Dr. Chamberlaine.

 I am very well acquainted with two brothers, whom I shall conceal¹ under the borrowed names of Mercurius and Honestus.

 

Mercurius was the elder son of a gentleman, who, with a moderate fortune, and by a nice management, so regulated his affairs, that he was generally thought to be exceedingly rich.—He gave a genteel education to his two sons, who finished their studies at Cambridge.

 

Mercurius attached himself more to the gaiety and politeness of the college, than to the drudgery² of books. He was a gay and lively companion, and a perfect master of those little arts which always recommend a young gentleman to the acquaintance of the giddy fools of fortune, who are sent to both our universities more out of complaisance³ to fashion, than to improve their morals, or enlarge their understandings.

 

Mercurius had drawn⁴ this conclusion, (and it must be confessed, that experience tells us it is too true a conclusion), that powerful connections are more likely to raise a man's fortune in life than all the natural and acquired abilities which human nature is capable of possessing. He, therefore, took every opportunity to ingratiate himself with the noble young students, whose follies⁵ he flattered, and the fire of whose vanities he fanned.

 

Amidst this pursuit after fortune and grandeur⁶, his father died, and left but a small pittance⁷ for the support of him and his brother Honestus.—This was soon known in the college, where fortune is considered as the first of all things.—Mercurius was now forced, in order to keep up his noble connections, to stoop to many meannesses, such as the thirst of ambition only can persuade the true dignity of a man to submit to; but, when we once quit the path of virtue⁸ in pursuit of imaginary pleasure, we must give up every hope of a retreat.

 

Among the patrons of Mercurius was a young nobleman of great fortune and connections, such as were more than sufficient to make a coxcomb⁹ of the happiest genius. The time arrived in which he was to quit college, and Mercurius accompanied him to London as his companion and friend. He was the constant partner of his nocturnal revels¹⁰, and little more, in fact, than his footman out of livery. He was the dupe to his prejudices, the constant butt¹¹ of his wit, and the contempt of every independent mind. But let us leave this mistaken man to the feelings of his own mind, and his fears for his future existence, that we may return to his brother.

 

Honestus, less ambitious than his brother, had a mind above stooping too low in order to rise the higher. He applied¹² himself closely to his studies, and employed the little his father had left him in the most frugal¹³ manner. He turned his whole attention to the study of the law, in which he became a very able proficient¹⁴, and at last quitted the university with the reputation of a profound scholar, a cheerful companion, and a sincere friend.

 

These, however, are seldom characters sufficient to raise a man in the world. He long remained unnoticed in his profession as a counsellor; but, however long the beams of the sun may be obscured, they at last pierce through the densest¹⁵ bodies, and shine in their native lustre¹⁶. He now reaps the fruits of his honest labours, and often looks back with pity on the tottering¹⁷ state of his brother, and the parade of empty ambition.

1 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

2 drudgery   

n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作

参考例句：

• People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
• He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

3 complaisance   

n.彬彬有礼，殷勤，柔顺

参考例句：

• She speaks with complaisance.她说话彬彬有礼。
• His complaisance leaves a good impression on her.他的彬彬有礼给她留下了深刻的印象。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

6 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

7 pittance   

n.微薄的薪水，少量

参考例句：

• Her secretaries work tirelessly for a pittance.她的秘书们为一点微薄的工资不知疲倦地工作。
• The widow must live on her slender pittance.那寡妇只能靠自己微薄的收入过活。

8 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。

9 coxcomb   

n.花花公子

参考例句：

• Jones was not so vain and senseless a coxcomb as to expect.琼斯并不是那么一个不自量，没头没脑的浪荡哥儿。
• He is a plausible coxcomb.他是个巧言令色的花花公子。

10 revels   

n.作乐( revel的名词复数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉v.作乐( revel的第三人称单数 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉

参考例句：

• Christmas revels with feasting and dancing were common in England. 圣诞节的狂欢歌舞在英国是很常见的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Dickens openly revels in the book's rich physical detail and high-hearted conflict. 狄更斯对该书中丰富多彩的具体细节描写和勇敢的争斗公开表示欣赏。 来自辞典例句

11 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

12 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

13 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

14 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

15 densest   

密集的( dense的最高级 )； 密度大的； 愚笨的； （信息量大得）难理解的

参考例句：

• Past Botoi some of the densest jungle forests on Anopopei grew virtually into the water. 过了坊远湾，岛上的莽莽丛林便几乎直长到水中。
• Earth is the densest of all of these remaining planets. 地球是所剩下行星中最致密的星球。

16 lustre   

n.光亮，光泽；荣誉

参考例句：

• The sun was shining with uncommon lustre.太阳放射出异常的光彩。
• A good name keeps its lustre in the dark.一个好的名誉在黑暗中也保持它的光辉。

17 tottering   

adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• the tottering walls of the castle 古城堡摇摇欲坠的墙壁
• With power and to spare we must pursue the tottering foe. 宜将剩勇追穷寇。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》