屋顶间的哲学家_梭维斯特-第4章
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swhoisalwaysontheprowl；orinambush；hehasnotwitnessedthethousandaspectsofaclearoracloudysky；northethousandeffectsoflight；thatmaketheseupperregionsatheatrewithever…changingscenes！howmanytimeshavemydaysofleisurepassedawayincontemplatingthiswonderfulsight；indiscoveringitsdarkerorbrighterepisodes；inseeking；inshort；inthisunknownworldfortheimpressionsoftravelthatwealthytouristslookforlower！
nineoclock鈥斺�攂utwhy；then；havenotmywingedneighborspickedupthecrumbsihavescatteredforthembeforemywindow？iseethemflyaway；eback；perchupontheledgesofthewindows；andchirpatthesightofthefeasttheyareusuallysoreadytodevour！itisnotmypresencethatfrightensthem；ihaveaccustomedthemtoeatoutofmyhand。then；whythisfearfulsuspense？invainilookaround：theroofisclear；thewindowsnearareclosed。icrumblethebreadthatremainsfrommybreakfasttoattractthembyanamplerfeast。theirchirpingsincrease；theybenddowntheirheads；theboldestapproachuponthewing；butwithoutdaringtoalight。
e；e；mysparrowsarethevictimsofoneofthefoolishpanicswhichmakethefundsfallatthebourse！itisplainthatbirdsarenotmorereasonablethanmen！
withthisreflectioniwasabouttoshutmywindow；whensuddenlyiperceived；inaspotofsunshineonmyright；theshadowoftwopricked…upears；thenapawadvanced；thentheheadofatabby…catshoweditselfatthecornerofthegutter。thecunningfellowwaslyingthereinwait；hopingthecrumbswouldbringhimsomegame。
andihadaccusedmyguestsofcowardice！iwassosurethatnodangercouldmenacethem！ithoughtihadlookedwelleverywhere！ihadonlyforgottenthecornerbehindme！
inlife；asontheroofs；howmanymisfortunesefromhavingforgottenasinglecorner！
tenoclock鈥斺�攊cannotleavemywindow；therainandthecoldhavekeptitshutsolongthatimustreconnoitrealltheenvironstobeabletotakepossessionofthemagain。myeyessearchinsuccessionallthepointsofthejumbledandconfusedprospect；passingonorstoppingaccordingtowhattheylightupon。
ah！seethewindowsuponwhichtheyformerlylovedtorest；theyarethoseoftwounknownneighbors；whosedifferenthabitstheyhavelongremarked。
oneisapoorwork…woman；whorisesbeforesunrise；andwhoseprofileisshadoweduponherlittlemuslinwindow…curtainfarintotheevening；theotherisayoungsongstress；whosevocalflourishessometimesreachmyatticbysnatches。whentheirwindowsareopen；thatofthework…womandiscoversahumblebutdecentabode；theother；anelegantlyfurnishedroom。butto…dayacrowdoftradespeoplethrongthelatter：theytakedownthesilkhangingsandcarryoffthefurniture；andinowrememberthattheyoungsingerpassedundermywindowthismorningwithherveildown；andwalkingwiththehastystepofonewhosufferssomeinwardtrouble。ah！iguessitall。hermeansareexhaustedinelegantfancies；orhavebeentakenawaybysomeunexpectedmisfortune；andnowshehasfallenfromluxurytoindigence。whilethework…womanmanagesnotonlytokeepherlittleroom；butalsotofurnishitwithdecentfortbyhersteadytoil；thatofthesingerisbeethepropertyofbrokers。theonesparkledforamomentonthewaveofprosperity；theothersailsslowlybutsafelyalongthecoastofahumbleandlaboriousindustry。
alas！istherenotherealessonforusall？isitreallyinhazardousexperiments；attheendofwhichweshallmeetwithwealthorruin；thatthewisemanshouldemployhisyearsofstrengthandfreedom？oughthetoconsiderlifeasaregularemploymentwhichbringsitsdailywages；orasagameinwhichthefutureisdeterminedbyafewthrows？whyseektheriskofextremechances？forwhatendhastentorichesbydangerousroads？isitreallycertainthathappinessistheprizeofbrilliantsuccesses；ratherthanofawiselyacceptedpoverty？ah！ifmenbutknewinwhatasmalldwellingjoycanlive；andhowlittleitcoststofurnishit！
twelveoclock鈥斺�攊havebeenwalkingupanddownmyatticforalongtime；withmyarmsfoldedandmyeyesontheground！mydoubtsincrease；likeshadowsencroachingmoreandmoreonsomebrightspace；myfearsmultiply；andtheuncertaintybeeseverymomentmorepainfultome！
itisnecessaryformetodecideto…day；andbeforetheevening！iholdthediceofmyfuturefateinmyhands；andidarenotthrowthem。
threeoclock鈥斺�攖heskyhasbeecloudy；andacoldwindbeginstoblowfromthewest；allthewindowswhichwereopenedtothesunshineofabeautifuldayareshutagain。onlyontheoppositesideofthestreet；thelodgeronthelaststoryhasnotyetlefthisbalcony。
oneknowshimtobeasoldierbyhisregularwalk；hisgraymoustaches；andtheribbonthatdecorateshisbuttonhole。indeed；onemighthaveguessedasmuchfromthecarehetakesofthelittlegardenwhichistheornamentofhisbalconyinmid…air；fortherearetwothingsespeciallylovedbyalloldsoldiers鈥斺�攆lowersandchildren。theyhavebeensolong；obligedtolookupontheearthasafieldofbattle；andsolongcutofffromthepeacefulpleasuresofaquietlot；thattheyseemtobeginlifeatanagewhenothersendit。thetastesoftheirearlyyears；whichwerearrestedbythesterndutiesofwar；suddenlybreakoutagainwiththeirwhitehairs；andarelikethesavingsofyouthwhichtheyspendagaininoldage。besides；theyhavebeencondemnedtobedestroyersforsolongthatperhapstheyfeelasecretpleasureincreating；andseeinglifespringupagain：thebeautyofweaknesshasagraceandanattractionthemoreforthosewhohavebeentheagentsofunbendingforce；andthewatchingoverthefrailgermsoflifehasallthecharmsofnoveltyfortheseoldworkmenofdeath。
thereforethecoldwindhasnotdrivenmyneighborfromhisbalcony。
heisdigginguptheearthinhisgreenboxes；andcarefullysowingtheseedsofthescarletnasturtium；convolvulus；andsweet…pea。henceforthhewilleeverydaytowatchfortheirfirstsprouting；toprotecttheyoungshootsfromweedsorinsects；toarrangethestringsforthetendrilstoclimbon；andcarefullytoregulatetheirsupplyofwaterandheat！
howmuchlabortobringinthedesiredharvest！forthat；howmanytimesshalliseehimbravecoldorheat；windorsun；ashedoesto…day！butthen；inthehotsummerdays；whentheblindingdustwhirlsincloudsthroughourstreets；whentheeye；dazzledbytheglareofwhitestucco；knowsnotwheretorest；andtheglowingroofsreflecttheirheatuponustoburning；theoldsoldierwillsitinhisarborandperceivenothingbutgreenleavesandflowersaroundhim；andthebreezewillecoolandfreshtohimthroughtheseperfumedshades。hisassiduouscarewillberewardedatlast。
wemustsowtheseeds；andtendthegrowth；ifwewouldenjoytheflower。
fouroclock鈥斺�攖hecloudsthathavebeengatheringinthehorizonforalongtimearebeedarker；itthundersloudly；andtherainpoursdown！
thosewhoarecaughtinitflyineverydirection；somelaughingandsomecrying。
ialwaysfindparticularamusementinthesehelter…skelters；causedbyasuddenstorm。itseemsasifeachone；whenthustakenbysurprise；losesthefactitiouscharacterthattheworldorhabithasgivenhim；andappearsinhistruecolors。
see；forexample；thatbigmanwithdeliberatestep；whosuddenlyforgetshisindifference；madetoorder；andrunslikeaschoolboy！heisathriftycitygentleman；who；withallhisfashionableairs；isafraidtospoilhishat。
thatprettywomanyonder；onthecontrary；whoselooksaresomodest；andwhosedressissoelaborate；slackensherpacewiththeincreasingstorm。sheseemstofindpleasureinbravingit；anddoesnotthinkofhervelvetcloakspottedbythehail！sheisevidentlyalionessinsheepsclothing。
here；ayoungman；whowaspassing；stopstocatchsomeofthehailstonesinhishand；andexaminesthem。byhisquickandbusiness…likewalkjustnow；youwouldhavetakenhimforatax…gathereronhisrounds；whenheisayoungphilosopher；studyingtheeffectsofelectricity。andthoseschoolboyswholeavetheirrankstorunafterthesuddengustsofamarchwhirlwind；thosegirls；justnowsodemure；butwhonowflywithburstsoflaughter；thosenationalguards；whoquitthemartialattitudeoftheirdaysofdutytotakerefugeunderaporch！thestormhascausedallthesetransformations。
see；itincreases！thehardiestareobligedtoseekshelter。iseeeveryonerushingtowardtheshopinfrontofmywindow；whichabillannouncesistolet。itisforthefourthtimewithinafewmonths。
ayearagoalltheskillofthejoinerandtheartofthepainterwereemployedinbeautifyingit；buttheirworksarealreadydestroyedbytheleavingofsomanytenants；thecornicesofthefrontaredisfiguredbymud；thearabesquesonthedoorwayarespoiledbybillsposteduponthemtoannouncethesaleoftheeffects。thesplendidshophaslostsomeofitsembellishmentswitheachchangeofthetenant。seeitnowempty；andleftopentothepassersby。howmuchdoesitsfateresemblethatofsomanywho；likeit；onlychangetheiroccupationtohastenthefastertoruin！
iamstruckbythislastreflection：sincethemorningeverythingseemstospeaktome；andwiththesamewarningtone。everythingsays：〃takecare！becontentwithyourhappy；thoughhumblelot；happinesscanberetainedonlybyconstancy；donotforsakeyouroldpatronsfortheprotectionofthosewhoareunknown！〃
aretheytheoutwardobjectswhichspeakthus；ordoesthewarningefromwithin？isitnotimyselfwhogivethislanguagetoallthatsurroundsme？theworldisbutaninstrument；towhichwegivesoundatwill。butwhatdoesitsignifyifitteachesuswisdom？thelowvoicethatspeaksinourbreastsisalwaysafriendlyvoice；forittellsuswhatweare；thatistosay；whatisourcapability。badconductresults；forthemostpart；frommistakingourcalling。therearesomanyfoolsandknaves；becausetherearesofewmenwhoknowthemselves。
thequestionisnottodiscoverwhatwillsuitus；butforwhatwearesuited！
whatshouldidoamongthesemanyexperiencedfinancialspeculators？iamonlyapoorsparrow；bornamongthehousetops；andshouldalwaysfeartheenemycrouchinginthedarkcorner；iamaprudentworkman；andshouldthinkofthebusinessofmyneighborswhososuddenlydisappeared；iamatimidobserver；andshouldcalltomindtheflowerssoslowlyraisedbytheoldsoldier；ortheshopbroughttoruinbyconstantchangeofmasters。awayfromme；yebanquets；overwhichhangstheswordofdamocles！iamacountrymouse。givememynutsandhollowtree；andiasknothingbesides鈥斺�攅xceptsecurity。
andwhythisinsatiablecravingforriches？doesamandrinkmorewhenhedrinksfromalargeglass？whenceesthatuniversaldreadofmediocrity；thefruitfulmotherofpeaceandliberty？ah！thereistheevilwhich；aboveeveryother；itshouldbetheaimofbothpublicandprivateeducationtoanticipate！ifthatweregotridof；whattreasonswouldbespared；whatbasenessavoided；whatachainofexcessandcrimewouldbeforeverbroken！weawardthepalmtocharity；andtoself…sacrifice；but；aboveall；letusawardittomoderation；foritisthegreatsocialvirtue。evenwhenitdoesnotcreatetheothers；itstandsinsteadofthem。
sixoclock鈥斺�攊havewrittenaletterofthankstothepromotersofthenewspeculation；andhavedeclinedtheiroffer！thisdecisionhasrestoredmypeaceofmind。istoppedsinging；likethecobbler；aslongasientertainedthehopeofriches：itisgone；andhappinessiseback！
obelovedandgentlepoverty！pardonmeforhavingforamomentwishedtoflyfromthee；asiwouldfromwant。stayhereforeverwiththycharmingsisters；pity；patience；sobriety；andsolitude；beyemyqueensandmyinstructors；teachmethesterndutiesoflife；removefarfrommyabodetheweaknessofheartandgiddinessofheadwhichfollowprosperity。holypoverty！teachmetoendurewithoutplaining；toimpartwithoutgrudging；toseektheendoflifehigherthaninpleasure；fartheroffthaninpower。thougivestthebodystrength；thoumakestthemindmorefirm；and；thankstothee；thislife；towhichtherichattachthemselvesastoarock；beesabarkofwhichdeathmaycutthecablewithoutawakeningallourfearsntinuetosustainme；othouwhomchristhathcalledblessed！
CHAPTER IV
letusloveoneanother
april9th
thefineeveningsareeback；thetreesbegintoputforththeirshoots；hyacinths；jonquils；violets；andlilacsperfumethebasketsoftheflower…girls鈥斺�攁lltheworldhavebeguntheirwalksagainonthequaysandboulevards。afterdinner；i；too；descendfrommyattictobreathetheeveningair。
itisthehourwhenparisisseeninallitsbeauty。duringthedaytheplasterfrontsofthehouseswearytheeyebytheirmonotonouswhiteness；heavilyladencartsmakethestreetsshakeundertheirhugewheels；theeagercrowd；takenupbytheonefearoflosingamomentfrombusiness；crossandjostleoneanother；theaspectofthecityaltogetherhassomethingharsh；restless；andflurriedaboutit。but；assoonasthestarsappear；everyth
