章节正文
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you return in peace. Nor shall you offer burnt-offerings to
the Olympians; for your offering shall be Medusa's head.
Leap, and trust in the armour of the Immortals.'
Then Perseus looked down the cliff and shuddered; but he was
ashamed to show his dread. Then he thought of Medusa and the
renown before him, and he leaped into the empty air.
And behold, instead of falling he floated, and stood, and ran
along the sky. He looked back, but Athene had vanished, and
Hermes; and the sandals led him on northward ever, like a
crane who follows the spring toward the Ister fens.
PART III - HOW PERSEUS SLEW THE GORGON
SO Perseus started on his journey, going dry-shod over land
and sea; and his heart was high and joyful, for the winged
sandals bore him each day a seven days' journey.
And he went by Cythnus, and by Ceos, and the pleasant
Cyclades to Attica; and past Athens and Thebes, and the
Copaic lake, and up the vale of Cephissus, and past the peaks
of OEta and Pindus, and over the rich Thessalian plains, till
the sunny hills of Greece were behind him, and before him
were the wilds of the north. Then he passed the Thracian
mountains, and many a barbarous tribe, Paeons and Dardans and
Triballi, till he came to the Ister stream, and the dreary
Scythian plains. And he walked across the Ister dry-shod,
and away through the moors and fens, day and night toward the
bleak north-west, turning neither to the right hand nor the
left, till he came to the Unshapen Land, and the place which
has no name.
And seven days he walked through it, on a path which few can
tell; for those who have trodden it like least to speak of
it, and those who go there again in dreams are glad enough
when they awake; till he came to the edge of the everlasting
night, where the air was full of feathers, and the soil was
hard with ice; and there at last he found the three Gray
Sisters, by the shore of the freezing sea, nodding upon a
white log of drift-wood, beneath the cold white winter moon;
and they chaunted a low song together, 'Why the old times
were better than the new.'
There was no living thing around them, not a fly, not a moss
upon the rocks. Neither seal nor sea-gull dare come near,
lest the ice should clutch them in its claws. The surge
broke up in foam, but it fell again in flakes of snow; and it
frosted the hair of the three Gray Sisters, and the bones in
the ice-cliff above their heads. They passed the eye from
one to the other, but for all that they could not see; and
they passed the tooth from one to the other, but for all that
they could not eat; and they sat in the full glare of the
moon, but they were none the warmer for her beams. And
Perseus pitied the three Gray Sisters; but they did not pity
themselves.
So he said, 'Oh, venerable mothers, wisdom is the daughter of
old age. You therefore should know many things. Tell me, if
you can, the path to the Gorgon.'
Then one cried, 'Who is this who reproaches us with old age?'
And another, 'This is the voice of one of the children of
men.'
And he, 'I do not reproach, but honour your old age, and I am
one of the sons of men and of the heroes. The rulers of
Olympus have sent me to you to ask the way to the Gorgon.'
Then one, 'There are new rulers in Olympus, and all new
things are bad.' And another, 'We hate your rulers, and the
heroes, and all the children of men. We are the kindred of
the Titans, and the Giants, and the Gorgons, and the ancient
monsters of the deep.' And another, 'Who is this rash and
insolent man who pushes unbidden into our world?' And the
first, 'There never was such a world as ours, nor will be; if
we let him see it, he will spoil it all.'
Then one cried, 'Give me the eye, that I may see him;' and
another, 'Give me the tooth, that I may bite him.' But
Perseus, when he saw that they were foolish and proud, and
did not love the children of men, left off pitying them, and
said to himself, 'Hungry men must needs be hasty; if I stay
making many words here, I shall be starved.' Then he stepped
close to them, and watched till they passed the eye from hand
to hand. And as they groped about between themselves, he
held out his own hand gently, till one of them put the eye
into it, fancying that it was the hand of her sister. Then
he sprang back, and laughed, and cried -
'Cruel and proud old women, I have your eye; and I will throw
it into the sea, unless you tell me the path to the Gorgon,
and swear to me that you tell me right.'
Then they wept, and chattered, and scolded; but in vain.
They were forced to tell the truth, though, when they told
it, Perseus could hardly make out the road.
'You must go,' they said, 'foolish boy, to the southward,
into the ugly glare of the sun, till you come to Atlas the
Giant, who holds the heaven and the earth apart. And you
must ask his daughters, the Hesperides, who are young and
foolish like yourself. And now give us back our eye, for we
have forgotten all the rest.'
So Perseus gave them back their eye; but instead of using it,
they nodded and fell fast asleep, and were turned into blocks
of ice, till the tide came up and washed them all away. And
now they float up and down like icebergs for ever, weeping
whenever they meet the sunshine, and the fruitful summer and
the warm south wind, which fill young hearts with joy.
But Perseus leaped away to the southward, leaving the snow
and the ice behind: past the isle of the Hyperboreans, and
the tin isles, and the long Iberian shore, while the sun rose
higher day by day upon a bright blue summer sea. And the
terns and the sea-gulls swept laughing round his head, and
called to him to stop and play, and the dolphins gambolled up
as he passed, and offered to carry him on their backs. And
all night long the sea-nymphs sang sweetly, and the Tritons
blew upon their conchs, as they played round Galataea their
queen, in her car of pearled shells. Day by day the sun rose
higher, and leaped more swiftly into the sea at night, and
more swiftly out of the sea at dawn; while Perseus skimmed
over the billows like a sea-gull, and his feet were never
wetted; and leapt on from wave to wave, and his limbs were
never weary, till he saw far away a mighty mountain, all
rose-red in the setting sun. Its feet were wrapped in
forests, and its head in wreaths of cloud; and Perseus knew
that it was Atlas, who holds the heavens and the earth apart.
He came to the mountain, and leapt on shore, and wandered
upward, among pleasant valleys and waterfalls, and tall trees
and strange ferns and flowers; but there was no smoke rising
from any glen, nor house, nor sign of man.
At last he heard sweet voices singing; and he guessed that he
was come to the garden of the Nymphs, the daughters of the
Evening Star.
They sang like nightingales among the thickets, and Perseus
stopped to hear their song; but the words which they spoke he
could not understand; no, nor no man after him for many a
hundred years. So he stepped forward and saw them dancing,
hand in hand around the charmed tree, which bent under its
golden fruit; and round the tree-foot was coiled the dragon,
old Ladon the sleepless snake, who lies there for ever,
listening to the song of the maidens, blinking and watching
with dry bright eyes.
Then Perseus stopped, not because he feared the dragon, but
because he was bashful before those fair maids; but when they
saw him, they too stopped, and called to him with trembling
voices -
'Who are you? Are you Heracles the mighty, who will come to
rob our garden, and carry off our golden fruit?' And he
answered -
'I am not Heracles the mighty, and I want none of your golden
fruit. Tell me, fair Nymphs, the way which leads to the
Gorgon, that I may go on my way and slay her.'
'Not yet, not yet, fair boy; come dance with us around the
tree in the garden which knows no winter, the home of the
south wind and the sun. Come hither and play with us awhile;
we have danced alone here for a thousand years, and our
hearts are weary with longing for a playfellow. So come,
come, come!'
'I cannot dance with you, fair maidens; for I must do the
errand of the Immortals. So tell me the way to the Gorgon,
lest I wander and perish in the waves.'
Then they sighed and wept; and answered - 'The Gorgon! she
will freeze you into stone.'
'It is better to die like a hero than to live like an ox in a
stall. The Immortals have lent me weapons, and they will
give me wit to use them.'
Then they sighed again and answered, 'Fair boy, if you are
bent on your own ruin, be it so. We know not the way to the
Gorgon; but we will ask the giant Atlas, above upon the
mountain peak, the brother of our father, the silver Evening
Star. He sits aloft and sees across the ocean, and far away
into the Unshapen Land.'
So they went up the mountain to Atlas their uncle, and
Perseus went up with them. And they found the giant
kneeling, as he held the heavens and the earth apart.
They asked him, and he answered mildly, pointing to the sea-
board with his mighty hand, 'I can see the Gorgons lying on
an island far away, but this youth can never come near them,
unless he has the hat of darkness, which whosoever wears
cannot be seen.'
Then cried Perseus, 'Where is that hat, that I may find it?'
But the giant smiled. 'No living mortal can find that hat,
for it lies in the depths of Hades, in the regions of the
dead. But my nieces are mortal" target="_blank" title="a.不死的n.不朽的人物">immortal, and they shall fetch it
for you, if you will promise me one thing and keep your
faith.'
Then Perseus promised; and the giant said, 'When you come
the Olympians; for your offering shall be Medusa's head.
Leap, and trust in the armour of the Immortals.'
Then Perseus looked down the cliff and shuddered; but he was
ashamed to show his dread. Then he thought of Medusa and the
renown before him, and he leaped into the empty air.
And behold, instead of falling he floated, and stood, and ran
along the sky. He looked back, but Athene had vanished, and
Hermes; and the sandals led him on northward ever, like a
crane who follows the spring toward the Ister fens.
PART III - HOW PERSEUS SLEW THE GORGON
SO Perseus started on his journey, going dry-shod over land
and sea; and his heart was high and joyful, for the winged
sandals bore him each day a seven days' journey.
And he went by Cythnus, and by Ceos, and the pleasant
Cyclades to Attica; and past Athens and Thebes, and the
Copaic lake, and up the vale of Cephissus, and past the peaks
of OEta and Pindus, and over the rich Thessalian plains, till
the sunny hills of Greece were behind him, and before him
were the wilds of the north. Then he passed the Thracian
mountains, and many a barbarous tribe, Paeons and Dardans and
Triballi, till he came to the Ister stream, and the dreary
Scythian plains. And he walked across the Ister dry-shod,
and away through the moors and fens, day and night toward the
bleak north-west, turning neither to the right hand nor the
left, till he came to the Unshapen Land, and the place which
has no name.
And seven days he walked through it, on a path which few can
tell; for those who have trodden it like least to speak of
it, and those who go there again in dreams are glad enough
when they awake; till he came to the edge of the everlasting
night, where the air was full of feathers, and the soil was
hard with ice; and there at last he found the three Gray
Sisters, by the shore of the freezing sea, nodding upon a
white log of drift-wood, beneath the cold white winter moon;
and they chaunted a low song together, 'Why the old times
were better than the new.'
There was no living thing around them, not a fly, not a moss
upon the rocks. Neither seal nor sea-gull dare come near,
lest the ice should clutch them in its claws. The surge
broke up in foam, but it fell again in flakes of snow; and it
frosted the hair of the three Gray Sisters, and the bones in
the ice-cliff above their heads. They passed the eye from
one to the other, but for all that they could not see; and
they passed the tooth from one to the other, but for all that
they could not eat; and they sat in the full glare of the
moon, but they were none the warmer for her beams. And
Perseus pitied the three Gray Sisters; but they did not pity
themselves.
So he said, 'Oh, venerable mothers, wisdom is the daughter of
old age. You therefore should know many things. Tell me, if
you can, the path to the Gorgon.'
Then one cried, 'Who is this who reproaches us with old age?'
And another, 'This is the voice of one of the children of
men.'
And he, 'I do not reproach, but honour your old age, and I am
one of the sons of men and of the heroes. The rulers of
Olympus have sent me to you to ask the way to the Gorgon.'
Then one, 'There are new rulers in Olympus, and all new
things are bad.' And another, 'We hate your rulers, and the
heroes, and all the children of men. We are the kindred of
the Titans, and the Giants, and the Gorgons, and the ancient
monsters of the deep.' And another, 'Who is this rash and
insolent man who pushes unbidden into our world?' And the
first, 'There never was such a world as ours, nor will be; if
we let him see it, he will spoil it all.'
Then one cried, 'Give me the eye, that I may see him;' and
another, 'Give me the tooth, that I may bite him.' But
Perseus, when he saw that they were foolish and proud, and
did not love the children of men, left off pitying them, and
said to himself, 'Hungry men must needs be hasty; if I stay
making many words here, I shall be starved.' Then he stepped
close to them, and watched till they passed the eye from hand
to hand. And as they groped about between themselves, he
held out his own hand gently, till one of them put the eye
into it, fancying that it was the hand of her sister. Then
he sprang back, and laughed, and cried -
'Cruel and proud old women, I have your eye; and I will throw
it into the sea, unless you tell me the path to the Gorgon,
and swear to me that you tell me right.'
Then they wept, and chattered, and scolded; but in vain.
They were forced to tell the truth, though, when they told
it, Perseus could hardly make out the road.
'You must go,' they said, 'foolish boy, to the southward,
into the ugly glare of the sun, till you come to Atlas the
Giant, who holds the heaven and the earth apart. And you
must ask his daughters, the Hesperides, who are young and
foolish like yourself. And now give us back our eye, for we
have forgotten all the rest.'
So Perseus gave them back their eye; but instead of using it,
they nodded and fell fast asleep, and were turned into blocks
of ice, till the tide came up and washed them all away. And
now they float up and down like icebergs for ever, weeping
whenever they meet the sunshine, and the fruitful summer and
the warm south wind, which fill young hearts with joy.
But Perseus leaped away to the southward, leaving the snow
and the ice behind: past the isle of the Hyperboreans, and
the tin isles, and the long Iberian shore, while the sun rose
higher day by day upon a bright blue summer sea. And the
terns and the sea-gulls swept laughing round his head, and
called to him to stop and play, and the dolphins gambolled up
as he passed, and offered to carry him on their backs. And
all night long the sea-nymphs sang sweetly, and the Tritons
blew upon their conchs, as they played round Galataea their
queen, in her car of pearled shells. Day by day the sun rose
higher, and leaped more swiftly into the sea at night, and
more swiftly out of the sea at dawn; while Perseus skimmed
over the billows like a sea-gull, and his feet were never
wetted; and leapt on from wave to wave, and his limbs were
never weary, till he saw far away a mighty mountain, all
rose-red in the setting sun. Its feet were wrapped in
forests, and its head in wreaths of cloud; and Perseus knew
that it was Atlas, who holds the heavens and the earth apart.
He came to the mountain, and leapt on shore, and wandered
upward, among pleasant valleys and waterfalls, and tall trees
and strange ferns and flowers; but there was no smoke rising
from any glen, nor house, nor sign of man.
At last he heard sweet voices singing; and he guessed that he
was come to the garden of the Nymphs, the daughters of the
Evening Star.
They sang like nightingales among the thickets, and Perseus
stopped to hear their song; but the words which they spoke he
could not understand; no, nor no man after him for many a
hundred years. So he stepped forward and saw them dancing,
hand in hand around the charmed tree, which bent under its
golden fruit; and round the tree-foot was coiled the dragon,
old Ladon the sleepless snake, who lies there for ever,
listening to the song of the maidens, blinking and watching
with dry bright eyes.
Then Perseus stopped, not because he feared the dragon, but
because he was bashful before those fair maids; but when they
saw him, they too stopped, and called to him with trembling
voices -
'Who are you? Are you Heracles the mighty, who will come to
rob our garden, and carry off our golden fruit?' And he
answered -
'I am not Heracles the mighty, and I want none of your golden
fruit. Tell me, fair Nymphs, the way which leads to the
Gorgon, that I may go on my way and slay her.'
'Not yet, not yet, fair boy; come dance with us around the
tree in the garden which knows no winter, the home of the
south wind and the sun. Come hither and play with us awhile;
we have danced alone here for a thousand years, and our
hearts are weary with longing for a playfellow. So come,
come, come!'
'I cannot dance with you, fair maidens; for I must do the
errand of the Immortals. So tell me the way to the Gorgon,
lest I wander and perish in the waves.'
Then they sighed and wept; and answered - 'The Gorgon! she
will freeze you into stone.'
'It is better to die like a hero than to live like an ox in a
stall. The Immortals have lent me weapons, and they will
give me wit to use them.'
Then they sighed again and answered, 'Fair boy, if you are
bent on your own ruin, be it so. We know not the way to the
Gorgon; but we will ask the giant Atlas, above upon the
mountain peak, the brother of our father, the silver Evening
Star. He sits aloft and sees across the ocean, and far away
into the Unshapen Land.'
So they went up the mountain to Atlas their uncle, and
Perseus went up with them. And they found the giant
kneeling, as he held the heavens and the earth apart.
They asked him, and he answered mildly, pointing to the sea-
board with his mighty hand, 'I can see the Gorgons lying on
an island far away, but this youth can never come near them,
unless he has the hat of darkness, which whosoever wears
cannot be seen.'
Then cried Perseus, 'Where is that hat, that I may find it?'
But the giant smiled. 'No living mortal can find that hat,
for it lies in the depths of Hades, in the regions of the
dead. But my nieces are mortal" target="_blank" title="a.不死的n.不朽的人物">immortal, and they shall fetch it
for you, if you will promise me one thing and keep your
faith.'
Then Perseus promised; and the giant said, 'When you come
- shield [ʃi:ld]
n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词) - awhile [ə´wail] ad.少顷；片刻 (初中英语单词)
- fierce [fiəs] a.残忍的；强烈的 (初中英语单词)
- worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
- spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
- helpless [´helpləs] a.无助的，无依靠的 (初中英语单词)
- coward [´kauəd] n.胆怯者 a.胆小的 (初中英语单词)
- temple [´tempəl] n.庙宇；寺院；太阳穴 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- ashamed [ə´ʃeimd] a.惭愧；不好意思 (初中英语单词)
- pointed [´pɔintid] a.尖(锐)的；中肯的 (初中英语单词)
- ashore [ə´ʃɔ:] ad.向岸上 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- thunder [´θʌndə] n.雷 vi.打雷 vt.吼出 (初中英语单词)
- keenly [´ki:nli] ad.敏锐地；强烈地 (初中英语单词)
- breeze [bri:z] n.微风；不费力的事 (初中英语单词)
- gently [´dʒentli] ad.温和地；静静地 (初中英语单词)
- useless [´ju:sləs] a.无用的，无价值的 (初中英语单词)
- maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
- winged [´wiŋd] a.有翼的 (初中英语单词)
- immortal [i´mɔ:təl] a.不死的n.不朽的人物 (初中英语单词)
- freeze [fri:z] v.结冰；凝固；冷淡 (初中英语单词)
- safely [´seifli] ad.安全地；平安地 (初中英语单词)
- messenger [´mesindʒə] n.使者；送信人 (初中英语单词)
- divine [di´vain] a.神圣的 v.预言 (初中英语单词)
- farewell [feə´wel] int.再见 n.&a.告别 (初中英语单词)
- armour [´ɑ:mə] (=armor) n.甲胄，盔甲 (初中英语单词)
- greece [gri:s] n.希腊 (初中英语单词)
- stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
- clutch [klʌtʃ] v.抓住 n.爪子；控制 (初中英语单词)
- wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- sprang [spræŋ] spring 的过去式 (初中英语单词)
- sunshine [´sʌnʃain] n.日光，阳光 (初中英语单词)
- swiftly [´swiftli] ad.迅速地，敏捷地 (初中英语单词)
- dragon [´drægən] n.龙 (初中英语单词)
- hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)
- wander [´wɔndə, ´wɑ:n:dər] v.徘徊；流浪 (初中英语单词)
- perish [´periʃ] v.灭亡；消灭；(使)死去 (初中英语单词)
- boldly [´bəuldli] ad.大胆地；醒目地 (高中英语单词)
- everlasting [,evə´lɑ:stiŋ] a.永久的，无尽的 (高中英语单词)
- monstrous [´mɔnstrəs] a.怪异的；庞大的 (高中英语单词)
- homage [´hɔmidʒ] n.敬意，尊敬 (高中英语单词)
- banquet [´bæŋkwit] n.宴会，盛宴 (高中英语单词)
- openly [´əupənli] ad.公开地；直率地 (高中英语单词)
- bitterness [´bitənis] n.苦味；辛酸；苦难 (高中英语单词)
- angrily [´æŋgrili] ad.生气地；愤怒地 (高中英语单词)
- cunningly [´kʌniŋli] ad.狡猾地；精巧地 (高中英语单词)
- patiently [´peiʃəntli] ad.有耐心地；坚韧地 (高中英语单词)
- brightness [´braitnis] n.光明；快乐 (高中英语单词)
- repent [ri´pent] v.后悔；悔改；悔悟 (高中英语单词)
- northward [´nɔ:θwəd] ad.&a.向北(的) n.北 (高中英语单词)
- tyrant [´taiərənt] n.暴君；霸主；专制君主 (高中英语单词)
- offering [´ɔfəriŋ] n.提供；礼物；捐献 (高中英语单词)
- joyful [´dʒɔifəl] a.高兴的，充满快乐的 (高中英语单词)
- athens [´æθinz] n.雅典 (高中英语单词)
- reproach [ri´prəutʃ] vt.&n.责备；指责；耻辱 (高中英语单词)
- kindred [´kindrid] n.亲属关系；同源关系 (高中英语单词)
- fruitful [´fru:tfəl] a.成功的；丰富的 (高中英语单词)
- southward [´sauθwəd] a.&n.向南方向(的) (高中英语单词)
- sweetly [´swi:tli] ad.甜蜜地；美妙地 (高中英语单词)
- mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)
- longing [´lɔŋiŋ] n.&a.渴望(的) (高中英语单词)
- mortal [´mɔ:tl] a.致命的 n.凡人 (高中英语单词)
- winning [´winiŋ] n.&a.胜利(的) (英语四级单词)
- forgiven [fə´givn] forgive的过去分词 (英语四级单词)
- barbarous [´bɑ:bərəs] a.野蛮的；不规范的 (英语四级单词)
- venerable [´venərəbəl] a.可尊敬的；森严的 (英语四级单词)
- setting [´setiŋ] n.安装；排字；布景 (英语四级单词)
- bashful [´bæʃful] a.害羞的，忸怩的 (英语四级单词)
- mildly [´maildli] ad.温和地；适度地 (英语四级单词)
- medusa [mi´dju:zə] n.水母 a.水母然 (英语六级单词)
- weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)
- olympus [əu´limpəs] n.(希腊)奥林匹斯山 (英语六级单词)
- sleepless [´sli:pləs] a.失眠的；寂静的 (英语六级单词)
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