第23部分(第3/7 頁)
veryinmost soul; of the latter seemed to be brought out before his eyes;so that he could see and prehend its every movement。 He became;thenceforth; not a spectator only; but a chief actor; in the poorminister's interior world。 He could play upon him as he chose。 Wouldhe arouse him with a throb of agony? The victim was for ever on therack; it needed only to know the spring that controlled the engine…and the physician knew it well! Would be startle him with sudden fear?As at the waving of a magician's wand; uprose a grisly phantom… uprosea thousand phantoms… in many shapes; of death; or more awful shame;all flocking round about tie clergyman; and pointing with theirfingers at his breast! All this was acplished with a subtlety so perfect; that theminister; though he had constantly a dim perception of some evilinfluence watching over him; could never gain a knowledge of itsactual nature。 True; he looked doubtfully; fearfully… even; attimes; with horror and the bitterness of hatred… at the deformedfigure of the old physician。 His gestures; his gait; his grizzledbeard; his slightest and most indifferent acts; the very fashion ofhis garments; were odious in the clergyman's sight; a token implicitlyto be relied on; of a deeper antipathy in the breast of the latterthan he was willing to acknowledge to himself。 For; as it wasimpossible to assign a reason for such distrust and abhorrence; so Mr。Dimmesdale; conscious that the poison of one morbid spot was infectinghis heart's entire substance; attributed all his presentiments to noother cause。 He took himself to task for his bad sympathies inreference to Roger Chillingworth; disregarded the lesson that heshould have drawn from them; and did his best to root them out。 Unableto acplish this; he nevertheless; as a matter of principle
本章未完,點選下一頁繼續。