This episode burst Maurice's life to pieces. Interpret-ing it by the past, he mistook Dickie for a second Clive, but three years are not lived in a day, and the fires died down as quickly as they had risen, leaving some suspicious ashes behind them. Dickie left on the Monday, and by Friday his image had faded. A client then came into the office, a lively and handsome young Frenchman, who implored¹ Monsieur 'All not to swindle him. While they chaffed, a familiar feeling arose, but this time he smelt² attendant odours from the abyss. "No, people like me must keep our noses to the grindstone, I'm afraid," he replied, in answer to the Frenchman's prayer to lunch with him, and his voice was so British that it produced shouts of laughter and a pantomime.

When the fellow had gone he faced the truth. His feeling for Dickie required a very primitive³ name. He would have senti-mentalized once and called it adoration⁴, but the habit of hon-esty had grown strong. What a stoat he had been! Poor little Dickie! He saw the boy leaping from his embrace, to smash through the window and break his limbs, or yelling like a ma-niac until help came. He saw the police—

"Lust⁵." He said the word out loud.

Lust is negligible when absent. In the calm of his office Maurice expected to subdue⁶ it, now that he had found its name. His mind, ever practical, wasted no time in theological despair,

but advanced to the grindstone. He had been forewarned, and therefore forearmed, and had only to keep away from boys and young men to ensure success. Yes, from other young men. Cer-tain obscurities of the last six months became clear. For exam-ple, a pupil at the Settlement—He wrinkled his nose, as one who needs no further proof. The feeling that can impel⁷ a gentleman towards a person of lower class stands self-condemned.

He did not know what lay ahead. He was entering into a state that would only end with impotence or death. Clive had post-poned it. Clive had influenced him, as always. It had been un-derstood between them that their love, though including the body, should not gratify it, and the understanding had pro-ceeded—no words were used—from Clive. He had been nearest to words on the first evening at Penge, when he refused Mau-rice's kiss, or on the last afternoon there, when they lay amid deep fern. Then had been framed the rule that brought the golden age, and would have sufficed till death. But to Maurice, despite his content, there had been something hypnotic about it. It had expressed Clive, not him, but now that he was alone he cracked

点击收听单词发音  

1 implored
恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句：
She implored him to stay. 她恳求他留下。 She implored him with tears in her eyes to forgive her. 她含泪哀求他原谅她。

2 smelt
v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼
参考例句：
Tin is a comparatively easy metal to smelt.锡是比较容易熔化的金属。 Darby was looking for a way to improve iron when he hit upon the idea of smelting it with coke instead of charcoal.达比一直在寻找改善铁质的方法，他猛然想到可以不用木炭熔炼，而改用焦炭。

3 primitive
adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物
参考例句：
It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。 His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

4 adoration
n.爱慕，崇拜
参考例句：
He gazed at her with pure adoration.他一往情深地注视着她。 The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。

5 lust
n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望
参考例句：
He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。 Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

6 subdue
vt.制服，使顺从，征服；抑制，克制
参考例句：
She tried to subdue her anger.她尽力压制自己的怒火。 He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.他强迫自己克制并战胜恐惧心理。

7 impel
v.推动；激励，迫使
参考例句：
Financial pressures impel the firm to cut back on spending.财政压力迫使公司减少开支。 The progress in science and technical will powerfully impel the education's development.科学和技术的进步将有力地推动教育的发展。

8 hideously
adv.可怕地，非常讨厌地
参考例句：
The witch was hideously ugly. 那个女巫丑得吓人。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Pitt's smile returned, and it was hideously diabolic. 皮特的脸上重新浮现出笑容，但却狰狞可怕。 来自辞典例句

9 illicit
adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的
参考例句：
He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。 Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

10 sluggish
adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的
参考例句：
This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。 Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

11 chaos
n.混乱，无秩序
参考例句：
After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。 The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

12 intercourse
n.性交；交流，交往，交际
参考例句：
The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。 There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

13 thumper
n.击键声检测器；轰鸣器
参考例句：