LESSON 9 THE MANIAC 疯子

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.

【中文阅读】

1.一位游历欧洲的绅士说起，他曾参观了一家柏林的医院。在那里，他遇见一位外表吓人的男人。他身材高大，器宇轩昂，但身体却因衰老而微微弯曲，举手投足间满溢着悲伤。他鬓角的几丝头发已近雪白，忧郁深深地刻在面容上。

2.这位绅士询问他是谁，为什么在那里。这个男人像是突然从梦中惊醒一般，环顾四周后，开始用缓慢而不失标准的步伐在大厅里来回踱步，一边走，一边用一种勉强能被听见的声音反复嘟囔着：“一一得二，一一得二。”

3.他偶尔会停下，手臂仍然环抱在胸前，仿佛陷入沉思。这样过了几分钟，他又开始踱步，嘴里仍然反复嘟囔着：“一一得二，一一得二。”根据我们这位绅士的理解，这个男人的故事是这样的：

4.他叫康拉德·兰格，曾是柏林市的税收官。多年来，他为人正派，极富声望。他一丝不苟地处理账目，勤勤恳恳地履行职责，并以此获得所有熟人的赞誉和尊敬，以及财政部部长的充分信任，后者的职责是监督所有财政官员的账目。

5.一个不同寻常的年末，康拉德清理完他手头负责的所有账本后，突然发现账面上出现了一万元的亏空。他大为惊愕，去面见了财政部长，提交了所有账目报告，并告诉部长他丝毫不知道这是怎么发生的，一定是某些蓄意陷害他的人故意栽赃。

6.部长收下他的账目报告，但认为自己有责任将一名涉嫌侵贪的官员羁押在案。在部长授意下，康拉德被逮捕，而他经手的所有账本由他原先的下属稽查。第二天，下属便查明了亏空的原因：计算错误。正如故事开头康拉德嘴里念叨的那样，在做乘法的时候，他错误地认为“一一得二”，而不是“一一得一”。

7.这个可怜的人被立即释放，所有账本被归还给他，账面上的错误也被纠正了。被监禁的那两天，他不吃不喝，也不肯休息。从监狱里释放出来的时候，康拉德面如死灰。当他接过账本后，他沉默了很久，然后，仿佛从梦中突然清醒过来，他开始反复嘟囔着：“一一得二。”

8.他似乎完全感受不到身边的情况，他还是不吃不喝，除非人家央求他；即使有什么经过他身边，他也茫然无知。他一遍又一遍地嘟囔着同样的话，如果有人纠正他：“一一得一。”他会清醒片刻，然后说，“啊，对啊，一一得一。”接着，他又开始反复踱步，继续嘟囔着：“一一得二。”那位旅行者离开柏林后不久，康拉德便死了。

9.这个故事让人唏嘘不已。无论它是否真实，都明显蕴藏着深刻的指导意义。唉，人的心智多么容易失衡啊！尤其当我们的心只着眼于现世，而不去思考《圣经》里的训诫警示，不去全心全意地敬靠那位爱我们、倾听我们痛苦哭泣的上帝的时候。

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【注释】

[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.