WE all felt a little uneasy in the thick darkness, so we pressed close to one another and said nothing. Before long Grisha arrived with his soft tread, carrying in one hand his staff and in the other a tallow candle set in a brass1 candlestick. We scarcely ventured to breathe.
"Our Lord Jesus Christ! Holy Mother of God! Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!" he kept repeating, with the different intonations2 and abbreviations which gradually become peculiar3 to persons who are accustomed to pronounce the words with great frequency.
Still praying, he placed his staff in a corner and looked at the bed; after which he began to undress. Unfastening his old black girdle, he slowly divested4 himself of his torn nankeen kaftan, and deposited it carefully on the back of a chair. His face had now lost its usual disquietude and idiocy5. On the contrary, it had in it something restful, thoughtful, and even grand, while all his movements were deliberate and intelligent.
Next, he lay down quietly in his shirt on the bed, made the sign of the cross towards every side of him, and adjusted his chains beneath his shirt--an operation which, as we could see from his face, occasioned him considerable pain. Then he sat up again, looked gravely at his ragged6 shirt, and rising and taking the candle, lifted the latter towards the shrine7 where the images of the saints stood. That done, he made the sign of the cross again, and turned the candle upside down, when it went out with a hissing8 noise.
Through the window (which overlooked the wood) the moon (nearly full) was shining in such a way that one side of the tall white figure of the idiot stood out in the pale, silvery moonlight, while the other side was lost in the dark shadow which covered the floor, walls, and ceiling. In the courtyard the watchman was tapping at intervals9 upon his brass alarm plate. For a while Grisha stood silently before the images and, with his large hands pressed to his breast and his head bent10 forward, gave occasional sighs. Then with difficulty he knelt down and began to pray.
At first he repeated some well-known prayers, and only accented a word here and there. Next, he repeated thee same prayers, but louder and with increased accentuation. Lastly he repeated them again and with even greater emphasis, as well as with an evident effort to pronounce them in the old Slavonic Church dialect. Though disconnected, his prayers were very touching11. He prayed for all his benefactors12 (so he called every one who had received him hospitably), with, among them, Mamma and ourselves. Next he prayed for himself, and besought13 God to forgive him his sins, at the same time repeating, "God forgive also my enemies!" Then, moaning with the effort, he rose from his knees--only to fall to the floor again and repeat his phrases afresh. At last he regained14 his feet, despite the weight of the chains, which rattled15 loudly whenever they struck the floor.
Woloda pinched me rudely in the leg, but I took no notice of that (except that I involuntarily touched the place with my hand), as I observed with a feeling of childish astonishment16, pity, and respect the words and gestures of Grisha. Instead of the laughter and amusement which I had expected on entering the store-room, I felt my heart beating and overcome.
Grisha continued for some time in this state of religious ecstasy17 as he improvised18 prayers and repeated again and yet again, "Lord,
have mercy upon me!" Each time that he said, "Pardon me, Lord, and teach me to do what Thou wouldst have done," he pronounced the words with added earnestness and emphasis, as though he expected an immediate19 answer to his petition, and then fell to sobbing20 and moaning once more. Finally, he went down on his knees again, folded his arms upon his breast, and remained silent. I ventured to put my head round the door (holding my breath as I did so), but Grisha still made no movement except for the heavy sighs which heaved his breast. In the moonlight I could see a tear glistening21 on the white patch of his blind eye.
"Yes, Thy will be done!" he exclaimed suddenly, with an expression which I cannot describe, as, prostrating22 himself with his forehead on the floor, he fell to sobbing like a child.
Much sand has run out since then, many recollections of the past have faded from my memory or become blurred23 in indistinct visions, and poor Grisha himself has long since reached the end of his pilgrimage; but the impression which he produced upon me, and the feelings which he aroused in my breast, will never leave my mind. O truly Christian24 Grisha, your faith was so strong that you could feel the actual presence of God; your love so great that the words fell of themselves from your lips. You had no reason to prove them, for you did so with your earnest praises of His majesty25 as you fell to the ground speechless and in tears!
Nevertheless the sense of awe26 with which I had listened to Grisha could not last for ever. I had now satisfied my curiosity, and, being cramped27 with sitting in one position so long, desired to join in the tittering and fun which I could hear going on in the dark store-room behind me. Some one took my hand and whispered,
"Whose hand is this?" Despite the darkness, I knew by the touch and the low voice in my ear that it was Katenka. I took her by the arm, but she withdrew it, and, in doing so, pushed a cane28 chair which was standing29 near. Grisha lifted his head looked quietly about him, and, muttering a prayer, rose and made the sign of the cross towards each of the four corners of the room.
在黑暗中，我们都觉得很害怕；我们彼此紧紧地挤在一起，一句话也不说。格里沙几乎紧跟着我们悄悄地走了进来。他一只手拄着拐杖，另一只手拿着插在黄铜烛台上的脂油制的蜡烛。我们连气都不敢出。
“基督耶酥救世主！至圣的圣母！向圣父、圣子圣灵……”他喘着气，不住地念叨着说，用的是只有常常翻来覆去讲这些话的人才特有的各种各样的声调和略语。
他一边祷告，一边把拐杖在屋角放好，看了看床，就动手脱衣服。他解开破旧的黑腰带，慢条斯理地脱掉褴楼的黄色土布上衣，仔细折好，搭在椅背上。他的脸上现在已经没有平时那种慌张而愚蠢的神情了；相反的，他很镇静，若有所思，甚至显得很威严的样子。他的举动缓慢而稳重。
只剩下一件衬衣的时候，他慢吞吞的坐到床上，朝四面八方都画了十字，然后用力（这从他皱紧的眉头上可以看出来）整理了一下他的衬衣下的铁链。他静坐了一会儿，仔细查看了一下他那破了好几处的衬衣，随后他就站起来，祷告着把蜡烛举到圣龛那么高，龛里摆着几尊圣像，他对着圣像画了十字，就把蜡烛翻过来，让火花冲下，蜡烛爆了一下，就熄灭了。
将圆的月亮照进朝着树林的窗户。苦行者的长长的白色身影一边被皎洁的银辉照耀着，另一边形成阴影；这阴影同窗框的影子连成一片，投到地板上、墙壁上，一直达到天花板。守夜人在外边敲着铁板。
格里沙把两只大手交叉在胸口，低着头，不住地深深叹息着，默默地站在圣像前面，然后费力地跪下去，开始祈祷。
最初他轻轻地念着人所周知的祷文，只强调一下某些字句，随后他又反复背诵，但是更加响亮，更有精神。后来他开始用自己的话祷告，挖空心思地想用古斯拉夫语来表达自己的心清。他语无论次，但是很感动人。他为自己所有的施主（他这样称呼那些接待他的人）祈祷，其中也有我的母亲和我们；他也为他自己祈祷，请求上帝饶恕他的重大罪孽。他反复地说：“主啊，饶恕我的敌人们吧！”他累得呼哧呼哧地站起来，三番五次地老说那一套话，然后不顾铁链的重量，伏在地上又站起来，那铁链碰到地板，就发出刚硬刺耳的响声。
沃洛佳使劲掐了我的大腿一把，掐得我很疼；但是我连头都没有回，只用手揉了揉那个痛处，就带着孩子气的惊奇、怜悯和敬仰的心情，继续注意格里沙的一举一动和一言一语。
丝毫没有我走进贮藏室时期待的快乐和欢笑，我感到战栗和揪心。
格里沙还久久处在这种宗教狂热的状态中，即兴地编了些祈祷文。他时而一连串地重复好几遍。“主啊，慈悲慈悲吧！”但是每次都用新的语气和表情；时而说：“饶恕我吧，主啊，教导我怎么做……教导我怎么做，主啊！”说得好象他希望马上得到答复一样；有时只听见凄惨的痛哭声……他跪着稍微抬起身子，把双手交叉在胸口，一声不响了。
我悄悄地从门里探出头去，屏息静气。格里沙动也不动；他的胸膛里发出沉重的叹息声；月光照着他那只失明的眼睛，暗淡无光的瞳仁含着泪水。
“您的旨意会实现的！”他带着难以模拟的表情突然大叫一声，把额头俯在地上，象小孩一样呜咽起来。
从那时起，多少年华流逝了，多少往事的回忆对我失去了意义，化成了模糊的梦，就连巡礼者格里沙也早已完成了他的最后一次朝拜；但是，他给我的印象，他所引起的情绪，在我的脑海里却永远也不会消逝。
噢，伟大的基督徒格里沙！你的信心是那么坚定，使你感到了上帝的临近；你的爱是那么强烈，话语会自动地从你的嘴里流出来——你并不是用理智来检验它们……当你找不到言语来表达，倒在地上哭泣的时候，你献给至尊的又是多么崇高的颂辞……
我倾听格里沙的话时怀着的那种感动心清并未能持续多久；第一，因为我的好奇心得到了满足，其次，因为在一个地方坐得太久，我的腿麻了，而且很想参加到在我后面的漆黑的贮藏室里的全体的低语声和骚动中去。有人拉住我的手，耳语说：“这是谁的手？”贮藏室里一片漆黑，但是单凭接触和我耳边的私语声，我立刻分辨出这是卡简卡。
我完全无意识地握住她那从短袖下面裸露出来的臂肘，把嘴唇贴上去。这种举动大概使卡简卡大吃一惊，于是她把胳臂缩回去；她这一缩把摆在贮藏室里的一把破椅子碰倒了。格里沙抬起头来，慢慢地四下张望，一边念祈祷文，一边朝房间的各个角落画十字。我们耳语着，闹嚷嚷地跑出了贮藏室。
收听单词发音 |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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intonations
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| n.语调，说话的抑扬顿挫( intonation的名词复数 )；（演奏或唱歌中的）音准 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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idiocy
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| n.愚蠢 | |
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ragged
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| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
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shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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hissing
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| n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式 | |
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intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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benefactors
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| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
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besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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regained
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| 复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地 | |
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rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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ecstasy
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| n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷 | |
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improvised
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| a.即席而作的,即兴的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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sobbing
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| <主方>Ⅰ adj.湿透的 | |
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glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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prostrating
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| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的现在分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
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blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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