I suppose Velasquez was a better painter than El Greco, but custom stales one's admiration for him: the Cretan, sensual and tragic, proffers the mystery of his soul like a standing sacrifice.
魏拉斯或許在繪畫方麵比葛埃爾更勝一籌,但因為魏拉斯的作品司空見慣,大家對他的欽佩程度也就變了味:而那個克裏特人葛埃爾,一生好色放蕩,命運悲慘,把自己靈魂的隱秘之處,像是當作一份活生生站立著的祭品奉獻給了世人。
其中的"custom stales one's admiration"化用莎士比亞的《埃及豔後》中的句子:
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety
歲月流逝無法使她的美麗容顏枯萎凋謝,司空見慣無法使她的萬種風情陳舊變味
毛姆在本章最後又提到了Anthony和Cleopatra之間絕非金錢往來的關係那麽簡單,應該是照應了上麵這一句。