第2章 THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB'S ARMY 亚述王军队的陨灭

THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,

And his cohorts were gleaming with purple and gold.

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue waves roll nightly on deep Galilee.

Like the leaves of the forest when summer is green,

That host with their banners at sunset were seen;

Like the leaves of the forest when autumn hath blown,

That host on the morrow lay withered and strown.

For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,

And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed;

And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill,

And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever were still.

And there lay the steed with his nostrils all wide,

But through them there rolled not the breath of his pride

And the foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,

And cold as the spray of the rock-beating surf.

And there lay the rider, distorted and pale,

With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail

And the tents were all silent, the banners alone,

The lances unlifted, the trumpets unblown.

And the widows of Asshur are loud in their wail;

And the idols arc broke in the temple of Baal;

And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by the sword,

Hath melted like snow in the glance of the Lord!

—Lord Byron (1788-1824)

Words

banners,standards.

distorted,deformed.

gasping,panting.

gleaming,sparkling.

sheen,brightness.

silent,noiseless.

wail,lamentation.

waxed,became.

withered,faded.

如野狼一样，亚述人从荒原席卷，

他们的大队人马身穿紫袍，头戴金冠。

戟矛闪亮，如同海上的繁星，

似蓝色的波浪在夜晚向深邃的加利利湖席卷。

如翠绿的盛夏时分树林里的绿叶，

暮色沉沉，军队和他们的条幅依稀可见；

像深秋时节树林里的叶子，

朝露振振，军队铩羽，英气不复。

死亡之神，振动羽翼滑翔而过，

把死亡的气息吹拂到其所到之地；

沉睡的人儿双目紧闭，如蜡像一般一动不动，身体冰冷，

他们曾经搏动的心脏永远停止了跳动。

骏马倒地，大张着鼻孔，

它喘息的不再是往日的荣耀，

那曾经的喘息只留下嘴边挂着白沫，

它已经冰冷地躺在了砾石丛生的草原。

还有那马背上的人也躺在了地上，身体扭曲，脸色苍白，

眉心沁汗，信件斑驳，

营地死寂一片，只剩下那独自飘曳的条幅，

无人投掷的长矛，还有那不再吹响的号角。

从亚述人的窗边经过，能听到他们的号啕声动天；

太阳神庙里的神像被捣毁；

那利刃也动不得分毫的加利利人的权威，

好像被上帝看了一眼的积雪一样，融化不再！

——拜伦勋爵（1788-1824）