學必求其心得，業(yè)必貴于專精學必求其心得，業(yè)必貴于專精學必求其心得，業(yè)必貴于專精ThePictureofDorianGray道林·格雷的畫像OSCARWILDE奧斯卡·王爾德byOscarWildeCHAPTER1Thestudiowasfilledwiththerichodourofroses，andwhenthelightsummerwindstirredamidstthetreesofthegarden，therecamethroughtheopendoortheheavyscentofthelilac,orthemoredelicateperfumeofthepink-floweringthorn。FromthecornerofthedivanofPersiansaddle-bagsonwhichhewaslying,smoking,aswashiscustom,innumerablecigarettes，LordHenryWottoncouldjustcatchthegleamofthehoney—sweetandhoney-colouredblossomsofalaburnum,whosetremulousbranchesseemedhardlyabletobeartheburdenofabeautysoflamelikeastheirs；andnowandthenthefantasticshadowsofbirdsinflightflittedacrossthelongtussore—silkcurtainsthatwerestretchedinfrontofthehugewindow,producingakindofmomentaryJapaneseeffect，andmakinghimthinkofthosepallid,jade—facedpaintersofTokyo，roughthemediumofanartthatisnecessarilyimmobile,seektoconveythesenseofswiftnessandmotion.Thesullenmurmurofthebeesshoulderingtheirwaythroughthelongunmowngrass,orcirclingwithmonotonousinsistenceroundthedustygilthornsofthestragglingwoodbine，seemedtomakethestillnessmoreoppressive.ThedimroarofLondonwaslikethebourdonnoteofadistantorgan。Inthecentreoftheroom,clampedtoanuprighteasel，stoodthefull-lengthportraitofayoungmanofextraordinarypersonalbeauty，andinfrontofit,somelittledistanceaway，wassittingtheartisthimself,BasilHallward,whosesuddendisappearancesomeyearsagocaused,atthetime，suchpublicexcitementandgaverisetosomanystrangeconjectures.Asthepainterlookedatthegraciousandcomelyformhehadsoskilfullymirroredinhisart,asmileofpleasurepassedacrosshisface,andseemedabouttolingerthere.Buthesuddenlystartedup，andclosinghiseyes，lacedhisfingersuponthelids，asthoughhesoughttoimprisonwithinhisbrainsomecuriousdreamfromwhichhefearedhemightawake。"Itisyourbestwork，Basil,thebestthingyouhaveeverdone，”saidLordHenrylanguidly."YoumustcertainlysenditnextyeartotheGrosvenor.TheAcademyistoolargeandtoovulgar.WheneverIhavegonethere,therehavebeeneithersomanypeoplethatIhavenotbeenabletoseethepictures,whichwasdreadful，orsomanypicturesthatIhavenotbeenabletoseethepeople，whichwasworse。TheGrosvenorisreallytheonlyplace.”"Idon’tthinkIshallsenditanywhere,"heanswered,tossinghisheadbackinthatoddwaythatusedtomakehisfriendslaughathimatOxford。"No，Iwon'tsenditanywhere。"LordHenryelevatedhiseyebrowsandlookedathiminamazementthroughthethinbluewreathsofsmokethatcurledupinsuchfancifulwhorlsfromhisheavy,opium-taintedcigarette?！盢otsenditanywhere?Mydearfellow,why？Haveyouanyreason?Whatoddchapsyoupaintersare!Youdoanythingintheworldtogainareputation。Assoonasyouhaveone,youseemtowanttothrowitaway.Itissillyofyou，forthereisonlyonethingintheworldworsethanbeingtalkedabout,andthatisnotbeingtalkedabout。AportraitlikethiswouldsetyoufarabovealltheyoungmeninEngland，andmaketheoldmenquitejealous，ifoldmenareevercapableofanyemotion.””Iknowyouwilllaughatme，"hereplied,”butIreallycan’texhibitit.Ihaveputtoomuchofmyselfintoit。"LordHenrystretchedhimselfoutonthedivanandlaughed.”Yes，Iknewyouwould；butitisquitetrue,allthesame."”Toomuchofyourselfinit！Uponmyword,Basil,Ididn’tknowyouweresovain;andIreallycan'tseeanyresemblancebetweenyou，withyourruggedstrongfaceandyourcoal—blackhair,andthisyoungAdonis,wholooksasifhewasmadeoutofivoryandrose—leaves.Why，mydearBasil,heisaNarcissus,andyou——well，ofcourseyouhaveanintellectualressionandallthat。Butbeauty，realbeauty，endswhereanintellectualexpressionbegins。Intellectisinitselfamodeofexaggeration,anddestroystheharmonyofanyface。Themomentonesitsdowntothink,onebecomesallnose，orallforehead,orsomethinghorrid。Lookatthesuccessfulmeninanyofthelearnedprofessions.Howperfectlyhideoustheyare！Except，ofcourse，intheChurch.ButthenintheChurchtheydon’tthink。Abishopkeepsonsayingattheageofeightywhathewastoldtosaywhenhewasaboyofeighteen,andasanaturalconsequencehealwayslooksabsolutelydelightful.Yourmysteriousyoungfriend，whosenameyouhavenevertoldme，butwhosepicturereallyfascinatesme,neverthinks。Ifeelquitesureofthat.Heissomebrainlessbeautifulcreaturewhoshouldbealwayshereinwinterwhenwehavenoflowerstolookat，andalwayshereinsummerwhenwewantsomethingtochillourintelligence。Don'tflatteryourself，Basil：youarenotintheleastlikehim?！?Youdon'tunderstandme，Harry,”answeredtheartist.”O(jiān)fcourseIamnotlikehim.Iknowthatperfectlywell。Indeed，Ishouldbesorrytolooklikehim。Youshrugyourshoulders?Iamtellingyouthetruth.Thereisafatalityaboutallphysicalandintellectualdistinction，thesortoffatalitythatseemstodogthroughstorythefalteringstepsofkings。Itisbetternottobedifferentfromone'sfellows。Theuglyandthestupidhavethebestofitinthisworld.Theycansitattheireaseandgapeattheplay。Iftheyknownothingofvictory，theyareatleastsparedtheknowledgeofdefeat.Theyliveasweallshouldbe——undisturbed,ndifferent,andwithoutdisquiet。Theyneitherbringruinuponothers，noreverreceiveitfromalienhands。Yourrankandwealth,Harry;mybrains，suchastheyare——myart，whateveritmaybeworth;DorianGray’sgoodlooks——weshallallsufferforwhatthegodshavegivenus,sufferterribly。""DorianGray？Isthathisname？”askedLordHenry,walkingacrossthestudiotowardsBasilHallward."Yes，thatishisname。Ididn’tintendtotellittoyou?！?Butwhynot？””O(jiān)h，Ican'texplain.WhenIlikepeopleimmensely,Inevertelltheirnamestoanyone。Itislikesurrenderingapartofthem.Ihavegrowntolovesecrecy。Itseemstobetheonethingthatcanmakemodernlifemysteriousormarvelloustous。Thecommonestthingisdelightfulifoneonlyhidesit。WhenIleavetownnowInevertellmypeoplewhereIamgoing.IfIdid,Iwouldloseallmypleasure.Itisasillyhabit，Idaresay，butsomehowitseemstobringagreatdealofromanceintoone’slife.Isupposeyouthinkmeawfullyfoolishaboutit?""Notatall,"answeredLordHenry，”notatall，mydearBasil。YouseemtoforgetthatIammarried,andtheonecharmofmarriageisthatitmakesalifeofdeceptionabsolutelynecessaryforbothparties。Ineverknowwheremywifeis,andmywifeneverknowswhatIamdoing。Whenwemeet——wedomeetoccasionally,whenwedineouttogether,orgodowntotheDuke’s—-wetelleachotherthemostabsurdstorieswiththemostseriousfaces。Mywifeisverygoodatit—-muchbetter,infact,thanIam。Shenevergetsconfusedoverherdates，andIalwaysdo.Butwhenshedoesfindmeout,shemakesnorowatall。Isometimeswishshewould;butshemerelylaughsatme?！薄盜hatethewayyoutalkaboutyourmarriedlife，Harry，"saidBasilHallward，strollingtowardsthedoorthatledintothegarden。"Ibelievethatyouarereallyaverygoodhusband,butthatyouarethoroughlyashamedofyourownvirtues。Youareanextraordinaryfellow.Youneversayamoralthing,andyouneverdoawrongthing.Yourcynicismissimplyapose."”Beingnaturalissimplyapose,andthemostirritatingposeIknow,”criedLordHenry，laughing;andthetwoyoungmenwentoutintothegardentogetherandensconcedthemselvesonalongbambooseatthatstoodintheshadeofatalllaurelbush.Thesunlightslippedoverthepolishedleaves。Inthegrass,whitedaisiesweretremulous.Afterapause，LordHenrypulledouthiswatch."IamafraidImustbegoing，Basil,"hemurmured,"andbeforeIgo，IinsistonyouransweringaquestionIputtoyousometimeago。""Whatisthat?"saidthepainter，keepinghiseyesfixedontheground."Youknowquitewell。""Idonot，Harry。"”Well,Iwilltellyouwhatitis.Iwantyoutoexplaintomewhyyouwon'texhibitDorianGray'spicture。Iwanttherealreason?！?Itoldyoutherealreason。""No,youdidnot.Yousaiditwasbecausetherewastoomuchofyourselfinit。Now，thatischildish。"”Harry，”saidBasilHallward，lookinghimstraightintheface，”everyportraitthatispaintedwithfeelingisaportraitoftheartist，notofthesitter.Thesitterismerelytheaccident，theoccasion。Itisnothewhoisrevealedbythepainter；itisratherthepainterwho,onthecolouredcanvas,revealshimself。ThereasonIwillnotexhibitthispictureisthatIamafraidthatIhaveshowninitthesecretofmyownsoul."LordHenrylaughed.”Andwhatisthat?”heasked。"Iwilltellyou,”saidHallward;butanexpressionofperplexitycameoverhisface.”Iamallexpectation，Basil，”continuedhiscompanion，glancingathim?！監(jiān)h，thereisreallyverylittletotell，Harry,”answeredthepainter;"andIamafraidyouwillhardlyunderstandit。Perhapsyouwillhardlybelieveit."LordHenrysmiled,andleaningdown，pluckedapink—petalleddaisyfromthegrassandexaminedit?！盜amquitesureIshallunderstandit,”hereplied，gazingintentlyatthelittlegolden,white-feathereddisk，”andasforbelievingthings,Icanbelieveanything，providedthatitisquiteincredible。"Thewindshooksomeblossomsfromthetrees,andtheheavylilac-blooms，withtheirclusteringstars，movedtoandfrointhelanguidair.Agrasshopperbegantochirrupbythewall,andlikeabluethreadalongthindragon—flyfloatedpastonitsbrowngauzewings。LordHenryfeltasifhecouldhearBasilHallward'sheartbeating，andwonderedwhatwascoming。"Thestoryissimplythis，”saidthepainteraftersometime。"TwomonthsagoIwenttoacrushatLadyBrandon’s.Youknowwepoorartistshavetoshowourselvesinsocietyfromtimetotime，justtoremindthepublicthatwearenotsavages。Withaneveningcoatandawhitetie，asyoutoldmeonce，anybody，evenastock—broker，cangainareputationforbeingcivilized。Well，afterIhadbeenintheroomabouttenminutes，talkingtohugeoverdresseddowagersandtediousemicians，Isuddenlybecameconsciousthatsomeonewaslookingatme.Iturnedhalf—wayroundandsawDorianGrayforthefirsttime.Whenoureyesmet,IfeltthatIwasgrowingpale.Acurioussensationofterrorcameoverme.IknewthatIhadcomefacetofacewithsomeonewhosemerepersonalitywassofascinatingthat，ifIallowedittodoso，itwouldabsorbmywholenature，mywholesoul,myveryartitself。Ididnotwantanyexternalinfluenceinmylife。Youknowyourself,Harry，howindependentIambynature。Ihavealwaysbeenmyownmaster；hadatleastalwaysbeenso，tillImetDorianGray.Then—-butIdon'tknowhowtoexplainittoyou.SomethingseemedtotellmethatIwasonthevergeofaterriblecrisisinmylife。Ihadastrangefeelingthatfatehadinstoreformeexquisitejoysandexquisitesorrows.Igrewafraidandturnedtoquittheroom。Itwasnotconsciencethatmademedoso：itwasasortofcowardice。Itakenocredittomyselffortryingtoescape."”Conscienceandcowardicearereallythesamethings，Basil.Conscienceisthetrade-nameofthefirm.Thatisall.””Idon'tbelievethat，Harry,andIdon'tbelieveyoudoeither。However，whateverwasmymotive-—anditmayhavebeenpride，forIusedtobeveryproud—-Icertainlystruggledtothedoor.There,ofcourse，IstumbledagainstLadyBrandon.’Youarenotgoingtorunawaysosoon,Mr。Hallward?'shescreamedout.Youknowhercuriouslyshrillvoice?""Yes;sheisapeacockineverythingbutbeauty,”saidLordHenry，pullingthedaisytobitswithhislongnervousfingers."Icouldnotgetridofher。Shebroughtmeuptoroyalties,andpeoplewithstarsandgarters,andelderlyladieswithgigantictiarasandparrotnoses。Shespokeofmeasherdearestfriend。Ihadonlymetheroncebefore，butshetookitintoherheadtolionizeme。Ibelievesomepictureofminehadmadeagreatsuccessatthetime，atleasthadbeenchatteredaboutinthepennynewspapers,whichisthenineteenth-centurystandardofimmortality.SuddenlyIfoundmyselffacetofacewiththeyoungmanwhosepersonalityhadsostrangelystirredme。Wewerequiteclose，almosttouching.Oureyesmetagain.Itwasrecklessofme,butIaskedLadyBrandontointroducemetohim。Perhapsitwasnotsoreckless，afterall.Itwassimplyinevitable.Wewouldhavespokentoeachotherwithoutanyintroduction。Iamsureofthat.Doriantoldmesoafterwards。He,too，feltthatweweredestinedtoknoweachother."”AndhowdidLadyBrandondescribethiswonderfulyoungman?”askedhiscompanion."Iknowshegoesinforgivingarapidprecisofallherguests.Irememberherbringingmeuptoatruculentandred—facedoldgentlemancoveredalloverwithordersandribbons，andhissingintomyear,inatragicwhisperwhichmusthavebeenperfectlyaudibletoeverybodyintheroom,themostastoundingdetails。Isimplyfled。Iliketofindoutpeopleformyself.ButLadyBrandontreatsherguestsexactlyasanauctioneertreatshisgoods.Sheeitherexplainsthementirelyaway,ortellsoneeverythingaboutthemexceptwhatonewantstoknow?！薄盤oorLadyBrandon!Youarehardonher，Harry！"saidHallwardlistlessly.”Mydearfellow，shetriedtofoundasalon,andonlysucceededinopeningarestaurant.HowcouldIadmireher？Buttellme,whatdidshesayaboutMr.DorianGray？”"Oh,somethinglike,'Charmingboy-—poordearmotherandIabsolutelyinseparable。Quiteforgetwhathedoes--afraidhe-—doesn'tdoanything--oh,yes,playsthepiano--orisitheviolin，dearMr.Gray？'Neitherofuscouldhelpaughing,andwebecamefriendsatonce.”"Laughterisnotatallabadbeginningforafriendship，anditisfarthebestendingforone,”saidtheyounglord,pluckinganotherdaisy。Hallwardshookhishead."Youdon'tunderstandwhatfriendshipis,Harry，”hemurmured-—”orwhatenmityis,forthatmatter。Youlikeeveryone；thatistosay，youareindifferenttoeveryone?！?Howhorriblyunjustofyou!”criedLordHenry,tiltinghishatbackandlookingupatthelittlecloudsthat，likeravelledskeinsofglossywhitesilk,weredriftingacrossthehollowedturquoiseofthesummersky."Yes；horriblyunjustofyou。Imakeagreatdifferencebetweenpeople。Ichoosemyfriendsfortheirgoodlooks,myacquaintancesfortheirgoodcharacters，andmyenemiesfortheirgoodintellects.Amancannotbetoocarefulinthechoiceofhisenemies.Ihavenotgotonewhoisafool。Theyareallmenofsomeintellectualpower，andconsequentlytheyallappreciateme。Isthatveryvainofme？Ithinkitisrathervain.”"Ishouldthinkitwas，Harry。ButaccordingtoyourcategoryImustbemerelyanacquaintance?！?MydearoldBasil,youaremuchmorethananacquaintance.”"Andmuchlessthanafriend。Asortofbrother，Isuppose?"”O(jiān)h,brothers！Idon'tcareforbrothers。Myelderbrotherwon’tdie,andmyyoungerbrothersseemnevertodoanythingelse."”Harry!”exclaimedHallward，frowning.”Mydearfellow，Iamnotquiteserious.ButIcan’thelpdetestingmyrelations.Isupposeitcomesfromthefactthatnoneofuscanstandotherpeoplehavingthesamefaultsasourselves。IquitesympathizewiththerageoftheEnglishdemocracyagainstwhattheycallthevicesoftheupperorders。Themassesfeelthatdrunkenness,stupidity，andimmoralityshouldbetheirownspecialproperty,andthatifanyoneofusmakesanassofhimself，heispoachingontheirpreserves.WhenpoorSouthwarkgotintothedivorcecourt,theirindignationwasquitemagnificent。AndyetIdon'tsupposethattenpercentoftheproletariatlivecorrectly.”"Idon’tagreewithasinglewordthatyouhavesaid,and，whatismore,Harry,Ifeelsureyoudon’teither。"LordHenrystrokedhispointedbrownbeardandtappedthetoeofhispatent—leatherbootwithatasselledebonycane。"HowEnglishyouareBasil！Thatisthesecondtimeyouhavemadethatobservation。IfoneputsforwardanideatoatrueEnglishman—-alwaysarashthingtodo--heneverdreamsofconsideringwhethertheideaisrightorwrong.Theonlythingheconsidersofanyimportanceiswhetheronebelievesitoneself.Now，thevalueofanideahasnothingwhatsoevertodowiththesincerityofthemanwhoexpressesit.Indeed,theprobabilitiesarethatthemoreinsincerethemanis,themorepurelyintellectualwilltheideabe,asinthatcaseitwillnotbecolouredbyeitherhiswants，hisdesires，orhisprejudices.However,Idon'tproposetodiscusspolitics,sociology，ormetaphysicswithyou.Ilikepersonsbetterthanprinciples,andIlikepersonswithnoprinciplesbetterthananythingelseintheworld.TellmemoreaboutMr.DorianGray.Howoftendoyouseehim?"”Everyday。Icouldn'tbehappyifIdidn'tseehimeveryday.Heisabsolutelynecessarytome。"”Howextraordinary！Ithoughtyouwouldnevercareforanythingbutyourart?！?Heisallmyarttomenow,"saidthepaintergravely?！盜sometimesthink,Harry,thatthereareonlytwoerasofanyimportanceintheworld’shistory。Thefirstistheappearanceofanewmediumforart，andthesecondistheappearanceofanewpersonalityforartalso.Whattheinventionofoil-paintingwastotheVenetians,thefaceofAntinouswastolateGreeksculpture,andthefaceofDorianGraywillsomedaybetome.ItisnotmerelythatIpaintfromhim,drawfromhim,sketchfromhim.Ofcourse，Ihavedoneallthat。Butheismuchmoretomethanamodelorasitter。Iwon’ttellyouthatIamdissatisfiedwithwhatIhavedoneofhim,orthathisbeautyissuchthatartcannotexpressit.Thereisnothingthatartcannotexpress，andIknowthattheworkIhavedone，sinceImetDorianGray，isgoodwork，isthebestworkofmylife.Butinsomecuriousway-—Iwonderwillyouunderstandme？—-hispersonalityhassuggestedtomeanentirelynewmannerinart，anentirelynewmodeofstyle。Iseethingsdifferently，Ithinkofthemdifferently.Icannowrecreatelifeinawaythatwashiddenfrommebefore.'Adreamofformindaysofthought'-—whoisitwhosaysthat？Iforget；butitiswhatDorianGrayhasbeentome.Themerelyvisiblepresenceofthislad——forheseemstomelittlemorethanalad，thoughheisreallyovertwenty——hismerelyvisiblepresence—-ah！Iwondercanyourealizeallthatthatmeans?Unconsciouslyhedefinesformethelinesofafreshschool,aschoolthatistohaveinitallthepassionoftheromanticspirit，alltheperfectionofthespiritthatisGreek.Theharmonyofsoulandbody-—howmuchthatis!Weinourmadnesshaveseparatedthetwo,andhaveinventedarealismthatisvulgar,anidealitythatisvoid.Harry!ifyouonlyknewwhatDorianGrayistome！Yourememberthatlandscapeofmine,forwhichAgnewofferedmesuchahugepricebutwhichIwouldnotpartwith?ItisoneofthebestthingsIhaveeverdone.Andwhyisitso？Because，whileIwaspaintingit，DorianGraysatesideme.Somesubtleinfluencepassedfromhimtome，andforthefirsttimeinmylifeIsawintheplainwoodlandthewonderIhadalwayslookedforandalwaysmissed。"”Basil,thisisextraordinary!ImustseeDorianGray."Hallwardgotupfromtheseatandwalkedupanddownthegard