The Academy of Epicurus was by no means a trifle spun1 for vainglory in the fertile fancy of Demedes; but a fact just as the Brotherhoods2 of the City were facts, and much more notorious than many of them.
Wiseacres are generally pessimistic. Academy of Epicurus indeed! For once there was a great deal in a name. The class mentioned repeated it sneeringly3; it spoke4 to them, and loudly, of some philosophical5 wickedness.
Stories of the miraculous6 growth of the society were at first amusing; then the announcement of its housing excited loud laughter; but when its votaries7 attached the high sounding term Temple to their place of meeting, the clergy8 and all the devoutly9 inclined looked sober. In their view the word savored10 of outright11 paganism. Temple of the Academy of Epicurus! Church had been better--Church was at least Christian12.
At length, in ease of the increasing interest, notice was authoritatively13 issued of a Festival of Flowers by the Academicians, their first public appearance, and great were the anticipations14 aroused by the further advertisement that they would march from their Temple to the Hippodrome.
The festival took place the afternoon of the third day of the Prince of India's voyage to Plati. More particularly, while that distinguished15 foreigner on the deck of the galley16 was quietly sleeping off the fatigue17 and wear of body and spirit consequent on the visit to the desolate18 island, the philosophers were on parade with an immense quota19 of Byzantines of both sexes in observation. About three thousand were in the procession, and from head to foot it was a mass of flowers.
The extravaganza deserved the applause it drew. Some of its features nevertheless were doubtfully regarded. Between the sections into which the column was divided there marched small groups, apparently20 officers, clad in gowns and vestments, carrying insignia and smoking tripods well known to have belonged to various priesthoods of mythologic21 fame. When the cortege reached the Hippodrome every one in the galleries was reminded of the glory the first Constantine gained from his merciless forays upon those identical properties.
In the next place, the motto of the society--Patience, Courage, Judgment22 --was too frequently and ostentatiously exhibited not to attract attention. The words, it was observed, were not merely on banners lettered in gold, but illustrated23 by portable tableaux24 of exquisite25 appositeness and beauty. They troubled the wiseacres; for while they might mean a world of good, they might also stand for several worlds of bad. Withal, however, the youthfulness of the Academicians wrought26 the profoundest sensation upon the multitude of spectators. The march was three times round the interior, affording excellent opportunity to study the appearances; and the sober thinking, whom the rarity and tastefulness of the display did not hoodwink, when they discovered that much the greater number participating were beardless lads, shook their heads while saying to each other, At the rate these are going what is to become of the Empire? As if the decadence27 were not already in progress, and they, the croakers, responsible for it!
At the end of the first round, upon the arrival of the sections in front of the triple-headed bronze serpent, one of the wonders of the Hippodrome then as now, the bearers of the tripods turned out, and set them down, until at length the impious relic28 was partially29 veiled in perfumed smoke, as was the wont30 in its better Delphian days.
Nothing more shocking to the religionists could have been invented; they united in denouncing the defiant31 indecency. Hundreds of persons, not all of them venerable and frocked, were seen to rise and depart, shaking the dust from their feet. In course of tile third circuit, the tripods were coolly picked up and returned to their several places in the procession.
From a seat directly over the course, Sergius beheld32 the gay spectacle from its earliest appearance through the portal of the Blues33 to its exit by the portal of the Greens. [Footnote: The Blues and the Greens--two celebrated34 factions35 of Constantinople. See Gibbon, vii. pp. 79-89. Four gates, each flanked with towers, gave entrance to the Hippodrome from the city. The northwestern was called the gate of the Blues; the northeastern of the Greens; the southeastern gate bore the sullen36 title, "Gate of the Dead."--Prof. Edwin A. Grosvenor.] His interest, the reader will bear reminding, was peculiar37. He had been honored by a special invitation to become a member of the Academy--in fact, there was a seat in the Temple at the moment reserved for him. He had the great advantage, moreover, of exact knowledge of the objects of the order. Godless itself, it had been organized to promote godlessness. He had given much thought to it since Demedes unfolded the scheme to him, and found it impossible to believe persons of sound sense could undertake a sin so elaborate. If for any reason the State and Church were unmindful of it, Heaven certainly could not be.
Aside from the desire to satisfy himself of the strength of the Academy, Sergius was drawn38 to the Hippodrome to learn, if possible, the position Demedes held in it. His sympathy with the venerable Hegumen, with whom mourning for the boy astray was incessant39, and sometimes pathetic as the Jewish king's, gradually became a grief for the prodigal40 himself, and he revolved41 plans for his reformation. What happiness could he one day lead the son to the father, and say: "Your prayers and lamentations have been heard; see--God's kiss of peace on his forehead!"
And then in what he had seen of Demedes--what courage, dash, and audacity--what efficiency--what store of resources! The last play of his--attending the fete of the Princess Irene as a bear tender--who but Demedes would have thought of such a role? Who else could have made himself the hero of the occasion, with none to divide honors with him except Joqard? And what a bold ready transition from bear tender to captain in the boat race! Demedes writhing42 in the grip of Nilo over the edge of the wall, death in the swish of waves beneath, had been an object of pity tinged43 with contempt--Demedes winner of the prize at Therapia was a very different person.
This feeling for the Greek, it is to be said next, was dashed with a lurking45 dread46 of him. If he had a design against Lael, what was there to prevent him from attempting it? That he had such a design, Sergius could not deny. How often he repeated the close of the note left on the stool after the Fisherman's fete. "Thou mayst find the fan of the Princess of India useful; with me it is embalmed47 in sentiment." He shall write with a pen wondrous48 fine who makes the difference between love and sentiment clear. Behind the fete, moreover, there was the confession49 heard on the wall, illustrated by the story of the plague of crime. Instead of fading out in the Russian's mind it had become better understood--a consequence of the brightening process of residence in the city.
Twice the procession rounded the great curriculum. Twice Sergius had opportunity to look for the Greek, but without avail. So were the celebrants literally50 clothed in flowers that recognition of individuals was almost impossible. The first time, he sought him in the body of each passing section; the second time, he scanned the bearers of the standards and symbols; the third time, he was successful.
At the head of the parade, six or eight persons were moving on horseback. It was singular Sergius had not looked for Demedes amongst them, since the idea of him would have entitled the Greek to a chief seat in the Temple and a leading place when in the eye of the public. As it was, he could not repress an exclamation51 on making the discovery.
Like his associates, Demedes was in armor cap-a-pie. He also carried an unshod lance, a shield on arm, and a bow and quiver at his back; but helmet, breastplate, shield, lance and bow were masked in flowers, and only now and then a glint betrayed the underdress of polished steel. The steed he bestrode was housed in cloth which dragged the ground; but of the color of the cloth or its material not a word can be said, so entirely52 was it covered with floral embroidery53 of diverse hues54 and figures.
The decoration contributed little of grace to man or beast; nevertheless its richness was undeniable. To the spendthrifts in the galleries the effect was indescribably attractive. They studied its elaboration, conjecturing55 how many gardens along the Bosphorus, and out in the Isles56 of the Princes, had been laid under contribution for the accomplishment57 of the splendor58. Thus in the saddle, Demedes could not have been accused of diminutiveness59; he appeared tall, even burly; indeed, Sergius would never have recognized him had he not been going with raised visor, and at the instant of passing turned his face up, permitting it to be distinctly seen.
The exclamation wrung60 from the monk61 was not merely because of his finding the man; in sober truth, it was an unconventional expression provoked by finding him in the place he occupied, and a quick jump to the logical conclusion that the foremost person in the march was also the chief priest--if such were the title--in the Academy.
Thenceforward Sergius beheld little else of the show than Demedes. He forgot the impiety62 of the honors to the bronze serpent. There is no enigma63 to us like him who is broadly our antipodes in moral being, and whether ours is the good or the bad nature does not affect the saying. His feelings the while were strangely diverse. The election of the evil genius to the first place in the insidious64 movement was well done for the Academy; there would be no failure with him in control; but the poor Hegumen!
And now, the last circuit completed, the head of the bright array approached the Gate of the Greens. There the horsemen drew out and formed line on the right hand to permit the brethren to march past them. The afternoon was going rapidly. The shadow of the building on the west crept more noticeably across the carefully kept field. Still Sergius retained his seat watchful65 of Demedes. He saw him signal the riders to turn out--he saw the line form, and the sections begin to march past it--then an incident occurred of no appreciable66 importance at the moment, but replete67 with significancy a little later.
A man appeared on the cornice above the Gate--the Grate on the interior having a face resembling a very tall but shallow portico68 resting on slender pillars--and commenced lowering himself as if he meant to descend69. The danger of the attempt drew all eyes to him. Demedes looked up, and hastily rode through the column toward the spot where the adventurer must alight. The spectators credited the young chief with a generous intent to be of assistance; but agile70 as a cat, and master of every nerve and muscle, the man gained one of the pillars and slid to the ground. The galleries of the Hippodrome found voice immediately.
While the acrobat71 hung from the cornice striving to get hold of the pillar with his feet and legs, Sergius was wrestling with the question, what could impel72 a fellow being to tempt44 Providence73 so rashly? If a messenger with intelligence for some one in the procession, why not wait for him outside? In short, the monk was a trifle vexed74; but doubly observant now, he saw the man hasten to Demedes, and Demedes bend low in the saddle to receive a communication from him. The courier then hurried away through the Gate, while the chief returned to his place; but, instructed probably by some power of divination75 proceeding76 from sympathy and often from suspicion, one of the many psychological mysteries about which we keep promising77 ourselves a day of enlightenment, Sergius observed a change in the latter. He was restless, impatient, and somewhat too imperative78 in hastening the retirement79 of the brethren. The message had obviously excited him.
Now Sergius would have freely given the best of his earthly possessions to have known at that moment the subject of the communication delivered by a route so extraordinary; but leaving him to his conjectures80, there is no reason why the reader should not be more confidentially81 treated.
"Sir," the messenger had whispered to Demedes, "she has left her father's, and is coming this way."
"How is she coming?"
"In her sedan."
"Who is with her?"
"She is alone."
"And her porters?"
"The Bulgarians."
"Thank you. Go now--out by the Gate--to the keeper of the Imperial Cistern82. Tell him to await me under the wall in the Bucoleon garden with my chair. He will understand. Come to the Temple tomorrow for your salary."
收听单词发音 |
1
spun
|
|
| v.纺，杜撰，急转身 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
brotherhoods
|
|
| 兄弟关系( brotherhood的名词复数 )； （总称）同行； （宗教性的）兄弟会； 同业公会 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
sneeringly
|
|
| 嘲笑地，轻蔑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
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： |
|
|
|
|
5
philosophical
|
|
| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
miraculous
|
|
| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
votaries
|
|
| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
8
clergy
|
|
| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
devoutly
|
|
| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
savored
|
|
| v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的过去式和过去分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
outright
|
|
| adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
authoritatively
|
|
| 命令式地，有权威地，可信地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
anticipations
|
|
| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
galley
|
|
| n.（飞机或船上的）厨房单层甲板大帆船；军舰舰长用的大划艇； | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
fatigue
|
|
| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
desolate
|
|
| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
quota
|
|
| n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
apparently
|
|
| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
mythologic
|
|
| 神话学的，神话的，虚构的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
22
judgment
|
|
| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
illustrated
|
|
| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
tableaux
|
|
| n.舞台造型，（由活人扮演的）静态画面、场面；人构成的画面或场景( tableau的名词复数 )；舞台造型；戏剧性的场面；绚丽的场景 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
decadence
|
|
| n.衰落，颓废 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
relic
|
|
| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
partially
|
|
| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
wont
|
|
| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
defiant
|
|
| adj.无礼的，挑战的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
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： |
|
|
|
|
33
blues
|
|
| n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
celebrated
|
|
| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
factions
|
|
| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
sullen
|
|
| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
incessant
|
|
| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
prodigal
|
|
| adj.浪费的，挥霍的，放荡的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
revolved
|
|
| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
writhing
|
|
| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
tinged
|
|
| v.（使）发丁丁声( ting的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
tempt
|
|
| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
lurking
|
|
| 潜在 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
dread
|
|
| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
embalmed
|
|
| adj.用防腐药物保存（尸体）的v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的过去式和过去分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
wondrous
|
|
| adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
confession
|
|
| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
exclamation
|
|
| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
embroidery
|
|
| n.绣花，刺绣；绣制品 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
hues
|
|
| 色彩( hue的名词复数 )； 色调； 信仰； 观点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
conjecturing
|
|
| v. & n. 推测，臆测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
isles
|
|
| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
accomplishment
|
|
| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
splendor
|
|
| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
diminutiveness
|
|
| n.微小；昵称，爱称 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
60
wrung
|
|
| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
monk
|
|
| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
impiety
|
|
| n.不敬；不孝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
enigma
|
|
| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
insidious
|
|
| adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
watchful
|
|
| adj.注意的，警惕的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
appreciable
|
|
| adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
replete
|
|
| adj.饱满的，塞满的；n.贮蜜蚁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
portico
|
|
| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
descend
|
|
| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
agile
|
|
| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
acrobat
|
|
| n.特技演员，杂技演员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
impel
|
|
| v.推动；激励，迫使 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
vexed
|
|
| adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
divination
|
|
| n.占卜，预测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
promising
|
|
| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
imperative
|
|
| n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
retirement
|
|
| n.退休，退职 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
conjectures
|
|
| 推测，猜想( conjecture的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
confidentially
|
|
| ad.秘密地，悄悄地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
cistern
|
|
| n.贮水池 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |