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But he knew that before very long he would have to tell his
wife of the changes that hung over their lives; it would be
shabby to let the avalanche fall without giving the longest
possible warning; and before they parted that night he took her
hands in his and said: "There is much I have to tell you, dear.
Things change, the whole world changes. The church must not live
in a dream....
"No," she whispered. "I hope you will sleep to-night," and held
up her grave sweet face to be kissed.
(6)
But he did not sleep perfectly that night.
He did not sleep indeed very badly, but he lay for some time
thinking, thinking not onward but as if he pressed his mind
against very strong barriers that had closed again. His vision of
God which had filled the heavens, had become now gem-like, a
minute, hard, clear-cut conviction in his mind that he had to
disentangle himself from the enormous complications of symbolism
and statement and organization and misunderstanding in the church
and achieve again a simple and living worship of a simple and
living God. Likeman had puzzled and silenced him, only upon
reflection to convince him that amidst such intricacies of
explanation the spirit cannot live. Creeds may be symbolical, but
symbols must not prevaricate. A church that can symbolize
everything and anything means nothing.
It followed from this that he ought to leave the church. But
there came the other side of this perplexing situation. His
feelings as he lay in his bed were exactly like those one has in
a dream when one wishes to run or leap or shout and one can
achieve no movement, no sound. He could not conceive how he could
possibly leave the church.
His wife became as it were the representative of all that held
him helpless. She and he had never kept secret from one another
any plan of action, any motive, that affected the other. It was
clear to him that any movement towards the disavowal of doctrinal
Christianity and the renunciation of his see must be first
discussed with her. He must tell her before he told the world.
And he could not imagine his telling her except as an
incredibly shattering act.
So he left things from day to day, and went about his episcopal
routines. He preached and delivered addresses in such phrases as
he knew people expected, and wondered profoundly why it was that
it should be impossible for him to discuss theological points
with Lady Ella. And one afternoon he went for a walk with Eleanor
along the banks of the Prin, and found himself, in response to
certain openings of hers, talking to her in almost exactly the
same terms as Likeman had used to him.
Then suddenly the problem of this theological eclaircissement
was complicated in an unexpected fashion.
He had just been taking his Every Second Thursday Talk with
Diocesan Men Helpers. He had been trying to be plain and simple
upon the needless narrowness of enthusiastic laymen. He was still
in the Bishop Andrews cap and purple cassock he affected on these
occasions; the Men Helpers loved purple; and he was disentangling
himself from two or three resolute bores--for our loyal laymen
can be at times quite superlative bores--when Miriam came to
him.
"Mummy says, 'Come to the drawing-room if you can.' There is a
Lady Sunderbund who seems particularly to want to see you."
He hesitated for a moment, and then decided that this was a
conversation he ought to control.
He found Lady Sunderbund looking very tall and radiantly
beautiful in a sheathlike dress of bright crimson trimmed with
snow-white fur and a white fur toque. She held out a long
white-gloved hand to him and cried in a tone of comradeship and
profound understanding: "I've come, Bishop!"
"You've come to see me?" he said without any sincerity in his
polite pleasure.
"I've come to P'inchesta to stay!" she cried with a bright
triumphant rising note.
She evidently considered Lady Ella a mere conversational
stop-gap, to be dropped now that the real business could be
commenced. She turned her pretty profile to that lady, and
obliged the bishop with a compactsummary of all that had
preceded his arrival. "I have been telling Lady Ella," she said,
"I've taken a house, fu'nitua and all! Hea. In P'inchesta! I've
made up my mind to sit unda you--as they say in Clapham. I've
wife of the changes that hung over their lives; it would be
shabby to let the avalanche fall without giving the longest
possible warning; and before they parted that night he took her
hands in his and said: "There is much I have to tell you, dear.
Things change, the whole world changes. The church must not live
in a dream....
"No," she whispered. "I hope you will sleep to-night," and held
up her grave sweet face to be kissed.
(6)
But he did not sleep perfectly that night.
He did not sleep indeed very badly, but he lay for some time
thinking, thinking not onward but as if he pressed his mind
against very strong barriers that had closed again. His vision of
God which had filled the heavens, had become now gem-like, a
minute, hard, clear-cut conviction in his mind that he had to
disentangle himself from the enormous complications of symbolism
and statement and organization and misunderstanding in the church
and achieve again a simple and living worship of a simple and
living God. Likeman had puzzled and silenced him, only upon
reflection to convince him that amidst such intricacies of
explanation the spirit cannot live. Creeds may be symbolical, but
symbols must not prevaricate. A church that can symbolize
everything and anything means nothing.
It followed from this that he ought to leave the church. But
there came the other side of this perplexing situation. His
feelings as he lay in his bed were exactly like those one has in
a dream when one wishes to run or leap or shout and one can
achieve no movement, no sound. He could not conceive how he could
possibly leave the church.
His wife became as it were the representative of all that held
him helpless. She and he had never kept secret from one another
any plan of action, any motive, that affected the other. It was
clear to him that any movement towards the disavowal of doctrinal
Christianity and the renunciation of his see must be first
discussed with her. He must tell her before he told the world.
And he could not imagine his telling her except as an
incredibly shattering act.
So he left things from day to day, and went about his episcopal
routines. He preached and delivered addresses in such phrases as
he knew people expected, and wondered profoundly why it was that
it should be impossible for him to discuss theological points
with Lady Ella. And one afternoon he went for a walk with Eleanor
along the banks of the Prin, and found himself, in response to
certain openings of hers, talking to her in almost exactly the
same terms as Likeman had used to him.
Then suddenly the problem of this theological eclaircissement
was complicated in an unexpected fashion.
He had just been taking his Every Second Thursday Talk with
Diocesan Men Helpers. He had been trying to be plain and simple
upon the needless narrowness of enthusiastic laymen. He was still
in the Bishop Andrews cap and purple cassock he affected on these
occasions; the Men Helpers loved purple; and he was disentangling
himself from two or three resolute bores--for our loyal laymen
can be at times quite superlative bores--when Miriam came to
him.
"Mummy says, 'Come to the drawing-room if you can.' There is a
Lady Sunderbund who seems particularly to want to see you."
He hesitated for a moment, and then decided that this was a
conversation he ought to control.
He found Lady Sunderbund looking very tall and radiantly
beautiful in a sheathlike dress of bright crimson trimmed with
snow-white fur and a white fur toque. She held out a long
white-gloved hand to him and cried in a tone of comradeship and
profound understanding: "I've come, Bishop!"
"You've come to see me?" he said without any sincerity in his
polite pleasure.
"I've come to P'inchesta to stay!" she cried with a bright
triumphant rising note.
She evidently considered Lady Ella a mere conversational
stop-gap, to be dropped now that the real business could be
commenced. She turned her pretty profile to that lady, and
obliged the bishop with a compactsummary of all that had
preceded his arrival. "I have been telling Lady Ella," she said,
"I've taken a house, fu'nitua and all! Hea. In P'inchesta! I've
made up my mind to sit unda you--as they say in Clapham. I've
- interval [´intəvəl]
n.间隙；(工间)休息 (初中英语单词) - domestic [də´mestik] a.家庭的；本国的 (初中英语单词)
- discussion [di´skʌʃən] n.讨论；辩论 (初中英语单词)
- affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)
- anxiety [æŋ´zaiəti] n.挂念；渴望；焦虑的事 (初中英语单词)
- bishop [´biʃəp] n.主教 (初中英语单词)
- working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)
- musical [´mju:zikəl] a.音乐的；悦耳的 (初中英语单词)
- brilliant [´briliənt] a.灿烂的；杰出的 (初中英语单词)
- holiday [´hɔlidi] n.假日，假期，节日 (初中英语单词)
- expensive [ik´spensiv] a.费钱的，昂贵的 (初中英语单词)
- curiously [´kjuəriəsli] ad.好奇地；稀奇古怪地 (初中英语单词)
- unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
- solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)
- knitting [´nitiŋ] n.编织(物)；接合；联合 (初中英语单词)
- doorway [´dɔ:wei] n.门口 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- complicated [´kɔmplikeitid] a.结构复杂的；难懂的 (初中英语单词)
- vision [´viʒən] n.视觉；想象力；幻影 (初中英语单词)
- conviction [kən´vikʃən] n.定罪；确信，信服 (初中英语单词)
- enormous [i´nɔ:məs] a.巨大地，很，极 (初中英语单词)
- achieve [ə´tʃi:v] vt.完成；达到；获得 (初中英语单词)
- worship [´wə:ʃip] n.&v.崇拜；敬仰 (初中英语单词)
- convince [kən´vins] vt.使确信；使认识错误 (初中英语单词)
- movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)
- conceive [kən´si:v] v.设想；表达；怀孕 (初中英语单词)
- helpless [´helpləs] a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词)
- motive [´məutiv] n.动机；主题 a.运动的 (初中英语单词)
- purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
- arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
- routine [ru:´ti:n] n.日常工作 a.日常的 (高中英语单词)
- finely [´fainli] ad.美好地；精细地 (高中英语单词)
- phoebe [´fi:bi] n.月亮女神 (高中英语单词)
- protestant [´prɔtistənt] a.新教的 n.新教徒 (高中英语单词)
- simplicity [sim´plisiti] n.简单；朴素 (高中英语单词)
- breach [bri:tʃ] n.&v.破坏；违犯 (高中英语单词)
- thorough [´θʌrə] a.彻底的；详尽的 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- onward [´ɔnwəd] ad.&a.向前(的) (高中英语单词)
- response [ri´spɔns] n.回答；响应 (高中英语单词)
- unexpected [ʌniks´pektid] a.突然的；意外的 (高中英语单词)
- needless [´ni:dləs] a.不必要的；无用的 (高中英语单词)
- enthusiastic [inθju:zi´æstik] a.热情的，热心的 (高中英语单词)
- decided [di´saidid] a.明显的；决定的 (高中英语单词)
- crimson [´krimzən] a.&n.深(紫)红(的) (高中英语单词)
- compact [´kɔmpækt] n.契约 a.挤满的 (高中英语单词)
- tremendously [tri´mendəsli] ad.可怕地；极大地 (英语四级单词)
- hospitable [´hɔspitəbəl] a.好客的；招待周到的 (英语四级单词)
- armchair [´ɑ:mtʃeə] n.扶手椅 (英语四级单词)
- setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
- beautifully [´bju:tifəli] ad.美丽地；优美地 (英语四级单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- warning [´wɔ:niŋ] n.警告；前兆 a.预告的 (英语四级单词)
- amidst [ə´midst] prep.=amid (英语四级单词)
- profoundly [prə´faundli] ad.深深地 (英语四级单词)
- theological [θiə´lɔdʒikəl] a.神学(上)的 (英语四级单词)
- trying [´traiiŋ] a.难堪的；费劲的 (英语四级单词)
- resolute [´rezəlu:t] a.坚决的；不屈不挠的 (英语四级单词)
- sincerity [sin´seriti] n.真诚；诚意 (英语四级单词)
- summary [´sʌməri] a.&n.摘要(的) (英语四级单词)
- episcopal [i´piskəpəl] a.主教的，主教管辖的 (英语六级单词)
- indescribable [,indis´kraibəbəl] a.难以形容的 (英语六级单词)
- mademoiselle [,mædəmə´zel] n.小姐；法国女教师 (英语六级单词)
- seriousness [´siəriəsnis] n.严肃，认真；重要性 (英语六级单词)
- avalanche [´ævəlɑ:nʃ] n.雪崩 (英语六级单词)
- misunderstanding [,misʌndə´stændiŋ] n.误解；隔阂 (英语六级单词)
- affected [ə´fektid] a.做作的；假装的 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- profile [´prəufail] n.侧面 vt.画…侧面 (英语六级单词)
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章节正文
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