Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn

亨利八世写给安妮·博林

King Henry VIII originally courted Anne Boleyn’s sister Mary, but it was Anne who caught the English royal’s wandering eye — though she refused to be his mistress. She wanted to be Queen. Unfortunately for Anne, the temperamental King had another change of heart and ordered her execution in 1536. Henry VIII wrote Anne this letter in 1527:

国王亨利八世最初追求的是安妮·博林的姐姐玛丽·博林，不过皇室看中的却是安妮——虽然她拒绝做亨利八世的情妇。她想要做的是皇后，不过不幸的是，喜新厌旧的亨利八世之后却又变了心，1536年时下令处决安妮。1527年，亨利八世给安妮写下了这样的情书：

“I beg to know expressly your intention touching the love between us. Necessity compels me to obtain this answer, having been more than a year wounded by the dart of love, and not yet sure whether I shall fail or find a place in your affection.”

“我乞求你，清楚明白地告诉我你的心意，是否愿意与我相爱。我必须要得到这个答案，爱神之箭射中了我，伤口已一年有余，能否在你的心中占有一席之地，我却依然无从确定。”

Napoleon to His Wife Josephine

拿破仑写给妻子约瑟芬

The ruthless French leader had a sweet side for his wife Josephine. Although he divorced her when she could not have children, he continued to write to her. A few days after they were married, Napoleon left to command the French army near Italy. In the following months, he frequently wrote, expressing how much he missed her. He wrote the following on July 17, 1796:

拿破仑这位法国革命残酷无情，然而对妻子约瑟芬却有柔情的一面。虽然因为约瑟芬无法怀孕而和她离婚，但他依旧保持着对她的通信。在他们婚后没几天，拿破仑就离开家，前往离意大利不远处的前线指挥部队。在接下去的几个月中，他频繁地给妻子写信，表达相思之情。1796年7月17日，他在信中写道：

“Since I left you, I have been constantly depressed. My happiness is to be near you. Incessantly I live over in my memory your caresses, your tears, your affectionate solicitude. The charms of the incomparable Josephine kindle continually a burning and a glowing flame in my heart. When, free from all solicitude, all harassing care, shall I be able to pass all my time with you, having only to love you, and to think only of the happiness of so saying, and of proving it to you?”

“自从与你分别，我时常郁郁寡欢。我的幸福就是能与你相依。我不断在记忆里重温你的爱抚、你的泪水、你深情的挂念。世上没有人能同你相比，你的魅力总会在我心中燃起熊熊烈火。我何时才能摆脱所有挂虑、所有恼人的担忧，和你共度生命中的每分每秒，向你证明，我只需要爱你，只需要想着向你诉说爱意时的幸福之感。”

Beethoven to His Immortal Beloved

贝多芬写给“永远的爱人”

The identity of Ludwig van Beethoven’s “immortal beloved,” who received a plethora of letters from the composer in 1812, is still a mystery, but historians believe it was Antonie Brentano, a diplomat’s daughter. Beethoven dedicated his Diabelli Variations Op. 120 to her, and in one of his letters found after his death, he famously wrote:

1812年，贝多芬“永远的爱人”收到了来自这位作曲家雪花般的来信，不过收信人的身份却依然无人知晓。不过，历史学家认为收信人是安东妮·布伦塔诺。安东妮·布伦塔诺是一位外交家的女儿，贝多芬将他创作的《迪亚贝利变奏曲》献给了她。贝多芬去世后人们找到了他生前的书信，在其中有一句的话：

“Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, Be calm–love me–today–yesterday–what tearful longings for you–you–you–my life–my all–farewell. Oh continue to love me–never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine. Ever mine. Ever ours.”

“我的人躺在床上，但我的思绪却飞向了你，我永远的爱人。请保持冷静-爱我-今天-昨天-我的眼中饱含泪水思念着你-你-你-我的生命-我的一切-永别了。噢，继续爱我吧，不要误会我这颗最赤诚地爱着你的心。我永远属于你。你永远属于我。我们永远属于彼此。”

Winston Churchill to His Wife Clementine

温斯顿·丘吉尔写给妻子克莱芒蒂娜

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine were married for 56 years and wrote to each other whenever they were apart. Winston wrote this letter to Clementine on Jan. 23, 1935, while she was traveling abroad:

英国首相温斯顿·丘吉尔和妻子克莱芒蒂娜携手走过了56个春秋，两人只要是分别，都会给对方写信。丘吉尔于1935年1月23日给正在国外旅游的克莱芒蒂娜写道：

“My darling Clemmie, in your letter from Madras you wrote some words very dear to me, about having enriched your life. I cannot tell you what pleasure this gave me, because I always feel so overwhelmingly in your debt, if there can be accounts in love…What it has been to me to live all these years in your heart and companionship no phrases can convey.”

“我亲爱的克莱米，你从马德拉斯寄来的信中写道让你的人生更为丰富，这些话对我来说太珍贵了。我无法表达出你给我带来了多少的快乐，因为我在想，如果爱也能够计算，那么我欠你的实在太多……这些年来，你对我的爱始终没有停歇，陪伴在我身边，我实在难以用言语表达这些事对我的意义。”

Charles Darwin to Emma Wedgwood

查尔斯·达尔文写给妻子爱玛·韦奇伍德

Charles Darwin, author of Origin of Species, wrote a pros and cons list for getting married, and eventually decided to propose to his first cousin Emma Wedgwood. The couple had a happy marriage, producing 10 children. Charles wrote this note to Emma just a few days before their wedding in 1839:

《物种起源》的作者查尔斯·达尔文列出了一张婚姻利弊清单，最终他决定向表妹爱玛·韦奇伍德求婚。他们两人婚姻美满，膝下有十个儿女。1839年两人结婚的前几天，达尔文在给爱玛的信中写道：

“How I do hope you shall be happy as I know I shall be. My own dearest Emma, I earnestly pray, you may never regret the great and I will add very good, deed you are to perform on the Tuesday: my own dear future wife, God bless you…”

“我多希望你也能和我一样幸福——我知道，我的未来将会有多幸福。我的爱玛，你只属于我。我诚挚地祈祷，希望你永远不会为我们星期二要做的伟大举动而后悔。我会竭尽所能使之完美：我亲爱的未来的妻子，愿上帝保佑你……”