If you are a philosopher you can do this thing: you can go to the top of a high building, look down upon your fellow-men 300 feet below, and despise them as insects. Like the irresponsible black waterbugs on summer ponds, they crawl and circle and hustle1 about idiotically without aim or purpose. They do not even move with the admirable intelligence of ants, for ants always know when they are going home. The ant is of a lowly station, but he will often reach home and get his slippers2 on while you are left at your elevated station.
Man, then, to the housetopped philosopher, appears to be but a creeping, contemptible3 beetle4. Brokers5, poets, millionaires, bootblacks, beauties, hod-carriers and politicians become little black specks7 dodging8 bigger black specks in streets no wider than your thumb.
From this high view the city itself becomes degraded to an unintelligible9 mass of distorted buildings and impossible perspectives; the revered10 ocean is a duck pond; the earth itself a lost golf ball. All the minutiae11 of life are gone. The philosopher gazes into the infinite heavens above him, and allows his soul to expand to the influence of his new view. He feels that he is the heir to Eternity12 and the child of Time. Space, too, should be his by the right of his immortal13 heritage, and he thrills at the thought that some day his kind shall traverse theose mysterious aerial roads between planet and planet. The tiny world beneath his feet upon which this towering structure of steel rests as a speck6 of dust upon a Himalayan mountain - it is but one of a countless14 number of such whirling atoms. What are the ambitions, the achievements, the paltry15 conquests and loves of those restless black insects below compared with the serene16 and awful immensity of the universe that lies above and around their insignificant17 city?
It is guaranteed that the philosopher will have these thoughts. They have been expressly compiled from the philosophies of the world and set down with the proper interrogation point at the end of them to represent the invariable musings of deep thinkers on high places. And when the philosopher takes the elevator down his mind is broader, his heart is at peace, and his conception of the cosmogony of creation is as wide as the buckle18 of Orion's summer belt.
But if your name happened to be Daisy, and you worked in an Eighth Avenue candy store and lived in a little cold hall bedroom, five feet by eight, and earned $6 per week, and ate ten-cent lunches and were nineteen years old, and got up at 6:30 and worked till 9, and never had studied philosophy, maybe things wouldn't look that way to you from the top of a skyscraper19.
Two sighed for the hand of Daisy, the unphilosophical. One was Joe, who kept the smallest store in New York. It was about the size of a tool-box of the D. P. W., and was stuck like a swallow's nest against a corner of a down-town skyscraper. Its stock consisted of fruit, candies, newspapers, song books, cigarettes, and lemonade in season. When stern winter shook his congealed20 locks and Joe had to move himself and the fruit inside, there was exactly room in the store for the proprietor21, his wares22, a stove the size of a vinegar cruet, and one customer.
Joe was not of the nation that keeps us forever in a furore with fugues and fruit. He was a capable American youth who was laying by money, and wanted Daisy to help him spend it. Three times he had asked her.
"I got money saved up, Daisy," was his love song; "and you know how bad I want you. That store of mine ain't very big, but -"
"Oh, ain't it?" would be the antiphony of the unphilosophical one. "Why, I heard Wanamaker's was trying to get you to sublet23 part of your floor space to them for next year."
Daisy passed Joe's corner every morning and evening.
"Hello, Two-by-Four!" was her usual greeting. "Seems to me your store looks emptier. You must have sold a pack of chewing gum."
Ain't much room in here, sure," Joe would answer, with his slow grin, "except for you, Daise. Me and the store are waitin' for you whenever you'll take us. Don't you think you might before long?"
"Store!" - a fine scorn was expressed by Daisy's uptilted nose - "sardine24 box! Waitin' for me, you say? Gee25! you'd have to throw out about a hundred pounds of candy before I could get inside of it, Joe."
"I wouldn't mind an even swap26 like that," said Joe, complimentary27.
Daisy's existence was limited in every way. She had to walk sideways between the counter and the shelves in the candy store. In her own hall bedroom coziness had been carried close to cohesiveness28. The walls were so near to one another that the paper on them made a perfect Babel of noise. She could light the gas with one hand and close the door with the other without taking her eyes off the reflection of her brown pompadour in the mirror. She had Joe's picture in a gilt29 frame on the dresser, and sometimes - but her next thought would always be of Joe's funny little store tacked30 like a soap box to the corner of that great building, and away would go her sentiment in a breeze of laughter.
Daisy's other suitor followed Joe by several months. He came to board in the house where she lived. His name was Dabster, and he was a philosopher. Though young, attainments31 stood out upon him like continental32 labels on a Passaic (N. J.) suit-case. Knowledge he had kidnapped from cyclopedias and handbooks of useful information; but as for wisdom, when she passed he was left sniffling in the road without so much as the number of her motor car. He could and would tell you the proportion of water and muscle-making properties of peas and veal33, the shortest verse in the Bible, the number of pounds of shingle34 nails required to fasten 256 shingles35 laid four inches to the weather, the population of Kankakee, Ill., the theories of Spinoza, the name of Mr. H. McKay Twombly's second hall footman, the length of the Hoosac Tunnel, the best time to set a hen, the salary of the railway post-office messenger between Driftwood and Red Bank Furnace, Pa., and the number of bones in the foreleg of a cat.
The weight of learning was no handicap to Dabster. His statistics were the sprigs of parsley with which he garnished36 the feast of small talk that he would set before you if he conceived that to be your taste. And again he used them as breastworks in foraging37 at the boardinghouse. Firing at you a volley of figures concerning the weight of a lineal foot of bar-iron 5 x 2 3/4 inches, and the average annual rainfall at Fort Snelling, Minn., he would transfix with his fork the best piece of chicken on the dish while you were trying to rally sufficiently38 to ask him weakly why does a hen cross the road.
Thus, brightly armed, and further equipped with a measure of good looks, of a hair-oily, shopping-district-at-three-in-the-afternoon kind, it seems that Joe, of the Lilliputian emporium, had a rival worthy39 of his steel.
But Joe carried no steel. There wouldn't have been room in his store to draw it if he had.
One Saturday afternoon, about four o'clock, Daisy and Mr. Dabster stopped before Joe's booth. Dabster wore a silk hat, and - well, Daisy was a woman, and that hat had no chance to get back in its box until Joe had seen it. A stick of pineapple chewing gum was the ostensible40 object of the call. Joe supplied it through the open side of his store. He did not pale or falter41 at sight of the hat.
"Mr. Dabster's going to take me on top of the building to observe the view," said Daisy, after she had introduced her admirers. "I never was on a skyscraper. I guess it must be awfully42 nice and funny up there."
"H'm!" said Joe.
"The panorama," said Mr. Dabster, "exposed to the gaze from the top of a lofty building is not only sublime43, but instructive. Miss Daisy has a decided44 pleasure in store for her."
"It's windy up there, too, as well as here," said Joe. "Are you dressed warm enough, Daise?"
"Sure thing! I'm all lined," said Daisy, smiling slyly at his clouded brow. "You look just like a mummy in a case, Joe. Ain't you just put in an invoice45 of a pint46 of peanuts or another apple? Your stock looks awful over-stocked."
Daisy giggled47 at her favorite joke; and Joe had to smile with her.
"Your quarters are somewhat limited, Mr. - er - er," remarked Dabster, "in comparison with the size of this building. I understand the area of its side to be about 340 by 100 feet. That would make you occupy a proportionate space as if half of Beloochistan were placed upon a territory as large as the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, with the Province of Ontario and Belgium added."
"Is that so, sport?" said Joe, genially48. "You are Weisenheimer on figures, all right. How many square pounds of baled hay do you think a jackass could eat if he stopped brayin' long enough to keep still a minute and five eighths?"
A few minutes later Daisy and Mr. Dabster stepped from an elevator to the top floor of the skyscraper. Then up a short, steep stairway and out upon the roof. Dabster led her to the parapet so she could look down at the black dots moving in the street below.
"What are they?" she asked, trembling. She had never before been on a height like this before.
And then Dabster must needs play the philosopher on the tower, and conduct her soul forth49 to meet the immensity of space.
"Bipeds," he said, solemnly. "See what they become even at the small elevation50 of 340 feet - mere51 crawling insects going to and fro at random52."
"Oh, they ain't anything of the kind," exclaimed Daisy, suddenly - "they're folks! I saw an automobile53. Oh, gee! are we that high up?"
"Walk over this way," said Dabster.
He showed her the great city lying like an orderly array of toys far below, starred here and there, early as it was, by the first beacon54 lights of the winter afternoon. And then the bay and sea to the south and east vanishing mysteriously into the sky.
"I don't like it," declared Daisy, with troubled blue eyes. "Say we go down."
But the philosopher was not to be denied his opportunity. He would let her behold55 the grandeur56 of his mind, the half-nelson he had on the infinite, and the memory he had for statistics. And then she would nevermore be content to buy chewing gum aat the smallest store in New York. And so he began to prate57 of the smallness of human affairs, and how that even so slight a removal from earth made man and his works look like one tenth part of a dollar thrice computed58. And that one should consider the sidereal59 system and the maxims60 of Epictetus and be comforted.
"You don't carry me with you," said Daisy. "Say, I think it's awful to be up so high that folks look like fleas61. One of them we saw might have been Joe. Why, Jiminy! we might as well be in New Jersey62! Say, I'm afraid up here!"
The philosopher smiled fatuously63.
"The earth," said he, "is itself only as a grain of wheat in space. Look up there."
Daisy gazed upward apprehensively64. The short day was spent and the stars were coming out above.
"Yonder star," said Dabster, "is Venus, the evening star. She is 66,000,000 miles from the sun."
"Fudge!" said Daisy, with a brief flash of spirit, "where do you think I come from - Brooklyn? Susie Price, in our store - her brother sent her a ticket to go to San Francisco - that's only three thousand miles."
The philosopher smiled indulgently.
"Our world," he said, "is 91,000,000 miles from the sun. There are eighteen stars of the first magnitude that are 211,000 times further from us than the sun is. If one of them should be extinguished it would be three years before we would see its light go out. There are six thousand stars of the sixth magnitude. It takes thirty-six years for the light of one of them to reach the earth. With an eighteen-foot telescope we can see 43,000,000 stars, including those of the thirteenth magnitude, whose light takes 2,700 years to reach us. Each of these stars -"
"You're lyin'," cried Daisy, angrily. "You're tryin' to scare me. And you have; I want to go down!"
She stamped her foot.
"Arcturus -" began the philosopher, soothingly65, but he was interrupted by a demonstration66 out of the vastness of the nature that he was endeavoring to portray67 with his memory instead of his heart. For to the heart-expounder of nature the stars were set in the firmament68 expressly to give soft light to lovers wandering happily beneath them; and if you stand tiptoe some September night with your sweetheart on your arm you can almost touch them with your hand. Three years for their light to reach us, indeed!
Out of the west leaped a meteor, lighting69 the roof of the skyscraper almost to midday. Its fiery70 parabola was limned71 against the sky toward the east. It hissed72 as it went, and Daisy screamed.
"Take me down," she cried, vehemently73, "you - you mental arithmetic!"
Dabster got her to the elevator, and inside of it. She was wild-eyed, and she shuddered74 when the express made its debilitating75 drop.
Outside the revolving76 door of the skyscraper the philosopher lost her. She vanished; and he stood, bewildered, without figures or statistics to aid him.
Joe had a lull77 in trade, and by squirming among his stock succeeded in lighting a cigarette and getting one cold foot against the attenuated78 stove.
The door was burst open, and Daisy, laughing, crying, scattering79 fruit and candies, tumbled into his arms.
"Oh, Joe, I've been up on the skyscraper. Ain't it cozy80 and warm and homelike in here! I'm ready for you, Joe, whenever you want me."
收听单词发音 |
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hustle
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| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
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slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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contemptible
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| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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beetle
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| n.甲虫，近视眼的人 | |
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brokers
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| n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排… | |
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speck
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| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
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specks
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| n.眼镜；斑点，微粒，污点( speck的名词复数 ) | |
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dodging
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| n.避开，闪过，音调改变v.闪躲( dodge的现在分词 )；回避 | |
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unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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countless
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| adj.无数的，多得不计其数的 | |
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15
paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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buckle
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| n.扣子，带扣；v.把...扣住，由于压力而弯曲 | |
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skyscraper
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| n.摩天大楼 | |
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congealed
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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proprietor
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| n.所有人；业主；经营者 | |
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wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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sublet
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| v.转租；分租 | |
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sardine
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| n.[C]沙丁鱼 | |
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gee
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| n.马；int.向右！前进！，惊讶时所发声音；v.向右转 | |
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swap
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| n.交换；vt.交换，用...作交易 | |
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complimentary
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| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
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cohesiveness
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| n. 粘合，凝聚性 | |
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gilt
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| adj.镀金的；n.金边证券 | |
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tacked
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| 用平头钉钉( tack的过去式和过去分词 )； 附加，增补； 帆船抢风行驶，用粗线脚缝 | |
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attainments
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| 成就，造诣； 获得( attainment的名词复数 )； 达到； 造诣； 成就 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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veal
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| n.小牛肉 | |
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shingle
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| n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短 | |
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shingles
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| n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板 | |
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garnished
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| v.给（上餐桌的食物）加装饰( garnish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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foraging
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| v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西） | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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ostensible
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| adj.(指理由)表面的，假装的 | |
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falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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invoice
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| vt.开发票；n.发票，装货清单 | |
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pint
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| n.品脱 | |
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giggled
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| v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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50
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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51
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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52
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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automobile
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| n.汽车，机动车 | |
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beacon
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| n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔 | |
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55
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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56
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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prate
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| v.瞎扯，胡说 | |
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computed
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| adj.[医]计算的，使用计算机的v.计算，估算( compute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sidereal
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| adj.恒星的 | |
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maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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61
fleas
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| n.跳蚤( flea的名词复数 )；爱财如命；没好气地（拒绝某人的要求） | |
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jersey
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| n.运动衫 | |
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fatuously
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| adv.愚昧地，昏庸地，蠢地 | |
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apprehensively
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| adv.担心地 | |
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65
soothingly
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| adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地 | |
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demonstration
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| n.表明，示范，论证，示威 | |
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portray
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| v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等) | |
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firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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69
lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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70
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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limned
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| v.画( limn的过去式和过去分词 )；勾画；描写；描述 | |
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hissed
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| 发嘶嘶声( hiss的过去式和过去分词 )； 发嘘声表示反对 | |
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73
vehemently
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| adv. 热烈地 | |
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shuddered
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| v.战栗( shudder的过去式和过去分词 )；发抖；（机器、车辆等）突然震动；颤动 | |
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debilitating
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| a.使衰弱的 | |
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76
revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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lull
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| v.使安静，使入睡，缓和，哄骗；n.暂停，间歇 | |
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78
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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79
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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cozy
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| adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的 | |
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