登陆注册
19863600000002

第2章

In the immutability of their surroundings the foreign shores, the foreign faces, the changing immensity of life, glide past, veiled not by a sense of mystery but by a slightly disdainful ignorance; for there is nothing mys-terious to a seaman unless it be the sea itself, which is the mistress of his existence and as inscrutable as Destiny.

For the rest, after his hours of work, a casual stroll or a casual spree on shore suffices to unfold for him the secret of a whole continent, and generally he finds the secret not worth knowing. The yarns of seamen have a direct simplicity, the whole meaning of which lies within the shell of a cracked nut. But Marlow was not typical (if his propensity to spin yarns be excepted), and to him the meaning of an episode was not inside like a kernel but outside, enveloping the tale which brought it out only as a glow brings out a haze, in the likeness of one of these misty halos that sometimes are made visible by the spectral illumination of moonshine.

His remark did not seem at all surprising. It was just like Marlow. It was accepted in silence. No one took the trouble to grunt even; and presently he said, very slow--"I was thinking of very old times, when the Romans first came here, nineteen hundred years ago--the other day. . . . Light came out of this river since--you say Knights? Yes; but it is like a running blaze on a plain, like a flash of lightning in the clouds. We live in the flicker--may it last as long as the old earth keeps rolling! But darkness was here yesterday. Imagine the feelings of a commander of a fine--what d'ye call 'em?--trireme in the Mediterranean, ordered suddenly to the north; run overland across the Gauls in a hurry;put in charge of one of these craft the legionaries,--a wonderful lot of handy men they must have been too--used to build, apparently by the hundred, in a month or two, if we may believe what we read. Imagine him here--the very end of the world, a sea the color of lead, a sky the color of smoke, a kind of ship about as rigid as a concertina--and going up this river with stores, or orders, or what you like. Sandbanks, marshes, forests, savages,--precious little to eat fit for a civilized man, nothing but Thames water to drink. No Falernian wine here, no going ashore. Here and there a military camp lost in a wilderness, like a needle in a bundle of hay--cold, fog, tempests, disease, exile, and death,--death skulking in the air, in the water, in the bush. They must have been dying like flies here. Oh yes--he did it.

Did it very well, too, no doubt, and without thinking much about it either, except afterwards to brag of what he had gone through in his time, perhaps. They were men enough to face the darkness. And perhaps he was cheered by keeping his eye on a chance of promotion to the fleet at Ravenna by-and-by, if he had good friends in Rome and survived the awful climate. Or think of a decent young citizen in a toga--perhaps too much dice, you know--coming out here in the train of some prefect, or tax-gatherer, or trader even, to mend his fortunes. Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him,--all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men. There's no initiation either into such mysteries. He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him.

The fascination of the abomination--you know.

Imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate."He paused.

"Mind," he began again, lifting one arm from the elbow, the palm of the hand outwards, so that, with his legs folded before him, he had the pose of a Buddha preaching in European clothes and without a lotus-flower--"Mind, none of us would feel exactly like this.

What saves us is efficiency--the devotion to efficiency.

But these chaps were not much account, really. They were no colonists; their administration was merely a squeeze, and nothing more, I suspect. They were con-querors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others.

They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggra-vated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind --as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only. An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretense but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea --something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to. . . ."He broke off. Flames glided in the river, small green flames, red flames, white flames, pursuing, overtaking, joining, crossing each other--then separating slowly or hastily. The traffic of the great city went on in the deepening night upon the sleepless river. We looked on, waiting patiently--there was nothing else to do till the end of the flood; but it was only after a long silence, when he said, in a hesitating voice, "I suppose you fel-lows remember I did once turn fresh-water sailor for a bit," that we knew we were fated, before the ebb began to run, to hear about one of Marlow's inconclusive ex-periences.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 逆袭为妃

    逆袭为妃

    咦?灵魂穿越了?哎呦,穿成了一个大美人儿。什么!我是个歌女?万幸,卖艺不卖身。God!竟然是李世民的青梅竹马?还好,并没有成亲。我去!我还是隋炀帝私生女?什么情况?“微贱歌女,也想封妃争宠?”正妻跳出来耀武扬威。哼!不许争偏要争!要你看看什么叫逆袭!
  • 末世之战国风云

    末世之战国风云

    整个世界都乱了,世界变成了游戏,为了在这强敌环视的世界生存只能不断的强化自己。英雄难免也会孤掌难鸣啊!努力活下去吧,在这乱世之中!
  • 我是军事科技知识大王

    我是军事科技知识大王

    知识的伟大在于它的博大和精深,人类的伟大表现在不断的探索和发现已知和未知的世界,这是人类进步的巨大动力。
  • 别离的花期

    别离的花期

    她是春光灿烂的清爽妹子一枚,是Y大众多女神中脱颖而出的栀子花女神。可谁知,女神的感情世界也曾经历创伤,在人海茫茫中不断寻找着当初那个格外熟悉的背影…可最终,当她找到了正在前方向她微笑招手的人,那个自己一心思念不愿再错过的人,可却在一个角落中发现了另外一个温暖如太阳,为她晒掉所有悲伤的人
  • 重生之后娘难为

    重生之后娘难为

    前世她的心里只有青梅竹马的谪仙少爷,却被奸人所害沦落风尘。重生后,这次做了不同的选择,决定与另外一个男人共结良缘。无意间开启空间,带着他的儿子度过一个又一个难关,摆脱那穷困潦倒的生活。这一次,她立志成为贤妻良母。再——为他生一堆孩子。情节虚构,请勿模仿
  • 内绍种禅师语录

    内绍种禅师语录

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 今晚不寂寞:与尸同眠

    今晚不寂寞:与尸同眠

    我十一岁的那年,后爸喝醉了,撕了我的衣裤,差点就把我……大半夜的,我跑了出去。在大街上,却碰到了一支接亲的队伍。走在最前面的是纸做的马,接着还有顶着大白花的轿子,还有纸做的童男童女。阴差阳错之下,我穿上了本该是新娘子穿的红裙子。那个晚上改变了我的一生。高三毕业的时候,我被后爸半卖半嫁地,成了一个傻子的老婆,而这个傻子就是当初那大半夜迎亲的人,一个没有心跳,没有呼吸的男人。
  • 第一世家小姐:凤缘天下

    第一世家小姐:凤缘天下

    秦天大陆,以武为尊,实力强者得天下!夜韵冰,秦天大陆夜王府的大小姐,天生废材,魔力为零。被二小姐推入池塘淹死,再睁眼,她,不再是她。府里不容?且看我废材如何崛起,保家人,寻母亲,夜王府以我为尊。魔力为零?前世力量不断回来,没有积累,何谈爆发!且看女主如何从一名废材在异世大陆走向大陆巅峰。片段一:(极品父亲)“那么夜王,我问你女儿是召唤师,那打败她的我呢?”“你个废人怎么可能打伤我女儿,你定用了什么见不得光的手段对付我女儿。”大夫人见势不妙,立刻出话扭转局面。“大夫人说得不错,如果你现在和你妹妹道歉,为父会原谅你。”夜韵冰看着夜王的表情,好像是在说“我在施舍你,还不谢恩?”呵呵,真是个极品父亲。
  • 异界超级学徒

    异界超级学徒

    韩东是炼药学徒,但他手上有无数宗师药剂;韩东是锻造学徒,但有无数强者求他打造装备;韩东是法师学徒,但是他的火球却轻易击穿了魔导士的盾牌;“谁告诉你学徒是废物?有本事,你别找我买药,买装备,买技能啊!!”韩东如是说。
  • 美女总裁:我大老公十三岁(完)

    美女总裁:我大老公十三岁(完)

    她的亲生父母把她抛弃,于是被人收养。一向慈祥的养父,竟在她15岁那年把她压在身下狠狠侵犯!怀了孕被养母扫出家门,她努力生存,自己一人把孩子生下,并且开创了自己的公司,成为了名副其实的女强人!!女儿13岁生日那一天,他与她邂逅。他16岁,妄想偷她的钱,却被她打倒。知道了他也是被抛弃的,她突然怜悯起这个与她有同样遭遇的帅气男孩,收养他做了儿子。心里大打着小九九,等女儿20岁時和他订婚。30岁那天,‘儿子’竟然和他告白。她拒绝,却从未想过这一切是真实的吗?一个疯狂的追求者,他的身份究竟是?==============简介无能,直接看文吧。新文《妖孽侯爷:红杏,本侯不准你出墙!》求收藏,支持,评论,咖啡,投票!依绯跪谢!新文地址:http://novel.hongxiu.com/a/430714/