue.
ANGÉLICA (To Germana) Fuiste testigo… permitiste esto. ¿Dónde está el amor? Destruyeron su cuerpo… pero el Señor no abandonará su alma. Que Dios tenga piedad de usted, porque el desierto no la tendrá. / You were a witness… you allowed this. Where is the love? They destroyed her body… but the Lord will not abandon her soul. May God have mercy on you, for the desert will not.
GERMANA (Icy, triumphant) Suficiente, hermana. / Enough, sister.
END OF ACT II.
Scene 7: The Clinic of Shadows
Dr. Oszek’s study. Filled with the artifacts of 1910 progress: a brass-horned gramophone, anatomical charts, glass jars of specimens. Outside, the Desert wind makes the glassware rattle.
ALUCARDA lies unconscious on a leather fainting couch. DR. OSZEK sits by her side, checking her pulse. His face is haunted.
ALUCARDA wakes up screaming.
ALUCARDA ¡No, no! / No, no!
DR. OSZEK Todo está bien… / Everything’s fine…
ALUCARDA ¡No me toque, no me toque! / Don’t touch me, don’t touch me!
DR. OSZEK Nadie quiere hacerte daño, todo está bien. / Nobody wants to hurt you, everything is fine.
ALUCARDA calms down.
ALUCARDA Tú no… ¡el viento! / Not you… the wind!
DR. OSZEK (Sighing, putting on his spectacles) Lo que usted llama ‘el viento’ es una corriente térmica del Bolsón de Mapimí. Usted sufre de una disociación severa. Es fascinante, en realidad. Un caso de libro sobre cómo la represión religiosa fractura la psique femenina. / What you call ‘the wind’ is a thermal current from the Bolsón de Mapimí. You suffer from severe dissociation. It’s fascinating, really. A textbook case of how religious repression fractures the female psyche.
ALUCARDA moves toward him with a predator’s grace.
ALUCARDA Usted cruzó el mar para medirnos, ¿verdad? Cree que si le pone un nombre en latín a mi sed, la sed desaparecerá. Pero dígame, Doctor… ¿qué nombre le puso al miedo que siente ahora? / You crossed the sea to measure us, didn’t you? You think that if you give my thirst a Latin name, it will disappear. But tell me, Doctor… what name did you give to the fear you feel now?
DR. OSZEK (Chuckling nervously) Yo no siento miedo. Siento curiosidad profesional. / I don’t feel fear. I feel professional curiosity.
ALUCARDA leans close, looking into his eyes. The electric light flickers and buzzes.
ALUCARDA Mientes. Tus ojos huelen a Viena… huelen a bibliotecas antiguas y a una hija que jamás podrías entender. Crees que estoy enferma porque quiero sangre. Pero acabo de despertar. Y tú… estás rodeado de fantasmas que no entiendes. / You’re lying. Your eyes smell of Vienna… they smell of old libraries and a daughter you could never understand. You think I’m sick because I crave blood. But I’ve just woken up. And you… you’re surrounded by ghosts you don’t understand.
ALUCARDA vanishes into the flickering shadows. The room is empty, save for OSZEK, who remains deathly still.
A knock at the door.
DR. OSZEK (Calling) ¿Quién es? / Who is it?
TERESA (Muffled) Soy yo, hermana Teresa. Algo terrible ha pasado en el Convento, tiene que venir. / It’s me, Sister Teresa. Something terrible has happened at the convent; you must come.
OSZEK opens the door.
DR. OSZEK Pero si son las cinco de la mañana. / But it’s five in the morning.
TERESA La reverenda madre me envió a buscarte; dice que tienes que venir enseguida. / The Reverend Mother sent me to find you; she says you have to come right away.
DR. OSZEK Ya estoy acostumbrado a las terribles cosas que pasan en el Convento. ¿Qué sucede ahora? / I’m used to the terrible things that happen at the convent. What’s happening now?
TERESA ¡Es Justine! ¡No está muerta! / It’s Justine! She’s not dead!
They exit together.
FADE.
Scene 8: The Transgression of the Flesh
The Convent Chapel. The altar is in disarray. The air smells of ozone and burnt flesh. DR. OSZEK enters hurriedly, followed by MOTHER SUPERIOR, who stands in the doorway, watching in silence.
DR. OSZEK (Looking at an empty spot) ¿Quién ha hecho esto? ¡El cuerpo de Justine ha desaparecido! ¡Las telas están trituradas! / Who did this? Justine’s body has disappeared! The fabrics are shredded!
FATHER LÁZARO
[Entering.] Parecía como si hubiera sido secuestrada por los demonios del infierno. / It looked as if she had been kidnapped by demons from hell.
DR. OSZEK ¡Superstición! Tendré que avisar a las autoridades. Alguien robó el cuerpo; no hay otra lógica. / Superstition! I’ll have to notify the authorities. Someone stole the body; there’s no other explanation.
A NUN bursts in screaming. Everyone rushes to GERMANA’S cell. On the floor, a pile of ashes and charred human remains, still smoldering.
DR. OSZEK (Bending over, horrified) Ha sido quemada hasta morir… por dentro. Una combustión imposible. / She has been burned to death… from the inside out. An impossible combustion.
MOTHER SUPERIOR watches, unmoved, silent.
LÁZARO, with inhuman coldness, lifts the charred corpse and carries it to the chapel. Suddenly, an inhuman scream tears through the silence. The ‘dead’ corpse stirs, writhes, emits shrieks.
LÁZARO raises a machete and begins to strike the neck with rhythmic violence. Blood splatters the paintings of saints. Finally, he severs the head.
DR. OSZEK (Panting, backing away) ¿Qué significa esto? ¡Estaba muerta y seguía moviéndose! / What does this mean? She was dead and yet she was still moving!
LÁZARO El Diablo la movía. ¿Cómo explica esto su ‘ciencia’, Doctor? Ha sucedido ante sus ojos. ¿Aún duda? / The Devil was moving her. How do you explain this with your ‘science’, Doctor? It happened right before your eyes. Do you still doubt?
DR. OSZEK En París me enseñaron que la religión era farsa y cadena… que la mente enferma crea sus propios demonios. Soy un hombre razonable, pero me enfrento a lo sobrenatural y tengo miedo. Esta mujer estaba muerta… pero algo habitaba en ella preparado para atacar. Es el Diablo… es el Diablo. / In Paris, I was taught that religion was a farce and a chain… that a sick mind creates its own demons. I am a reasonable man, but when I face the supernatural, I am afraid. This woman was dead… but something dwelled within her, ready to strike. It is the Devil… it is the Devil.
LÁZARO Él la llevó del altar al infierno. Germana fue contaminada. / He led her from the altar to hell. Germana was corrupted.
A VOICE Fue Justine. Ella es el foco. / It was Justine. She’s the focus.
ANGÉLICA (From the shadows) ¿Justine? No… ella es la víctima. / Justine? No… she’s the victim.
LÁZARO Tenemos que encontrarla antes de que haya más cuerpos, más poseídos. Ella es el mensajero de la sed. / We have to find her before there are more bodies, more possessed people. She is the messenger of thirst.
DR. OSZEK Debemos encontrarla… o lo que quede de ella. / We must find her… or what’s left of her.
ANGÉLICA (Taking a step forward) Yo sé dónde buscar. Conozco los sitios donde solían esconderse del mundo. / I know where to look. I know the places where they used to hide from the world.
DR. OSZEK Entonces, guíenos, Angélica. / So, guide us, Angelica.
ANGÉLICA (Taking the Doctor’s hand) Prométame que no le hará daño. Prométamelo, Doctor… por lo que queda de su alma. / Promise me you won’t hurt her. Promise me, Doctor… on what’s left of your soul.
DR. OSZEK (Broken) Vamos. / Come on.
They all leave, save LÁZARO, who remains on stage with GERMANA’S remains.
FADE.
Scene 9: The Altar of the First Mother
The ruins of the colonial palace. Moonlight cuts through the cracked ceiling in jagged shafts. The air is stagnant.
DR. OSZEK, MOTHER SUPERIOR, and several NUNS enter cautiously, led by ANGÉLICA. They reach the chamber where LUCY’S COFFIN sits.
ANGÉLICA (In a breathless whisper) Doctor… Justine no puede estar lejos. Puedo sentir su frío aquí mismo. / Doctor… Justine can’t be far away. I can feel her coldness right here.
DR. OSZEK (Pointing to a small door) Parece que hay otra salida. Vamos, hermanas. / It seems there’s another way out. Come on, sisters.
Everyone exits except ANGÉLICA. She stands alone among the broken statues. She looks at the Coffin.
ANGÉLICA (Approaching the lid) ¿Justine? ¿Hija? / Justine? Daughter?
She heaves the lid open. A sickening, wet sound—the splash of liquid. The coffin is overflowing with dark, thick blood. SUBMERGED in it is the reanimated JUSTINE. Her skin is translucent gray, her fingers have become eagle-like talons, her face a skeletal mask of hunger.
JUSTINE rises from the blood. She lets out a piercing, unearthly scream. She lunges, slashing ANGÉLICA’S face.
JUSTINE freezes, recognizing ANGÉLICA. The eagle-claws soften. For a heartbeat, she looks human again—lost and small. ANGÉLICA, sobbing, pulls her into a maternal embrace.
ANGÉLICA Justine… oh Dios, mi pequeña Justine… / Justine… oh God, my little Justine…
The door bursts open. DR. OSZEK and MOTHER SUPERIOR rush in. Seeing the ‘monster’ embracing ANGÉLICA, he cries out.
JUSTINE’S face twists back into the Cihuateteo snarl. In a blind rage, she bites deep into ANGÉLICA’S neck. OSZEK and MOTHER SUPERIOR pin JUSTINE back into the coffin.
DR. OSZEK ¡Sosténgala! ¡Ahora! / Hold it! Now!
They drive a wooden stake through JUSTINE’S chest. JUSTINE shrieks one last time, her body reverting to its original, fragile form as the life leaves her for the second and final time.
Everyone gathers around the dying ANGÉLICA.
ANGÉLICA (A faint whisper) Doctor… Alucarda… el… el Convento… / Doctor… Alucarda… the… the Convent…
She dies in OSZEK’S arms.
MOTHER SUPERIOR turns—slowly, deliberately—and exits. She does not look back.
THE NUNS carry ANGÉLICA’S body off-stage. OSZEK remains for a moment, looking at his blood-stained hands, before picking up JUSTINE’S lifeless body and following them into the darkness.
The stage is empty. The coffin drips.
FADE.
Scene 10: The Burning Sanctuary (The Finale)
The Grand Chapel of the Convent. Massive crucifixes hang from the rafters. The air is thick with smoke. Outside, the sky is a bruised purple.
FATHER LÁZARO stands at the altar, leading THE NUNS in a desperate, percussive chant. They are terrified.
ALUCARDA enters through the massive main doors. She is transformed into something ancient—a feathered serpent-like goddess. Every step she takes causes the floorboards to smolder.
ALUCARDA ¿Dónde está mi mitad, Lázaro? ¿Dónde está la sangre que ustedes intentaron drenar? / Where is my other half, Lazarus? Where is the blood you tried to drain?
LÁZARO (Screaming, holding up a monstrance) ¡Atrás, Hija de las Tinieblas! ¡El fuego te espera! / Back off, Daughter of Darkness! The fire awaits you!
ALUCARDA (Laughing) El fuego no es mi castigo, Padre. El fuego es mi corona. Ustedes construyeron estas paredes para esconderse de la tierra… ¡pero la tierra ha venido a cobrar su deuda! / Fire is not my punishment, Father. Fire is my crown. You built these walls to hide from the earth… but the earth has come to collect its due!
ALUCARDA pulls down the heavy oil lamps from the ceiling. Fire races across the carpets and THE NUNS’ robes. THE NUNS scream and dance as the flames grow.
ALUCARDA (Final Aria) ¡Mírenme! Soy la hija de la encrucijada. Soy el mapa que se borra. El Convento es ceniza, la Iglesia es polvo. ¡En el Silencio todos somos libres! / Look at me! I am the daughter of the crossroads. I am the map that fades away. The Convent is ash, the Church is dust. In Silence, we are all free!
As the Chapel burns, the doors burst open. DR. OSZEK enters, carrying JUSTINE’S body. The stake is still visible in her chest.
DR. OSZEK (Broken) Aquí está… Alucarda. Aquí está tu ‘libertad’. La medicina no pudo salvarla… y mi mano tuvo que terminarla. Todo es ceniza… mi ciencia, mi razón… todo es ceniza. / Here she is… Alucarda. Here is your ‘freedom’. Medicine could not save her… and my hand had to end it. All is ash… my science, my reason… all is ash.
ALUCARDA stops the fire for a moment. She walks toward OSZEK. He falls to his knees and lays JUSTINE’S body on the stones.
ALUCARDA kneels and pulls the stake from JUSTINE’S chest. She cradles her head.
ALUCARDA Pobre pajarillo de Viena… Quisiste medir el infinito con una regla de madera. Justine… mi sangre… ya no hay más sed. Solo queda el sueño. / Poor little bird of Vienna… You tried to measure infinity with a wooden ruler. Justine… my blood… there is no more thirst. Only sleep remains.
ALUCARDA looks at OSZEK, then at LÁZARO.
ALUCARDA [cont.] Ustedes ganaron, ¿verdad? Ella está muerta. El monstruo ha sido vencido. Pero miren a su alrededor… han quemado su propio cielo para matar a una niña. / You won, didn’t you? She’s dead. The monster has been defeated. But look around you… you burned your own sky to kill a little girl.
THE EXTINGUISHING OF THE NUNS
THE NUNS begin to fall. One by one, they crumple to the floor. As each Nun falls, she reaches up and reverses her own habit—the black outer layer pulled away to reveal ash-gray beneath. Each becomes a pile that looks, from the audience, like ash.
LÁZARO alone remains standing. He opens his mouth to speak—and nothing comes out. He crumples last, reversing his own cassock as he falls, becoming just another pile.
THE MOTHER SUPERIOR’S EXIT
In the midst of the chaos, crossing from one side of the stage to the other, walking through the fire without looking at it—the MOTHER SUPERIOR.
She does not run. She does not hurry. She walks at the same pace she has walked these halls for forty years. She passes LÁZARO’S falling body without a glance. She steps over a fallen Nun without breaking stride. She reaches the edge of the stage, pauses just long enough to adjust her wimple, and exits.
She does not look back.
THE VANISHING
ALUCARDA stands at the center of the chapel, JUSTINE in her arms. The fire surrounds them but does not touch them. The light begins to drain from the stage—a slow desaturation, as if color itself is being pulled away.
As the light fades, ALUCARDA and JUSTINE become silhouettes. The final image is their embrace outlined against the glow of the embers.
Then: nothing. The stage is empty. The piles remain. The embers glow.
Silence. Five seconds. Ten.
EPILOGUE
THE BRUJA enters from the back of the theater, walking through the audience. She carries a marigold.
She steps onto the stage. She moves carefully between the piles, never disturbing them. She stops at the center.
From her pocket, she produces the marigold. Holds it up. The light catches it—the only color in the gray.
She drops it into the ash.
She looks out at the audience. She smiles—not warmly, not coldly, but with the patience of something that has waited centuries and can wait centuries more.
She exits the way she came, through the audience.
The stage is empty. The marigold glows in the single pinspot.
A solo cello—offstage, distant—plays a single, haunting phrase. Once. Softly. Then fades.
作者：玛格丽特·卡文迪什（1668） By Margaret Cavendish (1668) 第一幕 · 第一场 ACT I · SCENE I （三位绅士上场，游手好闲地踱步。他们年轻、时髦、且只顾自己。） (Enter three Gentlemen, walking idly. They are young, fashionable, and concerned only with themselves.) 绅士甲 汤姆！你这副模样，活像刚吃了一场败仗。你这是哪儿去了？ FIRST GENTLEMAN Tom! You look as if you had just lost a battle. Where have you been? 绅士乙（汤姆） 方才从福图内特勋爵的葬礼回来。他把所有家产都留给了独生女——快乐小姐。如今可是富得惊人了。 SECOND GENTLEMAN (Tom) I have just come from the funeral of Lord Fortunate. He has left all his estate to his only daughter, Mistress Pleasure. She is now exceedingly rich. 绅士甲 好，号角一响。城里但凡能喘气的单身汉，都得把家底败光在意大利华服、法国马车和一大群跟班身上，就为了追她。 FIRST GENTLEMAN Well then, the trumpet is sounded. Every bachelor in town that can draw breath will waste his estate on Italian clothes, French coaches, and a troop of attendants, all to court her. 绅士丙 要是追求者都像咱们似的，是些次子——没地、没爵位，只有一张巧嘴和一屁股债——那咱们就是拿白日梦把自己送进破产的深渊。不过汤姆，她至少长得漂亮吧？ THIRD GENTLEMAN If her suitors are like us—mere younger sons, with no land, no title, nothing but smooth tongues and heavy debts—we shall ruin ourselves upon dreams alone. But tell me, Tom: is she at least handsome? 绅士乙（汤姆） 漂亮。年轻。有钱。而且据说……品行端庄。 SECOND GENTLEMAN (Tom) Handsome. Young. Rich. And, as they say… virtuous. 绅士甲 说真的，好事全让一个人占了。这未免太贪得无厌。 FIRST GENTLEMAN In truth, she has too much good fortune for one person. It is an excess. 绅士乙（汤姆） 要是她能归你，你就不会这么说了。 SECOND GENTLEMAN (Tom) If she were yours, you would not think it so. 绅士甲 不，我倒不嫌多——我担得起。我是说，这对其他任何男人来说都太多了。 FIRST GENTLEMAN No, for my part I should not complain—I could bear it well. I mean only that it is too much for any other man. （他们退场，已然开始盘算。） (Exeunt, already deep in calculation.)
第一幕 · 第二场 ACT I · SCENE II （场景：海皮小姐的房间。海皮小姐心意已决，显得光彩照人。一名仆人忧心忡忡地站在一旁。） (Scene: Lady Happy’s chamber. Lady Happy appears resolved and radiant. A Servant stands by, anxiously attentive.) 仆人 小姐……您年轻、貌美、富有，而且德行高尚。我真心希望您不会把这些天赋——这些来自自然、命运和上天的馈赠——白白浪费在一个根本配不上您的男人身上。 SERVANT Madam, you are young, beautiful, rich, and virtuous. I sincerely hope you will not squander these gifts—bestowed by Nature, Fortune, and Heaven—upon a man wholly unworthy of you. 海皮小姐 让我告诉你。财富该施予穷人，青春该赠予老者，美貌该赋予丑陋之人，而德行该送给恶徒。所以，若我遵循这套逻辑，去正确地安置我的天赋……我就得嫁给一个穷困潦倒、老态龙钟、面目可憎，且彻底堕落的男人才对。 LADY HAPPY Hear me then. Riches should be given to the poor, youth bestowed upon the aged, beauty upon the ugly, and virtue upon the vicious. Therefore, if I were to distribute my gifts according to this rule, I should marry a man that is poor, old, deformed, and utterly corrupt. 仆人 天理难容啊！ SERVANT Heaven forbid! 海皮小姐 不，别这么说。上天不仅容许——简直是要求我们如此。难道我们没被教导要施予匮乏之人吗？ LADY HAPPY No, say not so. Heaven not only permits it, but commands it. Are we not taught to give to those who lack? （调解夫人上场。她是世俗常规观念的代言人。） (Enter the Mediatrix, a spokesperson for worldly custom.) 调解夫人 小姐，您这说的……不会是认真的吧？您不会真打算去做这种事吧？ THE MEDIATRIX Madam, surely you cannot be serious in this? You do not truly intend such a course? 海皮小姐 我的言语与我的意图，步调完全一致。我向你保证。 LADY HAPPY My words and my intentions keep equal pace, I assure you. 调解夫人 可您总不能真要把自己锁在修道院里吧！ THE MEDIATRIX But surely you do not mean to shut yourself up in a convent! 海皮小姐 为何不能？那个所谓的“公共世界”究竟有什么，能对我产生如此不可抗拒的吸引力？ LADY HAPPY And why not? What is there in the so-called public world that should so irresistibly draw me? 调解夫人 总比自我放逐要强！ THE MEDIATRIX It is better than self-banishment! 海皮小姐 让我们来审视一下。假设我嫁给了最好的男人——如果这种东西真的存在的话。即便如此，婚姻带来的心碎与束缚，也远多于快乐或自由。对于一个有灵魂的女人来说，婚姻是比任何修道院都更严酷的牢笼。 LADY HAPPY Let us examine it. Suppose I were to marry the best of men—if such a thing exists. Even then, marriage brings more heartbreak and bondage than joy or liberty. To a woman with a soul, marriage is a stricter prison than any convent. 或者，也许我该享受被追求者簇拥的乐趣？让他们凝视我的脸庞，赞美我的聪慧？但我能从他们的眼神里得到什么？从他们的言语里得到什么？言语转瞬即逝，目光空无一物。而我因为他们的造访所损失的名誉，将远多于从他们的奉承中获得的。 Or perhaps I should delight in being courted? Let them gaze upon my face, applaud my wit. But what gain I from their looks? What from their words? Words vanish, looks contain nothing; and the reputation I lose by their visits outweighs whatever pleasure I receive from their flattery. 真相是，女人忍受这个公共世界，仅仅是为了迎合男人。既然男人充满了愚蠢、虚荣和虚伪……我们又何苦为他们烦心？我的“退隐”，并非要将生活拒之门外……唯独要将男人拒之门外。 The truth is this: women endure the public world only to please men. And since men are full of folly, vanity, and hypocrisy, why should we trouble ourselves for them? My retreat is not to exclude life itself—only to exclude men. 调解夫人 噢，可那是将一切都拒之门外了！所有世俗的享乐都化为乌有了！ THE MEDIATRIX Oh, but that is to exclude everything! All worldly pleasures would be lost! 海皮小姐 那只能说明，世人享乐的方式做错了。 LADY HAPPY Then it proves only that the world mistakes the nature of pleasure. 调解夫人 您是说古往今来的圣徒都是傻瓜？他们受苦是为了上帝！ THE MEDIATRIX Do you mean to say that all saints of former ages were fools? They suffered for God! 海皮小姐 不，他们是为了活在别人的评价里。任何有理性的人会相信，上帝是以我们的痛苦为乐的吗？上帝赋予我们感官，难道就是为了折磨它们吗？ LADY HAPPY No—they suffered to live in the opinions of others. Can any rational person believe that God delights in our misery? Did God give us senses merely to torment them? 让人们穿粗毛衬衣、鞭笞皮肤、忍饥挨饿、睡在石头上，这对神明有何益处？莫非是上帝缺了上好的亚麻与美食，而我们在囤积不成？难道上帝竟在与自然为敌，所以凡是令自然痛苦的事，就能取悦上帝？ What benefit has God from hair shirts, scourged flesh, hunger, or stone beds? Does God lack fine linen or rich food, that we hoard them? Or is God at war with Nature, that whatever pains Nature must please Heaven? 调解夫人 当事情是为上帝而做时，自然中的痛苦便升华为神圣。 THE MEDIATRIX When actions are done for God, the pains of nature become sacred. 海皮小姐 如果一件事既不能给上帝带来快乐，也不能带来益处，它就不可能神圣。人们如此受苦并非为了上帝，而是为了他们自己——为了感觉自己神圣，为了被世人看作神圣。 LADY HAPPY If an action brings neither pleasure nor benefit to God, it cannot be sacred. People suffer not for God, but for themselves—to feel holy, and to be thought holy. 我相信上帝更喜悦欢乐的赞颂，而非饥饿的肚腹。当身体因斋戒而虚弱，精神因守夜而疲惫，整个生活充满痛苦时，灵魂几乎没有意愿去崇拜。 I believe God delights more in joyful praise than in empty stomachs. When bodies are weakened by fasting and minds exhausted by vigils, when life itself is pain, the soul scarcely wishes to worship. 那样的奉献是强迫的。他们的祈祷不过是流经排水沟的污秽雨水——而非从心底涌出的清泉。 Such devotion is forced. Their prayers are foul rain running through gutters, not clear springs rising from the heart. 如果众神是残酷的，我将侍奉自然。但众神是慷慨的，他们赐予一切美好之物，并吩咐我们在最适合的事物中，自由地取悦自己。 If the gods were cruel, I would serve Nature instead. But the gods are generous: they give all good things, and command us to take pleasure freely in what best suits us. 调解夫人 可如果您把自己关起来，又如何享受男人的陪伴呢？那被认为是人生最大的乐趣。 THE MEDIATRIX But if you shut yourself away, how will you enjoy the company of men? That is thought the greatest pleasure of life. 海皮小姐 男人是女人唯一的麻烦制造者！正是他们阻挠我们的欢乐，破坏我们的安宁。他们将我们的性别变为奴隶。我绝不接受奴役。我将彻底从他们的陪伴中退出。 LADY HAPPY Men are the only disturbers of women’s happiness! They obstruct our pleasures and destroy our peace. They enslave our sex. I will not submit to bondage. I will wholly withdraw from their company. 为此，我将召集志同道合的高贵女子。我的“快活庵”将不是束缚之地，而是自由之地；不是折磨感官，而是取悦感官。 Therefore, I will gather noble ladies of like mind. My Convent of Pleasure shall be not a place of restraint, but of liberty; not to mortify the senses, but to delight them. （她的愿景满溢而出，化为歌唱，语调转为狂喜而感官的宣告。） (Her vision overflows into song, her tone turning ecstatic and sensual.) 【歌】 [Song] 让感官尽享每一分欢愉， 愿此生满溢着欣喜。 心神在极乐中徜徉， 远避那琐碎与忧伤。 Let every sense take its full delight, And let our lives be filled with joy; Let minds in perfect pleasure move, Far from all petty cares and grief. 大地与深海是我们的粮官， 为我们搜罗山珍与海产； 麦田金黄，鲜果低垂， 丰裕之角献上无尽的盛筵。 The earth and sea our stewards are, They bring us treasures from field and wave; Golden corn and bending fruit, And plenty’s horn pours endless feasts. 我们将身着最柔软的丝绸， 亚麻细密，洁白如乳。 画作斑斓愉悦双眼， 馥郁芬芳萦绕鼻尖。 We shall wear the softest silks, Fine linen white as milk; Paintings shall delight our eyes, Sweet perfumes please the sense of smell. 乐音悠扬，如梦如幻， 珍馐美馔，唇齿流连。 变化将滋养每一种感官， 并在其中催生新的渴盼。 Music shall charm the listening ear, Rich meats delight the taste; Variety shall feed each sense, And still beget new appetite. 在这“快活庵”中，我 将与欢愉同在，至死方休。 And in this Convent of Pleasure, I shall live with delight until death. （海皮小姐退场，容光焕发。调解夫人和仆人留在原地，目瞪口呆。） (Exit Lady Happy, radiant. The Mediatrix and the Servant remain, astonished.)
第一幕 · 第三场 ACT I · SCENE III （场景：街道或公共场所。寻欢先生上场，他是一个纨绔子弟般的追求者，正对着镜子顾影自怜。他的仆人迪克在一旁冷眼观察。） (Scene: A street or public place. Enter Monsieur Seek-Pleasure, a foppish suitor, admiring himself in a mirror. His servant Dick stands aside, observing with dry contempt.) 寻欢先生 怎么样，迪克？我看上去够格吗？ MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE Well, Dick? Do I look fit for the task? 迪克 老爷，您看上去简直像只掉进绸缎庄的孔雀。您这身派头，全凭羽毛、缎带和那些赊来的账单堆砌而成。 DICK Sir, you look like a peacock fallen into a silk shop. Your grandeur is built entirely of feathers, ribbons, and unpaid bills. 寻欢先生 你觉得我能赢得海皮小姐的芳心吗？ MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE Do you think I might win Lady Happy’s heart? 迪克 如果她还想保留那个“海皮”（快乐）的名号，那肯定赢不了。 DICK If she means to keep the name “Happy,” then no, sir. 寻欢先生 为什么？ MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE Why not? 迪克 因为她要是嫁给您，就成了“寻欢夫人”。妻子得随夫姓，她得放弃自己的姓氏和快乐。 DICK Because if she married you, she would become Madam Seek-Pleasure. A wife must take her husband’s name — and she would lose both her own name and her happiness. 寻欢先生 说真的，迪克，我要是有了她的财富，我就真的快乐了。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE In truth, Dick, if I had her fortune, I should be truly happy. 迪克 那得看您怎么花。不过凭良心说，您有了她的钱，会比她有了您，要快活得多。 DICK That depends how you spent it. But honestly, sir, you would be far happier with her money than she would be with you. 寻欢先生 你为什么这么说？ MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE Why do you say so? 迪克 因为女人在婚姻中从未真正快乐过。 DICK Because women have never truly been happy in marriage. 寻欢先生 你错了。女人在结婚前才是痛苦的。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE You are mistaken. Women suffer most before they are married. 迪克 真相是，老爷，女人们在婚前和婚后的想法里都得不到快乐。婚前，她们以为自己痛苦是因为缺少一个丈夫；婚后，她们才发现自己痛苦是因为有了一个丈夫。 DICK The truth is, sir, women find no happiness either before or after marriage. Before, they think they suffer for want of a husband; after, they discover they suffer because they have one. 寻欢先生 也许当妻子的会这样吧，并非所有女人都如此。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE That may be true of wives — but not of all women. （另外两位追求者上场：易劝先生和谋士先生。他们同样为了求爱而过度打扮，显得滑稽可笑。） (Enter two more suitors, Monsieur Persuasion and Monsieur Counsel, equally over-adorned and ridiculous.) 寻欢先生（续） 先生们！我看你们也为这场“狩猎”披挂整齐了。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE Gentlemen! I see you are well armed for the hunt. 易劝先生 正是。我们已准备好成为职业求爱者。但谁引荐我们去见那位小姐呢？ MONSIEUR PERSUASION Indeed. We are prepared to make court our profession. But who shall introduce us to the lady? 谋士先生 我们只好厚着脸皮，自我引荐了。 MONSIEUR COUNSEL We must recommend ourselves. 寻欢先生 我可不会拿我的希望去换一笔微薄的财富。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE I would not exchange my hopes for a small fortune. 易劝先生 我也是。 MONSIEUR PERSUASION Nor I. 谋士先生 说实话，我们现在都塞满了希望，就像枕头塞满了羽毛。 MONSIEUR COUNSEL In truth, we are stuffed with hope, like pillows full of feathers. （考特利先生慌慌张张地上场。） (Enter Monsieur Courtly, in haste.) 考特利先生 先生们！我们完了。彻底完蛋了！ MONSIEUR COURTLY Gentlemen! We are undone — utterly undone! 谋士先生 什么？出了什么事？ MONSIEUR COUNSEL What? What has happened? 考特利先生 海皮小姐！她……把自己关进修道院了。还带了另外二十位女士一起。 MONSIEUR COURTLY Lady Happy! She has shut herself up in a convent — with twenty other ladies. 谋士先生 真是见了鬼了！ MONSIEUR COUNSEL The devil take it! 易劝先生 上帝不容啊！ MONSIEUR PERSUASION God forbid! 考特利先生 究竟是魔鬼还是上帝说服了她，我说不清。但她已经进去了。木已成舟。 MONSIEUR COURTLY Whether it was the Devil or God that persuaded her, I cannot say — but she is in, and there is no remedy. 寻欢先生 这大概只是一时虔诚的热病。会退烧的。这种事常有。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE It is but a sudden fit of devotion. It will pass. Such things often do. （调解夫人上场，面露倦容。） (Enter the Mediatrix, weary.) 寻欢先生 调解夫人！我们完了！海皮小姐把自己锁起来了！ MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE L’Mediatrix! We are undone! Lady Happy has locked herself away! 调解夫人 是的，先生们。真是可惜。 THE MEDIATRIX Yes, gentlemen. It is much to be lamented. 谋士先生 难道没希望了吗？ MONSIEUR COUNSEL Is there no hope? 调解夫人 坦白说，希望渺茫。 THE MEDIATRIX In plain terms, very little. 易劝先生 我们必须收买神职人员！让他们劝她出来——为了国家的利益！ MONSIEUR PERSUASION We must bribe the clergy to persuade her out — for the good of the state! 调解夫人 唉，先生们！神职人员在这儿没用。她不是上帝的虔信者，她是自然的虔信者。 THE MEDIATRIX Alas, gentlemen, the clergy have no power here. She is not a devotee of God, but of Nature. 考特利先生 既然她是自然的虔信者，那您就该当女院长！这样您就能用您的权威，让我们……时不时地去拜访拜访您的修女们。 MONSIEUR COURTLY If she serves Nature, then you should be abbess! Then you could use your authority to allow us — from time to time — to visit your nuns. 调解夫人 只能隔着栅栏！除非她们在修房子或者生病了。不过话说回来，海皮小姐自己就是院长。她不允许任何男性进入，连栅栏都不设一道。她压根不打算安装。 她有女医师、女外科医生、女药剂师。她自己就是首席忏悔师，随意发放赎罪券和赦免。她的宅邸——那个“快活庵”——宏伟壮观，坚固如堡垒，根本不需要任何修缮。 她围墙内的园地……大得足以容纳花园、果园、步道、小树林、凉亭、池塘、喷泉……还有足够的土地自给自足。每一个职位都由女性担任。她身边虽然只有二十位女士，但她有一支由女仆组成的军队。她根本用不着男人。 THE MEDIATRIX Only through a grate — and only if they were building or ill. But in truth, Lady Happy herself is abbess. She allows no men entry, nor even a grate. She has no intention of installing one. She has women physicians, women surgeons, women apothecaries. She herself is chief confessor, granting penance and absolution at will. Her house — the Convent of Pleasure — is magnificent, strong as a fortress, needing no repair. Within her walls lie gardens, orchards, walks, groves, arbours, ponds, and fountains — with land enough to sustain them all. Every office is held by women. Though she has but twenty ladies, she commands an army of women servants. She has no need of men. 寻欢先生 如果有这么多女人，那才更需要男人呢！等等，让我搞清楚。您说她是自然的虔信者。如果她侍奉自然，那她就必须是……男人的情妇。这才是自然之道。 MONSIEUR SEEK-PLEASURE If there are so many women, then surely men are needed all the more! But stay — you say she serves Nature. If she serves Nature, then she must be… a man’s mistress. That is Nature’s way. 调解夫人 恕我直言，先生。她宣称自己退隐，正是为了避开男人，以便享受自然提供的各种欢愉。她说男人是阻碍者。他们带来的不是快乐，而是痛苦；不是幸福，而是悲惨。为此，她已永久放逐了男性的陪伴。 THE MEDIATRIX With respect, sir, she declares that her retreat is precisely to avoid men, so that she may enjoy the pleasures Nature offers. She says men are impediments: they bring not happiness, but pain; not felicity, but misery. Therefore, she has banished the company of men forever. 谋士先生 这都是异端邪说！绝不容忍！她的学说必须被谴责！她应当受到男性议会的审讯和惩罚——要么给她配一个严厉的丈夫，要么用一个放荡的丈夫来折磨她！ MONSIEUR COUNSEL This is heresy — intolerable! Her doctrine must be condemned! She must be tried and punished by a council of men — either given a severe husband, or tormented with a lewd one! 调解夫人 先生们，最好的办法是正式提出申诉。向国家请愿，要求纠正。 THE MEDIATRIX Gentlemen, the best course is to make a formal complaint. Petition the state for redress. 考特利先生 好主意。 MONSIEUR COURTLY A sound plan. 易劝先生 我们这就照办。马上去起草请愿书！ MONSIEUR PERSUASION We shall do so at once. To the petition! （他们全部退场。留下一片愤慨的丝绸与受伤的自尊。） (Exeunt all, leaving behind a litter of offended silk and wounded pride.)
第二幕 · 第三场 ACT II · SCENE III （场景：一间客厅，位于庵堂之外。两位女士上场：钟情夫人和贞洁夫人。） (Scene: A lodging-room outside the Convent. Enter two Ladies: Madam Amorous and The Chaste Governess.) 钟情夫人 亲爱的，你近来可好……自从婚礼之后？ MADAM AMOROUS My dear, how do you fare of late… since your marriage? 贞洁夫人 （带着礼貌、熟练且轻松的口吻） 很好，谢谢你。 THE CHASTE GOVERNESS (With practiced ease and courtesy) Very well, I thank you. 钟情夫人 （发出一声真心实意的叹息） 我却没有自己预想的那样好。 MADAM AMOROUS (With a sincere sigh) I cannot say the same. （调解夫人上场，带着她那一贯的热切与忙碌劲儿。） (Enter the Mediatrix, bustling as ever.) 调解夫人 女士们！你们听说那个大新闻了吗？ THE MEDIATRIX Ladies! Have you heard the great news? 贞洁夫人 什么新闻？ THE CHASTE GOVERNESS What news? 调解夫人 一位尊贵的外国公主驾临了！她听说了关于“快活庵”的种种传闻，特意赶来加入她们，也要成为一名“自然的虔信者”。 THE MEDIATRIX A noble foreign Princess has arrived! She has heard of the Convent of Pleasure and has come expressly to join them — to become, as they say, a devotee of Nature. 钟情夫人 她是怎样一个人？ MADAM AMOROUS What manner of woman is she? 调解夫人 这无可置疑：她极具王者风范，且勇敢不凡。她身上有一种……非常阳刚的气概。 THE MEDIATRIX Without question, she is princely and bold. There is about her a certain… masculine spirit. 贞洁夫人 请如实告诉我，调解夫人——她们的生活真的像您说的那样快乐吗？ 她们愿意接纳您这样一位寡妇，却不接纳我们……仅仅因为我们是别人的妻子。 THE CHASTE GOVERNESS Tell me honestly, Mediatrix — are their lives truly as happy as you describe? They admit a widow such as yourself, yet refuse us… merely because we are wives. 调解夫人 她们所享有的快乐，恐怕比这庵堂出现之前的自然界所能知晓的还要多。 就我个人而言，我宁愿做那里的一个居民，也不愿做全世界的女皇。 那里的每一位女士都像绝对的君主一样享有快乐——却不必背负王权的烦忧与操劳。 秘诀就在于：除非过着这种远离尘世烦恼的退隐生活，否则无人能真正领略这种欢愉。 THE MEDIATRIX The pleasures they enjoy are greater, I believe, than Nature herself ever knew before that place existed. For my own part, I would rather be one inhabitant there than Empress of the whole world. Each lady lives in absolute pleasure like a sovereign — yet without the cares and labours of rule. The secret is this: unless one lives in such a retreat, free from worldly vexations, one can never truly know such pleasure. 贞洁夫人 我多希望能亲眼看看，好了解真相。她们究竟能拥有什么样的欢愉呢？ THE CHASTE GOVERNESS I long to see it with my own eyes, to know the truth. What kind of pleasures can they truly possess? 调解夫人 即使你住在那里，恐怕也无法在短时间内学完她们所有的乐趣。 那里的生活丰富多样，需要用一生去领会。 她们的活动永远在变——欢愉随季节流转。 在季节的交替与每个季节内部的无穷变化中…… 仅仅是学习这套生活的“艺术”，就得耗费一辈子的时间。 THE MEDIATRIX Even if you lived there, you could not learn all their pleasures in a short time. Their life is so full and various that it requires a lifetime to understand. Their occupations are ever changing — pleasures shift with the seasons. In the turning of the year, and the endless variety within each season… to learn the very art of living there would take one’s whole life. 贞洁夫人 （带着一种安静而克制的渴望） 我真的非常想亲眼看看……那究竟是何等的光景。 THE CHASTE GOVERNESS (With quiet longing) I greatly desire to see it… to know what manner of place it is. 调解夫人 这个嘛，或许你可以如愿。 THE MEDIATRIX Well then… perhaps you may. （她们退场。贞洁夫人陷入沉思，钟情夫人郁郁不乐，而调解夫人则露出一副心知肚明的神情。） (Exeunt. The Chaste Governess thoughtful, Madam Amorous discontented, the Mediatrix knowingly pleased.)
第二幕 · 第四场 ACT II · SCENE IV （场景：庵堂高墙外的街道或酒馆门前。四位追求者聚在一起，正借酒发泄他们的挫败与怨恨。） (Scene: A street or tavern-door outside the high walls of the Convent. Enter four Suitors, drinking and venting their frustration.) 考特利先生 那么，难道真的就没点办法，把那些女士从她们的小天堂里弄出来了？ SIR COURTLY Is there truly no way to draw those ladies out of their little paradise? 谋士先生 没办法。除非我们放一把火，把那地方烧个精光。 MR. STRATEGIST None — unless we set the place on fire and burn it to the ground. 寻欢先生 老天在上，就这么干！咱们每人拿个火把！ SIR PLEASURE By heaven, let us do it! A torch for every man! 考特利先生 对，就像熏蜜蜂一样，把她们全都熏出来。 SIR COURTLY Yes — smoke them out like bees from a hive. 易劝先生 现在就去！ MR. PERSUASION At once! 谋士先生 等等。现在里面可住着一位外国公主。 MR. STRATEGIST Hold — there is now a foreign Princess lodged within. 寻欢先生 没错。但等她一走，我们就动手。一定。 SIR PLEASURE True. But once she departs, we strike — without fail. 谋士先生 然后呢？因为纵火罪被送上绞刑架吗？ MR. STRATEGIST And then? We swing for arson? 寻欢先生 那可算不上恶行！我们这是在“为自然效劳”。 SIR PLEASURE That would be no crime! We act in service of Nature. 谋士先生 哦，就像我们“为自然效劳”搞大侍女的肚子那样？即便如此，民法照样会惩罚我们。 MR. STRATEGIST Ah — as when we “serve Nature” by getting maids with child? Even then, civil law punishes us. 考特利先生 惩罚情人的法律是不文明的！ SIR COURTLY Laws that punish lovers are uncivil! 谋士先生 惩罚私通者的法律才是文明的。 MR. STRATEGIST Laws that punish adultery are civilization. 考特利先生 把爱情说成私通，那是野蛮！ SIR COURTLY To call love adultery is barbarous! 谋士先生 不，把私通叫作爱情，那才是真正的野蛮！ MR. STRATEGIST No — to call adultery love is the true barbarism! 易劝先生 够了！管它爱情还是私通！她们就是群蠢女人，成天用她们那种……所谓的“退隐”来烦我们。 MR. PERSUASION Enough! Love or adultery — what care I! They are but foolish women, forever vexing us with their so‑called “retirement.” 谋士先生 你们知道吗，先生们，尽管我们在这儿抱怨…… 如果我有海皮小姐那样的财富，我也会建一座自己的庵堂。 我敢打赌，你们所有人都会争先恐后地，按同样的条件把自己关进来陪我。 MR. STRATEGIST You know, gentlemen — for all our complaints — were I possessed of Lady Happy’s fortune, I would build myself a convent too. And I warrant you would all rush to shut yourselves in with me on the same terms. 寻欢先生 除非你的庵堂里也藏着女人。 SIR PLEASURE Not unless your convent housed women as well. 谋士先生 啊，但是不！既然女人可以放弃男人的欢愉， 我们男人也大可以放弃女人的麻烦。 MR. STRATEGIST Ah, but no! If women may renounce the pleasures of men, men may likewise renounce the troubles of women. 考特利先生 难道墙上就没个裂缝？没个能偷窥的孔？ SIR COURTLY Is there no crack in the wall? No peeping-hole? 谋士先生 没有。没有栅栏窗，只有实打实的砖石，足有一码厚。 MR. STRATEGIST None. No grated windows — only solid brick, a full yard thick. 易劝先生 那我们就撬掉一块砖！挖开一块石头！ MR. PERSUASION Then pry out a brick! Dig through the stone! 谋士先生 不可能。 MR. STRATEGIST Impossible. 易劝先生 有志者事竟成！ MR. PERSUASION Where there’s a will, there’s a way! 谋士先生 我的心当然有志向，但我的理智告诉我这是徒劳。我绝不白费力气。 MR. STRATEGIST My heart may will it, but my reason tells me it is vain. I will not squander my labour. 寻欢先生 我有主意了！我们扮成女人。乔装改扮，混进去！ SIR PLEASURE I have it! We’ll disguise ourselves as women — dress and slip inside! 谋士先生 我们一进去就会被识破。 MR. STRATEGIST We should be discovered the moment we enter. 寻欢先生 被谁？ SIR PLEASURE By whom? 谋士先生 被我们自己。看看我们的举止，听听我们的声音！ 我们穿上裙子行屈膝礼的样子， 准会像贵妇人穿上马裤鞠躬一样笨拙。 把嗓子提到女高音？那比让她们降到男低音还难。 我们永远也学不会那种娇羞做作的神态， 还有那种漂亮的假笑。 MR. STRATEGIST By ourselves. Look at our gestures — listen to our voices! We would curtsey in petticoats as awkwardly as a fine lady would bow in breeches. To raise our voices to treble? Harder than forcing them to bass. We shall never master that coy affectation, nor those graceful counterfeit smiles. 考特利先生 那我们可以扮成强壮、粗野的乡下丫头！ 就说是来找活干的！厨娘、洗衣女工、挤奶女工…… SIR COURTLY Then let us be stout, coarse country wenches! Come seeking work — cooks, laundresses, milkmaids— 易劝先生 说真的，我觉得我能当个还凑合的厨子。 但洗衣？挤奶？ 我既不会挤奶，也不会给领子上浆…… 不过，洗女士们的那些贴身衣物， 我倒是愿意对付。 MR. PERSUASION In truth, I think I might make a passable cook. But washing? Milking? I can neither milk nor starch collars — yet washing the ladies’ linen… that I would willingly undertake. 寻欢先生 她们什么差事都起用女人！ 园艺、酿酒、烘焙，她们甚至还自己养猪！ 这类活计少说也有二十种，我们正合适。 SIR PLEASURE They employ women for every task — gardening, brewing, baking — they even keep their own swine! There must be twenty such employments, and we fit them well. 易劝先生 哦，养猪肯定得是男人的活。 记得《浪子回头》吧？那是男人干的。 MR. PERSUASION Swineherding must be men’s work. Remember the Prodigal Son — that was a man. 谋士先生 以我们挥霍的本事来看，我们确实都够格当猪倌。 MR. STRATEGIST Given our habits of waste, we are all fit to tend swine. 考特利先生 我们还能干园艺！挖土、栽种、播种！ SIR COURTLY We can garden too — dig, plant, sow! 寻欢先生 而且我们非常擅长酿酒！ SIR PLEASURE And we are excellent brewers! 谋士先生 我们更擅长喝酒。 我能喝光啤酒，却酿不出一滴能入口的。 MR. STRATEGIST We are better drinkers. I can drain ale, but never brew a swallowable drop. 易劝先生 得了吧！总会有办法的！ 只要能进去，我们愿意学，愿意勤快！ 她们一定会对我们满意的！ 走！付诸行动！ MR. PERSUASION Come, come! We’ll find a way! Once inside, we’ll learn, we’ll labour! They must be pleased with us! Come — let us act! 考特利先生 对！同意！ SIR COURTLY Aye! Agreed! 谋士先生 （长长一叹） 不。不，看在上帝的份上。别自找麻烦。 这一切都是徒劳。 MR. STRATEGIST (With a long weary sigh) No. No — for God’s sake, seek no more trouble. All this is in vain. （他们灰溜溜地退场，那些宏大的计划还没开始就已经泄了气。） (Exeunt, their grand schemes deflated before they begin.)
第三幕 · 第一场 ACT III · SCENE I （场景：庵堂内的大厅。公主——仪态威严、中性且充满魅力——正与海皮小姐并肩而立。其他女士簇拥在她们周围，形成一个专注而优雅的圆圈。） (Scene: The hall of the Convent. The Princess — stately, androgynous, and captivating — stands beside Lady Happy. Other ladies form a focused and elegant circle around them.) 海皮小姐 殿下，您真是让我受宠若惊。您竟愿意离开那个辉煌的大千世界，来到我们这简陋退隐的庵堂。 LADY HAPPY Your Highness, you honor me beyond measure. To leave the splendor of the world and come to our modest retreat is astonishing. 公主 亲爱的海皮小姐，历史上从不乏放弃王冠与权力、转而选择清苦生活的人。 那么，若能离开充满烦忧的宫廷，来到这样一座“欢愉乐园”，岂不是更明智的选择？ 但我能在此获得的最大快乐……莫过于您的友谊。 PRINCESS Dear Lady Happy, history is full of those who renounced crowns and power for a life of simplicity. And if one may leave a court so full of cares for such a Convent of Pleasure, is it not the wiser choice? Yet the greatest joy I find here… is your friendship. 海皮小姐 若不愿与您为友，我便是忘恩负义；我愿做您谦卑的仆人。 LADY HAPPY Were I not to be your friend, I would be ungrateful; I am ready to be your humble servant. 公主 不。我渴望您做我的女主人，而由我来做您的仆人。 基于这份友谊的约定……我有一个请求。 PRINCESS No. I desire you as my mistress, and I shall be your servant. And upon the covenant of this friendship… I have a request. 海皮小姐 凡是我力所能及的，无不从命。 LADY HAPPY Whatever lies within my power shall be yours. 公主 我观察到，在您的娱乐活动中……您的一些女士会身着男装，扮演恋人的角色。 我恳求您，允许我也能这般装扮……并由我来扮演您那位最忠实的仆人。 PRINCESS I have observed that, in your diversions, some ladies dress as men to play the lover. I beseech you, allow me likewise to assume such guise… and to act as your most devoted servant. 海皮小姐 （停顿片刻。一种轻柔而深刻的领悟掠过她的脸庞） 我将永不再渴望任何其他的忠实仆人……唯有您。 LADY HAPPY (Pausing — a soft and profound realization crossing her face) I shall never desire any other loyal servant… but you. 公主 （深情地凝视着她） 我也永不再渴望任何其他的女主人……唯有您。 PRINCESS (Gazing deeply at her) Nor shall I ever desire any other mistress… but you. （一阵充满张力的静默。随后，她们的情感溢出了散文的边界，化为正式的诗行，仿佛这情感需要一种更严整、更神圣的语言来承载。） (A silence charged with tension. Then their feelings spill beyond prose into formal verse, as if requiring a more disciplined, sacred language.) 海皮小姐 世间再无更纯洁的爱侣， 胜过我这位尊贵的爱人……即便她本是女儿身。 LADY HAPPY No love on earth is purer than this esteemed lover of mine… Even though she is of a woman’s form. 公主 也从未有庵堂能给予这般欢愉， 能让爱人与她的女主人朝夕同居。 PRINCESS Nor has any convent ever offered such pleasure, That lover and mistress dwell together day by day. （一位女士上场，行屈膝礼，轻轻打破了这一瞬间的魔咒。） (Enter a Lady, curtseying, gently breaking the spell of the moment.) 女士 殿下，戏剧已经准备就绪，恭请您移步赏光。 LADY Your Highness, the play is prepared; we humbly invite you to witness it.
第三幕 · 第二场 ACT III · SCENE II — THE MASQUE （场景：庵堂大厅。内设一舞台，灯光聚焦。海皮小姐与公主并坐于荣誉席，众女士围坐。） (Scene: The hall of the Convent. A stage is set, lights focused. Lady Happy and the Princess sit in the place of honor, surrounded by the other ladies.) （莫尔·卡特普斯上场，身着男装，腰挎短剑，神态不羁。她向台下致辞。） (Enter Moll Cutpurse, dressed in men’s clothing, short sword at her waist, audacious demeanor. She addresses the audience.) 莫尔·卡特普斯（开场白） 尊贵的看官们！今晚诸位将看到一出戏。它或许乏味——但好在短小。既然我们的机智无法取悦诸位的耳朵，至少不会让诸位的屁股坐得生疼。 MOLL CUTPURSE (Prologue) Honored spectators! Tonight you shall witness a play. It may be dull — yet at least it is brief. And if our wit cannot delight your ears, it shall not make your behinds sore. （莫尔退场。内舞台灯光转换，一连串关于婚姻与世俗生活的讽刺悲剧快速上演。） (Moll exits. Stage lights change, and a rapid sequence of satirical tragedies about marriage and worldly life is performed.) 第一场：贫贱夫妻 SCENE I: THE POOR COUPLE 妇女甲 邻居！你上哪儿去了？ WOMAN I Neighbor! Where have you been? 妇女乙 刚去安慰鞋匠老婆。她男人跟补锅匠的情人跑了。 WOMAN II Just to comfort the shoemaker’s wife. Her husband ran off with the tinker’s mistress. 妇女甲 我倒求上帝让我男人也跑了算了！他成天泡酒馆，回家就揍得我青一块紫一块，孩子们还在挨饿。 WOMAN I I pray God my husband would do the same! He drinks all day, beats me black and blue, and leaves the children starving. 妇女乙 谁说不是呢？我男人不仅花光工钱，连我辛苦挣的血汗钱也拿去灌黄汤。 WOMAN II Indeed! My man squanders not only his wages but even the hard-earned money I sweat for. 第二场：苦涩的果实 SCENE II: BITTER FRUIT 小姐 哦，我觉得恶心…… YOUNG LADY Oh, I feel sick… 家庭教师 纠正一下，小姐：您这是“有喜”了。 TUTOR Correction, Miss — you are with child. 小姐 自从他……把那东西放进来，哪怕只有那一瞬间……我就再没一刻舒坦过！ YOUNG LADY Since he… inserted that thing, even for a moment… I have known no comfort! 第三场：贵妇的哀歌 SCENE III: THE NOBLEWOMAN’S LAMENT 贵妇甲 你哭什么？ LADY I Why do you cry? 贵妇乙 我丈夫在赌桌上把家产输了个精光。 LADY II My husband lost the entire estate at cards. 贵妇甲 我家那位倒是不赌，他把钱全砸在妓女身上了，还把她们领进家门，俨然成了女主人。 LADY I Mine does not gamble; he throws all the money on prostitutes and admits them into the house as if they were mistresses. 贵妇乙 倘若所有妻子都这般不幸，婚姻便是一桩诅咒。 LADY II If all wives suffer so, marriage is surely a curse. 第四场：丧子之痛 SCENE IV: THE LOSS OF A CHILD （一名披头散发的夫人狂奔过场） (A disheveled Lady runs across the stage.) 夫人 我的孩子死了！谁能有耐心失去唯一的孩子？！我要疯了！ LADY My child is dead! Who could bear the loss of an only child?! I shall go mad! 第五场：酒馆里的沦陷 SCENE V: TAVERN’S COLLAPSE 市民妻 先生们，我那疏忽职守的丈夫在这儿吗？听说他跟个“支撑者”跑了？ CITIZEN’S WIFE Gentlemen, is my negligent husband here? I hear he ran off with some “protector”? 绅士 是个女招待。来吧，夫人，别气了，喝杯酒消消愁。 GENTLEMAN A barmaid, madam. Come, drink and ease your grief. 市民妻 （犹豫后坐下）好吧……美酒或许能安抚我这火辣辣的肝火。 CITIZEN’S WIFE (After hesitation, sits) Very well… perhaps a drink will soothe my fiery temper. 第六场：产床即坟墓 SCENE VI: THE BED OF BIRTH IS A GRAVE 贵妇 哦！我的腰要断了！解脱我吧！ NOBLEWOMAN Oh! My back shall break! Deliver me! 产婆 （慌乱）真正的产婆在另一家，那家夫人生了个死胎，已经熬了三天，快没命了！ FALSE MIDWIFE (Flustered) The real midwife is elsewhere — that woman has labored a dead child three days, nearly at death’s door! 第七场：晚年的灾祸 SCENE VII: MISFORTUNE IN OLD AGE 老妇甲 我千辛万苦养大的儿子，如今要因为杀人被绞死了。 OLD WOMAN I My son, whom I raised with toil, shall be hanged for murder. 老妇乙 我大女儿未婚先孕，小女儿跟管家私奔了。 OLD WOMAN II My eldest daughter bears a child out of wedlock; the youngest elopes with the steward. 老妇甲 既然如此，谁还想要孩子呢？ OLD WOMAN I In that case, who would want children? 第八场：最后的决绝 SCENE VIII: FINAL RESOLVE 绅士 爵爷说他离了你就活不下去。 GENTLEMAN The gentleman says he cannot live without divorcing you. 淑女 他可以活下去，只要别跟我同床。 LADY He may live, so long as he shares no bed with me. 绅士 他会为了你离婚。 GENTLEMAN He shall divorce for your sake. 淑女 我绝不拆散他人家庭。告诉他，我明天给答复。 （绅士退场后）我必须在毁灭前逃离，今晚我就去女修道院，把这邪恶的世界抛在脑后。 LADY I will not break another’s household. Tell him I shall answer tomorrow. (After the Gentleman exits) I must flee before ruin — tonight I go to the Convent, leaving this wicked world behind. （内舞台灯光暗下。莫尔·卡特普斯重新上场。） (Stage lights dim. Moll Cutpurse returns.) 莫尔·卡特普斯（收场白） 婚姻是桩诅咒，我们已看清， 尤其对女人，苦海难前行。 从鞋匠之妻，到贵妇名媛， 剥开那画皮，无一不悲惨。 MOLL CUTPURSE (Epilogue) Marriage is a curse, as we have seen, Especially for women, a bitter sea indeed. From the shoemaker’s wife to the noble lady, Beneath the painted veneer, none are happy. （假面剧结束。灯光亮起，照在海皮小姐和公主身上。） (The Masque ends. Lights shine upon Lady Happy and the Princess.) 海皮小姐 （轻声地，带着几分试探） 那么，我的“仆人”……你觉得我们的戏演得如何？ LADY HAPPY (Softly, tentatively) So, my “servant”… how do you think our play fared? 公主 我甜蜜的女主人……凭良心说，我无法完全赞同。 因为尽管有人在婚姻中不幸，却也有人幸福得不愿交换。 PRINCESS My sweet mistress… in truth, I cannot wholly agree. For though some suffer in marriage, others are so happy they would not trade places. 海皮小姐 哦，仆人。我担心你正在变成一个“叛教者”。 LADY HAPPY Ah, my servant. I fear you are becoming a “turncoat.” 公主 （眼神深邃）对这庵堂或许会，但对您，我永不叛教。 PRINCESS (Eyes deep with feeling) Perhaps to this Convent, yes — but to you, I shall never be an apostate. （她们一同退场。戏中戏的悲凉与现实中的暧昧在空气中交织。） (They exit together. The Masque’s sorrow and the play’s real-world intimacy mingle in the air.)
第三幕 · 第十一场（间奏） Act III · Scene XI (Interlude) （场景：庵堂外的街道。第一幕中的那三位绅士再次聚首，神色比此前更加严峻。） (Scene: Outside the Convent, on the street. The Three Gentlemen from Act I gather again, looking more grave than before.) 绅士甲 这么说，难道真的就没希望解散这个……所谓的“快活庵”了？ GENTLEMAN I So, then, is there truly no hope of dissolving this… so-called “Convent of Pleasure”? 绅士乙（汤姆） 我看不到任何希望。 GENTLEMAN II (Tom) I see no hope at all. 绅士丙 我们现在完全可以确信，它永远不会解散了。 现在那地方得到了一位尊贵公主的加持，甚至因她的加入而声名远扬。 我真正害怕的是：要是每一个富有的女继承人都开始效仿，去办什么自己的庵堂怎么办？ 要是所有的年轻佳丽都开始成群结队地加入她们，那又该怎么办？ GENTLEMAN III We can now be certain: it shall never be dissolved. The place has been blessed by a noble princess, its fame spread by her presence. What truly terrifies me is this: if every wealthy heiress begins to follow suit, founding her own Convent, what then? If all young beauties flock to join them, what will become of us? 绅士甲 你说得极有道理，真是令人不安。 看来，我们必须赶快努力娶到妻子了……趁她们还没被那些庵堂全部“收割”走之前。 GENTLEMAN I You speak truly, it is most alarming. It seems we must hasten to secure wives… before these Convents sweep them all away. （他们匆匆退场，步伐中带着一种前所未有的、恐慌的紧迫感。） (They exit hurriedly, their steps carrying an unprecedented sense of panic and urgency.)
第四幕 · 第一场 ACT IV · SCENE I （场景：庵堂内，一处幽僻的花园。海皮小姐作牧羊女打扮上场，神情带着淡淡的忧郁。） (Scene: A secluded garden within the Convent. Lady Happy enters dressed as a Shepherdess, a faint melancholy upon her face.) 海皮小姐 我的名字本是“海皮”（快乐），我的境遇也曾名副其实……直到我遇见了这位公主。 如今，我恐怕要成为这世上最不快乐的少女了。 （她停下脚步，陷入激烈的自省） 但是为何？为何我不能以同样的情意、同样的激情去爱一个女人，就像我可以爱一个男人那样？ LADY HAPPY My name was once “Happy,” and my fortunes matched it… until I met this Princess. Now, I fear I may be the unhappiest maiden in the world. (Pauses, lost in fierce introspection) But why? Why cannot I love a woman with the same feeling, the same passion, as I can love a man? [唱] 不，不，自然便是自然， 千万载永恒如斯； 她亘古不变， 自万物肇始。 [SONG] No, no — nature is nature, Everlasting through endless ages; Immutable, eternal, Since the very birth of all things. （公主上场，身着华丽的男性牧羊人服装，英气逼人，宛如田园诗中走出的化身。） (Enter the Princess, dressed as a magnificent male Shepherd, noble and commanding, as if stepping from a pastoral poem.) 公主 我最亲爱的女主人，您是在刻意回避我的陪伴吗？ 难道您的仆人已成了您眼中的冒犯？ PRINCESS My dearest mistress, are you deliberately avoiding my company? Has your servant become, in your eyes, an offense? 海皮小姐 不，仆人！你的存在于我而言，比自然女神本身的降临更令我心悦。 正因如此……我担心女神会惩罚我。 因为我爱你，已超过了礼法所容许的程度。 LADY HAPPY No, my servant! Your presence delights me more than the coming of Nature herself. And yet… I fear the Goddess may punish me, For I love you beyond what decorum allows. 公主 情人之间，难道爱也会“过量”吗？ PRINCESS Among lovers, can love ever be “too much”? 海皮小姐 会的，若他们爱得不合时宜。 LADY HAPPY It can, if the love is ill-timed. 公主 可世间还有哪种爱，能比我们的爱更贞洁、更天真、更无害？ PRINCESS Yet what love in the world could be more chaste, more innocent, more harmless than ours? 海皮小姐 我希望如此。 LADY HAPPY I hope it is so. 公主 那么，就让我们像那些无害的恋人一样，尽情取悦彼此吧。 PRINCESS Then let us, like harmless lovers, delight each other fully. 海皮小姐 无害的恋人们是如何取悦彼此的？ LADY HAPPY How do harmless lovers delight each other? 公主 很简单。通过倾心的交谈，通过……拥抱与亲吻，让灵魂交融。 PRINCESS Simply. Through heartfelt conversation, through… embraces and kisses, letting our souls mingle. 海皮小姐 但天真的恋人是不接吻的。 LADY HAPPY But innocent lovers do not kiss. 公主 在我们女人之间，亲吻是最寻常不过的举动。 不，如果友谊中的亲吻也是罪……那就让我们证明自己是“堕落”的吧。 PRINCESS Among us women, kisses are the most ordinary of acts. No — and if even friendship’s kiss is sin… then let us prove ourselves “fallen.” （她们紧紧拥抱，彼此相拥，交换了一个温柔、热烈且漫长的吻。） (They embrace tightly, sharing a tender, ardent, and lingering kiss.) 公主 （在海皮小姐耳边低语） 我的这些拥抱，虽属女儿之身，其炽热却绝不亚于任何阳刚之心。 PRINCESS (Whispers in Lady Happy’s ear) Though these embraces are of a daughter’s form, their ardor rivals any masculine heart. （背景转换：展现出一片点缀着羊群和五月柱的青翠原野。她们进入了“戏中戏”的田园角色。另一位牧羊人上场，向海皮小姐求爱。） (The backdrop transforms: a verdant meadow with sheep and maypoles. They enter a pastoral “play-within-a-play.” Another Shepherd enters, wooing Lady Happy.) 另一位牧羊人 [唱] 美丽的牧羊女，莫拒我所求，莫让我为爱消瘦！ 怜悯我的羊群，救救牧羊人的命，做我的妻，共度此生。 ANOTHER SHEPHERD [Song] Fair Shepherdess, deny me not, Let not love make me lean and frail! Pity my flocks, save the shepherd’s life, Be my wife, share all my days. 海皮小姐 [唱] 我怎能应允每一个人的祈求？ 牧羊人的纠缠令我不得安休； 愿狂风将他们尽数吹远，再无求爱之声入我耳畔。 LADY HAPPY [Song] How can I grant each one’s request? The Shepherds’ entreaties give me no peace; May the wild wind carry them all away, And let no plea for love reach my ears again. （调解夫人上场，亦着牧羊女装，扮演“母亲”的角色。） (Enter the Mediatrix, also dressed as a Shepherdess, playing the “Mother” role.) 另一位牧羊人 [对调解夫人唱] 好夫人，请为我说句好话！ 劝她应允我做您的女婿！ 我会为您放猪、牵牛、耕种土地，秋天为您采摘鲜果。 只要您美言，我什么都肯做。 ANOTHER SHEPHERD [Song, to the Mediatrix] Good Madam, speak a word in my favor! Persuade her to be your daughter-in-law! I will tend your pigs, drive your cattle, till the fields, And harvest autumn fruits for you. Say the word, and I shall do all. 调解夫人 [唱] 我女儿已立誓独身，永不做人妻； 她宁愿守着羊群，以羊儿为伴侣。 THE MEDIATRIX [Song] My daughter has sworn to remain single, Never to take a husband; She would rather tend her flocks, With sheep for her companions. （公主转向海皮小姐，两人开始了一段跨越时空的玄学二重唱。） (The Princess turns to Lady Happy; they begin a transcendent, time-defying duet.) 公主 [唱] 我的牧羊女，你的才智高飞， 直入苍穹，窥见天堂之门； 你看行星运转，看恒星排列， 你降临大地，观察万物生息； 你甚至沉入地心，探寻死者长眠的秘密。 你的智慧，揭示了自然想要隐藏的奇迹。 PRINCESS [Song] My Shepherdess, your wit soars high, Into the heavens, glimpsing heaven’s gate; You watch the planets, trace the stars, Descend to earth, observe life in all its forms; You even delve beneath the ground, seeking secrets of the dead. Your wisdom unveils the miracles nature would hide. 海皮小姐 [唱和] 我的牧羊人，生者皆知你天生便是诗人。 你的才智探索人类的身与心， 辨明灵魂如何寓于躯体，如君王统御大脑。 肉体会腐朽，才智却永存， 在世界的记忆中，你将永恒闪耀。 LADY HAPPY [Duet] My Shepherd, all the living know you are born a poet. Your wit explores human body and mind, Discerns how the soul resides in the flesh, as a king rules his brain. The body may decay, yet intellect endures; In the world’s memory, you shall shine eternally. （歌声止息，两人紧紧依偎。） (The song ends. They cling tightly to one another.) 公主 （热烈地口白） 能活在你的恩宠中，拥有你的爱与你的人身……这便是我野心的终点。 PRINCESS (Passionately, in spoken word) To live in your favor, to have your love and your person… this is the summit of my ambition. 海皮小姐 （完全陷落） 我既无法拒绝你的爱，也无法拒绝我的人身。 LADY HAPPY (Completely overcome) I cannot refuse your love, nor can I refuse my own body. 公主 [轻唱] 我们未曾以俗套的诗句求爱，不似寻常恋人的姿态。 PRINCESS [Softly singing] We have courted not with trite verse, unlike ordinary lovers. 海皮小姐 [唱] 这表明我们将更加忠贞，在未来的生活中也更和谐。 LADY HAPPY [Song] This proves our fidelity shall grow, and our future life be harmonious. 公主 [唱] 我们将和谐，因真爱合二为一，成为神圣的灵在。 PRINCESS [Song] We shall be harmonious, for true love unites as one, a holy spirit embodied. （田园庆典开始。众人围绕五月柱起舞。公主与海皮小姐被加冕为牧羊人之王与后。） (The pastoral celebration begins. All dance around the maypole. The Princess and Lady Happy are crowned Shepherd King and Queen.) 牧羊人三 [唱] 你们赢得了奖赏，理所应当； 为我们的王与后献上敬意。愿你们长寿安康！ SHEPHERD III [Song] You have won your reward, as is right; We offer homage to our King and Queen! May you live long and well! （众人传递祝酒杯。另一位牧羊人唱起更戏谑的收场歌。） (Drinking cups are passed. Another Shepherd sings a playful closing song.) 牧羊人四 [唱] 快唱起祝酒歌，苹果沉入麦酒浆…… 成双结对把家还，遵循律法结姻缘！ SHEPHERD IV [Song] Raise the toast-song! Let apples sink in beer… Pair off and return home, follow the law, and wed! （场景在众人的欢庆与海皮小姐、公主的缱绻中渐渐落幕。） (The scene fades amidst celebration and the tender intimacy of Lady Happy and the Princess.)
第四幕 · 第二场 ACT IV · SCENE II （场景：田园幻境消逝。公主独自一人，回到庵堂内一处更具中性美感的空间。她踱步深思，随后停下，低头审视着自己的衣装。） (Scene: The pastoral illusion fades. The Princess is alone, returning to a more gender-neutral space within the Convent. She paces thoughtfully, then stops to inspect her attire.) 公主 什么？我还穿着这些碍事的衬裙？ （她仿佛对着虚空中的战神马尔斯诉说） 啊，马尔斯！战神啊，请宽恕我的怠惰。 但请记住——你也曾坠入情网，我亦如是。 但我听见你在说，我的王国需要我。 不仅需要我去统治，更需要我去捍卫。 （一股桀骜不群的英雄气概涌上心头） 但是，一个王国……比起一位美丽绝伦的女主人，又算得了什么？ （她挥手甩掉这个念头） 卑下的杂念，飞散吧！我绝不回去。 就让整个世界——而不仅仅是一个王国——都去渴望我的归来吧。 PRINCESS What? I am still wearing these cumbersome petticoats? (She speaks as if to Mars, the god of war, unseen.) Ah, Mars! God of War, forgive my idleness. But remember — you too have fallen in love, as have I. Yet I hear you saying, my kingdom needs me, Not only to rule, but to defend. (A surge of heroic defiance rises in her heart) But a kingdom… compared to a most exquisite mistress, what is it worth? (She dismisses the thought with a wave) Vile distractions, be gone! I shall not return. Let the whole world — not merely a kingdom — long for my return. （公主心意已决，迈步退场。海皮小姐上场，孤身一人，神色忧郁。片刻静默后，她低声唱起一首充满困扰的哀歌。） (The Princess, resolved, exits. Lady Happy enters, alone, melancholy in expression. After a brief silence, she softly sings a troubled lament.) 海皮小姐 [唱] 哦，自然女神，哦，天上的众神， 莫让我堕入情网而沉沦； 我宁愿在此刻魂归离恨， 强过蒙受羞辱，失却名分。 LADY HAPPY [Song] O Goddess of Nature, O gods of the skies, Let me not fall, ensnared by love’s ties; I would rather my soul depart in sorrow now, Than endure shame, and lose my station. （调解夫人上场，在暗处观察着她。） (The Mediatrix enters, observing from the shadows.) 调解夫人 海皮小姐？形单影只？独自一人？ 沉思的样子……活脱脱像个失意的恋人？ THE MEDIATRIX Lady Happy? Alone? Solitary? Pensive… you resemble a lovesick maiden in despair. 海皮小姐 （吃了一惊，带着防御的姿态） 不。我是在冥想神圣之事。 LADY HAPPY (Startled, defensive) No. I am contemplating sacred matters. 调解夫人 神圣之事？哪种神圣之事？ THE MEDIATRIX Sacred matters? What sacred matters? 海皮小姐 诸如……众神本身那般神圣的事。 LADY HAPPY Such as… the sacred matters of the gods themselves. 调解夫人 说真的，不管您是在思索众神还是男人，自从我上次见到您，您变得苍白而消瘦了。 THE MEDIATRIX Truly, whether you ponder gods or men, since I last saw you, you have grown pale and lean. （公主重新上场，她容光焕发，目光四下寻觅。） (The Princess re-enters, radiant, her eyes scanning the space.) 公主 来，我甜蜜的女主人！我们是否该去进行我们的运动与游乐了？ PRINCESS Come, my sweet mistress! Shall we proceed with our exercises and amusements? 调解夫人 （带着刻意伪装的关切） 哎呀，殿下。我恐怕您已经……“游玩”得太过头了。 THE MEDIATRIX (Feigning concern) Ah, Your Highness. I fear you may have… indulged in your “recreation” a bit too much. 公主 您为何这么说，调解夫人？ PRINCESS And why say so, l’Mediatrix? 调解夫人 因为海皮小姐气色不佳。她脸色苍白，身形消瘦。 THE MEDIATRIX Because Lady Happy looks ill. Her face is pale, her form thin. 公主 （冷静而充满保护欲地） 调解夫人，看来您的眼睛已被时光磨损了。 因为我甜蜜的女主人所散发的光辉，足以令光明之神也相形见绌。 PRINCESS (Calm, protective) L’Mediatrix, it seems your eyes have grown dull with age. For the radiance of my sweet mistress would outshine even the God of Light. 调解夫人 （站稳立场，寸步不让） 尽管您是尊贵的公主，但容我直言：我还没老到那个地步，也没瞎到那个地步，以至于看不出您……对她表现得实在“太过”体贴了。 THE MEDIATRIX (Standing firm) Though you are a noble Princess, allow me to speak plainly: I am not so aged, nor so blind, that I cannot see… that your attentions to her are rather… excessive. 公主 （一个外交式但坚定的回击） 很好。等我们娱乐归来，我将为您眼力不济的冒犯请求原谅…… 只要您也为您说我女主人气色不佳的冒犯而向我致歉。 PRINCESS (Diplomatic yet firm) Very well. Upon our return from our amusements, I shall forgive your lapse in judgment… Provided that you, in turn, apologize for your offense in declaring my mistress’s complexion unwell. （公主挽起海皮小姐的手臂，两人亲昵地一同退场，留下调解夫人独自一人，忧心忡忡地留在原地。） (The Princess links arms with Lady Happy, and they exit intimately, leaving the Mediatrix alone, worried, behind.)
第四幕 · 第三场：海洋假面剧 ACT IV · SCENE III: The Ocean Masque （场景变幻：一块巨大的、雕琢般的岩石自舞台中央升起，仿佛破浪而出的海中孤岛。公主扮作海神尼普顿，海皮小姐扮作海洋女神，两人并肩端坐于岩石之巅。众女士身着海绿色轻纱，宛如水中的仙子位列下方。整个舞台充满了流动的、梦幻般的蔚蓝光影。） (Scene shifts: A massive sculpted rock rises from center stage, like a lone island breaking through the waves. The Princess appears as Neptune, Lady Happy as a sea goddess, seated together atop the rock. The ladies below wear sea-green veils, like nymphs of the water. The stage is bathed in flowing, dreamlike blue light.) 公主（作为尼普顿） [唱] 我乃七海之王，万物之主， 一切水族皆为我仆。 服从我的威权，我的指令， 从陆地为我源源不断地献上贡品。 海水敞开它深邃的大门， 迎送那些由命运遣来的航船—— 命运如晨露般，岁岁年年 从秘鲁的矿脉为我献上赤金！ 风与潮汐从每一个国度， 将满载财富的舟船向我呈递； 船舰、货物、生灵——一切所有， 皆沉入我的深渊，化作祭献。 这大地的供奉如江河入海， 昭示我的权柄何等恢弘。 我王国的财富，容我向世人宣告， 早已超越了陆地的尘埃与群星的闪耀。 PRINCESS (as NEPTUNE) [Song] I am king of the seven seas, master of all, All aquatic beings serve as my subjects. Obey my authority, heed my commands, And from the land, bring offerings without end. The ocean opens its deep gates, Welcoming ships sent by fate— Fate as dew, year after year, Bearing Peru’s gold into my hands! Wind and tide from every shore Deliver vessels laden with treasure; Ships, cargo, living creatures—everything, Sinks into my abyss as sacrifice. The earth’s offerings flow like rivers to the sea, Revealing the grandeur of my dominion. The wealth of my kingdom, I declare to all, Surpasses both dust of land and stars’ bright thrall. 海皮小姐（作为海洋女神） [唱] 我哺育着太阳，赐予它万丈光芒， 令它在那最深的黑夜中亦能闪亮。 我胸中升腾起湿润的雾气， 被它吮吸，由我培育， 否则它的烈焰将熄灭消亡， 世界或将焦灼，或将永堕凄凉。 LADY HAPPY (as SEA GODDESS) [Song] I nurture the sun, granting it radiant light, So it may shine even in the darkest night. Mist rises from my breast, Drawn in, nurtured by me, Or else its blaze would fade and die, And the world burn, or fall to endless woe. 公主（作为尼普顿） [唱] 试问陆上生灵，谁能与我比肩， 享有如此纯粹的伟力与威严？ 我的宫殿是坚固的礁岩， 出自自然之手，而非凡人指尖。 任何卑劣、虚伪与欺诈的伎俩， 在此都无处遁形，无一席之光。 在我辽阔的王国里，自然是唯一的向导， 她为我备好珍馐，满足我一切所需与所好。 PRINCESS (as NEPTUNE) [Song] Tell me, mortals of the land, who can match me, And possess such pure power and majesty? My palace is steadfast rock, Crafted by nature, not by mortal hands. All deceit, fraud, and trickery Find no refuge here, no single hiding place. In my vast kingdom, nature is my sole guide, Providing delicacies to fulfill my every need and desire. 海皮小姐（作为海洋女神） [唱] 我的橱柜是斑斓的牡蛎之壳， 其中珍藏着我那东方明珠。 我借助潮汐开启它们—— 那潮汐便是转动巨锁的钥匙。 我取出珍珠，缀成灿烂的冠冕； 我佩戴着那羞涩的红珊瑚， 它一触碰空气便会赧然。 我坐于银色的波浪上放声歌唱， 众鱼侧耳聆听，海面沉静安详。 而后，我端坐于岩石的宝座， 用细白的鱼骨梳理我的卷发。 当阿波罗挥洒出他的万道金光， 正为我烘干那带水的长发。 光辉釉亮了水波的容颜， 使这浩瀚海洋成了我的镜鉴。 当我在高高的海面上游弋， 我能看见自己那滑行的身姿。 但当烈日开始灼烧， 我便向那深水的巢穴归去， 潜入那极低的底渊。 于是水流在我头顶回旋， 化作卷曲的波浪与圆环； 我就这样，头戴一顶水之冠。 LADY HAPPY (as SEA GODDESS) [Song] My cabinet is made of vibrant oyster shells, Within lie my Oriental pearls. I unlock them with the tide— The tide itself the key to the great lock. I take the pearls, crafting a radiant crown; I wear the bashful red coral, Blushing at the touch of air. I sit atop silver waves singing aloud, Fish bend attentive ears, the sea calm and still. Then I sit upon my rock throne, Combing my curls with fine white fishbones. When Apollo casts his thousand golden rays, They dry my water-laden locks. Light gilds the waves’ faces, Turning the vast ocean into my mirror. As I glide over the high seas, I see my own form in motion. But when the scorching sun rises, I return to my deep-water nest, Diving into the lowest abyss. The waters spiral above my head, Transforming into curling waves and rings; Thus I wear my crown of the sea. 公主（作为尼普顿） [唱] 在幽暗深邃的水中央， 我在空心的岩穴里设立朝堂。 龙涎香制成我那芬芳的床榻， 供我柔弱的肢体安放。 我在那里休憩；当我沉睡时， 整个大海都在为我守卫安危。 而当我从睡梦中醒来， 必有一艘满载的船作为贡礼献来。 世上没有哪位君主拥有更多扈从， 亦没有哪座宫廷拥有更多仆从。 PRINCESS (as NEPTUNE) [Song] In the dark, profound waters, I hold court within a hollow rock. Dragon’s amber forms my fragrant bed, For my tender limbs to repose. There I rest; as I sleep, The entire ocean guards my safety. And when I awaken, A laden ship arrives as tribute. No monarch on earth commands more attendants, Nor palace holds more servants. （人鱼侍女在侧侍奉， 人鱼男子随侍在身：有的身为参议官，为我料理一切军国重担；在我的水之王国，他们指引航向，辅佐江山。） (Mermaid attendants serve, merman aides stand by: some are senators, managing all military and civil duties; in my aquatic kingdom, they chart the seas and guide the realm.) （一位海中仙子上前，唱起欢庆的颂歌。） (A sea nymph steps forward, singing a celebratory hymn.) 海中仙子 [唱] 我们水中仙子欢欣歌唱， 赞美海神尼普顿，我们的海洋之王； 身着海绿裙裳，我们翩翩起舞， 愿打动神心，得他垂青眷顾。 他以三叉戟平息了汹涌怒涛的纷争。 当他凯旋时阔步前行， 那驯服的海豚便是他的坐骑。 他所有的海之子民，从巨鲸到鳞介， 皆以欢呼簇拥着他， 祈求那繁荣的财富永世传下。 SEA NYMPH [Song] We water-nymphs sing with joy, Praising Neptune, our king of the seas; In sea-green gowns, we dance lightly, Hoping to touch his favoring heart. With his trident he calms the raging waves. When he triumphs, he strides forth, The tamed dolphin becomes his mount. All his ocean subjects, from whale to shell, Gather to cheer, praying that prosperity Endures through all generations. （假面剧圆满结束。灯光渐暗，参与者缓缓退场。宏大的海洋幻象在迷雾中消散。） (The masque concludes. Lights dim, participants slowly exit. The grand illusion of the ocean dissipates into mist.)
第五幕 · 第一场 ACT V · SCENE I （场景：一间为舞会准备的华丽大厅。公主与海皮小姐上场。公主身着全套华贵的男性礼服，英姿飒爽。两人亲密地低语片刻。接着，在一个充满深切柔情与象征意义的举动中，海皮小姐从自己臂上取下一根缎带，赠予公主；公主亦回赠一根自己的缎带，并深情地亲吻了她的手。一个属于恋人的誓言，就此封缄。） (Scene: A lavish hall prepared for a ball. The Princess and Lady Happy enter. The Princess wears full ceremonial male attire, striking and elegant. They exchange intimate whispers. In a gesture heavy with affection and symbolism, Lady Happy removes a ribbon from her arm and presents it to the Princess; the Princess reciprocates, gifting a ribbon in return and kissing her hand tenderly. A lovers’ vow is thus sealed.) （她们短暂退场。全体人员上场准备起舞，音乐响起。众人正欲组队起舞，就在这时，调解夫人惊慌失措地冲了进来。） (They briefly exit. All the attendants enter to dance; music begins. Just as couples are about to form, the Mediatrix bursts in, panic-stricken.) 调解夫人 女士们！女士们！你们全都被背叛了！全完了！ 有一个男人——一个乔装改扮的男人——就混在庵堂里！ 搜，只要搜一下，你们就能把他揪出来！ THE MEDIATRIX Ladies! Ladies! You have all been betrayed! All is lost! There is a man—a man in disguise—within the Convent! Search! Just search, and you can root him out! （现场陷入恐慌。女士们四散开来，惊惶地互相跳开，眼神中满是猜疑。唯有公主与海皮小姐岿然不动，她们并肩而立，如同一道坚不可摧的统一战线。） (The hall erupts in panic. Ladies scatter, jumping aside in alarm, eyes filled with suspicion. Only the Princess and Lady Happy remain steadfast, standing side by side, a united, unbreakable front.) 公主 您可以尽管搜查，调解夫人。 但事后，我相信您定会请求我的原谅。 PRINCESS Search if you will, Mediatrix. But afterward, I trust you will ask my pardon. 调解夫人 凭我的信仰，我绝不！因为您就是这儿最可疑的一个！ THE MEDIATRIX By my faith, I shall not! For you are the most suspicious here! 公主 但您刚才说，那个男人是假扮成女人的。 而我此刻身着的……可是男装。 PRINCESS Yet you just said that man is disguised as a woman. And now I wear… male attire. 调解夫人 胡扯！这根本无关紧要！ THE MEDIATRIX Nonsense! It matters not at all! （就在对峙即将升级时，一位衣着华贵的大使阔步入场。他无视旁人，径直走向公主并屈膝跪下。公主示意他起身。外部世界的秩序此刻已强行闯入了这座世外桃源。） (As the confrontation threatens to escalate, a richly-attired Ambassador strides in. He ignores all others, approaching the Princess to kneel. The Prin(cess) gestures for him to rise. The order of the outside world has forcibly intruded into this secluded paradise.) 亲王 你为何而来？ PRIN(CESS) Why have you come? 大使 殿下，您的议会长老们特派我前来。 您的臣民对您的长期缺席极为不满，如果您不尽快启程回国，他们将不惜入侵此邦——因为他们听闻您就在此处。 坊间甚至有传言，说您正遭到囚禁。 AMBASSADOR Your Highness, your council elders have sent me. Your subjects are deeply displeased with your prolonged absence. If you do not return soon, they will not hesitate to invade this land—having heard you are here. Rumor even claims you are held captive. 亲王 我确实是个囚徒。但并非为任何国家所囚， 而是为这位美丽的女士所囚。 （他紧紧握住海皮小姐的手） 从今往后，她便是你们的女王。 PRIN(CESS) I am indeed a prisoner. But not of any nation— I am held by this beautiful lady. (S/he grips Lady Happy’s hand firmly.) From now on, she shall be your queen. （大使毫不犹豫，立即跪下亲吻了海皮小姐的手。她的新地位瞬间获得了政治承认。） (The Ambassador kneels without hesitation and kisses Lady Happy’s hand. Her new status is immediately recognized politically.) 亲王 既然我的行踪已经暴露…… 你且去往本国的议事会，告知他们我的所在以及其中原由。 告诉他们，我正式请求他们准许我迎娶这位女士。 （他停顿片刻，眼神中透出钢铁般的决心） 否则，就告诉他们，我将不惜动用武力来夺取她。 PRIN(CESS) Since my whereabouts are now known… Go to my council at home and tell them where I am and why. Tell them I formally request permission to wed this lady. (He pauses, eyes steely with resolve.) If not, tell them I will take her by force. （大使鞠躬退出。战争的威胁——既是浪漫的，也是政治的——瞬间笼罩在庵堂上空。） (The Ambassador bows and exits. The threat of war—both romantic and political—instantly hangs over the Convent.) 调解夫人 哦，天哪！您……您该不会带一支军队过来，把这里所有的女人都抢走吧，会吗？ THE MEDIATRIX Oh, heavens! You… you wouldn’t bring an army to seize all the women here, would you? 亲王 不，调解夫人。我们会唯独把您留下的。 PRIN(CESS) No, l’Mediatrix. We shall leave only you behind. （亲王与海皮小姐在众人的注视下并肩退场。他们是这场风暴的中心，留下其余人在困惑与沉默中面面相觑。） (The Prin(cess) and Lady Happy exit together, side by side, under the gaze of all. They are the center of the storm, leaving the others staring at each other in confusion and silence.)
第五幕 · 第二场 Act V · Scene II （场景：街头或某公共场所。调解夫人状极夸张地上场，用手帕捂着脸，发出一阵阵哀哀的哭号。） (Scene: A street or public square. The Mediatrix enters in exaggerated distress, hiding her face with a handkerchief, wailing dramatically.) 调解夫人 哦，先生们！我真恨不得自己从未出生！我们都完了！全毁了！ THE MEDIATRIX Oh, gentlemen! I wish I had never been born! We are ruined! All is lost! 谋士先生 怎么了？出了什么事？ COUNSELOR What is the matter? What has happened? 调解夫人 怎么了？不，不，绝不——恐怕我有太多的“怎么了”要说了！ THE MEDIATRIX What has happened? No, no, absolutely not—I fear I have far too many “what has happened” to recount! 谋士先生 到底是怎么回事？ COUNSELOR What on earth is it? 调解夫人 怎么回事？天大的误会！我们把一个男人……给当成了女人！ THE MEDIATRIX What is it? A tremendous mistake! We mistook a man… for a woman! 谋士先生 这个嘛，男人本来就是给女人准备的…… COUNSELOR Well, men were made for women, after all… 调解夫人 胡扯！这我当然知道！ 但是，有一个年轻男人穿着女装，堂而皇之地进了我们的庵堂！ 天知道他背地里都干了些什么！ 他长得英俊极了——这对“德行”来说简直是巨大的诱惑—— 虽然我希望一切尚好，但这邪恶的世界什么脏水都往外泼！ 我真担心我那些甜蜜的小鸟儿们全都……毁了。愿众神保佑她们。 THE MEDIATRIX Nonsense! That I know very well! But a young man, dressed as a woman, boldly entered our Convent! Heavens alone know what he did in secret! He is remarkably handsome—a tremendous temptation for virtue itself— Though I hope all remains well, the wicked world drowns everything in filth! I truly fear for my sweet little birds… may the gods protect them. 考特利先生 难道您就从未察觉？毫无蛛丝马迹吗？ MR. COURTLY Surely you noticed something? Not the slightest clue? 调解夫人 只有那么一回……我亲眼瞧见他亲吻了海皮小姐。 你们是知道的，女人和女人亲嘴，这本身就……有点儿不合常理。 可当时我觉得，她们亲吻的那股劲头……比寻常女人要热切得多， 带着那么点儿……撩人的意味。简直太带劲了。 THE MEDIATRIX Only once… I saw him kiss Lady Happy. You know, a woman kissing a woman is… somewhat unusual. But then I thought, the passion with which they kissed—far more fervent than ordinary women— with a touch of… seduction. It was exhilarating! 谋士先生 既然如此，您当时为什么不查个究竟？！ COUNSELOR If so, why did you not investigate immediately?! 调解夫人 她们会说我是个老糊涂、是个嫉妒的傻瓜！ 她们会嘲笑我的！ 但“经验”是很重要的。要不是众神慈悲…… 那个男人可能就朝我扑过来了。 THE MEDIATRIX They would call me a dotard, a jealous fool! They would laugh at me! But “experience” is crucial. Were it not for the gods’ mercy… that man might have leapt upon me. 考特利先生 扑向您？那又能怎样？ MR. COURTLY Leap upon you? And what then? 调解夫人 不，不，绝不！ 就算他扑过来，我也根本不在乎。 我蔑视肉欲，如同我唾弃魔鬼！ 但如果我能拯救我那些甜蜜的年轻贞女， 我情愿为她们牺牲我的身体！ 我们生来不是为了自己，而是为了他人！ THE MEDIATRIX No, no, absolutely not! Even if he leapt, I would not care. I despise lust as I spurn the devil! But if I can save my sweet young virgins, I would sacrifice my own body for them! We are born not for ourselves, but for others! 谋士先生 这真是……虔诚至极的言辞。充满了爱心与仁慈。 COUNSELOR Truly… words of utmost piety. Filled with love and compassion. 调解夫人 不，不，绝不。我读过《虔行实践》。 但还有一件事——他们说他其实是位外国亲王。 而且据说……他们两人表现得非常、非常热情。 THE MEDIATRIX No, no, absolutely not. I have read Practice of Piety. But there is yet another matter—they say he is a foreign prince. And it is said… they behaved with extraordinary, extraordinary ardor. 考特利先生 您可是“调解夫人”啊！您得去调解，去促成友谊！ MR. COURTLY But you are La Mediatrix! You must reconcile, foster friendship! 调解夫人 老天爷，您在胡说什么？调解？我怕他们已经是“太好”的朋友了！ 这事会传遍整个宫廷、城镇和乡野！ 会出现在私信里，登在公报上，甚至会被编成那些可恶的歌谣！ 我们会被那些自命不凡的才子们嘲笑至死的！ 但是先生们——请保守这个秘密！千万别说是我说的！ 虽然你们很快就会听到满城的议论。 THE MEDIATRIX Heavens! What nonsense is that? Reconcile? I fear they are already “too good” friends! This news will travel through court, town, and countryside! It will appear in private letters, in gazettes, even set to those detestable ballads! We will be laughed to death by self-important poets! But gentlemen—please keep this secret! Do not say it came from me! Though you shall soon hear the whole city buzzing. 谋士先生 调解夫人，这已经不是秘密了。全城的人都知道了。 国家正在准备盛大的宴席来款待那位亲王。 COUNSELOR L’Mediatrix, it is no longer a secret. The whole city knows. The state is preparing a grand feast to honor the prince. 调解夫人 主啊！瞧瞧坏消息传得有多快！ THE MEDIATRIX Lord! How swiftly ill news spreads! 考特利先生 对我们这些追求者来说，这确实是天大的坏消息…… MR. COURTLY For us suitors, indeed, this is most grievous news… 谋士先生 算了吧，我们之前也不过是在想象中追求，从未触及现实。 COUNSELOR Let it be. Previously, we only pursued in imagination, never in reality. 调解夫人 但你们确实都曾抱有希望。 THE MEDIATRIX Yet you did all harbor hope. 谋士先生 确实。但最终是那位亲王摘取了果实。 据说亲王已与她定下婚约。 国家也乐见其成——朝廷视此为荣耀，正指望着能从中大获裨益呢。 COUNSELOR Indeed. But in the end, the prince claimed the prize. It is said he is betrothed to her. The state welcomes it—the court sees it as an honor, hoping to profit greatly. 调解夫人 是啊，是啊。但有个古老而真实的谚语：‘杯已到唇边，尚可能失手。’（意指煮熟的鸭子也可能飞了） THE MEDIATRIX Yes, yes. Yet an old and true saying remains: “Even when the cup reaches the lips, it may still slip.” (Meaning: the cooked duck may yet fly away.) （他们各怀心思地退场。男人们显得一败涂地，调解夫人则陶醉在自己这个悲剧性的“见证者”角色中。） (They exit, each lost in thought. The men appear utterly defeated, while the Mediatrix luxuriates in her role as tragic “witness.”)
第五幕 · 第三场：婚礼与收场白 Act V · Scene III: The Wedding & Epilogue （场景：盛大的行进队列。亲王身着华丽的男性婚服，与身着新娘礼服的海皮公主手牵手，走在由随从高举的华盖下。城市长官领头，随后是双簧管乐手和众宾客。他们入场，仿佛直接从神圣的婚礼殿堂归来，空气中弥漫着公开且被认可的胜利氛围。） (Scene: A grand procession. The Prin(cess), dressed in splendid male attire, walks hand in hand with Lady Happy, wearing her bridal gown, under a canopy carried by attendants. City officials lead, followed by oboists and guests. They enter as though returning directly from a sacred wedding hall, the air suffused with recognized triumph.) （众人纷纷向这对新婚夫妇道贺，亲王与公主含笑致谢。） (Guests congratulate the newlyweds, who smile and thank them.) 调解夫人 （迫不及待地挤到人群最前面） 尽管殿下您即将离去，但恳请您在临走前，再为我们跳一支舞吧！ THE MEDIATRIX (Eagerly pushing to the front) Though Your Highness is about to depart, I beg you, dance once more for us before you go! 亲王 在离开之前，我们不仅要跳舞，还要尽情宴饮。 （深情地对海皮公主说） 来，我的爱人，让我们再舞一曲……权当是为了取悦这位调解夫人。 PRIN(CESS) Before leaving, we shall not only dance but feast to our heart’s content. (S/he addresses Lady Happy with affection) Come, my love, let us dance once more… for the pleasure of this Mediatrix. （亲王与海皮公主跳起一支正式而优美的舞蹈。这是她们作为新婚夫妇的第一次公开亮相。一曲终了，众人鼓掌。） (The Prin(cess) and Lady Happy perform a formal, elegant dance—their first public appearance as newlyweds. At its conclusion, the crowd applauds.) 亲王 现在，尊贵的朋友们，请各位尽情起舞。公主与我将稍事休息。 PRIN(CESS) Now, dear friends, dance freely. The Princess and I shall rest briefly. （宾客们开始跳舞。海皮公主在人群中注意到了贞洁夫人，以及一直跟在她身边的弄臣米米克。） (The guests begin dancing. Lady Happy notices the Chaste Governess and the jester Mimick, who has remained nearby.) 海皮公主 （对贞洁夫人说） 贞洁夫人，我看您还留着米米克呢。 （转向亲王） 这就是我曾向您提过的那个米米克。 （对米米克） 米米克，你可愿离开你的女主人，随我而去？ LADY HAPPY (To the Chaste Governess) Governess, I see you have kept Mimick close. (To the Prin(cess)) This is the Mimick I mentioned. (To Mimick) Mimick, will you leave your mistress and come with me? 米米克 哎呀，我可是个结了婚的人啦！ 我娶了我女主人的女仆楠（Nan）。她会把我死死地拴在家里，任凭我有天大的能耐也施展不开。 不过，您现在已经有了属于您自己的“模仿者”啦——因为亲王殿下不是早就已经完美地“模仿”过女人了吗？ MIMICK Ah, I am a married man! I wed my mistress’s maid Nan. She keeps me tightly bound at home, no matter my abilities. Yet now, you have your own “imitator”—for the Prin(cess) has already perfectly “imitated” a woman, hasn’t she? 海皮公主 你这无赖！你是在暗示我是个傻瓜吗？ LADY HAPPY You scoundrel! Are you implying I am a fool? 米米克 小人不敢，殿下！除非……这天底下的女人全都是傻瓜。 MIMICK I dare not, Your Highness! Unless… all women in the world are fools. 亲王 那么，你的妻子也是傻瓜吗？ PRIN(CESS) Then is your wife a fool as well? 米米克 常言道，丈夫加妻子，合起来也只能凑成一个傻瓜。 （他戏剧性地跪倒在地） 小人有一桩卑微的请求，呈予殿下。 MIMICK As the saying goes, husband and wife together barely make a fool. (He kneels dramatically) I have a humble request to present to Your Highness. 亲王 平身吧。所求何事？ PRIN(CESS) Rise. What is it you ask? 米米克 恳请您将那座“庵堂”平分为二： 一半分给天下的傻瓜，另一半分给天下的已婚男子—— 就权当是分给疯子吧。 MIMICK I beg you to divide the Convent in two: Half to the world’s fools, the other half to all married men— or, let us call it a gift to the lunatics. 亲王 我更愿意将它分给处女与寡妇。 PRIN(CESS) I would rather give it to virgins and widows. 米米克 那它倒真会成为名副其实的“快活庵”了！ 可惜她们永远无法和睦相处……尤其是如果其中还混进了一个乔装打扮的亲王。 不，依我看，您最好把它赐给那些年老体衰、长年卧床的妇人们。 那样，或许可以称之为“慈善庵”……如果实在没法叫它“贞洁庵”的话。 MIMICK Then it would truly be a “Convent of Pleasure”! Alas, they could never coexist peacefully… especially with a prince in disguise among them. No, in my view, it is best given to elderly, infirm, long-bedridden women. Then perhaps it could be called a “Charity Convent”… if it cannot properly be the “Convent of Chastity.” 亲王 （被逗乐了） 好吧，为了彰显我的仁慈，也为了保全你妻子的贞洁，我将赏赐你一笔财富。 但有一个条件：由你来念本剧的收场白。 （对众人宣告） 来吧，尊贵的朋友们！让我们在分别前尽情地宴饮庆祝！ PRIN(CESS) (Amused) Very well, to demonstrate my mercy, and preserve your wife’s chastity, I will grant you a fortune. But on one condition: you shall deliver the play’s epilogue. (To all) Come, dear friends! Let us celebrate and feast before parting! （婚礼行列在乐声中退场。米米克被独自留在舞台中央，显得有些不知所措。） (The wedding procession exits to music. Mimick remains center stage, looking flustered.) 米米克 收场白？他说让我念收场白？我哪儿来的什么收场白！ 让我想想…… （他焦躁地踱步，自言自语） 有了，有了……不，老实说，我根本没有。我撒谎了。我说我没有。呸，米米克，你竟然要撒谎吗？是的，米米克，只要我乐意，我就要撒谎！ 但我得说，它不见了。什么不见了？收场白。你什么时候有过它？我从未有过。 那你就不算丢了它。虽然这是一回事，但我必须念它，尽管我从未拥有过它。 你如何能念出你从未拥有的东西？哎呀，这倒真是个哲学问题。 但既然言语本是虚无，那么收场白自然也是虚无，所以我大可以念一段“虚无”。 那么……“虚无”便是我的致辞！ MIMICK The epilogue? He said I must deliver the epilogue? Where do I even have an epilogue! Let me think… (He paces anxiously, muttering to himself) Ah, yes, no, truthfully, I have none. I lied. I said I had none. Bah, Mimick, are you to lie? Yes, Mimick, if I wish, I will lie! But I must say it is lost. What is lost? The epilogue. When did you ever have it? Never. Then it cannot be lost. True, but I must recite it, though I never had it. How can one speak of what one never possessed? Ah, truly a philosophical puzzle. But since words themselves are naught, the epilogue is naught too, so I may speak a “nothing.” Then… “Nothing” shall be my address! （米米克在一片荒诞而喜剧性的僵局中退场。片刻后，莫尔·卡特普斯大摇大摆地重新上场，她依旧身着男装，准备为全剧画上真正的句号。） (Mimick exits amidst absurd, comedic confusion. Moments later, Moll Cutpurse strides back on stage, still in male attire, ready to deliver the true finale.) 莫尔·卡特普斯（收场白二） [唱] 尊贵的看官，借着这点微弱的烛光， 我不知该说些什么，只能先道声晚安。 我不敢厚着脸皮乞求掌声—— 否则我们的女诗人，定会勃然大怒，用她的笔尖将我刺穿； 因为她根本不在乎，也从来毫无畏惧—— 纵使你们不喜欢这戏，她也全不在意！ 但我仍会哭泣，我内心的无尽悲伤， 会化作泪水之河，从我的双眼中流淌。 可怜的米米克，他会因为这寂静悲痛而亡。 到那时，出于怜悯，你们或许也会哭上一场。 但如果你们愿意，可以为他赐下一剂良方， 那便是由诸位的赞美调制而成——好让他能活得久长。 （莫尔·卡特普斯帅气地深深一鞠躬。全剧终。） MOLL CUTPURSE (Final Epilogue) [singing] Honored audience, by this faint candlelight, I know not what to say, so I bid you good night. I dare not shamelessly beg for applause— Else our lady poet would strike me with her pen in wrath; For she cares not at all, and fears nothing— Though you dislike this play, she is unmoved! Yet I shall weep, my endless sorrow, Turning to rivers of tears flowing from my eyes. Poor Mimick, he shall perish from silent grief. Then, in mercy, perhaps you too shall shed a tear. And if you will, grant him a remedy, A draught composed from your praises—so that he may live long. (Moll Cutpurse bows gracefully. The End.)
MANFRED: The lamp must be replenish’d, but even then / It will not burn so long as I must watch: / My slumbers—if I slumber—are not sleep, / But a continuance of enduring thought, / Which then I can resist not: in my heart / There is a vigil, and these eyes but close / To look within; and yet I live, and bear / The aspect and the form of breathing men.
但悲痛本身应启迪智者。忧伤即是知识。知道得最深的人，必为那致命的真理哀悼最深：知识树并非生命树。
But grief should be the instructor of the wise; / Sorrow is knowledge: they who know the most / Must mourn the deepest o’er the fatal truth, / The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life.
Philosophy and science, and the springs / Of wonder, and the wisdom of the world, / I have essay’d, and in my mind there is / A power to make these subject to itself— / But they avail not: I have done men good, / And I have met with good even among men— / But this avail’d not: I have had my foes, / And none have baffled, many fallen before me— / But this avail’d not:—Good, or evil, life, / Powers, passions, all I see in other beings, / Have been to me as rain unto the sands, / Since that all-nameless hour.
I have no dread, / And feel the curse to have no natural fear, / Nor fluttering throb, that beats with hopes or wishes, / Or winds itself about the petty existence / Of gentle companions.
Mysterious Agency! / Ye spirits of the unbounded Universe! / Whom I have sought in darkness and in light— / Ye, who do compass earth about, and dwell / In subtler essence—ye, to whom the tops / Of mountains inaccessible are haunts, / And earth’s and ocean’s caves familiar things— / I call upon ye by the written charm / Which gives me power upon you—Rise! Appear!
(他们还不来。)
(A pause.) They come not yet.
现在，以你们之中为首者的声音——以这令你们战栗的印记——以那不朽者的名义！现身！出现！出现！
Now by the voice of him who is the first / Among you—by this sign, which makes you tremble— / By the reluctant spirit of which is her / But for a time, I summon ye—Rise! Appear! Appear!
Spirits of earth and air, / Ye shall not thus elude me: by a power, / Deeper than all yet urged, a tyrant-spell, / Which had its birth in a celestial curse, / A starry constellation, and a thing / Of burning wreck, or a wandering hell / In the eternal space; by the strong curse / Which is upon my soul, and shall be on yours, / Till I compassed by what I seek, / I do compel ye to my will—Rise!
(停顿。随后传来众灵的声音。)
(A pause. A Seventh Spirit appears with the voices of the others.)
FIRST SPIRIT: Mortal! to thy bidding bow’d, / From my mansion in the cloud, / Which the breath of twilight builds, / And the summer’s sunbeam gilds / With the azure and vermilion, / Which is mix’d for my pavilion; / Though thy quest may be forbidden, / On a star-beam I have ridden: / To thine adjuration bow’d, / Mortal—be thy wish avow’d!
SECOND SPIRIT: Mont Blanc is the monarch of mountains; / They crown’d him long ago / On a throne of rocks, in a robe of clouds, / With a diadem of snow. / Around his waist are forests braced, / The Avalanche in his hand; / But ere it fall, that thundering ball / Must pause for my command. / The Glacier’s cold and restless mass / Moves onward day by day; / But I am he who bids it pass, / Or with its ice delay. / I am the Spirit of the place, / Could make the mountain bow / And quiver to his cavern’d base— / What with me wouldst thou?
THIRD SPIRIT: In the blue depth of the waters, / Where the wave hath no strife, / Where the wind is a stranger, / And the sea-snake hath life, / Where the Mermaid is decking / Her green hair with shells, / Like the storm on the surface / Came the sound of thy spells; / O’er my calm Hall of Coral / The deep echo roll’d— / To the Spirit of Ocean / Thy wishes unfold!
FOURTH SPIRIT: Where the slumbering earthquake / Lies pillow’d on fire, / And the lakes of bitumen / Rise boilingly higher; / Where the roots of the Andes / Strike deep in the earth, / As their summits to heaven / Shoot soaringly forth; / I have quitted my birthplace, / Thy bidding to bide— / Thy spell hath subdued me, / Thy will be my guide!
FIFTH SPIRIT: I am the Rider of the wind, / The Stirrer of the storm; / The hurricane I left behind / Is yet with lightning warm; / To speed to thee, o’er shore and sea / I swept upon the blast: / The fleet I met sail’d cheerfully, / For the last time they pass’d.
第六精灵的声音： 我的居所是夜的阴影。你的魔法为何要用光来折磨我？
SIXTH SPIRIT: My dwelling is the shadow of the night, / Why doth thy magic torture me with light?
SEVENTH SPIRIT: The star which rules thy destiny / Was ruled, ere earth began, by me: / It was a world as fresh and fair / As e’er revolved round sun in air; / Its course was free and regular, / Space bosom’d not a lovelier star. / The hour arrived—and it became / A wandering mass of shapeless flame, / A pathless comet, and a curse, / The menace of the universe; / Still rolling on with innate force, / Without a sphere, without a course, / A bright deformity on high, / The monster of the upper sky!
And thou! beneath its influence born— / Thou worm! whom I obey and scorn— / Forced by a power (which is not thine, / And lent thee but to make thee mine) / For this brief moment to descend, / Where these weak spirits round thee bend / And parley with a thing like thee— / What wouldst thou, Child of Clay! with me?
THE SEVEN SPIRITS: Earth, ocean, air, night, mountains, winds, thy star, / Are at thy beck and bidding, Child of Clay! / Before thee at thy quest their spirits are— / What wouldst thou with us, son of mortals—say?
曼弗雷德： 忘却……
MANFRED: Forgetfulness—
第一精灵： 忘却什么？忘却谁？为何要忘？
FIRST SPIRIT: Of what—of whom—and why?
曼弗雷德： 忘却我内心之物。读读那里吧。你们知道它，而我无法言说。
MANFRED: Of that which is within me; read it there— / Ye know it, and I cannot utter it.
SPIRIT: We can but give thee that which we possess: / Ask of us subjects, sovereignty, the power / O’er earth—the whole, or portion—or a sign / Which shall control the elements, whereof / We are the dominators, each and all, / These shall be thine.
曼弗雷德： 湮灭。自我的湮灭。难道你们不能从你们如此慷慨提供的隐秘领域中，榨取出我所求之物吗？
MANFRED: Oblivion, self-oblivion! / Can ye not wring from out the hidden realms / Ye offer so profusely what I ask?
精灵： 那不在我们的本质里，不在我们的能力中……但是——你可以死去。
SPIRIT: It is not in our essence, in our skill; / But—thou may’st die.
MANFRED: Ye mock me—but the power which brought ye here / Hath made you mine. Slaves, scoff not at my will! / The mind, the spirit, the Promethean spark, / The lightning of my being, is as bright, / Pervading, and far-darting as your own, / And shall not yield to yours, though coop’d in clay! / Answer, or I will teach you what I am.
精灵： 我们的回答一如之前；我们的答复正在你自己的话语之中。
SPIRIT: We answer as we answer’d; our reply / Is even in thine own words.
SPIRIT: Yet pause: being here, our will would do thee service; / Bethink thee, is there then no other gift / Which we can make not worthless in thine eyes?
MANFRED: No, none: yet stay—one moment, ere we part— / I would behold ye face to face. I hear / Your voices, sweet and melancholy sounds, / As music on the waters; and I see / The steady aspect of a clear large star; / But nothing more. Approach me as ye are, / Or one, or all, in your accustom’d forms.
MANFRED: I have no choice; there is no form on earth / Hideous or beautiful to me. Let him, / Who is most powerful of ye, take such aspect / As unto him may seem most fitting—Come!
第七精灵：(以一位美丽女性形象显现。) 看！
SEVENTH SPIRIT: (Appearing in the shape of a beautiful female figure.) Behold!
MANFRED: Oh God! if it be thus, and thou / Art not a madness and a mockery, / I yet might be most happy. I will clasp thee, / And we again will be—
(他难以自持。) 我的心……碎了！
(The figure vanishes.) My heart is crush’d!
(曼弗雷德不省人事，倒地。一个声音响起，吟诵下述咒语。)
(MANFRED falls senseless. A Voice is heard in the Incantation which follows.)
那个声音： 当月光洒在波浪，萤火虫闪烁于草丛，流星划过坟茔，鬼火游荡在沼泽；当流星纷纷坠落，猫头鹰彼此应和，寂静的叶子不再作响，在山峦的阴影里——我的灵魂将缠绕你的灵魂，带着力量与印记。 VOICE: When the moon is on the wave, / And the glow-worm in the grass, / And the meteor on the grave, / And the wisp on the morass; / When the falling stars are shooting, / And the answer’d owls are hooting, / And the silent leaves are still / In the shadow of the hill, / Shall my soul be upon thine, / With a power and with a sign.
Though thy slumber may be deep, / Yet thy spirit shall not sleep; / There are shades which will not vanish, / There are thoughts thou canst not banish; / By a power to thee unknown, / Thou canst never be alone; / Thou art wrapt as with a shroud, / Thou art gather’d in a cloud; / And for ever shalt thou dwell / In the spirit of this spell.
Though thou seest me not pass by, / Thou shalt feel me with thine eye / As a thing that, though unseen, / Must be near thee, and hath been; / And when in thy secret dread / Thou hast turn’d around thy head, / Thou shalt marvel I am not / As thy shadow on the spot, / And the power which thou dost feel / Shall be what thou must conceal.
And a magic voice and verse / Hath baptized thee with a curse; / And a spirit of the air / Hath begirt thee with a snare; / In the wind there is a voice / Shall forbid thee to rejoice; / And to thee shall Night deny / All the quiet of her sky; / And the Day shall have a sun, / Which shall make thee wish it done.
From thy false tears I did distil / An essence which hath strength to kill; / From thy own heart I then did wring / The black blood in its blackest spring; / From thy own smile I snatch’d the snake, / For there it coil’d as in a brake; / From thy own lip I drew the charm / Which gave all these their chiefest harm; / In proving every poison known, / I found the strongest was thine own.
By thy cold breast and serpent smile, / By thy unfathom’d gulfs of guile, / By that most seeming virtuous eye, / By thy shut soul’s hypocrisy; / By the perfection of thine art / Which pass’d for human thine own heart; / By thy delight in others’ pain, / And by thy brotherhood of Cain, / I call upon thee! and compel / Thyself to be thy proper Hell!
And on thy head I pour the vial / Which doth devote thee to this trial; / Nor to slumber, nor to die, / Shall be in thy destiny; / Though thy death shall still seem near / To thy wish, but as a fear; / Lo! the spell now binds thee, / And the clankless chain hath bound thee; / O’er thy heart and brain together / Hath the word been pass’d—now wither!
MANFRED: The spirits I have raised abandon me, / The spells which I have studied baffle me, / The remedy I reck’d of tortured me; / I lean no more on superhuman aid, / It hath no power upon the past, and for / The future, till the past be gulf’d in darkness, / It is not of my search.
My mother Earth! / And thou fresh-breaking Day, and you, ye Mountains, / Why are ye beautiful? I cannot love ye. / And thou, the bright eye of the universe, / That openest over all, and unto all / Art a delight—thou shin’st not on my heart.
And you, ye crags, upon whose extreme edge / I stand, and on the torrent’s brink beneath / Behold the tall pines dwindled as to shrubs / In dizziness of distance; when a leap, / A stir, a motion, even a breath, would bring / My breast upon its rocky bosom’s bed / To rest for ever—wherefore do I pause?
I feel the impulse—yet I do not plunge; / I see the peril—yet do not recede; / And my brain dizzies—yet my foot is firm; / There is a power upon me which withholds, / And makes it my fatality to live; / If it be life to wear within myself / This barrenness of spirit, and to be / My own soul’s sepulchre, for I have ceased / To justify my deeds unto myself— / The last infirmity of evil.
MANFRED (cont.): Ay, / Thou winged and cloud-cleaving minister, / Whose happy flight is highest into heaven, / Well may’st thou swoop so near me—I should be / Thy prey, and gorge thine eaglets; thou art gone / Where the eye cannot follow thee; but thine / Yet pierces downward, onward, or above, / With a pervading vision.—Beautiful!
How beautiful is all this visible world! / How glorious in its action and itself! / But we, who name ourselves its sovereigns, we, / Half dust, half deity, alike unfit / To sink or soar, with our mix’d essence make / A conflict of its elements, and breathe / The breath of degradation and of pride, / Contending with low wants and lofty will, / Till our mortality predominates, / And men are—what they name not to themselves, / And trust not to each other.
MANFRED (cont.): Hark! the note, / The natural music of the mountain reed— / For here the patriarchal days are not / A pastoral fable—pipes in the liberal air, / Mix’d with the sweet bells of the sauntering herd; / My soul would drink those echoes. Oh, that I were / The viewless spirit of a lovely sound, / A living voice, a breathing harmony, / A bodiless enjoyment—born and dying / With the blest tone which made me!
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Even so / This way the chamois leapt: her nimble feet / Have baffled me; my gains to-day will scarce / Repay my labor:—What is here? who seems / Not of my trade, and yet hath reach’d a height / Which none until this hour hath dared to tread / Save steps as light as their own native snows. / His garb is rich, his mien is proud, / His aspect airy, his eye flashing free. / I will approach him nearer.
MANFRED (not perceiving the other): To be thus— / Gray-hair’d with anguish, like these blasted pines, / Wrecks of a single winter, barkless, branchless, / A blighted trunk upon a cursed root, / Which feeds held on its own decay—to be / Thus, and for ever; and thus pass’d and to pass!— / My furrow’d brow / Is plough’d by moments, not by years; / And hours—all tortured into ages—hours / Which I outlive!
Ye toppling crags of ice! / Ye avalanches, whom a breath draws down / In mountainous o’erwhelming, come and crush me! / I hear ye momently above, beneath, / Crash with a frequent conflict; but ye pass, / And only fall on things that still would live; / On the young flourishing forest, or the hut / And hamlet of the harmless villager.
猎人： 山谷里的雾气开始升腾了。我得提醒他下山，不然他可能同时迷路丧命。
CHAMOIS HUNTER: The mists begin to rise from up the valley; / I’ll warn him to descend, or he may lose / His way and life together.
MANFRED: The mists boil up around the glaciers; clouds / Rise curling fast beneath me, white and sulphury, / Like foam from the roused ocean of deep Hell, / Whose every wave breaks on a living shore, / Heap’d with the damn’d like pebbles.—I am giddy.
猎人： 我必须小心靠近。若离得近了，突然的脚步声会惊到他。而且他看起来已经摇摇欲坠。
CHAMOIS HUNTER: I must approach him cautiously; if near, / A sudden step will startle him, and he / Seems tottering already.
MANFRED: Mountains have fallen, / Leaving a gap in the clouds, and with the shock / Rocking their Alpine echoes; earth-shaking, / Filling the mature and emerald valleys / With ruinous fragments; by a sudden crash / Damming the rivers with a sudden crash, / And turning the water into mist, and forcing / The springs to find new channels—even thus, / In its stage of decay, the Rosenberg fell: / Why stood I not beneath it?
猎人： 朋友！当心！你的下一步可能致命！看在造物主的份上，别站在那悬崖边上！
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Friend! have a care, / Your next step may be fatal!—for the love / Of Him who made you, stand not on that brink!
MANFRED (not hearing him): Such would have been for me a fitting tomb; / My bones had then been quiet in their depth; / They had not then been scatter’d on the rocks / For the wind’s pastime—as they shall be now. / In this one plunge.—Farewell, ye opening heavens! / Look not upon me thus reproachfully— / You were not meant for me—Earth! take these atoms!
(正当曼弗雷德要纵身跃下悬崖时，猎人抓住并阻止了他。)
(As MANFRED is in act to spring from the cliff, the CHAMOIS HUNTER seizes and retains him with a sudden effort.)
猎人： 住手，疯子！就算你活腻了，也别用你罪恶的血玷污我们纯洁的山谷。跟我走！我绝不会松手！
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Hold, madman!—though weary of thy life, / Stain not our pure vales with thy guilty blood— / Away with me—I will not quit my hold.
曼弗雷德： 我头晕目眩……不，别抓着我！！我浑身无力……群山在我周围旋转……我看不见了……你是谁？
MANFRED: I am giddy—ay, there’s a power!—hold me! / I am all feebleness—the mountains whirl / Spinning around me—I grow blind—What art thou?
CHAMOIS HUNTER: I’ll tell thee that anon.—Away with me— / The clouds grow thicker—there—now lean on me— / Place your foot here—here, take this staff, and cling / A moment to that shrub—now give me your hand, / And hold fast by my girdle—softly—well— / The chalet will be gain’d within an hour— / Come on, we’ll quickly find a surer footing, / And something like a pathway, which the torrent / Hath wash’d since winter.—Come, ’tis bravely done— / You should have been a hunter.—Follow me.
(他们艰难地攀下岩石。幕落。)
(As they descend the rocks with difficulty, the curtain falls.)
CHAMOIS HUNTER: No, no—yet pause awhile; yon step of yours / Is so unsettled, that the wind will shake it / Or the green turf o’erleap. I pray you, sit.
曼弗雷德： 无关紧要。我很清楚自己的路线，无需指引。
MANFRED: It matters not, my course for my own guide / Is clear enough; I need no further help.
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Thy garb and gait bespeak thee of high lineage— / One of the many chiefs, whose castles stand / On the tall crags that overlook the vales / Exposed to every wind and winter’s storm; / Which of these keepings is thine own? I know / All their wide portals;—in my mountain-life / I’ve seen the fires of many a festive hall / Light up the glaciers;—where is thine, Sir Count?
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Well, Sir, pardon me the question, / And be of better cheer. Come, taste my wine; / ’Tis of an ancient vintage; many a day / ’T’as warm’d my very veins among the glaciers, / And now, let it do thus for thine—Come, pledge me!
曼弗雷德： 拿走，拿走！杯沿上有血！难道它永远——永远——不会渗入大地吗？
MANFRED: Away, away! there’s blood upon the brim! / Will it then never—never sink in the earth?
猎人： 你什么意思？你神志不清了。
CHAMOIS HUNTER: What dost thou mean? thy senses wander from thee.
MANFRED: I say ’tis blood—my blood! the pure warm stream / Which ran in the veins of my fathers, and in ours / When we were in our youth, and had one heart, / And loved each other as we should not love, / And this was shed: but it strengthens and outlives, / And it upbraids me with its fatal brightness, / Reddening the clouds which make a bar betwixt / Our souls and heaven—where thou art gone, and I / Can never follow.
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Man of strange words, and some half-maddening sin, / Which makes thee people vacancy, whate’er / Thy dread and sufferance be, there’s comfort yet— / The aid of holy men, and heavenly patience—
MANFRED: Patience and patience! Hence—that word was made / For brutes of burthen, not for birds of prey; / Preach it to mortals of a dust like thine,— / I am not of thine order.
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Thanks to heaven! / I would not be of thine for the free fame / Of William Tell; but whatsoe’er thine ill, / It must be borne, and these wild starts are useless.
曼弗雷德： 难道我没有忍受吗？看看我——我还活着。
MANFRED: Do I not bear it?—Look on me—I live.
猎人： 这只是痉挛，不是健康的生命。
CHAMOIS HUNTER: This is convulsion, and no healthful life.
MANFRED: I tell thee, man! I have lived many years, / Many long years, but they are nothing now / To those which I must number: ages—ages— / Space and eternity—and consciousness, / With the fierce thirst of death—and still unslaked!
猎人： 可是，你额上连中年的印记都几乎未见。我比你年长得多。
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Why, on thy brow the seal of middle age / Hath scarce been set; I am thine elder far.
MANFRED: Think’st thou existence doth depend on time? / It doth; but actions are our epochs: mine / Have made my days and nights imperishable, / Endless, and all alike, as sands on the shore, / Innumerable atoms; and one desert, / Barren and cold, on which the wild waves break, / But nothing rests, save carcasses and wrecks, / Rocks, and the salt-surf weeds of bitterness.
猎人：(旁白) 唉！他疯了——但我还不能丢下他。
CHAMOIS HUNTER (aside): Alas! he’s mad—but I must not leave him thus.
曼弗雷德： 我倒希望我是疯了，那么我所见的一切，就只是一场错乱的梦。
MANFRED: I would I were—for then the things I see / Would be but a distemper’d dream.
猎人： 你到底看见了什么，或者说你以为自己看见了什么？
CHAMOIS HUNTER: What is it / That thou dost see, or think thou look’st upon?
MANFRED: Myself, and thee—a peasant of the Alps— / Thy humble virtues, hospitable home, / And spirit patient, pious, proud, and free; / Thy self-respect, grafted on innocent thoughts; / Thy days of health, and nights of sleep; thy toils, / By danger dignified, yet guiltless; hopes / Of cheerful old age and a quiet grave, / With cross and garland over its green turf, / And thy grandchildren’s love for epitaph; / This do I see—and then I look within— / It matters not—my soul was scorch’d already!
猎人： 那么，你愿意用你的命运交换我的吗？
CHAMOIS HUNTER: And wouldst thou then exchange thy lot for mine?
MANFRED: No, friend! I would not wrong thee, nor exchange / My lot with living being: I can bear— / However wretchedly, ’tis still to bear— / In life what others could not dream to sleep, / And live unhurt.
CHAMOIS HUNTER: And with this steadfastness of spirit, why / Dost thou still look on me with such an eye / Of dark and hollow meaning? I have known / Such things as thou hast said of; but they pass’d.
MANFRED: Oh, no, no, no! my injuries came down / On those who loved me—on those whom I loved best; / My foes have never suffer’d from my blow / Save in self-defence—but my embrace was fatal.
猎人： 愿上天赐你安宁！愿忏悔能使你恢复本心。我会为你祈祷。
CHAMOIS HUNTER: Heaven give thee rest! / And penitence restore thee to thyself; / My prayers shall be for thee.
MANFRED: I need them not, / But can endure thy pity. I depart— / ’Tis time—farewell!—Here’s gold, and thanks for thee; / No words—it is thy due.—Follow me not— / I know my path—the mountain peril’s past: / I once again beg of thee, follow not!
MANFRED: It is not noon—the sunbow’s rays still arch / The torrent with the many hues of heaven, / And roll the sheeted silver’s waving column / O’er the crag’s headlong perpendicular, / And fling its lines of foaming light along, / And to and fro, like the pale courser’s tail, / The Giant steed, to be bestrode by Death, / As told in the Apocalypse.
此刻，唯我双眼独享这瑰丽景象。我本该是这甜美孤寂中唯一的存在，与此地之灵共享这流水的礼赞。我要召唤她。 No eye / But mine now looks upon this amphitheatre, / I should be sole in this sweet solitude, / And with the Spirit of the place divide / The homage of these waters.—I will call her.
(曼弗雷德掬起一捧水洒向空中，同时低声念诵咒语。稍顿，阿尔卑斯女巫在瀑布虹霓的拱形光晕下升起。)
(MANFRED takes some of the water into the palm of his hand and flings it into the air, muttering the adjuration. After a pause, the WITCH OF THE ALPS rises beneath the arch of the sunbow of the torrent.)
MANFRED: Beautiful Spirit! with thy hair of light, / And dazzling eyes of glory… and the hue, / Of youth’s self-shaded cheek, which care-set slumbers, / Tinged by thy mother’s smile… into thy celestial aspect, and make tame / The beauties of the sunbow which bends o’er thee.
Beautiful Spirit! in thy calm clear brow, / Wherein is glass’d serenity of soul, / Which of itself shows immortality, / I read that thou wilt pardon to a Son / Of Earth, whom the abstruser powers permit / At times to commune with them—if that he / Avail him of his spells to call thee thus, / And gaze on thee a moment.
WITCH: Son of Earth! I know thee, and the powers which give thee power; / I know thee for a man of many thoughts, / And deeds of good and ill, extreme in both, / Fatal and fated in thy sufferings. / I have expected thee. What wouldst thou with me?
MANFRED: To look upon thy beauty—nothing further. / The face of the earth hath madden’d me, and I / Take refuge in her mysteries, and pierce / To the abodes of those who govern her— / But they can nothing aid me. I have sought / From them what they could not bestow, and now / I search no further.
女巫： 还有什么追求，是连最强大的存在、那些无形世界的统治者，也无能为力的？
WITCH: What could be the quest / Which is not in the power of the most powerful, / The rulers of the invisible?
曼弗雷德： 一个恩惠；但我何必重提？那是徒劳。
MANFRED: A boon; / But why should I repeat it? ’twere in vain.
MANFRED: Well, though it torture me, ’tis but the same; / My pang shall find a voice. From my youth upwards / My spirit walk’d not with the souls of men, / Nor look’d upon the earth with human eyes.
The thirst of their ambition was not mine, / The aim of their existence was not mine; / My joys, my griefs, my passions, and my powers, / Made me a stranger; though I wore the form, / I had no sympathy with breathing flesh, / Nor midst the creatures of clay that girded me / Was there but one who—but of her anon.
My early strength / To quaff the foam-fountains; to sleep / On the chill-white peaks; to follow the moon; / To gaze on the lightning; to listen / To the autumn wind’s singing. These were my pastimes, and to be alone.
Then, in my solitudes I settled down / Upon the caves of Death, to search its cause / From its effect; and drew from wither’d bones, / And skulls, and heap’d-up dust, conclusions most / Forbidden. … I made / My eyes familiar with Eternity.
MANFRED: She was like me in lineaments—her eyes, / Her hair, her features, all, to the very tone / Even of her voice, they said were like to mine; / But soften’d all, and temper’d into beauty.
她有着同样孤独的思绪与漫游，对隐秘知识的求索，以及一颗渴望理解宇宙的心灵。不仅如此；她还拥有那些比我更温柔的力量——怜悯、微笑与泪水——这些我都不曾拥有……她的缺点是我的；她的美德属于她自己。我爱她——却又毁了她！ She had the same lone thoughts and wanderings, / The quest of hidden knowledge, and a mind / To comprehend the universe: and besides, / She had the gentler powers—which I had not, / Pity, and smiles, and tears—which I had not… / Her faults were mine—her virtues were her own— / I loved her, and destroy’d her!
MANFRED: Not with my hand, but heart—which broke her heart; / It gazed on mine, and wither’d. I have shed / Blood, but not hers—and yet her blood was shed; / I saw—and could not staunch it.
WITCH: And for this— / A being of the race thou dost despise… / Hast thou compromised the gifts of our great knowledge, / And shrunk back into coward life? Begone!
MANFRED: Daughter of Air! I tell thee, since that hour— / Behold me in my slumbers—and survey / The vigilance of my despair. Come, sit! / My solitude is being peopled by / The Furies. I have pray’d / For madness as a blessing—’tis denied me. / I have affronted Death… / I dwell in my despair— / And live—and live for ever.
MANFRED: We are the fools of Time and Terror… / There is a power / Still in my science—I can spell the dead, / And ask them what it is we dread to be: / The sternest answer can but be the Grave, / And that is nothing—if they answer not… / If I had never lived, that which I loved / Had still been living; had I never loved, / That which I loved had still been beautiful— / Happy and giving happiness. … I dread / Before I do the thing. I have not shrunk / From spirit-illumined—but now I shudder… / But I can act even what I most abhor, / And champion human fears. The night approaches.
FIRST DESTINY: The moon is rising broad, and round, and bright; / Adown the fatal precipice, / The snows which never pass away / In the unmeasur’d depth of ice, / Are stirr’d as by a storm (yet all is still) / Upon the dizzy verge. … The crystal ocean of the mountain ice / Rolls its frozen billows, / Form’d in the mixing of the elements / And all arrested in their tumbling course, / A life-less world of eddies.
And this most steep fantastic pinnacle, / The fretwork of some earthquake—where the clouds / Pause to repose themselves in passing by— / Is sacred to our revels, or our vigils; / Here do I wait my sisters, on our way / To the Hall of Arimanes, for to-night / Is our great festival.
VOICE (without): The captive Usurper, / From his pride of place, / Is scatter’d and driven / In utter disgrace; / I broke through his slumbers, / I shiver’d his chain, / I leagued him with mortals— / He’s Tyrant again!
以百万人的鲜血，他将回报我的关照，以一国的毁灭——他的溃逃与绝望。
With the blood of a million he’ll answer my care, / With a nation’s destruction—his flight and despair.
SECOND VOICE (without): The ship sail’d on, the ship sail’d fast, / But I left not a sail, and I left not a mast; / There is not a plank of the hull or the deck, / And there is not a wretch to lament o’er his wreck; / Save one, whom I held, as he swam, by the hair, / And he was a subject well worthy my care; / A traitor on land, and a pirate at sea— / But I saved him to wreak further havoc for me!
FIRST DESTINY (answering): The city lies sleeping; / The morn, to deplore it, / May dawn on it weeping: / Sullenly, slowly, / The black plague flew o’er it— / Thousands lie lowly; / Sorrow and blushing are over the nations— / And the coming of things which shall be, and have been, / But the dead are the happy, who hear not the groan / Of a world that is moaning!
这一夜之功——这一国之毁——这我亲手所为的壮举！我行之已久，并将不断重演！
This work of a night—this wreck of a state— / Done by the spirit of evil and fate! / I have done it—and will do!
(第二命运与第三命运上场。)
(Enter SECOND and THIRD DESTINIES.)
三命运齐声： 赐予即索取，奴隶之魂灵。人心在我手，坟茔在足下。
THE THREE: Our hands contain the hearts of men, / Our footsteps are their graves; / We only give to take again / The spirits of our slaves!
第一命运： 欢迎！涅墨西斯在哪儿？
FIRST DESTINY: Welcome!—Where’s Nemesis?
第二命运： 在处理些大事；具体何事我不知晓，因我手头也忙得很。
SECOND DESTINY: At some great work; / But what I know not, for my hands were full.
第三命运： 看——她来了。
THIRD DESTINY: Behold she comes.
(涅墨西斯上场。)
(Enter NEMESIS.)
第一命运： 说，你去哪儿了？你和我的姐妹们今晚可有些迟了。
FIRST DESTINY: Say, where hast thou been? / My sisters and thyself are slow to-night.
NEMESIS: I was detain’d repairing shatter’d thrones, / Marrying fools, restoring dynasties, / Avenging men upon their enemies, / And making them repent their own revenge; / Goading the wise to madness; from the dull / Shaping out oracles to rule the world / Afresh, for they were waxing out of date, / And men had gnaw’d on each other, and talk’d / Of freedom, the forbidden fruit.—Away!
走吧！我们已耽搁了时辰。让我们驾云启程！
We have outstay’d the hour—mount we our clouds!
[同下。]
[Exeunt.]
][][
第二幕，第四场
ACT II, SCENE IV
场景： 阿里曼尼斯之殿。阿里曼尼斯端坐于王座，手握一团火球，众灵环绕。
Scene: The Hall of Arimanes. Arimanes on his Throne, a Globe of Fire in his hand, and the Spirits around him.
HYMN OF THE SPIRITS: Hail to our Master!—Prince of Earth and Air! / Who walks the clouds and waters… Life is his, / With all its infinite of agonies— / And his the spirit of whatever is!
(三命运与涅墨西斯上场。)
(Enter the DESTINIES and NEMESIS.)
第一命运： 荣耀归于阿里曼尼斯！他在人间的威权正日益增长。
FIRST DESTINY: Glory to Arimanes! on the earth / His power increaseth.
(曼弗雷德上场。)
(Enter MANFRED.)
第一精灵： 此为何物？一个凡人！你这鲁莽而自取灭亡的可怜虫！跪下礼拜！
A SPIRIT: What is here? / A mortal!—Thou most rash and fatal wretch, / Bow down and worship!
曼弗雷德： 我听见了；但你们也看到，我并未下跪。
MANFRED: I hear thee; and the powers which give thee power / I know; and see not why I should bow down.
第五精灵： 你胆敢拒绝宝座上的阿里曼尼斯？……跪下！我命令你。
FIFTH SPIRIT: Dost thou dare / Refuse to Arimanes on his throne / What the whole earth accords… / Kneel, and blaspheme not, else the world shall tremble!
MANFRED: Bid him bow down to that which is above him, / The overruling Infinite—the Maker / Who made him not for worship—let him kneel, / And we will kneel together.
FIRST DESTINY: Crush the worm! / Back, on your lives!—he is mine. / Prince of the Powers invisible! This man / Is of no common order… his knowledge, and his powers and will… / As much as is allow’d to fleshly nature.
MANFRED: Ye know what I have known; and without power / I could not be amongst ye: but there are / Powers deeper still beyond—I come in quest / Of such, to call upon them. Call the dead— / My question is for them.
涅墨西斯： 你要召唤何人？
NEMESIS: Whom would’st thou unsepulchre?
曼弗雷德： 一个没有坟墓的人。召唤阿斯塔特。
MANFRED: One without a tomb—call up Astarte.
(阿斯塔特的幽灵升起，默然伫立。)
(The Phantom of ASTARTE rises and stands in the midst.)
MANFRED: Can this be death? there’s bloom upon her cheek; / But now I see it is no living hue… / Astarte!—No, I cannot speak to her— / But bid her speak to me.
NEMESIS: By the power which hath broken the slumber which bound thee, / Speak to him who hath spoken… / She is silent, / And must be summon’d with a mightier spell. / Mortal! thy quest is vain, and so is ours.
MANFRED: Hear me, hear me— / Astarte! my beloved! speak to me: / I have so much endured—so much endure— / Look on me! the grave hath not changed thee more / Than I am changed for thee.
I have outwatch’d the stars, / And gazed o’er heaven in vain in search of thee. / Speak to me! … Speak to me! though it be in wrath;—but say— / I reck not what—but let me hear thee once— / This once—once more!
阿斯塔特的幽灵： 曼弗雷德！
PHANTOM: Manfred!
曼弗雷德： 哦！说啊——说啊！我仅凭这声音活着——这是你的声音！
MANFRED: Say on, say on— / I live but in the sound—it is thy voice!
ANOTHER SPIRIT: Yet see, he mastereth himself, and makes / His torture tributary to his will. / Had he been one of us, he would have made / An awful spirit.
曼弗雷德： 离去了……而她赐予的这份恩典，使我此刻离去时，犹负一份债务。
MANFRED: She is gone… / And I must follow.
[下。]
[Exit MANFRED.]
][][
第三幕，第一场
ACT III, SCENE I
场景： 曼弗雷德城堡内的一间大厅。
Scene: A Hall in the Castle of Manfred.
曼弗雷德与赫尔曼上场。
MANFRED and HERMAN.
曼弗雷德： 现在是什么时辰？
MANFRED: What is the hour?
赫尔曼： 离日落还有一个小时，看来会是个宜人的黄昏。
HERMAN: It wants but one till sunset, / And promises a lovely twilight.
曼弗雷德： 塔楼里的一切，是否都按我的吩咐安排妥当了？
MANFRED: Say, / Are all things so disposed of in the tower / As I directed?
赫尔曼： 一切均已就绪，大人；这是钥匙和匣子。
HERMAN: All, my lord, are ready; / Here is the key and casket.
MANFRED: There is a calm upon me— / Inexplicable stillness! which till now / Did not belong to what I knew of life. / If that I did not know philosophy / To be of all our vanities the motliest, / The merest word that ever fool’d the ear / From out the schoolman’s jargon, I should deem / The golden secret, the sought “Kalon,” found, / And seated in my soul.
这不会持久，但能知晓其存在，哪怕仅此一遭，也是好的。它以一种新的感知拓展了我的思想。
It will not last, / But it is well to have known it, though but once: / It hath enlarged my thoughts with a new sense, / And I should kneel, and humbly thank the powers / Which made me thus a being of the earth.
[赫尔曼重上。]
[Re-enter HERMAN.]
赫尔曼： 大人，圣莫里斯的修道院长请求觐见。
HERMAN: My lord, the Abbot of St. Maurice craves / Admittance to your presence.
圣莫里斯修道院长 (上场)： 愿您平安，曼弗雷德伯爵！
ABBOT: Peace be with Count Manfred!
曼弗雷德： 感谢您，神父！欢迎光临寒舍；您的到来令此地蓬荜生辉，也福泽居于此间的人。 MANFRED: Thanks, holy father! welcome to these walls; / Thy presence honours them, and blesseth those / Who dwell within them.
ABBOT: Would it were so, Count! / …Rumours strange, / And of unholy nature, are abroad, / And busy with thy name; a noble name / For centuries; … ’Tis said thou holdest converse / With the things forbidden by the church.
曼弗雷德： 又是哪些人在断言这些事情？
MANFRED: And who are they who do avouch these things?
院长： 我虔诚的教友们——受惊的乡民——甚至您自己的封臣……我来是为拯救，而非毁灭。
ABBOT: My pious brethren—the scared peasantry— / Even thy own vassals, who do look on thee / With most unquiet eyes. … I come to save, / And not destroy.
MANFRED: I hear thee. This is my reply: whate’er / I may have been, or am, doth rest between / Heaven and myself. I shall not choose a mortal / To be my mediator.
院长： 我的孩子！我所说的并非惩罚，而是忏悔与宽恕。
ABBOT: My son! I speak not of punishment, but penitence / And pardon.
MANFRED: Old man! there is no power in holy men, / Nor charm in prayer, nor purifying form / Of penitence, nor outward look, nor fast, / Nor agony— … Which can exorcise from the unbounded spirit / The quick-eyed memories of its own dead crimes, / … There is no future pang / Can deal that justice on the self-condemn’d / He deals on his own soul.
ABBOT: All this is well; / For this will pass away, and be succeeded / By an auspicious hope, which shall look up / With calm assurance to that blessed place / Which all who seek may win. … Come with me, / And I will teach thee all our church can teach.
MANFRED: When Rome’s sixth emperor was near his last, / The victim of a self-inflicted wound, / To shun the public tyranny of those / Whom he had make his slaves—a soldier, with / A show of loyal pity, would have stanch’d / The gushing throat with his abounding robe; / The dying Roman thrust him back, and said— / Some empire still in his expiring gaze— / “It is too late—is this fidelity?”
院长： 这又如何？
ABBOT: And what of this?
曼弗雷德： 我的回答与那罗马人一样——“太迟了。”
MANFRED: I answer with the Roman— / “It is too late!”
院长： 与自己的灵魂和解，永远不会太迟。
ABBOT: It never can be so, / To reconcile thyself with thy own soul, / And thy own soul with Heaven.
MANFRED: Ay—father! I have had those earthly visions / And noble aspirations in my youth… / I could not tame my nature down; for he / Must serve who fain would sway—and soothe—and sue— / … I disdained to mingle with / A herd, though to be leader—and of wolves. / The lion is alone, and so am I.
MANFRED: Because my nature was averse from life; / And yet not cruel; for I would not make, / But find a desolation:—like the wind, / The red-hot breath of the most lone Simoom, / Which dwells but in the desert… such have I been.
院长： 唉！我恐怕您已非我及我的使命所能救助……
ABBOT: Alas! I fear that thou art past all aid / From me and from my calling.
MANFRED: Look on me! there is an order / Of mortals on the earth, who do become / Old in their youth, and die ere middle age… / Some of heart-break, or of broken hopes— / … Look on me! there is an order / Of mortals on the earth…
ABBOT: This should have been a noble creature: he / Hath all the energy which would have made / A goodly frame of glorious elements, / Had they been wisely mingled; as it is, / It is an awful chaos—light and darkness— / And mind and dust—and passions and pure thoughts, / Mix’d, and contending without end or order, / All dormant or destructive. He will perish, / And yet he must not; I will try once more.
[下。]
[Exit.]
][][
第三幕，第二场
ACT III, SCENE II
场景： 城堡中另一室内。
Scene: Another Chamber in the Castle.
曼弗雷德与赫尔曼上场。
MANFRED and HERMAN.
赫尔曼： 大人，您吩咐我在日落时分听候差遣。太阳正沉入山后。
HERMAN: My lord, you bade me wait on you at sunset: / He sinks behind the mountain.
Glorious Orb! the idol / Of early nature, and the vigorous race / Of undiseased mankind, the giant sons / Of the embrace of angels, with a sex / More beautiful than spirits, and before / The worlds were yielded to the spirit of the air.
Most glorious orb! that wert a worship, ere / The mystery of thy making was reveal’d! / Thou earliest minister of the Almighty, / Which gladden’d, on their mountain tops, the hearts / Of the Chaldean shepherds, till they pour’d / Themselves in orisons!
Thou material God! / And representative of the Unknown— / Who chose thee for his shadow! Thou chief star! / Centre of many stars! which mak’st our earth / Endurable… Sire of the seasons! Monarch of the climes, / And those who dwell in them!
Thou risest, / And shin’st, and sett’st in glory. Fare thee well! / I ne’er shall see thee more. As my first glance / Of love and wonder was for thee, then take / My latest look.
HERMAN: ’Tis strange enough; night after night, for years, / He hath pursued long vigils in this tower, / Without a witness. … There is a room / Which none have enter’d: I would give the free / Full earnings of my last three years to scan / Its mysteries.
曼努埃尔： 那会很危险。知道多少，就满足于多少吧。
MANUEL: It were a dangerous spy-light; be content / With what thou know’st already.
赫尔曼： 唉，曼努埃尔！……在曼弗雷德伯爵出生之前，我侍奉的是他的父亲，而伯爵与他父亲并不相像。
HERMAN: Ah! Manuel! … I served / His father, whom he naught resembles.
MANUEL: I speak not of features or of form, / But mind and habits. Count Sigismund was proud, / But gay and free as on a battlefield; / … He had no silent thoughts, nor solitary pastimes, / Nor ever shunn’d the light or his fellow-men.
赫尔曼： 请别怪我多嘴，但那真是快活的时光啊！……
HERMAN: Beseech you, do not blame me, / But those were happy times!
MANUEL: Oh, Herman! I have seen within these walls / Strange sights and sounds. … That was a night indeed! / I do remember ’twas an hour like this; / … Count Manfred was, as now, within his tower,— / How occupied, we knew not, but with him / The sole companion of his wanderings / And watchings—her, whom of all earthly things / That lived, the only thing he seem’d to love,— / As he, indeed, by blood was bound to do, / The lady Astarte, his—
(突然。)
(Suddenly stops.)
嘘！谁来了？
Hush! who comes here?
(修道院长上场。)
(Enter the ABBOT.)
院长： 你们的主人在哪里？
ABBOT: Where is your master?
赫尔曼： 在他的塔楼里。
HERMAN: Yonder in the tower.
院长： 我必须和他谈谈。
ABBOT: I must speak with him.
曼努埃尔： 这不可能。他极重隐私，绝不能这样被打扰。
MANUEL: ’Tis impossible; / He is most private, and must not be thus / Intruded on.
院长： 纵有冲撞之咎，亦由我一身承当——但我必须见他。
ABBOT: Upon myself I take / The forfeit of my fault, if fault there be— / But I must see him.
赫尔曼： 您今晚已经见过他一次了。
HERMAN: Thou hast seen him once / To-night already.
院长： 赫尔曼！我命令你。去敲门，通报伯爵我来了。
ABBOT: Herman! I command thee, / Knock, and apprise the Count of my approach.
赫尔曼： 我们不敢。
HERMAN: We dare not.
院长： 那么看来，我只好亲自去通报我的来意了。
ABBOT: Then it seems I must / Be mine own herald.
曼努埃尔： 尊敬的神父，请留步！我恳求您，且慢！请这边走几步，容我私下相告。
MANUEL: Reverend father, stop! / I do beseech thee, pause. … Will it please you to step aside, / And I will tell you further.
MANFRED: The stars are forth, the moon above the tops / Of the snow-shining mountains.—Beautiful! / I do remember out of her mid-heaven, / In the close night-hour, I have learn’d the tongue / Of another world.
I do remember in my youth, when I / Was gazing on the dwelling of the Caesars… / And thou didst shine, thou rolling moon, upon / All this, and cast a wide and tender light… / Which make the dwelling of the ancient dead / A place of religion.
ABBOT: I see a dark and awful figure rise, / Like an infernal god, from out the earth; / … Behold! he unveils his face; on his brow / The scar of thunder is engraved; and from / His eyes leap forth the lightnings of the pit. / Avaunt!
(一精灵上场。)
(Enter a SPIRIT.)
曼弗雷德： 宣告——你的使命为何？
MANFRED: Pronounce—what is thy mission?
精灵： 来！此人的守护精灵。来！时辰到了。
SPIRIT: Come! … The Spirit of thy destiny. Come! The hour is come.
MANFRED: I am prepared for all things, but deny / The power which summons me. Who sent thee here? / I have commanded beings of a birth / More noble than thy kindred. Back!
MANFRED: I do defy ye;—though I feel my soul / Is ebbing from me, yet I do defy ye; / … No—I have been my own destroyer, and will be / My own hereafter.—Back, ye baffled fiends! / The hand of death is on me—but not yours!
ABBOT: Alas! how pale thou art—thy lips are white— / And thy breast heaves—and in thy gasping throat / The accents rattle:—Give thy prayers to Heaven— / Pray—albeit but in thought—but die not thus.
曼弗雷德： 结束了——我昏花的双眼已无法聚焦于你……永别了——将你的手给我。
MANFRED: ’Tis over—my dull eyes can fix thee not; / But all things swim around me, and the earth / Heaves as it were beneath me. Fare thee well— / Give me thy hand.
院长： 冰冷——冰冷——直透心底——但尚有一愿……唉！你感觉如何？
ABBOT: Cold—cold—even to the heart— / But yet one prayer—Alas! how farest thou?
曼弗雷德： 老先生……死去，并非那么艰难。
MANFRED: Old man! ’tis not so difficult to die.
(曼弗雷德死去。)
(MANFRED dies.)
院长： 他去了——他的灵魂已踏上无尘的旅程；但去往何方？我惧于思索——但他确实去了。
ABBOT: He’s gone—his soul hath ta’en its earthless flight; / Whither? I dread to think—but he is gone.
ACT I, Scene 1 [The Royal Chamber of the Palace of Lydia]
（利迪亚老王、泰梅西斯、泽纳库斯、马泽雷斯、菲德利奥、阿莫尔福、塞克斯托里奥及洛多维库斯上。众人行至王座前，却发现西里西亚的暴君阿玛特里特斯早已端坐于御椅之上。马泽雷斯上前，为他加冕。老王与泰梅西斯惊愕呆立。号声起。）(Enter the Old King, Tymethes, Zenocrates, Mazeres, Fidelio, Amorpho, Sextorio, and Lodovicus. They approach the throne, only to find Armatrites, the Tyrant of Cilicia, already seated upon the chair of state. Mazeres steps forward and crowns him. The Old King and Tymethes stand struck with amazement. Flourish of trumpets.)
阿玛特里特斯： （起身）斯佩兰扎！（希望！）
ARMATRITES: (Rising) Speranza! (Hope!)
众人： 阿玛特里特斯国王万岁！
ALL: Long live King Armatrites!
老王： 为何？
OLD KING: Why?
阿玛特里特斯： 老东西，惊呆了吗？我追随一个幻象而来——此刻，我便将它化为现实。
ARMATRITES: Old man, are you amazed? I followed a vision hither—and now, I have turned it into reality.
OLD KING: There is no nobility or virtue in this, but a defiance of religion, loyalty, heaven, and the laws of nature! That you should so treacherously break into a place that should be sacred to faith and honor! I sought help from a friend, not a hypocrite; I needed a royal neighbor, not a deadly enemy. Could a foe have done worse than this?
ARMATRITES: Alas, doting Lydia, is it no merit to have brought an army hither, hazarding our person and the lives of our soldiers to help you against your enemies? That would be to waste our courage, blunt our best men, exhaust our provisions, and throw our glory to unworthy souls. Why should we pour out the honey of our victory only for these drones to feast upon?
ARMATRITES: All or nothing. Nothing but this kingdom is worthy of our blood: eagles do not hunt flies, nor do they thank us for crumbs. As for Cilicia, our other realm, it shall be governed by our son, Zenocrates.
ZENOCRATES: (Kneeling) Sir, let me here beg for mercy, mercy for this venerable and unfortunate King, and for his sorrowful son, my dear friend and sworn brother, Tymethes. O, my most noble father, keep still the seal of honor and faith: a kingdom possessed by right and gentle rule yields far more joy than a realm usurped by violence.
阿玛特里特斯： （旁白）这小子几乎说动了我。
ARMATRITES: (Aside) The boy almost moves me.
马泽雷斯： （旁白）陛下心软了。（高声） 陛下，请记住，您已掌控一切。
MAZERES: (Aside) His Majesty relents. (Aloud) Sir, remember, you have all in your power.
MAZERES: The devil? It is a title! A kingdom! All Lydia! They breathe only under your scepter. The power is yours. Do not be bought by sweet words. A kingdom is precious: kiss your fortune, hold fast your mind, and settle your state.
ARMATRITES: Thanks to Mazeres; he has restored our spirit. Zenocrates, one word more is death. Your speech is a threat; either rise in silence, or fall in blood.
（泽纳库斯起身。）
(Zenocrates rises.)
老王： 暴君当道，除却血腥，还能指望什么？
OLD KING: When a tyrant rules, what can be expected but blood?
ARMATRITES: Our cruelty to your fortune is less than that of your treacherous nephew, Lapirus. He sought your life, basely besieged you, and sold you to the fury of your enemies. It is well known how wickedly he acted; our actions are but fit, call them policy, profit, foresight—no, rather just compensation. Deceit is common in peace; there, young heirs are often sold. You have your life; be thankful, for it is more than your treacherous nephew would have granted had he prevailed. Your fate is sealed; the sooner you depart, the safer for you.
老王： （旁白）拉皮鲁斯，你这背信弃义之徒，愿老夫的诅咒如奥林匹斯山压顶，令你永世不得翻身！
OLD KING: (Aside) Lapirus, you treacherous knave, may my curse press upon you like Mount Olympus, that you may never rise again!
菲德利奥： 您的王后带着两位婴孩逃离了都城，被这场叛变与新战事吓破了胆。
FIDELIO: Your Queen has fled the city with two infants, frightened by this revolt and the new wars.
OLD KING: This news is more grievous than the loss of my kingdom. She must have fled at the very start; had she stayed, she would be dead, exiled, or sold. Are there any loyal servants of mine left here?
OLD KING: All these? No, no; you forget I am no longer worth flattering. I am ruined, old, and exiled. I can only bow to the rising sun. If there be any who still serve me out of love, where are they? Let such a man now shame the world and follow me.
菲德利奥： 臣在此，陛下。
FIDELIO: I am here, my Liege.
阿莫尔福： 臣亦在此。
AMORPHO: And I.
老王： 什么，仅你二人？当记下：仅两人追随一位贫穷年迈的国王。
OLD KING: What, only two? Let it be recorded: only two follow a poor, aged King.
（老王、菲德利奥与阿莫尔福同下。）
(Exeunt Old King, Fidelio, and Amorpho.)
塞克斯托里奥： 再会了，国王。我就当条比目鱼，随潮水进退。
SEXTORIO: Farewell, King. I’ll be like a flatfish, moving with the tide.
洛多维库斯： 我也一样；这才是涨潮的一边。
LODOVICUS: And I; this is the side where the tide rises.
马泽雷斯： （对阿玛特里特斯）这些人现在归您了，陛下。
MAZERES: (To Armatrites) These men are yours now, Sir.
ARMATRITES: We shall favor them especially. (To Sextorio and Lodovicus) Attend our pleasure; those who serve us shall be promoted. (Taking Mazeres aside) His son Tymethes is no cause for concern. Young and fond of pleasure, he has no heart for policy.
ZENOCRATES: (Aside) Who but Mazeres, that court-fly, could so poison a King’s virtue? A man runs to sin in a moment’s leap; but to walk toward goodness, one must step as if on thin ice. My own father, so quickly turned tyrant!
泰梅西斯： 安静，求你安静。你若吵醒我，我便完了；说到底，这定是一场梦。
TYMETHES: Peace, I pray you, peace. If you wake me, I am undone; surely, this must be a dream.
TYMETHES: No dream? Then wake, beggar. My only comfort is these seemingly heroic kinsmen. Alas, Zenocrates, the loss of a kingdom, the exile of a father, the unknown fate of a mother—these pains are not half so great as the obstruction of my heart. No, what burns me is the matter between your sister and me. Whether because of fortune, or her father’s frowning face, all the structure of her love… now, she either will not, or dares not love me.
ZENOCRATES: Times change, but not true hearts; look at me—despite tyranny, I still hold you as a treasure. Fortune does but cloud a good man’s mirror; yet its value remains, unchanged by fate. Should virtue be cast aside like a rag because of misery? I will never call her sister who hates virtue in its distress.
（安菲多特上。）
(Enter Amphidote.)
泽纳库斯： （续）她来了，亲自为你驱散疑云。
ZENOCRATES: (Cont.) She comes herself to clear your doubts.
AMPHIDOTE: What a world is this! That my father, in his old age, should use tyranny against a friend, wasting the time of penance in plots, and committing more sins than he has tears to wash away?
泰梅西斯： 唉，殿下，命运已改我境遇；你可爱一个乞丐？
TYMETHES: Alas, Madam, fortune has changed my state; can you love a beggar?
ZENOCRATES: Save your wonder; she has proved herself unchanged. Before she came, I spoke for her virtue… After my father’s days, I swear this kingdom, now unlawfully possessed, shall be restored to you entire. Not as a dowry, but as your rightful due.
（马泽雷斯悄然上，窥视。）
(Mazeres enters quietly, spying.)
泽纳库斯： （续）来，让你们的唇相遇吧，纵使命运漂泊。
ZENOCRATES: (Cont.) Come, let your lips meet, though fortune wanders.
（安菲多特与泰梅西斯接吻。）
(Amphidote and Tymethes kiss.)
马泽雷斯： （旁白）哈！竟与一个乞丐如此慷慨地唇齿相亲？
MAZERES: (Aside) Ha! To be so generous with her lips to a beggar?
泽纳库斯： 如此，让你们的爱情在稳固中安歇；时间使人沦为不幸，亦能使同样的人获得福佑。
ZENOCRATES: Thus, let your love rest in certainty; time makes men miserable, yet can make the same men blessed.
MAZERES: What’s this? If Prince Zenocrates in a fit of charity chooses to share his glory to save a desperate beggar’s dying fortune… then my counsel to keep Tymethes here was folly. I have brought in a wolf and sought my own trouble. I love the Princess, and the King approves. If Tymethes becomes my rival… then I have built my own ruin with my own advice. No matter. My plots shall destroy him. If one fails, another shall rise, or a third. I must prevail. (Exit.)
][][
第一幕，第二场 [森林中]
ACT I, Scene 2 [In the Forest]
（老王后怀抱两名婴孩奔逃而上，后有紧追之声。）
(Enter the Old Queen, carrying two infants, fleeing; sounds of pursuit behind her.)
老王后： 我能带着这些可怜的孩儿逃往何方？在这深林之中，竟两度落难！他们掠走我的一切，剥尽我的衣衫，将我抛在这般绝境！是何等残酷的命运，在摧折我那善良的国王、我的夫君？我已辨不清哪一桩才是更大的苦难。啊，背信弃义的拉皮鲁斯！你这渎神的侄儿！愿那一颗罪恶灵魂所滋生的一切恐怖，统统报应在你身上！我可怜的孩儿，你们要么在此化为饿殍，要么……就让战争的饕餮之口，饮尽你们无辜的鲜血！ OLD QUEEN: Whither shall I fly with these poor infants? Twice distressed in these deep woods! They have rifled me of all, stripped me of my very garments, and left me in this wretched state! What cruel fate pursues my good King, my husband? I know not which misery is the greater. O, treacherous Lapirus! You sacrilegious nephew! May all the terrors that a guilty soul can breed light upon you! My poor babes, you must either perish here by famine, or… let the gluttonous jaws of war drink up your innocent blood!
（内喊声：“追！快追！”）
(Voices within: “Follow! Follow!”)
老王后（续）： 快逃！莫等他们追来，夺走我们的性命，玷污我的名节！
OLD QUEEN (Cont.): Away! Lest they overtake us, take our lives, and triumph over my honor!
LAPIRUS: Villain and fugitive!—you loathsome carcass!—where can you possibly hide? Now that you’ve betrayed your country, what disguise can keep you safe or free? Foul Lapirus! Earth, open your throat and swallow this bitter fruit, even if you hate the very taste of it!
（老王后奔逃上，两名兵卒紧追其后。）
(Enter the Old Queen, fleeing, pursued by two Soldiers.)
老王后： 救命！善心人哪，救救这可怜的妇人免遭屠戮！
OLD QUEEN: Help! Good people, save a poor, distressed woman from being slaughtered!
兵卒甲： 先把她的嘴堵上。当兵的得找点乐子。这是他们用血换来的权利。
1ST SOLDIER: First, shut her up. Soldiers need their fun. It’s a right they buy with their blood.
LAPIRUS: (Aside) A mother tortured by these heartless slaves? Let me redeem my honor by saving her. Let this one act of good kill the man I used to be.
兵卒乙： 快点，快点！
2ND SOLDIER: Hurry up, get on with it!
老王后： 若是有哪位女子曾生育你们——
OLD QUEEN: If any woman ever gave you birth—
拉皮鲁斯： （拔剑）无论谁生了他们，定是妖魔养了他们！无情无义的该死恶徒！
LAPIRUS: (Drawing his sword) Whoever bore them, surely a devil raised them! You heartless, damned villains!
两兵卒： 且慢，且慢，大人！我们是兵卒不假，可我们并不好斗。
BOTH SOLDIERS: Wait, wait, sir! We’re soldiers, it’s true, but we aren’t looking for a fight!
（两兵卒逃下。）
(The Soldiers flee.)
老王后： 请容我劝您莫要指望任何报偿……唯有感谢与祈祷，这是一个乞丐仅有的礼物。
OLD QUEEN: Let me warn you not to expect any reward… except thanks and prayers. They are the only gifts a beggar has.
LAPIRUS: There is nothing I thirst for more than prayer. My soul is barren—like a grand house with no furniture inside. It lacks the curtains of sincere tears. Without prayer, a man is nothing but a ruined wall. Who are you, crossing this dangerous forest with such a precious and heavy burden?
OLD QUEEN: Generous sir, I was the Queen of Lydia—as happy then as I am miserable now. Then a traitor named Lapirus, the King’s own nephew, plotted to overthrow the state. Even as the King was making peace with his enemy, this man led a secret army to surround the land. Who could have expected such unnatural treason from a kinsman? I am that honored and most wretched Queen.
拉皮鲁斯： （旁白）啊，此刻便让我坠入永劫不复之地吧！（高声）请勿再言。
LAPIRUS: (Aside) O, let me sink into eternal hell this very second! (Aloud) Say no more.
OLD QUEEN: No, no. I will tell you everything. Your noble deed proved you are honest and worthy of my trust. Fearing the new wars and Lapirus’s betrayal, I chose to flee with these two infants rather than wait for a slow death.
拉皮鲁斯： （旁白）噢，她每一字都令我如受千刀万剐！
LAPIRUS: (Aside) Oh, every word she says is like a thousand stabs!
LAPIRUS: (Wildly) If it brings your sorrow any comfort, know this: Lapirus—the man you have every reason to curse and seek revenge upon—is hiding in this very forest… in a state as desperate as yours.
老王后： 什么？那个可憎的恶棍就在这森林里？
OLD QUEEN: What? That loathsome villain is in this forest?
LAPIRUS: Here, take my sword. Hold it tight. Are you resolved? Letting his blood stain your hand will only dirty your noble name. Even so, will you strike?
老王后： 我没看见他。
OLD QUEEN: I don’t see him.
拉皮鲁斯： 刺穿他那充满罪孽与背叛的骨头，让他亲眼看看他背誓灵魂的恐怖。准备好了吗？
LAPIRUS: Pierce through his guilty and treacherous bones. Let him see the horror of his lying soul. Are you ready?
OLD QUEEN: Lapirus! Oh, the hour of revenge is here! Now all your wicked deeds will be paid back at once: the ruin of your country, the sorrow of the King—your uncle—and my own suffering. It all meets in this one moment. (Aside) Why doesn’t he fight back? He just bows, prays, and begs. What more can I ask for? There is no glory in killing a man who kneels and repents for his crimes. If I send him to heaven, I’m afraid he’ll drag me down to hell with him. Listen to the cries of your poor children; they are calling for revenge too. Or is it just hunger in their bellies? Enough, enough—he deserves to die. (Pause) But—he just saved me and preserved my honor. Since I am his elder, how can I become his murderer? Will killing him bring back my kingdom? Besides, he was so resolute when he drew his sword for me. This truly troubles my heart! (Aloud) Stand up, stand up. Those who sincerely repent find redemption.
OLD QUEEN: I only ask for one penance for all your past faults: while we are stuck in this forest, your job is to find food and supplies for me and my children.
拉皮鲁斯： （惊愕，随即急切起身）臣若失职，愿地裂而吞我。
LAPIRUS: (Amazed, then rising eagerly) If I fail in this, let the earth open and swallow me whole.
老王后： （对婴孩）他们现在安静下来了；若我那老国王夫君在此，我愿永远居留于此。
OLD QUEEN: (To the infants) They are quiet now. If only the King were here, I would be happy to stay in this forest forever.
（同下。）(They exit together.)
][][
第一幕，第四场 [年轻王后寝宫外]
ACT I, Scene 4 [Outside the Young Queen’s Apartments]
（泰梅西斯与泽纳库斯上。）
(Enter Tymethes and Zenocrates.)
泽纳库斯： 且收了你这些愁绪吧。稍存些信念。我必教你重展欢颜。
ZENOCRATES: Put away these gloomy thoughts. Have a little faith. I’ll show you something to bring the smile back to your face.
泰梅西斯： 就像你父王葬礼上，你那身为嗣子的心情？
TYMETHES: What, like the joy of an heir at his father’s funeral?
泽纳库斯： 看来我妹妹确实令你魂牵梦萦。
ZENOCRATES: It seems my sister has truly taken possession of your soul.
泰梅西斯： 除她之外，世间再无欢愉与妙音。
TYMETHES: Without her, there is no joy or music left in the world.
ZENOCRATES: My friend, in this palace, my father is so wasted by jealousy that he keeps his beautiful wife locked away in seclusion. I doubt you’ve ever laid eyes on her.
泰梅西斯： 我直至此刻方知有此一人，自然未曾见过。
TYMETHES: I didn’t even know she existed until now, so of course I haven’t seen her.
泽纳库斯： 那么，正好借你新来的眼光，我特地带你去品评一番。
ZENOCRATES: Then, with your fresh eyes, I’ve brought you here specifically to judge her beauty.
泰梅西斯： 我倾诉的是爱慕。
TYMETHES: It’s love I’m talking about, not judgment.
泽纳库斯： 不，她值得令人妒忌，尽管妒忌本身，远配不上一国之君。
ZENOCRATES: No, she is worth the envy—even if jealousy itself is beneath a king.
（罗克萨诺上。）
(Enter Roxano.)
罗克萨诺： 我尊贵的殿下？
ROXANO: My noble lord?
泽纳库斯： 王后心情如何？
ZENOCRATES: How is the Queen’s mood?
（二人低语。）
(They whisper together.)
泰梅西斯： （旁白）我岂非先前见过此人？此人颇有龟公之相；我不知其名，亦不晓其职。
TYMETHES: (Aside) Haven’t I seen this fellow before? He has the look of a pimp about him; I don’t know his name or his office.
泽纳库斯： （高声）就照那些话去办。
ZENOCRATES: (Aloud) See it done as we discussed.
罗克萨诺： 遵命，殿下。凡是用得着小的之事，尽管吩咐。（下。）
ROXANO: At your service, my lord. Anything you need from me, just say the word. (Exit.)
ZENOCRATES: Who, Roxano? A highly trusted servant, handpicked by my father’s own suspicion. But like everyone else, he’s under the Young Queen’s command. Honestly, if the pay were right, she could pimp herself out. If a wife has no shame, no amount of spying or guarding can keep her chaste.
TYMETHES: You’re a prophet, Zenocrates. What’s the point of it all? Only jealousy, sighs, and ridiculous groaning. Hunger and lust can pierce through flesh and stone; they’ll blow through castle gates, chastity belts, and Italian locks like a whirlwind.
泽纳库斯： 那这些善妒的老爷们岂非疯了？他们锁住妻子，防尽天下男人，却独独不防自家奴仆？
ZENOCRATES: Aren’t these jealous masters insane? They lock up their wives and guard against every man on earth—except their own servants.
（年轻王后手持一书上。）
(The Young Queen enters, with a book.)
泽纳库斯 （续）： 说着便到，看，看，她来了。
ZENOCRATES (Cont.): Speaking of her—look, look, here she comes.
泰梅西斯： （旁白）诸美为证……我心底的欲望骤然升腾。优雅与完美自她眸中灼灼迸射。我目眩神迷。
TYMETHES: (Aside) By all that is beautiful… a sudden desire rises within me. Grace and perfection blaze from her eyes. I am dazzled.
泽纳库斯： （引见）这位是泰梅西斯，夫人，乃遭流放的前王之子。
ZENOCRATES: (Presenting him) This is Tymethes, Madam, son to the late exiled King.
年轻王后： 便是他么？
YOUNG QUEEN: Is it he?
泽纳库斯： 正是，亲爱的夫人。
ZENOCRATES: It is, dear Madam.
年轻王后： （旁白）我至今方知欲望之力竟如此磅礴！情欲在我五内翻腾；我怕这一瞥便注定是我的劫数。
YOUNG QUEEN: (Aside) I never knew the power of desire could be this immense! Lust churns within me; I fear this single look will be my undoing.
泽纳库斯： （低声提醒）喂，泰梅西斯？朋友？
ZENOCRATES: (Whispering) Hey, Tymethes? Friend?
泰梅西斯： （茫然四顾）嗯？
TYMETHES: (Startled) Hmm?
泽纳库斯： （低声提醒）上前向我们的夫人、我们的母后致意。
ZENOCRATES: (Whispering) Go forward and greet our Lady, our Queen.
年轻王后： （旁白）他竟如此大胆地朝我走来！（高声）阁下便是泰梅西斯王子，我听得可对？
YOUNG QUEEN: (Aside) How boldly he approaches me! (Aloud) You are Prince Tymethes, if I heard correctly?
泰梅西斯： 正是那不幸之人，最尊贵的夫人，在您无瑕的完美面前。
TYMETHES: I am that unfortunate man, most noble Lady, standing before your flawless perfection.
YOUNG QUEEN: Sir, remember your place. (Aside) He said “perfection”! (Aloud) This is no place for romance, and I am no fit subject for such talk; return to your friend.
泰梅西斯： （旁白）所有希望，尚未绽放便已夭折。
TYMETHES: (Aside) All hope is dead before it could even bloom.
年轻王后： （旁白）这话说得太过冷酷，实在……
YOUNG QUEEN: (Aside) That sounded too cold, far too…
（罗克萨诺持酒上。）
(Enter Roxano with wine.)
年轻王后 （续）： 啊，这是给我们儿子泽纳库斯和他那位无礼朋友的酒么？真是周到。
YOUNG QUEEN (Cont.): Ah, is this wine for our son Zenocrates and his… blunt friend? How thoughtful.
泰梅西斯： （旁白）哈，看来还有希望！若她肯借机祝我健康……
TYMETHES: (Aside) Ha, there’s hope yet! If she’ll only take the chance to toast my health…
TYMETHES: (Aside) Heavens! Why does misfortune’s contempt follow me so closely! She wouldn’t even offer a toast; what was she made for? I can’t stay here, lest I catch a fire that only cold death can quench or tame. (Aloud) Zenocrates, let’s go. (Exit.)
泽纳库斯： 我得走了；愿您心境如乐章，王后。
ZENOCRATES: I must be off. May your mood be like music, Queen.
年轻王后： 愿你亦如是。
YOUNG QUEEN: And yours as well.
泽纳库斯： 愿您心想事成，亦如我口所能宣。
ZENOCRATES: May your desires be fulfilled as easily as my words can say it.
YOUNG QUEEN (Cont.): That one left without a word, but he left me with enough thoughts for both of us. Tymethes? That’s the name. Poor heart, be careful: see the end before you begin the act. You can love, but love wisely. They say even the wisest man has one blind spot—and that’s when he’s in love. In that moment, folly becomes his master. I don’t need to fear the servants watching me: their loyalty is tied to my purse; they are more faithful to me than to my husband. The true threat, the danger, lies in the very man I must have—Tymethes. Young men like to boast. In his cups, he might brag to some cheap mistress, using my shame as a stepping stone to raise himself up… and from there, word would reach the King. A strange fate: the place where my desire lives is the same place where my fear dwells.
ARMATRITES: (Aside) Alone? Where are her guards? To let her sink into her own thoughts? That’s a dangerous indulgence. Her thoughts have a will of their own.
ROXANO: (Aside) My lady’s thoughts right now are far from the sweet smile she’s wearing for the tyrant. I consider myself a good judge of character, but their faces have never been more fake. My lady isn’t being honest with herself. She’s got some twisted ideas. If there’s anything she needs a hand with, she might just be lucky enough to tell me. She knows what I’m worth and what I can do; she can’t fool me. I offer dedicated service and total silence—what more could a lady ask for? She has total faith in us; those of us who guard her hem would all risk a little something to serve her and keep her happy.
（年轻王后忧思上。）(The Young Queen enters, deep in thought.)
老天，她来了。看这情状，定是服了什么古怪的药石。
Good grief, here she comes. By the looks of it, she’s taken some strange potion.
YOUNG QUEEN: (Aside) No logic can suppress this thought. It has a brute force pushing upward; do sparks ever fly down? I can no longer restrain this obsession with Tymethes. I try to threaten it with my husband’s jealousy, but it still rises above all opposition. I see the danger; I see the terror I’m in. I’m running toward an abyss on a single narrow plank. Yet, even if that board were three times narrower, I’d still risk stepping onto it. The pain of love! Who’s there? Roxano? He’s seen me. (Aloud) What news, Roxano?
罗克萨诺： 没什么好消息，夫人。
ROXANO: No good news, Madam.
年轻王后： 没有？那坏消息是什么？
YOUNG QUEEN: No? Then what’s the bad news?
罗克萨诺： 最坏的消息便是，夫人，您很不快活。
ROXANO: The worst news, Madam, is that you are very unhappy.
YOUNG QUEEN: He must never know who I am, even though I feel I’ll die if I can’t have him. My husband’s pale jealousy chases me like a hound; if Tymethes knew who he was enjoying, the word would reach the King. Since my desire carries such terrifying consequences, I’d rather die of love than any other way. What do you say?
ROXANO: Then he’ll say, like a proper gentleman, that he’ll do his duty: bring the two of you together, let you unite, and then leave the two of you alone. What more could a gentleman do?
ROXANO: Safely? Yes, I swear it on my hand, or may I never work this trade again. Leave it to me, Madam. I’ve got some clever tricks in mind that will let you see him and enjoy him without him ever knowing where he is or who he’s with.
ROXANO: Oh, that’s exactly what I don’t want him to know, Madam. Think about it: if he knew it was you, would you ever be safe? Hmph. Some young punks are so vain and ridiculous—if they slept with their own mother, they’d probably beat a drum and announce it in every tavern. It happens all the time. Since I’ve promised, I’ll swear to it: you’ll have him before tonight is over, and he won’t know it was you even by tomorrow morning.
YOUNG QUEEN: You are not only indispensable, you’re a delight. (Giving him money) Here, take your reward. Make sure everything is arranged perfectly. I pay you in gold today; I will repay you with honor in the future. (Exit.)
ROXANO: I’m your humble servant, Madam. Hey, beautiful gold! Heaven knows, this money was easy to earn. If you ask me, there’s no better business in the world than match-making. With this reward, a lowly servant like me can become a grand steward in no time. (Exit.)
][][
第二幕，第一场 [羊圈外]
ACT II, Scene 1 [Outside the Sheepfolds]
（地上有一深坑，以断枝覆盖，旁置一苹果。弄人与二牧羊女上。）
(A deep pit in the ground, covered with broken branches; an apple is placed nearby. Enter the Fool and two Shepherdesses.)
牧羊女甲： 来，兄弟，坑挖好了吗？
1ST SHEPHERDESS: Come on, brother—is the pit ready?
弄人： 挖好啦，我敢担保，深得像个精明的放高利贷者的良心！
FOOL: It’s dug, and I guarantee it’s as deep as a shrewd moneylender’s conscience!
牧羊女乙： 老天，那可够深的；它一顿早饭的工夫，就能吞掉一个带着三个孤儿的寡妇！轻点，是这个吗？
2ND SHEPHERDESS: Good grief, that’s deep enough. It could swallow a widow and three orphans before breakfast! Easy now, is this the spot?
牧羊女甲： 是，是，就是这个。
1ST SHEPHERDESS: Yes, yes, this is it.
弄人： 论深度，我敢发誓没话说；来瞧瞧，我把这些树枝交叉铺好了。
FOOL: I’ll swear to the depth any day. Take a look—I’ve laid these branches out in a perfect lattice.
牧羊女乙： 这苹果是干嘛的？
2ND SHEPHERDESS: What’s the apple for?
弄人： 逮狼用的。
FOOL: To catch wolves.
二人： 什么狼？
BOTH: What kind of wolves?
弄人： 哎，就是所有那些吃羊肉的混蛋，我指的是那些祸害咱们羊群的狼。我想把它们都困在这儿。
FOOL: Oh, all those mutton-eating bastards—I mean the wolves that harass our flocks. I want to trap the lot of them here.
牧羊女乙： 我倒纳闷，那些吃咱们羊的狼，到底是公狼还是母狼？
2ND SHEPHERDESS: I wonder, are these wolves that eat our sheep male or female?
FOOL: By their love for mutton, they should be male; but by their sheer greed, they must be female. A female wolf’s belly needs a dam to plug it, or it’ll never be full.
牧羊女甲： 怎么，母狼比公狼还坏？
1ST SHEPHERDESS: What, are the females worse than the males?
弄人： 怎么，难道母畜不比魔鬼更凶吗，您说说看？
FOOL: Well, isn’t a female beast fiercer than the devil himself? You tell me.
牧羊女甲： （笑）你这话可把我堵回去了。真逗。
1ST SHEPHERDESS: (Laughing) You’ve got me there. That’s funny.
FOOL: Listen, girl, even if the whole earth were parchment, the ocean ink, every twig a pen, and every rogue a clerk—even then, they’d only just begin to record the treachery of those female wolves!
牧羊女乙： 瘟死它们，公的母的都好：它们专吸咱们羊羔的血。
2ND SHEPHERDESS: A plague on them all, male or female. They suck the very blood out of our lambs.
弄人： 哎，总是最弱小的被挤到墙角。打个比方：推倒一只羊，它往前倒；推倒一个人，他往后倒。
FOOL: Ay, the weakest are always pushed to the wall. Think of it this way: push a sheep, it falls forward; push a man, he falls backward.
牧羊女甲： 有学问。先生，我好奇这世上有多少种狼啊？
1ST SHEPHERDESS: Very learned. Sir, I wonder how many kinds of wolves there are?
弄人： （纠正）“有多少种。”没人说“有多少种狼在。”——哎呀，就跟扑克牌里老K花色一样多呗。
FOOL: (Correcting her) “How many kinds.” Nobody says “how many kinds of wolves are in.” Well, there are as many kinds as there are rogues in a deck of cards.
牧羊女乙： 哦，那是四种。
2ND SHEPHERDESS: Oh, so four kinds then.
弄人： 头一等是宫廷狼，吃相龌龊，喝相却“干净”。
FOOL: The first are the Court-Wolves. Their eating is filthy, but their drinking is “clean.”
牧羊女乙： 为什么喝相“干净”？
2ND SHEPHERDESS: Why “clean” drinking?
弄人： 怎么，因为他们一喝醉，通常就把肚里的东西吐个精光，所以在喝酒这事上，倒是做得挺“干净”。
FOOL: Because when they get drunk, they usually vomit up everything in their stomachs. So, they keep their drinking quite “clean.”
牧羊女乙： 这么说来，先生，那些确实是“干净”酒徒了。
2ND SHEPHERDESS: I see, sir; they are “clean” drinkers indeed.
弄人： 下一等是乡野狼。粮食入仓时，他们笑得比狐狸还精；跳舞不跟曲调，只盯着斗里的金币转悠。
FOOL: The next are the Country-Wolves. When grain goes into the barn, they grin wider than foxes. They don’t dance to the tune; they only watch the gold coins spinning in the bin.
牧羊女甲： （纠正）“一枚金币加一配克！”没人说“一斗里的金币。”
1ST SHEPHERDESS: (Correcting) “A gold coin and a peck!” Nobody says “gold coins in a bin.”
2ND SHEPHERDESS: No, it’s “a pinch and a handful, and silly Polly’s belly swells”… let the gallows take those grain-hoarders! But aren’t there City-Wolves?
FOOL: Plenty of them, oh yes, in packs. You can see them all over the streets! They’ll eat carrion—they’d even swallow a harlot’s corpse—and that’s why we use the apple.
牧羊女甲： 他们有那么大的胃口？
1ST SHEPHERDESS: They have appetites that big?
弄人： 胃口？哎，妹子，拉琴的都没他们这么好的胃口！我见过有的，三两口就能吞掉一个贵族老爷。
FOOL: Appetite? Girl, a fiddler doesn’t have an appetite like theirs! I’ve seen some who could swallow a nobleman in three bites.
牧羊女乙： （纠正）你是说，“三小口”吧。
2ND SHEPHERDESS: (Correcting) You mean “three tiny nibbles.”
弄人： 游侠骑士在他们眼里不算什么；一个年轻的浪荡公子，他们能像吞条小鱼似的，整个儿吞下去。
FOOL: A knight-errant is nothing to them. They can swallow a young gallant whole, like a little minnow.
牧羊女甲： 老天！我奇怪那条小鱼怎么没被他噎着。
1ST SHEPHERDESS: Heavens! I wonder the minnow didn’t choke him.
FOOL: If you could find the throat of his conscience, the minnow might choke him. But those minnows swallow everything. Five silk-clad gallants are easier to swallow than a single plum. That’s how our City-Wolves do it—they gulp him down like a gold-leaf pill. Wrapped in smooth silk, he slides right down the throat without a single chew. That’s why they call them “silken-slick gallants.”
牧羊女甲： 非得喉咙深不见底才行。我可不当那种耍把戏的贵妇人。
1ST SHEPHERDESS: You’d need a bottomless throat for that. I’m glad I’m not a high-society lady playing those tricks.
FOOL: If you played those tricks, you wouldn’t be a lady. Lastly, there’s the Sea-Wolf, a terrifying predator. His belly is as big as a ship, and he swallows enough silk in one go to keep forty tailors busy all through Christmas!
1ST SHEPHERDESS: (Aside) I didn’t know these land-beasts knew so much about silk. (Aloud) Alright, the trap is set. What do we do once we catch a wolf?
弄人： 怎么，又大又凶的，咱就放生；又小又怂的，咱就吊起来。就这么着，行不？
FOOL: Well, the big, fierce ones we let go; the small, cowardly ones we hang. How’s that sound?
三人： 行，行，行！
ALL: Fine, fine, fine!
（三人下。拉皮鲁斯独自上，仍喃喃自语。）
(Exeunt. Enter Lapirus alone, still muttering to himself.)
LAPIRUS: You filthy carcass, breeding monsters, forced to live off the very thing that destroys you! Why must man be nature’s debtor? Every other creature feasts freely at the earth’s table, yet the earth, which brings forth everything for man, has almost no place to grant him real food. What a wicked wind blows here—not a single tree offers a friendly branch. Fallen Queen and poor children, the very earth you walk on is like a proud mother, refusing you a single bite.
LAPIRUS (Cont.): Ha! Thank you, Fortune. Now I defy you, Famine! Blessed tree, four lives grow within your fruit. Quick, I must taste it—every man for himself, or the world is lost.
（他上前拾取苹果，跌入坑中。）
(He goes to pick up the apple and falls into the pit.)
LAPIRUS (Cont.): Alas, I am a damned and most miserable man! Help! Help! Is there no angel to listen and carry my cry upward? No one to help? Oh, then let me wither and die!
（弄人上。）
(Enter the Fool.)
弄人： 抓到狼啦！抓到狼啦！
FOOL: Caught a wolf! Caught a wolf!
拉皮鲁斯： 噢，救命！我不是狼，好朋友。
LAPIRUS: Oh, help me! I’m no wolf, good friend.
弄人： 不是？那你是什么？
FOOL: No? Then what are you?
拉皮鲁斯： 一个悲惨的可怜虫。
LAPIRUS: A miserable wretch.
弄人： 你是个吱哇乱叫、专啄谷子的黄鼠狼放债人？
FOOL: Are you a squeaking, grain-pecking weasel of a moneylender?
拉皮鲁斯： 什么？不，不是。
LAPIRUS: What? No, I’m not.
弄人： 那你是个咧着猴嘴笑的当铺老板？
FOOL: Then are you a grinning, monkey-faced pawnbroker?
拉皮鲁斯： 不，不是！莫要嘲笑一个身处苦痛、伤口未愈之人：当敷香膏，而非猛药。
LAPIRUS: No, I’m not! Don’t mock a man in pain whose wounds haven’t healed. Give me balm, not poison.
弄人： （旁白）蜗牛壳的！他说话像个郎中！（高声）你若真是郎中，为何不自己治治，先生？
FOOL: (Aside) By a snail’s shell! He talks like a doctor. (Aloud) If you’re really a doctor, why don’t you cure yourself, sir?
拉皮鲁斯： 是什么？
LAPIRUS: A what?
弄人： 郎中啊。
FOOL: A doctor.
拉皮鲁斯： 我不是郎中，朋友；我叫拉皮鲁斯。
LAPIRUS: I’m no doctor, friend. My name is Lapirus.
弄人： 怎么着！好，好，好，好，好！哟，逮着只大耗子！拉，拉，拉，拉皮鲁斯，嗬！
FOOL: What! Well, well, well! Look at that—I’ve caught a giant rat! La-la-la-Lapirus, huh?
拉皮鲁斯： 拉皮鲁斯是我的名字；你不认得我吗？
LAPIRUS: Lapirus is my name. Don’t you recognize me?
弄人： 认得你？认得一个贪婪的无赖，连自己的国家都能出卖——而且这“出卖”，是懦夫般的背叛。
FOOL: Recognize you? I recognize a greedy rogue who sold out his own country—and did it with the betrayal of a coward.
拉皮鲁斯： 请不要折磨我，我求你。我就是那个可怜虫。我曾是恶棍，但我如今——
LAPIRUS: Don’t torture me, I beg you. I am that wretch. I was a villain, but now—
FOOL: Devils in the pit! It was you, you dog, who sold out my country and your uncle, the King! Tush. I may be a fool, but I’m no traitor. Stay down there and wait for the wolves to eat you, you treacherous Carthaginian bastard! You maggot! (Exit.)
拉皮鲁斯： （叹息）唉，我这至为悲惨可怜的造物！我如今方知，确有一种复仇的命运，专令恶人遭遇不幸。
LAPIRUS: (Sighing) Alas, I am the most miserable creature alive! Now I know for sure: there is a vengeful fate that ensures the wicked meet a wretched end.
][][
第二幕，第二场 [城堡内一室]
ACT II, Scene 2 [A Room in the Castle]
（泽纳库斯、泰梅西斯与安菲多特上，马泽雷斯尾随其后。）
(Enter Zenocrates, Tymethes, and Amphidote; Mazeres follows them.)
泰梅西斯： （瞥见马泽雷斯）我们被人盯着呢。
TYMETHES: (Spying Mazeres) We’re being watched.
泽纳库斯： 被谁？
ZENOCRATES: By whom?
泰梅西斯： 马泽雷斯跟着我们。
TYMETHES: Mazeres is tailing us.
安菲多特： 哦，他已公然自诩为我的追求者。你唯一的情敌。
AMPHIDOTE: Oh, he’s openly declared himself my suitor. Your only rival.
泰梅西斯： 见他的鬼。
TYMETHES: To hell with him.
安菲多特： 那你打算让他成为一个“热情似火”的追求者咯？
AMPHIDOTE: So, do you plan to make him a “burning” lover then?
泰梅西斯： 他最终或许会“火”起来的；他那副好身段正祈求着呢。
TYMETHES: He might just end up on fire eventually; that fine body of his is practically begging for it.
TYMETHES: Right. You leave first, my lady; I want to take my leave specifically while he’s watching. He’s a jealous type—a single kiss will pierce his heart. I’m going to deliver a heavy blow to him, right on your lips.
（二人接吻。）
(They kiss.)
马泽雷斯： （旁白）该死！遭天谴！又一个吻？他们怕不是以亲吻来计时的吧！
MAZERES: (Aside) Damnation! Curse them! Another kiss? Do they measure time by kisses?
泰梅西斯： （旁白）嗬，嗬。我这下刺中了他的肝胆，而非皮肉！他流散的是心绪，这可比伤口更糟。
TYMETHES: (Aside) Ha! I’ve stabbed him in the vitals, not just the skin. He’s bleeding out his peace of mind, which is far worse than a physical wound.
MAZERES: (Aside) Is he lingering just to torture me? Curse the moment I ever pleaded for his life. All my traps have failed. I can’t rely on those useless fools anymore. I’ll take a faster route—straight to the heart. I’ll hunt him down myself. (Exit.)
TYMETHES: Look at that—he’s stomping off with a scowl. No matter; call me when those angry eyebrows of his can actually cause an earthquake. Until then, I’m not moved.
ROXANO: (Aside) Lord, there he is, wandering about. I barely recognize myself in these rags. I can handle any disguise, though drinking is the only thing that hides me better—I’ll admit defeat there, as it can turn a proper gentleman into a total mess. Hush, I think I’ve been spotted.
泽纳库斯： 留意他。
ZENOCRATES: Keep an eye on him.
泰梅西斯： 我留意着呢。
TYMETHES: I am.
（罗克萨诺走近他们。）
(Roxano approaches them.)
罗克萨诺： 好心的老爷们，行行好，给点儿慈悲的施舍，救救我这命途多舛的可怜绅士吧？
ROXANO: Kind sirs, have a little mercy. Spare some charity for a poor gentleman who’s fallen on hard times?
ROXANO: (Aside) “A plague on me?” These young lords only give the kind of “charity” that sticks to you—as if it were a virtue. He doesn’t just want my hat off; he wants my skin and bones too. (Aloud) Thank you for your “grace,” my lord.
泰梅西斯： 不，那可不是恭维！
TYMETHES: No, that wasn’t a compliment!
安菲多特： 他称你为“老爷”呢。
AMPHIDOTE: He’s calling you “my lord.”
泽纳库斯： （笑）不，那是他们黑话里的‘大王’！
ZENOCRATES: (Laughing) No, in their slang, that means “King of the beggars”!
罗克萨诺： 好心的老爷们！我也曾风光过。
ROXANO: Kind sirs! I’ve seen better days.
泰梅西斯： 哦，那你现在算什么？
TYMETHES: Oh? And what are you now?
罗克萨诺： （唱）“养过好牲口啊，/娶过三房妻，/两个汉子要起义啊，/三个闺女躺平地……” ROXANO: (Sings) “I once kept fine cattle, / And married wives three, / Two men rose in riot, / And three girls lay low on the lea…”
（泰梅西斯朝罗克萨诺扔了些钱币。）
(Tymethes tosses some coins to Roxano.)
罗克萨诺 （续）： 噢，好心的老爷们哪！
ROXANO (Cont.): Oh, bless you, kind sirs!
泰梅西斯： （耸肩）天杀的，我自己也是个乞丐。
TYMETHES: (Shrugging) Hell, I’m a bit of a beggar myself.
罗克萨诺： 或许老爷您能熬过去。慈卑的老爷啊！
ROXANO: Perhaps you’ll pull through, my lord. Merciful sir!
泰梅西斯： 这家伙该挨鞭子。
TYMETHES: This fellow needs a whipping.
罗克萨诺： 老爷您怕是忘了自己也曾是乞丐的时候了。
ROXANO: Perhaps your lordship forgets when you were a beggar yourself.
泰梅西斯： （将他拉到一旁）就冲你这句话，我可得好好“赏”你，真的！
TYMETHES: (Pulling him aside) For that comment alone, I really ought to “reward” you!
罗克萨诺： 不过眼下既已避人耳目，就请合上您的钱袋，张开您的耳朵吧，阁下。
ROXANO: But now that we’re out of earshot, close your purse and open your ears, sir.
泰梅西斯： 怎么！
TYMETHES: What!
（安菲多特欲走向泰梅西斯与罗克萨诺。泽纳库斯抓住她的手臂。）
(Amphidote tries to walk toward them. Zenocrates catches her arm.)
ROXANO: (Aside) And I thought he wasn’t a fool. (Aloud) Otherwise, let me die a miserable death in this business—and the worst curse I can think of is to die like an old pimp.
泰梅西斯： 说得好。何时见面？
TYMETHES: Fair enough. When do we meet?
罗克萨诺： 明日傍晚，五时整。
ROXANO: Tomorrow evening, at five sharp.
泰梅西斯： 好。地点？
TYMETHES: Good. Where?
罗克萨诺： 皇家猎场附近，那座旧猎屋。
ROXANO: The old lodge near the royal hunting grounds.
泰梅西斯： 但是……她是诚实的，对吧？在她的意图上？
TYMETHES: But… she’s honest, right? In her intentions?
罗克萨诺： 若非如此，那这世上的正经人，怕是比公堂上‘讲良心’的律师还要稀罕了。
ROXANO: If she weren’t, then honest people in this world would be rarer than a lawyer with a conscience.
泰梅西斯： 够了。五时？猎屋？嗯，我会赴约。
TYMETHES: Enough. Five o’clock? The lodge? Fine, I’ll be there.
罗克萨诺： 愿您享尽女人最甜蜜的珍宝。（下。）
ROXANO: May you enjoy the sweetest treasures a woman has to offer. (Exit.)
泰梅西斯： （旁白）啊，忠贞不渝……我倒是听说过。
TYMETHES: (Aside) Ah, constant fidelity… I’ve heard rumors of it.
（泽纳库斯回到泰梅西斯身边。）
(Zenocrates returns to Tymethes.)
泽纳库斯： 怎么，你跟那乞丐了结完了？
ZENOCRATES: Well, are you finished with the beggar?
泰梅西斯： 这世上，还没哪个活人能说自己彻底打发了乞丐。
TYMETHES: No living soul can say they’ve truly finished with beggars in this world.
泽纳库斯： 我没问你营生；怎跟这等货色商议这么久？
ZENOCRATES: I wasn’t asking about your business; why did you consult with that low-life for so long?
TYMETHES: What? Are you crazy? If you dodge every beggar you see, you might miss out on someone extraordinary. I’ll bet he’s some kind of ruined gallant.
（同下。）(Exeunt together.)
][][
第二幕，第三场 [羊圈外]
ACT II, Scene 3 [Outside the Sheepfolds]
（老王、菲德利奥与阿莫尔福上。）
(Enter the Old King, Fidelio, and Amorpho.)
老王： 失却王后之痛，比利迪亚所有背信更甚。那没有人性的禽兽！
OLD KING: The pain of losing my Queen hurts more than all the treachery in Lydia. That heartless beast!
LAPIRUS: (Crying out from the pit) Hey! You up there! If you truly have human forms to match your voices—if you have hearts that can be pierced by the dying groans of a suffering soul—then have mercy on a wretch trapped in darkness! Please, come closer and lend a hand. Save me from this tiny grave and let me see the light of day again!
OLD KING: Poor soul—it must be some countryman who lost his way in the night and fell in. Everyone, lend a hand; let’s pull him up. Come on, my friend; even the highest of us can fall low.
拉皮鲁斯： 万千感谢与祈祷。
LAPIRUS: A thousand thanks and prayers to you.
老王： 你可真沉啊，先生，不管你是谁。
OLD KING: You’re quite a weight, sir, whoever you are.
拉皮鲁斯： 是我内心的重负，连带着我的魂魄，一齐往下坠。
LAPIRUS: It’s the heavy burden in my heart—it drags my very soul downward.
老王： 再使把劲，咱们的辛苦便没白费，微薄之力正助微薄之人。好了，先生，欢迎你来到——
OLD KING: One more pull and our work is done. A little help for a man in need. There now, sir—welcome back to—
（拉皮鲁斯与老王彼此认出。）
(Lapirus and the Old King recognize each other.)
老王： 拉皮鲁斯？是你？
OLD KING: Lapirus? Is it you?
（拉皮鲁斯再次瘫倒，非因坑洞，而是因为羞愧。）
(Lapirus collapses again, not from the pit, but from shame.)
The Old Queen enters, her face etched with grief, cradling two infants. One is dead. She places the living child on a mossy mound, then collapses into sorrow, clutching the dead infant to her chest. She moves toward the back of the stage and begins digging a shallow grave with her bare hands.
The 1st and 2nd Shepherdesses stroll in, looking relaxed and chatting in pantomime. The Fool follows them, mimicking their gestures. The 2nd Shepherdess spots the baby on the mound; the two women rush forward, playful and competing for the child. The Fool, seizing the moment, snatches the baby from their arms.
弄人怀抱婴孩起舞，百般逗弄，引得牧羊女忍俊不禁。
The Fool dances with the baby in his arms, making silly faces and teasing the child, making the Shepherdesses burst into silent laughter.
老王后还，尸身已掩。见土坡空空如也，她失魂落魄，四下寻觅，随即瘫倒在地，哀毁骨立。
The Old Queen returns, the tiny body now buried. Seeing the empty mound, she loses her mind with terror, searching frantically in all directions before collapsing to the ground in total despair.
众牧羊女怜之，招手唤其前。弄人躬身一揖，如仪奉还婴孩。
The Shepherdesses are moved to pity; they beckon her over. The Fool bows low with mock-solemnity and formally returns the baby to her.
Overjoyed, the Queen hugs the living child tight. She points to her own withered breasts, showing she has no milk left. The women understand and offer their own abundant milk to nurse the child. The Fool gives the baby a comical kiss on the forehead.
Lapirus leads the Old King and his courtiers onto the stage. The King and Queen lock eyes, then rush into a tight embrace. Lapirus kneels before the Queen, bowing his head in repentance. The Fool shrugs and throws up his hands to the audience with a self-mocking grin.
［乐声骤强，归于一沉郁和弦。灯光骤灭，众演员隐于暗处退场。］
[The music swells into a heavy, somber chord. The lights cut out, and the actors exit into the shadows.]
ROXANO: This is the lodge, the appointed spot, and the hour isn’t here yet. Well then. I wasn’t born for this trade; but right now, I’ve got the reek of a pimp in my very marrow. In this light, from head to toe, every hair on me smells like a bawd. Never mind, I’ll play the part well. I’m so jealous of that fellow’s luck that I could slit his throat for a moment’s pleasure. Thinking of the soft luxury waiting for him, I could chew up feathers and swallow them. The highest I can reach is some milkmaid—that’s the “cream” of my fortune. But he gets to wallow in nectar and ambrosia, while I’m stuck splashing in sour buttermilk!
（马泽雷斯沉思上。）
(Mazeres enters, brooding.)
马泽雷斯： （旁白）我得另想办法了，他绝不能活。
MAZERES: (Aside) I must find another way. He cannot be allowed to live.
ROXANO: (Aside) Who’s this? Lord Mazeres, looking like a thundercloud! He’s sought me out twice in private; I don’t know what his game is. What does he want with me? I’ll show myself; if the other one arrives now, I’ll take it as a brave capture, but it’s still early. Let’s test him.
马泽雷斯： （旁白）依我看，罗克萨诺最合适，也最不易惹人怀疑，因他本就常在宫中走动。
MAZERES: (Aside) Roxano is the best choice, I think—the least likely to cause suspicion since he’s always moving about the palace.
MAZERES: Yes, I haven’t asked you… (Pause) I’ve looked for you twice. Tell me, Roxano, do I carry any weight in your heart? Can I move your will? Has any part of me bonded with your very blood?
罗克萨诺： （旁白）这话听着可真是无礼。（高声）如同生命一般，大人。
ROXANO: (Aside) That’s a rude way to put it. (Aloud) As much as life itself, my lord.
马泽雷斯： 如同爱一般，伙计；那我便不多问了。
MAZERES: Like love itself, man; then I won’t ask further.
罗克萨诺： 那么便碰碰我吧，大人，试试我的成色。
ROXANO: Then touch me, my lord—test my mettle.
马泽雷斯： （给他金子）先给你金子，随之而来的将是我的宠幸，以及命运女神名下的一切馈赠。 MAZERES: (Giving him gold) Here is gold first. What follows will be my favor and everything Fortune has to give.
MAZERES: There is one called Tymethes, son of the exiled king. He haunts the palace now, favored by Zenocrates. That fellow is my disease. While he’s near, I’m restless and nothing goes right. I won’t brag about my rewards, but if you rid me of his physical shell, you’ll live in wealth and peace forever. You’re a smart man; think on it. Farewell. (Exit.)
ROXANO: (Aside) Well, well. “You’re a smart man; farewell.” The first lesson of wisdom is this: when gold is held out, grab it—even philosophers agree on that. I heard that from a very “learned” advisor. Now I have to think. Kill Tymethes? A man strangely loved by a lady and dreadfully hated by a lord? On this side, gold for introducing him; on that side, gold for killing him. Let me weigh them: which is heavier? Honestly, the murder-gold has more weight. What I like least about this is Lord Mazeres being his open enemy. He’s the King’s favorite; he can whisper thoughts into the King’s ear. I’d rather be torn apart by a whirlwind than fall into the fury of either of them. Truth be told, the smartest way is to be a total rogue. I’ll blow the whole affair wide open. I’ll sell him out completely.
（马泽雷斯上。）
(Mazeres enters.)
马泽雷斯： 想好了吗？我可否施恩于你？我能化消遣为功业，使你这双手赢得尊荣。
MAZERES: Have you decided? May I grant you my favor? I can turn a pastime into a great deed and bring honor to those hands of yours.
罗克萨诺： 大人？
ROXANO: My lord?
马泽雷斯： 你已下定决心，而我，将成为你的靠山？
MAZERES: Have you made up your mind? Shall I be your patron?
ROXANO: You’ll see my resolve soon enough. Before I even tell you the plan, you can start being proud of your revenge. No one’s hatred was ever so lucky. Just let me work my magic, and you’ll see.
马泽雷斯： 你让我心痒难耐。
MAZERES: You make me impatient.
罗克萨诺： 泰梅西斯将在此与我会面。
ROXANO: Tymethes is meeting me right here.
马泽雷斯： 在此？妙极。
MAZERES: Here? Excellent.
罗克萨诺： 我本就打算向您和盘托出，大人；请您明白这一点。
ROXANO: I always intended to tell you everything, my lord; please understand that.
TYMETHES: A sweet, tender lady? Heavens, who could it be? I can’t know her name or see her face? I hope this isn’t some trick to give me a beating. Or maybe a “welcome” of clubs? Or tossing me in a blanket for a big tumble? Honestly, as long as it’s a lady and her maids doing the tossing, I don’t mind—because if they throw me in a blanket, I’ll throw them in the sheets, and we’ll call it even.
马泽雷斯： （低声）我既佩服这计策，也佩服我的复仇。
MAZERES: (Whispering) I admire the plan as much as I admire my revenge.
罗克萨诺： （低声）大人，我为您铺路。
ROXANO: (Whispering) My lord, I’m paving the way for you.
马泽雷斯： （低声）你盯好你的“朋友”。
MAZERES: (Whispering) Keep a close eye on your “friend.”
（马泽雷斯下。罗克萨诺走向泰梅西斯。）
(Mazeres exits. Roxano approaches Tymethes.)
泰梅西斯： 你在这儿。我们分秒不差地碰面了。那么，那么，接下来怎么做？
TYMETHES: There you are. We met right on the dot. So, so—what’s next?
罗克萨诺： 没什么，只需把这头罩戴在您头上。
ROXANO: Nothing much—just put this hood over your head.
泰梅西斯： 什么？我可从没蒙着眼走过路。
TYMETHES: What? I’ve never walked blindfolded in my life.
ROXANO: You’ll never want to do it any other way, sir, because all the secret affairs of this world are blind by nature. Besides, sir, if a man sees the evil he does, he’ll see every tiny sin as a bloody business.
泰梅西斯： 这话从一个仆役嘴里说出来，倒有几分道理。
TYMETHES: That’s surprisingly philosophical coming from a servant.
罗克萨诺： 做下人的，总得跟着主子的脚步，先生。
ROXANO: A servant must always follow in his master’s footsteps, sir.
泰梅西斯： 那倒未必，总不能跟到主子相好的闺房里去吧。
TYMETHES: Not always—you wouldn’t follow him into his mistress’s bedroom, would you?
TYMETHES: (Muffled) “And after dark, you can’t tell who is who.” With that kind of experience, you might become an expert. Come, give me your hand. You might prove to be an honest lad, my friend, but whatever happens, I trust you.
ROXANO: Ah, sir—try me before you trust me. But let’s not waste the golden hour. Come, follow me, sir. Hey, this is exactly what you pleasure-seeking gentlemen value. You’d rather lose your eyes than lose your thrill. (Exit.)
][][
第三幕，第二场 [猎屋寝殿，夜]
ACT III, Scene 2 [A Bedchamber in the Lodge, Night]
（夜色中，年轻王后独自上。她手持一书，并非阅读，而是如握护身符般死死攥着。她侧耳凝听，静候。）
(In the darkness, enter the Young Queen alone. She holds a book, not for reading, but clutching it like a protective talisman. She tilts her head, listening, waiting.)
YOUNG QUEEN: The servants are all bound by heavy oaths. Their silence has been bought with gold, then sealed. Now my very life and fortune hang in their hands… and in his.
年轻王后 （续）： 罗克萨诺发誓，他的计划定会滴水不漏—— 那是个能为贵妇了却任何心愿的男人。
YOUNG QUEEN (Cont.): Roxano swore his plan would be flawless—he is a man who can satisfy any lady’s whim.
YOUNG QUEEN (Cont.): God! Time crawls like a venomous insect! Is this how the hours feel for thieves and adulterers—this agonizing? Every second is a hammer-blow, falling hard on the anvil of my fear. This is the only true clock: the thunder of lust within a terrified heart.
［她听见幕后一响——一声足音，一句耳语。她蓦然僵住，恐惧与渴望交织的神情如电光掠过脸庞。］
[She hears a sound offstage—a footfall, a whisper. She freezes suddenly; a look of mingled terror and longing flashes across her face like lightning.]
年轻王后 （对自己，稳住心神）： 此刻。序幕拉开。
YOUNG QUEEN (To herself, steadying her nerves): Now. The prologue begins.
［她迅疾而决绝地退下，前往那约定的地点。］
[She exits swiftly and resolutely toward the appointed place.]
][][
第三幕，第三场 [猎屋宴厅]
ACT III, Scene 3 [The Banqueting Hall in the Lodge]
（乐声轻柔，桌上灯盏陈列，挂毯铺展。罗克萨诺引蒙眼的泰梅西斯上。马泽雷斯默然迎上。）
(Soft music; lamps are set on the table, tapestries displayed. Roxano enters, leading the blindfolded Tymethes. Mazeres enters silently to meet them.)
泰梅西斯： （闷声）我们这趟“盲程”走到哪儿了？
TYMETHES: (Muffled) How far have we come on this “blind journey”?
马泽雷斯： （对罗克萨诺低语）嘘！罗克萨诺！
MAZERES: (Whispering to Roxano) Shh! Roxano!
罗克萨诺： 您到了您的——（对马泽雷斯低语）大人，请回避；我来帮您装扮一番。
ROXANO: You’ve reached your— (Whispering to Mazeres) My lord, step aside; let me help you with your disguise.
马泽雷斯： （对罗克萨诺低语）够了。（下。）
MAZERES: (Whispering to Roxano) Enough. (Exit.)
泰梅西斯： （闷声）我觉得自己走在一处地下墓穴里。
TYMETHES: (Muffled) I feel as if I’m walking through a catacomb.
罗克萨诺： 如今，您久蔽的双目重见天光。且看，大人——这便是您的新天地。 （扯下头罩。）
ROXANO: Now, let those long-veiled eyes see the light of day. Behold, my lord—your new world. (He pulls off the hood.)
泰梅西斯： 老天，天亮了！
TYMETHES: Heavens, it’s broad daylight!
罗克萨诺： 请在此歇息，大人，您将得偿所愿；静候您的欲念，它们自会呈上。（下。）
ROXANO: Rest here, my lord; your heart’s desire is at hand. Just wait, and your lusts will be served up to you. (Exit.)
TYMETHES: (Aside) Though it’s night, this place is dawn itself compared to the darkness that led me here. Ha! Tapestries on the floor? What place is this? Such magnificent curtains? A room so richly adorned? The lamps and their glow, the wealth and its splendor! These silent witnesses tell me this is no ordinary woman. I think I’m beginning to understand my mistress better. Whoever she is, I’m already in love with this unseen beauty, for everything in this room displays such exquisite courtly taste.
（乐声大作。瓦莱斯塔与斯卡特戴面具捧宴席上；他们放下宴席即下。）
(Loud music. Valesta and Scate enter in masks, carrying a banquet; they set the table and exit.)
TYMETHES: The servants are masked? Lord, I admire her management of love. It seems this woman has the skill to be wanton while shielding a man’s shame—or perhaps shielding her own reputation when she hands it over to a man’s tongue. I’d swear to keep the secrets of love, but a woman is wise not to trust me. Everything said or done seems perfectly measured; it all comes down to her own joy and cleverness.
（罗克萨诺与扮作蒙面仆役、手持酒壶的马泽雷斯上。）
(Roxano and Mazeres enter, disguised as a masked servant with a wine flagon.)
ROXANO: This feast comes by her own grace. She prepared it for you herself, and as these delicacies show, it is meant to enchant the soul and lead you into the joys of love. By her command, I welcome you, our most noble guest, to enjoy this feast before the greater banquet of bliss.
ROXANO: (Aside) Lord Mazeres has snatched this duty for himself. I can hardly stop laughing; he plays the devil perfectly in that mask—wherever he bows is cursed ground. How could that foolish boy guess that beneath the mask hides his mortal enemy? It’s the fashion of the times—great men kill just as flatterers stab.
MAZERES: (Aside) If only I could poison him now—decently, aptly, exquisitely! My revenge declares my joy! (Offering the poisoned cup.) Your wine, my lord.
（泰梅西斯不慎打翻酒杯。）
(Tymethes accidentally knocks over the cup.)
泰梅西斯： 哎哟。（对马泽雷斯）把这脏东西收拾了，听见没？
TYMETHES: Oops! (To Mazeres) Clean up this mess, do you hear me?
MAZERES: (Aside) Damnation! The poisoned wine spilled on the floor, and my great revenge is ruined! Now my frustrated fury must find another way to destroy you.
罗克萨诺： （旁白）这杯酒可是彻底砸了马泽雷斯大人的指望。
ROXANO: (Aside) That spill has completely crushed Lord Mazeres’ hopes.
[Eerie, unsettling music swells. The Young Queen, masked and in a sheer robe, passes across the far end of the room attended by Valesta. She does not look at Tymethes. They disappear through another door.]
泰梅西斯： 我从未见过有人能像我们此刻这般，为寻欢作乐安排得如此巧妙；真是奇招，且执行得如此美妙。
TYMETHES: I’ve never seen pleasure managed with such ingenuity; a strange plan, and so beautifully executed.
罗克萨诺： 风与潮汐皆已就位，大人；您已驶入一片极乐之海。宽衣吧，阁下。
ROXANO: The wind and tide are in place, my lord; you have sailed into a sea of bliss. Undress, sir.
（泰梅西斯开始宽衣。）
(Tymethes begins to undress.)
泰梅西斯： 我定将有一次甜蜜的航程。
TYMETHES: I’m sure to have a sweet voyage.
罗克萨诺： 是的，大人，若您知晓全部的话。
ROXANO: Yes, my lord—if only you knew the half of it.
泰梅西斯： 难道还有我不知道的？还有什么可说的？
TYMETHES: Is there more I don’t know? What else is there to say?
罗克萨诺： 事成之后，另有五百克朗恭候阁下。
ROXANO: After the deed is done, five hundred crowns are waiting for you, sir.
ROXANO: It’s a gift from my kind lady. Her generosity is cloudless and bright. Some love pleasures that cost them dearly; but I see that’s not your way. You prefer the kind that comes with a feast and five hundred crowns extra.
泰梅西斯： 没错，老天作证，我就爱这种，而且我看你跟我想法一样。
TYMETHES: Exactly—God knows I love that kind, and I see you think just like I do.
罗克萨诺： 咱们倒是颇为投契，大人。
ROXANO: We are perfectly matched, my lord.
泰梅西斯： 可她为何要事先奖赏我？万一我在床上表现得像个十足的阉人，她可怎么知道？
TYMETHES: But why reward me beforehand? How does she know I won’t perform like a total eunuch in bed?
罗克萨诺： 哎哟，大人，就您这路风流人物，我可从没见过哪个不是此中绝顶高手。
ROXANO: Oh, my lord, I’ve never seen a gallant of your stripe who wasn’t a master of the craft.
泰梅西斯： 什么？说真的，咱们半斤八两。不过这有张字条；上面写的什么？
TYMETHES: What? Truthfully, we’re two of a kind. But here’s a note; what does it say?
ROXANO: (Reading) “My love and bounty shall grow as you prize my peace; unless you are willing to forfeit your life, do not seek my name. Enjoy my body: for your sake, I take this risk. Be wise, then, and keep your silence; even in the face of death, you must not look upon my true face.”
（马泽雷斯悄然上，未被察觉。）
(Mazeres enters quietly, unobserved.)
泰梅西斯： 我这就去？
TYMETHES: Shall I go now?
罗克萨诺： 穿过那扇门，主人。穿过那扇门。
ROXANO: Through that door, master. Through that door.
泰梅西斯： 好吧，我这就更衣，安于我这“摸索”而来的运气便是。（下。）
TYMETHES: Well, I’ll undress and trust in this “groping” luck of mine. (Exit.)
罗克萨诺： 哎，大人，您会摸索到正地方的。（下。）
ROXANO: Ah, my lord, you’ll grope your way to the right spot. (Exit.)
MAZERES: I’ll follow and watch my heaped-up revenge overflow. His destruction is my duty; what I’ve seen tonight would make stones blush. Her lust is like lightning in a storm—terrifying, wild, like a drunkard’s thunder. This path is full of peril, and though I use the skills of a pimp, with spies for eyes and ears, what role is too foul if it destroys my enemy? This is only the beginning; it won’t stop here. Next time, I’ll turn him to ash and foul air. (Exit.)
][][
第四幕，第一场 [城堡内一室]
ACT IV, Scene 1 [A Room in the Castle]
（翌日。泰梅西斯与泽纳库斯上。）
(The next day. Tymethes and Zenocrates enter.)
泰梅西斯： 告诉我，这世上可曾有过如此天衣无缝的机巧？
TYMETHES: Tell me, has there ever been such flawless ingenuity in all the world?
泽纳库斯： 好家伙！蒙着眼被引去会见一位夫人，受以盛礼，宴席之上人人面具遮脸！
ZENOCRATES: Lord! Led blindfold to a lady, received with such ceremony, and every face at the banquet hidden behind a mask!
泰梅西斯： 全是，老天作证！可这一切比起她床笫间那妙不可言的欢愉，都算不得什么。
TYMETHES: Every single one, I swear! But all of that is nothing compared to the exquisite pleasures of her bed.
TYMETHES: No, don’t ask, brother; I’d sooner lose one eye if I could use the other to see her. (Takes a jewel from his pocket) See this jewel? I slipped it off her finger while she lay in a deep, post-coital sleep.
泽纳库斯： 猜不出她是谁，也猜不出那地方？
ZENOCRATES: No guess as to her identity, or the place?
TYMETHES: Not a clue, though I’ve racked my brain. I tell you, man, it was so well-ordered—such admirable craft—that between my blindfold and their masks, I was no wiser when my eyes were freed than when they were bound. I stood before them plainly enough, but to me, every lamp was shrouded and every face was a mist.
（阿玛特里特斯与马泽雷斯悄然上，窥视。）
(Amatritus and Mazeres enter quietly, spying.)
泽纳库斯： 天哪，我真佩服这手段！
ZENOCRATES: By heavens, I admire the method!
泰梅西斯： （笑）不，你的佩服可比不上我的。我那份感受，远非你的热情所能及。
TYMETHES: (Laughing) No, your admiration can’t touch mine. What I felt is far beyond the reach of your mere enthusiasm.
（安菲多特上。）
(Amphidote enters.)
泽纳库斯： 好了，暂且打住；看，我妹妹来了。
ZENOCRATES: Enough for now; look, here comes my sister.
阿玛特里特斯： （对马泽雷斯低语）你确定吗，马泽雷斯，他在追求我们的女儿？
AMATRITUS: (Whispering to Mazeres) Are you certain, Mazeres, that he pursues our daughter?
马泽雷斯： （低语）我确定更多，陛下：她对他也有意。
MAZERES: (Whispering) I am certain of more, Sire: she returns his affection.
阿玛特里特斯： （低语）那个乞丐？
AMATRITUS: (Whispering) That beggar?
马泽雷斯： （低语）更糟，陛下，是那个恶棍、叛国者。
MAZERES: (Whispering) Worse, Sire—that rogue, that traitor.
阿玛特里特斯： （低语）什么？
AMATRITUS: (Whispering) What?
马泽雷斯： （低语）请恕罪，陛下；时机更成熟时，真相自会浮现。
MAZERES: (Whispering) Forgive me, Sire; the truth will emerge when the time is riper.
（泰梅西斯亲吻安菲多特。）
(Tymethes kisses Amphidote.)
马泽雷斯 （续）： （低语）请看那儿，陛下。
MAZERES (Cont.): (Whispering) Look there, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： （低语）她竟敢如此放肆，忘却对我们的尊重，黯淡自身光彩去抬举他？！
AMATRITUS: (Whispering) Does she dare be so bold—to forget her respect for us and dim her own glory just to elevate him?!
MAZERES: (Whispering) Favors between them are a common rule. I hear of letters, private suppers, whispered intimacies… and the most “assignated” of meetings.
阿玛特里特斯： （低语）我会让他们的幽会变成送命的陷阱。
AMATRITUS: (Whispering) I shall turn their meetings into a fatal snare.
（安菲多特瞥见泰梅西斯手中的珠宝。）
(Amphidote spies the jewel in Tymethes’ hand.)
安菲多特： 说实话，阁下，我要这枚珠宝。
AMPHIDOTE: In truth, sir, I must have that jewel.
泰梅西斯： 这……这非我所能赠人之物。
TYMETHES: This… this is not something I can give away.
阿玛特里特斯： （对马泽雷斯低语）那是什么，马泽雷斯？
AMATRITUS: (Whispering to Mazeres) What is that, Mazeres?
马泽雷斯： （低语）哎呀，陛下，她正优雅地向他要一枚珠宝，而他却推拒，仿佛心中有鬼。
MAZERES: (Whispering) Ah, Sire, she gracefully begs a jewel of him, yet he demurs as if his conscience were burdened.
安菲多特： 我非要不可，阁下。
AMPHIDOTE: I insist, sir.
泰梅西斯： （递过珠宝）既然如此，那你定会将其妥善保管，不让任何外人窥见吧？
TYMETHES: (Handing it over) Since you insist—you will keep it safe then, and let no stranger’s eye behold it?
安菲多特： （欣喜）我发誓。
AMPHIDOTE: (Joyfully) I swear it.
泰梅西斯： 那便够了。
TYMETHES: Then it is enough.
（二人接吻。泽纳库斯与安菲多特下。）
(They kiss. Zenocrates and Amphidote exeunt.)
马泽雷斯： （对阿玛特里特斯低语）现在是她的了，陛下，他们以吻别收场。
MAZERES: (Whispering to Amatritus) Now it is hers, Sire; they seal the theft with a kiss.
阿玛特里特斯： （低语）我会让那些会面变得苦涩；双方都将后悔。马泽雷斯，我们发觉你至今所言皆实。
AMATRITUS: (Whispering) I will make those meetings bitter; both shall repent. Mazeres, we find that all you have spoken is the truth.
TYMETHES: Is there truly no way to see this lady? Curse this restless heart! What did the note say? “Unless you are willing to forfeit your life, do not seek my name.” Pish. Empty words. She was so wanton, so “industrious” in her passion last night—how could she ever bear to see me die?
（马泽雷斯与罗克萨诺上。）
(Mazeres and Roxano enter.)
马泽雷斯： （对罗克萨诺低语）够了；他们是清白的。我很中意你。去，引导他走向毁灭吧。
MAZERES: (Whispering to Roxano) Enough; they are innocent. I like you well. Go, lead him to his ruin.
罗克萨诺： （低语）交给我吧，大人；保管引导好他。我会引导他的。
ROXANO: (Whispering) Leave him to me, my lord; I’ll lead him well. I’ll guide him.
TYMETHES: Exactly. I’ll join you shortly. (Aside) I’ll go to her, whatever follows. What could happen? Since she still craves my love, she would never plot my death. (Exit.)
ROXANO: Good, good. I admire a man in a hurry to destroy himself. He has a leaping spirit for vice—he’d jump into the very jaws of hell to grab it. But for virtue? He drags his feet like he’s sent on a dull, profitless errand. Nature is wicked: she loves most what she should hate. In this world, only white hair, sorrow, and sin grow faster than weeds. (Exit.)
][][
第四幕，第二场 [城堡内一室]
ACT IV, Scene 2 [A Room in the Castle]
（安菲多特与马泽雷斯上。）
(Amphidote and Mazeres enter.)
安菲多特： 大人，何事？
AMPHIDOTE: What is it, my lord?
马泽雷斯： 我也不知；国王传召您。
MAZERES: I know not; the King summons you.
安菲多特： 既如此，我们遵命便是。
AMPHIDOTE: Then we must obey.
（阿玛特里特斯上。）
(Amatritus enters.)
马泽雷斯： 啊，陛下驾到。
MAZERES: Ah, His Majesty approaches.
阿玛特里特斯： 这是何人？
AMATRITUS: Who is this?
安菲多特： 我，父王？陛下曾认得我的，您最顺从的女儿。
AMPHIDOTE: It is I, Father. You once knew me as your most obedient daughter.
阿玛特里特斯： 谁对你这么说，谁便是撒谎；此刻的你，已非吾女。
AMATRITUS: Whoever told you that lied; at this moment, you are no daughter of mine.
AMATRITUS: No longer, for I do not recognize the creature you have become, and I shall work harder to forget you. You have forgotten my favor and your own worth. I look upon you now as a fallen thing, a stain upon my grace—and upon your own blood—a disgrace to my house. Was there not one noble among my chosen lords fit for your favor, that you must pick this Tymethes? The son of my arch-enemy! A knave! A beggar! A thing already dead to all fortune, honor, or hope! Base creature, to place your affections so hotly upon him where they can never be repaid! Do not deny it; I know the favors you have shown him: tokens of love, secret letters, private meetings, and those habitual whispers between you. Come, where is his gift? Show me his token!
安菲多特： （困惑）陛下受了严重的误导；臣女从未收受任何信物。
AMPHIDOTE: (Confused) Your Majesty is gravely misled; I have received no such token.
AMATRITUS: Shameless wretch! When I have seen with my own eyes and heard with my own ears how you shamefully debased your highest honor, casting aside all ancestral pride—you begged a jewel from him!
AMPHIDOTE: Begged? (Realizing, with a short laugh) Oh, forgive me, Father, I forgot for a moment. (Produces the jewel) Here it is; you must mean this one.
阿玛特里特斯： （一把夺过）此物？你从何得来？
AMATRITUS: (Snatching it) This? Where did you get this?
安菲多特： 我刚递给您的呀，父王。
AMPHIDOTE: I just gave it to you, Father.
阿玛特里特斯： 那是谁给你的？
AMPHIDOTE: Who gave it to you?
安菲多特： 泰梅西斯。
AMPHIDOTE: Tymethes.
阿玛特里特斯： 哈！谁给他的？
AMATRITUS: Ha! And who gave it to him?
安菲多特： “给他”？这臣女不知，父王。他是王子，偶有珠宝随手赠人，有何不可？
AMPHIDOTE: “To him”? That I do not know, Father. He is a prince; why should he not have jewels to give away as he pleases?
阿玛特里特斯： （呼唤）马泽雷斯！
AMATRITUS: (Calling) Mazeres!
马泽雷斯： 陛下！
MAZERES: My Liege!
阿玛特里特斯： （出示珠宝）这是王后的！朕的王后的，马泽雷斯！此物怎会到他手中？
AMATRITUS: (Showing the jewel) This belongs to the Queen! My Queen’s, Mazeres! How did it come into his hands?
马泽雷斯： 臣可解此惑，陛下。
MAZERES: I can solve that riddle, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 你能吗，马泽雷斯？
AMATRITUS: Can you, Mazeres?
马泽雷斯： 面具已揭。陛下请看：一个奸徒。一个玷污您龙床的叛贼。
MAZERES: The mask is off. Behold, Sire: an adulterer. A traitor who defiles your royal bed.
阿玛特里特斯： 呃？噢，朕要因这折磨爆裂了！
AMATRITUS: Ugh? Oh, I shall burst with this torture!
马泽雷斯： 就在今夜，他已被引入王后怀中、体内。
MAZERES: Even this very night, he was brought into the Queen’s arms—into her very body.
阿玛特里特斯： 朕感体内一股旋风，即将撕碎这副血肉凡躯！
AMATRITUS: I feel a whirlwind within me, ready to tear this mortal flesh asunder!
马泽雷斯： 臣追踪他至行事之处。
MAZERES: I tracked him to the very place of the deed.
MAZERES: To be certain, I did not hesitate to soil my eyes and foul my ears with their wanton sounds; it was loyalty that drove me to confirm the filth of what I discovered.
阿玛特里特斯： 朕这满腔苦胆如怒潮翻涌；满身热血皆化作了毒药，呸，连五脏六腑都散发着苦味！
AMATRITUS: My gall overflows like a raging tide; my very blood turns to venom—pah, even my vitals reek of bitterness!
马泽雷斯： 就在今夜。
MAZERES: This very night.
阿玛特里特斯： （呼唤）洛多维库斯！
AMATRITUS: (Calling) Lodovicus!
（洛多维库斯上。）
(Lodovicus enters.)
洛多维库斯： 陛下？
LODOVICUS: Your Majesty?
阿玛特里特斯： 你是如何发迹的？说来听听。
AMATRITUS: How did you rise to power? Tell me.
洛多维库斯： 陛下，微臣最初是个掮客。
LODOVICUS: Sire, I began as a broker.
阿玛特里特斯： 那便是打根上就是个无赖；没指望了。（呼唤）塞克斯托里奥！
AMATRITUS: Then you were a knave from the root; no hope there. (Calling) Sextorio!
（塞克斯托里奥上。）
(Sextorio enters.)
塞克斯托里奥： 臣在，陛下！
SEXTORIO: Here, Sire!
阿玛特里特斯： 朕知你正直；你是如何发迹的？说来听听。
AMATRITUS: I know you to be honest; how did you rise?
塞克斯托里奥： 全凭陛下恩宠，非臣有何功绩可恃。
SEXTORIO: Purely by your Majesty’s favor; I have no merit of my own to claim.
阿玛特里特斯： 你这回答诚实。去，散布消息，说朕已在四十里格之外。在宫中巧妙散开。
AMATRITUS: An honest answer. Go, spread the word that I am forty leagues away. Let it be subtly whispered through the palace.
塞克斯托里奥： 臣定忠实执行，陛下。
SEXTORIO: I shall perform it faithfully, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 不。要做得诡诈，去吧；你若做得忠厚，你便没命。
AMATRITUS: No. Do it craftily. Go; if you do it with simple honesty, you are a dead man.
AMATRITUS (Cont.): A violent force has robbed me of all senses. I am blind with rage, Mazeres. Lead me: I walk upon the void, seeing neither footprint nor path; I have lost myself, yet I cannot escape this fury.
AMPHIDOTE: It must be true. Tymethes? Adultery? With the Queen? My mother? I hate him now. As beauty hates a skeleton, or a usurer hates a gift given for nothing. He is like a leper in my eyes now, covered in the black venom of sin, a foul, syphilitic sore.
AMPHIDOTE (Cont.): (Musing) Poor Mazeres, who has waited for me so long with true devotion, starved by my coldness—his loyalty now proves that love. (Calling) Oh, Mazeres?
马泽雷斯： 殿下？
MAZERES: Your Highness?
安菲多特： 我的……爱人？大人，我本该称您，但我想说……我的爱人。
AMPHIDOTE: My… lover? “My lord” I should call you, but I wish to say… my lover.
MAZERES: (Startled) Uh—I pray your Highness forgives my actions? Do not judge me harshly; I was forced to reveal the truth, not out of jealousy because he was my rival, nor from any old grudge, but by the very nature of the deed itself.
安菲多特： 起来，亲爱的马泽雷斯，你仍在吾之眷顾之中。
AMPHIDOTE: Rise, dear Mazeres. You remain in my favor.
马泽雷斯： 若恒久效力可称功绩，臣愿以此相报。
MAZERES: If constant service be a merit, I offer it in return.
MAZERES: (Aside) Ha! This observation and follow-up are timed to perfection. The King returns late tonight and will scour every secret passage. I must be with him. (Aloud) My love?
安菲多特： 我恨不得初见之时，便已迫他殒命。（下。）
AMPHIDOTE: I wish I had forced his death the moment I first saw him. (Exit.)
MAZERES: Better still. It fits my revenge perfectly. Now my plot bears fruit. The end shall see me at the height of power. She is mine. The crown is within reach. I am… fulfilled. (Exit.)
][][
第四幕，第三场 [林中宅邸内室]
ACT IV, Scene 3 [An Inner Room in the Forest Lodge]
（年轻王后与瓦莱斯塔持灯上。）
(The Young Queen and Valesta enter with a lamp.)
年轻王后： 好了，暂且退下；把灯也带走。若他前来，莫让人察觉我在。你知如何款待他，去吧。
YOUNG QUEEN: Enough, retire for now; and take the light with you. If he comes, let no one sense my presence. You know how to entertain him; go.
YOUNG QUEEN (Cont.): In truth, I find no joy, no matter how high my power climbs. I wish only to ally myself with desolate darkness and fearful fancies; tonight, there is no music in my soul. Why should I fear? The loyalty of every servant sleeps within my favor; neither bribes nor threats can rouse them from the dream of my safety. As for the King, I have just learned he has ridden forty leagues away. Yet this heavy mood, like a tyrant, uses the cover of night to usurp my spirit.
（她入睡。罗克萨诺引蒙头的提米西斯上。）
(She falls asleep. Roxano enters, leading the hooded Tymethes.)
提米西斯： （闷声）此番路程似乎比初次更长。
TYMETHES: (Muffled) This journey seems longer than the first.
罗克萨诺： 欢愉一经品尝，再尝便觉乏味。
ROXANO: Pleasure, once tasted, grows tedious upon the second serving.
提米西斯： （闷声）此乃常理？
TYMETHES: (Muffled) Is that the general rule?
罗克萨诺： 哦，大人，经验确证如此。初临是为享用那未知之妙，如今一切不过是重复，任您如何行事。
ROXANO: Oh, sir, experience confirms it. The first time is to enjoy the unknown wonder; now, it is all mere repetition, no matter how you perform.
提米西斯： （旁白）我偏要证其虚妄；她的容颜于我永远新鲜。
TYMETHES: (Aside) I shall prove that false; her face will be forever fresh to me.
ROXANO: (Removing the hood) I suddenly recall urgent business with Lord Mazeres. It concerns my duty to the King. You are inside the lodge now, sir; this is the private chamber.
提米西斯： 太暗了，我什么也看不见。
TYMETHES: It’s too dark; I can’t see a thing.
罗克萨诺： 无妨，大人，只要您感觉尚存便足矣。
ROXANO: No matter, sir, as long as your senses remain, that is enough.
ROXANO: Can’t you tell? It is in my hand, sir. Forgive me, I must withdraw for a moment. But for my safety and your own, do not leave this room until I return.
提米西斯： 好，我以手为誓，绝不离开。
TYMETHES: Very well, I give my hand on it; I shall not leave.
TYMETHES: (Aside) Shh! Is he gone? Then I shall venture forth like a shrewd explorer to discover that unknown beauty, whose mind is as meticulous as her strategy. (Lights a dark lantern.) Behold, this light is enough to fulfill all my desires; by it, I shall taste the forbidden fruit which, as she said, brings death: a death that devours. Quietly now, where am I? Let me see… it is not the same room as last time; no, slightly different. Yet still the high tapestries, the courtly decor—yes, everything— (He spots the sleeping Young Queen.) Ah! All that a mortal could wish for is gathered in your eternal loveliness, your grace! It is the Young Queen!
（她惊醒。）
(She starts awake.)
年轻王后： （震惊）你竟背叛我？你意欲何为？
YOUNG QUEEN: (Shocked) You betray me? What is your intent?
提米西斯： 绝无打扰您……尊贵之身完美安宁之意。
TYMETHES: Never to disturb the perfect peace of your noble person.
年轻王后： 啊，我必遭毁灭无疑！
YOUNG QUEEN: Ah, I am surely destroyed!
提米西斯： 令人倾慕的夫人，请听我言，听我起誓。
TYMETHES: Admirable lady, hear me speak; hear my oath.
年轻王后： 啊，不幸的年轻人，如今无人能救你！
YOUNG QUEEN: Oh, unhappy youth, now no one can save you!
TYMETHES: (Misunderstanding her) By all that humanity holds dear, noble Queen, by every bond an oath can tie, I shall prove myself faithful, silent, and watchful—as solemn as a soul before the sacred call of death. Your own spirit is not more loyal to your secrets than I am to them, to all things, and to you.
年轻王后： 啊，建筑于言语之上的爱恋何其可悲！若我对天道的信仰，已如对人之誓言般荡然无存！
YOUNG QUEEN: How wretched is a love built upon words! If only my faith in heaven were as vanished as my faith in the oaths of men!
提米西斯： 若我食而无饱，生而无知，爱而无得，若我永远——
TYMETHES: If I should eat and never be filled, live and never know, love and never gain—if I ever—
年轻王后： 好了，这已超出所需。
YOUNG QUEEN: Enough, this exceeds what is needed.
提米西斯： 那么尚有慰藉。
TYMETHES: Then there is comfort.
年轻王后： 你既自称如此忠诚，我命你行一小小忏悔，以试你真心，如何？
YOUNG QUEEN: Since you claim such loyalty, I command you to perform a small penance to test your heart. Shall I?
YOUNG QUEEN: Spend only this hour of your offense in sincere confession of your sins and the errors of your reckless youth; if you are cleansed, you shall have what you prize most.
提米西斯： 若我此行忏悔有伪，愿永世不得您眷顾。
TYMETHES: If my repentance be false, may I be forever cast from your favor.
TYMETHES: The Young Queen herself! Luckily all went well and her anger is cooled. I swear, when she began to command penance, I expected a harsher sentence. Her wit is as pleasing as her beauty; I have never seen affection bloom so fast—sincere and burning, yet without suspicion. To realize the Sovereign I serve is also the secret of my bed… my shock is beyond measure. It is a strange fortune—
TYMETHES (Cont., aside): Quiet, she comes; kneel in penance— (Aloud) “I repent sincerely, as a dying man bids the world farewell, with this broken and contrite heart, confessing all my life—the original sin I was born with, the wicked thoughts of my wanton youth… Amen.”
YOUNG QUEEN (Cont.): I allowed him to don the armor of the soul and sent him like a Knight Templar into eternity. (To the corpse) For you must taste this one death through many deaths; if any warning ever touched your senses, this pity and love have already confessed too much. Rash, reckless youth, my soul bleeds for you. How many times did I warn you that this path meant death? Yet you pressed on, foolish man, knowing the cost. But what destruction is youth not willing to chase? You could have lived long, loved, and enjoyed pleasure, had your whims not destroyed our happiness. One who breaks his own oath can never keep mine. We must be safe, youth; no one knows of this. There is more love to come, more glory—yes, plenty. Yet, defying death, I shall kiss you still. (Kisses his mangled face.) Oh, strange malady! That we find comfort in slaughter out of fear! This poor, bleeding frame—whom shall I entrust it to? There is a secret passage leading to the castle depths; I shall leave him there for now. Unhappy wretch, you never knew how precious possession truly was!
YOUNG QUEEN: It was mine, my noble husband. Look upon this villain; he has received his due reward. Look here, my King: this violent youth, whom I have never seen before tonight, seemed to know the secret paths of the dark passages. He burst in, found me with a dark lantern as I prayed alone, and seized me… dragging me to this room, far from guards or rescue, intending to defile my honor. But in the struggle, guided by the gods, my hand found a pistol. And so, with a bullet, I ransomed my chastity from his lust, leaving him here as you see.
AMATRITUS: Come here; closer. How did this man come here? I’d like to hear it. I want to learn the method. Tell me, that I may marvel and “love” you all the more for it. Tell me, why is the timing so crooked? He falls, yet you stand? Ha! Why is that?
年轻王后： 我……我为陛下感到遗憾，我不明白。
YOUNG QUEEN: I… I am sorry for your Majesty, but I do not understand.
AMATRITUS: The deed itself is not as terrible as the clouds of doubt it raises. The cunning of it shocks me far more than the evil of the crime—that he should die before my fury had even begun.
年轻王后： 陛下？
YOUNG QUEEN: Sire?
阿玛特里特斯： 过来，再过来，伸出你左手。让我看看那曾戴戒指的手指。
AMATRITUS: Come, closer still. Give me your left hand. Let me see the finger that once wore a ring.
年轻王后： 那并非戴戒指的手指，陛下。
YOUNG QUEEN: That was not the finger for a ring, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 那么，你慷慨赠予此珠宝的，又是何人？
AMATRITUS: To whom, then, did you so generously give this jewel?
年轻王后： （旁白）我不喜此问。
YOUNG QUEEN: (Aside) I do not like this question.
阿玛特里特斯： （出示珠宝）仔细看看。认得么？认得，你发抖了。
AMATRITUS: (Producing the jewel) Look closely. Do you know it? You do; you’re trembling.
年轻王后： （旁白）啊，天哪，此物怎会在此？（高声）此乃陛下所赐，是我之物！
YOUNG QUEEN: (Aside) Oh god, how did this get here? (Aloud) It was your Majesty’s gift to me—it is mine!
AMATRITUS: The setting remains, but the stone is new. You metaphysical harlot, do you still think your tricks can deceive me? I expected a blush of shame on your cheeks, but I see none. Is this how lust strangles shame? Where is my witness? Where? (Calling) Roxano!
（马泽雷斯假扮罗克萨诺上。）
(Mazeres enters, disguised as Roxano.)
年轻王后： 啊，我被出卖了！
YOUNG QUEEN: Ah, I am betrayed!
阿玛特里特斯： 那女子可是奸妇？
AMATRITUS: Is this woman an adulteress?
马泽雷斯： 正是，陛下。
MAZERES: She is, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 这男子可是在与其私通时被擒？享宴并受尽其极乐款待？
AMATRITUS: Was this man caught in the act of adultery? Feasting and receiving her ultimate pleasures?
马泽雷斯： 属实，陛下；是我引他前来，见他受享，并如您所言，“受纳”一切。
MAZERES: It is true, Sire; I led him here, saw him enjoy her, and, as you say, “receive” it all.
年轻王后： 啊，罗克萨诺！
YOUNG QUEEN: Oh, Roxano!
马泽雷斯： （旁白）如此，我略施小计便将二人蒙骗；如今他将厌弃她。（下。）
MAZERES: (Aside) Thus, with a small trick, I have deceived them both; now he shall loathe her. (Exit.)
阿玛特里特斯： 尚需更多证人么？我可再召。
AMATRITUS: Need I more witnesses? I can call others.
YOUNG QUEEN: Ah, no. There is a witness here within me that accuses me more than all the bought loyalty in the world. Sentence me to death; only save me from the long torture of your gaze. Let me not live to be executed by your frown… I confess.
AMATRITUS: Ah, only now do I feel the sting! All previous evidence was like dead flesh; I felt nothing until this confession. Now I stand beside the crime and watch it all unfold: the secret messages, the cunning passages, the intricate plots, the whispers, the hours, the feasts, and the obscene candlelight! It all stabs my eyes at once. Yet, you shall live.
年轻王后： 什么？不，不。莫以生命折磨我。我求一死。
YOUNG QUEEN: What? No, no. Do not torture me with life. I beg for death.
AMATRITUS: Ah, have you not confessed? No more excuses? Where is your cunning now? I saw it in your confession: you do not want to die. Since you have hunted this stag, now you shall taste the venison yourself. I have prepared a seat for you; you shall be the only diner at this feast.
AMATRITUS: (Kicking the corpse) This is the stag you shot yourself. The venison for your own teeth. You shall taste its flavor. A more noble seat is set for you, the most noble of tasters. Ho! Sextorio! Lodovicus!
AMATRITUS: Drag away this carrion and dismember it at once. I cannot inflict a living man’s rage upon him, for every torture, horror, gallows, rack, or wheel I can imagine—a thousand new ways to die—he escaped them all before he could taste even one.
AMATRITUS (Cont.): But you shall live. Now, take this candle, kneel, and weep. Let’s see which runs out first: the flame or your tears. (The Young Queen kneels.) I will provide your food; you shall not die. If there be a hell on earth to punish sin, it is to marry a harlot and let her sink you into guilt. (Exit.)
YOUNG QUEEN: I long feared this calamity before it came. My ill-omened dreams and terrible premonitions foresaw this end long before the fruit was ripe.
MAZERES: (Aside) She kneels there, unaware that I was the clever one who exposed her lechery. If I can take Roxano’s life, I’ll be perfectly safe; I’m fishing in muddy waters now. (Aloud) Madam, what is this? A living Queen should not be so close to the dust.
年轻王后： 埋于土下，方更安全，也快活得多。
YOUNG QUEEN: It is safer and much happier to be buried beneath the earth.
马泽雷斯： 是何等事由，竟驱使您将自身荣光贬抑至如此卑微境地，陷于这般苦楚？
MAZERES: What cause could drive you to debase your glory to such a lowly state, trapped in such misery?
年轻王后： 是我仆从的背叛，大人。
YOUNG QUEEN: The treachery of my servants, my lord.
马泽雷斯： 他们竟敢背叛？最卑劣的臣仆，竟敢扰乱如此神圣女主人的甜美安宁？
MAZERES: They dared to betray you? The basest of knaves, daring to disturb the sweet peace of so sacred a mistress?
YOUNG QUEEN: I am certain there is a villain whom I once deeply trusted, chosen as my chief confidant, who broke his faith and sold me to my violent and uncontrollable husband.
马泽雷斯： 但请告我他是谁，我愿以剑为夫人效力，刺入其心，从而配得上如您这般一位女主人。
MAZERES: Only tell me who he is; I will use my sword in your service, Madam, and pierce his heart, to prove myself worthy of such a mistress as you.
（罗克萨诺上。）
(Roxano enters.)
年轻王后： 啊，我，太快便看见他了！
YOUNG QUEEN: Ah, I see him too soon!
马泽雷斯： 夫人，请退避；莫让他见光。
MAZERES: Madam, withdraw; let him not see the light.
罗克萨诺： （旁白）哈，现在该是领赏之时。
ROXANO: (Aside) Ha, now is the time for my reward.
MAZERES: He deserves death; I would not spare even my own kin. Though the sword’s point is a journey from the heart, that journey is but the length of a blade. (Draws and stabs Roxano.)
罗克萨诺： 哈？这是何意？这便是“奖赏”？
ROXANO: Huh? What is this? Is this the “reward”?
马泽雷斯： 受死吧，逆贼！你这玷污‘忠诚’二字的害虫，不配活在光天化日之下！ （杀死罗克萨诺。）
MAZERES: Die, traitor! You vermin who defile the word “loyalty,” you are not fit to live in the light of day! (Kills Roxano.)
年轻王后： 此乃些许微末复仇；多谢，大人。将他丢入那洞穴，他不久前正是从那里爬出，将我出卖予国王。
YOUNG QUEEN: A small bit of revenge; thank you, my lord. Throw him into that cave from which he recently crawled to sell me to the King.
马泽雷斯： 啊，恶徒，进去吧，赶上你的灵魂。（拖罗克萨诺尸体下。）
MAZERES: Ah, villain, go in and catch up with your soul. (Drags Roxano’s body off.)
年轻王后： 此处是一颗困惑袒露的心；愿那尚温的钢铁，为我提供同样“效劳”，成全一位王后心愿的至交。
YOUNG QUEEN: Here is a heart laid bare and confused; would that that warm steel could perform the same “service” for me, the ultimate friend to a Queen’s wish.
MAZERES: Ah, forgive me, that would be a total wickedness. I do not threaten angels, even if I slay devils. Fear not for your peace: the King’s anger will cool. I shall serve you faithfully here.
年轻王后： 我们甚悦。
YOUNG QUEEN: We are most pleased.
马泽雷斯： （旁白）悦如无物；我不会进言劝国王违背他已决意之事。（下。）
MAZERES: (Aside) Pleased by nothing; I will not speak a word to turn the King from what he has already resolved. (Exit.)
年轻王后： 在我最信任之处遭背叛？啊，上天，再无任何苦难，堪与我之遭遇相配！
YOUNG QUEEN: Betrayed where I most trusted? Oh, heavens, there is no suffering to match my own!
(Amatritus enters, followed by Sextorio and Lodovicus. They carry covered dishes or cloth bundles with ritual slowness, placing them around the kneeling Queen. They then uncover them, revealing the dismembered limbs of Tymethes.)
AMATRITUS: Good, place them further forward; right there, settle them well. Display before her eyes the dismembered limbs of the lover she craved. Welcome, Madam; behold your feast—fine meat, coarse fare. Your lust was sweet; why is it bitter now? By heaven, you shall have no other food until your own bowels become the grave for this corpse. To ensure it, come, I shall lock you away safely, far from human pity. Hang those pieces up; the dregs of the cup of passion taste the most bitter.
ZENOCRATES: Ah, my Tymethes! The truest joy this earth could offer! Could your fate be so stony-hearted, so contrary to the sweet spring of your youth and hope? This must be the venomous work of Mazeres—that accursed adversary. If my reckoning holds, his own intrigue shall topple like a high tower, crushing his own breast beneath its weight.
（阿玛特里特斯上场。）
(Amatritus enters.)
泽纳库斯： 我尊贵的主上。
ZENOCRATES: My noble Lord.
阿玛特里特斯： 噢，你真该早些来见我们。
AMATRITUS: Oh, you should have come to us sooner.
泽纳库斯： 为何，陛下？
ZENOCRATES: Why, Sire?
阿玛特里特斯： 你那位朋友的残肢刚刚凯旋般经过，我想那景象必定令你十分欣喜。
AMATRITUS: The mangled remains of your friend have just passed by in a sort of triumph; I thought the sight would surely have delighted you.
ZENOCRATES: Any knave who pleases my father is no friend of mine. I would have found more satisfaction in that sight had it not been for Mazeres—who let his malice slide into wickedness before the crime even took shape, strangling the fruit before it could ripen. This was a singular “service,” if your fuming Majesty could but see it aright: the politician Mazeres acted more to sate his own venomous spite than for any true peace to settle your mind. He permitted that loathsome treason to occur, though he might have stifled it in its first chaotic breath.
ZENOCRATES: I beseech you, Sire, consider with a man’s composure and a prudent mind: when he saw those dalliances cross the line into a profanation of your peace, and yet committed the matter to time—was the path he trod one of loyalty, or a road to your ultimate ruin?
ZENOCRATES: What makes this matter so hideous, so heavy, so horrific? What unsettles your mind and kindles such fury in your heated breast? Is it not the crime itself?
阿玛特里特斯： （突然）噢！
AMATRITUS: (Suddenly) Oh!
泽纳库斯： 仅有意图便足以判他死刑，那已是充分的交代；但付诸行动——
ZENOCRATES: The intent alone was enough to damn him, and would have been sufficient satisfaction; but to let it proceed to the act—
阿玛特里特斯： 不可容忍！塞克斯托里奥！塞克斯托里奥在哪？
AMATRITUS: Intolerable! Sextorio! Where is Sextorio?
ZENOCRATES: (Aside) Keep your temper, Zenocrates; let me snare him alone. (He withdraws to one side.) It may succeed. Watch, my friend, and see how I express my “love.”
阿玛特里特斯： （旁白）噢，恶棍！若他一见那情景便刺穿他，那我此刻的一分悲痛，便能免去万分！
AMATRITUS: (Aside) Oh, villain! Had he but pierced him at the first sight of the deed, one part of my current grief would have spared ten thousand!
（马泽雷斯与塞克斯托里奥上。）
(Mazeres and Sextorio enter.)
马泽雷斯： （旁白）我梦见因我近日的效劳会有新的封赏，还奇怪他怎能将我的功劳搁置这么久。
MAZERES: (Aside) I dreamed of new rewards for my recent services; I wondered how he could let my merits sit idle for so long.
AMATRITUS: My memory fails me; I still owe you some honors, Mazeres. What office shall we find for you? Your recent service is still warm in our memory, and highly favored. Tell me in detail, how did you so craftily apprehend them?
马泽雷斯： 我被引入一间侍从室，陛下。
MAZERES: I was brought into a waiting room, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 是吗！
AMATRITUS: Is that so!
马泽雷斯： 并戴上面具，帮忙侍奉那场“宴席”。
MAZERES: And I wore a mask, helping to serve that “banquet.”
阿玛特里特斯： 哈，哈！
AMATRITUS: Ha, ha!
马泽雷斯： 看见他被私下引入一间密室。
MAZERES: I saw him privately led into a secret chamber.
阿玛特里特斯： 而你仍任由他行事？
AMATRITUS: And you still let him proceed?
马泽雷斯： 我让他“游戏”，陛下。
MAZERES: I let him “play,” Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 哈，哈，哈！
AMATRITUS: Ha, ha, ha!
马泽雷斯： 我一直就近监视，直到她的双臂拥抱了他。
MAZERES: I kept a close watch until her arms embraced him.
AMATRITUS: Well said, Mazeres! Since you love a show so much, I shall grant you a grand finale—drag him away! Let him taste the most venomous, most lingering tortures this world can devise!
（阿玛特里特斯和塞克斯托里奥拖拽着震惊的马泽雷斯下场。）
(Amatritus and Sextorio exeunt dragging the shocked Mazeres.)
泽纳库斯： （旁白）任何言辞都无法表达我的欣喜。这是一种如此高贵的狂喜，唯有灵魂方能领受。 ZENOCRATES: (Aside) No words can express my joy. This is an ecstasy so noble, only the soul can receive it.
（安菲多特与洛多维克斯上。）
(Amphidote and Lodovicus enter.)
安菲多特： 大人，马泽雷斯已被带去处死了吗？
AMPHIDOTE: My lord, has Mazeres been taken to his death?
洛多维克斯： 恐怕千真万确，亲爱的公主。（下。）
LODOVICUS: I fear it is only too true, dear Princess. (Exit.)
AMPHIDOTE: (Aside) Cursed be the tongue that pronounced his sentence; forever ruined be the hand that sunders him from life! Was there no one else more fit for this tyranny than the one our heart has chosen? Oh, the misery of love! I cannot live and think on this!
ZENOCRATES: Yes, proof enough, in truth. Hear me: Mazeres has reached his eternal home, wherever his body may lie. I prompted the blow! I brewed a bitter cup that quickly stopped his breath.
安菲多特： （旁白）噢，天哪，我的灵魂要出窍了！ （呼喊）拿点酒来，喂！
AMPHIDOTE: (Aside) Oh, heavens, my soul is departing! (Calling) Bring some wine, ho!
泽纳库斯： 给我们的妹妹拿酒来，这消息值得庆贺！
ZENOCRATES: Bring wine for our sister; this news is worth a celebration!
（洛多维克斯持酒上。）
(Lodovicus enters with wine.)
安菲多特： 好，给我；现在退下吧。
AMPHIDOTE: Good, give it to me. Now, leave us.
（洛多维克斯下。）
(Lodovicus exits.)
泽纳库斯： 复仇从未结出过比我想象中我的复仇更幸运的果实。
ZENOCRATES: Never has revenge borne a luckier fruit than what my vengeance has yielded.
（她在酒中下毒。）
(She poisons the wine.)
安菲多特： （旁白）我要启程了，马泽雷斯，来与你相会。 （递过酒杯）给，泽纳库斯。
AMPHIDOTE: (Aside) I am setting out, Mazeres, to meet you. (Handing the cup) Here, Zenocrates.
泽纳库斯： 你看上去可不像这个时辰该有的欢快样子。
ZENOCRATES: You do not look as cheerful as this hour demands.
安菲多特： 喝了这杯就会了。
AMPHIDOTE: I will be, once this is drunk.
泽纳库斯： 哈，酒既能弥补缺憾，也能引生许多。为我们这最后一击的复仇之举干杯。 （二人饮酒。）
ZENOCRATES: Ha! Wine can make up for many lacks, and breed many more. Let us drink to this final stroke of our revenge. (They both drink.)
AMPHIDOTE: He was the mirror that reflected the true face of this court. You saw only a plot; I saw a man who acted while you prated of philosophy. You killed the actor. I killed the author.
泽纳库斯： （踉跄）我们……我们本要恢复一个王国。让一切回归旧日……
ZENOCRATES: (Staggering) We… we were meant to restore a kingdom. To bring everything back to the old days…
ZENOCRATES: (Falling, gasping his final words to the void) Ah, Tymethes… Father… what garden did we think we were tending? Nothing grows here but… poison… and… (Dies.)
][][
第五幕，第二场 [城堡大厅]
ACT V, Scene 2 [The Main Hall of the Castle]
（雷电交加。一颗彗星出现。阿玛特里特斯上。）
(Thunder and lightning. A comet appears. Amatritus enters.)
AMATRITUS: Ha? Thunder? And you, bone-chilling winds, you swift-winged lightning? And you, blazing star, I like not your strange, long-tailed fire; your light is fatal. Ha? See how all their malignant powers conspire in the destruction of my children! Their envied status has been envied by that vicious force, struck down by some jealousy, and now—dead. The omens are foul! Sextorio! Lodovicus!
（塞克斯托里奥与洛多维克斯上。）
(Sextorio and Lodovicus enter.)
阿玛特里特斯： 先把那些尸体从我眼前搬走。
AMATRITUS: Remove those corpses from my sight at once.
塞克斯托里奥： 都死了，陛下。
SEXTORIO: All dead, Sire.
阿玛特里特斯： 是啊，而我们安全；我们自己的死亡反倒不那么可怕了。
AMATRITUS: Yes, and we are safe; our own deaths seem less terrifying now.
（塞克斯托里奥与洛多维克斯搬走尸体。老国王一行乔装成朝圣者立于一旁。）
(They remove the bodies. The Old King, Lapirus, Fidelio, and Amorpho enter, disguised as Pilgrims.)
老国王： （旁白）上天保佑，那边映入眼帘的，是何等恐怖非人的景象？
OLD KING: (Aside) Heavens preserve us, what horrific, inhuman sight greets our eyes there?
菲德里奥： （旁白）那是何物？残肢断臂如腊肉般悬挂……天哪，这哪里是人间寝殿，分明是修罗屠场!
FIDELIO: (Aside) What are those? Severed limbs hanging like cured meats… God, this is no royal chamber, but a slaughterhouse!
阿玛特里特斯： 神圣可敬的朝圣者，欢迎。
AMATRITUS: Holy and venerable pilgrims, welcome.
老国王： 莽撞的异乡人，被暴风雨驱赶至此。
OLD KING: Rash strangers, driven here by the storm.
（响亮的音乐。宴席被送上。阿玛特里特斯引年轻王后上。她面前摆着装着提米西斯头颅的肉盘。）
(Loud music. A banquet is served. Amatritus leads in the Young Queen. Before her is a dish containing Tymethes’ head.)
AMATRITUS: (To the Young Queen) As your penance, I command that you taste no other food—nor would she dare—until the body of her lover is utterly consumed within her own.
老国王： （旁白）哦，天哪，我的儿子提米西斯！
OLD KING: (Aside) Oh, gods, my son Tymethes!
（老国王亮明身份，众人除去伪装。）
(The Old King reveals himself; all cast off their disguises.)
阿玛特里特斯： 哈？这些是什么人？老国王？拉皮鲁斯？被出卖了？
AMATRITUS: Ha? Who are these men? The Old King? Lapirus? Betrayed?
老国王： 死吧，残忍、嗜杀的暴君！ （众人刺杀阿玛特里特斯。）
OLD KING: Die, cruel and murderous tyrant! (They stab Amatritus.)
阿玛特里特斯： 哈哈哈！就这样笑着咽气吧！我的淫欲从未比我的死更令我愉快。（死。）
AMATRITUS: Ha, ha, ha! Let me expire laughing! My lust never gave me more pleasure than my death. (Dies.)
（老王后除去伪装，举起幼子马诺菲斯。）
(The Old Queen reveals herself, holding the infant Manophis.)
老王后： 看，一位有望的继承人。莫惊愕；他是马诺菲斯。
OLD QUEEN: Behold, a hopeful heir. Be not amazed; it is Manophis.
老国王： 为那些肢体准备体面的葬礼吧。一阵欢欣的钟声，将苦难尽数击退。
OLD KING: Prepare a decent burial for those remains. Let a joyful peal of bells strike back all our miseries.
[The Old King’s voice falls into silence. All turn toward the newborn infant, forming a tableau of hope and reconciliation. The music shifts into a solemn, yet slightly pompous, ceremonial melody.]
[The Young Queen alone, like a forgotten sacrificial offering, remains frozen at her small table. The platter before her is empty, yet her eyes remain fixed—glaring either at the invisible remnants of the “flesh” upon the table, or toward the space where the severed limbs once hung. There are no tears upon her face, only an utter hollowness, a detached calm, as if the soul itself has been extricated from this body that was forced to consume its own love.]
[The lights dim, until at last only a single overhead spotlight remains, coldly enveloping her and the empty plate. All other clamor and light in the hall vanish. A silence lasts for several seconds.]
It’s not a poem, per se, but let me share the first scene in my wuxia retelling of Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. For those unfamiliar with the term, wuxia is a Chinese genre of literature that features martial arts, valiance, action and often elements of the supernatural. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), for example, is wuxia.
As for the source material, Titus Andronicus starts off with two brothers, Saturninus and Bassianus, along with their followers, competing to see who will rule Rome. Right before a riot begins Titus’ brother, Marcus, arrives and announces that Titus, an ancient but highly respected general, is returning from war and will choose which brother will be made emperor. For my retelling all the genders are reversed. Bái Sī [白丝, White Silk] and Sàtǔn [萨吞, Steel-Swallower] are sisters. Tiě Gū [铁姑, Iron Aunt] is the sister to General Tiān Mǔ [天母, Heavenly Mother].
My skills at translating Chinese have much to be desired, so any errors here are entirely my own.
《血菩萨。》第一幕·第一场 “Blood Bodhisattva.” Act I 一 Scene I
《血染玉阶，凤泣残阳。》 [Blood stains the jade steps, a phoenix weeps for the dying sun.]
[玉门国·千剑宫外。] [Yumen Kingdom · Outside the Thousand Swords Palace。]
[战鼓裂云，幕启时，白思与萨囤对峙宫阶之上。铁牛、天鹤两派弟子于阶下血战。宫门处，礼官肃立，御史执笔，锦衣卫刀出半鞘，静若石雕。] [War drums tear at the clouds as the curtain rises, Bái Sī and Sàtūn stand frozen on the palace steps. Below, their Iron Ox and Heavenly Crane disciples wage war. At the gates, Lǐguān stand rigid, Yùshǐ clutch ink-brushes and Jinyiwei guards rest hands on half-drawn blades, silent as carved sentinels.]
萨囤 / SÀTŪN.
[斩马刀啸空而过，尘暴如龙卷起。]
[Her Zhanmadao screams through air, whipping up a dust-whirlwind.]
“铁牛门下！”
“Sons and daughters of the Iron Ox!”
“朕即凤诏，天命在刃！”
“I am the Phoenix’s living edict, the Mandate burns in my steel!”
“和我一起站起来，铸就历史的栋梁！”
“Stand with me and be forged into history’s pillars!”
“叛龙者 …”
“Betray me …”
[刀光一闪，宫灯齐灭。]
[A blade-flash—every palace lantern gutters out.]
萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]
“… 九族诛尽，宫门悬颅！”
“… and I’ll hang your bloodline’s skulls from the palace gates!”
白思 / BÁI SĪ.
[双针剑作鹤翼式，冷笑。]
[Needle-swords flash into crane-wing stance, her sneer colder than moonlight.]
“天命？” [冷笑。]
“The Mandate?” [Laugh like cracking ice.]
“弑亲之血，也配称凤？”
“Can a kinslayer’s hands still clutch the Phoenix’s crown?”
[Her blades shiver like pinions at mid-strike—the crane’s grace laced with scorpion’s venom. Her faction echoes with choral crane-cries, a sound like silk tearing on sword-edges.]
白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]
“重器非在冠冕，而在德行。”
“True power lies not in crowns, but in virtue.”
“尔自比狂风？不过瘈狗吠日！”
“You call yourself a storm? A rabid dog barking at heaven!”
[她的战士们的呐喊声响彻云霄——铁牛队伍摇摇晃晃，阵型散乱。]
[Her warriors’ cries pierce the air—the Iron Ox ranks stagger, their formation fraying.]
铁姑 / TIĚ GŪ.
[持碧玉令，九节鞭缠腰。满场肃杀。] [Enters with the Jade Scepter, her 9-section whip coiled around her hips. The air thickens, sharp as a guillotine’s edge.]
“骨肉相残之座，未雪先倾。” “The throne built on sister-blood collapses before winter’s first snow can hide its sins.”
“今奉碎玉令，迎天母将军班师 …” “By the Broken Jade Seal, I declare General Tiān Mǔ regent …”
“五毒教之役，当终今日。” “Her war against the Five Poisons Sect ends now.”
“散！” “Disperse!”
“… 否则御史以刻石指铭罪，鬼神同泣！” “… or the Yùshǐ’s Stone-Carving Finger will engrave your crimes so deep, even gods and ghosts will wail!”
[御史的一击落地——指尖击碎了大理石地板，裂开了蜘蛛网，如同下了判决书一般。]
[The Yùshǐ’s strike lands—fingertips shatter the marble floor, cracks spider-webbing like a verdict.]
萨囤 / SÀTŪN.
[见玉阶旁书生所留的砚台，冷笑。]
[Spots an inkstone left by a fleeing scholar, her lips curl.]
[脚踢翻，墨泼阶如血。]
[Her boot flips it, black ink gushes down the steps like a slit throat.]
“刻啊！”
“Carve this!”
“让后世记得 …”
“Let history remember …”
[锦衣卫刀光映墨，凤鸣凄厉。]
[Jinyiwei blades gleam with reflected ink, their phoenix-cry a funeral dirge.]
[白思的鹤簪坠地，羽尖沾墨。]
[Bái Sī’s crane-hairpin clatters to the floor, its feather-tip staining black.]
萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]
“… 铁牛将军之妹执印却不敢执刃！”
“… the Iron General’s sister clutches seals, but flees from steel!”
铁姑 / TIĚ GŪ.
[举令，寒声。]
[Raising the Jade Order, her voice colder than a tomb’s breath.]
“刻石遗臭，万古流秽。”
“Let stone etch your reek, let ten thousand generations gag on your name.”
[玉阶震颤，如畏其言。]
[The jade steps tremble, as if fearing her decree.]
铁姑 / TIĚ GŪ [cont.]
“母皇遗诏刻于玉，非书于血。”
“The Empress’ will was carved in jade, not scribbled in traitors’ blood.”
[锦衣卫刀锋低鸣，似凤泣先帝。]
[Jinyiwei blades hum, a phoenix weeping for the dead sovereign.]
白思 / BÁI SĪ.
[凝视没羽，墨渍如泪，轻叹后扬声道。] [Gazes at the drowned feather, ink seeping like tears, then her voice lifts, clear and cold.]
“血缘始，血缘终。” “By blood it began, by blood it ends.”
[向铁姑鞠躬，腰如竹折而不断。] [She bows to Tiě Gū, back bent like bamboo, unbroken.]
白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]
“我臣服 …” “I yield …”
“… 非顺汝刃，乃顺天佑。” “… not to your blade, but to Heaven’s decree.”
[白袍众退如雪崩，寂然无声。] [Her disciples retreat like an avalanche in reverse, soundless, deliberate.]
白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]
“愿鹤唳引慈母之手。” “May the crane’s cry guide my Mother’s hand.”
[最后一句如刃悬喉。] [The words hang—a knife at the world’s throat.]
白思 / BÁI SĪ [cont.]
“雪退散…” “The snow withdraws…”
[… 然寒入骨，千年不化。] “…but frost lingers in the bones and will not thaw for a thousand years.”
萨囤 / SÀTŪN.
[握刀下令，目光灼灼。]
[Her Zhanmadao gleams, a verdict half-unsheathed. Her gaze burns hotter than the desert wind.]
“名铸剑出，不悔不归。”
“My name is forged in steel, my blade thirsts without remorse.”
[铁牛派虽退，手不离刀。]
[The Iron Ox faction withdraws, but every finger still curls around cold steel.]
萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]
“让玉门断壁 …”
“Let the ruins of the Jade Gate …”
[刀锋划地，裂石如骨碎。]
[Her saber splits the earth, stone shatters like a spine.]
萨囤 / SÀTŪN [cont.]
“… 判谁凤血承天！”
“… decide whose veins bear the Phoenix’s truth!”
[众人退时，守卫扬玉尘，五行阵成而即散，如凤涅磐。]
[As factions retreat, guards raise jade-ash, the Wuxing symbols form then dissolves like a phoenix’s rebirth from the ash.]
[幕落时，唯余：]
[The curtains close on:]
萨囤的刀 [Sàtūn’s blade]
插在玉阶 [embedded in jade steps]
白思的羽 [Bái Sī’s feather]
飘向冷月 [drifting toward the icy moon]
铁姑的鞭 [Tiě Gū’s whip]
缠着半截断诏 [coiled around a torn edict]
上书： [which reads:]
“朕死之年…”
“The year I die…”
“…血菩萨现。”
“…the Blood Bodhisattva comes.”
֍
Notes:
Wuxia (pronounced: “woo-syah”) is known for its melodrama and camp, breathtaking swordplay and high-flying martial arts (literally, the actors defy gravity via Wire Fu, as seen in The Matrix). Here are some terms that I need to explain:
Lǐguān, Yùshǐ and Jinyiwei are different sorts of Imperial court officials. Wuxing, often translated as the Five Phases (see diagram below), is a conceptual scheme used in many Chinese fields of study to explain a wide array of phenomena, such as characterizing the interactions and relationships within various sciences, medicines, politics and religions. Whereas an Emperor was compared to a dragon, an Empress (especially Wu Zetian) was compared to a phoenix. A Zhanmadaoor “Horse-chopping blade” was a large sword popular during the Song dynasty. Being ignorant in many things I chose to set the play in a mythical ancient China, to avoid that whole “historically accurate” razzamatazz.
memories of my ghost sista 