11

　　And so the years passed．

　　But time did not touch the face of Dorian Gray．That wonderful beauty—the beauty that Basil Hallward had painted—never left him．He enjoyed the life of a rich and fashionable young man． He studied art and music， and filled his house with beautiful things from every corner of the world．But his search for pleasure did not stop there． He became hungry for evil pleasures．He became more and more in love with the beauty of his face，more and more interested in the ugliness of his soul．

　　After a while strange stories were heard about him—stories of a secret， more dangerous life． But when people looked at that young and good-looking face， they could not believe the evil stories．And they still came to the famous dinners at his house，where the food，and the music，and the conversation were the best in London．

　　But behind the locked door at the top of the house， the picture of Dorian Gray grew older every year．The terrible face showed the dark secrets of his life．The heavy mouth， the yellow skin，the cruel eyes—these told the real story．Again and again，Dorian Gray went secretly to the room and looked first at the ugly and terrible face in the picture，then at the beautiful young face that laughed back at him from the mirror．

　　After his twenty-fifth year， the stories about him became worse．He was sometimes away from home for several days；he was seen fighting with foreign sailors in bars；he was friendly with thieves．And in the houses of fashionable people，men sometimes turned away when he entered a room．Women's faces sometimes went white when they heard his name．

　　But many people only laughed at these stories．Dorian Gray was still a very rich and fashionable man，and the dinners at his house were excellent．People agreed with Lord Henry，who once said，in his amusing way，that a good dinner was more important than a good life．

　　As the months and years passed， Dorian Gray grew more and more afraid of the picture． He both hated it and loved it，and he became more and more afraid that someone would discover his secret．For weeks he tried not to go near it，but he could not stay away from it for long．Sometimes， when he was staying in friends'houses， he suddenly left and hurried back to London． He wanted to be sure that the room was still locked and the picture was still safe． At one time he used to spend winters with Lord Henry in a little house in Algiers， but now he no longer travelled outside England．

　　His fear grew stronger every year，and as time passed，the face in the picture grew slowly more terrible．

　　时间窃贼

　　“我将永远年轻、强壮，永远漂亮。”

　　11

　　于是几年过去了。

　　然而时间并未损及多里安·格雷的脸。那极好的美貌——巴兹尔·霍尔沃德描绘过的美貌——从没离开过他。他享受着一个富有、时髦的年轻人的生活。他研究艺术和音乐，在房间里摆满了来自世界各个角落的漂亮东西。但是他对享乐的追求并没停止在这儿，他如饥似渴地追求邪恶的享乐。他越来越迷恋自己美貌的面孔，越来越对自己丑陋的灵魂感兴趣。

　　曾经一度能听到的关于他的古怪的故事——一个神秘、更加危险的生活的故事。但当人们看着那张年轻好看的脸时，他们就不能相信那些邪恶的故事。于是他们仍来这家参加闻名的晚宴。在这儿，食物、音乐和谈话都是伦敦最好的。

　　可是在房子顶部锁着的门后，多里安·格雷的画像在逐年变老。可怕的面孔揭示了他生活里阴暗的秘密。严厉的嘴，发黄的皮肤，残酷的眼睛——这些都讲述了真实的故事。一次又一次，多里安·格雷偷偷地跑到这个房间，先看画像中丑陋可怕的脸，然后再看镜子里从后面对他微笑的漂亮年轻的面孔。

　　在他25岁以后，他的故事变得更糟。他有时离家好几天；有人看见他在酒吧里同外国水手打架；他和小偷是朋友。在时髦人物的房子里，当他进来时男人们有时会转过脸去。女人们在听见他的名字时脸有时会变白。

　　但是许多人只是嘲笑这些传说。多里安·格雷仍是一个非常富有和时髦的男人，他家的晚宴仍很棒。人们赞同亨利勋爵一次有趣的讲话，即重要的是丰盛的晚宴而不是正人君子的生活。

　　月复一月，年复一年，多里安·格雷越来越惧怕这幅画像。他既恨它又爱它，于是他更害怕有人会发现他的秘密。有几个星期他尽量不走近它，但离开它时间长了也不行。有时候，他正呆在朋友家，他会突然离开，迅速赶回伦敦。他想证实房间的门还锁着，那幅画像还安全。有一段时间他总是和亨利勋爵在阿尔及尔的一所小房子里过冬，但是现在他再不到英格兰以外的地方旅行了。