Time now clamours for us to terminate this treatise5 which we have composed concerning the love of books; in which we have endeavoured to give the astonishment6 of our contemporaries the reason why we have loved books so greatly. But because it is hardly granted to mortals to accomplish aught that is not rolled in the dust of vanity, we do not venture entirely7 to justify8 the zealous9 love which we have so long had for books, or to deny that it may perchance sometimes have been the occasion of some venial10 negligence11, albeit12 the object of our love is honourable13 and our intention upright. For if when we have done everything, we are bound to call ourselves unprofitable servants; if the most holy Job was afraid of all his works; if according to Isaiah all our righteousness is as filthy14 rags, who shall presume to boast himself of the perfection of any virtue15, or deny that from some circumstance a thing may deserve to be reprehended16, which in itself perhaps was not reprehensible17. For good springs from one selfsame source, but evil arises in many ways, as Dionysius informs us. Wherefore to make amends18 for our iniquities19, by which we acknowledge ourselves to have frequently offended the Creator of all things, in asking the assistance of their prayers, we have thought fit to exhort1 our future students to show their gratitude20 as well to us as to their other benefactors21 in time to come by requiting22 our forethought for their benefit by spiritual retribution. Let us live when dead in their memories, who have lived in our benevolence23 before they were born, and live now sustained by our beneficence. Let them implore24 the mercy of the Redeemer with unwearied prayer, that the pious Judge may excuse our negligences, may pardon the wickedness of our sins, may cover the lapses25 of our feebleness with the cloak of piety26, and remit27 by His divine goodness the offences of which we are ashamed and penitent28. That He may preserve to us for a due season of repentance29 the gifts of His good grace, steadfastness30 of faith, loftiness of hope, and the widest charity to all men. That He may turn our haughty31 will to lament32 its faults, that it may deplore33 its past most vain elations, may retract34 its most bitter indignations, and detest35 its most insane delectations. That His virtue may abound36 in us, when our own is found wanting, and that He who freely consecrated37 our beginning by the sacrament of baptism, and advanced our progress to the seat of the Apostles without any desert of ours, may deign38 to fortify39 our outgoing by the fitting sacraments. That we may be delivered from the lust40 of the flesh, that the fear of death may utterly41 vanish and our spirit may desire to be dissolved and be with Christ, and existing upon earth in body only, in thought and longing42 our conversation may be in Heaven. That the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation43 may graciously come to meet the prodigal44 returning from the husks; that He may receive the piece of silver that has been lately found and transmit it by His holy angels into His eternal treasury45. That He may rebuke46 with His terrible countenance47, at the hour of our departure, the spirits of darkness, lest Leviathan, that old serpent, lying hid at the gate of death, should spread unforeseen snares48 for our feet. But when we shall be summoned to the awful judgment-seat to give an account on the testimony49 of conscience of all things we have done in the body, the God–Man may consider the price of the holy blood that He has shed, and that the Incarnate50 Deity51 may note the frame of our carnal nature, that our weakness may pass unpunished where infinite loving-kindness is to be found, and that the soul of the wretched sinner may breathe again where the peculiar52 office of the Judge is to show mercy. And further, let our students be always diligent53 in invoking54 the refuge of our hope after God, the Virgin55 Mother of God and Blessed Queen of Heaven, that we who for our manifold sins and wickednesses have deserved the anger of the Judge, by the aid of her ever-acceptable supplications may merit His forgiveness; that her pious hand may depress the scale of the balance in which our small and few good deeds shall be weighed, lest the heaviness of our sins preponderate56 and cast us down to the bottomless pit of perdition. Moreover, let them ever venerate57 with due observance the most deserving Confessor Cuthbert, the care of whose flock we have unworthily undertaken, ever devoutly58 praying that he may deign to excuse by his prayers his all-unworthy vicar, and may procure59 him whom he hath admitted as his successor upon earth to be made his assessor in Heaven. Finally, let them pray God with holy prayers as well of body as of soul, that He will restore the spirit created in the image of the Trinity, after its sojourn60 in this miserable61 world, to its primordial62 prototype, and grant to it for ever to enjoy the sight of His countenance: through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
The End
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1 exhort | |
v.规劝,告诫 | |
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2 exhortation | |
n.劝告,规劝 | |
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3 requite | |
v.报酬,报答 | |
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4 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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5 treatise | |
n.专著;(专题)论文 | |
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6 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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7 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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8 justify | |
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护 | |
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9 zealous | |
adj.狂热的,热心的 | |
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10 venial | |
adj.可宽恕的;轻微的 | |
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11 negligence | |
n.疏忽,玩忽,粗心大意 | |
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12 albeit | |
conj.即使;纵使;虽然 | |
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13 honourable | |
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的 | |
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14 filthy | |
adj.卑劣的;恶劣的,肮脏的 | |
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15 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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16 reprehended | |
v.斥责,指摘,责备( reprehend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17 reprehensible | |
adj.该受责备的 | |
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18 amends | |
n. 赔偿 | |
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19 iniquities | |
n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 );极不公正 | |
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20 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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21 benefactors | |
n.捐助者,施主( benefactor的名词复数 );恩人 | |
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22 requiting | |
v.报答( requite的现在分词 );酬谢;回报;报复 | |
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23 benevolence | |
n.慈悲,捐助 | |
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24 implore | |
vt.乞求,恳求,哀求 | |
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25 lapses | |
n.失误,过失( lapse的名词复数 );小毛病;行为失检;偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 );陷入;倒退;丧失 | |
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26 piety | |
n.虔诚,虔敬 | |
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27 remit | |
v.汇款,汇寄;豁免(债务),免除(处罚等) | |
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28 penitent | |
adj.后悔的;n.后悔者;忏悔者 | |
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29 repentance | |
n.懊悔 | |
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30 steadfastness | |
n.坚定,稳当 | |
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31 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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32 lament | |
n.悲叹,悔恨,恸哭;v.哀悼,悔恨,悲叹 | |
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33 deplore | |
vt.哀叹,对...深感遗憾 | |
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34 retract | |
vt.缩回,撤回收回,取消 | |
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35 detest | |
vt.痛恨,憎恶 | |
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36 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
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37 consecrated | |
adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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38 deign | |
v. 屈尊, 惠允 ( 做某事) | |
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39 fortify | |
v.强化防御,为…设防;加强,强化 | |
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40 lust | |
n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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41 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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42 longing | |
n.(for)渴望 | |
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43 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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44 prodigal | |
adj.浪费的,挥霍的,放荡的 | |
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45 treasury | |
n.宝库;国库,金库;文库 | |
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46 rebuke | |
v.指责,非难,斥责 [反]praise | |
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47 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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48 snares | |
n.陷阱( snare的名词复数 );圈套;诱人遭受失败(丢脸、损失等)的东西;诱惑物v.用罗网捕捉,诱陷,陷害( snare的第三人称单数 ) | |
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49 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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50 incarnate | |
adj.化身的,人体化的,肉色的 | |
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51 deity | |
n.神,神性;被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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52 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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53 diligent | |
adj.勤勉的,勤奋的 | |
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54 invoking | |
v.援引( invoke的现在分词 );行使(权利等);祈求救助;恳求 | |
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55 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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56 preponderate | |
v.数目超过;占优势 | |
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57 venerate | |
v.尊敬,崇敬,崇拜 | |
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58 devoutly | |
adv.虔诚地,虔敬地,衷心地 | |
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59 procure | |
vt.获得,取得,促成;vi.拉皮条 | |
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60 sojourn | |
v./n.旅居,寄居;逗留 | |
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61 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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62 primordial | |
adj.原始的;最初的 | |
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