首页 >出版文学> The Works of Edgar Allan Poe>第58章
  Thewinesparkledinhiseyesandthebellsjingled。MyownfancygrewwarmwiththeMedoc。Wehadpassedthroughwallsofpiledbones,withcasksandpuncheonsintermingling,intotheinmostrecessesofthecatacombs。Ipausedagain,andthistimeImadeboldtoseizeFortunatobyanarmabovetheelbow。
  “Thenitre!”Isaid:“see,itincreases。Ithangslikemossuponthevaults。Wearebelowtheriver’sbed。Thedropsofmoisturetrickleamongthebones。Come,wewillgobackereitistoolate。Yourcough“
  “Itisnothing。”hesaid;“letusgoon。Butfirst,anotherdraughtoftheMedoc。”
  Ibrokeandreachedhimafla鏾nofDeGr鈜e。Heemptieditatabreath。Hiseyesflashedwithafiercelight。HelaughedandthrewthebottleupwardswithagesticulationIdidnotunderstand。
  Ilookedathiminsurprise。Herepeatedthemovement-agrotesqueone。
  “Youdonotcomprehend?”hesaid。
  “NotI。”Ireplied。
  “Thenyouarenotofthebrotherhood。”
  “How?”
  “Youarenotofthemasons。”
  “Yes,yes。”Isaid,“yes,yes。”
  “You?Impossible!Amason?”
  “Amason。”Ireplied。
  “Asign。”hesaid。
  “Itisthis。”Ianswered,producingatrowelfrombeneaththefoldsofmy_roquelaire_。
  “Youjest。”heexclaimed,recoilingafewpaces。“ButletusproceedtotheAmontillado。”
  “Beitso。”Isaid,replacingthetoolbeneaththecloak,andagainofferinghimmyarm。Heleaneduponitheavily。WecontinuedourrouteinsearchoftheAmontillado。Wepassedthrougharangeoflowarches,descended,passedon,anddescendingagain,arrivedatadeepcrypt,inwhichthefoulnessoftheaircausedourflambeauxrathertoglowthanflame。
  Atthemostremoteendofthecryptthereappearedanotherlessspacious。Itswallshadbeenlinedwithhumanremains,piledtothevaultoverhead,inthefashionofthegreatcatacombsofParis。
  Threesidesofthisinteriorcryptwerestillornamentedinthismanner。Fromthefourththeboneshadbeenthrowndown,andlaypromiscuouslyupontheearth,formingatonepointamoundofsomesize。Withinthewallthusexposedbythedisplacingofthebones,weperceivedastillinteriorrecess,indepthaboutfourfeet,inwidththree,inheightsixorseven。Itseemedtohavebeenconstructedfornoespecialuseinitself,butformedmerelytheintervalbetweentwoofthecolossalsupportsoftheroofofthecatacombs,andwasbackedbyoneoftheircircumscribingwallsofsolidgranite。
  ItwasinvainthatFortunato,upliftinghisdulltorch,endeavoredtopryintothedepthsoftherecess。Itsterminationthefeeblelightdidnotenableustosee。
  “Proceed。”Isaid;“hereinistheAmontillado。AsforLuchesi“
  “Heisanignoramus。”interruptedmyfriend,ashesteppedunsteadilyforward,whileIfollowedimmediatelyathisheels。Inaninstanthehadreachedtheextremityoftheniche,andfindinghisprogressarrestedbytherock,stoodstupidlybewildered。AmomentmoreandIhadfetteredhimtothegranite。Initssurfaceweretwoironstaples,distantfromeachotherabouttwofeet,horizontally。
  Fromoneofthesedependedashortchain,fromtheotherapadlock。
  Throwingthelinksabouthiswaist,itwasbuttheworkofafewsecondstosecureit。Hewastoomuchastoundedtoresist。
  WithdrawingthekeyIsteppedbackfromtherecess。
  “Passyourhand。”Isaid,“overthewall;youcannothelpfeelingthenitre。Indeeditis_very_damp。Oncemoreletme_implore_youtoreturn。No?ThenImustpositivelyleaveyou。
  ButImustfirstrenderyouallthelittleattentionsinmypower。”
  “TheAmontillado!”ejaculatedmyfriend,notyetrecoveredfromhisastonishment。
  “True。”Ireplied;“theAmontillado。”
  AsIsaidthesewordsIbusiedmyselfamongthepileofbonesofwhichIhavebeforespoken。Throwingthemaside,Isoonuncoveredaquantityofbuildingstoneandmortar。Withthesematerialsandwiththeaidofmytrowel,Ibeganvigorouslytowalluptheentranceoftheniche。
  IhadscarcelylaidthefirsttierofmymasonrywhenI
  discoveredthattheintoxicationofFortunatohadinagreatmeasurewornoff。TheearliestindicationIhadofthiswasalowmoaningcryfromthedepthoftherecess。Itwas_not_thecryofadrunkenman。Therewasthenalongandobstinatesilence。Ilaidthesecondtier,andthethird,andthefourth;andthenIheardthefuriousvibrationsofthechain。Thenoiselastedforseveralminutes,duringwhich,thatImighthearkentoitwiththemoresatisfaction,Iceasedmylaborsandsatdownuponthebones。Whenatlasttheclankingsubsided,Iresumedthetrowel,andfinishedwithoutinterruptionthefifth,thesixth,andtheseventhtier。Thewallwasnownearlyuponalevelwithmybreast。Iagainpaused,andholdingtheflambeauxoverthemason-work,threwafewfeebleraysuponthefigurewithin。
  Asuccessionofloudandshrillscreams,burstingsuddenlyfromthethroatofthechainedform,seemedtothrustmeviolentlyback。
  ForabriefmomentIhesitated-Itrembled。Unsheathingmyrapier,Ibegantogropewithitabouttherecess:butthethoughtofaninstantreassuredme。Iplacedmyhanduponthesolidfabricofthecatacombs,andfeltsatisfied。Ireapproachedthewall。Irepliedtotheyellsofhimwhoclamored。Ire-echoed-Iaided-I
  surpassedtheminvolumeandinstrength。Ididthis,andtheclamorergrewstill。
  Itwasnowmidnight,andmytaskwasdrawingtoaclose。Ihadcompletedtheeighth,theninth,andthetenthtier。Ihadfinishedaportionofthelastandtheeleventh;thereremainedbutasinglestonetobefittedandplasteredin。Istruggledwithitsweight;Iplaceditpartiallyinitsdestinedposition。Butnowtherecamefromoutthenichealowlaughthaterectedthehairsuponmyhead。Itwassucceededbyasadvoice,whichIhaddifficultyinrecognisingasthatofthenobleFortunato。Thevoicesaid-
  “Ha!ha!ha!-he!he!-averygoodjokeindeed-anexcellentjest。Wewillhavemanyarichlaughaboutitatthepalazzo-he!he!he!-overourwine-he!he!he!”
  “TheAmontillado!”Isaid。
  “He!he!he!-he!he!he!-yes,theAmontillado。Butisitnotgettinglate?Willnottheybeawaitingusatthepalazzo,theLadyFortunatoandtherest?Letusbegone。”
  “Yes。”Isaid,“letusbegone。”
  “_FortheloveofGod,Montressor!_“
  “Yes。”Isaid,“fortheloveofGod!”
  ButtothesewordsIhearkenedinvainforareply。Igrewimpatient。Icalledaloud-
  “Fortunato!”
  Noanswer。Icalledagain-
  “Fortunato!”
  Noanswerstill。Ithrustatorchthroughtheremainingapertureandletitfallwithin。Therecameforthinreturnonlyajinglingofthebells。Myheartgrewsick-onaccountofthedampnessofthecatacombs。Ihastenedtomakeanendofmylabor。Iforcedthelaststoneintoitsposition;Iplastereditup。AgainstthenewmasonryIre-erectedtheoldrampartofbones。Forthehalfofacenturynomortalhasdisturbedthem。_Inpacerequiescat!_
  INTHEconsiderationofthefacultiesandimpulsesoftheprimamobiliaofthehumansoul,thephrenologistshavefailedtomakeroomforapropensitywhich,althoughobviouslyexistingasaradical,primitive,irreduciblesentiment,hasbeenequallyoverlookedbyallthemoralistswhohaveprecededthem。Inthepurearroganceofthereason,wehavealloverlookedit。Wehavesuffereditsexistencetoescapeoursenses,solelythroughwantofbeliefoffaith;
  whetheritbefaithinRevelation,orfaithintheKabbala。Theideaofithasneveroccurredtous,simplybecauseofitssupererogation。
  Wesawnoneedoftheimpulseforthepropensity。Wecouldnotperceiveitsnecessity。Wecouldnotunderstand,thatistosay,wecouldnothaveunderstood,hadthenotionofthisprimummobileeverobtrudeditself;wecouldnothaveunderstoodinwhatmanneritmightbemadetofurthertheobjectsofhumanity,eithertemporaloreternal。Itcannotbedeniedthatphrenologyand,ingreatmeasure,allmetaphysicianismhavebeenconcoctedapriori。Theintellectualorlogicalman,ratherthantheunderstandingorobservantman,sethimselftoimaginedesignstodictatepurposestoGod。Havingthusfathomed,tohissatisfaction,theintentionsofJehovah,outoftheseintentionshebuilthisinnumerablesystemsofmind。Inthematterofphrenology,forexample,wefirstdetermined,naturallyenough,thatitwasthedesignoftheDeitythatmanshouldeat。Wethenassignedtomananorganofalimentiveness,andthisorganisthescourgewithwhichtheDeitycompelsman,will-Inill-I,intoeating。Secondly,havingsettledittobeGod’swillthatmanshouldcontinuehisspecies,wediscoveredanorganofamativeness,forthwith。Andsowithcombativeness,withideality,withcausality,withconstructiveness,so,inshort,witheveryorgan,whetherrepresentingapropensity,amoralsentiment,orafacultyofthepureintellect。AndinthesearrangementsofthePrincipiaofhumanaction,theSpurzheimites,whetherrightorwrong,inpart,oruponthewhole,havebutfollowed,inprinciple,thefootstepsoftheirpredecessors:deducingandestablishingeverythingfromthepreconceiveddestinyofman,anduponthegroundoftheobjectsofhisCreator。
  Itwouldhavebeenwiser,itwouldhavebeensafer,toclassifyifclassifywemustuponthebasisofwhatmanusuallyoroccasionallydid,andwasalwaysoccasionallydoing,ratherthanuponthebasisofwhatwetookitforgrantedtheDeityintendedhimtodo。IfwecannotcomprehendGodinhisvisibleworks,howtheninhisinconceivablethoughts,thatcalltheworksintobeing?Ifwecannotunderstandhiminhisobjectivecreatures,howtheninhissubstantivemoodsandphasesofcreation?
  Induction,aposteriori,wouldhavebroughtphrenologytoadmit,asaninnateandprimitiveprincipleofhumanaction,aparadoxicalsomething,whichwemaycallperverseness,forwantofamorecharacteristicterm。InthesenseIintend,itis,infact,amobilewithoutmotive,amotivenotmotivirt。Throughitspromptingsweactwithoutcomprehensibleobject;or,ifthisshallbeunderstoodasacontradictioninterms,wemaysofarmodifythepropositionastosay,thatthroughitspromptingsweact,forthereasonthatweshouldnot。Intheory,noreasoncanbemoreunreasonable,but,infact,thereisnonemorestrong。Withcertainminds,undercertainconditions,itbecomesabsolutelyirresistible。IamnotmorecertainthatIbreathe,thanthattheassuranceofthewrongorerrorofanyactionisoftentheoneunconquerableforcewhichimpelsus,andaloneimpelsustoitsprosecution。Norwillthisoverwhelmingtendencytodowrongforthewrong’ssake,admitofanalysis,orresolutionintoulteriorelements。Itisaradical,aprimitiveimpulse-elementary。Itwillbesaid,Iamaware,thatwhenwepersistinactsbecausewefeelweshouldnotpersistinthem,ourconductisbutamodificationofthatwhichordinarilyspringsfromthecombativenessofphrenology。Butaglancewillshowthefallacyofthisidea。Thephrenologicalcombativenesshasforitsessence,thenecessityofself-defence。Itisoursafeguardagainstinjury。Itsprincipleregardsourwell-being;andthusthedesiretobewellisexcitedsimultaneouslywithitsdevelopment。Itfollows,thatthedesiretobewellmustbeexcitedsimultaneouslywithanyprinciplewhichshallbemerelyamodificationofcombativeness,butinthecaseofthatsomethingwhichItermperverseness,thedesiretobewellisnotonlynotaroused,butastronglyantagonisticalsentimentexists。
  Anappealtoone’sownheartis,afterall,thebestreplytothesophistryjustnoticed。Noonewhotrustinglyconsultsandthoroughlyquestionshisownsoul,willbedisposedtodenytheentireradicalnessofthepropensityinquestion。Itisnotmoreincomprehensiblethandistinctive。Therelivesnomanwhoatsomeperiodhasnotbeentormented,forexample,byanearnestdesiretotantalizealistenerbycircumlocution。Thespeakerisawarethathedispleases;hehaseveryintentiontoplease,heisusuallycurt,precise,andclear,themostlaconicandluminouslanguageisstrugglingforutteranceuponhistongue,itisonlywithdifficultythatherestrainshimselffromgivingitflow;hedreadsanddeprecatestheangerofhimwhomheaddresses;yet,thethoughtstrikeshim,thatbycertaininvolutionsandparenthesesthisangermaybeengendered。Thatsinglethoughtisenough。Theimpulseincreasestoawish,thewishtoadesire,thedesiretoanuncontrollablelonging,andthelongingtothedeepregretandmortificationofthespeaker,andindefianceofallconsequencesisindulged。