评论
打印
On Valentine's Day in 1895, the most famous playwright in the English speaking world, Oscar Wilde, presented his new play, The Importance of Being Earnest, in London at St.James Theatre.
1895年的情人节，英语世界最著名的剧作家奥斯卡·王尔德的新作《不可儿戏》在伦敦的圣詹姆斯剧院上映了。
The audience was packed with celebrities, aristocrats and famous politicians, eagerly awaiting another triumph from a man universally heralded as a genius.
观众中挤满了名人、贵族和著名政治家，他们热切地等待着这位被誉为天才的人迎来另一场胜利。
At the end of the performance, there was a standing ovation.
演出结束时，全场起立鼓掌。
Critics adored the play and so did audiences, making it Wilde's fourth major success in only three years.
评论家和观众都很喜欢这部剧，这是王尔德在短短三年内取得的第四次重大成功。
Yet, only a few short months later, Wilde was bankrupt and about to be imprisoned.
然而，仅仅几个月后，王尔德就破产了并面临即将入狱的命运。
His reputation was in tatters and his life ruined beyond repair.
他说，他的声誉支离破碎，他的生活被摧毁再也无法复原。
It was, as everyone then and now agreed, a tragedy, the swift fall of a great man due to a small but fateful slip.
正如当时和现在每个人都认同的一点，这是一场悲剧，一个伟大的人因一个小小的但也是致命的失误而轰然倒下。
The story of how Oscar Wilde went from celebrity playwright to prisoner, in such a short space of time,
但奥斯卡·王尔德如何在如此短的时间内从名人剧作家变成囚犯的故事，
has much to teach us about disgrace and infamy.
就耻辱和恶名，给我们上了一课。
We don't have to be acclaimed to understand that
我们不一定要受到赞同才能理解这个道理，
Wilde's poignant tragedy urges us to abandon our normal moralism and have sympathy for those who stray,
王尔德的悲剧性的悲剧促使我们抛弃普世的道德观，同情那些迷失的人，
it calls for us to extend our love not just to those who obviously deserve it but precisely to those who seem not to.
它要求我们不仅要爱那些明显值得爱的人，更要爱那些似乎不值得爱的人。
Wilde's tragedy began several years earlier, when he was introduced to a beguiling young man named Lord Alfred Douglas.
王尔德的悲剧始于几年前，当时，他被介绍给一个名叫阿尔弗雷德·道格拉斯勋爵的迷人的年轻男子。
Douglas, known to family and friends as ‘Bosie’, was extremely handsome, charming and arrogant.
道格拉斯，家人和朋友都称他为博西，一个非常英俊、迷人、傲慢的人。
By 1892, a year after they had met, the two men had fallen profoundly in love.
1892年，也就是他们相遇一年后，这两个男人深深地坠入了爱河。
Although Wilde was married with two children, he spent much of his time with Bosie:
虽然王尔德已婚，有两个孩子，但他大部分时间都和博西在一起。
They travelled together, stayed in hotels and hosted large dinners for their friends.
他们还一起旅行，住酒店，并为朋友们举办大型晚宴。
By 1894, the pair were constantly seen together in public and rumours of their love affair had spread as far as Bosie's father, the Marquess of Queensbury.
到了1894年，这对情侣经常出现在公共场合，关于他们恋情绯闻甚至传到了博西的父亲昆斯伯里侯爵的耳朵里。
The Marquess was a cruel, aggressive character, known for inventing the ‘Queensbury Rules' of amateur boxing.
侯爵是一个残忍、好斗的人，因为创造了“昆斯伯里规则”而在业余拳击界闻名。
Having decided that Wilde was corrupting his son, he demanded that the pair stop seeing each other.
在确定王尔德在腐蚀他的儿子后，他要求两人停止见面。
When Wilde refused, Queensbury began to hound him across London, threatening violence against restaurant and hotel managers if they allowed Wilde and Bosie onto the premises.
当王尔德拒绝时，昆斯伯里开始在全伦敦围困王尔德，他威胁说，如果餐厅和酒店经理允许王尔德和博西踏进他们的店，他们就会诉诸暴力。
Queensbury booked a seat for the opening night of The Importance of Being Earnest.
昆斯伯里预订了《不可儿戏》首演当晚的座位。
He planned to throw a bouquet of rotting vegetables at Wilde when he took to the stage.
他说，他计划在王尔德上台时向他扔一捆烂菜叶。
When Wilde heard about the stunt, he had him barred from the theatre and Queensbury flew into a rage.
当王尔德听说了他预备的特殊表演后就禁止昆斯伯里入场，昆斯伯里因此勃然大怒。
He left a calling card which publicly accused Wilde of having sex with other men.
他留下了一张名片，公开指责王尔德与其他男人发生性关系。
Since homosexuality was illegal and deeply frowned upon in Victorian society this was a dangerous accusation.
因为同性恋在维多利亚时代是非法的，而且在当时的社会也是不受欢迎的，这是一个危险的指控。
Seeing no end to Queensbury's bullying behaviour, Wilde decided to take legal action.
看到昆斯伯里的欺凌行为没完没了，王尔德决定采取法律行动。
By suing Queensbury for libel, Wilde hoped to clear his name and put an end to the harassment.
王尔德以诽谤罪起诉昆斯伯里，希望能洗清自己的罪名，结束这种骚扰。
When the trial began, Wilde was confident.
当审判开始时，王尔德很有信心。
He took the stand and gave witty, distracting answers during his cross-examination.
后来，他站在证人席上，在盘问中给出了诙谐、分散注意力的答案。
Within a few days, however, the tide had turned against him.
然而，在几天内，形势发生了对他不利的逆转。
It became clear that Queensbury's lawyers had hired private detectives to uncover an uncomfortable truth: that both Wilde and Bosie had hired male prostitutes.
很明显，昆斯伯里的律师们雇佣了私人侦探来揭露一个令人不安的事实:王尔德和博西都曾购买过男妓服务。
Some had even blackmailed Wilde in the past, successfully extorting money from him in return for their silence.
一些人甚至曾经勒索王尔德，并成功拿到了钱，以换取他们的沉默。
The trial was hopeless and Wilde withdrew his case, but events had spiralled beyond his control.
审判毫无希望，王尔德撤回了他的案件，但事态的发展超出了他的控制。
Queensbury's lawyers forwarded their evidence to the Director of Public Prosecutions and Wilde was soon arrested on charges of gross indecency.
昆斯伯里的律师向检察官提交了他们的证据，王尔德很快因被控严重猥亵而被捕。
The legal costs left him bankrupt and theatres were forced to abandon his plays.
法律费用导致他破产，许多剧院也被迫下架他的戏剧。
