小王子 第24期:君主至上

"That frightens me... I cannot, any more..." murmured the little prince, now completelyabashed.

“這倒叫我有點緊張…我打不出哈欠來了…”小王子紅著臉說。

"Hum! Hum!" replied the king. "Then I – I order you sometimes to yawn and sometimes to–"

“嗯!嗯!”國王回答道：“那么我…命令你忽而打哈欠，忽而…”

He sputtered a little, and seemed vexed.

他嘟嘟囔囔，顯出有點惱怒。

For what the king fundamentally insisted upon was that his authority should be respected.

因為國王所要求的主要是保持他的威嚴(yán)受到尊敬。

He tolerated no disobedience.

他不能容忍不聽他的命令。

He was an absolute monarch.

他是一位絕對的君主。

But, because he was a very good man, he made his orders reasonable.

可是，他卻很善良，他下的命令都是有理智的。

"If I ordered a general," he would say, by way of example, "if I ordered a general to change himself into a sea bird,"

“如果我命令一個將軍,”他會說,舉個例子,“如果我命令一個將軍改變自己變成一個海鳥,”

and if the general did not obey me, that would not be the fault of the general. It would be my fault.

而這位將軍不服從我的命令，那么這就不是將軍的過錯，而是我的過錯。”

"May I sit down?" came now a timid inquiry from the little prince.

小王子靦腆地試探道：“我可以坐下嗎?”

"I order you to do so," the king answered him, and majestically gathered in a fold of his ermine mantle.

“我命令你坐下。”國王一邊回答，一邊莊重地把他那白底黑花皮袍大襟挪動了一下。

But the little prince was wondering...

可是小王子感到很奇怪。

The planet was tiny. Over what could this king really rule?

這么小的行星，國王他對什么進行統(tǒng)治呢?

"Sire," he said to him, "I beg that you will excuse my asking you a question..."

他對國王說：“陛下…請原諒，我想問您…”

"I order you to ask me a question," the king hastened to assure him.

國王急忙搶著說道：“我命令你問我。”

Sire–over what do you rule?

陛下…你統(tǒng)治什么呢?

"Over everything," said the king, with magnificent simplicity.

國王非常簡單明了地說：“我統(tǒng)治一切。”

Over everything?

一切?

The king made a gesture, which took in his planet, the other planets, and all the stars.

國王輕輕地用手指著他的行星和其他的行星，以及所有的星星。

"Over all that?" asked the little prince.

小王子說：“統(tǒng)治這一切?”

"Over all that," the king answered.

“統(tǒng)治這一切。”國王回答。

For his rule was not only absolute: it was also universal.

原來他不僅是一個絕對的君主，而且是整個宇宙的君主。

And the stars obey you?

那么，星星都服從您嗎?

"Certainly they do," the king said. "They obey instantly. I do not permit insubordination."

“那當(dāng)然!”國王對他說，“它們立即就得服從。我是不允許無紀(jì)律的。”