I and my fellows
Are ministers of Fate.
“The Tempest.”
The next day Glyndon bent1 his steps towards Zanoni’s palace. The young man’s imagination, naturally inflammable, was singularly excited by the little he had seen and heard of this strange being,— a spell, he could neither master nor account for, attracted him towards the stranger. Zanoni’s power seemed mysterious and great, his motives2 kindly3 and benevolent4, yet his manners chilling and repellent. Why at one moment reject Glyndon’s acquaintance, at another save him from danger? How had Zanoni thus acquired the knowledge of enemies unknown to Glyndon himself? His interest was deeply roused, his gratitude5 appealed to; he resolved to make another effort to conciliate the ungracious herbalist.
The signor was at home, and Glyndon was admitted into a lofty saloon, where in a few moments Zanoni joined him.
“I am come to thank you for your warning last night,” said he, “and to entreat6 you to complete my obligation by informing me of the quarter to which I may look for enmity and peril7.”
“You are a gallant,” said Zanoni, with a smile, and in the English language, “and do you know so little of the South as not to be aware that gallants have always rivals?”
“Are you serious?” said Glyndon, colouring.
“Most serious. You love Viola Pisani; you have for rival one of the most powerful and relentless8 of the Neapolitan princes. Your danger is indeed great.”
“But pardon me!— how came it known to you?”
“I give no account of myself to mortal man,” replied Zanoni, haughtily9; “and to me it matters nothing whether you regard or scorn my warning.”
“Well, if I may not question you, be it so; but at least advise me what to do.”
“Would you follow my advice?”
“Why not?”
“Because you are constitutionally brave; you are fond of excitement and mystery; you like to be the hero of a romance. Were I to advise you to leave Naples, would you do so while Naples contains a foe10 to confront or a mistress to pursue?”
“You are right,” said the young Englishman, with energy. “No! and you cannot reproach me for such a resolution.”
“But there is another course left to you: do you love Viola Pisani truly and fervently11?— if so, marry her, and take a bride to your native land.”
“Nay,” answered Glyndon, embarrassed; “Viola is not of my rank. Her profession, too, is — in short, I am enslaved by her beauty, but I cannot wed12 her.”
Zanoni frowned.
“Your love, then, is but selfish lust13, and I advise you to your own happiness no more. Young man, Destiny is less inexorable than it appears. The resources of the great Ruler of the Universe are not so scanty14 and so stern as to deny to men the divine privilege of Free Will; all of us can carve out our own way, and God can make our very contradictions harmonise with His solemn ends. You have before you an option. Honourable15 and generous love may even now work out your happiness, and effect your escape; a frantic16 and selfish passion will but lead you to misery17 and doom18.”
“Do you pretend, then, to read the future?”
“I have said all that it pleases me to utter.”
“While you assume the moralist to me, Signor Zanoni,” said Glyndon, with a smile, “are you yourself so indifferent to youth and beauty as to act the stoic19 to its allurements20?”
“If it were necessary that practice square with precept,” said Zanoni, with a bitter smile, “our monitors would be but few. The conduct of the individual can affect but a small circle beyond himself; the permanent good or evil that he works to others lies rather in the sentiments he can diffuse21. His acts are limited and momentary22; his sentiments may pervade23 the universe, and inspire generations till the day of doom. All our virtues24, all our laws, are drawn25 from books and maxims26, which ARE sentiments, not from deeds. In conduct, Julian had the virtues of a Christian27, and Constantine the vices28 of a Pagan. The sentiments of Julian reconverted thousands to Paganism; those of Constantine helped, under Heaven’s will, to bow to Christianity the nations of the earth. In conduct, the humblest fisherman on yonder sea, who believes in the miracles of San Gennaro, may be a better man than Luther; to the sentiments of Luther the mind of modern Europe is indebted for the noblest revolution it has known. Our opinions, young Englishman, are the angel part of us; our acts, the earthly.”
“You have reflected deeply for an Italian,” said Glyndon.
“Who told you that I was an Italian?”
“Are you not? And yet, when I hear you speak my own language as a native, I—”
“Tush!” interrupted Zanoni, impatiently turning away. Then, after a pause, he resumed in a mild voice, “Glyndon, do you renounce30 Viola Pisani? Will you take some days to consider what I have said?”
“Renounce her,— never!”
“Then you will marry her?”
“Impossible!”
“Be it so; she will then renounce you. I tell you that you have rivals.”
“Yes; the Prince di —; but I do not fear him.”
“You have another whom you will fear more.”
“And who is he?”
“Myself.”
Glyndon turned pale, and started from his seat.
“You, Signor Zanoni!— you,— and you dare to tell me so?”
“Dare! Alas31! there are times when I wish that I could fear.”
These arrogant32 words were not uttered arrogantly33, but in a tone of the most mournful dejection. Glyndon was enraged34, confounded, and yet awed35. However, he had a brave English heart within his breast, and he recovered himself quickly.
“Signor,” said he, calmly, “I am not to be duped by these solemn phrases and these mystical assumptions. You may have powers which I cannot comprehend or emulate36, or you may be but a keen imposter.”
“Well, proceed!”
“I mean, then,” continued Glyndon, resolutely37, though somewhat disconcerted,—“I mean you to understand, that, though I am not to be persuaded or compelled by a stranger to marry Viola Pisani, I am not the less determined38 never tamely to yield her to another.”
Zanoni looked gravely at the young man, whose sparkling eyes and heightened colour testified the spirit to support his words, and replied, “So bold! well; it becomes you. But take my advice; wait yet nine days, and tell me then if you will marry the fairest and the purest creature that ever crossed your path.”
“But if you love her, why — why —”
“Why am I anxious that she should wed another?— to save her from myself! Listen to me. That girl, humble29 and uneducated though she be, has in her the seeds of the most lofty qualities and virtues. She can be all to the man she loves,— all that man can desire in wife. Her soul, developed by affection, will elevate your own; it will influence your fortunes, exalt39 your destiny; you will become a great and a prosperous man. If, on the contrary, she fall to me, I know not what may be her lot; but I know that there is an ordeal40 which few can pass, and which hitherto no woman has survived.”
As Zanoni spoke41, his face became colourless, and there was something in his voice that froze the warm blood of the listener.
“What is this mystery which surrounds you?” exclaimed Glyndon, unable to repress his emotion. “Are you, in truth, different from other men? Have you passed the boundary of lawful42 knowledge? Are you, as some declare, a sorcerer, or only a —”
“Hush!” interrupted Zanoni, gently, and with a smile of singular but melancholy43 sweetness; “have you earned the right to ask me these questions? Though Italy still boast an Inquisition, its power is rivelled as a leaf which the first wind shall scatter44. The days of torture and persecution45 are over; and a man may live as he pleases, and talk as it suits him, without fear of the stake and the rack. Since I can defy persecution, pardon me if I do not yield to curiosity.”
Glyndon blushed, and rose. In spite of his love for Viola, and his natural terror of such a rival, he felt himself irresistibly46 drawn towards the very man he had most cause to suspect and dread47. He held out his hand to Zanoni, saying, “Well, then, if we are to be rivals, our swords must settle our rights; till then I would fain be friends.”
“Friends! You know not what you ask.”
“Enigmas again!”
“Enigmas!” cried Zanoni, passionately48; “ay! can you dare to solve them? Not till then could I give you my right hand, and call you friend.”
“I could dare everything and all things for the attainment49 of superhuman wisdom,” said Glyndon, and his countenance50 was lighted up with wild and intense enthusiasm.
Zanoni observed him in thoughtful silence.
“The seeds of the ancestor live in the son,” he muttered; “he may — yet —” He broke off abruptly51; then, speaking aloud, “Go, Glyndon,” said he; “we shall meet again, but I will not ask your answer till the hour presses for decision.”
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1
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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relentless
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| adj.残酷的，不留情的，无怜悯心的 | |
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haughtily
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| adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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fervently
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| adv.热烈地，热情地，强烈地 | |
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wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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lust
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| n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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honourable
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| adj.可敬的；荣誉的，光荣的 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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stoic
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| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
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allurements
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| n.诱惑( allurement的名词复数 )；吸引；诱惑物；有诱惑力的事物 | |
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diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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pervade
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| v.弥漫，遍及，充满，渗透，漫延 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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28
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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29
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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30
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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31
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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arrogant
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| adj.傲慢的，自大的 | |
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arrogantly
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| adv.傲慢地 | |
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enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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awed
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| adj.充满敬畏的，表示敬畏的v.使敬畏，使惊惧( awe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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emulate
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| v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿 | |
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resolutely
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| adj.坚决地，果断地 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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exalt
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| v.赞扬，歌颂，晋升，提升 | |
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ordeal
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| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
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41
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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46
irresistibly
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| adv.无法抵抗地，不能自持地；极为诱惑人地 | |
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47
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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48
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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49
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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50
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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51
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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