THE FOLLOWING DAY-the marquis was just about to instruct him in the basic poses, gestures, and dance steps he would need for his coming social debut- Grenouille faked a fainting spell and, as if totally exhausted1 and in imminent2 danger of suffocation3, collapsed4 onto a sofa.
The marquis was beside himself. He screamed for servants, screamed for fan bearers and portable ventilators, and while the servants scurried5 about, he knelt down at Grenouille’s side, fanning him with a handkerchief soaked in bouquet6 of violets, and appealed to him, literally7 begged him, to get to his feet, and please not to breathe his last just yet, but to wait, if at all possible, until the day after tomorrow, since the survival of the theory of the fluidum letale would otherwise be in utmost jeopardy8.
Grenouille twisted and turned, coughed, groaned9, thrashed at the handkerchief with his arms, and finally, after falling from the sofa in a highly dramatic fashion, crept to the most distant corner of the room. “Not that perfume!” he cried with his last bit of energy. “Not that perfume! It will kill me!” And only when Taillade-Espinasse had tossed the handkerchief out the window and his violet-scented jacket into the next room, did Grenouille allow his attack to ebb11, and in a voice that slowly grew calmer explained that as a perfumer he had an occupationally sensitive nose and had always reacted very strongly to certain perfumes, especially so during this period of recuperation. And his only explanation for the fact that the scent10 of violets in particular-a lovely flower in its own right -should so oppress him was that the marquis’s perfume contained a high percentage of violet root extract, which, being of subterranean12 origin, must have a pernicious effect on a person like himself suffering from the influence offluidum letale. Yesterday, at the first application of the scent, he had felt quite queasy13, and today, as he had once again perceived the odor of roots, it had been as if someone had pushed him back into that dreadful, suffocating14 hole where he had vegetated15 for several years. His very nature had risen up against it, that was all he could say; and now that his grace the marquis had used his art to restore him to a life free of fluidal air, he would rather die on the spot than once again be at the mercy of the dreaded16 fluidum. At the mere17 thought of a perfume extracted from roots, he could feel his whole body cramping18 up. He was firmly convinced, however, that he would recover in an instant if the marquis would permit him to design a perfume of his own, one that would completely drive out the scent of violets. He had in mind an especially light, airy fragrance19, consisting primarily of earth-removed ingredients, like eaux of almond and orange blossom, eucalyptus20, pine, and cypress21 oils. A splash of such a scent on his clothes, a few drops on his neck and cheeks-and he would be permanently22 immune to any repetition of the embarrassing seizure23 that had just overwhelmed him....
For clarity’s sake, the proper forms of reported speech have been used here, but in reality this was a verbal eruption24 of uninterrupted blubberings, accompanied by numerous coughs and gasps25 and struggles for breath, all of which Grenouille accented with quiverings and fidgetings and rollings of the eyes. The marquis was deeply impressed. It was, however, not so much his ward26 s symptoms of suffering as the deft27 argumentation, presented totally under the aegis28 of the theory of fluidum letale, that convinced him. Of course it was the violet perfume! An obnoxious29, earth-bound-indeed subterranean-product! He himself was probably infected by it after years of use. Had no idea that day in day out he had been bringing himself ever nearer to death by using the scent. His gout, the stiffness in his neck, the enervation30 of his member, his hemorrhoids, the pressure in his ears, his rotten tooth-all of it doubtless came from the contagious31 fluidal stench of violet roots. And that stupid little man, that lump of misery32 there in the corner of the room, had given him the idea. He was touched. He would have loved to have gone over to him, lifted him up, and pressed him to his enlightened heart. But he feared that he still smelled too much of violets, and so he screamed for his servants yet again and ordered that all the violet perfume be removed from the house, the whole mansion33 aired, his clothes disinfected in the vital-air ventilator, and that Grenouille at once be conveyed in his sedan chair to the best perfumer in the city. And of course this was precisely34 what Grenouille had intended his seizure to accomplish.
The science of perfumery was an old tradition in Montpellier, and although in more recent times it had lost ground to its competitor, the town of Grasse, there were still several good perfumers and glovers residing in the city. The most prestigious35 of them, a certain Runel-well aware of the trade he enjoyed with the house of the marquis de La Taillade-Espinasse as its purveyor36 of soaps, oils, and scents37- declared himself prepared to take the unusual step of surrendering his studio for an hour to the strange journeyman perfumer from Paris who had been conveyed thither38 in a sedan chair. The latter refused all instructions, did not even want to know where things were; he knew his way around, he said, would manage well enough. And he locked himself in the laboratory and stayed there a good hour, while Runel joined the marquis’s majordomo for a couple of glasses of wine in a tavern39, where he was to learn why his violet cologne was no longer a scent worth smelling.
Runel’s laboratory and shop fell far short of being so grandly equipped as Baldini’s perfume shop in Paris had been in its day. An average perfumer would not have made any great progress with its few floral oils, colognes, and spices. Grenouille, however, recognized with the first inhaled40 sniff41 that the ingredients on hand would be quite sufficient for his purposes. He did not want to create a great scent; he did not want to create a prestigious cologne such as he had once made for Baldini, one that stood out amid a sea of mediocrity and tamed the masses. Nor was even the simple orange blossom scent that he had promised the marquis his true goal. The customary essences of neroli, eucalyptus, and cypress were meant only as a cover for the actual scent that he intended to produce: that was the scent of humanness. He wanted to acquire the human-being odor-if only in the form of an inferior temporary surrogate-that he did not possess himself. True, the odor of human being did not exist, any more than the human countenance43. Every human being smelled different, no one knew that better than Grenouille, who recognized thousands upon thousands of individual odors and could sniff out the difference of each human being from birth on. And yet-there was a basic perfumatory theme to the odor of humanity, a rather simple one, by the way: a sweaty-oily, sour-cheesy, quite richly repulsive44 basic theme that clung to all humans equally and above which each individual’s aura hovered45 only as a small cloud of more refined particularity.
That aura, however, the highly complex, unmistakable code of a personal odor, was not perceptible for most people in any case. Most people did not know that they even had such a thing, and moreover did everything they could to disguise it under clothes or fashionable artificial odors. Only that basic odor, the primitive46 human effluvium, was truly familiar to them; they lived exclusively within it and it made them feel secure; and only a person who gave off that standard vile47 vapor48 was ever considered one of their own.
It was a strange perfume that Grenouille created that day. There had never before been a stranger one on earth. It did not smell like a scent, but like a human being who gives off a scent. If one had smelled this perfume in a dark room, one would have thought a second person was standing49 there. And if a human being, who smelled like a human being, had applied50 it, that person would have seemed to have the smell of two people, or, worse still, to be a monstrous51 double creature, like some figure that you can no longer clearly pinpoint52 because it looks blurred53 and out of focus, like something at the bottom of a lake beneath the shiver of waves.
And to imitate this human odor-quite unsatisfactorily, as he himself knew, but cleverly enough to deceive others-Grenouille gathered up the most striking ingredients in Runel’s workshop.
There was a little pile of cat shit behind the threshold of the door leading out to the courtyard, still rather fresh. He took a half teaspoon54 of it and placed it together with several drops of vinegar and finely ground salt in a mixing bottle. Under the worktable he found a thumbnail-sized piece of cheese, apparently55 from one of Runel’s lunches. It was already quite old, had begun to decompose56, and gave off a biting, pungent57 odor. From the lid of a sardine58 tub that stood at the back of the shop, he scratched off a rancid, fishy59 something-or-other, mixed it with rotten egg and castoreum, ammonia, nutmeg, horn shavings, and singed60 pork rind, finely ground. To this he added a relatively61 large amount of civet, mixed these ghastly ingredients with alcohol, let it digest, and filtered it into a second bottle. The bilge smelled revolting. Its stink62 was putrid63, like a sewer64, and if you fanned its vapor just once to mix it with fresh air, it was as if you were standing in Paris on a hot summer day, at the comer of the rue42 aux Fers and the rue de la Lingerie, where the odors from Les Halles, the Cimetiere des Innocents, and the overcrowded tenements65 converged66.
On top of this disgusting base, which smelled more like a cadaver67 than a human being, Grenouille spread a layer of fresh, oily scents: peppermint68, lavender, turpentine, lime, eucalyptus, which he then simultaneously69 disguised and tamed with the pleasant bouquet of fine floral oils-geranium, rose, orange blossom, and jasmine. After a second dilution70 with alcohol and a splash of vinegar there was nothing left of the disgusting basic odor on which the mixture was built. The latent stench lay lost and unnoticeable under the fresh ingredients; the nauseous part, pampered71 by the scent of flowers, had become almost interesting; and, strangely enough, there was no putrefaction72 left to smell, not the least. On the contrary, the perfume seemed to exhale73 the robust74, vivacious75 scent of life.
Grenouille filled two flacons with it, stoppered them, and stuck them in his pocket. Then he washed the bottles, mortars76, funnels77, and spoons carefully with water, rubbed them down with bitter-almond oil to remove all traces of odor, and picked up a second mixing bottle. In it he quickly composed another perfume, a sort of copy of the first, likewise consisting of fresh and floral elements, but containing nothing of the witches’ brew78 as a base, but rather a totally conventional one of musk79, ambergris, a tiny bit of civet, and cedarwood oil. By itself it smelled totally different from the first-flatter, more innocent, detoxified-for it lacked the components80 of the imitation human odor. But once a normal human being applied it and married it to his own odor, it could no longer be distinguished81 from the one that Grenouille had created exclusively for himself.
After he had poured the second perfume into flacons, he stripped and sprinkled his clothes with the first. Then he dabbed82 himself in the armpits, between the toes, on the genitals, on the chest, neck, ears, and hair, put his clothes back on, and left the laboratory.
收听单词发音 |
1
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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collapsed
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| adj.倒塌的 | |
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scurried
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| v.急匆匆地走( scurry的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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bouquet
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| n.花束，酒香 | |
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literally
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| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
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jeopardy
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| n.危险；危难 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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queasy
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| adj.易呕的 | |
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suffocating
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| a.使人窒息的 | |
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vegetated
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| v.过单调呆板的生活( vegetate的过去式和过去分词 )；植物似地生长；（瘤、疣等）长大 | |
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16
dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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cramping
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| 图像压缩 | |
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fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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eucalyptus
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| n.桉树，桉属植物 | |
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cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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22
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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23
seizure
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| n.没收；占有；抵押 | |
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eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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deft
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| adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手） | |
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aegis
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| n.盾；保护，庇护 | |
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obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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enervation
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| n.无活力，衰弱 | |
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contagious
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| adj.传染性的，有感染力的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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prestigious
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| adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的 | |
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purveyor
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| n.承办商，伙食承办商 | |
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scents
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| n.香水( scent的名词复数 )；气味；（动物的）臭迹；（尤指狗的）嗅觉 | |
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38
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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40
inhaled
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| v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
sniff
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| vi.嗅…味道；抽鼻涕；对嗤之以鼻，蔑视 | |
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42
rue
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| n.懊悔，芸香，后悔；v.后悔，悲伤，懊悔 | |
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43
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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44
repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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45
hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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46
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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vile
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| adj.卑鄙的，可耻的，邪恶的；坏透的 | |
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48
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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49
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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50
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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51
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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52
pinpoint
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| vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置 | |
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53
blurred
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| v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离 | |
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54
teaspoon
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| n.茶匙 | |
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55
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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56
decompose
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| vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂 | |
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57
pungent
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| adj.（气味、味道）刺激性的，辛辣的；尖锐的 | |
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58
sardine
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| n.[C]沙丁鱼 | |
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59
fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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60
singed
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| v.浅表烧焦( singe的过去式和过去分词 )；（毛发）燎，烧焦尖端[边儿] | |
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61
relatively
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| adv.比较...地，相对地 | |
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62
stink
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| vi.发出恶臭；糟透，招人厌恶；n.恶臭 | |
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63
putrid
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| adj.腐臭的；有毒的；已腐烂的；卑劣的 | |
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64
sewer
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| n.排水沟，下水道 | |
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65
tenements
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| n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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66
converged
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| v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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67
cadaver
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| n.尸体 | |
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68
peppermint
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| n.薄荷，薄荷油，薄荷糖 | |
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69
simultaneously
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| adv.同时发生地，同时进行地 | |
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70
dilution
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| n.稀释，淡化 | |
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71
pampered
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| adj.饮食过量的，饮食奢侈的v.纵容，宠，娇养( pamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72
putrefaction
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| n.腐坏，腐败 | |
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73
exhale
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| v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发 | |
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74
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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vivacious
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| adj.活泼的，快活的 | |
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76
mortars
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| n.迫击炮( mortar的名词复数 )；砂浆；房产；研钵 | |
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77
funnels
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| 漏斗( funnel的名词复数 )； （轮船，火车等的）烟囱 | |
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78
brew
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| v.酿造，调制 | |
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79
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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80
components
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| （机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分 | |
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81
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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82
dabbed
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| （用某物）轻触( dab的过去式和过去分词 )； 轻而快地擦掉（或抹掉）； 快速擦拭； （用某物）轻而快地涂上（或点上）… | |
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