Part 2 Chapter 28

Manon LescautNow once he was fully¹ convinced of the foolishness and idiocy² ofthe prior, he succeeded quite straightforwardly³ by calling blackwhite, and white black.

　　LICHTENBERGThe Russian instructions laid down categorically that one must nevercontradict in speech the person with whom one corresponded. One mustnever depart, upon any account, from an attitude of the most ecstatic admiration⁴; the letters were all based upon this supposition.

　　One evening, at the Opera, in Madame de Fervaques's box, Julienpraised to the skies the ballet in Manon Lescaut. 16 His sole reason for doing so was that he found it insipid⁵.

　　The Marechale said that this ballet was greatly inferior to abbePrevost's novel.

　　'What!' thought Julien, with surprise and amusement, 'a person of suchextreme virtue⁶ praise a novel!' Madame de Fervaques used to profess,two or three times weekly, the most utter scorn for the writers, who, bymeans of those vulgar works, sought to corrupt⁷ a younger generationonly too prone⁸ to the errors of the senses.

　　'In that immoral⁹ and pernicious class, Manon Lescaut,' the Marechalewent on, 'occupies, they say, one of the first places. The frailties¹⁰ and well-merited sufferings of a thoroughly¹¹ criminal heart are, they say, describedin it with a truth that is almost profound; which did not prevent yourBonaparte from declaring on Saint Helena that it was a novel written forservants.'

　　This speech restored all its activity to Julien's spirit. 'People have beentrying to damage me with the Marechale; they have told her of my16.Composed by Halevy upon a libretto¹² by Scribe, and performed in 1830.

　　 enthusiasm for Napoleon. This intelligence has stung her sufficiently¹³ forher to yield to the temptation to let me feel her resentment¹⁴.' This discovery kept him amused for the rest of the evening and made him amusing.

　　As he was bidding the Marechale good night in the vestibule of theOpera: 'Bear in mind, Sir,' she said to him, 'that people must not love Napoleon when they love me; they may, at the most, accept him as a necessity imposed by Providence¹⁵. Anyhow, the man had not a soul pliantenough to feel great works of art.'

　　'When they love me!' Julien repeated to himself; 'either that means nothing at all, or it means everything. There is one of the secrets of languagethat are hidden from us poor provincials¹⁶.' And he thought incessantly¹⁷ ofMadame de Renal as he copied an immensely long letter intended for theMarechale.

　　'How is it,' she asked him the following evening, with an air of indifference¹⁸ which seemed to him unconvincing, 'that you speak to me ofLondon and Richmond in a letter which you wrote last night, it appears,after leaving the Opera?'

　　Julien was greatly embarrassed; he had copied the letter line for line,without thinking of what he was writing, and apparently¹⁹ had forgottento substitute for the words London and Richmond, which occurred in theoriginal, Paris and Saint-Cloud. He began two or three excuses, but foundit impossible to finish any of them; he felt himself on the point of givingway to an outburst of helpless laughter. At length, in his search for theright words, he arrived at the following idea: 'Exalted²⁰ by the discussionof the most sublime²¹, the highest interests of the human soul, my own, inwriting to you, must have become distracted.

　　'I am creating an impression,' he said to himself, 'therefore I can sparemyself the tedium²² of the rest of the evening.' He left the Hotel de Fervaques in hot haste. That evening, as he looked over the original text ofthe letter which he had copied the night before, he very soon came to thefatal passage where the young Russian spoke²³ of London and Richmond.

　　Julien was quite surprised to find this letter almost tender.

　　It was the contrast between the apparent frivolity²⁴ of his talk and thesublime and almost apocalyptic²⁵ profundity²⁶ of his letters that had markedhim out. The length of his sentences was especially pleasing to the Marechale; this was not the cursory²⁷ style brought into fashion by Voltaire,that most immoral of men! Although our hero did everything in theworld to banish²⁸ any suggestion of common sense from his conversation,it had still an anti-monarchical and impious colour which did not escape the notice of Madame de Fervaques. Surrounded by persons who wereeminently moral, but who often had not one idea in an evening, this ladywas profoundly impressed by everything that bore a semblance²⁹ of novelty; but, at the same time, she felt that she owed it to herself to beshocked by it. She called this defect, 'retaining the imprint³⁰ of the frivolityof the age'.

　　But such drawing-rooms are worth visiting only when one has a favour to ask. All the boredom³¹ of this life without interests which Julienwas leading is doubtless shared by the reader. These are the barrenmoorlands on our journey.

　　Throughout the time usurped³² in Julien's life by the Fervaques episode,Mademoiselle de La Mole³³ had to make a constant effort not to think ofhim. Her heart was exposed to violent combats: sometimes she flatteredherself that she was despising this gloomy young man; but, in spite ofher efforts, his conversation captivated her. What astonished her most ofall was his complete insincerity; he never uttered a word to the Marechale which was not a lie, or at least a shocking travesty³⁴ of his point ofview, which Mathilde knew so perfectly³⁵ upon almost every subject. ThisMachiavellism impressed her. 'What profundity!' she said to herself;'how different from the emphatic³⁶ blockheads or the common rascals³⁷, likeM. Tanbeau, who speak the same language!'

　　Nevertheless, Julien passed some fearful days. It was to perform themost arduous³⁸ of his duties that he appeared each evening in theMarechale's drawing-room. His efforts to play a part ended by sappingall his spiritual strength. Often, at night, as he crossed the vast courtyardof the Hotel de Fervaques, it was only by force of character and reasonthat he succeeded in keeping himself from sinking into despair.

　　'I conquered despair at the Seminary,' he said to himself: 'and yet whatan appalling³⁹ prospect⁴⁰ I had before me then! I stood to make my fortuneor to fail; in either case, I saw myself obliged to spend my whole life inthe intimate society of all that is most contemptible⁴¹ and disgusting underheaven. The following spring, when only eleven short months hadpassed, I was perhaps the happiest of all the young men of my age.'

　　But often enough all these fine arguments proved futile⁴² when facedwith the frightful⁴³ reality. Every day he saw Mathilde at luncheon⁴⁴ and atdinner. From the frequent letters which M. de La Mole dictated⁴⁵ to him,he knew her to be on the eve of marrying M. de Croisenois. Already thatamiable young man was calling twice daily at the Hotel de La Mole: the jealous eye of an abandoned lover did not miss a single one of hisactions.

　　When he thought he had noticed that Mademoiselle de La Mole wastreating her suitor kindly⁴⁶, on returning to his room, Julien could not helpcasting a loving glance at his pistols.

　　'Ah, how much wiser I should be,' he said to himself, 'to remove themarks from my linen⁴⁷, and retire to some lonely forest, twenty leaguesfrom Paris, there to end this accursed existence! A stranger to the countryside, my death would remain unknown for a fortnight, and whowould think of me after a fortnight had passed?'

　　This reasoning was extremely sound. But next day, a glimpse ofMathilde's arm, seen between her sleeve and her glove, was enough toplunge our young philosopher in cruel memories, which, at the sametime, made him cling to life. 'Very well!' he would then say to himself, 'Ishall follow out this Russian policy to the end. How is it going to end?

　　'As for the Marechale, certainly, after I have copied these fifty-threeletters, I shall write no more.

　　'As for Mathilde, these six weeks of such painful play-acting, willeither fail altogether to appease⁴⁸ her anger, or will win me a moment ofreconciliation. Great God! I should die of joy!' And he was unable to pursue the idea farther.

　　When, after a long spell of meditation⁴⁹, he succeeded in recovering theuse of his reason: 'Then,' he said to himself, 'I should obtain a day's happiness, after which would begin again her severities, founded, alas⁵⁰, uponthe scant⁵¹ power that I have to please her, and I should be left withoutany further resource, I should be ruined, lost for ever …'What guarantee can she give me, with her character? Alas, my scantmerit is responsible for everything. I must be wanting in elegance⁵² in mymanners, my way of speaking must be heavy and monotonous⁵³. GreatGod! Why am I myself?'

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 idiocy   

n.愚蠢

参考例句：

• Stealing a car and then driving it drunk was the ultimate idiocy.偷了车然后醉酒开车真是愚蠢到极点。
• In this war there is an idiocy without bounds.这次战争疯癫得没底。

3 straightforwardly   

adv.正直地

参考例句：

• He hated her straightforwardly, making no effort to conceal it. 他十分坦率地恨她，从不设法加以掩饰。 来自辞典例句
• Mardi, which followed hard on its heels, was another matter. Mardi begins straightforwardly. 紧跟着出版的《玛地》，却是另一回事。《玛地》开始时平铺直叙。 来自辞典例句

4 admiration   

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。

5 insipid   

adj.无味的，枯燥乏味的，单调的

参考例句：

• The food was rather insipid and needed gingering up.这食物缺少味道，需要加点作料。
• She said she was a good cook,but the food she cooked is insipid.她说她是个好厨师，但她做的食物却是无味道的。

6 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。

7 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

8 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

9 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

10 frailties   

n.脆弱( frailty的名词复数 )；虚弱；（性格或行为上的）弱点；缺点

参考例句：

• The fact indicates the economic frailties of this type of farming. 这一事实表明，这种类型的农业在经济上有其脆弱性。 来自辞典例句
• He failed therein to take account of the frailties of human nature--the difficulties of matrimonial life. 在此，他没有考虑到人性的种种弱点--夫妻生活的种种难处。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

12 libretto   

n.歌剧剧本，歌曲歌词

参考例句：

• The printed libretto was handsomely got up.这本印刷的歌剧剧本装帧得很美观。
• On the other hand,perhaps there is something to be said for the convenience of downloading a libretto in one's own home rather than looking for it in a library or book store.但是反过来看，或许尤为重要的是如果网

13 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。

14 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

15 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

16 provincials   

n.首都以外的人，地区居民( provincial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We were still provincials in the full sense of the word. 严格说来，我们都还是乡巴佬。 来自辞典例句
• Only provincials love such gadgets. 只有粗俗的人才喜欢玩这玩意。 来自辞典例句

17 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

18 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

19 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

20 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

21 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

22 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

23 spoke   

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。

24 frivolity   

n.轻松的乐事，兴高采烈；轻浮的举止

参考例句：

• It was just a piece of harmless frivolity. 这仅是无恶意的愚蠢行为。
• Hedonism and frivolity will diffuse hell tnrough all our days. 享乐主义和轻薄浮佻会将地狱扩展到我们的整个日子之中。 来自辞典例句

25 apocalyptic   

adj.预示灾祸的，启示的

参考例句：

• The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊，语言则是《启示录》式的。
• Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。

26 profundity   

n.渊博；深奥，深刻

参考例句：

• He impressed his audience by the profundity of his knowledge.他知识渊博给听众留下了深刻的印象。
• He pretended profundity by eye-beamings at people.他用神采奕奕的眼光看着人们，故作深沉。

27 cursory   

adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的

参考例句：

• He signed with only a cursory glance at the report.他只草草看了一眼报告就签了名。
• The only industry mentioned is agriculture and it is discussed in a cursory sentence.实业方面只谈到农业,而且只是匆匆带了一句。

28 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

29 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

30 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。

31 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

32 usurped   

篡夺，霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权

参考例句：

• That magazine usurped copyrighted material. 那杂志盗用了版权为他人所有的素材。
• The expression'social engineering'has been usurped by the Utopianist without a shadow of light. “社会工程”这个词已被乌托邦主义者毫无理由地盗用了。

33 mole   

n.胎块；痣；克分子

参考例句：

• She had a tiny mole on her cheek.她的面颊上有一颗小黑痣。
• The young girl felt very self- conscious about the large mole on her chin.那位年轻姑娘对自己下巴上的一颗大痣感到很不自在。

34 travesty   

n.歪曲，嘲弄，滑稽化

参考例句：

• The trial was a travesty of justice.这次审判嘲弄了法律的公正性。
• The play was,in their view,a travesty of the truth.这个剧本在他们看来是对事实的歪曲。

35 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

36 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。

37 rascals   

流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人

参考例句：

• "Oh, but I like rascals. "唔，不过我喜欢流氓。
• "They're all second-raters, black sheep, rascals. "他们都是二流人物，是流氓，是恶棍。

38 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

39 appalling   

adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions.恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• Nothing can extenuate such appalling behaviour.这种骇人听闻的行径罪无可恕。

40 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

41 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。

42 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

43 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

44 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。

45 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

46 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

47 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

48 appease   

v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足

参考例句：

• He tried to appease the crying child by giving him candy.他试图给那个啼哭的孩子糖果使他不哭。
• The government tried to appease discontented workers.政府试图安抚不满的工人们。

49 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

50 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

51 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

52 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

53 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。