CHAPTER XVII A RARE ABSURDITY

Now, to your calm, collected, and reasonable individual, John’s little trouble may appear nothing but rank absurdity¹. It probably will appear nothing but rank absurdity, seeing that it had existence merely in the fact that he had felt a certain attraction towards the man, whom fate had that evening thrown in his path.

 

And why on earth shouldn’t he feel attraction!—so your reasonable individual may exclaim.

 

But John was not reasonable. He was one of your ultra-sensitive characters, to whom the merest dust speck² may prove, at moments, a source of perpetual annoyance³. He desired to feel nothing but a whole-hearted detestation of this interloper.

 

I am not defending John’s desires,—they certainly cannot be termed precisely⁴ Christian,—I merely state them as existing. Their fulfilment would have left him entirely⁵ free to draw a line [Pg 144]between himself and the one who had arisen to harass⁶ the inhabitants of Delancey Castle. He would have felt utterly⁷ and entirely established beside them. He was established beside them, yet this tiny attraction sent forth⁸ an irritating little lay across the barrier. He felt it, in a measure, disloyal. He disliked it; and yet, for the life of him, he could not prevent its existence.

 

I am well aware of the absurdity of his annoyance; but it merely characterizes John. It shows him to be what he was,—ultra-quixotic in his friendships, sensitive to a degree of fastidiousness where he fancied his loyalty⁹ to be in the smallest measure at fault.

 

Not that John was blind to the imperfections of his friends (and here I use the word in its full meaning),—those few—they were few—whom he had admitted, or who had somehow found entrance, to the inner shrine¹⁰ of his heart. But I could fancy him shielding those imperfections from the eyes of the world with his own body; standing¹¹ between them and the gaze of a curious multitude; suffering death, if need be, in the shielding.

 

Call him absurd, if you will; but, for my part, I like this rare absurdity.

1 absurdity   

n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论

参考例句：

• The proposal borders upon the absurdity.这提议近乎荒谬。
• The absurdity of the situation made everyone laugh.情况的荒谬可笑使每个人都笑了。

2 speck   

n.微粒，小污点，小斑点

参考例句：

• I have not a speck of interest in it.我对它没有任何兴趣。
• The sky is clear and bright without a speck of cloud.天空晴朗，一星星云彩也没有。

3 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

4 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

7 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

10 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。