Chapter 09 THE LEECH
第九章　醫(yī)生

In this manner, the mysterious old Roger Chillingworth became the medical adviser of the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. As not only the disease interested the physician, but he was strongly moved to look into the character and qualities of the patient, these two men, so different in age, came gradually to spend much time together. For the sake of the minister's health, and to enable the leech to gather plants with healing balm in them, they took long walks on the sea-shore, or in the forest; mingling various talk with the plash and murmur of the waves, and the solemn wind-anthem?among the tree-tops. Often, likewise, one was the guest of the other, in his place of study and retirement. There was a fascination for the minister in the company of the man of science, in whom he recognised an intellectual cultivation of no moderate depth or scope; together with a range and freedom of ideas, that he would have vainly looked for among the members of his own profession. In truth, he was startled, if not shocked, to find this attribute in the physician. Mr. Dimmesdale was a true priest, a true religionist, with the reverential sentiment largely developed, and an order of mind that impelled itself powerfully along the track of a creed, and wore its passage continually deeper with the lapse of time. In no state of society would he have been what is called a man of liberal views; it would always be essential to his peace to feel the pressure of a faith about him, supporting, while it confined him within its iron framework. Not the less, however, though with a tremulous enjoyment, did he feel the occasional relief of looking at the universe through the medium of another kind of intellect than those with which he habitually held converse. It was as if a window were thrown open,admitting a freer atmosphere into the close and stifled study, where his life was wasting itself away, amid lamplight, or obstructed day-beams, and the musty fragrance, be it sensual or moral, that exhales from books. But the air was too fresh and chill to be long breathed with comfort. So the minister, and the physician with him, withdrew again within the limits of what their church defined as orthodox.
就這樣，神秘的老羅杰·齊靈渥斯成了丁梅斯代爾牧師先生的健康顧問。這位醫(yī)生不僅對疾病感到興趣，而且還對他的病人的個性和品質(zhì)嚴加窺測。這兩個人雖然在年紀上相差懸殊，但逐漸共同消磨超更多的時間了。為了牧師的健康，而且也使醫(yī)生能夠收集具有奇效的植物，他倆在海濱、林間長時間散步，聆聽海浪的低語與林濤的戾鳴。同樣，他倆也時常到彼此的書齋和臥室中去作客。對牧師來說，這位科學家的陪伴中自有一種魅力，因為從他身上可以看出廣博精深的知識修養(yǎng)，以及浩渺無際的自由觀念——這在自己的同行中是萬難找到的。事實上，他在醫(yī)生身上發(fā)現(xiàn)了這些特色，即使沒有引起震驚，也足以深感詫異。丁梅斯代爾先生是一個地道的牧師，一個真正的篤信宗教的人，他有高度發(fā)展的虔誠的感情和有力地推動著自身沿著信仰的道路前進的心境，而且會隨著時間的流逝面日漸深入。無論在何種社會形態(tài)中，他都不會是那種所謂有自由見解的人；他總要感到周國有一種信仰的壓力，才能心平氣和，這信仰既支撐著他，又將他禁閉在其鐵籠之中。然而當他放棄慣常采用的認識而換用另一種知識媒介來觀察字宙時，他也確實感到一種偶然的舒暢，盡管這種喜悅之中仍帶著幾分震顫。猶如打開了一扇窗戶，使一種更自由的氣息得以進入那閉鎖和窒人的書齋，而他通常就在這里的燈光或遮著的陽光之下，伴著從經(jīng)書中散發(fā)出來的霉爛氣味——不管是感官上還是道德上的，消耗看他的生命。但這破窗而入的空氣又過于清冷，使他無法坦然地長久吸取。于是，牧師和陪伴他的醫(yī)生只好再龜縮到他們的教會劃為正宗的禁區(qū)之內(nèi)。