Chapter 1

 I am a rather elderly man.  The nature of my avocations¹ for the lastthirty years has brought me into more than ordinary contact with whatwould seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men, of whom asyet nothing that I know of has ever been written:--I mean thelaw-copyists or scriveners.  I have known very many of them,professionally and privately², and if I pleased, could relate divershistories, at which good-natured gentlemen might smile, and sentimentalsouls might weep.  But I waive³ the biographies of all other scrivenersfor a few passages in the life of Bartleby, who was a scrivener of thestrangest I ever saw or heard of.  While of other law-copyists I mightwrite the complete life, of Bartleby nothing of that sort can be done.

I believe that no materials exist for a full and satisfactory biographyof this man.  It is an irreparable loss to literature.  Bartleby was oneof those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable⁴, except from theoriginal sources, and in his case those are very small.  What my ownastonished eyes saw of Bartleby, _that_ is all I know of him, except,indeed, one vague report which will appear in the sequel.

Ere introducing the scrivener, as he first appeared to me, it is fit Imake some mention of myself, my _employees_, my business, my chambers⁵,and general surroundings; because some such description is indispensableto an adequate understanding of the chief character about to bepresented.

Imprimis:  I am a man who, from his youth upwards⁶, has been filled witha profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best.  Hence,though I belong to a profession proverbially energetic and nervous, evento turbulence⁷, at times, yet nothing of that sort have I ever sufferedto invade my peace.  I am one of those unambitious lawyers who neveraddresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but in thecool tranquility of a snug⁸ retreat, do a snug business among rich men'sbonds and mortgages and title-deeds.  All who know me, consider me aneminently _safe_ man.  The late John Jacob Astor, a personage littlegiven to poetic⁹ enthusiasm, had no hesitation¹⁰ in pronouncing my firstgrand point to be prudence¹¹; my next, method.  I do not speak it invanity, but simply record the fact, that I was not unemployed¹² in myprofession by the late John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I loveto repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and ringslike unto bullion¹³.  I will freely add, that I was not insensible to thelate John Jacob Astor's good opinion.

Some time prior to the period at which this little history begins, myavocations had been largely increased.  The good old office, now extinctin the State of New York, of a Master in Chancery, had been conferredupon me.  It was not a very arduous¹⁴ office, but very pleasantlyremunerative.  I seldom lose my temper; much more seldom indulge indangerous indignation at wrongs and outrages¹⁵; but I must be permitted tobe rash here and declare, that I consider the sudden and violentabrogation of the office of Master in Chancery, by the new Constitution,as a--premature act; inasmuch as I had counted upon a life-lease of theprofits, whereas I only received those of a few short years.  But thisis by the way.

My chambers were up stairs at No.--Wall-street.  At one end they lookedupon the white wall of the interior of a spacious¹⁶ sky-light shaft,penetrating the building from top to bottom.  This view might have beenconsidered rather tame than otherwise, deficient¹⁷ in what landscapepainters call "life."  But if so, the view from the other end of mychambers offered, at least, a contrast, if nothing more.  In thatdirection my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brickwall, black by age and everlasting¹⁸ shade; which wall required nospy-glass to bring out its lurking¹⁹ beauties, but for the benefit of allnear-sighted spectators, was pushed up to within ten feet of my windowpanes.  Owing to the great height of the surrounding buildings, and mychambers being on the second floor, the interval²⁰ between this wall andmine not a little resembled a huge square cistern²¹.

At the period just preceding the advent²² of Bartleby, I had two personsas copyists in my employment, and a promising²³ lad as an office-boy.

First, Turkey; second, Nippers; third, Ginger²⁴ Nut.  These may seemnames, the like of which are not usually found in the Directory.  Intruth they were nicknames, mutually conferred upon each other by mythree clerks, and were deemed expressive²⁵ of their respective persons orcharacters.  Turkey was a short, pursy Englishman of about my own age,that is, somewhere not far from sixty.  In the morning, one might say,his face was of a fine florid hue²⁶, but after twelve o'clock,meridian²⁷--his dinner hour--it blazed like a grate full of Christmascoals; and continued blazing--but, as it were, with a gradual wane--till6 o'clock, P.M. or thereabouts, after which I saw no more of theproprietor of the face, which gaining its meridian with the sun, seemedto set with it, to rise, culminate²⁸, and decline the following day, withthe like regularity²⁹ and undiminished glory.  There are many singularcoincidences I have known in the course of my life, not the least amongwhich was the fact, that exactly when Turkey displayed his fullest beamsfrom his red and radiant countenance³⁰, just then, too, at that criticalmoment, began the daily period when I considered his business capacitiesas seriously disturbed for the remainder of the twenty-four hours.  Notthat he was absolutely idle, or averse³¹ to business then; far from it.

The difficulty was, he was apt to be altogether too energetic.  Therewas a strange, inflamed³², flurried, flighty recklessness of activityabout him.  He would be incautious in dipping his pen into his inkstand.

All his blots³⁴ upon my documents, were dropped there after twelveo'clock, meridian.  Indeed, not only would he be reckless and sadlygiven to making blots in the afternoon, but some days he went further,and was rather noisy.  At such times, too, his face flamed withaugmented blazonry, as if cannel coal had been heaped on anthracite.  Hemade an unpleasant racket with his chair; spilled his sand-box; inmending his pens, impatiently split them all to pieces, and threw themon the floor in a sudden passion; stood up and leaned over his table,boxing his papers about in a most indecorous manner, very sad to beholdin an elderly man like him.  Nevertheless, as he was in many ways a mostvaluable person to me, and all the time before twelve o'clock, meridian,was the quickest, steadiest creature too, accomplishing a great deal ofwork in a style not easy to be matched--for these reasons, I was willingto overlook his eccentricities³⁶, though indeed, occasionally, Iremonstrated with him.  I did this very gently, however, because, thoughthe civilest, nay³⁷, the blandest³⁸ and most reverential of men in themorning, yet in the afternoon he was disposed, upon provocation³⁹, to beslightly rash with his tongue, in fact, insolent⁴⁰.  Now, valuing hismorning services as I did, and resolved not to lose them; yet, at thesame time made uncomfortable by his inflamed ways after twelve o'clock;and being a man of peace, unwilling⁴¹ by my admonitions to call forthunseemly retorts from him; I took upon me, one Saturday noon (he wasalways worse on Saturdays), to hint to him, very kindly⁴², that perhapsnow that he was growing old, it might be well to abridge⁴³ his labors⁴⁴; inshort, he need not come to my chambers after twelve o'clock, but, dinnerover, had best go home to his lodgings⁴⁵ and rest himself till teatime.

But no; he insisted upon his afternoon devotions.  His countenancebecame intolerably fervid⁴⁶, as he oratorically assured me--gesticulatingwith a long ruler at the other end of the room--that if his services inthe morning were useful, how indispensable, then, in the afternoon?

"With submission⁴⁷, sir," said Turkey on this occasion, "I consider myselfyour right-hand man.  In the morning I but marshal and deploy⁴⁸ mycolumns; but in the afternoon I put myself at their head, and gallantlycharge the foe⁴⁹, thus!"--and he made a violent thrust with the ruler.

"But the blots, Turkey," intimated I.

"True,--but, with submission, sir, behold³⁵ these hairs!  I am gettingold.  Surely, sir, a blot³³ or two of a warm afternoon is not to beseverely urged against gray hairs.  Old age--even if it blot thepage--is honorable.  With submission, sir, we _both_ are getting old."This appeal to my fellow-feeling was hardly to be resisted.  At allevents, I saw that go he would not.  So I made up my mind to let himstay, resolving, nevertheless, to see to it, that during the afternoonhe had to do with my less important papers.

1 avocations   

n.业余爱好，嗜好( avocation的名词复数 )；职业

参考例句：

• Most seem to come from technical avocations, like engineering, computers and sciences. 绝大多数人原有技术方面的爱好，比如工程、计算机和科学。 来自互联网
• In terms of avocations, there is hardly anything in common between Jenny and her younger sister. 就业余爱好而言，珍妮和她妹妹几乎没什么共同之处。 来自互联网

2 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

3 waive   

vt.放弃，不坚持(规定、要求、权力等)

参考例句：

• I'll record to our habitat office waive our claim immediately.我立即写信给咱们的总公司提出放弃索赔。
• In view of the unusual circumstances,they agree to waive their requirement.鉴于特殊情况，他们同意放弃他们的要求。

4 ascertainable   

adj.可确定（探知），可发现的

参考例句：

• Is the exact value of the missing jewels ascertainable? 那些不知去向之珠宝的确切价值弄得清楚吗？ 来自辞典例句
• Even a schoolboy's jape is supposed to have some ascertainable point. 即使一个小男生的戏言也可能有一些真义。 来自互联网

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

7 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

8 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

9 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

10 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

11 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

12 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

13 bullion   

n.金条，银条

参考例句：

• In the London bullion market yesterday,the price of gold was steady.昨天伦敦金银市场黄金价格稳定。
• Police have launched a man-hunt for the bullion robbers.警方已大举搜捕抢劫金条的罪犯。

14 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

15 outrages   

引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• People are seeking retribution for the latest terrorist outrages. 人们在设法对恐怖分子最近的暴行进行严惩。
• He [She] is not allowed to commit any outrages. 不能任其胡作非为。

16 spacious   

adj.广阔的，宽敞的

参考例句：

• Our yard is spacious enough for a swimming pool.我们的院子很宽敞，足够建一座游泳池。
• The room is bright and spacious.这房间很豁亮。

17 deficient   

adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的

参考例句：

• The crops are suffering from deficient rain.庄稼因雨量不足而遭受损害。
• I always have been deficient in selfconfidence and decision.我向来缺乏自信和果断。

18 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

19 lurking   

潜在

参考例句：

• Why are you lurking around outside my house? 你在我房子外面鬼鬼祟祟的，想干什么？
• There is a suspicious man lurking in the shadows. 有一可疑的人躲在阴暗中。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

20 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

21 cistern   

n.贮水池

参考例句：

• The cistern is empty but soon fills again.蓄水池里现在没水，但不久就会储满水的。
• The lavatory cistern overflowed.厕所水箱的水溢出来了

22 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

23 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

24 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

25 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

26 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

27 meridian   

adj.子午线的；全盛期的

参考例句：

• All places on the same meridian have the same longitude.在同一子午线上的地方都有相同的经度。
• He is now at the meridian of his intellectual power.他现在正值智力全盛期。

28 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

29 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

30 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

31 averse   

adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的

参考例句：

• I don't smoke cigarettes,but I'm not averse to the occasional cigar.我不吸烟，但我不反对偶尔抽一支雪茄。
• We are averse to such noisy surroundings.我们不喜欢这么吵闹的环境。

32 inflamed   

adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His comments have inflamed teachers all over the country. 他的评论激怒了全国教师。
• Her joints are severely inflamed. 她的关节严重发炎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

34 blots   

污渍( blot的名词复数 )； 墨水渍； 错事； 污点

参考例句：

• The letter had many blots and blurs. 信上有许多墨水渍和污迹。
• It's all, all covered with blots the same as if she were crying on the paper. 到处，到处都是泪痕，像是她趴在信纸上哭过。 来自名作英译部分

35 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

36 eccentricities   

n.古怪行为( eccentricity的名词复数 )；反常；怪癖

参考例句：

• My wife has many eccentricities. 我妻子有很多怪癖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His eccentricities had earned for him the nickname"The Madman". 他的怪癖已使他得到'疯子'的绰号。 来自辞典例句

37 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

38 blandest   

adj.（食物）淡而无味的( bland的最高级 )；平和的；温和的；无动于衷的

参考例句：

39 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

40 insolent   

adj.傲慢的，无理的

参考例句：

• His insolent manner really got my blood up.他那傲慢的态度把我的肺都气炸了。
• It was insolent of them to demand special treatment.他们要求给予特殊待遇，脸皮真厚。

41 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

42 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

43 abridge   

v.删减，删节，节略，缩短

参考例句：

• They are going to abridge that dictionary.他们将要精简那本字典。
• He decided to abridge his stay here after he received a letter from home.他接到家信后决定缩短在这里的逗留时间。

44 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

45 lodgings   

n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍

参考例句：

• When he reached his lodgings the sun had set. 他到达公寓房间时，太阳已下山了。
• I'm on the hunt for lodgings. 我正在寻找住所。

46 fervid   

adj.热情的；炽热的

参考例句：

• He is a fervid orator.他是个慷慨激昂的演说者。
• He was a ready scholar as you are,but more fervid and impatient.他是一个聪明的学者，跟你一样，不过更加热情而缺乏耐心。

47 submission   

n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出

参考例句：

• The defeated general showed his submission by giving up his sword.战败将军缴剑表示投降。
• No enemy can frighten us into submission.任何敌人的恐吓都不能使我们屈服。

48 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

49 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。