Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor
It is told that after the flight of Melkor the Valar sat long unmoved upon their thrones in the Ring of Doom1; but they were not idle, as Fлanor declared in the folly2 of his heart. For the Valar may work many things with thought rather than with hands, and without voices in silence they may hold council one with another. Thus they held vigil in the night of Valinor, and their thought passed back beyond Eд and forth3 to the End; yet neither power nor wisdom assuaged4 their grief, and the knowing of evil in the hour of its being. And they mourned not more for the death of the Trees than for the marring of Fлanor: of the works of Melkor one of the most evil. For Fлanor was made the mightiest5 in all parts of body and mind, in valour, in endurance, in beauty, in understanding, in skill, in strength and in subtlety6 alike, of all the Children of Ilъvatar, and a bright flame was in him. The works of wonder for the glory of Arda that he might otherwise have wrought7 only Manwл might in some measure conceive. And it was told by the Vanyar who held vigil with the Valar that when the messengers declared to Manwл the answers of Fлanor to his heralds8, Manwл wept and bowed his head. But at that last word of Fлanor: that at the least the Noldor should do deeds to live in song for ever, he raised his head, as one that hears a voice far off, and he said: 'So shall it be! Dear-bought those songs shall be accounted, and yet shall be well-bought. For the price could be no other. Thus even as Eru spoke10 to us shall beauty not before conceived be brought into Eд, and evil yet be good to have been.'
But Mandos said: 'And yet remain evil. To me shall Fлanor come soon.'
But when at last the Valar learned that the Noldor had indeed passed out of Aman and were come back into Middle-earth, they arose and began to set forth in deeds those counsels which they had taken in thought for the redress11 of the evils of Melkor. Then Manwл bade Yavanna and Nienna to put forth all their powers of growth and healing; and they put forth all their powers upon the Trees. But the tears of Nienna availed not to heal their mortal wounds; and for a long while Yavanna sang alone in the shadows. Yet even as hope failed and her song faltered13, Telperion bore at last upon a leafless bough9 one great flower of silver, and Laurelin a single trait of gold.
These Yavanna took; and then the Trees died, and their lifeless stems stand yet in Valinor, a memorial of vanished joy. But the flower and the fruit Yavanna gave to Aulл, and Manwл hallowed them, and Aulл and his people made vessels15 to hold them and preserve their radiance: as is said in the Narsilion, the Song of the Sun and Moon. These vessels the Valar gave to Varda, that they might become lamps of heaven, outshining the ancient stars, being nearer to Arda; and she gave them power to traverse the lower regions of Ilmen, and set them to voyage upon appointed courses above the girdle of the Earth from the West unto the East and to return.
These things the Valar did, recalling in their twilight16 the darkness of the lands of Arda; and they resolved now to illumine Middle-earth and with light to hinder the deeds of Melkor. For they remembered the Avari that remained by the waters of their awakening17, and they did not utterly18 forsake19 the Noldor in exile; and Manwл knew also that the hour of the coming of Men was drawn20 nigh. And it is said indeed that, even as the Valar made war upon Melkor for the sake of the Quendi, so now for that time they forbore for the sake of the Hildor, the Aftercomers, the younger Children of Ilъvatar. For so grievous had been the hurts of Middle-earth in the war upon Utumno that the Valar feared lest even worse should now befall; whereas the Hildor should be mortal, and weaker than the Quendi to withstand fear and tumult21. Moreover it was not revealed to Manwл where the beginning of Men should be, north, south, or east. Therefore the Valar sent forth light, but made strong the land of their dwelling22.
Isil the Sheen the Vanyar of old named the Moon, flower of Telperion in Valinor; and Anar the Fire-golden, fruit of Laurelin, they named the Sun. But the Noldor named them also Rбna, the Wayward, and Vбsa, the Heart of Fire, that awakens23 and consumes; for the Sun was set as a sign for the awakening of Men and the waning24 of the Elves, but the Moon cherishes their memory.
The maiden25 whom the Valar chose from among the Maiar to guide the vessel14 of the Sun was named Arien, and he that steered26 the island of the Moon was Tilion. In the days of the Trees Arien had tended the golden flowers in the gardens of Vбna, and watered them with the bright dews of Laurelin; but Tilion was a hunter of the company of Oromл, and he had a silver bow. He was a lover of silver, and when he would rest he forsook27 the woods of Oromл, and going into Lуrien he lay hi dream by the pools of Estл, in Telperion's flickering28 beams; and he begged to be given the task of tending for ever the last Flower of Silver. Arien the maiden was mightier29 than he, and she was chosen because she had not feared the heats of Laurelin, and was unhurt by them, being from the beginning a spirit of fire, whom Melkor had not deceived nor drawn to his service. Too bright were the eyes of Arien for even the Eldar to look on, and leaving Valinor she forsook the form and raiment which like the Valar she had worn there, and she was as a naked flame, terrible in the fullness of her splendour.
Isil was first wrought and made ready, and first rose into the realm of the stars, and was the elder of the new lights, as was Telperion of the Trees. Then for a while the world had moonlight, and many things stirred and woke that had waited long in the sleep of Yavanna. The servants of Morgoth were filled with amazement30, but the Elves of the Outer Lands looked up in delight; and even as the Moon rose above the darkness in the west, Fingolfin let blow his silver trumpets31 and began his march into Middle-earth, and the shadows of his host went long and black before them.
Tilion had traversed the heaven seven times, and thus was in the furthest east, when the vessel of Arien was made ready. Then Anar arose in glory, and the first dawn of the Sun was like a great fire upon the towers of the Pelуri: the clouds of Middle-earth were kindled33, and there was heard the sound of many waterfalls. Then indeed Morgoth was dismayed, and he descended34 into the uttermost depths of Angband, and withdrew his servants, sending forth great reek35 and dark cloud to hide his land from the light of the Day-star.
Now Varda purposed that the two vessels should journey in Ilmen and ever be aloft, but not together; each should pass from Valinor into the east and return, the one issuing from the west as the other turned from the east. Thus the first of the new days were reckoned after the manner of the Trees, from the mingling36 of the lights when Arien and Tilion passed in then- courses, above the middle of the Earth. But Tilion was wayward and uncertain in speed, and held not to his appointed path; and he sought to come near to Arien, being drawn by her splendour, though the flame of Anar scorched37 him, and the island of the Moon was darkened.
Because of the waywardness of Tilion, therefore, and yet more because of the prayers of Lуrien and Estл, who said that sleep and rest had been banished38 from the Earth, and the stars were hidden, Varda changed her counsel, and allowed a time wherein the world should still have shadow and half-light. Anar rested therefore a while in Valinor, lying upon the cool bosom39 of the Outer Sea; and Evening, the time of the descent and resting of the Sun, was the hour of greatest light and joy in Aman. But soon the Sun was drawn down by the servants of Ulmo, and went then in haste under the Earth, and so came unseen to the east and there mounted the heaven again, lest night be over-long and evil walk under the Moon. But by Anar the waters of the Outer Sea were made hot and glowed with coloured fire, and Valinor had light for a while after the passing of Arien. Yet as she journeyed under the Earth and drew towards the east the glow faded and Valinor was dim, and the Valar mourned then most for the death of Laurelin. At dawn the shadows of the Mountains of Defence lay heavy on the Blessed Realm.
Varda commanded the Moon to journey in like manner, and passing under Earth to arise in the east, but only after the Sun had descended from heaven. But Tilion went with uncertain pace, as yet he goes, and was still drawn towards Arien, as he shall ever be; so that often both may be seen above the Earth together, or at times it will chance that he comes so nigh that his shadow cuts off her brightness and there is a darkness amid the day.
Therefore by the coming and going of Anar the Valar reckoned the days thereafter until the Change of the World. For Tilion tamed seldom in Valinor, but more often would pass swiftly over the western land, over Avathar, or Araman, or Valinor, and plunge40 in the chasm41 beyond the Outer Sea, pursuing his way alone amid the grots and caverns42 at the roots of Arda. There he would often wander long, and late would return.
Still therefore, after the Long Night, the light of Valinor was greater and fairer than upon Middle-earth; for the Sun rested there, and the lights of heaven drew nearer to Earth in that region. But neither the Sun nor the Moon can recall the light that was of old, that came from the Trees before they were touched by the poison of Ungoliant That light lives now in the Silmarils alone.
But Morgoth hated the new lights, and was for a while confounded by this unlooked-for stroke of the Valar. Then he assailed43 Tilion, sending spirits of shadow against him, and there was strife44 in Ilmen beneath the paths of the stars; but Tilion was victorious45. And Arien Morgoth feared with a great fear, but dared not come nigh her, having indeed no longer the power; for as he grew in malice46, and sent forth from himself the evil that he conceived in lies and creatures of wickedness, his might passed into them and was dispersed47, and he himself became ever more bound to the earth, unwilling48 to issue from his dark strongholds. With shadows he hid himself and his servants from Arien, the glance of whose eyes they could not long endure; and the lands near his dwelling were shrouded49 in fumes50 and great clouds.
But seeing the assault upon Tilion the Valar were in doubt, fearing what the malice and cunning of Morgoth might yet contrive51 against them. Being unwilling to make war upon him in Middle-earth, they remembered nonetheless the ruin of Almaren; and they resolved that the like should not befall Valinor. Therefore at that time they fortified52 their land anew, and they raised up the mountain-walls of the Pelуri to sheer and dreadful heights, east, north, and south. Their outer sides were dark and smooth, without foothold or ledge53, and they fell in great precipices54 with faces hard as glass, and rose up to towers with crowns of white ice. A sleepless55 watch was set upon them, and no pass led through them, save only at the Calacirya: but that pass the Valar did not close, because of the Eldar that were faithful, and in the city of Tirion upon the green hill Finarfin yet ruled the remnant of the Noldor in the deep cleft56 of the mountains. For all those of elven-race, even the Vanyar and Ingwл their lord, must breathe at times the outer air and the wind that comes over the sea from the lands of their birth; and the Valar would not sunder57 the Teleri wholly from their kin32. But in the Calacirya they set strong towers and many sentinels, and at its issue upon the plains of Valmar a host was encamped, so that neither bird nor beast nor elf nor man, nor any creature beside that dwelt in Middle-earth, could pass that leaguer.
And in that time also, which songs call Nurtalл Valinуreva, the Hiding of Valinor, the Enchanted58 Isles60 were set, and ail12 the seas about them were filled with shadows and bewilderment. And these isles were strung as a net in the Shadowy Seas from the north to the south, before Tol Eressлa, the Lonely Isle59, is reached by one sailing west. Hardly might any vessel pass between them, for in the dangerous sounds the waves sighed for ever upon dark rocks shrouded in mist. And in the twilight a great weariness came upon mariners62 and a loathing63 of the sea; but all that ever set foot upon the islands were there entrapped64, and slept until the Change of the World. Thus it was that as Mandos foretold65 to them in Araman the Blessed Realm was shut against the Noldor; and of the many messengers that in after days sailed into the West none came ever to Valinor - save one only: the mightiest mariner61 of song.
收听单词发音 |
1
doom
|
|
| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
folly
|
|
| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
assuaged
|
|
| v.减轻( assuage的过去式和过去分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
mightiest
|
|
| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
subtlety
|
|
| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
heralds
|
|
| n.使者( herald的名词复数 )；预报者；预兆；传令官v.预示( herald的第三人称单数 )；宣布（好或重要） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
bough
|
|
| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
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： |
|
|
|
|
11
redress
|
|
| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
ail
|
|
| v.生病，折磨，苦恼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
faltered
|
|
| （嗓音）颤抖( falter的过去式和过去分词 )； 支吾其词； 蹒跚； 摇晃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
vessels
|
|
| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
twilight
|
|
| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
awakening
|
|
| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
forsake
|
|
| vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
tumult
|
|
| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
dwelling
|
|
| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
awakens
|
|
| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
waning
|
|
| adj.（月亮）渐亏的，逐渐减弱或变小的n.月亏v.衰落( wane的现在分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
maiden
|
|
| n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
steered
|
|
| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
forsook
|
|
| forsake的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
flickering
|
|
| adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
mightier
|
|
| adj. 强有力的，强大的，巨大的 adv. 很，极其 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
amazement
|
|
| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
trumpets
|
|
| 喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
kin
|
|
| n.家族，亲属，血缘关系；adj.亲属关系的，同类的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
kindled
|
|
| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
reek
|
|
| v.发出臭气；n.恶臭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
mingling
|
|
| adj.混合的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
scorched
|
|
| 烧焦，烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（植物）枯萎，把…晒枯； 高速行驶； 枯焦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
banished
|
|
| v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
plunge
|
|
| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
chasm
|
|
| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
caverns
|
|
| 大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
assailed
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
strife
|
|
| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
victorious
|
|
| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
malice
|
|
| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
dispersed
|
|
| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
unwilling
|
|
| adj.不情愿的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
shrouded
|
|
| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
fumes
|
|
| n.(强烈而刺激的)气味，气体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
contrive
|
|
| vt.谋划，策划；设法做到；设计，想出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
fortified
|
|
| adj. 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
ledge
|
|
| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
precipices
|
|
| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
sleepless
|
|
| adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
cleft
|
|
| n.裂缝；adj.裂开的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
sunder
|
|
| v.分开；隔离；n.分离，分开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
enchanted
|
|
| adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
isle
|
|
| n.小岛，岛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
isles
|
|
| 岛( isle的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
mariner
|
|
| n.水手号不载人航天探测器，海员，航海者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
mariners
|
|
| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
loathing
|
|
| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
entrapped
|
|
| v.使陷入圈套，使入陷阱( entrap的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
foretold
|
|
| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |