《少年维特的烦恼·第二部·1771 年 10 月至 1772 年 12 月》第31节
OCTOBER 26. Yes, I feel certain, Wilhelm, and every day I become more certain, that the existence of any being whatever is of very little consequence. A friend of Charlotte's called to see her just now. I withdrew into a neighbouring apartment, and took up a book; but, finding I could not read, I sat down to write. I heard them converse in an undertone: they spoke upon indifferent topics, and retailed the news of the town. One was going to be married; another was ill, very ill, she had a dry cough, her face was growing thinner daily, and she had occasional fits. "N— is very unwell too," said Charlotte. "His limbs begin to swell already," answered the other; and my lively imagination carried me at once to the beds of the infirm. There I see them struggling against death, with all the agonies of pain and horror; and these women, Wilhelm, talk of all this with as much indifference as one would mention the death of a stranger. And when I look around the apartment where I now am—when I see Charlotte's apparel lying before me, and Albert's writings, and all those articles of furniture which are so familiar to me, even to the very inkstand which I am using,—when I think what I am to this family—everything. My friends esteem me; I often contribute to their happiness, and my heart seems as if it could not beat without them; and yet—-if I were to die, if I were to be summoned from the midst of this circle, would they feel—or how long would they feel the void which my loss would make in their existence? How long! Yes, such is the frailty of man, that even there, where he has the greatest consciousness of his own being, where he makes the strongest and most forcible impression, even in the memory, in the heart, of his beloved, there also he must perish,—vanish,—and that quickly.
注释摘要
维特在这封十月二十六日的信里，从一件寻常小事滑入了一场阴郁的沉思。绿蒂的女友来访，他避到隔壁，听见两人低声谈着城里的新闻：谁要结婚了，谁病得厉害，干咳、消瘦、痉挛发作，而她们的口吻淡漠得像在说一个与自己毫无关系的人。维特说，他的想象力立刻把他带到了那些病人的床前，看见他们在痛苦与恐惧中与死亡角力。这个念头在旁人看来也许只是片刻的感伤，但在他此刻的心里，却变…