35．The Beauty Of Pisa In The Afternoon

35．The  Beauty  Of  Pisa  In  The  Afternoon

　　On  each  side  of  a  bright  river  he  saw  rise  a  line  of  brighter  palaces,arched   and   pillared,   and   inlaid   with   deep   red   porphyry,   and   withserpentine(2); along the quays¹ before their gates were riding troops ofknights, noble in face and form, dazzling in crest² and shield; horse andman one labyrinth³ of quaint⁴ colour and gleaming light(3)--the purple, andsilver,  and  scarlet  fringes  flowing  over  the  strong  limbs  and  clashingmail, like sea-waves over rocks at sunset. Opening on each side from theriver  were  gardens,  courts,  and  cloisters;  long  successions  of  whitepillars  among  wreaths  of  vine;  leaping  of  fountains  through  buds  ofpomegranate and orange; and still along the garden-paths, and under andthrough the crimson⁵ of the pomegranate shadows, moving slowly, groups ofthe  fairest  women  that  Italy  ever  saw  fairest,  because  purest  andthoughtfulest; trained in all high knowledge, as in all courteous⁶ art--indance, in song, in sweet wit, in lofty learning, in loftier courage,-illloftiest  love-  able  alike  to  cheer,  to  enchant,  or  save,  the  souls  ofmen(4).  Above  all  this  scenery  of  perfect  human  life,  rose  dome  andbell-tower,  burning  with  white  alabaster  and  gold:  beyond  dome  andbell-tower the slopes of mighty⁷ hills, hoary⁸ with olive; far in the north,above a purple sea of peaks of solemn Apennine(5), the clear, sharp- clovenCarrara mountains(6) sent up their steadfast⁹ flames of marble summit intoamber  sky;  the  great  sea  itself,  scorching  with  expanse  of  light,stretching from their feet to the Gorgonian isles(7); and over all these,ever present, near or far--seen through the leaves of vine, or imaged withall  its  march  of  clouds  in  the  Arno's  stream,(8)  or  set  with  its  depthof  blue  close  against  the  golden  hair  and  burning  cheek  of  lady  andknight,-- that untroubled and sacred sky, which was to all men, in thosedays of innocent faith, indeed the unquestioned abode¹⁰ of spirits, as theearth  was  of  men;  and  which  opened  straight  through  its  gates  of  cloudand veils of dew into the awfulness of the eternal world; a heaven in whichevery cloud that passed was literally¹¹ the chariot of an angel and  everyray  of  its  Evening  and  Morning  streamed  from  the  throne  of  God.(9)

1 quays   

码头( quay的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She drove across the Tournelle bridge and across the busy quays to the Latin quarter. 她驾车开过图尔内勒桥，穿过繁忙的码头开到拉丁区。
• When blasting is close to such installations as quays, the charge can be reduced. 在靠近如码头这类设施爆破时，装药量可以降低。

2 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。

3 labyrinth   

n.迷宫；难解的事物；迷路

参考例句：

• He wandered through the labyrinth of the alleyways.他在迷宫似的小巷中闲逛。
• The human mind is a labyrinth.人的心灵是一座迷宫。

4 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

5 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

6 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

7 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

8 hoary   

adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的

参考例句：

• They discussed the hoary old problem.他们讨论老问题。
• Without a word spoken,he hurried away,with his hoary head bending low.他什么也没说，低着白发苍苍的头，匆匆地走了。

9 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

10 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

11 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。