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第9节

the heroes-第9节

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So Perseus sailed away with his Phoenicians; round Hydrea and  Sunium; past Marathon and the Attic shore; and through  Euripus; and up the long Euboean sea; till he came to the  town of Larissa; where the wild Pelasgi dwelt。

And when he came there; all the people were in the fields;  and there was feasting; and all kinds of games; for  Teutamenes their king wished to honour Acrisius; because he  was the king of a mighty land。

So Perseus did not tell his name; but went up to the games  unknown; for he said; 'If I carry away the prize in the  games; my grandfather's heart will be softened toward me。'

So he threw off his helmet; and his cuirass; and all his  clothes; and stood among the youths of Larissa; while all  wondered at him; and said; 'Who is this young stranger; who  stands like a wild bull in his pride?  Surely he is one of  the heroes; the sons of the Immortals; from Olympus。'

And when the games began; they wondered yet more; for Perseus  was the best man of all at running; and leaping; and  wrestling and throwing the javelin; and he won four crowns;  and took them; and then he said to himself; 'There is a fifth  crown yet to be won:  I will win that; and lay them all upon  the knees of my grandfather。'

And as he spoke; he saw where Acrisius sat; by the side of  Teutamenes the king; with his white beard flowing down upon  his knees; and his royal staff in his hand; and Perseus wept  when he looked at him; for his heart yearned after his kin;  and he said; 'Surely he is a kingly old man; yet he need not  be ashamed of his grandson。'

Then he took the quoits; and hurled them; five fathoms beyond  all the rest; and the people shouted; 'Further yet; brave  stranger!  There has never been such a hurler in this land。'

Then Perseus put out all his strength; and hurled。  But a  gust of wind came from the sea; and carried the quoit aside;  and far beyond all the rest; and it fell on the foot of  Acrisius; and he swooned away with the pain。

Perseus shrieked; and ran up to him; but when they lifted the  old man up he was dead; for his life was slow and feeble。

Then Perseus rent his clothes; and cast dust upon his head;  and wept a long while for his grandfather。  At last he rose;  and called to all the people aloud; and said …

'The Gods are true; and what they have ordained must be。  I  am Perseus; the grandson of this dead man; the far…famed  slayer of the Gorgon。'

Then he told them how the prophecy had declared that he  should kill his grandfather; and all the story of his life。

So they made a great mourning for Acrisius; and burnt him on  a right rich pile; and Perseus went to the temple; and was  purified from the guilt of the death; because he had done it  unknowingly。

Then he went home to Argos; and reigned there well with fair  Andromeda; and they had four sons and three daughters; and  died in a good old age。

And when they died; the ancients say; Athene took them up  into the sky; with Cepheus and Cassiopoeia。  And there on  starlight nights you may see them shining still; Cepheus with  his kingly crown; and Cassiopoeia in her ivory chair;  plaiting her star…spangled tresses; and Perseus with the  Gorgon's head; and fair Andromeda beside him; spreading her  long white arms across the heaven; as she stood when chained  to the stone for the monster。

All night long; they shine; for a beacon to wandering  sailors; but all day they feast with the Gods; on the still  blue peaks of Olympus。



STORY II。 … THE ARGONAUTS



PART I … HOW THE CENTAUR TRAINED THE HEROES ON PELION



I HAVE told you of a hero who fought with wild beasts and  with wild men; but now I have a tale of heroes who sailed  away into a distant land; to win themselves renown for ever;  in the adventure of the Golden Fleece。

Whither they sailed; my children; I cannot clearly tell。  It  all happened long ago; so long that it has all grown dim;  like a dream which you dreamt last year。  And why they went I  cannot tell:  some say that it was to win gold。  It may be  so; but the noblest deeds which have been done on earth have  not been done for gold。  It was not for the sake of gold that  the Lord came down and died; and the Apostles went out to  preach the good news in all lands。  The Spartans looked for  no reward in money when they fought and died at Thermopylae;  and Socrates the wise asked no pay from his countrymen; but  lived poor and barefoot all his days; only caring to make men  good。  And there are heroes in our days also; who do noble  deeds; but not for gold。  Our discoverers did not go to make  themselves rich when they sailed out one after another into  the dreary frozen seas; nor did the ladies who went out last  year to drudge in the hospitals of the East; making  themselves poor; that they might be rich in noble works。  And  young men; too; whom you know; children; and some of them of  your own kin; did they say to themselves; 'How much money  shall I earn?' when they went out to the war; leaving wealth;  and comfort; and a pleasant home; and all that money can  give; to face hunger and thirst; and wounds and death; that  they might fight for their country and their Queen?  No;  children; there is a better thing on earth than wealth; a  better thing than life itself; and that is; to have done  something before you die; for which good men may honour you;  and God your Father smile upon your work。

Therefore we will believe … why should we not? … of these  same Argonauts of old; that they too were noble men; who  planned and did a noble deed; and that therefore their fame  has lived; and been told in story and in song; mixed up; no  doubt; with dreams and fables; and yet true and right at  heart。  So we will honour these old Argonauts; and listen to  their story as it stands; and we will try to be like them;  each of us in our place; for each of us has a Golden Fleece  to seek; and a wild sea to sail over ere we reach it; and  dragons to fight ere it be ours。


And what was that first Golden Fleece?  I do not know; nor  care。  The old Hellens said that it hung in Colchis; which we  call the Circassian coast; nailed to a beech…tree in the war… God's wood; and that it was the fleece of the wondrous ram  who bore Phrixus and Helle across the Euxine sea。  For  Phrixus and Helle were the children of the cloud…nymph; and  of Athamas the Minuan king。  And when a famine came upon the  land; their cruel step…mother Ino wished to kill them; that  her own children might reign; and said that they must be  sacrificed on an altar; to turn away the anger of the Gods。   So the poor children were brought to the altar; and the  priest stood ready with his knife; when out of the clouds  came the Golden Ram; and took them on his back; and vanished。   Then madness came upon that foolish king; Athamas; and ruin  upon Ino and her children。  For Athamas killed one of them in  his fury; and Ino fled from him with the other in her arms;  and leaped from a cliff into the sea; and was changed into a  dolphin; such as you have seen; which wanders over the waves  for ever sighing; with its little one clasped to its breast。

But the people drove out King Athamas; because he had killed  his child; and he roamed about in his misery; till he came to  the Oracle in Delphi。  And the Oracle told him that he must  wander for his sin; till the wild beasts should feast him as  their guest。  So he went on in hunger and sorrow for many a  weary day; till he saw a pack of wolves。  The wolves were  tearing a sheep; but when they saw Athamas they fled; and  left the sheep for him; and he ate of it; and then he knew  that the oracle was fulfilled at last。  So he wandered no  more; but settled; and built a town; and became a king again。

But the ram carried the two children far away over land and  sea; till he came to the Thracian Chersonese; and there Helle  fell into the sea。  So those narrow straits are called  'Hellespont;' after her; and they bear that name until this  day。

Then the ram flew on with Phrixus to the north…east across  the sea which we call the Black Sea now; but the Hellens call  it Euxine。  And at last; they say; he stopped at Colchis; on  the steep Circassian coast; and there Phrixus married  Chalciope; the daughter of Aietes the king; and offered the  ram in sacrifice; and Aietes nailed the ram's fleece to a  beech; in the grove of Ares the war…God。

And after awhile Phrixus died; and was buried; but his spirit  had no rest; for he was buried far from his native land; and  the pleasant hills of Hellas。  So he came in dreams to the  heroes of the Minuai; and called sadly by their beds; 'Come  and set my spirit free; that I may go home to my fathers and  to my kinsfolk; and the pleasant Minuan land。'

And they asked; 'How shall we set your spirit free?'

'You must sail over the sea to Colchis; and bring home the  golden fleece; and then my spirit will come back with it; and  I shall sleep with my fathers and have rest。'

He came thus; and called to them often; but when they woke  they looked at each other; and said; 'Who dare sail to  Colchis; or bring home the golden fleece?'  And in all the  country none was brave enough to try it; for the man and the  time were not come。

Phrixus had a cousin called 

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