HE Angels had dispersed5. At the foot of the slopes at Meudon, seated on the grass, Arcade6 and Zita watched the Seine flowing by the willows7.
"In this world," said Arcade, "in this world, which we call a cosmos8, though it is but a microcosm, no thinking being can imagine that he is able to destroy even one atom. At the utmost, all we can hope for is that we shall succeed in modifying, here and there, the rhythm of some group of atoms and the arrangement of certain cells. That, when one thinks of it, must be the limit of our great enterprise. And when we shall have set up the Contradictor in the place of Ialdabaoth, we shall have done no more.... Zita, is the evil in the nature of things or in their arrange[257]ment? That is what we ought to know. Zita, I am profoundly troubled——"
"Arcade," replied Zita, "if to act we had to know the secret of Nature, one would never act at all. And neither would one live—since to live is to act. Arcade, is your resolution failing you already?"
Arcade assured the beautiful angel that he was resolved to plunge9 the demiurge into eternal darkness.
A motor-car passed by on the road, followed by a long trail of dust. It stopped before the two angels, and the hooked nose of Baron10 Everdingen appeared at the window.
"Good morning, my celestial11 friends, good morning," said the capitalist. "Sons of Heaven, I am pleased to meet you. I have a word of importance to say to you. Do not remain idle—do not go to sleep. Arm! Arm! You may be surprised by Ialdabaoth. You have a big war-fund. Employ it without stint12. I have just learnt that the Archangel Michael has given large orders in Heaven for thunderbolts and arrows. If you take my advice you will procure13 fifty thousand more electrophores. I will take the order. Good day, angels. Long live the celestial country!"
And Baron Everdingen flew by the flowery shores of Louveciennes in the company of a pretty actress.[258]
"Is it true that they are taking up arms at the demiurge's?" asked Arcade.
"Can it be that we are the sport of financiers?"
"Pooh!" said the beautiful archangel. "War is a business. It has always been a business."
Then they discussed at length the means of executing their immense enterprise. Rejecting disdainfully the anarchistic19 proceedings20 of Prince Istar, they conceived a formidable and sudden invasion of the kingdom of Heaven by their enthusiastic and well-drilled troops.
Now Barattan, the innkeeper of La Jonchère, who had let the entertainment-hall to the rebellious21 angels, was in the employ of the secret police. In the reports he furnished to the Prefecture he denounced the members of this secret meeting as meditating22 an attack on a certain person whom they described as obtuse23 and cruel, and whom they called Alaballotte. The agent believed this to be a pseudonym24 denoting either the President of the Republic or the Republic itself. The conspirators25 had unanimously given voice to threats against Alaballotte, and one of them, a very dangerous individual, well-known in anarchist18 circles, who had already several convictions against him on[259] account of writings and speeches of a seditious nature, and who was known as Prince Istar or the Quéroube, had brandished26 a bomb of very small calibre which seemed to contain a formidable machine. The other conspirators were unknown to Barattan, notwithstanding the fact that he frequented revolutionary circles. Many among them were very young men, mere28 beardless youths. There were two who, it appeared, had spoken with conspicuous29 vehemence30; a certain Arcade, dwelling31 in the Rue14 St. Jacques, and a woman of easy virtue32 called Zita, living at Montmartre, both without visible means of subsistence.
The affair seemed sufficiently33 serious to the Prefect of Police to make him think it necessary to confer without delay with the President of the Council.
The Third Republic was then going through one of those climacteric periods during which the French nation, enamoured of authority and worshipping force, gave itself up for lost because it was not governed enough, and clamoured loudly for a saviour34. The President of the Council, and Minister of Justice, was only too eager to be that longed-for saviour. Still, for him to play that part it was first necessary that there should be a danger to face. Thus the news of a plot was highly welcome to him. He questioned the Prefect of Police on the character and importance of the affair. The Prefect of Police explained that the[260] people seemed to have money, intelligence, and energy; but that they talked too much and were too numerous to undertake secret and concerted action. The Minister, leaning back in his arm-chair, pondered on the matter. The Empire writing-table at which he was seated, the ancient tapestry35 which covered the walls, the clock and the candelabra of the Restoration period—all, in this traditional setting, reminded him of those great principles of government which remain immutable36 throughout the succession of régimes, of stratagem37 and of bluff38. After brief reflexion, he concluded that the plot must be allowed to grow and take shape, that it would even be fitting to nurse it, to embroider39 it, to colour it, and only to stifle40 it after having extracted every possible advantage from it.
He instructed the Prefect of Police to watch the affair closely, to render him an account of what went on from day to day, and to confine himself to the r?le of informer.
The Minister lit a cigarette. He quite reckoned, with the help of this plot, on silencing the Opposition42, strengthening his own influence, diminishing that of his colleagues, humiliating the President of the Republic, and becoming the saviour of his country.[261]
The Prefect of Police undertook to follow the ministerial instructions, vowing43 inwardly all the while to act in his own way. He had a watch put upon the individuals pointed44 out by Barattan, and commanded his agents not to intervene, come what might. Perceiving that he was a marked man, Prince Istar—who united prudence with strength—withdrew the bombs from the gutter45 outside his window where he had hidden them, and changing from motor 'bus to tube, from tube to motor 'bus, and choosing the most cunningly circuitous46 route, at length deposited his machines with the angelic musician.
Every time he left his house in the Rue St. Jacques, Arcade found a man of exaggerated smartness at his door, with yellow gloves and in his tie a diamond bigger than the Regent. Being a stranger to the things of this world, the rebellious angel paid no attention to the circumstance. But young Maurice d'Esparvieu, who had undertaken the task of guarding his guardian-angel, viewed this gentleman with uneasiness, for he equalled in assiduity and surpassed in vigilance that Monsieur Mignon who had formerly47 allowed his inquisitive48 gaze to wander from the rams49' heads on the H?tel de la Sordière in the Rue Garancière to the apse of the church of St. Sulpice. Maurice came two and three times a day to see Arcade in his furnished rooms, warning him of the danger, and urging him to change his abode50.[262]
Every evening he took his angel to night restaurants, where they supped with ladies of easy virtue. There young d'Esparvieu would foretell51 the issue of some coming glove-fight, and afterwards exert himself to demonstrate to Arcade the existence of God, the necessity for religion, and the beauties of Christianity, and adjure52 him to renounce53 his impious and criminal undertakings54 wherefrom, he said, he would reap but bitterness and disappointment.
"For really," said the young apologist, "if Christianity were false it would be known."
The ladies approved of Maurice's religious sentiments, and when the handsome Arcade uttered some blasphemy55 in language they could understand, they put their hands to their ears and bade him be silent, for fear of being struck down with him. For they believed that God, in his omnipotence56 and sovereign goodness, taking sudden vengeance57 against those who insulted him, was quite capable of striking down the innocent with the guilty without meaning it.
Sometimes the angel and his guardian took supper with the angelic musician. Maurice, who remembered from time to time that he was Bouchotte's lover, was displeased58 to see Arcade taking liberties with the singer. She had allowed him to do so ever since the day when, the angelic musician having had the little flowery couch re[263]paired, Arcade and Bouchotte had made it a foundation for their friendship. Maurice, who loved Madame des Aubels a great deal, also loved Bouchotte a little, and was rather jealous of Arcade. Now jealousy59 is a feeling natural to man and beast, and causes them, however slight the attack, keen unhappiness. Therefore, suspecting the truth, which Bouchotte's temperament60 and the angel's character made sufficiently obvious, he overwhelmed Arcade with sarcasm61 and abuse, reproaching him with the immorality62 of his ways. Arcade answered, tranquilly63, that it was difficult to subject physiological64 impulses to perfectly65 defined rules, and that moralists encountered great difficulties in the case of certain natural necessities.
"Moreover," added Arcade, "I freely acknowledge that it is almost impossible systematically66 to constitute a natural moral law. Nature has no principles. She furnishes us with no reason to believe that human life is to be respected. Nature, in her indifference67, makes no distinction between good and evil."
"You see, then," replied Maurice, "that religion is necessary."
"Moral law," replied the angel, "which is supposed to be revealed to us, is drawn68 in reality from the grossest empiricism. Custom alone regulates morals. What Heaven prescribes is merely the consecration69 of ancient customs. The divine[264] law, promulgated70 amid fireworks on some Mount Sinai, is never anything but the codification71 of human prejudice. And from this fact—namely, that morals change—religions which endure for a long time, such as Jud?o-Christianity, vary their moral law."
"At any rate," said Maurice, whose intelligence was swelling72 visibly, "you will grant me that religion prevents much profligacy73 and crime?"
"Except when it promotes crime—as, for instance, the murder of Iphigenia."
"Arcade," exclaimed Maurice, "when I hear you argue, I rejoice that I am not an intellectual."
Meanwhile Théophile, with his head bent74 over the piano, his face hidden by the long fair veil of his hair, bringing down from on high his inspired hands on to the keys, was playing and singing the full score of Aline, Queen of Golconda.
Prince Istar used to come to their friendly reunions, his pockets filled with bombs and bottles of champagne75, both of which he owed to the liberality of Baron Everdingen. Bouchotte received the Ker?b with pleasure, since she saw in him the witness and the trophy76 of the victory she had gained on the little flowered couch. He was to her as the severed77 head of Goliath in the hands of the youthful David. And she admired the prince for his cleverness as an accompanist, his vigour78, which she had subdued79, and his prodigious80 capacity for drink.[265]
One night, when young d'Esparvieu took his angel home in his car from Bouchotte's house to the lodgings81 in the Rue St. Jacques, it was very dark; before the door the diamond in the spy's necktie glittered like a beacon82; three cyclists standing27 in a group under its rays made off in divers83 directions at the car's approach. The angel took no notice, but Maurice concluded that Arcade's movements interested various important people in the State. He judged the danger to be pressing, and at once made up his mind.
The next morning he came to seek the suspect, to take him to the Rue de Rome. The angel was in bed. Maurice urged him to dress and to follow him.
"Come," said he. "This house is no longer safe for you. You are watched. One of these days you will be arrested. Do you wish to sleep in gaol84? No? Well, then, come. I will put you in a safe place."
The spirit smiled with some little compassion85 on his na?ve preserver.
"Do you not know," he said, "that an angel broke open the doors of the prison where Peter was confined, and delivered the apostle? Do you believe me, Maurice, to be inferior in power to that heavenly brother of mine, and do you suppose that I am unable to do for myself what he did for the fisherman of the lake of Tiberias?"
"Do not count on it, Arcade. He did it miraculously86."[266]
"Or by a stroke of luck, as a modern historian of the Church has it. But no matter. I will follow you. Just allow me to burn a few letters and to make a parcel of some books I shall need."
He threw some papers in the fire-place, put several volumes in his pockets, and followed his guide to the car, which was waiting for them not far off, outside the College of France. Maurice took the wheel. Imitating the Ker?b's prudence, he made so many windings87 and turnings, and so many rapid twists that he put all the swift and numerous cyclists, speeding in pursuit, off the scent88. At length, having left wheelmarks in every direction all over the town, he stopped in the Rue de Rome, before the first-door flat, where the angel had first appeared.
On entering the dwelling which he had left eighteen months before to carry out his mission, Arcade remembered the irreparable past, and breathing in the scent used by Gilberte, his nostrils89 throbbed90. He asked after Madame des Aubels.
"She is very well," replied Maurice. "A little plumper and very much more beautiful for it. She still bears you a grudge91 for your forward behaviour. I hope that she will one day forgive you, as I have forgiven you, and that she will forget your offence. But she is still very annoyed with you."
Young d'Esparvieu did the honours of his flat to[267] his angel with the manners of a well-bred man and the tender solicitude92 of a friend. He showed him the folding bed which was opened every evening in the entrance hall and pushed into a dark cupboard in the morning. He showed him the dressing-table, with its accessories; the bath, the linen93 cupboard, the chest of drawers; gave him the necessary information regarding the heating and lighting94; told him that his meals would be brought and the rooms cleaned by the concierge95, and showed him which bell to press when he required that person's services. He told him also that he must consider himself at home, and receive whom he wished.
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1
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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2
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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3
meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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5
dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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arcade
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| n.拱廊；(一侧或两侧有商店的)通道 | |
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7
willows
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| n.柳树( willow的名词复数 )；柳木 | |
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cosmos
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| n.宇宙；秩序，和谐 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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10
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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celestial
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| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
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stint
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| v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事 | |
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13
procure
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| vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条 | |
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rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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15
inciting
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| 刺激的，煽动的 | |
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16
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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18
anarchist
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| n.无政府主义者 | |
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anarchistic
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| 无政府主义的 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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22
meditating
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| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
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obtuse
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| adj.钝的；愚钝的 | |
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pseudonym
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| n.假名，笔名 | |
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conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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26
brandished
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| v.挥舞( brandish的过去式和过去分词 )；炫耀 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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28
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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31
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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33
sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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35
tapestry
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| n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面 | |
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immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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stratagem
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| n.诡计，计谋 | |
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38
bluff
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| v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗 | |
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39
embroider
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| v.刺绣于(布)上；给…添枝加叶，润饰 | |
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40
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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41
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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42
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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43
vowing
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式） | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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45
gutter
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| n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟 | |
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46
circuitous
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| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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47
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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48
inquisitive
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| adj.求知欲强的，好奇的，好寻根究底的 | |
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49
rams
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| n.公羊( ram的名词复数 )；(R-)白羊（星）座；夯；攻城槌v.夯实（土等）( ram的第三人称单数 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输 | |
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50
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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51
foretell
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| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
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52
adjure
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| v.郑重敦促(恳请) | |
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53
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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54
undertakings
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| 企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务 | |
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55
blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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56
omnipotence
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| n.全能，万能，无限威力 | |
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57
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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58
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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59
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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60
temperament
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| n.气质，性格，性情 | |
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61
sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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62
immorality
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| n. 不道德, 无道义 | |
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63
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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64
physiological
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| adj.生理学的，生理学上的 | |
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65
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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66
systematically
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| adv.有系统地 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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68
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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69
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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70
promulgated
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| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
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71
codification
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| n.法典编纂，法律成文化；法规汇编 | |
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72
swelling
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| n.肿胀 | |
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73
profligacy
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| n.放荡，不检点，肆意挥霍 | |
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74
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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75
champagne
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| n.香槟酒；微黄色 | |
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76
trophy
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| n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品 | |
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77
severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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78
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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79
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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82
beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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divers
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| adj.不同的；种种的 | |
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84
gaol
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| n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢 | |
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85
compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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87
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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88
scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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nostrils
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| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
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90
throbbed
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| 抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 )； （心脏、脉搏等）跳动 | |
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91
grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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92
solicitude
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| n.焦虑 | |
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93
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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concierge
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| n.管理员；门房 | |
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