Oliver was receiving many invitations to other houses. This had become something of a tradition with our other summer residents as well. My father always wanted them to feel free to “talk” their books and expertise around town. He also believed that scholars should learn how to speak to the layman, which was why he always had lawyers, doctors, businessmen over for meals. Everyone in Italy has read Dante, Homer, and Virgil20, he’d say. Doesn’t matter whom you’re talking to, so long as you Dante-and-Homer them first. Virgil is a must, Leopardi21 comes next, and then feel free to dazzle them with everything you’ve got, Celan, celery, salami, who cares. This also had the advantage of allowing all of our summer residents to perfect their Italian, one of the requirements of the residency. Having them on the dinner circuit around B. also had another benefit: it relieved us from having them at our table every single night of the week.
 
奧利弗接到許多家庭邀請(qǐng)。對(duì)我們家的夏天住客來(lái)說(shuō)，這也算是某種傳統(tǒng)。父親一直希望他們別拘束，多和人“聊聊”他們的書(shū)和研究主題；他也認(rèn)為學(xué)者應(yīng)該懂得怎么跟外行人說(shuō)話(huà)，所以總是請(qǐng)一些律師、醫(yī)生、商人來(lái)家里用餐。他總說(shuō)，在意大利，人人都讀過(guò)但丁、荷馬、維吉爾，無(wú)論跟誰(shuí)談話(huà)，只要先扯點(diǎn)但丁或荷馬就對(duì)了。維吉爾是一定要講的，接下來(lái)可以提提萊奧帕爾迪。然后盡管用你所知道的一切讓人折服，不管是策蘭、芹菜或薩拉米臘腸，都沒(méi)關(guān)系。這也有個(gè)好處，就是讓夏季住客的意大利語(yǔ)得以精進(jìn)。會(huì)說(shuō)意大利語(yǔ)是住在這里的必要條件。讓他們?cè)?B?城巡回吃晚餐還有另一個(gè)好處：我們不必每天晚上都跟他們同桌用餐，也稍稍減輕了一點(diǎn)壓力。
 
But Oliver’s invitations had become vertiginous. Chiara and her sister wanted him at least twice a week. A cartoonist from Brussels, who rented a villa all summer long, wanted him for his exclusive Sunday soupers to which writers and scholars from the environs were always invited. Then the Moreschis, from three villas down, the Malaspinas from N., and the occasional acquaintance struck up at one of the bars on the piazzetta, or at Le Danzing. All this to say nothing of his poker and bridge playing at night, which flourished by means totally unknown to us.
 
但奧利弗接到的邀請(qǐng)多得令人眼花繚亂。奇亞拉和她妹妹一星期至少邀他兩回。一名來(lái)自布魯塞爾的漫畫(huà)家夏天在這兒租了一棟別墅，他希望奧利弗參加他的周末晚宴，聚會(huì)只邀請(qǐng)一些住在近郊的作家和學(xué)者。還有與我家隔三棟別墅的莫雷斯奇家、來(lái)自?N?城的瑪拉斯皮納家，偶爾還有在小廣場(chǎng)的酒吧或“躍動(dòng)舞廳”認(rèn)識(shí)的朋友。這還不包括他晚上玩撲克或橋牌的結(jié)交，以我們完全不知道的方式活躍著。
 
His life, like his papers, even when it gave every impression of being chaotic, was always meticulously compartmentalized. Sometimes he skipped dinner altogether and would simply tell Mafalda, “Esco, I’m going out.”
 
他的生活就像他的文稿一樣，盡管怎么看都給人以混亂的印象，卻總是做好了謹(jǐn)慎的區(qū)分。有時(shí)候他不吃晚餐，只跟瑪法爾達(dá)說(shuō)聲“Esco，我出去嘍。”就出門(mén)了。

《請(qǐng)以你的名字呼喚我》