AMONG THE GODS.

 How close the air of valleys, and how close

The teeming¹ little life that harbors there!

68For me, I will climb mountains. Up and up,

Higher and higher, till I pant for breath

In that thin clearness. Still? There is no sound

Nor memory of sound upon these heights.

Ah! the great sunlight! The caressing² sky,

The beauty, and the stillness, and the peace!

I see my pathway clear for miles below;

See where I fell, and set a friendly sign

To warn some other of the danger there.

The green small world is wide below me spread.

The great small world! Some things look large and fair

Which, in their midst, I could not even see;

And some look small which used to terrify.

Blessed these heights of freedom, wisdom, rest!

I will go higher yet.

A sea of cloud

Rolls soundless waves between me and the world.

This is the zone of everlasting³ snows,

And the sweet silence of the hills below

Is song and laughter to the silence here.

Great fields, huge peaks, long awful slopes of snow.

Alone, triumphant⁴, man above the world,

I stand among these white eternities.

Sheer at my feet

Sink the unsounded, cloud-encumbered gulfs;

And shifting mists now veil and now reveal

The unknown fastnesses above me yet.

I am alone—above all life—sole king

Of these white wastes. How pitiful and small

Becomes the outgrown⁵ world! I reign⁶ supreme⁷,

And in this utter stillness and wide peace

Look calmly down upon the universe.

Surely that crest⁸ has changed! That pile of cloud

That covers half the sky, waves like a robe!

That large and gentle wind

Is like the passing of a presence here!

See how yon massive mist-enshrouded peak

Is like the shape of an unmeasured foot,—

The figure with the stars!

Ah! what is this? It moves, lifts, bends, is gone!

With what a shocking sense of littleness—

A reeling universe that changes place,

And falls to new relation over me—

I feel the unseen presence of the gods!

1 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

2 caressing   

爱抚的，表现爱情的，亲切的

参考例句：

• The spring wind is gentle and caressing. 春风和畅。
• He sat silent still caressing Tartar, who slobbered with exceeding affection. 他不声不响地坐在那里，不断抚摸着鞑靼，它由于获得超常的爱抚而不淌口水。

3 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

4 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

5 outgrown   

长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过

参考例句：

• She's already outgrown her school uniform. 她已经长得连校服都不能穿了。
• The boy has outgrown his clothes. 这男孩已长得穿不下他的衣服了。

6 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。