INDIVIDUALITY.

O yes, I love you, and with all my heart;

Just as a weaker woman loves her own,

Better than I love my beloved art,

Which, till you came, reigned¹ royally, alone,

My king, my master. Since I saw your face

I have dethroned it, and you hold that place.

I am as weak as other women are:

Your frown can make the whole world like a tomb;

Your smile shines brighter than the sun, by far.

Sometimes I think there is not space or room

In all the earth for such a love as mine,

And it soars up to breathe in realms divine.

I know that your desertion or neglect

Could break my heart, as women's hearts do break.

If my wan² days had nothing to expect

From your love's splendor³, all joy would forsake⁴

The chambers⁵ of my soul. Yes, this is true.

And yet, and yet—one thing I keep from you.

There is a subtle part of me, which went

Into my long pursued and worshipped art;

Though your great love fills me with such content

No other love finds room now, in my heart.

Yet that rare essence was my art's alone.

Thank God, you cannot grasp it; 'tis mine own.

Thank God, I say, for while I love you so,

With that vast love, as passionate⁶ as tender,

I feel an exultation⁷ as I know

I have not made you a complete surrender.

Here is my body; bruise⁸ it, if you will,

And break my heart; I have that something still.

You cannot grasp it. Seize the breath of morn

Or bind⁹ the perfume of the rose, as well.

God put it in my soul when I was born;

It is not mine to give away, or sell,

Or offer up on any altar shrine¹⁰.

It was my art's; and when not art's, 'tis mine,

For love's sake I can put the art away,

Or anything which stands 'twixt me and you.

But that strange essence God bestowed¹¹, I say,

To permeate¹² the work He gave to do:

And it cannot be drained, dissolved, or sent

Through any channel save the one He meant.

1 reigned   

vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）

参考例句：

• Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 wan   

(wide area network)广域网

参考例句：

• The shared connection can be an Ethernet,wireless LAN,or wireless WAN connection.提供共享的网络连接可以是以太网、无线局域网或无线广域网。

3 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

4 forsake   

vt.遗弃，抛弃；舍弃，放弃

参考例句：

• She pleaded with her husband not to forsake her.她恳求丈夫不要抛弃她。
• You must forsake your bad habits.你必须革除你的坏习惯。

5 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

6 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

7 exultation   

n.狂喜，得意

参考例句：

• It made him catch his breath, it lit his face with exultation. 听了这个名字，他屏住呼吸，乐得脸上放光。
• He could get up no exultation that was really worthy the name. 他一点都激动不起来。

8 bruise   

n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤

参考例句：

• The bruise was caused by a kick.这伤痕是脚踢的。
• Jack fell down yesterday and got a big bruise on his face.杰克昨天摔了一跤，脸上摔出老大一块淤斑。

9 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

10 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

11 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

12 permeate   

v.弥漫，遍布，散布；渗入，渗透

参考例句：

• Water will easily permeate a cotton dress.水很容易渗透棉布衣服。
• After a while it begins to permeate through your skin.过了一会，它会开始渗入你的皮肤。