FEIGNED COURAGE XXIV

 

Horatio, of ideal courage vain,

Was flourishing in air his father’s cane¹,

And, as the fumes² of valour swell’d his pate³,

Now thought himself this hero, and now that:

“And now,” he cried, “I will Achilles be;

My sword I brandish⁴; see, the Trojans flee!

Now I’ll be Hector, when his angry blade

A lane through heaps of slaughter’d Grecians made!

And now my deeds, still, braver I’ll evince,

I am no less than Edward the Black Prince.

Give way, ye coward French!” As thus he spoke⁵,

And aim’d in fancy a sufficient stroke

To fix the fate of Crecy or Poictiers

(The Muse⁶ relates the Hero’s fate with tears),

He struck his milk-white hand against a nail,

Sees his own blood, and feels his courage fail.

Ah! where is now that boasted valour flown,

That in the tented field so late was shown?

Achilles weeps, great Hector hangs his head,

And the Black Prince goes whimpering to bed.

1 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

2 fumes   

n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体

参考例句：

• The health of our children is being endangered by exhaust fumes. 我们孩子们的健康正受到排放出的废气的损害。
• Exhaust fumes are bad for your health. 废气对健康有害。

3 pate   

n.头顶；光顶

参考例句：

• The few strands of white hair at the back of his gourd-like pate also quivered.他那长在半个葫芦样的头上的白发，也随着笑声一齐抖动着。
• He removed his hat to reveal a glowing bald pate.他脱下帽子，露出了发亮的光头。

4 brandish   

v.挥舞，挥动；n.挥动，挥舞

参考例句：

• She answered with a brandish of her umbrella.她挥动着伞回答。
• Come on together! Brandish the florid youth together!一起舞动绚丽的青春吧！

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 muse   

n.缪斯（希腊神话中的女神），创作灵感

参考例句：

• His muse had deserted him,and he could no longer write.他已无灵感，不能再写作了。
• Many of the papers muse on the fate of the President.很多报纸都在揣测总统的命运。