With Bottecchia and the De Carli brothers I went to visit Venice for the last time. A light naval6 motorboat carried us swiftly along the short stretch of water separating the mainland from the city on the sea. It was a clear day; the bluish surface of the basin of St. Mark glittered under the first light zephyrs7 of May, and, stirred from time to time by smarter puffs8, the little waves broke crisply against the sides and over the bow of our skiff. The symmetrical form of a swift torpedo-boat, whose slender sides were moulded for speed like the tendons of a grayhound, was outlined against the curved horizon flecked with frail9 diaphanous10 clouds. Amethyst11 and cobalt, purple and gold mingled12 in the rapid, ever-changing water swirls13 about us, intersecting now and anon shattered into fragments that in turn recreate new gleams of loveliness of color 120 and new plays of light. The cold, viscid seaweed stood erect14 in midstream eagerly awaiting the caress15 of a passing keel, or hid its dark mass among the shadows of the Cyclopean walls from which the swift foam16 of the eddies17 is hurled19 back. The spirals of a slender column resembling a wistaria vine descended20 as far as the odorous musk21 along the bank, while two gentle peacocks, reclining upon marble, wound their sinuous22 necks about a byzantine image before which wavered the flame of a votive lamp. Our gondola23 glided24 silently along the tortuous25 canal of the dead city. Now and again we passed a heavy stone railing before which dancing statues seemed to suspend the invisible garlands of a distant minuet, or such a heavy iron gate as pricks26 the pale sky with its pointed27 blades, or a cypress28 and a rose bush closely bound together in a single embrace for centuries, with their long, green foliage29 resting on the water. The Lombardesque eagles curved 121 under the cornice of Casa Vendramin uphold the festoons of stone and on the porous30, stained marble one can always read the phrase of the Latin psalm31 “non nobis, non nobis.” Yet, even for us it is springtime; even for us it is sweet to think it is springtime and that we shall be able to die in springtime.
The gondola drifts slowly between the palaces resting on the water. The Ca D’Oro outlines against the sky its designs of Romanesque acanthus. The Pesaro Palace opens its gigantic stalactic gates into the shadow of its deep courtyard. From under the curved arch of the Rialto a tear still falls. The erect, angular obelisks32 of the Palace of Pappadopoli pierce the sky as though in defiance33 of the enemy, and from the high belvederes two somber34 cannon35 raise their sinister36 mouths in air.
On the deserted37 “fondamenta” there appears the slim figure of a woman enveloped38 in a shawl and she advances tranquilly39 gazing 122 towards the East. How calm, how sacred her demeanor40! Nothing of earth is there about her body; all her sinews seem set for the same struggle, all her nerves seem tautened by the same love. Her gesture is not new. It has been beheld41 before on earth. The Virgins42 of the Carpaccio know it; it has been known for the past fifteen centuries by the women of Venice accustomed to await the advent43 from the sea of their greatest griefs and their supreme44 joys. For those women, for the children who have been tortured on the other side of the Piave, I am determined45 that this pure image of Venice, this pure image of our race shall not suffer contamination.
The clouds of springtime fled rapidly overhead; piling one upon the other into white heaps, swollen46 to huge proportions. Occasionally a strip of azure47 disclosed itself and then an oblique48 ray of light shot through, coloring for a second the vivid fa?ades of the palaces. A boat filled with 123 cabbages, of the large white-headed variety from Verona, passed near us and scattered49 the fragrance50 of the country. Ca’ Foscari stood out, with its broad face and large windows rimmed51 with gold, and farther on glittered the statues of the Contarini Delle Figure palace. A solitary52 aeroplane which had arisen from Sant. Andrea described slow curves overhead, accelerating and retarding53 the run of its motor. My faithful friends, my trusted companions were in the boat with me. We had come to Venice in a moment of expectation, during a respite54 in the struggle, to derive55 from these memories the strength to accomplish our undertaking, now almost wholly matured in my mind and become the favored child of my imagination. Every day I outlined it and reshaped it with great love; daily I examined its weak spots with affectionate care; daily my assurance revived; every moment I tormented56 and tortured myself with new doubts so as to be certain that I might not be cheating 124 myself, that I would not fail. At night, before sleep overtook me, I felt the beautiful armored creature alive in my flesh; I felt in my rapid pulse the whirlwind of its strength ready to hurl18 itself like an arrow which cannot fail; I was conscious of the calculating cunning, the vivid joy of doing evil, the perfervid pride in being able to do harm. The terrible anxiety of expectation burned into my forehead like a sledgehammer shaping a red-hot point. Every remembrance, every grief, every bit of beauty, became fused, became amalgamated57 in a mould which I alone should be able to direct, and if at times within my weary breast there glistened58 tears of my great love, them too I seized, them too I hurled against all doubts, against all envy, against death. I did not feel that sleep which enervates59 and softens60, that sleep into which I have often abandoned myself with voluptuousness61, but instead my being grew tense, ready for the supreme effort. I felt that I loved even my 125 body because it was my faithful instrument. I reflected upon the play of my muscles, the expansion of my chest and the elastic62 tenacity63 of my fingers, and I stretched and turned, ran and leapt like a mastiff who, indomitable, struggles with every part of his body—with paws, tense shoulders, arched back, curved loins, and ravening64 teeth.
We alighted in the little square in front of the statue of Marco and Todero. The broad, heavy architecture of the ducal palace had been covered by sand bags, and at the end towards the Porta della Carta the very church itself was hidden beneath the weight of the beams and the scaffolding. I would not be able then to see her again as I had often seen her resplendent in her mosaics65 under the beams of the distantly setting sun! I would not be able to snatch away with me a last image of her to treasure for the days in which I was to tempt2 fate. Along the stairway of the Giganti, along 126 the gallery flanked by statues, we passed into the Sala del Maggior Consiglio. All was changed; everything had been moved and I no longer recognized the splendid symmetry which used to animate66 the wall behind the throne; no longer did I see the great world maps which amused me so as a child; no longer did there hang from the wide ceilings in magnificent perspective Michelangelesque limbs and torsos of the valiant67 men who assured to Venice the glory of the seas. The gold of the frames which at other times held the jewels of the spouse68 of the Doge and the purple mantles69 of the counsellors of the Republic seemed to have lost its brilliancy. A wrinkled old guardian70 in whom I seemed to recognize the face of one of those oarsmen from the galleys71 of Saint Mark guided us through the spacious72 rooms. His step was measured, his heavy voice was a melody which let its notes fall on my memories. I did not heed73 his words but something of them entered into my 127 mind and vivified my memories. Up a steep and winding74 stairway we climbed in the Piombi and visited the cell where for many months Silvio Pellico suffered indescribable tortures at the hands of the Austrians. The emotion of such a remembrance renewed the strength of the hatred75 against the century-old enemy.
A curved flock of wings greeted us as we left the palace. The pigeons flew in groups towards the Procuratie. The square was almost deserted but among the few passersby76 I recognized the slight figure of Luisa. Luisa was a schoolmate of mine; with her I read my first wonderful books, with her I shared the great and pure joys of art.
“How pleased I am to see you here again.”
“The soldiers’ duty is not to leave the trenches77, but the duty of the citizens is not to abandon their city and I see you have been faithful to your trust.”
128 We took once more the lonely way which passes across the parks whence the merry chirping78 of myriads79 of birds reached us. Near the Academy the children were playing on the ground near a well; I am not certain whether it is imagined or real, but their game seemed hasty and nervous, their movements hurried as if in fright. Perhaps they had not slept because last night the enemy bombarded Venice. I asked Luisa why she was not afraid to leave her child in the city and she answered me that all the poor women of Venice had not been able to send their children to places of safety and there was therefore no reason why the rich should claim this privilege; furthermore, she scarcely knew how to leave Venice nor to entrust80 her child to anyone else; in any case they would be struck together and would together perish.
We had almost reached the Chiesa della Salute81 near the old abbey of St. Gregory where we often used to go after school. The 129 round glazed82 doors were closed. We could not enter, but peering through the many-colored glass we could imagine the forest of agile83 little columns which support the wonderful pointed arches.
“You have been my friend and confidant since my earliest years and I know you can preserve a secret. Within a few days I shall send you a postcard on which will be written, ‘arrivederci’ (may we meet again). I entreat84 you to think a great deal of me in those days because I shall be in danger, because I must succeed, because I want all these wonders to live beyond our memory, because I want Venice to live forever after us.” She smiled back slowly for she had understood. Then with the fall of dusk we returned towards Saint Mark’s which no longer glittered in the evening lights, but whose purple marble and stained glass faded away and mingled with the distant red of the sunset.
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1
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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instil
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| v.逐渐灌输 | |
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instilled
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| v.逐渐使某人获得（某种可取的品质），逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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contemplating
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| 深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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zephyrs
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| n.和风，微风( zephyr的名词复数 ) | |
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puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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10
diaphanous
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| adj.(布)精致的，半透明的 | |
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11
amethyst
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| n.紫水晶 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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13
swirls
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| n.旋转( swirl的名词复数 )；卷状物；漩涡；尘旋v.旋转，打旋( swirl的第三人称单数 ) | |
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14
erect
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| n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的 | |
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15
caress
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| vt./n.爱抚，抚摸 | |
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16
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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17
eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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18
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 | |
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19
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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20
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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21
musk
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| n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫 | |
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22
sinuous
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| adj.蜿蜒的，迂回的 | |
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23
gondola
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| n.威尼斯的平底轻舟；飞船的吊船 | |
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24
glided
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| v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 )；掠过；（鸟或飞机 ） 滑翔 | |
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25
tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 | |
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26
pricks
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| 刺痛( prick的名词复数 )； 刺孔； 刺痕； 植物的刺 | |
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27
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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cypress
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| n.柏树 | |
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29
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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30
porous
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| adj.可渗透的，多孔的 | |
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31
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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32
obelisks
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| n.方尖石塔，短剑号，疑问记号( obelisk的名词复数 ) | |
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33
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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34
somber
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| adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的 | |
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35
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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36
sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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37
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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38
enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39
tranquilly
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| adv. 宁静地 | |
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40
demeanor
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| n.行为；风度 | |
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41
beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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42
virgins
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| 处女，童男( virgin的名词复数 )； 童贞玛利亚（耶稣之母） | |
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43
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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44
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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45
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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46
swollen
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| adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀 | |
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47
azure
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| adj.天蓝色的，蔚蓝色的 | |
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48
oblique
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| adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的 | |
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49
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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50
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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51
rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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52
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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53
retarding
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| 使减速( retard的现在分词 )； 妨碍； 阻止； 推迟 | |
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54
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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55
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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56
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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57
amalgamated
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| v.（使）（金属）汞齐化( amalgamate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）合并；联合；结合 | |
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58
glistened
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| v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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59
enervates
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| v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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60
softens
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| （使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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61
voluptuousness
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| n.风骚，体态丰满 | |
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62
elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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63
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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64
ravening
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| a.贪婪而饥饿的 | |
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65
mosaics
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| n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案 | |
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66
animate
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| v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的 | |
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67
valiant
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| adj.勇敢的，英勇的；n.勇士，勇敢的人 | |
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68
spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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69
mantles
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| vt.&vi.覆盖（mantle的第三人称单数形式） | |
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70
guardian
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| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
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71
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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72
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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73
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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74
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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75
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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76
passersby
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| n. 过路人(行人,经过者) | |
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77
trenches
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| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
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78
chirping
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| 鸟叫，虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 ) | |
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79
myriads
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| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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80
entrust
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| v.信赖，信托，交托 | |
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81
salute
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| vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮 | |
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82
glazed
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| adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神 | |
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83
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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84
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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