Justine 淑女的眼泪 Chapter 24

After I had answered these questions in all modesty ¹, with great sincerity ², and most naively ³: "Very well," said the monk ⁴, rising and taking me by the hand, "come, my child, tomorrow I shall procure ⁶ you the sweet satisfaction of communing at the feet of the image you have come to visit; let us begin by supplying your primary needs," and he led me toward the depths of the church...., ,"Why!" said I, sensing a vague inquietude arise in me despite myself, "what is this, Father? Why are we going inside?", ,"And where else, my charming pilgrim?" answered the monk, introducing me into the sacristy. "Do you really fear to spend the night with four saintly anchorites? Oh, we shall find the means to succor ⁷ you, my dearest angel, and if we do not procure you very great pleasures, you will at least serve ours in their most extreme amplitude ⁸." These words sent a thrill of horror through me; I burst out in a cold sweat, I fell to shivering; it was night, no light guided our footsteps, my terrified imagination raised up the specter of death brandishing ⁹ its scythe ¹⁰ over my head; my knees were buckling ¹¹... and at this point a sudden shift occurred in the monk's speech. He jerked me upright and hissed ¹²:, , ,These cruel words restore my strength, I sense that if I falter ¹³ I am doomed ¹⁴, I straighten myself. "O Heaven!" I say to the traitor ¹⁵, "must I then be once again my good sentiments' victim, must the desire to approach what is most respectable in Religion be once again punished as a crime...", ,We continue to walk, we enter obscure byways, I know not where I am, where I am going. I was advancing a pace ahead of Dom Severino; his breathing was labored ¹⁶, words flowed incoherently from his lips, one might have thought he was drunk; now and again he stopped me, twined his left arm about my waist while his right hand, sliding beneath my skirts from the rear, wandered impudently ¹⁷ over that unseemly part of ourselves which, likening us to men, is the unique object of the homages of those who prefer that sex for their shameful ¹⁸ pleasures. Several times the libertine ¹⁹ even dared apply his mouth to these areas' most secluded ²⁰ lair ²¹; and then we recommenced our march. A stairway appears before us; we climb thirty steps or forty, a door opens, brightness dazzles my eyes, we emerge into a charmingly appointed, magnificently illuminated ²² room; there, I see three monks ²³ and four girls grouped around a table served by four other women, completely naked. At the spectacle I recoil ²⁴, trembling; Severino shoves me forward over the threshold and I am in the room with him., ,As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后
，谦虚使人进步
。,His sincerity added much more authority to the story.他的真诚更增加了故事的说服力。