Again, a third instance. After parting from the old church-member, he met the youngest sister of them all. It was a maiden newly won- and won by the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale's own sermon, on the Sabbath after his vigil, to barter the transitory pleasures of the world for the heavenly hope, that was to assume brighter substance as life grew dark around her, and which would gild the utter gloom with final glory. She was fair and pure as a lily that had bloomed in Paradise. The minister knew well that he was himself enshrined within the stainless sanctity of her heart, which hung its snowy curtains about his image, imparting to religion the warmth of love, and to love a religious purity. Satan, that afternoon, had surely led the poor young girl away from her mother's side, and thrown her into the pathway of this sorely tempted, or- shall we not rather say?- this lost and desperate man. As she drew nigh, the arch-fiend whispered him to condense into small compass and drop into her tender bosom a germ of evil that would be sure to blossom darkly soon, and bear black fruit betimes. Such was his sense of power over this virgin soul, trusting him as she did, that the minister felt potent to blight all the field of innocence with but one wicked look, and develop all its opposite with but a word. So- with a mightier struggle than he had yet sustained- he held his Geneva cloak before his face, and hurried onward, making no sign of recognition, and leaving the young sister to digest his rudeness as she might. She ransacked her conscience- which was full of harmless little matters, like her pocket, or her workbag- and took herself to task, poor thing! for a thousand imaginary faults; and went about her household duties with swollen eyelids the next morning.
還有第三個例子。他在告別了那位老教友之后，便遇到了最年輕的一位女教友。她是新近才皈依的一位少女，而且就是在聆聽了丁梅斯代爾牧師先生夜游后那個安息日所作的布道才皈依的，她要以世間的短暫歡樂來換取天國的希望，當她周圍的人生變得黯淡時，這希望便會益發(fā)明亮，以最后的榮光包圍四下的一片昏黑。她如同天堂中開放的百合一樣嬌好純真。牧師深知，他本人就供奉在她心靈的無理的圣殿之中，并用她雪白的心靈的帷幔罩著他的肖像，將愛情的溫暖融進宗教，并將宗教的純潔融進愛情。那天下午，一定是撒旦把這可憐的少女從她母親身旁引開，并將她拋到那個被誘惑得心旌神搖的，或者，——我們不妨這樣說吧，——那個迷途和絕望的人的路上。就在她走近的時候，魔王便悄聲要他縮小形體，并在她溫柔的心胸中投入一顆邪惡的種子，很快便會陰暗地開花，到時一定會結(jié)出黑色的果實。牧師意識到自己有權(quán)左右這個十分信任他的少女的靈魂，他感到只消他不懷好意地一瞥，她那無邪的心田就會立即枯萎，只消他說一個宇，她那純潔的心靈就會走向反面?？墒牵诮?jīng)歷了一番前所未有的強有力的內(nèi)心搏斗之后，他指起他那黑色法衣的寬袖遮住面孔，匆匆向前走去，裝出沒有認出她的樣子，任憑那年輕的女教友去隨便解釋他的無禮。她察遍她的良心——那是同她的衣袋或針線盒一樣，滿裝著各種無害的小東西的——，這可憐的姑娘，就用數(shù)以千計的想象中的錯誤來責備自己；次日天明，去干家務(wù)時，她兩眼都哭得紅腫了。

Before the minister had time to celebrate his victory over this last temptation, he was conscious of another impulse, more ludicrous, and almost as horrible. It was- we blush to tell it- it was to stop short in the road, and teach some very wicked words to a knot of little Puritan children who were playing there, and had but just begun to talk. Denying himself this freak, as unworthy of his cloth, he met a drunken seaman, one of the ship's crew from the Spanish Main. And here, since he had so valiantly forborne all other wickedness, poor Mr. Dimmesdale longed, at least to shake hands with the tarry blackguard, and recreate himself with a few improper jests, such as dissolute sailors so abound with, and a volley of good, round, solid, satisfactory, and heaven-defying oaths! It was not so much a better principle, as partly his natural good taste, and still more his buckramed habit of clerical decorum, that carried him safely through the latter crisis.
牧師還沒來得及慶賀他剛剛戰(zhàn)勝了誘惑，便又覺察到了一次沖動，這次沖動如前幾次一樣可怕，只是更加無稽。那是——我們說起來都臉紅——那是，他想在路上停下來，對那些正在玩耍、剛剛開始學(xué)語的一伙清教徒小孩子們，教上幾句極難聽的話。只是由于與他身穿的法衣不相稱，他才沒有去做這反常之舉。他又看到一個醉醺醺的水手，正是來自拉丁美洲北部海域的那艘船上的；此時，可憐的丁梅斯代爾先生既然已經(jīng)勇敢地克制了前幾次邪惡，卻想至少要和這渾身沾滿油污的粗人握一握手，并用幾句水手們掛在嘴邊的放蕩下流的俏皮話，和一連串的十分圓滑、令人開心的褻瀆神明的詛咒來尋尋開心！讓他得以平安地度過這次危機的，倒不是因為他有什么更高的準則，而是因為他天生具有優(yōu)雅的情趣，更主要的，是因為他那形成牢固習(xí)慣的教士禮儀。