小说搜索     点击排行榜   最新入库
首页 » 英文短篇小说 » The Island Pharisees » PART II THE COUNTRY CHAPTER XVI THE INDIAN CIVILIAN
选择底色: 选择字号:【大】【中】【小】
PART II THE COUNTRY CHAPTER XVI THE INDIAN CIVILIAN
关注小说网官方公众号(noveltingroom),原版名著免费领。
 One morning then, a week later, Shelton found himself at the walls of Princetown Prison.
He had seen this lugubrious1 stone cage before. But the magic of his morning walk across the moor2, the sight of the pagan tors, the songs of the last cuckoo, had unprepared him for that dreary3 building. He left the street, and, entering the fosse, began a circuit, scanning the walls with morbid4 fascination5.
This, then, was the system by which men enforced the will of the majority, and it was suddenly borne in on him that all the ideas and maxims6 which his Christian7 countrymen believed themselves to be fulfilling daily were stultified8 in every cellule of the social honeycomb. Such teachings as “He that is without sin amongst you” had been pronounced unpractical by peers and judges, bishops9, statesmen, merchants, husbands—in fact, by every truly Christian person in the country.
“Yes,” thought Shelton, as if he had found out something new, “the more Christian the nation, the less it has to do with the Christian spirit.”
Society was a charitable organisation10, giving nothing for nothing, little for sixpence; and it was only fear that forced it to give at all!
He took a seat on a wall, and began to watch a warder who was slowly paring a last year's apple. The expression of his face, the way he stood with his solid legs apart, his head poked11 forward and his lower jaw12 thrust out, all made him a perfect pillar of Society. He was undisturbed by Shelton's scrutiny13, watching the rind coil down below the apple; until in a springing spiral it fell on the path and collapsed14 like a toy snake. He took a bite; his teeth were jagged; and his mouth immense. It was obvious that he considered himself a most superior man. Shelton frowned, got down slowly, from the wall, and proceeded on his way.
A little further down the hill he stopped again to watch a group of convicts in a field. They seemed to be dancing in a slow and sad cotillon, while behind the hedge on every side were warders armed with guns. Just such a sight, substituting spears could have been seen in Roman times.
While he thus stood looking, a man, walking, rapidly, stopped beside him, and asked how many miles it was to Exeter. His round visage; and long, brown eyes, sliding about beneath their brows, his cropped hair and short neck, seemed familiar.
“Your name is Crocker, is n't it?”
“Why! it's the Bird!” exclaimed the traveller; putting out his hand. “Have n't seen you since we both went down.”
Shelton returned his handgrip. Crocker had lived above his head at college, and often kept him, sleepless15 half the night by playing on the hautboy.
“Where have you sprung from?”
“India. Got my long leave. I say, are you going this way? Let's go together.”
They went, and very fast; faster and faster every minute.
“Where are you going at this pace?” asked Shelton.
“London.”
“Oh! only as far as London?”
“I 've set myself to do it in a week.”
“Are you in training?”
“No.”
“You 'll kill yourself.”
Crocker answered with a chuckle16.
Shelton noted17 with alarm the expression of his eye; there was a sort of stubborn aspiration18 in it. “Still an idealist!” he thought; “poor fellow!” “Well,” he inquired, “what sort of a time have you had in India?”
“Oh,” said the Indian civilian19 absently, “I've, had the plague.”
“Good God!”
Crocker smiled, and added:
“Caught it on famine duty.”
“I see,” said Shelton; “plague and famine! I suppose you fellows really think you 're doing good out there?”
His companion looked at him surprised, then answered modestly:
“We get very good screws.”
“That 's the great thing,” responded Shelton.
After a moment's silence, Crocker, looking straight before him, asked:
“Don't you think we are doing good?”
“I 'm not an authority; but, as a matter of fact, I don't.”
Crocker seemed disconcerted.
“Why?” he bluntly asked.
Shelton was not anxious to explain his views, and he did not reply.
His friend repeated:
“Why don't you think we're doing good in India?”
“Well,” said Shelton gruffly, “how can progress be imposed on nations from outside?”
The Indian civilian, glancing at Shelton in an affectionate and doubtful way, replied:
“You have n't changed a bit, old chap.”
“No, no,” said Shelton; “you 're not going to get out of it that way. Give me a single example of a nation, or an individual, for that matter, who 's ever done any good without having worked up to it from within.”
Crocker, grunting20, muttered, “Evils.”
“That 's it,” said Shelton; “we take peoples entirely21 different from our own, and stop their natural development by substituting a civilisation22 grown for our own use. Suppose, looking at a tropical fern in a hothouse, you were to say: 'This heat 's unhealthy for me; therefore it must be bad for the fern, I 'll take it up and plant it outside in the fresh air.'.rdquo;
“Do you know that means giving up India?” said the Indian civilian shrewdly.
“I don't say that; but to talk about doing good to India is—h'm!”
Crocker knitted his brows, trying to see the point of view his friend was showing him.
“Come, now! Should we go on administering India if it were dead loss? No. Well, to talk about administering the country for the purpose of pocketing money is cynical23, and there 's generally some truth in cynicism; but to talk about the administration of a country by which we profit, as if it were a great and good thing, is cant24. I hit you in the wind for the benefit of myself—all right: law of nature; but to say it does you good at the same time is beyond me.”
“No, no,” returned Crocker, grave and anxious; “you can't persuade me that we 're not doing good.”
“Wait a bit. It's all a question of horizons; you look at it from too close. Put the horizon further back. You hit India in the wind, and say it's virtuous25. Well, now let's see what happens. Either the wind never comes back, and India gasps26 to an untimely death, or the wind does come back, and in the pant of reaction your blow—that's to say your labour—is lost, morally lost labour that you might have spent where it would n't have been lost.”
“Are n't you an Imperialist?” asked Crocker, genuinely concerned.
“I may be, but I keep my mouth shut about the benefits we 're conferring upon other people.”
“Then you can't believe in abstract right, or justice?”
“What on earth have our ideas of justice or right got to do with India?”
“If I thought as you do,” sighed the unhappy Crocker, “I should be all adrift.”
“Quite so. We always think our standards best for the whole world. It's a capital belief for us. Read the speeches of our public men. Does n't it strike you as amazing how sure they are of being in the right? It's so charming to benefit yourself and others at the same time, though, when you come to think of it, one man's meat is usually another's poison. Look at nature. But in England we never look at nature—there's no necessity. Our national point of view has filled our pockets, that's all that matters.”
“I say, old chap, that's awfully27 bitter,” said Crocker, with a sort of wondering sadness.
“It 's enough to make any one bitter the way we Pharisees wax fat, and at the same time give ourselves the moral airs of a balloon. I must stick a pin in sometimes, just to hear the gas escape.” Shelton was surprised at his own heat, and for some strange reason thought of Antonia—surely, she was not a Pharisee.
His companion strode along, and Shelton felt sorry for the signs of trouble on his face.
“To fill your pockets,” said Crocker, “is n't the main thing. One has just got to do things without thinking of why we do them.”
“Do you ever see the other side to any question?” asked Shelton. “I suppose not. You always begin to act before you stop thinking, don't you?”
Crocker grinned.
“He's a Pharisee, too,” thought Shelton, “without a Pharisee's pride. Queer thing that!”
After walking some distance, as if thinking deeply, Crocker chuckled28 out:
“You 're not consistent; you ought to be in favour of giving up India.”
Shelton smiled uneasily.
“Why should n't we fill our pockets? I only object to the humbug29 that we talk.”
The Indian civilian put his hand shyly through his arm.
“If I thought like you,” he said, “I could n't stay another day in India.”
And to this Shelton made no reply.
The wind had now begun to drop, and something of the morning's magic was stealing again upon the moor. They were nearing the outskirt fields of cultivation30. It was past five when, dropping from the level of the tors, they came into the sunny vale of Monkland.
“They say,” said Crocker, reading from his guide-book—“they say this place occupies a position of unique isolation31.”
The two travellers, in tranquil32 solitude33, took their seats under an old lime-tree on the village green. The smoke of their pipes, the sleepy air, the warmth from the baked ground, the constant hum, made Shelton drowsy34.
“Do you remember,” his companion asked, “those 'jaws35' you used to have with Busgate and old Halidome in my rooms on Sunday evenings? How is old Halidome?”
“Married,” replied Shelton.
Crocker sighed. “And are you?” he asked.
“Not yet,” said Shelton grimly; “I 'm—engaged.”
Crocker took hold of his arm above the elbow, and, squeezing it, he grunted36. Shelton had not received congratulations that pleased him more; there was the spice of envy in them.
“I should like to get married while I 'm home,” said the civilian after a long pause. His legs were stretched apart, throwing shadows on the green, his hands deep thrust into his pockets, his head a little to one side. An absent-minded smile played round his mouth.
The sun had sunk behind a tor, but the warmth kept rising from the ground, and the sweet-briar on a cottage bathed them with its spicy37 perfume. From the converging38 lanes figures passed now and then, lounged by, staring at the strangers, gossiping amongst themselves, and vanished into the cottages that headed the incline. A clock struck seven, and round the shady lime-tree a chafer or some heavy insect commenced its booming rushes. All was marvellously sane39 and slumbrous. The soft air, the drawling voices, the shapes and murmurs40, the rising smell of wood-smoke from fresh-kindled fires—were full of the spirit of security and of home. The outside world was far indeed. Typical of some island nation was this nest of refuge—where men grew quietly tall, fattened41, and without fuss dropped off their perches42; where contentment flourished, as sunflowers flourished in the sun.
Crocker's cap slipped off; he was nodding, and Shelton looked at him. From a manor43 house in some such village he had issued; to one of a thousand such homes he would find his way at last, untouched by the struggles with famines or with plagues, uninfected in his fibre, his prejudices, and his principles, unchanged by contact with strange peoples, new conditions, odd feelings, or queer points of view!
The chafer buzzed against his shoulder, gathered flight again, and boomed away. Crocker roused himself, and, turning his amiable44 face, jogged Shelton's arm.
“What are you thinking about, Bird?” he asked.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 lugubrious IAmxn     
adj.悲哀的,忧郁的
参考例句:
  • That long,lugubrious howl rose on the night air again!夜空中又传来了那又长又凄凉的狗叫声。
  • After the earthquake,the city is full of lugubrious faces.地震之后,这个城市满是悲哀的面孔。
2 moor T6yzd     
n.荒野,沼泽;vt.(使)停泊;vi.停泊
参考例句:
  • I decided to moor near some tourist boats.我决定在一些观光船附近停泊。
  • There were hundreds of the old huts on the moor.沼地上有成百上千的古老的石屋。
3 dreary sk1z6     
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的
参考例句:
  • They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
  • She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。
4 morbid u6qz3     
adj.病的;致病的;病态的;可怕的
参考例句:
  • Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
  • It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。
5 fascination FlHxO     
n.令人着迷的事物,魅力,迷恋
参考例句:
  • He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
  • His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。
6 maxims aa76c066930d237742b409ad104a416f     
n.格言,座右铭( maxim的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Courts also draw freely on traditional maxims of construction. 法院也自由吸收传统的解释准则。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
  • There are variant formulations of some of the maxims. 有些准则有多种表达方式。 来自辞典例句
7 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒
参考例句:
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
8 stultified 288ad76ed555b9e3999b2bc6ccc102da     
v.使成为徒劳,使变得无用( stultify的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Their unhelpfulness has stultified our efforts to improve things. 他们不管事,我们为改进工作的用心也就白费了。 来自辞典例句
  • He was stultified, shocked, paralyzed. 他当时一听,吓傻了,气坏了,瘫痪了。 来自辞典例句
9 bishops 391617e5d7bcaaf54a7c2ad3fc490348     
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象
参考例句:
  • Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时,每名棋手有两只象。
  • "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫,抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。
10 organisation organisation     
n.组织,安排,团体,有机休
参考例句:
  • The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
  • His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。
11 poked 87f534f05a838d18eb50660766da4122     
v.伸出( poke的过去式和过去分词 );戳出;拨弄;与(某人)性交
参考例句:
  • She poked him in the ribs with her elbow. 她用胳膊肘顶他的肋部。
  • His elbow poked out through his torn shirt sleeve. 他的胳膊从衬衫的破袖子中露了出来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 jaw 5xgy9     
n.颚,颌,说教,流言蜚语;v.喋喋不休,教训
参考例句:
  • He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
  • A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。
13 scrutiny ZDgz6     
n.详细检查,仔细观察
参考例句:
  • His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好,但是经不起仔细检查。
  • Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。
14 collapsed cwWzSG     
adj.倒塌的
参考例句:
  • Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
  • The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。
15 sleepless oiBzGN     
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的
参考例句:
  • The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
  • One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上,我听说了一个传闻,把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。
16 chuckle Tr1zZ     
vi./n.轻声笑,咯咯笑
参考例句:
  • He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
  • I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个,我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。
17 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
18 aspiration ON6z4     
n.志向,志趣抱负;渴望;(语)送气音;吸出
参考例句:
  • Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
  • Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。
19 civilian uqbzl     
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的
参考例句:
  • There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
  • He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。
20 grunting ae2709ef2cd9ee22f906b0a6a6886465     
咕哝的,呼噜的
参考例句:
  • He pulled harder on the rope, grunting with the effort. 他边用力边哼声,使出更大的力气拉绳子。
  • Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。
21 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
22 civilisation civilisation     
n.文明,文化,开化,教化
参考例句:
  • Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
  • This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。
23 cynical Dnbz9     
adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的,不信世道向善的
参考例句:
  • The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大,他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
  • He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。
24 cant KWAzZ     
n.斜穿,黑话,猛扔
参考例句:
  • The ship took on a dangerous cant to port.船只出现向左舷危险倾斜。
  • He knows thieves'cant.他懂盗贼的黑话。
25 virtuous upCyI     
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的
参考例句:
  • She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性,人人都尊敬她。
  • My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。
26 gasps 3c56dd6bfe73becb6277f1550eaac478     
v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要
参考例句:
  • He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆,急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
27 awfully MPkym     
adv.可怕地,非常地,极端地
参考例句:
  • Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
  • I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。
28 chuckled 8ce1383c838073977a08258a1f3e30f8     
轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • She chuckled at the memory. 想起这件事她就暗自发笑。
  • She chuckled softly to herself as she remembered his astonished look. 想起他那惊讶的表情,她就轻轻地暗自发笑。
29 humbug ld8zV     
n.花招,谎话,欺骗
参考例句:
  • I know my words can seem to him nothing but utter humbug.我知道,我说的话在他看来不过是彻头彻尾的慌言。
  • All their fine words are nothing but humbug.他们的一切花言巧语都是骗人的。
30 cultivation cnfzl     
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成
参考例句:
  • The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
  • The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃,不值得耕种。
31 isolation 7qMzTS     
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
参考例句:
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
32 tranquil UJGz0     
adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的
参考例句:
  • The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
  • The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。
33 solitude xF9yw     
n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方
参考例句:
  • People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
  • They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。
34 drowsy DkYz3     
adj.昏昏欲睡的,令人发困的
参考例句:
  • Exhaust fumes made him drowsy and brought on a headache.废气把他熏得昏昏沉沉,还引起了头疼。
  • I feel drowsy after lunch every day.每天午饭后我就想睡觉。
35 jaws cq9zZq     
n.口部;嘴
参考例句:
  • The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
  • The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。
36 grunted f18a3a8ced1d857427f2252db2abbeaf     
(猪等)作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 ); (指人)发出类似的哼声; 咕哝着说
参考例句:
  • She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声,继续看书,不屑抬起头来看一眼。
  • She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。
37 spicy zhvzrC     
adj.加香料的;辛辣的,有风味的
参考例句:
  • The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
  • Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。
38 converging 23823b9401b4f5d440f61879a369ae50     
adj.收敛[缩]的,会聚的,趋同的v.(线条、运动的物体等)会于一点( converge的现在分词 );(趋于)相似或相同;人或车辆汇集;聚集
参考例句:
  • Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
  • This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句
39 sane 9YZxB     
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的
参考例句:
  • He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
  • He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。
40 murmurs f21162b146f5e36f998c75eb9af3e2d9     
n.低沉、连续而不清的声音( murmur的名词复数 );低语声;怨言;嘀咕
参考例句:
  • They spoke in low murmurs. 他们低声说着话。 来自辞典例句
  • They are more superficial, more distinctly heard than murmurs. 它们听起来比心脏杂音更为浅表而清楚。 来自辞典例句
41 fattened c1fc258c49c7dbf6baa544ae4962793c     
v.喂肥( fatten的过去式和过去分词 );养肥(牲畜);使(钱)增多;使(公司)升值
参考例句:
  • The piglets are taken from the sow to be fattened for market. 这些小猪被从母猪身边带走,好育肥上市。
  • Those corrupt officials fattened themselves by drinking the people's life-blood. 那些贪官污吏用民脂民膏养肥了自己。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
42 perches a9e7f5ff4da2527810360c20ff65afca     
栖息处( perch的名词复数 ); 栖枝; 高处; 鲈鱼
参考例句:
  • Other protection can be obtained by providing wooden perches througout the orchards. 其它保护措施是可在种子园中到处设置木制的栖木。
  • The birds were hopping about on their perches and twittering. 鸟儿在栖木上跳来跳去,吱吱地叫着。
43 manor d2Gy4     
n.庄园,领地
参考例句:
  • The builder of the manor house is a direct ancestor of the present owner.建造这幢庄园的人就是它现在主人的一个直系祖先。
  • I am not lord of the manor,but its lady.我并非此地的领主,而是这儿的女主人。
44 amiable hxAzZ     
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的
参考例句:
  • She was a very kind and amiable old woman.她是个善良和气的老太太。
  • We have a very amiable companionship.我们之间存在一种友好的关系。


欢迎访问英文小说网

©英文小说网 2005-2010

有任何问题,请给我们留言,管理员邮箱:[email protected]  站长QQ :点击发送消息和我们联系56065533