The Lady Or The Tiger女人还是老虎.docx

1、The Lady Or The Tiger女人还是老虎The Lady Or The Tiger?In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king， whose ideas， though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors， were still large， florid， and untrammeled， as became the half of him which was barbaric. He

2、 was a man of exuberant fancy， and， withal， of an authority so irresistible that， at his will， he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing， and， when he and himself agreed upon anything， the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems m

3、oved smoothly in its appointed course， his nature was bland and genial； but， whenever there was a little hitch， and some of his orbs got out of their orbits， he was blander and more genial still， for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places.Among the b

4、orrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena， in which， by exhibitions of manly and beastly valor， the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured.But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself. The arena of the king was built， not to gi

5、ve the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators， nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws， but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheate

6、r， with its encircling galleries， its mysterious vaults， and its unseen passages， was an agent of poetic justice， in which crime was punished， or virtue rewarded， by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance.When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the ki

7、ng， public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the kings arena， a structure which well deserved its name， for， although its form and plan were borrowed from afar， its purpose emanated solely from the brain of this man， who， every barleycorn a

8、king， knew no tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy， and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action the rich growth of his barbaric idealism.When all the people had assembled in the galleries， and the king， surrounded by his court， sat high up on his

9、throne of royal state on one side of the arena， he gave a signal， a door beneath him opened， and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him， on the other side of the enclosed space， were two doors， exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of

10、 the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased； he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one， there came out of it a hungry tiger， the fiercest and m

11、ost cruel that could be procured， which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided， doleful iron bells were clanged， great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of the arena， and

12、the vast audience， with bowed heads and downcast hearts， wended slowly their homeward way， mourning greatly that one so young and fair， or so old and respected， should have merited so dire a fate.But， if the accused person opened the other door， there came forth from it a lady， the most suitable to

13、his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects， and to this lady he was immediately married， as a reward of his innocence. It mattered not that he might already possess a wife and family， or that his affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection； the ki

14、ng allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises， as in the other instance， took place immediately， and in the arena. Another door opened beneath the king， and a priest， followed by a band of choristers， and dancing maidens blowi

15、ng joyous airs on golden horns and treading an epithalamic measure， advanced to where the pair stood， side by side， and the wedding was promptly and cheerily solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals， the people shouted glad hurrahs， and the innocent man， preceded by children

16、 strewing flowers on his path， led his bride to his home.This was the kings semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady； he opened either he pleased， without having the slightest idea whether， in th

17、e next instant， he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door， and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal were not only fair， they were positively determinate： the accused person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty， and， if innocen

18、t， he was rewarded on the spot， whether he liked it or not. There was no escape from the judgments of the kings arena.The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered together on one of the great trial days， they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilario

19、us wedding. This element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it could not otherwise have attained. Thus， the masses were entertained and pleased， and the thinking part of the community could bring no charge of unfairness against this plan， for did not the accused person have the wh

20、ole matter in his own hands？This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies， and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is usual in such cases， she was the apple of his eye， and was loved by him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of tha

21、t fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfied with her lover， for he was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom， and she loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism

22、 in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong. This love affair moved on happily for many months， until one day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison， and a day was appointed for hi

23、s trial in the kings arena. This， of course， was an especially important occasion， and his majesty， as well as all the people， was greatly interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never before had such a case occurred； never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of the kin

24、g. In after years such things became commonplace enough， but then they were in no slight degree novel and startling.The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and relentless beasts， from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena； and the ranks of maiden youth a

25、nd beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a different destiny. Of course， everybody knew that the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. He had loved the prin

26、cess， and neither he， she， nor any one else， thought of denying the fact； but the king would not think of allowing any fact of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal， in which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the affair turned out， the youth would be dispo

27、sed of， and the king would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching the course of events， which would determine whether or not the young man had done wrong in allowing himself to love the princess.The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered， and thronged the great galleries of the

28、 arena， and crowds， unable to gain admittance， massed themselves against its outside walls. The king and his court were in their places， opposite the twin doors， those fateful portals， so terrible in their similarity.All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party opened， and the

29、 lover of the princess walked into the arena. Tall， beautiful， fair， his appearance was greeted with a low hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a youth had lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him！ What a terrible thing for him to be there！As the youth ad

30、vanced into the arena he turned， as the custom was， to bow to the king， but he did not think at all of that royal personage. His eyes were fixed upon the princess， who sat to the right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady would not have be

31、en there， but her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his fate in the kings arena， she had thought of nothing， night or day， but this great event a

32、nd the various subjects connected with it. Possessed of more power， influence， and force of character than any one who had ever before been interested in such a case， she had done what no other person had done - she had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms

33、， that lay behind those doors， stood the cage of the tiger， with its open front， and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors， heavily curtained with skins on the inside， it was impossible that any noise or suggestion should come from within to the person who should approach to raise the latch of one of them. But gold， and the p