《圍城》英譯選句 － 鐵石心腸

原文：

他自以為這信措詞凄婉，打得動鐵石心腸。誰知道父親信來痛罵一頓：“吾不惜重資，命汝千里負笈，汝埋頭攻讀之不暇，而有余閑照鏡耶？”（錢鐘書 - 《圍城》）

翻譯關鍵詞：凄婉，鐵石心腸，千里負笈

譯文：

Since he felt the wording of the letter was sad and entreating enough to move a heart of stone, he was quite unprepared for the express letter which came from his father. It gave him a severe scolding: I did not begrudge the expense of sending you hundreds of miles away to study. If you devoted yourself to your studies as you should, would you still have the leisure to look in a mirror? (美 Jeanne Kelly, Nathan K.Mao <譯> –Fortress Besieged)

翻譯筆記：

凄婉

形容凄切/悲涼/悲傷婉轉，文中用來形容方鴻漸在信中的措辭。

文中譯為sad and entreating，這里的entreating是entreat的變形

—entreat vi/ vit懇求，乞求。近義詞：beg

還有其他的譯法sad and mild

鐵石心腸

鐵石心腸從字面上解釋，心腸像鐵和石頭一樣，又硬又冷。這個詞用來描述一個人不帶有任何感情，冷酷無情的。

譯為a heart of stone (stone-hearted)，也可以譯作為a heart of steel；很好記，石頭/鐵做的心。

—鐵石心腸的：hardhearted; marblehearted; roughhearted; stonehearted

John is the stone-hearted man refused save her mother's life.

約翰是一個鐵石心腸的人，他拒絕拯救他的母親。

千里負笈

指背著重重的書箱，在千里之外的地方求學。

文中譯為hundreds of miles away to study； 負笈從師 leave home to seek knowledge

負笈是一個古詞，現今我們都稱作為“留學”study abroad

—留學生 abroad student; international student

—留學簽證 studiumvisum

I finally got the studiumvisum I dreamed about. I'm on top of the world that I can be sent hundreds of miles away to study.

最后我終于拿到了夢寐以求的留學簽證，我高興壞了，終于可以被送去留學了！

相關閱讀

《圍城》英譯選句 - “想到你”還是“想你”？

《圍城》英譯選句 - “體無完膚”

《圍城》英譯選句 - “算命”

《圍城》英譯選句 - “教子以義方”

（來源：滬江英語 編輯：Rosy）