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【国外英文文学】TheAbbot
[Illustration:ROLANDGRAEMEANDCATHERINESETONBEFOREQUEENMARY.]
THEABBOT.
BEINGTHESEQUELTOTHEMONASTERY.
BySirWalterScott
*****
INTRODUCTION--(1831.)
FromwhatissaidintheIntroductiontotheMonastery,itmust
necessarilybeinferred,thattheAuthorconsideredthatromanceas
,thebooksellersdidnot
complainofthesale,because,unlessonveryfelicitousoccasions,or
onthosewhichareequallythereverse,literarypopularityisnot
,inmy
situation,nottoadvancewasinsomeDegreetorecede,andbeing
naturallyunwillingtothinkthattheprincipleofdecaylayin
myself,Iwasatleastdesiroustoknowofacertainty,whetherthe
degreeofdiscountenancewhichIhadincurred,wasnowowingtoan
ill-managedstory,oranill-chosensubject.
Iwasnever,Iconfess,oneofthosewhoarewillingtosupposethe
brainsofanauthortobeakindofmilk,whichwillnotstandabovea
singlecreaming,andwhoareeternallyharpingtoyoungauthorsto
husbandtheirefforts,andtobecharyoftheirreputation,lestit
,andhavealways
been,themoreindifferenttothedegreeofestimationinwhichI
mightbeheldasanauthor,becauseIdidnotputsohighavalueas
manyothersuponwhatistermedliteraryreputationintheabstract,
oratleastuponthespeciesofpopularitywhichhadfallentomy
share;forthoughitwereworsethanaffectationtodenythatmy
2
vanitywassatisfiedatmysuccessinthedepartmentinwhichchance
hadinsomemeasureenlistedme,Iwas,nevertheless,farfrom
thinkingthatthenovelistorromance-writerstandshighintheranks
,
asIhaveexpressedmyopinionveryfullyintheIntroductoryEpistle
totheFortunesofNigel,firstedition;and,althoughitbecomposed
inanimaginarycharacter,itisassincereandcandidasifithad
beenwritten"withoutmygownandband."
Inaword,whenIconsideredmyselfashavingbeenunsuccessfulinthe
Monastery,IwastemptedtotrywhetherIcouldnotrestore,evenat
theriskoftotallylosing,myso-calledreputation,byanew
hazard--Ilookedroundmylibrary,andcouldnotbutobserve,that,
fromthetimeofChaucertothatofByron,themostpopularauthors
thequalityofreadinessandprofusionhadameritinitself,
Churchill,Ibelieve,whohadlittlemeritinhisprejudicedeyes,he
allowedhimthatoffertility,withsomesuchqualificationasthis,
"ACrab-applecanbearbutcrabsafterall;butthereisagreat
differenceinfavourofthatwhichbearsalargequantityoffruit,
howeverindifferent,andthatwhichproducesonlyafew."
Lookingmoreattentivelyatthepatriarchsofliterature,whoseearner
wasaslongasitwasbrilliant,IthoughtIperceivedthatinthe
busyandprolongedcourseofexertion,therewerenodoubtoccasional
failures,butthatstillthosewhowerefavouritesoftheirage
made,theirerrorswereobliterated,theybecameidentifiedwiththe
literatureoftheircountry,andafterhavinglongreceivedlawfrom
thecritics,
wasatlengthcalledfromthescene,hisdeathfirstmadethepublic
recollectedapassageinGrimm'sCorrespondence,thatwhilethe
unexhaustedVoltairesentforthtractaftertracttotheverycloseof
alonglife,thefirstimpressionmadebyeachasitappeared,was,
thatitwasinferiortoitspredecessors;anopinionadoptedfromthe
generalideathatthePatriarchofFerneymustatlastfindthepoint
rankedinsuccessionthelastofVoltaire'sEssaysonthesamefooting
3
fromthisandsimilarfactsseemedtometobe,thatnewworkswere
oftenjudgedofbythepublic,notsomuchfromtheirownintrinsic
merit,asfromextrinsicideaswhichreadershadpreviouslyformed
withregardtothem,andoverwhichawritermighthopetotriumphby
;
"Ifhefallin,goodnight,orsinkorswim."
Butthisisachanceincidenttoeveryliteraryattempt,andbywhich
menofasanguinetemperarelittlemoved.
ImayillustratewhatImean,bythefeelingsofmostmenin
,orinan
especialdegreeinteresting,particularlyshort,ormuchlongerthan
weexpected,ourimaginationsaresoapttoexaggeratetheoriginal
impression,that,onrepeatingthejourney,weusuallyfindthatwe
haveconsiderablyover-ratedthepredominatingquality,andtheroad
appearstobedullerormorepleasant,shorterormoretedious,than
whatweexpected,and,consequently,thanwhatisactuallythecase.
Itrequiresathirdorfourthjourneytoenableustoformanaccurate
judgmentofitsbeauty,itslength,oritsotherattributes.
Inthesamemanner,thepublic,judgingofanewwork,whichit
receivesperhapswithlittleexpectation,ifsurprisedintoapplause,
becomesveryoftenecstatic,givesagreatdealmoreapprobationthan
isdue,andelevatesthechildofitsimmediatefavourtoarank
which,asitaffectstheauthor,itisequallydifficulttokeep,and
,onthisoccasion,theauthortremblesatthe
heighttowhichheisraised,andbecomesafraidoftheshadowofhis
ownrenown,hemayindeedretirefromthelotterywiththeprizewhich
hehasdrawn,but,infutureages,hishonourwillbeonlyin
,onthecontrary,herushesagaininto
thelists,heissuretobejudgedwithseverityproportionedtothe
thissecondoccasion,,
onthecontrary,hecankeephisground,andstandtheshuttlecock's
fate,ofbeingstruckupanddown,hewillprobably,atlength,hold
withsomecertaintythelevelinpublicopinionwhichhemaybefound
todeserve;andhemayperhapsboastofarrestingthegeneral
attention,inthesamemannerastheBachelorSamsonCarrasco,of
4
fixingtheweathercockLaGiraldaofSevilleforweeks,months,or
years,thatis,foraslongasthewindshalluniformlyblowfromone
aspire,while,inordertoattainit,heassumedthedaringresolution
tokeephimselfintheviewofthepublicbyfrequentappearances
beforethem.
Itmustbeadded,thattheauthor'sincognitogavehimgreatercourage
torenewhisattemptstopleasethepublic,andanadvantagesimilar
tothatwhichJacktheGiant-killerreceivedfromhiscoatof
,he
hadusedthewell-knownpracticerecommendedbyBassanio:--
"Inmyschooldays,whenIhadlostoneshaft,
Ishotanotheroftheself-sameflight,
Theself-sameway,withmoreadvisedwatch,
Tofindtheotherforth."
And,tocontinuethesimile,hisshafts,likethoseofthelesser
Ajax,weredischargedmorereadilythatthearcherwasasinaccessible
tocriticism,personallyspeaking,astheGrecianarcherunderhis
brother'ssevenfoldshield.
ShouldthereaderdesiretoknowuponwhatprinciplestheAbbotwas
expectedtoamendthefortuneoftheMonastery,Ihavefirstto
requesthisattentiontotheIntroductoryEpistleaddressedtothe
imaginaryCaptainClutterbuck;amodebywhich,likehispredecessors
inthiswalkoffiction,therealauthormakesoneofhis_dramatis
personae_themeansofcommunicatinghisownsentimentstothe
public,somewhatmoreartificiallythanbyadirectaddresstothe
,MonsieurPajon,
authoroftheHistoryofPrinceSoly,hassetadivertingexampleof
thesamemachinery,whereheintroducesthepresidingGeniusofthe
landofRomanceconversingwithoneofthepersonagesofthetale.
InthisIntroductoryEpistle,theauthorcommunicates,inconfidence,
toCaptainClutterbuck,hissensethattheWhiteLadyhadnotmetthe
tasteofthetimes,andhisreasonforwithdrawingherfromthescene.
Theauthordidnotdeemitequallynecessarytobecandidrespecting
,atfirst,tohave
containedsomesupernaturalagency,arisingoutofthefact,that
5
MelrosehadbeentheplaceofdepositofthegreatRobertBruce's
,however,fromfillingup,inthis
particular,thesketchasitwasoriginallytraced;nordidheventure
toresume,incontinuation,thesubjectwhichhehadleftunattempted
,theincidentofthediscoveryofthe
heart,whichoccupiesthegreaterpartoftheIntroductiontothe
Monastery,isamysteryunnecessarilyintroduced,andwhichremainsat
,Iwashappyto
shroudmyselfbytheexampleoftheauthorof"CalebWilliams,"who
nevercondescendstoinformusoftheactualcontentsofthatIron
Chestwhichmakessuchafigureinhisinterestingwork,andgivesthe
'sdrama.
Thepublichadsomeclaimtoinquireintothismatter,butitseemed
,
whateverpraisemaybeduetotheingenuitywhichbringstoageneral
combinationalltheloosethreadsofanarrative,liketheknitterat
thefinishingofherstocking,Iamgreatlydeceivedifinmanycases
asuperioradvantageisnotattained,bytheairofrealitywhichthe
deficiencyofexplanationattachestoaworkwrittenonadifferent
,manythingsbefalleverymortal,ofwhichthe
individualneverknowstherealcauseororigin;andwerewetopoint
outthemostmarkeddistinctionbetweenarealandafictitious
narrative,wewouldsay,thattheformerinreferencetotheremote
causesoftheeventsitrelates,isobscure,doubtful,andmysterious;
whereas,inthelattercase,itisapartoftheauthor'sdutyto
affordsatisfactorydetailsuponthecausesoftheseparateeventshe
hasrecorded,and,inaword,,
likeMungointhePadlock,willnotbesatisfiedwithhearingwhathe
isnotmadefullytocomprehend.
Iomitted,therefore,intheIntroductiontotheAbbot,anyattemptto
explainthepreviousstory,ortoapologizeforunintelligibility.
Neitherwouldithavebeenprudenttohaveendeavouredtoproclaim,in
theIntroductiontotheAbbot,therealspring,bywhichIhopedit
mightattractagreaterdegreeofinterestthanitsimmediate
,ortheannouncementofapopularsubject,
isarecipeforsuccessmuchinfavourwithbooksellers,butwhich
6
moment'sexamination.
Thereoccurineverycountrysomepeculiarhistoricalcharacters,
whichare,likeaspellorcharm,sovereigntoexcitecuriosityand
attractattention,sinceeveryoneintheslightestdegreeinterested
inthelandwhichtheybelongto,hasheardmuchofthem,andlongsto
England,orofWallaceorBruceinScotland,issurebythevery
announcementtoexcitepubliccuriositytoaconsiderabledegree,and
ensurethepublisher'sbeingrelievedofthegreaterpartofan
impression,
thelastimportancetothebookseller,whoisatonce,tousea
technicalphrase,"broughthome,"
isadifferentcasewiththeauthor,sinceitcannotbedeniedthatwe
areapttofeelleastsatisfiedwiththeworksofwhichwehavebeen
induced,bytitlesandlaudatoryadvertisements,toentertain
anticipated,andmisconceivedormisrepresented,andalthoughthe
difficultyofexecutingtheworkagainremindsusofHotspur'staskof
"o'er-walkingacurrentroaringloud,"yettheadventurermustlook
formoreridiculeifhefails,thanapplauseifheexecutes,his
undertaking.
Notwithstandingarisk,whichshouldmakeauthorspauseeretheyadopt
athemewhich,excitinggeneralinterestandcuriosity,isoftenthe
preparativefordisappointment,yetitwouldbeaninjudicious
regulationwhichshoulddeterthepoetorpainterfromattemptingto
introducehistoricalportraits,merelyfromthedifficultyof
tothegenerousimpulse,whichoftenthrustsanartistuponfeatsof
whichheknowsthedifficulty,whilehetrustscourageandexertion
mayaffordthemeansofsurmountingit.
Itisespeciallywhenheissensibleoflosinggroundwiththepublic,
thatanauthormaybejustifiedinusingwithaddress,suchselection
withthesefeelingsofhopeandapprehension,thatIventureto
7
awaken,inaworkoffiction,thememoryofQueenMary,sointeresting
byherwit,herbeauty,hermisfortunes,andthemysterywhichstill
does,andprobablyalwayswill,,I
wasawarethatfailurewouldbeaconclusivedisaster,sothatmytask
wassomethinglikethatofanenchanterwhoraisesaspiritoverwhom
heisuncertainofpossessinganeffectualcontrol;andInaturally
paidattentiontosuchprinciplesofcomposition,asIconce