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屋顶间的哲学家_梭维斯特-第4部分
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icameawaywithoutsayingaword:iwastoomuchaffected。
atlastihavediscoveredwhattruepleasureis。afterbeholdingtheegotismofsensualityandofintellect;ihavefoundthehappyself…sacrificeofgoodness。pierre;m。antoine;andmotherdenishadallkepttheircarnival;butforthefirsttwo;itwasonlyafeastforthesensesorthemind;whileforthethird;itwasafeastfortheheart。
CHAPTER III
whatwemaylearnbylookingoutofwindow
march3d
apoethassaidthatlifeisthedreamofashadow:hewouldbetterhaveparedittoanightoffever!whatalternatefitsofrestlessnessandsleep!whatdisfort!whatsuddenstarts!whatever…returningthirst!
whatachaosofmournfulandconfusedfancies!wecanneithersleepnorwake;weseekinvainforrepose;andwestopshortonthebrinkofaction。twothirdsofhumanexistencearewastedinhesitation;andthelastthirdinrepenting。
whenisayhumanexistence;imeanmyown!wearesomadethateachofusregardshimselfasthemirrorofthemunity:whatpassesinourmindsinfalliblyseemstousahistoryoftheuniverse。everymanislikethedrunkardwhoreportsanearthquake;becausehefeelshimselfstaggering。
andwhyamiuncertainandrestless鈥斺�攊;apoorday…laborerintheworld鈥斺�攚hofillanobscurestationinacornerofit;andwhoseworkitavailsitselfof;withoutheedingtheworkman?iwilltellyou;myunseenfriend;forwhomtheselinesarewritten;myunknownbrother;onwhomthesolitarycallinsorrow;myimaginaryconfidant;towhomallmonologuesareaddressedandwhoisbuttheshadowofourownconscience。
agreateventhashappenedinmylife!acrossroadhassuddenlyopenedinthemiddleofthemonotonouswayalongwhichiwastravellingquietly;andwithoutthinkingofit。tworoadspresentthemselves;andimustchoosebetweenthem。oneisonlythecontinuationofthatihavefollowedtillnow;theotheriswider;andexhibitswondrousprospects。
onthefirstthereisnothingtofear;butalsolittletohope;ontheotheraregreatdangersandgreatfortune。briefly;thequestionis;whetherishallgiveupthehumbleofficeinwhichithoughttodie;foroneofthoseboldspeculationsinwhichchancealoneisbanker!eversinceyesterdayihaveconsultedwithmyself;ihaveparedthetwoandiremainundecided。
whereshallifindlight鈥斺�攚howilladviseme?
sunday;4th鈥斺�攕eethesuningoutfromthethickfogsofwinter!
springannouncesitsapproach;asoftbreezeskimsovertheroofs;andmywallflowerbeginstoblowagain。
wearenearthatsweetseasonoffreshgreen;ofwhichthepoetsofthesixteenthcenturysangwithsomuchfeeling:
nowthegladsomemonthofmay。
allthingsnewlydotharray;fairestlady;letmetoo。
inthylovemyliferenew。
thechirpingofthesparrowscallsme:theyclaimthecrumbsiscattertothemeverymorning。iopenmywindow;andtheprospectofroofsopensoutbeforemeinallitssplendor。
hewhohaslivedonlyonafirstfloorhasnoideaofthepicturesquevarietyofsuchaview。hehasnevercontemplatedthesetile…coloredheightswhichintersecteachother;hehasnotfollowedwithhiseyesthesegutter…valleys;wherethefreshverdureoftheatticgardenswaves;thedeepshadowswhicheveningspreadsovertheslatedslopes;andthesparklingofwindowswhichthesettingsunhaskindledtoablazeoffire。hehasnotstudiedthefloraofthesealpsofcivilization;carpetedbylichensandmosses;heisnotacquaintedwiththemyriadinhabitantsthatpeoplethem;fromthemicroscopicinsecttothedomesticcat鈥斺�攖hatreynardoftheroofswhoisalwaysontheprowl;orinambush;hehasnotwitnessedthethousandaspectsofaclearoracloudysky;northethousandeffectsoflight;thatmaketheseupperregionsatheatrewithever…changingscenes!howmanytimeshavemydaysofleisurepassedawayincontemplatingthiswonderfulsight;indiscoveringitsdarkerorbrighterepisodes;inseeking;inshort;inthisunknownworldfortheimpressionsoftravelthatwealthytouristslookforlower!
nineoclock鈥斺�攂utwhy;then;havenotmywingedneighborspickedupthecrumbsihavescatteredforthembeforemywindow?iseethemflyaway;eback;perchupontheledgesofthewindows;andchirpatthesightofthefeasttheyareusuallysoreadytodevour!itisnotmypresencethatfrightensthem;ihaveaccustomedthemtoeatoutofmyhand。then;whythisfearfulsuspense?invainilookaround:theroofisclear;thewindowsnearareclosed。icrumblethebreadthatremainsfrommybreakfasttoattractthembyanamplerfeast。theirchirpingsincrease;theybenddowntheirheads;theboldestapproachuponthewing;butwithoutdaringtoalight。
e;e;mysparrowsarethevictimsofoneofthefoolishpanicswhichmakethefundsfallatthebourse!itisplainthatbirdsarenotmorereasonablethanmen!
withthisreflectioniwasabouttoshutmywindow;whensuddenlyiperceived;inaspotofsunshineonmyright;theshadowoftwopricked…upears;thenapawadvanced;thentheheadofatabby…catshoweditselfatthecornerofthegutter。thecunningfellowwaslyingthereinwait;hopingthecrumbswouldbringhimsomegame。
andihadaccusedmyguestsofcowardice!iwassosurethatnodangercouldmenacethem!ithoughtihadlookedwelleverywhere!ihadonlyforgottenthecornerbehindme!
inlife;asontheroofs;howmanymisfortunesefromhavingforgottenasinglecorner!
tenoclock鈥斺�攊cannotleavemywindow;therainandthecoldhavekeptitshutsolongthatimustreconnoitrealltheenvironstobeabletotakepossessionofthemagain。myeyessearchinsuccessionallthepointsofthejumbledandconfusedprospect;passingonorstoppingaccordingtowhattheylightupon。
ah!seethewindowsuponwhichtheyformerlylovedtorest;theyarethoseoftwounknownneighbors;whosedifferenthabitstheyhavelongremarked。
oneisapoorwork…woman;whorisesbeforesunrise;andwhoseprofileisshadoweduponherlittlemuslinwindow…curtainfarintotheevening;theotherisayoungsongstress;whosevocalflourishessometimesreachmyatticbysnatches。whentheirwindowsareopen;thatofthework…womandiscoversahumblebutdecentabode;theother;anelegantlyfurnishedroom。butto…dayacrowdoftradespeoplethrongthelatter:theytakedownthesilkhangingsandcarryoffthefurniture;andinowrememberthattheyoungsingerpassedundermywindowthismorningwithherveildown;andwalkingwiththehastystepofonewhosufferssomeinwardtrouble。ah!iguessitall。hermeansareexhaustedinelegantfancies;orhavebeentakenawaybysomeunexpectedmisfortune;andnowshehasfallenfromluxurytoindigence。whilethework…womanmanagesnotonlytokeepherlittleroom;butalsotofurnishitwithdecentfortbyhersteadytoil;thatofthesingerisbeethepropertyofbrokers。theonesparkledforamomentonthewaveofprosperity;theothersailsslowlybutsafelyalongthecoastofahumbleandlaboriousindustry。
alas!istherenotherealessonforusall?isitreallyinhazardousexperiments;attheendofwhichweshallmeetwithwealthorruin;thatthewisemanshouldemployhisyearsofstrengthandfreedom?oughthetoconsiderlifeasaregularemploymentwhichbringsitsdailywages;orasagameinwhichthefutureisdeterminedbyafewthrows?whyseektheriskofextremechances?forwhatendhastentorichesbydangerousroads?isitreallycertainthathappinessistheprizeofbrilliantsuccesses;ratherthanofawiselyacceptedpoverty?ah!ifmenbutknewinwhatasmalldwellingjoycanlive;andhowlittleitcoststofurnishit!
twelveoclock鈥斺�攊havebeenwalkingupanddownmyatticforalongtime;withmyarmsfoldedandmyeyesontheground!mydoubtsincrease;likeshadowsencroachingmoreandmoreonsomebrightspace;myfearsmultiply;andtheuncertaintybeeseverymomentmorepainfultome!
itisnecessaryformetodecideto…day;andbeforetheevening!iholdthediceofmyfuturefateinmyhands;andidarenotthrowthem。
threeoclock鈥斺�攖heskyhasbeecloudy;andacoldwindbeginstoblowfromthewest;allthewindowswhichwereopenedtothesunshineofabeautifuldayareshutagain。onlyontheoppositesideofthestreet;thelodgeronthelaststoryhasnotyetlefthisbalcony。
oneknowshimtobeasoldierbyhisregularwalk;hisgraymoustaches;andtheribbonthatdecorateshisbuttonhole。indeed;onemighthaveguessedasmuchfromthecarehetakesofthelittlegardenwhichistheornamentofhisbalconyinmid…air;fortherearetwothingsespeciallylovedbyalloldsoldiers鈥斺�攆lowersandchildren。theyhavebeensolong;obligedtolookupontheearthasafieldofbattle;andsolongcutofffromthepeacefulpleasuresofaquietlot;thattheyseemtobeginlifeatanagewhenothersendit。thetastesoftheirearlyyears;whichwerearrestedbythesterndutiesofwar;suddenlybreakoutagainwiththeirwhitehairs;andarelikethesavingsofyouthwhichtheyspendagaininoldage。besides;theyhavebeencondemnedtobedestroyersforsolongthatperhapstheyfeelasecretpleasureincreating;andseeinglifespringupagain:thebeautyofweaknesshasagraceandanattractionthemoreforthosewhohavebeentheagentsofunbendingforce;andthewatchingoverthefrailgermsoflifehasallthecharmsofnoveltyfortheseoldworkmenofdeath。
thereforethecoldwindhasnotdrivenmyneighborfromhisbalcony。
heisdigginguptheearthinhisgreenboxes;andcarefullysowingtheseedsofthescarletnasturtium;convolvulus;andsweet…pea。henceforthhewilleeverydaytowatchfortheirfirstsprouting;toprotecttheyoungshootsfromweedsorinsects;toarrangethestringsforthetendrilstoclimbon;andcarefullytoregulatetheirsupplyofwaterandheat!
howmuchlabortobringinthedesiredharvest!forthat;howmanytimesshalliseehimbravecoldorheat;windorsun;ashedoesto…day!butthen;inthehotsummerdays;whentheblindingdustwhirlsincloudsthroughourstreets;whentheeye;dazzledbytheglareofwhitestucco;knowsnotwheretorest;andtheglowingroofsreflecttheirheatuponustoburning;theoldsoldierwillsitinhisarborandperceivenothingbutgreenleavesandflowersaroundhim;andthebreezewillecoolandfreshtohimthroughtheseperfumedshades。hisassiduouscarewillberewardedatlast。
wemustsowtheseeds;andtendthegrowth;ifwewouldenjoytheflower。
fouroclock鈥斺�攖hecloudsthathavebeengatheringinthehorizonforalongtimearebeedarker;itthundersloudly;andtherainpoursdown!
thosewhoarecaughtinitflyineverydirection;somelaughingandsomecrying。
ialwaysfindparticularamusementinthesehelter…skelters;causedbyasuddenstorm。itseemsasifeachone;whenthustakenbysurprise;losesthefactitiouscharacterthattheworldorhabithasgivenhim;andappearsinhistruecolors。
see;forexample;thatbigmanwithdeliberatestep;whosuddenlyforgetshisindifference;madetoorder;andrunslikeaschoolboy!heisathriftycitygentleman;who;withallhisfashionableairs;isafraidtospoilhishat。
thatprettywomanyonder;onthecontrary;whoselooksaresomodest;andwhosedressissoelaborate;slackensherpacewiththeincreasingstorm。sheseemstofindpleasureinbravingit;anddoesnotthinkofhervelvetcloakspottedbythehail!sheisevidentlyalionessinsheepsclothing。
here;ayoungman;whowaspassing;stopstocatchsomeofthehailstonesinhishand;andexaminesthem。byhisquickandbusiness…likewalkjustnow;youwouldhavetakenhimforatax…gathereronhisrounds;whenheisayoungphilosopher;studyingtheeffectsofelectricity。andthoseschoolboyswholeavetheirrankstorunafterthesuddengustsofamarchwhirlwind;thosegirls;justnowsodemure;butwhonowflywithburstsoflaughter;thosenationalguards;whoquitthemartialattitudeoftheir
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