chater five the delrable wrd (第4/7页)
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“That was the secret of secrets，”said the Queen Jadis．“It had long been known to the great kings of our race that there was a word which，if spoken with the proper ceremonies，would destroy all living things except the one who spoke it．But the ancient kings were weak and soft—hearted and bound themselves and all who should come after them with great oaths never even to seek after the knowledge of that word．But I learned it in a secret place and paid a terrible price to learn it．I did not use it until she forced me to it．I fought to overcome her by every other means．I poured out the blood of my armies like water-”
“Beast ！”muttered Polly．
“The last great battle，”said the Queen，“raged for three days here in Charn itself．For three days I looked down upon it from this very spot．I did not use my power till the last of my soldiers had fallen，and the accursed woman，my sister，at the head of her rebels was halfway up those great stairs that lead up from the city to the terrace．Then I waited till we were so close that we could see one another’s faces．She flashed her horrible，wicked eyes upon me and said，‘Victory．’‘Yes，’said I，‘Victory，but not yours．’Then I spoke the Deplorable Word．A moment later I was the only living thing beneath the sun．”
“But the people ？”gasped Digory．
“What people，boy ？”asked the Queen．
“All the ordinary people，”said Polly，“who’d never done you any harm．And the women，and the children，and the animals．”
“Don’t you understand ？”said the Queen（still speaking to Digory）．“I was the Queen．They were all my people．What else were they there for but to do my will ？ ”
“It was rather hard luck on them，all the same，”said he．
“I had forgotten that you are only a common boy．How should you understand reasons of State ？ You must learn，child，that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I．The weight of the world is on our shoulders．We must be freed from all rules．Ours is a high and lonely destiny．”
