科学怪人 Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven One day in the spring a young lady arrived at the cottage. As soon as he saw her, Felix's expression changed from sadness to great joy. When the young lady spoke to the cottagers, they did not understand her. It seemed she had a language of her own. She was very beautiful, with dark hair and eyes. Felix called her his 'sweet Arabian'. She did not understand but smiled. The old man embraced the young stranger affectionately. Gentle Agatha kissed her hands. 'In the evening I noticed that the cottagers were repeating the same sounds again and again. The young stranger repeated after them. I realized that they were teaching her their language. If I listened, I too could learn. When the stranger went to bed, Felix said, 'Goodnight, sweet Safie.' 'The days passed peacefully. The only difference was that now my cottagers were happy instead of sad. Safie and I learned the language very quickly. Meanwhile, the woods were full of flowers, and the nights grew warm and pleasant. 'My days were spent in study. I learned more quickly than Safie. We learned to read as well as to speak. The book Felix used to teach. Safie was Volney's Ruins of Empires. Felix explained everything as he read aloud. Through this book I learned a little about the histories, governments, customs, and religions of many different countries. I heard of the Greeks and early Romans. I heard of the decline of the Roman Empire, chivalry, Christianity, and kings. I heard of the discovery of America and wept with Safie over the sad fate of the American Indians. 'These stories amazed me. How could human beings be so powerful, noble, and good, but, at the same time, so violent and evil? I learned of the division of property, the rich and the poor, and of aristocratic families. 'I learned that to be rich and from an aristocratic family was the best condition. A person could be respected with only one of these advantages, but with neither of them he was a slave. He had to work for the good of the fortunate few. 'And what was I? I knew nothing of my creator. I had no money, no friends, and no property, and I was horribly ugly. I was not even a human being. I saw and heard of no others like me. The smiles of Safie and the gentle words of Agatha were not for me. I was a monster, alone in the world. My sadness grew with my knowledge. I wished that I had stayed in the woods and never known anything more than hunger, thirst, and cold.'