And barbarousworship, altars horrible

On massive stones upreared; sacred with blood



Of men was every tree. If faith be given

To ancient myth, no fowl has ever dared



To rest upon those branches, and no beast

Has made his lair beneath: no tempest falls,



Nor lightnings flash upon it from the cloud.

Stagnant the air, unmoving, yet the leaves



Filled with mysterious trembling; dripped the streams

From coal-black fountains; effigies of gods



Rude, scarcely fashioned from some fallen trunk

Held the mid space: and, pallid with decay,



Their rotting shapes struck terror. Thus do men

Dread most the god unknown. 'Twas said that caves



Rumbled with earthquakes, that the prostrate yew

Rose up again; that fiery tongues of flame



Gleamed in the forest depths, yet were the trees

Unkindled; and that snakes in frequent folds



Were coiled around the trunks. Men flee the spot

Nor dare to worship near: and e'en the priest



Or when bright Phoebus holds the height, or when

Dark night controls the heavens, in anxious dread



Draws near the grove and fears to find its lord.

Spared in the former war, still dense it rose



Where all the hills were bare, and Caesar now

Its fall commanded. But the brawny arms



Which swayed the axes trembled, and the men,

Awed by the sacred grove's dark majesty,



Held back the blow they thought would be returned.

This Caesar saw, and swift within his grasp



Uprose a ponderous axe, which downward fell

Cleaving a mighty oak that towered to heaven,



While thus he spake: "Henceforth let no man dread

To fell this forest: all the crime is mine.



This be your creed." He spake, and all obeyed,

For Caesar's ire weighed down the wrath of Heaven.



Yet ceased they not to fear. Then first the oak,

Dodona's ancient boast; the knotty holm;



The cypress, witness of patrician grief,

The buoyant alder, laid their foliage low



Admitting day; though scarcely through the stems

Their fall found passage. At the sight the Gauls



Grieved; but the garrison within the walls

Rejoiced: for thus shall men insult the gods



And find no punishment? Yet fortune oft

Protects the guilty; on the poor alone



The gods can vent their ire. Enough hewn down,

They seize the country wagons; and the hind,



His oxen gone which else had drawn the plough,

Mourns for his harvest.



But the eager chief

Impatient of the combat by the walls



Carries the warfare to the furthest west.

Meanwhile a giant mound, on star-shaped wheels



Concealed, they fashion, crowned with double towers

High as the battlements, by cause unseen



Slow creeping onwards; while amazed the foe,

Beheld, and thought some subterranean gust



Had burst the caverns of the earth and forced

The nodding pile aloft, and wondered sore



Their walls should stand unshaken. From its height

Hissed clown the weapons; but the Grecian bolts



With greater force were on the Romans hurled;

Nor by the arm unaided, for the lance



Urged by the catapult resistless rushed

Through arms and shield and flesh, and left a death



Behind, nor stayed its course: and massive stones

Cast by the beams of mighty engines fell;



As from the mountain top some time-worn rock

At length by winds dislodged, in all its track



Spreads ruin vast: nor crushed the life alone

Forth from the body, but dispersed the limbs



In fragments undistinguished and in blood.

But as protected by the armourshield



The might of Rome drew nigh beneath the wall

• temple [´tempəl] n.庙宇；寺院；太阳穴 (初中英语单词)


• western [´westən] a.西的；西方的 (初中英语单词)


• winged [´wiŋd] a.有翼的 (初中英语单词)


• terror [´terə] n.恐怖；惊骇 (初中英语单词)


• peaceful [´pi:sfəl] a.和平的；平静的 (初中英语单词)


• ignorant [´ignərənt] a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词)


• jupiter [´dʒu:pitə] n.朱庇特；木星 (初中英语单词)


• supreme [su:´pri:m, sju:-] a.最高的，无上的 (初中英语单词)


• forbid [fə´bid] vt.禁止，不许，阻止 (初中英语单词)


• weapon [´wepən] n.武器；斗争手段 (初中英语单词)


• dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)


• hostile [´hɔstail] a.敌方的，敌意的 (初中英语单词)


• preserve [pri´zə:v] v.保藏 n.保藏物 (初中英语单词)


• hither [´hiðə] ad.到此处 (初中英语单词)


• perish [´periʃ] v.灭亡；消灭；(使)死去 (初中英语单词)


• rejoice [ri´dʒɔis] v.(使)高兴；欢庆 (初中英语单词)


• portion [´pɔ:ʃən] n.嫁妆；命运 vt.分配 (初中英语单词)


• timber [´timbə] n.木材；木料；横梁 (初中英语单词)


• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• savage [´sævidʒ] a.野蛮的 n.蛮人 (初中英语单词)


• worship [´wə:ʃip] n.&v.崇拜；敬仰 (初中英语单词)


• sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)


• mysterious [mi´stiəriəs] a.神秘的；难以理解的 (初中英语单词)


• frequent [´fri:kwənt] a.常见的，频繁的 (初中英语单词)


• height [hait] n.高度；顶点；卓越 (初中英语单词)


• anxious [´æŋkʃəs] a.担忧的；渴望的 (初中英语单词)


• witness [´witnis] n.见证人 vt.目击 (初中英语单词)


• insult [in´sʌlt, ´insʌlt] n.&vt.侮辱；损害 (初中英语单词)


• punishment [´pʌniʃmənt] n.罚，刑罚 (初中英语单词)


• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)


• shield [ʃi:ld] n.盾牌；防御 v.保护 (初中英语单词)


• armour [´ɑ:mə] (=armor) n.甲胄，盔甲 (初中英语单词)


• caesar [´si:zə] n.凯撒；暴君；独裁者 (高中英语单词)


• manhood [´mænhud] n.人格；男子气概 (高中英语单词)


• obedience [ə´bi:djəns] n.服从；顺从 (高中英语单词)


• chronicle [´krɔnikl] n.历史 vt.记述 (高中英语单词)


• mighty [´maiti] a.强有力的 ad.很 (高中英语单词)


• sturdy [´stə:di] a.坚强的；坚定的 (高中英语单词)


• scanty [´skænti] a.贫乏的；节省的 (高中英语单词)


• vainly [´veinli] ad.虚荣地；自负地 (高中英语单词)


• mutual [´mju:tʃuəl] a.相互的；共同的 (高中英语单词)


• trench [trentʃ] n.&v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 (高中英语单词)


• gigantic [dʒai´gæntik] a.巨大的 (高中英语单词)


• conqueror [´kɔŋkərə] n.征服者，胜利者 (高中英语单词)


• impatient [im´peiʃənt] a.不耐烦的，急躁的 (高中英语单词)


• massive [´mæsiv] a.厚实的；魁伟的 (高中英语单词)


• tempest [´tempist] n.暴风雨 (高中英语单词)


• downward [´daunwəd] a.下降的，向下的 (高中英语单词)


• foliage [´fəuli-idʒ] n.叶子，簇叶 (高中英语单词)


• garrison [´gærisən] n.警备队 vt.驻防 (高中英语单词)


• combat [´kɔmbæt] v.&n.斗争；战斗；争斗 (高中英语单词)


• warfare [´wɔ:feə] n.战争；斗争；竞争 (高中英语单词)


• alpine [´ælpain] a.高山的 (英语四级单词)


• prowess [´prauis] n.勇猛；技术；本领 (英语四级单词)


• reluctant [ri´lʌktənt] a.勉强的；难得到的 (英语四级单词)


• concede [kən´si:d] v.承认；给予；让步 (英语四级单词)


• degenerate [di´dʒenərət, -reit] vi.腐化，堕落 (英语四级单词)


• violate [´vaiəleit] vt.违背；冒犯；侵害 (英语四级单词)


• barbarous [´bɑ:bərəs] a.野蛮的；不规范的 (英语四级单词)


• prostrate [´prɔstreit, prɔ´streit] a.俯伏的 vt.弄倒 (英语四级单词)


• cypress [´saipris] n.丝柏(枝) (英语四级单词)


• buoyant [´bɔiənt] a.能漂浮的；快活的 (英语四级单词)


• ceaseless [´si:slis] a.不绝的，不停的 (英语六级单词)


• chieftain [´tʃi:ftən] n.(强盗)首领；族长 (英语六级单词)


• impious [´impiəs] a.不敬的；不孝的 (英语六级单词)


• discord [´diskɔ:d] n.不一致；不和谐 (英语六级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)


• visage [´vizidʒ] n.面容，面貌 (英语六级单词)


• rampart [´ræmpɑ:t] n.壁垒 vt.防护 (英语六级单词)


• grecian [´gri:ʃən] a.古希腊的 n.希腊人 (英语六级单词)


• phoebus [´fi:bəs] n.太阳神 (英语六级单词)


• ponderous [´pɔndərəs] a.沉重的；冗长的 (英语六级单词)


• patrician [pə´triʃən] n.(古罗马)贵族 (英语六级单词)