SUGGESTED BY A PICTURE OF TWO FEMALES BY LEONARDO DA VINCI 34

 

The lady Blanche, regardless of all her lovers’ fears,

To the Ursuline convent hastens, and long the abbess hears.

“O Blanche, my child, repent¹ ye of the courtly life ye lead.”

Blanche looked on a rosebud², and little seem’d to heed³.

She looked on the rosebud, she looked round and thought

On all her heart had whisper’d, and all the Nun⁴ had taught.

“I am worshipped by lovers, and brightly shines my fame,

All Christendom resoundeth the noble Blanche’s name.

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Nor shall I quickly wither⁵ like the rosebud from the tree,

My queen-like graces shining when my beauty’s gone from me.

But when the sculptured marble is raised o’er my head,

And the matchless Blanche lies lifeless among the noble dead,

This saintly lady abbess hath made me justly fear

It nothing will avail me that I was worshipp’d here.”

1 repent   

v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔

参考例句：

• He has nothing to repent of.他没有什么要懊悔的。
• Remission of sins is promised to those who repent.悔罪者可得到赦免。

2 rosebud   

n.蔷薇花蕾，妙龄少女

参考例句：

• At West Ham he was thought of as the rosebud that never properly flowered.在西汉姆他被认为是一个尚未开放的花蕾。
• Unlike the Rosebud salve,this stuff is actually worth the money.跟玫瑰花蕾膏不一样，这个更值的买。

3 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。

4 nun   

n.修女，尼姑

参考例句：

• I can't believe that the famous singer has become a nun.我无法相信那个著名的歌星已做了修女。
• She shaved her head and became a nun.她削发为尼。

5 wither   

vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡

参考例句：

• She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
• In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。