Chapter 2

When so much has been written about Charles Strickland, it may seem unnecessary that I should write more. A painter's monument is his work. It is true I knew him more intimately than most: I met him first before ever he became a painter, and I saw him not infrequently during the difficult years he spent in Paris; but I do not suppose I should ever have set down my recollections if the hazards of the war had not taken me to Tahiti. There, as is notorious, he spent the last years of his life; and there I came across persons who were familiar with him. I find myself in a position to throw light on just that part of his tragic¹ career which has remained most obscure. If they who believe in Strickland's greatness are right, the personal narratives² of such as knew him in the flesh can hardly be superfluous³. What would we not give for the reminiscences of someone who had been as intimately acquainted with El Greco as I was with Strickland?

But I seek refuge in no such excuses. I forget who it was that recommended men for their soul's good to do each day two things they disliked: it was a wise man, and it is a precept⁴ that I have followed scrupulously⁵; for every day I have got up and I have gone to bed. But there is in my nature a strain of asceticism⁶, and I have subjected my flesh each week to a more severe mortification⁷. I have never failed to read the Literary Supplement of The Times. It is a salutary discipline to consider the vast number of books that are written, the fair hopes with which their authors see them published, and the fate which awaits them. What chance is there that any book will make its way among that multitude? And the successful books are but the successes of a season. Heaven knows what pains the author has been at, what bitter experiences he has endured and what heartache suffered, to give some chance reader a few hours' relaxation⁸ or to while away the tedium⁹ of a journey. And if I may judge from the reviews, many of these books are well and carefully written; much thought has gone to their composition; to some even has been given the anxious labour of a lifetime. The moral I draw is that the writer should seek his reward in the pleasure of his work and in release from the burden of his thought; and, indifferent to aught else, care nothing for praise or censure¹⁰, failure or success.

Now the war has come, bringing with it a new attitude. Youth has turned to gods we of an earlier day knew not, and it is possible to see already the direction in which those who come after us will move. The younger generation, conscious of strength and tumultuous, have done with knocking at the door; they have burst in and seated themselves in our seats. The air is noisy with their shouts. Of their elders some, by imitating the antics of youth, strive to persuade themselves that their day is not yet over; they shout with the lustiest, but the war cry sounds hollow in their mouth; they are like poor wantons attempting with pencil, paint and powder, with shrill¹¹ gaiety, to recover the illusion of their spring. The wiser go their way with a decent grace. In their chastened smile is an indulgent mockery. They remember that they too trod down a sated generation, with just such clamor and with just such scorn, and they foresee that these brave torch-bearers will presently yield their place also. There is no last word. The new evangel was old when Nineveh reared her greatness to the sky. These gallant¹² words which seem so novel to those that speak them were said in accents scarcely changed a hundred times before. The pendulum¹³ swings backwards¹⁴ and forwards. The circle is ever travelled anew.

Sometimes a man survives a considerable time from an era in which he had his place into one which is strange to him, and then the curious are offered one of the most singular spectacles in the human comedy. Who now, for example, thinks of George Crabbe? He was a famous poet in his day, and the world recognised his genius with a unanimity¹⁵ which the greater complexity¹⁶ of modern life has rendered infrequent. He had learnt his craft at the school of Alexander Pope, and he wrote moral stories in rhymed couplets. Then came the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, and the poets sang new songs. Mr. Crabbe continued to write moral stories in rhymed couplets. I think he must have read the verse of these young men who were making so great a stir in the world, and I fancy he found it poor stuff. Of course, much of it was. But the odes of Keats and of Wordsworth, a poem or two by Coleridge, a few more by Shelley, discovered vast realms of the spirit that none had explored before. Mr. Crabbe was as dead as mutton, but Mr. Crabbe continued to write moral stories in rhymed couplets. I have read desultorily¹⁷ the writings of the younger generation. It may be that among them a more fervid¹⁸ Keats, a more ethereal Shelley, has already published numbers the world will willingly remember. I cannot tell. I admire their polish -- their youth is already so accomplished¹⁹ that it seems absurd to speak of promise -- I marvel²⁰ at the felicity of their style; but with all their copiousness²¹ (their vocabulary suggests that they fingered Roget's Thesaurus in their cradles) they say nothing to me: to my mind they know too much and feel too obviously; I cannot stomach the heartiness²² with which they slap me on the back or the emotion with which they hurl²³ themselves on my bosom²⁴; their passion seems to me a little anaemic and their dreams a trifle dull. I do not like them. I am on the shelf. I will continue to write moral stories in rhymed couplets. But I should be thrice a fool if I did it for aught but my own entertainment.

 

关于查理斯·思特里克兰德的文章既已写了这么多，看来我似乎没有必要再多费笔墨了。为画家树碑立传归根结底还是他的作品。当然喏，我比大多数人对他更为熟悉；我第一次和他会面远在他改行学画以前。在他落魄巴黎的一段坎坷困顿的日子里，我经常和他见面。但如果不是战争的动乱使我有机会踏上塔希提岛的话，我是不会把我的一些回忆写在纸上的。众所周知，他正是在塔希提度过生命中最后几年；我在那里遇见不少熟悉他的人。我发现对他悲剧的一生中人们最不清晰的一段日子，我恰好可以投掷一道亮光。如果那些相信思特里克兰德伟大的人看法正确的话，与他有过亲身接触的人对他的追述便很难说是多余的了。如果有人同埃尔·格列柯象我同思特里克兰德那样熟稔，为了读到他写的格列柯回忆录，有什么代价我们不肯付呢？

但是我并不想以这些事为自己辩解。我不记得是谁曾经建议过，为了使灵魂宁静，一个人每天要做两件他不喜欢的事。说这句话的人是个聪明人，我也一直在一丝不苟地按照这条格言行事：因为我每天早上都起床，每天也都上床睡觉。但是我这个人生来还有苦行主义的性格，我还一直叫我的肉体每个星期经受一次更大的磨难。《泰晤士报》的文学增刊我一期也没有漏掉。想到有那么多书被辛勤地写出来，作者看著书籍出版，抱着那么殷切的希望，等待着这些书又是什么样的命运，这真是一种有益身心的修养。一本书要能从这汪洋大海中挣扎出来希望是多么渺茫啊！即使获得成功，那成功又是多么瞬息即逝的事啊！天晓得，作者为他一本书花费了多少心血，经受多少磨折，尝尽了多少辛酸，只为了给偶然读到这本书的人几小时的休憩，帮助他驱除一下旅途中的疲劳。如果我能根据书评下断语的话，很多书是作者呕心沥血的结晶，作者为它绞尽了脑汁，有的甚至是孜孜终生的成果。我从这件事取得的教训是，作者应该从写作的乐趣中，从郁积在他心头的思想的发泄中取得写书的酬报；对于其他一切都不应该介意，作品成功或失败，受到称誉或是诋毁，他都应该淡然处之。

战争来了，战争也带来了新的生活态度。年轻人求助于我们老一代人过去不了解的一些神祇，已经看得出继我们之后而来的人要向哪个方向活动了。年轻的一代意识到自己的力量，吵吵嚷嚷，早已经不再叩击门扉了。他们已经闯进房子里来，坐到我们的宝座上，空中早已充满了他们喧闹的喊叫声。老一代的人有的也模仿年轻人的滑稽动作，努力叫自己相信他们的日子还没有过去；这些人同那些最活跃的年轻人比赛喉咙，但是他们发出的呐喊听起来却那么空洞，他们有如一些可怜的浪荡女人，虽然年华已过，却仍然希望靠涂脂抹粉，靠轻狂浮荡来恢复青春的幻影。聪明一点儿的则摆出一副端庄文雅的姿态。他们的莞尔微笑中流露着一种宽容的讥诮。他们记起了自己当初也曾经把一代高踞宝座的人践踏在脚下，也正是这样大喊大叫、傲慢不逊；他们预见到这些高举火把的勇士们有朝一日同样也要让位于他人。谁说的话也不能算最后拍板。当尼尼微城昌盛一时、名震遐迩的时候，新福音书已经老旧了。说这些豪言壮语的人可能还觉得他们在说一些前人未曾道过的真理，但是实际上连他们说话的腔调前人也已经用过一百次，而且丝毫也没有变化。钟摆摆过来又荡过去，这一旅程永远反复循环。

有时候一个人早已活过了他享有一定地位的时期，进入了一个他感到陌生的新世纪，这时候人们便会看到人间喜剧中一幅最奇特的景象。譬如说，今天还有谁想得到乔治·克莱布①呢？在他生活的那一时代，他是享有盛名的，当时所有的人一致承认他是个伟大的天才，这在今天更趋复杂的现代生活中是很罕见的事了。他写诗的技巧是从亚历山大·蒲柏②派那里学习来的，他用押韵的对句写了很多说教的故事。后来爆发了法国大革命和拿破仑战争，诗人们唱起新的诗歌来。克莱布先生继续写他的押韵对句的道德诗，我想他一定读过那些年轻人写的风靡一时的新诗，而且我还想象他一定认为这些诗不堪卒读。当然，大多数新诗确实是这样子的。但是象济慈同华兹华斯写的颂歌，柯勒律治的一两首诗，雪莱的更多的几首，确实发现了前人未曾探索过的广阔精神领域。克莱布先生已经陈腐过时了，但是克莱布先生还是孜孜不倦地继续写他的押韵对句诗。我也断断续续读了一些我们这一时代的年轻人的诗作，他们当中可能有一位更炽情的济慈或者更一尘不染的雪莱，而且已经发表了世界将长久记忆的诗章，这我说不定。我赞赏他们的优美词句——尽管他们还年轻，却已才华横溢，因此如果仅仅说他们很有希望，就显得荒唐可笑了——，我惊叹他们精巧的文体；但是虽然他们用词丰富（从他们的语汇看，倒仿佛这些人躺在摇篮里就已经翻读过罗杰特的《词汇宝库》了），却没有告诉我们什么新鲜东西。在我看来，他们知道的太多，感觉过于肤浅；对于他们拍我肩膀的那股亲热劲儿同闯进我怀抱时的那种感情，我实在受不了。我觉得他们的热情似乎没有血色，他们的梦想也有些平淡。我不喜欢他们。我已经是过时的老古董了。我仍然要写押韵对句的道德故事。但是如果我对自己写作除了自娱以外还抱有其它目的，我就是个双料的傻瓜了。

①乔治·克莱布（1754—1832），英国诗人。

②亚历山大·蒲柏（1688—1744），英国诗人。

1 tragic   

adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的

参考例句：

• The effect of the pollution on the beaches is absolutely tragic.污染海滩后果可悲。
• Charles was a man doomed to tragic issues.查理是个注定不得善终的人。

2 narratives   

记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分

参考例句：

• Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning. 结婚一向是许多小说的终点，然而也是一个伟大的开始。
• This is one of the narratives that children are fond of. 这是孩子们喜欢的故事之一。

3 superfluous   

adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的

参考例句：

• She fined away superfluous matter in the design. 她删去了这图案中多余的东西。
• That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it.我这样写的时候觉得这个请求似乎是多此一举。

4 precept   

n.戒律；格言

参考例句：

• It occurs to me that example is always more efficacious than precept.我想到身教重于言教。
• The son had well profited by the precept and example of the father.老太爷的言传身教早已使他儿子获益无穷。

5 scrupulously   

adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地

参考例句：

• She toed scrupulously into the room. 她小心翼翼地踮着脚走进房间。 来自辞典例句
• To others he would be scrupulously fair. 对待别人，他力求公正。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

6 asceticism   

n.禁欲主义

参考例句：

• I am not speaking here about asceticism or abstinence.我说的并不是苦行主义或禁欲主义。
• Chaucer affirmed man's rights to pursue earthly happiness and epposed asceticism.乔叟强调人权，尤其是追求今生今世幸福快乐的权力，反对神权与禁欲主义。

7 mortification   

n.耻辱，屈辱

参考例句：

• To my mortification, my manuscript was rejected. 使我感到失面子的是：我的稿件被退了回来。
• The chairman tried to disguise his mortification. 主席试图掩饰自己的窘迫。

8 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

9 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。

10 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

11 shrill   

adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫

参考例句：

• Whistles began to shrill outside the barn.哨声开始在谷仓外面尖叫。
• The shrill ringing of a bell broke up the card game on the cutter.刺耳的铃声打散了小汽艇的牌局。

12 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

13 pendulum   

n.摆，钟摆

参考例句：

• The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
• He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。

14 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。

15 unanimity   

n.全体一致，一致同意

参考例句：

• These discussions have led to a remarkable unanimity.这些讨论导致引人注目的一致意见。
• There is no unanimity of opinion as to the best one.没有一个公认的最好意见。

16 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

17 desultorily   

adv. 杂乱无章地, 散漫地

参考例句：

• The man continued talking. She answered him desultorily. 那个男人继续说着。她随口应答。 来自柯林斯例句

18 fervid   

adj.热情的；炽热的

参考例句：

• He is a fervid orator.他是个慷慨激昂的演说者。
• He was a ready scholar as you are,but more fervid and impatient.他是一个聪明的学者，跟你一样，不过更加热情而缺乏耐心。

19 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

20 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

21 copiousness   

n.丰裕，旺盛

参考例句：

22 heartiness   

诚实，热心

参考例句：

• However, he realized the air of empty-headed heartiness might also mask a shrewd mind. 但他知道，盲目的热情可能使伶俐的头脑发昏。
• There was in him the heartiness and intolerant joviality of the prosperous farmer. 在他身上有种生意昌隆的农场主常常表现出的春风得意欢天喜地的劲头，叫人消受不了。

23 hurl   

vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂

参考例句：

• The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
• To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。

24 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。