Louisa， Melchior，s wife， was a stolid woman of the lower class. Her fatherinlaw had been furious at his son for marrying beneath him， but he was soon won over by the patient goodness of Louisa. It was fortunate that there was a strong tie between them， for Melchoir drank and wasted his money. Often the grandfather gave his little pension to Louisa because there was no money for the family.
曼希沃的妻子鲁意莎，是下等阶级的一个呆头呆脑的女人。她的公公非常生儿子的气，因为他娶了比他低微的人，但是鲁意莎的坚忍品德很快就博得了公公的欢心。他们之间有一条牢固的感情纽带，这是一件幸运的事，因为曼希沃又酗酒，又乱花，常常由于家里一点钱也没有，爷爷只好把他微薄的养老金用来接济鲁意莎。
Melchior by chance one day heard his threeyearold Christophe playing at the piano. In his drunken enthusiasm， Melchior conceived the idea of creating a musical prodigy. So began Christophe，s lessons. Over and over he played his scales； over and over he practiced until he was letter perfect. Often he rebelled. Whipping only made him more rebellious， but in the end the piano always pulled him back.
有一天，曼希沃无意中听到他那三岁的克利斯朵夫在弹钢琴。在酒后的狂热中，他动了要创造一个音乐神童的念头。克利斯朵夫从此开始了他的音乐训练。他无休无止地练习指法直到完全弹准为止。为此他常常起来反抗，而鞭打只有使他更为倔强，但到头来还是钢琴把他吸引回来。
His grandfather noticed that he would often improvise melodies as he played with his toys. Sitting in a different room， he would transcribe those airs and arrange them. Christophe showed real genius in composition.
他的祖父注意到他在玩玩具时常常即兴哼出旋律来。祖父坐在另外一间屋子里，把这些曲调记录下来，加以整理。克利斯朵夫表现出真正的作曲天才。
At the age of seven and a half Christophe was ready for his first concert. Dressed in a ridiculous costume， he was presented at court as a child prodigy of six. He played works of some of the German masters and then performed with great success his own compositions gathered into an expensive privately printed volume， The Pleasures of Childhood： Aria， Minuetto， Valse， and Marcia， Opus I， by JeanChristophe Krafft. The grand duke was delighted and bestowed the favor of the court on the prodigy.
七岁半时，克利斯朵夫已经准备好举行他的首次音乐会了。穿了一套可笑的服装，他被人以六岁神童的称号带到宫廷里去。他首先演奏了一些德国大师的作品，然后极其成功地演奏了他自己的作品，这些作品都收集在一本精装的私人刊印的卷册里，名为《约翰·克利斯朵夫·克拉夫脱作品第一号，童年遣兴：咏叹调、小步舞曲、圆舞曲和进行曲》。大公爵高兴极了，把宫廷的恩宠赐给这位神童。
Before reaching his teens， Christophe was firmly installed as official second violinist in the court orchestra， where his father was concert master. Rehearsals， concerts， composition， lessons to give and take - that was his life. He became the mainstay of the family financially， even collecting his father，s wages before Melchior could get his hands on them. All the other phases of his life were neglected； no one even bothered to teach him table manners.
还不到十三岁，克利斯朵夫在宫廷管弦乐队里就已经稳稳地当上了正式的第二小提琴手，他的父亲就是该乐队的首席小提琴手。排练、演出、作曲、教课、学习——这就是克利斯朵夫的生活。他成了家庭经济的主要支柱，甚至他父亲的工资也由他去领取而不让他父亲沾手。生活的其他方面全被忽视了；甚至没有人想到要教给他吃饭时应有的规矩。
When Melchior finally drowned himself， his death was a financial benefit to the Kraffts. But when Jean Michel died， it was a different matter. Christophe，s two brothers were seldom home， and only Louisa and her musician son were left. To save money， they moved into a smaller， more wretched flat.
曼希沃后来淹死了，他的死倒给克拉夫脱家庭的经济带来了好处。但是约翰·米希尔之死却是另一回事了。克利斯朵夫的两个弟弟很少在家，家中只剩下鲁意莎和她这个音乐家儿子。为了节省开支，他们搬到一个更小、更简陋的住所去。
Meanwhile Christophe was going through a series of love affairs which always terminated unhappily because of his unswerving honesty and lack of social graces. In his early twenties he took Ada， a vulgar shop girl， for his mistress. Because of gossip， he found it much harder to get and keep pupils. When he dared to publish a criticism of the older masters， he lost his standing at court. He had almost decided to leave Germany.
与此同时，克利斯朵夫经历了一系列的恋爱事件，由于他的憨直老实和缺乏交际手腕，这些恋爱总是以不幸而告终。他二十岁出头就勾搭上粗俗的女店员阿达做他的情妇。由于流言蜚语，他发现越来越难找到学生，也难留住学生了。当他敢于对老一辈的大师发表评论意见时，他也就失去了宫廷的位置。他几乎下决心要离开德国。
At a peasant dance one night he protected Lorchen， a farm girl， from a group of drunken soldiers. In the ensuing brawl， one soldier was killed and two were seriously injured. With a warrant out for his arrest， Christophe escaped to Paris.
有一天晚上在一个乡村的舞会上，他为了保护一个叫洛金的农村姑娘，与一群喝醉了的士兵大打出手，当场一个士兵被打死了，两个受了重伤。由于已经发出了逮捕状，克利斯朵夫只好逃往巴黎。
Once in France， a country he greatly admired， Christophe found it difficult to acclimate himself. He met a group of wealthy and cynical Jews， Americans， Belgians， and Germans， but he judged their sophistication painful and their affectations boring. His compositions， although appreciated by a few， were not generally well received at first.
法国是克利斯朵夫一向极为向往的国家，但一旦到了那儿，他发现很难于适应。他遇到了一群又有钱又玩世不恭的犹太人、美国人、比利时人和德国人，不过他认为他们那种世故是令人痛苦的，他们那些虚伪做作很讨厌。他所作的曲子虽然能得到一些人的欣赏，但起初并不普遍受到欢迎。
After a time， with increasing recognition， he found himself alternately praised and blamed by the critics. But he was noticed， and that was the important thing. Although he was received in wealthy homes and given complimentary tickets for theaters and concerts， he was still desperately poor.
过了一些日子，由于受到越来越多的赏识，他发现自己被评论界忽而赞扬忽而指责。不过他因此引起了注意，这是很重要的事。虽然他受到有钱人家的接待并收到戏院和音乐会的招待票，他还是一贫如洗。
At the home of the Stevens family， where he was kindly received， he instructed Colette， the coquettish daughter， and the younger， gentler Grazia， her cousin. Without falling in love with Colette， he was for a time her teacher and good friend. Grazia， who adored him. was only another pupil.
他在史丹芬家受到了很好的接待，他们那个卖弄风情的女儿高兰德和她那比较年轻、比较温柔的表妹葛拉齐亚是他的学生。他并没跟高兰德谈恋爱，因此他们维持了一阵师生和好友的关系。葛拉齐亚很崇拜他，而在他呢，她只不过是另一个学生而已。
One night a blushing， stammering young man of letters was introduced to him. It was Olivier， who had long been a faithful admirer of Christophe，s music. Christophe was immediately attracted to Olivier， although at first he was not quite sure why. Olivier，s face was only hauntingly familiar.
有一天晚上，人们介绍给他一个腼腆的、口吃的年轻文学家。他就是奥里维，他长久以来一直是克利斯朵夫音乐的忠诚崇拜者。克利斯朵夫立即被奥里维吸引住了，起初他也说不清为什么，他只是感到奥里维异常面熟。