I have always wondered at the passion many people have to meet the celebrated. The prestige（威望） you acquire by being able to tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that you are yourself of small account. The celebrated develop a technique to deal with the persons they come across. They show the world a mask, often an impressive one, but take care to conceal their real selves. They play the part that is expected from them, and with practice learn to play it very well, but you are stupid if you think that this public performance of theirs corresponds with the man within.
I have been attached, deeply attached, to a few people; but I have been interested in men in general not for their own sakes, but for the sake of my work. I have not, as Kant enjoined, regarded each man as an end in himself, but as material that might be useful to me as a writer. I have been more concerned with the obscure（昏暗的，朦胧的） than with the famous. They are more often themselves. They have had no need to create a figure to protect themselves from the world or to impress it. Their idiosyncrasies（个性） have had more chance to develop in the limited circle of their activity, and since they have never been in the public eye it has never occurred to them that they have anything to conceal. They display their oddities because it has never struck them that they are odd. And after all it is with the common run of men that we writers have to deal; kings, dictators, commercial magnates（巨头，富豪） are from our point of view very unsatisfactory. To write
相关单词：celebrated
celebrated解释：adj.有名的，声誉卓著的
celebrated例句：
He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
相关单词：conceal
conceal解释：v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽
conceal例句：
He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。
相关单词：enjoined
enjoined解释：v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 )
enjoined例句：
The embezzler was severely punished and enjoined to kick back a portion of the stolen money each month. 贪污犯受到了严厉惩罚，并被责令每月退还部分赃款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
She enjoined me strictly not to tell anyone else. 她严令我不准告诉其他任何人。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：tempted
tempted解释：v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）
tempted例句：
I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。
相关单词：contradictory
contradictory解释：adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立
contradictory例句：
The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。
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