第3章 我的家庭 (3)

　　那个时候，皮埃尔·居里刚刚荣获博士学位，并受聘任教于巴黎物理和化学学校。那一年，他岁，已经成为国内外颇具名气的物理学家了。他全心全意地投入科学研究当中，而很少留意自己的职位、待遇等问题，所以他的经济状况非常一般。结婚前，他与年迈的父母在一起生活，住在巴黎郊区的苏城。他特别孝顺，我记得他第一次跟我提到他的父母的时候，用了“慈父慈母”一词。事实上，他并没有夸大其词。他的父亲是一位很有资历的物理学家，为人慷慨大度，性格刚强；他母亲是一位典型的贤妻良母，一生相夫教子，从无怨言。他的哥哥为蒙彼利埃大学的教授，兄弟二人情深意笃，皮埃尔对他的哥哥十分敬重。进入这样的一个家庭，我感到十分荣幸，而且我确实也受到这家人的热忱欢迎。

　　我们举行了一个十分简单的婚礼，也没有专门购置结婚礼服。参加婚礼的只有为数不多的亲朋好友。令我感到高兴的是，我的父亲和二姐也从波兰赶来了。

　　除了想要一个安静的地方用来居住和工作以外，我和皮埃尔并无其他什么奢望。我们非常高兴地找到了一套三居室的小房子，从窗口看出去，眼前出现一座美丽的花园。老人们给我们购置了一些家具。我们用一个亲戚给我们的喜钱买了两辆自行车，用来出去远游。

　　Chapter I My Family

　　I have been asked by my American friends to write the story of my life. At first, the idea seemed alien to me, but I yielded to persuasion. However, I could not conceive my biography as a complete expression of personal feelings or a detailed description of all incidents I would remember. Many of our feelings change with the years, and, when faded away, may seem altogether strange; incidents lose their momentary interest and may be remembered as if they have occurred to some other person. But there may be in a life some general direction, some continuous thread, due to a few dominant ideas and a few strong feelings, that explain the life and are characteristic of a human personality. Of my life, which has not been easy on the whole, I have described the general course and the essential features, and I trust that my story gives an understanding of the state of mind in which I have lived and worked.

　　My family is of Polish origin, and my name is Marie Sklodowska. My father and my mother

　　both came from among the small Polish landed proprietors. In my country this class is composed of a large number of families, owners of small and medium-sized estates, frequently interrelated. It has been, until recently, chiefly from this group that Poland has drawn her intellectual recruits.

　　While my paternal grandfather had divided his time between agriculture and directing a provincial college, my father, more strongly drawn to study, followed the course of the University of Petrograd, and later definitely established himself at Warsaw as Professor of Physics and Mathematics in one of the lyceums of that city. He married a young woman whose mode of life was congenial to his; for, although very young, she had, what was, for that time, a very serious education, and was the director of one of the best Warsaw schools for young girls.

　　My father and mother worshiped their profession in the highest degree and have left, all over their country, a lasting remembrance with their pupils. I cannot, even to-day, go into Polish society without meeting persons who have tender memories of my parents.

　　Although my parents adopted a university career, they continued to keep in close touch with their numerous family in the country. It was with their relatives that I frequently spent my vacation, living in all freedom and finding opportunities to know the field life by which I was deeply attracted. To these conditions, so different from the usual villegiature, I believe, I owe my love for the country and nature.

　　Born at Warsaw, on the th of November, , I was the last of five children, but my oldest sister died at the early age of fourteen, and we were left, three sisters and a brother. Cruelly struck by the loss of her daughter and worn away by a grave illness, my mother died at forty-two, leaving her husband in the deepest sorrow with his children. I was then only nine years old, and my eldest brother was hardly thirteen.

　　This catastrophe was the first great sorrow of my life and threw me into a profound depression. My mother had an exceptional personality. With all her intellectuality she had a big heart and a very high sense of duty. And, though possessing infinite indulgence and good nature, she still held in the family a remarkable moral authority. She had an ardent piety (my parents were both Catholics), but she was never intolerant; differences in religious belief did not trouble her; she was equally kind to any one not sharing her opinions. Her influence over me was extraordinary, for in me the natural love of the little girl for her mother was united with a passionate admiration.

　　Very much affected by the death of my mother, my father devoted himself entirely to his work and to the care of our education. His professional obligations were heavy and left him little leisure time. For many years we all felt weighing on us the loss of the one who had been the soul of the house.

　　We all started our studies very young. I was only six years old, and, because I was the youngest and smallest in the class, was frequently brought forward to recite when there were visitors. This was a great trial to me, because of my timidity; I wanted always to run away and hide. My father, an excellent educator, was interested in our work and knew how to direct it, but the conditions of our education were difficult. We began our studies in private schools and finished them in those of the government.