皮漏斗之谜（7）（在线收听）

“I have more than once received important information through my dreams,” said my companion in the didactic manner which he loved to affect. “I make it a rule now when I am in doubt upon any material point to place the article in question beside me as I sleep, and to hope for some enlightenment. The process does not appear to me to be very obscure, though it has not yet received the blessing of orthodox science. According to my theory, any object which has been intimately associated with any supreme paroxysm of human emotion, whether it be joy or pain, will retain a certain atmosphere or association which it is capable of communicating to a sensitive mind. By a sensitive mind I do not mean an abnormal one, but such a trained and educated mind as you or I possess.”

“You mean, for example, that if I slept beside that old sword upon the wall, I might dream of some bloody incident in which that very sword took part?”

“An excellent example, for, as a matter of fact, that sword was used in that fashion by me, and I saw in my sleep the death of its owner, who perished in a brisk skirmish, which I have been unable to identify, but which occurred at the time of the wars of the Frondists. If you think of it, some of our popular observances show that the fact has already been recognized by our ancestors, although we, in our wisdom, have classed it among superstitions.”

“For example?”

“我通过睡梦不止一次地获得重要信息了，"我的朋友摆出说教的架势，他就喜欢这样。“现在，我已经形成规律，每当对某个物品发生疑问，就在睡觉时把它放在旁边，希望获得某种启示。我觉得整个过程并不模糊，不过传统科学对此不屑一顾。在我看来，一件物品如果与人的激情密切相关，不论是快乐还是痛苦，就会保留一定的气氛，敏感的心灵能够与之交流。我说的敏感不是指反常的过敏，而是像你我这样受过教育和训练的那种。”

“你的意思是，假如我伴着墙上那把古剑睡觉，就会梦到那把剑曾经参与过的血腥战斗吗？”

“说的好，因为实际上我自己就这样做过，在睡梦中我看见了剑的主人死于一场激烈的战斗，具体是哪场战斗还不得而知，但一定发生在佛朗迪战争时期。你可能知道，一些习俗表明，我们的祖先早就这样做过，"“举个例子好吗？”