Chapter 20

The Legend of Mirth

The Four Archangels, so the legends tell,
Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Azrael,
Being first of those to whom the Power was shown,
Stood first of all the Host before The Throne,
And when the Charges were allotted¹ burst
Tumultuous-winged from out the assembly first.
Zeal² was their spur that bade them strictly³ heed⁴
Their own high judgment⁵ on their lightest deed.
Zeal was their spur that, when relief was given,
Urged them unwearied to fresh toil⁶ in Heaven;
For Honour’s sake perfecting every task
Beyond what e’en Perfection’s self could ask. . . .
And Allah, Who created Zeal and Pride,
Knows how the twain are perilous-near allied⁷.

It chanced on one of Heaven’s long-lighted days,
The Four and all the Host having gone their ways
Each to his Charge, the shining Courts were void
Save for one Seraph⁸ whom no charge employed,
With folden wings and slumber-threatened brow.
To whom The Word: ‘Beloved, what dost thou?’
‘By the Permission,’ came the answer soft,
‘Little I do nor do that little oft.
As is The Will in Heaven so on Earth
Where by The Will I strive to make men mirth.’
He ceased and sped, hearing The Word once more:
‘Beloved, go thy way and greet the Four.’

Systems and Universes overpast,
The Seraph came upon the Four, at last,
Guiding and guarding with devoted⁹ mind
The tedious generations of mankind
Who lent at most unwilling¹⁰ ear and eye
When they could not escape the ministry¹¹. . . .
Yet, patient, faithful, firm, persistent¹², just
Toward all that gross, indifferent, facile dust,
The Archangels laboured to discharge their trust
By precept¹³ and example, prayer and law,
Advice, reproof¹⁴, and rule, but, labouring, saw
Each in his fellow’s countenance¹⁵ confessed,
The Doubt that sickens: ‘Have I done my best?’

Even as they sighed and turned to toil anew,
The Seraph hailed them with observance due;
And after some fit talk of higher things
Touched tentative on mundane¹⁶ happenings.
This they permitting, he, emboldened¹⁷ thus,
Prolused of humankind promiscuous¹⁸.
And, since the large contention¹⁹ less avails
Than instances observed, he told them tales — Tales
of the shop, the bed, the court, the street,
Intimate, elemental, indiscreet:
Occasions where Confusion smiting²⁰ swift
Piles jest on jest as snow-slides pile the drift.

Whence, one by one, beneath derisive²¹ skies,
The victims bare, bewildered heads arise:
Tales of the passing of the spirit, graced
With humour blinding as the doom²² it faced:
Stark²³ tales of ribaldry that broke aside
To tears, by laughter swallowed ere they dried:
Tales to which neither grace nor gain accrue²⁴,
But only (Allah be exalted²⁵!) true,
And only, as the Seraph showed that night,
Delighting to the limits of delight.

These he rehearsed with artful pause and halt,
And such pretence²⁶ of memory at fault,
That soon the Four — so well the bait was thrown —
Came to his aid with memories of their own —
Matters dismissed long since as small or vain,
Whereof the high significance had lain
Hid, till the ungirt glosses²⁷ made it plain.
Then as enlightenment came broad and fast,
Each marvelled²⁸ at his own oblivious²⁹ past
Until — the Gates of Laughter opened wide —
The Four, with that bland³⁰ Seraph at their side,
While they recalled, compared, and amplified³¹,
In utter mirth forgot both zeal and pride.

High over Heaven the lamps of midnight burned
Ere, weak with merriment, the Four returned,
Not in that order they were wont³² to keep —
Pinion³³ to pinion answering, sweep for sweep,
In awful diapason heard afar,
But shoutingly adrift ‘twixt star and star.
Reeling a planet’s orbit left or right
As laughter took them in the abysmal³⁴ Night;
Or, by the point of some remembered jest,
Winged and brought helpless down through gulfs unguessed,
Where the blank worlds that gather to the birth
Leaped in the womb of Darkness at their mirth,
And e’en Gehenna’s bondsmen understood.
They were not damned from human brotherhood³⁵.

Not first nor last of Heaven’s high Host, the Four
That night took place beneath The Throne once more.
O lovelier than their morning majesty³⁶,
The understanding light behind the eye!
O more compelling than their old command,
The new-learned friendly gesture of the hand!
O sweeter than their zealous³⁷ fellowship,
The wise half-smile that passed from lip to lip!
O well and roundly, when Command was given,
They told their tale against themselves to Heaven,
And in the silence, waiting on The Word,
Received the Peace and Pardon of The Lord!

1 allotted   

分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I completed the test within the time allotted . 我在限定的时间内完成了试验。
• Each passenger slept on the berth allotted to him. 每个旅客都睡在分配给他的铺位上。

2 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。

3 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

4 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

5 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。

6 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

7 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

8 seraph   

n.六翼天使

参考例句：

• Seraph is of the highest rank of angels in the Bible.六翼天使是圣经中级别最高的天使。
• In the Bible,a seraph is a kind of angel.在圣经中，六翼天使是天使的一种。

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

13 precept   

n.戒律；格言

参考例句：

• It occurs to me that example is always more efficacious than precept.我想到身教重于言教。
• The son had well profited by the precept and example of the father.老太爷的言传身教早已使他儿子获益无穷。

14 reproof   

n.斥责，责备

参考例句：

• A smart reproof is better than smooth deceit.严厉的责难胜过温和的欺骗。
• He is impatient of reproof.他不能忍受指责。

15 countenance   

n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同

参考例句：

• At the sight of this photograph he changed his countenance.他一看见这张照片脸色就变了。
• I made a fierce countenance as if I would eat him alive.我脸色恶狠狠地，仿佛要把他活生生地吞下去。

16 mundane   

adj.平凡的；尘世的；宇宙的

参考例句：

• I hope I can get an interesting job and not something mundane.我希望我可以得到的是一份有趣的工作，而不是一份平凡无奇的。
• I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness.我发现生活有时挺诙谐的，即使是最平凡的事情也能影响我们的感知。

17 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 promiscuous   

adj.杂乱的，随便的

参考例句：

• They were taking a promiscuous stroll when it began to rain.他们正在那漫无目的地散步，突然下起雨来。
• Alec know that she was promiscuous and superficial.亚历克知道她是乱七八糟和浅薄的。

19 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。

20 smiting   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He set to smiting and overthrowing. 他马上就动手殴打和破坏。 来自辞典例句

21 derisive   

adj.嘲弄的

参考例句：

• A storm of derisive applause broke out.一阵暴风雨般的哄笑声轰然响起。
• They flushed,however,when she burst into a shout of derisive laughter.然而，当地大声嘲笑起来的时候，她们的脸不禁涨红了。

22 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

23 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

24 accrue   

v.(利息等)增大，增多

参考例句：

• Ability to think will accrue to you from good habits of study.思考能力将因良好的学习习惯而自然增强。
• Money deposited in banks will accrue to us with interest.钱存在银行，利息自生。

25 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

26 pretence   

n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰

参考例句：

• The government abandoned any pretence of reform. 政府不再装模作样地进行改革。
• He made a pretence of being happy at the party.晚会上他假装很高兴。

27 glosses   

n.（页末或书后的）注释( gloss的名词复数 )；（表面的）光滑；虚假的外表；用以产生光泽的物质v.注解( gloss的第三人称单数 )；掩饰（错误）；粉饰；把…搪塞过去

参考例句：

• The movie glosses over the real issues of the war. 这部电影掩饰了这次战争的真正问题。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Time inevitably glosses over the particularities of each situation. 时间不可避免地掩饰了每种情形的特质。 来自互联网

28 marvelled   

v.惊奇，对…感到惊奇( marvel的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I marvelled that he suddenly left college. 我对他突然离开大学感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I marvelled at your boldness. 我对你的大胆感到惊奇。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

30 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

31 amplified   

放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 )； 增强； 详述

参考例句：

• He amplified on his remarks with drawings and figures. 他用图表详细地解释了他的话。
• He amplified the whole course of the incident. 他详述了事件的全过程。

32 wont   

adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯

参考例句：

• He was wont to say that children are lazy.他常常说小孩子们懒惰。
• It is his wont to get up early.早起是他的习惯。

33 pinion   

v.束缚；n.小齿轮

参考例句：

• At nine the next morning Bentley was pinioned,hooded and hanged.次日上午9点，本特里被捆住双臂，戴上头罩，然后绞死了。
• Why don't you try tightening the pinion nut first?你为什么不先扭紧小齿轮的螺帽？

34 abysmal   

adj.无底的，深不可测的，极深的；糟透的，极坏的；完全的

参考例句：

• The film was so abysmal that I fell asleep.电影太糟糕，看得我睡着了。
• There is a historic explanation for the abysmal state of Chinese cuisine in the United States.中餐在美国的糟糕状态可以从历史上找原因。

35 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

36 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

37 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。