FATHER TERRIER was an educated man. He had not merely studied theology, but had read the philosophers as well, and had dabbled1 with botany and alchemy on the side. He had a rather high opinion of his own critical faculties2. To be sure, he would never go so far as some-who questioned the miracles, the oracles3, the very truth of Holy Scripture-even though the biblical texts could not, strictly4 speaking, be explained by reason alone, indeed often directly contradicted it. He preferred not to meddle5 with such problems, they were too discomfiting6 for him and would only land him in the most agonizing7 insecurity and disquiet8, whereas to make use of one’s reason one truly needed both security and quiet. What he most vigorously did combat, however, were the superstitious9 notions of the simple folk: witches and fortune-telling cards, the wearing of amulets10, the evil eye, exorcisms, hocus-pocus at full moon, and all the other acts they performed-it was really quite depressing to see how such heathenish customs had still not been uprooted11 a good thousand years after the firm establishment of the Christian12 religion! And most instances of so-called satanic possession or pacts13 with the devil proved on closer inspection14 to be superstitious mummery. Of course, to deny the existence of Satan himself, to doubt his power-Terrier could not go so far as that; ecclesiastical bodies other than one small, ordinary monk15 were assigned the task of deciding about such matters touching16 the very foundations of theology. But on the other hand, it was clear as day that when a simple soul like that wet nurse maintained that she had spotted17 a devilish spirit, the devil himself could not possibly have a hand in it. The very fact that she thought she had spotted him was certain proof that there was nothing devilish to be found, for the devil would certainly never be stupid enough to let himself be unmasked by the wet nurse Jeanne Bussie. And with her nose no less! With the primitive18 organ of smell, the basest of the senses! As if hell smelled of sulfur19 and paradise of incense20 and myrrh! The worst sort of superstition21, straight out of the darkest days of paganism, when people still lived like beasts, possessing no keenness of the eye, incapable22 of distinguishing colors, but presuming to be able to smell blood, to scent23 the difference between friend and foe24, to be smelled out by cannibal giants and werewolves and the Furies, all the while offering their ghastly gods stinking25, smoking burnt sacrifices. How repulsive26! “The fool sees with his nose” rather than his eyes, they say, and apparently27 the light of God-given reason would have to shine yet another thousand years before the last remnants of such primitive beliefs were banished28.
“Ah yes, and you poor little child! Innocent creature! Lying in your basket and slumbering29 away, with no notion of the ugly suspicions raised against you. That impudent30 woman dared to claim you don’t smell the way human children are supposed to smell. Well, what do we have to say to that? Pooh-peedooh!”
And he rocked the basket gently on his knees, stroking the infant’s head with his finger and repeating “poohpeedooh” from time to time, an expression he thought had a gentle, soothing31 effect on small children. “You’re supposed to smell like caramel, what nonsense, poohpeedooh!”
After a while he pulled his finger back, held it under his nose and sniffed32, but could smell nothing except the choucroute he had eaten at lunch.
He hesitated a moment, looked around him to make sure no one was watching, lifted the basket, lowered his fat nose into it. Expecting to inhale33 an odor, he sniffed all around the infant’s head, so close to it that the thin reddish baby hair tickled34 his nostrils35. He did not know exactly how babies’ heads were supposed to smell. Certainly not like caramel, that much was clear, since caramel was melted sugar, and how could a baby that until now had drunk only milk smell like melted sugar? It might smell like milk, like wet nurse’s milk. But it didn’t smell like milk. It might smell like hair, like skin and hair and maybe a little bit of baby sweat. And Terrier sniffed with the intention of smelling skin, hair, and a little baby sweat. But he smelled nothing. For the life of him he couldn’t. Apparently an infant has no odor, he thought, that must be it. An infant, assuming it is kept clean, simply doesn’t smell, any more than it speaks, or walks, or writes. Such things come only with age. Strictly speaking, human beings first emit an odor when they reach puberty. That’s how it is, that’s all Wasn’t it Horace himself who wrote, “The youth is gamy as a buck36, the maiden’s fragrance37 blossoms as does the white narcissus...”?-and the Romans knew all about that! The odor of humans is always a fleshly odor-that is, a sinful odor. How could an infant, which does not yet know sin even in its dreams, have an odor? How could it smell? Poohpee-dooh-not a chance of it!
He had placed the basket back on his knees and now rocked it gently. The babe still slept soundly. Its right fist, small and red, stuck out from under the cover and now and then twitched38 sweetly against his cheek. Terrier smiled and suddenly felt very cozy39. For a moment he allowed himself the fantastic thought that he was the father of the child. He had not become a monk, but rather a normal citizen, an upstanding craftsman40 perhaps, had taken a wife, a warm wife fragrant41 with milk and wool, and had produced a son with her and he was rocking him here now on his own knees, his own child, poohpoohpoohpeedooh.... The thought of it made him feel good. There was something so normal and right about the idea. A father rocking his son on his knees, poohpeedooh, a vision as old as the world itself and yet always new and normal, as long as the world would exist, ah yes! Terrier felt his heart glow with sentimental42 coziness.
Then the child awoke. Its nose awoke first. The tiny nose moved, pushed upward, and sniffed. It sucked air in and snorted it back out in short puffs43, like an imperfect sneeze. Then the nose wrinkled up, and the child opened its eyes. The eyes were of an uncertain color, between oyster44 gray and creamy opal white, covered with a kind of slimy film and apparently not very well adapted for sight. Terrier had the impression that they did not even perceive him. But not so the nose. While the child’s dull eyes squinted45 into the void, the nose seemed to fix on a particular target, and Terrier had the very odd feeling that he himself, his person, Father Terrier, was that target. The tiny wings of flesh around the two tiny holes in the child’s face swelled46 like a bud opening to bloom. Or rather, like the cups of that small meat-eating plant that was kept in the royal botanical gardens. And like the plant, they seemed to create an eerie47 suction. It seemed to Terrier as if the child saw him with its nostrils, as if it were staring intently at him, scrutinizing48 him, more piercingly than eyes could ever do, as if it were using its nose to devour49 something whole, something that came from him, from Terrier, and that he could not hold that something back or hide it, ... The child with no smell was smelling at him shamelessly, that was it! It was establishing his scent! And all at once he felt as if he stank50, of sweat and vinegar, of choucroute and unwashed clothes. He felt naked and ugly, as if someone were gaping51 at him while revealing nothing of himself. The child seemed to be smelling right through his skin, into his innards. His most tender emotions, his filthiest52 thoughts lay exposed to that greedy little nose, which wasn’t even a proper nose, but only a pug of a nose, a tiny perforated organ, forever crinkling and puffing53 and quivering. Terrier shuddered54. He felt sick to his stomach. He pulled back his own nose as if he smelled something foul55 that he wanted nothing to do with. Gone was the homey thought that his might be his own flesh and blood. Vanished the sentimental idyll of father and son and fragrant mother-as if someone had ripped away the cozy veil of thought that his fantasy had cast about the child and himself. A strange, cold creature lay there on his knees, a hostile animal, and were he not a man by nature prudent56, God-fearing, and given to reason, in the rush of nausea57 he would have hurled58 it like a spider from him.
Terrier wrenched59 himself to his feet and set the basket on the table. He wanted to get rid of the thing, as quickly as possible, right away if possible, immediately if possible.
And then it began to wail60. It squinted up its eyes, gaped61 its gullet wide, and gave a screech62 so repulsively63 shrill64 that the blood in Terrier’s veins65 congealed66. He shook the basket with an outstretched hand and shouted “Poohpeedooh” to silence the child, but it only bellowed67 more loudly and turned completely blue in the face and looked as if it would burst from bellowing68.
Away with it! thought Terrier, away this very instant with this ... he was about to say “devil,” but caught himself and refrained... away with this monster, with this insufferable child! But away where? He knew a dozen wet nurses and orphanages69 in the neighborhood, but that was too near, too close for comfort, get the thing farther away, so far away that you couldn’t hear it, so far away that it could not be dropped on your doorstep again every hour or so; if possible it must be taken to another parish, on the other side of the river would be even better, and best of all extra mums, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, that was it! That was the place for this screaming brat70, far off to the east, beyond the Bastille, where at night the city gates were locked.
And he hitched71 up his cassock and grabbed the bellowing basket and ran off, ran through the tangle72 of alleys73 to the rue74 du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, eastward75 up the Seine, out of the city, far, far out the rue de Charonne, almost to its very end, where at an address near the cloister76 of Madeleine de Trenelle, he knew there lived a certain Madame Gaillard, who took children to board no matter of what age or sort, as long as someone paid for them, and there he handed over the child, still screaming, paid a year in advance, and fled back into the city, and once at the cloister cast his clothes from him as if they were foully77 soiled, washed himself from head to foot, and crept into bed in his cell, crossing himself repeatedly, praying long, and finally with some relief falling asleep.
收听单词发音 |
1
dabbled
|
|
| v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
faculties
|
|
| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
oracles
|
|
| 神示所( oracle的名词复数 )； 神谕； 圣贤； 哲人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
meddle
|
|
| v.干预，干涉，插手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
discomfiting
|
|
| v.使为难( discomfit的现在分词 )；使狼狈；使挫折；挫败 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
agonizing
|
|
| adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
disquiet
|
|
| n.担心，焦虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
superstitious
|
|
| adj.迷信的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
amulets
|
|
| n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
uprooted
|
|
| v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
pacts
|
|
| 条约( pact的名词复数 )； 协定； 公约 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
inspection
|
|
| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
monk
|
|
| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
spotted
|
|
| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
sulfur
|
|
| n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
incense
|
|
| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
superstition
|
|
| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
incapable
|
|
| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
scent
|
|
| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
foe
|
|
| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
stinking
|
|
| adj.臭的，烂醉的，讨厌的v.散发出恶臭( stink的现在分词 )；发臭味；名声臭；糟透 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
repulsive
|
|
| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
banished
|
|
| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
slumbering
|
|
| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
impudent
|
|
| adj.鲁莽的，卑鄙的，厚颜无耻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
soothing
|
|
| adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
sniffed
|
|
| v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
inhale
|
|
| v.吸入(气体等)，吸(烟) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
tickled
|
|
| （使）发痒( tickle的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）愉快，逗乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
nostrils
|
|
| 鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
buck
|
|
| n.雄鹿，雄兔；v.马离地跳跃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
fragrance
|
|
| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
twitched
|
|
| vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
cozy
|
|
| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
craftsman
|
|
| n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
fragrant
|
|
| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
sentimental
|
|
| adj.多愁善感的，感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
puffs
|
|
| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
oyster
|
|
| n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
squinted
|
|
| 斜视( squint的过去式和过去分词 )； 眯着眼睛； 瞟； 从小孔或缝隙里看 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
eerie
|
|
| adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
scrutinizing
|
|
| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
devour
|
|
| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
stank
|
|
| n. (英)坝，堰，池塘 动词stink的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
gaping
|
|
| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
filthiest
|
|
| filthy（肮脏的，污秽的）的最高级形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
puffing
|
|
| v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
shuddered
|
|
| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
foul
|
|
| adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
nausea
|
|
| n.作呕，恶心；极端的憎恶(或厌恶) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
hurled
|
|
| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
wrenched
|
|
| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
wail
|
|
| vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
gaped
|
|
| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
screech
|
|
| n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
repulsively
|
|
| adv.冷淡地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
64
shrill
|
|
| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
veins
|
|
| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
congealed
|
|
| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
bellowed
|
|
| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的过去式和过去分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
bellowing
|
|
| v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的现在分词 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
orphanages
|
|
| 孤儿院( orphanage的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
brat
|
|
| n.孩子；顽童 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
hitched
|
|
| （免费）搭乘他人之车( hitch的过去式和过去分词 )； 搭便车； 攀上； 跃上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
tangle
|
|
| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
alleys
|
|
| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
rue
|
|
| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
eastward
|
|
| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
cloister
|
|
| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
foully
|
|
| ad.卑鄙地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |