登陆注册
15987100000067

第67章

Here are no false entrapping baits, To hasten too, too hasty Fates, Unless it be The fond credulity Of silly fish, which worldling like, still look Upon the bait, but never on the hook;Nor envy, unless among The birds, for prize of their sweet song.

Go, let the diving negro seek For gems, hid in some forlorn creek:

We all pearls scorn, Save what the dewy morn Congeals upon each little spire of grass, Which careless shepherds beat down as they pass:

And gold ne'er here appears, Save what the yellow Ceres bears,Blest silent groves, oh may ye be, For ever, mirth's best nursery !

May pure contents For ever pitch their tents Upon these downs, these meads, these rocks, these mountains.

And peace still slumber by these purling fountains:

Which we may, every year, Meet when we come a-fishing here.

Piscator.Trust me, Scholar, I thank you heartily for these Verses: they be choicely good, and doubtless made by a lover of angling.Come, now, drink a glass to me, and I will requite you with another very good copy: it is a farewell to the vanities of the world, and some say written by Sir Harry Wotton, who I told you was an excellent angler.But let them be writ by whom they will, he that writ them had a brave soul, and must needs be possess with happy thoughts at the time of their composure.

Farewell, ye gilded follies, pleasing troubles;Farewell, ye honour'd rags, ye glorious bubbles;Fame's but a hollow echo, Gold, pure clay;Honour the darling but of one short day;

Beauty, th' eye's idol, but a damask'd skin;State, but a golden prison, to live in And torture free-born minds; embroider'd Trains, Merely but pageants for proud swelling veins;And Blood allied to greatness is alone Inherited, not purchas'd, nor our own.

Fame, Honour, Beauty, State, Train, Blood and Birth, Are but the fading blossoms of the earth.

I would be great, but that the sun doth still Level his rays against the rising hill:

I would be high, but see the proudest oak Most subject to the rending thunder-stroke:

I would be rich, but see men, too unkind Dig in the bowels of the richest mind:

I would be wise, but that I often see The fox suspected, whilst the ass goes free:

I would be fair, but see the fair and proud, Like the bright sun, oft setting in a cloud:

I would be poor, but know the humble grass Still trampled on by each unworthy ass:

Rich, hated wise, suspected, scorn'd if poor;Great, fear'd, fair, tempted, high, still envy'd more.

I have wish'd all, but now I wish for neither.

Great, high, rich, wise, nor fair: poor I'll be rather.

Would the World now adopt me for her heir;Would beauty's Queen entitle me the fair;

In the loose rhymes of every poetaster ?

Could I be more than any man that lives, Great, fair, rich wise, all in superlatives;Yet I more freely would these gifts resign Than ever fortune would have made them mine.

And hold one minute of this holy leisure Beyond the riches of this empty pleasure.

Welcome, pure thoughts; welcome, ye silent groves;These guests, these courts, my soul most dearly loves.

Now the wing'd people of the sky shall sing My cheerful anthems to the gladsome spring:

A pray'r-book, now, shall be my looking-glass, In which I will adore sweet virtue's face.

Here dwell no hateful looks, no palace cares, No broken vows dwell here, nor pale-fac'd fears;Then here I'll sit, and sigh my hot love's folly, And learn t' affect an holy melancholy:

And if contentment be a stranger then, I'll ne'er look for it, but in heaven, again.

Venator.Well, Master, these verses be worthy to keep a room in every man's memory.I thank you for them; and I thank you for your many instructions, which, God willing, I will not forget.And as St.Austin, in his Confessions, commemorates the kindness of his friend Verecundus, for lending him and his companion a country house, because there they rested and enjoyed themselves, free from the troubles of the world, so, having had the like advantage, both by your conversation and the art you have taught me, I ought ever to do the like; for, indeed, your company and discourse have been so useful and pleasant, that, I may truly say, I have only lived since I enjoyed them and turned angler, and not before.Nevertheless, here I must part with you; here in this now sad place, where I was so happy as first to meet you: but I shall long for the ninth of May; for then I hope again to enjoy your beloved company, at the appointed time and place.And now I wish for some somniferous potion, that might force me to sleep away the intermitted time, which will pass away with me as tediously as it does with men in sorrow;nevertheless I will make it as short as I can, by my hopes and wishes:

and, my good Master, I will not forget the doctrine which you told me Socrates taught his scholars, that they should not think to be honoured so much for being philosophers, as to honour philosophy by their virtuous lives.You advised me to the like concerning Angling, and Iwill endeavour to do so; and to live like those many worthy men, of which you made mention in the former part of your discourse.This is my firm resolution.And as a pious man advised his friend, that, to beget mortification, he should frequent churches, and view monuments, and charnel-houses, and then and there consider how many dead bodies time had piled up at the gates of death, so when I would beget content, and increase confidence in the power, and wisdom, and providence of Almighty God, I will walk the meadows, by some gliding stream, and there contemplate the lilies that take no care, and those very many other various little living creatures that are not only created, but fed, man knows not how, by the goodness of the God of Nature, and therefore trust in him.This is my purpose; and so, let everything that hath breath praise the Lord: and let the blessing of St.Peter's Master be with mine.

Piscator And upon all that are lovers of virtue; and dare trust in his providence; and be quiet; and go a Angling.

"Study to be quiet."

End

同类推荐
  • 角力记

    角力记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 胜幢臂印陀罗尼经

    胜幢臂印陀罗尼经

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 革除遺事

    革除遺事

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 双溪杂记

    双溪杂记

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 明伦汇编皇极典勤民部

    明伦汇编皇极典勤民部

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 走四方

    走四方

    二十世纪八九十年代,因为九年义务教育基本国策的需要,全国各省各市大力兴办中等师范学校,将一批急切要求脱掉“农皮”的农村娃经过紧张而密集的培训,分送到各个最需要教师的乡村小学去,撑起乡村教育的一片蓝天。这批涉世未深,对未来充满着憧憬的少年少女们在农村这片广阔的天地间续写着自己平凡的人生传奇。他们从农村来,到农村去,最终没有脱掉“农皮”,生活状况甚至比“农民”还不如。
  • 旧十年

    旧十年

    开灯的是我,但我希望关灯的是你。你是我想驻留欣赏的风景,可看你的人太多了,而我是你生命中,最不起眼的。(更新不稳定了,本君子很恼怒,所以,你们就别恼怒了——)你长发飘飘,我收买了风,让你发拂过我脸庞。
  • 我家有个外星人

    我家有个外星人

    唐明随手捡来的一块石头居然变成了比变形金刚还牛逼的外星生命,你见过可以变成汽车人的自行车?你见过自行车上装加特林么?想要的我来帮你改造!!!
  • 暗黑魔主

    暗黑魔主

    如果有一天,我,堕入无边黑暗......为什么杀人?为了......活下来!叶轼是个凡人,但却并不平凡,他加入了修炼宗门,并且不是仙宗,而是魔宗。同时他被告知,与他同一批入宗的数百名记名弟子中,半年之后,仅有二十人能存活下来正式入门!资质平庸的叶轼,只能布尽心机,无所不用其极......PS:新书上传,求收藏推荐,书友群550236405
  • 误闯异时代

    误闯异时代

    她们是国家的秘密武器,从小被秘密训练长大,接受的是的顶级训练,完成的都是顶级绝密任务。她冷漠,除了自己的姐妹什么都不关心,国家和她没关系,谁是主宰大陆的狂者,无所谓,他,亦是冷血无情,杀伐果断,然他为自己的百姓斗争,却也愿她能与自己并肩作战
  • 化雪剑

    化雪剑

    一心想寻回父亲的陈宇走出了四峰山,山外是一个与四峰山内完全不同的世界,而实力微末的陈宇为了能够尽快的寻回他的父亲,于是他踏上了求索修行之路,于是故事就这样开始了
  • 枫叶永不落

    枫叶永不落

    枫叶的离去,是风的追求还是树的不挽留?”其实,,是脱落酸。”
  • 末日将至强制进化

    末日将至强制进化

    三个月后就是世界末日。应该如何迎接呢?这是个问题
  • 布衣卿相

    布衣卿相

    现实的羁绊,还有对命运的探究,夏元鼎游走在得与失的边缘,是乾坤在手,还是放鹤南山……
  • 逆天三小姐:倾城狂妃

    逆天三小姐:倾城狂妃

    阴差阳错,她意外穿越。草包?废材?说谁呢?当她变成她,翻手为云覆手雨,倾世容颜惊天下;当他遇见她,死死相缠不放手,穷追不舍真心鉴。可命运注定,天命难改,他们又要如何面对?天命又如何?造化又如何?终抵不过你倾城一笑,刹那芳华!纵使前路艰难,也要与你生生世世,携手天涯!