O thou my friend! The prosperity of Crime is like unto the lightning, whose traitorous1 brilliancies embellish2 the atmosphere but for an instant, in order to hurl3 into death's very depths the luckless one they have dazzled.
Yes, Constance, it is to thee I address this work; at once the example and honor of thy sex, with a spirit of profoundest sensibility combining the most judicious4 and the most enlightened of minds, thou art she to whom I confide5 my book, which will acquaint thee with the sweetness of the tears Virtue6 sore beset7 doth shed and doth cause to flow. Detesting8 the sophistries9 of libertinage10 and of irreligion, in word and deed combating them unwearingly, I fear not that those necessitated11 by the order of personages appearing in these Memoirs12 will put thee in any peril13; the cynicism remarkable14 in certain portraits (they were softened15 as much as ever they could be) is no more apt to frighten thee; for it is only Vice16 that trembles when Vice is found out, and cries scandal immediately it is attacked. To bigots Tartuffe was indebted for his ordeal17; Justine's will be the achievement of libertines19, and little do I dread20 them: they'll not betray my intentions, these thou shalt perceive; thy opinion is sufficient to make my whole glory and after having pleased thee I must either please universally or find consolation21 in a general censure22.
The scheme of this novel (yet, 'tis less a novel than one might suppose) is doubtless new; the victory gained by Virtue over Vice, the rewarding of good, the punishment of evil, such is the usual scheme in every other work of this species: ah! the lesson cannot be too often dinned23 in our ears!
But throughout to present Vice triumphant24 and Virtue a victim of its sacrifices, to exhibit a wretched creature wandering from one misery25 to the next; the toy of villainy; the target of every debauch26; exposed to the most barbarous, the most monstrous27 caprices; driven witless by the most brazen28, the most specious29 sophistries; prey30 to the most cunning seductions, the most irresistible31 subornations for defense32 against so many disappointments, so much bane and pestilence33, to repulse34 such a quantity of corruption35 having nothing but a sensitive soul, a mind naturally formed, and considerable courage: briefly36, to employ the boldest scenes, the most extraordinary situations, the most dreadful maxims37, the most energetic brush strokes, with the sole object of obtaining from all this one of the sublimest39 parables40 ever penned for human edification; now, such were, 'twill be allowed, to seek to reach one's destination by a road not much traveled heretofore.
Have I succeeded, Constance? Will a tear in thy eye determine my triumph? After having read Justine, wilt41 say: "Oh, how these renderings42 of crime make me proud of my love for Virtue! How sublime38 does it appear through tears! How 'tis embellished43 by misfortunes !"
Oh, Constance! may these words but escape thy lips, and my labors44 shall be crowned.
The very masterpiece of philosophy would be to develop the means Providence45 employs to arrive at the ends she designs for man, and from this construction to deduce some rules of conduct acquainting this wretched two-footed individual with the manner wherein he must proceed along life's thorny46 way, forewarned of the strange caprices of that fatality47 they denominate by twenty different titles, and all unavailingly, for it has not yet been scanned nor defined.
If, though full of respect for social conventions and never overstepping the bounds they draw round us, if, nonetheless, it should come to pass that we meet with nothing but brambles and briars, while the wicked tread upon flowers, will it not be reckoned - save by those in whom a fund of incoercible virtues48 renders deaf to these remarks-, will it not be decided49 that it is preferable to abandon oneself to the tide rather than to resist it? Will it not be felt that Virtue, however beautiful, becomes the worst of all attitudes when it is found too feeble to contend with Vice, and that, in an entirely50 corrupted51 age, the safest course is to follow along after the others? Somewhat better informed, if one wishes, and abusing the knowledge they have acquired, will they not say, as did the angel Jesrad in `Zadig', that there is no evil whereof some good is not born? and will they not declare, that this being the case, they can give themselves over to evil since, indeed, it is but one of the fashions of producing good? Will they not add, that it makes no difference to the general plan whether such-and-such a one is by preference good or bad, that if misery persecutes52 virtue and prosperity accompanies crime, those things being as one in Nature's view, far better to join company with the wicked who flourish, than to be counted amongst the virtuous53 who founder54? Hence, it is important to anticipate those dangerous sophistries of a false philosophy; it is essential to show that through examples of afflicted55 virtue presented to a depraved spirit in which, however, there remain a few good principles, it is essential, I say,- to show that spirit quite as surely restored to righteousness by these means as by portraying56 this virtuous career ornate with the most glittering honors and the most flattering rewards. Doubtless it is cruel to have to describe, on the one hand, a host of ills overwhelming a sweet-tempered and sensitive woman who, as best she is able, respects virtue, and, on the other, the affluence57 of prosperity of those who crush and mortify58 this same woman. But were there nevertheless some good engendered59 of the demonstration60, would one have to repent61 of making it? Ought one be sorry for having established a fact whence there resulted, for the wise man who reads to some purpose, so useful a lesson of submission62 to providential decrees and the fateful warning that it is often to recall us to our duties that Heaven strikes down beside us the person who seems to us best to have fulfilled his own ?
Such are the sentiments which are going to direct our labors, and it is in consideration of these intentions that we ask the reader's indulgence for the erroneous doctrines63 which are to be placed in the mouths of our characters, and for the sometimes rather painful situations which, out of love for truth, we have been obliged to dress before his eyes.
Madame la Comtesse de Lorsange was one of those priestesses of Venus whose fortune is the product of a pretty face and much misconduct, and whose titles, pompous64 though they are, are not to be found but in the archives of Cythera, forged by the impertinence that seeks, and sustained by the fool's credulity that bestows65, them; brunette, a fine figure, eyes of a singular expression, that modish66 unbelief which, contributing one further spice to the passions, causes those women in whom it is suspected to be sought after that much more diligently67; a trifle wicked, unfurnished with any principle, allowing evil to exist in nothing, lacking however that amount of depravation in the heart to have extinguished its sensibility; haughty68, libertine18; such was Madame de Lorsange.
Nevertheless, this woman had received the best education; daughter of a very rich Parisian banker, she had been brought up, together with a sister named Justine, by three years younger than she, in one of the capital's most celebrated69 abbeys where, until the ages of twelve and fifteen years, the one and the other of the two sisters had been denied no counsels, no masters, no books, and no polite talents.
At this period crucial to the virtue of the two maidens70, they were in one day made bereft71 of everything: a frightful72 bankruptcy73 precipitated74 their father into circumstances so cruel that he perished of grief. One month later, his wife followed him into the grave. Two distant and heartless relatives deliberated what should be done with the young orphans75; a hundred crowns apiece was their share of a legacy76 mostly swallowed up by creditors77. No one caring to be burdened with them, the convent's door was opened, their dowry was put into their hands, and they were left at liberty to become what they wished.
Madame de Lorsange, at the time called Juliette, whose mind and character were to all intents and purposes as completely formed then as at thirty, the age she had attained78 at the opening of the tale we are about to relate, seemed nothing but overjoyed to be put at large; she gave not a moment's thought to the cruel events which had broken her chains. As for Justine, aged79 as we have remarked, twelve, hers was of a pensive80 and melancholy81 character, which made her far more keenly appreciate all the horrors of her situation. Full of tenderness, endowed with a surprising sensibility instead of with her sister's art and finesse82, she was ruled by an ingenuousness83, a candor84 that were to cause her to tumble into not a few pitfalls85. To so many qualities this girl joined a sweet countenance86, absolutely unlike that with which Nature had embellished Juliette; for all the artifice87, wiles88, coquetry one noticed in the features of the one, there were proportionate amounts of modesty89, decency90, and timidity to be admired in the other; a virginal air, large blue eyes very soulful and appealing, a dazzling fair skin, a supple91 and resilient body, a touching92 voice, teeth of ivory and the loveliest blond hair, there you have a sketch93 of this charming creature whose naive94 graces and delicate traits are beyond our power to describe.
They were given twenty-four hours to leave the convent; into their hands, together with their five score crowns, was thrown the responsibility to provide for themselves as they saw fit. Delighted to be her own mistress, Juliette spent a minute, perhaps two, wiping away Justine's tears, then, observing it was in vain, she fell to scolding instead of comforting her; she rebuked95 Justine for her sensitiveness; she told her, with a philosophic96 acuity97 far beyond her years, that in this world one must not be afflicted save by what affects one personally; that it was possible to find in oneself physical sensations of a sufficiently98 voluptuous99 piquancy100 to extinguish all the moral affections whose shock could be painful; that it was all the more essential so to proceed, since true wisdom consists infinitely101 more in doubling the sum of one's pleasures than in increasing the sum of one's pains; that, in a word, there was nothing one ought not do in order to deaden in oneself that perfidious102 sensibility from which none but others profit while to us it brings naught103 but troubles. But it is difficult to harden a gentle good heart, it resists the arguments of a toughened bad mind, and its solemn satisfactions console it for the loss of the bel-esprit's false splendors104.
收听单词发音 |
1
traitorous
|
|
| adj. 叛国的, 不忠的, 背信弃义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
embellish
|
|
| v.装饰，布置；给…添加细节，润饰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
hurl
|
|
| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
judicious
|
|
| adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
confide
|
|
| v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
beset
|
|
| v.镶嵌；困扰，包围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
detesting
|
|
| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
sophistries
|
|
| n.诡辩术( sophistry的名词复数 )；（一次）诡辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
libertinage
|
|
| n.放荡，自由观点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
necessitated
|
|
| 使…成为必要，需要( necessitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
memoirs
|
|
| n.回忆录；回忆录传( mem,自oir的名词复数) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
peril
|
|
| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
softened
|
|
| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
vice
|
|
| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
ordeal
|
|
| n.苦难经历，（尤指对品格、耐力的）严峻考验 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
libertine
|
|
| n.淫荡者；adj.放荡的，自由思想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
libertines
|
|
| n.放荡不羁的人，淫荡的人( libertine的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
censure
|
|
| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
dinned
|
|
| vt.喧闹（din的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
triumphant
|
|
| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
debauch
|
|
| v.使堕落，放纵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
monstrous
|
|
| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
brazen
|
|
| adj.厚脸皮的，无耻的，坚硬的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
specious
|
|
| adj.似是而非的；adv.似是而非地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
prey
|
|
| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
irresistible
|
|
| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
defense
|
|
| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
pestilence
|
|
| n.瘟疫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
repulse
|
|
| n.击退，拒绝；vt.逐退，击退，拒绝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
corruption
|
|
| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
briefly
|
|
| adv.简单地，简短地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
maxims
|
|
| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
sublimest
|
|
| 伟大的( sublime的最高级 )； 令人赞叹的； 极端的； 不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
parables
|
|
| n.（圣经中的）寓言故事( parable的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
wilt
|
|
| v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎；(指人)疲倦，衰弱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
renderings
|
|
| n.（戏剧或乐曲的）演奏( rendering的名词复数 )；扮演；表演；翻译作品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
embellished
|
|
| v.美化( embellish的过去式和过去分词 )；装饰；修饰；润色 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
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： |
|
|
|
|
45
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
thorny
|
|
| adj.多刺的，棘手的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
fatality
|
|
| n.不幸，灾祸，天命 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
virtues
|
|
| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
decided
|
|
| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
corrupted
|
|
| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
persecutes
|
|
| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的第三人称单数 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
53
virtuous
|
|
| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
Founder
|
|
| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
afflicted
|
|
| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
portraying
|
|
| v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
affluence
|
|
| n.充裕，富足 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
mortify
|
|
| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
engendered
|
|
| v.产生（某形势或状况），造成，引起( engender的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
demonstration
|
|
| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
repent
|
|
| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
submission
|
|
| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
doctrines
|
|
| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
pompous
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
bestows
|
|
| 赠给，授予( bestow的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
modish
|
|
| adj.流行的，时髦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
diligently
|
|
| ad.industriously;carefully | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
haughty
|
|
| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
maidens
|
|
| 处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
bereft
|
|
| adj.被剥夺的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
bankruptcy
|
|
| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
precipitated
|
|
| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
orphans
|
|
| 孤儿( orphan的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
legacy
|
|
| n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
creditors
|
|
| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
attained
|
|
| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
pensive
|
|
| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
finesse
|
|
| n.精密技巧，灵巧，手腕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
ingenuousness
|
|
| n.率直；正直；老实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
candor
|
|
| n.坦白，率真 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
pitfalls
|
|
| （捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
countenance
|
|
| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
artifice
|
|
| n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
wiles
|
|
| n.（旨在欺骗或吸引人的）诡计，花招；欺骗，欺诈( wile的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
modesty
|
|
| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
decency
|
|
| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
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： |
|
|
|
|
92
touching
|
|
| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
sketch
|
|
| n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
naive
|
|
| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
rebuked
|
|
| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
philosophic
|
|
| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
acuity
|
|
| n.敏锐，（疾病的）剧烈 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
voluptuous
|
|
| adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
piquancy
|
|
| n.辛辣，辣味，痛快 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
perfidious
|
|
| adj.不忠的，背信弃义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
naught
|
|
| n.无，零 [=nought] | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
splendors
|
|
| n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 )；壮丽；光辉；显赫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |