Part 4 Book 8 Chapter 2 The Bewilderment of Perfect Happiness

They existed vaguely¹, frightened at their happiness. They did not notice the cholera² which decimated Paris precisely³ during that very month. They had confided⁴ in each other as far as possible, but this had not extended much further than their names. Marius had told Cosette that he was an orphan⁵, that his name was Marius Pontmercy, that he was a lawyer, that he lived by writing things for publishers, that his father had been a colonel, that the latter had been a hero, and that he, Marius, was on bad terms with his grandfather who was rich. He had also hinted at being a baron⁶, but this had produced no effect on Cosette. She did not know the meaning of the word. Marius was Marius. On her side, she had confided to him that she had been brought up at the Petit-Picpus convent, that her mother, like his own, was dead, that her father's name was M. Fauchelevent, that he was very good, that he gave a great deal to the poor, but that he was poor himself, and that he denied himself everything though he denied her nothing.

Strange to say, in the sort of symphony which Marius had lived since he had been in the habit of seeing Cosette, the past, even the most recent past, had become so confused and distant to him, that what Cosette told him satisfied him completely. It did not even occur to him to tell her about the nocturnal adventure in the hovel, about Thenardier, about the burn, and about the strange attitude and singular flight of her father. Marius had momentarily forgotten all this; in the evening he did not even know that there had been a morning, what he had done,where he had breakfasted, nor who had spoken to him; he had songs in his ears which rendered him deaf to every other thought; he only existed at the hours when he saw Cosette. Then, as he was in heaven, it was quite natural that he should forget earth. Both bore languidly the indefinable burden of immaterial pleasures. Thus lived these somnambulists who are called lovers.

Alas⁷! Who is there who has not felt all these things? Why does there come an hour when one emerges from this azure⁸, and why does life go on afterwards?

Loving almost takes the place of thinking. Love is an ardent⁹ forgetfulness of all the rest. Then ask logic¹⁰ of passion if you will. There is no more absolute logical sequence in the human heart than there is a perfect geometrical figure in the celestial¹¹ mechanism¹². For Cosette and Marius nothing existed except Marius and Cosette. The universe around them had fallen into a hole. They lived in a golden minute. There was nothing before them, nothing behind. It hardly occurred to Marius that Cosette had a father. His brain was dazzled and obliterated¹³. Of what did these lovers talk then? We have seen, of the flowers, and the swallows, the setting sun and the rising moon, and all sorts of important things. They had told each other everything except everything. The everything of lovers is nothing. But the father, the realities, that lair¹⁴, the ruffians, that adventure, to what purpose? And was he very sure that this nightmare had actually existed? They were two, and they adored each other, and beyond that there was nothing. Nothing else existed. It is probable that this vanishing of hell in our rear is inherent to the arrival of paradise. Have we beheld¹⁵ demons¹⁶? Are there any? Have we trembled? Have we suffered? We no longer know. A rosy¹⁷ cloud hangs over it.

So these two beings lived in this manner, high aloft, with all that improbability which is in nature; neither at the nadir¹⁸ nor at the zenith, between man and seraphim¹⁹, above the mire²⁰, below the ether, in the clouds; hardly flesh and blood, soul and ecstasy²¹ from head to foot; already too sublime²² to walk the earth, still too heavily charged with humanity to disappear in the blue, suspended like atoms which are waiting to be precipitated²³; apparently²⁴ beyond the bounds of destiny; ignorant of that rut; yesterday, to-day, to-morrow; amazed, rapturous, floating, soaring; at times so light that they could take their flight out into the infinite; almost prepared to soar away to all eternity²⁵. They slept wide-awake, thus sweetly lulled²⁶. Oh! splendid lethargy of the real overwhelmed by the ideal.

Sometimes, beautiful as Cosette was, Marius shut his eyes in her presence. The best way to look at the soul is through closed eyes.

Marius and Cosette never asked themselves whither this was to lead them. They considered that they had already arrived. It is a strange claim on man's part to wish that love should lead to something.

他们被幸福冲昏了头脑，在稀里胡涂地过日子。那个月里，霍乱正在巴黎流行，死亡惨重，他们全不在意。他们互相倾诉衷情，尽量使对方了解自己，而这一切从来没有远离各自的身世。马吕斯告诉珂赛特，说他是孤儿，他叫马吕斯·彭眉胥，他是律师，靠替几个书店编写资料过活，他父亲当初是个上校，是个英雄，而他，马吕斯，却和他那有钱的外祖父闹翻了。他也多少谈了一下他是男爵；但是这对珂赛特一点也没发生影响。马吕斯男爵？她没有听懂。她不知道那是什么意思。马吕斯就是马吕斯。从她那方面，她向他说她是在小比克布斯修院里长大的，她的母亲，和他的一样，已经死了，她的父亲叫割风先生，还说他为人非常之好，他大量周济穷人，而他自己并没有钱，他节省自己的费用，却要保证她什么也不缺。

说也奇怪，马吕斯自从遇见了珂赛特以后，在他所过的那种交响音乐似的生活中，过去的事，甚至是过去不久的事，对他来说都已变得那样模糊遥远，以致珂赛特对他谈的一切完全可以满足他。他甚至没有想到要把那天夜晚在德纳第穷窟里发生的事，他父亲怎样烧伤自己的胳膊，他那奇怪的态度，机灵的脱险等等经过说给她听。马吕斯一时把那些全忘了，他甚至一到天黑，便想不起自己在上午干了些什么，是在什么地方吃的午饭，有谁和他说过话，他耳朵里经常有歌声，使他接触不到任何其他思想，他只是在看见珂赛特时才活过来。因此，他既是生活在天堂里，当然想不起尘世的事了。他俩昏昏沉沉地承受着这种非物质的快感的无限重压。这两个所谓情人的梦游病患者便是这样过活的。

唉！谁又没有经受过这一切考验？为什么好事总会多磨？

为什么以后生命还要延续下去？

爱几乎取代思想：爱是健忘的，它使人忘掉一切。你去同狂热的爱情谈逻辑吧。人心中的绝对逻辑联系并不多于宇宙机构中的规则几何形。对珂赛特和马吕斯来说，世上除了马吕斯和珂赛特以外，便不再有旁的什么了。他们周围的宇宙已落到一个洞里去了。他们生活在黄金的片刻里。前面无所有，后面也无所有。马吕斯几乎没有想过珂赛特有个父亲。在他的脑子里，只是一片耀眼的彩光，把什么都遮没了。这一对情人谈了些什么呢？我们已经知道，谈花、燕子、落山的太阳、初升的月亮，所有这一类重要的东西。他们什么都谈到了，什么也没有谈到。情人的一切，是一切皆空。那个父亲、那些真人真事、那个穷窟，那些绑匪、那种惊险事，这有什么可谈的？那种恶梦似情景，是真有过的吗？他们是两个人，他们彼此相爱，这已是一切了。其他全是不存在的。也许是这样：地狱在我们背后的陷落原是和进入天堂连在一起的。谁看见过魔鬼呀？真有魔鬼吗？真有人发过抖吗？确有人受过苦吗？什么全不知道了。在那上面，只有一朵玫瑰色的彩云。

那两个人便是这样过活的，高洁绝伦，世上少有，他们既不在天底点，也不在天顶点，是在人与高级天使之间，在污泥之上，清霄之下，云雾之中；几乎没有了骨和肉，从头到脚全是灵魂和憧憬；着地已感固体太少，升空又嫌人味太重，仿佛是在原子将落未落的悬浮状态中；看来已超越于生死之外，不知有昨日、今日、明日这样乏味的轮转，陶陶然，醺醺然，飘飘然，有时，轻盈得可以一举升入太虚，几乎能够一去不复返。

他们便这样睁着眼睛沉睡在温柔乡中。呵，现实被幻想麻醉了的绝妙昏睡症！

有时，尽管珂赛特是那样美，马吕斯却在她跟前闭上了眼睛。闭眼是观望灵魂的最好方法。

马吕斯和珂赛特都不曾想过这样将把他们引向什么地方，他们认为这便是他们最后归宿了。想要爱情把人导向某处，那是人们的一种奇怪的奢望。

1 vaguely   

adv.含糊地，暖昧地

参考例句：

• He had talked vaguely of going to work abroad.他含糊其词地说了到国外工作的事。
• He looked vaguely before him with unseeing eyes.他迷迷糊糊的望着前面，对一切都视而不见。

2 cholera   

n.霍乱

参考例句：

• The cholera outbreak has been contained.霍乱的发生已被控制住了。
• Cholera spread like wildfire through the camps.霍乱在营地里迅速传播。

3 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

4 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

6 baron   

n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王

参考例句：

• Henry Ford was an automobile baron.亨利·福特是一位汽车业巨头。
• The baron lived in a strong castle.男爵住在一座坚固的城堡中。

7 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

8 azure   

adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的

参考例句：

• His eyes are azure.他的眼睛是天蓝色的。
• The sun shone out of a clear azure sky.清朗蔚蓝的天空中阳光明媚。

9 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

10 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。

11 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

12 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

13 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 lair   

n.野兽的巢穴；躲藏处

参考例句：

• How can you catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's lair?不入虎穴，焉得虎子？
• I retired to my lair,and wrote some letters.我回到自己的躲藏处，写了几封信。

15 beheld   

v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

16 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

18 nadir   

n.最低点，无底

参考例句：

• This failure was the nadir of her career.这次失败是她事业上的低谷。
• The demand for this product will reach its nadir within two years.对此产品的需求在两年内将达到最低点。

19 seraphim   

n.六翼天使(seraph的复数)；六翼天使( seraph的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Seraphim were first discovered during a deep space exploration mission. 最初的天使时发现一深空探测任务。 来自互联网
• The home seraphim: preservation and advancement of the home. 家园炽天使：保存家园，为家园兴旺与进步努力。 来自互联网

20 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

21 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

22 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

23 precipitated   

v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀

参考例句：

• His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis. 他的辞职立即引发了领导层的危机。
• He lost his footing and was precipitated to the ground. 他失足摔倒在地上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

25 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。

26 lulled   

vt.使镇静，使安静（lull的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• They lulled her into a false sense of security. 他们哄骗她，使她产生一种虚假的安全感。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The movement of the train lulled me to sleep. 火车轻微的震动催我进入梦乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》