Chapter 19
Statement VII & Holmes’s Epilogue
II. The Adventure of the Cardboard Box
 
“There you have
the whole truth
of it.

You can hang me,
or you can do
what you like
with me,
but you cannot
punish ( 懲罰) me
as I have been
punished already.”
This is the end of paragraph 1.

“I cannot
shut my eyes,
but I see
those two faces
staring ( 凝視)
at me—
staring at me
as they stared
when my boat
broke through
the haze ( 薄霧).”
This is the end of paragraph 2.

“I killed them
quick,
but they are killing me
slow;
and if I have
another night
of it
I shall be
either mad ( 發瘋)
or dead
before morning.”
This is the end of paragraph 3.

“You won’t put me
alone
into a cell ( 牢房),
sir?”
This is the end of paragraph 4.

“For pity’s sake ( 看在可憐份上)
don’t,
and may you
be treated ( 受到對待)
in your day
of agony ( 極度痛苦)
as you treat me
now.”
This is the end of paragraph 5.

“What is
the meaning of it,
Watson?”
said Holmes
solemnly ( 嚴肅地)
as he laid down
the paper.”
This is the end of paragraph 6.

“What object
is served
by this circle
of misery ( 痛苦)
and violence ( 暴力)
and fear?

It must tend
to some end,
or else our universe ( 宇宙 / 世界)
is ruled ( 受…支配)
by chance ( 偶然),
which is
unthinkable ( 難以接受的).”
This is the end of paragraph 7.

“But what end?

There is
the great,
standing,
perennial ( 長久存在的)
problem
to which
human reason
is as far
from an answer
as ever.”
This is the end of paragraph 8.

The  End