Justine 淑女的眼泪 Chapter 32

"Now, if we admit that the senses' joy is always dependent upon the imagination, always regulated by the imagination, one must not be amazed by the numerous variations the imagination is apt to suggest during the pleasurable episode, by the infinite multitude of different tastes and passions the imagination's various extravagances will bring to light. Luxurious ¹ though these tastes may be, they are never intrinsically strange; there is no reason to find a mealtime eccentricity ² more or less extraordinary than a bed-room whim ³; and in the one and the other, it is not more astonishing to idolize what the common run of mankind holds detestable than it is to love something generally recognized as pleasant. To like what others like proves organic conformity ⁵, but demonstrates nothing in favor of the beloved object. Three-quarters of the universe may find the rose's scent ⁶ delicious without that serving either as evidence upon which to condemn ⁷ the remaining quarter which might find the smell offensive, or as proof that this odor is truly agreeable., ,"If then in this world there exist persons whose tastes conflict with accepted prejudices, not only must one not be surprised by the fact, not only must one not scold these dissenters ⁸ or punish them, but one must aid them, procure ⁹ them contentment, remove obstacles which impede ¹⁰ them, and afford them, if you wish to be just, all the means to satisfy themselves without risk; because they are no more responsible for having this curious taste than you are responsible for being live-spirited or dull-witted, prettily ¹¹ made or knock-kneed. It is in the mother's womb that there are fashioned the organs which must render us susceptible ¹² of such-and-such a fantasy; the first objects which we encounter, the first conversations we overhear determine the pattern; once tastes are formed nothing in the world can destroy them. Do what it will, education is incapable ¹³ of altering the pattern, and he who has got to be a villain ¹⁴ just as surely becomes a villain, the good education you give him notwithstanding; quite as he, however much he has lacked good example, flies unerringly toward virtue ¹⁵ if his organs dispose him to the doing of good. Both have acted in accordance with their organic structure, in accordance with the impressions they have received from Nature, and the one is no more deserving of punishment than the other is of reward., ," Curiously ¹⁶ enough, so long as it is merely a question of trifles, we are never in the least astonished by the differences existing among tastes; but let the subject take on an erotic tincture, and listen to the word spread about! rumors ¹⁷ fly, women, always thoughtful of guarding their rights - women whose feebleness and inconsequence make them especially prone ¹⁸ to seeing enemies everywhere about, women, I say, are all constantly trembling and quivering lest something be snatched away from them and if, when taking one's pleasure, one unfortunately puts practices to use which conflict with woman-worship, lo! there you have crimes which merit the noose ¹⁹. And what an injustice ²⁰! Must sensual pleasure render a man better than life's other pleasures? In one word, must our penchants be any more concentrated upon the temple of generation, must it necessarily more certainly awaken ²¹ our desires, than some other part of the body either the most contrary to or at the furthest remove from it? than some emanation of the body either the most fetid or the most disgusting? It should not, in my opinion, appear any more astonishing to see a man introduce singularity into his libertine ²² pleasures than it should appear strange to see him employ the uncommon ²³ in any other of life's activities. Once again, in either case, his singularity is the result of his organs: is it his fault if what affects you is naught ²⁴ to him, or if he is only moved by what repels ²⁵ you? What living man would not instantly revise his tastes, his affections, his penchants and bring them into harmony with the general scheme, what man, rather than continue a freak, would not prefer to be like everyone else, were it in his power to do so? It is the most barbarous and most stupid intolerance to wish to fly at such a man's throat; he is no more guilty toward society, regardless of what may be his extravagances, than is, as I have just said, the person who came blind and lame ²⁶ into the world. And it would be quite as unjust to punish or deride ²⁷ the latter as to afflict ²⁸ or berate ²⁹ the other. The man endowed with uncommon tastes is sick; if you prefer, he is like a woman subject to hysterical ³⁰ vapors ³¹. Has the idea to punish such a person ever occurred to us? Let us be equally fair when dealing ³² with the man whose caprices startle us; perfectly ³³ like unto the ill man or the woman suffering from vapors, he is deserving of sympathy and not of blame; that is the moral apology for the persons whom we are discussing; a physical explanation will without doubt be found as easily, and when the study of anatomy ³⁴ reaches perfection they will without any trouble be able to demonstrate the relationship of the human constitution to the tastes which it affects. Ah, you pedants ³⁵, hangmen, turnkeys, lawmakers, you shavepate rabble ³⁶, what will you do when we have arrived there? what is to become of your laws, your ethics ³⁷, your religion, your gallows ³⁸, your Gods and your Heavens and your Hell when it shall be proven that such a flow of liquids, this variety of fibers ³⁹, that degree of pungency ⁴⁰ in the blood or in the animal spirits are sufficient to make a man the object of your givings and your takings away? We continue. Cruel tastes astonish you.#p#分页标题#e#, , ," Isolated ⁶² enjoyment therefore has its charms, it may therefore have more of them than all other kinds; why I if it were not so, how should the aged ⁶³ and so many deformed ⁶⁴ or defective ⁶⁵ persons be able to enjoy themselves? for they know full well they are not loved nor lovable; perfectly certain it is impossible to share what they experience, is their joy any the less powerful on that account? Do they desire even the illusion? Behaving with utter selfishness in their riots, you will observe them seeking pleasure, you will see them sacrifice everything to obtain it, and in the object they put to use never other than passive properties. Therefore, it is in no wise necessary to give pleasures in order to receive them; the happy or unhappy situation of the victim of our debauch ⁶⁶ is, therefore, absolutely as one from the point of view of our senses, there is never any question of the state in which his heart or mind may be; it matters not one whit ⁶⁷, the object may be pleased by what you do to it, the object may suffer, it may love or detest ⁴ you: all these considerations are nullified immediately it is only a question of your sensation. Women, I concede, may establish contrary theories, but women, who are nothing but machines designed for voluptuousness ⁶⁸, who ought to be nothing but the targets of lust ⁶⁹, are untrustworthy authorities whenever one has got to construct an authentic ⁷⁰ doctrine ⁷¹ upon this kind of pleasure. Is there a single reasonable man who is eager to have a whore partake of his joy? And, however, are there not millions of men who amuse themselves hugely with these creatures? Well, there you have that many individuals convinced of what I am urging, who unhesitatingly put it into practice, and who scorn those who use good principles to legitimate ⁷² their deeds, those ridiculous fools, the world is stuffed to overflowing ⁷³ with them, who go and come, who do this and that, who eat, who digest, without ever sensing a thing.#p#分页标题#e#,The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。,I can't understand the eccentricity of Henry's behavior.我不理解亨利的古怪举止 。