Странная история доктора Джекила и мистера Хайда
Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case
Thisinexplicableincident,thisreversalofmypreviousexperience,seemed,liketheBabylonianfingeronthewall,tobespellingoutthelettersofmyjudgment; andIbegantoreflectmoreseriouslythaneverbeforeontheissuesandpossibilitiesofmydoubleexistence. ThatpartofmewhichIhadthepowerofprojecting,hadlatelybeenmuchexercisedandnourished;ithadseemedtomeoflateasthoughthebodyofEdwardHydehadgrowninstature,asthough (whenIworethatform) Iwereconsciousofamoregeneroustideofblood;andIbegantospyadangerthat,ifthisweremuchprolonged,thebalanceofmynaturemightbepermanentlyoverthrown,thepowerofvoluntarychangebeforfeited,andthecharacterofEdwardHydebecomeirrevocablymine. Thepowerofthedrughadnotbeenalwaysequallydisplayed. Once,veryearlyinmycareer,ithadtotallyfailedme;sincethenIhadbeenobligedonmorethanoneoccasiontodouble,andonce,withinfiniteriskofdeath,totrebletheamount; andtheserareuncertaintieshadcasthithertothesoleshadowonmycontentment. Now,however,andinthelightofthatmorning’saccident,Iwasledtoremarkthatwhereas,inthebeginning,thedifficultyhadbeentothrowoffthebodyofJekyll,ithadoflategraduallybutdecidedlytransferreditselftotheotherside. Allthingsthereforeseemedtopointtothis: thatIwasslowlylosingholdofmyoriginalandbetterself,andbecomingslowlyincorporatedwithmysecondandworse.
Betweenthesetwo,InowfeltIhadtochoose.
