LXXVI. AMONG DAUGHTERS OF THE DESERT.

1.

“Go not away!” said then the wanderer who called himself Zarathustra’s shadow, “abide¹ with us—otherwise the old gloomy affliction might again fall upon us.

Now hath that old magician given us of his worst for our good, and lo! the good, pious² pope there hath tears in his eyes, and hath quite embarked³ again upon the sea of melancholy⁴.

Those kings may well put on a good air before us still: for that have THEY learned best of us all at present! Had they however no one to see them, I wager⁵ that with them also the bad game would again commence,—

—The bad game of drifting clouds, of damp melancholy, of curtained heavens, of stolen suns, of howling autumn-winds,

—The bad game of our howling and crying for help! Abide with us, O Zarathustra! Here there is much concealed⁶ misery⁷ that wisheth to speak, much evening, much cloud, much damp air!

Thou hast nourished us with strong food for men, and powerful proverbs: do not let the weakly, womanly spirits attack us anew at dessert!

Thou alone makest the air around thee strong and clear! Did I ever find anywhere on earth such good air as with thee in thy cave?

Many lands have I seen, my nose hath learned to test and estimate many kinds of air: but with thee do my nostrils⁸ taste their greatest delight!

Unless it be,—unless it be—, do forgive an old recollection! Forgive me an old after-dinner song, which I once composed amongst daughters of the desert:—

For with them was there equally good, clear, Oriental air; there was I furthest from cloudy, damp, melancholy Old-Europe!

Then did I love such Oriental maidens¹⁰ and other blue kingdoms of heaven, over which hang no clouds and no thoughts.

Ye would not believe how charmingly they sat there, when they did not dance, profound, but without thoughts, like little secrets, like beribboned riddles¹¹, like dessert-nuts—

Many-hued and foreign, forsooth! but without clouds: riddles which can be guessed: to please such maidens I then composed an after-dinner psalm¹².”

Thus spake the wanderer who called himself Zarathustra’s shadow; and before any one answered him, he had seized the harp¹³ of the old magician, crossed his legs, and looked calmly and sagely¹⁴ around him:—with his nostrils, however, he inhaled¹⁵ the air slowly and questioningly, like one who in new countries tasteth new foreign air. Afterward¹⁶ he began to sing with a kind of roaring.

2. THE DESERTS GROW: WOE¹⁷ HIM WHO DOTH THEM HIDE!

     —Ha!
     Solemnly!
     In effect solemnly!
     A worthy¹⁸ beginning!
     Afric manner, solemnly!
     Of a lion worthy,
     Or perhaps of a virtuous¹⁹ howl-monkey—
     —But it’s naught²⁰ to you,
     Ye friendly damsels dearly loved,
     At whose own feet to me,
     The first occasion,
     To a European under palm-trees,
     A seat is now granted.  Selah.

     Wonderful, truly!
     Here do I sit now,
     The desert nigh, and yet I am
     So far still from the desert,
     Even in naught yet deserted²¹:
     That is, I’m swallowed down
     By this the smallest oasis²²—:
     —It opened up just yawning,
     Its loveliest mouth agape,
     Most sweet-odoured of all mouthlets:
     Then fell I right in,
     Right down, right through—in ‘mong you,
     Ye friendly damsels dearly loved!  Selah.

     Hail! hail! to that whale, fishlike,
     If it thus for its guest’s convenience
     Made things nice!—(ye well know,
     Surely, my learned allusion²³?)
     Hail to its belly²⁴,
     If it had e’er
     A such loveliest oasis-belly
     As this is:  though however I doubt about it,
     —With this come I out of Old-Europe,
     That doubt’th more eagerly than doth any
     Elderly married woman.
     May the Lord improve it!
     Amen!

     Here do I sit now,
     In this the smallest oasis,
     Like a date indeed,
     Brown, quite sweet, gold-suppurating,
     For rounded mouth of maiden⁹ longing²⁵,
     But yet still more for youthful, maidlike,
     Ice-cold and snow-white and incisory
     Front teeth:  and for such assuredly,
     Pine the hearts all of ardent²⁶ date-fruits.  Selah.

     To the there-named south-fruits now,
     Similar, all-too-similar,
     Do I lie here; by little
     Flying insects
     Round-sniffled and round-played,
     And also by yet littler,
     Foolisher, and peccabler
     Wishes and phantasies,—
     Environed by you,
     Ye silent, presentientest
     Maiden-kittens,
     Dudu and Suleika,
     —ROUNDSPHINXED, that into one word
     I may crowd much feeling:
     (Forgive me, O God,
     All such speech-sinning!)
     —Sit I here the best of air sniffling,
     Paradisal air, truly,
     Bright and buoyant air, golden-mottled,
     As goodly air as ever
     From lunar orb²⁷ downfell—
     Be it by hazard,
     Or supervened it by arrogancy?
     As the ancient poets relate it.
     But doubter, I’m now calling it
     In question:  with this do I come indeed
     Out of Europe,
     That doubt’th more eagerly than doth any
     Elderly married woman.
     May the Lord improve it!
     Amen.

     This the finest air drinking,
     With nostrils out-swelled like goblets²⁸,
     Lacking future, lacking remembrances
     Thus do I sit here, ye
     Friendly damsels dearly loved,
     And look at the palm-tree there,
     How it, to a dance-girl, like,
     Doth bow and bend and on its haunches bob,
     —One doth it too, when one view’th it long!—
     To a dance-girl like, who as it seem’th to me,
     Too long, and dangerously persistent²⁹,
     Always, always, just on SINGLE leg hath stood?
     —Then forgot she thereby³⁰, as it seem’th to me,
     The OTHER leg?
     For vainly I, at least,
     Did search for the amissing
     Fellow-jewel
     —Namely, the other leg—
     In the sanctified precincts,
     Nigh her very dearest, very tenderest,
     Flapping and fluttering and flickering³¹ skirting.
     Yea, if ye should, ye beauteous friendly ones,
     Quite take my word:
     She hath, alas³²! LOST it!
     Hu!  Hu!  Hu!  Hu!  Hu!
     It is away!
     For ever away!
     The other leg!
     Oh, pity for that loveliest other leg!
     Where may it now tarry, all-forsaken weeping?
     The lonesomest leg?
     In fear perhaps before a
     Furious, yellow, blond and curled
     Leonine monster?  Or perhaps even
     Gnawed³³ away, nibbled³⁴ badly—
     Most wretched, woeful! woeful! nibbled badly!  Selah.

     Oh, weep ye not,
     Gentle spirits!
     Weep ye not, ye
     Date-fruit spirits!  Milk-bosoms!
     Ye sweetwood-heart
     Purselets!
     Weep ye no more,
     Pallid³⁵ Dudu!
     Be a man, Suleika!  Bold!  Bold!
     —Or else should there perhaps
     Something strengthening, heart-strengthening,
     Here most proper be?
     Some inspiring text?
     Some solemn exhortation³⁶?—
     Ha!  Up now! honour!
     Moral honour!  European honour!
     Blow again, continue,
     Bellows-box of virtue³⁷!
     Ha!
     Once more thy roaring,
     Thy moral roaring!
     As a virtuous lion
     Nigh the daughters of deserts roaring!
     —For virtue’s out-howl,
     Ye very dearest maidens,
     Is more than every
     European fervour, European hot-hunger!
     And now do I stand here,
     As European,
     I can’t be different, God’s help to me!
     Amen!

THE DESERTS GROW: WOE HIM WHO DOTH THEM HIDE!

1 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

2 pious   

adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的

参考例句：

• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。
• Her mother was a pious Christian.她母亲是一个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

4 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

5 wager   

n.赌注；vt.押注，打赌

参考例句：

• They laid a wager on the result of the race.他们以竞赛的结果打赌。
• I made a wager that our team would win.我打赌我们的队会赢。

6 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

7 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

8 nostrils   

鼻孔( nostril的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Her nostrils flared with anger. 她气得两个鼻孔都鼓了起来。
• The horse dilated its nostrils. 马张大鼻孔。

9 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

10 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

11 riddles   

n.谜（语）( riddle的名词复数 )；猜不透的难题，难解之谜

参考例句：

• Few riddles collected from oral tradition, however, have all six parts. 但是据收集的情况看，口头流传的谜语很少具有这完整的六部分。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• But first, you'd better see if you can answer riddles. 但是你首先最好想想你会不会猜谜语。 来自辞典例句

12 psalm   

n.赞美诗，圣诗

参考例句：

• The clergyman began droning the psalm.牧师开始以单调而低沈的语调吟诵赞美诗。
• The minister droned out the psalm.牧师喃喃地念赞美诗。

13 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

14 sagely   

adv. 贤能地，贤明地

参考例句：

• Even the ones who understand may nod sagely. 即使对方知道这一点，也会一本正经地点头同意。
• Well, that's about all of the sagely advice this old grey head can come up with. 好了，以上就是我这个满头银发的老头儿给你们的充满睿智的忠告。

15 inhaled   

v.吸入( inhale的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. 她合上双眼，深深吸了一口气。
• Janet inhaled sharply when she saw him. 珍妮特看到他时猛地吸了口气。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

17 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

18 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

19 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

20 naught   

n.无，零 [=nought]

参考例句：

• He sets at naught every convention of society.他轻视所有的社会习俗。
• I hope that all your efforts won't go for naught.我希望你的努力不会毫无结果。

21 deserted   

adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的

参考例句：

• The deserted village was filled with a deathly silence.这个荒废的村庄死一般的寂静。
• The enemy chieftain was opposed and deserted by his followers.敌人头目众叛亲离。

22 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

23 allusion   

n.暗示，间接提示

参考例句：

• He made an allusion to a secret plan in his speech.在讲话中他暗示有一项秘密计划。
• She made no allusion to the incident.她没有提及那个事件。

24 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

25 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

26 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

27 orb   

n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形

参考例句：

• The blue heaven,holding its one golden orb,poured down a crystal wash of warm light.蓝蓝的天空托着金色的太阳，洒下一片水晶般明亮温暖的光辉。
• It is an emanation from the distant orb of immortal light.它是从远处那个发出不灭之光的天体上放射出来的。

28 goblets   

n.高脚酒杯( goblet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Oh the goblets of the breast! Oh the eyes of absence! 噢，乳房的杯盏！噢，失神的双眼！ 来自互联网
• Divide the digestive biscuit crumbs mixture between 6 goblets. 消化？底分成6双玻璃杯中。 来自互联网

29 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

30 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

31 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

32 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

33 gnawed   

咬( gnaw的过去式和过去分词 )； （长时间） 折磨某人； （使）苦恼； （长时间）危害某事物

参考例句：

• His attitude towards her gnawed away at her confidence. 他对她的态度一直在削弱她的自尊心。
• The root of this dead tree has been gnawed away by ants. 这棵死树根被蚂蚁唼了。

34 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

35 pallid   

adj.苍白的，呆板的

参考例句：

• The moon drifted from behind the clouds and exposed the pallid face.月亮从云朵后面钻出来，照着尸体那张苍白的脸。
• His dry pallid face often looked gaunt.他那张干瘪苍白的脸常常显得憔悴。

36 exhortation   

n.劝告，规劝

参考例句：

• After repeated exhortation by his comrades,he finally straightened out his thinking.经过同志们再三劝导，他终于想通了。
• Foreign funds alone are clearly not enough,nor are exhortations to reform.光有外资显然不够，只是劝告人们进行改革也不行。

37 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。