科学怪人 Chapter 02

Chapter Two I was a diligent student. I became very interested in the human body. 'Where does life come from?' I asked myself. To study life you must also study death. I began to work with dead bodies. I studied the progress of their decay . I examined the change from life to death and from death to life. Then one day I suddenly understood. I was surprised that nobody had discovered the secret before. I had succeeded where other men had failed. I am not mad. I swear it is true. After days and nights of work, I discovered how life was created. I, myself was able to create life. I can see by your eager expression, my friend, that you want me to tell you the secret. I will not tell you, and soon you will understand why not. Listen to my story, and learn from my example. Knowledge is dangerous. An ambitious man is not a happy man. My first task was to create a body. I worked day and night. I grew thin and pale, but I continued to work. The moon watched me through the window as I uncovered the secrets of Nature. What horrible work it was! I explored dead bodies and tortured living animals, but my work did not seem horrible to me then. I thought that I had conquered death. I would be the creator of a new race of happy and excellent creatures! All summer I worked on my filthy creation in a lonely attic room. I did not see the sunshine, the flowers, or the green leaves. I did not write to my family or think about them. I thought only of my work. Any ambition that makes you forget the people you love and the simple pleasures of ordinary life is bad. The leaves fell from the trees, and still I worked. I became anxious and nervous. I avoided other people. I hid myself like a criminal. My creation was nearly done. Soon it would be finished, and then, I promised myself, I would rest and recover my health.