“Know you not this? If you your gifts delay,
You take thereby10 my gratitude11 away.”
And the following lines, the expression of virtuous12 pain — a high-spirited man’s misery13 —
“What thou doest, do quickly;”
and:—
“Nothing in the world
Is worth this trouble; I had rather you
Refused it to me now.”
When the mind begins through weariness to hate the promised benefit, or while it is wavering in expectation of it, how can it feel grateful for it? As the most refined cruelty is that which prolongs the torture, while to kill the victim at once is a kind of mercy, since the extremity14 of torture brings its own end with it — the interval15 is the worst part of the execution — so the shorter time a benefit hangs in the balance, the more grateful it is to the receiver. It is possible to look forward with anxious disquietude even to good things, and, seeing that most benefits consist in a release from some form of misery, a man destroys the value of the benefit which he confers, if he has the power to relieve us, and yet allows us to suffer or to lack pleasure longer than we need. Kindness always eager to do good, and one who acts by love naturally acts at once; he who does us good, but does it tardily16 and with long delays, does not do so from the heart. Thus he loses two most important things: time, and the proof of his good will to us; for a lingering consent is but a form of denial.
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1
uncertainty
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n.易变,靠不住,不确知,不确定的事物 | |
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2
deferred
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adj.延期的,缓召的v.拖延,延缓,推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 );服从某人的意愿,遵从 | |
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3
accomplishment
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n.完成,成就,(pl.)造诣,技能 | |
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4
swell
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vi.膨胀,肿胀;增长,增强 | |
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5
royalty
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n.皇家,皇族 | |
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6
arrogance
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n.傲慢,自大 | |
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7
possessed
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adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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8
promptly
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adv.及时地,敏捷地 | |
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9
mischief
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n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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10
thereby
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adv.因此,从而 | |
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11
gratitude
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adj.感激,感谢 | |
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12
virtuous
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adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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13
misery
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n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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14
extremity
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n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
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15
interval
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n.间隔,间距;幕间休息,中场休息 | |
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16
tardily
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adv.缓慢 | |
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