Book 10 Chapter 2 Turn Vagabond

On re-entering the cloister¹, the archdeacon found at the door of his cell his brother Jehan du Moulin, who was waiting for him, and who had beguiled² the tedium³ of waiting by drawing on the wall with a bit of charcoal⁴, a profile of his elder brother, enriched with a monstrous⁵ nose.

Dom Claude hardly looked at his brother; his thoughts were elsewhere. That merry scamp's face whose beaming had so often restored serenity⁶ to the priest's sombre physiognomy, was now powerless to melt the gloom which grew more dense⁷ every day over that corrupted⁸, mephitic, and stagnant⁹ soul.

"Brother," said Jehan timidly, "I am come to see you."

The archdeacon did not even raise his eyes.

"What then?"

"Brother," resumed the hypocrite, "you are so good to me, and you give me such wise counsels that I always return to you."

"What next?"

"Alas¹⁰! brother, you were perfectly¹¹ right when you said to me,--"Jehan! Jehan! ~cessat doctorum doctrina, discipulorum disciplina~. Jehan, be wise, Jehan, be learned, Jehan, pass not the night outside of the college without lawful¹³ occasion and due leave of the master. Cudgel not the Picards: ~noli, Joannes, verberare Picardos~. Rot not like an unlettered ass¹², ~quasi asinus illitteratus~, on the straw seats of the school. Jehan, allow yourself to be punished at the discretion¹⁴ of the master. Jehan go every evening to chapel¹⁵, and sing there an anthem¹⁶ with verse and orison to Madame the glorious Virgin¹⁷ Mary.--Alas! what excellent advice was that!"

"And then?"

"Brother, you behold¹⁸ a culprit, a criminal, a wretch¹⁹, a libertine²⁰, a man of enormities! My dear brother, Jehan hath made of your counsels straw and dung to trample²¹ under foot. I have been well chastised²² for it, and God is extraordinarily²³ just. As long as I had money, I feasted, I lead a mad and joyous²⁴ life. Oh! how ugly and crabbed²⁵ behind is debauch²⁶ which is so charming in front! Now I have no longer a blank; I have sold my napery, my shirt and my towels; no more merry life! The beautiful candle is extinguished and I have henceforth, only a wretched tallow dip which smokes in my nose. The wenches jeer²⁷ at me. I drink water.--I am overwhelmed with remorse²⁸ and with creditors²⁹.

"The rest?" said the archdeacon.

"Alas! my very dear brother, I should like to settle down to a better life. I come to you full of contrition³⁰, I am penitent³¹. I make my confession³². I beat my breast violently. You are quite right in wishing that I should some day become a licentiate and sub-monitor in the college of Torchi. At the present moment I feel a magnificent vocation³³ for that profession. But I have no more ink and I must buy some; I have no more paper, I have no more books, and I must buy some. For this purpose, I am greatly in need of a little money, and I come to you, brother, with my heart full of contrition."

"Is that all?"

"Yes," said the scholar. "A little money."

"I have none."

Then the scholar said, with an air which was both grave and resolute³⁴: "Well, brother, I am sorry to be obliged to tell you that very fine offers and propositions are being made to me in another quarter. You will not give me any money? No. In that case I shall become a professional vagabond."

As he uttered these monstrous words, he assumed the mien³⁵ of Ajax, expecting to see the lightnings descend³⁶ upon his head.

The archdeacon said coldly to him,-

"Become a vagabond."

Jehan made him a deep bow, and descended³⁷ the cloister stairs, whistling.

At the moment when he was passing through the courtyard of the cloister, beneath his brother's window, he heard that window open, raised his eyes and beheld³⁸ the archdeacon's severe head emerge.

"Go to the devil!" said Dom Claude; "here is the last money which you will get from me?"

At the same time, the priest flung Jehan a purse, which gave the scholar a big bump on the forehead, and with which Jehan retreated, both vexed³⁹ and content, like a dog who had been stoned with marrow⁴⁰ bones.

 

副主教回到了修道院，发现他的弟弟磨坊的若望正在他的小屋门前等候他，因为等得不耐烦了，就用一块木炭在墙上画了一幅他哥哥的侧面像，鼻子画得挺大。

堂·克洛德几乎没看他的弟弟，他在想别的事情。那个无赖脸上快活的神色往常曾经多次使得神甫阴沉的面容变得明朗起来，此刻却不能消除这个腐烂发臭、毫无生气的灵魂日益聚集的浓雾。

“哥哥，”若望怯怯地说，“我来看望你。”

副主教连眼睛都不朝他抬一下，说：“还有呢？”

“哥哥，”那口是心非的家伙答道，“你对我这么好，给我这么多的好劝告，使我老要跑来找你。”

“然后呢？”

“哎，我的哥哥，你说得对呀，你常常告诉我：‘若望，若望，学者的学说和学生的纪律都后继无人和松懈。若望，要聪明，若望，要用功！没有正当理由或是没得到老师许可，不要在学校外面过夜。不要去打那些庇卡底人，不要象目不识丁的驴子一般在学校的麦秸上腐化堕落。要接受老师的责罚。若望，要每天晚上到礼拜堂去向光荣的圣母唱赞美诗，还要静默和祷告。’这是些多么高明的劝告呀。”

“还有呢？”

“哥哥，你瞧，我是一个该打该罚的人，是一个可恶的人，放荡的人，是一个堕落的人。我亲爱的哥哥呀，若望把你那些善意的劝告象粪草一般踩在脚下，我受到严厉的惩罚啦，好上帝是非常公平的。我有点钱的时候，享乐，狂欢，过得挺快活。酒色表面上多么迷人，实际上是多么丑恶！现在我一个钱都没有了，我卖掉了我的帽子，我的衬衫，我的擦手毛巾，再没有快活日子啦！漂亮的蜡烛熄灭了，只剩下可怜的一点蜡烛油，怪难闻的。姑娘们嘲笑我。我只喝清水过活，我被悔恨和债主们苦恼着。”

“此外呢？”

“哎！最亲爱的哥哥，我很想给自己安排一种好一些的生活，我悔恨交加，回到你跟前来了。我是来忏悔的，我承认。我用拳头狠狠地捶我的胸膛。

你有很多理由希望我有一天成为俄当学院的学士和副学监，此刻我更觉得我有做那些事的才能。可是我再没有墨水了，我得再买去；我再没有钢笔了，我得再买去；我再没有纸张了，我得再买去；我再没有书本了，我得再买去。

为了这一切我需要一点钱，于是我满怀着悔恨到你跟前来了。”

“这就是你的全部要求吗？”

“是呀，要点钱。”

“我没有钱。”

于是那学生用又认真又坚决的态度说道：“那好，我的哥哥，我非常抱歉，不得不告诉你有人在别的方面向我提了些很好的建议和计划。你不愿意给我钱吗？不愿意吗？那么我就当乞丐去。”

讲出这奇怪的话时，若望装出阿雅克斯等待着雷霆降到头上的神情。

副主教冷冰冰地对他说道：“当你的乞丐去吧！”

若望朝他深深地一鞠躬，打着口哨下楼去了。

他经过修道院的前庭，走到他哥哥那小屋窗户底下的时候，他听见窗子开了，抬头看见副主教庄严的脑袋探出在窗口上。“滚到魔鬼那里去吧！”

堂·克洛德说道，“这是我最后一次给你钱了。”

同时神甫扔了一个钱包给若望，把他头上打出了一块疙瘩。若望象一条狗，得到了人家抛给的几块骨头，他又恼怒又高兴地拿着钱包走了。

1 cloister   

n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝

参考例句：

• They went out into the stil,shadowy cloister garden.他们出了房间，走到那个寂静阴沉的修道院的园子里去。
• The ancient cloister was a structure of red brick picked out with white stone.古老的修道院是一座白石衬托着的红砖建筑物。

2 beguiled   

v.欺骗( beguile的过去式和过去分词 )；使陶醉；使高兴；消磨（时间等）

参考例句：

• She beguiled them into believing her version of events. 她哄骗他们相信了她叙述的事情。
• He beguiled me into signing this contract. 他诱骗我签订了这项合同。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 tedium   

n.单调；烦闷

参考例句：

• We played games to relieve the tedium of the journey.我们玩游戏，来解除旅行的沉闷。
• In myself I could observe the following sources of tedium. 从我自己身上，我所观察到的烦闷的根源有下列一些。

4 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

5 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！

6 serenity   

n.宁静，沉着，晴朗

参考例句：

• Her face,though sad,still evoked a feeling of serenity.她的脸色虽然悲伤，但仍使人感觉安详。
• She escaped to the comparative serenity of the kitchen.她逃到相对安静的厨房里。

7 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

8 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：

• The body corrupted quite quickly. 尸体很快腐烂了。
• The text was corrupted by careless copyists. 原文因抄写员粗心而有讹误。

9 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

10 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

11 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

12 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

13 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

14 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。

15 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

16 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

17 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

18 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

19 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

20 libertine   

n.淫荡者；adj.放荡的，自由思想的

参考例句：

• The transition from libertine to prig was so complete.一个酒徒色鬼竟然摇身一变就成了道学先生。
• I believe John is not a libertine any more.我相信约翰不再是个浪子了。

21 trample   

vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯

参考例句：

• Don't trample on the grass. 勿踏草地。
• Don't trample on the flowers when you play in the garden. 在花园里玩耍时,不要踩坏花。

22 chastised   

v.严惩（某人）（尤指责打）( chastise的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He chastised the team for their lack of commitment. 他指责队伍未竭尽全力。
• The Securities Commission chastised the firm but imposed no fine. 证券委员会严厉批评了那家公司，不过没有处以罚款。 来自辞典例句

23 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

24 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

25 crabbed   

adj.脾气坏的；易怒的；（指字迹）难辨认的；（字迹等）难辨认的v.捕蟹( crab的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His mature composi tions are generally considered the more cerebral and crabbed. 他成熟的作品一般被认为是触动理智的和难于理解的。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He met a crabbed, cantankerous director. 他碰上了一位坏脾气、爱争吵的主管。 来自辞典例句

26 debauch   

v.使堕落，放纵

参考例句：

• He debauched many innocent girls.他诱使许多清白的女子堕落了。
• A scoffer，a debauched person,and,in brief，a man of Belial.一个玩世不恭的人，一个生活放荡的家伙，总而言之，是个恶棍。

27 jeer   

vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评

参考例句：

• Do not jeer at the mistakes or misfortunes of others.不要嘲笑别人的错误或不幸。
• The children liked to jeer at the awkward students.孩子们喜欢嘲笑笨拙的学生。

28 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

29 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 contrition   

n.悔罪，痛悔

参考例句：

• The next day he'd be full of contrition,weeping and begging forgiveness.第二天，他就会懊悔不已，哭着乞求原谅。
• She forgave him because his contrition was real.她原谅了他是由于他的懊悔是真心的。

31 penitent   

adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者

参考例句：

• They all appeared very penitent,and begged hard for their lives.他们一个个表示悔罪，苦苦地哀求饶命。
• She is deeply penitent.她深感愧疚。

32 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。

33 vocation   

n.职业，行业

参考例句：

• She struggled for years to find her true vocation.她多年来苦苦寻找真正适合自己的职业。
• She felt it was her vocation to minister to the sick.她觉得照料病人是她的天职。

34 resolute   

adj.坚决的，果敢的

参考例句：

• He was resolute in carrying out his plan.他坚决地实行他的计划。
• The Egyptians offered resolute resistance to the aggressors.埃及人对侵略者作出坚决的反抗。

35 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。

36 descend   

vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降

参考例句：

• I hope the grace of God would descend on me.我期望上帝的恩惠。
• We're not going to descend to such methods.我们不会沦落到使用这种手段。

37 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

38 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

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

39 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

40 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。