月亮和六便士 第四十三章(5)

 With Strickland the sexual appetite took a very small place. It was unimportant. It was irksome. 性的饥渴在思特里克兰德身上占的地位很小，很不重要，或勿宁说，叫他感到很嫌恶。

His soul aimed elsewhither. 他的灵魂追求的是另外一种东西。

He had violent passions, and on occasion desire seized his body so that he was driven to an orgy of lust¹, 他的感情非常强烈，有时候欲念会把他抓住，逼得他纵情狂欢一阵，

but he hated the instincts that robbed him of his self-possession. 但是对这种剥夺了他宁静自持的本能他是非常厌恶的。

I think, even, he hated the inevitable² partner in his debauchery. 我想他甚至讨厌他在淫逸放纵中那必不可少的伴侣；

When he had regained³ command over himself, he shuddered⁴ at the sight of the woman he had enjoyed. 在他重新控制住自己以后，看到那个他发泄情欲的女人，他甚至会不寒而栗。

His thoughts floated then serenely⁵ in the empyrean, 他的思想这时会平静地飘浮在九天之上，

and he felt towards her the horror that perhaps the painted butterfly, hovering⁶ about the flowers, feels to the filthy⁷ chrysalis from which it has triumphantly⁸ emerged. 他对那个女人感到又嫌恶又可怕，也许那感觉就象一只翩翩飞舞于花丛中的蝴蝶，见到它胜利地蜕身出来的肮脏的蛹壳一样。

I suppose that art is a manifestation⁹ of the sexual instinct. 我认为艺术也是性本能的一种流露。

It is the same emotion which is excited in the human heart by the sight of a lovely woman, the Bay of Naples under the yellow moon, and the Entombment of Titian. 一个漂亮的女人、金黄的月亮照耀下的那不勒斯海湾，或者提香（提香（1490—1576），意大利威尼斯派画家）的名画《墓穴》，在人们心里勾起的是同样的感情。

It is possible that Strickland hated the normal release of sex because it seemed to him brutal¹⁰ by comparison with the satisfaction of artistic¹¹ creation. 很可能思特里克兰德讨厌通过性行为发泄自己的感情（这本来是很正常的），因为他觉得同通过艺术创造取得自我满足相比，这是粗野的。

It seems strange even to myself, when I have described a man who was cruel, selfish, brutal and sensual, to say that he was a great idealist. The fact remains¹². 在我描写这样一个残忍、自私、粗野、肉欲的人时，竟把他写成是个精神境界极高的人，我自己也觉得奇怪。但是我认为这是事实。

He lived more poorly than an artisan. He worked harder. 作为一个艺术家，他的生活比任何其他艺术家都更困苦。他工作得比其他艺术家也更艰苦。

He cared nothing for those things which with most people make life gracious and beautiful. 大多数人认为会把生活装点得更加优雅、美丽的那些东西，思特里克兰德是不屑一顾的。

He was indifferent to money. He cared nothing about fame. 对于名和利他都无动于衷。

You cannot praise him because he resisted the temptation to make any of those compromises with the world which most of us yield to. 我们大多数人受不住各种引诱，总要对世俗人情做一些让步；你却无法赞扬思特里克兰德抵拒得住这些诱惑，

He had no such temptation. It never entered his head that compromise was possible. 因为对他说来，这种诱惑是根本不存在的。他的脑子里从来没有想到要做任何妥协、让步。

He lived in Paris more lonely than an anchorite in the deserts of Thebes. 他住在巴黎，比住在底比斯沙漠里的隐士生活还要孤独。

He asked nothing his fellows except that they should leave him alone. 对于别的人他没有任何要求，只求人家别打扰他。

He was single-hearted in his aim, and to pursue it he was willing to sacrifice not only himself—many can do that—but others. He had a vision. 他一心一意追求自己的目标，为了达到这个目的他不仅甘愿牺牲自己——这一点很多人还是能做到的——，而且就是牺牲别人也在所不惜。他自己有一个幻境。

Strickland was an odious¹³ man, but I still think he was a great one. 思特里克兰德是个惹人嫌的人，但是尽管如此，我还是认为他是一个伟大的人。

1 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。

2 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

3 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

4 shuddered   

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

参考例句：

• He slammed on the brakes and the car shuddered to a halt. 他猛踩刹车，车颤抖着停住了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I shuddered at the sight of the dead body. 我一看见那尸体就战栗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 serenely   

adv.安详地，宁静地，平静地

参考例句：

• The boat sailed serenely on towards the horizon.小船平稳地向着天水交接处驶去。
• It was a serenely beautiful night.那是一个宁静美丽的夜晚。

6 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

7 filthy   

adj.卑劣的；恶劣的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• The whole river has been fouled up with filthy waste from factories.整条河都被工厂的污秽废物污染了。
• You really should throw out that filthy old sofa and get a new one.你真的应该扔掉那张肮脏的旧沙发，然后再去买张新的。

8 triumphantly   

ad.得意洋洋地；得胜地；成功地

参考例句：

• The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
• Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。

9 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

10 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。