Part 1 Chapter 14

The English ScissorsA girl of sixteen had a rosy¹ complexion², and put on rouge³.

　　POLIDORIAs for Julien, Fouque's offer had indeed destroyed all his happiness;he could not decide upon any course.

　　'Alas! Perhaps I am wanting in character, I should have made Napoleon a bad soldier. Anyhow,' he went on, 'my little intrigue⁴ with the ladyof the house is going to distract me for the moment.'

　　Fortunately for him, even in this minor⁵ incident, his inward feelingsbore no relation to his cavalier language. He was afraid of Madame deRenal because of her pretty gown. This gown was in his eyes the advance guard of Paris. His pride was determined⁶ to leave nothing tochance and to the inspiration of the moment. Drawing upon Fouque'sconfessions and the little he had read about love in the Bible, he prepared a plan of campaign in great detail. Since, though he did not admitit to himself, he was extremely anxious, he committed this plan towriting.

　　The following morning, in the drawing-room, Madame de Renal wasalone with him for a moment.

　　'Have you no other name besides Julien?' she asked him.

　　Our hero did not know what answer to give to so flattering a question.

　　No provision had been made in his plan for such an event. But for thestupid mistake of making a plan, Julien's quick mind would soon havecome to his rescue, his surprise would only have added to the keennessof his perceptions.

　　He was awkward and exaggerated his own awkwardness. Madame deRenal soon forgave him that. She saw in it the effect of a charming candour. And the one thing lacking, to her mind, in this man, who was considered so brilliant, was an air of candour.

　　 'I don't at all trust your little tutor,' Madame Derville said to her onseveral occasions. 'He seems to me to be always thinking and to act onlyfrom motives⁷ of policy. He's crafty⁸.'

　　Julien remained deeply humiliated⁹ by the disaster of not havingknown what answer to make to Madame de Renal.

　　'A man of my sort owes it to himself to make up for this check'; and,seizing the moment at which she passed from one room to another, hedid what he considered his duty by giving Madame de Renal a kiss.

　　Nothing could have been less appropriate, less agreeable either to himself or to her, nor could anything have been more imprudent. Theybarely escaped being caught. Madame de Renal thought him mad. Shewas frightened and even more shocked. This stupidity reminded her ofM. Valenod.

　　'What would happen to me,' she asked herself, 'if I were left alone withhim?' All her virtue¹⁰ returned, for her love was in eclipse.

　　She arranged matters so that there should always be one of her children with her.

　　The day passed slowly for Julien, he spent the whole of it in clumsilycarrying out his plan of seduction. He never once looked at Madame deRenal without embodying¹¹ a question in his look; he was not, however,such a fool as not to see that he was failing completely to be agreeable,let alone seductive.

　　Madame de Renal could not get over her astonishment¹² at finding himso awkward and at the same time so bold. 'It is the timidity of love in aman of parts!' she said to herself at length, with an inexpressible joy. 'Canit be possible that he has never been loved by my rival!'

　　After luncheon¹³, Madame de Renal returned to the drawing-room toentertain M. Charcot de Maugiron, the Sub-Prefect of Bray¹⁴. She wasworking at a little tapestry¹⁵ frame on a tall stand. Madame Derville wasby her side. It was in this position, and in the full light of day, that ourhero thought fit to thrust forward his boot and press the pretty foot ofMadame de Renal, whose open-work stocking and smart Parisian shoewere evidently attracting the gaze of the gallant¹⁶ Sub-Prefect.

　　Madame de Renal was extremely alarmed; she let fall her scissors, herball of wool, her needles, and Julien's movement could thus pass for aclumsy attempt to prevent the fall of the scissors, which he had seen slipping down. Fortunately these little scissors of English steel broke, and Madame de Renal could not sufficiently¹⁷ express her regret that Julienhad not been nearer at hand.

　　'You saw them falling before I did, you might have caught them; yourzeal has only succeeded in giving me a violent kick.'

　　All this play-acting took in the Sub-Prefect, but not Madame Derville.

　　'This pretty youth has very bad manners!' she thought; the worldly-wisdom of a provincial¹⁸ capital can never pardon mistakes of this sort. Madame de Renal found an opportunity of saying to Julien:

　　'Be careful, I order you.'

　　Julien realised his own clumsiness, and was annoyed. For a long timehe debated within himself whether he ought to take offence at the words:

　　'I order you.' He was foolish enough to think: 'She might say to me "I order you" if it was something to do with the children's education; but inresponding to my love, she assumes equality. One cannot love withoutequality'; and he lost himself in composing commonplaces on the subjectof equality. He repeated angrily to himself the verse of Corneille whichMadame Derville had taught him a few days earlier:

　　Love creates equalities, it does not seek them.

　　Julien, insisting upon playing the part of a Don Juan, he who had never had a mistress in his life, was deadly dull for the rest of the day. Hehad only one sensible idea; bored with himself and with Madame deRenal, he saw with alarm the evening approach when he would beseated in the garden, by her side and in the dark. He told M. de Renalthat he was going to Verrieres to see the cure; he set off after dinner, anddid not return until late at night.

　　At Verrieres, Julien found M. Chelan engaged in packing up; he had atlast been deprived of his benefice; the vicar Maslon was to succeed him.

　　Julien helped the good cure, and it occurred to him to write to Fouquethat the irresistible¹⁹ vocation²⁰ which he felt for the sacred ministry²¹ hadprevented him at first from accepting his friend's obliging offer, but thathe had just witnessed such an example of injustice²², that perhaps it wouldbe more advantageous²³ to his welfare were he not to take holy orders.

　　Julien applauded his own deftness²⁴ in making use of the deprivation²⁵ ofthe cure of Verrieres to leave a door open for himself and so return tocommerce, should the sad voice of prudence²⁶ prevail, in his mind, overheroism.

1 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

2 complexion   

n.肤色；情况，局面；气质，性格

参考例句：

• Red does not suit with her complexion.红色与她的肤色不协调。
• Her resignation puts a different complexion on things.她一辞职局面就全变了。

3 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

4 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

5 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

8 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

9 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

10 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

11 embodying   

v.表现( embody的现在分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• Every instrument constitutes an independent contract embodying a payment obligation. 每张票据都构成一份独立的体现支付义务的合同。 来自口语例句
• Fowth, The aesthetical transcendency and the beauty embodying the man's liberty. \" 第四部分：审美的超越和作为人类自由最终体现的“美”。 来自互联网

12 astonishment   

n.惊奇，惊异

参考例句：

• They heard him give a loud shout of astonishment.他们听见他惊奇地大叫一声。
• I was filled with astonishment at her strange action.我对她的奇怪举动不胜惊异。

13 luncheon   

n.午宴，午餐，便宴

参考例句：

• We have luncheon at twelve o'clock.我们十二点钟用午餐。
• I have a luncheon engagement.我午饭有约。

14 bray   

n.驴叫声, 喇叭声；v.驴叫

参考例句：

• She cut him off with a wild bray of laughter.她用刺耳的狂笑打断了他的讲话。
• The donkey brayed and tried to bolt.这头驴嘶叫着试图脱缰而逃。

15 tapestry   

n.挂毯，丰富多采的画面

参考例句：

• How about this artistic tapestry and this cloisonne vase?这件艺术挂毯和这个景泰蓝花瓶怎么样？
• The wall of my living room was hung with a tapestry.我的起居室的墙上挂着一块壁毯。

16 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

17 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

18 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

19 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。

20 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

21 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

22 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

23 advantageous   

adj.有利的；有帮助的

参考例句：

• Injections of vitamin C are obviously advantageous.注射维生素C显然是有利的。
• You're in a very advantageous position.你处于非常有利的地位。

24 deftness   

参考例句：

• Handling delicate instruments requires deftness. 使用精巧仪器需要熟练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• I'm greatly impressed by your deftness in handling the situation. 你处理这个局面的机敏令我印象十分深刻。 来自高二英语口语

25 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

26 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。