He now almost reproached himself for not having put those formidable questions, before which he had recoiled, and from which an implacable and definitive decision might have sprung.

• 这些可怕的问题，当时他是退缩不敢提，这些问题本可能会使他得出一个毫不容情的一刀两断的决定，他此刻几乎埋怨自己没有把它提出来。