h they were determined to discover his secret。
of such insolences and attempted slights he察of course察took no notice察and in the opinion of most people his frank debonair manner察his charming boyish smile察and the infinite grace of that wonderful youth that seemed never to leave him察were in themselves a sufficient answer to the calumnies察for so they termed them察that were circulated about him。 it was remarked察however察that some of those who had been most intimate with him appeared察after a time察to shun him。 women who had wildly adored him察and for his sake had braved all social censure and set convention at defiance察were seen to grow pallid with shame or horror if dorian gray entered the room。
yet these whispered scandals only increased in the eyes of many his strange and dangerous charm。 his great wealth was a certain element of security。 societycivilized society察at least is never very ready to believe anything to the detriment of those who are both rich and fascinating。 it feels instinctively that manners are of more importance than morals察and察in its opinion察the highest respectability is of much less value than the possession of a good chef。 and察after all察it is a very poor consolation to be told that the man who has given one a bad dinner察or poor wine察is irreproachable in his private life。 even the cardinal virtues cannot atone for half´cold entr辿es察as lord henry remarked once察in a discussion on the subject察and there is possibly a good deal to be said for his view。 for the canons of good society are察or should be察the same as the canons of art。 form is absolutely essential to it。 it should have the dignity of a ceremony察as well as its unreality察and should bine the insincere character of a romantic play with the wit and beauty that make such plays delightful to us。 is insincerity such a terrible thing拭i think not。 it is merely a method by which we can multiply our personalities。
such察at any rate察was dorian grays opinion。 he used to wonder at the shallow psychology of those who conceive the ego in man as a thing simple察permanent察reliable察and of one essence。 to him察man was a being with myriad lives and myriad sensations察a plex multiform creature that bore within itself strange legacies of thought and passion察and whose very flesh was tainted with the monstrous maladies of the dead。 he loved to stroll through the gaunt cold picture´gallery of his country house and look at the various portraits of those whose blood flowed in his veins。 here was philip herbert察described by francis osborne察in his memoires on the reigns of queen elizabeth and king james察as one who was ;caressed by the court for his handsome face察which kept him not long pany。; was it young herberts life that he sometimes led拭had some strange poisonous germ crept from body to body till it had reached his own拭was it some dim sense of that ruined grace that had made him so suddenly察and almost without cause察give utterance察in basil hallwards studio察to the mad prayer that had so changed his life拭here察in gold´embroidered red doublet察jewelled surcoat察and gilt´edged ruff and wristbands察stood sir anthony sherard察with his silver´and´black armour piled at his feet。 what had this mans legacy been拭had the lover of giovanna of naples bequeathed him some inheritance of sin and shame拭were his own actions merely the dreams that the dead man had not dared to realize拭here察from the fading canvas察smiled lady elizabeth devereux察in her gauze hood察pearl stomacher察and pink slashed sleeves。 a flower was in her right hand察and her left clasped an enamelled collar of white and damask roses。 on a table by her side lay a mandolin and an apple。 there were large green rosettes upon her little pointed shoes。 he knew her life察and the strange stories that were told about her lovers。 had he something of her temperament in him拭these oval察heavy´lidded eyes seemed to look curiously at him。 what of george willoughby察with his powdered hair and fantastic patches拭how evil he looked the face was saturnine and swarthy察and the sensual lips seemed to be twisted with disdain。 delicate lace ruffles fell over the lean yellow hands that were so overladen with rings。 he had been a macaroni of the eighteenth century察and the friend察in his youth察of lord ferrars。 what of the second lord beckenham察the panion of the prince regent in his wildest days察and one of the witnesses at the secret marriage with mrs。 fitzherbert拭how proud and handsome he was察with his chestnut curls and insolent pose what passions had he bequeathed拭the world had looked upon him as infamous。 he had led the orgies at carlton house。 the star of the garter glittered upon his breast。 beside him hung the portrait of his wife察a pallid察thin´lipped woman in black。 her blood察also察stirred within him。 how curious it all seemed and his mother with her lady hamilton face and her moist察wine´dashed lipshe knew what he had got from her。 he had got from her his beauty察and his passion for the beauty of others。 she laughed at him in her loose bacchante dress。 there were vine leaves in her hair。 the purple spilled from the cup she was holding。 the carnations of the painting had withered察but the eyes were still wonderful in their depth and brilliancy of colour。 they seemed to follow him wherever he went。
yet one had ancestors in literature as well as in ones own race察nearer perhaps in type and temperament察many of them察and certainly with an influence of which one was more absolutely conscious。 there were times when it appeared to dorian gray that the whole of history was merely the record of his own life察not as he had lived it in act and circumstance察but as his imagination had created it for him察as it had been in his brain and in his passions。 he felt that he had known them all察those strange terrible figures that had passed across the stage of the world and made sin so marvellous and evil so full of subtlety。 it seemed to him that in some mysterious way their lives had been his own。
the hero of the wonderful novel that had so influenced his life had himself known this curious fancy。 in the seventh chapter he tells how察crowned with laurel察lest lightning might strike him察he had sat察as tiberius察in a garden at capri察reading the shameful books of elephantis察while dwarfs and peacocks strutted round him and the flute´player mocked the swinger of the censer察and察as caligula察had caroused with the green´shirted jockeys in their stables and supped in an ivory manger with a jewel´frontleted horse察and察as domitian察had wandered through a corridor lined with marble mirrors察looking round with haggard eyes for the reflection of the dagger that was to end his days察and sick with that ennui察that terrible taedium vitae察that es on those to whom life denies nothing察and had peered through a clear emerald at the red shambles of the circus and then察in a litter of pearl and purple drawn by silver´shod mules察been carried through the street of pomegranates to a house of gold and heard men cry on nero caesar as he passed by察and察as elagabalus察had painted his face with colours察and plied the distaff among the women察and brought the moon from carthage and given her in mystic marriage to the sun。
over and over again dorian used to read this fantastic chapter察and the two chapters immediately following察in which察as in some curious tapestries or cunningly wrought enamels察were pictured the awful and beautiful forms of those whom vice and blood and weariness had made monstrous or mad此filippo察duke of milan察who slew his wife and painted her lips with a scarlet poison that her lover might suck death from the dead thing he fondled察pietro barbi察the venetian察known as paul the second察who sought in his vanity to assume the title of formosus察and whose tiara察valued at two hundred thousand florins察was bought at the price of a terrible sin察gian maria visconti察who used hounds to chase living men and whose murdered body was covered with roses by a harlot who had loved him察the borgia on his white horse察with fratricide riding beside him and his mantle stained with the blood of perotto察pietro riario察the young cardinal archbishop of florence察child and minion of sixtus iv察whose beauty was equalled only by his debauchery察and who received leonora of aragon in a pavilion of white and crimson silk察filled with nymphs and centaurs察and gilded a boy that he might serve at the feast as ganymede or hylas察ezzelin察whose melancholy could be cured only by the spectacle of death察and who had a passion for red blood察as other men have for red winethe son of the fiend察as was reported察and one who had cheated his father at dice when gambling with him for his own soul察giambattista cibo察who in mockery took the name of innocent and into whose torpid veins the blood of three lads was infused by a jewish doctor察sigismondo malatesta察the lover of isotta and the lord of rimini察whose effigy was burned at rome as the enemy of god and man察who strangled polyssena with a napkin察and gave poison to ginevra deste in a cup of emerald察and in honour of a shameful passion built a pagan church for christian worship察charles vi察who had so wildly adored his brothers wife that a leper had warned him of the insanity that was ing on him察and who察when his brain had sickened and grown strange察could only be soothed by saracen cards painted with the images of love and death and madness察and察in his trimmed jerkin and jewelled cap and acanthuslike curls察grifonetto baglioni察who slew astorre with his bride察and simonetto with his page察and whose eliness was such that察as he lay dying in the yellow piazza of perugia察those who had hated him could not choose but weep察and atalanta察who had cursed him察blessed him。
there was a horrible fascination in them all。 he saw them at night察and they troubled his imagination in the day。 the renaissance knew of strange manners of poisoning poisoning by a helmet and a lighted torch察by an embroidered glove and a jewelled fan察by a gilded pomander and by an amber chain。 dorian gray had been poisoned by a book。 there were moments when he looked on evil simply as a mode through which he could realize his conception of the beautiful。
Chapter 12
絨鐚粋器漆txt紊
chapter 12
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