Странная история доктора Джекила и мистера Хайда
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case
CertainagentsIfoundtohavethepowertoshakeandtopluckbackthatfleshlyvestment,evenasawindmighttossthecurtainsofapavilion. Fortwogoodreasons,Iwillnotenterdeeplyintothisscientificbranchofmyconfession. First,becauseIhavebeenmadetolearnthatthedoomandburthenofourlifeisboundforeveronman’sshoulders,andwhentheattemptismadetocastitoff,itbutreturnsuponuswithmoreunfamiliarandmoreawfulpressure. Second,because,asmynarrativewillmake,alas! tooevident,mydiscoverieswereincomplete. Enough,then,thatInotonlyrecognisedmynaturalbodyforthemereauraandeffulgenceofcertainofthepowersthatmadeupmyspirit, butmanagedtocompoundadrugbywhichthesepowersshouldbedethronedfromtheirsupremacy,andasecondformandcountenancesubstituted,nonethelessnaturaltomebecausetheyweretheexpression,andborethestamp,oflowerelementsinmysoul.
IhesitatedlongbeforeIputthistheorytothetestofpractice. IknewwellthatIriskeddeath; foranydrugthatsopotentlycontrolledandshooktheveryfortressofidentity,mightbytheleastscrupleofanoverdoseorattheleastinopportunityinthemomentofexhibition,utterlyblotoutthatimmaterialtabernaclewhichIlookedtoittochange. Butthetemptationofadiscoverysosingularandprofound,atlastovercamethesuggestionsofalarm.