The sun was setting gloriously over the hills which encompass1 Jerusalem, pouring its streams of golden light on the valleys clothed with the vine, pomegranate, and olive, sparkling on the brook2 Kedron, casting a rich glow on flat-roofed dwellings3, parapets, and walls, and throwing into bold relief from the crimson4 sky the pinnacles5 of the Temple, which, at the period of which I write, crowned the height of Mount Zion. Not the gorgeous Temple which Solomon had raised, that had long ago been given to the flames, nor yet the Temple as adorned6 by King Herod: the building before us stands in its simple majesty7 as erected8 by the Hebrews after their return from Babylon under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jeshua. Not the might of the powerful, nor the gold of the wealthy, but the earnest zeal9 of a people down-trodden and oppressed had built that Temple; and its highest adornment10 was the promise which Haggai's inspired lips had uttered: The Desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts (Hag. ii. 7). The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former (Hag. ii. 9).
The fulfilment of that promise was still a subject for faith; and seldom had faith had to breast a fiercer storm of persecution11 than that which was sweeping12 over God's ancient people at the time when my story opens, about 167 years before the Christian13 era. The Roman had not yet trodden the soil of Palestine as a conqueror14; but a yoke15 yet more intolerable than his lay on the necks of the sons of Abraham. Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria, one of the most merciless tyrants16 that ever existed, bore rule in the city of David. He had deluged18 the streets of Jerusalem with blood, he had plundered19 and polluted the Temple, offered the unclean beast upon God's holy altar, and set up the image of Jupiter Olympus in the place dedicated20 to the worship of the Lord of Sabaoth. It was a time of rebuke21 and blasphemy22, of fiery23 persecution against the one pure faith; and if some shrank back from the trial, other Hebrews showed that the spirit of Shadrach and his brethren still lived amongst the people of Judaea.
On the evening which I am describing, a young man was wandering among the clumps24 of hoary25 olive-trees which shaded a valley on the eastern side of Jerusalem. The red sunbeams pierced here and there between the grey branching stems and through the foliage26, and shone full on the figure of Lycidas the Athenian. No one could have mistaken him for a Hebrew, even had the young man worn the garb27 of a Jew instead of that of a Grecian. The exquisitely-formed features of the stranger were those which have been made familiar to us by the masterpieces of antiquity28 treasured in our museums. Lycidas might well have served as model to Phidias for a statue of Endymion. His form was of faultless proportions, remarkable29 rather for symmetry and grace than for strength; and his face might have been deemed too feminine in its beauty, but for the stamp of intellect on it. That young brow had already worn the leafy crown in the Olympic contest for poetic30 honours; Lycidas had read his verses aloud in the arena31 to the critical ears of the Athenians, his fellow-citizens, and thousands from other parts of Greece, and had heard their plaudits ringing through the air at the close. That had been a proud moment for the youthful Athenian, but his ambition had not been satisfied by this his first great success. Lycidas was his own severest critic, and regarded himself as being rather at the starting-point than as at the goal. He had resolved on writing a poem, the fame of which should emulate32 that of the Iliad, and had chosen as the theme of his verse THE HEROISM33 OF VIRTUE34. Lycidas would draw his pictures from history, choose his models from men, and not from the so-called deities35 with which superstition36 or fancy had peopled Olympus. The Athenian had an innate37 love of the pure and true, which made him intuitively reject fables38, and which, amongst his countrymen, exposed him to the charge of scepticism. Lycidas could laugh with Aristophanes at legends of gods and demigods, whom their very priests represented as having more than the common infirmities and vices39 of mortal men. Had Lycidas reared an altar, it would have been like that which was seen two centuries later in his native city, with the inscription40, To THE UNKNOWN GOD. The Greek knew of no being above earth whom he could intelligently worship; and his religion consisted rather in an intense admiration41 for virtue in the abstract, than in anything to which his more superstitious42 countrymen would have given the name of piety43.
To collect materials for his poem on THE HEROISM OF VIRTUE, Lycidas had travelled far and wide. He had visited Rome, then a powerful republic, and listened with keen interest to her annals, so rich in stories of patriotism44 and self-devotion. The Athenian had then turned his course eastward45, had visited Alexandria, ascended46 the Nile, gazed on the Pyramids, even then--more than two thousand years ago--venerable from their antiquity. After seeing the marvels48 of the land of the Pharaohs, Lycidas had travelled by the way of Gaza to Jerusalem, where he was now residing. He was an occasional guest at the court of the Syrian monarch49, to whom he had brought a letter of introduction from Perseus, king of Macedonia.
It was not to indulge in pleasant poetic reveries that Lycidas had on that evening sought the seclusion50 of the olive-grove, if the direction of the current of his thoughts might be known by the index of his face, which wore an expression of indignation, which at times almost flashed into fierceness, while the silent lips moved, as if uttering words of stern reproof51 and earnest expostulation. No one was near to watch the countenance52 of the young Greek, until he suddenly met a person richly attired53 in the costume worn at the Syrian court, who came upon him in a spot where the narrowness of the path precluded54 the two men from avoiding each other without turning back, and so brought about a meeting which, to the last comer at least, was unwelcome.
"Ha! my Lord Pollux, is it you!" exclaimed Lycidas, with courteous55 salutation. "I missed you suddenly from my side to-day at that--shall I call it tragedy?--for never was a more thrilling scene acted before the eyes of man."
"I was taken with a giddiness--a touch of fever," replied the courtier addressed by the name of Pollux. He looked haggard and pale as he spoke56.
"I marvel47 not--I marvel not if your blood boiled to fever-heat, as did mine!" cried Lycidas. "No generous spirit could have beheld57 unmoved those seven Hebrew brethren, one after another, before the eyes of their mother, tortured to death in the presence of Antiochus, because they refused to break a law which they regarded as divine!"
"Nay," replied Pollux, forcing a smile; "their fate was nothing to me. What cared I if they chose to throw away their lives like fools for an idle superstition!"
"Fools! say rather like heroes!" exclaimed Lycidas, stopping short (for he had turned and joined Pollux in his walk). "I marvel that you have so little sympathy for those gallant58 youths--you who, from your cast of features, I should have deemed to be one of their race."
Pollux winced59, and knitted his dark brows, as if the remark were unwelcome.
"I have looked on the Olympic arena," continued Lycidas, resuming his walk, and quickening his steps as he warmed with his subject; "I have seen the athletes with every muscle strained, their limbs intertwined, wrestling like Milo; or pressing forward in the race for the crown and the palm, as if life were less dear than victory. But never before had I beheld such a struggle as that on which my eyes looked to-day, where the triumph was over the fear of man, the fear of death, where mortals wrestled60 with agony, and overcame it, silent, or but speaking such brave words as burnt themselves into the memory, deathless utterances61 from the dying! There were no plaudits to encourage these athletes, at least none that man could hear; there was no shouting as each victor reached the goal. But if the fortitude63 of suffering virtue be indeed a spectacle on which the gods admiringly look, then be assured that the invisible ones were gazing down to-day on that glorious arena, ay, and preparing the crown and the palm! For I can as soon believe," continued the Athenian, raising his arm and pointing towards the setting sun, "that that orb64 is lost, extinguished, blotted65 out from the universe, because he is sinking from our view, as that the noble spirits which animated66 those tortured forms could perish with them for ever!"
Pollux turned his head aside; he cared not that his companion should see the gesture of pain with which he gnawed67 his nether68 lip.
"It is certain that the sufferers looked forward to existence beyond death," continued the young Athenian. "One of the brothers, as he came forward to suffer, fixed69 his calm, stern gaze on Antiochus (I doubt not but that gaze will haunt the memory of Syria's king when his own dying hour shall arrive), and said--I well remember his words--'Wicked prince, you bereave70 us of earthly life; but the King of heaven and earth, if we die in defence of His laws, will one day raise us up to life eternal.' The next sufferer, stretching forth71 his hands as if to receive the palm rather than the executioner's stroke, said, with the same calm assurance, 'I received these limbs from Heaven, but I now despise them, since I am to defend the laws of God; from the sure and steadfast72 hope that He will one day restore them to me.' Is it possible that these men believed that not only souls but bodies would rise again--that some mysterious Power could and would restore them to life eternal? Is this the faith of the Hebrews?" The last question was impatiently repeated by Lycidas before it received an answer.
"Some of them hold such a wild faith," said Pollux.
"A sublime73, mysterious faith!" observed Lycidas; "one which makes the souls of those who hold it invulnerable as was the body of Achilles, and without the one weak point. It inspires even women and children with the courage of heroes, as I witnessed this day. The seventh of the Hebrew brethren was of tender years, and goodly. Even the king pitied his youth, and offered him mercy and honours if he would forsake74 the law of his God. Antiochus swore that he would raise the youth to riches and power, and rank him amongst his favoured courtiers, if he would bend to the will of the king. I watched the countenance of the boy as the offer was made. He saw on the one side the mangled75 forms of his brethren--the grim faces of the executioners; on the other, all the pomps and glories of earth: and yet he wavered not in his choice!"
Pollux could hardly suppress a groan76, and listened with ill-concealed impatience77 as the Athenian went on with his narrative78.
"Then the king bade the mother plead with her son, obey the promptings of nature, and bid him live for her sake. She had stood through all the fearful scene, not like a Niobe in tears, but with hands clasped and eyes upraised, as one who sees the invisible, and drinks in courage from words inaudible to other ears than her own. She heard the king, approached her young son, laid her hand on his shoulder, and gazed on him with unutterable tenderness. Faith with her might conquer fear, but could only deepen love. She conjured79 her child, by all that she had done and suffered for him, firmly to believe, and to fear not. 'Show yourself worthy80 of your brethren,' she said, 'that, by the mercy of God, I may receive you, together with your brothers, in the glory which awaits us!' And the fair boy smiled in her face, and followed in the glorious track of those who had suffered before him, praying for his country as he died for his faith. Then, in cruelty which acted the part of mercy, the mother--last of that heroic band--was re-united to them by death. But I could not stay to look upon that sacrifice," said Lycidas, with emotion; "I had seen enough, and more than enough!"
"And I have heard enough, and more than enough," muttered Pollux, on whom the description of the scene given by Lycidas had inflicted81 keen anguish82, the anguish of shame and remorse83.
"You pity the sufferers?" observed the Athenian.
"Pity--I envy!" was the thought to which the blanched84 lips of a renegade dared not give utterance62; Pollux but shook his head in reply.
"I would fain know more of the religion of the Hebrews," said Lycidas; "I have heard marvellous stories--more sublime than any that our poets have sung--of a Deity85 bringing this people out of Egypt, making a path for them through the depths of the sea, reining86 back its foaming87 waves as a rider his white-maned steed; giving to the thirsty--water from the rock, to the hungry--bread from the skies, and scattering88 the foes89 of Israel before them, as chaff90 is driven by the wind. I have heard of the sun's fiery chariot arrested in its course by the voice of a man, speaking with authority given to him by an inspiring Deity. Tell me what is the name of the Hebrew's powerful God?"
Pollux pressed his lips closely together; he dared not utter the awful name of Him whom he had denied. The courtier laid his hand on the jewelled clasp which fastened his girdle; perhaps the movement was accidental, perhaps he wished to direct the attention of his companion to the figures of Hercules and the Nemean lion which were embossed on the gold. "You forget," observed Pollux, "that I am a worshipper of the deities of Olympus, that I sacrifice to the mighty91 Jove."
"I asked not what was your religion," said Lycidas; "my question regarded that held by the Hebrews, of which you can scarcely be ignorant. What is the name of that God whom they would not deny, even to save themselves from torture and death?"
"I cannot tarry here longer, noble stranger," was the hurried reply of Pollux. "The sun has sunk; I must return to the city; Antiochus the king expects my attendance at his banquet to-night."
"I am bidden to it, but I go not," said the young Athenian; "slaughter92 in the daytime, feasting at night--blood on the hands--wine at the lips--I hate, I loathe93 this union of massacre94 and mirth! Go you and enjoy the revel95 in the palace of your king; were I present, I should see at the banquet the shadowy forms of that glorious matron and her sons; I should hear above the laughter, the shout, and the song, the thrilling tones of voices confessing unshaken confidence in the power and mercy of their God, and the glorious hope of immortality96 where the oppressor can torture no more."
And with a somewhat constrained97 interchange of parting courtesies, the free Greek and the sycophant98 of a tyrant17 went on their several ways.
1 encompass | |
vt.围绕,包围;包含,包括;完成 | |
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2 brook | |
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让 | |
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3 dwellings | |
n.住处,处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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4 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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5 pinnacles | |
顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 ); 顶点; 尖顶; 小尖塔 | |
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6 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
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7 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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8 ERECTED | |
adj. 直立的,竖立的,笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立,建立 | |
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9 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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10 adornment | |
n.装饰;装饰品 | |
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11 persecution | |
n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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12 sweeping | |
adj.范围广大的,一扫无遗的 | |
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13 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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14 conqueror | |
n.征服者,胜利者 | |
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15 yoke | |
n.轭;支配;v.给...上轭,连接,使成配偶 | |
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16 tyrants | |
专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 ); 暴君似的人; (古希腊的)僭主; 严酷的事物 | |
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17 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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18 deluged | |
v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付 | |
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19 plundered | |
掠夺,抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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20 dedicated | |
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的 | |
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21 rebuke | |
v.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
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22 blasphemy | |
n.亵渎,渎神 | |
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23 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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24 clumps | |
n.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的名词复数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声v.(树、灌木、植物等的)丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 );(土、泥等)团;块;笨重的脚步声 | |
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25 hoary | |
adj.古老的;鬓发斑白的 | |
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26 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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27 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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28 antiquity | |
n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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29 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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30 poetic | |
adj.富有诗意的,有诗人气质的,善于抒情的 | |
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31 arena | |
n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台 | |
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32 emulate | |
v.努力赶上或超越,与…竞争;效仿 | |
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33 heroism | |
n.大无畏精神,英勇 | |
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34 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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35 deities | |
n.神,女神( deity的名词复数 );神祗;神灵;神明 | |
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36 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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37 innate | |
adj.天生的,固有的,天赋的 | |
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38 fables | |
n.寓言( fable的名词复数 );神话,传说 | |
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39 vices | |
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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40 inscription | |
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文 | |
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41 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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42 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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43 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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44 patriotism | |
n.爱国精神,爱国心,爱国主义 | |
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45 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
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46 ascended | |
v.上升,攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47 marvel | |
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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48 marvels | |
n.奇迹( marvel的名词复数 );令人惊奇的事物(或事例);不平凡的成果;成就v.惊奇,对…感到惊奇( marvel的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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50 seclusion | |
n.隐遁,隔离 | |
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51 reproof | |
n.斥责,责备 | |
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52 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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53 attired | |
adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服,使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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54 precluded | |
v.阻止( preclude的过去式和过去分词 );排除;妨碍;使…行不通 | |
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55 courteous | |
adj.彬彬有礼的,客气的 | |
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56 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 | |
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57 beheld | |
v.看,注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 );瞧;看呀;(叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现)哎哟 | |
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58 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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59 winced | |
赶紧避开,畏缩( wince的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60 wrestled | |
v.(与某人)搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 );扭成一团;扭打;(与…)摔跤 | |
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61 utterances | |
n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 | |
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62 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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63 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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64 orb | |
n.太阳;星球;v.弄圆;成球形 | |
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65 blotted | |
涂污( blot的过去式和过去分词 ); (用吸墨纸)吸干 | |
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66 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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67 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 | |
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68 nether | |
adj.下部的,下面的;n.阴间;下层社会 | |
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69 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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70 bereave | |
v.使痛失(亲人等),剥夺,使丧失 | |
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71 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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72 steadfast | |
adj.固定的,不变的,不动摇的;忠实的;坚贞不移的 | |
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73 sublime | |
adj.崇高的,伟大的;极度的,不顾后果的 | |
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74 forsake | |
vt.遗弃,抛弃;舍弃,放弃 | |
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75 mangled | |
vt.乱砍(mangle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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76 groan | |
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
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77 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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78 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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79 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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80 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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81 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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82 anguish | |
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼 | |
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83 remorse | |
n.痛恨,悔恨,自责 | |
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84 blanched | |
v.使变白( blanch的过去式 );使(植物)不见阳光而变白;酸洗(金属)使有光泽;用沸水烫(杏仁等)以便去皮 | |
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85 deity | |
n.神,神性;被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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86 reining | |
勒缰绳使(马)停步( rein的现在分词 ); 驾驭; 严格控制; 加强管理 | |
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87 foaming | |
adj.布满泡沫的;发泡 | |
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88 scattering | |
n.[物]散射;散乱,分散;在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的;分散在不同范围的;广泛扩散的;(选票)数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式);散布;驱散 | |
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89 foes | |
敌人,仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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90 chaff | |
v.取笑,嘲笑;n.谷壳 | |
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91 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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92 slaughter | |
n.屠杀,屠宰;vt.屠杀,宰杀 | |
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93 loathe | |
v.厌恶,嫌恶 | |
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94 massacre | |
n.残杀,大屠杀;v.残杀,集体屠杀 | |
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95 revel | |
vi.狂欢作乐,陶醉;n.作乐,狂欢 | |
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96 immortality | |
n.不死,不朽 | |
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97 constrained | |
adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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98 sycophant | |
n.马屁精 | |
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