Introduction：In“Rappaccini’s Daughter”，Hawthornetells a tale of a botanist who has raised his daughter as a rare flower in a clinically-controlled setting。The protagonist，a young suitor named Giovanni，notes that just as Dr。Rappaccini avoids handling his exotic plants（and it is true that some plants are damaged by contact with the oils in human skin），Beatrice goes out of her way to touch and caress them。Rappaccini even gives over to Beatrice the care of flowers which are poisonous to ordinary mortals—even himself—and they flourish under her care。
1 A young man，named Giovanni Guasconti，came，very long ago，fromthe more southern region of Italy，to pursue his studies at the University of Padua。Giovanni，who had but a scanty supply of gold ducats in his pocket，took lodgings in a high and gloomy chamber of an old edifice，which looked not unworthy to have been the palace of a Paduan noble，and which，in fact，exhibited over its entrance the armorial bearings of a family long since extinct。The young stranger，who was not unstudied in the great poem of his country，recollected that one of the ancestors of this family，and perhaps an occupant of this very mansion，had beenpictured by Dante as a partaker of the immortal agonies of his Inferno。These reminiscences and associations，together with the tendency to heart-break naturalto a young man for the first time out of his native sphere，caused Giovanni to sigh heavily，as he looked around the desolate and ill-furnished apartment。
2 “Holy Virgin，Signor，”cried old dame Lisabetta，who，won by theyouth’s remarkable beauty of person，was kindly endeavoring to give the chamber a habitable air，“what a sigh was that to e out of a young man’s heart！Do you find this old mansion gloomy？For the love of heaven，then，put your head out of the window，and you will see as bright sunshine as you have left in Naples。”
3 Guasconti mechanically did as the old woman advised，but could notquite agree with her that the Lombard sunshine was as cheerful as that of southern Italy。Such as it was，however，it fell upon a garden beneath the window，and expended its fostering influences on a variety of plants，which seemed to have been cultivated with exceeding care。
4 “Does this garden belong to the house？”asked Giovanni。
5 “Heaven forbid，Signor！—unless it were fruitful of better pot-herbs than any that grow there now，”answered old Lisabetta。“No，that garden is cultivatedby the own hands of Signor Giao Rappaccini，the famous Doctor，who，I warrant him，has been heard of as far as Naples。It is said he distils these plants intomedicines that are as potent as a charm。Oftentimes you may seethe Signor Doctor at work，and perchance the Signora his daughter，too，gathering the strange flowers that grow in the garden。”
Padua：帕多瓦，意大利東北部城市
ducat：n。從前流通於歐洲各國的錢幣達克特，硬幣
edifice：n。大廈，大建築物
armorial：adj。徽章的，家徽的
partaker：n。參與者
inferno：n。地獄
dame：n。夫人
Naples：n。那不勒斯
oftentimes：adv。時常地
perchance：adv。偶然，恐怕
6 The old woman had now done what she could for the aspect of the chamber，and，mending the young man to the protection of the saints，took her departure。
7 Giovanni still found no better occupation than to look down into the garden beneath his window。From its appearance，he judged it to be one of those botanic gardens，which were of earlier date in Padua than elsewhere in Italy，or in the world。Or，not improbably，it might once have been the pleasure-place of an opulent familyfor there was the ruin of a marble fountain in the centre，sculptured with rare art，but so woefully shattered that it was impossible to trace the original design from the chaos of remaining fragments。The water，however，continued to gush and sparkle into the sunbeams as cheerfully as ever。
A little gurgling sound ascended to the young man’s window，and made him feel as if a fountainwere an immortal spirit，that sung its song unceasingly，and without heeding thevicissitudes around itwhile one century embodied it in marble，and another scattered the perishable garniture on the soil。All about the poolinto which the water subsided，grew various plants，that seemed to require a plentiful supply of moisture for the nourishment of gigantic leaves，and，in some instances，flowers gorgeously magnificent。There was one shrub in particular，set in a marble vase in the midst of the pool，that bore a profusion of purple blossoms，each of which had the lustre and richness of a gemand the whole together made a show soresplendent that it seemed enough to illuminate the garden，even had there beenno sunshine。Every portion of the soil was peopled with plants and herbs，which，if less beautiful，still bore tokens of assiduous careas if all had their individual virtues，known to the scientific mind that fostered them。Some were placed in urns，rich with old carving，and others in mon garden-potssome creptserpent-like along the ground，or climbed on high，using whatever means of ascent was offered them。One plant had wreathed itself round a statue of Vertumnus，which was thus quite veiled and shrouded in a drapery of hangingfoliage，so happily arranged that it might have served a sculptor for a study。
8 While Giovanni stood at the window，he heard a rustling behind a screen of leaves，and became aware that a person was at work in the garden。His figure soon emerged into view，and showed itself to be that of no mon laborer，but a tall，emaciated，sallow，and sickly looking man，dressed in a scholar’s garb of black。He was beyond the middle term of life，with gray hair，a thin gray beard，anda face singularly marked with intellect and cultivation，but which could never，even in his more youthful days，have expressed much warmth of heart。
botanic：adj。植物的，植物學的
opulent：adj。豐饒的，繁茂的
woefully：adv。悲傷地，不幸地
gurgle：v。流水發出汩汩聲
vicissitudes：n。興衰，變遷
garniture：n。裝飾品
subside：v。減退，衰減
illuminate：v。照亮
assiduous：adj。勤勉的，刻苦的
Vertumnus：費圖納斯（羅馬神話中的四季之神，花果之神）
drapery：n。幃帳
emaciated：adj。瘦弱的，衰弱的
9 Nothing could exceed the intentness with which thisscientific gardener examined every shrub which grew in his pathit seemed as if he was looking into their inmost nature，making observations in regard to their creative essence，and discovering why one leaf grew in this shape，and another in that，and wherefore such and such flowers differed among themselves in hue and perfume。Nevertheless，in spite of the deep intelligence on his part，there was no approach to intimacybetween himself and these vegetable existences。On the contrary，he avoided their actual touch，or the direct inhaling of their odors，with a caution that impressed Giovanni most disagreeablyfor the man’s demeanor was that of one walkingamong malignant influences，such as savage beasts，or deadly snakes，or evil spirits，which，should he allow them one moment of license，would wreak upon him some terrible fatality。It was strangely frightful to the young man’s imagination，to see this air of insecurity in a person cultivating a garden，that most simple and innocent of human toils，and which had been alike the joy and labor of the unfallen parents of the race。Was this garden，then，the Eden of the present world？—and this man，with such a perception of harm in what his own hands caused to grow，was he the Adam？
評注：拉帕西尼不僅改造了女兒貝阿特麗絲的身體，還把象征意義上的女兒——那些體現“大自然的愛的溫暖”的花草變成了美麗與劇毒的混合體。拉帕西尼在追求知識的道路上走上了一條瘋狂的道路。
10 The distrustful gardener，while plucking away the dead leaves or pruning thetoo luxuriant growth of the shrubs，defended his hands with a pair of thick gloves。Nor were these his only armor。When，in his walk through the garden，he came to the magnificent plant that hung its purple gems beside the marble fountain，he placed a kind of mask over his mouth and nostrils，as if all this beauty didbut conceal a deadlier malice。But finding his task still too dangerous，he drew back，removed the mask，and called loudly，but in the infirm voice of a personaffected with inward disease：“Beatrice！—Beatrice！”
評注：園內花草茂盛，生機盎然，顯示出主人的辛勤和博學，可同時也透出一絲奇怪的不協調感：園中灌木色彩鮮豔、嬌美無比，可主人卻是形容枯槁、一身病態，與周圍的絢爛輝煌格格不入。他的表情分明顯示出內心的冷漠和無情。
11 “Here am I，my father！What would you？”cried a rich and youthful voice from the window of the opposite housea voice as rich as a tropical sunset，and which made Giovanni，though he knew not why，think of deep hues of purple or crimson，and of perfumes heavily delectable。“Are you in the garden？”
12 “Yes，Beatrice，”answered the gardener，“and I need your help。”
13 Soon there emerged from under a sculptured portal the figure of a young girl，arrayed with as much richness of taste as the most splendid of the flowers，beautiful as the day，and with a bloom so deep and vivid that one shade more would have been too much。She looked redundant with life，health，and energyall ofwhich attributes were bound down and pressed，as it were，and girdled tensely，in their luxuriance，by her virgin zone。Yet Giovanni’s fancy must have grownmorbid，while he looked down into the gardenfor the impression which the fairstranger made upon him was as if here were another flower，the human sister of those vegetable ones，as beautiful as they—more beautiful than the richest ofthem—but still to be touched only with a glove，nor to be approached without amask。As Beatrice came down the garden-path，it was observable that she handled and inhaled the odor of several of the plants，which her father had most sedulously avoided。
intentness：n。熱心，專心
inhale：v。吸入
wreak upon：對……發泄（怒火）
parents：此處指《聖經》故事中人類的始祖亞當與夏娃
pluck away：扯去，撕去
prune：v。修枝，剪枝
armor：n。盔甲
malice：n。惡意，怨恨，
infirm：adj。不堅固的，柔弱的
delectable：adj。使人愉快的
redundant：adj。多餘的
girdle：v。束，繞
luxuriance：n。茂盛
sedulously：adv。堅韌不拔地
consign：v。把……委托給……
14 “Here，Beatrice，”said the latter，—“see how many needful offices require to be done to our chief treasure。Yet，shattered as I am，my life might pay the penalty of approaching it so closely as circumstances demand。Henceforth，I fear，this plant must be consigned to your sole charge。”
15 “And gladly will I undertake it，”cried again the rich tones ofthe young lady，as she bent towards the magnificent plant，and opened her arms as if to embrace it。“Yes，my sister，my splendor，it shall be Beatrice’s task to nurse andserve theeand thou shalt reward her with thy kisses and perfume breath，whichto her is as the breath of life！”
16 Then，with all the tenderness in her manner that was so strikingly expressed in her words，she busied herself with such attentions as the plant seemed to requireand Giovanni，at his lofty window，rubbed his eyes，and almost doubted whether it were a girl tending her favorite flower，or one sister performing theduties of affection to another。The scene soon terminated。Whether Doctor Rappaccini had finished his labors in the garden，or that his watchful eye had caughtthe stranger’s face，he now took his daughter’s arm and retired。Night was already closing inoppressive exhalations seemed to proceed from the plants，and steal upward past the open windowand Giovanni，closing the lattice，went to his couch，and dreamed of a rich flower and beautiful girl。Flower and maiden were different and yet the same，and fraught with some strange peril in either shape。
17 But there is an influence in the light of morning that tends to rectify whatever errors of fancy，or even of judgment，we may have incurred during the sun’sdecline，or among the shadows of the night，or in the less wholesome glow of moonshine。Giovanni’s first movement on starting from sleep，was to throw open thewindow，and gaze down into the garden which his dreams had made so fertile of mysteries。He was surprised，and a little ashamed，to find how real and matter-of-fact an affair it proved to be，in the first rays of the sun，which gilded thedew-drops that hung upon leaf and blossom，and，while giving a brighter beauty to each rare flower，brought everything within the limits of ordinary experience。The young man rejoiced，that，in the heart of the barren city，he had the privilege of overlooking this spot of lovely and luxuriant vegetation。It would serve，he said to himself，as a symbolic language，to keep him in munion with Nature。Neither the sickly and thought-worn Doctor Giao Rappaccini，it is true，nor his brilliant daughter，were now visibleso that Giovanni could not determine how much of the singularity which he attributed to both，was due to their own qualities，and how much to his wonder-working fancy。But he was inclined to take a most rational view of the whole matter。
18 In the course of the day，he paid his respects to Signor Pietro Baglioni，Professor of Medicine in the University，a physician of eminent repute，to whom Giovanni had brought a letter of introduction。The rofessor was an elderly personage，apparently of genial nature，and habits that might almost be called jovialhe kept the young man to dinner，and made himself very agreeable by the freedomand liveliness of his conversation，especially when warmed by a flask or two ofTuscan wine。Giovanni，conceiving that men of science，inhabitants of the same city，must need be on familiar terms with one another，took an opportunity to mention the name of Doctor Rappaccini。But the Professor did not respond with so much cordiality as he had anticipated。
lattice：n。格子窗
peril：n。危險
rectify：v。矯正，調整
incur：v。招致
fertile：adj。肥沃的，富饒的
barren：adj。貧瘠的，單調的
eminent：adj。顯赫的，傑出的
repute：n。名譽，名聲
genial：adj。親切的