Beheld1; and chose it for his earthly shrine2!”
Aubrey de Vere.
Instead of returning immediately to Athens, following the expulsion of the Persians, Zopyrus and his new-found friend, Cimon, turned their faces northward3. Tempted4 by the beauty of the starry5 nights and the absence of wayfarers6, the two usually journeyed after the golden orb7 of the sun had disappeared beyond the watery8 horizon of the Corinthian Gulf9. Along this road that skirted the gulf, the hordes10 of Xerxes had marched.
The contrast between his journey southward and northward filled Zopyrus’ heart with stirring emotions, and in the dewy silence of the nights that followed their departure from Platæa, Zopyrus revealed to Cimon his peculiar11 identity and laid bare to this sympathetic friend the emotions that had at first stirred and finally swayed his soul from the time that he had left his native Sardis up to the present moment.
94
Cimon was a sympathetic and wondering listener. This young man’s experiences were so antipodal to his own that they interested him exceedingly. A week passed in this pleasant exchange of ideas and confidences until toward sundown of the eighth day, the purple crown of Mt. Helicon loomed12 in the distance and the two knew that in another day their journey would be completed.
“I do not believe that Melpomene sits alone on Mt. Parnassus now,” remarked Zopyrus meditatively13, more to himself than to his companion, as the two caught their first glimpse of the lofty dwelling14 place of the Muses15.
“What did you say?” asked Cimon, puzzled.
“Oh,” replied the other with a short laugh to cover his confusion, “I was just giving expression to an extremely fanciful idea that occurred to me when I passed through this gorge17 on my way to Athens. I imagined that surely in the face of an invading foe18, no Muse16 but the sorrowful Melpomene could occupy yonder height.”
“You were surely mistaken, friend Zopyrus,” said the other with a seriousness that proved how highly he esteemed19 this young man’s opinions. “Would not Clio, for instance, have been there to record events that will go down in history, and surely you can not imagine that Callio was in hiding when Aeschylus wrote his inspired verse so soon after the victory of Salamis! Aye, and Thalia too, had a vision of the future and knew that ere a year had passed, two friends, one who had helped in his infinitesimal way to swell20 the ranks of Xerxes, and one who, insignificant21 as compared with the many heroes of Hellas, would pass together in the bond of a lasting22 friendship beneath her very abode23! I do not believe that any of the Muses or any of the gods ever desert mortals, but we finite beings are incapable24 of comprehending their plan for us in the process of its unfolding.”
95
Zopyrus thought of the monotheistic belief of the Hellenic maiden25 whose act of supplication26 he had witnessed on the promontory27 overlooking the Bay of Salamis, but he said nothing, for he had an inner feeling that the stalwart, aristocratic Greek who walked beside him was as yet unready for a belief in but one ruling Divinity. That he loved the deities28 of Greece was evident from the rapt gaze which he now turned to the lofty summit of Mt. Parnassus. Was he aware that there were Greeks of the purest blood who were turning from the ancient gods and exalting29 Zeus apparently30 out of all due proportion? Strange emotions filled Zopyrus’ heart, for he too marveled at the thought that belief in the gods might no longer sway the destinies of the Greeks.
The two young men perceived that the road turned away from the water-side and zig-zagged across a picturesque31 ridge32. It was now broad daylight and they met occasional pedestrians33 who were returning from consultations34 with the oracle35 of Apollo. What sorrows and ambitions, what joys or what despair were locked in the heart of each one? Very likely these travelers had sought the oracle upon personal matters since their national crisis had so recently passed to their great advantage. Here an old man with slow and feeble steps probably wished to know the time yet allotted36 to him upon earth; there a mother with anxious care-worn countenance37 whose boy had not yet returned from Platæa, and beside her a young wife whose husband might have perished on the field of battle.
96
Cimon and Zopyrus did not stop to converse38 with any of the wayfarers for they desired to return to Athens as quickly as possible after their interview with the Pythoness. Presently they found themselves in a rugged39 and romantic glen, closed on the north by the wall-like cliffs of Mt. Parnassus, on the east by a ridge similar to the one they had just crossed, and on the south by the irregular heights of Mt. Kirphis, and in this glen stood a simple Ionic temple surrounded by many smaller buildings; the treasuries40 of various cities and islands of Greece. Their outlines were softened41 by vines and shrubbery in abundance. The tall trees and towering crags of the mount of the Muses allowed the entrance of only such sunlight as filtered through the less leafy trees. The air was cool and laden42 with the dank odor of growing things.
The two suppliants43 at the shrine of Apollo, after passing by the treasury44 of Thebes, approached that of Athens which was a beautiful little Doric temple of Parian marble, containing and partly built from the spoils of the battle of Marathon. Cimon paused to read an inscription45 engraved46 on a low parapet that supported armor captured from the Persians in that great battle. His heart swelled47 with pride at the consciousness that it was his father who had so successfully routed the Persians on the plain of Marathon. He ventured a glance at Zopyrus and was convinced that a loyal Greek stood by his side.
97
The long low edifice48 just beyond the Treasury of the Athenians was the Bouleuterion above which rose a rough mass of rock, the Rock of the Sibyl. A priest of Apollo at the entrance of the Bouleuterion gave each of the young men a wax tablet and stylus with which it was intended that he write the question that he wished answered by the Sibyl whose duty it was to make known the will of the god whose organ of inspiration she was. The question that appeared on the tablet of each was the same; “Shall I win the maiden I love?” The priest took the tablets and withdrew to the rock where the priestess, a virgin49 clad in white, having chewed the leaves of the sacred laurel and drunk from the prophetic underground stream, Kassotis, sat upon a tripod above a fissure50 in the rock from which a mystic vapor51 arose by which she soon became inspired. Her mutterings and ravings were interpreted by the priest who wrote them below the questions in verse.
As was customary the men did not remain near during the trance of the medium, but sought the Castalian Fountain which was east of the sacred precinct at the head of a wild and picturesque gorge. The fountain was in front of a smooth face of rock, the water issuing from a rock at the right and being carried through a channel to an opening at the extreme left.
Cimon and Zopyrus seated themselves beneath a plane tree and surveyed with delight their romantic surroundings. It was no wonder Apollo had here chosen a location for one of his shrines52! The very breeze which brushed against their cheeks was like the breath of unseen spirits. The leaves of the plane trees whispered unintelligible53 secrets and the mountain stream murmured of mysteries as it moved majestically54 onward55.
98
Suddenly the two became aware of a figure seated near the edge of the fountain nearly within touch of its cooling spray. It proved upon closer observation to be that of an old man with wrinkled countenance and long flowing beard. From under his shaggy brows he had surveyed the new-comers with searching eyes. His hands were folded across the head of a knotty56 walking-stick. Cimon, the true Greek, to whom goodness and purity were synonymous with outward beauty, turned away from the unlovely figure of the old man with an exclamation57 of annoyance58, signifying that he disliked having the loveliness of the scene marred59 by the presence of the elderly stranger. But Zopyrus was differently affected60 by the sight of the aged61 one. Something vaguely62 familiar in the type of features held his gaze.
The old man continued to survey the two new-comers with a penetrating63 gaze till Cimon stood up abruptly64 and said to Zopyrus: “Our answers must be ready. Let us return to the rock of the Sibyl.”
He walked away from the fountain keeping his face averted65, for he would not deign66 to glance again toward the aged stranger. But Zopyrus’ heart was filled with pity toward this old man whose eyes like living coals burned forth67 their last lustre68 from the ashy gray of his withered69 face.
“You are a stranger in Greece?” Zopyrus asked kindly70.
The old man gave an affirmative nod and said, his tones seeming to issue from the recesses71 of a cavern72, “You too, my young friend, are a stranger to Greece, but not so your companion,” with a nod toward Cimon, who now hesitated to leave the fountain side and lingered uncertainly to hear the discourse73.
99
“You are right, father,” replied Zopyrus, bestowing74 upon him a look of mingled75 wonder and approbation76, “I came over with King Xerxes, but am not intending to return to Persia. My companion here knows that though once half a Greek, I am now entirely77 won over to the cause of Hellas.”
“It is easy to turn over to the victorious78 side! Tell me did you fight for Greece before taking this step?”
“That he did,” cried Cimon who could no longer maintain his attitude of aloofness79. “Next to Pausanias himself, there was no braver in the ranks of the Greeks!”
The stranger’s eyes glowed with enthusiasm and he bent80 upon Zopyrus a look of deep admiration81. Suddenly he stood up and though he leaned on his cane82, the young men were surprised at his lofty stature83.
“Do you intend to worship the gods of Greece? I see you have made a start by journeying here to this shrine of pagan idolatry.” He looked about him, his sharp features expressive84 of scorn and disapproval85.
Cimon took an aggressive step toward the two, but Zopyrus stretched forth his hand deterringly.
“Tell me what you mean,” Zopyrus asked, a suspicion of the truth beginning to dawn upon him.
The ancient pilgrim dropped his staff, and raising his arms toward the heavens, cried, “And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. For the idols86 have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain.”
100
He turned and pointed87 with one outstretched arm in the direction of the oracle, and with the other extended heavenward he continued: “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: ‘In those days it shall come to pass that ten men shall take hold out of all the languages of the nation, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, “We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you.”’”
The last words trembled into a silence that neither of the men dared to break. The awful solemnity and stern conviction of this prophet of a foreign race filled them with indescribable fear. They stood in reverent88 attitude before this worthy89 seer whose inspired words caused the possible utterances90 of the demented Pythoness to sink into utter insignificance91. When the young men ventured to look up, the aged one was disappearing around the edge of the fountain in the opposite direction from which the two had come.
“Wait a moment,” called Zopyrus. “Who are you, worthy sir, who have only strengthened convictions which I already possessed92?”
The prophet smiled and his face seemed alight with an inner radiance as he replied, “They call me Zechariah.”
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1
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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2
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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3
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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wayfarers
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| n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 ) | |
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7
orb
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| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
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8
watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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hordes
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| n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落 | |
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11
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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12
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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13
meditatively
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| adv.冥想地 | |
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14
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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15
muses
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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16
muse
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| n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感 | |
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17
gorge
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| n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃 | |
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18
foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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19
esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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20
swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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21
insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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22
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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24
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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25
maiden
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| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
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26
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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29
exalting
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| a.令人激动的，令人喜悦的 | |
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30
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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31
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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pedestrians
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| n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 ) | |
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consultations
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| n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找 | |
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oracle
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| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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38
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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39
rugged
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| adj.高低不平的，粗糙的，粗壮的，强健的 | |
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40
treasuries
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| n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库 | |
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41
softened
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| （使）变软( soften的过去式和过去分词 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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42
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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43
suppliants
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| n.恳求者，哀求者( suppliant的名词复数 ) | |
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44
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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45
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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46
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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47
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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48
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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49
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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50
fissure
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| n.裂缝；裂伤 | |
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51
vapor
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| n.蒸汽，雾气 | |
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52
shrines
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| 圣地，圣坛，神圣场所( shrine的名词复数 ) | |
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53
unintelligible
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| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
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54
majestically
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| 雄伟地； 庄重地； 威严地； 崇高地 | |
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55
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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56
knotty
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| adj.有结的，多节的，多瘤的，棘手的 | |
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57
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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58
annoyance
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| n.恼怒，生气，烦恼 | |
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59
marred
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| adj. 被损毁, 污损的 | |
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60
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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61
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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62
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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63
penetrating
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| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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64
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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65
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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66
deign
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| v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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67
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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68
lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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69
withered
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| adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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70
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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71
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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72
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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73
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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74
bestowing
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| 砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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75
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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76
approbation
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| n.称赞；认可 | |
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77
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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78
victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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79
aloofness
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| 超然态度 | |
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80
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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81
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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82
cane
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| n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的 | |
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83
stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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84
expressive
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| adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的 | |
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85
disapproval
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| n.反对，不赞成 | |
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86
idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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87
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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insignificance
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| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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