From this day natural philosophy, and particularly chemistry, in the most comprehensive sense of the term, became nearly my sole occupation. I read with ardour those works, so full of genius and discrimination, which modern inquirers have written on these subjects. I attended the lectures and cultivated the acquaintance of the men of science of the university, and I found even in M. Krempe a great deal of sound sense and real information, combined, it is true, with a repulsive1 physiognomy and manners, but not on that account the less valuable. In M. Waldman I found a true friend. His gentleness was never tinged2 by dogmatism, and his instructions were given with an air of frankness and good nature that banished3 every idea of pedantry4. In a thousand ways he smoothed for me the path of knowledge and made the most abstruse5 inquiries6 clear and facile to my apprehension7. My application was at first fluctuating and uncertain; it gained strength as I proceeded and soon became so ardent8 and eager that the stars often disappeared in the light of morning whilst I was yet engaged in my laboratory.
As I applied9 so closely, it may be easily conceived that my progress was rapid. My ardour was indeed the astonishment10 of the students, and my proficiency11 that of the masters. Professor Krempe often asked me, with a sly smile, how Cornelius Agrippa went on, whilst M. Waldman expressed the most heartfelt exultation12 in my progress. Two years passed in this manner, during which I paid no visit to Geneva, but was engaged, heart and soul, in the pursuit of some discoveries which I hoped to make. None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticements of science. In other studies you go as far as others have gone before you, and there is nothing more to know; but in a scientific pursuit there is continual food for discovery and wonder. A mind of moderate capacity which closely pursues one study must infallibly arrive at great proficiency in that study; and I, who continually sought the attainment13 of one object of pursuit and was solely14 wrapped up in this, improved so rapidly that at the end of two years I made some discoveries in the improvement of some chemical instruments, which procured15 me great esteem16 and admiration17 at the university. When I had arrived at this point and had become as well acquainted with the theory and practice of natural philosophy as depended on the lessons of any of the professors at Ingolstadt, my residence there being no longer conducive18 to my improvements, I thought of returning to my friends and my native town, when an incident happened that protracted19 my stay.
One of the phenomena20 which had peculiarly attracted my attention was the structure of the human frame, and, indeed, any animal endued21 with life. Whence, I often asked myself, did the principle of life proceed? It was a bold question, and one which has ever been considered as a mystery; yet with how many things are we upon the brink22 of becoming acquainted, if cowardice23 or carelessness did not restrain our inquiries. I revolved24 these circumstances in my mind and determined25 thenceforth to apply myself more particularly to those branches of natural philosophy which relate to physiology26. Unless I had been animated27 by an almost supernatural enthusiasm, my application to this study would have been irksome and almost intolerable. To examine the causes of life, we must first have recourse to death. I became acquainted with the science of anatomy29, but this was not sufficient; I must also observe the natural decay and corruption30 of the human body. In my education my father had taken the greatest precautions that my mind should be impressed with no supernatural horrors. I do not ever remember to have trembled at a tale of superstition31 or to have feared the apparition32 of a spirit. Darkness had no effect upon my fancy, and a churchyard was to me merely the receptacle of bodies deprived of life, which, from being the seat of beauty and strength, had become food for the worm. Now I was led to examine the cause and progress of this decay and forced to spend days and nights in vaults33 and charnel-houses. My attention was fixed34 upon every object the most insupportable to the delicacy35 of the human feelings. I saw how the fine form of man was degraded and wasted; I beheld36 the corruption of death succeed to the blooming cheek of life; I saw how the worm inherited the wonders of the eye and brain. I paused, examining and analysing all the minutiae37 of causation, as exemplified in the change from life to death, and death to life, until from the midst of this darkness a sudden light broke in upon me — a light so brilliant and wondrous38, yet so simple, that while I became dizzy with the immensity of the prospect39 which it illustrated40, I was surprised that among so many men of genius who had directed their inquiries towards the same science, that I alone should be reserved to discover so astonishing a secret.
Remember, I am not recording41 the vision of a madman. The sun does not more certainly shine in the heavens than that which I now affirm is true. Some miracle might have produced it, yet the stages of the discovery were distinct and probable. After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue42, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay43, more, I became myself capable of bestowing44 animation46 upon lifeless matter.
The astonishment which I had at first experienced on this discovery soon gave place to delight and rapture47. After so much time spent in painful labour, to arrive at once at the summit of my desires was the most gratifying consummation of my toils49. But this discovery was so great and overwhelming that all the steps by which I had been progressively led to it were obliterated50, and I beheld only the result. What had been the study and desire of the wisest men since the creation of the world was now within my grasp. Not that, like a magic scene, it all opened upon me at once: the information I had obtained was of a nature rather to direct my endeavours so soon as I should point them towards the object of my search than to exhibit that object already accomplished51. I was like the Arabian who had been buried with the dead and found a passage to life, aided only by one glimmering52 and seemingly ineffectual light.
I see by your eagerness and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be; listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject. I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery53. Learn from me, if not by my precepts54, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires55 to become greater than his nature will allow.
When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it. Although I possessed56 the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it, with all its intricacies of fibres, muscles, and veins57, still remained a work of inconceivable difficulty and labour. I doubted at first whether I should attempt the creation of a being like myself, or one of simpler organization; but my imagination was too much exalted58 by my first success to permit me to doubt of my ability to give life to an animal as complete and wonderful as man. The materials at present within my command hardly appeared adequate to so arduous59 an undertaking60, but I doubted not that I should ultimately succeed. I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly61 baffled, and at last my work be imperfect, yet when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success. Nor could I consider the magnitude and complexity62 of my plan as any argument of its impracticability. It was with these feelings that I began the creation of a human being. As the minuteness of the parts formed a great hindrance63 to my speed, I resolved, contrary to my first intention, to make the being of a gigantic stature64, that is to say, about eight feet in height, and proportionably large. After having formed this determination and having spent some months in successfully collecting and arranging my materials, I began.
No one can conceive the variety of feelings which bore me onwards, like a hurricane, in the first enthusiasm of success. Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent65 of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude66 of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. Pursuing these reflections, I thought that if I could bestow45 animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently67 devoted68 the body to corruption.
These thoughts supported my spirits, while I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour. My cheek had grown pale with study, and my person had become emaciated69 with confinement70. Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet still I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realize. One secret which I alone possessed was the hope to which I had dedicated71 myself; and the moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places. Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil48 as I dabbled72 among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured the living animal to animate28 the lifeless clay? My limbs now tremble, and my eyes swim with the remembrance; but then a resistless and almost frantic73 impulse urged me forward; I seemed to have lost all soul or sensation but for this one pursuit. It was indeed but a passing trance, that only made me feel with renewed acuteness so soon as, the unnatural74 stimulus75 ceasing to operate, I had returned to my old habits. I collected bones from charnel — houses and disturbed, with profane76 fingers, the tremendous secrets of the human frame. In a solitary77 chamber78, or rather cell, at the top of the house, and separated from all the other apartments by a gallery and staircase, I kept my workshop of filthy79 creation; my eyeballs were starting from their sockets80 in attending to the details of my employment. The dissecting81 room and the slaughter82 — house furnished many of my materials; and often did my human nature turn with loathing83 from my occupation, whilst, still urged on by an eagerness which perpetually increased, I brought my work near to a conclusion.
The summer months passed while I was thus engaged, heart and soul, in one pursuit. It was a most beautiful season; never did the fields bestow a more plentiful84 harvest or the vines yield a more luxuriant vintage, but my eyes were insensible to the charms of nature. And the same feelings which made me neglect the scenes around me caused me also to forget those friends who were so many miles absent, and whom I had not seen for so long a time. I knew my silence disquieted85 them, and I well remembered the words of my father: “I know that while you are pleased with yourself you will think of us with affection, and we shall hear regularly from you. You must pardon me if I regard any interruption in your correspondence as a proof that your other duties are equally neglected.”
I knew well therefore what would be my father’s feelings, but I could not tear my thoughts from my employment, loathsome86 in itself, but which had taken an irresistible87 hold of my imagination. I wished, as it were, to procrastinate88 all that related to my feelings of affection until the great object, which swallowed up every habit of my nature, should be completed.
I then thought that my father would be unjust if he ascribed my neglect to vice89 or faultiness on my part, but I am now convinced that he was justified90 in conceiving that I should not be altogether free from blame. A human being in perfection ought always to preserve a calm and peaceful mind and never to allow passion or a transitory desire to disturb his tranquillity91. I do not think that the pursuit of knowledge is an exception to this rule. If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy92 can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind. If this rule were always observed; if no man allowed any pursuit whatsoever93 to interfere94 with the tranquillity of his domestic affections, Greece had not been enslaved, Caesar would have spared his country, America would have been discovered more gradually, and the empires of Mexico and Peru had not been destroyed.
But I forget that I am moralizing in the most interesting part of my tale, and your looks remind me to proceed. My father made no reproach in his letters and only took notice of my science by inquiring into my occupations more particularly than before. Winter, spring, and summer passed away during my labours; but I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leaves — sights which before always yielded me supreme95 delight — so deeply was I engrossed96 in my occupation. The leaves of that year had withered97 before my work drew near to a close, and now every day showed me more plainly how well I had succeeded. But my enthusiasm was checked by my anxiety, and I appeared rather like one doomed98 by slavery to toil in the mines, or any other unwholesome trade than an artist occupied by his favourite employment. Every night I was oppressed by a slow fever, and I became nervous to a most painful degree; the fall of a leaf startled me, and I shunned99 my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime. Sometimes I grew alarmed at the wreck100 I perceived that I had become; the energy of my purpose alone sustained me: my labours would soon end, and I believed that exercise and amusement would then drive away incipient101 disease; and I promised myself both of these when my creation should be complete.
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repulsive
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| adj.排斥的，使人反感的 | |
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tinged
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| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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banished
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| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pedantry
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| n.迂腐，卖弄学问 | |
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abstruse
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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proficiency
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| n.精通，熟练，精练 | |
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exultation
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| n.狂喜，得意 | |
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attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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conducive
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| adj.有益的，有助的 | |
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protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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endued
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| v.授予，赋予（特性、才能等）( endue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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revolved
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| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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physiology
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| n.生理学，生理机能 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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anatomy
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| n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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apparition
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| n.幽灵，神奇的现象 | |
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vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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delicacy
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| n.精致，细微，微妙，精良；美味，佳肴 | |
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beheld
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| 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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minutiae
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| n.微小的细节，细枝末节；（常复数）细节，小事( minutia的名词复数 ) | |
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wondrous
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| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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recording
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| n.录音，记录 | |
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fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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bestow
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| v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费 | |
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animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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toils
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| 网 | |
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obliterated
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| v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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glimmering
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| n.微光，隐约的一瞥adj.薄弱地发光的v.发闪光，发微光( glimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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aspires
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| v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 ) | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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complexity
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| n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物 | |
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hindrance
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| n.妨碍，障碍 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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torrent
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| n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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emaciated
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| adj.衰弱的，消瘦的 | |
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confinement
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| n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限 | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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dabbled
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| v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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stimulus
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| n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物 | |
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profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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filthy
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| adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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81
dissecting
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| v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的现在分词 )；仔细分析或研究 | |
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82
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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83
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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84
plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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85
disquieted
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| v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
loathsome
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| adj.讨厌的，令人厌恶的 | |
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87
irresistible
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| adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的 | |
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88
procrastinate
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| v.耽搁，拖延 | |
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89
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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90
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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91
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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92
alloy
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| n.合金，(金属的)成色 | |
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93
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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94
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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95
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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96
engrossed
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| adj.全神贯注的 | |
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97
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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98
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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99
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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101
incipient
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| adj.起初的，发端的，初期的 | |
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