THE THREE TALL SONS

 And at last Man raised on high the final glory of his civilization, the towering edifice¹ of the ultimate city.

 

Softly beneath him in the deeps of the earth purred his machinery² fulfilling all his needs, there was no more toil³ for man. There he sat at ease discussing the Sex Problem.

 

And sometimes painfully out of forgotten fields, there came to his outer door, came to the furthest rampart of the final glory of Man, a poor old woman begging. And always they turned her away. This glory of Man's achievement, this city was not for her.

 

It was Nature that came thus begging in from the fields, whom they always turned away.

 

And away she went again alone to her fields.

 

And one day she came again, and again they sent her hence. But her three tall sons came too.

 

"These shall go in," she said. "Even these my sons to your city."

 

And the three tall sons went in.

 

And these are Nature's sons, the forlorn one's terrible children,

War, Famine and Plague.

 

Yea and they went in there and found Man unawares in his city still poring over his Problems, obsessed⁴ with his civilization, and never hearing their tread as those three came up behind.

1 edifice   

n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室)

参考例句：

• The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux.美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。
• There is a huge Victorian edifice in the area.该地区有一幢维多利亚式的庞大建筑物。

2 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

3 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

4 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。