IN APRIL THEY macerated broom and orange blossoms, in May a sea of roses, the scent1 from which submerged the city in a creamy, sweet, invisible fog for a whole month. Grenouille worked like a horse. Self-effacing and as acquiescent2 as a slave, he did every menial chore Druot assigned him. But all the while he stirred, spatulated, washed out tubs, cleaned the workshop, or lugged3 firewood with apparent mindlessness, nothing of the essential business, nothing of the metamorphosis of scent, escaped his notice. Grenouille used his nose to observe and monitor more closely than Druot ever could have the migration4 of scent of the flower petals-through the oil and then via alcohol to the precious little flacons. Long before Druot noticed it, he would smell when the oil was overheated, smell when the blossoms were exhausted5, when the broth6 was impregnated with scent. He could smell what was happening in the interior of the mixing pots and the precise moment when the distilling7 had to be stopped. And occasionally he let this be known-of course, quite unassumingly and without abandoning his submissive demeanor8. It seemed to him, he said, that the oil might possibly be getting too hot; he almost thought that they could filter shortly; he somehow had the feeling that the alcohol in the alembic had evaporated now.... And in time Druot, who was not fabulously9 intelligent, but not a complete idiot either, came to realize that his decisions turned out for the best when he did or ordered to be done whatever Grenouille “almost thought” or “somehow had a feeling about.” And since Grenouille was never cocky or know-it-all when he said what he thought or felt, and because he never-particularly never in the presence of Madame Arnulfi!-cast Druofs authority and superior position of first journeyman in doubt, not even ironically, Druot saw no reason not to follow Grenouille’s advice or, as time went on, not to leave more and more decisions entirely10 to his discretion11.
It was increasingly the case that Grenouille did not just do the stirring, but also the feeding, the heating, and the sieving12, while Druot stepped round to the Quatre Dauphins for a glass of wine or went upstairs to check out how things were doing with Madame. He knew that he could depend on Grenouille. And although it meant twice the work, Grenouille enjoyed being alone, perfecting himself in these new arts and trying an occasional experiment. And with malicious13 delight, he discovered that the pomades he made were incomparably finer, that his essence absolue was several percent purer than those that he produced together with Druot.
Jasmine season began at the end of July, August was for tuberoses. The perfume of these two flowers was both so exquisite14 and so fragile that not only did the blossoms have to be picked before sunrise, but they also demanded the most gentle and special handling. Warmth diminished their scent; suddenly to plunge15 them into hot, macerating oil would have completely destroyed it. The souls of these noblest of blossoms could not be simply ripped from them, they had to be methodically coaxed16 away. In a special impregnating room, the flowers were strewn on glass plates smeared17 with cool oil or wrapped in oil-soaked cloths; there they would die slowly in their sleep. It took three or four days for them to wither18 and exhale19 their scent into the adhering oil. Then they were carefully plucked off and new blossoms spread out. This procedure was repeated a good ten, twenty times, and it was September before the pomade had drunk its fill and the fragrant20 oil could be pressed from the cloths. The yield was considerably21 less than with maceration22. But in purity and verisimilitude, the quality of the jasmine paste or the huile antique de tubereuse won by such a cold enfleurage exceeded that of any other product of the perfumer’s art. Particularly with jasmine, it seemed as if the oiled surface were a mirror image that radiated the sticky-sweet, erotic scent of the blossom with lifelike fidelity-cum grano sails, of course. For Grenouille’s nose obviously recognized the difference between the odor of the blossoms and their preserved scent: the specific odor of the oil-no matter how pure-lay like a gossamer23 veil over the fragrant tableau24 of the original, softening25 it, gently diluting26 its bravado-and, perhaps, only then making its beauty bearable for normal people.... But in any case, cold enfleurage was the most refined and effective method to capture delicate scents27. There was no better. And even if the method was not good enough completely to satisfy Grenouille’s nose, he knew quite well that it would suffice a thousand times over for duping a world of numbed28 noses.
Just as with maceration, after only a brief time he had likewise surpassed his tutor Druot in the art of cold perfumery-and had made this clear to him in the approved, discreet29, and groveling fashion. Druot gladly left it to him to go to the slaughterhouse and buy the most suitable fats, to purify and render them, to filter them and adjust their proportions-a terribly difficult task that Druot himself was always skittish30 about performing, since an adulterated or rancid fat, or one that smelled too much of pig, sheep, or cow, could ruin the most expensive pomade. He let Gre-nouille decide how to arrange the oiled plates in the impregnating room, when to rotate the blossoms, and whether the pomade was sufficiently31 impregnated. Druot soon let Grenouille make all the delicate decisions that he, just as Baldini before him, could only approximate with rules of thumb, but which Grenouille made by employing the wisdom of his nose- something Druot, of course, did not suspect.
“He’s got a fine touch,” said Druot. “He’s got a good feel for things.” And sometimes he also thought: Really and truly, he is more talented than me, a hundred times a better perfumer. And all the while he considered him to be a total nitwit, because Grenouille-or so he believed-did not cash in at all on his talent, whereas he, Druot, even with his more modest gifts, would soon become a master perfumer. And Grenouilie encouraged him in this opinion, displaying doltish32 drudgery33 and not a hint of ambition, acting34 as if he comprehended nothing of his own genius and were merely executing the orders of the more experienced Druot, without whom he would be a cipher35. After their fashion, they got along quite well.
Then came autumn and winter. Things were quieter in the workshop. The floral scents lay captive in their crocks and flacons in the cellar, and if Madame did not wish some pomade or other to be washed or for a sack of dried spices to be distilled36, there was not all that much to do. There were still the olives, a couple of basketfuls every week. They pressed the virgin37 oil from them and put what was left through the oil mill.
And wine, some of which Grenouille distilled to rectified38 spirit.
Druot made himself more and more scarce. He did his duty in Madame’s bed, and when he did appear, stinking39 of sweat and semen, it was only to head off at once for the Quatre Dauphins. Nor did Madame come downstairs often. She was busy with her investments and with converting her wardrobe for the period that would follow her year of mourning. For days, Grenouille might often see no one except the maid who fixed40 his midday soup and his evening bread and olives. He hardly went out at all. He took part in corporate41 life-in the regular meetings and processions of the journeymen-only just often enough as to be conspicuous42 neither by his absence nor by his presence. He had no friends or close acquaintances, but took careful pains not to be considered arrogant43 or a misfit. He left it to the other journeymen to find his society dull and unprofitable. He was a master in the art of spreading boredom44 and playing the clumsy fool-though never so egregiously45 that people might enjoy making fun of him or use him as the butt46 of some crude practical joke inside the guild47. He succeeded in being considered totally uninteresting. People left him alone. And that was all he wanted.
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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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acquiescent
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| adj.默许的，默认的 | |
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lugged
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| vt.用力拖拉（lug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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migration
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| n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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distilling
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| n.蒸馏（作用）v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )( distilled的过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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fabulously
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| 难以置信地，惊人地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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discretion
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| n.谨慎；随意处理 | |
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sieving
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| 筛（选），筛分（法） | |
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malicious
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| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
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exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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coaxed
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| v.哄，用好话劝说( coax的过去式和过去分词 )；巧言骗取；哄劝，劝诱 | |
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smeared
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| 弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上 | |
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wither
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| vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡 | |
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exhale
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| v.呼气，散出，吐出，蒸发 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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maceration
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| n.泡软，因绝食而衰弱 | |
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gossamer
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| n.薄纱，游丝 | |
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tableau
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| n.画面，活人画（舞台上活人扮的静态画面） | |
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softening
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| 变软，软化 | |
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diluting
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| 稀释，冲淡( dilute的现在分词 )； 削弱，使降低效果 | |
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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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numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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discreet
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| adj.(言行)谨慎的；慎重的；有判断力的 | |
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skittish
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| adj.易激动的，轻佻的 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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doltish
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| adj.愚蠢的 | |
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drudgery
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| n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作 | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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cipher
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| n.零；无影响力的人；密码 | |
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distilled
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| adj.由蒸馏得来的v.蒸馏( distil的过去式和过去分词 )；从…提取精华 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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rectified
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| [医]矫正的，调整的 | |
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stinking
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| 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 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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corporate
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| adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的 | |
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conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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boredom
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| n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊 | |
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egregiously
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| adv.过份地，卓越地 | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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guild
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| n.行会，同业公会，协会 | |
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