He trilled a carol fresh and free,
He laughed aloud for very glee:
There came a breeze from off the sea:
It passed athwart the glooming flat —
It fanned his forehead as he sat —
It lightly bore away his hat,
All to the feet of one who stood
Like maid enchanted1 in a wood,
Frowning as darkly as she could.
With huge umbrella, lank2 and brown,
Unerringly she pinned it down,
Right through the centre of the crown.
Then, with an aspect cold and grim,
Regardless of its battered4 rim3,
She took it up and gave it him.
A while like one in dreams he stood,
Then faltered5 forth6 his gratitude7
In words just short of being rude:
For it had lost its shape and shine,
And it had cost him four-and-nine,
And he was going out to dine.
“To dine!” she sneered8 in acid tone.
“To bend thy being to a bone
Clothed in a radiance not its own!”
The tear-drop trickled9 to his chin:
There was a meaning in her grin
That made him feel on fire within.
“Term it not ‘radiance,’” said he:
“’Tis solid nutriment to me.
Dinner is Dinner: Tea is Tea.”
And she “Yea so? Yet wherefore cease?
Let thy scant10 knowledge find increase.
Say ‘Men are Men, and Geese are Geese.’”
He moaned: he knew not what to say.
The thought “That I could get away!”
Strove with the thought “But I must stay.
“To dine!” she shrieked11 in dragon-wrath.
“To swallow wines all foam12 and froth!
To simper at a table-cloth!
“Say, can thy noble spirit stoop
To join the gormandising troup
Who find a solace13 in the soup?
“Canst thou desire or pie or puff14?
Thy well-bred manners were enough,
Without such gross material stuff.”
“Yet well-bred men,” he faintly said,
“Are not willing to be fed:
Nor are they well without the bread.”
Her visage scorched15 him ere she spoke16:
“There are,” she said, “a kind of folk
Who have no horror of a joke.
“Such wretches17 live: they take their share
Of common earth and common air:
We come across them here and there:
“We grant them — there is no escape —
A sort of semi-human shape
Suggestive of the man-like Ape.”
“In all such theories,” said he,
“One fixed18 exception there must be.
That is, the Present Company.”
Baffled, she gave a wolfish bark:
He, aiming blindly in the dark,
With random19 shaft20 had pierced the mark.
She felt that her defeat was plain,
Yet madly strove with might and main
To get the upper hand again.
Fixing her eyes upon the beach,
As though unconscious of his speech,
She said “Each gives to more than each.”
He could not answer yea or nay22:
He faltered “Gifts may pass away.”
Yet knew not what he meant to say.
“If that be so,” she straight replied,
“Each heart with each doth coincide.
What boots it? For the world is wide.”
“The world is but a Thought,” said he:
“The vast unfathomable sea
Is but a Notion — unto me.”
And darkly fell her answer dread24
Upon his unresisting head,
Like half a hundredweight of lead.
“The Good and Great must ever shun25
That reckless and abandoned one
Who stoops to perpetrate a pun.
“The man that smokes — that reads the Times —
That goes to Christmas Pantomimes —
Is capable of ANY crimes!”
He felt it was his turn to speak,
And, with a shamed and crimson26 cheek,
Moaned “This is harder than Bezique!”
But when she asked him “Wherefore so?”
He felt his very whiskers glow,
And frankly27 owned “I do not know.”
While, like broad waves of golden grain,
Or sunlit hues28 on cloistered29 pane30,
His colour came and went again.
Pitying his obvious distress31,
Yet with a tinge32 of bitterness,
She said “The More exceeds the Less.”
“A truth of such undoubted weight,”
He urged, “and so extreme in date,
It were superfluous33 to state.”
Roused into sudden passion, she
In tone of cold malignity34:
“To others, yea: but not to thee.”
But when she saw him quail35 and quake,
And when he urged “For pity’s sake!”
Once more in gentle tones she spake.
“Thought in the mind doth still abide36
That is by Intellect supplied,
And within that Idea doth hide:
“And he, that yearns37 the truth to know,
Still further inwardly may go,
And find Idea from Notion flow:
“And thus the chain, that sages38 sought,
Is to a glorious circle wrought39,
For Notion hath its source in Thought.”
So passed they on with even pace:
Yet gradually one might trace
A shadow growing on his face.
The Second Voice
They walked beside the wave-worn beach;
Her tongue was very apt to teach,
And now and then he did beseech40
She would abate41 her dulcet42 tone,
Because the talk was all her own,
And he was dull as any drone.
She urged “No cheese is made of chalk”:
And ceaseless flowed her dreary43 talk,
Tuned44 to the footfall of a walk.
Her voice was very full and rich,
And, when at length she asked him “Which?”
It mounted to its highest pitch.
He a bewildered answer gave,
Drowned in the sullen45 moaning wave,
Lost in the echoes of the cave.
He answered her he knew not what:
Like shaft from bow at random shot,
He spoke, but she regarded not.
She waited not for his reply,
But with a downward leaden eye
Went on as if he were not by
Sound argument and grave defence,
Strange questions raised on “Why?” and “Whence?”
And wildly tangled46 evidence.
When he, with racked and whirling brain,
Feebly implored47 her to explain,
She simply said it all again.
Wrenched49 with an agony intense,
He spake, neglecting Sound and Sense,
And careless of all consequence:
“Mind — I believe — is Essence — Ent —
Abstract — that is — an Accident —
Which we — that is to say — I meant — ”
When, with quick breath and cheeks all flushed,
At length his speech was somewhat hushed,
She looked at him, and he was crushed.
It needed not her calm reply:
She fixed him with a stony50 eye,
And he could neither fight nor fly.
While she dissected51, word by word,
His speech, half guessed at and half heard,
As might a cat a little bird.
Then, having wholly overthrown52
His views, and stripped them to the bone,
Proceeded to unfold her own.
“Shall Man be Man? And shall he miss
Of other thoughts no thought but this,
Harmonious53 dews of sober bliss54?
“What boots it? Shall his fevered eye
Through towering nothingness descry55
The grisly phantom56 hurry by?
“And hear dumb shrieks57 that fill the air;
See mouths that gape58, and eyes that stare
And redden in the dusky glare?
“The meadows breathing amber59 light,
The darkness toppling from the height,
The feathery train of granite60 Night?
“Shall he, grown gray among his peers,
Through the thick curtain of his tears
Catch glimpses of his earlier years,
“And hear the sounds he knew of yore,
Old shufflings on the sanded floor,
Old knuckles61 tapping at the door?
“Yet still before him as he flies
One pallid62 form shall ever rise,
And, bodying forth in glassy eyes
“The vision of a vanished good,
Low peering through the tangled wood,
Shall freeze the current of his blood.”
Still from each fact, with skill uncouth63
And savage64 rapture65, like a tooth
She wrenched some slow reluctant truth.
Till, like a silent water-mill,
When summer suns have dried the rill,
She reached a full stop, and was still.
Dead calm succeeded to the fuss,
As when the loaded omnibus
Has reached the railway terminus:
When, for the tumult66 of the street,
Is heard the engine’s stifled67 beat,
The velvet68 tread of porters’ feet.
With glance that ever sought the ground,
She moved her lips without a sound,
And every now and then she frowned.
He gazed upon the sleeping sea,
And joyed in its tranquillity69,
And in that silence dead, but she
To muse70 a little space did seem,
Then, like the echo of a dream,
Harked back upon her threadbare theme.
Still an attentive71 ear he lent
But could not fathom23 what she meant:
She was not deep, nor eloquent72.
He marked the ripple73 on the sand:
The even swaying of her hand
Was all that he could understand.
He saw in dreams a drawing-room,
Where thirteen wretches sat in gloom,
Waiting — he thought he knew for whom:
He saw them drooping74 here and there,
Each feebly huddled75 on a chair,
In attitudes of blank despair:
Oysters76 were not more mute than they,
For all their brains were pumped away,
And they had nothing more to say —
Save one, who groaned78 “Three hours are gone!”
Who shrieked “We’ll wait no longer, John!
Tell them to set the dinner on!”
The vision passed: the ghosts were fled:
He saw once more that woman dread:
He heard once more the words she said.
He left her, and he turned aside:
He sat and watched the coming tide
Across the shores so newly dried.
He wondered at the waters clear,
The breeze that whispered in his ear,
The billows heaving far and near,
And why he had so long preferred
To hang upon her every word:
“In truth,” he said, “it was absurd.”
The Third Voice
Not long this transport held its place:
Within a little moment’s space
Quick tears were raining down his face
His heart stood still, aghast with fear;
A wordless voice, nor far nor near,
He seemed to hear and not to hear.
“Tears kindle79 not the doubtful spark.
If so, why not? Of this remark
The bearings are profoundly dark.”
“Her speech,” he said, “hath caused this pain.
Easier I count it to explain
The jargon80 of the howling main,
“Or, stretched beside some babbling81 brook82,
To con21, with inexpressive look,
An unintelligible83 book.”
Low spake the voice within his head,
In words imagined more than said,
Soundless as ghost’s intended tread:
“If thou art duller than before,
Why quittedst thou the voice of lore48?
Why not endure, expecting more?”
“Rather than that,” he groaned aghast,
“I’d writhe84 in depths of cavern85 vast,
Some loathly vampire’s rich repast.”
“’Twere hard,” it answered, “themes immense
To coop within the narrow fence
That rings THY scant intelligence.”
“Not so,” he urged, “nor once alone:
But there was something in her tone
That chilled me to the very bone.
“Her style was anything but clear,
And most unpleasantly severe;
Her epithets86 were very queer.
“And yet, so grand were her replies,
I could not choose but deem her wise;
I did not dare to criticise87;
“Nor did I leave her, till she went
So deep in tangled argument
That all my powers of thought were spent.”
A little whisper inly slid,
“Yet truth is truth: you know you did.”
A little wink88 beneath the lid.
And, sickened with excess of dread,
Prone89 to the dust he bent90 his head,
And lay like one three-quarters dead
The whisper left him — like a breeze
Lost in the depths of leafy trees —
Left him by no means at his ease.
Once more he weltered in despair,
With hands, through denser-matted hair,
More tightly clenched91 than then they were.
When, bathed in Dawn of living red,
Majestic92 frowned the mountain head,
“Tell me my fault,” was all he said.
When, at high Noon, the blazing sky
Scorched in his head each haggard eye,
Then keenest rose his weary cry.
And when at Eve the unpitying sun
Smiled grimly on the solemn fun,
“Alack,” he sighed, “what HAVE I done?”
But saddest, darkest was the sight,
When the cold grasp of leaden Night
Dashed him to earth, and held him tight.
Tortured, unaided, and alone,
Thunders were silence to his groan77,
Bagpipes93 sweet music to its tone:
“What? Ever thus, in dismal94 round,
Shall Pain and Mystery profound
Pursue me like a sleepless95 hound,
“With crimson-dashed and eager jaws96,
Me, still in ignorance of the cause,
Unknowing what I broke of laws?”
The whisper to his ear did seem
Like echoed flow of silent stream,
Or shadow of forgotten dream,
The whisper trembling in the wind:
“Her fate with thine was intertwined,”
So spake it in his inner mind:
“Each orbed on each a baleful star:
Each proved the other’s blight97 and bar:
Each unto each were best, most far:
“Yea, each to each was worse than foe98:
Thou, a scared dullard, gibbering low,
AND SHE, AN AVALANCHE99 OF WOE100!”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
enchanted
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| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
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2
lank
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| adj.瘦削的；稀疏的 | |
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rim
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| n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界 | |
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4
battered
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| adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损 | |
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5
faltered
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| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
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6
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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7
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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8
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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9
trickled
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| v.滴( trickle的过去式和过去分词 )；淌；使)慢慢走；缓慢移动 | |
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10
scant
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| adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略 | |
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11
shrieked
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| v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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13
solace
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| n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和 | |
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14
puff
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| n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气 | |
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15
scorched
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| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
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16
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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17
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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18
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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19
random
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| adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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20
shaft
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| n.(工具的)柄，杆状物 | |
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21
con
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| n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的 | |
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22
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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23
fathom
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| v.领悟，彻底了解 | |
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24
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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25
shun
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| vt.避开，回避，避免 | |
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26
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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27
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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28
hues
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| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
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29
cloistered
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| adj.隐居的，躲开尘世纷争的v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
pane
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| n.窗格玻璃，长方块 | |
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31
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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32
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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33
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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34
malignity
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| n.极度的恶意，恶毒；（病的）恶性 | |
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35
quail
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| n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖 | |
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36
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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37
yearns
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| 渴望，切盼，向往( yearn的第三人称单数 ) | |
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38
sages
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| n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料） | |
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39
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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40
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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41
abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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42
dulcet
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| adj.悦耳的 | |
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43
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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44
tuned
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| adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调 | |
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45
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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46
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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47
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
lore
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| n.传说；学问，经验，知识 | |
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49
wrenched
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| v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的过去式和过去分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛 | |
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50
stony
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| adj.石头的，多石头的，冷酷的，无情的 | |
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51
dissected
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| adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究 | |
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52
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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53
harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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54
bliss
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| n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福 | |
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55
descry
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| v.远远看到；发现；责备 | |
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56
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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57
shrieks
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| n.尖叫声( shriek的名词复数 )v.尖叫( shriek的第三人称单数 ) | |
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58
gape
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| v.张口，打呵欠，目瞪口呆地凝视 | |
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59
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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60
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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61
knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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62
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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uncouth
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| adj.无教养的，粗鲁的 | |
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64
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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65
rapture
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| n.狂喜；全神贯注；着迷；v.使狂喜 | |
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66
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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stifled
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| （使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵 | |
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68
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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69
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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70
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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71
attentive
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| adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的 | |
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72
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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73
ripple
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| n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进 | |
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74
drooping
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| adj. 下垂的，无力的 动词droop的现在分词 | |
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75
huddled
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| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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76
oysters
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| 牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 ) | |
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77
groan
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| vi./n.呻吟，抱怨；(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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79
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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80
jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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81
babbling
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| n.胡说，婴儿发出的咿哑声adj.胡说的v.喋喋不休( babble的现在分词 )；作潺潺声（如流水）；含糊不清地说话；泄漏秘密 | |
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82
brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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83
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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84
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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85
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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86
epithets
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| n.（表示性质、特征等的）词语( epithet的名词复数 ) | |
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87
criticise
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| v.批评，评论；非难 | |
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88
wink
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| n.眨眼，使眼色，瞬间；v.眨眼，使眼色，闪烁 | |
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prone
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| adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的 | |
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90
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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clenched
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| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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92
majestic
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| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
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93
bagpipes
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| n.风笛；风笛( bagpipe的名词复数 ) | |
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94
dismal
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| adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的 | |
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95
sleepless
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| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
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96
jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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97
blight
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| n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残 | |
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98
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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99
avalanche
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| n.雪崩，大量涌来 | |
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100
woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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