The Moon And Sixpence 43.7

I think, even, he hated the inevitable partner in his debauchery. When he had regained command over himself, he shuddered at the sight of the woman he had enjoyed. His thoughts floated then serenely in the empyrean, and he felt towards her the horror that perhaps the painted butterfly, hovering about the flowers, feels to the filthy chrysalis from which it has triumphantly emerged. I suppose that art is a manifestation of the sexual instinct. It is the same emotion which is excited in the human heart by the sight of a lovely woman, the Bay of Naples under the yellow moon, and the Entombment of Titian. It is possible that Strickland hated the normal release of sex because it seemed to him brutal by comparison with the satisfaction of artistic creation. It seems strange even to myself, when I have described a man who was cruel, selfish, brutal and sensual, to say that he was a great idealist. The fact remains.

He lived more poorly than an artisan. He worked harder. He cared nothing for those things which with most people make life gracious and beautiful. He was indifferent to money. He cared nothing about fame. You cannot praise him because he resisted the temptation to make any of those compromises with the world which most of us yield to. He had no such temptation. It never entered his head that compromise was possible. He lived in Paris more lonely than an anchorite in the deserts of Thebes. He asked nothing his fellows except that they should leave him alone. He was single-hearted in his aim, and to pursue it he was willing to sacrifice not only himself -- many can do that -- but others. He had a vision.

Strickland was an odious man, but I still think he was a great one.

我想他甚至讨厌他在淫逸放纵中那必不可少的伴侣；在他重新控制住自己以后，看到那个他发泄情欲的女人，他甚至会不寒而栗。他的思想这时会平静地飘浮在九天之上，他对那个女人感到又嫌恶又可怕，也许那感觉就象一只翩翩飞舞于花丛中的蝴蝶，见到它胜利地蜕身出来的肮脏的蛹壳一样。我认为艺术也是性本能的一种流露。一个漂亮的女人、金黄的月亮照耀下的那不勒斯海湾，或者提香①的名画《墓穴》，在人们心里勾起的是同样的感情。很可能思特里克兰德讨厌通过性行为发泄自己的感情（这本来是很正常的），因为他觉得同通过艺术创造取得自我满足相比，这是粗野的。在我描写这样一个残忍、自私、粗野、肉欲的人时，竟把他写成是个精神境界极高的人，我自己也觉得奇怪。但是我认为这是事实。

①提香（1490—1576），意大利威尼斯派画家。

作为一个艺术家，他的生活比任何其他艺术家都更困苦。他工作得比其他艺术家也更艰苦。大多数人认为会把生活装点得更加优雅、美丽的那些东西，思特里克兰德是不屑一顾的。对于名和利他都无动于衷。我们大多数人受不住各种引诱，总要对世俗人情做一些让步；你却无法赞扬思特里克兰德抵拒得住这些诱惑，因为对他说来，这种诱惑是根本不存在的。他的脑子里从来没有想到要做任何妥协、让步。他住在巴黎，比住在底比斯沙漠里的隐士生活还要孤独。对于别的人他没有任何要求，只求人家别打扰他。他一心一意追求自己的目标，为了达到这个目的他不仅甘愿牺牲自己——这一点很多人还是能做到的——，而且就是牺牲别人也在所不惜。他自己有一个幻境。

思特里克兰德是个惹人嫌的人，但是尽管如此，我还是认为他是一个伟大的人。