Whom Arthur and his knighthood called The Pure,
Had passed into the silent life of prayer,
Praise, fast, and alms; and leaving for the cowl
The helmet in an abbey far away
From Camelot, there, and not long after, died.
Ambrosius, loved him much beyond the rest,
A way by love that wakened love within,
To answer that which came: and as they sat
Beneath a world-old yew-tree, darkening half
Above them, ere the summer when he died
The monk Ambrosius questioned Percivale:
“O brother, I have seen this yew-tree smoke,
Spring after spring, for half a hundred years:
For never have I known the world without,
Nor ever strayed beyond the pale: but thee,
When first thou camest—such a courtesy
Spake through the limbs and in the voice—I knew
For one of those who eat in Arthur’s hall;
For good ye are and bad, and like to coins,
Some true, some light, but every one of you
Stamped with the image of the King; and now
Tell me, what drove thee from the Table Round,
My brother? was it earthly passion crost?”
But the sweet vision of the Holy Grail
And earthly heats that spring and sparkle out
Who wins, who falls; and waste the spiritual strength
Within us, better offered up to Heaven.”
To whom the monk: “The Holy Grail!—I trust
We are green in Heaven’s eyes; but here too much
We moulder—as to things without I mean—
Told us of this in our refectory,
But spake with such a sadness and so low
We heard not half of what he said. What is it?
“Nay, monk! what phantom?” answered Percivale.
“The cup, the cup itself, from which our Lord
Drank at the last sad supper with his own.
This, from the blessed land of Aromat—
After the day of darkness, when the dead
Went wandering o’er Moriah—the good saint
Arimathaean Joseph, journeying brought
To Glastonbury, where the winter thorn
Blossoms at Christmas, mindful of our Lord.
Could touch or see it, he was healed at once,
By faith, of all his ills. But then the times
Grew to such evil that the holy cup
Was caught away to Heaven, and disappeared.”
To whom the monk: “From our old books I know
That Joseph came of old to Glastonbury,
And there the heathen Prince, Arviragus,
And there he built with wattles from the marsh
A little lonely church in days of yore,
For so they say, these books of ours, but seem
Mute of this miracle, far as I have read.
But who first saw the holy thing today?”
And one no further off in blood from me
Than sister; and if ever holy maid
But that was in her earlier maidenhood22,
Which being rudely blunted, glanced and shot
Only to holy things; to prayer and praise
She gave herself, to fast and alms. And yet,
Nun as she was, the scandal of the Court,
Sin against Arthur and the Table Round,
And the strange sound of an adulterous race,
Across the iron grating of her cell
Beat, and she prayed and fasted all the more.
“And he to whom she told her sins, or what
Her all but utter whiteness held for sin,
A man wellnigh a hundred winters old,
Spake often with her of the Holy Grail,
A legend handed down through five or six,
And each of these a hundred winters old,
From our Lord’s time. And when King Arthur made
His Table Round, and all men’s hearts became
Clean for a season, surely he had thought
That now the Holy Grail would come again;
But sin broke out. Ah, Christ, that it would come,
And heal the world of all their wickedness!
‘O Father!’ asked the maiden, ‘might it come
To me by prayer and fasting?’ ‘Nay,’ said he,
‘I know not, for thy heart is pure as snow.’
And so she prayed and fasted, till the sun
Shone, and the wind blew, through her, and I thought
She might have risen and floated when I saw her.
“For on a day she sent to speak with me.
Beyond my knowing of them, beautiful,
Beyond all knowing of them, wonderful,
Beautiful in the light of holiness.
And ‘O my brother Percivale,’ she said,
‘Sweet brother, I have seen the Holy Grail:
For, waked at dead of night, I heard a sound
As of a silver horn from o’er the hills
Blown, and I thought, “It is not Arthur’s use
To hunt by moonlight;” and the slender sound
As from a distance beyond distance grew
Nor aught we blow with breath, or touch with hand,
Was like that music as it came; and then
Streamed through my cell a cold and silver beam,
And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail,
Rose-red with beatings in it, as if alive,
Till all the white walls of my cell were dyed
And then the music faded, and the Grail
Past, and the beam decayed, and from the walls
The rosy quiverings died into the night.
So now the Holy Thing is here again
Among us, brother, fast thou too and pray,
And tell thy brother knights to fast and pray,
That so perchance the vision may be seen
By thee and those, and all the world be healed.’
“Then leaving the pale nun, I spake of this
To all men; and myself fasted and prayed
Always, and many among us many a week
Fasted and prayed even to the uttermost,
Expectant of the wonder that would be.
“And one there was among us, ever moved
‘God make thee good as thou art beautiful,’
In so young youth, was ever made a knight
Till Galahad; and this Galahad, when he heard
My sister’s vision, filled me with amaze;
His eyes became so like her own, they seemed
Hers, and himself her brother more than I.
“Sister or brother none had he; but some
Called him a son of Lancelot, and some said
Like birds of passage piping up and down,
Clean from her forehead all that wealth of hair
Which made a silken mat-work for her feet;
And out of this she plaited broad and long
A strong sword-belt, and wove with silver thread
A crimson grail within a silver beam;
And saw the bright boy-knight, and bound it on him,
Saying, ‘My knight, my love, my knight of heaven,
O thou, my love, whose love is one with mine,
And break through all, till one will crown thee king
Far in the spiritual city:’ and as she spake
She sent the deathless passion in her eyes
Through him, and made him hers, and laid her mind
On him, and he believed in her belief.
“Then came a year of miracle: O brother,
In our great hall there stood a vacant chair,
Fashioned by Merlin ere he past away,
And carven with strange figures; and in and out
Of letters in a tongue no man could read.
Perilous for good and ill; ‘for there,’ he said,
‘No man could sit but he should lose himself:’
And once by misadvertence Merlin sat
In his own chair, and so was lost; but he,
Cried, ‘If I lose myself, I save myself!’
“Then on a summer night it came to pass,
While the great banquet lay along the hall,
That Galahad would sit down in Merlin’s chair.
“And all at once, as there we sat, we heard
A cracking and a riving of the roofs,
Thunder, and in the thunder was a cry.
A beam of light seven times more clear than day:
And down the long beam stole the Holy Grail
And none might see who bare it, and it past.
As in a glory, and all the knights arose,
And staring each at other like dumb men
“I sware a vow before them all, that I,
Because I had not seen the Grail, would ride
A twelvemonth and a day in quest of it,
Until I found and saw it, as the nun
My sister saw it; and Galahad sware the vow,
And good Sir Bors, our Lancelot’s cousin, sware,
And Lancelot sware, and many among the knights,
And Gawain sware, and louder than the rest.”
Then spake the monk Ambrosius, asking him,
“What said the King? Did Arthur take the vow?”
“Nay, for my lord,” said Percivale, “the King,
Was not in hall: for early that same day,
Crying on help: for all her shining hair
Red-rent with hooks of bramble, and all she wore
Torn as a sail that leaves the rope is torn
In tempest: so the King arose and went
To smoke the scandalous hive of those wild bees
That made such honey in his realm. Howbeit
Returning o’er the plain that then began
To darken under Camelot; whence the King
Looked up, calling aloud, ‘Lo, there! the roofs
Of our great hall are rolled in thunder-smoke!
For dear to Arthur was that hall of ours,
As having there so oft with all his knights
Feasted, and as the stateliest under heaven.
Which Merlin built for Arthur long ago!
For all the sacred mount of Camelot,
And all the dim rich city, roof by roof,
Climbs to the mighty hall that Merlin built.
And four great zones of sculpture, set betwixt
With many a mystic symbol, gird the hall:
And in the second men are slaying beasts,
And on the fourth are men with growing wings,
And over all one statue in the mould
Of Arthur, made by Merlin, with a crown,
And both the wings are made of gold, and flame
At sunrise till the people in far fields,
Behold it, crying, ‘We have still a King.’
“And, brother, had you known our hall within,
Broader and higher than any in all the lands!
And all the light that falls upon the board
Streams through the twelve great battles of our King.
Nay, one there is, and at the eastern end,
Where Arthur finds the brand Excalibur.
And also one to the west, and counter to it,
And blank: and who shall blazon it? when and how?—
O there, perchance, when all our wars are done,
The brand Excalibur will be cast away.
“So to this hall full quickly rode the King,
In horror lest the work by Merlin wrought,
Dreamlike, should on the sudden vanish, wrapt
In unremorseful folds of rolling fire.
And in he rode, and up I glanced, and saw
The golden dragon sparkling over all:
And many of those who burnt the hold, their arms
Followed, and in among bright faces, ours,
Full of the vision, prest: and then the King
Spake to me, being nearest, ‘Percivale,’
(Because the hall was all in tumult—some
“O brother, when I told him what had chanced,
My sister’s vision, and the rest, his face
Darkened, as I have seen it more than once,
When some brave deed seemed to be done in vain,
Darken; and ‘Woe is me, my knights,’ he cried,
‘Had I been here, ye had not sworn the vow.’
Bold was mine answer, ‘Had thyself been here,
My King, thou wouldst have sworn.’ ‘Yea, yea,’ said he,
‘Art thou so bold and hast not seen the Grail?’
“‘Nay, lord, I heard the sound, I saw the light,
But since I did not see the Holy Thing,
I sware a vow to follow it till I saw.’
“Then when he asked us, knight by knight, if any
Had seen it, all their answers were as one:
“‘Lo now,’ said Arthur, ‘have ye seen a cloud?
What go ye into the wilderness65 to see?’
“Then Galahad on the sudden, and in a voice
‘But I, Sir Arthur, saw the Holy Grail,
I saw the Holy Grail and heard a cry—
“O Galahad, and O Galahad, follow me.”‘
“‘Ah, Galahad, Galahad,’ said the King, ‘for such
As thou art is the vision, not for these.
Thy holy nun and thou have seen a sign—
Holier is none, my Percivale, than she—
But ye, that follow but the leader’s bell’
(Brother, the King was hard upon his knights)
‘Taliessin is our fullest throat of song,
And one hath sung and all the dumb will sing.
Lancelot is Lancelot, and hath overborne
Five knights at once, and every younger knight,
Unproven, holds himself as Lancelot,
Till overborne by one, he learns—and ye,
What are ye? Galahads?—no, nor Percivales’
(For thus it pleased the King to range me close
After Sir Galahad); ‘nay,’ said he, ‘but men
With strength and will to right the wronged, of power
To lay the sudden heads of violence flat,
Knights that in twelve great battles splashed and dyed
The strong White Horse in his own heathen blood—
But one hath seen, and all the blind will see.
Go, since your vows are sacred, being made:
Yet—for ye know the cries of all my realm
Pass through this hall—how often, O my knights,
Your places being vacant at my side,
This chance of noble deeds will come and go
Unchallenged, while ye follow wandering fires
Return no more: ye think I show myself
Too dark a prophet: come now, let us meet
The morrow morn once more in one full field
Of gracious pastime, that once more the King,
Before ye leave him for this Quest, may count
The yet-unbroken strength of all his knights,
Rejoicing in that Order which he made.’
“So when the sun broke next from under ground,
All the great table of our Arthur closed
And clashed in such a tourney and so full,
So many lances broken—never yet
Had Camelot seen the like, since Arthur came;
And I myself and Galahad, for a strength
So many knights that all the people cried,
And almost burst the barriers in their heat,
Shouting, ‘Sir Galahad and Sir Percivale!’
“But when the next day brake from under ground—
O brother, had you known our Camelot,
Built by old kings, age after age, so old
The King himself had fears that it would fall,
So strange, and rich, and dim; for where the roofs
Met foreheads all along the street of those
Who watched us pass; and lower, and where the long
Rich galleries, lady-laden, weighed the necks
Of dragons clinging to the crazy walls,
Thicker than drops from thunder, showers of flowers
Fell as we past; and men and boys astride
On wyvern, lion, dragon, griffin, swan,
At all the corners, named us each by name,
Calling, ‘God speed!’ but in the ways below
The knights and ladies wept, and rich and poor
Wept, and the King himself could hardly speak
For grief, and all in middle street the Queen,
‘This madness has come on us for our sins.’
So to the Gate of the three Queens we came,
Where Arthur’s wars are rendered mystically,
And thence departed every one his way.
“And I was lifted up in heart, and thought
Of all my late-shown prowess in the lists,
How my strong lance had beaten down the knights,
So many and famous names; and never yet
Had heaven appeared so blue, nor earth so green,
For all my blood danced in me, and I knew
That I should light upon the Holy Grail.
“Thereafter, the dark warning of our King,
That most of us would follow wandering fires,
Came like a driving gloom across my mind.
Then every evil word I had spoken once,
And every evil thought I had thought of old,
And every evil deed I ever did,
Awoke and cried, ‘This Quest is not for thee.’
And lifting up mine eyes, I found myself
Alone, and in a land of sand and thorns,
And I was thirsty even unto death;
And I, too, cried, ‘This Quest is not for thee.’
“And on I rode, and when I thought my thirst
With one sharp rapid, where the crisping white
Played ever back upon the sloping wave,
And took both ear and eye; and o’er the brook
Were apple-trees, and apples by the brook
Fallen, and on the lawns. ‘I will rest here,’
But even while I drank the brook, and ate
The goodly apples, all these things at once
Fell into dust, and I was left alone,
And thirsting, in a land of sand and thorns.
“And then behold a woman at a door
Spinning; and fair the house whereby she sat,
And kind the woman’s eyes and innocent,
And all her bearing gracious; and she rose
Opening her arms to meet me, as who should say,
‘Rest here;’ but when I touched her, lo! she, too,
Fell into dust and nothing, and the house
Became no better than a broken shed,
And in it a dead babe; and also this
Fell into dust, and I was left alone.
“And on I rode, and greater was my thirst.
Then flashed a yellow gleam across the world,
And where it smote the plowshare in the field,
Before it; where it glittered on her pail,
The milkmaid left her milking, and fell down
Before it, and I knew not why, but thought
‘The sun is rising,’ though the sun had risen.
In golden armour with a crown of gold
About a casque all jewels; and his horse
In golden armour jewelled everywhere:
And on the splendour came, flashing me blind;
And seemed to me the Lord of all the world,
Being so huge. But when I thought he meant
To crush me, moving on me, lo! he, too,
Opened his arms to embrace me as he came,
And up I went and touched him, and he, too,
Fell into dust, and I was left alone
And wearying in a land of sand and thorns.
“And I rode on and found a mighty hill,
Cried to me climbing, ‘Welcome, Percivale!
And glad was I and clomb, but found at top
No man, nor any voice. And thence I past
Far through a ruinous city, and I saw
That man had once dwelt there; but there I found
Only one man of an exceeding age.
‘Where is that goodly company,’ said I,
‘That so cried out upon me?’ and he had
Fell into dust, and disappeared, and I
Was left alone once more, and cried in grief,
‘Lo, if I find the Holy Grail itself
“And thence I dropt into a lowly vale,
Low as the hill was high, and where the vale
For when the Lord of all things made Himself
Naked of glory for His mortal change,
“Take thou my robe,” she said, “for all is thine,”
And all her form shone forth with sudden light
So that the angels were amazed, and she
Followed Him down, and like a flying star
Led on the gray-haired wisdom of the east;
But her thou hast not known: for what is this
Thou thoughtest of thy prowess and thy sins?
Thou hast not lost thyself to save thyself
As Galahad.’ When the hermit made an end,
In silver armour suddenly Galahad shone
Before us, and against the chapel door
Laid lance, and entered, and we knelt in prayer.
And at the sacring of the mass I saw
The holy elements alone; but he,
‘Saw ye no more? I, Galahad, saw the Grail,
That smote itself into the bread, and went;
And hither am I come; and never yet
Hath what thy sister taught me first to see,
This Holy Thing, failed from my side, nor come
Covered, but moving with me night and day,
Fainter by day, but always in the night
Blood-red, and sliding down the blackened marsh
Blood-red, and on the naked mountain top
Blood-red, and in the sleeping mere below
Blood-red. And in the strength of this I rode,
Shattering all evil customs everywhere,
And past through Pagan realms, and made them mine,
And clashed with Pagan hordes, and bore them down,
And broke through all, and in the strength of this
Come victor. But my time is hard at hand,
And hence I go; and one will crown me king
Far in the spiritual city; and come thou, too,
For thou shalt see the vision when I go.’
Drew me, with power upon me, till I grew
One with him, to believe as he believed.
“There rose a hill that none but man could climb,
Scarred with a hundred wintry water-courses—
Storm at the top, and when we gained it, storm
Round us and death; for every moment glanced
His silver arms and gloomed: so quick and thick
The lightnings here and there to left and right
Struck, till the dry old trunks about us, dead,
Yea, rotten with a hundred years of death,
Sprang into fire: and at the base we found
On either hand, as far as eye could see,
A great black swamp and of an evil smell,
Part black, part whitened with the bones of men,
Not to be crost, save that some ancient king
Had built a way, where, linked with many a bridge,
And Galahad fled along them bridge by bridge,
And every bridge as quickly as he crost
To follow; and thrice above him all the heavens
Opened and blazed with thunder such as seemed
Shoutings of all the sons of God: and first
At once I saw him far on the great Sea,
In silver-shining armour starry-clear;
Clothed in white samite or a luminous cloud.
And with exceeding swiftness ran the boat,
If boat it were—I saw not whence it came.
And when the heavens opened and blazed again
Roaring, I saw him like a silver star—
And had he set the sail, or had the boat
Become a living creature clad with wings?
And o’er his head the Holy Vessel hung
Redder than any rose, a joy to me,
Then in a moment when they blazed again
Opening, I saw the least of little stars
Down on the waste, and straight beyond the star
I saw the spiritual city and all her spires
No larger, though the goal of all the saints—
Strike from the sea; and from the star there shot
A rose-red sparkle to the city, and there
Dwelt, and I knew it was the Holy Grail,
Which never eyes on earth again shall see.
Then fell the floods of heaven drowning the deep.
No memory in me lives; but that I touched
The chapel-doors at dawn I know; and thence
Taking my war-horse from the holy man,
Glad that no phantom vext me more, returned
To whence I came, the gate of Arthur’s wars.”
“O brother,” asked Ambrosius,—“for in sooth
These ancient books—and they would win thee—teem,
Only I find not there this Holy Grail,
Not all unlike; which oftentime I read,
Who read but on my breviary with ease,
Till my head swims; and then go forth and pass
Down to the little thorpe that lies so close,
And almost plastered like a martin’s nest
And knowing every honest face of theirs
As well as ever shepherd knew his sheep,
Delight myself with gossip and old wives,
And ills and aches, and teethings, lyings-in,
And mirthful sayings, children of the place,
That have no meaning half a league away:
Chafferings and chatterings at the market-cross,
Rejoice, small man, in this small world of mine,
Yea, even in their hens and in their eggs—
O brother, saving this Sir Galahad,
Came ye on none but phantoms in your quest,
No man, no woman?”
Then Sir Percivale:
“All men, to one so bound by such a vow,
And women were as phantoms. O, my brother,
For after I had lain so many nights
In grass and burdock, I was changed to wan
And meagre, and the vision had not come;
And then I chanced upon a goodly town
With one great dwelling in the middle of it;
But when they led me into hall, behold,
The Princess of that castle was the one,
Brother, and that one only, who had ever
Made my heart leap; for when I moved of old
A slender page about her father’s hall,
And she a slender maiden, all my heart
And now I came upon her once again,
And all his land and wealth and state were hers.
And while I tarried, every day she set
A banquet richer than the day before
By me; for all her longing and her will
Was toward me as of old; till one fair morn,
I walking to and fro beside a stream
Her castle-walls, she stole upon my walk,
And calling me the greatest of all knights,
Embraced me, and so kissed me the first time,
And gave herself and all her wealth to me.
Then I remembered Arthur’s warning word,
That most of us would follow wandering fires,
And the Quest faded in my heart. Anon,
The heads of all her people drew to me,
With supplication118 both of knees and tongue:
‘We have heard of thee: thou art our greatest knight,
Our Lady says it, and we well believe:
And thou shalt be as Arthur in our land.’
O me, my brother! but one night my vow
Burnt me within, so that I rose and fled,
But wailed and wept, and hated mine own self,
And even the Holy Quest, and all but her;
Then after I was joined with Galahad
Cared not for her, nor anything upon earth.”
Then said the monk, “Poor men, when yule is cold,
Must be content to sit by little fires.
And this am I, so that ye care for me
Ever so little; yea, and blest be Heaven
That brought thee here to this poor house of ours
Where all the brethren are so hard, to warm
My cold heart with a friend: but O the pity
To find thine own first love once more—to hold,
Hold her a wealthy bride within thine arms,
Or all but hold, and then—cast her aside,
Foregoing all her sweetness, like a weed.
For we that want the warmth of double life,
We that are plagued with dreams of something sweet
Beyond all sweetness in a life so rich,—
Ah, blessed Lord, I speak too earthlywise,
Seeing I never strayed beyond the cell,
With earth about him everywhere, despite
None of your knights?”
“Yea so,” said Percivale:
All in the middle of the rising moon:
And toward him spurred, and hailed him, and he me,
And each made joy of either; then he asked,
‘Where is he? hast thou seen him—Lancelot?—Once,’
Said good Sir Bors, ‘he dashed across me—mad,
And maddening what he rode: and when I cried,
“Ridest thou then so hotly on a quest
So holy,” Lancelot shouted, “Stay me not!
For now there is a lion in the way.”
So vanished.’
“Then Sir Bors had ridden on
Softly, and sorrowing for our Lancelot,
Because his former madness, once the talk
And scandal of our table, had returned;
That ill to him is ill to them; to Bors
Beyond the rest: he well had been content
Not to have seen, so Lancelot might have seen,
The Holy Cup of healing; and, indeed,
Being so clouded with his grief and love,
Small heart was his after the Holy Quest:
If God would send the vision, well: if not,
The Quest and he were in the hands of Heaven.
“And then, with small adventure met, Sir Bors
And found a people there among their crags,
Our race and blood, a remnant that were left
Paynim amid their circles, and the stones
They pitch up straight to heaven: and their wise men
Were strong in that old magic which can trace
And this high Quest as at a simple thing:
Told him he followed—almost Arthur’s words—
A mocking fire: ‘what other fire than he,
Whereby the blood beats, and the blossom blows,
And the sea rolls, and all the world is warmed?’
Hearing he had a difference with their priests,
Of great piled stones; and lying bounden there
In darkness through innumerable hours
He heard the hollow-ringing heavens sweep
Over him till by miracle—what else?—
Heavy as it was, a great stone slipt and fell,
Such as no wind could move: and through the gap
Still as the day was loud; and through the gap
The seven clear stars of Arthur’s Table Round—
For, brother, so one night, because they roll
Through such a round in heaven, we named the stars,
Rejoicing in ourselves and in our King—
And these, like bright eyes of familiar friends,
In on him shone: ‘And then to me, to me,’
Said good Sir Bors, ‘beyond all hopes of mine,
Who scarce had prayed or asked it for myself—
Across the seven clear stars—O grace to me—
In colour like the fingers of a hand
A sharp quick thunder.’ Afterwards, a maid,
Who kept our holy faith among her kin
In secret, entering, loosed and let him go.”
To whom the monk: “And I remember now
That pelican on the casque: Sir Bors it was
Who spake so low and sadly at our board;
A square-set man and honest; and his eyes,
An out-door sign of all the warmth within,
Smiled with his lips—a smile beneath a cloud,
But heaven had meant it for a sunny one:
Ay, ay, Sir Bors, who else? But when ye reached
The city, found ye all your knights returned,
Or was there sooth in Arthur’s prophecy,
Tell me, and what said each, and what the King?”
Then answered Percivale: “And that can I,
Brother, and truly; since the living words
Of so great men as Lancelot and our King
Pass not from door to door and out again,
But sit within the house. O, when we reached
The city, our horses stumbling as they trode
Cracked basilisks, and splintered cockatrices,
And shattered talbots, which had left the stones
Raw, that they fell from, brought us to the hall.
“And there sat Arthur on the dais-throne,
And those that had gone out upon the Quest,
And those that had not, stood before the King,
Who, when he saw me, rose, and bad me hail,
Saying, ‘A welfare in thine eye reproves
Our fear of some disastrous135 chance for thee
Among the strange devices of our kings;
Yea, shook this newer, stronger hall of ours,
And from the statue Merlin moulded for us
Half-wrenched a golden wing; but now—the Quest,
This vision—hast thou seen the Holy Cup,
That Joseph brought of old to Glastonbury?’
“So when I told him all thyself hast heard,
Ambrosius, and my fresh but fixt resolve
To pass away into the quiet life,
He answered not, but, sharply turning, asked
Of Gawain, ‘Gawain, was this Quest for thee?’
“‘Nay, lord,’ said Gawain, ‘not for such as I.
Therefore I communed with a saintly man,
Who made me sure the Quest was not for me;
For I was much awearied of the Quest:
But found a silk pavilion in a field,
And merry maidens in it; and then this gale
Tore my pavilion from the tenting-pin,
And blew my merry maidens all about
With all discomfort139; yea, and but for this,
My twelvemonth and a day were pleasant to me.’
“He ceased; and Arthur turned to whom at first
He saw not, for Sir Bors, on entering, pushed
Held it, and there, half-hidden by him, stood,
‘Hail, Bors! if ever loyal man and true
Could see it, thou hast seen the Grail;’ and Bors,
‘Ask me not, for I may not speak of it:
I saw it;’ and the tears were in his eyes.
“Then there remained but Lancelot, for the rest
Our Arthur kept his best until the last;
‘Thou, too, my Lancelot,’ asked the king, ‘my friend,
Our mightiest, hath this Quest availed for thee?’
‘O King!’—and when he paused, methought I spied
A dying fire of madness in his eyes—
‘O King, my friend, if friend of thine I be,
Happier are those that welter in their sin,
Swine in the mud, that cannot see for slime,
Slime of the ditch: but in me lived a sin
So strange, of such a kind, that all of pure,
And poisonous grew together, each as each,
Sware, I sware with them only in the hope
That could I touch or see the Holy Grail
They might be plucked asunder. Then I spake
To one most holy saint, who wept and said,
That save they could be plucked asunder, all
My quest were but in vain; to whom I vowed
That I would work according as he willed.
And forth I went, and while I yearned and strove
To tear the twain asunder in my heart,
My madness came upon me as of old,
And whipt me into waste fields far away;
There was I beaten down by little men,
Mean knights, to whom the moving of my sword
And shadow of my spear had been enow
To scare them from me once; and then I came
Wide flats, where nothing but coarse grasses grew;
But such a blast, my King, began to blow,
So loud a blast along the shore and sea,
Ye could not hear the waters for the blast,
Swept like a river, and the clouded heavens
Were shaken with the motion and the sound.
And blackening in the sea-foam swayed a boat,
Half-swallowed in it, anchored with a chain;
And in my madness to myself I said,
And in the great sea wash away my sin.”
I burst the chain, I sprang into the boat.
And with me drove the moon and all the stars;
And the wind fell, and on the seventh night
And felt the boat shock earth, and looking up,
A castle like a rock upon a rock,
With chasm-like portals open to the sea,
And steps that met the breaker! there was none
Stood near it but a lion on each side
That kept the entry, and the moon was full.
Then from the boat I leapt, and up the stairs.
There drew my sword. With sudden-flaring manes
Those two great beasts rose upright like a man,
Each gript a shoulder, and I stood between;
And, when I would have smitten them, heard a voice,
“Doubt not, go forward; if thou doubt, the beasts
The sword was dashed from out my hand, and fell.
And up into the sounding hall I past;
But nothing in the sounding hall I saw,
No bench nor table, painting on the wall
Or shield of knight; only the rounded moon
Through the tall oriel on the rolling sea.
But always in the quiet house I heard,
A sweet voice singing in the topmost tower
To the eastward: up I climbed a thousand steps
With pain: as in a dream I seemed to climb
For ever: at the last I reached a door,
A light was in the crannies, and I heard,
“Glory and joy and honour to our Lord
And to the Holy Vessel of the Grail.”
Then in my madness I essayed the door;
It gave; and through a stormy glare, a heat
As from a seventimes-heated furnace, I,
Blasted and burnt, and blinded as I was,
With such a fierceness that I swooned away—
O, yet methought I saw the Holy Grail,
Great angels, awful shapes, and wings and eyes.
And but for all my madness and my sin,
And then my swooning, I had sworn I saw
That which I saw; but what I saw was veiled
And covered; and this Quest was not for me.’
“So speaking, and here ceasing, Lancelot left
The hall long silent, till Sir Gawain—nay,
Brother, I need not tell thee foolish words,—
A reckless and irreverent knight was he,
Now boldened by the silence of his King,—
Well, I will tell thee: ‘O King, my liege,’ he said,
‘Hath Gawain failed in any quest of thine?
But as for thine, my good friend Percivale,
Thy holy nun and thou have driven men mad,
Yea, made our mightiest madder than our least.
But by mine eyes and by mine ears I swear,
I will be deafer than the blue-eyed cat,
Henceforward.’
“‘Deafer,’ said the blameless King,
‘Gawain, and blinder unto holy things
Hope not to make thyself by idle vows,
Being too blind to have desire to see.
But if indeed there came a sign from heaven,
Blessed are Bors, Lancelot and Percivale,
For these have seen according to their sight.
For every fiery prophet in old times,
When God made music through them, could but speak
His music by the framework and the chord;
And as ye saw it ye have spoken truth.
“‘Nay—but thou errest, Lancelot: never yet
Could all of true and noble in knight and man
With such a closeness, but apart there grew,
Save that he were the swine thou spakest of,
Some root of knighthood and pure nobleness;
Whereto see thou, that it may bear its flower.
“‘And spake I not too truly, O my knights?
Was I too dark a prophet when I said
To those who went upon the Holy Quest,
That most of them would follow wandering fires,
Lost in the quagmire?—lost to me and gone,
And left me gazing at a barren board,
And a lean Order—scarce returned a tithe—
And out of those to whom the vision came
My greatest hardly will believe he saw;
Another hath beheld it afar off,
And leaving human wrongs to right themselves,
Cares but to pass into the silent life.
And one hath had the vision face to face,
And now his chair desires him here in vain,
However they may crown him otherwhere.
“‘And some among you held, that if the King
Had seen the sight he would have sworn the vow:
Not easily, seeing that the King must guard
Before his work be done; but, being done,
Let visions of the night or of the day
Come, as they will; and many a time they come,
Until this earth he walks on seems not earth,
This light that strikes his eyeball is not light,
But vision—yea, his very hand and foot—
In moments when he feels he cannot die,
And knows himself no vision to himself,
Nor the high God a vision, nor that One
Who rose again: ye have seen what ye have seen.’
“So spake the King: I knew not all he meant.”
点击收听单词发音
1 tilt | |
v.(使)倾侧;(使)倾斜;n.倾侧;倾斜 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
2 knight | |
n.骑士,武士;爵士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
3 owl | |
n.猫头鹰,枭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
4 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
5 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
6 cloisters | |
n.(学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的)走廊( cloister的名词复数 );回廊;修道院的生活;隐居v.隐退,使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
7 puffed | |
adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 );喷着汽(或烟)移动;吹嘘;吹捧 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
8 kin | |
n.家族,亲属,血缘关系;adj.亲属关系的,同类的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
9 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
10 rivalries | |
n.敌对,竞争,对抗( rivalry的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
11 jousts | |
(骑士)骑着马用长矛打斗( joust的名词复数 ); 格斗,竞争 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
12 knights | |
骑士; (中古时代的)武士( knight的名词复数 ); 骑士; 爵士; (国际象棋中)马 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
13 phantom | |
n.幻影,虚位,幽灵;adj.错觉的,幻影的,幽灵的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
14 wan | |
(wide area network)广域网 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
15 bode | |
v.预示 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
16 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
17 marsh | |
n.沼泽,湿地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
18 nun | |
n.修女,尼姑 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
19 adoration | |
n.爱慕,崇拜 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
20 maiden | |
n.少女,处女;adj.未婚的,纯洁的,无经验的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
21 wed | |
v.娶,嫁,与…结婚 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
22 maidenhood | |
n. 处女性, 处女时代 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
23 fervent | |
adj.热的,热烈的,热情的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
24 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
25 harp | |
n.竖琴;天琴座 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
26 rosy | |
adj.美好的,乐观的,玫瑰色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
27 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
28 dubbed | |
v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
29 begotten | |
v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 );产生,引起 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
30 gape | |
v.张口,打呵欠,目瞪口呆地凝视 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
31 lewd | |
adj.淫荡的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
32 crimson | |
n./adj.深(绯)红色(的);vi.脸变绯红色 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
33 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
34 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
35 scroll | |
n.卷轴,纸卷;(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
36 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
37 doom | |
n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
38 rending | |
v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 );分裂;(因愤怒、痛苦等而)揪扯(衣服或头发等);(声音等)刺破 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
39 smote | |
v.猛打,重击,打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
40 luminous | |
adj.发光的,发亮的;光明的;明白易懂的;有启发的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
41 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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
42 ware | |
n.(常用复数)商品,货物 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
43 vow | |
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
44 cavern | |
n.洞穴,大山洞 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
45 outraged | |
a.震惊的,义愤填膺的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
46 smeared | |
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
47 milky | |
adj.牛奶的,多奶的;乳白色的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
48 marvel | |
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
49 smitten | |
猛打,重击,打击( smite的过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
50 mighty | |
adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
51 spire | |
n.(教堂)尖顶,尖塔,高点 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
52 grove | |
n.林子,小树林,园林 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
53 brook | |
n.小河,溪;v.忍受,容让 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
54 slaying | |
杀戮。 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
55 slay | |
v.杀死,宰杀,杀戮 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
56 warriors | |
武士,勇士,战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
57 pointed | |
adj.尖的,直截了当的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
58 eastward | |
adv.向东;adj.向东的;n.东方,东部 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
59 hordes | |
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
60 blazon | |
n.纹章,装饰;精确描绘;v.广布;宣布 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
61 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
62 hacked | |
生气 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
63 vowing | |
起誓,发誓(vow的现在分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
64 vows | |
誓言( vow的名词复数 ); 郑重宣布,许愿 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
65 wilderness | |
n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等,荒漠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
66 shrilling | |
(声音)尖锐的,刺耳的,高频率的( shrill的现在分词 ); 凄厉 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
67 maim | |
v.使残废,使不能工作,使伤残 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
68 quagmire | |
n.沼地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
69 overthrew | |
overthrow的过去式 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
70 tottered | |
v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 );踉跄;蹒跚;摇摇欲坠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
71 wailed | |
v.哭叫,哀号( wail的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
72 shrieked | |
v.尖叫( shriek的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
73 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 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
74 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
75 plow | |
n.犁,耕地,犁过的地;v.犁,费力地前进[英]plough | |
参考例句: |
|
|
76 plowing | |
v.耕( plow的现在分词 );犁耕;费力穿过 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
77 spires | |
n.(教堂的) 塔尖,尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
78 pricked | |
刺,扎,戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 ); 刺伤; 刺痛; 使剧痛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
79 pinnacles | |
顶峰( pinnacle的名词复数 ); 顶点; 尖顶; 小尖塔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
80 gateway | |
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
81 mightiest | |
adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 );巨大的;强有力的;浩瀚的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
82 gasped | |
v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 );喘息;倒抽气;很想要 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
83 crumble | |
vi.碎裂,崩溃;vt.弄碎,摧毁 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
84 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
85 thereby | |
adv.因此,从而 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
86 hermit | |
n.隐士,修道者;隐居 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
87 phantoms | |
n.鬼怪,幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
88 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
89 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
90 slaked | |
v.满足( slake的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
91 descend | |
vt./vi.传下来,下来,下降 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
92 shrine | |
n.圣地,神龛,庙;v.将...置于神龛内,把...奉为神圣 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
93 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
94 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
95 wane | |
n.衰微,亏缺,变弱;v.变小,亏缺,呈下弦 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
96 ridge | |
n.山脊;鼻梁;分水岭 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
97 piers | |
n.水上平台( pier的名词复数 );(常设有娱乐场所的)突堤;柱子;墙墩 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
98 yearned | |
渴望,切盼,向往( yearn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
99 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
100 withdrawn | |
vt.收回;使退出;vi.撤退,退出 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
101 gateways | |
n.网关( gateway的名词复数 );门径;方法;大门口 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
102 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 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
103 mingle | |
vt.使混合,使相混;vi.混合起来;相交往 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
104 homely | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
105 lulling | |
vt.使镇静,使安静(lull的现在分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
106 random | |
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
107 wilt | |
v.(使)植物凋谢或枯萎;(指人)疲倦,衰弱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
108 faltered | |
(嗓音)颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 ); 支吾其词; 蹒跚; 摇晃 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
109 snail | |
n.蜗牛 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
110 thither | |
adv.向那里;adj.在那边的,对岸的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
111 disarmed | |
v.裁军( disarm的过去式和过去分词 );使息怒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
112 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: |
|
|
113 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
114 vowed | |
起誓,发誓(vow的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
115 wedded | |
adj.正式结婚的;渴望…的,执著于…的v.嫁,娶,(与…)结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
116 orchard | |
n.果园,果园里的全部果树,(美俚)棒球场 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
117 underneath | |
adj.在...下面,在...底下;adv.在下面 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
118 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
119 badger | |
v.一再烦扰,一再要求,纠缠 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
120 penance | |
n.(赎罪的)惩罪 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
121 swerving | |
v.(使)改变方向,改变目的( swerve的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
122 pelican | |
n.鹈鹕,伽蓝鸟 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
123 sluggard | |
n.懒人;adj.懒惰的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
124 tract | |
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
125 scoffed | |
嘲笑,嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
126 chafed | |
v.擦热(尤指皮肤)( chafe的过去式 );擦痛;发怒;惹怒 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
127 plunged | |
v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
128 glimmered | |
v.发闪光,发微光( glimmer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
129 taper | |
n.小蜡烛,尖细,渐弱;adj.尖细的;v.逐渐变小 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
130 glided | |
v.滑动( glide的过去式和过去分词 );掠过;(鸟或飞机 ) 滑翔 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
131 pealed | |
v.(使)(钟等)鸣响,(雷等)发出隆隆声( peal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
132 reverent | |
adj.恭敬的,虔诚的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
133 unicorns | |
n.(传说中身体似马的)独角兽( unicorn的名词复数 );一角鲸;独角兽标记 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
134 tithe | |
n.十分之一税;v.课什一税,缴什一税 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
135 disastrous | |
adj.灾难性的,造成灾害的;极坏的,很糟的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
136 Ford | |
n.浅滩,水浅可涉处;v.涉水,涉过 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
137 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
138 havoc | |
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
139 discomfort | |
n.不舒服,不安,难过,困难,不方便 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
140 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
141 espied | |
v.看到( espy的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
142 sundry | |
adj.各式各样的,种种的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
143 perils | |
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
144 writ | |
n.命令状,书面命令 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
145 groan | |
vi./n.呻吟,抱怨;(发出)呻吟般的声音 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
146 knightly | |
adj. 骑士般的 adv. 骑士般地 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
147 twine | |
v.搓,织,编饰;(使)缠绕 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
148 wholesome | |
adj.适合;卫生的;有益健康的;显示身心健康的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
149 asunder | |
adj.分离的,化为碎片 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
150 folly | |
n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
151 mounds | |
土堆,土丘( mound的名词复数 ); 一大堆 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
152 ridges | |
n.脊( ridge的名词复数 );山脊;脊状突起;大气层的)高压脊 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
153 cataract | |
n.大瀑布,奔流,洪水,白内障 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
154 embark | |
vi.乘船,着手,从事,上飞机 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
155 dreary | |
adj.令人沮丧的,沉闷的,单调乏味的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
156 shingle | |
n.木瓦板;小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌);v.用木瓦板盖(屋顶);把(女子头发)剪短 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
157 enchanted | |
adj. 被施魔法的,陶醉的,入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
158 piecemeal | |
adj.零碎的;n.片,块;adv.逐渐地;v.弄成碎块 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
159 lark | |
n.云雀,百灵鸟;n.嬉戏,玩笑;vi.嬉戏 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
160 palled | |
v.(因过多或过久而)生厌,感到乏味,厌烦( pall的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
161 stinted | |
v.限制,节省(stint的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
162 virgins | |
处女,童男( virgin的名词复数 ); 童贞玛利亚(耶稣之母) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
163 ecstasies | |
狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 ); 出神; 入迷; 迷幻药 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
164 bard | |
n.吟游诗人 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
165 hind | |
adj.后面的,后部的 | |
参考例句: |
|
|
166 allotted | |
分配,拨给,摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
167 smites | |
v.猛打,重击,打击( smite的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句: |
|
|
欢迎访问英文小说网 |