wǎ 'ěr tè · sī gè tè shì yīng guó zhù míng de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō jiā hèshī rén。 tā shēng yú sū gé lán de 'ài dīng bǎo shì, fù qīn shì wèi lǜ shī。 sī gè jiāng bì yè yú 'ài dīng bǎo dà xué, dāng guò lǜ shī, dān rèn guò fù jùn cháng、 gāo děng mín shì fǎ tíng shū jì gōng děng zhí。
sī gè tè rè 'ài sū gé lán jiā xiāng, cóng xiǎo duì gù xiāng fēng fù de lì shǐ chuán shuō hé mín jiàngē yáo chǎn shēng liǎo nóng hòu de xīng qù。 yī bā èr nián zhì yī bā sān nián jiān tā sōu jí zhěng lǐ bìng chū bǎn liǎo《 sū gé lán biān qū gē yáo》, yǐn qǐ rén men de zhù yì, yě wéi tā rì hòu de chuàng zuò dǎ xià liǎo jī chǔ。 yī bā wǔ nián, sī gè tè chuàng zuò de xù shì cháng shī《 mò dài gē zhě zhī gē》 chū bǎn, hōng dòng liǎo yīng guó wén tán, gěi tā dài lái liǎo shēng yù。 cǐ hòu tā yòu chuàng zuò liǎo cháng shī《 mǎ mì 'ēn》 hé《 hú shàng fū rén》 děng。 zài zhè xiē xù shì shī lǐ, sī gè tè yùn yòng làng màn shū qíng de shǒu fǎ miáo huì liǎo sū gé lán guī lì de zì rán jǐng sè, xù shù liǎo sū gé lán hé yīng gé lán gǔ lǎo de lì shǐ chuán shuō, yǐn qǐ liǎo rén men jí dà de xīng qù, diàn dìng liǎo zì jǐ zài yīng guó wén tán shàng de shī rén dì wèi。
yī bā yī sì nián, sī gè tè nì míng chū bǎn liǎo yī bù yǐ sū gé lán zhān mǔ shì dǎng rén yī qī sì wǔ nián qǐ yì wéi tí cái de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō《 wēi fú lì》, shòu dào dú zhě jí qí rè qíng de huān yíng。 zhè shí, bài lún yǐ zài shī tán shàng zhǎn lòutóu jiǎo, sī gè tè zì tàn bù rú, yú shì jué xīn zhuǎn dào xiǎo shuō chuàng zuò fāng miàn。
cóng yī bā yī sì nián dào yī bā sān 'èr nián sī gè tè qù shì wéi zhǐ, tā yī gòng chuàng zuò liǎo 'èr shí yú bù lì shǐ xiǎo shuō, qí zhōng zuì wéi shèng zhì rén kǒu de yòu yǐ sū gé lán lì shǐ wéi bèi jǐng de《 zhōng luò xīn jùn de xīn zàng》、《 xiū mù lǎo rén》、《 hóng gǔ luó bó》, yǐ yīng gé lán lì shǐ wéi bèi jǐng de《 ài fán hè》 hé yǐ fǎ guó lì shǐ wéi bèi jǐng de《 jīng hūn jì》。
sī gè tè de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō qì shì bàng bó, hóng wěi zhuàng lì, chū sè dì fǎn yìng liǎo yīng gé lán、 sū gé lán hé 'ōu zhōu lì shǐ zhòng dà zhuǎn zhé shí kè de máo dùn chōng tū。 zài tā de bǐ xià, lì shǐ shì jiàn háo bù kū zào, zǒng shì hé gù shì rén wù bēi huān lí hé de qū zhé zāo yù yòu jī dì jié hé zài yī qǐ。
sī gè tè de chuàng zuò duì 'ōu zhōu lì shǐ xiǎo shuō qǐ liǎo kāi chuàng zuò yòng, bèi zūn wéi lì shǐ xiǎo shuō de chuàng shǐ rén。 yīng guó de dí gèng sī、 sī dì wén sēn, fǎ guó de yǔ guǒ、 bā 'ěr zhā kè、 dà zhòng mǎ, de pǔ xī jīn, yì dà lì de màn zuǒ ní, měi guó de kù bǎi děng zhù míng zuò jiā dū céng shòu dào sī gè tè de shēn kè yǐng xiǎng。
《 jīng hūn jì》 shì sī gè tè de dài biǎo zuò pǐn zhī yī。 zhè bù xiǎo shuō chū bǎn yú yī bā 'èr sān nián, bù dàn shòu dào yīng guó dú zhě de xǐ 'ài, hái zài 'ōu zhōu xiān qǐ liǎo yī gǔ sī gè tè rè, yóu qí zài fǎ guó yǐn qǐ de fǎn xiǎng zhī rè liè chāo guò liǎo sī gè tè yǐ qián de suǒ yòu zuò pǐn。
zhè bù xiǎo shuō bǎ wǒ men dài dào liǎo chōng mǎn làng màn qíng qù de zhōng shì jì shí qī de fǎ guó, tā yǐ shí wǔ shì jì fǎ guó guó wáng lù yì shí yī fǎn duì fēng jiàn gē jù shì lì de dǒu zhēng wéi lì shǐ bèi jǐng。 xiǎo shuō zhù rén gōng shì yī gè chū dào fǎ guó gōng tíng chōng rèn guó wáng tiē shēn wèi shì de sū gé lán qīng nián kūn dīng · dá wēi tè。 xǐ 'ài mào xiǎn de qīng nián dú zhě yī dìng huì bèi kūn dīng zài fǎ guó yù dào de zhǒng zhǒng jīng xiǎn de zāo yù xī yǐn zhù。 gù shì de zhù yào qíng jié shì: kūn dīng 'ài shàng liǎo yī wèi wéi táo hūn dào fǎ wáng gōng tíng bìnàn de guì zú shàonǚ, guó wáng hé shàonǚ de bǎo hù rén bó gèn dì gōng jué wéi duó qǔ duì shàonǚ cái chǎn de kòng zhì quán jìn xíng liǎo zhǒng zhǒng míng zhēng 'àn dǒu; kūn dīng yě juàn jìn liǎo zhè chǎng dǒu zhēng, dàn tā zhōng yú kào zì jǐ de yǒng qì hé zhì huì bì kāi liǎo guó wáng shè xià de yī dào dào xiàn fù, jiù chū liǎo shàonǚ, bìng qiě huò dé liǎo tā de 'ài qíng。
sī gè tè xiǎo shuō lǐ de zhù rén gōng wǎng wǎng xiěde bù jí xiǎo shuō lǐ de cì yào rén wù hé zhēn shí de lì shǐ rén wù nà me shēng dòng hé xī yǐn rén。 lì rú,《 ài fán hè》 lǐ de qí shì 'ài fán hè hé《 xiū mù lǎo rén》 lǐ de zhù rén gōng hēng lì · mò dùn dū cháng cháng shòu dào pī píng jiā de zhǐ zé, shuō tā men shì quē fá xiān míng gè xìng yòng 5 huái yú dǒu zhēng shuāng fāng zhī jiān de zhù rén gōng。 rán 'ér, zài《 jīng hūn jì》 zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ, zhù rén gōng kūn dīng què xiěde fēi cháng zhēn qiē gǎn rén。 tā nà dān chún shàn liáng、 zhèng zhí jiān dìng、 chéng kěn zhí zhe de xìng gé zhèng hé xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě de lì shǐ rén wù lù yì shí yī nà xū wěi jiǎo zhà、 cán rěn zì sī de xìng gé zhèng hǎo xíng chéng qiáng liè de duì zhào, tā wèile zhěng jiù yī gè ruò nǚ zǐ 'ér fèn bù gù shēn de wàng wǒ jīng shén yě jiù gèng jiā shǐ dú zhě wéi zhī jī dòng。 kūn dīng · dá wēi tè wú yí shì sī gè tè bǐ xià zuì shòu dú zhě xǐ 'ài de zhù rén gōng zhī yī。
bù guò, zài《 jīng hūn jì》 lǐ qiáng liè dì xī yǐn liǎo dú zhě de, hái bù zhǐ shì zhè duì liàn rén zhǒng zhǒng qiān jūn yī fā de lì xiǎn, ér shì hé zhè duì liàn rén de zāo yù jǐn mì xiāng lián de jù dà lì shǐ shí qī de máo dùn hé dǒu zhēng, yóu qí shì fǎ guó guó wáng hé qiáng dà de fēng jiàn guì zú shǒu lǐng bó gèn dì gōng jué zhī jiān de gòu xīn dǒu jiǎo、 yīn móu guǐ jì hé míng zhēng 'àn dǒu。 sī gè tè zài zhè bù xiǎo shuō de xù lǐ tè bié shēng míng: “ kūn dīng de xiǎo xiǎo 'ài qíng jiū gé zhǐ shì wèile gù shì de jìn zhǎn 'ér cǎi yòng de yī zhǒng shǒu duàn。 ” sī gè tè miáo huì de zhòng diǎn shì zhù míng de lì shǐ rén wù lù yì shí yī, suī shuō wèile gù shì qíng jié jié gòu de yào qiú, tā bìng méi yòu ràng zhè gè lì shǐ rén wù zuò wéi xiǎo shuō de zhù rén gōng。
shí wǔ shì jì de fǎ guó zhèng chǔyú wài huàn nèi luàn zhī zhōng。 guó nèi fēng jiàn zhū hóu fēi yáng bá hù, wéi suǒ yù wéi, gè jù yī fāng, hé fǎ guó guó wáng fēn tíng kàng lǐ。 ér yóu yú fā zhǎn shēng chǎn de yào qiú, xīn xīng de shì mín jiē céng pò qiē yào qiú tǒng yī de zhèng quán、 qiáng yòu lì de fǎ zhì hé 'ān dìng de shè huì zhì xù。 lì shǐ fā zhǎn jiù zhè yàng bǎ jiàn lì yī gè zhōng yāng jí quán de fēng jiàn jūn zhù guó jiā de yào qiú tí dào liǎo rì chéng shàng。 sī gè tè yǐ tā mǐn ruì de dòng chá lì miáo huì liǎo zhù zhāng tǒng yī de lù yì shí yī hé gē jù chēng xióng de dà guì zú bó gèn dì gōng jué zhī jiān de jiān ruì dǒu zhēng, bìng qiě tōng guò lù yì shí yī zài zhè chǎng dǒu zhēng zhōng huò dé de chéng jiù fǎn yìng liǎo lì shǐ fā zhǎn de zhù yào qū shì。
lù yì shí yī yòu zhe fù zá 'ér xiān míng de xìng gé。 sī gè tè zài xiǎo shuō lǐ biǎo xiàn liǎo lù yì shí yī wéi shí xiàn zhōng yāng jí quán 'ér jìn xíng de dǒu zhēng, bìng qiě zhǐ chū tā de dǒu zhēng shì fú hé lì shǐ fā zhǎn yào qiú de。 rán 'ér, sī gè tè yě háo bù yǐn huì dì biǎo xiàn liǎo lù yì shí yī zài zhè chǎng dǒu zhēng zhōng cǎi qǔ de bù guāng cǎi de yīn móu shǒu duàn。 lù yì shí yī shǐ zhōng shì yǐ biǎo miàn wěi zhuāng yǒu hǎo, shí jì 'àn wā qiáng jiǎo de bàn fǎ duì fù xiōng měng、 bào zào de bó gèn dì gōng jué de。 zài chù lǐ guì zú shàonǚ yī suō bèi 'ěr táo hūn shì jiàn shí, lù yì shí yī yī fāng miàn jiǎ yì pài kūn dīng hù sòng yī suō bèi 'ěr huí dào liè rì shì zhù jiào fǔ qù, lìng yī fāng miàn yòu wán nòng guǐ jì, tiǎo dòng 'è bà guì zú“ hú zǐ” wēi lián bàn lù lán jié qiǎng qīn, yǐ biàn duó qǔ yī suō bèi 'ěr de lǐng dì, zài gōng jué shēn biān 'ān xià yī kē dīng zǐ。 yóu yú kūn dīng de jǐng tì, cǐ jì méi yòu chéng gōng, tā yòu tiǎo dòng liè rì shì mín, zào chéng“ hú zǐ” wēi lián gōng jìn zhù jiào fǔ, shā sǐ gōng jué de tóng méng zhě liè rì zhù jiào de liúxiě shì jiàn。 zǒng zhī, lù yì shí yī shàn yú lì yòng gè zhǒng shǒu duàn lái dá dào tā de mùdì。 zài tā kàn lái, wèile dá dào zì jǐ de mùdì, shǐ yòng rèn hé yīn móu shǒu duàn dōushì hé fǎ de。 sī gè tè miáo huì de lù yì shí yī zhè gè xíng xiàng chōng fēn jiē shì liǎo tā xìng gé zhōng jiǎo zhà、 xū wěi、 lěng kù、 zì sī yǐ jí mí xìn tiān mìng de yī miàn。 dàn shì, lìng yī fāng miàn, sī gè tè yě biǎo xiàn liǎo lù yì shí yī zài tǒng yī fǎ guó de guò chéng zhōng suǒ xiǎn shì chū de xióng cái dà lüè hé tā shàn yú bǎi tuō kùn nán chǔjìng de zhì móu hé cáigàn。 tā zài gōng jué shuài lǐng dà jūn jí jiāng jìn fàn fǎ guó jiāng tǔ de jǐn jí shí kè zhǐ shēn bài fǎng gōng jué, xún qiú hé píng jiě jué bàn fǎ。 rán 'ér gōng jué zhèng qiǎo dé dào liè rì zhù jiào sǐ xùn, dà wéi zhèn nù, lù yì shí yī bèi tā jiān jìn qǐ lái, shēng mìng shòu dào jí dà wēi xié。 zhè shí, lù yì shí yī yòu yī cì shī zhǎn shǒu wàn, chéng“ hú zǐ” wēi lián jìn fàn gōng jué lǐng tǔ zhī jì, xiàng gōng jué tí chū gòng tóng chéng fá“ hú zǐ” wēi lián de fāng 'àn, shǐ zì jǐ cóng“ jiē xià qiú” yī yuè 'ér chéng wéi gōng jué de tóng méng zhě, cóng 'ér jiě chú liǎo gōng jué duì fǎ guó lǐng tǔ de wēi xié。 zhè yàng, sī gè tè bǐ xià de zhè gè lì shǐ rén wù lù yì shí yī bù dàn dé dào liǎo fú hé lì shǐ zhēn shí de miáo huì, ér qiě xíng xiàng xiān míng shēng dòng, jù yòu zuò wéi tè shū gè rén de rén xìng。 tā bǎ lì shǐ rén wù xiě huó liǎo。 yīng guó píng lùn jiā tuō mǎ sī · kǎ lāi 'ěr duì sī gè tè zhè fāng miàn de gòng xiàn zuò guò jí wéi zhòngkěn de píng jià。 tā shuō, sī gè tè de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō zhǐ chū liǎo zhè yàng yī tiáo zhēn lǐ, nà jiù shì:
“ guò qù shí dài de shì jiè lǐ shí jì shàng chōng mǎn liǎo huó shēng shēng de rén, ér bù shì tiáo yuē cǎo 'àn、 gōng
wén juàn zōng、 lùn zhēng hé guān yú rén de chōu xiàng gài niàn。 tā men bù shì chōu xiàng gài niàn, yě bù shì tú jiě hé dìng
lǐ; ér shì rén, chuānzhuó qiǎn huáng niú pí shàng yī huò zhě bié yàng de wài yī hé mǎ kù, miàn jiá shàng yòu hóng yùn,
xiōng zhōng yùn cáng zhe, jù yòu rén de yǔ yán、 xiàngmào hé shēng mìng lì! rén shì yī gè xiǎo xiǎo de cí, què
bāo hán zhe duō me dà de yì yì!”
lù yì shí yī jiù shì sī gè tè de lì shǐ rén wù zhōng zuì tū chū de jù yòu“ rén de yǔ yán。 xiàngmào hé shēng mìng lì” de xíng xiàng, tā nà xū wěi jiǎo huá、 shàn yú wán nòng yīn móu de xìng gé shì nà yàng zhēn shí, nà yàng chōng mǎn shuō fú lì, suǒ yǐ zhè gè xíng xiàng yī zài shòu dào gè guó píng lùn jiā de tuī chóng hé zàn yáng。
sī gè tè zài《 jīng hūn jì》 lǐ yòng tā fù yú gǎn rǎn lì de bǐ diào miáo huì liǎo xǔ duō xǔ xǔ rú shēng de shì jiàn hé chǎng miàn, yóu qí zài hòu bàn bù, cóng“ hú zǐ” wēi lián gōng xià zhù jiào fǔ kāi shǐ, máo dùn yī bù bù zhǎn kāi hé jī huà, qíng jié jìn rù, xiàng lù yì shí yī shēn rù gōng jué chéng bǎo de chǎng miàn, lù yì shí yī zài bèi jiān jìn shí mìng lìng guì zǐ shǒu tè lǐ sī dān chéng fá qī piàn liǎo tā de xīngxiàng jiā de chǎng miàn, yǐ jí hòu lái guó wáng hé gōng jué chóngxīn hé hǎo、 gòng móu chéng zhì zhě de chǎng miàn, měi gè chǎng miàn dū jǐn jǐn kòu rén xīn xián。 dàn shì, zài jiān ruì de dǒu zhēng zhōng yòu shí shí càn zá zhe xǐ jù de yīn sù, dāo guāng jiàn yǐng zhī zhōng bù shí tīng jiàn yōu mò de xiào shēng, zhè yě shì sī gè tè de tè shū fēng gé bā。
yǔ guǒ céng jīng zhuàn wén zàn yáng《 jīng hūn jì》, yòng sān jù huà gài kuò liǎo sī gè tè de chéng jiù, tā shuō:“ sī gè tè bǎ lì shǐ de wěi dà càn làn, xiǎo shuō de qù wèi hé biān nián shǐ de nà zhǒng yán gé de jīng què jié hé liǎo qǐ lái。”《 jīng hūn jì》 zhèng shì zhè sān zhě chū sè de jié hé de guāng huī fàn lì。
Among those who were the first to ridicule and abandon the self denying principles in which the young knight was instructed and to which he was so carefully trained up, Louis XI of France was the chief. That sovereign was of a character so purely selfish -- so guiltless of entertaining any purpose unconnected with his ambition, covetousness, and desire of selfish enjoyment -- that he almost seems an incarnation of the devil himself, permitted to do his utmost to corrupt our ideas of honour in its very source. Nor is it to be forgotten that Louis possessed to a great extent that caustic wit which can turn into ridicule all that a man does for any other person's advantage but his own, and was, therefore, peculiarly qualified to play the part of a cold hearted and sneering fiend.
The cruelties, the perjuries, the suspicions of this prince, were rendered more detestable, rather than amended, by the gross and debasing superstition which he constantly practised. The devotion to the heavenly saints, of which he made such a parade, was upon the miserable principle of some petty deputy in office, who endeavours to hide or atone for the malversations of which he is conscious by liberal gifts to those whose duty it is to observe his conduct, and endeavours to support a system of fraud by an attempt to corrupt the incorruptible. In no other light can we regard his creating the Virgin Mary a countess and colonel of his guards, or the cunning that admitted to one or two peculiar forms of oath the force of a binding obligation which he denied to all other, strictly preserving the secret, which mode of swearing he really accounted obligatory, as one of the most valuable of state mysteries.
To a total want of scruple, or, it would appear, of any sense whatever of moral obligation, Louis XI added great natural firmness and sagacity of character, with a system of policy so highly refined, considering the times he lived in, that he sometimes overreached himself by giving way to its dictates.
Probably there is no portrait so dark as to be without its softer shades. He understood the interests of France, and faithfully pursued them so long as he could identify them with his own. He carried the country safe through the dangerous crisis of the war termed "for the public good;" in thus disuniting and dispersing this grand and dangerous alliance of the great crown vassals of France against the Sovereign, a king of a less cautious and temporizing character, and of a more bold and less crafty disposition than Louis XI, would, in all probability, have failed. Louis had also some personal accomplishments not inconsistent with his public character. He was cheerful and witty in society; and none was better able to sustain and extol the superiority of the coarse and selfish reasons by which he endeavoured to supply those nobler motives for exertion which his predecessors had derived from the high spirit of chivalry.
In fact, that system was now becoming ancient, and had, even while in its perfection, something so overstrained and fantastic in its principles, as rendered it peculiarly the object of ridicule, whenever, like other old fashions, it began to fall out of repute; and the weapons of raillery could be employed against it, without exciting the disgust and horror with which they would have been rejected at an early period, as a species of blasphemy. The principles of chivalry were cast aside, and their aid supplied by baser stimulants. Instead of the high spirit which pressed every man forward in the defence of his country, Louis XI substituted the exertions of the ever ready mercenary soldier, and persuaded his subjects, among whom the mercantile class began to make a figure, that it was better to leave to mercenaries the risks and labours of war, and to supply the Crown with the means of paying them, than to peril themselves in defence of their own substance. The merchants were easily persuaded by this reasoning. The hour did not arrive in the days of Louis XI when the landed gentry and nobles could be in like manner excluded from the ranks of war; but the wily monarch commenced that system, which, acted upon by his successors, at length threw the whole military defence of the state into the hands of the Crown.
He was equally forward in altering the principles which were wont to regulate the intercourse of the sexes. The doctrines of chivalry had established, in theory at least, a system in which Beauty was the governing and remunerating divinity -- Valour, her slave, who caught his courage from her eye and gave his life for her slightest service. It is true, the system here, as in other branches, was stretched to fantastic extravagance, and cases of scandal not unfrequently arose. Still, they were generally such as those mentioned by Burke, where frailty was deprived of half its guilt, by being purified from all its grossness. In Louis XI's practice, it was far otherwise. He was a low voluptuary, seeking pleasure without sentiment, and despising the sex from whom he desired to obtain it. ... By selecting his favourites and ministers from among the dregs of the people, Louis showed the slight regard which he paid to eminent station and high birth; and although this might be not only excusable but meritorious, where the monarch's fiat promoted obscure talent, or called forth modest worth, it was very different when the King made his favourite associates of such men as the chief of his police, Tristan l'Hermite. .
Nor were Louis's sayings and actions in private or public of a kind which could redeem such gross offences against the character of a man of honour. His word, generally accounted the most sacred test of a man's character, and the least impeachment of which is a capital offence by the code of honour, was forfeited without scruple on the slightest occasion, and often accompanied by the perpetration of the most enormous crimes ... It is more than probable that, in thus renouncing almost openly the ties of religion, honour, and morality, by which mankind at large feel themselves influenced, Louis sought to obtain great advantages in his negotiations with parties who might esteem themselves bound, while he himself enjoyed liberty. He started from the goal, he might suppose, like the racer who has got rid of the weights with which his competitors are still encumbered, and expects to succeed of course. But Providence seems always to unite the existence of peculiar danger with some circumstance which may put those exposed to the peril upon their guard. The constant suspicion attached to any public person who becomes badly eminent for breach of faith is to him what the rattle is to the poisonous serpent: and men come at last to calculate not so much on what their antagonist says as upon that which he is likely to do; a degree of mistrust which tends to counteract the intrigues of such a character, more than his freedom from the scruples of conscientious men can afford him advantage. .
Indeed, although the reign of Louis had been as successful in a political point of view as he himself could have desired, the spectacle of his deathbed might of itself be a warning piece against the seduction of his example. Jealous of every one, but chiefly of his own son, he immured himself in his Castle of Plessis, intrusting his person exclusively to the doubtful faith of his Scottish mercenaries. He never stirred from his chamber; he admitted no one into it, and wearied heaven and every saint with prayers, not for forgiveness of his sins, but for the prolongation of his life. With a poverty of spirit totally inconsistent with his shrewd worldly sagacity, he importuned his physicians until they insulted as well as plundered him. .
It was not the least singular circumstance of this course, that bodily health and terrestrial felicity seemed to be his only object. Making any mention of his sins when talking on the state of his health, was strictly prohibited; and when at his command a priest recited a prayer to Saint Eutropius in which he recommended the King's welfare both in body and soul, Louis caused the two last words to be omitted, saying it was not prudent to importune the blessed saint by too many requests at once. Perhaps he thought by being silent on his crimes he might suffer them to pass out of the recollection of the celestial patrons, whose aid he invoked for his body.
So great were the well merited tortures of this tyrant's deathbed, that Philip de Comines enters into a regular comparison between them and the numerous cruelties inflicted on others by his order; and considering both, comes to express an opinion that the worldly pangs and agony suffered by Louis were such as might compensate the crimes he had committed, and that, after a reasonable quarantine in purgatory, he might in mercy he found duly qualified for the superior regions ... The instructive but appalling scene of this tyrant's sufferings was at length closed by death, 30th August, 1483.
The selection of this remarkable person as the principal character in the romance -- for it will be easily comprehended that the little love intrigue of Quentin is only employed as the means of bringing out the story -- afforded considerable facilities to the author. In Louis XI's time, extraordinary commotions existed throughout all Europe. England's Civil Wars were ended, rather in appearance than reality, by the short lived ascendancy of the House of York. Switzerland was asserting that freedom which was afterwards so bravely defended. In the Empire and in France, the great vassals of the crown were endeavouring to emancipate themselves from its control, while Charles of Burgundy by main force, and Louis more artfully by indirect means, laboured to subject them to subservience to their respective sovereignties. Louis, while with one hand he circumvented and subdued his own rebellious vassals, laboured secretly with the other to aid and encourage the large trading towns of Flanders to rebel against the Duke of Burgundy, to which their wealth and irritability naturally disposed them. In the more woodland districts of Flanders, the Duke of Gueldres, and William de la Marck, called from his ferocity the Wild Boar of Ardennes, were throwing off the habits of knights and gentlemen to practise the violences and brutalities of common bandits.
(Chapter I gives a further account of the conditions of the period which Quentin Durward portrays.)
A hundred secret combinations existed in the different provinces of France and Flanders; numerous private emissaries of the restless Louis, Bohemians, pilgrims, beggars, or agents disguised as such, were everywhere spreading the discontent which it was his policy to maintain in the dominions of Burgundy.
Amidst so great an abundance of materials, it was difficult to select such as should be most intelligible and interesting to the reader: and the author had to regret, that though he made liberal use of the power of departing from the reality of history, he felt by no means confident of having brought his story into a pleasing, compact, and sufficiently intelligible form. The mainspring of the plot is that which all who know the least of the feudal system can easily understand, though the facts are absolutely fictitious. The right of a feudal superior was in nothing more universally acknowledged than in his power to interfere in the marriage of a female vassal. This may appear to exist as a contradiction both of the civil and canon laws, which declare that marriage shall be free, while the feudal or municipal jurisprudence, in case of a fief passing to a female, acknowledges an interest in the superior of the fief to dictate the choice of her companion in marriage. This is accounted for on the principle that the superior was, by his bounty, the original granter of the fief, and is still interested that the marriage of the vassal shall place no one there who may be inimical to his liege lord. On the other hand, it might be reasonably pleaded that this right of dictating to the vassal to a certain extent in the choice of a husband, is only competent to the superior from whom the fief is originally derived. There is therefore no violent improbability in a vassal of Burgundy flying to the protection of the King of France, to whom the Duke of Burgundy himself was vassal; not is it a great stretch of probability to affirm that Louis, unscrupulous as he was, should have formed the design of betraying the fugitive into some alliance which might prove inconvenient, if not dangerous, to his formidable kinsman and vassal of Burgundy.
(Some of these departures from historical accuracy, as when the death of the Bishop of Liege is antedated, are duly set forth in the notes. It should be mentioned that Mr. J. F. Kirk, in his elaborate History of Charles the Bold, claims that in some points injustice has been done to the Duke in this romance. He says: "The faults of Charles were sufficiently glaring, and scarcely admitted of exaggeration; but his breeding had been that of a prince, his education had been better than that of other princes of his time, his tastes and habits were more, not less, refined than theirs, and the restraint he imposed upon his sensual appetites was as conspicuous a trait as his sternness and violence.")
Abbotsford, 1830.
Quentin Durward was published in June, 1823, and was Scott's first venture on foreign ground. While well received at home, the sensation it created in Paris was comparable to that caused by the appearance of Waverley in Edinburgh and Ivanhoe in London. In Germany also, where the author was already popular, the new novel had a specially enthusiastic welcome. The scene of the romance was partly suggested by a journal kept by Sir Walter's dear friend, Mr. James Skene of Rubislaw, during a French tour, the diary being illustrated by a vast number of clever drawings. The author, in telling this tale laid in unfamiliar scenes, encountered difficulties of a kind quite new to him, as it necessitated much study of maps, gazetteers, and books of travel. For the history, he naturally found above all else the Memoirs of Philip de Comines "the very key of the period," though it need not be said that the lesser chroniclers received due attention. It is interesting to note that in writing to his friend, Daniel Terry, the actor and manager, Scott says, "I have no idea my present labours will be dramatic in situation; as to character, that of Louis XI, the sagacious, perfidious, superstitious, jocular, politic tyrant, would be, for a historical chronicle containing his life and death, one of the most powerful ever brought on the stage." So thought the poet, Casimir Delavigne -- writing when Scott's influence was marked upon French literature -- whose powerful drama, Louis XI, was a great Parisian success. Later Charles Kean and Henry Irving made an English version of it well known in England and America.
sī gè tè rè 'ài sū gé lán jiā xiāng, cóng xiǎo duì gù xiāng fēng fù de lì shǐ chuán shuō hé mín jiàngē yáo chǎn shēng liǎo nóng hòu de xīng qù。 yī bā èr nián zhì yī bā sān nián jiān tā sōu jí zhěng lǐ bìng chū bǎn liǎo《 sū gé lán biān qū gē yáo》, yǐn qǐ rén men de zhù yì, yě wéi tā rì hòu de chuàng zuò dǎ xià liǎo jī chǔ。 yī bā wǔ nián, sī gè tè chuàng zuò de xù shì cháng shī《 mò dài gē zhě zhī gē》 chū bǎn, hōng dòng liǎo yīng guó wén tán, gěi tā dài lái liǎo shēng yù。 cǐ hòu tā yòu chuàng zuò liǎo cháng shī《 mǎ mì 'ēn》 hé《 hú shàng fū rén》 děng。 zài zhè xiē xù shì shī lǐ, sī gè tè yùn yòng làng màn shū qíng de shǒu fǎ miáo huì liǎo sū gé lán guī lì de zì rán jǐng sè, xù shù liǎo sū gé lán hé yīng gé lán gǔ lǎo de lì shǐ chuán shuō, yǐn qǐ liǎo rén men jí dà de xīng qù, diàn dìng liǎo zì jǐ zài yīng guó wén tán shàng de shī rén dì wèi。
yī bā yī sì nián, sī gè tè nì míng chū bǎn liǎo yī bù yǐ sū gé lán zhān mǔ shì dǎng rén yī qī sì wǔ nián qǐ yì wéi tí cái de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō《 wēi fú lì》, shòu dào dú zhě jí qí rè qíng de huān yíng。 zhè shí, bài lún yǐ zài shī tán shàng zhǎn lòutóu jiǎo, sī gè tè zì tàn bù rú, yú shì jué xīn zhuǎn dào xiǎo shuō chuàng zuò fāng miàn。
cóng yī bā yī sì nián dào yī bā sān 'èr nián sī gè tè qù shì wéi zhǐ, tā yī gòng chuàng zuò liǎo 'èr shí yú bù lì shǐ xiǎo shuō, qí zhōng zuì wéi shèng zhì rén kǒu de yòu yǐ sū gé lán lì shǐ wéi bèi jǐng de《 zhōng luò xīn jùn de xīn zàng》、《 xiū mù lǎo rén》、《 hóng gǔ luó bó》, yǐ yīng gé lán lì shǐ wéi bèi jǐng de《 ài fán hè》 hé yǐ fǎ guó lì shǐ wéi bèi jǐng de《 jīng hūn jì》。
sī gè tè de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō qì shì bàng bó, hóng wěi zhuàng lì, chū sè dì fǎn yìng liǎo yīng gé lán、 sū gé lán hé 'ōu zhōu lì shǐ zhòng dà zhuǎn zhé shí kè de máo dùn chōng tū。 zài tā de bǐ xià, lì shǐ shì jiàn háo bù kū zào, zǒng shì hé gù shì rén wù bēi huān lí hé de qū zhé zāo yù yòu jī dì jié hé zài yī qǐ。
sī gè tè de chuàng zuò duì 'ōu zhōu lì shǐ xiǎo shuō qǐ liǎo kāi chuàng zuò yòng, bèi zūn wéi lì shǐ xiǎo shuō de chuàng shǐ rén。 yīng guó de dí gèng sī、 sī dì wén sēn, fǎ guó de yǔ guǒ、 bā 'ěr zhā kè、 dà zhòng mǎ, de pǔ xī jīn, yì dà lì de màn zuǒ ní, měi guó de kù bǎi děng zhù míng zuò jiā dū céng shòu dào sī gè tè de shēn kè yǐng xiǎng。
《 jīng hūn jì》 shì sī gè tè de dài biǎo zuò pǐn zhī yī。 zhè bù xiǎo shuō chū bǎn yú yī bā 'èr sān nián, bù dàn shòu dào yīng guó dú zhě de xǐ 'ài, hái zài 'ōu zhōu xiān qǐ liǎo yī gǔ sī gè tè rè, yóu qí zài fǎ guó yǐn qǐ de fǎn xiǎng zhī rè liè chāo guò liǎo sī gè tè yǐ qián de suǒ yòu zuò pǐn。
zhè bù xiǎo shuō bǎ wǒ men dài dào liǎo chōng mǎn làng màn qíng qù de zhōng shì jì shí qī de fǎ guó, tā yǐ shí wǔ shì jì fǎ guó guó wáng lù yì shí yī fǎn duì fēng jiàn gē jù shì lì de dǒu zhēng wéi lì shǐ bèi jǐng。 xiǎo shuō zhù rén gōng shì yī gè chū dào fǎ guó gōng tíng chōng rèn guó wáng tiē shēn wèi shì de sū gé lán qīng nián kūn dīng · dá wēi tè。 xǐ 'ài mào xiǎn de qīng nián dú zhě yī dìng huì bèi kūn dīng zài fǎ guó yù dào de zhǒng zhǒng jīng xiǎn de zāo yù xī yǐn zhù。 gù shì de zhù yào qíng jié shì: kūn dīng 'ài shàng liǎo yī wèi wéi táo hūn dào fǎ wáng gōng tíng bìnàn de guì zú shàonǚ, guó wáng hé shàonǚ de bǎo hù rén bó gèn dì gōng jué wéi duó qǔ duì shàonǚ cái chǎn de kòng zhì quán jìn xíng liǎo zhǒng zhǒng míng zhēng 'àn dǒu; kūn dīng yě juàn jìn liǎo zhè chǎng dǒu zhēng, dàn tā zhōng yú kào zì jǐ de yǒng qì hé zhì huì bì kāi liǎo guó wáng shè xià de yī dào dào xiàn fù, jiù chū liǎo shàonǚ, bìng qiě huò dé liǎo tā de 'ài qíng。
sī gè tè xiǎo shuō lǐ de zhù rén gōng wǎng wǎng xiěde bù jí xiǎo shuō lǐ de cì yào rén wù hé zhēn shí de lì shǐ rén wù nà me shēng dòng hé xī yǐn rén。 lì rú,《 ài fán hè》 lǐ de qí shì 'ài fán hè hé《 xiū mù lǎo rén》 lǐ de zhù rén gōng hēng lì · mò dùn dū cháng cháng shòu dào pī píng jiā de zhǐ zé, shuō tā men shì quē fá xiān míng gè xìng yòng 5 huái yú dǒu zhēng shuāng fāng zhī jiān de zhù rén gōng。 rán 'ér, zài《 jīng hūn jì》 zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ, zhù rén gōng kūn dīng què xiěde fēi cháng zhēn qiē gǎn rén。 tā nà dān chún shàn liáng、 zhèng zhí jiān dìng、 chéng kěn zhí zhe de xìng gé zhèng hé xiǎo shuō lǐ miáo xiě de lì shǐ rén wù lù yì shí yī nà xū wěi jiǎo zhà、 cán rěn zì sī de xìng gé zhèng hǎo xíng chéng qiáng liè de duì zhào, tā wèile zhěng jiù yī gè ruò nǚ zǐ 'ér fèn bù gù shēn de wàng wǒ jīng shén yě jiù gèng jiā shǐ dú zhě wéi zhī jī dòng。 kūn dīng · dá wēi tè wú yí shì sī gè tè bǐ xià zuì shòu dú zhě xǐ 'ài de zhù rén gōng zhī yī。
bù guò, zài《 jīng hūn jì》 lǐ qiáng liè dì xī yǐn liǎo dú zhě de, hái bù zhǐ shì zhè duì liàn rén zhǒng zhǒng qiān jūn yī fā de lì xiǎn, ér shì hé zhè duì liàn rén de zāo yù jǐn mì xiāng lián de jù dà lì shǐ shí qī de máo dùn hé dǒu zhēng, yóu qí shì fǎ guó guó wáng hé qiáng dà de fēng jiàn guì zú shǒu lǐng bó gèn dì gōng jué zhī jiān de gòu xīn dǒu jiǎo、 yīn móu guǐ jì hé míng zhēng 'àn dǒu。 sī gè tè zài zhè bù xiǎo shuō de xù lǐ tè bié shēng míng: “ kūn dīng de xiǎo xiǎo 'ài qíng jiū gé zhǐ shì wèile gù shì de jìn zhǎn 'ér cǎi yòng de yī zhǒng shǒu duàn。 ” sī gè tè miáo huì de zhòng diǎn shì zhù míng de lì shǐ rén wù lù yì shí yī, suī shuō wèile gù shì qíng jié jié gòu de yào qiú, tā bìng méi yòu ràng zhè gè lì shǐ rén wù zuò wéi xiǎo shuō de zhù rén gōng。
shí wǔ shì jì de fǎ guó zhèng chǔyú wài huàn nèi luàn zhī zhōng。 guó nèi fēng jiàn zhū hóu fēi yáng bá hù, wéi suǒ yù wéi, gè jù yī fāng, hé fǎ guó guó wáng fēn tíng kàng lǐ。 ér yóu yú fā zhǎn shēng chǎn de yào qiú, xīn xīng de shì mín jiē céng pò qiē yào qiú tǒng yī de zhèng quán、 qiáng yòu lì de fǎ zhì hé 'ān dìng de shè huì zhì xù。 lì shǐ fā zhǎn jiù zhè yàng bǎ jiàn lì yī gè zhōng yāng jí quán de fēng jiàn jūn zhù guó jiā de yào qiú tí dào liǎo rì chéng shàng。 sī gè tè yǐ tā mǐn ruì de dòng chá lì miáo huì liǎo zhù zhāng tǒng yī de lù yì shí yī hé gē jù chēng xióng de dà guì zú bó gèn dì gōng jué zhī jiān de jiān ruì dǒu zhēng, bìng qiě tōng guò lù yì shí yī zài zhè chǎng dǒu zhēng zhōng huò dé de chéng jiù fǎn yìng liǎo lì shǐ fā zhǎn de zhù yào qū shì。
lù yì shí yī yòu zhe fù zá 'ér xiān míng de xìng gé。 sī gè tè zài xiǎo shuō lǐ biǎo xiàn liǎo lù yì shí yī wéi shí xiàn zhōng yāng jí quán 'ér jìn xíng de dǒu zhēng, bìng qiě zhǐ chū tā de dǒu zhēng shì fú hé lì shǐ fā zhǎn yào qiú de。 rán 'ér, sī gè tè yě háo bù yǐn huì dì biǎo xiàn liǎo lù yì shí yī zài zhè chǎng dǒu zhēng zhōng cǎi qǔ de bù guāng cǎi de yīn móu shǒu duàn。 lù yì shí yī shǐ zhōng shì yǐ biǎo miàn wěi zhuāng yǒu hǎo, shí jì 'àn wā qiáng jiǎo de bàn fǎ duì fù xiōng měng、 bào zào de bó gèn dì gōng jué de。 zài chù lǐ guì zú shàonǚ yī suō bèi 'ěr táo hūn shì jiàn shí, lù yì shí yī yī fāng miàn jiǎ yì pài kūn dīng hù sòng yī suō bèi 'ěr huí dào liè rì shì zhù jiào fǔ qù, lìng yī fāng miàn yòu wán nòng guǐ jì, tiǎo dòng 'è bà guì zú“ hú zǐ” wēi lián bàn lù lán jié qiǎng qīn, yǐ biàn duó qǔ yī suō bèi 'ěr de lǐng dì, zài gōng jué shēn biān 'ān xià yī kē dīng zǐ。 yóu yú kūn dīng de jǐng tì, cǐ jì méi yòu chéng gōng, tā yòu tiǎo dòng liè rì shì mín, zào chéng“ hú zǐ” wēi lián gōng jìn zhù jiào fǔ, shā sǐ gōng jué de tóng méng zhě liè rì zhù jiào de liúxiě shì jiàn。 zǒng zhī, lù yì shí yī shàn yú lì yòng gè zhǒng shǒu duàn lái dá dào tā de mùdì。 zài tā kàn lái, wèile dá dào zì jǐ de mùdì, shǐ yòng rèn hé yīn móu shǒu duàn dōushì hé fǎ de。 sī gè tè miáo huì de lù yì shí yī zhè gè xíng xiàng chōng fēn jiē shì liǎo tā xìng gé zhōng jiǎo zhà、 xū wěi、 lěng kù、 zì sī yǐ jí mí xìn tiān mìng de yī miàn。 dàn shì, lìng yī fāng miàn, sī gè tè yě biǎo xiàn liǎo lù yì shí yī zài tǒng yī fǎ guó de guò chéng zhōng suǒ xiǎn shì chū de xióng cái dà lüè hé tā shàn yú bǎi tuō kùn nán chǔjìng de zhì móu hé cáigàn。 tā zài gōng jué shuài lǐng dà jūn jí jiāng jìn fàn fǎ guó jiāng tǔ de jǐn jí shí kè zhǐ shēn bài fǎng gōng jué, xún qiú hé píng jiě jué bàn fǎ。 rán 'ér gōng jué zhèng qiǎo dé dào liè rì zhù jiào sǐ xùn, dà wéi zhèn nù, lù yì shí yī bèi tā jiān jìn qǐ lái, shēng mìng shòu dào jí dà wēi xié。 zhè shí, lù yì shí yī yòu yī cì shī zhǎn shǒu wàn, chéng“ hú zǐ” wēi lián jìn fàn gōng jué lǐng tǔ zhī jì, xiàng gōng jué tí chū gòng tóng chéng fá“ hú zǐ” wēi lián de fāng 'àn, shǐ zì jǐ cóng“ jiē xià qiú” yī yuè 'ér chéng wéi gōng jué de tóng méng zhě, cóng 'ér jiě chú liǎo gōng jué duì fǎ guó lǐng tǔ de wēi xié。 zhè yàng, sī gè tè bǐ xià de zhè gè lì shǐ rén wù lù yì shí yī bù dàn dé dào liǎo fú hé lì shǐ zhēn shí de miáo huì, ér qiě xíng xiàng xiān míng shēng dòng, jù yòu zuò wéi tè shū gè rén de rén xìng。 tā bǎ lì shǐ rén wù xiě huó liǎo。 yīng guó píng lùn jiā tuō mǎ sī · kǎ lāi 'ěr duì sī gè tè zhè fāng miàn de gòng xiàn zuò guò jí wéi zhòngkěn de píng jià。 tā shuō, sī gè tè de lì shǐ xiǎo shuō zhǐ chū liǎo zhè yàng yī tiáo zhēn lǐ, nà jiù shì:
“ guò qù shí dài de shì jiè lǐ shí jì shàng chōng mǎn liǎo huó shēng shēng de rén, ér bù shì tiáo yuē cǎo 'àn、 gōng
wén juàn zōng、 lùn zhēng hé guān yú rén de chōu xiàng gài niàn。 tā men bù shì chōu xiàng gài niàn, yě bù shì tú jiě hé dìng
lǐ; ér shì rén, chuānzhuó qiǎn huáng niú pí shàng yī huò zhě bié yàng de wài yī hé mǎ kù, miàn jiá shàng yòu hóng yùn,
xiōng zhōng yùn cáng zhe, jù yòu rén de yǔ yán、 xiàngmào hé shēng mìng lì! rén shì yī gè xiǎo xiǎo de cí, què
bāo hán zhe duō me dà de yì yì!”
lù yì shí yī jiù shì sī gè tè de lì shǐ rén wù zhōng zuì tū chū de jù yòu“ rén de yǔ yán。 xiàngmào hé shēng mìng lì” de xíng xiàng, tā nà xū wěi jiǎo huá、 shàn yú wán nòng yīn móu de xìng gé shì nà yàng zhēn shí, nà yàng chōng mǎn shuō fú lì, suǒ yǐ zhè gè xíng xiàng yī zài shòu dào gè guó píng lùn jiā de tuī chóng hé zàn yáng。
sī gè tè zài《 jīng hūn jì》 lǐ yòng tā fù yú gǎn rǎn lì de bǐ diào miáo huì liǎo xǔ duō xǔ xǔ rú shēng de shì jiàn hé chǎng miàn, yóu qí zài hòu bàn bù, cóng“ hú zǐ” wēi lián gōng xià zhù jiào fǔ kāi shǐ, máo dùn yī bù bù zhǎn kāi hé jī huà, qíng jié jìn rù, xiàng lù yì shí yī shēn rù gōng jué chéng bǎo de chǎng miàn, lù yì shí yī zài bèi jiān jìn shí mìng lìng guì zǐ shǒu tè lǐ sī dān chéng fá qī piàn liǎo tā de xīngxiàng jiā de chǎng miàn, yǐ jí hòu lái guó wáng hé gōng jué chóngxīn hé hǎo、 gòng móu chéng zhì zhě de chǎng miàn, měi gè chǎng miàn dū jǐn jǐn kòu rén xīn xián。 dàn shì, zài jiān ruì de dǒu zhēng zhōng yòu shí shí càn zá zhe xǐ jù de yīn sù, dāo guāng jiàn yǐng zhī zhōng bù shí tīng jiàn yōu mò de xiào shēng, zhè yě shì sī gè tè de tè shū fēng gé bā。
yǔ guǒ céng jīng zhuàn wén zàn yáng《 jīng hūn jì》, yòng sān jù huà gài kuò liǎo sī gè tè de chéng jiù, tā shuō:“ sī gè tè bǎ lì shǐ de wěi dà càn làn, xiǎo shuō de qù wèi hé biān nián shǐ de nà zhǒng yán gé de jīng què jié hé liǎo qǐ lái。”《 jīng hūn jì》 zhèng shì zhè sān zhě chū sè de jié hé de guāng huī fàn lì。
Among those who were the first to ridicule and abandon the self denying principles in which the young knight was instructed and to which he was so carefully trained up, Louis XI of France was the chief. That sovereign was of a character so purely selfish -- so guiltless of entertaining any purpose unconnected with his ambition, covetousness, and desire of selfish enjoyment -- that he almost seems an incarnation of the devil himself, permitted to do his utmost to corrupt our ideas of honour in its very source. Nor is it to be forgotten that Louis possessed to a great extent that caustic wit which can turn into ridicule all that a man does for any other person's advantage but his own, and was, therefore, peculiarly qualified to play the part of a cold hearted and sneering fiend.
The cruelties, the perjuries, the suspicions of this prince, were rendered more detestable, rather than amended, by the gross and debasing superstition which he constantly practised. The devotion to the heavenly saints, of which he made such a parade, was upon the miserable principle of some petty deputy in office, who endeavours to hide or atone for the malversations of which he is conscious by liberal gifts to those whose duty it is to observe his conduct, and endeavours to support a system of fraud by an attempt to corrupt the incorruptible. In no other light can we regard his creating the Virgin Mary a countess and colonel of his guards, or the cunning that admitted to one or two peculiar forms of oath the force of a binding obligation which he denied to all other, strictly preserving the secret, which mode of swearing he really accounted obligatory, as one of the most valuable of state mysteries.
To a total want of scruple, or, it would appear, of any sense whatever of moral obligation, Louis XI added great natural firmness and sagacity of character, with a system of policy so highly refined, considering the times he lived in, that he sometimes overreached himself by giving way to its dictates.
Probably there is no portrait so dark as to be without its softer shades. He understood the interests of France, and faithfully pursued them so long as he could identify them with his own. He carried the country safe through the dangerous crisis of the war termed "for the public good;" in thus disuniting and dispersing this grand and dangerous alliance of the great crown vassals of France against the Sovereign, a king of a less cautious and temporizing character, and of a more bold and less crafty disposition than Louis XI, would, in all probability, have failed. Louis had also some personal accomplishments not inconsistent with his public character. He was cheerful and witty in society; and none was better able to sustain and extol the superiority of the coarse and selfish reasons by which he endeavoured to supply those nobler motives for exertion which his predecessors had derived from the high spirit of chivalry.
In fact, that system was now becoming ancient, and had, even while in its perfection, something so overstrained and fantastic in its principles, as rendered it peculiarly the object of ridicule, whenever, like other old fashions, it began to fall out of repute; and the weapons of raillery could be employed against it, without exciting the disgust and horror with which they would have been rejected at an early period, as a species of blasphemy. The principles of chivalry were cast aside, and their aid supplied by baser stimulants. Instead of the high spirit which pressed every man forward in the defence of his country, Louis XI substituted the exertions of the ever ready mercenary soldier, and persuaded his subjects, among whom the mercantile class began to make a figure, that it was better to leave to mercenaries the risks and labours of war, and to supply the Crown with the means of paying them, than to peril themselves in defence of their own substance. The merchants were easily persuaded by this reasoning. The hour did not arrive in the days of Louis XI when the landed gentry and nobles could be in like manner excluded from the ranks of war; but the wily monarch commenced that system, which, acted upon by his successors, at length threw the whole military defence of the state into the hands of the Crown.
He was equally forward in altering the principles which were wont to regulate the intercourse of the sexes. The doctrines of chivalry had established, in theory at least, a system in which Beauty was the governing and remunerating divinity -- Valour, her slave, who caught his courage from her eye and gave his life for her slightest service. It is true, the system here, as in other branches, was stretched to fantastic extravagance, and cases of scandal not unfrequently arose. Still, they were generally such as those mentioned by Burke, where frailty was deprived of half its guilt, by being purified from all its grossness. In Louis XI's practice, it was far otherwise. He was a low voluptuary, seeking pleasure without sentiment, and despising the sex from whom he desired to obtain it. ... By selecting his favourites and ministers from among the dregs of the people, Louis showed the slight regard which he paid to eminent station and high birth; and although this might be not only excusable but meritorious, where the monarch's fiat promoted obscure talent, or called forth modest worth, it was very different when the King made his favourite associates of such men as the chief of his police, Tristan l'Hermite. .
Nor were Louis's sayings and actions in private or public of a kind which could redeem such gross offences against the character of a man of honour. His word, generally accounted the most sacred test of a man's character, and the least impeachment of which is a capital offence by the code of honour, was forfeited without scruple on the slightest occasion, and often accompanied by the perpetration of the most enormous crimes ... It is more than probable that, in thus renouncing almost openly the ties of religion, honour, and morality, by which mankind at large feel themselves influenced, Louis sought to obtain great advantages in his negotiations with parties who might esteem themselves bound, while he himself enjoyed liberty. He started from the goal, he might suppose, like the racer who has got rid of the weights with which his competitors are still encumbered, and expects to succeed of course. But Providence seems always to unite the existence of peculiar danger with some circumstance which may put those exposed to the peril upon their guard. The constant suspicion attached to any public person who becomes badly eminent for breach of faith is to him what the rattle is to the poisonous serpent: and men come at last to calculate not so much on what their antagonist says as upon that which he is likely to do; a degree of mistrust which tends to counteract the intrigues of such a character, more than his freedom from the scruples of conscientious men can afford him advantage. .
Indeed, although the reign of Louis had been as successful in a political point of view as he himself could have desired, the spectacle of his deathbed might of itself be a warning piece against the seduction of his example. Jealous of every one, but chiefly of his own son, he immured himself in his Castle of Plessis, intrusting his person exclusively to the doubtful faith of his Scottish mercenaries. He never stirred from his chamber; he admitted no one into it, and wearied heaven and every saint with prayers, not for forgiveness of his sins, but for the prolongation of his life. With a poverty of spirit totally inconsistent with his shrewd worldly sagacity, he importuned his physicians until they insulted as well as plundered him. .
It was not the least singular circumstance of this course, that bodily health and terrestrial felicity seemed to be his only object. Making any mention of his sins when talking on the state of his health, was strictly prohibited; and when at his command a priest recited a prayer to Saint Eutropius in which he recommended the King's welfare both in body and soul, Louis caused the two last words to be omitted, saying it was not prudent to importune the blessed saint by too many requests at once. Perhaps he thought by being silent on his crimes he might suffer them to pass out of the recollection of the celestial patrons, whose aid he invoked for his body.
So great were the well merited tortures of this tyrant's deathbed, that Philip de Comines enters into a regular comparison between them and the numerous cruelties inflicted on others by his order; and considering both, comes to express an opinion that the worldly pangs and agony suffered by Louis were such as might compensate the crimes he had committed, and that, after a reasonable quarantine in purgatory, he might in mercy he found duly qualified for the superior regions ... The instructive but appalling scene of this tyrant's sufferings was at length closed by death, 30th August, 1483.
The selection of this remarkable person as the principal character in the romance -- for it will be easily comprehended that the little love intrigue of Quentin is only employed as the means of bringing out the story -- afforded considerable facilities to the author. In Louis XI's time, extraordinary commotions existed throughout all Europe. England's Civil Wars were ended, rather in appearance than reality, by the short lived ascendancy of the House of York. Switzerland was asserting that freedom which was afterwards so bravely defended. In the Empire and in France, the great vassals of the crown were endeavouring to emancipate themselves from its control, while Charles of Burgundy by main force, and Louis more artfully by indirect means, laboured to subject them to subservience to their respective sovereignties. Louis, while with one hand he circumvented and subdued his own rebellious vassals, laboured secretly with the other to aid and encourage the large trading towns of Flanders to rebel against the Duke of Burgundy, to which their wealth and irritability naturally disposed them. In the more woodland districts of Flanders, the Duke of Gueldres, and William de la Marck, called from his ferocity the Wild Boar of Ardennes, were throwing off the habits of knights and gentlemen to practise the violences and brutalities of common bandits.
(Chapter I gives a further account of the conditions of the period which Quentin Durward portrays.)
A hundred secret combinations existed in the different provinces of France and Flanders; numerous private emissaries of the restless Louis, Bohemians, pilgrims, beggars, or agents disguised as such, were everywhere spreading the discontent which it was his policy to maintain in the dominions of Burgundy.
Amidst so great an abundance of materials, it was difficult to select such as should be most intelligible and interesting to the reader: and the author had to regret, that though he made liberal use of the power of departing from the reality of history, he felt by no means confident of having brought his story into a pleasing, compact, and sufficiently intelligible form. The mainspring of the plot is that which all who know the least of the feudal system can easily understand, though the facts are absolutely fictitious. The right of a feudal superior was in nothing more universally acknowledged than in his power to interfere in the marriage of a female vassal. This may appear to exist as a contradiction both of the civil and canon laws, which declare that marriage shall be free, while the feudal or municipal jurisprudence, in case of a fief passing to a female, acknowledges an interest in the superior of the fief to dictate the choice of her companion in marriage. This is accounted for on the principle that the superior was, by his bounty, the original granter of the fief, and is still interested that the marriage of the vassal shall place no one there who may be inimical to his liege lord. On the other hand, it might be reasonably pleaded that this right of dictating to the vassal to a certain extent in the choice of a husband, is only competent to the superior from whom the fief is originally derived. There is therefore no violent improbability in a vassal of Burgundy flying to the protection of the King of France, to whom the Duke of Burgundy himself was vassal; not is it a great stretch of probability to affirm that Louis, unscrupulous as he was, should have formed the design of betraying the fugitive into some alliance which might prove inconvenient, if not dangerous, to his formidable kinsman and vassal of Burgundy.
(Some of these departures from historical accuracy, as when the death of the Bishop of Liege is antedated, are duly set forth in the notes. It should be mentioned that Mr. J. F. Kirk, in his elaborate History of Charles the Bold, claims that in some points injustice has been done to the Duke in this romance. He says: "The faults of Charles were sufficiently glaring, and scarcely admitted of exaggeration; but his breeding had been that of a prince, his education had been better than that of other princes of his time, his tastes and habits were more, not less, refined than theirs, and the restraint he imposed upon his sensual appetites was as conspicuous a trait as his sternness and violence.")
Abbotsford, 1830.
Quentin Durward was published in June, 1823, and was Scott's first venture on foreign ground. While well received at home, the sensation it created in Paris was comparable to that caused by the appearance of Waverley in Edinburgh and Ivanhoe in London. In Germany also, where the author was already popular, the new novel had a specially enthusiastic welcome. The scene of the romance was partly suggested by a journal kept by Sir Walter's dear friend, Mr. James Skene of Rubislaw, during a French tour, the diary being illustrated by a vast number of clever drawings. The author, in telling this tale laid in unfamiliar scenes, encountered difficulties of a kind quite new to him, as it necessitated much study of maps, gazetteers, and books of travel. For the history, he naturally found above all else the Memoirs of Philip de Comines "the very key of the period," though it need not be said that the lesser chroniclers received due attention. It is interesting to note that in writing to his friend, Daniel Terry, the actor and manager, Scott says, "I have no idea my present labours will be dramatic in situation; as to character, that of Louis XI, the sagacious, perfidious, superstitious, jocular, politic tyrant, would be, for a historical chronicle containing his life and death, one of the most powerful ever brought on the stage." So thought the poet, Casimir Delavigne -- writing when Scott's influence was marked upon French literature -- whose powerful drama, Louis XI, was a great Parisian success. Later Charles Kean and Henry Irving made an English version of it well known in England and America.
qǐng kàn zhè fú huà xiàng bā, zài qǐng kàn zhè fú,
zhè shì liǎng gè xiōng dì de bī zhēn xiě zhào。
《 hā mǔ léi tè》
shí wǔ shì jì hòu bàn yè yùn niàng liǎo yī xì liè duì wèi lái yòu yǐng xiǎng de shì jiàn, jiēguǒ shǐ fǎ guó shàng shēng dào yī zhǒng shí lì kě wèi de dì wèi。 zì nà yǐ hòu zhè dì wèi wǎng wǎng shì 'ōu zhōu guó jiā de zhù yào jí dù duì xiàng。 dàn zài zhè zhī qián, fǎ guó bù dé bùwèi qí zì shēn de shēng cún yǔ zhàn lǐng liǎo tā zuì měi hǎo de shěng fèn de yīng guó rén jìn xíng dǒu zhēng。 dàn shì, jìn guǎn guó wáng jìn liǎo zuì dà nǔ lì, rén mín jìn xíng liǎo yīng yǒng dǐ kàng, yě nán yǐ shǐ shèng xià de guó tǔ miǎn zāo yì zú de róu lìn。 hé kuàng zhè hái bù shì tā wéi yī de wēinàn! zhàn yòu wáng shì lǐng tǔ de gè gè qīn wáng héng héng tè bié shì bó gèn dì gōng jué hé bù liè tǎn ní gōng jué héng héng rú cǐ suí biàn dì duì dài qí fēng jiàn chén shǔ guān xì, yǐ zhì tā men cháng yǐ zuì xiǎo de jiè kǒu háo wú gù jì dì dǎ qǐ qí hào lái fǎn duì jūn zhù héng héng fǎ guó guó wáng。 zài hé píng shí qī, tā men gè zì wéi zhèng, chēng bà yī fāng。 bó gèn dì jiā zú chú zhàn yòu míng wéi bó gèn dì de dì qū yǐ wài, hái zhàn yòu fú lán dé zuì měi lì、 zuì fù ráo de bù fēn。 tā shì rú cǐ de fù guì hé háo qiáng, yǐ zhì wú lùn shì jiǎng pái chǎng hái shì jiǎng shí lì dū sī háo bù xùn yú fǎ guó guó wáng。
guó wáng dǐ xià de yī xiē xiǎo de fān shǔ yě xiào fǎng dà de fēng jiàn lǐng zhù, àn qí jù jūn zhù quán lì de yuǎn jìn、 lǐng dì de dà xiǎo huò chéng bǎo shí lì de qiáng ruò, jìn liàng nào dú lì。 zhè xiē xiǎo bào jūn bù zài shòu fǎ lǜ zhì yuē, jìn kě yǐ fàn xià zuì fēng kuáng de、 nán yǐ xiǎng xiàng de cán kù bào xíng 'ér xiāo yáo fǎ wài。 jǐn 'ōu wéi 'ěr ní yī dì jù shuō jiù yòu sān bǎi duō gè zhè zhǒng dú lì guì zú。 duì tā men lái shuō,、 móu shā、 jié lüè dōushì jí pǔ tōng de、 sī kōng jiàn guàn de xíng jìng。
chú liǎo zhè xiē zuì niè yǐ wài, nà yuān yuán yú fǎ guó hé yīng guó zhī jiān de kuàng rì chí jiǔ de zhàn zhēng yě gěi zhè gè yōu huàn shēn zhòng de wáng guó tiān jiā liǎo bù shǎo kǔ nán。 wéi shù zhòng duō de bīng pǐ cóng zuì yǒng gǎn、 zuì chéng gōng de mào xiǎn jiā dāng zhōng zì xuǎn shǒu lǐng, jù jié chéng bāng, zài fǎ guó de gè gè dì qū xíng chéng liǎo yóu qí tā gè guó de shè huì zhā zǐ pīn còu 'ér chéng de bīng pǐ jí tuán。 zhè xiē kě zī gù yōng de wǔ shì néng zài yī gè shí qī nèi bǎ tā men de wǔ lì mài gěi chū jià zuì gāo de mǎi zhù。 ér dāng zhè zhǒng láo yì méi yòu shì chǎng shí, tā men jiù zì xíng fā dòng zhàn zhēng, duó qǔ chéng bǎo zuò wéi yǎn hù de jù diǎn。 tā men zhuā fú lǔ, suǒ shú jīn, cóng bù shè fáng de cūn zhài jí qí zhōu wéi de xiāng jiān lè qǔ gòng wù, yóu yú zhè zhǒng zhǒng lǔ lüè de xíng jìng 'ér huò dé liǎo guā máo jiā hé bāopí jiā de qiàrúqífèn de chēng hào。
jìn guǎn duō yōu de guó shì gěi rén men dài lái liǎo zhǒng zhǒng kǒng jù hé bù xìng, dàn xiǎo guì zú réng yǔ gāo yī děng de wáng gōng yī yàng yǐ huī huò wú dù lái guāng yào mén tíng。 tā men de bù shǔ yě shàng xíng xià xiào, huī huò mín zhī mín gāo, jí jìn zhuō liè xuàn yào zhī néng shì。 nán nǚ zhī jiān de jiāo wǎng chōng mǎn liǎo yī zhǒng làng màn de qí shì fēng qíng, dàn jīng cháng yóu yú guò dù fàng zòng 'ér biàn dé bù shèn tǐ miàn; yóu xiá de yǔ yán réng bèi shǐ yòng, qí lǐ guī yě réng bèi zūn shǒu, dàn tā suǒ tí chàng de gāo guì chún jié de 'ài qíng hé rén 'ài de xíng wéi yǐ bù zài néng mí bǔ hé dǐ cháng qí guò huǒ de biǎo xiàn。 zài měi gè xiǎo gōng tíng jǔ xíng de jìng jì bǐ wǔ hé huān yú yàn lè, bǎ suǒ yòu yóu dàng de mào xiǎn jiādōu xī yǐn dào liǎo fǎ guó。 ér yī dàn lái dào fǎ guó, tā men jiù hěn shǎo bù bǎ tā men qīng shuài de yǒng qì hé yǎng zhuàng de mào xiǎn jīng shén fù zhū xíng dòng, ér tā men zì jǐ gèng wéi xìng yùn de zǔ guó bìng bù wéi zhī tí gōng zì yóu de wǔ tái。
zhèng shì zài zhè gè shí qī, fǎng fó shì wèile zài wēi jī sì fú zhōng zhěng jiù tā men měi hǎo de wáng guó, lù yì shí yī dēng shàng liǎo yáo yáo yù zhuì de huáng wèi, ér lù yì shí yī de xìng gé, jìn guǎn qí běn shēn, què xiàng gǔ dài yī shū suǒ shuō, xìng zhì xiāng fǎn de dú sù jù yòu yǐ dú gōng dú de xiào lì nà yàng, zú yǐ duì fù hé kè fú, bìng zài hěn dà chéng dù shàng dǐ xiāo shí bì。
suī rán lù yì gōng jù yòu zú gòu de yǒng qì lái shí xiàn rèn hé yī gè yòu yòng de mùdì, dàn tā què sī háo méi yòu luó màn dì kè de xiāo yǒng huò tōng cháng yǔ cǐ xiāng lián de 'ào qì, ér zhè zhǒng 'ào qì néng shǐ dé yī gè rén jí shǐ zǎo yǐ huò dé shí huì, dàn wèile yíng dé mǒu zhǒng róng yù gǎn réng rán jì xù zhàn dǒu。 tā chén zhe, jiǎo xiá, shēnqiè dì guān zhù zì shēn de lì yì。 yī dàn tā de zì zūn xīn hé gǎn qíng fáng 'ài liǎo tā de lì yì, zuò chū rèn hé xī shēng, tādōu zài suǒ bù xī。 tā hěn zhù yì duì suǒ yòu jiē jìn tā de rén yǎn shì zì jǐ de zhēn shí gǎn qíng hé yì tú。 tā jīng cháng yǐn yòng yī jù huà:“ yī gè guó wáng bù zhī dào rú hé zhuāng jǐng zuò yǎ, tā jiù bù zhī dào rú hé zhì lǐ guó jiā。 duì tā lái shuō, yī dàn tā rèn wéi zì jǐ dài de mào zǐ zhī xiǎo tā de mì mì, tā jiù huì háo bù yóu yù dì bǎ tā rēng jìn huǒ lǐ。” wú lùn shì dāng shí hái shì bié de shí dài, dōuméi yòu rén néng gèng hǎo dì dǒng dé rú hé lì yòng bié rén de ruò diǎn, dǒng dé shénme shí hòu gāi bì miǎn yóu yú bù hé shí yí dì fàng zòng zì jǐ de ruò diǎn 'ér ràng bié rén zhàn liǎo shàng fēng。
jiù qí tiān xìng lái shuō, tā xǐ huān bào fù, cán kù wú qíng, shèn zhì jīng cháng cóng xià lìng zhí xíng sǐ xíng dāng zhōng xún zhǎo lè qù。 zài tā ruò wú qí shì dì pàn chù sǐ xíng shí, gù rán bù huì dòng cè yǐn zhī xīn qù kuān shù sǐ huí, dàn lìng yī fāng miàn, yě méi yòu rèn hé fù chóu zhī xīn huì cì jī tā cǎi qǔ wéi shí guò zǎo de bào lì xíng dòng。 zài tā de liè huò wù hái méi yòu wán quán zhì yú bǔ zhuō fàn wéi nèi, zài yī qiē táo páo xī wàng dū bì rán luò kōng yǐ qián, tā hěn shǎo pū xiàng tā men。 tā de xíng dòng dōushì nà yàng zhuóyì dì jiā yǐ yǎn shì, yǐ zhì tā de chéng gōng yī bān dōushì tā shǒu cì zhāo gào shì rén, dàn qí shí zài 'àn zhōng yī zhí kǔ xīn yíng qiú de mù biāo。
tóng yàng, zài yòu bì yào qù huì lù yī gè dí duì qīn wáng de chǒng xìn huò dà chén yǐ bì miǎn rèn hé pò zài méi jié de jìn fàn huò dǎ pò rèn hé zhēn duì tā jié chéng de lián méng shí, lù yì wáng de tān lán hé lìn qiān biàn ràng wèi yú biǎo miàn de kāng kǎi dà fāng。 tā xǐ huān zòng qíng huān lè, dàn wú lùn shì měi nǚ hái shì shòu liè héng héng jìn guǎn 'èr zhě dōushì tā de tóu děng 'àihào héng héng dū jué bù huì shǐ tā dài hū rì cháng gōng wù hé cháo zhèng。 tā duì rén de dòng chá shì shēn kè de。 tā céng jīng tōng guò tā qīn shēn zài qí zhōng sī hùn guò de gè jiē céng rén wù de sī shēng huó lái xún qiú zhè zhǒng liǎo jiě。 tóng shí, jìn guǎn tā shēng xìng 'ào màn, dàn tā què néng yǐ yī zhǒng dāng shí bèi rèn wéi shì jí wéi fǎn cháng de、 duì wǔ duàn huàfēn de shè huì jiē céng de hū shì, háo bù yóu yù dì cóng zuì dǐ céng tí bá yòu yòng zhī cái, bìng wěi yǐ zhòng rèn。 tā zhī rén shàn rèn, yīn 'ér hěn shǎo duì tā men de sù zhì gǎn dào guò shī wàng。
rán 'ér, zhè gè jiān jiǎo 'ér néng gān de jūn zhù yě shì gè máo dùn de hùn hé tǐ, yīn wéi rén xìng hěn shǎo shì huàyī de。 suī rán tā běn rén shì rén lèi dāng zhōng zuì xū wěi、 zuì bù chéng kěn de yī gè, dàn tā yī shēng dāng zhōng mǒu xiē zuì dà de cuò wù què qià hǎo shì yóu yú guòfèn qīng xìn bié rén de róng yù gǎn hé chéng shí。 chǎn shēng zhè xiē cuò wù sì hū shì guī yīn yú yī zhǒng guò yú jīng xì de cè lüè tǐ xì, cù shǐ lù yì wáng duì tā yì yù zhēng fú de rén biǎo miàn zhuāng chū háo bù huái yí de xìn rèn zī tài; yīn wéi jiù tā zǒng de biǎo xiàn lái kàn, tā hé lì dài bào jūn yī yàng hú yí hé cāi jì。
lù yì wáng zhèng shì yǐ kào tā nà lìng rén shēng wèi de xìng gé, cóng dāng dài lǔ mǎng de qí shì bān de jūn zhù dāng zhōng tuō yíng 'ér chū, shàng shēng dào yī gè xùn shòu shī de dì wèi。 xùn shòu shī píng jiè gāo chāo de zhì néng hé cè lüè, tōng guò fēn fā shí wù hé gùn bàng chéng jiè, zhōng yú néng jià yù nà xiē yě shòu。 yào bù shì duō kuī xùn shòu shī de quán shù tā men, tā men běn huì yǐ kào dān chún de tǐ lì bǎ tā sī suì。 zài wán chéng zhè yī lìng rén shēng wèi de rén wù xìng gé de kè huà yǐ qián, hái yòu lìng wài liǎng gè tè diǎn zhí dé yī tí。
dì yī gè tè diǎn jiù shì lù yì wáng de guòfèn mí xìn, zhè yě kě yǐ shuō shì shàng cāng yòng lái chéng fá nà xiē jù bù tīng cóng zōng jiào zhǐ yǐn de rén men de yī zhǒng tōng bìng。 lù yì wáng cóng bù dǎ suàn fàng sōng wán nòng quán shù lái píng xī tā de nà xiē gòu dāng suǒ yǐn qǐ de huǐ hèn, ér shì tōng guò mí xìn de lǐ bài、 yán lì de zì wǒ fá zuì, yǐ jí duì shèng zhí rén yuán de kāng kǎi kuì zèng, jìn hū tú láo dì shū jiě zhè zhǒng kǔ tòng gǎn。 yǔ shàng miàn tè diǎn yòu shí lí qí dì lián xì zài yī qǐ de dì 'èr gè tè diǎn shì 'àihào dī jí qù wèi hé bēi wēi de yì lè, jìn guǎn tā shì tā nà gè shí dài zuì yòu tóu nǎo de, zhì shǎo shì zuì jiǎo xiá de jūn zhù。 jì rán tā zì jǐ jiù shì yī gè fù yú jī zhì de rén, zì rán hěn xīn shǎng shè jiāo tán huà zhōng de xiào huà hé qiào pí huà, qí chéng dù chāo guò rén men jǐn gēn jù qí xìng gé de qí tā tè diǎn suǒ néng chuài mó de dì bù。 tā shèn zhì juàn rén yī xiē xǐ jù xìng de。 ài mèi de táo sè shì jiàn, qí sǎ tuō de chéng dù yǔ tā xìng gé zhōng nà zhǒng guàn cháng de jiè bèi hé dù jì hěn bù xié diào。 tā rú cǐ xǐ 'ài zhè yī lèi dī jiàn de fēng liú yùn shì, yǐ zhì tā de xǔ duō fàng dàng yín yì de yì wén bèi shōu rù shū jí shōu cáng jiā shú zhī de yī gè jí zǐ lǐ, ér zài shōu cáng jiā yǎn lǐ( zhè shū kě bù shì yú rèn hé bié de rén kàn), nà gè wán zhěng de bǎn běn shì hěn zhēn guì de。
tōng guò zhè wèi jūn zhù nà jí bù kuān hòu, què jiān qiáng yòu lì 'ér yòu shí fēn shěn shèn de xìng gé, shàng cāng zhōng yú lè yì yǐ jí fēng bào yǔ huò hé fēng xì yǔ lái 'ēn wēi bìng yòng de fāng shì, ràng wěi dà de fǎ lán xī mín zú chóngxīn xiǎng shòu dào yī gè yòu fǎ dù de zhèng fǔ de hǎo chù, ér zài tā dēng jī shí fǎ guó rén jīhū yǐ jīng bǎ zhè zhǒng hǎo chù sàng shī dài jìn。
zài tā jì chéng wáng wèi yǐ qián, lù yì wáng yǐ jīng xiǎn lù chū tā de mǒu xiē, ér bù shì tā de cáigàn。 tā de yuán pèi qī zǐ, sū gé lán de mǎ gé lì tè, shì zài tā zhàng fū de gōng tíng zhōng“ bèi chán yán 'è yǔ zhòngshāng 'ér sǐ de”。 rú guǒ bù shì lù yì wáng de gǔ lì, běn bù huì yòu xián yán suì yǔ sī xià chuán bō lái shāng hài nà wèi hé shàn 'ér shòu wěi qū de gōng zhù。 tā shì gè wàng 'ēn fù yì、 pàn nì bù xiào de 'ér zǐ, yī dù qǐ tú yīn móu jié chí tā de fù qīn, shèn zhì hái gōng kāi xiàng tā xuān guò zhàn。 yóu yú tā suǒ fàn de dì yī gè zuì guò, tā bèi fàng zhú dào hòu lái bèi tā zhì lǐ dé jǐng jǐng yòu tiáo de huáng tài zǐ lǐng dì; ér yóu yú suǒ fàn de dì 'èr gè zuì guò, tā bèi wán quán liú fàng, tóubèn bó gèn dì gōng jué hé tā de 'ér zǐ, yǐ kào tā men de lián mǐn, jīhū shì tā men de rén cí lái dù rì。 zài yī sì liù yī nián tā fù qīn jià bēng yǐ qián, tā yī zhí zài bó gèn dì gōng jué fù zǐ nà 'ér xiǎng shòu zhe zhōu dào de lǐ yù, dàn zhè zhǒng lǐ yù rì hòu bìng méi yòu dé dào shàn bào。
zài tā de wáng cháo gāng kāi shǐ de shí hòu, lù yì wáng jīhū bèi fǎ guó de dà fān shǔ yīn fǎn duì tā 'ér zǔ chéng de yī gè tóng méng suǒ yā dǎo, wéi shǒu de shì bó gèn dì gōng jué, gèng qiàdàng dì shuō, shì tā de 'ér zǐ xià hé luò yī bó jué。 tā men zhēng zhào liǎo yī zhī qiáng dà de jūn duì, fēng suǒ liǎo bā lí, zài bā lí chéng xià dǎ liǎo yīcháng shèng fù wèi dìng de zhàng, shǐ dé fǎ guó guó jūn bīn yú kuǎ tái de biān yuán。 zài zhè zhǒng jiāng huì liǎng bài jù shāng de qíng xíng xià, tōng cháng shì jiào wéi míng zhì de tǒng shuài huò dé zhàn chǎng shàng de shí huì, dàn bù yī dìng shì jūn shì shàng de róng yào。 zài méng tè lè lǐ zhàn dǒu zhōng xiǎn shì chū chāo rén dǎn lüè de lù yì wáng shěn shèn dì lì yòng zhàn zhēng shèng fù wèi dìng de tè diǎn, shǐ dé shèng lì kàn lái xiàng shì shǔ yú tā de。 tā shàn yú kàn fēng shǐ duǒ, zhí dào gǎo kuǎ dí rén de tóng méng wéi zhǐ。 zài qiáng dà de fān shǔ zhī jiān jìn xíng tiǎo bō líjiàn fāng miàn, tā biǎo xiàn chū liǎo fēi fán de cáigàn, zhì shǐ nà zhǐ zài tuī fān fǎ guó jūn zhù de“ cù jìn gōng zhòng fú lì tóng méng” zuì zhōng zì xíng jiě tǐ, bìng qiě zài yě bù huì dōng shān zài qǐ, lìng rén dǎn zhàn xīn jīng。 cóng zhè gè shí qī qǐ, lù yì wáng jiè zhù yú yuē kè hé lán kāi sī tè zhī jiān de nèi zhàn, bǎi tuō liǎo lái zì yīng guó de wēi xiǎn zhī hòu, biàn kāi shǐ xiàng yī gè lěng kù 'ér néng gān de yī shēng nà yàng, huā liǎo hǎo jǐ nián gōng fū lái liáo zhì jī tǐ de chuāngshāng, gèng què qiē dì shuō, jiù shì shí 'ér tōng guò huǎn hé liáo fǎ, shí 'ér tōng guò liè huǒ yǔ gāng dāo, lái zǔ 'è zhì mìng de huài jū bìng de màn yán。 bīng pǐ jí tuán wéi suǒ yù wéi, guì zú men bù shòu chéng fá de yā pò, suī rán tā wú fǎ yòu xiào dì zhì zhǐ, dàn tā jìn lì shè fǎ jiǎn qīng。 tōng guò bù xiè de nǔ lì, tā zhú jiàn qǔ dé liǎo gèng duō de zhù quán; huò zhě shuō xuē ruò liǎo néng yǔ zhī kàng héng zhě de quán lì。
rán 'ér fǎ guó guó wáng réng rán yí lǜ chóngchóng, yōu xīn rú fén。“ cù jìn gōng zhòng fú lì tóng méng” de chéng yuán jìn guǎn nèi bù bù hé, dàn zhǐ yào cún zài zhe, jiù huì xiàng yī tiáo shòu shāng de shé yī yàng, yòu zhòng xīn lián hé zài dù biàn dé wēi xiǎn qǐ lái de kě néng。 bù guò, gèng dà de wēi xié zài yú dāng shí 'ōu zhōu zuì dà de qīn wáng zhī yī bó gèn dì gōng jué yǔ rì jù zēng de quán shì。 yóu yú tā de gōng guó yǔ fǎ guó de wáng wèi zhī jiān zhǐ yòu jí dàn de chén shǔ guān xì, suǒ yǐ dì wèi yǔ tā bù xiāng shàng xià。
chá 'ěr sī gōng jué chuò hào jiào“ dà dǎn de chá 'ěr sī”, huò yǎ chēng“ yǒng měng de chá 'ěr sī”, zhè shì yīn wéi tā de yǒng gǎn zǒng shì hé lǔ mǎng、 kuáng rè lián xì zài yī qǐ。 tā jì chéng liǎo bó gèn dì gōng jué de guān miǎn, dàn bǎ tā róng huà liǎo, gǎi chéng yī dǐng yù yòng de huáng guān。 zhè wèi gōng jué de xìng gé zài gè fāng miàn dū hé lù yì shí yī xíng chéng xiān míng de duì bǐ。
hòu zhě chén zhe、 yòu tóu nǎo、 jiǎo zhà, cóng lái méi yòu guò jī xíng wéi, yě cóng bù fàng qì rèn hé yī jiàn kě néng chéng gōng de shì, bù guǎn tā de qián jǐng rú hé miǎo máng。 gōng jué de tiān fù zé wán quán bù tóng。 tā dìng 'ér zǒu xiǎn, yīn wéi tā kù 'ài mào xiǎn; tā lín wēi bù jù, yīn wéi tā miǎo shì kùn nán。 lù yì wáng cóng bùwèi liǎo gǎn qíng 'ér xī shēng zì jǐ de lì yì, chá 'ěr sī zé xiāng fǎn, cóng bùwèi liǎo qí tā de kǎo lǜ 'ér xī shēng gǎn qíng, shèn zhì tā de yī shí xīng zhì。 jìn guǎn tā men qīn qī guān xì hěn jìn, jìn guǎn gōng jué hé tā fù qīn zài lù yì wáng zuò wéi tài zǐ dào tā men nà 'ér shí gěi guò tā zhī chí, dàn bǐ cǐ zhī jiān cún yòu jiè xīn hé chóu shì。 bó gèn dì gōng jué kàn bù qǐ guó wáng jǐn shèn de cè lüè, bǎ tā lì qiú tōng guò jié méng、 shōu mǎi hé qí tā jiànjiē fāng shì móu qǔ lì yì de zuò fǎ guī yīn yú tā de qiè nuò; jiǎ ruò tā shì guó wáng de huà, tā jiù huì yòng wǔ lì lái jué qǔ。 tā tóng yàng chóu shì guó wáng, zhè bù jǐn shì yīn wéi guó wáng duì tā yǐ qián dé dào de 'ēn huì wàng 'ēn fù yì, hái yīn wéi tā fù qīn zài shì shí, guó wáng de dà shǐ duì tā běn rén yě yòu guò gǎn qíng shàng de shāng hài hé zénàn, ér zuì zhòng yào de yī diǎn, shì lù yì wáng duì gēn tè、 liè rì jí fú lán dé de lìng yī xiē dà chéng shì lǐ de bù mǎn jū mín 'àn zhōng jǐyǔ zhī chí。 zhè xiē sāo dòng de chéng shì hài pà shī qù tā men de quán yì, tóng shí yě wèitā men de cái fù gǎn dào jiāo 'ào, yú shì jīng cháng fā dòng pàn luàn lái fǎn duì jūn zhù bó gèn dì gōng jué, ér qiě cóng bù huì zài lù yì wáng de gōng tíng dé bù dào 'àn zhōng gǔ lì, yīn wéi lù yì wáng zǒng shì zhuā zhù yī qiē jī huì xīng fēng zuò làng, zài tā nà guòfèn qiáng dà de fān shǔ de lǐng tǔ shàng zhì zào hùn luàn。
duì gōng jué de qīng miè hé chóu shì, lù yì wáng yú yǐ tóng yàng yòu lì de huí jìng。 bù guò tā yòng gèng hòu de miàn shā lái yǎn shì zhēn shí gǎn qíng。 xiàng tā zhè yàng yī gè yòu shēn móu yuǎn lǜ de rén bù kě néng bù miè shì nà zhǒng cóng bù fàng qì yī gè mù biāo、 bù guǎn jiān chí xià qù duō me wēi xiǎn de míng wán de gù zhí, yǐ jí nà zhǒng zhuóshǒu mǒu jiàn shì 'ér bù kǎo lǜ jiāng yù dào de zhàng 'ài de mǎng zhuàng hé jí zào。 bù guò lù yì wáng chóu shì chá 'ěr sī shèn zhì chāo guò tā qīng shì chá 'ěr sī, ér tā de qīng shì hé chóu shì, yóu yú dū hùn zá zhe wèi jù, biàn xiǎn dé gèng wéi qiáng liè。 tā bǎ bó gèn dì gōng jué bǐ zuò yī tiáo fā fēng de gōng niú。 tā zhī dào fēng niú de jìn fàn, jí shǐ bì zhe yǎn jīng, yě shì kě pà de。 lù yì wáng wèi jù de bù dān shì bó gèn dì zhū shěng fèn de cái fù, yě bù dān shì qí hàozhàn de、 xùn liàn yòu sù de jū mín, yǐ jí zhòng duō de rén kǒu。 qí yuán shǒu de gè rén qì zhì yě yòu xǔ duō wēi xiǎn kān yú zhī chù。 tā běn rén jiù shì yǒng gǎn de huà shēn, ér tā bǎ zhè zhǒng yǒng gǎn fā zhǎn dào liǎo jìn hū qīng shuài mào shī de biān yuán。 cǐ wài, tā huī jīn rú tǔ。 tā de gōng tíng, tā běn rén hé tā de hù cóng dū xiǎn dé fù lì táng huáng。 suǒ yòu zhè xiē dū biǎo xiàn chū bó gèn dì jiā zú de chuán tǒng de háo huá。 yīn cǐ,“ dà dǎn de chá 'ěr sī” jīhū bǎ dāng dài xìng qíng xiāng tóu de huǒ bào hàn zǐ dū xī yǐn liǎo guò lái wèitā fú wù。 xiàng zhè yàng yī huǒ jiān dìng de mào xiǎn jiā gēn suí zhe yī gè hé tā men xìng gé tóng yàng mǎng zhuàng bù jī de shǒu lǐng huì qǐ tú gànshénme yàng de shì qíng, lù yì gōng kàn dé shí fēn qīng chǔ。
hái yòu lìng wài yī gè qíng kuàng yě zēng jiā liǎo lù yì gōng duì zhè yī shì lì guò dà de fān shǔ de dí yì。 tā duì tā de 'ēn huì shì qiàn yòu zhài de, dàn tā bìng bù xiǎng cháng hái、 bào dá, zhǐ shì jīng cháng xū yào hé tā zhōu xuán, shèn zhì rěn shòu yòu sǔn yú tā dì wáng zūn yán de bù shí fā zuò de huài pí qì。 chú liǎo bǎ tā zuò wéi“ qīn 'ài de bó gèn dì táng dì” duì dài yǐ wài, bié wú tā tú。
wǒ men zhè gè gù shì shǐ yú yī sì liù bā nián, shì tā men jī yuàn zuì shēn de shí hòu, jìn guǎn yī rú wǎng cháng, tā men zhī jiān zàn shí chǔyú yī zhǒng mào sì píng jìng de xiū zhàn zhuàng tài。 wǒ men jiāng fā xiàn, shǒu xiān liè rén wǔ tái de zhè gè rén wù shì shǔ yú zhè yàng yī zhǒng děng jí hé shè huì dì wèi: wèile chǎn míng qí xìng zhì běn lái shì wú xū cháng piān lùn shù liǎng gè wěi dà wáng hóu de xiāng duì qíng kuàng de。 dàn dà rén wù de gǎn qíng yǐ jí tā men de zhēng duān yǔ hé jiě dū qiān shè dào suǒ yòu jiē jìn tā men de rén。 dāng wǒ men jì xù jiǎng zhè gè gù shì shí, wǒ men jiāng huì fā xiàn zhè gè kāi chǎng bái duì yú lǐ jiě wǒ men zhǔn bèi jiǎng shù qí mào xiǎn jīng lì de zhè gè rén wù de lì shǐ shì hěn yòu bì yào de。
HAMLET
The latter part of the fifteenth century prepared a train of future events that ended by raising France to that state of formidable power which has ever since been from time to time the principal object of jealousy to the other European nations. Before that period she had to struggle for her very existence with the English already possessed of her fairest provinces while the utmost exertions of her King, and the gallantry of her people, could scarcely protect the remainder from a foreign yoke. Nor was this her sole danger. The princes who possessed the grand fiefs of the crown, and, in particular, the Dukes of Burgundy and Bretagne, had come to wear their feudal bonds so lightly that they had no scruple in lifting the standard against their liege and sovereign lord, the King of France, on the slightest pretence. When at peace, they reigned as absolute princes in their own provinces; and the House of Burgundy, possessed of the district so called, together with the fairest and richest part of Flanders, was itself so wealthy, and so powerful, as to yield nothing to the crown, either in splendour or in strength.
In imitation of the grand feudatories, each inferior vassal of the crown assumed as much independence as his distance from the sovereign power, the extent of his fief, or the strength of his chateau enabled him to maintain; and these petty tyrants, no longer amenable to the exercise of the law, perpetrated with impunity the wildest excesses of fantastic oppression and cruelty. In Auvergne alone, a report was made of more than three hundred of these independent nobles, to whom incest, murder, and rapine were the most ordinary and familiar actions.
Besides these evils, another, springing out of the long continued wars betwixt the French and English, added no small misery to this distracted kingdom. Numerous bodies of soldiers, collected into bands, under officers chosen by themselves, from among the bravest and most successful adventurers, had been formed in various parts of France out of the refuse of all other countries. These hireling combatants sold their swords for a time to the best bidder; and, when such service was not to be had, they made war on their own account, seizing castles and towers, which they used as the places of their retreat, making prisoners, and ransoming them, exacting tribute from the open villages and the country around them -- and acquiring, by every species of rapine, the appropriate epithets of Tondeurs and Ecorcheurs, that is, Clippers and Flayers.
In the midst of the horrors and miseries arising from so distracted a state of public affairs, reckless and profuse expense distinguished the courts of the lesser nobles, as well as of the superior princes; and their dependents, in imitation, expended in rude but magnificent display the wealth which they extorted from the people. A tone of romantic and chivalrous gallantry (which, however, was often disgraced by unbounded license) characterized the intercourse between the sexes; and the language of knight errantry was yet used, and its observances followed, though the pure spirit of honourable love and benevolent enterprise which it inculcates had ceased to qualify and atone for its extravagances. The jousts and tournaments, the entertainments and revels, which each petty court displayed, invited to France every wandering adventurer; and it was seldom that, when arrived there, he failed to employ his rash courage, and headlong spirit of enterprise, in actions for which his happier native country afforded no free stage.
At this period, and as if to save this fair realm from the various woes with which it was menaced, the tottering throne was ascended by Louis XI, whose character, evil as it was in itself, met, combated, and in a great degree neutralized the mischiefs of the time -- as poisons of opposing qualities are said, in ancient books of medicine, to have the power of counteracting each other.
Brave enough for every useful and political purpose, Louis had not a spark of that romantic valour, or of the pride generally associated with it, which fought on for the point of honour, when the point of utility had been long gained. Calm, crafty, and profoundly attentive to his own interest, he made every sacrifice, both of pride and passion, which could interfere with it. He was careful in disguising his real sentiments and purposes from all who approached him, and frequently used the expressions, "that the king knew not how to reign, who knew not how to dissemble; and that, for himself, if he thought his very cap knew his secrets, he would throw it into the fire." No man of his own, or of any other time, better understood how to avail himself of the frailties of others, and when to avoid giving any advantage by the untimely indulgence of his own.
He was by nature vindictive and cruel, even to the extent of finding pleasure in the frequent executions which he commanded. But, as no touch of mercy ever induced him to spare, when he could with safety condemn, so no sentiment of vengeance ever stimulated him to a premature violence. He seldom sprang on his prey till it was fairly within his grasp, and till all hope of rescue was vain; and his movements were so studiously disguised, that his success was generally what first announced to the world the object he had been manoeuvring to attain.
In like manner, the avarice of Louis gave way to apparent profusion, when it was necessary to bribe the favourite or minister of a rival prince for averting any impending attack, or to break up any alliance confederated against him. He was fond of license and pleasure; but neither beauty nor the chase, though both were ruling passions, ever withdrew him from the most regular attendance to public business and the affairs of his kingdom. His knowledge of mankind was profound, and he had sought it in the private walks of life, in which he often personally mingled; and, though naturally proud and haughty, he hesitated not, with an inattention to the arbitrary divisions of society which was then thought something portentously unnatural, to raise from the lowest rank men whom he employed on the most important duties, and knew so well how to choose them, that he was rarely disappointed in their qualities. Yet there were contradictions in the character of this artful and able monarch; for human nature is rarely uniform. Himself the most false and insincere of mankind, some of the greatest errors of his life arose from too rash a confidence in the honour and integrity of others. When these errors took place, they seem to have arisen from an over refined system of policy, which induced Louis to assume the appearance of undoubting confidence in those whom it was his object to overreach; for, in his general conduct, he was as jealous and suspicious as any tyrant who ever breathed.
Two other points may be noticed to complete the sketch of this formidable character, by which he rose among the rude, chivalrous sovereigns of the period to the rank of a keeper among wild beasts, who, by superior wisdom and policy, by distribution of food, and some discipline by blows, comes finally to predominate over those who, if unsubjected by his arts, would by main strength have torn him to pieces.
The first of these attributes was Louis's excessive superstition, a plague with which Heaven often afflicts those who refuse to listen to the dictates of religion. The remorse arising from his evil actions Louis never endeavoured to appease by any relaxation in his Machiavellian stratagems (on account of the alleged political immorality of Machiavelli, an illustrious Italian of the sixteenth century, this expression has come to mean "destitute of political morality; habitually using duplicity and bad faith." Cent. Dict.), but laboured in vain to soothe and silence that painful feeling by superstitious observances, severe penance, and profuse gifts to the ecclesiastics. The second property, with which the first is sometimes found strangely united, was a disposition to low pleasures and obscure debauchery. The wisest, or at least the most crafty sovereign of his time, he was fond of low life, and, being himself a man of wit, enjoyed the jests and repartees of social conversation more than could have been expected from other points of his character. He even mingled in the comic adventures of obscure intrigue, with a freedom little consistent with the habitual and guarded jealousy of his character, and he was so fond of this species of humble gallantry, that he caused a number of its gay and licentious anecdotes to be enrolled in a collection well known to book collectors, in whose eyes (and the work is unfit for any other) the right edition is very precious.
(This editio princeps, which, when in good preservation, is much sought after by connoisseurs, is entitled Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, contenant Cent Histoires Nouveaux, qui sont moult plaisans a raconter en toutes bonnes compagnies par maniere de joyeuxete. Paris, Antoine Verard. Sans date d'annee d'impression; en folio gotique. See De Bure. S)
By means of this monarch's powerful and prudent, though most unamiable character, it pleased Heaven, who works by the tempest as well as by the soft, small rain, to restore to the great French nation the benefits of civil government, which, at the time of his accession, they had nearly lost.
Ere he succeeded to the crown, Louis had given evidence of his vices rather than of his talents. His first wife, Margaret of Scotland, was "done to death by slanderous tongues" in her husband's court, where, but for the encouragement of Louis himself, not a word would have been breathed against that amiable and injured princess. He had been an ungrateful and a rebellious son, at one time conspiring to seize his father's person, and at another levying open war against him. For the first offence, he was banished to his appanage of Dauphine, which he governed with much sagacity; for the second he was driven into absolute exile, and forced to throw himself on the mercy, and almost on the charity, of the Duke of Burgundy and his son; where he enjoyed hospitality, afterwards indifferently requited, until the death of his father in 1461.
In the very outset of his reign, Louis was almost overpowered by a league formed against him by the great vassals of France, with the Duke of Burgundy, or rather his son, the Count de Charalois, at its head. They levied a powerful army, blockaded Paris, fought a battle of doubtful issue under its very walls, and placed the French monarchy on the brink of actual destruction. It usually happens in such cases, that the more sagacious general of the two gains the real fruit, though perhaps not the martial fame, of the disputed field. Louis, who had shown great personal bravery during the battle of Montl'hery, was able, by his prudence, to avail himself of its undecided character, as if it had been a victory on his side. He temporized until the enemy had broken up their leaguer, and showed so much dexterity in sowing jealousies among those great powers, that their alliance "for the public weal," as they termed it, but in reality for the overthrow of all but the external appearance of the French monarchy, dissolved itself, and was never again renewed in a manner so formidable. From this period, Louis, relieved of all danger from England by the Civil Wars of York and Lancaster, was engaged for several years, like an unfeeling but able physician, in curing the wounds of the body politic, or rather in stopping, now by gentle remedies, now by the use of fire and steel, the progress of those mortal gangrenes with which it was then infected. The brigandage of the Free Companies (troops that acknowledged no authority except that of their leaders, and who hired themselves out at will), and the unpunished oppression of the nobility, he laboured to lessen, since he could not actually stop them; and, by dint of unrelaxed attention, he gradually gained some addition to his own regal authority, or effected some diminution of those by whom it was counterbalanced.
Still the King of France was surrounded by doubt and danger. The members of the league "for the public weal," though not in unison, were in existence, and, like a scotched snake (see Macbeth. III, ii, 13, "We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it."), might reunite and become dangerous again. But a worse danger was the increasing power of the Duke of Burgundy, then one of the greatest princes of Europe, and little diminished in rank by the very slight dependence of his duchy upon the crown of France.
Charles, surnamed the Bold, or rather, the Audacious, for his courage was allied to rashness and frenzy, then wore the ducal coronet of Burgundy, which he burned to convert into a royal and independent regal crown. The character of this Duke was in every respect the direct contrast to that of Louis XI.
The latter was calm, deliberate, and crafty, never prosecuting a desperate enterprise, and never abandoning one likely to be successful, however distant the prospect. The genius of the Duke was entirely different. He rushed on danger because he loved it, and on difficulties because he despised them. As Louis never sacrificed his interest to his passion, so Charles, on the other hand, never sacrificed his passion, or even his humour, to any other consideration. Notwithstanding the near relationship that existed between them, and the support which the Duke and his father had afforded to Louis in his exile when Dauphin, there was mutual contempt and hatred betwixt them. The Duke of Burgundy despised the cautious policy of the King, and imputed to the faintness of his courage that he sought by leagues, purchases, and other indirect means those advantages which, in his place, the Duke would have snatched with an armed hand. He likewise hated the King, not only for the ingratitude he had manifested for former kindnesses, and for personal injuries and imputations which the ambassadors of Louis had cast upon him, when his father was yet alive, but also, and especially, because of the support which he afforded in secret to the discontented citizens of Ghent, Liege, and other great towns in Flanders. These turbulent cities, jealous of their privileges, and proud of their wealth, were frequently in a state of insurrection against their liege lords, the Dukes of Burgundy, and never failed to find underhand countenance at the court of Louis, who embraced every opportunity of fomenting disturbance within the dominions of his overgrown vassal.
The contempt and hatred of the Duke were retaliated by Louis with equal energy, though he used a thicker veil to conceal his sentiments. It was impossible for a man of his profound sagacity not to despise the stubborn obstinacy which never resigned its purpose, however fatal perseverance might prove, and the headlong impetuosity which commenced its career without allowing a moment's consideration for the obstacles to be encountered. Yet the King hated Charles even more than he contemned him, and his scorn and hatred were the more intense, that they were mingled with fear; for he know that the onset of the mad bull, to whom he likened the Duke of Burgundy, must ever be formidable, though the animal makes it with shut eyes. It was not alone the wealth of the Burgundian provinces, the discipline of the warlike inhabitants, and the mass of their crowded population, which the King dreaded, for the personal qualities of their leader had also much in them that was dangerous. The very soul of bravery, which he pushed to the verge of rashness, and beyond it -- profuse in expenditure -- splendid in his court, his person, and his retinue, in all which he displayed the hereditary magnificence of the house of Burgundy, Charles the Bold drew into his service almost all the fiery spirits of the age whose tempers were congenial; and Louis saw too clearly what might be attempted and executed by such a train of resolute adventurers, following a leader of a character as ungovernable as their own.
There was yet another circumstance which increased the animosity of Louis towards his overgrown vassal; he owed him favours which he never meant to repay, and was under the frequent necessity of temporizing with him, and even of enduring bursts of petulant insolence, injurious to the regal dignity, without being able to treat him otherwise than as his "fair cousin of Burgundy."
It was about the year 1468, when their feuds were at the highest, though a dubious and hollow truce, as frequently happened, existed for the time betwixt them, that the present narrative opens. The person first introduced on the stage will be found indeed to be of a rank and condition, the illustration of whose character scarcely called for a dissertation on the relative position of two great princes; but the passions of the great, their quarrels, and their reconciliations involve the fortunes of all who approach them; and it will be found, on proceeding farther in our story, that this preliminary chapter is necessary for comprehending the history of the individual whose adventures we are about to relate.
zhè shì liǎng gè xiōng dì de bī zhēn xiě zhào。
《 hā mǔ léi tè》
shí wǔ shì jì hòu bàn yè yùn niàng liǎo yī xì liè duì wèi lái yòu yǐng xiǎng de shì jiàn, jiēguǒ shǐ fǎ guó shàng shēng dào yī zhǒng shí lì kě wèi de dì wèi。 zì nà yǐ hòu zhè dì wèi wǎng wǎng shì 'ōu zhōu guó jiā de zhù yào jí dù duì xiàng。 dàn zài zhè zhī qián, fǎ guó bù dé bùwèi qí zì shēn de shēng cún yǔ zhàn lǐng liǎo tā zuì měi hǎo de shěng fèn de yīng guó rén jìn xíng dǒu zhēng。 dàn shì, jìn guǎn guó wáng jìn liǎo zuì dà nǔ lì, rén mín jìn xíng liǎo yīng yǒng dǐ kàng, yě nán yǐ shǐ shèng xià de guó tǔ miǎn zāo yì zú de róu lìn。 hé kuàng zhè hái bù shì tā wéi yī de wēinàn! zhàn yòu wáng shì lǐng tǔ de gè gè qīn wáng héng héng tè bié shì bó gèn dì gōng jué hé bù liè tǎn ní gōng jué héng héng rú cǐ suí biàn dì duì dài qí fēng jiàn chén shǔ guān xì, yǐ zhì tā men cháng yǐ zuì xiǎo de jiè kǒu háo wú gù jì dì dǎ qǐ qí hào lái fǎn duì jūn zhù héng héng fǎ guó guó wáng。 zài hé píng shí qī, tā men gè zì wéi zhèng, chēng bà yī fāng。 bó gèn dì jiā zú chú zhàn yòu míng wéi bó gèn dì de dì qū yǐ wài, hái zhàn yòu fú lán dé zuì měi lì、 zuì fù ráo de bù fēn。 tā shì rú cǐ de fù guì hé háo qiáng, yǐ zhì wú lùn shì jiǎng pái chǎng hái shì jiǎng shí lì dū sī háo bù xùn yú fǎ guó guó wáng。
guó wáng dǐ xià de yī xiē xiǎo de fān shǔ yě xiào fǎng dà de fēng jiàn lǐng zhù, àn qí jù jūn zhù quán lì de yuǎn jìn、 lǐng dì de dà xiǎo huò chéng bǎo shí lì de qiáng ruò, jìn liàng nào dú lì。 zhè xiē xiǎo bào jūn bù zài shòu fǎ lǜ zhì yuē, jìn kě yǐ fàn xià zuì fēng kuáng de、 nán yǐ xiǎng xiàng de cán kù bào xíng 'ér xiāo yáo fǎ wài。 jǐn 'ōu wéi 'ěr ní yī dì jù shuō jiù yòu sān bǎi duō gè zhè zhǒng dú lì guì zú。 duì tā men lái shuō,、 móu shā、 jié lüè dōushì jí pǔ tōng de、 sī kōng jiàn guàn de xíng jìng。
chú liǎo zhè xiē zuì niè yǐ wài, nà yuān yuán yú fǎ guó hé yīng guó zhī jiān de kuàng rì chí jiǔ de zhàn zhēng yě gěi zhè gè yōu huàn shēn zhòng de wáng guó tiān jiā liǎo bù shǎo kǔ nán。 wéi shù zhòng duō de bīng pǐ cóng zuì yǒng gǎn、 zuì chéng gōng de mào xiǎn jiā dāng zhōng zì xuǎn shǒu lǐng, jù jié chéng bāng, zài fǎ guó de gè gè dì qū xíng chéng liǎo yóu qí tā gè guó de shè huì zhā zǐ pīn còu 'ér chéng de bīng pǐ jí tuán。 zhè xiē kě zī gù yōng de wǔ shì néng zài yī gè shí qī nèi bǎ tā men de wǔ lì mài gěi chū jià zuì gāo de mǎi zhù。 ér dāng zhè zhǒng láo yì méi yòu shì chǎng shí, tā men jiù zì xíng fā dòng zhàn zhēng, duó qǔ chéng bǎo zuò wéi yǎn hù de jù diǎn。 tā men zhuā fú lǔ, suǒ shú jīn, cóng bù shè fáng de cūn zhài jí qí zhōu wéi de xiāng jiān lè qǔ gòng wù, yóu yú zhè zhǒng zhǒng lǔ lüè de xíng jìng 'ér huò dé liǎo guā máo jiā hé bāopí jiā de qiàrúqífèn de chēng hào。
jìn guǎn duō yōu de guó shì gěi rén men dài lái liǎo zhǒng zhǒng kǒng jù hé bù xìng, dàn xiǎo guì zú réng yǔ gāo yī děng de wáng gōng yī yàng yǐ huī huò wú dù lái guāng yào mén tíng。 tā men de bù shǔ yě shàng xíng xià xiào, huī huò mín zhī mín gāo, jí jìn zhuō liè xuàn yào zhī néng shì。 nán nǚ zhī jiān de jiāo wǎng chōng mǎn liǎo yī zhǒng làng màn de qí shì fēng qíng, dàn jīng cháng yóu yú guò dù fàng zòng 'ér biàn dé bù shèn tǐ miàn; yóu xiá de yǔ yán réng bèi shǐ yòng, qí lǐ guī yě réng bèi zūn shǒu, dàn tā suǒ tí chàng de gāo guì chún jié de 'ài qíng hé rén 'ài de xíng wéi yǐ bù zài néng mí bǔ hé dǐ cháng qí guò huǒ de biǎo xiàn。 zài měi gè xiǎo gōng tíng jǔ xíng de jìng jì bǐ wǔ hé huān yú yàn lè, bǎ suǒ yòu yóu dàng de mào xiǎn jiādōu xī yǐn dào liǎo fǎ guó。 ér yī dàn lái dào fǎ guó, tā men jiù hěn shǎo bù bǎ tā men qīng shuài de yǒng qì hé yǎng zhuàng de mào xiǎn jīng shén fù zhū xíng dòng, ér tā men zì jǐ gèng wéi xìng yùn de zǔ guó bìng bù wéi zhī tí gōng zì yóu de wǔ tái。
zhèng shì zài zhè gè shí qī, fǎng fó shì wèile zài wēi jī sì fú zhōng zhěng jiù tā men měi hǎo de wáng guó, lù yì shí yī dēng shàng liǎo yáo yáo yù zhuì de huáng wèi, ér lù yì shí yī de xìng gé, jìn guǎn qí běn shēn, què xiàng gǔ dài yī shū suǒ shuō, xìng zhì xiāng fǎn de dú sù jù yòu yǐ dú gōng dú de xiào lì nà yàng, zú yǐ duì fù hé kè fú, bìng zài hěn dà chéng dù shàng dǐ xiāo shí bì。
suī rán lù yì gōng jù yòu zú gòu de yǒng qì lái shí xiàn rèn hé yī gè yòu yòng de mùdì, dàn tā què sī háo méi yòu luó màn dì kè de xiāo yǒng huò tōng cháng yǔ cǐ xiāng lián de 'ào qì, ér zhè zhǒng 'ào qì néng shǐ dé yī gè rén jí shǐ zǎo yǐ huò dé shí huì, dàn wèile yíng dé mǒu zhǒng róng yù gǎn réng rán jì xù zhàn dǒu。 tā chén zhe, jiǎo xiá, shēnqiè dì guān zhù zì shēn de lì yì。 yī dàn tā de zì zūn xīn hé gǎn qíng fáng 'ài liǎo tā de lì yì, zuò chū rèn hé xī shēng, tādōu zài suǒ bù xī。 tā hěn zhù yì duì suǒ yòu jiē jìn tā de rén yǎn shì zì jǐ de zhēn shí gǎn qíng hé yì tú。 tā jīng cháng yǐn yòng yī jù huà:“ yī gè guó wáng bù zhī dào rú hé zhuāng jǐng zuò yǎ, tā jiù bù zhī dào rú hé zhì lǐ guó jiā。 duì tā lái shuō, yī dàn tā rèn wéi zì jǐ dài de mào zǐ zhī xiǎo tā de mì mì, tā jiù huì háo bù yóu yù dì bǎ tā rēng jìn huǒ lǐ。” wú lùn shì dāng shí hái shì bié de shí dài, dōuméi yòu rén néng gèng hǎo dì dǒng dé rú hé lì yòng bié rén de ruò diǎn, dǒng dé shénme shí hòu gāi bì miǎn yóu yú bù hé shí yí dì fàng zòng zì jǐ de ruò diǎn 'ér ràng bié rén zhàn liǎo shàng fēng。
jiù qí tiān xìng lái shuō, tā xǐ huān bào fù, cán kù wú qíng, shèn zhì jīng cháng cóng xià lìng zhí xíng sǐ xíng dāng zhōng xún zhǎo lè qù。 zài tā ruò wú qí shì dì pàn chù sǐ xíng shí, gù rán bù huì dòng cè yǐn zhī xīn qù kuān shù sǐ huí, dàn lìng yī fāng miàn, yě méi yòu rèn hé fù chóu zhī xīn huì cì jī tā cǎi qǔ wéi shí guò zǎo de bào lì xíng dòng。 zài tā de liè huò wù hái méi yòu wán quán zhì yú bǔ zhuō fàn wéi nèi, zài yī qiē táo páo xī wàng dū bì rán luò kōng yǐ qián, tā hěn shǎo pū xiàng tā men。 tā de xíng dòng dōushì nà yàng zhuóyì dì jiā yǐ yǎn shì, yǐ zhì tā de chéng gōng yī bān dōushì tā shǒu cì zhāo gào shì rén, dàn qí shí zài 'àn zhōng yī zhí kǔ xīn yíng qiú de mù biāo。
tóng yàng, zài yòu bì yào qù huì lù yī gè dí duì qīn wáng de chǒng xìn huò dà chén yǐ bì miǎn rèn hé pò zài méi jié de jìn fàn huò dǎ pò rèn hé zhēn duì tā jié chéng de lián méng shí, lù yì wáng de tān lán hé lìn qiān biàn ràng wèi yú biǎo miàn de kāng kǎi dà fāng。 tā xǐ huān zòng qíng huān lè, dàn wú lùn shì měi nǚ hái shì shòu liè héng héng jìn guǎn 'èr zhě dōushì tā de tóu děng 'àihào héng héng dū jué bù huì shǐ tā dài hū rì cháng gōng wù hé cháo zhèng。 tā duì rén de dòng chá shì shēn kè de。 tā céng jīng tōng guò tā qīn shēn zài qí zhōng sī hùn guò de gè jiē céng rén wù de sī shēng huó lái xún qiú zhè zhǒng liǎo jiě。 tóng shí, jìn guǎn tā shēng xìng 'ào màn, dàn tā què néng yǐ yī zhǒng dāng shí bèi rèn wéi shì jí wéi fǎn cháng de、 duì wǔ duàn huàfēn de shè huì jiē céng de hū shì, háo bù yóu yù dì cóng zuì dǐ céng tí bá yòu yòng zhī cái, bìng wěi yǐ zhòng rèn。 tā zhī rén shàn rèn, yīn 'ér hěn shǎo duì tā men de sù zhì gǎn dào guò shī wàng。
rán 'ér, zhè gè jiān jiǎo 'ér néng gān de jūn zhù yě shì gè máo dùn de hùn hé tǐ, yīn wéi rén xìng hěn shǎo shì huàyī de。 suī rán tā běn rén shì rén lèi dāng zhōng zuì xū wěi、 zuì bù chéng kěn de yī gè, dàn tā yī shēng dāng zhōng mǒu xiē zuì dà de cuò wù què qià hǎo shì yóu yú guòfèn qīng xìn bié rén de róng yù gǎn hé chéng shí。 chǎn shēng zhè xiē cuò wù sì hū shì guī yīn yú yī zhǒng guò yú jīng xì de cè lüè tǐ xì, cù shǐ lù yì wáng duì tā yì yù zhēng fú de rén biǎo miàn zhuāng chū háo bù huái yí de xìn rèn zī tài; yīn wéi jiù tā zǒng de biǎo xiàn lái kàn, tā hé lì dài bào jūn yī yàng hú yí hé cāi jì。
lù yì wáng zhèng shì yǐ kào tā nà lìng rén shēng wèi de xìng gé, cóng dāng dài lǔ mǎng de qí shì bān de jūn zhù dāng zhōng tuō yíng 'ér chū, shàng shēng dào yī gè xùn shòu shī de dì wèi。 xùn shòu shī píng jiè gāo chāo de zhì néng hé cè lüè, tōng guò fēn fā shí wù hé gùn bàng chéng jiè, zhōng yú néng jià yù nà xiē yě shòu。 yào bù shì duō kuī xùn shòu shī de quán shù tā men, tā men běn huì yǐ kào dān chún de tǐ lì bǎ tā sī suì。 zài wán chéng zhè yī lìng rén shēng wèi de rén wù xìng gé de kè huà yǐ qián, hái yòu lìng wài liǎng gè tè diǎn zhí dé yī tí。
dì yī gè tè diǎn jiù shì lù yì wáng de guòfèn mí xìn, zhè yě kě yǐ shuō shì shàng cāng yòng lái chéng fá nà xiē jù bù tīng cóng zōng jiào zhǐ yǐn de rén men de yī zhǒng tōng bìng。 lù yì wáng cóng bù dǎ suàn fàng sōng wán nòng quán shù lái píng xī tā de nà xiē gòu dāng suǒ yǐn qǐ de huǐ hèn, ér shì tōng guò mí xìn de lǐ bài、 yán lì de zì wǒ fá zuì, yǐ jí duì shèng zhí rén yuán de kāng kǎi kuì zèng, jìn hū tú láo dì shū jiě zhè zhǒng kǔ tòng gǎn。 yǔ shàng miàn tè diǎn yòu shí lí qí dì lián xì zài yī qǐ de dì 'èr gè tè diǎn shì 'àihào dī jí qù wèi hé bēi wēi de yì lè, jìn guǎn tā shì tā nà gè shí dài zuì yòu tóu nǎo de, zhì shǎo shì zuì jiǎo xiá de jūn zhù。 jì rán tā zì jǐ jiù shì yī gè fù yú jī zhì de rén, zì rán hěn xīn shǎng shè jiāo tán huà zhōng de xiào huà hé qiào pí huà, qí chéng dù chāo guò rén men jǐn gēn jù qí xìng gé de qí tā tè diǎn suǒ néng chuài mó de dì bù。 tā shèn zhì juàn rén yī xiē xǐ jù xìng de。 ài mèi de táo sè shì jiàn, qí sǎ tuō de chéng dù yǔ tā xìng gé zhōng nà zhǒng guàn cháng de jiè bèi hé dù jì hěn bù xié diào。 tā rú cǐ xǐ 'ài zhè yī lèi dī jiàn de fēng liú yùn shì, yǐ zhì tā de xǔ duō fàng dàng yín yì de yì wén bèi shōu rù shū jí shōu cáng jiā shú zhī de yī gè jí zǐ lǐ, ér zài shōu cáng jiā yǎn lǐ( zhè shū kě bù shì yú rèn hé bié de rén kàn), nà gè wán zhěng de bǎn běn shì hěn zhēn guì de。
tōng guò zhè wèi jūn zhù nà jí bù kuān hòu, què jiān qiáng yòu lì 'ér yòu shí fēn shěn shèn de xìng gé, shàng cāng zhōng yú lè yì yǐ jí fēng bào yǔ huò hé fēng xì yǔ lái 'ēn wēi bìng yòng de fāng shì, ràng wěi dà de fǎ lán xī mín zú chóngxīn xiǎng shòu dào yī gè yòu fǎ dù de zhèng fǔ de hǎo chù, ér zài tā dēng jī shí fǎ guó rén jīhū yǐ jīng bǎ zhè zhǒng hǎo chù sàng shī dài jìn。
zài tā jì chéng wáng wèi yǐ qián, lù yì wáng yǐ jīng xiǎn lù chū tā de mǒu xiē, ér bù shì tā de cáigàn。 tā de yuán pèi qī zǐ, sū gé lán de mǎ gé lì tè, shì zài tā zhàng fū de gōng tíng zhōng“ bèi chán yán 'è yǔ zhòngshāng 'ér sǐ de”。 rú guǒ bù shì lù yì wáng de gǔ lì, běn bù huì yòu xián yán suì yǔ sī xià chuán bō lái shāng hài nà wèi hé shàn 'ér shòu wěi qū de gōng zhù。 tā shì gè wàng 'ēn fù yì、 pàn nì bù xiào de 'ér zǐ, yī dù qǐ tú yīn móu jié chí tā de fù qīn, shèn zhì hái gōng kāi xiàng tā xuān guò zhàn。 yóu yú tā suǒ fàn de dì yī gè zuì guò, tā bèi fàng zhú dào hòu lái bèi tā zhì lǐ dé jǐng jǐng yòu tiáo de huáng tài zǐ lǐng dì; ér yóu yú suǒ fàn de dì 'èr gè zuì guò, tā bèi wán quán liú fàng, tóubèn bó gèn dì gōng jué hé tā de 'ér zǐ, yǐ kào tā men de lián mǐn, jīhū shì tā men de rén cí lái dù rì。 zài yī sì liù yī nián tā fù qīn jià bēng yǐ qián, tā yī zhí zài bó gèn dì gōng jué fù zǐ nà 'ér xiǎng shòu zhe zhōu dào de lǐ yù, dàn zhè zhǒng lǐ yù rì hòu bìng méi yòu dé dào shàn bào。
zài tā de wáng cháo gāng kāi shǐ de shí hòu, lù yì wáng jīhū bèi fǎ guó de dà fān shǔ yīn fǎn duì tā 'ér zǔ chéng de yī gè tóng méng suǒ yā dǎo, wéi shǒu de shì bó gèn dì gōng jué, gèng qiàdàng dì shuō, shì tā de 'ér zǐ xià hé luò yī bó jué。 tā men zhēng zhào liǎo yī zhī qiáng dà de jūn duì, fēng suǒ liǎo bā lí, zài bā lí chéng xià dǎ liǎo yīcháng shèng fù wèi dìng de zhàng, shǐ dé fǎ guó guó jūn bīn yú kuǎ tái de biān yuán。 zài zhè zhǒng jiāng huì liǎng bài jù shāng de qíng xíng xià, tōng cháng shì jiào wéi míng zhì de tǒng shuài huò dé zhàn chǎng shàng de shí huì, dàn bù yī dìng shì jūn shì shàng de róng yào。 zài méng tè lè lǐ zhàn dǒu zhōng xiǎn shì chū chāo rén dǎn lüè de lù yì wáng shěn shèn dì lì yòng zhàn zhēng shèng fù wèi dìng de tè diǎn, shǐ dé shèng lì kàn lái xiàng shì shǔ yú tā de。 tā shàn yú kàn fēng shǐ duǒ, zhí dào gǎo kuǎ dí rén de tóng méng wéi zhǐ。 zài qiáng dà de fān shǔ zhī jiān jìn xíng tiǎo bō líjiàn fāng miàn, tā biǎo xiàn chū liǎo fēi fán de cáigàn, zhì shǐ nà zhǐ zài tuī fān fǎ guó jūn zhù de“ cù jìn gōng zhòng fú lì tóng méng” zuì zhōng zì xíng jiě tǐ, bìng qiě zài yě bù huì dōng shān zài qǐ, lìng rén dǎn zhàn xīn jīng。 cóng zhè gè shí qī qǐ, lù yì wáng jiè zhù yú yuē kè hé lán kāi sī tè zhī jiān de nèi zhàn, bǎi tuō liǎo lái zì yīng guó de wēi xiǎn zhī hòu, biàn kāi shǐ xiàng yī gè lěng kù 'ér néng gān de yī shēng nà yàng, huā liǎo hǎo jǐ nián gōng fū lái liáo zhì jī tǐ de chuāngshāng, gèng què qiē dì shuō, jiù shì shí 'ér tōng guò huǎn hé liáo fǎ, shí 'ér tōng guò liè huǒ yǔ gāng dāo, lái zǔ 'è zhì mìng de huài jū bìng de màn yán。 bīng pǐ jí tuán wéi suǒ yù wéi, guì zú men bù shòu chéng fá de yā pò, suī rán tā wú fǎ yòu xiào dì zhì zhǐ, dàn tā jìn lì shè fǎ jiǎn qīng。 tōng guò bù xiè de nǔ lì, tā zhú jiàn qǔ dé liǎo gèng duō de zhù quán; huò zhě shuō xuē ruò liǎo néng yǔ zhī kàng héng zhě de quán lì。
rán 'ér fǎ guó guó wáng réng rán yí lǜ chóngchóng, yōu xīn rú fén。“ cù jìn gōng zhòng fú lì tóng méng” de chéng yuán jìn guǎn nèi bù bù hé, dàn zhǐ yào cún zài zhe, jiù huì xiàng yī tiáo shòu shāng de shé yī yàng, yòu zhòng xīn lián hé zài dù biàn dé wēi xiǎn qǐ lái de kě néng。 bù guò, gèng dà de wēi xié zài yú dāng shí 'ōu zhōu zuì dà de qīn wáng zhī yī bó gèn dì gōng jué yǔ rì jù zēng de quán shì。 yóu yú tā de gōng guó yǔ fǎ guó de wáng wèi zhī jiān zhǐ yòu jí dàn de chén shǔ guān xì, suǒ yǐ dì wèi yǔ tā bù xiāng shàng xià。
chá 'ěr sī gōng jué chuò hào jiào“ dà dǎn de chá 'ěr sī”, huò yǎ chēng“ yǒng měng de chá 'ěr sī”, zhè shì yīn wéi tā de yǒng gǎn zǒng shì hé lǔ mǎng、 kuáng rè lián xì zài yī qǐ。 tā jì chéng liǎo bó gèn dì gōng jué de guān miǎn, dàn bǎ tā róng huà liǎo, gǎi chéng yī dǐng yù yòng de huáng guān。 zhè wèi gōng jué de xìng gé zài gè fāng miàn dū hé lù yì shí yī xíng chéng xiān míng de duì bǐ。
hòu zhě chén zhe、 yòu tóu nǎo、 jiǎo zhà, cóng lái méi yòu guò jī xíng wéi, yě cóng bù fàng qì rèn hé yī jiàn kě néng chéng gōng de shì, bù guǎn tā de qián jǐng rú hé miǎo máng。 gōng jué de tiān fù zé wán quán bù tóng。 tā dìng 'ér zǒu xiǎn, yīn wéi tā kù 'ài mào xiǎn; tā lín wēi bù jù, yīn wéi tā miǎo shì kùn nán。 lù yì wáng cóng bùwèi liǎo gǎn qíng 'ér xī shēng zì jǐ de lì yì, chá 'ěr sī zé xiāng fǎn, cóng bùwèi liǎo qí tā de kǎo lǜ 'ér xī shēng gǎn qíng, shèn zhì tā de yī shí xīng zhì。 jìn guǎn tā men qīn qī guān xì hěn jìn, jìn guǎn gōng jué hé tā fù qīn zài lù yì wáng zuò wéi tài zǐ dào tā men nà 'ér shí gěi guò tā zhī chí, dàn bǐ cǐ zhī jiān cún yòu jiè xīn hé chóu shì。 bó gèn dì gōng jué kàn bù qǐ guó wáng jǐn shèn de cè lüè, bǎ tā lì qiú tōng guò jié méng、 shōu mǎi hé qí tā jiànjiē fāng shì móu qǔ lì yì de zuò fǎ guī yīn yú tā de qiè nuò; jiǎ ruò tā shì guó wáng de huà, tā jiù huì yòng wǔ lì lái jué qǔ。 tā tóng yàng chóu shì guó wáng, zhè bù jǐn shì yīn wéi guó wáng duì tā yǐ qián dé dào de 'ēn huì wàng 'ēn fù yì, hái yīn wéi tā fù qīn zài shì shí, guó wáng de dà shǐ duì tā běn rén yě yòu guò gǎn qíng shàng de shāng hài hé zénàn, ér zuì zhòng yào de yī diǎn, shì lù yì wáng duì gēn tè、 liè rì jí fú lán dé de lìng yī xiē dà chéng shì lǐ de bù mǎn jū mín 'àn zhōng jǐyǔ zhī chí。 zhè xiē sāo dòng de chéng shì hài pà shī qù tā men de quán yì, tóng shí yě wèitā men de cái fù gǎn dào jiāo 'ào, yú shì jīng cháng fā dòng pàn luàn lái fǎn duì jūn zhù bó gèn dì gōng jué, ér qiě cóng bù huì zài lù yì wáng de gōng tíng dé bù dào 'àn zhōng gǔ lì, yīn wéi lù yì wáng zǒng shì zhuā zhù yī qiē jī huì xīng fēng zuò làng, zài tā nà guòfèn qiáng dà de fān shǔ de lǐng tǔ shàng zhì zào hùn luàn。
duì gōng jué de qīng miè hé chóu shì, lù yì wáng yú yǐ tóng yàng yòu lì de huí jìng。 bù guò tā yòng gèng hòu de miàn shā lái yǎn shì zhēn shí gǎn qíng。 xiàng tā zhè yàng yī gè yòu shēn móu yuǎn lǜ de rén bù kě néng bù miè shì nà zhǒng cóng bù fàng qì yī gè mù biāo、 bù guǎn jiān chí xià qù duō me wēi xiǎn de míng wán de gù zhí, yǐ jí nà zhǒng zhuóshǒu mǒu jiàn shì 'ér bù kǎo lǜ jiāng yù dào de zhàng 'ài de mǎng zhuàng hé jí zào。 bù guò lù yì wáng chóu shì chá 'ěr sī shèn zhì chāo guò tā qīng shì chá 'ěr sī, ér tā de qīng shì hé chóu shì, yóu yú dū hùn zá zhe wèi jù, biàn xiǎn dé gèng wéi qiáng liè。 tā bǎ bó gèn dì gōng jué bǐ zuò yī tiáo fā fēng de gōng niú。 tā zhī dào fēng niú de jìn fàn, jí shǐ bì zhe yǎn jīng, yě shì kě pà de。 lù yì wáng wèi jù de bù dān shì bó gèn dì zhū shěng fèn de cái fù, yě bù dān shì qí hàozhàn de、 xùn liàn yòu sù de jū mín, yǐ jí zhòng duō de rén kǒu。 qí yuán shǒu de gè rén qì zhì yě yòu xǔ duō wēi xiǎn kān yú zhī chù。 tā běn rén jiù shì yǒng gǎn de huà shēn, ér tā bǎ zhè zhǒng yǒng gǎn fā zhǎn dào liǎo jìn hū qīng shuài mào shī de biān yuán。 cǐ wài, tā huī jīn rú tǔ。 tā de gōng tíng, tā běn rén hé tā de hù cóng dū xiǎn dé fù lì táng huáng。 suǒ yòu zhè xiē dū biǎo xiàn chū bó gèn dì jiā zú de chuán tǒng de háo huá。 yīn cǐ,“ dà dǎn de chá 'ěr sī” jīhū bǎ dāng dài xìng qíng xiāng tóu de huǒ bào hàn zǐ dū xī yǐn liǎo guò lái wèitā fú wù。 xiàng zhè yàng yī huǒ jiān dìng de mào xiǎn jiā gēn suí zhe yī gè hé tā men xìng gé tóng yàng mǎng zhuàng bù jī de shǒu lǐng huì qǐ tú gànshénme yàng de shì qíng, lù yì gōng kàn dé shí fēn qīng chǔ。
hái yòu lìng wài yī gè qíng kuàng yě zēng jiā liǎo lù yì gōng duì zhè yī shì lì guò dà de fān shǔ de dí yì。 tā duì tā de 'ēn huì shì qiàn yòu zhài de, dàn tā bìng bù xiǎng cháng hái、 bào dá, zhǐ shì jīng cháng xū yào hé tā zhōu xuán, shèn zhì rěn shòu yòu sǔn yú tā dì wáng zūn yán de bù shí fā zuò de huài pí qì。 chú liǎo bǎ tā zuò wéi“ qīn 'ài de bó gèn dì táng dì” duì dài yǐ wài, bié wú tā tú。
wǒ men zhè gè gù shì shǐ yú yī sì liù bā nián, shì tā men jī yuàn zuì shēn de shí hòu, jìn guǎn yī rú wǎng cháng, tā men zhī jiān zàn shí chǔyú yī zhǒng mào sì píng jìng de xiū zhàn zhuàng tài。 wǒ men jiāng fā xiàn, shǒu xiān liè rén wǔ tái de zhè gè rén wù shì shǔ yú zhè yàng yī zhǒng děng jí hé shè huì dì wèi: wèile chǎn míng qí xìng zhì běn lái shì wú xū cháng piān lùn shù liǎng gè wěi dà wáng hóu de xiāng duì qíng kuàng de。 dàn dà rén wù de gǎn qíng yǐ jí tā men de zhēng duān yǔ hé jiě dū qiān shè dào suǒ yòu jiē jìn tā men de rén。 dāng wǒ men jì xù jiǎng zhè gè gù shì shí, wǒ men jiāng huì fā xiàn zhè gè kāi chǎng bái duì yú lǐ jiě wǒ men zhǔn bèi jiǎng shù qí mào xiǎn jīng lì de zhè gè rén wù de lì shǐ shì hěn yòu bì yào de。
HAMLET
The latter part of the fifteenth century prepared a train of future events that ended by raising France to that state of formidable power which has ever since been from time to time the principal object of jealousy to the other European nations. Before that period she had to struggle for her very existence with the English already possessed of her fairest provinces while the utmost exertions of her King, and the gallantry of her people, could scarcely protect the remainder from a foreign yoke. Nor was this her sole danger. The princes who possessed the grand fiefs of the crown, and, in particular, the Dukes of Burgundy and Bretagne, had come to wear their feudal bonds so lightly that they had no scruple in lifting the standard against their liege and sovereign lord, the King of France, on the slightest pretence. When at peace, they reigned as absolute princes in their own provinces; and the House of Burgundy, possessed of the district so called, together with the fairest and richest part of Flanders, was itself so wealthy, and so powerful, as to yield nothing to the crown, either in splendour or in strength.
In imitation of the grand feudatories, each inferior vassal of the crown assumed as much independence as his distance from the sovereign power, the extent of his fief, or the strength of his chateau enabled him to maintain; and these petty tyrants, no longer amenable to the exercise of the law, perpetrated with impunity the wildest excesses of fantastic oppression and cruelty. In Auvergne alone, a report was made of more than three hundred of these independent nobles, to whom incest, murder, and rapine were the most ordinary and familiar actions.
Besides these evils, another, springing out of the long continued wars betwixt the French and English, added no small misery to this distracted kingdom. Numerous bodies of soldiers, collected into bands, under officers chosen by themselves, from among the bravest and most successful adventurers, had been formed in various parts of France out of the refuse of all other countries. These hireling combatants sold their swords for a time to the best bidder; and, when such service was not to be had, they made war on their own account, seizing castles and towers, which they used as the places of their retreat, making prisoners, and ransoming them, exacting tribute from the open villages and the country around them -- and acquiring, by every species of rapine, the appropriate epithets of Tondeurs and Ecorcheurs, that is, Clippers and Flayers.
In the midst of the horrors and miseries arising from so distracted a state of public affairs, reckless and profuse expense distinguished the courts of the lesser nobles, as well as of the superior princes; and their dependents, in imitation, expended in rude but magnificent display the wealth which they extorted from the people. A tone of romantic and chivalrous gallantry (which, however, was often disgraced by unbounded license) characterized the intercourse between the sexes; and the language of knight errantry was yet used, and its observances followed, though the pure spirit of honourable love and benevolent enterprise which it inculcates had ceased to qualify and atone for its extravagances. The jousts and tournaments, the entertainments and revels, which each petty court displayed, invited to France every wandering adventurer; and it was seldom that, when arrived there, he failed to employ his rash courage, and headlong spirit of enterprise, in actions for which his happier native country afforded no free stage.
At this period, and as if to save this fair realm from the various woes with which it was menaced, the tottering throne was ascended by Louis XI, whose character, evil as it was in itself, met, combated, and in a great degree neutralized the mischiefs of the time -- as poisons of opposing qualities are said, in ancient books of medicine, to have the power of counteracting each other.
Brave enough for every useful and political purpose, Louis had not a spark of that romantic valour, or of the pride generally associated with it, which fought on for the point of honour, when the point of utility had been long gained. Calm, crafty, and profoundly attentive to his own interest, he made every sacrifice, both of pride and passion, which could interfere with it. He was careful in disguising his real sentiments and purposes from all who approached him, and frequently used the expressions, "that the king knew not how to reign, who knew not how to dissemble; and that, for himself, if he thought his very cap knew his secrets, he would throw it into the fire." No man of his own, or of any other time, better understood how to avail himself of the frailties of others, and when to avoid giving any advantage by the untimely indulgence of his own.
He was by nature vindictive and cruel, even to the extent of finding pleasure in the frequent executions which he commanded. But, as no touch of mercy ever induced him to spare, when he could with safety condemn, so no sentiment of vengeance ever stimulated him to a premature violence. He seldom sprang on his prey till it was fairly within his grasp, and till all hope of rescue was vain; and his movements were so studiously disguised, that his success was generally what first announced to the world the object he had been manoeuvring to attain.
In like manner, the avarice of Louis gave way to apparent profusion, when it was necessary to bribe the favourite or minister of a rival prince for averting any impending attack, or to break up any alliance confederated against him. He was fond of license and pleasure; but neither beauty nor the chase, though both were ruling passions, ever withdrew him from the most regular attendance to public business and the affairs of his kingdom. His knowledge of mankind was profound, and he had sought it in the private walks of life, in which he often personally mingled; and, though naturally proud and haughty, he hesitated not, with an inattention to the arbitrary divisions of society which was then thought something portentously unnatural, to raise from the lowest rank men whom he employed on the most important duties, and knew so well how to choose them, that he was rarely disappointed in their qualities. Yet there were contradictions in the character of this artful and able monarch; for human nature is rarely uniform. Himself the most false and insincere of mankind, some of the greatest errors of his life arose from too rash a confidence in the honour and integrity of others. When these errors took place, they seem to have arisen from an over refined system of policy, which induced Louis to assume the appearance of undoubting confidence in those whom it was his object to overreach; for, in his general conduct, he was as jealous and suspicious as any tyrant who ever breathed.
Two other points may be noticed to complete the sketch of this formidable character, by which he rose among the rude, chivalrous sovereigns of the period to the rank of a keeper among wild beasts, who, by superior wisdom and policy, by distribution of food, and some discipline by blows, comes finally to predominate over those who, if unsubjected by his arts, would by main strength have torn him to pieces.
The first of these attributes was Louis's excessive superstition, a plague with which Heaven often afflicts those who refuse to listen to the dictates of religion. The remorse arising from his evil actions Louis never endeavoured to appease by any relaxation in his Machiavellian stratagems (on account of the alleged political immorality of Machiavelli, an illustrious Italian of the sixteenth century, this expression has come to mean "destitute of political morality; habitually using duplicity and bad faith." Cent. Dict.), but laboured in vain to soothe and silence that painful feeling by superstitious observances, severe penance, and profuse gifts to the ecclesiastics. The second property, with which the first is sometimes found strangely united, was a disposition to low pleasures and obscure debauchery. The wisest, or at least the most crafty sovereign of his time, he was fond of low life, and, being himself a man of wit, enjoyed the jests and repartees of social conversation more than could have been expected from other points of his character. He even mingled in the comic adventures of obscure intrigue, with a freedom little consistent with the habitual and guarded jealousy of his character, and he was so fond of this species of humble gallantry, that he caused a number of its gay and licentious anecdotes to be enrolled in a collection well known to book collectors, in whose eyes (and the work is unfit for any other) the right edition is very precious.
(This editio princeps, which, when in good preservation, is much sought after by connoisseurs, is entitled Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, contenant Cent Histoires Nouveaux, qui sont moult plaisans a raconter en toutes bonnes compagnies par maniere de joyeuxete. Paris, Antoine Verard. Sans date d'annee d'impression; en folio gotique. See De Bure. S)
By means of this monarch's powerful and prudent, though most unamiable character, it pleased Heaven, who works by the tempest as well as by the soft, small rain, to restore to the great French nation the benefits of civil government, which, at the time of his accession, they had nearly lost.
Ere he succeeded to the crown, Louis had given evidence of his vices rather than of his talents. His first wife, Margaret of Scotland, was "done to death by slanderous tongues" in her husband's court, where, but for the encouragement of Louis himself, not a word would have been breathed against that amiable and injured princess. He had been an ungrateful and a rebellious son, at one time conspiring to seize his father's person, and at another levying open war against him. For the first offence, he was banished to his appanage of Dauphine, which he governed with much sagacity; for the second he was driven into absolute exile, and forced to throw himself on the mercy, and almost on the charity, of the Duke of Burgundy and his son; where he enjoyed hospitality, afterwards indifferently requited, until the death of his father in 1461.
In the very outset of his reign, Louis was almost overpowered by a league formed against him by the great vassals of France, with the Duke of Burgundy, or rather his son, the Count de Charalois, at its head. They levied a powerful army, blockaded Paris, fought a battle of doubtful issue under its very walls, and placed the French monarchy on the brink of actual destruction. It usually happens in such cases, that the more sagacious general of the two gains the real fruit, though perhaps not the martial fame, of the disputed field. Louis, who had shown great personal bravery during the battle of Montl'hery, was able, by his prudence, to avail himself of its undecided character, as if it had been a victory on his side. He temporized until the enemy had broken up their leaguer, and showed so much dexterity in sowing jealousies among those great powers, that their alliance "for the public weal," as they termed it, but in reality for the overthrow of all but the external appearance of the French monarchy, dissolved itself, and was never again renewed in a manner so formidable. From this period, Louis, relieved of all danger from England by the Civil Wars of York and Lancaster, was engaged for several years, like an unfeeling but able physician, in curing the wounds of the body politic, or rather in stopping, now by gentle remedies, now by the use of fire and steel, the progress of those mortal gangrenes with which it was then infected. The brigandage of the Free Companies (troops that acknowledged no authority except that of their leaders, and who hired themselves out at will), and the unpunished oppression of the nobility, he laboured to lessen, since he could not actually stop them; and, by dint of unrelaxed attention, he gradually gained some addition to his own regal authority, or effected some diminution of those by whom it was counterbalanced.
Still the King of France was surrounded by doubt and danger. The members of the league "for the public weal," though not in unison, were in existence, and, like a scotched snake (see Macbeth. III, ii, 13, "We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it."), might reunite and become dangerous again. But a worse danger was the increasing power of the Duke of Burgundy, then one of the greatest princes of Europe, and little diminished in rank by the very slight dependence of his duchy upon the crown of France.
Charles, surnamed the Bold, or rather, the Audacious, for his courage was allied to rashness and frenzy, then wore the ducal coronet of Burgundy, which he burned to convert into a royal and independent regal crown. The character of this Duke was in every respect the direct contrast to that of Louis XI.
The latter was calm, deliberate, and crafty, never prosecuting a desperate enterprise, and never abandoning one likely to be successful, however distant the prospect. The genius of the Duke was entirely different. He rushed on danger because he loved it, and on difficulties because he despised them. As Louis never sacrificed his interest to his passion, so Charles, on the other hand, never sacrificed his passion, or even his humour, to any other consideration. Notwithstanding the near relationship that existed between them, and the support which the Duke and his father had afforded to Louis in his exile when Dauphin, there was mutual contempt and hatred betwixt them. The Duke of Burgundy despised the cautious policy of the King, and imputed to the faintness of his courage that he sought by leagues, purchases, and other indirect means those advantages which, in his place, the Duke would have snatched with an armed hand. He likewise hated the King, not only for the ingratitude he had manifested for former kindnesses, and for personal injuries and imputations which the ambassadors of Louis had cast upon him, when his father was yet alive, but also, and especially, because of the support which he afforded in secret to the discontented citizens of Ghent, Liege, and other great towns in Flanders. These turbulent cities, jealous of their privileges, and proud of their wealth, were frequently in a state of insurrection against their liege lords, the Dukes of Burgundy, and never failed to find underhand countenance at the court of Louis, who embraced every opportunity of fomenting disturbance within the dominions of his overgrown vassal.
The contempt and hatred of the Duke were retaliated by Louis with equal energy, though he used a thicker veil to conceal his sentiments. It was impossible for a man of his profound sagacity not to despise the stubborn obstinacy which never resigned its purpose, however fatal perseverance might prove, and the headlong impetuosity which commenced its career without allowing a moment's consideration for the obstacles to be encountered. Yet the King hated Charles even more than he contemned him, and his scorn and hatred were the more intense, that they were mingled with fear; for he know that the onset of the mad bull, to whom he likened the Duke of Burgundy, must ever be formidable, though the animal makes it with shut eyes. It was not alone the wealth of the Burgundian provinces, the discipline of the warlike inhabitants, and the mass of their crowded population, which the King dreaded, for the personal qualities of their leader had also much in them that was dangerous. The very soul of bravery, which he pushed to the verge of rashness, and beyond it -- profuse in expenditure -- splendid in his court, his person, and his retinue, in all which he displayed the hereditary magnificence of the house of Burgundy, Charles the Bold drew into his service almost all the fiery spirits of the age whose tempers were congenial; and Louis saw too clearly what might be attempted and executed by such a train of resolute adventurers, following a leader of a character as ungovernable as their own.
There was yet another circumstance which increased the animosity of Louis towards his overgrown vassal; he owed him favours which he never meant to repay, and was under the frequent necessity of temporizing with him, and even of enduring bursts of petulant insolence, injurious to the regal dignity, without being able to treat him otherwise than as his "fair cousin of Burgundy."
It was about the year 1468, when their feuds were at the highest, though a dubious and hollow truce, as frequently happened, existed for the time betwixt them, that the present narrative opens. The person first introduced on the stage will be found indeed to be of a rank and condition, the illustration of whose character scarcely called for a dissertation on the relative position of two great princes; but the passions of the great, their quarrels, and their reconciliations involve the fortunes of all who approach them; and it will be found, on proceeding farther in our story, that this preliminary chapter is necessary for comprehending the history of the individual whose adventures we are about to relate.