47I was talking the other day with a nurse in a children’s hospital. It is a heartbreaking business, she told me. ‘You get into the way of nursing them, and comforting them, and playing with them, and mothering them, until you feel that they belong to you. And then, just as you have come to love the little thing as though he were your own, out he goes. And he always goes out with his father or his mother, clapping his hands for very joy at the excitement of going home, and you are left with a big lump in your throat, and perhaps a tear in your eye, at the thought that you will never see him again!’ Clearly, therefore, we do not fall in love as a matter of gratitude. The people who cling to us and depend upon us are much more likely to win our hearts than the people who have placed us under an obligation to them. If, instead of telling us that the heroine fell in love with the man who had saved her from drowning, the novelist had told us that the man who risked his life by plunging10 into the river fell in love with the white and upturned face as he laid it gently on the bank; or if, instead of telling us that the patient fell in love with the nurse, he had told us that the nurse fell in love with the patient upon whom she had lavished11 such beautiful devotion, he would have been much more true to nature and to real life. It is indisputable, of course, that, the rescuer having 48fallen in love with the rescued, she may soon discover his secret, and, since love begets12 love, reciprocate13 his affection. It is equally true that, the nurse having conceived so tender a passion for her patient, he may soon read the meaning of the light in her eye and of the tone in her voice, and feel towards her as she first felt towards him. But that is quite another matter, and is beside our point at present. Just now, I am only concerned with challenging the novelist’s unwarrantable assumption that we fall in love out of gratitude. We do nothing of the kind. Love, I repeat, is never utilitarian. We may fall hopelessly in love with a thing that is of very little use to us; and we may feel no sentimental14 attractions at all towards a thing that is almost indispensable. If any man dares to dispute these conclusions, I shall simply produce a roll of linoleum15 in support of my arguments, and he will be promptly16 crushed beneath the weight of argument that the linoleum will furnish.
The linoleum is the most conspicuous17 feature of the domestic establishment. It is impertinent, self-assertive, and loud. If you visit a house in which there is a linoleum, the thing rushes at you, and you see it even before the front door has been opened. Every minister who spends his afternoons in knocking at people’s doors knows exactly what I mean. The very sound of the knock tells you a good deal. Such 49sounds are of three kinds. There is the echoing and reverberating18 knock that tells you of bare boards; there is the dead and sombre thud that tells of linoleum on the floor; and there is the softened19 and muffled20 tap that tells of a hall well carpeted. And so I say that the linoleum—if there be one—rushes at you, and you seem to see it even before the door has been opened. Perhaps it is this immodesty on its part that prevents your liking21 it. It is always with the coy, shy, modest things that we fall in love most readily.
But however that may be, the fact remains22. Since this queer old world of ours began, men and women have fallen in love with all sorts of strange things; but there is no record of any man or woman yet having really fallen in love with a roll of linoleum. Of everything else about the house you get very fond. I can understand a man shedding tears when his arm-chair has to go to the sale-room or the scrap-heap. Robert Louis Stevenson once told the story of his favourite chair until he moved his schoolboy audience to tears! And everybody knows how Dickens makes you laugh and cry at the drollery23 and pathos24 with which, in all his books, he invests chairs, tables, clocks, pictures, and every other article of furniture. I fancy I should feel life to be less worth living if I were deprived of some of the household odds25 and ends with which all my felicity 50seems to be mysteriously associated. But I cannot conceive of myself as yielding to even a momentary26 sensation of tenderness over the sale, destruction, or exchange of any of the linoleums. I feel perfectly27 certain that neither Stevenson nor Dickens would ever have felt an atom of sentiment concerning linoleum. Yet why? Few things about the house are more serviceable. I could point offhand28 to a hundred things no one of which has earned its right to a place in the home one-hundredth part as nobly as has the linoleum. Yet I am very fond of each of those hundred things, whilst I am not at all fond of the linoleum. I appreciate it, but I do not love it. So there it is! Said I not truly that love is never utilitarian? We grow fond of things because we grow fond of things; we never grow fond of things simply because they are of use to us.
But we cannot in decency29 let the matter rest at that. There must be some reason for the failure of the linoleum to stir my affections. Why does it alone, among my household goods and chattels30, kindle31 no warmth within my soul? The linoleum is both pretty and useful; what more can I want? Many things pretty, but not useful, have swept me off my feet. Many things useful, but not pretty, have captivated my heart. And more than once things neither pretty nor useful have completely enslaved me. Yet here is the linoleum, both pretty 51and useful, and I feel for it no fondness whatsoever32; I remain as cold as ice, and as hard as adamant33. Why is it? To begin with, I fancy the pattern has something to do with it. I do not now refer to any particular pattern; but to all the linoleum patterns that were ever designed. Those endless squares and circles and diamonds and stars! Could anything be more repelling34? Here, for instance, on the linoleum, I find a star. I know at once that if I look I shall see hundreds of similar stars. They will all be in perfectly straight lines, not one a quarter of an inch out of its place. They will all be mathematically equidistant; they will be of exactly the same size, of identically the same colour, and their angles will all point in precisely35 the same direction. If the stars in the firmament36 above us were arranged on the same principle, they would drive us mad. The beauty of it is that, there, one star differeth from another star in glory. But on the linoleum they do nothing of the sort.
Or perhaps the pattern is a floral one. It thinks to coax37 me into a feeling that I am in the garden among the roses, the rhododendrons, or the chrysanthemums39. But it is a hopeless failure. Whoever saw roses, rhododendrons, or chrysanthemums, all of exactly the same size, of precisely the same colour, and hanging in rows at mathematically identical levels? The beauty of the garden is 52that having looked at this rose, I am the more eager to see that one; having admired this chrysanthemum38, I am the more curious to mark the variety presented by the next. No two are precisely the same. And because this infinite diversity is the essential charm both of the heavens above and of the earth beneath, I am shocked and repelled40 by the monotony of the pattern on the linoleum. In the old days it was customary to plaster the walls, even of sick-rooms, with papers of patterns equally pronounced, and many a poor patient was tortured almost to death by the glaring geometrical abominations. The doctor said that the sufferer was to be kept perfectly quiet; yet the pattern on the wall is allowed to scream at him and shout at him from night until morning, and from morning until night. He has counted those awful stars or roses, perpendicularly41, horizontally, diagonally, from right to left, from left to right, from top to bottom, and from bottom to top, until the hideous42 monstrosities are reproduced in frightful43 duplicate upon the fevered tissues of his throbbing44 brain. He may close his eyes, but he sees them still. It was a form of torture worthy45 of an inquisitor-general. The pattern on the linoleum is happily not quite so bad. When we are ill we do not see it; and when we are well we may to some extent avoid it. Not altogether; for even if we do not look at it, we have an uncanny feeling 53that it is there. Between the hearthrug and the table I catch sight of the bright flaunting46 head of a scarlet47 poppy, or of the tossing petals48 of a huge chrysanthemum, and my imagination instantly flashes to my mind the horrible impression of tantalizing49 rows of exactly similar blossoms running off with mathematical precision in every conceivable direction.
For some reason or other we instinctively50 recoil51 from these monotonous52 regularities53. I once heard a friend observe that the average woman would rather marry a man whose life was painfully irregular than a man whose life was painfully regular. It may have been an over-statement of the case; but there is something in it. We fall in love with good people, and we fall in love with bad people; but with the man who is ‘too proper,’ and the woman who is ‘too straight-laced,’ we very, very rarely fall in love. It is the problem of Tennyson’s ‘Maud.’ As a girl Maud was irregular—and lovable.
Maud, with her venturous climbings and tumbles and childish escapes,
Maud, the delight of the village, the ringing joy of the Hall,
Maud, with her sweet purse-mouth when my father dangled54 the grapes,
Maud, the beloved of my mother, the moon-faced darling of all.
54But later on Maud was regular—and as unattractive as linoleum.
... Maud, she has neither savour nor salt,
But a cold and clear-cut face, as I found when her carriage passed,
Perfectly beautiful: let it be granted her: where is the fault?
All that I saw (for her eyes were downcast, not to be seen)
Faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null,
Dead perfection, no more.
Shall I be told that this is high doctrine55, and hard to bear, this doctrine of the lovableness of irregularity? I think not. Towering above all our biographies, as snowclad heights tower above dusty little molehills, there stands the life-story of One who, alone among the sons of men, was altogether good. It is the most charming and the most varied57 life-story that has ever been written since this little world began. Its lovely deeds and graceful58 speech, its tender pathos and its awful tragedy, have won the hearts of men all over the world, and all down the ages. But find monotony there if you can! It is like a sky full of stars or a field of fairest flowers. The life that repels59, as the linoleum repels, by the very severity of its regularity56, has something wrong with it somewhere.
55If I have outraged60 the sensibilities of any well-meaning champion of a geometrical and mathematical and linoleum-like regularity, let me hasten to conciliate him! I know that even regularity—the regularity of the linoleum pattern—may have its advantages. Dr. George MacDonald, in Robert Falconer, says that ‘there is a well-authenticated story of a notorious convict who was reformed by entering, in one of the colonies, a church where the matting along the aisle61 was of the same pattern as that in the church to which he had gone with his mother as a boy.’ Bravo! It is pleasant, extremely pleasant, to find that even monotony has its compensations. Let me but get to know my ‘too proper’ and ‘straight-laced’ friends a little better, and I shall doubtless discover even there a few redeeming62 features.
But, for all that, the linoleum is cold; and we do not fall in love with cold things. A volcano is a much more dangerous affair than an iceberg63; but it is much more easy to fall in love with the things that make you shudder64 than with the things that make you shiver. That was the trouble with Maud, she was so chilly65 and chilling; her ‘cold and clear-cut face, faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly null!’ And that is precisely the trouble with every system of religion, morality, or philosophy—save one—that has ever been presented to the minds of men. Plato and Aristotle and Marcus 56Aurelius were splendid, simply splendid; but they were frigid66, frigid as Maud, and their counsels of perfection could never have enchained my heart. Buddha67, Confucius, Mohammed—the stars of the East—were wonderful, but oh, so cold! I turn from these icy regularities to the lovely life I have already mentioned. And, to use Whittier’s expressive68 word, it is ‘warm.’
Yes, warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is He;
And faith has yet its Olivet,
And love its Galilee.
‘Warm’ ... ‘love’ ... here are words that touch my soul to tears. ‘We love Him because He first loved us.’ The monotony and frigidity69 of the linoleum have given way to the beauty and the brightness of flowery fields all bathed in summer sunshine.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
utilitarian
|
|
| adj.实用的，功利的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
watery
|
|
| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
lurid
|
|
| adj.可怕的；血红的；苍白的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
gratitude
|
|
| adj.感激，感谢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
desperately
|
|
| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
endorse
|
|
| vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
theatricals
|
|
| n.（业余性的）戏剧演出，舞台表演艺术；职业演员；戏剧的( theatrical的名词复数 )；剧场的；炫耀的；戏剧性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
plunging
|
|
| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
lavished
|
|
| v.过分给予，滥施( lavish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
begets
|
|
| v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
reciprocate
|
|
| v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
sentimental
|
|
| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
linoleum
|
|
| n.油布，油毯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
promptly
|
|
| adv.及时地，敏捷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
conspicuous
|
|
| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
reverberating
|
|
| 回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
softened
|
|
| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
muffled
|
|
| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
liking
|
|
| n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
drollery
|
|
| n.开玩笑，说笑话；滑稽可笑的图画（或故事、小戏等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
pathos
|
|
| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
odds
|
|
| n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
momentary
|
|
| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
perfectly
|
|
| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
offhand
|
|
| adj.临时，无准备的；随便，马虎的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
decency
|
|
| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
chattels
|
|
| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
kindle
|
|
| v.点燃，着火 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
whatsoever
|
|
| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
adamant
|
|
| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
repelling
|
|
| v.击退( repel的现在分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
firmament
|
|
| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
coax
|
|
| v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
chrysanthemum
|
|
| n.菊，菊花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
chrysanthemums
|
|
| n.菊花( chrysanthemum的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
repelled
|
|
| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
perpendicularly
|
|
| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
hideous
|
|
| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
throbbing
|
|
| a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
flaunting
|
|
| adj.招摇的，扬扬得意的，夸耀的v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的现在分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
scarlet
|
|
| n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
petals
|
|
| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
tantalizing
|
|
| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
instinctively
|
|
| adv.本能地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
recoil
|
|
| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
monotonous
|
|
| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
regularities
|
|
| 规则性( regularity的名词复数 )； 正规； 有规律的事物； 端正 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
dangled
|
|
| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
regularity
|
|
| n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
varied
|
|
| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
graceful
|
|
| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
repels
|
|
| v.击退( repel的第三人称单数 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
outraged
|
|
| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
aisle
|
|
| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
redeeming
|
|
| 补偿的，弥补的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
iceberg
|
|
| n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
chilly
|
|
| adj.凉快的，寒冷的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
frigid
|
|
| adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
Buddha
|
|
| n.佛；佛像；佛陀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
expressive
|
|
| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
frigidity
|
|
| n.寒冷；冷淡；索然无味；（尤指妇女的）性感缺失 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |