"I must reveal the secret," answered Hester firmly. "He must discern thee in thy true character. What may be the result, I know not. But this long debt of confidence, due from me to him, whose bane and ruin I have been, shall at length be paid. So far as concerns the overthrow or preservation of his fair fame and his earthly state, and perchance his life, he is in thy hands. Nor do I- whom the scarlet letter has disciplined to truth, though it be the truth of red-hot iron, entering into the soul- nor do I perceive such advantage in his living any longer a life of ghastly emptiness, that I shall stoop to implore thy mercy. Do with him as thou?wilt! There is no good for him- no good for me- no good for thee! There is no good for little Pearl! There is no path to guide us out of this dismal maze."
“我要揭露這一秘密，”海絲特堅(jiān)定地回答說?！八麘?yīng)該辨清你的真實(shí)面目。其結(jié)果會如何，我并不知道。但我長期以來向他隱瞞真相的這筆債，現(xiàn)在總該償還了——正是因?yàn)槲也艢У羲陌?。至于他的良好的名聲和他在世間的地位，或許還有他的生命，予取予奪都在你的掌握之中。我的情況就不一樣了——紅字已經(jīng)使我皈依了真理，盡管那真理如熨鐵一般火熱，深源地烙進(jìn)了我的靈魂，——而他那鬼一般空虛的生活再延遲下去，我也看不出還有什么好處，因此我也不會卑躬屈膝地乞求你的慈悲。你對他盡管隨心所欲好了！對他不會有什么好處，一一對我不會有什么好處，——對你也沒什么好處！對小珠兒不會有什么好處！沒有任何指引我們跳出這陰慘的迷津的道路！”

"Woman, I could?well-nigh?pity thee!" said Roger Chillingworth, unable to restrain a thrill of admiration too; for there was a quality almost majestic in the despair which she expressed. "Thou hadst great elements. Peradventure, hadst thou met earlier with a better love than mine, this evil had not been. I pity thee, for the good that has been wasted in thy nature!"
“女人，我滿可以可憐你的！”羅杰·齊靈渥斯說，由于她表現(xiàn)出的絕望中有一種近乎莊嚴(yán)的氣質(zhì)，連他也不由得不肅然起敬了?！澳憔哂辛瞬黄鸬奶熨x。如果你早些得到強(qiáng)過于我的愛，這件邪惡就不會發(fā)生了。我可憐你，因?yàn)槟忝篮玫奶煨詸M遭荒廢！”

"And I thee," answered Hester Prynne, "for the hatred that has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend! Wilt thou yet purge it out of thee, and be once more human? If not for his sake, then doubly for thine own! Forgive, and leave his further retribution to the Power that claims it! I said, but now, that there could be no good event for him, or thee, or me, who are here wandering together in this gloomy maze of evil, and stumbling, at every step, over the guilt wherewith we have strewn our path. It is not so! There might be good for thee, and thee alone, since thou hast been deeply wronged, and hast it at thy will to pardon. Wilt thou give up that only privilege? Wilt thou reject that priceless benefit?"
“我也同樣地可憐你，”海絲特·白蘭回答說，“因?yàn)槌鸷抟呀?jīng)把一個(gè)聰明而正直的人變成了惡魔！你還愿意把仇恨從心中排擠出去，再恢復(fù)成人嗎？即使不是為了他的緣故，那么總是加倍地為了你自己嘛！你放寬容些，把對他來世的報(bào)應(yīng)交給有極處理此事的神靈吧！我剛才說過了，象目前這樣，無論對他，對你，或者對我，都不會有任何好處，我們是在這片陰慘的邪惡迷律中一起徘徊，在我們鋪撤在路上的罪孽上每走一步都要跌跌撞撞。事情本不該這樣的！由于你一直深深受到委屈，你就擁有一切極力來寬怨，你可以因此從中獲益，而且只有你一人單獨(dú)獲益。你難道要放棄那唯一的特權(quán)嗎？你難道要反對這沒本錢的利益嗎？”

"Peace, Hester, peace!" replied the old man, with gloomy sternness. "It is not granted me to pardon. I have no such power as thou tellest me of. My old faith, long forgotten, comes back to me, and explains all that we do, and all we suffer. By thy first step awry, thou didst plant the germ of evil; but since that moment, it has all been a dark necessity. Ye that have wronged me are not sinful, save in a kind of typical illusion; neither am I fiend-like, who have snatched a fiend's office from his hands. It is our fate. Let the black flower blossom as it may! Now go thy ways, and deal as thou wilt with yonder man."He waved his hand and betook himself again to his employment of gathering herbs.
“上天沒有賜給我寬恕的品德，我也沒有你所說的那種權(quán)力。我那早已忘掉的老信仰，如今又回到了我身上，要對我們所做出和所遭受的一切給予解釋。由于第一步走歪了，你就種下了邪惡的胚胎；但自從那時(shí)起，它也就成了一種陰暗的必然。不過，使我受到傷害的，除非處于一種典型的錯覺之中，倒不是罪過；而我呢，雖然從魔鬼的手中奪得了他的職責(zé)，但我跟惡魔畢竟不一樣。這是我們的命運(yùn)。讓那黑色之花隨它去開吧！如今，你去走你的路，隨你自己的意愿去處理同那人的關(guān)系吧。”他揮了揮手，又繼續(xù)采集藥草了。