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And in the same manner your mother must at times regret that she tried to shift her grave responsibilities on someone else, who already had enough of a burden to carry. She occupied the position of both parents to you. Did she really fulfil the duties of either[149a]? If I bore with your bad temper and your rudeness and your scenes, she might have borne with them too. When last I saw my wife—fourteen months ago now—I told her that she would have to be to Cyril a father as well as a mother. I told her everything about your mother’s mode of dealing with you in every detail as I have set it down in this letter, only of course far more fully. I told her the reason of the endless notes with “Private” on the envelope that used to come to Tite Street from your mother, so constantly that my wife used to laugh and say that we must be collaborating in a society novel or something of that kind[149b]. I implored her not to be to Cyril what your mother was to you. I told her that she should bring him up so that if he shed innocent blood he would come and tell her, that she might cleanse his hands for him first, and then teach him how by penance or expiation to cleanse his soul afterwards. I told her that if she was frightened of facing the responsibility of the life of another, though her own child, she should get a guardian to help her. That she has, I am glad to say, done. She has chosen Adrian Hope, a man of high birth and culture and fine character[149c], her own cousin, whom you met once at Tite Street, and with him Cyril and Vyvyan have a good chance of a beautiful future.[149.1] Your mother, if she was afraid of talking seriously to you, should have chosen someone amongst her own relatives to whom you might have listened. But she should not have been afraid. She should have had it out with you and faced it[149d]. At any rate, look at the result. Is she satisfied and pleased?
同样的，你母亲必定也会不时地后悔把重大的责任推给别人，而那个人自己的负担已经不轻了。 对于你，她是身兼父母之责的人，可她是否真的履行了或父或母的义务[149a]？假如你的坏脾气、你的粗鲁、你的大吵大闹我忍受了，她也该忍受才是。上一次见到我妻子时——十四个月前的事了——我告诉她要对西里尔负起既是母亲也是父亲的责任。我把你母亲对待你的方式，详详细细告诉了她，就跟在这封信里说的一样，只是当然要完整得多了。我说了那注明“私信”、自你母亲那里不断送到泰特街家里的短笺，到底是为的什么。那些信源源不绝，弄得我妻子都笑了，说我们一定是在合写一部社会小说或者诸如此类的东西[149b]。我恳求她不要像你母亲待你那样待西里尔，对他的教养要使他日后万一流了无辜之人的血后，会回来告诉她，这样她就能先为他洗净双手，再教他过后如何通过忏悔或赔偿来洗净灵魂。我告诉她，假如不敢对另一个人的生活负责，虽然这个人是她的亲生孩子，那就得请个监护人协助。这一点，我很高兴地说，她办到了。选的监护人是亚德里安? 霍普，出身高贵，富有教养，性格温良[149c]，又是她的表亲，你曾在泰特街见过他一面。有了他，西里尔和维维安的美好前程就很有希望了。你母亲，如果她怕同你严肃地交谈，就应该在亲戚中找个说的话你或许听得进的人。但她首先不应该害怕，本该同你开诚布公，面对现实[149d]。不管怎样，看看后果吧。你说她能满意，能快活吗？
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