第二十四章
My present situation was one in which all voluntary thought was swallowed up and lost. I was hurried away by fury; revenge alone endowed me with strength and composure; it moulded my feelings and allowed me to be calculating and calm at periods when otherwise delirium or death would have been my portion.
在目前的处境下，我所有的自由的想法都被吞噬不见了。狂怒催促我离开这里，唯有复仇才能赋予我力量和镇静。复仇铸就了我的情感，并能允许我在定期出现的危险情况下精明算计和保持平静。否则，我早就精神狂乱或死掉了。
My first resolution was to quit Geneva forever; my country, which, when I was happy and beloved, was dear to me, now, in my adversity, became hateful. I provided myself with a sum of money, together with a few jewels which had belonged to my mother, and departed. And now my wanderings began which are to cease but with life. I have traversed a vast portion of the earth and have endured all the hardships which travellers in deserts and barbarous countries are wont to meet. How I have lived I hardly know; many times have I stretched my failing limbs upon the sandy plain and prayed for death. But revenge kept me alive; I dared not die and leave my adversary in being.
我首先决定永远离开我的祖国日内瓦，这个我曾幸福生活过、被许多人深爱过的地方，对我而言它是那样亲切，现在，它却因我惹出的灾祸而变得可恨。我拿了一些钱和几件原属于我母亲的珠宝，离开了家。接着我就开始了漫长的、伴随我一生的流浪生活。我长途跋涉，经过了地球上的大部分地区，经历了旅行者们在沙漠地区和蛮夷之地常会遇到的所有艰辛。我几乎不知道自己是怎么活过来的。有好多次，我四肢瘫软地躺在满是沙土的平原上，一丝力气都没有，祈求死神的降临。但是复仇的想法让我活了下来。我不敢就这样死了，把我的仇敌留在世上。
When I quitted Geneva my first labour was to gain some clue by which I might trace the steps of my fiendish enemy. But my plan was unsettled, and I wandered many hours round the confines of the town, uncertain what path I should pursue. As night approached I found myself at the entrance of the cemetery where William, Elizabeth, and my father reposed. I entered it and approached the tomb which marked their graves. Everything was silent except the leaves of the trees, which were gently agitated by the wind; the night was nearly dark, and the scene would have been solemn and affecting even to an uninterested observer. The spirits of the departed seemed to flit around and to cast a shadow, which was felt but not seen, around the head of the mourner.
当我离开日内瓦时，我做的第一件事就是寻找可能会让我追踪到那个恶魔足迹的线索。但是我的计划没有定下来，我只是漫无目的地绕着城转了几个小时，不确定应当沿着哪条路追下去。当夜幕降临时，我发现自己在威廉、伊丽莎白和我父亲长眠的墓园入口处。我走进墓园，来到墓碑上刻着他们名字的坟前。四周一片寂静，唯有晚风轻拂树叶发出沙沙的声音。天黑得几乎伸手不见五指，即便是一个无动于衷的旁观者也会觉得此番景象庄严而动容。死者的灵魂似乎飘荡在周围，在凭吊者的脑袋周围投下一道能感受到、却看不到的阴影。
The deep grief which this scene had at first excited quickly gave way to rage and despair. They were dead, and I lived; their murderer also lived, and to destroy him I must drag out my weary existence. I knelt on the grass and kissed the earth and with quivering lips exclaimed, "By the sacred earth on which I kneel, by the shades that wander near me, by the deep and eternal grief that I feel, I swear; and by thee, O Night, and the spirits that preside over thee, to pursue the daemon who caused this misery, until he or I shall perish in mortal conflict. For this purpose I will preserve my life; to execute this dear revenge will I again behold the sun and tread the green herbage of earth, which otherwise should vanish from my eyes forever. And I call on you, spirits of the dead, and on you, wandering ministers of vengeance, to aid and conduct me in my work. Let the cursed and hellish monster drink deep of agony; let him feel the despair that now torments me." I had begun my adjuration with solemnity and an awe which almost assured me that the shades of my murdered friends heard and approved my devotion, but the furies possessed me as I concluded, and rage choked my utterance.
起初，此景激起了我深深的悲痛，但很快就被愤怒和绝望所取代了。他们都死了，我还活着，杀死他们的凶手也活着。我早已厌倦了活在世上，但为了毁掉这个杀人恶魔，我必须得苟活下去。我跪在草地上，亲吻着大地，颤抖着双唇喊道：“向着我膝下神圣的大地，向着我身边徘徊的亡灵，向着我所感受到的永远的、深深的痛苦，向着你——黑夜，以及统治你的精灵们，我发誓要追击那个造成这一切悲惨事件的恶魔，和他决一死战。为了这个目的，我将维持我的生命去实施这个代价高昂的复仇。这样我就能再次看到太阳，并踏在绿色的草地上。否则，这一切都将永远从我的眼中消失。而且我要召唤你们：亡者之灵，还有你们这些飘荡着的复仇之神，我恳求你们在我的复仇之路上帮助并指引我。让那该死的恶魔喝下浓烈的苦酒，让他也感受一下现在折磨我的绝望。”带着严肃和敬畏，我开始了自己的誓言。这几乎使我相信自己那些遇害的朋友们的灵魂听到了我的誓言，并赞成我献身复仇的的决心。但当我说到最后时，狂怒占据了我的内心，愤怒令我声音哽咽。
I was answered through the stillness of night by a loud and fiendish laugh. It rang on my ears long and heavily; the mountains re-echoed it, and I felt as if all hell surrounded me with mockery and laughter. Surely in that moment I should have been possessed by frenzy and have destroyed my miserable existence but that my vow was heard and that I was reserved for vengeance. The laughter died away, when a well-known and abhorred voice, apparently close to my ear, addressed me in an audible whisper, "I am satisfied, miserable wretch! You have determined to live, and I am satisfied."
沉寂的黑夜里响起一声响亮的恶魔狂笑，回应着我的誓言。这笑声长时间沉闷地在我耳边回响，山谷中是笑声的回音。我感觉自己好像身陷地狱之中，被魔鬼肆意的嘲笑所包围。就在这一刻，要不是我听到自己的誓言并准备复仇，我的身心将会被狂怒占据，我会结束自己这悲惨的生命。笑声渐渐消失，一阵极为熟悉、令人憎恶的低语声在我耳畔响起：“我很满意，不幸的可怜虫！你已经决定要活下去，我很满意。”
I darted towards the spot from which the sound proceeded, but the devil eluded my grasp. Suddenly the broad disk of the moon arose and shone full upon his ghastly and distorted shape as he fled with more than mortal speed.
我猛地冲向声音传来的地方，但是那个魔鬼避开了我的进攻。突然，大大的圆月升起来了，月光完全照亮了他那可怕的扭曲身影，他正以远超人类的速度飞奔着。
I pursued him, and for many months this has been my task. Guided by a slight clue, I followed the windings of the Rhone, but vainly. The blue Mediterranean appeared, and by a strange chance, I saw the fiend enter by night and hide himself in a vessel bound for the Black Sea. I took my passage in the same ship, but he escaped, I know not how.
我追赶着他，数月以来这一直是我的任务。在一丝线索的引导下，我沿着蜿蜒曲折的罗讷河追了下去，却一无所获。蓝色的地中海出现在眼前。不经意间，我看见那个恶魔趁着夜色上了一艘驶往黑海的船，并躲了起来。我也上了同一艘船，但他却逃开了，我不知道他是怎么溜掉的。
Amidst the wilds of Tartary and Russia, although he still evaded me, I have ever followed in his track. Sometimes the peasants, scared by this horrid apparition, informed me of his path; sometimes he himself, who feared that if I lost all trace of him I should despair and die, left some mark to guide me. The snows descended on my head, and I saw the print of his huge step on the white plain. To you first entering on life, to whom care is new and agony unknown, how can you understand what I have felt and still feel? Cold, want, and fatigue were the least pains which I was destined to endure; I was cursed by some devil and carried about with me my eternal hell; yet still a spirit of good followed and directed my steps and when I most murmured would suddenly extricate me from seemingly insurmountable difficulties. Sometimes, when nature, overcome by hunger, sank under the exhaustion, a repast was prepared for me in the desert that restored and inspirited me. The fare was, indeed, coarse, such as the peasants of the country ate, but I will not doubt that it was set there by the spirits that I had invoked to aid me. Often, when all was dry, the heavens cloudless, and I was parched by thirst, a slight cloud would bedim the sky, shed the few drops that revived me, and vanish.
在鞑靼和俄罗斯的荒原上，尽管他逃过了我一次又一次的追捕，我却一直跟随着他的足迹。有时候，被这个恐怖的幽灵吓到的农民们会告诉我他的去向；有时候他自己也会留下蛛丝马迹来引导我，因为他害怕我会因为失去他的踪迹而绝望地死去。当雪飘落在我头上时，我看见了白雪皑皑的平原上他那巨大的脚印。对于初涉人生的你而言，关爱是那么新鲜，不知痛苦为何物。你怎么能理解我所感受过的、仍在感受着的事情呢？寒冷、饥饿和疲劳是我注定要忍受的痛苦中最为微小的。我被恶魔诅咒了，永远身处地狱之中。然而，依旧有善良的精灵跟随着我，指引我前进的方向。当我满腹牢骚时，他会突然把我从无法超越的苦难中解救出来。有时候，当饥饿和疲惫使我体力不支时，沙漠中会出现为我准备好的食物，能够让我恢复体力，并激励我继续前进。这些食物的确是粗劣之食，就像乡下农民吃的那种食物，但我毫不怀疑，这些食物是那些我曾召唤其帮助我的神灵们放在那里的。经常会发生这样的事情：当大地一片干涸，天空万里无云，我口干舌燥时，就会有一片薄云遮住了我头上的天空，洒下几滴让我恢复体力的雨露，随后薄云就消失了。
I followed, when I could, the courses of the rivers; but the daemon generally avoided these, as it was here that the population of the country chiefly collected. In other places human beings were seldom seen, and I generally subsisted on the wild animals that crossed my path. I had money with me and gained the friendship of the villagers by distributing it; or I brought with me some food that I had killed, which, after taking a small part, I always presented to those who had provided me with fire and utensils for cooking.
当我能找到河流时，我就沿着河道前行。但是那个恶魔通常会避开河流，因为河流附近是村民的主要居住地。在其他人迹罕至的地方，我通常会靠捕杀路上遇到的动物为食。我把身上带的钱分给村民们，或把我捕杀后带在身边的动物肉留下一小部分，把余下的肉送给那些为我提供烹饪用的火种和炊具的村民们，就这样，我获得了他们的友情。
My life, as it passed thus, was indeed hateful to me, and it was during sleep alone that I could taste joy. O blessed sleep! Often, when most miserable, I sank to repose, and my dreams lulled me even to rapture. The spirits that guarded me had provided these moments, or rather hours, of happiness that I might retain strength to fulfil my pilgrimage. Deprived of this respite, I should have sunk under my hardships. During the day I was sustained and inspirited by the hope of night, for in sleep I saw my friends, my wife, and my beloved country; again I saw the benevolent countenance of my father, heard the silver tones of my Elizabeth's voice, and beheld Clerval enjoying health and youth. Often, when wearied by a toilsome march, I persuaded myself that I was dreaming until night should come and that I should then enjoy reality in the arms of my dearest friends. What agonizing fondness did I feel for them! How did I cling to their dear forms, as sometimes they haunted even my waking hours, and persuade myself that they still lived! At such moments vengeance, that burned within me, died in my heart, and I pursued my path towards the destruction of the daemon more as a task enjoined by heaven, as the mechanical impulse of some power of which I was unconscious, than as the ardent desire of my soul. What his feelings were whom I pursued I cannot know. Sometimes, indeed, he left marks in writing on the barks of the trees or cut in stone that guided me and instigated my fury. "My reign is not yet over"—these words were legible in one of these inscriptions—"you live, and my power is complete. Follow me; I seek the everlasting ices of the north, where you will feel the misery of cold and frost, to which I am impassive. You will find near this place, if you follow not too tardily, a dead hare; eat and be refreshed. Come on, my enemy; we have yet to wrestle for our lives, but many hard and miserable hours must you endure until that period shall arrive."
我所痛恨的生活就这样一天天过去，只有在睡梦中我才能体会到快乐。噢，睡觉是福气啊！我经常在最悲惨之时沉醉于梦乡，梦境能抚慰我，甚至令我欣喜若狂。那些守护我的神灵们赐给我这些片刻或数小时的幸福，使我能保持体力来完成我那漫长的复仇之旅。要不是这短暂愉快的休息，我早就在艰难困苦中屈服了。夜晚的希望在白天支撑着我、激励着我，因为在梦中我能见到我的朋友们、我的妻子和我深爱的祖国，我能再次见到父亲那慈祥的面容，听到妻子伊丽莎白银铃般的声音，看到年轻、健康的克莱瓦尔。每当厌倦长途跋涉时，我就说服自己是在做梦。等到夜幕降临之际，我就能在自己最亲爱的朋友怀里享受现实。我是多么心痛地爱着他们啊！我是多么依恋他们可爱的身影啊！有时候，甚至在我清醒的时刻，他们的灵魂会萦绕在周围，我会说服自己他们还活着！在这些时刻，我心中熊熊燃烧的复仇之火熄灭了。我追寻我那毁灭恶魔之路，这更像上天赋予我的一项任务，是某种未知的力量的机械性冲动，而非我灵魂深处的强烈渴望驱使我这样做。我不知道自己所追踪的那个恶魔的感受是什么。有时候，他的确会在树皮上刻下标记，或在石头上刻下痕迹，因此来引导我，并激起我的狂怒。“我的统治还没有结束”——在其中一处刻痕上，这句话清晰可辨——“你活着，我的力量才完整。跟着我吧，我要去那常年被冰雪覆盖的北方，在那里你会感到天寒地冻的痛苦，而我对这些毫无感觉。如果你跟踪的步伐不是很缓慢的话，你会在这个地方附近找到一只死野兔，吃了它，恢复你的精神吧。快点，我的敌人，我们还得殊死搏斗呢。但是在那一刻到来之前，你必须要忍耐许多艰难不幸的时光。”
Scoffing devil! Again do I vow vengeance; again do I devote thee, miserable fiend, to torture and death. Never will I give up my search until he or I perish; and then with what ecstasy shall I join my Elizabeth and my departed friends, who even now prepare for me the reward of my tedious toil and horrible pilgrimage!
嘲弄我的魔鬼！我再次发誓要报仇，我要竭尽全力将你这个卑鄙的恶魔折磨死。我将永不放弃追踪，除非他死或我亡。然后我会带着狂喜加入到我的伊丽莎白和那些逝去的朋友当中，他们现在都在为奖赏我那沉闷、艰辛、恐怖的朝圣之旅做准备呢！
As I still pursued my journey to the northward, the snows thickened and the cold increased in a degree almost too severe to support. The peasants were shut up in their hovels, and only a few of the most hardy ventured forth to seize the animals whom starvation had forced from their hiding-places to seek for prey. The rivers were covered with ice, and no fish could be procured; and thus I was cut off from my chief article of maintenance. The triumph of my enemy increased with the difficulty of my labours. One inscription that he left was in these words: "Prepare! Your toils only begin; wrap yourself in furs and provide food, for we shall soon enter upon a journey where your sufferings will satisfy my everlasting hatred."
当我继续向北行进时，积雪越来越厚，寒冷逐渐加剧，严寒的程度几乎使我支撑不住了。农民们都躲在家里，闭门不出。只有几个最身强力壮的人冒险外出，去捕捉那些因饥饿而被迫离开藏身之处出来觅食的野兽。河流被冰雪所覆盖，根本捕不到鱼。因此，我主要的食物供给被切断了。随着我的旅途越来越艰难，我敌人的胜利感也越来越强。他留下的一段笔迹这样写道：“准备好吧！你的艰辛刚刚开始，裹上你的皮衣，带好食物，因为我们将很快开始一段旅程，你将遭受的痛苦可以清偿我那无止境的仇恨。”
My courage and perseverance were invigorated by these scoffing words; I resolved not to fail in my purpose, and calling on heaven to support me, I continued with unabated fervour to traverse immense deserts, until the ocean appeared at a distance and formed the utmost boundary of the horizon. Oh! How unlike it was to the blue seasons of the south! Covered with ice, it was only to be distinguished from land by its superior wildness and ruggedness. The Greeks wept for joy when they beheld the Mediterranean from the hills of Asia, and hailed with rapture the boundary of their toils. I did not weep, but I knelt down and with a full heart thanked my guiding spirit for conducting me in safety to the place where I hoped, notwithstanding my adversary's gibe, to meet and grapple with him.
这些嘲讽之词反而激发了我的勇气和意志，我下决心决不放弃。我一边祈祷苍天支持我，一边急切地穿越广袤无垠的荒漠。最后，我见到了远处海天交接之处。哦！这里的海与南方蔚蓝的大海是多么不同啊！海面上覆盖着冰雪，此处与陆地的唯一区别就在于它更为荒凉、冷清。当希腊人在亚洲的山峰上眺望地中海时，他们曾流下了欣喜的泪水，他们为完成艰难跋涉而欢呼雀跃。我没有流泪，然而我跪在地上，发自肺腑地感激我的守护神，感谢他将我平安地引到我所想之处。尽管我的敌人一路嘲讽我，可我还是到了能和他决一死战的地方。
Some weeks before this period I had procured a sledge and dogs and thus traversed the snows with inconceivable speed. I know not whether the fiend possessed the same advantages, but I found that, as before I had daily lost ground in the pursuit, I now gained on him, so much so that when I first saw the ocean he was but one day's journey in advance, and I hoped to intercept him before he should reach the beach. With new courage, therefore, I pressed on, and in two days arrived at a wretched hamlet on the seashore. I inquired of the inhabitants concerning the fiend and gained accurate information. A gigantic monster, they said, had arrived the night before, armed with a gun and many pistols, putting to flight the inhabitants of a solitary cottage through fear of his terrific appearance. He had carried off their store of winter food, and placing it in a sledge, to draw which he had seized on a numerous drove of trained dogs, he had harnessed them, and the same night, to the joy of the horror-struck villagers, had pursued his journey across the sea in a direction that led to no land; and they conjectured that he must speedily be destroyed by the breaking of the ice or frozen by the eternal frosts.
几周前，我弄到了一个雪橇和几条狗，这样我就能以超乎想象的速度疾驰在雪地上了。我不晓得自己的敌人是否具有同样的便利条件，不过我发现，以前我总会被他甩下一段距离，可现在我逐渐赶上了他，离他越来越近了。因而在我初见大海时，他仅仅领先我一天的路程了。我希望能在他到达海滩之前把他截住。因而，怀着新的勇气，我继续奋力追赶。两天后，我来到了位于海边的一个破烂的小村子。我向村民们打听那个魔鬼的下落，得到了些准确的信息。他们说前一天的夜里，有个巨大的怪物来到了这里。他背着一杆长枪，还配有许多手枪。他那恐怖的样子吓跑了住在一栋孤零零的房子里的人们。他把那些居民用来过冬的食物都搬到了一个雪橇上，又抓了好几只训练有素的猎狗，并给狗套上了挽具。令村民们庆幸的是，他连夜就赶着雪橇跨海而去，而他前进的那个方向到不了任何的陆地。村民们猜测，用不了多久，他就会因冰层断裂而丧命，或是被冻死在一望无际的冰原上。
On hearing this information I suffered a temporary access of despair. He had escaped me, and I must commence a destructive and almost endless journey across the mountainous ices of the ocean, amidst cold that few of the inhabitants could long endure and which I, the native of a genial and sunny climate, could not hope to survive. Yet at the idea that the fiend should live and be triumphant, my rage and vengeance returned, and like a mighty tide, overwhelmed every other feeling. After a slight repose, during which the spirits of the dead hovered round and instigated me to toil and revenge, I prepared for my journey. I exchanged my land-sledge for one fashioned for the inequalities of the frozen ocean, and purchasing a plentiful stock of provisions, I departed from land.
听到此消息，我一时感到很绝望。他逃离了我，我必须得开始一次危机四伏、漫无止境的跋涉。我要穿越许许多多的冰川。仅有少数当地人能忍受此地的寒冷天气，而我，一个生活在阳光明媚的温暖环境的人就别指望能在严寒中活下来了。然而，一想到那个魔鬼还洋洋得意地活在世上，愤怒和复仇的情绪便再次涌上心头。这种情绪犹如一股巨浪，压倒了其他各种情感。稍作休息之后，我便开始做出发前的准备工作。此时，我好像能感觉到亡灵在我身边徘徊，激励我去奋战，去复仇。我将原来适于在陆地上使用的雪橇换成了适于在高低不平的冰冻海面上行驶的雪橇，我还买了很多食物，而后便离开了这片陆地。
I cannot guess how many days have passed since then, but I have endured misery which nothing but the eternal sentiment of a just retribution burning within my heart could have enabled me to support. Immense and rugged mountains of ice often barred up my passage, and I often heard the thunder of the ground sea, which threatened my destruction. But again the frost came and made the paths of the sea secure.
我记不得从那时到现在，究竟过去多少天了，我只知道自己历经艰险和苦难。若不是心中那熊熊燃烧着的复仇之火，我是绝不可能坚持下来的。巨大陡峭的冰山经常会挡住我的去路，我常常能听到冰层下海水发出的雷鸣般的响声，我随时都有生命危险。不过严寒再次降临，使得我在冰面上的行驶变得安全了。
By the quantity of provision which I had consumed, I should guess that I had passed three weeks in this journey; and the continual protraction of hope, returning back upon the heart, often wrung bitter drops of despondency and grief from my eyes. Despair had indeed almost secured her prey, and I should soon have sunk beneath this misery. Once, after the poor animals that conveyed me had with incredible toil gained the summit of a sloping ice mountain, and one, sinking under his fatigue, died, I viewed the expanse before me with anguish, when suddenly my eye caught a dark speck upon the dusky plain. I strained my sight to discover what it could be and uttered a wild cry of ecstasy when I distinguished a sledge and the distorted proportions of a well-known form within. Oh! With what a burning gush did hope revisit my heart! Warm tears filled my eyes, which I hastily wiped away, that they might not intercept the view I had of the daemon; but still my sight was dimmed by the burning drops, until, giving way to the emotions that oppressed me, I wept aloud.
根据我消耗的食物量，我猜测自己已经这样走了三周了。想到不知何日才能实现愿望，失望、痛苦的泪水便夺眶而出。实际上，绝望差一点要了我的命，我很快就要被痛苦压垮了。曾经有一次，那些拉雪橇的可怜小狗克服了难以置信的苦难，终于顺着冰山上的斜坡将我拖到了山顶上。其中有条小狗精疲力竭，死了。我悲伤地望着眼前一望无际的冰雪世界。突然，我发现在远方灰暗的冰原上有个小黑点。我睁大眼睛，竭力想看清楚那到底是什么。终于我辨认出那是个雪橇，雪橇上是我熟悉的扭曲身影。我惊喜万分，发出一声尖叫。哦！希望如同灼热的喷泉，再次在我的心中沸腾。我热泪盈眶，但迅速抹掉泪水，唯恐它们会模糊我的视线，令我看不见那个魔鬼的踪迹。可是，夺眶而出的热泪还是模糊了我的双眼，终于我再也无法控制自己的情绪，放声大哭起来。
But this was not the time for delay; I disencumbered the dogs of their dead companion, gave them a plentiful portion of food, and after an hour's rest, which was absolutely necessary, and yet which was bitterly irksome to me, I continued my route. The sledge was still visible, nor did I again lose sight of it except at the moments when for a short time some ice-rock concealed it with its intervening crags. I indeed perceptibly gained on it, and when, after nearly two days' journey, I beheld my enemy at no more than a mile distant, my heart bounded within me.
但此时不容耽搁，我解开那条死狗的缰绳，又让其余的狗饱餐一顿，还让它们休息了一个小时。尽管我心急如焚，但这段时间的休息却是必不可少的。然后，我继续赶路。那个雪橇仍在我视野中，除了偶尔有冰山上嶙峋的冰石挡住它的踪影。我的确明显地缩短了和他之间的距离，在将近两天之后，那个魔鬼距离我已经不到一英里了。我的心砰砰直跳。
But now, when I appeared almost within grasp of my foe, my hopes were suddenly extinguished, and I lost all trace of him more utterly than I had ever done before. A ground sea was heard; the thunder of its progress, as the waters rolled and swelled beneath me, became every moment more ominous and terrific. I pressed on, but in vain. The wind arose; the sea roared; and, as with the mighty shock of an earthquake, it split and cracked with a tremendous and overwhelming sound. The work was soon finished; in a few minutes a tumultuous sea rolled between me and my enemy, and I was left drifting on a scattered piece of ice that was continually lessening and thus preparing for me a hideous death. In this manner many appalling hours passed; several of my dogs died, and I myself was about to sink under the accumulation of distress when I saw your vessel riding at anchor and holding forth to me hopes of succour and life. I had no conception that vessels ever came so far north and was astounded at the sight. I quickly destroyed part of my sledge to construct oars, and by these means was enabled, with infinite fatigue, to move my ice raft in the direction of your ship. I had determined, if you were going southwards, still to trust myself to the mercy of the seas rather than abandon my purpose. I hoped to induce you to grant me a boat with which I could pursue my enemy. But your direction was northwards. You took me on board when my vigour was exhausted, and I should soon have sunk under my multiplied hardships into a death which I still dread, for my task is unfulfilled.
可是就在我马上要逮住我的敌人之时，我的希望突然消失了。我比以往任何时候都更加彻底地失去了他的踪迹。冰层下大海在咆哮，海水在我脚下翻滚，每一刻都变得更加不祥、可怕。我继续前行，但徒劳无功。起风了，大海在咆哮，好像发生了强烈的地震，冰层在排山倒海的巨响中断裂了。片刻间，所有的努力都白费了。几分钟后，一片波涛汹涌的大海便挡在了我和仇敌之间。我站在一块浮冰上，冰面在逐渐缩小，我等着一场灭顶之灾的降临。就这样，好多惊心动魄的时刻过去了，我的几条狗死了。就在我也要被积聚在心头的重担压垮时，我看见了你们停在海上的帆船，于是我重新燃起了活下来的希望。我从未想过能在如此遥远的北方看见船只，因而大吃一惊。我连忙从雪橇上拆下一块木板当船桨，就这样，我竭尽全力划桨，使我所在的冰筏向你们的船靠近。我已经决定，如果你们是南行的，那我宁愿在海上听天由命，也不会放弃我的目标。我希望能说服你们给我条小船，那样我就能追赶我的敌人了。但是你们是北行的。就在我精疲力尽之时，你们把我拖上了船。倘若再晚一会儿，我便会在历经艰险后死于非命了。我还不想死，因为我尚未完成使命。
Oh! When will my guiding spirit, in conducting me to the daemon, allow me the rest I so much desire; or must I die, and he yet live? If I do, swear to me, Walton, that he shall not escape, that you will seek him and satisfy my vengeance in his death. And do I dare to ask of you to undertake my pilgrimage, to endure the hardships that I have undergone? No; I am not so selfish. Yet, when I am dead, if he should appear, if the ministers of vengeance should conduct him to you, swear that he shall not live—swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes and survive to add to the list of his dark crimes. He is eloquent and persuasive, and once his words had even power over my heart; but trust him not. His soul is as hellish as his form, full of treachery and fiend-like malice. Hear him not; call on the names of William, Justine, Clerval, Elizabeth, my father, and of the wretched Victor, and thrust your sword into his heart. I will hover near and direct the steel aright.
哦！我的守护神何时能将我引到那个魔鬼面前，让我实现余生的心愿？莫非死的一定是我，而他会活下来？如果我死了，你要向我发誓，沃尔顿，你不会让他逃走，你会抓住他，会杀死他来替我报仇。我能否冒昧地请求你忍受我所经历的苦难，来完成我的神圣使命？不，我不是那么自私的。然而，在我死之后，如果他出现了，如果复仇之神将他带到你面前，你一定要发誓不让他活着离开。你绝不能让他因我的惨死而洋洋得意，继续留在世上为非作歹。他能言善辩，我就曾被他的花言巧语打动过，但是千万别信他的话。他的灵魂像他的外表一样丑陋，他阴险狡诈，像魔鬼一样邪恶。别听他的话，你一定要喊着威廉、贾斯廷、克莱瓦尔、伊丽莎白、我父亲，以及可怜的维克托的名字，用你的剑刺穿他的心窝。我的灵魂会在你身旁徘徊，助你一臂之力。
Walton, in continuation.
沃尔顿，待续
August 26th, 17—
40781
You have read this strange and terrific story, Margaret; and do you not feel your blood congeal with horror, like that which even now curdles mine? Sometimes, seized with sudden agony, he could not continue his tale; at others, his voice broken, yet piercing, uttered with difficulty the words so replete with anguish. His fine and lovely eyes were now lighted up with indignation, now subdued to downcast sorrow and quenched in infinite wretchedness. Sometimes he commanded his countenance and tones and related the most horrible incidents with a tranquil voice, suppressing every mark of agitation; then, like a volcano bursting forth, his face would suddenly change to an expression of the wildest rage as he shrieked out imprecations on his persecutor.
玛格丽特，你已经读完了这个离奇而可怕的故事。你会不会像我一样，吓得血液都凝固了呢？有时候，因为突然涌起的痛苦，他能继续讲述；其他时候，他的声音断断续续，却极具穿透力，吃力地吐出那些满是心酸的话语。他那美丽可爱的眼睛时而因愤怒而目光炯炯，时而黯然无光，流露出无尽的悲伤。有时候，他能淡定地、语调平和地、不动声色地讲述那些可怕的事情，不会流露出丝毫痛苦的痕迹。可有时候，他会表情突变，如同火山爆发，脸上写满了狂怒。与此同时，他会厉声斥责那个迫害他的怪物。
His tale is connected and told with an appearance of the simplest truth, yet I own to you that the letters of Felix and Safie, which he showed me, and the apparition of the monster seen from our ship, brought to me a greater conviction of the truth of his narrative than his asseverations, however earnest and connected. Such a monster has, then, really existence! I cannot doubt it, yet I am lost in surprise and admiration. Sometimes I endeavoured to gain from Frankenstein the particulars of his creature's formation, but on this point he was impenetrable. "Are you mad, my friend?" said he. "Or whither does your senseless curiosity lead you? Would you also create for yourself and the world a demoniacal enemy? Peace, peace! Learn my miseries and do not seek to increase your own." Frankenstein discovered that I made notes concerning his history; he asked to see them and then himself corrected and augmented them in many places, but principally in giving the life and spirit to the conversations he held with his enemy. "Since you have preserved my narration," said he, "I would not that a mutilated one should go down to posterity."
他的故事条理清晰，他就像在讲述一个事实。尽管他自称故事完全属实，并且他十分真诚，可是更令我相信这份真实性的却是他让我看了他所保存的弗利克斯和莎菲的亲笔信。此外，我们也确实曾在船上看见了那个怪物。那么，确实有这么个怪物存在！我不怀疑这一点，然而我陷入了惊讶和敬佩当中。有时候，我努力想从弗兰克斯坦那里打听一下关于他制造那个怪物的一些细节，可是他对此守口如瓶。“我的朋友，你疯了吗？”他说，“或者是你那无知的好奇心驱使了你？你也想为自己和这个世界制造出一个魔鬼般的敌人吗？平静下来吧！从我的痛苦中吸取教训吧，不要给自己增添痛苦了。”弗兰克斯坦发现了我在记录他所陈述的经历，于是要求看看这些记录，并在许多地方做了修正和补充。不过修正的主要地方是他与敌人之间的几次对话，他的修正使笔记更加真实、有内涵。“既然你已经记录了我的叙述，”他说，“我就不愿意留下一份残缺不全的记录。”
Thus has a week passed away, while I have listened to the strangest tale that ever imagination formed. My thoughts and every feeling of my soul have been drunk up by the interest for my guest which this tale and his own elevated and gentle manners have created. I wish to soothe him, yet can I counsel one so infinitely miserable, so destitute of every hope of consolation, to live? Oh, no! The only joy that he can now know will be when he composes his shattered spirit to peace and death. Yet he enjoys one comfort, the offspring of solitude and delirium; he believes that when in dreams he holds converse with his friends and derives from that communion consolation for his miseries or excitements to his vengeance, that they are not the creations of his fancy, but the beings themselves who visit him from the regions of a remote world. This faith gives a solemnity to his reveries that render them to me almost as imposing and interesting as truth.
就这样，一周的时间过去了，我听完了这个可以穷尽想象力的离奇故事。我的这位客人的离奇经历和文雅举止使我对他产生了浓厚的兴趣，我整个身心为之陶醉。我很想去安慰他，然而面对这个历经苦难、希望泯灭之人，我如何能劝他坚强地活下去呢？哦，不！他目前唯一能感受到的快乐就是平静地死去，这样他那破碎的心灵才能得到安宁。然而，他还喜欢一种慰籍，那就是独处，沉浸在孤独和梦幻中。他相信自己可以在梦幻中与亲朋好友交谈，这种交流可以使他缓解内心的苦闷，燃起复仇的愿望。他认为这些不是幻觉，而是他的亲人们从一个遥远的世界来看望他了。这个信念给他的幻觉增添了神圣的光环，使我觉得他的这些幻觉就像现实一样庄严而有趣。
Our conversations are not always confined to his own history and misfortunes. On every point of general literature he displays unbounded knowledge and a quick and piercing apprehension. His eloquence is forcible and touching; nor can I hear him, when he relates a pathetic incident or endeavours to move the passions of pity or love, without tears. What a glorious creature must he have been in the days of his prosperity, when he is thus noble and godlike in ruin! He seems to feel his own worth and the greatness of his fall.
我们的谈话并不总是局限于他本人的经历和不幸。他在科学文化的方方面面都表现出了渊博的学识和敏锐的领悟能力。他擅长雄辩，富有感染力。每当他讲述一个悲惨事件，或是试图引起听众的恻隐之心时，我总会潸然泪下。他在落魄之时尚且如此高贵，那他在意气风发之时，一定是个很了不起的人！他似乎能感受到自己的价值和失败的惨痛教训。
"When younger," said he, "I believed myself destined for some great enterprise. My feelings are profound, but I possessed a coolness of judgment that fitted me for illustrious achievements. This sentiment of the worth of my nature supported me when others would have been oppressed, for I deemed it criminal to throw away in useless grief those talents that might be useful to my fellow creatures. When I reflected on the work I had completed, no less a one than the creation of a sensitive and rational animal, I could not rank myself with the herd of common projectors. But this thought, which supported me in the commencement of my career, now serves only to plunge me lower in the dust. All my speculations and hopes are as nothing, and like the archangel who aspired to omnipotence, I am chained in an eternal hell. My imagination was vivid, yet my powers of analysis and application were intense; by the union of these qualities I conceived the idea and executed the creation of a man. Even now I cannot recollect without passion my reveries while the work was incomplete. I trod heaven in my thoughts, now exulting in my powers, now burning with the idea of their effects. From my infancy I was imbued with high hopes and a lofty ambition; but how am I sunk! Oh! My friend, if you had known me as I once was, you would not recognize me in this state of degradation. Despondency rarely visited my heart; a high destiny seemed to bear me on, until I fell, never, never again to rise." Must I then lose this admirable being? I have longed for a friend; I have sought one who would sympathize with and love me. Behold, on these desert seas I have found such a one, but I fear I have gained him only to know his value and lose him. I would reconcile him to life, but he repulses the idea.
“年轻的时候，”他说，“我相信自己注定要成就一番伟业。我感情深邃，但又具备能够成就事业的冷静判断力。因为知道自己的天性，我才能在他人觉得压抑的环境中挺过来。我认为把自己本可以造福同类的才华浪费在没有意义的哀叹上，无异于犯罪。当我回想起自己完成的那个作品，想起自己制造了一个有感知、有理性的生命，我就觉得自己绝非平庸之辈。在我事业刚起步时，这种想法是我的精神支柱，可如今它只能令我无地自容。我对未来的全部理想和希望都化为乌有，我就像一个天使长，全心渴望得到万能的力量，结果却被永远禁锢在地狱。我的想象力丰富，分析和实践能力敏锐，正因为结合了这些特质，我才会产生出造人的想法，并付诸于实践。即使现在，当回忆起未完成造人工作时的那些奇特想法，我仍激动不已。我的想象肆意驰骋，时而为自己的能量而洋洋得意，时而为能力所产生的效果热情洋溢。自孩提时代，我就怀有崇高的愿望和伟大的抱负，而今我却如此落魄。哦！我的朋友，假如你在我意气风发时认识了我，你就一定认不出我如今这副颓废的样子。那时我心中从未感到沮丧，我似乎命中注定将要飞黄腾达。直到最后我栽倒了，永远不能，永远不能再站起来了。”难道我一定要失去曾经令人倾慕的自己吗？我一直渴望有个朋友，我一直在寻找能与我惺惺相惜的挚友。看，就在这浩淼的大海上，我找到了这样的一个朋友。但是我担心在我发现他、了解他的价值之后，却又失去他。我劝他听天由命，可他排斥这个想法。
"I thank you, Walton," he said, "for your kind intentions towards so miserable a wretch; but when you speak of new ties and fresh affections, think you that any can replace those who are gone? Can any man be to me as Clerval was, or any woman another Elizabeth? Even where the affections are not strongly moved by any superior excellence, the companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain. They know our infantine dispositions, which, however they may be afterwards modified, are never eradicated; and they can judge of our actions with more certain conclusions as to the integrity of our motives. A sister or a brother can never, unless indeed such symptoms have been shown early, suspect the other of fraud or false dealing, when another friend, however strongly he may be attached, may, in spite of himself, be contemplated with suspicion. But I enjoyed friends, dear not only through habit and association, but from their own merits; and wherever I am, the soothing voice of my Elizabeth and the conversation of Clerval will be ever whispered in my ear. They are dead, and but one feeling in such a solitude can persuade me to preserve my life. If I were engaged in any high undertaking or design, fraught with extensive utility to my fellow creatures, then could I live to fulfil it. But such is not my destiny; I must pursue and destroy the being to whom I gave existence; then my lot on earth will be fulfilled and I may die."
“谢谢你，沃尔顿，”他说，“感谢你对一个不幸之人的好意。可是当你提及建立新关系、培养新感情时，你想想，谁能替代那些逝去的亲人啊？对我而言，哪个男人能比得上克莱瓦尔，哪个女人又能比得上伊丽莎白呢？即便我们之间的情感没有更深的发展，但儿时的伙伴对我们的内心总会有某种影响力，而这是我们后来所交的朋友身上所不具备的。儿时的伙伴了解我们年幼时的秉性，虽然长大之后秉性有所改变，但永远不会被消除。他们能更清楚地判断我们的行为，因为他们知道我们真实的动机。姐妹和兄弟永远不会怀疑自己的手足居心叵测，除非早就有此迹象表明出来。至于其他的朋友，无论你对他多么热爱，却都有可能被怀疑。可我还是喜欢、珍惜朋友，这不仅是因为习惯和往来，而是因为他们自身的品德。无论我身在何地，伊丽莎白那柔和的声音和克莱瓦尔的话语总会在我耳畔响起。他们已不在人世，然而在孤独中，只有一种情感能说服我活下去。假如我曾从事的是一项能够造福人类的崇高事业，那么我还能活下去完成使命。然而这并非我的命运。我必须得找到并毁掉那个我亲手制造出来的怪物，到那时我在人间的使命才得以完成，我就可以安心死去了。”
September 2nd
40788
My beloved Sister,
我亲爱的姐姐，
I write to you, encompassed by peril and ignorant whether I am ever doomed to see again dear England and the dearer friends that inhabit it. I am surrounded by mountains of ice which admit of no escape and threaten every moment to crush my vessel. The brave fellows whom I have persuaded to be my companions look towards me for aid, but I have none to bestow. There is something terribly appalling in our situation, yet my courage and hopes do not desert me. Yet it is terrible to reflect that the lives of all these men are endangered through me. If we are lost, my mad schemes are the cause.
给你写这封信时，我正身处险境。我不知道此生是否还能再次见到亲爱的英格兰和住在那里的亲朋好友。我被冰山包围着，无法脱身。船随时都有可能被冰川挤碎。曾在我的劝说下和我一起出海的勇士们此刻都用求助的目光望着我，然而我也是无计可施。我们的情况万分危急，可我并没丧失勇气和希望。可是，一想到这些人是因为我才性命堪忧，我就很难受。假如我们把命丢了，我那疯狂的计划就是罪魁祸首。
And what, Margaret, will be the state of your mind? You will not hear of my destruction, and you will anxiously await my return. Years will pass, and you will have visitings of despair and yet be tortured by hope. Oh! My beloved sister, the sickening failing of your heart-felt expectations is, in prospect, more terrible to me than my own death.
玛格丽特，你会是什么样的心情呢？你不会听到我遇难的消息，你会焦急地期盼我的归来。年复一年，你将不断地感到绝望，而又不断地被希望所折磨。哦！我亲爱的姐姐，想到你心急如焚地渴望我的归来，可又永远等不到，这比让我去死更令我感到痛苦。
But you have a husband and lovely children; you may be happy. Heaven bless you and make you so!
但是，你有丈夫和可爱的孩子们，你会幸福的。老天保佑你，赐你幸福！
My unfortunate guest regards me with the tenderest compassion. He endeavours to fill me with hope and talks as if life were a possession which he valued. He reminds me how often the same accidents have happened to other navigators who have attempted this sea, and in spite of myself, he fills me with cheerful auguries. Even the sailors feel the power of his eloquence; when he speaks, they no longer despair; he rouses their energies, and while they hear his voice they believe these vast mountains of ice are mole-hills which will vanish before the resolutions of man. These feelings are transitory; each day of expectation delayed fills them with fear, and I almost dread a mutiny caused by this despair.
我那不幸的客人给予了我最温柔的同情。他努力让我充满希望，他说话的样子就好像他自己也很珍惜生命似的。他提醒我，其他的航海家们在试图穿越这片海域时，也常常遭遇同样的事故。不经意间，他让我充满了希望。就连水手们也被他有力的演说所鼓舞，他们不再感到绝望，他唤起了他们的勇气。每当水手们听到他的声音，就会相信眼前巨大的冰山不过是鼹鼠丘，终将在人类的意志面前消失掉。这些感觉是暂时的，每天都不见起色，水手们充满了恐惧感。我几乎担心这种绝望情绪会引发哗变。
September 5th
40791
A scene has just passed of such uncommon interest that, although it is highly probable that these papers may never reach you, yet I cannot forbear recording it.
就在刚刚，极为有趣的一幕发生了。尽管这封信可能永远到不了你手中，可我还是忍不住把此事记录下来。
We are still surrounded by mountains of ice, still in imminent danger of being crushed in their conflict. The cold is excessive, and many of my unfortunate comrades have already found a grave amidst this scene of desolation. Frankenstein has daily declined in health; a feverish fire still glimmers in his eyes, but he is exhausted, and when suddenly roused to any exertion, he speedily sinks again into apparent lifelessness.
我们仍被困在冰山间，出于万分危急的状态，随时都有可能因冰山间的碰撞而被压碎。天气异常寒冷，我很多不幸的同伴已经命丧于这荒芜的冰川之上。弗兰克斯坦的身体每况愈下，而他眼中依旧闪耀着炽热的光芒。然而，他已经精疲力竭了，有时会突然有点活力，但马上又陷入死气沉沉的状态中。
I mentioned in my last letter the fears I entertained of a mutiny. This morning, as I sat watching the wan countenance of my friend—his eyes half closed and his limbs hanging listlessly—I was roused by half a dozen of the sailors, who demanded admission into the cabin. They entered, and their leader addressed me. He told me that he and his companions had been chosen by the other sailors to come in deputation to me to make me a requisition which, in justice, I could not refuse. We were immured in ice and should probably never escape, but they feared that if, as was possible, the ice should dissipate and a free passage be opened, I should be rash enough to continue my voyage and lead them into fresh dangers, after they might happily have surmounted this. They insisted, therefore, that I should engage with a solemn promise that if the vessel should be freed I would instantly direct my course southwards.
在上封信中，我提到过自己担心会发生哗变。今天早晨，我正坐在那里看着我朋友那苍白的面容——他半闭着眼睛，胳膊无力地垂下来——此时，我被五六个水手惊动了，他们要求进船舱来。他们进来后，为首的和我讲话。他告诉我他们是被其余水手派来向我提出一个请求，公平地讲，我不能拒绝这个请求。我们被困在冰山间，或许永远无法逃脱，然而他们所担心的是，一旦冰山融化，腾出一条航道（这是有可能的），我还会鲁莽地继续航行。如此一来，他们很可能刚逃过一劫便又被我引到了新的危险当中。因而，他们坚持让我做出庄严的承诺，如果我们的船一旦脱险，我就得立刻将航向转为南方。
This speech troubled me. I had not despaired, nor had I yet conceived the idea of returning if set free. Yet could I, in justice, or even in possibility, refuse this demand? I hesitated before I answered, when Frankenstein, who had at first been silent, and indeed appeared hardly to have force enough to attend, now roused himself; his eyes sparkled, and his cheeks flushed with momentary vigour. Turning towards the men, he said, "What do you mean? What do you demand of your captain? Are you, then, so easily turned from your design? Did you not call this a glorious expedition?
这番话令我感到心烦意乱。我尚未感到绝望，也没想过脱险后就返航。然而，就公平而言，我不能也不可能拒绝这个要求。我犹豫着该如何回答，就在此时，起初沉默不语、看上去无力讲话的弗兰克斯坦打起了精神，目光炯炯有神，脸颊也暂时泛起了红晕。他转向水手们，说：“你们什么意思？你们要求队长干什么？你们就这么轻易退缩了吗？你们不是曾把这称为光荣的探险吗？
"And wherefore was it glorious? Not because the way was smooth and placid as a southern sea, but because it was full of dangers and terror, because at every new incident your fortitude was to be called forth and your courage exhibited, because danger and death surrounded it, and these you were to brave and overcome. For this was it a glorious, for this was it an honourable undertaking. You were hereafter to be hailed as the benefactors of your species, your names adored as belonging to brave men who encountered death for honour and the benefit of mankind. And now, behold, with the first imagination of danger, or, if you will, the first mighty and terrific trial of your courage, you shrink away and are content to be handed down as men who had not strength enough to endure cold and peril; and so, poor souls, they were chilly and returned to their warm firesides. Why, that requires not this preparation; ye need not have come thus far and dragged your captain to the shame of a defeat merely to prove yourselves cowards. Oh! Be men, or be more than men. Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock. This ice is not made of such stuff as your hearts may be; it is mutable and cannot withstand you if you say that it shall not. Do not return to your families with the stigma of disgrace marked on your brows. Return as heroes who have fought and conquered and who know not what it is to turn their backs on the foe." He spoke this with a voice so modulated to the different feelings expressed in his speech, with an eye so full of lofty design and heroism, that can you wonder that these men were moved? They looked at one another and were unable to reply. I spoke; I told them to retire and consider of what had been said, that I would not lead them farther north if they strenuously desired the contrary, but that I hoped that, with reflection, their courage would return. They retired and I turned towards my friend, but he was sunk in languor and almost deprived of life.
“它的光荣体现在何处啊？不是因为此处的大海会像南方的海那样风平浪静，而是因为此次探险充满了危险和恐惧，因为面对每个新事故，你们都要展现出勇气，因为在航行中，处处都有危险和死亡，你们要勇敢地克服这些困难。正因此，此次航行才是光荣的，才是一项令人敬佩的事业。此后，你们才会得到人们热烈的欢迎，被誉为人类的造福者。你们的名字将被后人颂扬，你们将被尊为为人类的荣誉和利益而视死如归的勇士。现在，看，想象中的危险初次来临，或是说——如果你们愿意的话——对你们勇气的第一次严酷考验才刚开始，而你们就吓得退缩了。你们甘愿被视为一群忍受不了严寒、经不起苦难的孬种。就这样，你们那可怜的灵魂，他们瑟瑟发抖，要回到温暖的火炉边。那样的话，你们当初就不必做此次航海的准备了。你们也没必要跑到这么远的地方，让你们的队长蒙受失败的耻辱。你们此次航行只能证实你们自己是懦夫。哦！像个男人，像个男子汉。要矢志不渝，要坚若磐石。冰的构成材料和你们的心截然不同，冰是可以改变的，只要你们意志坚定，它也无法使你们屈服。返回家园时，别让你们眉宇间留下耻辱的痕迹。你们要以作战勇敢、从不畏敌的英雄身份凯旋。”他说此番话时慷慨激昂，抑扬顿挫，眼神中满是崇高的理想和英雄主义。你想想，这些水手岂能不被他的话所打动？他们面面相觑，无以作答。我说话了，我让他们去休息，并考虑一下刚才说的话。我还说如果他们坚持南行，我也不会继续带着他们北上。然而我希望他们重新考虑一下，重新鼓起勇气。水手们出去了，我转向我的朋友，然而他瘫在座椅上，几乎是气若游丝。
How all this will terminate, I know not, but I had rather die than return shamefully, my purpose unfulfilled. Yet I fear such will be my fate; the men, unsupported by ideas of glory and honour, can never willingly continue to endure their present hardships.
我也不知道这一切将如何终结，但我宁愿死去，也不愿半途而废，耻辱地返航。然而我担心这就会是我的命运，如果没有光荣和荣誉的想法支持着他们，这些水手们一定不愿意继续遭受眼下的艰难痛苦。
September 7th
40793
The die is cast; I have consented to return if we are not destroyed. Thus are my hopes blasted by cowardice and indecision; I come back ignorant and disappointed. It requires more philosophy than I possess to bear this injustice with patience.
事已至此，我同意了如果我们能脱险，就马上返航。就这样，我的希望断送在了懦弱和犹豫当中。我一无所获、万分遗憾地返回。我压根没有足够的信念接受这个不公平的现实。
September 12th
40798
It is past; I am returning to England. I have lost my hopes of utility and glory; I have lost my friend. But I will endeavour to detail these bitter circumstances to you, my dear sister; and while I am wafted towards England and towards you, I will not despond.
大势已去，我正在返回英格兰的途中。对于成果和荣誉，我已经不再抱有希望，我失去了我的朋友。可是我要尽力把这些痛苦的情况详细地告诉你。我亲爱的姐姐，既然我们的船正驶向英格兰、驶向你，我也没什么可沮丧的。
September 9th, the ice began to move, and roarings like thunder were heard at a distance as the islands split and cracked in every direction. We were in the most imminent peril, but as we could only remain passive, my chief attention was occupied by my unfortunate guest whose illness increased in such a degree that he was entirely confined to his bed. The ice cracked behind us and was driven with force towards the north; a breeze sprang from the west, and on the 11th the passage towards the south became perfectly free. When the sailors saw this and that their return to their native country was apparently assured, a shout of tumultuous joy broke from them, loud and long-continued. Frankenstein, who was dozing, awoke and asked the cause of the tumult. "They shout," I said, "because they will soon return to England."
9月9日，冰山开始移动，在很远的地方都能听见雷鸣般的轰响，冰山向四面八方崩裂开来。我们危在旦夕，可只能被动地等待。我尤其担心我那个可怜的朋友，他的病情急剧加重，以至于完全卧床不起了。冰山在我们后方崩裂，并猛烈地向北涌动。一阵微风从西方吹来。到了11日，通向南方的航道变得畅通无阻了。当水手们看到这一幕，知道肯定能回到家乡时，立刻爆发出巨大的欢呼声，声音响亮而持久。正在打盹的弗兰克斯坦被弄醒了，问我为何这么喧闹。“他们在欢呼，”我说，“因为很快就要回到英格兰了。”
"Do you, then, really return?"
“那么，你们真要回去了吗？”
"Alas! Yes; I cannot withstand their demands. I cannot lead them unwillingly to danger, and I must return."
“唉！是的。我不能拒绝他们的要求。我不能强迫他们去冒险，我必须得返航。”
"Do so, if you will; but I will not. You may give up your purpose, but mine is assigned to me by heaven, and I dare not. I am weak, but surely the spirits who assist my vengeance will endow me with sufficient strength." Saying this, he endeavoured to spring from the bed, but the exertion was too great for him; he fell back and fainted.
“如果你愿意，那就做吧。可是我不会回去的。你可以放弃你的目标，而我的目标是老天指定的，我不能违背。我身体虚弱，可是那些帮助我复仇的神灵们会赐予我足够的力量。说这番话时，他努力想从床上爬起来，可是由于用力过大，他又倒了在床上，昏过去了。
It was long before he was restored, and I often thought that life was entirely extinct. At length he opened his eyes; he breathed with difficulty and was unable to speak. The surgeon gave him a composing draught and ordered us to leave him undisturbed. In the meantime he told me that my friend had certainly not many hours to live.
过了很久，他才醒过来，我几次以为他已经完全不行了。最后，他睁开了眼睛，呼吸困难，不能说话了。医生给他用了一些镇静剂，并嘱咐我们不要打扰他。同时，医生告诉我，我的朋友显然活不过几个小时了。
His sentence was pronounced, and I could only grieve and be patient. I sat by his bed, watching him; his eyes were closed, and I thought he slept; but presently he called to me in a feeble voice, and bidding me come near, said, "Alas! The strength I relied on is gone; I feel that I shall soon die, and he, my enemy and persecutor, may still be in being. Think not, Walton, that in the last moments of my existence I feel that burning hatred and ardent desire of revenge I once expressed; but I feel myself justified in desiring the death of my adversary. During these last days I have been occupied in examining my past conduct; nor do I find it blamable. In a fit of enthusiastic madness I created a rational creature and was bound towards him to assure, as far as was in my power, his happiness and well-being.
医生已经宣判了我朋友的死期，我只能悲伤、耐心地等待。我坐在他的床边，望着他，他闭着眼睛，我以为他在睡觉。但是后来，他用微弱的声音呼唤我，让我靠近他。他说：“唉！我所依赖的力量已经耗尽了，我觉得自己很快就要死了。我的敌人，我的迫害者，也许仍活在世上。沃尔顿，你不要以为在我将死之时，我还会像过去那样，心中燃烧着复仇的怒火，急于去报仇。可是我觉得自己渴望杀死仇敌的想法是正义的。在最后的这几天里，我一直在审视自己以前的行为，我并不认为自己的复仇是应该被指责的。在疯狂的冲动下，我制造了一个有理智的生命，那么我就应该尽我所能保证他的幸福和健康。
"This was my duty, but there was another still paramount to that. My duties towards the beings of my own species had greater claims to my attention because they included a greater proportion of happiness or misery. Urged by this view, I refused, and I did right in refusing, to create a companion for the first creature. He showed unparalleled malignity and selfishness in evil; he destroyed my friends; he devoted to destruction beings who possessed exquisite sensations, happiness, and wisdom; nor do I know where this thirst for vengeance may end. Miserable himself that he may render no other wretched, he ought to die. The task of his destruction was mine, but I have failed. When actuated by selfish and vicious motives, I asked you to undertake my unfinished work, and I renew this request now, when I am only induced by reason and virtue.
“这是我的义务，可是我还有一个更为重要的义务。我的义务更多地在于关注我自己的同类，因为这将关系到更多人的幸福或痛苦。在这种观点的驱使下，我正确地拒绝了为自己造的第一个生命制造一个同伴。那个魔鬼表现出极大的邪恶与自私。他杀死了我的朋友们。他所残害的生命都是那样感性、幸福、智慧。我不知道他的复仇渴望何处终结。他自己也很惨，可他不该使他人痛苦，他应该去死。摧毁他本是我的任务，可我已经失败了。出于自私和邪恶的动机，我曾请求你完成我未竟的任务。现在我再次提出这个请求，可这次完全是出于理智和善意。
"Yet I cannot ask you to renounce your country and friends to fulfil this task; and now that you are returning to England, you will have little chance of meeting with him. But the consideration of these points, and the well balancing of what you may esteem your duties, I leave to you; my judgment and ideas are already disturbed by the near approach of death. I dare not ask you to do what I think right, for I may still be misled by passion.
“我不能要求你放弃自己的祖国和朋友去完成这个任务。现在，既然你们要回英格兰了，就不大有可能会遇见那个魔鬼了。但是如何看待这些问题，如何很好地权衡你的职责，我就留给你自己思考了。死亡的逼近已经干扰了我的判断力和思想。我不敢要求你去做我认为正确的事情，因为我仍有可能是被激情所误导。
"That he should live to be an instrument of mischief disturbs me; in other respects, this hour, when I momentarily expect my release, is the only happy one which I have enjoyed for several years. The forms of the beloved dead flit before me, and I hasten to their arms. Farewell, Walton! Seek happiness in tranquillity and avoid ambition, even if it be only the apparently innocent one of distinguishing yourself in science and discoveries. Yet why do I say this? I have myself been blasted in these hopes, yet another may succeed."
“令我不安的是，那个魔鬼还活在世上，他是个给别人带来痛苦的刽子手。此外，就在此刻——当我等待着随时会降临的解脱时——是我多年来唯一享受过的幸福时光。逝去的亲人们的身影在我眼前飘飞，我急于扑向他们的怀抱。别了，沃尔顿！在平静的生活中寻找幸福吧，不要有雄心抱负。即便是那些看起来无害的、想在科学发现中大展拳脚的抱负也一定要避免。然而，我为何说这个呢？我本人就是毁在这些抱负上的，然而会有人步我后尘的。”
His voice became fainter as he spoke, and at length, exhausted by his effort, he sank into silence. About half an hour afterwards he attempted again to speak but was unable; he pressed my hand feebly, and his eyes closed forever, while the irradiation of a gentle smile passed away from his lips.
他的声音变得微弱，最后他耗尽了力气，陷入了沉默。大约半个小时之后，他努力想说话，但是却不能了。他无力地按着我的手，永远闭上了眼睛，此时他的嘴角流露出一丝温柔的微笑。
Margaret, what comment can I make on the untimely extinction of this glorious spirit? What can I say that will enable you to understand the depth of my sorrow? All that I should express would be inadequate and feeble. My tears flow; my mind is overshadowed by a cloud of disappointment. But I journey towards England, and I may there find consolation.
玛格丽特，关于这个伟大的生命的陨落，我还能说些什么呢？我要怎么说才能让你明白我的悲痛有多么深？我所有的表达都会是贫乏而无力的。我流泪了，失望的阴云笼罩着我的大脑。不过我正驶向英格兰，在那里，我也许能得到安慰。
I am interrupted. What do these sounds portend? It is midnight; the breeze blows fairly, and the watch on deck scarcely stir. Again there is a sound as of a human voice, but hoarser; it comes from the cabin where the remains of Frankenstein still lie. I must arise and examine. Good night, my sister.
我被打断了。附近什么声音？现在已经是半夜了，微风习习，甲板上瞭望的水手也不爱动弹了。好像有人的声音传来，只是更沙哑些。声音来自停放弗兰克斯坦尸体的船舱。我必须要起身去查看一下。晚安，我的姐姐。
Great God! what a scene has just taken place! I am yet dizzy with the remembrance of it. I hardly know whether I shall have the power to detail it; yet the tale which I have recorded would be incomplete without this final and wonderful catastrophe. I entered the cabin where lay the remains of my ill-fated and admirable friend. Over him hung a form which I cannot find words to describe—gigantic in stature, yet uncouth and distorted in its proportions. As he hung over the coffin, his face was concealed by long locks of ragged hair; but one vast hand was extended, in colour and apparent texture like that of a mummy. When he heard the sound of my approach, he ceased to utter exclamations of grief and horror and sprung towards the window. Never did I behold a vision so horrible as his face, of such loathsome yet appalling hideousness. I shut my eyes involuntarily and endeavoured to recollect what were my duties with regard to this destroyer. I called on him to stay.
上帝啊！刚刚发生了怎样的一幕啊！现在回想起来，我还感到眩晕。我几乎不知道自己是否有力量详细描述那一幕，但是如果不记录这最终的悲怆结局，我所记录的故事就不是完整的。我走进停放着我那个命运多舛、令人敬佩的朋友遗体的船舱。一个家伙伏在他的遗体上，我无法用语言来描述那个家伙——他体形庞大，但很笨拙，身体各部分比例失调。他伏在棺材上，乱蓬蓬的头发遮住了他的脸，他伸出宽大的手掌，手的颜色和肤质就像一个木乃伊。听到我走近的声音，他停止了悲痛、恐怖的哀嚎，奔向窗口。我从未见过像他那样恐怖的脸，如此令人厌恶，而且可怕、丑陋。我不由自主地闭上眼睛，努力思考自己该如何履行义务，对付这个毁灭者。我把他叫住了。
He paused, looking on me with wonder, and again turning towards the lifeless form of his creator, he seemed to forget my presence, and every feature and gesture seemed instigated by the wildest rage of some uncontrollable passion.
他停下来，好奇地望着我，而后转向他制造者的了无生气的躯体。他似乎忘记了我的存在，他的表情和举动似乎都流露出一种无法抑制的狂野和激动。
"That is also my victim!" he exclaimed. "In his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close! Oh, Frankenstein! Generous and self-devoted being! What does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I, who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst. Alas! He is cold, he cannot answer me.” His voice seemed suffocated, and my first impulses, which had suggested to me the duty of obeying the dying request of my friend in destroying his enemy, were now suspended by a mixture of curiosity and compassion. I approached this tremendous being; I dared not again raise my eyes to his face, there was something so scaring and unearthly in his ugliness. I attempted to speak, but the words died away on my lips. The monster continued to utter wild and incoherent self-reproaches. At length I gathered resolution to address him in a pause of the tempest of his passion.
“这也是我害死的！”他大喊道，“我害死了他，我的罪恶也终结了，我那悲惨的一生也该结束了！哦，弗兰克斯坦！慷慨的、无私奉献的人！我现在乞求你的宽恕，又有何用呢？是我害死了你全部至亲至爱的人，以致于毁掉了你。天啊！他的身体凉了，他不能回答我了。”他听上去声音哽咽，刚才见到他时，我第一个冲动就是完成朋友的临终嘱托——毁掉他的敌人。但是现在，好奇心和怜悯之心使我暂时搁置了这个想法。我走近这个巨大的家伙，不敢再抬眼看他的脸。他的丑陋中有某些非常可怕和超自然的东西。我努力想说点什么，可是难以启齿。那个怪物继续疯狂地、语无伦次地自责着。最后，当他最为狂暴的情绪得以缓和时，我鼓起勇气和他讲话。
"Your repentance," I said, "is now superfluous. If you had listened to the voice of conscience and heeded the stings of remorse before you had urged your diabolical vengeance to this extremity, Frankenstein would yet have lived."
我说：“你的忏悔是多余的。假如你当初在进行惨绝人寰的报复行动前能听听自己良心的呼唤，想到后悔时的痛苦，那么弗兰克斯坦现在还会活着。”
"And do you dream?" said the daemon. "Do you think that I was then dead to agony and remorse? He," he continued, pointing to the corpse, "he suffered not in the consummation of the deed. Oh! Not the ten-thousandth portion of the anguish that was mine during the lingering detail of its execution. A frightful selfishness hurried me on, while my heart was poisoned with remorse. Think you that the groans of Clerval were music to my ears? My heart was fashioned to be susceptible of love and sympathy, and when wrenched by misery to vice and hatred, it did not endure the violence of the change without torture such as you cannot even imagine.
“你在说梦话吗？”恶魔说，“你以为我当时就毫无痛苦和悔意吗？他，”恶魔指着尸体继续说道，“他临终时并未受到什么折磨。哦！他所遭受的痛苦还不及我报复他时所承受的痛苦的千分之一。我被一种可怕的自私感所驱使着，与此同时我的内心饱受悔恨之痛。莫非你以为克莱瓦尔的呻吟声让我觉得悦耳吗？我本性中充满了爱心和同情，但苦难和不幸使我心肠变硬、充满仇恨。然而我的良知却无法承受这种变化的折磨，这种痛苦甚至超出你的想象。
"After the murder of Clerval I returned to Switzerland, heart-broken and overcome. I pitied Frankenstein; my pity amounted to horror; I abhorred myself. But when I discovered that he, the author at once of my existence and of its unspeakable torments, dared to hope for happiness, that while he accumulated wretchedness and despair upon me he sought his own enjoyment in feelings and passions from the indulgence of which I was forever barred, then impotent envy and bitter indignation filled me with an insatiable thirst for vengeance. I recollected my threat and resolved that it should be accomplished. I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture, but I was the slave, not the master, of an impulse which I detested yet could not disobey. Yet when she died! Nay, then I was not miserable. I had cast off all feeling, subdued all anguish, to riot in the excess of my despair. Evil thenceforth became my good. Urged thus far, I had no choice but to adapt my nature to an element which I had willingly chosen. The completion of my demoniacal design became an insatiable passion. And now it is ended; there is my last victim!”
“杀害了克莱瓦尔之后，心碎而痛苦的我回到了瑞士。我同情过弗兰克斯坦，我的同情心演变为恐惧，我憎恨自己。但是我发现他——这个既给予了我生命、又给了我难以言表的痛苦之人——居然还渴望获得幸福。他不断在我身上堆积绝望和痛苦，可他自己却要在幸福生活中寻找感情和激情。那种幸福生活是我永远都享受不到的。当我发现这些时，便全身心地充满了嫉妒和痛苦的失望，心中再次激起复仇的渴望。我回想起自己的恐吓之词，决定将其付诸于实际。我知道给自己准备的是致命的痛苦折磨，可我是冲动的奴隶，而非主人。我厌恶冲动，可我不能不服从冲动。然而，当她死了的时候！不，我不曾痛苦。我已经摒弃了全部的情感，抑制了一切苦恼，在极度的绝望中放纵着。于是，邪恶被我视为善良。就这样，我陷得太深了，我没有选择，只能调整自己的本性去适应我心甘情愿所选择的事情。完成我那邪恶的计划成了我贪得无厌的欲望。如今，一切都结束了，这就是我最后的牺牲品！”
I was at first touched by the expressions of his misery; yet, when I called to mind what Frankenstein had said of his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I again cast my eyes on the lifeless form of my friend, indignation was rekindled within me. "Wretch!" I said. "It is well that you come here to whine over the desolation that you have made. You throw a torch into a pile of buildings, and when they are consumed, you sit among the ruins and lament the fall. Hypocritical fiend! If he whom you mourn still lived, still would he be the object, again would he become the prey, of your accursed vengeance. It is not pity that you feel; you lament only because the victim of your malignity is withdrawn from your power."
起初，他那番痛苦的表白打动了我。然而我想起弗兰克斯坦曾说过，他善于诡辩和花言巧语。当我再次看到我朋友那冰冷的遗体时，我不禁怒火中烧。“恶棍！”我说，“你明明害得他家破人亡，却跑到这里假仁假义。你自己点着了一片房子，可是当房子烧光后，你却坐在废墟上悲叹房子的倒塌。虚伪的魔鬼！假如你正哀悼的人还活着，他依旧会是你报复的对象，会再次成为你残害的目标。你感觉到的不是怜悯，你悲叹仅仅是因为被你淫威所折磨的受害者逃离了你的魔爪。”
"Oh, it is not thus—not thus," interrupted the being. "Yet such must be the impression conveyed to you by what appears to be the purport of my actions. Yet I seek not a fellow feeling in my misery. No sympathy may I ever find. When I first sought it, it was the love of virtue, the feelings of happiness and affection with which my whole being overflowed, that I wished to be participated. But now that virtue has become to me a shadow, and that happiness and affection are turned into bitter and loathing despair, in what should I seek for sympathy? I am content to suffer alone while my sufferings shall endure; when I die, I am well satisfied that abhorrence and opprobrium should load my memory. Once my fancy was soothed with dreams of virtue, of fame, and of enjoyment. Once I falsely hoped to meet with beings who, pardoning my outward form, would love me for the excellent qualities which I was capable of unfolding. I was nourished with high thoughts of honour and devotion. But now crime has degraded me beneath the meanest animal. No guilt, no mischief, no malignity, no misery, can be found comparable to mine. When I run over the frightful catalogue of my sins, I cannot believe that I am the same creature whose thoughts were once filled with sublime and transcendent visions of the beauty and the majesty of goodness. But it is even so; the fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.
“哦，不是这样的，不是这样的。”那家伙打断了我的话，“是我过去的所作所为给你留下了我居心叵测的印象而已。然而我并不寻求他们对我痛苦的体谅。我从未想博得同情。当最初我追求这些时，我热爱美德，而且向往幸福和感情，也渴望他人能对我产生这种美好情感。但如今，这种美德对我而言成了泡影，幸福和感情变成了痛苦和可恨的绝望。我靠什么来博得同情呢？痛苦来临时，我愿独自承受。等我死的时候，我会很满意，因为我的记忆中充斥着仇恨与蔑视。我曾幻想过美德、名誉和欢乐，这份憧憬曾抚慰过我的心灵。我曾一度错误地希望遇见那些不介意我外表的人，他们会因我所能展现出来的高尚品德而喜爱我。我曾心中满是崇高的荣誉感和奉献感。可如今，我作恶多端，禽兽不如。我所犯的滔天罪行，我的心肠之歹毒，我所遭受的痛苦，无人能比。当我的脑中闪现出自己的那些罪行时，我不能相信自己就是那个曾经追求高尚品德、向往善良的人。然而，这就是现实，堕落的天使变成了恶魔。然而，即便是上帝和人类的敌人也会有些朋友陪伴其左右，使其免受孤苦，可我却孑然一身。
"You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seem to have a knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes. But in the detail which he gave you of them he could not sum up the hours and months of misery which I endured wasting in impotent passions. For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; still I desired love and fellowship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from his door with contumely? Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the saviour of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings! I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice.
“你，自称是弗兰克斯坦的朋友，而且似乎也了解我的罪行和他的不幸。可是，在他所告诉你的那些细节中，不可能提及我在难熬的激情中所虚度的悲惨时光。因为我毁掉了他的希望，我自己的希望也没得到满足。我的希望永远强烈和热切，我依然渴望爱情和友情，我仍被抛弃。这里就没有不公正的成分吗？凭什么我被视为唯一的罪犯，所有的人都将恶行指向我？弗利克斯粗暴地将他的朋友赶出家门，你们怎么不恨他呢？那个乡巴佬差点就害死了他孩子的救命恩人，你们为何不诅咒他？你们不会那样做，这些都是所谓高尚纯洁的人！我，一个可怜的、被抛弃的家伙注定要遭受歧视、殴打和践踏。即便现在，一想起这不公正的待遇，我还会热血沸腾。
"But it is true that I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; I have strangled the innocent as they slept and grasped to death his throat who never injured me or any other living thing. I have devoted my creator, the select specimen of all that is worthy of love and admiration among men, to misery; I have pursued him even to that irremediable ruin.
“不过，我的确是个恶棍。我杀害了可爱的、无辜的人。他们从未伤害过我，也从未伤害过他人，可是在他们熟睡时，我卡住他们的脖子，掐死了他们。制造我的人是人类中的精英，受人尊敬和爱慕，而我不断地给他制造惨剧，以致于将他逼入万劫不复中。
"There he lies, white and cold in death. You hate me, but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself. I look on the hands which executed the deed; I think on the heart in which the imagination of it was conceived and long for the moment when these hands will meet my eyes, when that imagination will haunt my thoughts no more.
“他现在躺在那里，苍白、冰冷、死气沉沉。你恨我，可你的憎恨根本比不上我对自己的厌恶。我看着这双沾满罪恶的手，想着有朝一日，自己再也不会看见这双罪恶的手，那时我的心中也不会再常常冒出邪念。
"Fear not that I shall be the instrument of future mischief. My work is nearly complete. Neither yours nor any man's death is needed to consummate the series of my being and accomplish that which must be done, but it requires my own. Do not think that I shall be slow to perform this sacrifice. I shall quit your vessel on the ice raft which brought me thither and shall seek the most northern extremity of the globe; I shall collect my funeral pile and consume to ashes this miserable frame, that its remains may afford no light to any curious and unhallowed wretch who would create such another as I have been. I shall die. I shall no longer feel the agonies which now consume me or be the prey of feelings unsatisfied, yet unquenched. He is dead who called me into being; and when I shall be no more, the very remembrance of us both will speedily vanish. I shall no longer see the sun or stars or feel the winds play on my cheeks.
“不用担心我将来是否还会为非作歹。我的任务将近尾声了。只要我完成必须要做的事情，就可以终结自己的一生了，我并不需要你或其他任何人的性命。不要以为我会犹豫不决，不敢去死。我将离开你的船，坐上我的冰筏，去地球上最北的地方。我会架起自焚用的柴堆，将我这丑陋的躯体付之一炬，以免自己的遗体给任何好奇的、邪恶的歹人留下蛛丝马迹，使他们会再造出一个像我一样的怪物。我会去死。我将不再感到此时此刻正在吞噬着我的那些痛苦，我也不再为那些永远也得不到、永远也不消失的情感所困扰。我的制造者已经死了，当我也死了的时候，有关我们俩的所有记忆都会迅速消失。我将再也看不见太阳或星星，再也感受不到微风拂面。
"Light, feeling, and sense will pass away; and in this condition must I find my happiness. Some years ago, when the images which this world affords first opened upon me, when I felt the cheering warmth of summer and heard the rustling of the leaves and the warbling of the birds, and these were all to me, I should have wept to die; now it is my only consolation. Polluted by crimes and torn by the bitterest remorse, where can I find rest but in death?
“视觉、触觉，所有的感知都会消失。在这种状态下，我一定会找到我的幸福。几年前，当这个世界初现在我眼前时，我感受到了夏日令人愉悦的暖意，听见了树叶沙沙作响和鸟儿欢快地歌唱，这些就是我的全部世界。那时如果要我死去的话，我一定会哭泣的。而如今死是我唯一的解脱。我身染重罪，被最痛苦的悔恨所折磨，除了死亡，我还能在何处找到安宁呢？
"Farewell! I leave you, and in you the last of humankind whom these eyes will ever behold. Farewell, Frankenstein! If thou wert yet alive and yet cherished a desire of revenge against me, it would be better satiated in my life than in my destruction. But it was not so; thou didst seek my extinction, that I might not cause greater wretchedness; and if yet, in some mode unknown to me, thou hadst not ceased to think and feel, thou wouldst not desire against me a vengeance greater than that which I feel. Blasted as thou wert, my agony was still superior to thine, for the bitter sting of remorse will not cease to rankle in my wounds until death shall close them forever.
再见！我要离你而去了，你是我见到的最后一个人。再见了，弗兰克斯坦！如果你还活着，你依然会怀有向我报仇的愿望，以置我于死地为快乐。可事实并非如此。你竭力想毁灭我，怕我会造出更大的麻烦。然而，我也不知道出于什么原因，你并未停下来去想想：向我报复所带给你的快乐比不上我所体会到的复仇之快。虽然你已经死了，我的痛苦却比你的深，因为悔恨将永远刺痛我的伤口，唯有死亡能将其永远弥合。
"But soon," he cried with sad and solemn enthusiasm, "I shall die, and what I now feel be no longer felt. Soon these burning miseries will be extinct. I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly and exult in the agony of the torturing flames. The light of that conflagration will fade away; my ashes will be swept into the sea by the winds. My spirit will sleep in peace, or if it thinks, it will not surely think thus. Farewell."
“但是很快，”他带着悲伤和庄重的激情大喊道，“我就要死了，我再也没有如今的感受了。”很快，这些令我焦心的痛苦就会消失殆尽。我将成功地登上自焚的火堆，沉醉于烈焰所带来的痛苦中。那熊熊火光终将消失，我的骨灰将被风吹进大海。我的灵魂将永远安息，假如我的灵魂那时还在思考，它也一定不会想这些了。再见了。”
He sprang from the cabin window as he said this, upon the ice raft which lay close to the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.
他说完就从船舱窗户跳了出去，跳到了紧挨船边的冰筏上。他瞬间就被海浪带走了，消失在无尽的黑夜中。