Signs of Character1性格特征

Wellington2 is said to have chosen his officers by their noses and chins. The standard for them in noses must have been rather high， to judge by the portraits of the Duke， but no doubt he made allowances. Anyhow， by this method he got the men he wanted. Some people， however， may think that he would have done better to have let the mouth be the deciding test. The lines of one’s nose are more or less arranged for one at birth. A baby， born with a snub nose， would feel it hard that the decision that he would be no use to Wellington should be come to so early. And even if he arrived in the world with a Roman nose， he might smash it up in childhood， and with it his chances of military fame. This， I think you will agree with me， would be unfair.

据说威灵顿公爵依据人们鼻子和下巴的形状选拔军官。单以公爵的画像而论，他为候选者的鼻子制定的标准想必很高，不过他无疑有所变通。不管怎样，他毕竟以这种方式找到了所需之人。然而，有些人可能认为，倘若他把嘴巴当作主要的检验依据，收效当会更佳。一个人的鼻子轮廓，或多或少在他出生之际便已注定。一个天生鼻塌的幼童，会觉得命运实在残酷，这么早就注定他将对威灵顿毫无用处。即便他带着一个罗马鼻来到世间，也没准会在儿时把它跌个粉碎，他扬名军界的希望亦随之破灭。这很不公平，你也许和我有此同感。

Now the mouth is much more likely to be a true index of character. A man may clench his teeth firmly or smile disdainfully or sneer， or do a hundred things which will be reflected in his mouth rather than in his nose or chin. It is through the mouth and eyes that all emotions are expressed， and in the mouth and eyes therefore that one would expect the marks of such emotions to be left. I did read once of a man whose nose quivered with rage， but it is not usual; I never heard of anyone whose chin did anything. It would be absurd to expect it to.

嘴巴远比鼻子更有可能是真正的性格表征。一个人可以咬紧牙关，或笑容轻蔑，或是冷嘲，抑或做出一百种表情，这都反映在嘴巴上，而不是鼻子或下巴上。所有的情绪都是通过眼睛和嘴巴加以体现，于是我们指望他的眼睛和嘴巴留下这些情绪的痕迹。我确曾读到某人气得鼻子颤抖，但这并非常见；我从未听说谁的下巴颏儿流露任何情绪特点。期待下巴做到这一点是滑稽可笑的。

But there arises now the objection that a man may conceal his mouth， and by that his character， with a moustache. There arises， too， the objection that a person whom you thought was a fool， because he always went about with his mouth open， may only have had a bad cold in the head. In fact the difficulties of telling anyone’s character by his face seem more insuperable3 every moment. How， then， are we to tell whether we may safely trust a man with our daughter， or our favourite golf club， or whatever we hold most dear？

但是如今有人提出异议，声称一个人借助一部胡须即可遮蔽他的嘴巴，并进而掩盖其性格。同时出现了另一种不同的看法，认为你瞧见某人走到哪里都是张着嘴巴，觉得他傻乎乎的，其实他大概只是头痛伤风而已。的确，看脸识人之难，于今似乎日甚一日。那么，我们怎样才能判断一个人是否值得我们放心地将女儿，或心爱的高尔夫球杆，抑或我们最珍视的任何事物托付于他呢？

Fortunately a benefactor has stepped in at the right moment with an article on the cigar-manner. Our gentleman has made the discovery that you can tell a man’s nature by the way he handles his cigar， and he gives a dozen illustrations to explain his theory. True， this leaves out of account4 the men who don’t smoke cigars; although， of course， you might sum them all up， with a certain amount of justification， as foolish. But you do get， I am assured， a very important index to the characters of smokers—which is as much as to say of the people who really count.

幸好一位救星及时出现，献上一篇有关吸雪茄姿势的文章。我们这位先生发现，你可以凭借一个人手执雪茄的姿势说出他的本性，并且提供了十余幅插图为自己的观点佐证。是的，他没把不抽雪茄的人考虑在内；诚然，你可以凭一定的理由将它们统统归为无稽之谈。但我确信，你无疑获得了一份非常重要的吸烟者性格指南，也就是那些大人物们的性格指南。

I am not going to reveal all the clues to you now; partly because I might be infringing the copyright of another， partly because I have forgotten them. But the idea roughly is that if a man holds his cigar between his finger and thumb， he is courageous and kind to animals （or whatever it may be）， and if he holds it between his first and second fingers he is impulsive but yet considerate to old ladies， and if he holds it upside down he is （besides being an ass） jealous and self-assertive， and if he sticks a knife into the stump so as to smoke it to the very end he is—yes， you have guessed this one—he is mean. You see what a useful thing a cigar may be.

我眼下无意向你透露所有的线索；半是因为这有侵犯他人版权之嫌，半是因为具体内容我已忘却。但文章的大意是，如果某人用食指和拇指捏住雪茄，那他天性勇敢且善待动物（或无论什么东西）；如果雪茄给他夹在食指和中指之间，那他行事冲动，却能体贴年长女士；如果他头尾颠倒地拿着雪茄，那他（愚蠢而外）嫉妒成性，惯于孤行专断；如果他用小刀插进烟头，以便拿着一直吸到最后一点，那他——对喽，这个你已经猜出来了——为人吝啬。你瞧雪茄这东西可真管用。

I think now I am sorry that this theory has been given to the world. Yes; I blame myself for giving it further publicity. In the old days when we bought—or better， had presented to us—a cigar， a doubt as to whether it was a good one was all that troubled us. We bit one end and lit the other， and， the doubt having been solved， proceeded tranquilly to enjoy ourselves. But all this will be changed now. We shall be horribly self-conscious. When we take our cigars from our mouths we shall feel our neighbours’ eyes rooted upon our hands， the while we try to remember which of all the possible manipulations is the one which represents virtue at its highest power. Speaking for myself， I hold my cigar in a dozen different ways during an evening （though never， of course， on the end of a knife）， and I tremble to think of the diabolically5 composite6 nature which the modern Wellingtons of the table must attribute to me. In future I see that I must concentrate on one method. If only I could remember the one which shows me at my best！

我此刻觉得我为这种观点播行于世而遗憾。是的；我为进一步张扬这种观点而自责。很久以前，每当我们买一根——或者有幸，承蒙人家敬我们一根雪茄时，仅仅琢磨它味道可好，并无其他疑惑。我们将雪茄的一端衔在口中，点燃另一端，疑惑即可消除，便开始气定神闲地品味起来。但如今这一切都将改变。我们将自我反思到可怕的地步。我们从口中取出雪茄时，会觉得身边人的眼睛直勾勾盯着我们的双手，这一刻我们竭力回想，在所有可以故意做作的姿态中，哪一种能充分体现最高尚的品德。以我而论，我一晚上用了十来种方式手执雪茄（虽说，当然，从来没有把它插在刀尖上），战栗不安地想着晚餐桌上的当代威灵顿们会认定我具有怎样歹毒而复杂的人格。我看将来我得留神认准一种姿势。但愿我能记住展现我最好一面的那种！

But the tobacco test is not the only one. We may be told by the way we close our hands; the tilt of a walking-stick may unmask us. It is useless to model ourselves now on the strong， silent man of the novel whose face is a shutter to hide his emotions. This is a pity; yes， I am convinced now that it is a pity. If my secret fault is cheque-forging I do not want it to be revealed to the world by the angle of my hat; still less do I wish to discover it in a friend whom I like or whom I can beat at billiards.