毛姆经典小说.Of Human Bondage.人性的枷锁（英文原版）

毛姆非常细致真切地叙述了人在临终时的心理状态，焦虑恐惧求生的强烈欲望下面前4段），以及临终祷告领圣餐的基督信仰的安抚与力量（后4段）：《人性的枷锁，of human bondage》 Mr. Carey was lying on his back, with his eyes looking at the ceiling; Then a twitch passed over the face. Two tears were wrung from the old man’s eyes. They moved Philip horribly. His uncle had never betrayed any particular emotion in the affairs of life; and it was dreadful to see them now, for they signified a terror that was unspeakable. “Let me hold your hand, Philip,” the old man said at last. Philip gave him his hand and he clung to it as to life, for comfort in his extremity. Perhaps he had never really loved anyone in all his days, but now he turned instinctively to a human being. His hand was wet and cold. It grasped Philip’s with feeble, despairing energy. The old man was fighting with the fear of death. And Philip thought that all must go through that. 牧师为他做了临终祷告以及领取圣餐（从耶稣与十二门徒最后的晚餐传承下来）： The sick man turned his head a little and greeted him with a smile. Philip was astonished, for there was a change in him, an extraordinary change; his eyes had no longer the terror-stricken look, and the pinching of his face had gone: he looked happy and serene. “I’m quite prepared now,” he said, and his voice had a different tone in it. “When the Lord sees fit to call me I am ready to give my soul into his hands.” Philip did not speak. He could see that his uncle was sincere. It was almost a miracle. He had taken the body and blood of his Savior, and they had given him strength so that he no longer feared the inevitable passage into the night. He knew he was going to die: he was resigned. He only said one thing more: “I shall rejoin my dear wife.” It startled Philip. He remembered with what a callous selfishness his uncle had treated her, how obtuse he had been to her humble, devoted love.