He was slowly dying, as consumptives die. I saw him each day, about two o'clock, sitting beneath the hotel windows on a bench in the promenade1, looking out on the calm sea. He remained for some time without moving, in the heat of the sun, gazing mournfully at the Mediterranean2. Every now and then, he cast a glance at the lofty mountains with beclouded summits that shut in Mentone; then, with a very slow movement, he would cross his long legs, so thin that they seemed like two bones, around which fluttered the cloth of his trousers, and he would open a book, always the same book. And then he did not stir any more, but read on, read on with his eye and his mind; all his wasting body seemed to read, all his soul plunged3, lost, disappeared, in this book, up to the hour when the cool air made him cough a little. Then, he got up and reentered the hotel.
He was a tall German, with fair beard, who breakfasted and dined in his own room, and spoke4 to nobody.
A vague, curiosity attracted me to him. One day, I sat down by his side, having taken up a book, too, to keep up appearances, a volume of Musset's poems.
And I began to look through “Rolla.”
Suddenly, my neighbor said to me, in good French:
“Do you know German, monsieur?”
“Not at all, monsieur.”
“I am sorry for that. Since chance has thrown us side by side, I could have lent you, I could have shown you, an inestimable thing—this book which I hold in my hand.”
“What is it, pray?”
“It is a copy of my master, Schopenhauer, annotated5 with his own hand. All the margins6, as you may see, are covered with his handwriting.”
I took the book from him reverently7, and I gazed at these forms incomprehensible to me, but which revealed the immortal8 thoughts of the greatest shatterer of dreams who had ever dwelt on earth.
And Musset's verses arose in my memory:
And involuntarily I compared the childish sarcasm12, the religious sarcasm of Voltaire with the irresistible13 irony14 of the German philosopher whose influence is henceforth ineffaceable.
Let us protest and let us be angry, let us be indignant, or let us be enthusiastic, Schopenhauer has marked humanity with the seal of his disdain15 and of his disenchantment.
A disabused16 pleasure-seeker, he overthrew17 beliefs, hopes, poetic18 ideals and chimeras19, destroyed the aspirations20, ravaged21 the confidence of souls, killed love, dragged down the chivalrous22 worship of women, crushed the illusions of hearts, and accomplished23 the most gigantic task ever attempted by scepticism. He spared nothing with his mocking spirit, and exhausted24 everything. And even to-day those who execrate25 him seem to carry in their own souls particles of his thought.
“So, then, you were intimately acquainted with Schopenhauer?” I said to the German.
He smiled sadly.
“Up to the time of his death, monsieur.”
And he spoke to me about the philosopher and told me about the almost supernatural impression which this strange being made on all who came near him.
He gave me an account of the interview of the old iconoclast26 with a French politician, a doctrinaire27 Republican, who wanted to get a glimpse of this man, and found him in a noisy tavern28, seated in the midst of his disciples29, dry, wrinkled, laughing with an unforgettable laugh, attacking and tearing to pieces ideas and beliefs with a single word, as a dog tears with one bite of his teeth the tissues with which he plays.
He repeated for me the comment of this Frenchman as he went away, astonished and terrified: “I thought I had spent an hour with the devil.”
Then he added:
“He had, indeed, monsieur, a frightful30 smile, which terrified us even after his death. I can tell you an anecdote31 about it that is not generally known, if it would interest you.”
And he began, in a languid voice, interrupted by frequent fits of coughing.
“Schopenhauer had just died, and it was arranged that we should watch, in turn, two by two, till morning.
“He was lying in a large apartment, very simple, vast and gloomy. Two wax candles were burning on the stand by the bedside.
“It was midnight when I went on watch, together with one of our comrades. The two friends whom we replaced had left the apartment, and we came and sat down at the foot of the bed.
“The face was not changed. It was laughing. That pucker32 which we knew so well lingered still around the corners of the lips, and it seemed to us that he was about to open his eyes, to move and to speak. His thought, or rather his thoughts, enveloped33 us. We felt ourselves more than ever in the atmosphere of his genius, absorbed, possessed34 by him. His domination seemed to be even more sovereign now that he was dead. A feeling of mystery was blended with the power of this incomparable spirit.
“The bodies of these men disappear, but they themselves remain; and in the night which follows the cessation of their heart's pulsation35 I assure you, monsieur, they are terrifying.
“And in hushed tones we talked about him, recalling to mind certain sayings, certain formulas of his, those startling maxims36 which are like jets of flame flung, in a few words, into the darkness of the Unknown Life.
“'It seems to me that he is going to speak,' said my comrade. And we stared with uneasiness bordering on fear at the motionless face, with its eternal laugh. Gradually, we began to feel ill at ease, oppressed, on the point of fainting. I faltered37:
“'I don't know what is the matter with me, but, I assure you I am not well.'
“Then, my comrade suggested that we should go into the adjoining room, and leave the door open; and I assented39 to his proposal.
“I took one of the wax candles which burned on the stand, and I left the second behind. Then we went and sat down at the other end of the adjoining apartment, in such a position that we could see the bed and the corpse, clearly revealed by the light.
“But he still held possession of us. One would have said that his immaterial essence, liberated40, free, all-powerful and dominating, was flitting around us. And sometimes, too, the dreadful odor of the decomposed41 body came toward us and penetrated42 us, sickening and indefinable.
“Suddenly a shiver passed through our bones: a sound, a slight sound, came from the death-chamber. Immediately we fixed43 our glances on him, and we saw, yes, monsieur, we saw distinctly, both of us, something white pass across the bed, fall on the carpet, and vanish under an armchair.
“We were on our feet before we had time to think of anything, distracted by stupefying terror, ready to run away. Then we stared at each other. We were horribly pale. Our hearts throbbed44 fiercely enough to have raised the clothing on our chests. I was the first to speak:
“'Did you see?'
“'Yes, I saw.'
“'Can it be that he is not dead?'
“'Why, when the body is putrefying?'
“'What are we to do?'
“My companion said in a hesitating tone:
“'We must go and look.'
“I took our wax candle and entered first, glancing into all the dark corners in the large apartment. Nothing was moving now, and I approached the bed. But I stood transfixed with stupor45 and fright:
“Schopenhauer was no longer laughing! He was grinning in a horrible fashion, with his lips pressed together and deep hollows in his cheeks. I stammered46 out:
“'He is not dead!'
“But the terrible odor ascended47 to my nose and stifled48 me. And I no longer moved, but kept staring fixedly49 at him, terrified as if in the presence of an apparition50.
“Then my companion, having seized the other wax candle, bent51 forward. Next, he touched my arm without uttering a word. I followed his glance, and saw on the ground, under the armchair by the side of the bed, standing52 out white on the dark carpet, and open as if to bite, Schopenhauer's set of artificial teeth.
“I was really frightened that day, monsieur.”
And as the sun was sinking toward the glittering sea, the consumptive German rose from his seat, gave me a parting bow, and retired55 into the hotel.
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1
promenade
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| n./v.散步 | |
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Mediterranean
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| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
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3
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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4
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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annotated
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| v.注解，注释( annotate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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margins
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| 边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数 | |
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7
reverently
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| adv.虔诚地 | |
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8
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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9
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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10
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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bleached
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| 漂白的，晒白的，颜色变浅的 | |
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sarcasm
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| n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic） | |
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13
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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15
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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disabused
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| v.去除…的错误想法( disabuse的过去式和过去分词 )；使醒悟 | |
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17
overthrew
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| overthrow的过去式 | |
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poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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19
chimeras
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| n.（由几种动物的各部分构成的）假想的怪兽( chimera的名词复数 )；不可能实现的想法；幻想；妄想 | |
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20
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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21
ravaged
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| 毁坏( ravage的过去式和过去分词 )； 蹂躏； 劫掠； 抢劫 | |
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22
chivalrous
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| adj.武士精神的；对女人彬彬有礼的 | |
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23
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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24
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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25
execrate
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| v.憎恶；厌恶；诅咒 | |
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26
iconoclast
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| n.反对崇拜偶像者 | |
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27
doctrinaire
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| adj.空论的 | |
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28
tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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29
disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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30
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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31
anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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32
pucker
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| v.撅起，使起皱；n.（衣服上的）皱纹，褶子 | |
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33
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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35
pulsation
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| n.脉搏，悸动，脉动；搏动性 | |
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36
maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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37
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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38
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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39
assented
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| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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40
liberated
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| a.无拘束的，放纵的 | |
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41
decomposed
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| 已分解的，已腐烂的 | |
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42
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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43
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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44
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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45
stupor
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| v.昏迷；不省人事 | |
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46
stammered
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| v.结巴地说出( stammer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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49
fixedly
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| adv.固定地；不屈地，坚定不移地 | |
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50
apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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51
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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52
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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53
decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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54
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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55
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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