XVIII As John doth write more met mine eye

 As John doth write more met mine eye:

Within each wall were set three gates;

Twelve in succession I could spy,

Portals adorned¹ with bright gold plates;

Each gate a single pearl saw I,

A perfect pearl, as John relates.

On each a name was written high

Of Israel's sons after their dates,

The oldest first, as the story states.

Within those streets by night or noon,

Light beams that not one hour abates²;

They needed neither sun nor moon.

Of sun or moon they had no need;

For God Himself was their lamp light,

The Lamb their lantern was indeed;

From Him the city shone all bright.

Through wall and dwelling³ my looks might speed,

Such clearness could not hinder sight.

Of the high throne ye might take heed⁴,

With draperies of radiant white,

As John the Apostle doth endite;

High God Himself did sit thereon.

From the throne a river welled outright⁵

Was brighter than both sun and moon.

Sun nor moon shone never so sweet

As the full flood of that bright stream;

Swiftly it swept through every street,

Untainted did the water gleam.

Chapel⁶ nor church mine eyes did meet;

Therein is no temple as I deem;

The Almighty⁷ is their minster meet,

The Lamb their sacrifice supreme⁸.

The gates with neither bolt nor beam,

Wide open stand at night and noon;

To enter there let no man dream

Whom sin hath stained beneath the moon.

The moon may there win no least might,

She is too spotty, grey and grim;

Therein, moreover, is never night,

Why should the moon fill full her rim⁹

To rival the all-glorious light

That beams upon the river's brim?

The planets are in poorest plight¹⁰;

The sun itself is far too dim.

Beside the stream trees tall and trim

Bear living fruits that none doth prune¹¹;

Twelve times a year bends low each limb,

Renewed with fruitage every moon.

Beneath the moon full well might fail

The heart of mortal to endure

The marvel¹² that did mine eyes assail¹³,

Fashioned the fancy to allure¹⁴.

I stood as still as a startled quail¹⁵,

For wonder of its fair figure,

I felt no rest and no travail¹⁶,

Ravished before such radiance pure.

I say, and with conviction sure,

Had the eyes of man received that boon¹⁷,

Though wisest clerks sought for his cure,

His life were lost beneath the moon.

1 adorned   

[计]被修饰的

参考例句：

• The walls were adorned with paintings. 墙上装饰了绘画。
• And his coat was adorned with a flamboyant bunch of flowers. 他的外套上面装饰着一束艳丽刺目的鲜花。

2 abates   

减少( abate的第三人称单数 )； 减去； 降价； 撤消（诉讼）

参考例句：

• Unless inflation abates, more countries will adopt some form of inflation accounting. 除非通货膨胀率下降，否则将有更多的国家采用某种形式的通货膨胀会计。
• As mating, and fighting abates, males dip again and begin returning inland. 交配和打斗过后，雄性螃蟹再蘸一蘸潮湿的海水，回到内陆。

3 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

4 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

5 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

6 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

7 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

8 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

9 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

10 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

11 prune   

n.酶干；vt.修剪，砍掉，削减；vi.删除

参考例句：

• Will you prune away the unnecessary adjectives in the passage?把这段文字中不必要的形容词删去好吗？
• It is our job to prune the side branches of these trees.我们的工作就是修剪这些树的侧枝。

12 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

13 assail   

v.猛烈攻击，抨击，痛斥

参考例句：

• The opposition's newspapers assail the government each day.反对党的报纸每天都对政府进行猛烈抨击。
• We should assist parents not assail them.因此我们应该帮助父母们，而不是指责他们。

14 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

15 quail   

n.鹌鹑；vi.畏惧，颤抖

参考例句：

• Cowards always quail before the enemy.在敌人面前，胆小鬼们总是畏缩不前的。
• Quail eggs are very high in cholesterol.鹌鹑蛋胆固醇含量高。

16 travail   

n.阵痛；努力

参考例句：

• Mothers know the travail of giving birth to a child.母亲们了解分娩时的痛苦。
• He gained the medal through his painful travail.他通过艰辛的努力获得了奖牌。

17 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。