Book ii Young Faustus x

The youth was drowned in the deepest sea — an atom bombarded, ignorant of all defence in a tumultuous world. The shell of custom, the easy thoughtless life which had sucked pleasure from the world about, these four years past, crumbled¹ like caked mud. He was nothing, nobody — there was no heart or bravery left in him; he was conscious of unfathomable ignorance — the beginning, as Socrates suggested, of wisdom — he was lost.

He had wanted to cut a figure in the world — he had simply never imagined the number of people that were in it. And like most people who hug loneliness to them like a lover, the need of occasional companionship, for ever tender and for ever true, which might be summoned or dismissed at will, cut through him like a sword.

There was, of course, among the members of the play-writing class an energetic and calculated sociability². The supposed advantages of discussion with one another, the interplay of wit, and so on, above all what was called “the exchange of ideas,” but what most often was merely the exchange of other people’s ideas — all these were mentioned often; they were held in the highest esteem³ as one of the chief benefits to be derived⁴ from the course.

Manifestly, one could write anywhere. But where else could one write with around one the constant stimulus⁵ of other people who also wrote? Where could one learn one’s faults so well as before a critical and serious congress of artists? They were content with it — they got what they wanted. But the lack of warmth, the absence of inner radial heat which, not being fundamental in the structure of their lives, had never been wanted, filled him with horror and impotent fury.

The critical sense had stirred in him hardly at all, the idea of questioning authority and position had not occurred to him.

He was facing one of the oldest — what, for the creative mind, must be one of the most painful — problems of the spirit — the search for a standard of taste. He had, at seventeen, as a sophomore⁶, triumphantly⁷ denied God, but he was unable now to deny Robert Browning. It had never occurred to him that there was a single authoritatively⁸ beautiful thing in the world that might not be agreed on, by a community of all the enlightened spirits of the universe, as beautiful. EVERYONE, of course, KNEW that King Lear was one of the greatest plays that had ever been written. Only, he was beginning to find everyone didn’t.

And now for the first time he began to worry about being “modern.” He had the great fear young people have that they will not be a part of the most advanced literary and artistic⁹ movements of the time. Several of the young men he knew had contributed stories, poems, and criticisms to little reviews, published by and for small groups of literary adepts¹⁰. They disposed of most of the established figures with a few well-chosen words of contempt, and they replaced these figures with obscure names of their own who, they assured him, were the important people of the future.

For the first time, he heard the word “Mid–Victorian” applied¹¹ as a term of opprobrium¹². What its implications were he had no idea. Stevenson, too, to him hardly more than a writer of books for boys, books that he had read as a child with interest and delight, was a symbol of some vague but monstrously¹³ pernicious influence.

But he discovered at once that to voice any of these questionings was to brand oneself in the esteem of the group; intuitively he saw that their jargon¹⁴ formed a pattern by which they might be placed and recognized; that, to young men most of all, to be placed in a previous discarded pattern was unendurable disgrace. It represented to them the mark of intellectual development, just as in a sophomore’s philosophy the belief that God is an old man with a long beard brings ridicule¹⁵ and odium upon the believer but the belief that God is an ocean without limit, or an all-pervasive and inclusive substance, or some other equally na?ve and extraordinary idea, is regarded as a certain sign of bold enlightenment. Thus it often happens, when one thinks he has extended the limits of his life, broken the bonds, and liberated¹⁶ himself in the wider ether, he has done no more than to exchange a new superstition¹⁷ for an old one, to forsake¹⁸ a beautiful myth for an ugly one.

The young men in Professor Hatcher’s class were sorry for many things and many people.

“Barrie?” began Mr. Scoville, an elegant and wealthy young dawdler¹⁹ from Philadelphia, who, by his own confession²⁰, had spent most of his life in France, “Barrie?” he continued regretfully, in answer to a question. For a moment, he drew deeply on his cigarette, then raised sad, languid eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said gently, with a slight regretful movement of his head —“I can’t read him. I’ve tried it — but it simply can’t be done.” They laughed, greatly pleased.

“But it is a pity, you know, a GREAT pity,” Francis Starwick remarked languidly, using effectively his trick of giving a tired emphasis to certain words which conveyed a kind of sad finality, a weary earnestness to what he said. He turned to go.

“But — but — but — how — how — how very interesting! Why IS it, Frank?” Hugh Dodd demanded with his earnest stammering²¹ eagerness. He was profoundly respectful of Starwick’s critical ability.

“Why is what?” said Starwick in his curiously²² mannered voice, his air of languid weariness.

“Why is it a great pity about Barrie?” knitting his bushy brows together, and scowling²³ with an air of intense concentration over his words as he spoke²⁴. “Because,” said the appraiser²⁵ of Values, as he prepared to depart, arranging with feminine luxuriousness²⁶ the voluptuous²⁷ folds of his blue silk scarf, “the man really had something one time. He really did. Something strange and haunting — the genius of the Celt.” Swinging his cane²⁸ slowly, acutely and painfully conscious that he was being watched, with the agonizing²⁹ stiffness that was at the bottom of his character, he strolled off across the Yard, stark³⁰ and lovely with the harsh white snow and wintry branches of bleak³¹ winter.

“You know — you know — you know — that’s very interesting,” said Dodd, intent upon his words. “I’d — I’d — I’d never thought of it in JUST that way.”

“Barrie,” drawled Wood, the maker³² of epigrams, “is a stick of taffy, floating upon a sea of molasses.”

There was laughter.

He was for ever making these epigrams; his face had a somewhat saturnine³³ cast, his lips twisted ironically, his eyes shot splintered promises of satiric³⁴ wisdom. He looked like a very caustically³⁵ humorous person; but unhappily he had no humour. But they thought he had. No one with a face like that could be less than keen.

So he had something to say for every occasion. He had discovered that the manner counted for wit. If the talk was of Shaw’s deficiencies as a dramatist, he might say:

“But, after all, if one is going in for all that sort of thing, why not have lantern slides and a course of lectures?”

Thus he was known, not merely as a subtle-souled and elusive³⁶ psychologist but also as a biting wit.

“Galsworthy wrote something that looked like a play once,” someone remarked. “There were parts of Justice that weren’t bad.”

“Yes. Yes,” said Dodd, peering intently at his language. “Justice — there were some interesting things in that. It’s — it’s — it’s rather a PITY about him, isn’t it?” And as he said these words he frowned earnestly and intently. There was genuine pity in his voice, for the man’s spirit had great charity and sweetness in it.

As they dispersed³⁷, someone remarked that Shaw might have made a dramatist if he had ever known anything about writing a play.

“But he DATES so — how he DATES!” Scoville remarked.

“Those earlier plays —”

“Yes, I agree”— thus Wood again. “Almost Mid–Victorian. Shaw:— a prophet with his face turned backwards³⁸.” Then they went away in small groups.

1 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

2 sociability   

n.好交际，社交性，善于交际

参考例句：

• A fire of withered pine boughs added sociability to the gathering. 枯松枝生起的篝火给这次聚合增添了随和、友善的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• A certain sociability degree is a specific character of most plants. 特定的群集度是多数植物特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

3 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

4 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

6 sophomore   

n.大学二年级生；adj.第二年的

参考例句：

• He is in his sophomore year.他在读二年级。
• I'm a college sophomore majoring in English.我是一名英语专业的大二学生。

7 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

8 authoritatively   

命令式地，有权威地，可信地

参考例句：

• "If somebody'll come here and sit with him," he snapped authoritatively. “来个人到这儿陪他坐着。”他用发号施令的口吻说。
• To decide or settle(a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively. 判定结论性、权威性地决定或解决（纠纷等）

9 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

10 adepts   

n.专家，能手( adept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• And, of course, all the dark side adepts will choose that faction. 开发商没有提供有关强盗阵营的特色的内容，但我估计应该是猎枪(shotgun)吧。 来自互联网
• The adepts in Washington mean to give rather than to take. 华盛顿的老手意味着给予而不是索取。 来自互联网

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 opprobrium   

n.耻辱，责难

参考例句：

• The opprobrium and enmity he incurred were caused by his outspoken brashness.他招致的轻蔑和敌意是由于他出言过于粗率而造成的。
• That drunkard was the opprobrium of our community.那个酒鬼是我们社区里可耻的人物。

13 monstrously   

参考例句：

• There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。
• You are monstrously audacious, how dare you misappropriate public funds? 你真是狗胆包天，公家的钱也敢挪用？

14 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

15 ridicule   

v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄

参考例句：

• You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
• Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

16 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

17 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

18 forsake   

vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃

参考例句：

• She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
• You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。

19 dawdler   

n.游手好闲的人，懒人

参考例句：

20 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

21 stammering   

v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He betrayed nervousness by stammering. 他说话结结巴巴说明他胆子小。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Why,\" he said, actually stammering, \"how do you do?\" “哎呀，\"他说，真的有些结结巴巴，\"你好啊？” 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

22 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

23 scowling   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• There she was, grey-suited, sweet-faced, demure, but scowling. 她就在那里，穿着灰色的衣服，漂亮的脸上显得严肃而忧郁。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Scowling, Chueh-hui bit his lips. 他马上把眉毛竖起来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

24 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

25 appraiser   

n.评价者，鉴定者，估价官

参考例句：

• The certification is invalid without the signature of appraiser, checker and approver. 鉴定书无主检、审核、批准签字无效。 来自互联网
• The "quasi-balance" appraiser is the people and the historical development. “准平衡”的评判者是人民大众和历史发展。 来自互联网

26 luxuriousness   

参考例句：

27 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

28 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

29 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

30 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

31 bleak   

adj.(天气)阴冷的；凄凉的；暗淡的

参考例句：

• They showed me into a bleak waiting room.他们引我来到一间阴冷的会客室。
• The company's prospects look pretty bleak.这家公司的前景异常暗淡。

32 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

33 saturnine   

adj.忧郁的，沉默寡言的，阴沉的，感染铅毒的

参考例句：

• The saturnine faces of the judges.法官们那阴沉的脸色。
• He had a rather forbidding,saturnine manner.他的举止相当乖戾阴郁。

34 satiric   

adj.讽刺的，挖苦的

参考例句：

• Looking at her satiric parent she only gave a little laugh.她望着她那挖苦人的父亲，只讪讪地笑了一下。
• His satiric poem spared neither the politicians nor the merchants.政客们和商人们都未能免于遭受他的诗篇的讽刺。

35 caustically   

adv.刻薄地；挖苦地；尖刻地；讥刺地

参考例句：

• Detective Sun laughed caustically. 孙侦探冷笑了一下。 来自互联网
• He addressed her caustically. 他用挖苦的语气对她说。 来自互联网

36 elusive   

adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的

参考例句：

• Try to catch the elusive charm of the original in translation.翻译时设法把握住原文中难以捉摸的风韵。
• Interpol have searched all the corners of the earth for the elusive hijackers.国际刑警组织已在世界各地搜查在逃的飞机劫持者。

37 dispersed   

adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的

参考例句：

• The clouds dispersed themselves. 云散了。
• After school the children dispersed to their homes. 放学后，孩子们四散回家了。

38 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。