A TYPE.

 I am too little, said the Wretch¹,

For any one to see.

Among the million men who do

This thing that I am doing too,

Why should they notice me?

My sin is common as to breathe;

It rests on every back.

And surely I am not to blame

Where everybody does the same,—

Am not a bit more black!

And so he took his willing share

In a universal crime,

Thinking that no reproach could fall

On one who shared the fault of all,

Who did it all the time.

Then Genius came, and showed the world

What thing it was they did;

How their offence had reached the poles

With stench of slain² unburied souls,

And all men cowered³ and hid.

Then Genius took that one poor Wretch

For now the time was ripe;

Stripped him of every shield and blind,

And nailed him up for all mankind

To study—as a type!

1 wretch   

n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人

参考例句：

• You are really an ungrateful wretch to complain instead of thanking him.你不但不谢他，还埋怨他，真不知好歹。
• The dead husband is not the dishonoured wretch they fancied him.死去的丈夫不是他们所想象的不光彩的坏蛋。

2 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

3 cowered   

v.畏缩，抖缩( cower的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A gun went off and people cowered behind walls and under tables. 一声枪响，人们缩到墙后或桌子底下躲起来。
• He cowered in the corner, gibbering with terror. 他蜷缩在角落里，吓得语无伦次。