Chapter 10

The Comforters

Until thy feet have trod the Road
??Advise not wayside folk,
Nor till thy back has borne the Load
??Break in upon the Broke.

Chase not with undesired largesse¹
??Of sympathy the heart
Which, knowing her own bitterness,
??Presumes to dwell apart.

Employ not that glad hand to raise
??The God-forgotten head
To Heaven, and all the neighbours’ gaze —
??Cover thy mouth instead.

The quivering chin, the bitten lip,
??The cold and sweating brow,
Later may yearn² for fellowship —
??Not now, you ass³, not now!

Time, not thy ne’er so timely speech,
??Life, not thy views thereon,
Shall furnish or deny to each
??His consolation⁴.

Or, if impelled⁵ to interfere⁶,
??Exhort⁷, uplift, advise,
Lend not a base, betraying ear
??To all the victim’s cries.

Only the Lord can understand
??When those first pangs⁸ begin,
How much is reflex action and
??How much is really sin.

E’en from good words thyself refrain,
??And tremblingly admit
There is no anodyne⁹ for pain
??Except the shock of it.

So, when thine own dark hour shall fall,
??Unchallenged canst thou say:
‘I never worried you at all,
??For God’s sake go away!’

1 largesse   

n.慷慨援助，施舍

参考例句：

• She is not noted for her largesse.没人听说过她出手大方。
• Our people are in no need of richer nations' largesse.我国人民不需要富国的施舍。

2 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

3 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

4 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

5 impelled   

v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He felt impelled to investigate further. 他觉得有必要作进一步调查。
• I feel impelled to express grave doubts about the project. 我觉得不得不对这项计划深表怀疑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 exhort   

v.规劝，告诫

参考例句：

• The opposition can only question and exhort.反对党只能提出质问和告诫。
• This is why people exhort each other not to step into stock market.这就是为什么许多人互相告诫，不要涉足股市的原因。

8 pangs   

突然的剧痛( pang的名词复数 )； 悲痛

参考例句：

• She felt sudden pangs of regret. 她突然感到痛悔不已。
• With touching pathos he described the pangs of hunger. 他以极具感伤力的笔触描述了饥饿的痛苦。

9 anodyne   

n.解除痛苦的东西，止痛剂

参考例句：

• It was their delight,their folly,their anodyne,their intellectual stimulant.这是他们的人生乐趣，他们的一时荒唐，他们的止痛药，他们的脑力刺激剂。
• Friendship is not only the condiment but also the anodyne of life.友谊是人生的调味品，也是人生的止痛药。