Tales of the Grotesque and ArabesqueIII怪诞蔓藤花纹的传.docx

1、Tales of the Grotesque and ArabesqueIII怪诞蔓藤花纹的传Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque（III） 怪诞蔓藤花纹的传说/怪异故事集（英文版）Allan PoeCONTENTSPart 2 2Four Beasts in One 3Silence 9The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall 12A Tale of Jerusalem 44Von Jung 47Loss of Breath 53Part 2Four Beasts in OneChacun a ses ve

2、rtus.Crebillons Xerxes.Antiochus Epiphanes is very generally looked upon as the Gog of the prophet Ezekiel. This honor is, however, more properly attributable to Cambyses, the son of Cyrus. And, indeed, the character of the Syrian monarch does by no means stand in need of any adventitious embellishm

3、ent. His accession to the throne, or rather his usurpation of the sovereignty, a hundred and seventy-one years before the coming of Christ; his attempt to plunder the temple of Diana at Ephesus; his implacable hostility to the Jews; his pollution of the Holy of Holies; and his miserable death at Tab

4、a, after a tumultuous reign of eleven years, are circumstances of a prominent kind, and therefore more generally noticed by the historians of his time than the impious, dastardly, cruel, silly, and whimsical achievements which make up the sum total of his private life and reputation.Let us suppose,

5、gentle reader, that it is now the year of the world three thousand eight hundred and thirty, and let us, for a few minutes, imagine ourselves at that most grotesque habitation of man, the remarkable city of Antioch. To be sure there were, in Syria and other countries, sixteen cities of that appellat

6、ion, besides the one to which I more particularly allude. But ours is that which went by the name of Antiochia Epidaphne, from its vicinity to the little village of Daphne, where stood a temple to that divinity. It was built (although about this matter there is some dispute) by Seleucus Nicanor, the

7、 first king of the country after Alexander the Great, in memory of his father Antiochus, and became immediately the residence of the Syrian monarchy. In the flourishing times of the Roman Empire, it was the ordinary station of the prefect of the eastern provinces; and many of the emperors of the que

8、en city (among whom may be mentioned, especially, Verus and Valens) spent here the greater part of their time. But I perceive we have arrived at the city itself. Let us ascend this battlement, and throw our eyes upon the town and neighboring country.What broad and rapid river is that which forces it

9、s way, with innumerable falls, through the mountainous wilderness, and finally through the wilderness of buildings?That is the Orontes, and it is the only water in sight, with the exception of the Mediterranean, which stretches, like a broad mirror, about twelve miles off to the southward. Every one

10、 has seen the Mediterranean; but let me tell you, there are few who have had a peep at Antioch. By few, I mean, few who, like you and me, have had, at the same time, the advantages of a modern education. Therefore cease to regard that sea, and give your whole attention to the mass of houses that lie

11、 beneath us. You will remember that it is now the year of the world three thousand eight hundred and thirty. Were it laterfor example, were it the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and forty-five, we should be deprived of this extraordinary spectacle. In the nineteenth century Antioch isthat is to s

12、ay, Antioch will bein a lamentable state of decay. It will have been, by that time, totally destroyed, at three different periods, by three successive earthquakes. Indeed, to say the truth, what little of its former self may then remain, will be found in so desolate and ruinous a state that the patr

13、iarch shall have removed his residence to Damascus. This is well. I see you profit by my advice, and are making the most of your time in inspecting the premisesinsatisfying your eyesWith the memorials and the things of fameThat most renown this city.I beg pardon; I had forgotten that Shakespeare wil

14、l not flourish for seventeen hundred and fifty years to come. But does not the appearance of Epidaphne justify me in calling it grotesque?It is well fortified; and in this respect is as much indebted to nature as to art.Very true.There are a prodigious number of stately palaces.There are.And the num

15、erous temples, sumptuous and magnificent, may bear comparison with the most lauded of antiquity.All this I must acknowledge. Still there is an infinity of mud huts, and abominable hovels. We cannot help perceiving abundance of filth in every kennel, and, were it not for the over-powering fumes of id

16、olatrous incense, I have no doubt we should find a most intolerable stench. Did you ever behold streets so insufferably narrow, or houses so miraculously tall? What gloom their shadows cast upon the ground! It is well the swinging lamps in those endless colonnades are kept burning throughout the day; we should otherwise have the darkness of Egypt in the time of her desolation.It is certainly a strange place! What is the m