英语美文背诵 关于美 On beauty

On beauty

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide? And how shall you speak of her except she be the 1)weaver of your speech?

The 2)aggrieved and the 3)injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle. Like a young mother half-shy of her own 4)glory she walks among us."

And the 5)passionate say, "Nay¹, beauty is a thing of 6)might and 7)dread. Like the 8)tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."

The tired and the 9)weary say, "Beauty is of soft 10)whisperings. She speaks in our spirit. Her voice 11)yields to our silences like a 12)faint light that 13)quivers 14)in fear of the shadow."

But the 15)restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains, and with her cries came the sound of hoofs², and the beating of wings and the 16)roaring of lions."

At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."

And at 17)noon-time the 18)toilers and the 19)wayfarers say, "We have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."

In winter say the 20)snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."

And in the summer heat the 21)reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."

All these things have you said of beauty, yet in truth you spoke³ not of her but of needs unsatisfied, and beauty is not a need but an 22)ecstasy. It is not a mouth 23)thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth⁴, but rather a heart 24)enflamed and a soul 25)enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, but rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the 26)sap within the 27)furrowed 28)bark, nor a wing attached to a 29)claw, but rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock⁵ of angels for ever in flight.

Beauty is life when life 30)unveils her holy face.

如果美不以自身为途径，为向导，你们到哪里，又如何能找到她呢？如果她不是你们言语的编织者，你们又如何能谈论她呢？

伤心痛苦者说：“美是善良而温柔的。她像一位因自己的荣耀而半含羞涩的年轻母亲，走在我们的身边。”

热情奔放者说：“不，美是强烈而令人惊畏的。她如暴风雨般震动我们脚下的大地，摇撼我们头上的天空。”

疲惫怠倦者说：“美是温柔的低语，她在我们的心中诉说。她的声音波动在我们的沉默中，犹如一道微弱的光在对阴影的恐惧中颤抖。”

但活泼好动者说：“我们曾听到她在山谷中大声呼叫，随其呐喊而来的是足蹄踏地、翅膀拍击和雄狮怒吼的声音。”

夜晚，城市的守夜人说：“美将与晨光一同从东方升起。”

正午，辛勤劳作者和长途跋涉者说：“我们曾看到她透过黄昏之窗眺望大地。”

严冬，困在风雪中的人说：“她将与春同至，雀跃于山峦之间。”

酷暑，收割庄稼的人说：“我们曾看到她与秋叶共舞，雪花点缀于她的发梢。”

你们谈到关于美的所有这些，实际并非关于她本身，而是关于你们未被满足的需求，但美并不是一种需求，而是心醉神迷的欣喜。她不是焦渴的唇，也不是伸出的空空的手，而是一颗燃烧的心，一个充满喜悦的灵魂。她不是你们想看到的形象，也不是你们想听到的歌声，而是你们闭上眼睛看到的形象，堵住耳朵听到的歌声。她不是伤残树皮下的树液，也不是悬在利爪下的翅膀。而是一座鲜花永远盛开的花园，一群永远在天空飞翔的天使。

当生命摘去遮盖她圣洁面容的面纱时，美就是生命。

1 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。

2 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 flock   

n.羊群，一群，大量；vi.群集，聚集，成群

参考例句：

• A flock of customers were waiting for the store to open.一群顾客在等候着商店开门。
• A few sheep have been lost from the flock.羊群里少了几只羊。