10. How Demetrios Wooed

 Ahasuerus came and went at will. Nothing was known concerning this soft-treading furtive¹ man except by the proconsul, who had no confidants. By his decree Ahasuerus was an honoured guest at Nacumera. And always the Jew's eyes when Melicent was near him were as expressionless as the eyes of a snake, which do not ever change.

 

Once she told Demetrios that she feared Ahasuerus.

 

"But I do not fear him, Melicent, though I have larger reason. For I alone of all men living know the truth concerning this same Jew. Therefore, it amuses me to think that he, who served my wizard father in a very different fashion, is to-day my factor and ciphers² over my accounts."

 

Demetrios laughed, and had the Jew summoned.

 

This was in the Women's Garden, where the proconsul sat with Melicent in a little domed³ pavilion of stone-work which was gilded⁴ with red gold and crowned with a cupola of alabaster⁵. Its pavement was of transparent⁶ glass, under which were clear running waters wherein swam red and yellow fish.

 

Demetrios said:

 

"It appears that you are a formidable person, Ahasuerus. My wife here fears you."

 

"Splendour of the Age," returned Ahasuerus, quietly, "it is notorious that women have long hair and short wits. There is no need to fear a Jew. The Jew, I take it, was created in order that children might evince their playfulness by stoning him, the honest show their common-sense by robbing him, and the religious display their piety⁷ by burning him. Who forbids it?"

 

"Ey, but my wife is a Christian⁸ and in consequence worships a Jew." Demetrios reflected. His dark eyes twinkled. "What is your opinion concerning this other Jew, Ahasuerus?"

 

"I know that He was the Messiah, Lord."

 

"And yet you do not worship Him."

 

The Jew said:

 

"It was not altogether worship He desired. He asked that men should love Him. He does not ask love of me."

 

"I find that an obscure saying," Demetrios considered.

 

"It is a true saying, King of Kings. In time it will be made plain. That time is not yet come. I used to pray it would come soon. Now I do not pray any longer. I only wait."

 

Demetrios tugged⁹ at his chin, his eyes narrowed, meditating¹⁰. He laughed.

 

Demetrios said:

 

"It is no affair of mine. What am I that I am called upon to have prejudices concerning the universe? It is highly probable there are gods of some sort or another, but I do not so far flatter myself as to consider that any possible god would be at all interested in my opinion of him. In any event, I am Demetrios. Let the worst come, and in whatever baleful underworld I find myself imprisoned¹¹ I shall maintain myself there in a manner not unworthy of Demetrios." The proconsul shrugged¹² at this point. "I do not find you amusing, Ahasuerus. You may go."

 

"I hear, and I obey," the Jew replied. He went away patiently.

 

Then Demetrios turned toward Melicent, rejoicing that his chattel¹³ had golden hair and was comely¹⁴ beyond comparison with all other women he had ever seen.

 

Said Demetrios:

 

"I love you, Melicent, and you do not love me. Do not be offended because my speech is harsh, for even though I know my candour is distasteful I must speak the truth. You have been obdurate¹⁵ too long, denying Kypris what is due to her. I think that your brain is giddy because of too much exulting¹⁶ in the magnificence of your body and in the number of men who have desired it to their own hurt. I concede your beauty, yet what will it matter a hundred years from now?

 

"I admit that my refrain is old. But it will presently take on a more poignant¹⁷ meaning, because a hundred years from now you—even you, dear Melicent!—and all the loveliness which now causes me to estimate life as a light matter in comparison with your love, will be only a bone or two. Your lustrous¹⁸ eyes, which are now more beautiful than it is possible to express, will be unsavoury holes and a worm will crawl through them; and what will it matter a hundred years from now?

 

"A hundred years from now should anyone break open our gilded tomb, he will find Melicent to be no more admirable than Demetrios. One skull¹⁹ is like another, and is as lightly split with a mattock. You will be as ugly as I, and nobody will be thinking of your eyes and hair. Hail, rain and dew will drench²⁰ us both impartially²¹ when I lie at your side, as I intend to do, for a hundred years and yet another hundred years. You need not frown, for what will it matter a hundred years from now?

 

"Melicent, I offer love and a life that derides²² the folly²³ of all other manners of living; and even if you deny me, what will it matter a hundred years from now?"

 

His face was contorted, his speech had fervent²⁴ bitterness, for even while he wooed this woman the man internally was raging over his own infatuation.

 

And Melicent answered:

 

"There can be no question of love between us, seignior. You purchased my body. My body is at your disposal under God's will."

 

Demetrios sneered²⁵, his ardours cooled. He said, "I have already told you, my girl, I do not care for that which can be purchased."

 

In such fashion Melicent abode²⁷ among these odious²⁸ persons as a lily which is rooted in mire²⁹. She was a prisoner always, and when Demetrios came to Nacumera—which fell about irregularly, for now arose much fighting between the Christians³⁰ and the pagans—a gem³¹ which he uncased, admired, curtly³² exulted³³ in, and then, jeering³⁴ at those hot wishes in his heart, locked up untouched when he went back to warfare³⁵.

 

To her the man was uniformly kind, if with a sort of sneer²⁶ she could not understand; and he pillaged³⁶ an infinity³⁷ of Genoese and Venetian ships—which were notoriously the richest laden—of jewels, veils, silks, furs, embroideries³⁸ and figured stuffs, wherewith to enhance the comeliness³⁹ of Melicent. It seemed an all-engulfing madness with this despot daily to aggravate⁴⁰ his fierce desire of her, to nurture⁴¹ his obsession⁴², so that he might glory in the consciousness of treading down no puny⁴³ adversary⁴⁴.

 

Pride spurred him on as witches ride their dupes to a foreknown destruction. "Let us have patience," he would say.

 

Meanwhile his other wives peered from screened alcoves⁴⁵ at these two and duly hated Melicent. "Let us have patience!" they said, also, but with a meaning that was more sinister⁴⁶.

1 furtive   

adj.鬼鬼崇崇的，偷偷摸摸的

参考例句：

• The teacher was suspicious of the student's furtive behaviour during the exam.老师怀疑这个学生在考试时有偷偷摸摸的行为。
• His furtive behaviour aroused our suspicion.他鬼鬼祟祟的行为引起了我们的怀疑。

2 ciphers   

n.密码( cipher的名词复数 )；零；不重要的人；无价值的东西

参考例句：

• The ciphers unlocked the whole letter. 解密码的方法使整封信的意义得到说明。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The writers often put their results in ciphers or anagrams. 写信人常常把成果写成密码或者搞成字谜。 来自辞典例句

3 domed   

adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• I gazed up at the domed ceiling arching overhead. 我抬头凝望着上方弧形的穹顶。
• His forehead domed out in a curve. 他的前额呈弯曲的半球形。

4 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

5 alabaster   

adj.雪白的；n.雪花石膏；条纹大理石

参考例句：

• The floor was marble tile,and the columns alabaster.地板是由大理石铺成的，柱子则是雪花石膏打造而成。
• Her skin was like alabaster.她的皮肤光洁雪白。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 meditating   

a.沉思的，冥想的

参考例句：

• They were meditating revenge. 他们在谋划进行报复。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics. 这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

12 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 chattel   

n.动产；奴隶

参考例句：

• They were slaves,to be bought and sold as chattels.他们是奴隶，将被作为财产买卖。
• A house is not a chattel.房子不是动产。

14 comely   

adj.漂亮的，合宜的

参考例句：

• His wife is a comely young woman.他的妻子是一个美丽的少妇。
• A nervous,comely-dressed little girl stepped out.一个紧张不安、衣着漂亮的小姑娘站了出来。

15 obdurate   

adj.固执的，顽固的

参考例句：

• He is obdurate in his convictions.他执着于自己所坚信的事。
• He remained obdurate,refusing to alter his decision.他依然固执己见，拒不改变决定。

16 exulting   

vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜

参考例句：

• He leaned back, exulting at the success of his plan. 他向后一靠，为自己计划成功而得意扬扬。
• Jones was exulting in the consciousness of his integrity. 琼斯意识到自己的忠贞十分高兴。

17 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

18 lustrous   

adj.有光泽的；光辉的

参考例句：

• Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
• This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。

19 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

20 drench   

v.使淋透，使湿透

参考例句：

• He met a drench of rain.他遇上一场倾盆大雨。
• They turned fire hoses on the people and drenched them.他们将消防水管对着人们，把他们浇了个透。

21 impartially   

adv.公平地，无私地

参考例句：

• Employers must consider all candidates impartially and without bias. 雇主必须公平而毫无成见地考虑所有求职者。
• We hope that they're going to administer justice impartially. 我们希望他们能主持正义，不偏不倚。

22 derides   

v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• That newspaper columnist derides the mayor whenever he can. 那位报纸专栏作家从不放过取笑市长的机会。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Bayrou derides his rivals for proposing to spend France's problems away. Bayrou先生嘲笑他的竞争者意图将法国的问题撇开。 来自互联网

23 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

24 fervent   

adj.热的，热烈的，热情的

参考例句：

• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。
• Austria was among the most fervent supporters of adolf hitler.奥地利是阿道夫希特勒最狂热的支持者之一。

25 sneered   

讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sneered at people who liked pop music. 他嘲笑喜欢流行音乐的人。
• It's very discouraging to be sneered at all the time. 成天受嘲讽是很令人泄气的。

26 sneer   

v.轻蔑；嘲笑；n.嘲笑，讥讽的言语

参考例句：

• He said with a sneer.他的话中带有嘲笑之意。
• You may sneer,but a lot of people like this kind of music.你可以嗤之以鼻，但很多人喜欢这种音乐。

27 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

28 odious   

adj.可憎的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• The judge described the crime as odious.法官称这一罪行令人发指。
• His character could best be described as odious.他的人格用可憎来形容最贴切。

29 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

30 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

31 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

32 curtly   

adv.简短地

参考例句：

• He nodded curtly and walked away. 他匆忙点了一下头就走了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The request was curtly refused. 这个请求被毫不客气地拒绝了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 exulted   

狂喜，欢跃( exult的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The people exulted at the victory. 人们因胜利而欢腾。
• The people all over the country exulted in the success in launching a new satellite. 全国人民为成功地发射了一颗新的人造卫星而欢欣鼓舞。

34 jeering   

adj.嘲弄的，揶揄的v.嘲笑( jeer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Hecklers interrupted her speech with jeering. 捣乱分子以嘲笑打断了她的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He interrupted my speech with jeering. 他以嘲笑打断了我的讲话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

36 pillaged   

v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are to be pillaged and terrorised in Hitler's fury and revenge. 在希特勒的狂怒和报复下，他们还遭到掠夺和恐怖统治。 来自辞典例句
• They villages were pillaged and their crops destroyed. 他们的村子被抢，他们的庄稼被毁。 来自辞典例句

37 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

38 embroideries   

刺绣( embroidery的名词复数 )； 刺绣品； 刺绣法

参考例句：

• Some of the embroideries are in bold, bright colours; others are quietly elegant. 刺绣品有的鲜艳，有的淡雅。
• These embroideries permitted Annabel and Midge to play their game in the luxury of peaceful consciences. 这样加以润饰，就使安娜博尔和米吉在做这个游戏时心安理得，毫无内疚。

39 comeliness   

n. 清秀, 美丽, 合宜

参考例句：

• Your comeliness is law with Mr. Wildeve. 你的美貌，对于韦狄先生，就是律令。
• Her comeliness overwhelmed him. 她的清秀美丽使他倾倒。

40 aggravate   

vt.加重(剧)，使恶化；激怒，使恼火

参考例句：

• Threats will only aggravate her.恐吓只能激怒她。
• He would only aggravate the injury by rubbing it.他揉擦伤口只会使伤势加重。

41 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

42 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

43 puny   

adj.微不足道的，弱小的

参考例句：

• The resources at the central banks' disposal are simply too puny.中央银行掌握的资金实在太少了。
• Antonio was a puny lad,and not strong enough to work.安东尼奥是个瘦小的小家伙，身体还不壮，还不能干活。

44 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

45 alcoves   

n.凹室( alcove的名词复数 )；（花园）凉亭；僻静处；壁龛

参考例句：

• In the alcoves on either side of the fire were bookshelves. 火炉两边的凹室里是书架。 来自辞典例句
• Tiny streams echo in enormous overhanging alcoves. 小溪流的回声在巨大而突出的凹壁中回荡。 来自互联网

46 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。