PREFACE

 Having, as I thought, completed this book—bar the Preface, which is, of course, always the last chapter—I sent it in manuscript to an old friend of mine for his opinion.

He let me have it.

“Your brochure,” he wrote, “is remarkable¹ more perhaps for what it omits than for what it contains. For example, there is no mention whatever made of the vomero-nasal organ, or organ of Jacobson.”

Then, after drastically sweeping² away the much that seems to him redundant³ in the body of the work, he closes his general criticism (which I omit) with “I should like to have heard your views on the vomero-nasal organ. Parker devotes a whole chapter to it.”

A carpenter, according to the adage⁴, is known by his chips. And it was by the simple removal of some superfluous⁵ marble, as everyone knows, that the Venus of Milo was revealed to the world—which is only another way of saying the same thing.

But what sort of a carpenter is he who leaves viamong his chips the mouldings of his door? And what should we say of the sculptor⁶, even in these days, who would treat as a superfluity his lady’s chin?

No mention of the vomero-nasal or Jacobson’s organ! A serious, nay⁷! a damning, defect.

So here am I trying to atone⁸ for the sin of omission⁹ by giving the neglected item place of honour in my Preface. “The stone which the builders rejected....”

But my motive¹⁰ for erecting¹¹ it here, in the gateway¹² to my little pagoda¹³ of the perfumes, is not quite so simple as I am pretending. The fact is that in my capacity as creator I predetermined, I actually foredained, the omission from my text of the structure to which “Parker devotes a whole chapter.”

I am sorry in some ways. But as the Aberdeen minister so consolingly said: “There are many things the Creator does in His offeecial capacity that He would scorn to do as a private indiveedual.”

You see, I had a feeling about it. One of those feelings artists are subject to. (But a scientific writer an artist?—Certainly! Why not?)

I felt, to be quite frank, that if I were to interpolate a description and a discussion of this minutia¹⁴ my book would ... would.... Quite so. The artist will understand.

I came, in short, to look upon this “organ,” viithis nose within a nose, as a touchstone, so to speak. The thing became a Symbol.

But here we plunge¹⁵ head over heels into the Subjective¹⁶, on the other side of which stream lie the misty¹⁷ shades of the Occult. For that is what happens to you when you begin talking about Symbols.

However, we shall not be crossing to the other side on this occasion, my symbolism being after all but a humdrum¹⁸ affair.—Merely this, that to me this organ of Jacobson is the symbol of the Exhaustive—of the minute, punctilious¹⁹, unwearying, laboured comprehensiveness, Teutonic in its over and under and through, that characterises the genuine, the reliable, scientific treatise²⁰ and renders it so desperately²¹ full of interest—to examinees.

Imagine, if you can, the indignation of kindly²² Sir Walter were the news ever to reach him in Valhalla that urchins²³ now at school are not only forced to study his light-hearted romances as holiday tasks, but are actually examined upon them!

So, comparing small things with great, let me say: “Absit omen²⁴.”

My faith in the spoken charm of that phrase is, however, none too robust²⁵. Heaven helps the man who helps himself. And so, by way of reinforcing viiithe Powers in their efforts to divert professorial attention from this essay of mine, I am leaving it, by a careful act of carelessness, incomplete.

Here, then, you have the real reason for my exclusion²⁶ of the organ of Jacobson (and the like). It is merely a dodge²⁷ to prevent the book ever becoming a task in any way, for any one, at any time.

He who runs may read herein, then, without slackening pace—or he may refrain from reading, just as he pleases, seeing that he can never be under the compulsion of remembering a single word I have written.

This, if I may say so, is, in my opinion, the only kind of book worth reading. At all events, it is the only kind I ever enjoy reading, and I say if a book is not enjoyable it is already placed upon the only Index Expurgatorius that is worth a ... an anathema²⁸.

D. M.

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

4 adage   

n.格言，古训

参考例句：

• But the old adage that men grow into office has not proved true in my experience.但是，根据我的经验，人们所谓的工作岗位造就人材这句古话并不正确。
• Her experience lends credence to the adage " We live and learn!"她的经验印证了一句格言: 活到老，学到老！

5 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

6 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

7 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。

8 atone   

v.赎罪，补偿

参考例句：

• He promised to atone for his crime.他承诺要赎自己的罪。
• Blood must atone for blood.血债要用血来还。

9 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

10 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

11 erecting   

v.使直立，竖起( erect的现在分词 )；建立

参考例句：

• Nations can restrict their foreign trade by erecting barriers to exports as well as imports. 象设置进口壁垒那样，各国可以通过设置出口壁垒来限制对外贸易。 来自辞典例句
• Could you tell me the specific lift-slab procedure for erecting buildings? 能否告之用升板法安装楼房的具体程序？ 来自互联网

12 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

13 pagoda   

n.宝塔（尤指印度和远东的多层宝塔），（印度教或佛教的）塔式庙宇

参考例句：

• The ancient pagoda is undergoing repairs.那座古塔正在修缮中。
• The pagoda is reflected upside down in the water.宝塔影子倒立在水里。

14 minutia   

n.微枝末节，细节

参考例句：

• They are take great pains for the every minutia.他们为每个细节煞费苦心。
• Much of his early work is concerned with the minutiae of rural life.他早期的许多作品关注的是农村生活中一些鸡毛蒜皮的琐事。

15 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

16 subjective   

a.主观(上)的，个人的

参考例句：

• The way they interpreted their past was highly subjective. 他们解释其过去的方式太主观。
• A literary critic should not be too subjective in his approach. 文学评论家的看法不应太主观。

17 misty   

adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的

参考例句：

• He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
• The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。

18 humdrum   

adj.单调的，乏味的

参考例句：

• Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.他们的生活由日常生存的平凡活动所构成。
• The accountant said it was the most humdrum day that she had ever passed.会计师说这是她所度过的最无聊的一天。

19 punctilious   

adj.谨慎的，谨小慎微的

参考例句：

• He was a punctilious young man.他是个非常拘礼的年轻人。
• Billy is punctilious in the performance of his duties.毕利执行任务总是一丝不苟的。

20 treatise   

n.专著；(专题)论文

参考例句：

• The doctor wrote a treatise on alcoholism.那位医生写了一篇关于酗酒问题的论文。
• This is not a treatise on statistical theory.这不是一篇有关统计理论的论文。

21 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

22 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。

23 urchins   

n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆

参考例句：

• Some dozen barefooted urchins ganged in from the riverside. 几十个赤足的顽童从河边成群结队而来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him "Yellow Fellow." 别人说他是黄胆病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

24 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

25 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

26 exclusion   

n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行

参考例句：

• Don't revise a few topics to the exclusion of all others.不要修改少数论题以致排除所有其他的。
• He plays golf to the exclusion of all other sports.他专打高尔夫球，其他运动一概不参加。

27 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

28 anathema   

n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物)

参考例句：

• Independence for the Kurds is anathema to Turkey and Iran.库尔德人的独立对土耳其和伊朗来说将是一场梦魇。
• Her views are ( an ) anathema to me.她的观点真叫我讨厌。