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Chapter 12
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Somehow the night had passed--somehow in bitterness, in anguish1. But it had passed.

Ernest's lips were parched2 and sleeplessness3 had left its trace in the black rings under the eyes, when the next morning he confronted Reginald in the studio.

Reginald was sitting at the writing-table in his most characteristic pose, supporting his head with his hand and looking with clear piercing eyes searchingly at the boy.

"Yes," he observed, "it's a most curious psychical4 phenomenon."

"You cannot imagine how real it all seemed to me."

The boy spoke5 painfully, dazed, as if struck by a blow.

"Even now it is as if something has gone from me, some struggling thought that I cannot--cannot remember."

Reginald regarded him as a physical experimenter might look upon the subject of a particularly baffling mental disease.

"You must not think, my boy, that I bear you any malice6 for your extraordinary delusion7. Before Jack8 went away he gave me an exact account of all that has happened. Divers9 incidents recurred10 to him from which it appears that, at various times in the past, you have been on the verge11 of a nervous collapse12."

A nervous collapse! What was the use of this term but a euphemism13 for insanity14?

"Do not despair, dear child," Reginald caressingly15 remarked. "Your disorder16 is not hopeless, not incurable17. Such crises come to every man who writes. It is the tribute we pay to the Lords of Song. The minnesinger of the past wrote with his heart's blood; but we moderns dip our pen into the sap of our nerves. We analyse life, love art--and the dissecting18 knife that we use on other men's souls finally turns against ourselves.

"But what shall a man do? Shall he sacrifice art to hygiene19 and surrender the one attribute that makes him chiefest of created things? Animals, too, think. Some walk on two legs. But introspection differentiates20 man from the rest. Shall we yield up the sweet consciousness of self that we derive21 from the analysis of our emotion, for the contentment of the bull that ruminates22 in the shade of a tree or the healthful stupidity of a mule23?"

"Assuredly not."

"But what shall a man do?"

"Ah, that I cannot tell. Mathematics offers definite problems that admit of a definite solution. Life states its problems with less exactness and offers for each a different solution. One and one are two to-day and to-morrow. Psychical values, on each manipulation, will yield a different result. Still, your case is quite clear. You have overworked yourself in the past, mentally and emotionally. You have sown unrest, and must not be surprised if neurasthenia is the harvest thereof."

"Do you think--that I should go to some sanitarium?" the boy falteringly24 asked.

"God forbid! Go to the seashore, somewhere where you can sleep and play. Take your body along, but leave your brain behind--at least do not take more of it with you than is necessary. The summer season in Atlantic City has just begun. There, as everywhere in American society, you will be much more welcome if you come without brains."

Reginald's half-bantering tone reassured25 Ernest a little. Timidly he dared approach once more the strange event that had wrought26 such havoc27 with his nervous equilibrium28.

"How do you account for my strange obsession--one might almost call it a mania29?"

"If it could be accounted for it would not be strange."

"Can you suggest no possible explanation?"

"Perhaps a stray leaf on my desk a few indications of the plot, a remark--who knows? Perhaps thought-matter is floating in the air. Perhaps--but we had better not talk of it now. It would needlessly excite you."

"You are right," answered Ernest gloomily, "let us not talk of it. But whatever may be said, it is a marvellous play."

"You flatter me. There is nothing in it that you may not be able to do equally well--some day."

"Ah, no," the boy replied, looking up to Reginald with admiration30. "You are the master."


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 anguish awZz0     
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼
参考例句:
  • She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时,她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
  • The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。
2 parched 2mbzMK     
adj.焦干的;极渴的;v.(使)焦干
参考例句:
  • Hot winds parched the crops.热风使庄稼干透了。
  • The land in this region is rather dry and parched.这片土地十分干燥。
3 sleeplessness niXzGe     
n.失眠,警觉
参考例句:
  • Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness. 现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The doctors were puzzled by this strange continuous sleeplessness. 医生们对他的奇异的不眠感到疑惑。 来自英语晨读30分(高三)
4 psychical 8d18cc3bc74677380d4909fef11c68da     
adj.有关特异功能现象的;有关特异功能官能的;灵魂的;心灵的
参考例句:
  • Conclusion: The Liuhe-lottery does harm to people, s psychical health and should be for bidden. 结论:“六合彩”赌博有害人们心理卫生,应予以严禁。 来自互联网
5 spoke XryyC     
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
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
6 malice P8LzW     
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋
参考例句:
  • I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
  • There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
7 delusion x9uyf     
n.谬见,欺骗,幻觉,迷惑
参考例句:
  • He is under the delusion that he is Napoleon.他患了妄想症,认为自己是拿破仑。
  • I was under the delusion that he intended to marry me.我误认为他要娶我。
8 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
9 divers hu9z23     
adj.不同的;种种的
参考例句:
  • He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人,要他们和他作伴。
  • Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作,同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。
10 recurred c940028155f925521a46b08674bc2f8a     
再发生,复发( recur的过去式和过去分词 ); 治愈
参考例句:
  • Old memories constantly recurred to him. 往事经常浮现在他的脑海里。
  • She always winced when he recurred to the subject of his poems. 每逢他一提到他的诗作的时候,她总是有点畏缩。
11 verge gUtzQ     
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。
12 collapse aWvyE     
vi.累倒;昏倒;倒塌;塌陷
参考例句:
  • The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
  • The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。
13 euphemism DPzzJ     
n.婉言,委婉的说法
参考例句:
  • Language reflects culture and euphemism is a mirror of culture.语言反映文化,而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。
  • Euphemism is a very common and complicated linguistic phenomenon.委婉语是一种十分常见而又非常复杂的语言现象。
14 insanity H6xxf     
n.疯狂,精神错乱;极端的愚蠢,荒唐
参考例句:
  • In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱,为自己辩解。
  • He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里,这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。
15 caressingly 77d15bfb91cdfea4de0eee54a581136b     
爱抚地,亲切地
参考例句:
  • His voice was caressingly sweet. 他的嗓音亲切而又甜美。
16 disorder Et1x4     
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调
参考例句:
  • When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后,他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
  • It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。
17 incurable incurable     
adj.不能医治的,不能矫正的,无救的;n.不治的病人,无救的人
参考例句:
  • All three babies were born with an incurable heart condition.三个婴儿都有不可治瘉的先天性心脏病。
  • He has an incurable and widespread nepotism.他们有不可救药的,到处蔓延的裙带主义。
18 dissecting 53b66bea703a0d1b805dfcd0804dd1b3     
v.解剖(动物等)( dissect的现在分词 );仔细分析或研究
参考例句:
  • Another group was dissecting a new film showing locally. 另外一批人正在剖析城里上演的一部新电影。 来自辞典例句
  • Probe into Dissecting Refraction Method Statics Processing under Complicated Surface Conditions. 不同地表条件下土壤侵蚀的坡度效应。 来自互联网
19 hygiene Kchzr     
n.健康法,卫生学 (a.hygienic)
参考例句:
  • Their course of study includes elementary hygiene and medical theory.他们的课程包括基础卫生学和医疗知识。
  • He's going to give us a lecture on public hygiene.他要给我们作关于公共卫生方面的报告。
20 differentiates e1a5ca2c9946ac040edc6427341f59db     
区分,区别,辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 ); 区别对待; 表明…间的差别,构成…间差别的特征
参考例句:
  • This genus of plants differentiates into many species. 这种植物可分为许多种类。
  • Our fax machine differentiates between an incoming fax signal and a voice call. 我们的传真机能区分接收传真信号和语音信号。
21 derive hmLzH     
v.取得;导出;引申;来自;源自;出自
参考例句:
  • We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
  • We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。
22 ruminates 18de3dc5e4c471aa62920c6b1a6d3da1     
v.沉思( ruminate的第三人称单数 );反复考虑;反刍;倒嚼
参考例句:
  • Where depression questions, ruminates and hesitates, mania answers with vigor and certainty. 当抑郁患者发出疑问、覆考虑,且裹足不前时,躁狂患者则以充份的活力与信心勇往直前。 来自互联网
  • A cow ruminates its food. 牛反刍所吃的食物。 来自互联网
23 mule G6RzI     
n.骡子,杂种,执拗的人
参考例句:
  • A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
  • He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。
24 falteringly c4efbc9543dafe43a97916fc6bf0a802     
口吃地,支吾地
参考例句:
  • The German war machine had lumbered falteringly over the frontier and come to a standstill Linz. 德国的战争机器摇摇晃晃,声音隆隆地越过了边界,快到林茨时却走不动了。
25 reassured ff7466d942d18e727fb4d5473e62a235     
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)
参考例句:
  • The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 wrought EoZyr     
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的
参考例句:
  • Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
  • It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。
27 havoc 9eyxY     
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱
参考例句:
  • The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
  • This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。
28 equilibrium jiazs     
n.平衡,均衡,相称,均势,平静
参考例句:
  • Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
  • This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。
29 mania 9BWxu     
n.疯狂;躁狂症,狂热,癖好
参考例句:
  • Football mania is sweeping the country.足球热正风靡全国。
  • Collecting small items can easily become a mania.收藏零星物品往往容易变成一种癖好。
30 admiration afpyA     
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕
参考例句:
  • He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
  • We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。


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