Romain Rolland

Jean-Christophe is a two-thousand-page novel originally published in ten volumes. the painstaking record of the artistic development of a musical genius. Romain Rolland set out to portray the adventures of the soul of his hero and succeeded magnificently; in addition he broke down the artistic barrier between France and Germany. The experiences of Jean-Christophe are those of every genius who turns from the past to serve the future. In 1915 Rolland was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature, in great part for Jean-Christophe.

Melchior Krafft was a virtuoso, his father Jean Michel a famous conductor. It was no wonder that Melchior's son, Christophe, should be a musician.

Louisa, Melchior's wife, was a stolid woman of the lower class. Her father-in-law 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.

Melchior by chance one day heard his three-year-old 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.

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.

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 Jean-Christophe Krafft. The grand duke was delighted and bestowed the favor of the court on the prodigy.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It turned out that Olivier was the younger brother of Antoinette, a girl whose image Christophe cherished. Before he left Germany, a Jewish friend had given Christophe tickets for a box at the theater. Knowing no one to ask to accompany him, he went alone and in the lobby saw a French governess who was being turned away from the box office. Impulsively, Christophe took her in with him.The Grunebaums, the girl's employers, had expected to be invited also, and they were angry at the fancied slight. Antoinette was dismissed from their employ.

As she was returning to France, Christophe caught a glimpse of her on the train. That was all the contact he ever had with Antoinette. Now he learned that she had worn herself out by supporting Olivier until he could enter the Ecole Normale. When he finally passed the entrance examinations, she had already contracted consumption, and she died before Christophe came to Paris.

Finding a real friend in Olivier, Christophe took an apartment with him. The house was only middle-class or less; but in that house and its inhabitants, and with Olivier's guidance, Christophe began to find the real soul of France. Away from the sophisticated glitter of Paris, the ordinary people lived calm and purposeful lives filled with the ideal of personal liberty.

Olivier became a champion of Christophe and helped establish his reputation in the reviews. Then some one, an important person, worked anonymously on Christophe's behalf. In a few years he found himself famous in France and abroad as the foremost composer of the new music.

Olivier's marriage to the shallow Jacqueline separated the two friends. In his eventful life Christophe made many more friends, but none so dear as Olivier. He did, however, discover his anonymous benefactor. It was Grazia, no longer in love with him and married to a secretary of the Austrian legation.

Jacqueline left Olivier, and he and Christophe became interested in the syndicalist movement. They attended a May Day celebration which turned into a riot. Olivier was fatally stabbed. After killing a soldier, Christophe fled the country.

During his exile in Switzerland, Christophe went through an unhappy love affair with Anna, the wife of a friend, and the consequent sense of guilt temporarily stilled his genius. But with the help of the now widowed Grazia, Christophe spent ten fruitful years in Switzerland.

When he returned to France, he was sought after and acclaimed. He was vastly amused to find himself an established master, and even considered out of date by younger artists.

Although Grazia and Christophe never married, they remained steadfast and consoling friends. Grazia died in Egypt, far from her beloved Christophe. He died in Paris. To the end, Christophe was uncompromising, for he was a true artist.

--- from Masterpieces of World Literature in Digest Form (来源：英语博客 http://space.englishcn.com)

约翰·克利斯朵夫

〔法〕罗曼·罗兰 原著 沈师光 译注

《约翰·克利斯朵夫》原著是一部十卷二千页的小说，它是一个音乐天才的艺术发展过程的精雕细琢的记录。罗曼·罗兰描绘书中主人公的心灵活动，取得了巨大的成功。此外，他还消除了法国与德国之间的艺术隔阂。约翰·克利斯朵夫的经历也就是每一个丢掉过去、开拓将来的天才人物的经历。 1915 年罗兰获得诺贝尔文学奖，主要是由于《约翰·克利斯朵夫》这部巨著。

曼希沃是一位演奏家，他的父亲约翰·米希尔是著名的乐队指挥。毫不足怪，曼希沃的儿子克利斯朵夫也应该是个音乐家。

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。

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。

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。克利斯杂夫表现出真正的作曲天才。

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。

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。

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。

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。

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。

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。

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。

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。

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。

后来才知道奥里维就是安多纳德的弟弟，安多纳德这位姑娘的形象是克利斯朵夫所极为珍爱的。在他离开德国之前，一个犹太朋友曾经给了克利斯朵夫几张戏院的包厢票子。他知道找不到人来陪他，就一个人去了，在门厅里他看到一个法国家庭女教师正在售票处前要买票买不到，克利斯朵夫一时冲动就把她带了进去。这姑娘的主人葛罗纳蓬一家以为他们也会被邀请的，结果他们自认为受到了怠慢，为此十分恼怒，就把她——安多纳德辞退了。

在她回法国时，克利斯朵夫曾在火车上看到她一眼。这就是他和安多纳德全部的接触经过。现在他才知道她为了供应奥里维考取高等师范学校已耗尽了精力。在他终于被录取的时候，她已经得了肺结核症，在克利斯朵夫来到巴黎之前就死去了。

克利斯朵夫发现奥里维是个真正的朋友，就与他共住在一所公寓里。房子只是中等阶级水平的或者更低些；但是在这所房子里，通过各种各样的住户和依靠奥里维的指引，克利斯朵夫才开始发现法国真正的灵魂。远离巴黎的花花世界，普普通通的人过着平静而有意义的生活，这种生活充满了个人自由的理想。

奥里维变成了克利斯朵夫的拥护者，写评论文章帮他树立声望。与此同时，还有一个重要的匿名人物在暗中支持他。不出几年，他发现自己已是法国国内外在新音乐方面最重要的作曲家。

奥里维与肤浅的雅葛丽纳的婚姻把这两个朋友拆散了。在他经历丰富的一生中，克利斯朵夫又交了很多朋友，但是再没有一个能比得上奥里维这样亲密的了。不过，他终于找到了那个匿名的恩人，那就是葛拉齐亚。这时她已经不跟他相爱而嫁给了奥地利公使馆的一位秘书。

雅葛丽纳离开奥里维出走了，他与克利斯朵夫开始对工团主义运动感兴趣 。他们参加了一个五一节的庆祝会，结果庆祝会变成一场暴动。奥里维被刺伤致死。克利斯朵夫在杀死一个士兵后逃离了这个国家。

克利斯朵夫在瑞士流亡期间与阿娜发生了一次不愉快的恋爱事件。阿娜是他一个朋友的妻子，随之而来的内疚暂时压抑了他的天才。但是在当时已经孀居的葛拉齐亚的帮助下，克利斯朵夫在瑞士度过了十年硕果累累的生活。

在他返回法国时，他成了追求和欢呼的对象。他觉得非常好笑：自己已经成为公认的大师，而甚至被年轻一辈的艺术家认为已经有些过时了。

虽然葛拉齐亚和克利斯朵夫两人从未结婚，但是他们彼此保持着坚定不移的、互相安慰的友情。葛拉齐亚死在埃及，远离她所爱的克利斯朵夫。克利斯朵夫死在巴黎，至死都坚定不妥协，因为他是真正的艺术家。