For, alas9, the world, as we said, already stands convicted to this young soul of being an untrue, unblessed world; its high dignitaries many of them phantasms and players'-masks; its worthships and worships unworshipful: from Dan to Beersheba, a mad world, my masters. And surely we may say, and none will now gainsay10, this his idea of the world at that epoch was nearer to the fact than at most other epochs it has been. Truly, in all times and places, the young ardent soul that enters on this world with heroic purpose, with veracious11 insight, and the yet unclouded "inspiration of the Almighty12" which has given us our intelligence, will find this world a very mad one: why else is he, with his little outfit13 of heroisms and inspirations, come hither into it, except to make it diligently14 a little saner15? Of him there would have been no need, had it been quite sane16. This is true; this will, in all centuries and countries, be true.
And yet perhaps of no time or country, for the last two thousand years, was it so true as here in this waste-weltering epoch of Sterling17's and ours. A world all rocking and plunging18, like that old Roman one when the measure of its iniquities19 was full; the abysses, and subterranean20 and supernal21 deluges22, plainly broken loose; in the wild dim-lighted chaos23 all stars of Heaven gone out. No star of Heaven visible, hardly now to any man; the pestiferous fogs, and foul24 exhalations grown continual, have, except on the highest mountaintops, blotted25 out all stars: will-o'-wisps, of various course and color, take the place of stars. Over the wild-surging chaos, in the leaden air, are only sudden glares of revolutionary lightning; then mere26 darkness, with philanthropistic phosphorescences, empty meteoric27 lights; here and there an ecclesiastical luminary28 still hovering29, hanging on to its old quaking fixtures30, pretending still to be a Moon or Sun,—though visibly it is but a Chinese lantern made of paper mainly, with candle-end foully31 dying in the heart of it. Surely as mad a world as you could wish!
If you want to make sudden fortunes in it, and achieve the temporary hallelujah of flunkies for yourself, renouncing32 the perennial33 esteem34 of wise men; if you can believe that the chief end of man is to collect about him a bigger heap of gold than ever before, in a shorter time than ever before, you will find it a most handy and every way furthersome, blessed and felicitous35 world. But for any other human aim, I think you will find it not furthersome. If you in any way ask practically, How a noble life is to be led in it? you will be luckier than Sterling or I if you get any credible36 answer, or find any made road whatever. Alas, it is even so. Your heart's question, if it be of that sort, most things and persons will answer with a "Nonsense! Noble life is in Drury Lane, and wears yellow boots. You fool, compose yourself to your pudding!"—Surely, in these times, if ever in any, the young heroic soul entering on life, so opulent, full of sunny hope, of noble valor and divine intention, is tragical38 as well as beautiful to us.
Of the three learned Professions none offered any likelihood for Sterling. From the Church his notions of the "black dragoon," had there been no other obstacle, were sufficient to exclude him. Law he had just renounced39, his own Radical40 philosophies disheartening him, in face of the ponderous41 impediments, continual up-hill struggles and formidable toils42 inherent in such a pursuit: with Medicine he had never been in any contiguity43, that he should dream of it as a course for him. Clearly enough the professions were unsuitable; they to him, he to them. Professions, built so largely on speciosity instead of performance; clogged44, in this bad epoch, and defaced under such suspicions of fatal imposture45, were hateful not lovable to the young radical soul, scornful of gross profit, and intent on ideals and human noblenesses. Again, the professions, were they never so perfect and veracious, will require slow steady pulling, to which this individual young radical, with his swift, far-darting brilliancies, and nomadic46 desultory47 ways, is of all men the most averse48 and unfitted. No profession could, in any case, have well gained the early love of Sterling. And perhaps withal the most tragic37 element of his life is even this, That there now was none to which he could fitly, by those wiser than himself, have been bound and constrained49, that he might learn to love it. So swift, light-limbed and fiery50 an Arab courser ought, for all manner of reasons, to have been trained to saddle and harness. Roaming at full gallop51 over the heaths,—especially when your heath was London, and English and European life, in the nineteenth century,—he suffered much, and did comparatively little. I have known few creatures whom it was more wasteful52 to send forth53 with the bridle54 thrown up, and to set to steeple-hunting instead of running on highways! But it is the lot of many such, in this dislocated time,—Heaven mend it! In a better time there will be other "professions" than those three extremely cramp55, confused and indeed almost obsolete56 ones: professions, if possible, that are true, and do not require you at the threshold to constitute yourself an impostor. Human association,—which will mean discipline, vigorous wise subordination and co-ordination,—is so unspeakably important. Professions, "regimented human pursuits," how many of honorable and manful might be possible for men; and which should not, in their results to society, need to stumble along, in such an unwieldy futile57 manner, with legs swollen58 into such enormous elephantiasis and no go at all in them! Men will one day think of the force they squander59 in every generation, and the fatal damage they encounter, by this neglect.
The career likeliest for Sterling, in his and the world's circumstances, would have been what is called public life: some secretarial, diplomatic or other official training, to issue if possible in Parliament as the true field for him. And here, beyond question, had the gross material conditions been allowed, his spiritual capabilities were first-rate. In any arena60 where eloquence61 and argument was the point, this man was calculated to have borne the bell from all competitors. In lucid62 ingenious talk and logic63, in all manner of brilliant utterance64 and tongue-fence, I have hardly known his fellow. So ready lay his store of knowledge round him, so perfect was his ready utterance of the same,—in coruscating65 wit, in jocund66 drollery67, in compact articulated clearness or high poignant68 emphasis, as the case required,—he was a match for any man in argument before a crowd of men. One of the most supple-wristed, dexterous69, graceful70 and successful fencers in that kind. A man, as Mr. Hare has said, "able to argue with four or five at once;" could do the parrying all round, in a succession swift as light, and plant his hits wherever a chance offered. In Parliament, such a soul put into a body of the due toughness might have carried it far. If ours is to be called, as I hear some call it, the Talking Era, Sterling of all men had the talent to excel in it.
Probably it was with some vague view towards chances in this direction that Sterling's first engagement was entered upon; a brief connection as Secretary to some Club or Association into which certain public men, of the reforming sort, Mr. Crawford (the Oriental Diplomatist and Writer), Mr. Kirkman Finlay (then Member for Glasgow), and other political notabilities had now formed themselves,—with what specific objects I do not know, nor with what result if any. I have heard vaguely71, it was "to open the trade to India." Of course they intended to stir up the public mind into co-operation, whatever their goal or object was: Mr. Crawford, an intimate in the Sterling household, recognized the fine literary gift of John; and might think it a lucky hit that he had caught such a Secretary for three hundred pounds a year. That was the salary agreed upon; and for some months actually worked for and paid; Sterling becoming for the time an intimate and almost an inmate72 in Mr. Crawford's circle, doubtless not without results to himself beyond the secretarial work and pounds sterling: so much is certain. But neither the Secretaryship nor the Association itself had any continuance; nor can I now learn accurately73 more of it than what is here stated;—in which vague state it must vanish from Sterling's history again, as it in great measure did from his life. From himself in after-years I never heard mention of it; nor were his pursuits connected afterwards with those of Mr. Crawford, though the mutual74 good-will continued unbroken.
In fact, however splendid and indubitable Sterling's qualifications for a parliamentary life, there was that in him withal which flatly put a negative on any such project. He had not the slow steady-pulling diligence which is indispensable in that, as in all important pursuits and strenuous75 human competitions whatsoever76. In every sense, his momentum77 depended on velocity78 of stroke, rather than on weight of metal; "beautifulest sheet-lightning," as I often said, "not to be condensed into thunder-bolts." Add to this,—what indeed is perhaps but the same phenomenon in another form,—his bodily frame was thin, excitable, already manifesting pulmonary symptoms; a body which the tear and wear of Parliament would infallibly in few months have wrecked79 and ended. By this path there was clearly no mounting. The far-darting, restlessly coruscating soul, equips beyond all others to shine in the Talking Era, and lead National Palavers80 with their spolia opima captive, is imprisoned81 in a fragile hectic82 body which quite forbids the adventure. "Es ist dafur gesorgt," says Goethe, "Provision has been made that the trees do not grow into the sky;"—means are always there to stop them short of the sky.
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1 capabilities | |
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力 | |
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2 ushered | |
v.引,领,陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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3 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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4 valor | |
n.勇气,英勇 | |
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5 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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6 veracity | |
n.诚实 | |
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7 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8 epoch | |
n.(新)时代;历元 | |
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9 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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10 gainsay | |
v.否认,反驳 | |
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11 veracious | |
adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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12 almighty | |
adj.全能的,万能的;很大的,很强的 | |
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13 outfit | |
n.(为特殊用途的)全套装备,全套服装 | |
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14 diligently | |
ad.industriously;carefully | |
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15 saner | |
adj.心智健全的( sane的比较级 );神志正常的;明智的;稳健的 | |
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16 sane | |
adj.心智健全的,神志清醒的,明智的,稳健的 | |
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17 sterling | |
adj.英币的(纯粹的,货真价实的);n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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18 plunging | |
adj.跳进的,突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
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19 iniquities | |
n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 );极不公正 | |
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20 subterranean | |
adj.地下的,地表下的 | |
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21 supernal | |
adj.天堂的,天上的;崇高的 | |
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22 deluges | |
v.使淹没( deluge的第三人称单数 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付 | |
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23 chaos | |
n.混乱,无秩序 | |
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24 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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25 blotted | |
涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 ); (用吸墨纸)吸干 | |
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26 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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27 meteoric | |
adj.流星的,转瞬即逝的,突然的 | |
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28 luminary | |
n.名人,天体 | |
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29 hovering | |
鸟( hover的现在分词 ); 靠近(某事物); (人)徘徊; 犹豫 | |
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30 fixtures | |
(房屋等的)固定装置( fixture的名词复数 ); 如(浴盆、抽水马桶); 固定在某位置的人或物; (定期定点举行的)体育活动 | |
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31 foully | |
ad.卑鄙地 | |
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32 renouncing | |
v.声明放弃( renounce的现在分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃 | |
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33 perennial | |
adj.终年的;长久的 | |
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34 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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35 felicitous | |
adj.恰当的,巧妙的;n.恰当,贴切 | |
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36 credible | |
adj.可信任的,可靠的 | |
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37 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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38 tragical | |
adj. 悲剧的, 悲剧性的 | |
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39 renounced | |
v.声明放弃( renounce的过去式和过去分词 );宣布放弃;宣布与…决裂;宣布摒弃 | |
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40 radical | |
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
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41 ponderous | |
adj.沉重的,笨重的,(文章)冗长的 | |
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42 toils | |
网 | |
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43 contiguity | |
n.邻近,接壤 | |
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44 clogged | |
(使)阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 ); 淤滞 | |
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45 imposture | |
n.冒名顶替,欺骗 | |
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46 nomadic | |
adj.流浪的;游牧的 | |
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47 desultory | |
adj.散漫的,无方法的 | |
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48 averse | |
adj.厌恶的;反对的,不乐意的 | |
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49 constrained | |
adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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50 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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51 gallop | |
v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔;飞速发展 | |
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52 wasteful | |
adj.(造成)浪费的,挥霍的 | |
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53 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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54 bridle | |
n.笼头,束缚;vt.抑制,约束;动怒 | |
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55 cramp | |
n.痉挛;[pl.](腹)绞痛;vt.限制,束缚 | |
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56 obsolete | |
adj.已废弃的,过时的 | |
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57 futile | |
adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的 | |
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58 swollen | |
adj.肿大的,水涨的;v.使变大,肿胀 | |
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59 squander | |
v.浪费,挥霍 | |
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60 arena | |
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台 | |
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61 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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62 lucid | |
adj.明白易懂的,清晰的,头脑清楚的 | |
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63 logic | |
n.逻辑(学);逻辑性 | |
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64 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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65 coruscating | |
v.闪光,闪烁( coruscate的现在分词 ) | |
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66 jocund | |
adj.快乐的,高兴的 | |
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67 drollery | |
n.开玩笑,说笑话;滑稽可笑的图画(或故事、小戏等) | |
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68 poignant | |
adj.令人痛苦的,辛酸的,惨痛的 | |
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69 dexterous | |
adj.灵敏的;灵巧的 | |
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70 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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71 vaguely | |
adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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72 inmate | |
n.被收容者;(房屋等的)居住人;住院人 | |
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73 accurately | |
adv.准确地,精确地 | |
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74 mutual | |
adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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75 strenuous | |
adj.奋发的,使劲的;紧张的;热烈的,狂热的 | |
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76 whatsoever | |
adv.(用于否定句中以加强语气)任何;pron.无论什么 | |
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77 momentum | |
n.动力,冲力,势头;动量 | |
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78 velocity | |
n.速度,速率 | |
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79 wrecked | |
adj.失事的,遇难的 | |
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80 palavers | |
n.废话,空话( palaver的名词复数 )v.废话,空话( palaver的第三人称单数 ) | |
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81 imprisoned | |
下狱,监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82 hectic | |
adj.肺病的;消耗热的;发热的;闹哄哄的 | |
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