"The dearsoul thought she was doing a wonderful thing for me when she made me an artist,but perhaps, after all, it would have been better for me if my father's willhad prevailed and I were now but an honest carpenter. "

"Now thatyou know what art can offer, would you change your life? Would you have missedall the delight it has given you?"

"Art isthe greatest thing in the world, " he answered, after a pause.

He looked at mefor a minute reflectively; he seemed to hesitate; then he said:

"Did youknow that I had been to see Strickland?"

"You?"

I wasastonished. I should have thought he could not bear to set eyes on him. Stroevesmiled faintly.

"You knowalready that I have no proper pride. "

"What doyou mean by that?"

He told me asingular story.

“我那可怜的母亲认为她把我培养成一个艺术家是干了一件了不起的事，但是说不定要是父亲的想法得以实现，我如今只不过是个老老实实的木匠，对我说来倒更好一些。”

“现在你已经了解了艺术会给人们带来些什么。你还愿意改变你的生活吗？你肯放弃艺术给与你的所有那些快感吗？”

“艺术是世界上最伟大的东西。”他沉吟了片刻说。

他沉思地看了我一会儿，好象对一件什么事拿不定主意。最后，他开口说：

“你知道我去看思特里克兰德了吗？”

“你？”

我吃了一惊。我本来以为他非常恨他，决不会同他见面的。施特略夫的脸浮起一丝笑容。

“你已经知道我这人是没有自尊心的。”

“这话是什么意思？”

他给我说了一个奇异的故事。