time enough for love-时间足够你爱(英文版)-第43章

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e　that　you　will　not　insist。　I　do　hope　so；　sir。〃　…
　　
　　〃Urn。　All　right；　all　right。　But　next　time　you　chop　out　a　day…or　a　week；　or　whatever…warn　me。　So　that　I　can　leave　a　bedtime　story　on　file　with　Minerva。　No；　that　won't　do；　you　don't　want　me　to　know。　Okay；　I'll　keep　stories　on　file　with　Minerva　and　you　warn　her；　instead。〃
　　
　　〃I　will；　Grandfather。　It　does　help　when　the　client　cooper…
　　
　　ates；　especially　by　paying　as　little　…attention　…to　what　we　do　as　possible。〃　Ishtar　smiled　briefly。　〃The　client　we　dread　is　another　rejuvenator。　Worries　and　tries　to　run　things。〃
　　
　　〃Small　wonder。　I　know；　dear；　I　have　that　horrid　habit　of　trying　to　run　things。　myself。　The　only　way　I　can　keep　from　It　is　by　staying　out　of　the　control　room。　So　when　I　get　too　nosy；　tell　me　to　shut　up。　But　how　are　we　doing？　How　much　longer　do　I　have　to　go？〃
　　
　　Ishtar　answered　hesitantly；　〃Perhaps　this　is　a　time　when　I　should　tell　you　to　。　。　'shut　up。〃
　　
　　〃That's　it！　But　firmer；　dear。　'Get　out　of　my　control　room；　you　custardtheaded　dolt；　and　stay　out！'　Make　him　realize　that；　if　he　doesn't　jump；　you'll　toss　him　into　the　brig。　Now　try　it　again。〃
　　
　　Ishtar　grinned　widely。　〃Grandfather；　you're　an　old　fraud。〃
　　
　　〃So　I've　long　suspected。　I　was　hoping　it　didn't　show。　All　right；　the　subject　is　'love。'　Minerva；　the　Hamadarling　says　you　told　her　that　it　can't　be　defined　in　Galacta。　Got　anything　to　add　to　that？〃
　　
　　〃Tei~t~ely　yes；　Lazarus。　May　I　reserve　my　answer　until　the　others　speak？〃
　　
　　〃Suit　yourself。　Galahad；　you　talk　less　and…　listen　more　than　anybody　else　in　the　family。　Want　to　try　it？〃
　　
　　'~Well；　sir；　I　hadn't　realized　that　there　was　any　mystery
　　
　　…　about　'love'　until　I　heard　Hamadryad　ask　about　it。　But　I'm　still　learning　English。　By　the　naturalistic　method　the　way　a　child　learns　his　milk　language。　No　grammar；　no　syntax；　no　dictionary…just　listen　and　talk　and　read　it。　Acquire　new　words　by　context。　By　that　method　I　acquired　a~　f~ling　that　'love'　means　the　shared　ecstasy　that　can　be　attained　through　sex。　Is　that　right？〃　…　…　。　…
　　
　　〃Son；　I　hate　to　say　this…because；　if　you've　been　reading　a　lo？　of　English；　I　see　how　you　reached　that　opinion…but　you　are　one　hundred　percent　wrong。〃
　　
　　Ishtar　looked　startled。　Galahad　simply　looked　thoughtful。　〃Then　I　must　go　back　and　read　some　more。〃
　　
　　〃Don't　bother；　Galahad。　Most　of　those　writers　1ou've　been　reading　misuse　the　word　just　that　way。　Shucks；　F　misused　it　for　years　myself；　it's　a　prime　example　of　the　slipperiness　of　the　English　tongue。　But；　whatever　'love'　is1　it's　not　sex。　I'm　not　running　down　sex。　If　there　is　a　purpose　in　life　more　important　than　two　people　cooperating　in　making　a　baby；　all　the　philosophers　in　history　haven't　been　able　to　find　it。　And　between　babies；　the　practice　runs　keep　up　our　zest　m　hfe　and
　　
　　make　tolerable　the　…fact　that　raising　S　…　baby　is　…one　hell　of　a　lot　of　work。　But　that's　not　love。　Love　is　something　that　still　goes　on　when　you　are　not　sexually　excited。　It　being　so　stipulated；　who　wants　to　try　it？　Ira；　how　about　you？　You　know　English　better　than　the　others；　you　speak　it　almost　as　well　as　Ido。〃
　　
　　第17节
　　
　　〃I　speak　it　better　than　you　do；　Gramp；　I　speak　it　grammatically；　which　you　do　not。〃
　　
　　〃Don't　praggle　me；　boy；　I'll　quang　you　proper。　Shakespeare　and　I　never　…　let　grammar　interfere　with　expressing　ourselves。　Why；　he　said　to　me　once…〃
　　
　　〃Oh；　stop　it！　He　died　three　centuries　before　you　were　born。〃
　　
　　〃He　did；　huh？　They　opened　his　grave　once　and　found　it　empty。　The　fact　is；　he　was　a　half　brother　of　Queen　Elizabeth　and　dyed　his　hair　to　make　the…　truth　less　obvious。　The　；other　fact　is　that　they　were　closing　in…　on　him；　so　he…'　switched。　I've　died　that　way　several…　times。　Ira；　his　will　left　his　'second…best　bed'　to　his　wife。　…Look　up　who　got　his　best　bed　and　you'll　begin　to　figure　out　what　really　happened。　Do　you　want　to　try　to　define　'love'？〃
　　
　　〃No。　You　would　change　the　rules　'again。　All　you　have　done　so　far　is　to　divide　the　field　of　experience　called　'love'　into　the　same　categories　Minerva　divided　it　into；　when　you　asked　her　this　same　question　weeks　ago…namely；　'Eros'　and　'Agate。'　But　you　avoided　using　those　technical　words　for　the　subfleld~　and　by　this　sophistry　you　attempted　to　exclude　the　general　term　from　one　subfield　and　thereby　claimed　that　the　term　tObe　defined　was　limited　to　…　the　other　subfield…which　set　it　up…'　for　you　to　define　'love'　as　identically　equal　to　'Agape。'　But　again　without　using　…that　word。　It　won't　work；　Lazarus　…　To…　use　your　own　metaphor；。　I　saw　you　palm　that　card。〃　…
　　
　　Lazarus　shook　his　head　admiringly。　〃There　are　no　thea　on　you；　boy；　I　did　a　good　job　when　I　thought　you　up。　Someday　when　we　have　time　to　waste；　let's　have　a　go　at　solipsism。〃
　　
　　〃e　cuff　it；　Lazarus。　You　can't　bulldoze　me　the　way　you　did　Galahad。　The　subcategories　are　still　'Eros'　and　'Agape。'　'Agape'　is　~e；　'Eros'　is　so　mon　that　it　is　almost　inevitable　that　…Galahad　a~鐀uired　the　feeling　that　'Eros'　is　the　total　meaning　of　tbm~QTd　love'　Now　you　have　unfairly　confused　him　since　he　ai~ibnes…sncortectly…that　you　are　a　reliable　authority　with　respect　to　the　English　language。〃
　　
　　Lazarus　chuckled。　〃Ira；　m'boy；　when　I　was　a　kid；　they　sold　that　Stuff　by　the　wagonload　to　grow　alfalfa。　Those　technical
　　
　　~vords　were　thought　up　by　armchair　experts　of　'the　same　sort　as　theologians。　Which　gives　them　the　same　standing　as　sex　manuals　written　by　celibate　priests。　Son；　I　avoided　those　fancy　categories　because　they　are　useless；　incorrect；　and　misleading。　There　can　be　sex　without　love；　and　love　without　sex；　and　situations　so　intermixed　that　nobody　can　sort　out　which　is　which。　But　love　can　be　defined；　an　exact　definition　that　does　not　resort　to　the　word　'sex；'　or　to…　question…begging　by　exclusion　through　the　use　of　such　words　as　'Eros'　and　'Agape。'〃
　　
　　〃So　define　it；〃　said　Ira。　〃I　promise　not　to　laugh。〃　…
　　
　　〃Not　yet。　The　trouble　with　defining　in　words　anything　as　basic　as　love　is　that　the　definition　can't　be　understood　by　anyone　who　has　not　experienced　it。　It's　like　the　ancient　dilemma　of　explaining　a　rainbow　to　a　person　blind　from　birth。　Yes；　Ishtar；　I　know　that　you　can　fit　such　a　person　with　cloned　…eyes　today…but　that　dilemma　was　inescapable　in　my　youth。　In　those　days　one　could　teach　such　an　unfortunate　all　the　physical　theory　of　the　electromagic　spectrum；　tell　him　precisely　an　eye　can　pick　up；　define　colors　to　him　in　terms　of　those　frequencies；　explain　exactly　how　the　mechanisms　of　refraction　and　reflection　produce　a　rainbow　ima~and　what　its　shape　is　and　how　the　frequencies　are　distributed　until　he　knew　all　about　rainbows　in　the　scientific　sense　。　…　but　you　still　couldn't　make　him　feel　the　breathless　wonder　that　the　sight　of　a　rainbow　inspires　in　a　man。　Minerva　is　better　off　than　that　man；　because　she　can　see。　Minerva　dear；　do　you　ever　look　at　rainbows？〃　…
　　
　　〃Whenever　possible；　Lazarus。　Whenever　one　of　my　sensor　extensionals　can　see　one。　Fascinating！〃
　　
　　〃That's　it。　Minerva　can　see　a　rainbow；　a　blind　man　can't。　Electromagic　Theory　is　irrelevant　to　the　experience。〃
　　
　　〃Lazarus；〃　Mi