CHAP. V. Voluptas or Pleasure.

 We came out of the grove¹. Men (said I to the Prefect) are highly indebted to you for preserving love, degenerated² as it is. If you did but know what a void there is among them now-a-days! Their amusements are so few, that the least of all must be to them very valuable. Love no longer makes their happiness; but it diverts them at least. What would the Babylonians do, if love did not put in motion all those walking statues, which you see so busy about the women? They sigh, they complain, they request, they press, they 229obtain, they are happy or dupes; it is just the same thing: But time passes, and that is enough for the Babylonians.

“In the beginning (continued the Prefect) nature, ever attentive³ to the welfare of men, begot⁴ Voluptas. She was an unadorned native beauty, but full of those charms which characterises whatever comes out of the hands of the common parent of all Beings. Nature gave her a golden cup, and said: Go among men; draw pleasure out of my works; present it without distinction to all mortals; quench⁵ their thirst, but make them not drunk.”

230Voluptas appeared upon earth. Men flocked together in crowds; all drank largely of her cup; all quenched⁶ their thirst, none were intoxicated⁷. Voluptas made herself desired, presented herself seasonably, and was always received with joy. As she offered herself with restriction⁸, she was always cherished and never cloyed⁹. Men, not being enervated¹⁰ by excess, preserved to a very advanced age, all their organs in vigor¹¹; their taste remained; and old age still drank of Voluptas’s cup.

Nature has a rival, called Art, who, incessantly¹² employed in rendering¹³ himself useful or agreeable to society, strives to supply what nature cannot or will not do for men. He resumes nature’s 231works, retouches them, sometimes embellishes¹⁴, often disguises and degrades them.

Art failed not to observe the conduct of Voluptas, and to refine whatever she offered to mankind. He could not bear an interval¹⁵ between pleasures, and would have them succeed one another without intermission. He ransacked¹⁶ all the countries of the world, united all the objects of sensuality, and multiplied a thousand ways the pleasures of sense. Men, surrounded with so many alluring¹⁷ objects, thought themselves happy, and in their intoxication¹⁸, said: Without Art, Nature is nothing. But very soon their senses were cloyed; satiety¹⁹ bred disgust, and disgust made 232them indifferent to all kinds of pleasure. Neither Art nor Nature could affect them to any degree. From that time, they have hardly been able to amuse or divert themselves. Voluptas has no longer any charms for them.

 

1 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

2 degenerated   

衰退，堕落，退化( degenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The march degenerated into a riot. 示威游行变成了暴动。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track. 铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

3 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

4 begot   

v.为…之生父( beget的过去式 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• He begot three children. 他生了三个子女。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cush also begot Nimrod who was the first man of might on earth. 卡什还生了尼姆罗德，尼姆罗德是世上第一个力大无穷的人。 来自辞典例句

5 quench   

vt.熄灭，扑灭；压制

参考例句：

• The firemen were unable to quench the fire.消防人员无法扑灭这场大火。
• Having a bottle of soft drink is not enough to quench my thirst.喝一瓶汽水不够解渴。

6 quenched   

解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却

参考例句：

• He quenched his thirst with a long drink of cold water. 他喝了好多冷水解渴。
• I quenched my thirst with a glass of cold beer. 我喝了一杯冰啤酒解渴。

7 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

8 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

9 cloyed   

v.发腻，倒胃口( cloy的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They had cloyed him with obedience, and surfeited him with sweet respect and submission. 她们在他面前百依百顺，甜言蜜语，卑躬屈膝。 来自辞典例句
• He is cloyed with pleasure. 他玩腻了。 来自互联网

10 enervated   

adj.衰弱的，无力的v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was enervated from dissipation. 她由于生活放荡不羁而气虚体亏。 来自辞典例句
• The long march in the sun enervated the soldiers. 在太阳下长途的行军，使士兵们渐失精力。 来自互联网

11 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

12 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

13 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

14 embellishes   

v.美化( embellish的第三人称单数 )；装饰；修饰；润色

参考例句：

• At the side of the husband who embellishes his existence with hetaerism stands the neglected wife. 同靠杂婚制来使自己的生活更美好的丈夫并存的还有一个被遗弃的妻子。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• Easily shapes and embellishes the eyebrows for more attractive look. 方便勾画、修饰眉型，使柳眉更完美、更有型。 来自互联网

15 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。

16 ransacked   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
• The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

17 alluring   

adj.吸引人的，迷人的

参考例句：

• The life in a big city is alluring for the young people. 大都市的生活对年轻人颇具诱惑力。
• Lisette's large red mouth broke into a most alluring smile. 莉莎特的鲜红的大嘴露出了一副极为诱人的微笑。

18 intoxication   

n.wild excitement;drunkenness；poisoning

参考例句：

• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。
• Predator: Intoxication-Damage over time effect will now stack with other allies. Predator:Intoxication,持续性伤害的效果将会与队友相加。

19 satiety   

n.饱和；(市场的)充分供应

参考例句：

• There is no satiety in study.学无止境。
• Their presence in foods induces satiety at meal time.它们在食物中的存在诱导进餐时的满足感。