章节正文
文章总共2页
against your own blood, your own blood shall rise up against
you; because you have sinned against your kindred, by your
kindred you shall be punished. Your daughter Danae shall
bear a son, and by that son's hands you shall die. So the
Gods have ordained, and it will surely come to pass.'
And at that Acrisius was very much afraid; but he did not
mend his ways. He had been cruel to his own family, and,
instead of repenting and being kind to them, he went on to be
more cruel than ever: for he shut up his fair daughter Danae
in a cavernunderground, lined with brass, that no one might
come near her. So he fancied himself more cunning than the
Gods: but you will see presently whether he was able to
escape them.
Now it came to pass that in time Danae bore a son; so
beautiful a babe that any but King Acrisius would have had
pity on it. But he had no pity; for he took Danae and her
babe down to the seashore, and put them into a great chest
and thrust them out to sea, for the winds and the waves to
carry them whithersoever they would.
The north-west wind blew freshly out of the blue mountains,
and down the pleasant vale of Argos, and away and out to sea.
And away and out to sea before it floated the mother and her
babe, while all who watched them wept, save that cruel
father, King Acrisius.
So they floated on and on, and the chest danced up and down
upon the billows, and the baby slept upon its mother's
breast: but the poor mother could not sleep, but watched and
wept, and she sang to her baby as they floated; and the song
which she sang you shall learn yourselves some day.
And now they are past the last blue headland, and in the open
sea; and there is nothing round them but the waves, and the
sky, and the wind. But the waves are gentle, and the sky is
clear, and the breeze is tender and low; for these are the
days when Halcyone and Ceyx build their nests, and no storms
ever ruffle the pleasant summer sea.
And who were Halcyone and Ceyx? You shall hear while the
chest floats on. Halcyone was a fairy maiden, the daughter
of the beach and of the wind. And she loved a sailor-boy,
and married him; and none on earth were so happy as they.
But at last Ceyx was wrecked; and before he could swim to the
shore the billows swallowed him up. And Halcyone saw him
drowning, and leapt into the sea to him; but in vain. Then
the Immortals took pity on them both, and changed them into
two fair sea-birds; and now they build a floating nest every
year, and sail up and down happily for ever upon the pleasant
seas of Greece.
So a night passed, and a day, and a long day it was for
Danae; and another night and day beside, till Danae was faint
with hunger and weeping, and yet no land appeared. And all
the while the babe slept quietly; and at last poor Danae
drooped her head and fell asleep likewise with her cheek
against the babe's.
After a while she was awakened suddenly; for the chest was
jarring and grinding, and the air was full of sound. She
looked up, and over her head were mighty cliffs, all red in
the setting sun, and around her rocks and breakers, and
flying flakes of foam. She clasped her hands together, and
shrieked aloud for help. And when she cried, help met her:
for now there came over the rocks a tall and stately man, and
looked down wondering upon poor Danae tossing about in the
chest among the waves.
He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his head a broad hat
to shade his face; in his hand he carried a trident for
spearing fish, and over his shoulder was a casting-net; but
Danae could see that he was no common man by his stature, and
his walk, and his flowing golden hair and beard; and by the
two servants who came behind him, carrying baskets for his
fish. But she had hardly time to look at him, before he had
laid aside his trident and leapt down the rocks, and thrown
his casting-net so surely over Danae and the chest, that he
drew it, and her, and the baby, safe upon a ledge of rock.
Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, and lifted her out
of the chest, and said -
'O beautiful damsel, what strange chance has brought you to
this island in so flail a ship? Who are you, and whence?
Surely you are some king's daughter; and this boy has
somewhat more than mortal.'
And as he spoke he pointed to the babe; for its face shone
like the morning star.
But Danae only held down her head, and sobbed out -
'Tell me to what land I have come, unhappy that I am; and
among what men I have fallen!'
And he said, 'This isle is called Seriphos, and I am a
Hellen, and dwell in it. I am the brother of Polydectes the
king; and men call me Dictys the netter, because I catch the
fish of the shore.'
Then Danae fell down at his feet, and embraced his knees, and
cried -
'Oh, sir, have pity upon a stranger, whom a cruel doom has
driven to your land; and let me live in your house as a
servant; but treat me honourably, for I was once a king's
daughter, and this my boy (as you have truly said) is of no
common race. I will not be a charge to you, or eat the bread
of idleness; for I am more skilful in weaving and embroidery
than all the maidens of my land.'
And she was going on; but Dictys stopped her, and raised her
up, and said -
'My daughter, I am old, and my hairs are growing gray; while
I have no children to make my home cheerful. Come with me
then, and you shall be a daughter to me and to my wife, and
this babe shall be our grandchild. For I fear the Gods, and
show hospitality to all strangers; knowing that good deeds,
like evil ones, always return to those who do them.'
So Danae was comforted, and went home with Dictys the good
fisherman, and was a daughter to him and to his wife, till
fifteen years were past.
PART II - HOW PERSEUS VOWED A RASH VOW
FIFTEEN years were past and gone, and the babe was now grown
to be a tall lad and a sailor, and went many voyages after
merchandise to the islands round. His mother called him
Perseus; but all the people in Seriphos said that he was not
the son of mortal man, and called him the son of Zeus, the
king of the Immortals. For though he was but fifteen, he was
taller by a head than any man in the island; and he was the
most skilful of all in running and wrestling and boxing, and
in throwing the quoit and the javelin, and in rowing with the
oar, and in playing on the harp, and in all which befits a
man. And he was brave and truthful, gentle and courteous,
for good old Dictys had trained him well; and well it was for
Perseus that he had done so. For now Danae and her son fell
into great danger, and Perseus had need of all his wit to
defend his mother and himself.
I said that Dictys' brother was Polydectes, king of the
island. He was not a righteous man, like Dictys; but greedy,
and cunning, and cruel. And when he saw fair Danae, he
wanted to marry her. But she would not; for she did not love
him, and cared for no one but her boy, and her boy's father,
whom she never hoped to see again. At last Polydectes became
furious; and while Perseus was away at sea he took poor Danae
away from Dictys, saying, 'If you will not be my wife, you
shall be my slave.' So Danae was made a slave, and had to
fetch water from the well, and grind in the mill, and perhaps
was beaten, and wore a heavy chain, because she would not
marry that cruel king. But Perseus was far away over the
seas in the isle of Samos, little thinking how his mother was
languishing in grief.
Now one day at Samos, while the ship was lading, Perseus
wandered into a pleasant wood to get out of the sun, and sat
down on the turf and fell asleep. And as he slept a strange
dream came to him - the strangest dream which he had ever had
in his life.
There came a lady to him through the wood, taller than he, or
any mortal man; but beautiful exceedingly, with great gray
eyes, clear and piercing, but strangely soft and mild. On
her head was a helmet, and in her hand a spear. And over her
shoulder, above her long blue robes, hung a goat-skin, which
bore up a mightyshield of brass, polished like a mirror.
She stood and looked at him with her clear gray eyes; and
Perseus saw that her eye-lids never moved, nor her eyeballs,
but looked straight through and through him, and into his
very heart, as if she could see all the secrets of his soul,
and knew all that he had ever thought or longed for since the
day that he was born. And Perseus dropped his eyes,
trembling and blushing, as the wonderful lady spoke.
'Perseus, you must do an errand for me.'
'Who are you, lady? And how do you know my name?'
'I am Pallas Athene; and I know the thoughts of all men's
hearts, and discern their manhood or their baseness. And
from the souls of clay I turn away, and they are blest, but
not by me. They fatten at ease, like sheep in the pasture,
and eat what they did not sow, like oxen in the stall. They
grow and spread, like the gourd along the ground; but, like
the gourd, they give no shade to the traveller, and when they
are ripe death gathers them, and they go down unloved into
hell, and their name vanishes out of the land.
'But to the souls of fire I give more fire, and to those who
are manful I give a might more than man's. These are the
you; because you have sinned against your kindred, by your
kindred you shall be punished. Your daughter Danae shall
bear a son, and by that son's hands you shall die. So the
Gods have ordained, and it will surely come to pass.'
And at that Acrisius was very much afraid; but he did not
mend his ways. He had been cruel to his own family, and,
instead of repenting and being kind to them, he went on to be
more cruel than ever: for he shut up his fair daughter Danae
in a cavernunderground, lined with brass, that no one might
come near her. So he fancied himself more cunning than the
Gods: but you will see presently whether he was able to
escape them.
Now it came to pass that in time Danae bore a son; so
beautiful a babe that any but King Acrisius would have had
pity on it. But he had no pity; for he took Danae and her
babe down to the seashore, and put them into a great chest
and thrust them out to sea, for the winds and the waves to
carry them whithersoever they would.
The north-west wind blew freshly out of the blue mountains,
and down the pleasant vale of Argos, and away and out to sea.
And away and out to sea before it floated the mother and her
babe, while all who watched them wept, save that cruel
father, King Acrisius.
So they floated on and on, and the chest danced up and down
upon the billows, and the baby slept upon its mother's
breast: but the poor mother could not sleep, but watched and
wept, and she sang to her baby as they floated; and the song
which she sang you shall learn yourselves some day.
And now they are past the last blue headland, and in the open
sea; and there is nothing round them but the waves, and the
sky, and the wind. But the waves are gentle, and the sky is
clear, and the breeze is tender and low; for these are the
days when Halcyone and Ceyx build their nests, and no storms
ever ruffle the pleasant summer sea.
And who were Halcyone and Ceyx? You shall hear while the
chest floats on. Halcyone was a fairy maiden, the daughter
of the beach and of the wind. And she loved a sailor-boy,
and married him; and none on earth were so happy as they.
But at last Ceyx was wrecked; and before he could swim to the
shore the billows swallowed him up. And Halcyone saw him
drowning, and leapt into the sea to him; but in vain. Then
the Immortals took pity on them both, and changed them into
two fair sea-birds; and now they build a floating nest every
year, and sail up and down happily for ever upon the pleasant
seas of Greece.
So a night passed, and a day, and a long day it was for
Danae; and another night and day beside, till Danae was faint
with hunger and weeping, and yet no land appeared. And all
the while the babe slept quietly; and at last poor Danae
drooped her head and fell asleep likewise with her cheek
against the babe's.
After a while she was awakened suddenly; for the chest was
jarring and grinding, and the air was full of sound. She
looked up, and over her head were mighty cliffs, all red in
the setting sun, and around her rocks and breakers, and
flying flakes of foam. She clasped her hands together, and
shrieked aloud for help. And when she cried, help met her:
for now there came over the rocks a tall and stately man, and
looked down wondering upon poor Danae tossing about in the
chest among the waves.
He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his head a broad hat
to shade his face; in his hand he carried a trident for
spearing fish, and over his shoulder was a casting-net; but
Danae could see that he was no common man by his stature, and
his walk, and his flowing golden hair and beard; and by the
two servants who came behind him, carrying baskets for his
fish. But she had hardly time to look at him, before he had
laid aside his trident and leapt down the rocks, and thrown
his casting-net so surely over Danae and the chest, that he
drew it, and her, and the baby, safe upon a ledge of rock.
Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, and lifted her out
of the chest, and said -
'O beautiful damsel, what strange chance has brought you to
this island in so flail a ship? Who are you, and whence?
Surely you are some king's daughter; and this boy has
somewhat more than mortal.'
And as he spoke he pointed to the babe; for its face shone
like the morning star.
But Danae only held down her head, and sobbed out -
'Tell me to what land I have come, unhappy that I am; and
among what men I have fallen!'
And he said, 'This isle is called Seriphos, and I am a
Hellen, and dwell in it. I am the brother of Polydectes the
king; and men call me Dictys the netter, because I catch the
fish of the shore.'
Then Danae fell down at his feet, and embraced his knees, and
cried -
'Oh, sir, have pity upon a stranger, whom a cruel doom has
driven to your land; and let me live in your house as a
servant; but treat me honourably, for I was once a king's
daughter, and this my boy (as you have truly said) is of no
common race. I will not be a charge to you, or eat the bread
of idleness; for I am more skilful in weaving and embroidery
than all the maidens of my land.'
And she was going on; but Dictys stopped her, and raised her
up, and said -
'My daughter, I am old, and my hairs are growing gray; while
I have no children to make my home cheerful. Come with me
then, and you shall be a daughter to me and to my wife, and
this babe shall be our grandchild. For I fear the Gods, and
show hospitality to all strangers; knowing that good deeds,
like evil ones, always return to those who do them.'
So Danae was comforted, and went home with Dictys the good
fisherman, and was a daughter to him and to his wife, till
fifteen years were past.
PART II - HOW PERSEUS VOWED A RASH VOW
FIFTEEN years were past and gone, and the babe was now grown
to be a tall lad and a sailor, and went many voyages after
merchandise to the islands round. His mother called him
Perseus; but all the people in Seriphos said that he was not
the son of mortal man, and called him the son of Zeus, the
king of the Immortals. For though he was but fifteen, he was
taller by a head than any man in the island; and he was the
most skilful of all in running and wrestling and boxing, and
in throwing the quoit and the javelin, and in rowing with the
oar, and in playing on the harp, and in all which befits a
man. And he was brave and truthful, gentle and courteous,
for good old Dictys had trained him well; and well it was for
Perseus that he had done so. For now Danae and her son fell
into great danger, and Perseus had need of all his wit to
defend his mother and himself.
I said that Dictys' brother was Polydectes, king of the
island. He was not a righteous man, like Dictys; but greedy,
and cunning, and cruel. And when he saw fair Danae, he
wanted to marry her. But she would not; for she did not love
him, and cared for no one but her boy, and her boy's father,
whom she never hoped to see again. At last Polydectes became
furious; and while Perseus was away at sea he took poor Danae
away from Dictys, saying, 'If you will not be my wife, you
shall be my slave.' So Danae was made a slave, and had to
fetch water from the well, and grind in the mill, and perhaps
was beaten, and wore a heavy chain, because she would not
marry that cruel king. But Perseus was far away over the
seas in the isle of Samos, little thinking how his mother was
languishing in grief.
Now one day at Samos, while the ship was lading, Perseus
wandered into a pleasant wood to get out of the sun, and sat
down on the turf and fell asleep. And as he slept a strange
dream came to him - the strangest dream which he had ever had
in his life.
There came a lady to him through the wood, taller than he, or
any mortal man; but beautiful exceedingly, with great gray
eyes, clear and piercing, but strangely soft and mild. On
her head was a helmet, and in her hand a spear. And over her
shoulder, above her long blue robes, hung a goat-skin, which
bore up a mightyshield of brass, polished like a mirror.
She stood and looked at him with her clear gray eyes; and
Perseus saw that her eye-lids never moved, nor her eyeballs,
but looked straight through and through him, and into his
very heart, as if she could see all the secrets of his soul,
and knew all that he had ever thought or longed for since the
day that he was born. And Perseus dropped his eyes,
trembling and blushing, as the wonderful lady spoke.
'Perseus, you must do an errand for me.'
'Who are you, lady? And how do you know my name?'
'I am Pallas Athene; and I know the thoughts of all men's
hearts, and discern their manhood or their baseness. And
from the souls of clay I turn away, and they are blest, but
not by me. They fatten at ease, like sheep in the pasture,
and eat what they did not sow, like oxen in the stall. They
grow and spread, like the gourd along the ground; but, like
the gourd, they give no shade to the traveller, and when they
are ripe death gathers them, and they go down unloved into
hell, and their name vanishes out of the land.
'But to the souls of fire I give more fire, and to those who
are manful I give a might more than man's. These are the
- reading [´ri:diŋ]
n.(阅)读；朗读；读物 (初中英语单词) - strangely [´streindʒli] ad.奇怪地；陌生地 (初中英语单词)
- politics [´pɔlitiks] n.政治(学)；政治活动 (初中英语单词)
- peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)
- beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- greece [gri:s] n.希腊 (初中英语单词)
- anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)
- learning [´lə:niŋ] n.学习；学问；知识 (初中英语单词)
- hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)
- rejoice [ri´dʒɔis] v.(使)高兴；欢庆 (初中英语单词)
- greedy [´gri:di] a.贪婪的；馋的 (初中英语单词)
- learnt [lə:nt] learn 的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)
- painting [´peintiŋ] n.绘画；(油)画；着色 (初中英语单词)
- humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)
- willing [´wiliŋ] a.情愿的，乐意的 (初中英语单词)
- philosophy [fi´lɔsəfi] n.哲学；人生观 (初中英语单词)
- christ [kraist] n.基督 int.天啊! (初中英语单词)
- worship [´wə:ʃip] n.&v.崇拜；敬仰 (初中英语单词)
- apollo [ə´pɔləu] n.阿波罗 (初中英语单词)
- wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)
- haunted [´hɔ:tid] a.常出现鬼的，闹鬼的 (初中英语单词)
- guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- wrought [rɔ:t] work 的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)
- grown-up [´grəun-ʌp] n.成年人 a.成熟的 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- wretched [´retʃid] a.可怜的；倒霉的 (初中英语单词)
- jealous [´dʒeləs] a.妒忌的 (初中英语单词)
- princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
- standing [´stændiŋ] n.持续 a.直立的 (初中英语单词)
- prophet [´prɔfit] n.预言家；先知；提倡者 (初中英语单词)
- cunning [´kʌniŋ] a.&n.狡猾(诡诈)的 (初中英语单词)
- presently [´prezəntli] ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词)
- thrust [θrʌst] v.&n.猛推；冲；刺；挤进 (初中英语单词)
- breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)
- maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
- hunger [´hʌŋgə] n.饥饿；渴望 (初中英语单词)
- likewise [´laikwaiz] ad.同样地；也，又 (初中英语单词)
- fisherman [´fiʃəmən] n.渔民，渔夫，打鱼人 (初中英语单词)
- damsel [´dæmzəl] n.姑娘，未婚少女 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
- charge [tʃɑ:dʒ] v.收费；冲锋 n.费用 (初中英语单词)
- cheerful [´tʃiəful] a.快乐的；高兴的 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- boxing [´bɔksiŋ] n.拳击运动 (初中英语单词)
- beaten [´bi:tn] beat 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- helmet [´helmit] n.钢盔 (初中英语单词)
- shield [ʃi:ld] n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词)
- errand [´erənd] n.差使，使命 (初中英语单词)
- geography [dʒi´ɔgrəfi] n.地理(学) (高中英语单词)
- reasoning [´ri:zəniŋ] n.推理，评理 a.推理的 (高中英语单词)
- persia [´pə:ʃə] n.波斯 (高中英语单词)
- heartily [´hɑ:tili] ad.衷心地；亲切地 (高中英语单词)
- loving [´lʌviŋ] a.爱的，有爱情的 (高中英语单词)
- passionate [´pæʃənit] a.易动情的；易怒的 (高中英语单词)
- gospel [´gɔspəl] n.福音；信条；真理 (高中英语单词)
- remembrance [ri´membrəns] n.记忆(力)；回忆 (高中英语单词)
- learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)
- theirs [ðeəz] pron.他们的 (高中英语单词)
- kindred [´kindrid] n.亲属关系；同源关系 (高中英语单词)
- cavern [´kævən] n.大山洞；大岩洞 (高中英语单词)
- underground [,ʌndə´graund] ad.&a.地下(的) (高中英语单词)
- ruffle [´rʌfl] v.弄皱；扰乱 n.轻擂 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- stately [´steitli] a.庄严的，雄伟的 (高中英语单词)
- hospitality [,hɔspi´tæliti] n.好客，殷勤 (高中英语单词)
- mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- exceedingly [ik´si:diŋli] ad.非常地，极度地 (高中英语单词)
- discern [di´sə:n] v.辩认出 (高中英语单词)
- manhood [´mænhud] n.人格；男子气概 (高中英语单词)
- astronomy [ə´strɔnəmi] n.天文学 (英语四级单词)
- testament [´testəment] n.契约，誓约；遗嘱 (英语四级单词)
- sicily [´sisili] n.西西里(岛) (英语四级单词)
- considering [kən´sidəriŋ] prep.就…而论 (英语四级单词)
- blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)
- carving [´kɑ:viŋ] n.雕刻(术)；雕刻品 (英语四级单词)
- alexandria [,ælig´zɑ:ndriə] n.亚历山大 (英语四级单词)
- seashore [´si:ʃɔ:] n.海岸；海滨 (英语四级单词)
- freshly [´freʃli] ad.新近，刚才 (英语四级单词)
- setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
- stature [´stætʃə] n.身高；身材 (英语四级单词)
- idleness [´aidlnis] n.懒；闲着不干事 (英语四级单词)
- righteous [´raitʃəs] a.正直的；正当的 (英语四级单词)
- cowardice [´kauədis] n.懦弱，胆怯 (英语六级单词)
- phoebus [´fi:bəs] n.太阳神 (英语六级单词)
- headland [´hedlənd] n.岬 (英语六级单词)
- weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)
- frieze [fri:z] n.(墙上的)横饰带 (英语六级单词)
- javelin [´dʒævəlin] n.标枪 (英语六级单词)
- truthful [´tru:θfəl] a.诚实的；真实的 (英语六级单词)
- piercing [´piəsiŋ] a.刺(贯)穿的；尖刻的 (英语六级单词)
- fatten [´fætn] v.养肥；使肥沃 (英语六级单词)
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