BOOK XVI

A Song of the Rolling Earth

       1
  A song of the rolling earth, and of words according,
  Were you thinking that those were the words, those upright lines?
      those curves, angles, dots?
  No, those are not the words, the substantial words are in the ground
      and sea,
  They are in the air, they are in you.

  Were you thinking that those were the words, those delicious sounds
      out of your friends' mouths?
  No, the real words are more delicious than they.

  Human bodies are words, myriads¹ of words,
  (In the best poems re-appears the body, man's or woman's,
      well-shaped, natural, gay,
  Every part able, active, receptive, without shame or the need of shame.)

  Air, soil, water, fire—those are words,
  I myself am a word with them—my qualities interpenetrate with
      theirs—my name is nothing to them,
  Though it were told in the three thousand languages, what would
      air, soil, water, fire, know of my name?

  A healthy presence, a friendly or commanding gesture, are words,
      sayings, meanings,
  The charms that go with the mere² looks of some men and women,
      are sayings and meanings also.

  The workmanship of souls is by those inaudible words of the earth,
  The masters know the earth's words and use them more than audible words.

  Amelioration is one of the earth's words,
  The earth neither lags nor hastens,
  It has all attributes, growths, effects, latent in itself from the jump,
  It is not half beautiful only, defects and excrescences show just as
      much as perfections show.

  The earth does not withhold⁴, it is generous enough,
  The truths of the earth continually wait, they are not so conceal'd either,
  They are calm, subtle, untransmissible by print,
  They are imbued⁵ through all things conveying themselves willingly,
  Conveying a sentiment and invitation, I utter and utter,
  I speak not, yet if you hear me not of what avail am I to you?
  To bear, to better, lacking these of what avail am I?

  (Accouche! accouchez!
  Will you rot your own fruit in yourself there?
  Will you squat⁶ and stifle⁷ there?)

  The earth does not argue,
  Is not pathetic, has no arrangements,
  Does not scream, haste, persuade, threaten, promise,
  Makes no discriminations, has no conceivable failures,
  Closes nothing, refuses nothing, shuts none out,
  Of all the powers, objects, states, it notifies, shuts none out.

  The earth does not exhibit itself nor refuse to exhibit itself,
      possesses still underneath⁸,
  Underneath the ostensible⁹ sounds, the august chorus of heroes, the
      wail¹⁰ of slaves,
  Persuasions¹¹ of lovers, curses, gasps¹² of the dying, laughter of young
      people, accents of bargainers,
  Underneath these possessing words that never fall.

  To her children the words of the eloquent¹³ dumb great mother never fail,
  The true words do not fail, for motion does not fail and reflection
      does not fall,
  Also the day and night do not fall, and the voyage we pursue does not fall.

  Of the interminable sisters,
  Of the ceaseless cotillons of sisters,
  Of the centripetal¹⁴ and centrifugal sisters, the elder and younger sisters,
  The beautiful sister we know dances on with the rest.

  With her ample back towards every beholder¹⁵,
  With the fascinations¹⁷ of youth and the equal fascinations of age,
  Sits she whom I too love like the rest, sits undisturb'd,
  Holding up in her hand what has the character of a mirror, while her
      eyes glance back from it,
  Glance as she sits, inviting¹⁸ none, denying none,
  Holding a mirror day and night tirelessly before her own face.

  Seen at hand or seen at a distance,
  Duly the twenty-four appear in public every day,
  Duly approach and pass with their companions or a companion,
  Looking from no countenances¹⁹ of their own, but from the countenances
      of those who are with them,
  From the countenances of children or women or the manly²¹ countenance²⁰,
  From the open countenances of animals or from inanimate things,
  From the landscape or waters or from the exquisite²² apparition²³ of the sky,
  From our countenances, mine and yours, faithfully returning them,
  Every day in public appearing without fall, but never twice with the
      same companions.

  Embracing man, embracing all, proceed the three hundred and
      sixty-five resistlessly round the sun;
  Embracing all, soothing²⁵, supporting, follow close three hundred and
      sixty-five offsets²⁶ of the first, sure and necessary as they.

  Tumbling on steadily²⁷, nothing dreading²⁸,
  Sunshine, storm, cold, heat, forever withstanding, passing, carrying,
  The soul's realization²⁹ and determination still inheriting,
  The fluid vacuum around and ahead still entering and dividing,
  No balk³⁰ retarding³¹, no anchor anchoring, on no rock striking,
  Swift, glad, content, unbereav'd, nothing losing,
  Of all able and ready at any time to give strict account,
  The divine ship sails the divine sea.

       2
  Whoever you are! motion and reflection are especially for you,
  The divine ship sails the divine sea for you.

  Whoever you are! you are he or she for whom the earth is solid and liquid,
  You are he or she for whom the sun and moon hang in the sky,
  For none more than you are the present and the past,
  For none more than you is immortality³².

  Each man to himself and each woman to herself, is the word of the
      past and present, and the true word of immortality;
  No one can acquire for another—not one,
  Not one can grow for another—not one.

  The song is to the singer, and comes back most to him,
  The teaching is to the teacher, and comes back most to him,
  The murder is to the murderer, and comes back most to him,
  The theft is to the thief, and comes back most to him,
  The love is to the lover, and comes back most to him,
  The gift is to the giver, and comes back most to him—it cannot fail,
  The oration³ is to the orator³³, the acting³⁴ is to the actor and actress
      not to the audience,
  And no man understands any greatness or goodness but his own, or
      the indication of his own.

       3
  I swear the earth shall surely be complete to him or her who shall
      be complete,
  The earth remains³⁵ jagged and broken only to him or her who remains
      jagged and broken.

  I swear there is no greatness or power that does not emulate³⁶ those
      of the earth,
  There can be no theory of any account unless it corroborate³⁷ the
      theory of the earth,
  No politics, song, religion, behavior, or what not, is of account,
      unless it compare with the amplitude³⁸ of the earth,
  Unless it face the exactness, vitality³⁹, impartiality⁴⁰, rectitude of
      the earth.

  I swear I begin to see love with sweeter spasms⁴¹ than that which
      responds love,
  It is that which contains itself, which never invites and never refuses.

  I swear I begin to see little or nothing in audible words,
  All merges⁴² toward the presentation of the unspoken meanings of the earth,
  Toward him who sings the songs of the body and of the truths of the earth,
  Toward him who makes the dictionaries of words that print cannot touch.

  I swear I see what is better than to tell the best,
  It is always to leave the best untold⁴³.

  When I undertake to tell the best I find I cannot,
  My tongue is ineffectual on its pivots⁴⁴,
  My breath will not be obedient to its organs,
  I become a dumb man.

  The best of the earth cannot be told anyhow, all or any is best,
  It is not what you anticipated, it is cheaper, easier, nearer,
  Things are not dismiss'd from the places they held before,
  The earth is just as positive and direct as it was before,
  Facts, religions, improvements, politics, trades, are as real as before,
  But the soul is also real, it too is positive and direct,
  No reasoning, no proof has establish'd it,
  Undeniable growth has establish'd it.

       4
  These to echo the tones of souls and the phrases of souls,
  (If they did not echo the phrases of souls what were they then?
  If they had not reference to you in especial what were they then?)

  I swear I will never henceforth have to do with the faith that tells
      the best,
  I will have to do only with that faith that leaves the best untold.

  Say on, sayers! sing on, singers!
  Delve⁴⁵! mould! pile the words of the earth!
  Work on, age after age, nothing is to be lost,
  It may have to wait long, but it will certainly come in use,
  When the materials are all prepared and ready, the architects shall appear.

  I swear to you the architects shall appear without fall,
  I swear to you they will understand you and justify⁴⁶ you,
  The greatest among them shall be he who best knows you, and encloses
      all and is faithful to all,
  He and the rest shall not forget you, they shall perceive that you
      are not an iota⁴⁷ less than they,
  You shall be fully²⁴ glorified⁴⁸ in them.





Youth, Day, Old Age and Night

  Youth, large, lusty, loving—youth full of grace, force, fascination¹⁶,
  Do you know that Old Age may come after you with equal grace,
      force, fascination?

  Day full-blown and splendid-day of the immense sun, action,
      ambition, laughter,
  The Night follows close with millions of suns, and sleep and
      restoring darkness.

1 myriads   

n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Each galaxy contains myriads of stars. 每一星系都有无数的恒星。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sky was set with myriads of stars. 无数星星点缀着夜空。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 oration   

n.演说，致辞，叙述法

参考例句：

• He delivered an oration on the decline of family values.他发表了有关家庭价值观的衰退的演说。
• He was asked to deliver an oration at the meeting.他被邀请在会议上发表演说。

4 withhold   

v.拒绝，不给；使停止，阻挡

参考例句：

• It was unscrupulous of their lawyer to withhold evidence.他们的律师隐瞒证据是不道德的。
• I couldn't withhold giving some loose to my indignation.我忍不住要发泄一点我的愤怒。

5 imbued   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

• Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness. 她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。
• These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose. 这些有教养的人满怀着社会责任感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 squat   

v.蹲坐，蹲下；n.蹲下；adj.矮胖的，粗矮的

参考例句：

• For this exercise you need to get into a squat.在这次练习中你需要蹲下来。
• He is a squat man.他是一个矮胖的男人。

7 stifle   

vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止

参考例句：

• She tried hard to stifle her laughter.她强忍住笑。
• It was an uninteresting conversation and I had to stifle a yawn.那是一次枯燥无味的交谈，我不得不强忍住自己的呵欠。

8 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

9 ostensible   

adj.(指理由)表面的，假装的

参考例句：

• The ostensible reason wasn't the real reason.表面上的理由并不是真正的理由。
• He resigned secretaryship on the ostensible ground of health.他借口身体不好，辞去书记的职务。

10 wail   

vt./vi.大声哀号，恸哭；呼啸，尖啸

参考例句：

• Somewhere in the audience an old woman's voice began plaintive wail.观众席里，一位老太太伤心地哭起来。
• One of the small children began to wail with terror.小孩中的一个吓得大哭起来。

11 persuasions   

n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰

参考例句：

• To obtain more advertisting it needed readers of all political persuasions. 为获得更多的广告，它需要迎合各种政治见解的读者。 来自辞典例句
• She lingered, and resisted my persuasions to departure a tiresome while. 她踌躇不去，我好说歹说地劝她走，她就是不听。 来自辞典例句

12 gasps   

v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• He leant against the railing, his breath coming in short gasps. 他倚着栏杆，急促地喘气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• My breaths were coming in gasps. 我急促地喘起气来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

14 centripetal   

adj.向心的

参考例句：

• After some treatment of centripetal force,he deduces Kepler's third law.在向心力的一些论述之后，他推出了开普勒的第三定律。
• It is called the centripetal acceleration.这叫做向心加速度。

15 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

17 fascinations   

n.魅力( fascination的名词复数 )；有魅力的东西；迷恋；陶醉

参考例句：

• The fascinations of the circus are endless. 马戏表演非常吸引人。 来自辞典例句
• He held the children spellbound with magic tricks and other fascinations. 他使那些孩子沉浸在魔术和其他魅力中。 来自互联网

18 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

19 countenances   

n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持

参考例句：

• 'stood apart, with countenances of inflexible gravity, beyond what even the Puritan aspect could attain." 站在一旁，他们脸上那种严肃刚毅的神情，比清教徒们还有过之而无不及。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• The light of a laugh never came to brighten their sombre and wicked countenances. 欢乐的光芒从来未照亮过他们那阴郁邪恶的面孔。 来自辞典例句

20 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

21 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。

22 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

23 apparition   

n.幽灵，神奇的现象

参考例句：

• He saw the apparition of his dead wife.他看见了他亡妻的幽灵。
• But the terror of this new apparition brought me to a stand.这新出现的幽灵吓得我站在那里一动也不敢动。

24 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

25 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

26 offsets   

n.开端( offset的名词复数 )；出发v.抵消( offset的第三人称单数 )；补偿；（为了比较的目的而）把…并列（或并置）；为（管道等）装支管

参考例句：

• The following paragraphs deal with intra-source offsets and the so-called \"bubble\" concept. 下面讨论污染源内部的补偿和所谓的“泡泡”概念。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The preceding paragraphs were concerned with inter-source offsets. 前文牵涉到污染源之间的补偿。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

27 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

28 dreading   

v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was dreading having to broach the subject of money to her father. 她正在为不得不向父亲提出钱的事犯愁。
• This was the moment he had been dreading. 这是他一直最担心的时刻。

29 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

30 balk   

n.大方木料；v.妨碍；不愿前进或从事某事

参考例句：

• We get strong indications that his agent would balk at that request.我们得到的强烈暗示是他的经纪人会回避那个要求。
• He shored up the wall with a thick balk of wood.他用一根粗大的木头把墙撑住。

31 retarding   

使减速( retard的现在分词 )； 妨碍； 阻止； 推迟

参考例句：

• There may be a need for retarding growth chemically to keep trees within bounds. 可能需要用化学剂抑制生长，使树冠保持在一定的范围内。
• In some instances, an aversion to debt is retarding growth. 在某些情况下，对债务的反感正阻碍经济增长。

32 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

33 orator   

n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• The orator gestured vigorously while speaking.这位演讲者讲话时用力地做手势。

34 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

35 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

36 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

37 corroborate   

v.支持，证实，确定

参考例句：

• He looked at me anxiously,as if he hoped I'd corroborate this.他神色不安地看着我，仿佛他希望我证实地的话。
• It appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.看来他所说的和我叙述的相符。

38 amplitude   

n.广大；充足；振幅

参考例句：

• The amplitude of the vibration determines the loudness of the sound.振动幅度的大小决定声音的大小。
• The amplitude at the driven end is fixed by the driving mechanism.由于驱动机构的作用,使驱动端的振幅保持不变。

39 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

40 impartiality   

n. 公平, 无私, 不偏

参考例句：

• He shows impartiality and detachment. 他表现得不偏不倚，超然事外。
• Impartiality is essential to a judge. 公平是当法官所必需的。

41 spasms   

n.痉挛( spasm的名词复数 )；抽搐；（能量、行为等的）突发；发作

参考例句：

• After the patient received acupuncture treatment,his spasms eased off somewhat. 病人接受针刺治疗后，痉挛稍微减轻了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The smile died, squeezed out by spasms of anticipation and anxiety. 一阵阵预测和焦虑把她脸上的微笑挤掉了。 来自辞典例句

42 merges   

（使）混合( merge的第三人称单数 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中

参考例句：

• The 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Mo Yan"who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary". 2012年诺贝尔文学奖得主为莫言，他“很好地将魔幻现实与民间故事、历史与当代结合在一起”。
• A device that collates, merges, or matches sets of punched cards or other documents. 一种整理、合并或比较一组穿孔卡片或其它文档的设备。

43 untold   

adj.数不清的，无数的

参考例句：

• She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
• They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。

44 pivots   

n.枢( pivot的名词复数 )；最重要的人（或事物）；中心；核心v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的第三人称单数 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• The success of the project pivots on investment from abroad. 这个工程的成功主要依靠外来投资。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The novel pivots around a long conversation between two characters. 这部小说是以两个人物的对话为中心展开的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

45 delve   

v.深入探究，钻研

参考例句：

• We should not delve too deeply into this painful matter.我们不应该过分深究这件痛苦的事。
• We need to delve more deeply into these questions.这些是我们想进一步了解的。

46 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

47 iota   

n.些微，一点儿

参考例句：

• There is not an iota of truth in his story.他的故事没有一点是真的。
• He's never shown an iota of interest in any kind of work.他从来没有对任何工作表现出一点儿兴趣。

48 glorified   

美其名的，变荣耀的

参考例句：

• The restaurant was no more than a glorified fast-food cafe. 这地方美其名曰餐馆，其实只不过是个快餐店而已。
• The author glorified the life of the peasants. 那个作者赞美了农民的生活。