seraphita-及18准
梓囚徒貧圭鮗 ○ 賜 ★ 辛酔堀貧和鍬匈梓囚徒貧議 Enter 囚辛指欺云慕朕村匈梓囚徒貧圭鮗 ● 辛指欺云匈競何
!!!!隆堋響頼紗秘慕禰厮宴和肝写偬堋響
art are of the same intellect as the sculptor察they see in his work
the whole universe of his thought。 Such persons are in themselves the
principles of art察they bear within them a mirror which reflects
nature in her slightest manifestations。 Well so it is with me察I have
within me a mirror before which the moral nature察with its causes and
effects察appears and is reflected。 Entering thus into the
consciousness of others I am able to divine both the future and the
past。 How拭do you still ask how拭Imagine that the marble statue is the
body of a man察a piece of statuary in which we see the emotion
sentiment察passion察vice or crime察virtue or repentance which the
creating hand has put into it察and you will then comprehend how it is
that I read the soul of this foreignerthough what I have said does
not explain the gift of Specialism察for to conceive the nature of that
gift we must possess it。;
Though Wilfrid belonged to the two first divisions of humanity察the
men of force and the men of thought察yet his excesses察his tumultuous
life察and his misdeeds had often turned him towards Faith察for doubt
has two sides察a side to the light and a side to the darkness。 Wilfrid
had too closely clasped the world under its forms of Matter and of
Mind not to have acquired that thirst for the unknown察that longing to
GO BEYOND which lay their grasp upon the men who know察and wish察and
will。 But neither his knowledge察nor his actions察nor his will察had
found direction。 He had fled from social life from necessity察as a
great criminal seeks the cloister。 Remorse察that virtue of weak
beings察did not touch him。 Remorse is impotence察impotence which sins
again。 Repentance alone is powerful察it ends all。 But in traversing
the world察which he made his cloister察Wilfrid had found no balm for
his wounds察he saw nothing in nature to which he could attach himself。
In him察despair had dried the sources of desire。 He was one of those
beings who察having gone through all passions and come out victorious
have nothing more to raise in their hot´beds察and who察lacking
opportunity to put themselves at the head of their fellow´men to
trample under iron heel entire populations察buy察at the price of a
horrible martyrdom察the faculty of ruining themselves in some belief
rocks sublime察which await the touch of a wand that comes not to
bring the waters gushing from their far´off spring。
Led by a scheme of his restless察inquiring life to the shores of
Norway察the sudden arrival of winter had detained the wanderer at
Jarvis。 The day on which察for the first time察he saw Seraphita察the
whole past of his life faded from his mind。 The young girl excited
emotions which he had thought could never be revived。 The ashes gave
forth a lingering flame at the first murmurings of that voice。 Who has
ever felt himself return to youth and purity after growing cold and
numb with age and soiled with impurity拭Suddenly察Wilfrid loved as he
had never loved察he loved secretly察with faith察with fear察with inward
madness。 His life was stirred to the very source of his being at the
mere thought of seeing Seraphita。 As he listened to her he was
transported into unknown worlds察he was mute before her察she
magnetized him。 There察beneath the snows察among the glaciers察bloomed
the celestial flower to which his hopes察so long betrayed察aspired
the sight of which awakened ideas of freshness察purity察and faith
which grouped about his soul and lifted it to higher regionsas
Angels bear to heaven the Elect in those symbolic pictures inspired by
the guardian spirit of a great master。 Celestial perfumes softened the
granite hardness of the rocky scene察light endowed with speech shed
its divine melodies on the path of him who looked to heaven。 After
emptying the cup of terrestrial love which his teeth had bitten as he
drank it察he saw before him the chalice of salvation where the limpid
waters sparkled察making thirsty for ineffable delights whoever dare
apply his lips burning with a faith so strong that the crystal shall
not be shattered。
But Wilfrid now encountered the wall of brass for which he had been
seeking up and down the earth。 He went impetuously to Seraphita
meaning to express the whole force and bearing of a passion under
which he bounded like the fabled horse beneath the iron horseman察firm
in his saddle察whom nothing moves while the efforts of the fiery
animal only made the rider heavier and more solid。 He sought her to
relate his lifeto prove the grandeur of his soul by the grandeur of
his faults察to show the ruins of his desert。 But no sooner had he
crossed her threshold察and found himself within the zone of those eyes
of scintillating azure察that met no limits forward and left none
behind察than he grew calm and submissive察as a lion察springing on his
prey in the plains of Africa察receives from the wings of the wind a
message of love察and stops his bound。 A gulf opened before him察into
which his frenzied words fell and disappeared察and from which uprose a
voice which changed his being察he became as a child察a child of
sixteen察timid and frightened before this maiden with serene brow
this white figure whose inalterable calm was like the cruel
impassibility of human justice。 The combat between them had never
ceased until this evening察when with a glance she brought him down察as
a falcon making his dizzy spirals in the air around his prey causes it
to fall stupefied to earth察before carrying it to his eyrie。
We may note within ourselves many a long struggle the end of which is
one of our own actionsstruggles which are察as it were察the reverse
side of humanity。 This reverse side belongs to God察the obverse side
to men。 More than once Seraphita had proved to Wilfrid that she knew
this hidden and ever varied side察which is to the majority of men a
second being。 Often she said to him in her dove´like voice此 Why all
this vehemence拭─when on his way to her he had sworn she should be
his。 Wilfrid was察however察strong enough to raise the cry of revolt to
which he had given utterance in Monsieur Becker's study。 The narrative
of the old pastor had calmed him。 Sceptical and derisive as he was察he
saw belief like a sidereal brilliance dawning on his life。 He asked
himself if Seraphita were not an exile from the higher spheres seeking
the homeward way。 The fanciful deifications of all ordinary lovers he
could not give to this lily of Norway in whose divinity he believed。
Why lived she here beside this fiord拭What did she拭Questions that
received no answer filled his mind。 Above all察what was about to
happen between them拭What fate had brought him there拭To him
Seraphita was the motionless marble察light nevertheless as a vapor
which Minna had seen that day poised above the precipices of the
Falberg。 Could she thus stand on the edge of all gulfs without danger
without a tremor of the arching eyebrows察or a quiver of the light of
the eye拭If his love was to be without hope察it was not without
curiosity。
From the moment when Wilfrid suspected the ethereal nature of the
enchantress who had told him the secrets of his life in melodious
utterance察he had longed to try to subject her察to keep her to
himself察to tear her from the heaven where察perhaps察she was awaited。
Earth and Humanity seized their prey察he would imitate them。 His
pride察the only sentiment through which man can long be exalted察would
make him happy in this triumph for the rest of his life。 The idea sent
the blood boiling through his veins察and his heart swelled。 If he did
not succeed察he would destroy herit is so natural to destroy that
which we cannot possess察to deny what we cannot comprehend察to insult
that which we envy。
On the morrow察Wilfrid察laden with ideas which the extraordinary
events of the previous night naturally awakened in his mind察resolved
to question David察and went to find him on the pretext of asking after
Seraphita's health。 Though Monsieur Becker spoke of the old servant as
falling into dotage察Wilfrid relied on his own perspicacity to
discover scraps of truth in the torrent of the old man's rambling
talk。
David had the immovable察undecided察physiognomy of an octogenarian。
Under his white hair lay a forehead lined with wrinkles like the stone
courses of a ruined wall察and his face was furrowed like the bed of a
dried´up torrent。 His life seemed to have retreated wholly to the
eyes察where light still shone察though its gleams were obscured by a
mistiness which seemed to indicate either an active mental alienation
or the stupid stare of drunkenness。 His slow and heavy movements
betrayed the glacial weight of age察and communicated an icy influence
to whoever allowed themselves to look long at himfor he possessed
the magnetic force of torpor。 His limited intelligence was only roused
by the sight察the hearing察or the recollection of his mistress。 She
was the soul of this wholly material fragment of an exist