酷兔英语
    当前位置:
  1. 首页
  2. 文章
  3. 娱乐英语
  4. 原版小说
  5. 正文

Two Poets-Part12_Honore de Balzac(1799-1850)_Translated Works(翻译文学)-第2页

0 收藏 0 分享 0 赞

章节正文
文章总共2页


every effort for him in secret, and consequently he had all the faults

of a spoiled eldest son. The noble is eaten up with the egoism which



their unselfishness was fostering in Lucien; and Mme. de Bargeton was

doing her best to develop the same fault by inciting him to forget all



that he owed to his sister, and mother, and David. He was far from

doing so as yet; but was there not ground for the fear that as his



sphere of ambition widened, his whole thought perforce would be how he

might maintain himself in it?



When emotion had subsided, David had a suggestion to make. He thought

that Lucien's poem, Saint John in Patmos, was possibly too biblical to



be read before an audience but little familiar with apocalyptic

poetry. Lucien, making his first appearance before the most exacting



public in the Charente, seemed to be nervous. David advised him to

take Andre de Chenier and substitute certain pleasure for a dubious



delight. Lucien was a perfect reader, the listeners would enjoy

listening to him, and his modesty would doubtless serve him well. Like



most young people, the pair were endowing the rest of the world with

their own intelligence and virtues; for if youth that has not yet gone



astray is pitiless for the sins of others, it is ready, on the other

hand, to put a magnificent faith in them. It is only, in fact, after a



good deal of experience of life that we recognize the truth of

Raphael's great saying--"To comprehend is to equal."



The power of appreciating poetry is rare, generally speaking, in

France; esprit soon dries up the source of the sacred tears of



ecstasy; nobody cares to be at the trouble of deciphering the sublime,

of plumbing the depths to discover the infinite. Lucien was about to



have his first experience of the ignorance and indifference of

worldlings. He went round by way of the printing office for David's



volume of poetry.

The two lovers were left alone, and David had never felt more



embarrassed in his life. Countless terrors seized upon him; he half

wished, half feared that Eve would praise him; he longed to run away,



for even modesty is not exempt from coquetry. David was afraid to

utter a word that might seem to beg for thanks; everything that he



could think of put him in some false position, so he held his tongue

and looked guilty. Eve, guessing the agony of modesty, was enjoying



the pause; but when David twisted his hat as if he meant to go, she

looked at him and smiled.



"Monsieur David," she said, "if you are not going to pass the evening

at Mme. de Bargeton's, we can spend the time together. It is fine;



shall we take a walk along the Charente? We will have a talk about

Lucien."



David longed to fling himself at the feet of this delicious girl. Eve

had rewarded him beyond his hopes by that tone in her voice; the



kindness of her accent had solved the difficulties of the position,

her suggestion was something better than praise; it was the first



grace given by love.

"But give me time to dress!" she said, as David made as if to go at



once.

David went out; he who all his life long had not known one tune from



another, was humming to himself; honest Postel hearing him with

surprise, conceived a vehementsuspicion of Eve's feelings towards the



printer.

The most trifling things that happened that evening made a great



impression on Lucien, and his character was peculiarlysusceptible to

first impressions. Like all inexperienced lovers he arrived so early



that Louise was not in the drawing-room; but M. de Bargeton was there,

alone. Lucien had already begun to serve his apprenticeship in the



practice of the small deceits with which the lover of a married woman

pays for his happiness--deceits through which, moreover, she learns



the extent of her power; but so far Lucien had not met the lady's

husband face to face.



M. de Bargeton's intellect was of the limited kind, exactly poised on




文章总共2页
文章标签:翻译  译文  翻译文  

章节正文
Copyright © 2023 Qeto All rights reserved.
商务合作 | 联系我们 | 关于我们 | 版权声明 | 隐私条款 | 如果智培

京ICP备05059198号-1 京公网安备 11011202003401号