第15章 婚后生活(6)

The death of my husband，coming immediately after the general knowledge of the discoveries with which his name is associated，was felt by the public，and especially by the scientific circles，to be a national misfortune.It was largely under the influence of this emotion that the Faculty of Sciences of Paris decided to offer me the chair，as professor，which my husband had occupied only one year and a half in the Sorbonne.It was an exceptional decision，as up to then no woman had held such a position.The University by doing this offered me a precious mark of esteem and gave me opportunity to pursue the researches which otherwise might have had to be abandoned.I had not expected a gift of this kind；I never had any other ambition than to be able to work freely for science.The honor that now came to me was deeply painful under the cruel circumstances of its coming.Besides I wondered whether I would be able to face such a grave responsibility.After much hesitation，I decided that I ought at least to try to meet the task，and so I began in 1906 my teaching in the Sorbonne，as assistant professor，and two years later I was named titular professor.

这场灾难使我失去了人生旅途上最亲密的伴侣与最要好的朋友，我真的无法用言语来表述它给我带来的严重影响。这沉重的打击使我的精神处于崩溃状态，感觉自己完全无法面对未来，但是，皮埃尔的那句话却始终萦绕在我心中，令我不能忘怀：“即使我不在了，你也必须坚持工作下去。”

皮埃尔去世的时候正是他的名字与成就为公众所认知的时期，所以在社会上，特别是在科学界，大家都很惋惜，普遍认为他的去世是国家的巨大损失。因此，巴黎科学教育界决定由我继承皮埃尔任职一年半的讲座教授的席位。这可以说是破例的决定，因为在过去，没有一个妇女担任过这种职务。巴黎大学的这一决定，确实让我感到无上的荣耀，使我受到激励，得以继续进行原来的研究，否则的话，我可能就不得不放弃了。我本来并没有期盼获得这项殊荣，因为除了一心想为科学事业奋斗终生之外，我没有任何的野心与奢望。这种情况下，授予我这一职务，更使我悲从中来。我担心自己不能承担起这一重任。几经思考，我决定试一试看。于是，从1906年秋天开始，我以副教授的身份开始在巴黎大学授课。两年后，我被聘为教授。

In my new situation the difficulties of my life were considerably augmented，as I alone had now to carry the burden formerly weighing on my husband and me together.The cares of my young children required close vigilance；in this，my husband's father，who continued to live with us，willingly took his share.He was happy to be occupied with the little girls，whose company was his chief consolation after his son's death.By his effort and mine，the children had a bright home，even if we lived with our inner grief，which they were too young to realize.The strong desire of my father-in-law being to live in the country，we took a house with a garden in Sceaux，a suburb of Paris，from which I could reach the city in half an hour.

This country life had great advantages，not only for my father-in-law，who enjoyed his new surroundings，and especially his garden，but also for my girls，who had the benefit of walks in the open country.But they were more separated from me，and it became necessary to have a governess for them.This position was filled first by one of my cousins，and then by a devoted woman who had already brought up the daughter of one of my sisters.Both of them were Polish，and in this way my daughters learned my native tongue.From time to time，some one of my Polish family came to see me in my grief，and we managed to meet in vacation time，at the seashore in France，and once in the mountains of Poland.

In 1910 we suffered the loss of my very dear father-in-law，after a long illness，which brought me many sorrowful days.I used to spend at his bedside as much time as I could，listening to his remembrances of passed years.His death affected deeply my elder daughter，who，at twelve，knew the value of the cheerful hours spent in his company.

自从皮埃尔离开之后，我生活上的困难就不可避免地大大增加了。以前由我和皮埃尔共同承担的事情，现在只能由我独自承担了。我不得不亲自抚养两个孩子。皮埃尔的父亲仍然和我们共同居住，并且主动提出和我共同承担家庭的重任。他非常高兴能够帮着照料两个孙女。失去儿子之后，两个孙女成了他唯一的慰藉与欢乐。在他和我的共同努力下，孩子们才得以享受到家庭的幸福。我们决不将心中的隐痛在孩子们面前流露出来，因为她们年岁太小，不该让她们过早地品尝人生的痛苦。皮埃尔的父亲喜欢乡村生活，所以我们就在苏城租了一座带花园的屋子，它到巴黎城里只要半个小时。

生活在乡间确实有很多好处，不仅我的公公从那里的环境，特别是那个花园中获得了无限的享受，两个女儿也得以在经常去空旷的田野间玩耍的过程中受益。因为我白天要上班，经常无法照顾女儿，所以只好请了一个保姆。第一个保姆是我的一个表亲，后来又换成了一个很厚道的女子，她曾带大过我一个姐姐的女儿。两位保姆都是波兰人，因此我的两个女儿都会讲波兰话。我的波兰亲属们也不时地来看望我、安慰我。我们一般都是在假期设法在法国海滨相聚，有一次还在波兰山区待了一段日子。

我亲爱的公公久病之后在1910年去世了，这令我伤心悲痛了好长一段时间。在他卧床不起期间，我尽可能地抽出时间在病床边陪护他，听他讲述往事。对于爷爷的逝世，我的大女儿感到尤为悲痛，当时她已经12岁了，已经懂得爷爷的关爱是多么的重要了，她没有办法忘记往日祖孙俩相处的幸福时光。

There were few resources for the education of my daughters in Sceaux.The youngest one，a small child，needed principally a hygienic life，outdoor walks and quite elementary schooling.She had already shown a vivid intelligence and an unusual disposition for music.Her elder sister resembled her father in the form of her intelligence.She was not quick，but one could already see that she had a gift of reasoning power and that she would like science.She had some training in a private school in Paris，but I had not wanted to keep her in a lycee，as I have always found the class hours in these schools too long for the health of the children.

My view is that in the education of children the requirement of their growth and physical evolution should be respected，and that some time should be left for their artistic culture.In most schools，as they exist today，the time spent in various reading and writing exercises is too great，and the study required to be done at home too much.I also find these schools lacking，in general，in practical exercises to accompany the scientific studies.

With a few friends in the university circle who shared these views，we organized，therefore，a cooperative group for the education of our children，each of us taking charge of the teaching of a particular subject to all of the young people.We were all very busy with other things，and the children varied in age.Nevertheless，the little experiment thus made was very interesting.With a small number of classes we yet succeeded in reuniting the scientific and literary elements of a desirable culture.The courses in science were accompanied by practical exercises in which the children took great interest.