Mayhew By w.s. Maugham The lives of most men are determined by their environment. They accept the circumstances amid which fate has thrown them not only with resignation but even with good will. They are like streetcars running contentedly on their rails and they despise the sprightly flivver that dashes in and out of the traffic and speeds so jauntily'across the open country. I respect them; they are good citizens, good husbands, and good fathers, and of course somebody has to pay the taxes but I do not find them exciting. I am fascinated by the men, few enough in all conscience, who take life in their own hands and seem to mould it to their own liking. It may be that we have no such thing as free will, but at all events we have the illusion of it. At a cross-road it does seem to us that we might go either to the right or the left and, the choice once made, it is difficult to see that the whole course of the worlds history obliged us to take the turning we did I never met a more interesting man than Mayhew. He was a lawyer in Detroit. He was an able and a successful one. by the time he was thirty-five he had a large and a lucrative practice, he had amassed a competence, and he stood on the threshold of a distinguished career. He had an acute brain, an attractive personality, and uprightness There was no reason why he should not become, financially or politically, a power in the land. One evening he was sitting in his club with a group of friends and they were perhaps a little worse (or the better for liquor One of them had recently come from Italy and he told them of a house he had seen at Capri, a house on the hill overlooking the Bay of Naples, with a large and shady garden. He described to them the beauty of the most beautiful island in the mediterranean "It sounds fine said Mayhew. "Is that house for sale? "Everything is for sale in Italy "Let's send 'em a cable and make an offer for it "What in heaven s name would you do with a house in Capri? Live in it, said Mayhew. He sent for a cable form, wrote it out, and dispatched it. In a few hours the reply came back. The offer was accepted. Mayhew was no hypocrite and he made no secret of the fact that he would never have done so wild a thing if he had been sober. but They accept the circumstances amid which fate has thrown them not only with resignation but even with good will:他们在命运的拨弄面前,不仅逆来顺受,甚至还能随遇而安。 2 Flivver:廉价小汽车。 3 Jauntily:得意洋洋地,神气活现地。 4 In all conscience:公正地说,凭良心说。 5 At all events:在任何情况下,不论怎样 6 Lucrative practice:利润大的、赚钱多的生意。 7 Become, financially or politically, a power in the land:在这个国家里变得有钱或者有势 8 They were perhaps a little worse(or the better)for liquor:有的人有些醉意,其他人则清醒一些。 ° Capri:卡布里岛,位于那不勒斯湾以南30公里的海面 o0 The Bay of Naples;那不勒斯湾,意大利南部海湾,以风景优美著名 11 Send' em a cable:即 send them a cable,给他们发一封电报Mayhew By W.S. Maugham The lives of most men are determined by their environment. They accept the circumstances amid which fate has thrown them not only with resignation but even with good will1 . They are like streetcars running contentedly on their rails and they despise the sprightly flivver2 that dashes in and out of the traffic and speeds so jauntily 3 across the open country. I respect them; they are good citizens, good husbands, and good fathers, and of course somebody has to pay the taxes; but I do not find them exciting. I am fascinated by the men, few enough in all conscience 4 , who take life in their own hands and seem to mould it to their own liking. It may be that we have no such thing as free will, but at all events5 we have the illusion of it. At a cross-road it does seem to us that we might go either to the right or the left and, the choice once made, it is difficult to see that the whole course of the world's history obliged us to take the turning we did. I never met a more interesting man than Mayhew. He was a lawyer in Detroit. He was an able and a successful one. By the time he was thirty-five he had a large and a lucrative practice6 , he had amassed a competence, and he stood on the threshold of a distinguished career. He had an acute brain, an attractive personality, and uprightness. There was no reason why he should not become, financially or politically, a power in the land7 . One evening he was sitting in his club with a group of friends and they were perhaps a little worse (or the better) for liquor8 . One of them had recently come from Italy and he told them of a house he had seen at Capri 9 , a house on the hill, overlooking the Bay of Naples10, with a large and shady garden. He described to them the beauty of the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean. "It sounds fine," said Mayhew. "Is that house for sale?" "Everything is for sale in Italy." "Let's send'em a cable11 and make an offer for it." "What in heaven's name would you do with a house in Capri?" "Live in it," said Mayhew. He sent for a cable form, wrote it out, and dispatched it. In a few hours the reply came back. The offer was accepted. Mayhew was no hypocrite and he made no secret of the fact that he would never have done so wild a thing if he had been sober, but 1 They accept the circumstances amid which fate has thrown them not only with resignation but even with good will:他们在命运的拨弄面前，不仅逆来顺受，甚至还能随遇而安。 2 Flivver:廉价小汽车。 3 Jauntily: 得意洋洋地，神气活现地。 4 In all conscience:公正地说，凭良心说。 5 At all events:在任何情况下，不论怎样。 6 Lucrative practice:利润大的、赚钱多的生意。 7 Become, financially or politically, a power in the land:在这个国家里变得有钱或者有势。 8 They were perhaps a little worse (or the better) for liquor:有的人有些醉意，其他人则清醒一些。 9 Capri:卡布里岛，位于那不勒斯湾以南 30 公里的海面。 10 The Bay of Naples:那不勒斯湾，意大利南部海湾，以风景优美著名。 11 Send’em a cable:即 send them a cable, 给他们发一封电报