'Athens.
GLAUCUS to his beloved Sallust—greeting and health!—You request me to visit you at Rome—no, Sallust, come rather to me at Athens! I have forsworn the Imperial City, its mighty1 tumult2 and hollow joys. In my own land henceforth I dwell for ever. The ghost of our departed greatness is dearer to me than the gaudy4 life of your loud prosperity. There is a charm to me which no other spot can supply, in the porticoes5 hallowed still by holy and venerable shades. In the olive-groves6 of Ilyssus I still hear the voice of poetry—on the heights of Phyle, the clouds of twilight7 seem yet the shrouds8 of departed freedom—the heralds—the heralds—of the morrow that shall come! You smile at my enthusiasm, Sallust!—better be hopeful in chains than resigned to their glitter. You tell me you are sure that I cannot enjoy life in these melancholy9 haunts of a fallen majesty10. You dwell with rapture11 on the Roman splendors12, and the luxuries of the imperial court. My Sallust—"non sum qualis eram"—I am not what I was! The events of my life have sobered the bounding blood of my youth. My health has never quite recovered its wonted elasticity14 ere it felt the pangs15 of disease, and languished16 in the damps of a criminal's dungeon17. My mind has never shaken off the dark shadow of the Last Day of Pompeii—the horror and the desolation of that awful ruin!—Our beloved, our remembered Nydia! I have reared a tomb to her shade, and I see it every day from the window of my study. It keeps alive in me a tender recollection—a not unpleasing sadness—which are but a fitting homage18 to her fidelity19, and the mysteriousness of her early death. Ione gathers the flowers, but my own hand wreathes them daily around the tomb. She was worthy20 of a tomb in Athens!
'You speak of the growing sect21 of the Christians22 in Rome. Sallust, to you I may confide23 my secret; I have pondered much over that faith—I have adopted it. After the destruction of Pompeii, I met once more with Olinthus—saved, alas24! only for a day, and falling afterwards a martyr25 to the indomitable energy of his zeal26. In my preservation27 from the lion and the earthquake he taught me to behold28 the hand of the unknown God! I listened—believed—adored! My own, my more than ever beloved Ione, has also embraced the creed29!—a creed, Sallust, which, shedding light over this world, gathers its concentrated glory, like a sunset, over the next! We know that we are united in the soul, as in the flesh, for ever and for ever! Ages may roll on, our very dust be dissolved, the earth shrivelled like a scroll30; but round and round the circle of eternity31 rolls the wheel of life—imperishable—unceasing! And as the earth from the sun, so immortality32 drinks happiness from virtue33, which is the smile upon the face of God! Visit me, then, Sallust; bring with you the learned scrolls34 of Epicurus, Pythagoras, Diogenes; arm yourself for defeat; and let us, amidst the groves of Academus, dispute, under a surer guide than any granted to our fathers, on the mighty problem of the true ends of life and the nature of the soul.
'Ione—at that name my heart yet beats!—Ione is by my side as I write: I lift my eyes, and meet her smile. The sunlight quivers over Hymettus: and along my garden I hear the hum of the summer bees. Am I happy, ask you? Oh, what can Rome give me equal to what I possess at Athens? Here, everything awakens35 the soul and inspires the affections—the trees, the waters, the hills, the skies, are those of Athens!—fair, though mourning-mother of the Poetry and the Wisdom of the World. In my hall I see the marble faces of my ancestors. In the Ceramicus, I survey their tombs! In the streets, I behold the hand of Phidias and the soul of Pericles. Harmodius, Aristogiton—they are everywhere—but in our hearts!—in mine, at least, they shall not perish! If anything can make me forget that I am an Athenian and not free, it is partly the soothing—the love—watchful, vivid, sleepless—of Ione—a love that has taken a new sentiment in our new creed—a love which none of our poets, beautiful though they be, had shadowed forth3 in description; for mingled36 with religion, it partakes of religion; it is blended with pure and unworldly thoughts; it is that which we may hope to carry through eternity, and keep, therefore, white and unsullied, that we may not blush to confess it to our God! This is the true type of the dark fable37 of our Grecian Eros and Psyche—it is, in truth, the soul asleep in the arms of love. And if this, our love, support me partly against the fever of the desire for freedom, my religion supports me more; for whenever I would grasp the sword and sound the shell, and rush to a new Marathon (but Marathon without victory), I feel my despair at the chilling thought of my country's impotence—the crushing weight of the Roman yoke38, comforted, at least, by the thought that earth is but the beginning of life—that the glory of a few years matters little in the vast space of eternity—that there is no perfect freedom till the chains of clay fall from the soul, and all space, all time, become its heritage and domain39. Yet, Sallust, some mixture of the soft Greek blood still mingles40 with my faith. I can share not the zeal of those who see crime and eternal wrath41 in men who cannot believe as they. I shudder42 not at the creed of others. I dare not curse them—I pray the Great Father to convert. This lukewarmness exposes me to some suspicion amongst the Christians: but I forgive it; and, not offending openly the prejudices of the crowd, I am thus enabled to protect my brethren from the danger of the law, and the consequences of their own zeal. If moderation seem to me the natural creature of benevolence43, it gives, also, the greatest scope to beneficence.
'Such, then, O Sallust! is my life—such my opinions. In this manner I greet existence and await death. And thou, glad-hearted and kindly44 pupil of Epicurus, thou... But come hither, and see what enjoyments45, what hopes are ours—and not the splendor13 of imperial banquets, nor the shouts of the crowded circus, nor the noisy forum46, nor the glittering theatre, nor the luxuriant gardens, nor the voluptuous47 baths of Rome—shall seem to thee to constitute a life of more vivid and uninterrupted happiness than that which thou so unreasonably48 pitiest as the career of Glaucus the Athenian!—Farewell!'
Nearly Seventeen Centuries had rolled away when the City of Pompeii was disinterred from its silent tomb, all vivid with undimmed hues50; its walls fresh as if painted yesterday—not a hue49 faded on the rich mosaic51 of its floors—in its forum the half-finished columns as left by the workman's hand—in its gardens the sacrificial tripod—in its halls the chest of treasure—in its baths the strigil—in its theatres the counter of admission—in its saloons the furniture and the lamp—in its triclinia the fragments of the last feast—in its cubicula the perfumes and the rouge52 of faded beauty—and everywhere the bones and skeletons of those who once moved the springs of that minute yet gorgeous machine of luxury and of life! In the house of Diomed, in the subterranean53 vaults54, twenty skeletons (one of a babe) were discovered in one spot by the door, covered by a fine ashen55 dust, that had evidently been wafted56 slowly through the apertures57, until it had filled the whole space. There were jewels and coins, candelabra for unavailing light, and wine hardened in the amphorae for a prolongation of agonized58 life. The sand, consolidated59 by damps, had taken the forms of the skeletons as in a cast; and the traveler may yet see the impression of a female neck and bosom60 of young and round proportions—the trace of the fated Julia! It seems to the inquirer as if the air had been gradually changed into a sulphurous vapor61; the inmates62 of the vaults had rushed to the door, to find it closed and blocked up by the scoria without, and in their attempts to force it, had been suffocated63 with the atmosphere.
In the garden was found a skeleton with a key by its bony hand, and near it a bag of coins. This is believed to have been the master of the house—the unfortunate Diomed, who had probably sought to escape by the garden, and been destroyed either by the vapors64 or some fragment of stone. Beside some silver vases lay another skeleton, probably of a slave.
The houses of Sallust and of Pansa, the Temple of Isis, with the juggling65 concealments behind the statues—the lurking-place of its holy oracles—are now bared to the gaze of the curious. In one of the chambers66 of that temple was found a huge skeleton with an axe67 beside it: two walls had been pierced by the axe—the victim could penetrate68 no farther. In the midst of the city was found another skeleton, by the side of which was a heap of coins, and many of the mystic ornaments69 of the fane of Isis. Death had fallen upon him in his avarice70, and Calenus perished simultaneously71 with Burbo! As the excavators cleared on through the mass of ruin, they found the skeleton of a man literally72 severed73 in two by a prostrate74 column; the skull75 was of so striking a conformation, so boldly marked in its intellectual as well as its worse physical developments, that it has excited the constant speculation76 of every itinerant77 believer in the theories of Spurzheim who has gazed upon that ruined palace of the mind. Still, after the lapse78 of ages, the traveler may survey that airy hall within whose cunning galleries and elaborate chambers once thought, reasoned, dreamed, and sinned, the soul of Arbaces the Egyptian.
Viewing the various witnesses of a social system which has passed from the world for ever—a stranger, from that remote and barbarian79 Isle80 which the Imperial Roman shivered when he named, paused amidst the delights of the soft Campania and composed this history!
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1 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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2 tumult | |
n.喧哗;激动,混乱;吵闹 | |
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3 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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4 gaudy | |
adj.华而不实的;俗丽的 | |
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5 porticoes | |
n.柱廊,(有圆柱的)门廊( portico的名词复数 ) | |
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6 groves | |
树丛,小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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7 twilight | |
n.暮光,黄昏;暮年,晚期,衰落时期 | |
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8 shrouds | |
n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 );寿衣;遮蔽物;覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 );保密 | |
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9 melancholy | |
n.忧郁,愁思;adj.令人感伤(沮丧)的,忧郁的 | |
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10 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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11 rapture | |
n.狂喜;全神贯注;着迷;v.使狂喜 | |
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12 splendors | |
n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 );壮丽;光辉;显赫 | |
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13 splendor | |
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
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14 elasticity | |
n.弹性,伸缩力 | |
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15 pangs | |
突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 ); 悲痛 | |
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16 languished | |
长期受苦( languish的过去式和过去分词 ); 受折磨; 变得(越来越)衰弱; 因渴望而变得憔悴或闷闷不乐 | |
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17 dungeon | |
n.地牢,土牢 | |
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18 homage | |
n.尊敬,敬意,崇敬 | |
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19 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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20 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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21 sect | |
n.派别,宗教,学派,派系 | |
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22 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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23 confide | |
v.向某人吐露秘密 | |
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24 alas | |
int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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25 martyr | |
n.烈士,殉难者;vt.杀害,折磨,牺牲 | |
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26 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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27 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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28 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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29 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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30 scroll | |
n.卷轴,纸卷;(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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31 eternity | |
n.不朽,来世;永恒,无穷 | |
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32 immortality | |
n.不死,不朽 | |
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33 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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34 scrolls | |
n.(常用于录写正式文件的)纸卷( scroll的名词复数 );卷轴;涡卷形(装饰);卷形花纹v.(电脑屏幕上)从上到下移动(资料等),卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 );(似卷轴般)卷起;(像展开卷轴般地)将文字显示于屏幕 | |
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35 awakens | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的第三人称单数 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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36 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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37 fable | |
n.寓言;童话;神话 | |
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38 yoke | |
n.轭;支配;v.给...上轭,连接,使成配偶 | |
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39 domain | |
n.(活动等)领域,范围;领地,势力范围 | |
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40 mingles | |
混合,混入( mingle的第三人称单数 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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41 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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42 shudder | |
v.战粟,震动,剧烈地摇晃;n.战粟,抖动 | |
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43 benevolence | |
n.慈悲,捐助 | |
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44 kindly | |
adj.和蔼的,温和的,爽快的;adv.温和地,亲切地 | |
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45 enjoyments | |
愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 ); 令人愉快的事物; 享有; 享受 | |
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46 forum | |
n.论坛,讨论会 | |
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47 voluptuous | |
adj.肉欲的,骄奢淫逸的 | |
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48 unreasonably | |
adv. 不合理地 | |
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49 hue | |
n.色度;色调;样子 | |
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50 hues | |
色彩( hue的名词复数 ); 色调; 信仰; 观点 | |
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51 mosaic | |
n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的 | |
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52 rouge | |
n.胭脂,口红唇膏;v.(在…上)擦口红 | |
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53 subterranean | |
adj.地下的,地表下的 | |
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54 vaults | |
n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 );地下室;撑物跳高;墓穴 | |
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55 ashen | |
adj.灰的 | |
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56 wafted | |
v.吹送,飘送,(使)浮动( waft的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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57 apertures | |
n.孔( aperture的名词复数 );隙缝;(照相机的)光圈;孔径 | |
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58 agonized | |
v.使(极度)痛苦,折磨( agonize的过去式和过去分词 );苦斗;苦苦思索;感到极度痛苦 | |
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59 consolidated | |
a.联合的 | |
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60 bosom | |
n.胸,胸部;胸怀;内心;adj.亲密的 | |
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61 vapor | |
n.蒸汽,雾气 | |
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62 inmates | |
n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 ) | |
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63 suffocated | |
(使某人)窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 ); (将某人)闷死; 让人感觉闷热; 憋气 | |
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64 vapors | |
n.水汽,水蒸气,无实质之物( vapor的名词复数 );自夸者;幻想 [药]吸入剂 [古]忧郁(症)v.自夸,(使)蒸发( vapor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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65 juggling | |
n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词 | |
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66 chambers | |
n.房间( chamber的名词复数 );(议会的)议院;卧室;会议厅 | |
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67 axe | |
n.斧子;v.用斧头砍,削减 | |
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68 penetrate | |
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解 | |
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69 ornaments | |
n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 );点缀;装饰品;首饰v.装饰,点缀,美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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70 avarice | |
n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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71 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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72 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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73 severed | |
v.切断,断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 );断,裂 | |
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74 prostrate | |
v.拜倒,平卧,衰竭;adj.拜倒的,平卧的,衰竭的 | |
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75 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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76 speculation | |
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机 | |
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77 itinerant | |
adj.巡回的;流动的 | |
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78 lapse | |
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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79 barbarian | |
n.野蛮人;adj.野蛮(人)的;未开化的 | |
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80 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
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