迈克斯·毕尔邦(Max Beerhohm)
She was a nymph to whom men's admiration was the greater part of life. By day, whenever she went into the streets, she was conscious that no man passed her without a stare; and this consciousness gave a sharp zest to her outings. Sometimes she was followed to her door — crude flattery which she was too innocent to fear. Even when she went into the shop to make some little purchase of tape or riband, or into the grocer's — for she was an epicure in her humble way — to buy a tin of meat for her supper, the homage of the young men behind the counter did flatter and exhilarate her.
As the homage of men became for her, more and more, a matter of course, the more subtly necessary was it to her happiness. The more she won of it, the more she treasured it. She was alone in the world, and it saved her from any moment of regret that she had neither home nor friends. For her the streets that lay around her had no squalor, since she paced them always in the gold nimbus of her fascinations. Her bedroom seemed not mean nor lonely to her, since the little square of glass, nailed above the wash-stand, was ever there to reflect her face. Indeed, she was ever peering. She would smile and frown. Though Zuleika had never given her heart, strong in her were the desire and the need that it should be given. Wherever she went, she saw nothing but youths fatuously prostrate to her — not one upright figure which she could respect. There were the middle-aged men, the old men, who did not bow down to her; but to the middle-age, as to the old, she had a sanguine aversion. She could love none but a youth. Nor could she love one who fell prone before her. And before her all youths always did fall prone. She was an empress, and all youths were her slaves. Their bondage delighted her, as I have said. But no empress who has any pride can adore one of her slaves. Whom, then, could proud Zuleika adore?
- nymph [nɪmf] n. 美女，仙女
- epicure [ˈepɪkjʊə] n. 享乐主义者
- homage [ˈhɒmɪdʒ] n. 敬意
- exhilarate [ɪɡˈzɪləreɪt] v. 使高兴
- fatuously [ˈfætjʊəslɪ] ad. 愚昧地
- prostrate [ˈprɒstreɪt] a. 拜倒的，匍匐的
- prone [prəʊn] a. 俯伏的
她是仙女，男人的爱慕是她人生中的大部分。白天，每当她走上街的时候，就会意识到没有男人经过她身旁时不盯着她看的，这越发激起了她外出的热情。有时候，她被人跟到门口——对这种粗俗的奉承，她很天真，从不介意。甚至在她去商店买些布带和缎带之类的小物件的时候，或者去果疏杂货店——因为她是个低级的爱奢侈享受的人——买一听肉罐头当晚饭吃，柜台后面年轻男子对她的殷勤，的确让她很受用，使她很兴奋。
男人们的殷勤，她已经习惯成自然，这种殷勤，很微妙地，对她的快乐，越来越成为必需的了，而且越多越珍视。在这个世界上，她孤身只影，那些恭维殷勤使她摆脱无家无友的悔恨。对她来说，她周围的街道没有污秽，因为她总是带着迷人风姿的金色光环在那里漫步的。她的卧室对她来说似乎不算寒酸，也不孤寂，因为她经常对着洗脸架上方钉的小方镜子，照自己的脸。真的，她老在看，看着看着微微一笑，皱皱眉头。朱莱卡还没有倾心于谁，但她内心有着强烈的渴望和需要，是该倾心的时候了。她无论走到哪里，她所见都是疯狂地拜倒在她石榴裙下的年轻人——没有一个直身站着而让她敬慕的人。有些中年人和老年人，没有向她献殷勤；但她对待中年人和对待老年人一样，有一种残酷无情的反感。她只喜欢年轻人。年轻人都拜倒在她脚下，而她又不喜欢拜倒在跟前的人。她是女王，所有年轻人都是她的奴隶。如我前面所说，他们的俯首就缚使她快乐。可是哪个高傲的女王能够爱慕自己的奴仆呢？那么，又有哪个值得高傲的朱莱卡倾心呢？
迈克斯·毕尔邦(1872—1956)，英国散文家、漫画家、小说家，出生于伦敦。散文集有《圣诞花环》(A Christmas Garland ，1912)等。短篇小说集有《七人》(Seven Men ，1917)。唯一的长篇小说《朱莱卡·多卜生》(Zuleika Dobson ，1911)是其成名作，写一位美女来到牛津大学，引起风流韵事，许多学生为她自杀。此书充分体现了他尖刻的讽刺和优美的文笔。