Chapter 24 The Birthright

THE miracle of our land’s speech — so known
And long received, none marvel¹ when ’tis shown!
We have such wealth as Rome at her most pride
Had not or (having) scattered² not so wide;
Nor with such arrant³ prodigality⁴
Beneath her any pagan’s foot let lie . . .
Lo! Diamond that cost some half their days
To find and t’other half to bring to blaze
Rubies⁵ of every heat, wherethrough we scan
The fiercer and more fiery⁶ heart of man
Emerald that with the uplifted billow vies.
And Sapphires⁷ evening remembered skies
Pearl perfect, as immortal⁸ tears must show.
Bred, in deep waters, of a piercing woe⁹;
And tender Turkis, so with charms y-writ.
Of woven gold, Time dares not bite on it.
Thereafter, in all manners worked and set.
Jade¹⁰, coral, amber¹¹, crystal, ivories, jet,—
Showing no more than various fancies, yet
Each a Life’s token or Love’s amulet¹² . . .
Which things, through timeless arrogance¹³ of use.
We neither guard nor garner¹⁴, but abuse;
So that our scholars — nay¹⁵, our children — fling
In sport or jest treasure to arm a King;
And the gross crowd, at feast or market, hold
Traffic perforce with dust of gems¹⁶ and gold!

1 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

2 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

3 arrant   

adj.极端的；最大的

参考例句：

• He is an arrant fool.他是个大傻瓜。
• That's arrant nonsense.那完全是一派胡言。

4 prodigality   

n.浪费，挥霍

参考例句：

• Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality. 笑声每时每刻都变得越来越容易，毫无节制地倾泻出来。 来自辞典例句
• Laughter is easier minute by minute, spilled with prodigality, tipped out at a cheerful word. 笑声每时每刻都变得越来越容易，毫无节制地倾泻出来，只要一句笑话就会引起哄然大笑。 来自英汉文学 - 盖茨比

5 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

6 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

7 sapphires   

n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色

参考例句：

• Again there was that moment of splintered sapphires before the lids, dropping like scales, extinguished it. 她眼眶中又闪烁出蓝宝石的光彩，接着眼睑象鱼鳞般地垂落下来，双目又黯然失色了。 来自辞典例句
• She also sported a somewhat gawdy gold watch set with diamonds and sapphires. 她还收到一块镶着钻石和蓝宝石的金表。 来自辞典例句

8 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

9 woe   

n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌

参考例句：

• Our two peoples are brothers sharing weal and woe.我们两国人民是患难与共的兄弟。
• A man is well or woe as he thinks himself so.自认祸是祸，自认福是福。

10 jade   

n.玉石；碧玉；翡翠

参考例句：

• The statue was carved out of jade.这座塑像是玉雕的。
• He presented us with a couple of jade lions.他送给我们一对玉狮子。

11 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

12 amulet   

n.护身符

参考例句：

• We're down here investigating a stolen amulet.我们来到这里调查一个失窃的护身符。
• This amulet is exclusively made by Father Sum Lee.这个护身符是沙姆.李长老特制的。

13 arrogance   

n.傲慢，自大

参考例句：

• His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
• Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。

14 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

15 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

16 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。