(又译：无所不知先生 )
一
我在见到凯兰达之前就有点不喜欢他。
第一次世界大战刚刚结束，横渡太平洋的航线非常繁忙，客舱是很难预订到的。我很高兴，弄到一个双人客舱，但当听到同伴的名字时，我就有点灰心了。“凯兰达”，这使我有一种在空气窒息不流通的房间里的感觉。想起在这14天的旅途中（我从圣弗兰西斯科到横滨），将和这个凯兰达共用一间房，我就感到不舒服。我讨厌他的名字，要是他叫史密斯或者布朗什么的也好一点。
上船后，我来到客舱，发现凯兰达已经来过。一只又大又难看的衣箱和一个贴满标签的手提箱放在他的床下，脸盆架上摆着他的香水，洗发精和润发油，檀木做的牙刷上镀金印着他的名字缩写。
我不喜欢凯兰达。
在吸烟室里，我要了一副单人玩的纸牌，正准备开始玩的时候，一个人走了过来向我问好。
“我是凯兰达。”他在我面前坐下，笑着露出一排雪白的牙齿。
“哦，我们好像住在一个房间。”
“听说你是英国人，我感到很高兴。在海外遇到自己的同胞，确实让人激动。”
“你是英国人？”
“当然，我是一个地地道道的英国人。”说着他拿出他的护照递给我。
“想喝点什么吗？”他问道。
我疑惑起来。美国正在实行禁酒令，船上是找不到一滴酒的，但是凯兰达狡黠地朝我笑了笑。
“威士忌，苏打还是鸡尾酒，你只要说一声就可以。”说着，他从后裤袋里摸出两个瓶子，放在我面前的桌子上，我兴奋起来，找服务员要了两个玻璃杯和一些冰块。
“嗯，不错”我说。
“是的，我这里还有好多这样的酒，船上如果还有你的朋友的话，你可以把他们都叫来。”我没有说什么。
接着他跟我讲起纽约、圣弗兰西斯科，谈到戏剧、给画和。他很健谈，好长时间都是他一个人在那里滔滔不绝地说着。
我有点厌烦了，重新拿起我的牌。
“你喜欢纸牌魔术吗？”
“不喜欢。”我又开始讨厌他了。
“我来给你表演一个。”他抽出三张牌递给我。但我没有理他，说我要去餐厅找个座位。
“哦，很好，我已经为我们俩订了座位，我想我们应该坐在一块儿。”
我不喜欢凯兰达。
他不但和我住在一个房间，而且一天三餐都非要和我挤在一张桌子上吃饭。不论我在什么地方，都无法摆脱他。要是在我家里的话，我一定会在他面前“砰”的把门关上，让他明白自己是一个不受欢迎的人。
凯兰达擅长交际，在船上的第三天，就差不多认识了所有的人。他什么事都干：主持拍卖，筹集体育资金，组织高尔夫球赛，安排音乐会，举办化装舞会。我想大家一定有点讨厌他。我们都叫他“万事通”先生，甚至在他面前也是这样。他对此并不在乎，把这当作我们对他的恭维。
二
凯兰达非常健谈，并且喜好同别人争论，特别是在吃饭的时候。我们简直难以忍受，但又无法让他停下来。他好像比谁都懂得多，错误似乎也不会发生在他身上。在他讲话时，若有人反对他，他就会同他争个没完。在说服你之前，他绝不会放弃一个话题，不管它是多么的不重要。
一天晚上，我们坐在医生的桌旁，凯兰达仍像以往一样在滔滔不绝地说着。在座的还有在神户的美国领事馆工作的拉姆齐和他的夫人。
拉姆齐是一个很结实的家伙，皮肤绷得紧紧的，略显肥胖的肚子使衣服凸起。这次他是带着妻子重返神户的。他的妻子已独自一人在纽约呆了一年。拉姆齐夫人的样子十分可爱。虽然她丈夫的工资不怎么高，她穿得也很简朴，但她知道怎样穿她的衣服，使她具有超过一般女人的迷人之处。这是一种端庄淑静的美。
看得出拉姆齐很讨厌凯兰达。他们时时争论一番，这种争论是长时间的，激烈的。
这时，话题谈到精明的日本人正在进行的人工养殖珍珠。凯兰达给我们讲了许多关于珍珠的事。我相信拉姆齐对此知道的不会很多，但他绝不会放过任何反驳凯兰达的机会。不一会儿，我们就被卷入了一场充满火药味的争吵。刚开始，凯兰达还是情绪激昂，滔滔不绝，但不久，他自己也有点厌烦了。最后，他显然是被拉姆齐的一句话刺痛了，敲着桌子叫道：
“我可以告诉你，在这方面我是最有发言权的。我这次到日本就是去洽谈珍珠生意的。没有哪一个懂这一行的人不会认为我刚才所说的都是千真万确的。”他得意洋洋地看着周围的人。“我知道所有珍珠的行情，没有哪一种珍珠我不能马上辨认出。”他指着拉姆齐夫人戴的项链，“夫人，你的这串珍珠项链就非常值钱，并且它的价格还在上涨。”
拉姆齐夫人的脸红了，她把那项链轻轻塞进她的衣服。
“你说这是天然珍珠吗？”拉姆齐好像已经抓住了凯兰达的什么把柄。
“是的，这种珍珠非常精致。”凯兰达答道。
“好。虽然这不是我买的，但我想知道，你认为它值多少钱？”
“在一般的市场要1．5万美元，但在美国最繁华的第五街，1．3万美元也能买得到。”拉姆齐冷笑起来。
“这是我夫人离开纽约前在一家百货商店里买的，只花了18美元。”
凯兰达的脸一下子涨得通红。
“胡说，这珍珠不但是真的，而且是我所知道的几种中最好的一种。”
“你敢打赌吗？我要用100美元和你打赌这是仿制品。”拉姆齐怂恿道。
“可以。”
“不，拉姆齐，你怎么能拿一件事实和人打赌呢？”拉姆齐夫人劝阻道。
“为什么不呢？如果放弃这样一个轻易能弄到钱的机会，那才是一个傻瓜。”
“但你也不能证明它是仿制品呀？”
“把它拿给我看一看，我就知道它的真假。”凯兰达说道。
“亲爱的，把它拿给这位先生看看。”
拉姆齐夫人犹豫着，她的两手紧握在一起，好像还在考虑着什么。
拉姆齐等得不耐烦了，他走过来亲手把项链解了下来，递给了凯兰达。
我预感到一件不幸的事要发生了。
凯兰达拿出一个放大镜，仔细地观察起来。不一会，一丝胜利的微笑闪现在他的脸上。当他把项链递给拉姆齐正准备开口说话时，忽然看见拉姆齐夫人的脸是那样的白，好像她马上就会晕过去。她的眼睛看着凯兰达，那是一种绝望的哀求。我很奇怪，拉姆齐没有看到这些。
凯兰达半张着嘴，半天都没有说出话。我看得出他在努力改变着什么。
“我错了，”最后他说道，“这是一个非常好的仿制品，18美元正合适。”
他从钱包里拿出100美元递给拉姆齐，没有再说一句话。
“也许这能教会你以后不要太自以为是了。”拉姆齐得意洋洋。
我注意到凯兰达的手在发抖。
这件事很快在全船传开了，凯兰达不得不忍受着别人的戏弄和嘲笑。对“万事通”先生来说，这确实是一个笑话。但是，拉姆齐夫人再也没有出来过，据说她有点头痛。
三
第二天早上，我起来正在刮脸，凯兰达躺在床上抽雪茄。忽然一阵嘟嘟嘟嘟的声音，一封信从门下塞了进来。我打开门，外面没有任何人。我捡起信封，上面用印刷字体写着“给凯兰达”。
我把信递给了他：
“哪里来的？”
他打开信封。“哦？”拿出的不是信，而是一张100美元的钞票。
他看了我一眼，然后把信封撕成碎片从舱口扔了出去。
“没有谁愿意被别人看成是一个傻瓜。”他说。
“那珍珠是真的吗？”我问道。
“如果我有一个漂亮的妻子的话，我绝不会让她一个人在纽约呆一年。”他拿出钱包，把100美元放了进去。
这时，我觉得我不是那么不喜欢凯兰达了。
一
我在见到凯兰达之前就有点不喜欢他。
第一次世界大战刚刚结束，横渡太平洋的航线非常繁忙，客舱是很难预订到的。我很高兴，弄到一个双人客舱，但当听到同伴的名字时，我就有点灰心了。“凯兰达”，这使我有一种在空气窒息不流通的房间里的感觉。想起在这14天的旅途中（我从圣弗兰西斯科到横滨），将和这个凯兰达共用一间房，我就感到不舒服。我讨厌他的名字，要是他叫史密斯或者布朗什么的也好一点。
上船后，我来到客舱，发现凯兰达已经来过。一只又大又难看的衣箱和一个贴满标签的手提箱放在他的床下，脸盆架上摆着他的香水，洗发精和润发油，檀木做的牙刷上镀金印着他的名字缩写。
我不喜欢凯兰达。
在吸烟室里，我要了一副单人玩的纸牌，正准备开始玩的时候，一个人走了过来向我问好。
“我是凯兰达。”他在我面前坐下，笑着露出一排雪白的牙齿。
“哦，我们好像住在一个房间。”
“听说你是英国人，我感到很高兴。在海外遇到自己的同胞，确实让人激动。”
“你是英国人？”
“当然，我是一个地地道道的英国人。”说着他拿出他的护照递给我。
“想喝点什么吗？”他问道。
我疑惑起来。美国正在实行禁酒令，船上是找不到一滴酒的，但是凯兰达狡黠地朝我笑了笑。
“威士忌，苏打还是鸡尾酒，你只要说一声就可以。”说着，他从后裤袋里摸出两个瓶子，放在我面前的桌子上，我兴奋起来，找服务员要了两个玻璃杯和一些冰块。
“嗯，不错”我说。
“是的，我这里还有好多这样的酒，船上如果还有你的朋友的话，你可以把他们都叫来。”我没有说什么。
接着他跟我讲起纽约、圣弗兰西斯科，谈到戏剧、给画和。他很健谈，好长时间都是他一个人在那里滔滔不绝地说着。
我有点厌烦了，重新拿起我的牌。
“你喜欢纸牌魔术吗？”
“不喜欢。”我又开始讨厌他了。
“我来给你表演一个。”他抽出三张牌递给我。但我没有理他，说我要去餐厅找个座位。
“哦，很好，我已经为我们俩订了座位，我想我们应该坐在一块儿。”
我不喜欢凯兰达。
他不但和我住在一个房间，而且一天三餐都非要和我挤在一张桌子上吃饭。不论我在什么地方，都无法摆脱他。要是在我家里的话，我一定会在他面前“砰”的把门关上，让他明白自己是一个不受欢迎的人。
凯兰达擅长交际，在船上的第三天，就差不多认识了所有的人。他什么事都干：主持拍卖，筹集体育资金，组织高尔夫球赛，安排音乐会，举办化装舞会。我想大家一定有点讨厌他。我们都叫他“万事通”先生，甚至在他面前也是这样。他对此并不在乎，把这当作我们对他的恭维。
二
凯兰达非常健谈，并且喜好同别人争论，特别是在吃饭的时候。我们简直难以忍受，但又无法让他停下来。他好像比谁都懂得多，错误似乎也不会发生在他身上。在他讲话时，若有人反对他，他就会同他争个没完。在说服你之前，他绝不会放弃一个话题，不管它是多么的不重要。
一天晚上，我们坐在医生的桌旁，凯兰达仍像以往一样在滔滔不绝地说着。在座的还有在神户的美国领事馆工作的拉姆齐和他的夫人。
拉姆齐是一个很结实的家伙，皮肤绷得紧紧的，略显肥胖的肚子使衣服凸起。这次他是带着妻子重返神户的。他的妻子已独自一人在纽约呆了一年。拉姆齐夫人的样子十分可爱。虽然她丈夫的工资不怎么高，她穿得也很简朴，但她知道怎样穿她的衣服，使她具有超过一般女人的迷人之处。这是一种端庄淑静的美。
看得出拉姆齐很讨厌凯兰达。他们时时争论一番，这种争论是长时间的，激烈的。
这时，话题谈到精明的日本人正在进行的人工养殖珍珠。凯兰达给我们讲了许多关于珍珠的事。我相信拉姆齐对此知道的不会很多，但他绝不会放过任何反驳凯兰达的机会。不一会儿，我们就被卷入了一场充满火药味的争吵。刚开始，凯兰达还是情绪激昂，滔滔不绝，但不久，他自己也有点厌烦了。最后，他显然是被拉姆齐的一句话刺痛了，敲着桌子叫道：
“我可以告诉你，在这方面我是最有发言权的。我这次到日本就是去洽谈珍珠生意的。没有哪一个懂这一行的人不会认为我刚才所说的都是千真万确的。”他得意洋洋地看着周围的人。“我知道所有珍珠的行情，没有哪一种珍珠我不能马上辨认出。”他指着拉姆齐夫人戴的项链，“夫人，你的这串珍珠项链就非常值钱，并且它的价格还在上涨。”
拉姆齐夫人的脸红了，她把那项链轻轻塞进她的衣服。
“你说这是天然珍珠吗？”拉姆齐好像已经抓住了凯兰达的什么把柄。
“是的，这种珍珠非常精致。”凯兰达答道。
“好。虽然这不是我买的，但我想知道，你认为它值多少钱？”
“在一般的市场要1．5万美元，但在美国最繁华的第五街，1．3万美元也能买得到。”拉姆齐冷笑起来。
“这是我夫人离开纽约前在一家百货商店里买的，只花了18美元。”
凯兰达的脸一下子涨得通红。
“胡说，这珍珠不但是真的，而且是我所知道的几种中最好的一种。”
“你敢打赌吗？我要用100美元和你打赌这是仿制品。”拉姆齐怂恿道。
“可以。”
“不，拉姆齐，你怎么能拿一件事实和人打赌呢？”拉姆齐夫人劝阻道。
“为什么不呢？如果放弃这样一个轻易能弄到钱的机会，那才是一个傻瓜。”
“但你也不能证明它是仿制品呀？”
“把它拿给我看一看，我就知道它的真假。”凯兰达说道。
“亲爱的，把它拿给这位先生看看。”
拉姆齐夫人犹豫着，她的两手紧握在一起，好像还在考虑着什么。
拉姆齐等得不耐烦了，他走过来亲手把项链解了下来，递给了凯兰达。
我预感到一件不幸的事要发生了。
凯兰达拿出一个放大镜，仔细地观察起来。不一会，一丝胜利的微笑闪现在他的脸上。当他把项链递给拉姆齐正准备开口说话时，忽然看见拉姆齐夫人的脸是那样的白，好像她马上就会晕过去。她的眼睛看着凯兰达，那是一种绝望的哀求。我很奇怪，拉姆齐没有看到这些。
凯兰达半张着嘴，半天都没有说出话。我看得出他在努力改变着什么。
“我错了，”最后他说道，“这是一个非常好的仿制品，18美元正合适。”
他从钱包里拿出100美元递给拉姆齐，没有再说一句话。
“也许这能教会你以后不要太自以为是了。”拉姆齐得意洋洋。
我注意到凯兰达的手在发抖。
这件事很快在全船传开了，凯兰达不得不忍受着别人的戏弄和嘲笑。对“万事通”先生来说，这确实是一个笑话。但是，拉姆齐夫人再也没有出来过，据说她有点头痛。
三
第二天早上，我起来正在刮脸，凯兰达躺在床上抽雪茄。忽然一阵嘟嘟嘟嘟的声音，一封信从门下塞了进来。我打开门，外面没有任何人。我捡起信封，上面用印刷字体写着“给凯兰达”。
我把信递给了他：
“哪里来的？”
他打开信封。“哦？”拿出的不是信，而是一张100美元的钞票。
他看了我一眼，然后把信封撕成碎片从舱口扔了出去。
“没有谁愿意被别人看成是一个傻瓜。”他说。
“那珍珠是真的吗？”我问道。
“如果我有一个漂亮的妻子的话，我绝不会让她一个人在纽约呆一年。”他拿出钱包，把100美元放了进去。
这时，我觉得我不是那么不喜欢凯兰达了。
《书与你》 （1940年）随笔
Of Human Bondage (1915) is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention." Maugham, who had originally planned to call his novel Beauty from Ashes, finally settled on a title taken from Spinoza's Ethics.
Plot summary
The book begins with the death of the mother of the nine-year-old protagonist, Philip Carey. Philip's father had already died a few months before, and the orphan Philip is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. His uncle is vicar of Blackstable, a small village in East Anglia. Philip inherits a small fortune but the money is held in custody by his uncle until he is twenty-one, giving his uncle a great deal of power over him until he reaches his maturity.
Early chapters relate Philip's experience at the vicarage. His aunt tries to be a mother to Philip, but she is herself childless and unsure of how to behave, whereas his uncle takes a cold disposition towards him. Philip's uncle has an eclectic collection of books, and in reading Philip finds a way to escape his mundane existence and experience fascinating worlds of fiction.
Less than a year later, Philip is sent to a boarding school. His uncle and aunt would like for him to eventually go to Oxford to study to become a clergyman. Philip's shyness and his club foot make it difficult for him to fit in with the boys at the school, and he does not make many friends. Philip goes through an episode of deep religious belief, and believes that through true faith he can get God to heal his club foot; but as this does not happen, his belief falters. He becomes close friends with one boy; but the friendship breaks up, and he becomes miserable. Philip shows considerable academic talent and could have gotten himself a scholarship for Oxford, but instead he wishes to leave the school and go to Germany. Philip's uncle and the school's headmaster oppose Philip's desire to go to Germany, but eventually they give in and they allow him to go to Heidelberg for a year.
In Heidelberg, Philip lives at a boarding house with other foreigners and studies German, among other subjects. Philip enjoys his stay in Germany. At the boarding house he acquaints a fellow Englishman, Hayward, who has an interest in literature and who considers himself a poet. Philip also meets an unorthodox American named Weeks, who has a mutual dislike for Hayward and who thinks the man is superficial. Philip is intrigued by his long discourses with Hayward and Weeks and eventually becomes convinced that he need not believe in the Church of England. This is a heretofore unheard of idea to him as he has been brought up with staunch Christian values.
Philip returns to his uncle's house and meets a middle-aged family friend of his aunt and uncle named Miss Wilkinson, who is very flirtatious toward Philip. He is not particularly attracted to her and is uncomfortable about her age; but he likes the idea of having an affair with someone, so he pursues her. She says that she is in love with Philip and becomes very attached to him, and he pretends to be passionate about her; but he is relieved when she must return to Berlin. Miss Wilkinson writes letters to Philip from Berlin, to which he eventually stops responding.
Philip's guardians decide to take his matters into their own hands and convince him to move to London and take up an apprenticeship to become a chartered accountant. He does not fare well there as his coworkers resent him because they believe he is above them and is a "gentleman." Philip is desperately lonely in London and is humiliated by his lack of aptitude for the work. He begins thinking about studying art in Paris. He goes on a business trip with one of his managers to Paris and is inspired by this trip. Miss Wilkinson convinces Philip that he draws well enough to become a professional, and he moves to Paris to study art.
In Paris Philip attends art classes, makes a few friends among fellow art students and meets Miss Price, a poor talentless art student who does not get along well with people. Miss Price falls in love with Philip, but he does not return her feelings. After her funds run out, she commits suicide, leaving Philip to tend after her affairs.
Davis and Howard in the 1934 film version
Philip realizes that he will never be more than a mediocre artist; at the same time, he receives word that his aunt has died. He returns to his uncle's house, and eventually decides to go to London to pursue medicine, his late father's field. He struggles at medical school and comes across Mildred, a tawdry waitress at a local café. He falls desperately in love with her, although she does not show any emotion for him. Mildred tells Philip she is getting married, leaving him heartbroken; he subsequently enters into an affair with Norah Nesbitt, a kind and sensitive author of penny romance novels. Later, Mildred returns, pregnant, and confesses that the man for whom she had abandoned Philip had never married her. Philip breaks off his relationship with Norah and supports Mildred financially though he can ill afford to do so, but later she falls in love with a friend of Philip's and disappears.
Philip runs into Mildred again when she is so poor she has resorted to prostitution and, feeling sympathy for her, takes her in to do his housework, though he no longer loves her. When he rejects her advances, she becomes angry at him, leaves, and destroys his possessions, causing Philip to abandon that residence and move into cheaper housing. When Philip meets Mildred next, she is ill and prostituting herself again, and the baby has died.
While working at the hospital, Philip befriends family man Thorpe Athelny and is invited to his house every Sunday. Meanwhile, a stockbroker acquaintance of Philip advises him to invest in South African mines, and Philip is left with no money when the stock market crashes due to the vicissitudes of the Boer War. He wanders the streets aimlessly for a few days before the Athelnys take him in and find him a job at a retail store, which he hates. Eventually, his uncle's death leaves him enough money to go back to medical school, and he finishes his studies and becomes qualified. He takes on a temporary placement at a Dorsetshire fishing village with Dr South, an old, rancorous physician whose wife is dead and whose daughter has broken off contact with him. However, he takes a shine to Philip's humour and personableness, eventually making him an outstanding offer of a stake in his medical practice. Although flattered, Philip refuses as he is still eager to travel and returns to London.
He soon goes on a small summer vacation with the Athelnys at a village in the Kent countryside. There he finds that one of Athelny's daughters, Sally, likes him. They have an affair, and when she thinks she is pregnant, Philip decides to give up his long-cherished plans to travel to exotic lands, to accept Dr South's offer, and to propose to Sally instead. On learning that it was a false alarm, Philip is disappointed but proposes to her anyway; she accepts. Philip puts aside his lofty, complex artistic and philosophical ideals, coming to the conclusion that "the simplest pattern, that in which a man was born, worked, married, had children, and died, was likewise the most perfect".
Film versions
* Of Human Bondage (1934) – Leslie Howard as Philip, and Bette Davis as Mildred, the role that established her as a star.
* Of Human Bondage (1946) – Directed by Edmund Goulding, with Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in the lead roles.
* Of Human Bondage (1964) – Laurence Harvey and Kim Novak in the lead roles.
Plot summary
The book begins with the death of the mother of the nine-year-old protagonist, Philip Carey. Philip's father had already died a few months before, and the orphan Philip is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. His uncle is vicar of Blackstable, a small village in East Anglia. Philip inherits a small fortune but the money is held in custody by his uncle until he is twenty-one, giving his uncle a great deal of power over him until he reaches his maturity.
Early chapters relate Philip's experience at the vicarage. His aunt tries to be a mother to Philip, but she is herself childless and unsure of how to behave, whereas his uncle takes a cold disposition towards him. Philip's uncle has an eclectic collection of books, and in reading Philip finds a way to escape his mundane existence and experience fascinating worlds of fiction.
Less than a year later, Philip is sent to a boarding school. His uncle and aunt would like for him to eventually go to Oxford to study to become a clergyman. Philip's shyness and his club foot make it difficult for him to fit in with the boys at the school, and he does not make many friends. Philip goes through an episode of deep religious belief, and believes that through true faith he can get God to heal his club foot; but as this does not happen, his belief falters. He becomes close friends with one boy; but the friendship breaks up, and he becomes miserable. Philip shows considerable academic talent and could have gotten himself a scholarship for Oxford, but instead he wishes to leave the school and go to Germany. Philip's uncle and the school's headmaster oppose Philip's desire to go to Germany, but eventually they give in and they allow him to go to Heidelberg for a year.
In Heidelberg, Philip lives at a boarding house with other foreigners and studies German, among other subjects. Philip enjoys his stay in Germany. At the boarding house he acquaints a fellow Englishman, Hayward, who has an interest in literature and who considers himself a poet. Philip also meets an unorthodox American named Weeks, who has a mutual dislike for Hayward and who thinks the man is superficial. Philip is intrigued by his long discourses with Hayward and Weeks and eventually becomes convinced that he need not believe in the Church of England. This is a heretofore unheard of idea to him as he has been brought up with staunch Christian values.
Philip returns to his uncle's house and meets a middle-aged family friend of his aunt and uncle named Miss Wilkinson, who is very flirtatious toward Philip. He is not particularly attracted to her and is uncomfortable about her age; but he likes the idea of having an affair with someone, so he pursues her. She says that she is in love with Philip and becomes very attached to him, and he pretends to be passionate about her; but he is relieved when she must return to Berlin. Miss Wilkinson writes letters to Philip from Berlin, to which he eventually stops responding.
Philip's guardians decide to take his matters into their own hands and convince him to move to London and take up an apprenticeship to become a chartered accountant. He does not fare well there as his coworkers resent him because they believe he is above them and is a "gentleman." Philip is desperately lonely in London and is humiliated by his lack of aptitude for the work. He begins thinking about studying art in Paris. He goes on a business trip with one of his managers to Paris and is inspired by this trip. Miss Wilkinson convinces Philip that he draws well enough to become a professional, and he moves to Paris to study art.
In Paris Philip attends art classes, makes a few friends among fellow art students and meets Miss Price, a poor talentless art student who does not get along well with people. Miss Price falls in love with Philip, but he does not return her feelings. After her funds run out, she commits suicide, leaving Philip to tend after her affairs.
Davis and Howard in the 1934 film version
Philip realizes that he will never be more than a mediocre artist; at the same time, he receives word that his aunt has died. He returns to his uncle's house, and eventually decides to go to London to pursue medicine, his late father's field. He struggles at medical school and comes across Mildred, a tawdry waitress at a local café. He falls desperately in love with her, although she does not show any emotion for him. Mildred tells Philip she is getting married, leaving him heartbroken; he subsequently enters into an affair with Norah Nesbitt, a kind and sensitive author of penny romance novels. Later, Mildred returns, pregnant, and confesses that the man for whom she had abandoned Philip had never married her. Philip breaks off his relationship with Norah and supports Mildred financially though he can ill afford to do so, but later she falls in love with a friend of Philip's and disappears.
Philip runs into Mildred again when she is so poor she has resorted to prostitution and, feeling sympathy for her, takes her in to do his housework, though he no longer loves her. When he rejects her advances, she becomes angry at him, leaves, and destroys his possessions, causing Philip to abandon that residence and move into cheaper housing. When Philip meets Mildred next, she is ill and prostituting herself again, and the baby has died.
While working at the hospital, Philip befriends family man Thorpe Athelny and is invited to his house every Sunday. Meanwhile, a stockbroker acquaintance of Philip advises him to invest in South African mines, and Philip is left with no money when the stock market crashes due to the vicissitudes of the Boer War. He wanders the streets aimlessly for a few days before the Athelnys take him in and find him a job at a retail store, which he hates. Eventually, his uncle's death leaves him enough money to go back to medical school, and he finishes his studies and becomes qualified. He takes on a temporary placement at a Dorsetshire fishing village with Dr South, an old, rancorous physician whose wife is dead and whose daughter has broken off contact with him. However, he takes a shine to Philip's humour and personableness, eventually making him an outstanding offer of a stake in his medical practice. Although flattered, Philip refuses as he is still eager to travel and returns to London.
He soon goes on a small summer vacation with the Athelnys at a village in the Kent countryside. There he finds that one of Athelny's daughters, Sally, likes him. They have an affair, and when she thinks she is pregnant, Philip decides to give up his long-cherished plans to travel to exotic lands, to accept Dr South's offer, and to propose to Sally instead. On learning that it was a false alarm, Philip is disappointed but proposes to her anyway; she accepts. Philip puts aside his lofty, complex artistic and philosophical ideals, coming to the conclusion that "the simplest pattern, that in which a man was born, worked, married, had children, and died, was likewise the most perfect".
Film versions
* Of Human Bondage (1934) – Leslie Howard as Philip, and Bette Davis as Mildred, the role that established her as a star.
* Of Human Bondage (1946) – Directed by Edmund Goulding, with Paul Henreid and Eleanor Parker in the lead roles.
* Of Human Bondage (1964) – Laurence Harvey and Kim Novak in the lead roles.
Liza of Lambeth (1897) was W. Somerset Maugham's first novel, which he wrote while working as a doctor at a hospital in Lambeth, then a working class district of London. It depicts the short life and death of Liza Kemp, an 18-year-old factory worker who lives together with her aging mother in Vere Street (obviously fictional) off Westminster Bridge Road (real) in Lambeth. All in all, it gives the reader an interesting insight into the everyday lives of working class Londoners at the turn of the century.
Plot summary
The action covers a period of roughly four months—from August to November—around the time of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Liza Kemp is an 18-year-old factory worker and the youngest of 13 children, now living alone with her ageing and incompetent mother. Very popular with all the residents—both young and old—of Vere Street, Lambeth, she cannot really make up her mind as far as her love life is concerned. She very much likes Tom, a boy her age, but when he proposes to her she rejects him ("I don't love yer so as ter marry yer"). Nevertheless she is persuaded to join a party of 32 who make a coach trip (in a horse-drawn coach, of course) to a nearby village on the August Bank Holiday Monday. Some of the other members of the party are Tom; Liza's friend Sally and her boyfriend Harry; and Jim Blakeston, a 40-year-old father of nine who has recently moved to Vere Street with his large family, and his wife (while their eldest daughter, Polly, is taking care of her siblings). The outing is a lot of fun, and they all get more or less drunk on beer. On their way back, in the dark, Liza realizes that Jim Blakeston is making a pass at her by holding her hand. After their arrival back home, Jim manages to speak to her alone and to steal a kiss from her.
Seemingly without considering either the moral implications or the consequences of her actions, Liza feels attracted to Jim. They never appear together in public because they do not want the other residents of Vere Street or their workmates to start talking about them. One of Jim Blakeston's first steps to win Liza's heart is to go to a melodramatic play with her on Saturday night. Afterwards, he succeeds in seducing her (although we never learn where they do it—obviously in the open):
'Liza,' he said a whisper, 'will yer?'
'Will I wot?' she said, looking down.
'You know, Liza. Sy, will yer?'
'Na,' she said.
But in the end they do "slide down into the darkness of the passage". (The reader never learns whether at that time Liza is still a virgin or not.) Liza is overwhelmed by love. ("Thus began a time of love and joy.")
When autumn arrives and the nights get chillier, Liza's secret meetings with Jim become less comfortable and more trying. Lacking an indoor meeting place, they even spend their evenings together in the third class waiting room of Waterloo station. Also, to Liza's dismay, it turns out that people do start talking about them, in spite of the precautions they have taken. Only Liza's mother, who is a drunkard and a very simple sort of person, has no idea what is going on.
Liza's friend Sally gets married, has to stop working at the factory because her husband would not let his wife earn her own money, and soon becomes pregnant. Liza feels increasingly isolated, with Sally being married now and even Tom seemingly shunning her, but her love for Jim keeps her going. They do talk about their love affair though: about the possibility of Jim leaving his wife and children ("I dunno if I could get on without the kids"), about Liza not being able to leave her mother because the latter needs her help, about living somewhere else "as if we was married", about bigamy -- but, strangely, not about adultery.
The novel builds up to a sad climax when it gradually turns out that all men—maybe with the exception of Tom—are alike: They invariably beat their wives, especially when they have been drinking. Soon after their wedding Harry beats up Sally just because she has been away from home chatting with a female neighbour of theirs. What is more, he even hits Mrs Cooper, his mother-in-law. Liza, who happens to drop by and stays a little longer to comfort Sally is late for her meeting with Jim in front of a nearby pub. When she finally gets there Jim himself is aggressive towards her for being late. Without really intending to, he hits her across the face ("It wasn't the blow that 'urt me much; it was the wy you was talkin'"). Nevertheless on the following morning she has a black eye.
Soon the situation deteriorates completely. Mrs Blakeston, who is pregnant again, stops talking to her husband at home—this is her way of opposing his affair with Liza. Then she goes on to indirectly threaten Liza: She tells other people what she would do to Liza if she got hold of her, and the other people tell Liza. Liza, a "coward" according to the third person narrator, is frightened because Mrs Blakeston is strong whereas she herself is weak. One Saturday afternoon in November, when Liza is going home from work, she is confronted with an angry Mrs Blakeston. In the ensuing fight between the two women, Mrs Blakeston first spits in Liza's face and then attacks her physically. Quickly a group of spectators gather round the two women—none of them even tries to separate the fighting women ("The audience shouted and cheered and clapped their hands."). Eventually, both Tom and Jim stop the fight, and Tom walks Liza home. Liza is now publicly stigmatized as a "wrong one", a fact she herself admits to Tom ("Oh, but I 'ave treated yer bad. I'm a regular wrong 'un, I am"). Despite all her misbehaviour ("I couldn't 'elp it! [...] I did love 'im so!"), Tom still wants to marry Liza, but she tells him that "it's too lite now" because she thinks she is pregnant. Tom would even tolerate her condition if only she could decide to marry him, but she refuses again.
Meanwhile, at the Blakestones', Jim beats up his wife. Again people nearby—this time those who live in the same house and who are alarmed by Polly Blakeston—choose not to interfere in other people's domestic problems ("She'll git over it; an' p'raps she deserves it, for all you know").
When Mrs Kemp comes home and sees her daughter's injuries all she can contribute to mitigating the situation is to offer her daughter some alcohol (whisky or gin). In the course of the evening they both get drunk, in spite of Liza's pregnancy. During the following night, however, Liza has a miscarriage. Mr Hodges, who lives upstairs, fetches a doctor from the nearby hospital, who soon pronounces the hopelessness of Liza's condition. While her daughter is dying, Mrs Kemp has a long talk with Mrs Hodges, a midwife and sick-nurse. Liza's last visitor is Jim, but Liza is already in a coma. Mrs Kemp and Mrs Hodges have switched the subject and are talking about the funeral arrangements (!) when Liza's death rattle can be heard and the doctor, who is still present, declares that she is dead.
Major themes
Living conditions
Liza of Lambeth is clearly not a muckraking novel. People seem to be content with what they have; their poverty is not depicted as unbearable, and it does not prevent them from being fervent patriots ("Every man's fust duty is ter get as many children as 'e bloomin'well can") or from enjoying their spare time (which is often spent in pubs; also Liza drinks a lot). The scene at the theatre where Liza shouts out loud during the performance to warn one of the characters on stage is reminiscent of the Elizabethan theatre.
At one point the narrator deplores the "newish, three-storied buildings" of Vere Street which are "perfectly flat, without a bow window [...] to break the straightness of the line from one end of the street to the other". As the lodgings are rather crowded with people, the residents of Vere Street spend as much time as possible outside, in the street—something which has changed completely in the course of the last hundred years.
Working conditions and working hours
It is not mentioned what the factory Liza and Sally work at is producing. What we do learn though is that work at the factory starts at 8 a.m. If you are late you are shut out, do not get a token and, accordingly, do not get any pay for that day. On Saturdays, work is over around 2 p.m. The August Bank Holiday—the day of the excursion—enables the workers to have two days off in a row, something which is quite unusual for them.
The relationship between men and women
There is not even an allusion to the women's or at least the suffragette movement. Every character in the novel—both men and women—knows their place, and the traditional stereotypes of gender roles are repeated over and over again. For example, Sally is absolutely submissive and blames herself when she is beaten up by her husband Harry. Beating your wife seems like a national pastime.
Apart from Jim Blakeston's illicit affair with Liza Kemp, which is about to lead to an unwanted pregnancy, there is just one quick mention of illegitimate children, and no mention at all of abortions. The question of morality is not really pursued, neither by the characters in the novel nor by the third person narrator.
The value of human life
From an early 21st century point of view, the way the characters regard death could almost be called fatalistic. People do not believe there is anything they can do about sudden or premature deaths. Infant mortality is very high.
The use of language
The language used by the characters (i.e. everything in direct speech) is probably the most difficult aspect of the novel. This concerns both (a) the phonetic spelling (the typical Cockney phenomenon of "dropping the aitches" - and vice versa) and (b) the innumerable slang expressions.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A musical based - albeit loosely - on the novel was written by Willie Rushton and Berny Stringle, with music by Cliff Adams. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in June 1976, and ran for 110 performances. It was produced by Ben Arbeid, directed by Berny Stringle, musically directed by John Burrows, and starred Angela Richards (best known as a regular in the BBC's Secret Army) in the title role, Patricia Hayes, Ron Pember, Michael Robbins and Eric Shilling, among others.
The musical style is predominantly music hall, but the show includes a parody of Gilbert and Sullivan, a church choir arrangement with some completely incongruous lyrics (A Little Bit On The Side), and some touching ballads.
The Tart With A Heart of Gold was cut from the West End production, and is also missing from the original London cast recording (Thames THA 100), despite it describing the entire raison d'être of one of the main female characters.
The musical has not been officially published for amateur performance, but it is occasionally licensed for amateurs. The world amateur premiere was performed at the Erith Playhouse in Erith, Kent, in June 1977, and was attended by members of the London production team. The rights to this musical are currently held by Thames Music in London.
Plot summary
The action covers a period of roughly four months—from August to November—around the time of Queen Victoria's Jubilee. Liza Kemp is an 18-year-old factory worker and the youngest of 13 children, now living alone with her ageing and incompetent mother. Very popular with all the residents—both young and old—of Vere Street, Lambeth, she cannot really make up her mind as far as her love life is concerned. She very much likes Tom, a boy her age, but when he proposes to her she rejects him ("I don't love yer so as ter marry yer"). Nevertheless she is persuaded to join a party of 32 who make a coach trip (in a horse-drawn coach, of course) to a nearby village on the August Bank Holiday Monday. Some of the other members of the party are Tom; Liza's friend Sally and her boyfriend Harry; and Jim Blakeston, a 40-year-old father of nine who has recently moved to Vere Street with his large family, and his wife (while their eldest daughter, Polly, is taking care of her siblings). The outing is a lot of fun, and they all get more or less drunk on beer. On their way back, in the dark, Liza realizes that Jim Blakeston is making a pass at her by holding her hand. After their arrival back home, Jim manages to speak to her alone and to steal a kiss from her.
Seemingly without considering either the moral implications or the consequences of her actions, Liza feels attracted to Jim. They never appear together in public because they do not want the other residents of Vere Street or their workmates to start talking about them. One of Jim Blakeston's first steps to win Liza's heart is to go to a melodramatic play with her on Saturday night. Afterwards, he succeeds in seducing her (although we never learn where they do it—obviously in the open):
'Liza,' he said a whisper, 'will yer?'
'Will I wot?' she said, looking down.
'You know, Liza. Sy, will yer?'
'Na,' she said.
But in the end they do "slide down into the darkness of the passage". (The reader never learns whether at that time Liza is still a virgin or not.) Liza is overwhelmed by love. ("Thus began a time of love and joy.")
When autumn arrives and the nights get chillier, Liza's secret meetings with Jim become less comfortable and more trying. Lacking an indoor meeting place, they even spend their evenings together in the third class waiting room of Waterloo station. Also, to Liza's dismay, it turns out that people do start talking about them, in spite of the precautions they have taken. Only Liza's mother, who is a drunkard and a very simple sort of person, has no idea what is going on.
Liza's friend Sally gets married, has to stop working at the factory because her husband would not let his wife earn her own money, and soon becomes pregnant. Liza feels increasingly isolated, with Sally being married now and even Tom seemingly shunning her, but her love for Jim keeps her going. They do talk about their love affair though: about the possibility of Jim leaving his wife and children ("I dunno if I could get on without the kids"), about Liza not being able to leave her mother because the latter needs her help, about living somewhere else "as if we was married", about bigamy -- but, strangely, not about adultery.
The novel builds up to a sad climax when it gradually turns out that all men—maybe with the exception of Tom—are alike: They invariably beat their wives, especially when they have been drinking. Soon after their wedding Harry beats up Sally just because she has been away from home chatting with a female neighbour of theirs. What is more, he even hits Mrs Cooper, his mother-in-law. Liza, who happens to drop by and stays a little longer to comfort Sally is late for her meeting with Jim in front of a nearby pub. When she finally gets there Jim himself is aggressive towards her for being late. Without really intending to, he hits her across the face ("It wasn't the blow that 'urt me much; it was the wy you was talkin'"). Nevertheless on the following morning she has a black eye.
Soon the situation deteriorates completely. Mrs Blakeston, who is pregnant again, stops talking to her husband at home—this is her way of opposing his affair with Liza. Then she goes on to indirectly threaten Liza: She tells other people what she would do to Liza if she got hold of her, and the other people tell Liza. Liza, a "coward" according to the third person narrator, is frightened because Mrs Blakeston is strong whereas she herself is weak. One Saturday afternoon in November, when Liza is going home from work, she is confronted with an angry Mrs Blakeston. In the ensuing fight between the two women, Mrs Blakeston first spits in Liza's face and then attacks her physically. Quickly a group of spectators gather round the two women—none of them even tries to separate the fighting women ("The audience shouted and cheered and clapped their hands."). Eventually, both Tom and Jim stop the fight, and Tom walks Liza home. Liza is now publicly stigmatized as a "wrong one", a fact she herself admits to Tom ("Oh, but I 'ave treated yer bad. I'm a regular wrong 'un, I am"). Despite all her misbehaviour ("I couldn't 'elp it! [...] I did love 'im so!"), Tom still wants to marry Liza, but she tells him that "it's too lite now" because she thinks she is pregnant. Tom would even tolerate her condition if only she could decide to marry him, but she refuses again.
Meanwhile, at the Blakestones', Jim beats up his wife. Again people nearby—this time those who live in the same house and who are alarmed by Polly Blakeston—choose not to interfere in other people's domestic problems ("She'll git over it; an' p'raps she deserves it, for all you know").
When Mrs Kemp comes home and sees her daughter's injuries all she can contribute to mitigating the situation is to offer her daughter some alcohol (whisky or gin). In the course of the evening they both get drunk, in spite of Liza's pregnancy. During the following night, however, Liza has a miscarriage. Mr Hodges, who lives upstairs, fetches a doctor from the nearby hospital, who soon pronounces the hopelessness of Liza's condition. While her daughter is dying, Mrs Kemp has a long talk with Mrs Hodges, a midwife and sick-nurse. Liza's last visitor is Jim, but Liza is already in a coma. Mrs Kemp and Mrs Hodges have switched the subject and are talking about the funeral arrangements (!) when Liza's death rattle can be heard and the doctor, who is still present, declares that she is dead.
Major themes
Living conditions
Liza of Lambeth is clearly not a muckraking novel. People seem to be content with what they have; their poverty is not depicted as unbearable, and it does not prevent them from being fervent patriots ("Every man's fust duty is ter get as many children as 'e bloomin'well can") or from enjoying their spare time (which is often spent in pubs; also Liza drinks a lot). The scene at the theatre where Liza shouts out loud during the performance to warn one of the characters on stage is reminiscent of the Elizabethan theatre.
At one point the narrator deplores the "newish, three-storied buildings" of Vere Street which are "perfectly flat, without a bow window [...] to break the straightness of the line from one end of the street to the other". As the lodgings are rather crowded with people, the residents of Vere Street spend as much time as possible outside, in the street—something which has changed completely in the course of the last hundred years.
Working conditions and working hours
It is not mentioned what the factory Liza and Sally work at is producing. What we do learn though is that work at the factory starts at 8 a.m. If you are late you are shut out, do not get a token and, accordingly, do not get any pay for that day. On Saturdays, work is over around 2 p.m. The August Bank Holiday—the day of the excursion—enables the workers to have two days off in a row, something which is quite unusual for them.
The relationship between men and women
There is not even an allusion to the women's or at least the suffragette movement. Every character in the novel—both men and women—knows their place, and the traditional stereotypes of gender roles are repeated over and over again. For example, Sally is absolutely submissive and blames herself when she is beaten up by her husband Harry. Beating your wife seems like a national pastime.
Apart from Jim Blakeston's illicit affair with Liza Kemp, which is about to lead to an unwanted pregnancy, there is just one quick mention of illegitimate children, and no mention at all of abortions. The question of morality is not really pursued, neither by the characters in the novel nor by the third person narrator.
The value of human life
From an early 21st century point of view, the way the characters regard death could almost be called fatalistic. People do not believe there is anything they can do about sudden or premature deaths. Infant mortality is very high.
The use of language
The language used by the characters (i.e. everything in direct speech) is probably the most difficult aspect of the novel. This concerns both (a) the phonetic spelling (the typical Cockney phenomenon of "dropping the aitches" - and vice versa) and (b) the innumerable slang expressions.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A musical based - albeit loosely - on the novel was written by Willie Rushton and Berny Stringle, with music by Cliff Adams. It opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London in June 1976, and ran for 110 performances. It was produced by Ben Arbeid, directed by Berny Stringle, musically directed by John Burrows, and starred Angela Richards (best known as a regular in the BBC's Secret Army) in the title role, Patricia Hayes, Ron Pember, Michael Robbins and Eric Shilling, among others.
The musical style is predominantly music hall, but the show includes a parody of Gilbert and Sullivan, a church choir arrangement with some completely incongruous lyrics (A Little Bit On The Side), and some touching ballads.
The Tart With A Heart of Gold was cut from the West End production, and is also missing from the original London cast recording (Thames THA 100), despite it describing the entire raison d'être of one of the main female characters.
The musical has not been officially published for amateur performance, but it is occasionally licensed for amateurs. The world amateur premiere was performed at the Erith Playhouse in Erith, Kent, in June 1977, and was attended by members of the London production team. The rights to this musical are currently held by Thames Music in London.
The Razor’s Edge is a book by W. Somerset Maugham published in 1944. Its epigraph reads, "The sharp edge of a razor is difficult to pass over; thus the wise say the path to Salvation is hard." taken from verse in the Katha-Upanishad .
The Razor’s Edge tells the story of an American fighter pilot (Larry Darrell) traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The novel is supposed to be based on the life of Guy Hague, an American mining engineer.
The story begins through the eyes of Larry’s friends and acquaintances as they witness his personality change after the War. His rejection of conventional life and search for meaningful experience allows him to thrive while the more materialistic characters suffer reversals of fortune. The book was twice adapted into film, first in 1946 starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, and Herbert Marshall as Maugham, and then a 1984 adaptation starring Bill Murray, with Tibet replacing India as the place of Larry’s enlightenment (the monastery to which Larry travels in the 1984 movie adaptation is in Ladakh, an Indian-ruled region sometimes called "Little Tibet").
Plot
Maugham begins by characterizing his story as not really a novel but a thinly veiled true account. He includes himself as a minor character, a writer who drifts in and out of the lives of the major players. Larry Darrell’s lifestyle is contrasted throughout the book with that of his fiancée’s uncle, Elliott Templeton, an American expatriate living in Paris and a shallow and unrepentant yet generous snob. For example, while Templeton's Catholicism embraces the hierarchical trappings of the Church, Larry's proclivities tend towards the 13th century Flemish mystic and saint John of Ruysbroeck.
Wounded and traumatized by the death of a comrade in the War, Larry returns to Chicago, Illinois and his fiancée, Isabel Bradley, only to announce that he does not plan to work and instead will "loaf" on his small inheritance. He wants to delay their marriage and refuses to take up a job as a stockbroker offered to him by the father of his friend Gray, Henry Maturin. Meanwhile, Larry’s childhood friend, Sophie, settles into a happy marriage, only later tragically losing her husband and baby in a car accident.
Larry moves to Paris and immerses himself in study and bohemian life. After two years of this "loafing," Isabel visits and Larry asks her to join his life of wandering and searching, living in Paris and traveling with little money. She cannot accept his vision of life and breaks their engagement to go back to Chicago. There she marries the millionaire Gray, who provides her a rich family life. Meanwhile, Larry begins a sojourn through Europe, taking a job at a coal mine in Lens, France, where he befriends a former Polish army officer named Kosti. Kosti's influence encourages Larry to look toward things spiritual for his answers rather than in books. Larry and Kosti leave the coal mine and travel together for a time before parting ways. Larry then meets a Benedictine monk named Father Ensheim in Bonn, Germany while Father Ensheim is on leave from his monastery doing academic research. After spending several months with the Benedictines and being unable to reconcile their conception of God with his own reason, Larry takes a job on an ocean liner and finds himself in Bombay.
Larry has significant spiritual adventures in India and comes back to Paris. What he actually found in India and what he finally concluded are held back from the reader for a considerable time until, in a scene late in the book, Maugham discusses India and spirituality with Larry in a café long into the evening.
The 1929 stock market crash has ruined Gray, and he and Isabel are invited to live in her uncle Elliott Templeton’s grand Parisian house. Gray is often incapacitated with agonizing migraines due to a general nervous collapse. Larry is able to help him using an Indian form of hypnotic suggestion. Sophie has also drifted to the French capital, where her friends find her reduced to alcohol, opium, and promiscuity — empty and dangerous liaisons that seem to help her to bury her pain. Larry first sets out to save her and then decides to marry her, a plan that displeases Isabel, who is still in love with him.
Isabel tempts Sophie off the wagon with a bottle of Żubrówka, and she disappears from Paris. Maugham deduces this after seeing Sophie in Toulon, where she has returned to smoking opium and promiscuity. He is drawn back into the tale when police interrogate him after Sophie has been found murdered with an inscribed book from him in her room (along with volumes by Baudelaire and Rimbaud).
Meanwhile in Antibes, Elliott Templeton, who has compulsively throughout his life sought out aristocratic society, is on his deathbed. None of his titled friends come to see him, which makes him alternately morose and irate, though his outlook on death is somewhat positive: "I have always moved in the best society in Europe, and I have no doubt that I shall move in the best society in heaven."
Isabel inherits his fortune, but genuinely grieves for her uncle. Maugham confronts her about Sophie, having figured out Isabel’s role in Sophie’s downfall. Isabel’s only punishment will be that she will never get Larry, who has decided to return to America and live as a common working man. He is uninterested in the rich and glamorous world that Isabel will move in. Maugham ends his narrative by suggesting that all the characters got what they wanted in the end: "Elliott social eminence; Isabel an assured position; ... Sophie death; and Larry happiness."
Influences and critical reception
Maugham, like Hermann Hesse, was remarkably prescient, anticipating an embrace of Eastern culture by Americans and Europeans almost a decade before the Beats were to popularize it. Maugham himself visited Sri Ramana Ashram, where he had a direct interaction with Ramana Maharshi in Tamil Nadu, India in 1938.. Maugham’s suggestion that he "invented nothing" was a source of annoyance for Christopher Isherwood, who helped him translate a verse from the Upanishads for the novel’s epigraph.[citation needed] Many thought Isherwood, who had built his own literary reputation by then and was studying Indian philosophy, was the basis for the book’s hero. Isherwood went so far as to write Time magazine denying this speculation. A more likely inspiration for the Larry Darrell charater was American mining engineer Guy Hague, who'd spent time in Sri Ramana Maharshi's ashram.
The Razor’s Edge tells the story of an American fighter pilot (Larry Darrell) traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The novel is supposed to be based on the life of Guy Hague, an American mining engineer.
The story begins through the eyes of Larry’s friends and acquaintances as they witness his personality change after the War. His rejection of conventional life and search for meaningful experience allows him to thrive while the more materialistic characters suffer reversals of fortune. The book was twice adapted into film, first in 1946 starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, and Herbert Marshall as Maugham, and then a 1984 adaptation starring Bill Murray, with Tibet replacing India as the place of Larry’s enlightenment (the monastery to which Larry travels in the 1984 movie adaptation is in Ladakh, an Indian-ruled region sometimes called "Little Tibet").
Plot
Maugham begins by characterizing his story as not really a novel but a thinly veiled true account. He includes himself as a minor character, a writer who drifts in and out of the lives of the major players. Larry Darrell’s lifestyle is contrasted throughout the book with that of his fiancée’s uncle, Elliott Templeton, an American expatriate living in Paris and a shallow and unrepentant yet generous snob. For example, while Templeton's Catholicism embraces the hierarchical trappings of the Church, Larry's proclivities tend towards the 13th century Flemish mystic and saint John of Ruysbroeck.
Wounded and traumatized by the death of a comrade in the War, Larry returns to Chicago, Illinois and his fiancée, Isabel Bradley, only to announce that he does not plan to work and instead will "loaf" on his small inheritance. He wants to delay their marriage and refuses to take up a job as a stockbroker offered to him by the father of his friend Gray, Henry Maturin. Meanwhile, Larry’s childhood friend, Sophie, settles into a happy marriage, only later tragically losing her husband and baby in a car accident.
Larry moves to Paris and immerses himself in study and bohemian life. After two years of this "loafing," Isabel visits and Larry asks her to join his life of wandering and searching, living in Paris and traveling with little money. She cannot accept his vision of life and breaks their engagement to go back to Chicago. There she marries the millionaire Gray, who provides her a rich family life. Meanwhile, Larry begins a sojourn through Europe, taking a job at a coal mine in Lens, France, where he befriends a former Polish army officer named Kosti. Kosti's influence encourages Larry to look toward things spiritual for his answers rather than in books. Larry and Kosti leave the coal mine and travel together for a time before parting ways. Larry then meets a Benedictine monk named Father Ensheim in Bonn, Germany while Father Ensheim is on leave from his monastery doing academic research. After spending several months with the Benedictines and being unable to reconcile their conception of God with his own reason, Larry takes a job on an ocean liner and finds himself in Bombay.
Larry has significant spiritual adventures in India and comes back to Paris. What he actually found in India and what he finally concluded are held back from the reader for a considerable time until, in a scene late in the book, Maugham discusses India and spirituality with Larry in a café long into the evening.
The 1929 stock market crash has ruined Gray, and he and Isabel are invited to live in her uncle Elliott Templeton’s grand Parisian house. Gray is often incapacitated with agonizing migraines due to a general nervous collapse. Larry is able to help him using an Indian form of hypnotic suggestion. Sophie has also drifted to the French capital, where her friends find her reduced to alcohol, opium, and promiscuity — empty and dangerous liaisons that seem to help her to bury her pain. Larry first sets out to save her and then decides to marry her, a plan that displeases Isabel, who is still in love with him.
Isabel tempts Sophie off the wagon with a bottle of Żubrówka, and she disappears from Paris. Maugham deduces this after seeing Sophie in Toulon, where she has returned to smoking opium and promiscuity. He is drawn back into the tale when police interrogate him after Sophie has been found murdered with an inscribed book from him in her room (along with volumes by Baudelaire and Rimbaud).
Meanwhile in Antibes, Elliott Templeton, who has compulsively throughout his life sought out aristocratic society, is on his deathbed. None of his titled friends come to see him, which makes him alternately morose and irate, though his outlook on death is somewhat positive: "I have always moved in the best society in Europe, and I have no doubt that I shall move in the best society in heaven."
Isabel inherits his fortune, but genuinely grieves for her uncle. Maugham confronts her about Sophie, having figured out Isabel’s role in Sophie’s downfall. Isabel’s only punishment will be that she will never get Larry, who has decided to return to America and live as a common working man. He is uninterested in the rich and glamorous world that Isabel will move in. Maugham ends his narrative by suggesting that all the characters got what they wanted in the end: "Elliott social eminence; Isabel an assured position; ... Sophie death; and Larry happiness."
Influences and critical reception
Maugham, like Hermann Hesse, was remarkably prescient, anticipating an embrace of Eastern culture by Americans and Europeans almost a decade before the Beats were to popularize it. Maugham himself visited Sri Ramana Ashram, where he had a direct interaction with Ramana Maharshi in Tamil Nadu, India in 1938.. Maugham’s suggestion that he "invented nothing" was a source of annoyance for Christopher Isherwood, who helped him translate a verse from the Upanishads for the novel’s epigraph.[citation needed] Many thought Isherwood, who had built his own literary reputation by then and was studying Indian philosophy, was the basis for the book’s hero. Isherwood went so far as to write Time magazine denying this speculation. A more likely inspiration for the Larry Darrell charater was American mining engineer Guy Hague, who'd spent time in Sri Ramana Maharshi's ashram.
The Theatre (1978) starring Vija Artmane. Based on play of the same name.
圣彼得教堂下午有一场洗礼，所以奥伯特·爱德瓦还穿着他的司事长袍。他总是把新袍子放在做丧礼或婚礼的时候才穿（哪些讲究时髦的人总是选圣彼得教堂来举行这些典礼），所以，现在他所穿的只是稍微次一等的。穿这袍子，他感到自傲，因为这是他职位尊严的标志。这位子来之不易。折叠和熨烫袍子的事情他总是要亲手干。在这家教堂当了十六年的司事，这样的袍子，已经有过好多件，但他从来都不肯将穿旧的袍子扔掉，所有的袍子都用牛皮纸整齐地包好，存放在卧室衣橱下面的抽屉里。
司事现在是在小礼堂等着牧师结束他的仪式，这样他就能将这里收拾整齐，然后回家。
“他还在那里磨蹭什么呀？”司事自言自语地说。“他难道不知道我也该回去喝杯茶了。”
这位牧师是最近才任命的，四十来岁，红光满面，是个精力充沛的人。而奥伯特·爱德瓦还是为先前的牧师感到遗憾，那是一个旧派的教士，从不大惊小怪，不像现在这位，样样事情都要插上一手。
不久，他看到牧师走了过来。
“佛曼，您能到小教堂里来一会儿吗，我有些事情要同你说说。”
“好的，阁下。”
他们一起沿着教堂走去，牧师将奥伯特·爱德瓦领进了小教堂。奥伯特·爱德瓦看到这里还有两位教堂执事，有一点儿惊讶，他并没有看到他们进来。他们对他和善地点了点头。
“下午好，我的大人。下午好，阁下。”他一个一个地同他们打招呼。
两位都是长者，他们当教堂执事几乎和奥伯特·爱德瓦当司事一样长。他们现在坐在原先的牧师许多年前从意大利弄来的精致的桌子旁边，牧师坐到他们中间空出的椅子上。奥伯特面对着他们，桌子在他与他们之间，心里有些不自在地猜想着这是怎么一回事。他还记得弹风琴的人惹出的麻烦，后来费了不少力才把事情平息了。在圣彼得教堂这样的地方是不允许有丑闻的。牧师的脸上是一团和气，而另外两位却表现出些微的慌乱。
“他是想要他们做某件事，但是他们却不太愿意。”司事对自己说。“准是如此，你可以记住我的话。”
但是奥伯特并没有将他的想法显露在脸上。他以一种谦恭而又尊严的姿态站着。在当司事之前他当过仆人，但是都是在非常体面的人家。开始是在一个富商家当跟班，在一位寡居的贵夫人家他升到了管家的职位，在圣彼得教堂司事职位出现空缺时他已经在一位退职的大使家里当总管，手下有了两个人。他高大，瘦削，沉稳而自尊。看起来，不说是个公爵，但至少也是老派戏班里专门扮演公爵的演员。他老成，坚定，自信。
牧师神彩奕奕地开口了。
“佛曼，有些事情我们实在有些不太愿意对你开口。你已经在这里干了这么多年了，而且令人满意地履行了你的责任。”
两位执事点着头。
“但是有一天我了解到一件非同寻常的事情，我觉得有责任要将这事情告知我们的执事。我不胜惊讶地发觉你竟然既不能读也不能写。”
司事的脸上没有显露出任何窘困的神色。
“以前的牧师知道这事，阁下。”他回答说。“他说这无关紧要，他经常说，以他的品味，有时候这个世界教育得也太过分了。”
“这是我生以来听到的最令人惊讶的事情了，”执事们喊叫了起来。“你的意思是说，你当了这个教堂的司事十六年，却从来不会读也不会写？”
“阁下，我从十二岁起就当了差。开头那家厨师曾经想要教我，但我好像在这方面实在不开窍。此后我再也没有时间，我也从来没有真的想着要学。”
“但是，你就不想了解外界的事情？”另一位执事说。“你从来都没有写过信？”
“没有，阁下，没有这些，好像也很好呀。现在报纸上有的是图片，所以我对一切情况都很了解呀。如果我想要写信，我可以让我妻子帮我写嘛。”
“两位执事无可奈何地瞧了一眼牧师，然后就低头看着桌子。
“好吧，佛曼，我同两位先生讨论过这事，他们同我一样，认为这实在是匪夷所思。像圣彼得这样的教堂里不能有一个既不能读又不能写的司事。”
奥伯特·爱德瓦瘦削而苍白的脸涨红了，他不自在地跺动着脚，但却没有答话。
“不过，佛曼，你不是可以去学习么？”执事中的一位问道。
“不，阁下。事到如今，我恐怕不行了。你看我已经不再年轻，既然我不能在孩童的时候将这些文字塞进我的头脑里去的话，我想，到如今也不会有这样的机会。”
“佛曼，不是我们要苛求于你，”牧师说，“但是我同执事们已经拿定了主意。我们给你三个月时间，到那时你要是还不能读、不能写，那恐怕就得叫你走人。”
奥伯特从来就不喜欢这个牧师，一开始他就说，他们把圣彼得交给他是一个错误。他知道他的价值，现在他觉得自己放松了一点。
“我感到非常抱歉，阁下，我恐怕要说，这对我没有任何好处。我是一条再也不能学新花招的老狗了。不会读不会写，好多年来我也活得很好，就算我还能学会，我也不会说我想要去学了。”
“这么说，佛曼，我只好说你得走人。”
“好的，阁下，我懂， 只要一找到能顶替我的人，我就会乐意递上我的辞职书的。”
但是，当奥伯特·爱德瓦以他通常的礼貌在牧师和执事们离开后关上了教堂的门以后，他再也无法保持住那种庄重的气氛了，他的嘴唇颤抖着。他回到小礼堂将司事的袍子挂到了木砧上。想起他在这里看到的那么多葬礼和婚礼的场面，他叹息着。他把一切都整理好，穿上了他的夹克，帽子拿在手里，走出了教堂。他把身后教堂的门锁上，漫步穿过广场，在深深的忧伤中，他没有走向那条往家走的路，家里有又浓又好的茶在等待着他，他却转错了方向。他走得很缓慢。他的心情非常沉重。他不知道自己究竟该怎么做。重新去做人家的仆人的念头他是不愿意去想的。已经自主了这么多年，他不再能伺候人。他积攒下了一笔钱，但还不足以坐享终生，生活的费用每年都在增加。他从来没有想到会遭遇这样的麻烦。圣彼得教堂的司事，就如同罗马的教皇，是终其一生的呀。奥伯特不抽烟，也不饮酒，但稍有通融，就是说，在正餐时也可以喝杯啤酒，在觉得劳累的时候也可以抽根把烟。就在此刻，他觉得要是有支烟抽，或许会给他一点安慰。既然他从不带烟，他就四下里寻找着，看哪里可以买一盒。他没有看到卖烟的店铺，于是就往下走去。这是一条长长的道路，有各式各样的店铺，可就没有能买到香烟的店铺。
“这真有点儿怪，”奥伯特·爱德瓦说。
为了确信，他又重新在街上走了一遍。没有，确实不用怀疑。他停观察，翻来覆去思索。
“我不会是唯一一位在这条街上走过而想到要抽烟的人的，”他说。“如果哪个家伙在这里开爿小店，我是说，烟草，糖果之类的，准能赚钱。”
他为此遽然一震。
“这就是念头，”他说，“真是奇怪，事情就是在你最没有想的时候这样来了。”
他转过身，走回家，喝了他的茶。
“奥伯特，你今天下午怎么这么一声不吭？”他的妻子说。
“我在思索。”他说。
他将这件事情左思右想了一番，第二天他去了那条街，而且很幸运地找到了一家出租的店铺。二十四小时后，他将这家店铺拿了下来，一个月以后，一爿卖香烟和书报的店铺就开张了。他的妻子称这件事是他自从当上圣彼得教堂司事以后最糟糕的失落，但是他回答说，人必须跟着时代变，再说，教堂也不再是以前的样子了。
奥伯特干得很不差。他干得的确不错，因为过了一年左右，他突然开窍，他想，为何不再开第二家商店，找个人来经管。于是他又去寻找长长的，还没有香烟店的街道，果然找到这样的街道，还有可以出租的店铺，他又拿了下来。这次他又成功了。这么说，既然能开两家，就能开五六家。他开始走遍全伦敦，只要找到一条长长的，还没有香烟店但有店铺出租的街道，他就拿下来。这样，在十年时间里，他一连开了不下十家店铺，赚到了大笔钱财。每个星期一，他自己就到各家店铺去，将一个星期收到的钱统统收拢起来存到银行去。
有一天早晨，正当他在将一扎扎钞票和一大口袋银币交进银行的时候，一位银行出纳告诉他说，他们的经理想要见他。他被引进一间办公室，经理同他握手。
“佛曼先生，我想同你谈谈你存进我们银行的这些钱。你知道他们到底有多少吗？”
“虽然不能准确到一磅二磅，但也大体不离十，阁下。”
“除了今天早上你所存进来的，已经稍微超过三万磅了。这是很大一笔钱存款了，最好是用它来投资。”
“我可不想冒任何的风险，阁下。我知道，放在银行里很保险。”
“你无须有丝毫的担心，我们会帮你转换成绝对可靠的证券的。这样会比银行所付的利息高得多。”
佛曼先生富态的脸上出现了疑虑。“我从来没有接触过股票和分红，我只是想要把这些钱存放在你的手里就行了。”
经理笑了。“所有的一切我们都会帮你做的。你以后只要在传票上签名就行了。”
“这我倒能做，”奥伯特不无疑虑地说。“不过，我怎么知道到底签的是什么呀？”
“我想你总应该会阅读吧，”经理以玩笑的口吻激烈地说。
佛曼先生给了他一个解除疑虑的微笑。
“哦，阁下，事情正是如此。我知道这听起来很好笑，但是我真的不能读也不能写，我只会签自己的名字，而这也是我在经营了生意以后才学会的。”
经理大吃一惊，从他的椅子上跳了起来。
“这是我平生所听说的最不寻常的事情。”经理呆呆地盯着他，仿佛他是一个史前的怪物。
“你是说，你建立了这么重要的生意，赚了三万磅的财富，却不会读也不会写？我的天呐，我的好人，如果你要会读会写，那你现在还会成什么样啊？”
“我可以告诉你，阁下，”佛曼先生说，一丝笑容浮上了他依然高贵的面庞。“那我就还是内维尔广场圣彼得教堂的司事。”
司事现在是在小礼堂等着牧师结束他的仪式，这样他就能将这里收拾整齐，然后回家。
“他还在那里磨蹭什么呀？”司事自言自语地说。“他难道不知道我也该回去喝杯茶了。”
这位牧师是最近才任命的，四十来岁，红光满面，是个精力充沛的人。而奥伯特·爱德瓦还是为先前的牧师感到遗憾，那是一个旧派的教士，从不大惊小怪，不像现在这位，样样事情都要插上一手。
不久，他看到牧师走了过来。
“佛曼，您能到小教堂里来一会儿吗，我有些事情要同你说说。”
“好的，阁下。”
他们一起沿着教堂走去，牧师将奥伯特·爱德瓦领进了小教堂。奥伯特·爱德瓦看到这里还有两位教堂执事，有一点儿惊讶，他并没有看到他们进来。他们对他和善地点了点头。
“下午好，我的大人。下午好，阁下。”他一个一个地同他们打招呼。
两位都是长者，他们当教堂执事几乎和奥伯特·爱德瓦当司事一样长。他们现在坐在原先的牧师许多年前从意大利弄来的精致的桌子旁边，牧师坐到他们中间空出的椅子上。奥伯特面对着他们，桌子在他与他们之间，心里有些不自在地猜想着这是怎么一回事。他还记得弹风琴的人惹出的麻烦，后来费了不少力才把事情平息了。在圣彼得教堂这样的地方是不允许有丑闻的。牧师的脸上是一团和气，而另外两位却表现出些微的慌乱。
“他是想要他们做某件事，但是他们却不太愿意。”司事对自己说。“准是如此，你可以记住我的话。”
但是奥伯特并没有将他的想法显露在脸上。他以一种谦恭而又尊严的姿态站着。在当司事之前他当过仆人，但是都是在非常体面的人家。开始是在一个富商家当跟班，在一位寡居的贵夫人家他升到了管家的职位，在圣彼得教堂司事职位出现空缺时他已经在一位退职的大使家里当总管，手下有了两个人。他高大，瘦削，沉稳而自尊。看起来，不说是个公爵，但至少也是老派戏班里专门扮演公爵的演员。他老成，坚定，自信。
牧师神彩奕奕地开口了。
“佛曼，有些事情我们实在有些不太愿意对你开口。你已经在这里干了这么多年了，而且令人满意地履行了你的责任。”
两位执事点着头。
“但是有一天我了解到一件非同寻常的事情，我觉得有责任要将这事情告知我们的执事。我不胜惊讶地发觉你竟然既不能读也不能写。”
司事的脸上没有显露出任何窘困的神色。
“以前的牧师知道这事，阁下。”他回答说。“他说这无关紧要，他经常说，以他的品味，有时候这个世界教育得也太过分了。”
“这是我生以来听到的最令人惊讶的事情了，”执事们喊叫了起来。“你的意思是说，你当了这个教堂的司事十六年，却从来不会读也不会写？”
“阁下，我从十二岁起就当了差。开头那家厨师曾经想要教我，但我好像在这方面实在不开窍。此后我再也没有时间，我也从来没有真的想着要学。”
“但是，你就不想了解外界的事情？”另一位执事说。“你从来都没有写过信？”
“没有，阁下，没有这些，好像也很好呀。现在报纸上有的是图片，所以我对一切情况都很了解呀。如果我想要写信，我可以让我妻子帮我写嘛。”
“两位执事无可奈何地瞧了一眼牧师，然后就低头看着桌子。
“好吧，佛曼，我同两位先生讨论过这事，他们同我一样，认为这实在是匪夷所思。像圣彼得这样的教堂里不能有一个既不能读又不能写的司事。”
奥伯特·爱德瓦瘦削而苍白的脸涨红了，他不自在地跺动着脚，但却没有答话。
“不过，佛曼，你不是可以去学习么？”执事中的一位问道。
“不，阁下。事到如今，我恐怕不行了。你看我已经不再年轻，既然我不能在孩童的时候将这些文字塞进我的头脑里去的话，我想，到如今也不会有这样的机会。”
“佛曼，不是我们要苛求于你，”牧师说，“但是我同执事们已经拿定了主意。我们给你三个月时间，到那时你要是还不能读、不能写，那恐怕就得叫你走人。”
奥伯特从来就不喜欢这个牧师，一开始他就说，他们把圣彼得交给他是一个错误。他知道他的价值，现在他觉得自己放松了一点。
“我感到非常抱歉，阁下，我恐怕要说，这对我没有任何好处。我是一条再也不能学新花招的老狗了。不会读不会写，好多年来我也活得很好，就算我还能学会，我也不会说我想要去学了。”
“这么说，佛曼，我只好说你得走人。”
“好的，阁下，我懂， 只要一找到能顶替我的人，我就会乐意递上我的辞职书的。”
但是，当奥伯特·爱德瓦以他通常的礼貌在牧师和执事们离开后关上了教堂的门以后，他再也无法保持住那种庄重的气氛了，他的嘴唇颤抖着。他回到小礼堂将司事的袍子挂到了木砧上。想起他在这里看到的那么多葬礼和婚礼的场面，他叹息着。他把一切都整理好，穿上了他的夹克，帽子拿在手里，走出了教堂。他把身后教堂的门锁上，漫步穿过广场，在深深的忧伤中，他没有走向那条往家走的路，家里有又浓又好的茶在等待着他，他却转错了方向。他走得很缓慢。他的心情非常沉重。他不知道自己究竟该怎么做。重新去做人家的仆人的念头他是不愿意去想的。已经自主了这么多年，他不再能伺候人。他积攒下了一笔钱，但还不足以坐享终生，生活的费用每年都在增加。他从来没有想到会遭遇这样的麻烦。圣彼得教堂的司事，就如同罗马的教皇，是终其一生的呀。奥伯特不抽烟，也不饮酒，但稍有通融，就是说，在正餐时也可以喝杯啤酒，在觉得劳累的时候也可以抽根把烟。就在此刻，他觉得要是有支烟抽，或许会给他一点安慰。既然他从不带烟，他就四下里寻找着，看哪里可以买一盒。他没有看到卖烟的店铺，于是就往下走去。这是一条长长的道路，有各式各样的店铺，可就没有能买到香烟的店铺。
“这真有点儿怪，”奥伯特·爱德瓦说。
为了确信，他又重新在街上走了一遍。没有，确实不用怀疑。他停观察，翻来覆去思索。
“我不会是唯一一位在这条街上走过而想到要抽烟的人的，”他说。“如果哪个家伙在这里开爿小店，我是说，烟草，糖果之类的，准能赚钱。”
他为此遽然一震。
“这就是念头，”他说，“真是奇怪，事情就是在你最没有想的时候这样来了。”
他转过身，走回家，喝了他的茶。
“奥伯特，你今天下午怎么这么一声不吭？”他的妻子说。
“我在思索。”他说。
他将这件事情左思右想了一番，第二天他去了那条街，而且很幸运地找到了一家出租的店铺。二十四小时后，他将这家店铺拿了下来，一个月以后，一爿卖香烟和书报的店铺就开张了。他的妻子称这件事是他自从当上圣彼得教堂司事以后最糟糕的失落，但是他回答说，人必须跟着时代变，再说，教堂也不再是以前的样子了。
奥伯特干得很不差。他干得的确不错，因为过了一年左右，他突然开窍，他想，为何不再开第二家商店，找个人来经管。于是他又去寻找长长的，还没有香烟店的街道，果然找到这样的街道，还有可以出租的店铺，他又拿了下来。这次他又成功了。这么说，既然能开两家，就能开五六家。他开始走遍全伦敦，只要找到一条长长的，还没有香烟店但有店铺出租的街道，他就拿下来。这样，在十年时间里，他一连开了不下十家店铺，赚到了大笔钱财。每个星期一，他自己就到各家店铺去，将一个星期收到的钱统统收拢起来存到银行去。
有一天早晨，正当他在将一扎扎钞票和一大口袋银币交进银行的时候，一位银行出纳告诉他说，他们的经理想要见他。他被引进一间办公室，经理同他握手。
“佛曼先生，我想同你谈谈你存进我们银行的这些钱。你知道他们到底有多少吗？”
“虽然不能准确到一磅二磅，但也大体不离十，阁下。”
“除了今天早上你所存进来的，已经稍微超过三万磅了。这是很大一笔钱存款了，最好是用它来投资。”
“我可不想冒任何的风险，阁下。我知道，放在银行里很保险。”
“你无须有丝毫的担心，我们会帮你转换成绝对可靠的证券的。这样会比银行所付的利息高得多。”
佛曼先生富态的脸上出现了疑虑。“我从来没有接触过股票和分红，我只是想要把这些钱存放在你的手里就行了。”
经理笑了。“所有的一切我们都会帮你做的。你以后只要在传票上签名就行了。”
“这我倒能做，”奥伯特不无疑虑地说。“不过，我怎么知道到底签的是什么呀？”
“我想你总应该会阅读吧，”经理以玩笑的口吻激烈地说。
佛曼先生给了他一个解除疑虑的微笑。
“哦，阁下，事情正是如此。我知道这听起来很好笑，但是我真的不能读也不能写，我只会签自己的名字，而这也是我在经营了生意以后才学会的。”
经理大吃一惊，从他的椅子上跳了起来。
“这是我平生所听说的最不寻常的事情。”经理呆呆地盯着他，仿佛他是一个史前的怪物。
“你是说，你建立了这么重要的生意，赚了三万磅的财富，却不会读也不会写？我的天呐，我的好人，如果你要会读会写，那你现在还会成什么样啊？”
“我可以告诉你，阁下，”佛曼先生说，一丝笑容浮上了他依然高贵的面庞。“那我就还是内维尔广场圣彼得教堂的司事。”
『译者按：英国近代著名小说家毛姆于１９２０年游历中国，并乘舢板千里迢迢逆长江而上，到重庆拜访当时中国最大的儒家辜鸿铭。在１９２２年所著的＜＜中国游记＞＞一书中，毛姆以“哲学家”为题记载了他和这位哲学家的会面。』
真想象不出这么大的一座城市会出现在这么偏远的一个地方。当夕阳西下的时侯，登上城门上远远望去，你可以看到喜马拉亚那白雪皑皑的山脉。这是一座人口众多的城市，你只有走在城墙上才不会觉得拥挤；这是一座占地广阔的城市，你就是走得再快，绕城走上一圈也要花上三个小时。距这座城市方园一千公里以内见不到一条铁路，顺城而下的河流很浅，只有载重很轻的船只才可以通行。坐舢板从杨子江下游到达这里要花上五天的时间。在这种环境里有时你难免会扪心自问：我们日常生活中所依赖的火车和蒸气船是不是生存所必不可少的？在这里，数以百万计的人们生于斯，长于斯，老死于斯；在这里，数以百万计的人们创造著财富，创造著艺术，创造著思想。
而且在这里还住著一位著名的哲学家，前去拜会这位哲学家是我这次可算是艰苦跋涉的旅途的目的之一。他是中国最大的儒学权威。据说他的英文和德文说得都很流利。他曾做过皇太后著名总督之一的秘书多年，但是现在已经退休。然而，在一年四季，每周固定的日子里，他的门总是向那些渴求知识的人们打开著。他有一群，但人数并不是很多。他的学生们大都喜欢他那简朴的住宅和他对外国大学奢侈的建筑及野蛮人实用科学的深刻批判：同他谈论这些题目只会遭到嘲讽。通过这些传闻我断定他是一位满有个性的人。
当我表示想去拜会这位著名的绅士时，我的主人马上答应这我安排这次会面；可是很多天过去了，我还没有得到一点消息。我终于忍不住向主人询问，他耸了耸肩，说道：“我早就派人送了张便条给他，让他到这里来一趟。我不知道他为什么到现在还没有来。他这个人很不通情理。”
我不认为用如此傲慢的态度去接近一个哲学家是合适的；他不理会这样随随便便的呼召丝毫没有使我感到意外。我用我能够找到的最谦卑的言辞写了封信给他，向他询问是否可以允许我拜访他。信送出还不到两个小时，我就接到了他的回信，约好第二天上午十点见面。
我是坐著轿子去的。前去拜访他的路似乎很长。我们穿过的街道有的拥挤不堪，有的却不见人影。最后我们来到了一条寂静、空旷的街道，在一面长长的白色墙壁上有一扇小门，轿夫在那里把我放了下来。一个轿夫前去叩门，过了很长的一段时间，门上的监视孔打开了，我们看到一双黑色的眼睛在向外张望。经过简短的交涉，我得到了进去的许可。一位衣著破旧、面色苍白而又乾枯的年轻人示意我跟著他进去。我不知道这个年轻人是一个仆人还是这位哲学家的第子。我穿过一个破旧的院子，被领著进入了一个又低又长的房间。房间里仅有几件简单的家具：一张美国式的带盖的桌子，几把黑檀木做的椅子和两张茶几。靠墙摆著的是书架，书架上摆满子各种各样的书籍：毫无疑问，最多的是中国书籍，但也有许多英文、法文和德文的哲学与科学书籍。此外还有数以百计尚未装订的学术书籍杂志。在书架与书架的空格处，挂满了各种各样的书法条幅，我猜想条幅上写的定是孔子的语录。地上没有地毯。这是一间阴冷、没有装饰、十分不舒服的房间。桌子上一只长长的花瓶里所插的黄色菊花是这个毫无格调的房间里的唯一点缀。
我坐在这个房间里等了一会儿，那位领我进来的年轻人摆上来一壶茶、两只茶杯和一包弗吉尼亚产的香烟。他刚出去，那位哲学家跟著就进来了。我马上站起来对他给我这个机会拜访他表示感谢。他指给我一把椅子，给我倒上了一杯茶。
“你想来见我真使我感到三生有幸，”他说，“你们英国人只与苦力和买办打交道；所以你们认为中国人只有两种：不是苦力定是买办。”
我想表示。但是我还没有弄明白他讲这番话的真正意图。他靠在椅子里，用嘲弄的目光看著我。
“你们认为只要随便召唤我们就得随叫随到。”
这时我才弄明白他对我朋友以那种方式与他联络仍耿耿与怀。我不知道该怎样回答。只得随口说了几句恭维的话。
他是一位老人，个子很高，留著一条灰色的细长辨子，大而明亮的眼睛下面已长出很重的眼袋。他的牙齿已参差不齐，也不再洁白。他出奇的瘦，两只手又细又小，苍白没有血色，看起来象鹰爪。我听说他抽大烟。他身穿一件破旧的黑色长袍，头戴一顶黑色的帽子，长袍和帽子都是穿了很多年，业已褪色。一条长裤在脚裸处扎了起来。他在观察我。他还没有搞清楚应该用什么方式待我，你可以看出他保持著一种警戒的态度。而我则可以说是有备而来的，我清楚地知道应该如何同哲学家打交道。在那些关心灵界诸事的人们心目中，哲学家拥有至荣的地位。我们自己的哲学家本杰明。迪斯累里早就讲过应该把哲人奉为神明。我说了很多恭维的话。我注意到他开始有些放松下来。他坐在那里象准备好让人家拍照一样摆好了姿式，等到听到快门的响声后立即放松下来恢复了原本的样子。他指给我看他的著作。
“你知道我是在柏林拿的哲学博士，”他说，“那儿以后我又在牛津大学做过一段时间的研究。但是英国人对哲学实在是没有很大的胃口，如果你不介意我这样说的话。”
虽然他是用略表歉意的语调来发表这些评论的，但是很明显一点点不同的表示都会引起他的不悦。
“可是我们也有过对人类社会思想界多少产生过影响的哲学家呀，”我提醒道。
“你是说休谟和柏克莱？可是我在牛津的时侯那里的哲学家们更为关心的并不是哲学问题，而是如何才能不冒犯他们的神学同事。如果他们思考所得出的逻辑结果可能会危及他们在大学社会里的地位的话，他们宁愿放弃。”
“您研究过当代哲学在美国的发展吗？”我问道。
“你是说实用主义？实用主义是那些相信不可信之物的人们的最后避难所。比起美国的哲学来，我还是更喜欢他们的石油。”
他的评论很是尖酸刻薄。我们又坐了下来喝了一杯茶。他开始滔滔不绝地讲了起来。他说著一口多少有些拘泥形式但却是道地的英语，时不时地夹杂著一些德文。如些看来，他这个性格顽固，难以被影响的人还是被德国影响了。德国人的行为方式以及德国人的勤奋刻苦在他心中留下很深的印象。当一位勤奋的德国教授在一份著名的杂志上发表了一篇关于这位哲学家的著作的论文时，他也看到了德国人哲学的敏锐。
“我发表过二十本著作，”他说，“而这是整个欧洲出版界对我的成果所施予的唯一关注。”
但是他研究西方哲学的唯一目地就是为了佐证他的一贯观点：即儒家学说已经囊括了所有的智慧。他对儒家哲学深信不疑。儒家哲学已经满足了他所有的精神需求，这就使得所有的西方学问变得毫无价值可言。我对这一点十分感兴趣，因为它证明了我的一个观点：哲学与其说是关于逻辑的学说还不如说是关于性情的学说：哲学家所信仰的并不是证据，而是他们自己的性情；他们相信自己的本能，本能认为是对的就是正确的，他们的哲学思考不过就是使已经确定下来的“真理”合理化而已。孔子学说所以能够深深地植根于中国人当中，不过是因为它解释并表达了中国人的性情而已。其它学派则没有做到这一点。
我的主人点燃了一支烟。开始时他讲话的声音很细，也显得很疲惫无力；可是随著他对所讲的题目性趣增大，他的声音也变得宏亮起来。他满有地讲著。此时的哲学家已不再有那哲人特有的宁静。他成了一个善辩者和斗士。他对当代关于自由主义的呼声深恶痛决。对他来讲社会是一个团体，而家庭则是这个团体的根基。他捍卫古老的中国，古老的学说，传统的帝制，和孔教严格的教条。当他谈到那些刚刚从国外大学学成归来的人们用他们满是亵渎的双手在无情在撕毁这个世界上最古老的文明时，他的情绪变得异常激动，眼里充满了悲愤。
“可是你知道你们在做什么吗？”他愤愤地说道，“你们有什么理由认为你们的东西就比我们的好？你们在艺术或文学上超过了我们吗？我们的思想家没有你们的博大精深吗？我们的文明不如你们的完整，全面，优秀吗？当你们还在居山洞，穿兽皮，过著茹毛饮血的生活时，我们就已经是文明开化的民族了。你知不知道我们曾进行过人类历史上空前绝後的实验？我们曾寻求用智慧，而不是武力来治理这个伟大的国家。而且在许多个世纪里我们是成功了的。可是你们白种人为什么瞧不起我们黄种人？需要我来告诉你吗？就是因为你们发明了机关枪。这是你们的优势。我们是一个不设防的民族，你们可以靠武力把我们这个种族灭绝。我们的哲学家曾有过用法律和秩序治理国家的梦想，你们却用枪炮把这一梦想打得粉碎。现在你们又来向我们的青年人传输你们的经验。你们将你们的发明强加给我们。可是你们难道不知道我们是一个对机械有著天赋的民族吗？难道你们不知道我们拥有四万万世界上最讲实效，最为勤奋的人们吗？难道你们真的认为我们需要很久的时间才能学会你们的技术吗？当黄种人也可以制造出同样精良的枪炮并迎面向你们开火时，你们白种人还会剩下什么优势吗？你们求助于机关枪，可是到最终你们将在枪口下接受审判。”
就是这时我们的谈话被打断了。一个小女孩悄悄地走进来，偎依在老人的身旁。她用好奇的眼光打量著我。老人告诉我这是他最小的女儿。老人把女儿揽在怀里，边与她轻声谈话边亲吻她。小女孩穿著一件黑色的上衣，黑色的裤子刚刚长及脚裸，一条长长的辨子坠在脑后。小女孩是有辛亥的当天出生的。那场成功地废黜了皇帝。
“我想她的出生预示了一个新时代春天的到来，”他说，“她是我们这个伟大民族秋天里的最后一只花朵。”
从他书桌的抽屉里老人拿出一些零用钱递给小女孩，打发她出去了。
“你看我留著一条辨子，”他把一边用手缕著辨子，一边说道，”它是一个象征。我是古老中国的最后一个代表。“
接著他用更为平和的语调同我谈起很久以前的哲学家。那时他们同周游列国，向可以教化的人们宣传自己的学说。各国的国王很是善待他们，或是邀请他们出将入相，或是任命他们主治一方。他学识渊博，谈锋犀利，讲起他这个国家的历史事件来绘声绘色，娓娓动听。我禁不住想他是一个悲剧性人物：他觉得自己有能力治理这个国家，可是却不再有皇帝能够任用他；他觉得自己才高八斗，有能力施教诲之责，他渴望人们会成群地追随他，更渴望把自己的知识传授给他们，可是前来听讲的却寥寥无几，而且还都是些穷困潦倒，食不果腹，呆头笨脑的乡下人。
有那么一二刻直觉告诉我该是告辞的时侯了，可是他却没有要我走的意思。最后我不得不向他告辞。我站起来，拉住了我的手。
“你来拜访中国的最后一个哲学家，我该送你点什么留作记念才是。可是我是一个穷人，我不知道送点什么值得你接受的东西。”
我连忙说什么都不用送，这次拜访的记忆本身就是最好的记念。他笑了。
“在这个堕落的年代里，人们的记忆都变得短暂了，我还是应该送给你一件有形的东西。我想送给你一本我的拙作，可是你又不能读中文。”
他带著困惑但友善的神情望著我。突然间我有了一个主意。
“能不能给我一份您的书法作品？”我问道。
“你喜欢书法作品？”他笑了。“我年轻时侯的书法在人们的眼里还远不是一无是处呢。”
他在书桌边坐了下来，他拿出一张宣纸，展放在桌上。他在砚台上滴了几滴水，拿起墨在上面研好了墨，然后便拿起笔开始写了起来。我站在一旁边看他写字，边想著关于他的一些不大风光的传闻。据传这位老先生，无论何时只要手头积攒一点钱，总是要挥霍在烟花巷里。他的大儿子是这个城市里一个颇有身份的人。对其父的行为感到恼火，觉得受了屈辱，若不是由于这种父子关系的存在，他早就会对这种浪当行为大张挞伐了。在我看来，这种不检点的行为对于其子来说是一件满难于启齿的丑事，但是对于研究人类本性的学者们来说则是一件需以平常心来对待的事情。哲学家们个个都极善于在研究中阐明自己的理论，并根据别人的生活经验得出结论；可是在我看来，哲学们若能够亲身经历人生的各种事情，他们所写的著作会更有价值。对于我自己，我是能以宽容的心来对待这位老人背地里所过的放荡生活。或许他只是在寻求去阐述人类幻想里最不可思义的事情。
他写完了。为了使墨能尽快些干涸他撒了些灰在纸上面，然后伸手递给我。
“你写的什么？”我问道。
我看到他的眼里飘过一丝幸灾乐祸的神情。
“我冒昧送给你自己作的两首小诗。”
“我不知道您还是一位诗人。”
“当中国还是一个未开化的民族的时候，”他挖苦道，“所有受过教育的人就能够写出优美的诗句了。”
我拿起纸来看了看上面的中国字。唯一能看明白的就是上面的字是相当有序地排列著的。
“您能不能告诉我一下上面写的是什么？”
“对不起，我不能，”他回答道，“你不能指望我背叛自己。还是请你的英国朋友帮这个忙吧。那些自以为了解中国的人实际上什么也不了解，但我想你至少会找到人向你解释一下这两首诗的大概意思。”
我向他道了别，他则非常客气地一直送我上轿。后来我有机会遇到一位从事汉学研究的朋友，我请他把这两道诗翻译了出来。我不得不承认，每当我读到这两首诗，就不免想起和那位哲学家的会面。
第一首诗
当初你不爱我
你的声音是那么甜美
你的眼里充满了笑意
你的双手纤细温柔
后来你爱上了我
你的声音变得苦涩
你的眼里充满了泪水
你的双手僵硬乾涸
这是多么的令人悲伤
因为爱使你变得
不再可爱
第二首诗
我曾乞求岁月匆匆
带走你明亮的双眼
你如桃花般娇嫩的皮肤
和你迷人的青春朝气
那样我就可以独自爱你
你也会在乎我的爱
岁月真的匆匆过了
带走了你明亮的眼睛
你如桃花般娇嫩的皮肤
和你迷人的青春朝气
可是我却不再爱你
也不再在乎你的爱
真想象不出这么大的一座城市会出现在这么偏远的一个地方。当夕阳西下的时侯，登上城门上远远望去，你可以看到喜马拉亚那白雪皑皑的山脉。这是一座人口众多的城市，你只有走在城墙上才不会觉得拥挤；这是一座占地广阔的城市，你就是走得再快，绕城走上一圈也要花上三个小时。距这座城市方园一千公里以内见不到一条铁路，顺城而下的河流很浅，只有载重很轻的船只才可以通行。坐舢板从杨子江下游到达这里要花上五天的时间。在这种环境里有时你难免会扪心自问：我们日常生活中所依赖的火车和蒸气船是不是生存所必不可少的？在这里，数以百万计的人们生于斯，长于斯，老死于斯；在这里，数以百万计的人们创造著财富，创造著艺术，创造著思想。
而且在这里还住著一位著名的哲学家，前去拜会这位哲学家是我这次可算是艰苦跋涉的旅途的目的之一。他是中国最大的儒学权威。据说他的英文和德文说得都很流利。他曾做过皇太后著名总督之一的秘书多年，但是现在已经退休。然而，在一年四季，每周固定的日子里，他的门总是向那些渴求知识的人们打开著。他有一群，但人数并不是很多。他的学生们大都喜欢他那简朴的住宅和他对外国大学奢侈的建筑及野蛮人实用科学的深刻批判：同他谈论这些题目只会遭到嘲讽。通过这些传闻我断定他是一位满有个性的人。
当我表示想去拜会这位著名的绅士时，我的主人马上答应这我安排这次会面；可是很多天过去了，我还没有得到一点消息。我终于忍不住向主人询问，他耸了耸肩，说道：“我早就派人送了张便条给他，让他到这里来一趟。我不知道他为什么到现在还没有来。他这个人很不通情理。”
我不认为用如此傲慢的态度去接近一个哲学家是合适的；他不理会这样随随便便的呼召丝毫没有使我感到意外。我用我能够找到的最谦卑的言辞写了封信给他，向他询问是否可以允许我拜访他。信送出还不到两个小时，我就接到了他的回信，约好第二天上午十点见面。
我是坐著轿子去的。前去拜访他的路似乎很长。我们穿过的街道有的拥挤不堪，有的却不见人影。最后我们来到了一条寂静、空旷的街道，在一面长长的白色墙壁上有一扇小门，轿夫在那里把我放了下来。一个轿夫前去叩门，过了很长的一段时间，门上的监视孔打开了，我们看到一双黑色的眼睛在向外张望。经过简短的交涉，我得到了进去的许可。一位衣著破旧、面色苍白而又乾枯的年轻人示意我跟著他进去。我不知道这个年轻人是一个仆人还是这位哲学家的第子。我穿过一个破旧的院子，被领著进入了一个又低又长的房间。房间里仅有几件简单的家具：一张美国式的带盖的桌子，几把黑檀木做的椅子和两张茶几。靠墙摆著的是书架，书架上摆满子各种各样的书籍：毫无疑问，最多的是中国书籍，但也有许多英文、法文和德文的哲学与科学书籍。此外还有数以百计尚未装订的学术书籍杂志。在书架与书架的空格处，挂满了各种各样的书法条幅，我猜想条幅上写的定是孔子的语录。地上没有地毯。这是一间阴冷、没有装饰、十分不舒服的房间。桌子上一只长长的花瓶里所插的黄色菊花是这个毫无格调的房间里的唯一点缀。
我坐在这个房间里等了一会儿，那位领我进来的年轻人摆上来一壶茶、两只茶杯和一包弗吉尼亚产的香烟。他刚出去，那位哲学家跟著就进来了。我马上站起来对他给我这个机会拜访他表示感谢。他指给我一把椅子，给我倒上了一杯茶。
“你想来见我真使我感到三生有幸，”他说，“你们英国人只与苦力和买办打交道；所以你们认为中国人只有两种：不是苦力定是买办。”
我想表示。但是我还没有弄明白他讲这番话的真正意图。他靠在椅子里，用嘲弄的目光看著我。
“你们认为只要随便召唤我们就得随叫随到。”
这时我才弄明白他对我朋友以那种方式与他联络仍耿耿与怀。我不知道该怎样回答。只得随口说了几句恭维的话。
他是一位老人，个子很高，留著一条灰色的细长辨子，大而明亮的眼睛下面已长出很重的眼袋。他的牙齿已参差不齐，也不再洁白。他出奇的瘦，两只手又细又小，苍白没有血色，看起来象鹰爪。我听说他抽大烟。他身穿一件破旧的黑色长袍，头戴一顶黑色的帽子，长袍和帽子都是穿了很多年，业已褪色。一条长裤在脚裸处扎了起来。他在观察我。他还没有搞清楚应该用什么方式待我，你可以看出他保持著一种警戒的态度。而我则可以说是有备而来的，我清楚地知道应该如何同哲学家打交道。在那些关心灵界诸事的人们心目中，哲学家拥有至荣的地位。我们自己的哲学家本杰明。迪斯累里早就讲过应该把哲人奉为神明。我说了很多恭维的话。我注意到他开始有些放松下来。他坐在那里象准备好让人家拍照一样摆好了姿式，等到听到快门的响声后立即放松下来恢复了原本的样子。他指给我看他的著作。
“你知道我是在柏林拿的哲学博士，”他说，“那儿以后我又在牛津大学做过一段时间的研究。但是英国人对哲学实在是没有很大的胃口，如果你不介意我这样说的话。”
虽然他是用略表歉意的语调来发表这些评论的，但是很明显一点点不同的表示都会引起他的不悦。
“可是我们也有过对人类社会思想界多少产生过影响的哲学家呀，”我提醒道。
“你是说休谟和柏克莱？可是我在牛津的时侯那里的哲学家们更为关心的并不是哲学问题，而是如何才能不冒犯他们的神学同事。如果他们思考所得出的逻辑结果可能会危及他们在大学社会里的地位的话，他们宁愿放弃。”
“您研究过当代哲学在美国的发展吗？”我问道。
“你是说实用主义？实用主义是那些相信不可信之物的人们的最后避难所。比起美国的哲学来，我还是更喜欢他们的石油。”
他的评论很是尖酸刻薄。我们又坐了下来喝了一杯茶。他开始滔滔不绝地讲了起来。他说著一口多少有些拘泥形式但却是道地的英语，时不时地夹杂著一些德文。如些看来，他这个性格顽固，难以被影响的人还是被德国影响了。德国人的行为方式以及德国人的勤奋刻苦在他心中留下很深的印象。当一位勤奋的德国教授在一份著名的杂志上发表了一篇关于这位哲学家的著作的论文时，他也看到了德国人哲学的敏锐。
“我发表过二十本著作，”他说，“而这是整个欧洲出版界对我的成果所施予的唯一关注。”
但是他研究西方哲学的唯一目地就是为了佐证他的一贯观点：即儒家学说已经囊括了所有的智慧。他对儒家哲学深信不疑。儒家哲学已经满足了他所有的精神需求，这就使得所有的西方学问变得毫无价值可言。我对这一点十分感兴趣，因为它证明了我的一个观点：哲学与其说是关于逻辑的学说还不如说是关于性情的学说：哲学家所信仰的并不是证据，而是他们自己的性情；他们相信自己的本能，本能认为是对的就是正确的，他们的哲学思考不过就是使已经确定下来的“真理”合理化而已。孔子学说所以能够深深地植根于中国人当中，不过是因为它解释并表达了中国人的性情而已。其它学派则没有做到这一点。
我的主人点燃了一支烟。开始时他讲话的声音很细，也显得很疲惫无力；可是随著他对所讲的题目性趣增大，他的声音也变得宏亮起来。他满有地讲著。此时的哲学家已不再有那哲人特有的宁静。他成了一个善辩者和斗士。他对当代关于自由主义的呼声深恶痛决。对他来讲社会是一个团体，而家庭则是这个团体的根基。他捍卫古老的中国，古老的学说，传统的帝制，和孔教严格的教条。当他谈到那些刚刚从国外大学学成归来的人们用他们满是亵渎的双手在无情在撕毁这个世界上最古老的文明时，他的情绪变得异常激动，眼里充满了悲愤。
“可是你知道你们在做什么吗？”他愤愤地说道，“你们有什么理由认为你们的东西就比我们的好？你们在艺术或文学上超过了我们吗？我们的思想家没有你们的博大精深吗？我们的文明不如你们的完整，全面，优秀吗？当你们还在居山洞，穿兽皮，过著茹毛饮血的生活时，我们就已经是文明开化的民族了。你知不知道我们曾进行过人类历史上空前绝後的实验？我们曾寻求用智慧，而不是武力来治理这个伟大的国家。而且在许多个世纪里我们是成功了的。可是你们白种人为什么瞧不起我们黄种人？需要我来告诉你吗？就是因为你们发明了机关枪。这是你们的优势。我们是一个不设防的民族，你们可以靠武力把我们这个种族灭绝。我们的哲学家曾有过用法律和秩序治理国家的梦想，你们却用枪炮把这一梦想打得粉碎。现在你们又来向我们的青年人传输你们的经验。你们将你们的发明强加给我们。可是你们难道不知道我们是一个对机械有著天赋的民族吗？难道你们不知道我们拥有四万万世界上最讲实效，最为勤奋的人们吗？难道你们真的认为我们需要很久的时间才能学会你们的技术吗？当黄种人也可以制造出同样精良的枪炮并迎面向你们开火时，你们白种人还会剩下什么优势吗？你们求助于机关枪，可是到最终你们将在枪口下接受审判。”
就是这时我们的谈话被打断了。一个小女孩悄悄地走进来，偎依在老人的身旁。她用好奇的眼光打量著我。老人告诉我这是他最小的女儿。老人把女儿揽在怀里，边与她轻声谈话边亲吻她。小女孩穿著一件黑色的上衣，黑色的裤子刚刚长及脚裸，一条长长的辨子坠在脑后。小女孩是有辛亥的当天出生的。那场成功地废黜了皇帝。
“我想她的出生预示了一个新时代春天的到来，”他说，“她是我们这个伟大民族秋天里的最后一只花朵。”
从他书桌的抽屉里老人拿出一些零用钱递给小女孩，打发她出去了。
“你看我留著一条辨子，”他把一边用手缕著辨子，一边说道，”它是一个象征。我是古老中国的最后一个代表。“
接著他用更为平和的语调同我谈起很久以前的哲学家。那时他们同周游列国，向可以教化的人们宣传自己的学说。各国的国王很是善待他们，或是邀请他们出将入相，或是任命他们主治一方。他学识渊博，谈锋犀利，讲起他这个国家的历史事件来绘声绘色，娓娓动听。我禁不住想他是一个悲剧性人物：他觉得自己有能力治理这个国家，可是却不再有皇帝能够任用他；他觉得自己才高八斗，有能力施教诲之责，他渴望人们会成群地追随他，更渴望把自己的知识传授给他们，可是前来听讲的却寥寥无几，而且还都是些穷困潦倒，食不果腹，呆头笨脑的乡下人。
有那么一二刻直觉告诉我该是告辞的时侯了，可是他却没有要我走的意思。最后我不得不向他告辞。我站起来，拉住了我的手。
“你来拜访中国的最后一个哲学家，我该送你点什么留作记念才是。可是我是一个穷人，我不知道送点什么值得你接受的东西。”
我连忙说什么都不用送，这次拜访的记忆本身就是最好的记念。他笑了。
“在这个堕落的年代里，人们的记忆都变得短暂了，我还是应该送给你一件有形的东西。我想送给你一本我的拙作，可是你又不能读中文。”
他带著困惑但友善的神情望著我。突然间我有了一个主意。
“能不能给我一份您的书法作品？”我问道。
“你喜欢书法作品？”他笑了。“我年轻时侯的书法在人们的眼里还远不是一无是处呢。”
他在书桌边坐了下来，他拿出一张宣纸，展放在桌上。他在砚台上滴了几滴水，拿起墨在上面研好了墨，然后便拿起笔开始写了起来。我站在一旁边看他写字，边想著关于他的一些不大风光的传闻。据传这位老先生，无论何时只要手头积攒一点钱，总是要挥霍在烟花巷里。他的大儿子是这个城市里一个颇有身份的人。对其父的行为感到恼火，觉得受了屈辱，若不是由于这种父子关系的存在，他早就会对这种浪当行为大张挞伐了。在我看来，这种不检点的行为对于其子来说是一件满难于启齿的丑事，但是对于研究人类本性的学者们来说则是一件需以平常心来对待的事情。哲学家们个个都极善于在研究中阐明自己的理论，并根据别人的生活经验得出结论；可是在我看来，哲学们若能够亲身经历人生的各种事情，他们所写的著作会更有价值。对于我自己，我是能以宽容的心来对待这位老人背地里所过的放荡生活。或许他只是在寻求去阐述人类幻想里最不可思义的事情。
他写完了。为了使墨能尽快些干涸他撒了些灰在纸上面，然后伸手递给我。
“你写的什么？”我问道。
我看到他的眼里飘过一丝幸灾乐祸的神情。
“我冒昧送给你自己作的两首小诗。”
“我不知道您还是一位诗人。”
“当中国还是一个未开化的民族的时候，”他挖苦道，“所有受过教育的人就能够写出优美的诗句了。”
我拿起纸来看了看上面的中国字。唯一能看明白的就是上面的字是相当有序地排列著的。
“您能不能告诉我一下上面写的是什么？”
“对不起，我不能，”他回答道，“你不能指望我背叛自己。还是请你的英国朋友帮这个忙吧。那些自以为了解中国的人实际上什么也不了解，但我想你至少会找到人向你解释一下这两首诗的大概意思。”
我向他道了别，他则非常客气地一直送我上轿。后来我有机会遇到一位从事汉学研究的朋友，我请他把这两道诗翻译了出来。我不得不承认，每当我读到这两首诗，就不免想起和那位哲学家的会面。
第一首诗
当初你不爱我
你的声音是那么甜美
你的眼里充满了笑意
你的双手纤细温柔
后来你爱上了我
你的声音变得苦涩
你的眼里充满了泪水
你的双手僵硬乾涸
这是多么的令人悲伤
因为爱使你变得
不再可爱
第二首诗
我曾乞求岁月匆匆
带走你明亮的双眼
你如桃花般娇嫩的皮肤
和你迷人的青春朝气
那样我就可以独自爱你
你也会在乎我的爱
岁月真的匆匆过了
带走了你明亮的眼睛
你如桃花般娇嫩的皮肤
和你迷人的青春朝气
可是我却不再爱你
也不再在乎你的爱
The Moon and Sixpence is a 1919 short novel by William Somerset Maugham based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. The story is told in episodic form by the first-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle aged English stock broker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist.
Plot summary
The novel is written largely from the point of view of the narrator, who is first introduced to the character of Strickland through his (Strickland's) wife and strikes him (the narrator) as unremarkable. Certain chapters are entirely composed of the stories or narrations of others which the narrator himself is recalling from memory (selectively editing or elaborating on certain aspects of dialogue, particularly Strickland's, as Strickland is said by the narrator to be limited in his use of verbiage and tended to use gestures in his expression).
Strickland, a well-off, middle-class stock broker in London some time in the late 19th or the first half of the 20th century. Early in the novel, he leaves his wife and children and goes to Paris, living a destitute but defiantly content life there as an artist (specifically a painter), lodging in run-down hotels and falling prey to both illness and hunger. Strickland, in his drive to express through his art what appears to continually possess and compel him inside, cares nothing for physical comfort and is generally ignorant to his surroundings, but is generously supported while in Paris by a commercially successful yet unexceptional Dutch painter, Dirk Stroeve, a friend of the narrator's, who immediately recognizes Strickland's genius. After helping Strickland recover from a life-threatening condition, Stroeve is repaid by having his wife, Blanche, abandon him for Strickland. Strickland later discards the wife (all he really sought from Blanche was a model to paint, not serious companionship, and it is hinted in the novel's dialogue that he indicated this to her and she took the risk anyway), who then commits suicide - yet another human casualty (the first ones being his own established life and those of his wife and children) in Strickland's single-minded pursuit of Art and Beauty.
After the Paris episode, the story continues in Tahiti. Strickland has already died, and the narrator attempts to piece together his life there from the recollections of others. He finds that Strickland had taken up with a native woman, had at least one child by her (only a son is directly referenced) and started painting profusely. We learn that Strickland had settled for a short while in the French port of Marseilles before traveling to Tahiti, where he lived for a few years before finally dying of leprosy. Strickland left behind numerous paintings, but his magnum opus, which he painted on the walls of his hut in a half-crazed state of leprosy-induced blindness, was burnt down after his death by his wife by his dying orders.
Inspiration
The inspiration for this story, Gauguin, is considered to be the founder of primitivism in art. The main differences between Gauguin and Strickland are that Gauguin was French rather than English, and whilst Maugham describes the character of Strickland as being largely ignorant of his contemporaries in Modern art (as well as largely ignorant of other artists in general), Gauguin himself was well acquainted with Van Gogh. How many of the details of the story are based on fact is not known. However, Maugham had visited the place where Gauguin lived in Tahiti, and purchased some glass panels painted by Gauguin in his final days.
About the title
According to some sources, the title, the meaning of which is not explicitly revealed in the book, was taken from a review of Of Human Bondage in which the novel's protagonist, Philip Carey, is described as "so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet." Presumably Strickland's "moon" is the idealistic realm of Art and Beauty, while the "sixpence" represents human relationships and the ordinary pleasures of life.
Adaptations
The book was filmed by Albert Lewin in 1943. The film stars George Sanders as Charles Strickland.
The novel served as the basis for an opera, also titled The Moon and Sixpence, by John Gardner to a libretto by Patrick Terry; it was premiered at Covent Garden in 1958.
Writer S Lee Pogostin adapted it for American TV in 1959. It starred Laurence Olivier
In popular culture
In the opening scene of Francois Truffaut's cinematic adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, several firemen are preparing books for burning. In the crowd of onlookers is a little boy who picks up one of the books and thumbs through it before his father takes it from him and throws it on the pile with the rest. That book is The Moon and Sixpence.
Plot summary
The novel is written largely from the point of view of the narrator, who is first introduced to the character of Strickland through his (Strickland's) wife and strikes him (the narrator) as unremarkable. Certain chapters are entirely composed of the stories or narrations of others which the narrator himself is recalling from memory (selectively editing or elaborating on certain aspects of dialogue, particularly Strickland's, as Strickland is said by the narrator to be limited in his use of verbiage and tended to use gestures in his expression).
Strickland, a well-off, middle-class stock broker in London some time in the late 19th or the first half of the 20th century. Early in the novel, he leaves his wife and children and goes to Paris, living a destitute but defiantly content life there as an artist (specifically a painter), lodging in run-down hotels and falling prey to both illness and hunger. Strickland, in his drive to express through his art what appears to continually possess and compel him inside, cares nothing for physical comfort and is generally ignorant to his surroundings, but is generously supported while in Paris by a commercially successful yet unexceptional Dutch painter, Dirk Stroeve, a friend of the narrator's, who immediately recognizes Strickland's genius. After helping Strickland recover from a life-threatening condition, Stroeve is repaid by having his wife, Blanche, abandon him for Strickland. Strickland later discards the wife (all he really sought from Blanche was a model to paint, not serious companionship, and it is hinted in the novel's dialogue that he indicated this to her and she took the risk anyway), who then commits suicide - yet another human casualty (the first ones being his own established life and those of his wife and children) in Strickland's single-minded pursuit of Art and Beauty.
After the Paris episode, the story continues in Tahiti. Strickland has already died, and the narrator attempts to piece together his life there from the recollections of others. He finds that Strickland had taken up with a native woman, had at least one child by her (only a son is directly referenced) and started painting profusely. We learn that Strickland had settled for a short while in the French port of Marseilles before traveling to Tahiti, where he lived for a few years before finally dying of leprosy. Strickland left behind numerous paintings, but his magnum opus, which he painted on the walls of his hut in a half-crazed state of leprosy-induced blindness, was burnt down after his death by his wife by his dying orders.
Inspiration
The inspiration for this story, Gauguin, is considered to be the founder of primitivism in art. The main differences between Gauguin and Strickland are that Gauguin was French rather than English, and whilst Maugham describes the character of Strickland as being largely ignorant of his contemporaries in Modern art (as well as largely ignorant of other artists in general), Gauguin himself was well acquainted with Van Gogh. How many of the details of the story are based on fact is not known. However, Maugham had visited the place where Gauguin lived in Tahiti, and purchased some glass panels painted by Gauguin in his final days.
About the title
According to some sources, the title, the meaning of which is not explicitly revealed in the book, was taken from a review of Of Human Bondage in which the novel's protagonist, Philip Carey, is described as "so busy yearning for the moon that he never saw the sixpence at his feet." Presumably Strickland's "moon" is the idealistic realm of Art and Beauty, while the "sixpence" represents human relationships and the ordinary pleasures of life.
Adaptations
The book was filmed by Albert Lewin in 1943. The film stars George Sanders as Charles Strickland.
The novel served as the basis for an opera, also titled The Moon and Sixpence, by John Gardner to a libretto by Patrick Terry; it was premiered at Covent Garden in 1958.
Writer S Lee Pogostin adapted it for American TV in 1959. It starred Laurence Olivier
In popular culture
In the opening scene of Francois Truffaut's cinematic adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, several firemen are preparing books for burning. In the crowd of onlookers is a little boy who picks up one of the books and thumbs through it before his father takes it from him and throws it on the pile with the rest. That book is The Moon and Sixpence.