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Sonnet #99
The forward violet thus did I chide:
Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
If not from my love's breath? The purple pride
Which on thy soft cheek for complexion dwells
In my love's veins thou hast too grossly dyed.
The lily I condemned for thy hand,
And buds of marjoram had stol'n thy hair:
The roses fearfully on thorns did stand,
One blushing shame, another white despair;
A third, nor red nor white, had stol'n of both
And to his robbery had annex'd thy breath;
But, for his theft, in pride of all his growth
A vengeful canker eat him up to death.
More flowers I noted, yet I none could see
But sweet or colour it had stol'n from thee.
此首15行，多出第1行，为引子。
1、forward:early blooming. violet，读三个音节。thus:like this.
2-5、这四行是诗人对 violet 说的话，故而其中 thou,thy 均指 violet.
2、Sweet thief,...steal thy sweet:二者呼应，但前面的Sweet 是形容词，后面的 sweet 是名词，意为 fragrance.
3、pride:splendor.
3-5、此句核心为 thou hast dyed the purple pride in my love's veins.花色之所以这么浓，是因为长期浸在密友的血液中。
6、for:for stealing whiteness from。此起诗人又对友人说话， thy,thee 均指友人。
7、marjoram:牛至花，呈紫色，含薄荷芳香。 stol'n thy hair:i.e. stolen scent or colour from your hair.
8、fearfully:uneasily( for feeling quilty of theft).
9、blushing shame...white despair:可解作拟人：绯红的羞愧....苍白的绝望，但亦可将 blushing,white解为表动作的分词和形容词，意为 reddening in shame...paling in despair.
10、nor...nor:neither...nor. of both:colour of both.
11、his robb'ry:what the third rose had stolen.annexed:added.thy breath:the fragrance of your breath.
12、for:in punishment for,because of.in pride of:in the prime of.
13、canker:cankerworm.
15、But:Except.sweet:sweet scent.it:the third rose.
日期: 2007年4月23 周一