body, that in the course of nature he might have attained, like his

father, to a good old age. Yet he cannot be said to have fallen
prematurely whose work was done; nor ought he to be lamented who died so

full of honours, at the height of human fame. The most triumphant death
is that of the martyr; the most awful that of the martyred patriot; the

most splendid that of the hero in the hour of victory: and if the
chariot and horses of fire had been vouchsafed for Nelson's translation,

he could scarcely have departed in a brighter blaze of glory. He has
left us, not indeed his mantle of inspiration, but a name and an example

which are at this hour inspiring thousands of the youth of England: a
name which is our pride, and an example which will continue to be our

shield and our strength. Thus it is that the spirits of the great and
the wise continue to live and to act after them; verifying, in this

sense, the language of the old mythologist:--
[The book ends with two lines of ancient Greek by the poet Hesiod.

Their meaning is approximately that of the final lines above.]
End

• height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)
• victory [´viktəri] n.胜利，战胜 (初中英语单词)
• martyr [´mɑ:tə] n.烈士；殉难者 (高中英语单词)
• patriot [´pætriət] n.爱国者 (高中英语单词)
• mantle [´mæntl] n.斗蓬 v.覆盖；笼罩 (高中英语单词)
• inspiration [,inspi´reiʃən] n.鼓舞；灵感；启发 (高中英语单词)
• approximately [ə´prɔksimətli] ad.近似地，几乎正确地 (高中英语单词)
• triumphant [trai´ʌmfənt] a.胜利的；洋洋得意的 (英语四级单词)
• departed [di´pɑ:tid] a.已往的；已故的 (英语六级单词)