LESSON 9 THE MANIAC 瘋子

1.A gentleman who had traveled in Europe, relates that he one day visited the hospital of Berlin, where he saw a man whose exterior^[1] was very striking.His fi gure, tall and commanding, was bending with age, but more with sorrow; the few scattered hairs which remained on his temples were white almost as the driven snow, and the deepest melancholy was depicted^[2] in his countenance.

2.On inquiring who he was and what brought him there, he started, as, if from sleep, and, after looking around him, began with slow and measured steps to stride the hall, repeating in a low but audible voice, “Once one is two; once one is two.”

3.Now and then he would stop, and remain with his arms folded on his breast as if in contemplation^[3], for some minutes; then again resuming his walk, he continued to repeat, “Once one is two; once one is two.” His story, as our traveler understood it, is as follows:

4.Conrad Lange, collector of the revenues^[4] of the city of Berlin, had long been known as a man whom nothing could divert from the paths of honesty.Scrupulously^[5] exact in all his dealings, and assiduous^[6] in the discharge of all his duties, he had acquired the good will and esteem of all who knew him, and the confi dence of the minister of fi nance^[7], whose duty it is to inspect the accounts of all offi cers connected with the revenue.

5.On casting up his accounts at the close of a particular year, he found a deficit^[8] of ten thousand ducats^[9].Alarmed at this discovery, he went to the minister, presented his accounts, and informed him that he did not know how it had arisen, and that he had been robbed by some person bent on his ruin.

6.The minister received his accounts, but thinking it a duty to secure a person who might probably be a defaulter^[10], he caused him to be arrested, and put his accounts into the hands of one of his secretaries for inspection, who returned them the day after with the information that the defi ciency arose from a miscalculation; that in multiplying, Mr.Lange had said, once one is two, instead of once one is one.

7.The poor man was immediately released from confinement, his accounts returned, and the mistake pointed out.During his imprisonment, which lasted two days, he had neither eaten, drunk, nor taken any repose; and when he appeared, his countenance was as pale as death.On receiving his accounts, he was a long time silent; then suddenly awaking, as if from a trance, he repeated, “Once one is two.”

8.He appeared to be entirely insensible of his situation; would neither eat nor drink, unless solicited; and took notice of nothing that passed around him.While repeating his accustomed phrase, if anyone corrected him by saying, “Once one is one,” his attention was arrested for a moment, and he said, “Ah, right, once one is one;” and then resuming his walk, he continued to repeat, “Once one is two.” He died shortly after the traveler left Berlin.

9.This aff ecting story, whether true or untrue, obviously^[11] abounds with lessons of instruction.Alas! how easily is the human mind thrown off its balance; especially when it is stayed on this world only, and has no experimental knowledge of the meaning of the injunction^[12] of Scripture, to cast all our cares upon Him who careth for us, and who heareth even the young ravens when they cry.

【中文閱讀】

1.一位游歷歐洲的紳士說起，他曾參觀了一家柏林的醫院。在那里，他遇見一位外表嚇人的男人。他身材高大，器宇軒昂，但身體卻因衰老而微微彎曲，舉手投足間滿溢著悲傷。他鬢角的幾絲頭發已近雪白，憂郁深深地刻在面容上。

2.這位紳士詢問他是誰，為什么在那里。這個男人像是突然從夢中驚醒一般，環顧四周后，開始用緩慢而不失標準的步伐在大廳里來回踱步，一邊走，一邊用一種勉強能被聽見的聲音反復嘟囔著：“一一得二，一一得二。”

3.他偶爾會停下，手臂仍然環抱在胸前，仿佛陷入沉思。這樣過了幾分鐘，他又開始踱步，嘴里仍然反復嘟囔著：“一一得二，一一得二。”根據我們這位紳士的理解，這個男人的故事是這樣的：

4.他叫康拉德·蘭格，曾是柏林市的稅收官。多年來，他為人正派，極富聲望。他一絲不茍地處理賬目，勤勤懇懇地履行職責，并以此獲得所有熟人的贊譽和尊敬，以及財政部部長的充分信任，后者的職責是監督所有財政官員的賬目。

5.一個不同尋常的年末，康拉德清理完他手頭負責的所有賬本后，突然發現賬面上出現了一萬元的虧空。他大為驚愕，去面見了財政部長，提交了所有賬目報告，并告訴部長他絲毫不知道這是怎么發生的，一定是某些蓄意陷害他的人故意栽贓。

6.部長收下他的賬目報告，但認為自己有責任將一名涉嫌侵貪的官員羈押在案。在部長授意下，康拉德被逮捕，而他經手的所有賬本由他原先的下屬稽查。第二天，下屬便查明了虧空的原因：計算錯誤。正如故事開頭康拉德嘴里念叨的那樣，在做乘法的時候，他錯誤地認為“一一得二”，而不是“一一得一”。

7.這個可憐的人被立即釋放，所有賬本被歸還給他，賬面上的錯誤也被糾正了。被監禁的那兩天，他不吃不喝，也不肯休息。從監獄里釋放出來的時候，康拉德面如死灰。當他接過賬本后，他沉默了很久，然后，仿佛從夢中突然清醒過來，他開始反復嘟囔著：“一一得二。”

8.他似乎完全感受不到身邊的情況，他還是不吃不喝，除非人家央求他；即使有什么經過他身邊，他也茫然無知。他一遍又一遍地嘟囔著同樣的話，如果有人糾正他：“一一得一。”他會清醒片刻，然后說，“啊，對啊，一一得一。”接著，他又開始反復踱步，繼續嘟囔著：“一一得二。”那位旅行者離開柏林后不久，康拉德便死了。

9.這個故事讓人唏噓不已。無論它是否真實，都明顯蘊藏著深刻的指導意義。唉，人的心智多么容易失衡啊！尤其當我們的心只著眼于現世，而不去思考《圣經》里的訓誡警示，不去全心全意地敬靠那位愛我們、傾聽我們痛苦哭泣的上帝的時候。

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【注釋】

[1] Exterior, outward appearance.

[2] Depicted, painted, represented.

[3] Contemplation, continued attention of the mind to one subject.

[4] Revenues, the annual income from taxes, public rents, etc.

[5] Scrupulously, carefully.

[6] Assiduous, constant in attention.

[7] Finance, the income of a ruler or a state.

[8] Def icit, lack, want.

[9] Ducat, a gold coin worth about $2.00.

[10] Defaulter, one who fails to account for public money intrusted to his care.

[11] Obviously, plainly.

[12] Injunction, a command.