“One day I was walking among the shows in Paris, when, attracted by a sign, I entered an establishment to see a bearded woman and a water-dog. The woman was a man in disguise, and the dog was an ordinary dog, covered with a sealskin, and swimming in a bath. It was not in the least interesting, but the Barnum accompanied me to the exit very courteously4, and, in addressing the people who were coming in, made an appeal to my testimony5. ‘Ask the gentleman if it is not worth seeing! Come in, come in! It only costs a franc!’ And in my confusion I did not dare to answer that there was nothing curious to be seen, and it was upon my false shame that the Barnum must have counted.
“It must be the same with the persons who have passed through the abominations of the honeymoon. They do not dare to undeceive their neighbor. And I did the same.
“The felicities of the honeymoon do not exist. On the contrary, it is a period of uneasiness, of shame, of pity, and, above all, of ennui6,— of ferocious7 ennui. It is something like the feeling of a youth when he is beginning to smoke. He desires to vomit8; he drivels, and swallows his drivel, pretending to enjoy this little amusement. The vice9 of marriage” . . .
“What! Vice?” I said. “But you are talking of one of the most natural things.”
“Natural!” said he. “Natural! No, I consider on the contrary that it is against nature, and it is I, a perverted10 man, who have reached this conviction. What would it be, then, if I had not known corruption11? To a young girl, to every unperverted young girl, it is an act extremely unnatural13, just as it is to children. My sister married, when very young, a man twice her own age, and who was utterly14 corrupt12. I remember how astonished we were the night of her wedding, when, pale and covered with tears, she fled from her husband, her whole body trembling, saying that for nothing in the world would she tell what he wanted of her.
“You say natural? It is natural to eat; that is a pleasant, agreeable function, which no one is ashamed to perform from the time of his birth. No, it is not natural. A pure young girl wants one thing,— children. Children, yes, not a lover.” . . .
“But,” said I, with astonishment15, “how would the human race continue?”
“But what is the use of its continuing?” he rejoined, vehemently16.
“What! What is the use? But then we should not exist.”
“And why is it necessary that we should exist?”
“Why, to live, to be sure.”
“And why live? The Schopenhauers, the Hartmanns, and all the Buddhists17, say that the greatest happiness is Nirvana, Non-Life; and they are right in this sense,— that human happiness is coincident with the annihilation of ‘Self.’ Only they do not express themselves well. They say that Humanity should annihilate18 itself to avoid its sufferings, that its object should be to destroy itself. Now the object of Humanity cannot be to avoid sufferings by annihilation, since suffering is the result of activity. The object of activity cannot consist in suppressing its consequences. The object of Man, as of Humanity, is happiness, and, to attain19 it, Humanity has a law which it must carry out. This law consists in the union of beings. This union is thwarted20 by the passions. And that is why, if the passions disappear, the union will be accomplished21. Humanity then will have carried out the law, and will have no further reason to exist.”
“And before Humanity carries out the law?”
“In the meantime it will have the sign of the unfulfilled law, and the existence of physical love. As long as this love shall exist, and because of it, generations will be born, one of which will finally fulfil the law. When at last the law shall be fulfilled, the Human Race will be annihilated22. At least it is impossible for us to conceive of Life in the perfect union of people.”
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1
honeymoon
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| n.蜜月（假期）；vi.度蜜月 | |
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2
disillusion
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| vt.使不再抱幻想，使理想破灭 | |
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3
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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4
courteously
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| adv.有礼貌地，亲切地 | |
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5
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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6
ennui
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| n.怠倦，无聊 | |
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7
ferocious
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| adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的 | |
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8
vomit
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| v.呕吐，作呕；n.呕吐物，吐出物 | |
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9
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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10
perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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11
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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12
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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13
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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14
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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15
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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16
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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17
Buddhists
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| n.佛教徒( Buddhist的名词复数 ) | |
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18
annihilate
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| v.使无效；毁灭；取消 | |
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19
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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20
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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21
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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22
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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