The Purloined Letter (published 1845) --- Edgar Allan Poe

Nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio. - Seneca.
Seneca:Around 50 AD, Lucius Annaeus Seneca wrote, "Nil sapientiae odiosius acumine nimio" (Nothing is more hateful to wisdom than excessive cleverness). Seneca wrote this about his student, Nero.Later, when Nero was Emperor of Rome, he ordered Seneca to commit suicide.

gusty陣風的;刮風的;突發的

meerschaum海泡石製成的煙斗

eddies旋渦

We gave him a hearty welcome

he forbore避免 to enkindle the wick (蠟燭油燈等的)芯

baffles使受挫折,阻撓, 使困惑,難住us

he gave a long, steady, and contemplative沈思的;冥想的 puff一口口抽煙(或噴煙), and settled himself in his chair.

It is clearly inferred推斷,推論;猜想

nonappearance不參加,不出庭

"Be a little more explicit直率的;不含糊的, 詳盡的;清楚的;明確的" I said.

fond of the cant (同行業的)行話,術語of diplomacy

At this juncture時刻;重要關頭;危機enters the Minister D--. His lynx眼光銳利的eye immediately perceives the paper

decamped逃走

the necessity of reclaiming回收利用her letter

sagacious聰慧的

au fait精通的: you are quite au fait精通的in these investigations

being chiefly Neapolitans那不勒斯人, are readily made drunk

in ransacking徹底搜索,仔細搜查; 洗劫,搶劫,掠奪 the D—Hotel

astute狡猾的,詭計多端的; 敏銳的,精明的,機敏的man

I have investigated every nook角落; 隱蔽處;隱匿and corner of the premises

Every nook and cranny裂縫,裂隙,龜裂of this place brought back memories

He has been twice waylaid (waylay為搶劫等)伏擊, as if by footpads攔路強盜

probed探索;徹底調查

the leg is excavated挖掘(穴、洞等);開鑿

sufficient wadding填塞物;填棉;軟團of cotton be placed around it

the rungs椅腳之橫木of every chair

I am not more sure that I breathe than I am that the letter is not at the Hotel.

the perusal細讀;閱讀 of this description

what of the purloined letter?

overreaching智勝;詐騙 the Minister

Confound討厭;該死him

"Why, yes," said Dupin, drawlingly慢聲慢氣地講話, between the whiffs一噴of his meerschaum

"I really --think, G--, you have not exerted yourself--to the utmost in this matter. You might --do a little more, I think, eh?"

a certain rich miser吝嗇鬼;守財奴 conceived構想出,想像,設想 the design of

insinuated暗指his case to the physician

a little discomposed不安的,失去平衡的

unlocking an escritoire有抽屜的寫字臺

rushed at length unceremoniously無禮地;唐突地from the room and from the house

so far as his labors extended

Procrustean強求一致的;迫使就範的(源出希臘神話procrustes之床) bed

perpetually不斷地

astuteness狡猾;狡詐; 機敏;伶俐;精明

astuteness狡猾;狡詐; 機敏;伶俐;精明 of his opponents. For example, an arrant臭名昭著的,聲名狼藉的; 徹底的,完全的 simpleton呆子;笨蛋 is his opponent,

spurious假的;偽造的;欺騙性的 profundity深度;深淵 which has been attributed to Rochefoucauld, to La Bougive, to Machiavelli, and to Campanella.


retaliation報復



Rochefoucauld:La Rochefoucauld, le Prince de Marcillac (1613-1680), was the greatest maxim writer of France.

Machiavelli:Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) was a Florentine statesman and political philosopher.

Campanella:Tommaso Campanella (1568-1639), a Dominican theologian, philosopher and poet.


default 不履行,違約,拖欠of this identification

advert注意only to the modes in which they would have hidden it.

the felon foils挫敗;阻擾;使受挫折;擊退them

acumen:Keenness and depth of perception. Power to see what is not evident to the average mind.

non distributio medii:Fallacy of the undistributed middle. A seemingly logical reasoning that is not always true.Example:1. All students carry backpacks. 2. My father carries a backpack. 3. Therefore, my father is a student.This logic sounds good at first but there are obviously problems with it. Even if the first two statements are true, it doesn't mean my father is a student.

The mathematical reason has long been regarded as the reason par excellence.【法】出類拔萃的

promulgate:To make known by open declaration.

egregious:Obviously bad. Flagrant.

confounded狼狽的;困惑的

Mathematical axioms【邏】【數】公理;自明之理

Pagan:A follower of a polytheistic religion, as in ancient Rome. One who has little or no religion and who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods.


clandestinely:Marked, held, or conducted secretly.


knock you down拆毀

which were hailed 承認...為 by the Prefect as certain aids to his success

ruses策略;花招;詐術

meerschaum:A tobacco pipe. A fine light white clayey mineral that is a hydrous magnesium silicate found chiefly in Asia Minor and is used especially for tobacco pipes


despise鄙視;看不起

abound with充滿: This river abounds with fish

embellish美化;裝飾

vis inertiae:The force of inertia. Newton's first law is the law of inertia: When no force acts on an object (or when the forces acting on it cancel), it moves in a straight line at constant speed.

commensurate同量的;相稱的

by dint of: By force of; because of

palpably:Easily perceptible by the mind. Capable of being touched.

expedient緊急措施;權宜之計

ennui:Boredom, a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction.

trumpery: 中看不中用的東西,徒有其表的東西,廉價品,冒牌貨A trivial or worthless article. A piece of junk. Complete nonsense.
filigree似花邊的金銀絲細工飾品

hyperobtrusive:Especially obvious. Excessively vivid. Garish.Poe made this word up and it was later added to the Oxford English Dictionary.


I protracted 延長,拖延my visit as long as possible

Casement豎鉸鏈窗;窗扉

musket毛瑟槍,滑膛

prepossession偏愛;偏見;先入觀念

partisan: 黨派等的)強硬支持者;黨人A firm adherent to a party, faction, cause, or person; especially one exhibiting blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance.

precipitate使突然發生;加速;促使

facilis descensus Averni:"The descent into Hell is easy", a quote from Virgil's "Aeneid", written around 20 BC. "Averni" translates to "Hell" because Lake Avernus was believed to be the entrance to the underworld.

Catalani:Angelica Catalani (1780–1849), a famous Italian singer.
monstrum horrendum = dreadful monster/ monstrosity/ portent

MS=manuscript

Crebillon:Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1674-1762), was a French poet. The quote at the end of "The Purloined Letter" is from "Atree et Thyeste", written in 1707.

--Un dessein si funeste, S'il n'est digne d'Atree, est digne de Thyeste. It can be translated as, "So grievous a plan, if not worthy of Atree, is dignified by Thyeste."

In Greek mythology, Atreus and Thyestes were brothers who were rivals and committed terrible crimes against each other.