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