One day he walked past one of those rich palaces of which Rome has many to show. He stopped before the great open portal，and beheld a garden surrounded by cloistered cloistered adj. 有走廊的，住在修道院的，隐居的 walks. The garden bloomed with a goodly show of the fairest roses. Great white lilies with green juicy leaves shot upward from the marble basin in which the clear water was splashing； and a form glided past，the daughter of the princely house，graceful，delicate，and wonderfully fair. Such a form of female loveliness he had never before beheld—yet stay： he had seen it，painted by Raphael，painted as a Psyche，in one of the Roman palaces. Yes，there it had been painted，but here it passed by him in living reality.
有一天他走过一个漂亮的宫殿——这样的建筑物在罗马是有许多的。他在一个敞开的大门前面停下来，看到了一个挂满了美丽画幅的长廊。这个长廊围绕着一个小小的花园。花园里面开满了最最美丽的玫瑰花。大朵的、雪白的、长着水汪汪的碧绿叶子的百合花从喷着清泉的大理石池子里开出来。这时候有一个人影在旁边轻盈地走过去了。这是一个年轻的姑娘，这座王府家里的女儿。她是那么高雅，那么娇柔，那么美丽！确实，他从来没有见到过这样一个女性——她是拉斐尔画出来的，作为素琪的形象绘在罗马的一个宫殿里的。是的，她是绘在那里，但她现在却在这儿生动地走过。
The remembrance lived in his thoughts，in his heart. He went home to his humble humble adj.卑下的，微贱的，谦逊的，粗陋的vt.使……卑下，挫，贬抑 room，and modelled a Psyche of clay. It was the rich young Roman girl，the noble maiden，and for the first time he looked at his work with satisfaction. It had a meaning for him，for it was she. And the friends who saw his work shouted aloud for joy，they declared that this work was a manifestation manifestation n.显示，表现，示威运动 of his artistic power，of which they had long been aware，and that now the world should be made aware of it too.
她在他的思想和心中活下来了。他回到他那座简陋的房间里，用黏土塑造了一个素琪的形象。这就是那位高贵的、年轻的罗马姑娘，那位相当高贵的小姐。这也是他第一次对自己的作品感到满意。这件作品对他有一种意义，因为它代表她。他所有的朋友，一看到这件作品，就高兴地叫起来。这件作品显示出他的艺术天才。他们早就看出了这一点，现在全世界也会看到它了。
The clay figure was lifelike and beautiful，but it had not the whiteness or the durability durability n.经久，耐久力 of marble. So they declared that the Psyche must henceforth live in marble. He already possessed a costly block of that stone. It had been lying for years，the property of his parents，in the courtyard. Fragments of glass，climbing weeds，and remains of artichokes had gathered about it and sullied sully v.玷污 its purity，but under the surface the block was as white as the mountain snow，and from this block the Psyche was to arise.” 这个黏土的塑像确是栩栩如生，但它没有大理石所具有的那种洁白和持续性。这个素琪的生命应该用大理石雕刻出来，并且他已经有一块贵重的大理石。那是他的父母的财产，放在院子里已有许多年了。玻璃瓶碎片、茴香梢子和朝鲜蓟的残茎堆在它的四周，玷污了它的洁白。不过它的内部仍旧洁白得像山上的积雪。素琪将要从这块石头里得到生命。
Now，it happened one morning—the bright Star tells nothing about this，but we know it occurred—that a noble Roman company came into the narrow lane lane n.（乡间）小路，巷，里弄，狭窄的通道，航线。 The carriage stopped at the top of the lane，and the company proceeded on foot towards the house，to inspect the young sculptors sculptor n.雕刻家 work，for they had heard him spoken of by chance. And who were these distinguished guests？ Poor young man！ Or fortunate young man he might be called. The noble young lady stood in the room and smiled radiantly radiantly adv.辉煌地，清朗地 when her father said to her，“It is your living image.” That smile could not be copied，any more than the look could be reproduced，the wonderful look which she cast upon the young artist. It was a fiery look，that seemed at once to elevate elevate vt.举起，提拔，振奋，提升……的职位 and to crush him.
这样的事情就在某一天发生了——那颗明亮的星儿一点也没讲出来，也没有看到，但我们却看到了。一群罗马的贵客走进这个狭窄而寒碜的巷子。他们的车子在一个不远的地方不走了，然后这群客人就来参观这个年轻艺术家的作品，由于他们曾经偶然听到别人谈起他。这些高贵的拜访者是谁呢？可怜的年轻人！他也能说是一个很不幸的年轻人吧。那位年轻的姑娘现在就真的站在他的房间里。当她的父亲对她说“这简直是你的一个缩影”时，她笑得多么美啊！这个微笑是无法模拟出来的，正像她的视线是无法模仿的一样——那道朝这青年艺术家一瞥的、奇异的视线。这是一个崇高、高贵，同时也有摧毁力的视线。
“The Psyche must be executed in marble.” said the wealthy patrician. And those were words of life for the dead clay and the heavy block of marble，and words of life likewise for the deeplymoved artist. “When the work is finished I will purchase it.” continued the rich noble.
“这个素琪肯定要用大理石雕刻出来！”那位有钱的贵族说。这对于那没有生命的黏土和沉重的大理石来说，是一句富有生命的话，对于这位神往的青年艺术家来说，也是一句富有生命的话。“这件作品一旦完成，我就要把它买去。”这位贵族说。
A new era seemed to have arisen in the poor studio. Life and cheerfulness gleamed there，and busy industry plied its work. The beaming Morning Star beheld how the work progressed. The clay itself seemed inspired since she had been there，and moulded mould v.用土覆盖，发霉，铸造n.[亦作mold］ 肥土，壤土，霉，模具 itself，in heightened beauty，to a likeness of the wellknown features.
一个新的时代好像在这间简单的工作室里开始了。生命和快乐在这儿发出光辉，辛勤的劳动在这儿进行着。那颗明亮的晨星看到了这件工作的进展。黏土也好像自从她到这儿来过以后就得到了灵感。它以高度的美感把自己变为一个难忘的面貌。
“Now I know what life is，” cried the artist rejoicingly，“it is Love！ It is the lofty abandonment abandonment n.放弃 of self for the dawning of the beautiful in the soul！ What my friends call life and enjoyment is a passing shadow，it is like bubbles among seething dregs，not the pure heavenly wine that consecrates consecrate vt.用作祭祀，献给，使神圣adj.被献给神的，神圣的 us to life.”
“这时我知道生命是什么了！”这位艺术家快乐地高呼着，“生命就是爱！生命就是壮丽的升华，美的陶醉！朋友们所说的生命和享受不过是马上消失的幻影，发酵的渣滓中所现出的沫沫，而不是那赋予生命的神圣的祭坛上的纯酒。”
The marble block was reared in its place. The chisel struck great fragments from it，the measurements were taken，points and lines were made，the mechanical part was executed execute vt.执行，实行，完成，处死，制成，till gradually the stone assumed a human female form，a shape of beauty，and became converted into the Psyche，fair and glorious—a divine being in human shape. The heavy stone appeared as a gliding，dancing，airy Psyche，with the heavenly innocent smile—the smile that had mirrored itself in the soul of the young artist.
大理石站起来了。錾子从它上面凿下大片大片的碎块。它被量过了，点和线都被划出来了，技术的部分都完成了，直到这块石头逐渐成为一个躯体，一个“美”的形态，最后变成素琪——漂亮得如一个反映出上帝的形象的少女。这块沉重的石头现在成了一个活泼、轻盈、缥缈、迷人的素琪。她的嘴唇上荡着一丝神圣的、天真无邪的微笑——那个深层地映在这位年轻的雕刻家心中的微笑。