To Doctor ———
You and I, my good friend, have often deliberated on the difficulty of writing such a dedication1 as might gratify the self-complacency of a patron, without exposing the author to the ridicule2 or censure3 of the public; and I think we generally agreed that the task was altogether impracticable.— Indeed, this was one of the few subjects on which we have always thought in the same manner. For, notwithstanding that deference4 and regard which we mutually pay to each other, certain it is, we have often differed, according to the predominancy of those different passions, which frequently warp5 the opinion, and perplex the understanding of the most judicious6.
In dedication, as in poetry, there is no medium; for, if any one of the human virtues8 be omitted in the enumeration9 of the patron’s good qualities, the whole address is construed10 into an affront11, and the writer has the mortification12 to find his praise prostituted to very little purpose.
On the other hand, should he yield to the transports of gratitude13 or affection, which is always apt to exaggerate, and produce no more than the genuine effusions of his heart, the world will make no allowance for the warmth of his passion, but ascribe the praise he bestows14 to interested views and sordid15 adulation.
Sometimes too, dazzled by the tinsel of a character which he has no opportunity to investigate, he pours forth16 the homage17 of his admiration18 upon some false Maecenas, whose future conduct gives the lie to his eulogium, and involves him in shame and confusion of face. Such was the fate of a late ingenious author [the Author of the “Seasons”], who was so often put to the blush for the undeserved incense19 he had offered in the heat of an enthusiastic disposition20, misled by popular applause, that he had resolved to retract21, in his last will, all the encomiums which he had thus prematurely22 bestowed23, and stigmatise the unworthy by name — a laudable scheme of poetical24 justice, the execution of which was fatally prevented by untimely death.
Whatever may have been the fate of other dedicators, I, for my own part, sit down to write this address, without any apprehension25 of disgrace or disappointment; because I know you are too well convinced of my affection and sincerity26 to repine at what I shall say touching27 your character and conduct. And you will do me the justice to believe, that this public distinction is a testimony28 of my particular friendship and esteem29.
Not that I am either insensible of your infirmities, or disposed to conceal30 them from the notice of mankind. There are certain foibles which can only be cured by shame and mortification; and whether or not yours be of that species, I shall have the comfort to think my best endeavours were used for your reformation.
Know then, I can despise your pride, while I honour your integrity, and applaud your taste, while I am shocked at your ostentation31.— I have known you trifling32, superficial, and obstinate33 in dispute; meanly jealous and awkwardly reserved; rash and haughty34 in your resentments35; and coarse and lowly in your connexions. I have blushed at the weakness of your conversation, and trembled at the errors of your conduct — yet, as I own you possess certain good qualities, which overbalance these defects, and distinguish you on this occasion as a person for whom I have the most perfect attachment36 and esteem, you have no cause to complain of the indelicacy with which your faults are reprehended37. And as they are chiefly the excesses of a sanguine38 disposition and looseness of thought, impatient of caution or control, you may, thus stimulated39, watch over your own intemperance40 and infirmity with redoubled vigilance and consideration, and for the future profit by the severity of my reproof41.
These, however, are not the only motives42 that induce me to trouble you with this public application. I must not only perform my duty to my friends, but also discharge the debt I owe to my own interest. We live in a censorious age; and an author cannot take too much precaution to anticipate the prejudice, misapprehension, and temerity43 of malice44, ignorance, and presumption45.
I therefore think it incumbent46 upon me to give some previous intimation of the plan which I have executed in the subsequent performance, that I may not be condemned47 upon partial evidence; and to whom can I with more propriety48 appeal in my explanation than to you, who are so well acquainted with all the sentiments and emotions of my breast?
A novel is a large diffused49 picture, comprehending the characters of life, disposed in different groups, and exhibited in various attitudes, for the purposes of an uniform plan, and general occurrence, to which every individual figure is subservient50. But this plan cannot be executed with propriety, probability, or success, without a principal personage to attract the attention, unite the incidents, unwind the clue of the labyrinth51, and at last close the scene, by virtue7 of his own importance.
Almost all the heroes of this kind, who have hitherto succeeded on the English stage, are characters of transcendent worth, conducted through the vicissitudes52 of fortune, to that goal of happiness, which ever ought to be the repose53 of extraordinary desert.— Yet the same principle by which we rejoice at the remuneration of merit, will teach us to relish54 the disgrace and discomfiture55 of vice56, which is always an example of extensive use and influence, because it leaves a deep impression of terror upon the minds of those who were not confirmed in the pursuit of morality and virtue, and, while the balance wavers, enables the right scale to preponderate57.
In the drama, which is a more limited field of invention, the chief personage is often the object of our detestation and abhorrence58; and we are as well pleased to see the wicked schemes of a Richard blasted, and the perfidy59 of a Maskwell exposed, as to behold60 a Bevil happy, and an Edward victorious61.
The impulses of fear, which is the most violent and interesting of all the passions, remain longer than any other upon the memory; and for one that is allured62 to virtue, by the contemplation of that peace and happiness which it bestows, a hundred are deterred63 from the practice of vice, by that infamy64 and punishment to which it is liable, from the laws and regulations of mankind.
Let me not, therefore, be condemned for having chosen my principal character from the purlieus of treachery and fraud, when I declare my purpose is to set him up as a beacon65 for the benefit of the unexperienced and unwary, who, from the perusal66 of these memoirs67, may learn to avoid the manifold snares68 with which they are continually surrounded in the paths of life; while those who hesitate on the brink69 of iniquity70 may be terrified from plunging71 into that irremediable gulf72, by surveying the deplorable fate of Ferdinand Count Fathom73.
That the mind might not be fatigued74, nor the imagination disgusted, by a succession of vicious objects, I have endeavoured to refresh the attention with occasional incidents of a different nature; and raised up a virtuous75 character, in opposition76 to the adventurer, with a view to amuse the fancy, engage the affection, and form a striking contrast which might heighten the expression, and give a relief to the moral of the whole.
If I have not succeeded in my endeavours to unfold the mysteries of fraud, to instruct the ignorant, and entertain the vacant; if I have failed in my attempts to subject folly77 to ridicule, and vice to indignation; to rouse the spirit of mirth, wake the soul of compassion78, and touch the secret springs that move the heart; I have, at least, adorned79 virtue with honour and applause, branded iniquity with reproach and shame, and carefully avoided every hint or expression which could give umbrage80 to the most delicate reader — circumstances which (whatever may be my fate with the public) will with you always operate in favour of,
Dear sir, your very affectionate friend and servant,
THE AUTHOR.
1 dedication | |
n.奉献,献身,致力,题献,献辞 | |
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2 ridicule | |
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄 | |
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3 censure | |
v./n.责备;非难;责难 | |
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4 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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5 warp | |
vt.弄歪,使翘曲,使不正常,歪曲,使有偏见 | |
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6 judicious | |
adj.明智的,明断的,能作出明智决定的 | |
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7 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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8 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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9 enumeration | |
n.计数,列举;细目;详表;点查 | |
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10 construed | |
v.解释(陈述、行为等)( construe的过去式和过去分词 );翻译,作句法分析 | |
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11 affront | |
n./v.侮辱,触怒 | |
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12 mortification | |
n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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13 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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14 bestows | |
赠给,授予( bestow的第三人称单数 ) | |
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15 sordid | |
adj.肮脏的,不干净的,卑鄙的,暗淡的 | |
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16 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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17 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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18 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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19 incense | |
v.激怒;n.香,焚香时的烟,香气 | |
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20 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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21 retract | |
vt.缩回,撤回收回,取消 | |
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22 prematurely | |
adv.过早地,贸然地 | |
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23 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 poetical | |
adj.似诗人的;诗一般的;韵文的;富有诗意的 | |
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25 apprehension | |
n.理解,领悟;逮捕,拘捕;忧虑 | |
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26 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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27 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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28 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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29 esteem | |
n.尊敬,尊重;vt.尊重,敬重;把…看作 | |
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30 conceal | |
v.隐藏,隐瞒,隐蔽 | |
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31 ostentation | |
n.夸耀,卖弄 | |
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32 trifling | |
adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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33 obstinate | |
adj.顽固的,倔强的,不易屈服的,较难治愈的 | |
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34 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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35 resentments | |
(因受虐待而)愤恨,不满,怨恨( resentment的名词复数 ) | |
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36 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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37 reprehended | |
v.斥责,指摘,责备( reprehend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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38 sanguine | |
adj.充满希望的,乐观的,血红色的 | |
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39 stimulated | |
a.刺激的 | |
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40 intemperance | |
n.放纵 | |
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41 reproof | |
n.斥责,责备 | |
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42 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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43 temerity | |
n.鲁莽,冒失 | |
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44 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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45 presumption | |
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定 | |
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46 incumbent | |
adj.成为责任的,有义务的;现任的,在职的 | |
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47 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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48 propriety | |
n.正当行为;正当;适当 | |
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49 diffused | |
散布的,普及的,扩散的 | |
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50 subservient | |
adj.卑屈的,阿谀的 | |
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51 labyrinth | |
n.迷宫;难解的事物;迷路 | |
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52 vicissitudes | |
n.变迁,世事变化;变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 );盛衰兴废 | |
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53 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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54 relish | |
n.滋味,享受,爱好,调味品;vt.加调味料,享受,品味;vi.有滋味 | |
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55 discomfiture | |
n.崩溃;大败;挫败;困惑 | |
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56 vice | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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57 preponderate | |
v.数目超过;占优势 | |
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58 abhorrence | |
n.憎恶;可憎恶的事 | |
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59 perfidy | |
n.背信弃义,不忠贞 | |
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60 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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61 victorious | |
adj.胜利的,得胜的 | |
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62 allured | |
诱引,吸引( allure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63 deterred | |
v.阻止,制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64 infamy | |
n.声名狼藉,出丑,恶行 | |
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65 beacon | |
n.烽火,(警告用的)闪火灯,灯塔 | |
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66 perusal | |
n.细读,熟读;目测 | |
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67 memoirs | |
n.回忆录;回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
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68 snares | |
n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 );圈套;诱人遭受失败(丢脸、损失等)的东西;诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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69 brink | |
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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70 iniquity | |
n.邪恶;不公正 | |
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71 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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72 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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73 fathom | |
v.领悟,彻底了解 | |
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74 fatigued | |
adj. 疲乏的 | |
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75 virtuous | |
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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76 opposition | |
n.反对,敌对 | |
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77 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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78 compassion | |
n.同情,怜悯 | |
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79 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
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80 umbrage | |
n.不快;树荫 | |
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