CHAPTER VI.

    In Reading gaol¹ by Reading town

                 There is a pit of shame,

               And in it lies a wretched man

                 Eaten by teeth of flame,

               In burning winding-sheet he lies,

                 And his grave has got no name.

 

               And there, till Christ call forth² the dead,

                 In silence let him lie:

               No need to waste the foolish tear,

                 Or heave the windy sigh:

               The man had killed the thing he loved,

                 And so he had to die.

 

               And all men kill the thing they love,

                 By all let this be heard,

               Some do it with a bitter look,

                 Some with a flattering word,

               The coward does it with a kiss,

                 The brave man with a sword!

 

1 gaol   

n.(jail)监狱；(不加冠词)监禁；vt.使…坐牢

参考例句：

• He was released from the gaol.他被释放出狱。
• The man spent several years in gaol for robbery.这男人因犯抢劫罪而坐了几年牢。

2 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。