Chapter 18

Rebirth

??If any God should say
??“I will restore
??The world her yesterday
??Whole as before
My Judgment¹ blasted it”— who would not lift
Heart, eye, and hand in passion o’er the gift?

??If any God should will
??To wipe from mind
??The memory of this ill
??Which is mankind
In soul and substance now — who would not bless
Even to tears His loving-tenderness?

??If any God should give
??Us leave to fly
??These present deaths we live,
??And safely die
In those lost lives we lived ere we were born —
What man but would not laugh the excuse to scorn?

??For we are what we are —
??So broke to blood
??And the strict works of war —
??So long subdued²
To sacrifice, that threadbare Death commands
Hardly observance at our busier hands.

??Yet we were what we were,
??And, fashioned so,
??It pleases us to stare
??At the far show
Of unbelievable years and shapes that flit,
In our own likeness³, on the edge of it.

1 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

2 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

3 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。