“Perhaps you think,” said Doña Perfecta, with a tinge1 of conceit2 in her tones, “that Señor Don Inocencio is going to remain silent and not give you an answer to each and every one of those points.”
“Oh, no!” exclaimed the canon, arching his eyebrows3. “I will not attempt to measure my poor abilities with a champion so valiant4 and at the same time so well armed. Señor Don José knows every thing; that is to say, he has at his command the whole arsenal5 of the exact sciences. Of course I know that the doctrines6 he upholds are false; but I have neither the talent nor the eloquence7 to combat them. I would employ theological arguments, drawn8 from revelation, from faith, from the Divine Word; but alas9! Señor Don José, who is an eminent10 savant, would laugh at theology, at faith, at revelation, at the holy prophets, at the gospel. A poor ignorant priest, an unhappy man who knows neither mathematics, nor German philosophy with its ego12 and its non ego, a poor dominie, who knows only the science of God and something of the Latin poets, cannot enter into combat with so valiant a champion.”
Pepe Rey burst into a frank laugh.
“I see that Señor Don Inocencio,” he said, “has taken seriously all the nonsense I have been talking. Come, Señor Canon, regard the whole matter as a jest, and let it end there. I am quite sure that my opinions do not in reality differ greatly from yours. You are a pious13 and learned man; it is I who am ignorant. If I have allowed myself to speak in jest, pardon me, all of you—that is my way.”
“Thanks!” responded the presbyter, visibly annoyed. “Is that the way you want to get out of it now? I am well aware, we are all well aware, that the views you have sustained are your own. It could not be otherwise. You are the man of the age. It cannot be denied that you have a wonderful, a truly wonderful intellect. While you were talking, at the same time that I inwardly deplored14 errors so great, I could not but admire, I will confess it frankly15, the loftiness of expression, the prodigious16 fluency17, the surprising method of your reasoning, the force of your arguments. What a head, Señora Doña Perfecta, what a head your young nephew has! When I was in Madrid and they took me to the Atheneum, I confess that I was amazed to see the wonderful talent which God has bestowed18 on the atheists and the Protestants.”
“Señor Don Inocencio,” said Doña Perfecta, looking alternately at her nephew and her friend, “I think that in judging this boy you are more than benevolent19. Don’t get angry, Pepe, or mind what I say, for I am neither a savante, nor a philosopher, nor a theologian; but it seems to me that Señor Don Inocencio has just given a proof of his great modesty20 and Christian21 charity in not crushing you as he could have done if he had wished.”
“Oh, señora!” said the ecclesiastic22.
“That is the way with him,” continued Doña Perfecta, “always pretending to know nothing. And he knows more than the seven doctors put together. Ah, Señor Don Inocencio, how well the name you have suits you! But don’t affect an unseasonable humility23 now. Why, my nephew has no pretensions24. All he knows is what he has been taught. If he has been taught error, what more can he desire than that you should enlighten him and take him out of the limbo25 of his false doctrines?”
“Just so; I desire nothing more than that the Señor Penitentiary26 should take me out,”—murmured Pepe, comprehending that without intending it, he had got himself into a labyrinth27.
“I am a poor priest, whose only learning is some knowledge of the ancients,” responded Don Inocencio. “I recognize the immense value, from a worldly point of view, of Señor Don José’s scientific knowledge, and before so brilliant an oracle28 I prostrate29 myself and am silent.”
So saying, the canon folded his hands across his breast and bent30 his head. Pepe Rey was somewhat disturbed because of the turn which his mind had chosen to give to an idle discussion jestingly followed up, and in which he had engaged only to enliven the conversation a little. He thought that the most prudent31 course to pursue would be to end at once so dangerous a debate, and for this purpose he addressed a question to Señor Don Cayetano when the latter, shaking off the drowsiness32 which had overcome him after the dessert, offered the guests the indispensable toothpicks stuck in a china peacock with outspread tail.
“Yesterday I discovered a hand grasping the handle of an amphora, on which there are a number of hieratic characters. I will show it to you,” said Don Cayetano, delighted to introduce a favorite theme.
“I suppose that Señor de Rey is very expert in archaeological matters also,” said the canon, who, still implacable, pursued his victim to his last retreat.
“Of course,” said Doña Perfecta. “What is there that these clever children of our day do not understand? They have all the sciences at their fingers’ ends. The universities and the academics teach them every thing in a twinkling, giving them a patent of learning.”
“Oh, that is unjust!” responded the canon, observing the pained expression of the engineer’s countenance33.
“My aunt is right,” declared Pepe. “At the present day we learn a little of every thing, and leave school with the rudiments34 of various studies.”
“I was saying,” continued the canon, “that you are no doubt a great archaeologist.”
“I know absolutely nothing of that science,” responded the young man. “Ruins are ruins, and I have never cared to cover myself with dust going among them.”
“That is not to say that I condemn37 archaeology,” said Doña Perfecta’s nephew quickly, observing with pain that he could not utter a word without wounding some one. “I know that from that dust issues history. Those studies are delightful38 and very useful.”
“You,” said the Penitentiary, putting his toothpick into the last of his back teeth, “are no doubt more inclined to controversial studies. An excellent idea has just occurred to me, Señor Don José; you ought to be a lawyer.”
“Law is a profession which I abhor,” replied Pepe Rey. “I know many estimable lawyers, among them my father, who is the best of men; but, in spite of so favorable a specimen39, I could never had brought myself to practise a profession which consists in defending with equal readiness the pro11 and the contra of a question. I know of no greater misjudgment, no greater prejudice, no greater blindness, than parents show in their eagerness to dedicate their sons to the law. The chief and the most terrible plague of Spain is the crowd of our young lawyers, for whose existence a fabulous41 number of lawsuits42 are necessary. Lawsuits multiply in proportion to the demand. And even thus, numbers are left without employment, and, as a jurisconsult cannot put his hand to the plough or seat himself at the loom43, the result is that brilliant squadron of idlers full of pretensions, who clamor for places, embarrass the administration, agitate44 public opinion, and breed revolutions. In some way they must make a living. It would be a greater misfortune if there were lawsuits enough for all of them.”
“Pepe, for Heaven’s sake, take care what you say,” said Doña Perfecta, in a tone of marked severity. “But excuse him, Señor Don Inocencio, for he is not aware that you have a nephew who, although he has only lately left the university, is a prodigy45 in the law.”
“I speak in general terms,” said Pepe, with firmness. “Being, as I am, the son of a distinguished46 lawyer, I cannot be ignorant of the fact that there are many men who practise that noble profession with honor to themselves.”
“No; my nephew is only a boy yet,” said the canon, with affected47 humility. “Far be it from me to assert that he is a prodigy of learning, like Señor de Rey. In time, who can tell? His talents are neither brilliant nor seductive. Of course, Jacinto’s ideas are solid and his judgment40 is sound. What he knows he knows thoroughly48. He is unacquainted with sophistries49 and hollow phrases.”
Pepe Rey appeared every moment more and more disturbed. The idea that, without desiring it, his opinions should be in opposition50 to those of the friends of his aunt, vexed51 him, and he resolved to remain silent lest he and Don Inocencio should end by throwing the plates at each other’s heads. Fortunately the cathedral bell, calling the canon to the important duties of the choir52, extricated53 him from his painful position. The venerable ecclesiastic rose and took leave of every one, treating Rey with as much amiability54 and kindness as if they had been old and dear friends. The canon, after offering his services to Pepe for all that he might require, promised to present his nephew to him in order that the young man might accompany him to see the town, speaking in the most affectionate terms and deigning55, on leaving the room, to pat him on the shoulder. Pepe Rey, accepting with pleasure these formulas of concord56, nevertheless felt indescribably relieved when the priest had left the dining-room and the house.
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1
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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conceit
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| n.自负，自高自大 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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4
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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5
arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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6
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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7
eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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8
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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9
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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10
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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11
pro
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| n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者 | |
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12
ego
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| n.自我，自己，自尊 | |
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13
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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14
deplored
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| v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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16
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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17
fluency
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| n.流畅，雄辩，善辩 | |
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18
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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20
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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21
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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ecclesiastic
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| n.教士，基督教会；adj.神职者的，牧师的，教会的 | |
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23
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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24
pretensions
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| 自称( pretension的名词复数 )； 自命不凡； 要求； 权力 | |
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25
limbo
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| n.地狱的边缘；监狱 | |
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26
penitentiary
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| n.感化院；监狱 | |
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27
labyrinth
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| n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路 | |
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28
oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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29
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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30
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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31
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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32
drowsiness
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| n.睡意；嗜睡 | |
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33
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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34
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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35
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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36
grimace
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| v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭 | |
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37
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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38
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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39
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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40
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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41
fabulous
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| adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的 | |
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42
lawsuits
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| n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 ) | |
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43
loom
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| n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近 | |
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44
agitate
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| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
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45
prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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46
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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47
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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48
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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49
sophistries
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| n.诡辩术( sophistry的名词复数 )；（一次）诡辩 | |
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50
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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51
vexed
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| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
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52
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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53
extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54
amiability
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| n.和蔼可亲的，亲切的，友善的 | |
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55
deigning
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| v.屈尊，俯就( deign的现在分词 ) | |
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56
concord
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| n.和谐；协调 | |
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