名著精读:《悉达多》 和兒童般的俗人在一起(5)

Siddhartha said nothing, and they played the game of love, one of the thirty or forty different games Kamala knew. Her body was flexible like that of a jaguar and like the bow of a hunter; he who had learned from her how to make love, was knowledgeable of many forms of lust, many secrets. For a long time, she played with Siddhartha, enticed him, rejected him, forced him, embraced him: enjoyed his masterful skills, until he was defeated and rested exhausted by her side.
The courtesan bent over him, took a long look at his face, at his eyes, which had grown tired.
"You are the best lover," she said thoughtfully, "I ever saw. You're stronger than others, more supple, more willing. You've learned my art well, Siddhartha. At some time, when I'll be older, I'd want to bear your child. And yet, my dear, you've remained a Samana, and yet you do not love me, you love nobody. Isn't it so?"
"It might very well be so," Siddhartha said tiredly. "I am like you. You also do not love--how else could you practise love as a craft? Perhaps, people of our kind can't love. The childlike people can; that's their secret."

席特哈尔塔不出声。于是，他们玩爱情游戏，玩卡玛拉熟悉的三十种或四十种不同游戏当中的一种。她的身子柔韧如美洲豹，像猎人的弓；谁向她学过爱情，就会精通许多技巧，洞悉许多秘密。好和席特哈尔塔长久地玩耍，挑逗他，推开他，强迫他，拥抱他，为他的娴熟技巧而高兴，一直到他被征服，精疲力竭地躺在她身边。
他所钟爱的这个情妇俯身看着他，久久地凝视他的脸，凝视他那双疲惫的眼睛。
"你是我所见过的最好的爱人。"她沉思地说，"你比别的人更强壮，更柔韧，更顺从。你出色地学到了我的艺术，席特哈尔塔。将来，等我年纪再大些，我要给你生个孩子。可是亲爱的，你仍然是个沙门，你并不爱我，也不爱任何人，难道不是这样么？"
"大概是这样吧。"席特哈尔塔疲惫地说，"我跟你一样，你也不爱--否则你怎会把爱情当成一种艺术来搞呢？像咱们这样的人大概都不会爱吧，而那些孩子般的俗人却能行，这就是他们的秘密。"