Part 3 Book 1 Chapter 4 He may be of Use

Paris begins with the lounger and ends with the street Arab, two beings of which no other city is capable; the passive acceptance, which contents itself with gazing, and the inexhaustible initiative; Prudhomme and Fouillou. Paris alone has this in its natural history. The whole of the monarchy¹ is contained in the lounger; the whole of anarchy² in the gamin.

This pale child of the Parisian faubourgs lives and develops, makes connections, "grows supple³" in suffering, in the presence of social realities and of human things, a thoughtful witness. He thinks himself heedless; and he is not. He looks and is on the verge⁴ of laughter; he is on the verge of something else also. Whoever you may be, if your name is Prejudice, Abuse, Ignorance, Oppression, Iniquity⁵, Despotism, Injustice⁶, Fanaticism⁷, Tyranny, beware of the gaping⁸ gamin.

The little fellow will grow up.

Of what clay is he made? Of the first mud that comes to hand. A handful of dirt, a breath, and behold⁹ Adam. It suffices for a God to pass by. A God has always passed over the street Arab. Fortune labors¹⁰ at this tiny being. By the word "fortune" we mean chance, to some extent. That pigmy kneaded out of common earth, ignorant, unlettered, giddy, vulgar, low. Will that become an Ionian or a Boeotian? Wait, currit rota, the Spirit of Paris, that demon¹¹ which creates the children of chance and the men of destiny, reversing the process of the Latin potter, makes of a jug¹² an amphora.

巴黎以闲人开始，以野孩殿后，这两种人是任何其他城市有不起的；一个是满足于东张西望的盲目接受，一个是无穷无尽的主动出击；这是呆老汉和淘哥儿，只在巴黎的自然史中才会有。闲人是整个君主制度的形象，野孩是整个无政府主义的形象。

巴黎近郊的这个脸色灰白的孩子，面对着令人深省的社会现实和人间事物，活着，成长着，在苦难中沉下去，浮上来。他自以为是不用心思的，其实不然。他望着，老想笑，也老想着要干其他的事。不问你是什么，成见也好，贪渎行为也好，卑劣作风、压迫、不义、专制、不公、热狂、暴政也好，你都得留心注意那个张着嘴发愣的野孩。

那小不点儿会成长起来的。

他是什么材料做成的？任何一种污泥。一撮土，一口气，你就有了亚当。只要有神经过就够了。而在那野孩的头上总是有神经过的。幸运照顾着野孩。我们在这里所说的幸运，颇有点冒险犯难的意味。用凡尘俗土抟捏出来的这小子，无知、不文、鲁莽、粗野、平凡，他将成为奋发有为的人还是碌碌无闻的人呢？等着瞧吧，“周回陶钧”，巴黎的精神，这是个凭机会创造孩童、凭造化陶铸成人的巨灵，它不同于拉丁的陶工，它能化瓦釜为黄钟。

1 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

2 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

3 supple   

adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺

参考例句：

• She gets along well with people because of her supple nature.她与大家相处很好，因为她的天性柔和。
• He admired the graceful and supple movements of the dancers.他赞扬了舞蹈演员优雅灵巧的舞姿。

4 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

5 iniquity   

n.邪恶；不公正

参考例句：

• Research has revealed that he is a monster of iniquity.调查结果显示他是一个不法之徒。
• The iniquity of the transaction aroused general indignation.这笔交易的不公引起了普遍的愤怒。

6 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

7 fanaticism   

n.狂热，盲信

参考例句：

• Your fanaticism followed the girl is wrong. 你对那个女孩的狂热是错误的。
• All of Goebbels's speeches sounded the note of stereotyped fanaticism. 戈培尔的演讲，千篇一律，无非狂热二字。

8 gaping   

adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大

参考例句：

• Ahead of them was a gaping abyss. 他们前面是一个巨大的深渊。
• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

10 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

11 demon   

n.魔鬼，恶魔

参考例句：

• The demon of greed ruined the miser's happiness.贪得无厌的恶习毁掉了那个守财奴的幸福。
• He has been possessed by the demon of disease for years.他多年来病魔缠身。

12 jug   

n.(有柄，小口，可盛水等的)大壶，罐，盂

参考例句：

• He walked along with a jug poised on his head.他头上顶着一个水罐，保持着平衡往前走。
• She filled the jug with fresh water.她将水壶注满了清水。