Убийство на улице Морг. Уровень 1 / The Murders in the Rue Morgue
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© С. А. Матвеев, адаптация текста, коммент., упраж. и словарь, 2023
© ООО «Издательство АСТ», 2023
The Murders in the Rue Morgue
We can hardly analyse our mental features[1]. We appreciate them only in their effects[2]. We know, that they are a source of the largest enjoyment. As the athlete finds his delight in the hardest exercises, so the analyst finds pleasure in enigmas, conundrums, and hieroglyphics. An ordinary man thinks that it is just magic. The wonderful results have, in truth[3], the whole air of intuition.
The faculty of resolution can possibly exist thanks to the mathematical study, and especially to that highest branch of it which is called analysis. But to calculate does not mean to analyse. A chess-player, for example, calculates but he does not analyse. So the game of chess is greatly misunderstood. I am not now writing a treatise, but I am sure that the game of draughts[4] is much cleverer than chess. In chess, what is only complex is mistaken (a not unusual error[5]) for what is profound. The most important thing here is attention. If an oversight is committed, there is a defeat. The chances of such oversights are multiplied; and in nine cases out of ten[6] it is the more concentrative rather than the more acute player who conquers. In draughts, on the contrary, where the moves are unique, less attention is required. To be less abstract-let us suppose a game of draughts where the pieces are reduced to four kings[7], and where, of course, no oversight is to be expected. It is obvious that here the victory can come only by the good movement, the result of some strong exertion of the intellect. The analyst tries to understand the spirit of his opponent, identifies himself therewith[8], and very often sees thus, at a glance[9], the sole simple methods by which he may hurry into miscalculation.
Whist[10] is famous for its calculating power; and men of the highest order of intellect are known to play it, while eschewing chess as frivolous. Beyond doubt it demands the faculty of analysis. The best chess-player in the world is merely the player of chess; but proficiency in whist implies capacity for success, here mind struggles with mind. I mean that perfection in the game which includes a comprehension of all the sources which lead to the victory. This is inaccessible to the ordinary understanding. To observe attentively is to remember distinctly; and, so far[11], the concentrative chess-player will do very well at whist. People think that to play well just means to know how to play. But the analyst makes, in silence, many observations and inferences. So, perhaps, do his companions; and the difference lies in the quality of the observation. Our player examines the face of his partner, comparing it carefully with that of each of his opponents. He notices the cards in each hand; often guessing them through the glances bestowed by their holders upon each[12]. He notes every variation of face as the play progresses, thinking about the expression of certainty, of surprise, of triumph, or of chagrin.
The analytical power should not be confounded with simple ingenuity; for while the analyst is necessarily ingenious, the ingenious man is often incapable of analysis. Between ingenuity and the analytic ability there exists a difference far greater, indeed, than that between the fancy and the imagination. In fact, the ingenious are always fanciful, and the truly imaginative are often analytic.
The story which follows will prove to the reader these words.
During the spring and part of the summer of 18-, I lived in Paris, and there I became acquainted with a Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin[13]. This young gentleman was of an excellent family, but, by a variety of some events, lost nearly all his money. He had a small part of his patrimony[14]; and he managed to survive. Books, indeed, were his only luxuries, and in Paris the books are easily obtained.
Our first meeting was at the library in the Rue Montmartre[15], where we both looked for the same very rare and very remarkable volume. After that, we saw each other again and again. I was deeply interested in his family history which he told me. I was astonished at his mind, and I notices the vivid freshness of his imagination. I felt that the society of such a man would be to me a treasure beyond price[16]. We decided to live together during my stay in the city; and I rented a grotesque mansion in a desolate portion of the Faubourg St. Germain[17].
Our seclusion was perfect. We admitted no visitors. Indeed the locality of our retirement was a secret from my friends; and Dupin left Paris very gladly.
My new friend adored the night. So we tried to make the night longer. At the first dawn of the morning we closed all the shutters of our old building. Then we read, wrote, or talked, waiting for the true Darkness. Then we went out, continuing our conversation.
At such times I could not help admiring[18] a peculiar analytic ability in Dupin. He seemed, too, to be very proud of it. He boasted to me that most men, in respect to himself, were very simple, and that he could understand them very well. His manner at these moments was frigid and abstract; his eyes were empty. Observing him in these moods, I often thought about two different Dupins-the creative and the resolvent.
Once we looked over an evening edition of the “Gazette des Tribunaux,”[19] when the following paragraphs drew our attention.
“EXTRAORDINARY MURDERS.
This morning, about three o’clock, the inhabitants of the Quartier St. Roch[20] were aroused from sleep by a succession of terrific shrieks. The shrieks came, apparently, from the fourth story of a house in the Rue Morgue[21], where Madame L’Espanaye[22], and her daughter, Mademoiselle Camille L’Espanaye[23], lived. After some delay, the gateway was broken, and eight or ten of the neighbors entered, accompanied by two gendarmes. By this time the cries ceased; but, as the party rushed up the first flight of stairs, two or more rough voices were distinguished, and seemed to proceed from the upper part of the house. As the second landing was reached, these sounds, also, ceased, and everything remained perfectly quiet. The party hurried from room to room. When the people came to the large back chamber in the fourth story, (the door of which, locked with the key inside, was forced open[24],) everybody was struck with horror than with astonishment.
- Грозовой перевал / Wuthering Heights
- Алиса в стране чудес / Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
- Приключения Шерлока Холмса. Пестрая лента / The Adventure of the Speckled Band
- Приключения Шерлока Холмса: Собака Баскервилей / The Hound of the Baskervilles
- Сказки / Fairy Tales
- Питер Пен / Peter Pan
- Рассказы / Short Stories
- Портрет Дориана Грея / The Picture of Dorian Gray
- Принц и нищий / The Prince and the Pauper
- Красавица и чудовище / The Beauty and the Beast
- Гордость и предубеждение / Pride and Prejudice
- Всадник без головы / The Headless Horseman
- Золушка. Спящая красавица. Рапунцель / Cinderella. The Sleeping Beauty. Rapunzel
- Английские сказки / English Fairy Tales. Алиса в стране чудес / Alice's Adventures In Wonderland. Удивительный волшебник из страны Оз / The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Остров сокровищ / Treasure Island. Питер Пен / Peter Pan
- Рассказы / Short Stories. Собака Баскервилей / The Hound of the Baskervilles
- Портрет Дориана Грея / The Picture of Dorian Grey. Великий Гэтсби / The Great Gatsby
- Удивительный волшебник из страны Оз / The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
- Похищенный / Kidnapped
- Приключения Шерлока Холмса: Пляшущие человечки / The Adventure of the Dancing Men
- Алиса в Зазеркалье / Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There
- Робинзон Крузо / Robinson Crusoe
- Кот в сапогах. Красная шапочка / Puss in Boots. Little Red Riding Hood
- Красавица и чудовище. Золушка. Спящая красавица. Рапунцель. Волшебная лампа Аладдина / The Beauty and the Beast. Cinderella. The Sleeping Beauty. Rapunzel. The Story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
- Great Expectations / Большие надежды
- The Three Little Pigs / Три поросенка и другие сказки
- Приключения Шерлока Холмса / The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (сборник)
- Принцесса Кентербери и другие английские легенды / Princess of Canterbury (сборник)
- Гордость и предубеждение / Pride and Prejudice. Большие надежды / Great Expectations
- Белый клык / White Fang
- Айвенго / Ivanhoe
- The Call of the Wild / Зов предков
- Приключения Шерлока Холмса: Человек с рассеченной губой / The Man with the Twisted Lip
- Любимые английские сказки / My Favourite English Fairy Tales
- The Woman in White / Женщина в белом
- The Lost World / Затерянный мир
- Приключения Шерлока Холмса: Союз Рыжих / The Red-Headed League
- English Legends / Английские легенды
- English Fairy Tales / Английские сказки
- Best English Jokes / Лучшие английские анекдоты
- Short Funny Stories / Самые смешные рассказы
- Волшебная лампа Аладдина / The Story of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
- Загадочная история Бенджамина Баттона / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
- Джейн Эйр / Jane Eyre
- Английские анекдоты / English Jokes
- Английский с улыбкой. Охотничьи рассказы / Tales of the Long Bow
- Маленькая принцесса / A Little Princess
- Лучшие истории о любви / Best love stories
- Лучшие английские сказки / Best english fairy tales
- Мартин Иден / Martin Eden
- Английские сказки для мальчиков / English Fairy Tales for Boys
- Английские сказки для девочек / English Fairy Tales for Girls
- Поллианна / Pollyanna
- Лучшие смешные рассказы / Best Funny Stories
- Самые лучшие английские легенды / The Best English Legends
- Лучшие английские легенды / The Best English Legends
- Самые лучшие английские анекдоты / The Best English Jokes
- Самые лучшие английские сказки / The best english fairy tales
- Дракула / Dracula
- Смешные рассказы / The Funny Stories
- Сердца трёх / Hearts of three
- Лучшие любовные истории / The Best Love Stories
- Кентервильское привидение / The Canterville Ghost
- Путешествие к центру Земли / A journey to the centre of the Earth
- Сказки дядюшки Римуса / Tales of Uncle Remus
- The Call of Cthulhu / Зов Ктулху
- The Old Curiosity Shop / Лавка древностей
- Таинственный остров / Mysterious Island
- Маленькая хозяйка большого дома / The Little Lady Of The Big House
- The Code of the Woosters / Фамильная честь Вустеров
- Остров сокровищ / Treasure Island
- Вокруг света за 80 дней / Around the World in 80 Days
- Эмма / Emma
- Записки о Шерлоке Холмсе: Союз рыжих. Человек с рассеченной губой / The Red-Headed League. The Man With The Twisted Lip
- Снежная королева / The Snow Queen
- Этот неподражаемый Дживс! / The Inimitable Jeeves
- Маленький принц / The Little Prince
- Дети капитана Гранта / The Children of Captain Grant
- Коралина / Coraline
- Алиса в Зазеркалье / Through the Looking-glass, and What Alice Found There
- Великий Гэтсби / The Great Gatsby
- Двадцать тысяч лье под водой / Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
- Собор Парижской богоматери / Notre-Dame de Paris
- Странник по звездам / The Star-Rover
- Рассказы / Short Stories
- Призрак оперы / The Phantom of the Opera
- Трое в лодке, не считая собаки / Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)
- Повелитель мух / Lord of the Flies
- Странная история доктора Джекила и мистера Хайда / Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Котенок Пушистик / Fluffy the Kitten
- Легенда о Сонной Лощине / The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
- О дивный новый мир / Brave New World. 4 уровень
- Русские сказки на английском языке / Russian Fairy Tales
- Romeo and Juliet. Othello / Ромео и Джульетта. Отелло
- The Beautiful and Damned / Прекрасные и обреченные. Уровень 4
- The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen / Приключения барона Мюнхгаузена. Уровень 1
- Сердца трех / Hearts of three. Уровень 3
- Пятнадцатилетний капитан / Dick Sand. A Captain at Fifteen. Уровень 2
- Синяя птица / The blue Bird. Уровень 1
- Маленькие женщины / Little Women. Уровень 3
- Этюд в багровых тонах / A Study in Scarlet
- Сказки / Fairy Tales. Уровень 1
- Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 3
- Великий Гэтсби / The Great Gatsby. Уровень 5
- Все приключения Шерлока Холмса. Сборник. Уровень 2
- Сборник лучших английских сказок. Уровень 1
- Gone with the Wind / Унесённые ветром. Уровень 3
- Сборник лучших произведений американской классической литературы. Уровень 4
- Сборник лучших произведений английской классической литературы. Уровень 3
- Funny stories / Сборник лучших смешных рассказов. Уровень 2
- H. C. Andersen best fairy tales / Лучшие сказки Г.Х. Андерсена. Уровень 1
- Приключения Пиноккио / The adventures of Pinocchio. Уровень 1
- Страшные сказки / Scary stories
- Франкенштейн, или Современный Прометей / Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. Уровень 2
- Хорошие жёны / Good wives. Уровень 3
- Скорбь сатаны / The sorrows of Satan. Уровень 4
- Таинственный сад / The secret garden
- Вокруг света за 80 дней / Around the World in Eighty Days
- Человек, который смеется / The Man Who Laughs. Уровень 4
- The Haunted Hotel / Отель с привидениями
- Финансист / The Financier
- Wuthering Heights / Грозовой перевал. Уровень 3
- Animal farm / Скотный двор. Уровень 2
- Sense and Sensibility / Чувство и чувствительность. Уровень 3
- Зов Ктулху / The Call of Cthulhu. Уровень 2
- Маленькие мужчины / Little men. Уровень 4
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs / Белоснежка и семь гномов. Уровень 1
- Сельский вампир и другие истории Отца Брауна / Vampire of the Village and other Father Brown Stories. Уровень 3
- Princess of Mars / Принцесса Марса. Уровень 2
- Таинственный остров / The Mysterious Island. Уровень 2
- Золотой жук. Уровень 1 / The Gold-bug
- Сборник самых известных английских легенд. Уровень 1
- Маленький Лорд Фаунтлерой. Уровень 1 / Little Lord Fauntleroy
- Энн из Зеленых Крыш. Уровень 1 / Anne of Green Gables
- Искусство войны. Уровень 2 / The Art of War
- Эмма. Уровень 3 / Emma
- The Story of Doctor Dolittle / История Доктора Дулиттла. Уровень 1
- The War of the Worlds / Война миров. Уровень 2
- Клуб самоубийц. Уровень 2 / The Suicide Club
- Мертвая комната. Уровень 2 / The Dead Secret
- Лучшие сказки загадочной Шотландии. Уровень 1 / The Best Tales of Enchanted Scotland
- Незнакомка из Уайлдфелл-Холла. Уровень 2 / The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
- На маяк. Уровень 3 / To the Lighthouse
- Сказки про кролика Питера. Уровень 1 / The Tale of Peter Rabbit
- Убийство на улице Морг. Уровень 1 / The Murders in the Rue Morgue
- Большие надежды. Уровень 2 / Great Expectations
- Сердце тьмы. Уровень 2 / Heart of Darkness
- Поворот винта. Уровень 1 / The Turn of the Screw
- Кельтские сумерки. Уровень 1 / The Celtic Twilight
- Дом с привидениями. Уровень 2 / A Haunted House