How is it that the sunlight gives us such joy? Why does this radiance when it falls on the earth fill us with the joy of living? The whole sky is blue, the fields are green, the houses all white, and our enchanted1 eyes drink in those bright colors which bring delight to our souls. And then there springs up in our hearts a desire to dance, to run, to sing, a happy lightness of thought, a sort of enlarged tenderness; we feel a longing2 to embrace the sun.
The blind, as they sit in the doorways3, impassive in their eternal darkness, remain as calm as ever in the midst of this fresh gaiety, and, not understanding what is taking place around them, they continually check their dogs as they attempt to play.
When, at the close of the day, they are returning home on the arm of a young brother or a little sister, if the child says: “It was a very fine day!” the other answers: “I could notice that it was fine. Loulou wouldn't keep quiet.”
I knew one of these men whose life was one of the most cruel martyrdoms that could possibly be conceived.
He was a peasant, the son of a Norman farmer. As long as his father and mother lived, he was more or less taken care of; he suffered little save from his horrible infirmity; but as soon as the old people were gone, an atrocious life of misery4 commenced for him. Dependent on a sister of his, everybody in the farmhouse5 treated him as a beggar who is eating the bread of strangers. At every meal the very food he swallowed was made a subject of reproach against him; he was called a drone, a clown, and although his brother-in-law had taken possession of his portion of the inheritance, he was helped grudgingly6 to soup, getting just enough to save him from starving.
His face was very pale and his two big white eyes looked like wafers. He remained unmoved at all the insults hurled7 at him, so reserved that one could not tell whether he felt them.
Moreover, he had never known any tenderness, his mother having always treated him unkindly and caring very little for him; for in country places useless persons are considered a nuisance, and the peasants would be glad to kill the infirm of their species, as poultry8 do.
As soon as he finished his soup he went and sat outside the door in summer and in winter beside the fireside, and did not stir again all the evening. He made no gesture, no movement; only his eyelids9, quivering from some nervous affection, fell down sometimes over his white, sightless orbs10. Had he any intellect, any thinking faculty11, any consciousness of his own existence? Nobody cared to inquire.
For some years things went on in this fashion. But his incapacity for work as well as his impassiveness eventually exasperated12 his relatives, and he became a laughingstock, a sort of butt13 for merriment, a prey14 to the inborn15 ferocity, to the savage16 gaiety of the brutes17 who surrounded him.
It is easy to imagine all the cruel practical jokes inspired by his blindness. And, in order to have some fun in return for feeding him, they now converted his meals into hours of pleasure for the neighbors and of punishment for the helpless creature himself.
The peasants from the nearest houses came to this entertainment; it was talked about from door to door, and every day the kitchen of the farmhouse was full of people. Sometimes they placed before his plate, when he was beginning to eat his soup, some cat or dog. The animal instinctively18 perceived the man's infirmity, and, softly approaching, commenced eating noiselessly, lapping up the soup daintily; and, when they lapped the food rather noisily, rousing the poor fellow's attention, they would prudently19 scamper20 away to avoid the blow of the spoon directed at random21 by the blind man!
Then the spectators ranged along the wall would burst out laughing, nudge each other and stamp their feet on the floor. And he, without ever uttering a word, would continue eating with his right hand, while stretching out his left to protect his plate.
Another time they made him chew corks22, bits of wood, leaves or even filth23, which he was unable to distinguish.
After this they got tired even of these practical jokes, and the brother-in-law, angry at having to support him always, struck him, cuffed24 him incessantly26, laughing at his futile27 efforts to ward28 off or return the blows. Then came a new pleasure—the pleasure of smacking29 his face. And the plough-men, the servant girls and even every passing vagabond were every moment giving him cuffs30, which caused his eyelashes to twitch31 spasmodically. He did not know where to hide himself and remained with his arms always held out to guard against people coming too close to him.
At last he was forced to beg.
He was placed somewhere on the high-road on market-days, and as soon as he heard the sound of footsteps or the rolling of a vehicle, he reached out his hat, stammering32:
“Charity, if you please!”
One winter the ground was covered with snow, and it was freezing hard. His brother-in-law led him one morning a great distance along the high road in order that he might solicit35 alms. The blind man was left there all day; and when night came on, the brother-in-law told the people of his house that he could find no trace of the mendicant36. Then he added:
“Pooh! best not bother about him! He was cold and got someone to take him away. Never fear! he's not lost. He'll turn up soon enough tomorrow to eat the soup.”
Next day he did not come back.
After long hours of waiting, stiffened37 with the cold, feeling that he was dying, the blind man began to walk. Being unable to find his way along the road, owing to its thick coating of ice, he went on at random, falling into ditches, getting up again, without uttering a sound, his sole object being to find some house where he could take shelter.
But, by degrees, the descending38 snow made a numbness39 steal over him, and his feeble limbs being incapable40 of carrying him farther, he sat down in the middle of an open field. He did not get up again.
The white flakes41 which fell continuously buried him, so that his body, quite stiff and stark42, disappeared under the incessant25 accumulation of their rapidly thickening mass, and nothing was left to indicate the place where he lay.
His relatives made a pretence43 of inquiring about him and searching for him for about a week. They even made a show of weeping.
The winter was severe, and the thaw44 did not set in quickly. Now, one Sunday, on their way to mass, the farmers noticed a great flight of crows, who were whirling incessantly above the open field, and then descending like a shower of black rain at the same spot, ever going and coming.
The following week these gloomy birds were still there. There was a crowd of them up in the air, as if they had gathered from all corners of the horizon, and they swooped45 down with a great cawing into the shining snow, which they covered like black patches, and in which they kept pecking obstinately46. A young fellow went to see what they were doing and discovered the body of the blind man, already half devoured47, mangled48. His wan49 eyes had disappeared, pecked out by the long, voracious50 beaks51.
And I can never feel the glad radiance of sunlit days without sadly remembering and pondering over the fate of the beggar who was such an outcast in life that his horrible death was a relief to all who had known him.
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1
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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2
longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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3
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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grudgingly
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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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poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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9
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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orbs
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| abbr.off-reservation boarding school 在校寄宿学校n.球，天体，圆形物( orb的名词复数 ) | |
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11
faculty
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| n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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12
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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14
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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inborn
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| adj.天生的，生来的，先天的 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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17
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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instinctively
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| adv.本能地 | |
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19
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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20
scamper
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| v.奔跑，快跑 | |
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random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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22
corks
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| n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞 | |
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23
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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24
cuffed
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| v.掌打，拳打( cuff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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28
ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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29
smacking
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| 活泼的，发出响声的，精力充沛的 | |
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30
cuffs
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| n.袖口( cuff的名词复数 )v.掌打，拳打( cuff的第三人称单数 ) | |
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31
twitch
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| v.急拉，抽动，痉挛，抽搐；n.扯，阵痛，痉挛 | |
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32
stammering
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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33
lavish
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| adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍 | |
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34
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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35
solicit
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| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
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36
mendicant
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| n.乞丐；adj.行乞的 | |
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37
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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38
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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39
numbness
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| n.无感觉，麻木，惊呆 | |
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40
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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41
flakes
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| 小薄片( flake的名词复数 )； （尤指）碎片； 雪花； 古怪的人 | |
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42
stark
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| adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地 | |
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43
pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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44
thaw
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| v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和 | |
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45
swooped
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| 俯冲，猛冲( swoop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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47
devoured
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| 吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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48
mangled
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| vt.乱砍（mangle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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49
wan
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| (wide area network)广域网 | |
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50
voracious
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| adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的 | |
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51
beaks
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| n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者 | |
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