XIV "Unblemished," answered she again

 "Unblemished," answered she again,

"Without a spot of black or gray,

With honour may I this maintain;

But 'peerless Queen' I did not say.

Brides of the Lamb in bliss¹ we reign²,

An hundred and forty thousand gay,

As in the Apocalypse is made plain,

Saint John beheld³ them on a day;

On the hill of Zion he saw them stay,

In vision his spirit looked on them,

For the wedding clad in bright-array,

At the city of New Jerusalem."

"Of Jerusalem in speech I tell;

And what He is if thou wouldst see—

My Lamb, my Lord, my dear Jewel,

My Joy, my Love, my Bliss so free,—

The prophet Isaiah writeth well

Of His most mild humility⁴:

'Guiltless, when men upon Him fell

For never a fault nor felony,

As a sheep to the slaughter⁶ led was He;

Quiet, the while the crowd contemn⁷,

As a lamb in the shearer's hands might be,

He was judged by Jews in Jerusalem.'"

"In Jerusalem was my Lover slain⁸,

Rent on the rood by ruffians bold;

To bear our ills He was full fain,

To suffer our sorrows manifold;

Buffeted⁹ until blood did stain

That face so lovely to behold¹⁰;

He took upon Him all sin and pain,

Even He of Whom not one sin is told;

On the rude cross stretched faint and cold,

He let men deride¹¹ him and condemn¹²;

Meek¹³ as a lamb, betrayed and sold,

He died for us in Jerusalem."

"At Jerusalem, Jordan and Galilee,

Wherever Saint John came to baptize,

His words with Isaiah's words agree.

On Jesus he lifted up his eyes,

Speaking of Him this prophecy:

'Behold the Lamb of God!' he cries:

'Who bears the world's sins, this is He!

The guilt⁵ of all upon Him lies,

Though He wrought¹⁴ evil in no wise.

The branches springing from that stem

Who can recount? 'T is He who dies

For our sake in Jerusalem.'"

"In Jerusalem my Lover sweet

Twice as a lamb did thus appear,

Even as the prophets both repeat,

So meek the mien¹⁵ that He did wear;

The third time also, as is meet,

In the Revelation is written clear.

Reading a book on His high seat

Midmost the throne that saints ensphere,

The Apostle John beheld Him near;

That book seven sacred seals begem;

And at that sight all folk felt fear

In hell, in earth and Jerusalem."

1 bliss   

n.狂喜，福佑，天赐的福

参考例句：

• It's sheer bliss to be able to spend the day in bed.整天都可以躺在床上真是幸福。
• He's in bliss that he's won the Nobel Prize.他非常高兴，因为获得了诺贝尔奖金。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 beheld   

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

参考例句：

• His eyes had never beheld such opulence. 他从未见过这样的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soul beheld its features in the mirror of the passing moment. 灵魂在逝去的瞬间的镜子中看到了自己的模样。 来自英汉文学 - 红字

4 humility   

n.谦逊，谦恭

参考例句：

• Humility often gains more than pride.谦逊往往比骄傲收益更多。
• His voice was still soft and filled with specious humility.他的声音还是那么温和，甚至有点谦卑。

5 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

6 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

7 contemn   

v.蔑视

参考例句：

• The wicked contemn God.恶人轻侮上帝。
• I contemn the people who treat children so cruelly.我蔑视如此虐待孩子的人。

8 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

9 buffeted   

反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去

参考例句：

• to be buffeted by the wind 被风吹得左右摇摆
• We were buffeted by the wind and the rain. 我们遭到风雨的袭击。

10 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

11 deride   

v.嘲弄，愚弄

参考例句：

• Some critics deride the group as self - appointed food police.一些批评人士嘲讽这个组织为“自封的食品警察”。
• They deride his effort as childish.他们嘲笑他的努力，认为太孩子气。

12 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

13 meek   

adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的

参考例句：

• He expects his wife to be meek and submissive.他期望妻子温顺而且听他摆布。
• The little girl is as meek as a lamb.那个小姑娘像羔羊一般温顺。

14 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

15 mien   

n.风采；态度

参考例句：

• He was a Vietnam veteran with a haunted mien.他是个越战老兵，举止总有些惶然。
• It was impossible to tell from his mien whether he was offended.从他的神态中难以看出他是否生气了。