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They were within two or three weeks of the holidays, when, one day, Cornelia Blimber called Paul into her room, and said, 'Dombey, I am going to send home your analysis.'
离假期还有两三个星期的时候，有一天科妮莉亚·布林伯把保罗喊到她房间里，说：“董贝，我将把对您的分析评语寄到您的家里去。”
'Thank you, Ma'am,' returned Paul.
“谢谢您，夫人，”保罗回答道。
'You know what I mean, do you, Dombey?' inquired Miss Blimber, looking hard at him, through the spectacles.
“您知道我说的是什么吗，董贝？”布林伯小姐通过眼镜严厉地看着他，问道。
'No, Ma'am,' said Paul.
“不知道，夫人，”保罗说道。
'Dombey, Dombey,' said Miss Blimber, 'I begin to be afraid you are a sad boy. When you don't know the meaning of an expression, why don't you seek for information?'
“董贝，董贝，”布林伯小姐说道，“我开始担心，您是个不可救药的孩子了。当您不知道一个语句的意义的时候，您为什么不要求解释呢？”
'Mrs Pipchin told me I wasn't to ask questions,' returned Paul.
“皮普钦太太告诉我，我不许问问题，”保罗回答道。
'I must beg you not to mention Mrs Pipchin to me, on any account, Dombey,' returned Miss Blimber. 'I couldn't think of allowing it. The course of study here, is very far removed from anything of that sort. A repetition of such allusions would make it necessary for me to request to hear, without a mistake, before breakfast-time to-morrow morning, from Verbum personale down to simillimia cygno.'
“我得请求您不论在什么情况下也不要对我提到皮普钦太太，”布林伯小姐回答道。“我不能允许这样做。我们这里的学习课程跟任何那一类东西有着天渊之别。如果再重复这样的话，那就会迫使我要求您在明天早上吃早饭以前毫无差错地向我回答问题，
从Verbumpersonale一直到Simillimacygno。”①
'I didn't mean, Ma'am - ' began little Paul.
夫人，我的意思并不是说——”保罗开始说道。
'I must trouble you not to tell me that you didn't mean, if you please, Dombey,' said Miss Blimber, who preserved an awful politeness in her admonitions. 'That is a line of argument I couldn't dream of permitting.'
“如果您同意，董贝，我必须麻烦您别跟我说，您的意思并不是说，”布林伯小姐说道；她在训戒中仍保持着令人敬畏的礼貌。“我决不允许采用这种方式来进行辩论。”
Paul felt it safest to say nothing at all, so he only looked at Miss Blimber's spectacles. Miss Blimber having shaken her head at him gravely, referred to a paper lying before her.'"Analysis of the character of P. Dombey." If my recollection serves me,' said Miss Blimber breaking off, 'the word analysis as opposed to synthesis, is thus defined by Walker. "The resolution of an object, whether of the senses or of the intellect, into its first elements." As opposed to synthesis, you observe. Now you know what analysis is, Dombey.'
保罗觉得最安全的办法是什么话也别说，所以他只是看着布林伯小姐的眼镜。布林伯小姐向他严肃地摇摇头以后，转向她面前的一张纸。“‘对保·董贝性格的分析’。如果我的记忆没有错，”布林伯小姐停止阅读，说道，“分析这个词与综合的意义相反，沃克把它定义为‘把一个我们感觉或理解的客体分解为它的原始元素’。您看，它与综合的意义是相反的。现在您知道分析是什么了，董贝。”
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①（拉丁文）意即“从‘人称动词’到‘更加像天鹅’。Simillimacygno是犹文纳尔著名诗歌中的最后一句：“Raraavisinterris，nigroquesimillmacygno”（地上的鸟很少像黑天鹅）。
