胡適喜歡法朗士短篇小說The Juggler甚於中篇小說Thaïs

胡適日記全集, 第 6卷 1930-33
1930.10.3  p.288
胡適喜歡法朗士短篇小說The Juggler甚於中篇小說Thaïs (有多種漢譯)




The Juggler of Notre Dame is the English-language title of the following works:

Le Jongleur de Notre Dame is a religious miracle story by the French author Anatole France, published in 1892 and based on an old medieval legend. Similar to the later Christmas carol The Little Drummer Boy, it tells the story of a juggler turned monk who has no gift to offer a statue of the Virgin Mary except for his ability to juggle well. Upon doing so, he is accused of blasphemy by the other monks, but the statue comes to life and blesses the juggler. It was made into an opera by composer Jules Massenet in 1902 (see Le jongleur de Notre-Dame), but "straight" dramatic versions have also been produced.


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Thaïs is a novel by Anatole France published in 1890. It is based on events in the life of Saint Thaïs of Egypt, a legendary convert to Christianity who is said to have lived in the 4th century.^[1] It was the inspiration for the opera of the same name by Jules Massenet.^[2]

Contents 1 Summary 2 Adaptations 3 References 4 External links

Summary

Paphnuce, an ascetic hermit of the Egyptian desert, journeys to Alexandria to find Thais, the libertine beauty whom he knew as a youth. Masquerading as a dandy, he is able to speak with her about eternity; surprisingly he succeeds in converting her to Christianity. Yet on their return to the desert he becomes fascinated with her former life. She enters a convent to repent of her sins. He cannot forget the pull of her famous beauty, and becomes confused about the values of life. Later, as she is dying and can only see heaven opening before her, he comes to her side and tells her that her faith is an illusion, and that he loves her.^[3]