Madame de T.'s salon1 was all that Marius Pontmercy knew of the world. It was the only opening through which he could get a glimpse of life. This opening was sombre, and more cold than warmth, more night than day, came to him through this skylight. This child, who had been all joy and light on entering this strange world, soon became melancholy2, and, what is still more contrary to his age, grave. Surrounded by all those singular and imposing3 personages, he gazed about him with serious amazement4. Everything conspired5 to increase this astonishment6 in him. There were in Madame de T.'s salon some very noble ladies named Mathan, Noe, Levis,--which was pronounced Levi,--Cambis, pronounced Cambyse. These antique visages and these Biblical names mingled7 in the child's mind with the Old Testament8 which he was learning by heart, and when they were all there, seated in a circle around a dying fire, sparely lighted by a lamp shaded with green, with their severe profiles, their gray or white hair, their long gowns of another age, whose lugubrious9 colors could not be distinguished10, dropping, at rare intervals11, words which were both majestic12 and severe, little Marius stared at them with frightened eyes, in the conviction that he beheld13 not women, but patriarchs and magi, not real beings, but phantoms14.
With these phantoms, priests were sometimes mingled, frequenters of this ancient salon, and some gentlemen; the Marquis de Sass****, private secretary to Madame de Berry, the Vicomte de Val***, who published, under the pseudonyme of Charles-Antoine, monorhymed odes, the Prince de Beauff*******, who, though very young, had a gray head and a pretty and witty15 wife, whose very low-necked toilettes of scarlet16 velvet17 with gold torsades alarmed these shadows, the Marquis de C*****d'E******, the man in all France who best understood "proportioned politeness," the Comte d'Am*****, the kindly18 man with the amiable19 chin, and the Chevalier de Port-de-Guy, a pillar of the library of the Louvre, called the King's cabinet, M. de Port-de-Guy, bald, and rather aged20 than old, was wont21 to relate that in 1793, at the age of sixteen, he had been put in the galleys22 as refractory23 and chained with an octogenarian, the Bishop24 of Mirepoix, also refractory, but as a priest, while he was so in the capacity of a soldier. This was at Toulon. Their business was to go at night and gather up on the scaffold the heads and bodies of the persons who had been guillotined during the day; they bore away on their backs these dripping corpses25, and their red galley-slave blouses had a clot26 of blood at the back of the neck, which was dry in the morning and wet at night. These tragic27 tales abounded28 in Madame de T.'s salon, and by dint29 of cursing Marat, they applauded Trestaillon. Some deputies of the undiscoverable variety played their whist there; M. Thibord du Chalard, M. Lemarchant de Gomicourt, and the celebrated30 scoffer31 of the right, M. Cornet-Dincourt. The bailiff de Ferrette, with his short breeches and his thin legs, sometimes traversed this salon on his way to M. de Talleyrand. He had been M. le Comte d'Artois' companion in pleasures and unlike Aristotle crouching33 under Campaspe, he had made the Guimard crawl on all fours, and in that way he had exhibited to the ages a philosopher avenged34 by a bailiff. As for the priests, there was the Abbe Halma, the same to whom M. Larose, his collaborator35 on la Foudre, said: "Bah! Who is there who is not fifty years old? a few greenhorns perhaps?" The Abbe Letourneur, preacher to the King, the Abbe Frayssinous, who was not, as yet, either count, or bishop, or minister, or peer, and who wore an old cassock whose buttons were missing, and the Abbe Keravenant, Cure of Saint-Germain-des-Pres; also the Pope's Nuncio, then Monsignor Macchi, Archbishop of Nisibi, later on Cardinal36, remarkable37 for his long, pensive38 nose, and another Monsignor, entitled thus: Abbate Palmieri, domestic prelate, one of the seven participant prothonotaries of the Holy See, Canon of the illustrious Liberian basilica, Advocate of the saints, Postulatore dei Santi, which refers to matters of canonization, and signifies very nearly: Master of Requests of the section of Paradise. Lastly, two cardinals39, M. de la Luzerne, and M. de Cl****** T*******. The Cardinal of Luzerne was a writer and was destined40 to have, a few years later, the honor of signing in the Conservateur articles side by side with Chateaubriand; M. de Cl****** T******* was Archbishop of Toul****, and often made trips to Paris, to his nephew, the Marquis de T*******, who was Minister of Marine41 and War. The Cardinal of Cl****** T******* was a merry little man, who displayed his red stockings beneath his tucked-up cassock; his specialty42 was a hatred43 of the Encyclopaedia44, and his desperate play at billiards45, and persons who, at that epoch46, passed through the Rue47 M***** on summer evenings, where the hotel de Cl****** T******* then stood, halted to listen to the shock of the balls and the piercing voice of the Cardinal shouting to his conclavist, Monseigneur Cotiret, Bishop in partibus of Caryste: "Mark, Abbe, I make a cannon48." The Cardinal de Cl****** T******* had been brought to Madame de T.'s by his most intimate friend, M. de Roquelaure, former Bishop of Senlis, and one of the Forty. M. de Roquelaure was notable for his lofty figure and his assiduity at the Academy; through the glass door of the neighboring hall of the library where the French Academy then held its meetings, the curious could, on every Tuesday, contemplate49 the Ex-Bishop of Senlis, usually standing50 erect51, freshly powdered, in violet hose, with his back turned to the door, apparently52 for the purpose of allowing a better view of his little collar. All these ecclesiastics53, though for the most part as much courtiers as churchmen, added to the gravity of the T. salon, whose seigniorial aspect was accentuated54 by five peers of France, the Marquis de Vib****, the Marquis de Tal***, the Marquis de Herb*******, the Vicomte Damb***, and the Duc de Val********. This Duc de Val********, although Prince de Mon***, that is to say a reigning56 prince abroad, had so high an idea of France and its peerage, that he viewed everything through their medium. It was he who said: "The Cardinals are the peers of France of Rome; the lords are the peers of France of England." Moreover, as it is indispensable that the Revolution should be everywhere in this century, this feudal57 salon was, as we have said, dominated by a bourgeois58. M. Gillenormand reigned59 there.
There lay the essence and quintessence of the Parisian white society. There reputations, even Royalist reputations, were held in quarantine. There is always a trace of anarchy60 in renown61. Chateaubriand, had he entered there, would have produced the effect of Pere Duchene. Some of the scoffed-at did, nevertheless, penetrate62 thither63 on sufferance. Comte Beug*** was received there, subject to correction.
The "noble" salons64 of the present day no longer resemble those salons. The Faubourg Saint-Germain reeks65 of the fagot even now. The Royalists of to-day are demagogues, let us record it to their credit.
At Madame de T.'s the society was superior, taste was exquisite66 and haughty67, under the cover of a great show of politeness. Manners there admitted of all sorts of involuntary refinements68 which were the old regime itself, buried but still alive. Some of these habits, especially in the matter of language, seem eccentric. Persons but superficially acquainted with them would have taken for provincial70 that which was only antique. A woman was called Madame la Generale. Madame la Colonelle was not entirely71 disused. The charming Madame de Leon, in memory, no doubt, of the Duchesses de Longueville and de Chevreuse, preferred this appellation72 to her title of Princesse. The Marquise de Crequy was also called Madame la Colonelle.
It was this little high society which invented at the Tuileries the refinement69 of speaking to the King in private as the King, in the third person, and never as Your Majesty73, the designation of Your Majesty having been "soiled by the usurper74."
Men and deeds were brought to judgment75 there. They jeered76 at the age, which released them from the necessity of understanding it. They abetted77 each other in amazement. They communicated to each other that modicum78 of light which they possessed79. Methuselah bestowed80 information on Epimenides. The deaf man made the blind man acquainted with the course of things. They declared that the time which had elasped since Coblentz had not existed. In the same manner that Louis XVIII. was by the grace of God, in the five and twentieth year of his reign55, the emigrants81 were, by rights, in the five and twentieth year of their adolescence82.
All was harmonious83; nothing was too much alive; speech hardly amounted to a breath; the newspapers, agreeing with the salons, seemed a papyrus84. There were some young people, but they were rather dead. The liveries in the antechamber were antiquated85. These utterly86 obsolete87 personages were served by domestics of the same stamp.
They all had the air of having lived a long time ago, and of obstinately88 resisting the sepulchre. Nearly the whole dictionary consisted of Conserver, Conservation, Conservateur; to be in good odor,-- that was the point. There are, in fact, aromatics89 in the opinions of these venerable groups, and their ideas smelled of it. It was a mummified society. The masters were embalmed90, the servants were stuffed with straw.
A worthy91 old marquise, an emigree and ruined, who had but a solitary92 maid, continued to say: "My people."
What did they do in Madame de T.'s salon? They were ultra.
To be ultra; this word, although what it represents may not have disappeared, has no longer any meaning at the present day. Let us explain it.
To be ultra is to go beyond. It is to attack the sceptre in the name of the throne, and the mitre in the name of the attar; it is to ill-treat the thing which one is dragging, it is to kick over the traces; it is to cavil93 at the fagot on the score of the amount of cooking received by heretics; it is to reproach the idol94 with its small amount of idolatry; it is to insult through excess of respect; it is to discover that the Pope is not sufficiently95 papish, that the King is not sufficiently royal, and that the night has too much light; it is to be discontented with alabaster96, with snow, with the swan and the lily in the name of whiteness; it is to be a partisan97 of things to the point of becoming their enemy; it is to be so strongly for, as to be against.
The ultra spirit especially characterizes the first phase of the Restoration.
Nothing in history resembles that quarter of an hour which begins in 1814 and terminates about 1820, with the advent98 of M. de Villele, the practical man of the Right. These six years were an extraordinary moment; at one and the same time brilliant and gloomy, smiling and sombre, illuminated99 as by the radiance of dawn and entirely covered, at the same time, with the shadows of the great catastrophes100 which still filled the horizon and were slowly sinking into the past. There existed in that light and that shadow, a complete little new and old world, comic and sad, juvenile101 and senile, which was rubbing its eyes; nothing resembles an awakening102 like a return; a group which regarded France with ill-temper, and which France regarded with irony103; good old owls104 of marquises by the streetful, who had returned, and of ghosts, the "former" subjects of amazement at everything, brave and noble gentlemen who smiled at being in France but wept also, delighted to behold105 their country once more, in despair at not finding their monarchy106; the nobility of the Crusades treating the nobility of the Empire, that is to say, the nobility of the sword, with scorn; historic races who had lost the sense of history; the sons of the companions of Charlemagne disdaining107 the companions of Napoleon. The swords, as we have just remarked, returned the insult; the sword of Fontenoy was laughable and nothing but a scrap108 of rusty109 iron; the sword of Marengo was odious110 and was only a sabre. Former days did not recognize Yesterday. People no longer had the feeling for what was grand. There was some one who called Bonaparte Scapin. This Society no longer exists. Nothing of it, we repeat, exists to-day. When we select from it some one figure at random111, and attempt to make it live again in thought, it seems as strange to us as the world before the Deluge112. It is because it, too, as a matter of fact, has been engulfed113 in a deluge. It has disappeared beneath two Revolutions. What billows are ideas! How quickly they cover all that it is their mission to destroy and to bury, and how promptly114 they create frightful115 gulfs!
Such was the physiognomy of the salons of those distant and candid116 times when M. Martainville had more wit than Voltaire.
These salons had a literature and politics of their own. They believed in Fievee. M. Agier laid down the law in them. They commentated M. Colnet, the old bookseller and publicist of the Quay117 Malaquais. Napoleon was to them thoroughly118 the Corsican Ogre. Later on the introduction into history of M. le Marquis de Bonaparte, Lieutenant-General of the King's armies, was a concession119 to the spirit of the age.
These salons did not long preserve their purity. Beginning with 1818, doctrinarians began to spring up in them, a disturbing shade. Their way was to be Royalists and to excuse themselves for being so. Where the ultras were very proud, the doctrinarians were rather ashamed. They had wit; they had silence; their political dogma was suitably impregnated with arrogance120; they should have succeeded. They indulged, and usefully too, in excesses in the matter of white neckties and tightly buttoned coats. The mistake or the misfortune of the doctrinarian party was to create aged youth. They assumed the poses of wise men. They dreamed of engrafting a temperate121 power on the absolute and excessive principle. They opposed, and sometimes with rare intelligence, conservative liberalism to the liberalism which demolishes122. They were heard to say: "Thanks for Royalism! It has rendered more than one service. It has brought back tradition, worship, religion, respect. It is faithful, brave, chivalric123, loving, devoted124. It has mingled, though with regret, the secular125 grandeurs of the monarchy with the new grandeurs of the nation. Its mistake is not to understand the Revolution, the Empire, glory, liberty, young ideas, young generations, the age. But this mistake which it makes with regard to us,-- have we not sometimes been guilty of it towards them? The Revolution, whose heirs we are, ought to be intelligent on all points. To attack Royalism is a misconstruction of liberalism. What an error! And what blindness! Revolutionary France is wanting in respect towards historic France, that is to say, towards its mother, that is to say, towards itself. After the 5th of September, the nobility of the monarchy is treated as the nobility of the Empire was treated after the 5th of July. They were unjust to the eagle, we are unjust to the fleur-de-lys. It seems that we must always have something to proscribe127! Does it serve any purpose to ungild the crown of Louis XIV., to scrape the coat of arms of Henry IV.? We scoff32 at M. de Vaublanc for erasing128 the N's from the bridge of Jena! What was it that he did? What are we doing? Bouvines belongs to us as well as Marengo. The fleurs-de-lys are ours as well as the N's. That is our patrimony129. To what purpose shall we diminish it? We must not deny our country in the past any more than in the present. Why not accept the whole of history? Why not love the whole of France?
It is thus that doctrinarians criticised and protected Royalism, which was displeased130 at criticism and furious at protection.
The ultras marked the first epoch of Royalism, congregation characterized the second. Skill follows ardor131. Let us confine ourselves here to this sketch132.
In the course of this narrative133, the author of this book has encountered in his path this curious moment of contemporary history; he has been forced to cast a passing glance upon it, and to trace once more some of the singular features of this society which is unknown to-day. But he does it rapidly and without any bitter or derisive134 idea. Souvenirs both respectful and affectionate, for they touch his mother, attach him to this past. Moreover, let us remark, this same petty world had a grandeur126 of its own. One may smile at it, but one can neither despise nor hate it. It was the France of former days.
Marius Pontmercy pursued some studies, as all children do. When he emerged from the hands of Aunt Gillenormand, his grandfather confided135 him to a worthy professor of the most purely136 classic innocence137. This young soul which was expanding passed from a prude to a vulgar pedant138.
Marius went through his years of college, then he entered the law school. He was a Royalist, fanatical and severe. He did not love his grandfather much, as the latter's gayety and cynicism repelled139 him, and his feelings towards his father were gloomy.
He was, on the whole, a cold and ardent140, noble, generous, proud, religious, enthusiastic lad; dignified141 to harshness, pure to shyness.
T.夫人的客厅是马吕斯对世界的全部认识。那是唯一可以让他窥察人生的洞口。那洞是阴暗的,对他来说,从缝隙里来的寒气多于暖气,暗影多于光明。那孩子,在初进入这怪社会时还是欢乐开朗的,但不久后便郁闷起来了,和他年龄尤其不相称的是阴沉起来了。他被包围在那些威严怪诞的人中,心情严肃而惊讶地望着他的四周,而四周的一切合在一起又增加了他心中的惶惑。在T.夫人的客厅里有些年高德劭的贵妇人,有叫马坦①的,有叫挪亚②的,有叫利未斯而被称为利未③的,也有叫康比而被称为康比兹④的。那些矜庄古老的面孔,出自远代典籍的名字,在那孩子的脑子里和所背诵的《旧约》搅浑了,那些老妇人围绕着一炉即将熄灭的火,团团坐在绿纱罩的灯光下,面目若隐若显,神态冷峻,头发斑白或全白,身上拖着另一个时代的长裙袍,每件颜色都是阴森惨淡的,她们偶然从沉寂中说出一两句既庄严又峻刻的话;那时,小马吕斯惊慌失措瞪着眼望着她们,以为自己看见的不是妇人,而是一些古圣先贤,不是现实的人,而是鬼影。
①马坦(Mathan),《圣经·列王纪下》十一章中亚他利雅崇信的巴力神之祭司。
②挪亚(Noé),乘方舟避洪水的人类远祖。
③利未(Lévi),以色列人利未族的族长。
④康比兹(Cambyse),公元前六世纪的波斯王。
在那些鬼影中还有着好几个教士和贵族,也经常出现在那古老的客厅里,一个是沙斯内侯爷,德·贝里夫人①的功德秘书②;一个是以笔名查理-安东尼发表单韵抒情诗的瓦洛利子爵;一个是波弗尔蒙王爷,相当年轻,头发却已花白,带一个漂亮、聪明、袒胸露背、穿一身金丝绦镶边的朱红丝绒袍的女人,这使那堆黑影里的人为之惴惴不安;一个是德·柯利阿利·德斯比努兹侯爷,是法兰西最善于掌握礼节分寸的人;一个是德·阿芒德尔伯爵,一个下巴圆嘟嘟的老好人;还有一个是德·波尔·德·吉骑士,卢浮宫图书馆,即所谓国王阅览室的老主顾。德·波尔·德·吉先生,年纪不大,人却老了,秃顶,他追述在一七九三年十六岁时,被当作顽固分子关在苦役牢里,和一个八十岁的老头米尔波瓦的主教锁在一起,那主教也是个顽固分子,不过主教的罪名是拒绝宣誓③,而他本人的则是逃避兵役。当时是在土伦。他们的任务是夜晚到断头台上去收拾那些在白天处决的尸体和人头。他们把那些血淋淋的尸首驮在背上,他们的红帽子棗苦役犯所戴的红帽子棗后面有块血壳,早上干天黑后又潮了。这一类的悲惨故事在T.夫人的客厅里是层出不穷的,他们并且在不断咒骂马拉以后,更进而鼓掌称颂特雷斯达荣。有几个怪诞不经的议员常在那里打惠斯特④,迪波尔·德·沙拉尔先生,勒马尚·德·戈米古先生,还有个以起哄著名的右派,柯尔内-唐古尔先生。钦命法官德·费雷特穿着一条短裤,露着一双瘦腿,有时在去塔列朗先生家时路过此地,也到那客厅里走走。他是阿图瓦伯爵的冶游之交,他不象亚里斯多德那样对康巴斯白⑤屈膝承欢,而是反过来叫吉玛尔蛇行匍伏,使千秋万代的人都知道有一个钦命法官替千百年前的一个哲人出了口气。
①德·贝里(de Berry),公爵夫人,路易十八的侄媳。
②功德秘书,在公爵府里管理救济捐助等事的人。
③当时的革命政府曾勒令教士宣誓遵守宪法。
④惠斯特(whist),一种纸牌游戏。
⑤康巴斯白(Campaspe),亚历山大的宠姬。
至于教士,一个是哈尔马神甫,和他合编《雷霆》的拉洛兹先生曾对他说过这样的话:“谁没有五十岁?除了那些嘴上没毛的!”一个是勒都尔纳尔神甫,御前宣道士;一个是弗来西努神甫,当时他既不是伯爵,也不是主教,也不是大臣,也不是世卿,他只穿一件旧道袍,并还缺几个纽扣;还有一个是克拉弗南神甫,圣日耳曼·代·勃雷的本堂神甫;另外还有教皇的一个使臣,当时叫做马西主教的那个尼西比大主教,日后才称红衣主教,他以那个多愁的长鼻子著名;另外还有一个主教大人,他的头衔是这样的:巴尔米埃利,内廷紫衣教官,圣廷七机要秘书之一,利比里亚大教堂的议事司铎,圣人的辩护士,这是和谥圣①有关的,几乎就是天堂部门的评审官;最后还有两个红衣主教,德·拉吕泽尔纳先生和德·克雷蒙-东纳先生。德·拉吕泽尔纳红衣主教先生是个作家,几年后曾有和夏多勃里昂同样为《保守》定稿的荣誉;德·克雷蒙-东纳先生是图卢兹的大主教,他常到巴黎他侄儿德·东纳侯爷家里来休假,他那侄儿当过海军及陆军大臣。德·克雷蒙-东纳红衣主教是一个快乐的小老头儿,常把他的道袍下摆掀起扎在腰里,露出下面的红袜子,他的特点是痛恨百科全书和酷爱打弹子。德·克雷蒙-东纳的宅子在夫人街,当年,每当夏季夜晚,打那地方走过的人常会停下来听那些弹子相撞的声音和那红衣主教的说笑声,他对他的同事,教廷枢密员克利斯特的荣誉主教,柯特莱大人喊道:“记分,神甫,我打串子球②。德·克雷蒙-东纳红衣主教是由他一个最亲密的朋友引到T.夫人家里去的,那朋友叫德·罗克洛尔先生,曾当过桑利斯的主教,并且是四十人③之一。德·罗克洛尔先生以身材高大,并以常守在法兰西学院里而著名。图书馆隔壁的那间厅房是当时法兰西学院举行会议的地方,好奇的人每星期四都可从那扇玻璃门见到桑利斯的前任主教,头上新扑了粉,穿着紫袜子,经常站着,背对着门,显然是为了好让人家看见他那条小白领。所有那些教士,虽然大都是宫廷中人兼教会中人,却已加强了T.夫人客厅里的严肃气氛,再加上五个法兰西世卿德·维勃雷侯爷,德·塔拉鲁侯爷,德·艾尔布维尔侯爷,达布雷子爵和瓦朗迪诺亚公爵,那种富贵气象便更突出了。那位瓦朗迪诺亚公爵虽然是摩纳哥亲王,也就是说,虽然是外国的当朝君主,但对法兰西和世卿爵位却异常崇敬,以致他看任何问题都要从这两点考虑。因此他常说:“红衣主教是罗马的法兰西世卿,爵士是英格兰的法兰西世卿。”此外,由于在这一世纪没有一处不受革命的影响,这封建的客厅,正如我们先头说过的,便也受资产阶级的支配。吉诺曼先生坐着头把交椅。
①教皇在谥某人为圣者之先,应开会审查他的著作和事迹并加以讨论。在讨论中,由两个“律师”,一个叫上帝的律师,一个叫魔鬼的律师,进行争辩。再由教皇决定是否授予圣者称号。
②串子球,弹子戏中以一球连撞其他两球之术语。
③法兰西学院有院士四十人。
那地方是巴黎白色社会的英华荟萃之处。有名的人物,即使是保王派,也会被那些人拒绝。名气总离不了无政府状态。如果夏多勃里昂来到那里,大家也会把他当作杜善伯伯。几个归顺分子①在这正统派的客厅里却被通融,可以进去。伯尼奥②伯爵在那里便是受到礼遇的。
现在的“贵族”客厅已不象当年的那些客厅了。今天的圣日耳曼郊区已有了市井气。所谓保王,说得好听一点,也只能说是侈言保王了。
T.夫人家里的座上客全属于上层社会,他们的嗜好是细腻而高亢,隐在极为有礼的外貌下。他们的习气有着许许多多不自觉的文雅细致,那完全是旧秩序死而复苏的故态。那些习气,尤其是在语言方面,好象显得有些奇特。单看表面现象的人还以为那是外省的俗态,其实只是些朽木败絮。一个妇女可以被称为“将军夫人”。“上校夫人”也不是绝对不用的。那位可爱的德·莱昂夫人,一定是在追念朗格维尔公爵夫人③和谢弗勒兹公爵夫人④,她才肯放弃她的公主头衔,乐意接受这种称呼。德·克来基侯爵夫人也一样,自称“上校夫人”。
①归顺分子,指原来拥护拿破仑后又归顺路易十八王朝的人。
②伯尼奥(Beugnot.1761-1835),帝国政府的官员,路易十八的大臣。
③朗格维尔(Longueville,1619-1679)公爵夫人,曾从事政治活动并组织文学座谈客厅。
④谢弗勒兹(Chevreuse,1600-1679〕公爵夫人,也以从事政治活动著名。
当时在杜伊勒里宫中,人们和国王闲谈时当面称他为“国王”,把国王两字作为第三人称处理,从来不说“您陛下”,这种过分讲究的语言,便是那个小小的上层社会中人发明的,他们认为“您陛下”这种称呼已被那个“篡位者玷污了”。
他们在那里评论时事,臧否人物。对时代冷嘲热讽,不求甚解。遇事大惊小怪,转相惊扰。各人把自己仅有的一点知识拿来互相夸耀。玛土撒拉①教着厄庇墨尼德②。聋子向瞎子通消息。他们同声否认科布伦茨以后的那段时期。于是路易十八,受天之祜是在他即位的第二十五年③,流亡回国的人也天经地义,正在他们二十五岁的少壮时期。
①玛土撒拉(Mathusalem),犹太族长,挪亚的祖父,活了九百六十九岁,见《旧约》。意即老寿星。
②厄庇墨尼德(Epiménide),传说中人物,在一个山洞里睡了五十九年,神叫醒了他,要他回雅典去教化人民。他的睡和醒常被用来比喻人在政治生活中的穷通进退。
③法王路易十六在一七九三年被斩决,他的儿子路易十七在一七九五年死在狱中,路易十八在一八一五年拿破仑逊位后回国,其时距路易十七之死已二十年,但路易十八不以一八一五年为他登位的第一年,而看作他登位的第二十年。
一切都是雍容尔雅的,什么都进行得不过火,谈话的声音好象也只是一阵阵清风,陈列的书报和那客厅正相称,都好象是些贝叶经。他们中也有些青年,不过都是些半死不活的人。在前厅伺候的仆人的服装也是灰溜溜的,主仆宾客全是些过了时的朽人。那一切都具有早已死去却又不甘心走进坟墓的神气。保守,保持,保全,这差不多就是全部词典的内容了,问题却在于气味是否好闻。在那一小撮遗老遗少的意见里,确也有些香料,但是那些见解,总发出防蛀药草的味儿。那是一个僵尸世界。主人是涂了防腐香油的,仆人们是填了草料剥制的。
有个流亡归国、家财败落了的宝贝老侯爵夫人,只有一个女用人了,却还老这么说:“我的侍从们。”
那些人在T.夫人的客厅里干些什么呢?他们做极端派①。
①极端派是极端保王派的简称。路易十八时期,有部分人企图完全恢复旧秩序,恢复贵族和僧侣在革命前的财产和政治地位。但是路易十八鉴于国内上升的资产阶级力量,不敢操之过激,采取比较温和的政策。极端保王派对此不满,他们在政治斗争中的表现是既保王又反对国王的妥协政策。
做极端派,这话,虽然它所代表的事物也许还没有消灭,可是它在今天已没有意义了。让我们来解释一下。
走极端,就是走过头。就是假借王位抨击王权,假借祭台抨击教权,就是糟蹋自己所拖带的东西,就是不服驾驭,就是为了烧烤异教徒的火候是否到了家的问题而和砍柴人争吵,就是为了偶像不大受抬举而指责偶像,就是由于过分尊敬而破口谩骂,就是觉得教皇没有足够的教权,国王没有足够的王权,黑夜的光也太强了,就是为了白色对云石、雪花、天鹅和百合不满,就是把自己拥护的对象当作仇敌,就是过分推崇,以致变成反对。
走极端的精神是王朝复辟初期的突出的特征。
从一八一四年到一八二○年左右,在右派能手维莱尔先生上台前这一短短时期,历史上没有什么事物可与之相比。这六年是非常时期,既喧嚣又沉闷,既欢腾又阴郁,好象受到晨曦的照耀,同时却又满天昏黑,密密层层的灾云祸影在天边堆积并慢慢消失在过去里。在那样的光明和那样的黑影里,有那么一小撮人,既新又老,既轻快又忧愁,既少壮又衰颓,他们擦着自己的眼睛,没有什么能比还乡更象梦醒那样,那一小撮人狠巴巴望着法兰西,法兰西也报以冷笑。街上满是些怪好玩的老猫头鹰似的侯爷,还乡的人和还魂的鬼,少见多怪的以前的贵族,老成高贵的世家子为了回到法兰西而嘻笑,也为了回到法兰西而哭泣,笑是笑他们自己能和祖国重相见,哭是哭他们失去了当年的君主制。十字军时代的贵族公开侮辱帝国时代的贵族,也就是说,佩剑的贵族,已经失去历史意义的古老世族,查理大帝的战友的子孙蔑视着拿破仑的战友。剑和剑,正如我们刚才说过的,彼此相互辱骂,丰特努瓦的剑可笑,已只是一块锈铁;马伦哥的剑丑恶,只是一把马刀①而已。昔日否认昨日。人的情感已无所谓伟大,也无所谓可耻了。有一个人曾称波拿巴为司卡班②。那样的社会现在已不存在了。应当着重指出,那样的社会绝没有什么残余留到今天。当我们随意想起某种情景,使它重新出现在我们的想象中时我们会感到奇怪,会感到那好象是洪水以前的社会。确切的是连社会本身它也被洪水淹没了。它已消灭在两次革命中。思想是何等的洪流!它能多么迅速地埋葬它使命中应破坏淹没的一切,它能多么敏捷地扩展了使人惊奇的视野!
这便是那些遥远愚憨时期的客厅的面貌,在那里马尔坦维尔③被认为比伏尔泰更有才华。
那些客厅有它们自己的一套文学和政治。他们推重菲埃魏④。阿吉埃先生为人们所敬仰。他们评论柯尔内先生,马拉盖河沿的书刊评论家。拿破仑在他们的眼里完全是个来自科西嘉岛的吃人魔鬼。日后在历史里写上布宛纳巴侯爵先生,王军少将,那已是对时代精神所作的让步了。
①剑是贵族用的,马刀是士兵用的。
②司卡班(Scapin),莫里哀所作戏剧《司卡班的诡计》中一个有计谋的仆人。
③马尔坦维尔(Martainville,1776-1830),保王派分子,极右派报纸《白旗报》的创办人。
④菲埃魏(Fiévée,1767-1839),法国反动作家,新闻记者,曾主编《论坛》。
那些客厅的清一色的局面并没有维持多久。从一八一八年起,便已有几个空论派①在那些地方露脸。那是一种令人不安的苗头。那些人的态度是自命为保王派,却又以此而内疚。凡是在极端派自鸣得意的地方,空论派都感到有些惭愧。他们有眼光,他们不开口,他们的政治信条具有适当的自负气概,他们自信能够成功。他们特别讲究领带的白洁和衣冠的整饬,这确是大有用处的。空伦派的错误或不幸,在于创造老青年。他们摆学究架子。他们梦想在专制和过激的制度上移植一种温和的政权。他们想用一种顾全大局的自由主义来代替破坏大局的自由主义,并且有时还表现了一种少见的智力。人们常听到他们这样说:“应当原谅保王主义!保王主义干了不少好事。它使传统、文化、宗教、虔敬心得以发展。它是忠实、勇敢、有骑士风度、仁爱和虔诚的。它来把君主国家千百年的伟大混在棗虽然这是很可惜的棗民族的新的伟大里。它的错误是不认识革命、帝国、光荣、自由、年轻的思想、年轻的一代以及新的世纪。但是它对我们所犯的这种错误,我们是不是就没有对它犯过呢?革命应当全面了解,而我们正是革命事业的继承者。攻击保王主义,这是和自由主义背道而驰的。
①空论派是代表大金融资产阶级利益的,他们既反对封建专制,又害怕人民得势,基佐(Guizot)是他们的主要代表。
多么大的过错!多少严重的盲目行动!革命的法兰西不尊敬历史的法兰西,那就是说不尊敬自己的母亲,也就是不尊敬它自己。君主制度的贵族在九月五日以后①所受的待遇正和帝国时代的贵族在七月八日后②所受的待遇一样。他们对雄鹰③不公平,而我们对百合花也不公平。人们总爱禁止某种事物。刮掉路易十四王冠上的金,除去亨利四世的盾形朝徽,这种举动究竟有什么用?我们嘲笑德·伏勃朗④先生擦去耶拿桥上的N⑤!他干的是什么事?正是我们自己所干的事。布维纳的胜利属于我们,正如马伦哥的胜利属于我们是一样的。百合花是我们的,N也是我们的。都是我们的民族遗产。为什么要贬低它们的价值呢?我们不应把过去的祖国看得比现在的祖国低。为什么不接受全部历史?为什么不爱整个法兰西?”
空论派便是那样批判和保护保王主义的,保王主义者却因受到批判而不满,却因受到保护而怒气冲天。
极端派标志着保王主义的第一阶段,教团⑥则是第二阶段的特点。强横之后,继以灵活。我们简略的描写到此结束。
①九月五日指一八一六年九月五日,路易十八解散“无双”议院。第一帝国崩溃,极端保正派实行白色恐怖。一八一五年众议院的选举是在疯狂的白色恐怖下进行的,这一议院被称为“无双”议院,通过了一系列恐怖的法律,大部分被告被处以死刑。这一残酷的迫害就连“神圣同盟”的领导人都认为是不好的统治手段,故路易十八不得不解散这一议院。
②一八一五年七月八日,路易十八在英普联军护送下回到巴黎。
③鹰是拿破仑的徽志,百合花是王室的徽志。
④德·伏勃朗(de Vaublanc,1756-1845),保王派首脑人物之一。
⑤N是Napoléon(拿破仑)的第一个字母。
⑥圣母教团成立于一八○一年,于复辟期间得到发展,并从事反动的政治活动,一八三○年随着波旁王室的倾覆而瓦解。
本书作者,在这故事的发展中处于现代史中这一奇怪时期,他不能不走进这个已成陈迹的社会,顺便望一眼,把它的特点叙述几笔。不过他叙述得很快,并无挖苦或奚落的意思。那些往事是些令人怀念应当正视的往事,因为它们和他的母亲有关,使他和过去联系在一起。此外应当指出,那个小小的社会自有它的伟大处。我们不妨报以微笑,但是不能蔑视它,也不能仇视它。那是往日的法兰西。
马吕斯·彭眉胥和其他的孩子一样,胡乱读了一些书。他从吉诺曼姑奶奶手中解放出来时,他的外祖父便把他托付给一个名副其实的完全昏庸的老师。这智力初开的少年从一个道婆转到一个腐儒手里。马吕斯读了几年中学,继又进了法学院。他成了保王派,狂热而冷峻。他不大爱他的外祖父,外祖父的那种轻浮狠鄙的作风使他难受,他对父亲冷漠阴沉。
那孩子是内热外冷、高尚、慷慨、自负、虔诚和勇往直前的,他严肃到近于严厉,纯洁到象尚未开化。
1 salon | |
n.[法]沙龙;客厅;营业性的高级服务室 | |
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2 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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3 imposing | |
adj.使人难忘的,壮丽的,堂皇的,雄伟的 | |
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4 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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5 conspired | |
密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 ); 搞阴谋; (事件等)巧合; 共同导致 | |
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6 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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7 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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8 testament | |
n.遗嘱;证明 | |
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9 lugubrious | |
adj.悲哀的,忧郁的 | |
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10 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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11 intervals | |
n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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12 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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13 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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14 phantoms | |
n.鬼怪,幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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15 witty | |
adj.机智的,风趣的 | |
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16 scarlet | |
n.深红色,绯红色,红衣;adj.绯红色的 | |
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17 velvet | |
n.丝绒,天鹅绒;adj.丝绒制的,柔软的 | |
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18 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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19 amiable | |
adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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20 aged | |
adj.年老的,陈年的 | |
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21 wont | |
adj.习惯于;v.习惯;n.习惯 | |
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22 galleys | |
n.平底大船,战舰( galley的名词复数 );(船上或航空器上的)厨房 | |
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23 refractory | |
adj.倔强的,难驾驭的 | |
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24 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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25 corpses | |
n.死尸,尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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26 clot | |
n.凝块;v.使凝成块 | |
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27 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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28 abounded | |
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 dint | |
n.由于,靠;凹坑 | |
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30 celebrated | |
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的 | |
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31 scoffer | |
嘲笑者 | |
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32 scoff | |
n.嘲笑,笑柄,愚弄;v.嘲笑,嘲弄,愚弄,狼吞虎咽 | |
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33 crouching | |
v.屈膝,蹲伏( crouch的现在分词 ) | |
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34 avenged | |
v.为…复仇,报…之仇( avenge的过去式和过去分词 );为…报复 | |
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35 collaborator | |
n.合作者,协作者 | |
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36 cardinal | |
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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37 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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38 pensive | |
a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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39 cardinals | |
红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 ); 红衣凤头鸟(见于北美,雄鸟为鲜红色); 基数 | |
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40 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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41 marine | |
adj.海的;海生的;航海的;海事的;n.水兵 | |
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42 specialty | |
n.(speciality)特性,特质;专业,专长 | |
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43 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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44 encyclopaedia | |
n.百科全书 | |
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45 billiards | |
n.台球 | |
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46 epoch | |
n.(新)时代;历元 | |
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47 rue | |
n.懊悔,芸香,后悔;v.后悔,悲伤,懊悔 | |
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48 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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49 contemplate | |
vt.盘算,计议;周密考虑;注视,凝视 | |
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50 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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51 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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52 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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53 ecclesiastics | |
n.神职者,教会,牧师( ecclesiastic的名词复数 ) | |
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54 accentuated | |
v.重读( accentuate的过去式和过去分词 );使突出;使恶化;加重音符号于 | |
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55 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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56 reigning | |
adj.统治的,起支配作用的 | |
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57 feudal | |
adj.封建的,封地的,领地的 | |
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58 bourgeois | |
adj./n.追求物质享受的(人);中产阶级分子 | |
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59 reigned | |
vi.当政,统治(reign的过去式形式) | |
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60 anarchy | |
n.无政府状态;社会秩序混乱,无秩序 | |
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61 renown | |
n.声誉,名望 | |
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62 penetrate | |
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解 | |
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63 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
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64 salons | |
n.(营业性质的)店( salon的名词复数 );厅;沙龙(旧时在上流社会女主人家的例行聚会或聚会场所);(大宅中的)客厅 | |
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65 reeks | |
n.恶臭( reek的名词复数 )v.发出浓烈的臭气( reek的第三人称单数 );散发臭气;发出难闻的气味 (of sth);明显带有(令人不快或生疑的跡象) | |
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66 exquisite | |
adj.精美的;敏锐的;剧烈的,感觉强烈的 | |
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67 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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68 refinements | |
n.(生活)风雅;精炼( refinement的名词复数 );改良品;细微的改良;优雅或高贵的动作 | |
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69 refinement | |
n.文雅;高尚;精美;精制;精炼 | |
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70 provincial | |
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人 | |
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71 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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72 appellation | |
n.名称,称呼 | |
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73 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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74 usurper | |
n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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75 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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76 jeered | |
v.嘲笑( jeer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77 abetted | |
v.教唆(犯罪)( abet的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;怂恿;支持 | |
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78 modicum | |
n.少量,一小份 | |
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79 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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80 bestowed | |
赠给,授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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81 emigrants | |
n.(从本国移往他国的)移民( emigrant的名词复数 ) | |
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82 adolescence | |
n.青春期,青少年 | |
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83 harmonious | |
adj.和睦的,调和的,和谐的,协调的 | |
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84 papyrus | |
n.古以纸草制成之纸 | |
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85 antiquated | |
adj.陈旧的,过时的 | |
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86 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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87 obsolete | |
adj.已废弃的,过时的 | |
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88 obstinately | |
ad.固执地,顽固地 | |
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89 aromatics | |
n.芳香植物( aromatic的名词复数 );芳香剂,芳香药物 | |
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90 embalmed | |
adj.用防腐药物保存(尸体)的v.保存(尸体)不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 );使不被遗忘;使充满香气 | |
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91 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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92 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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93 cavil | |
v.挑毛病,吹毛求疵 | |
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94 idol | |
n.偶像,红人,宠儿 | |
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95 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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96 alabaster | |
adj.雪白的;n.雪花石膏;条纹大理石 | |
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97 partisan | |
adj.党派性的;游击队的;n.游击队员;党徒 | |
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98 advent | |
n.(重要事件等的)到来,来临 | |
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99 illuminated | |
adj.被照明的;受启迪的 | |
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100 catastrophes | |
n.灾祸( catastrophe的名词复数 );灾难;不幸事件;困难 | |
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101 juvenile | |
n.青少年,少年读物;adj.青少年的,幼稚的 | |
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102 awakening | |
n.觉醒,醒悟 adj.觉醒中的;唤醒的 | |
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103 irony | |
n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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104 owls | |
n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 ) | |
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105 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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106 monarchy | |
n.君主,最高统治者;君主政体,君主国 | |
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107 disdaining | |
鄙视( disdain的现在分词 ); 不屑于做,不愿意做 | |
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108 scrap | |
n.碎片;废料;v.废弃,报废 | |
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109 rusty | |
adj.生锈的;锈色的;荒废了的 | |
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110 odious | |
adj.可憎的,讨厌的 | |
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111 random | |
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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112 deluge | |
n./vt.洪水,暴雨,使泛滥 | |
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113 engulfed | |
v.吞没,包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114 promptly | |
adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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115 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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116 candid | |
adj.公正的,正直的;坦率的 | |
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117 quay | |
n.码头,靠岸处 | |
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118 thoroughly | |
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地 | |
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119 concession | |
n.让步,妥协;特许(权) | |
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120 arrogance | |
n.傲慢,自大 | |
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121 temperate | |
adj.温和的,温带的,自我克制的,不过分的 | |
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122 demolishes | |
v.摧毁( demolish的第三人称单数 );推翻;拆毁(尤指大建筑物);吃光 | |
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123 chivalric | |
有武士气概的,有武士风范的 | |
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124 devoted | |
adj.忠诚的,忠实的,热心的,献身于...的 | |
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125 secular | |
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的 | |
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126 grandeur | |
n.伟大,崇高,宏伟,庄严,豪华 | |
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127 proscribe | |
v.禁止;排斥;放逐,充军;剥夺公权 | |
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128 erasing | |
v.擦掉( erase的现在分词 );抹去;清除 | |
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129 patrimony | |
n.世袭财产,继承物 | |
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130 displeased | |
a.不快的 | |
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131 ardor | |
n.热情,狂热 | |
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132 sketch | |
n.草图;梗概;素描;v.素描;概述 | |
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133 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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134 derisive | |
adj.嘲弄的 | |
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135 confided | |
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) | |
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136 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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137 innocence | |
n.无罪;天真;无害 | |
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138 pedant | |
n.迂儒;卖弄学问的人 | |
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139 repelled | |
v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 );使厌恶;排斥;推开 | |
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140 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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141 dignified | |
a.可敬的,高贵的 | |
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