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Preface
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Reader, thou hast here the beginning and end of a discourse1 concerning government; what fate has otherwise disposed of the papers that should have filled up the middle, and were more than all the rest, it is not worth while to tell thee. These, which remain, I hope are sufficient to establish the throne of our great restorer, our present King William; to make good his title, in the consent of the people, which being the only one of all lawful2 governments, he has more fully3 and clearly, than any prince in Christendom; and to justify4 to the world the people of England, whose love of their just and natural rights, with their resolution to preserve them, saved the nation when it was on the very brink5 of slavery and ruin. If these papers have that evidence, I flatter myself is to be found in them, there will be no great miss of those which are lost, and my reader may be satisfied without them: for I imagine, I shall have neither the time, nor inclination6 to repeat my pains, and fill up the wanting part of my answer, by tracing Sir Robert again, through all the windings7 and obscurities, which are to be met with in the several branches of his wonderful system. The king, and body of the nation, have since so thoroughly8 confuted his Hypothesis, that I suppose no body hereafter will have either the confidence to appear against our common safety, and be again an advocate for slavery; or the weakness to be deceived with contradictions dressed up in a popular stile, and well-turned periods: for if any one will be at the pains, himself, in those parts, which are here untouched, to strip Sir Robert’s discourses9 of the flourish of doubtful expressions, and endeavour to reduce his words to direct, positive, intelligible10 propositions, and then compare them one with another, he will quickly be satisfied, there was never so much glib11 nonsense put together in well-sounding English. If he think it not worth while to examine his works all thro’, let him make an experiment in that part, where he treats of usurpation12; and let him try, whether he can, with all his skill, make Sir Robert intelligible, and consistent with himself, or common sense. I should not speak so plainly of a gentleman, long since past answering, had not the pulpit, of late years, publicly owned his doctrine13, and made it the current divinity of the times. It is necessary those men, who taking on them to be teachers, have so dangerously misled others, should be openly shewed of what authority this their Patriarch is, whom they have so blindly followed, that so they may either retract14 what upon so ill grounds they have vented15, and cannot be maintained; or else justify those principles which they preached up for gospel; though they had no better an author than an English courtier: for I should not have writ16 against Sir Robert, or taken the pains to shew his mistakes, inconsistencies, and want of (what he so much boasts of, and pretends wholly to build on) scripture-proofs, were there not men amongst us, who, by crying up his books, and espousing17 his doctrine, save me from the reproach of writing against a dead adversary18. They have been so zealous19 in this point, that, if I have done him any wrong, I cannot hope they should spare me. I wish, where they have done the truth and the public wrong, they would be as ready to redress20 it, and allow its just weight to this reflection, viz. that there cannot be done a greater mischief21 to prince and people, than the propagating wrong notions concerning government; that so at last all times might not have reason to complain of the Drum Ecclesiastic22. If any one, concerned really for truth, undertake the confutation of my Hypothesis, I promise him either to recant my mistake, upon fair conviction; or to answer his difficulties. But he must remember two things.

First, That cavilling23 here and there, at some expression, or little incident of my discourse, is not an answer to my book.

Secondly24, That I shall not take railing for arguments, nor think either of these worth my notice, though I shall always look on myself as bound to give satisfaction to any one, who shall appear to be conscientiously25 scrupulous26 in the point, and shall shew any just grounds for his scruples27.

I have nothing more, but to advertise the reader, that Observations stands for Observations on Hobbs, Milton, &c. and that a bare quotation28 of pages always means pages of his Patriarcha, Edition 1680.

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1 discourse 2lGz0     
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述
参考例句:
  • We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
  • He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。
2 lawful ipKzCt     
adj.法律许可的,守法的,合法的
参考例句:
  • It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
  • We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
3 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
4 justify j3DxR     
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护
参考例句:
  • He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
  • Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗?
5 brink OWazM     
n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿
参考例句:
  • The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
  • The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。
6 inclination Gkwyj     
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好
参考例句:
  • She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
  • I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。
7 windings 8a90d8f41ef7c5f4ee6b83bec124a8c9     
(道路、河流等)蜿蜒的,弯曲的( winding的名词复数 ); 缠绕( wind的现在分词 ); 卷绕; 转动(把手)
参考例句:
  • The time harmonics can be considered as voltages of higher frequencies applied to the windings. 时间谐波可以看作是施加在绕组上的较高频率的电压。
  • All the vales in their manifold windings shaded by the most delightful forests. 所有的幽谷,都笼罩在繁茂的垂枝下。
8 thoroughly sgmz0J     
adv.完全地,彻底地,十足地
参考例句:
  • The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
  • The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。
9 discourses 5f353940861db5b673bff4bcdf91ce55     
论文( discourse的名词复数 ); 演说; 讲道; 话语
参考例句:
  • It is said that his discourses were very soul-moving. 据说他的讲道词是很能动人心灵的。
  • I am not able to repeat the excellent discourses of this extraordinary man. 这位异人的高超言论我是无法重述的。
10 intelligible rbBzT     
adj.可理解的,明白易懂的,清楚的
参考例句:
  • This report would be intelligible only to an expert in computing.只有计算机运算专家才能看懂这份报告。
  • His argument was barely intelligible.他的论点不易理解。
11 glib DeNzs     
adj.圆滑的,油嘴滑舌的
参考例句:
  • His glib talk sounds as sweet as a song.他说的比唱的还好听。
  • The fellow has a very glib tongue.这家伙嘴油得很。
12 usurpation cjswZ     
n.篡位;霸占
参考例句:
  • The struggle during this transitional stage is to oppose Chiang Kai-shek's usurpation of the fruits of victory in the War of Resistance.过渡阶段的斗争,就是反对蒋介石篡夺抗战胜利果实的斗争。
  • This is an unjustified usurpation of my authority.你是在非法纂夺我的权力。
13 doctrine Pkszt     
n.教义;主义;学说
参考例句:
  • He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
  • The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。
14 retract NWFxJ     
vt.缩回,撤回收回,取消
参考例句:
  • The criminals should stop on the precipice, retract from the wrong path and not go any further.犯罪分子应当迷途知返,悬崖勒马,不要在错误的道路上继续走下去。
  • I don't want to speak rashly now and later have to retract my statements.我不想现在说些轻率的话,然后又要收回自己说过的话。
15 vented 55ee938bf7df64d83f63bc9318ecb147     
表达,发泄(感情,尤指愤怒)( vent的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • He vented his frustration on his wife. 他受到挫折却把气发泄到妻子身上。
  • He vented his anger on his secretary. 他朝秘书发泄怒气。
16 writ iojyr     
n.命令状,书面命令
参考例句:
  • This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
  • You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。
17 espousing 216c37c1a15b0fda575542bd2acdfde0     
v.(决定)支持,拥护(目标、主张等)( espouse的现在分词 )
参考例句:
18 adversary mxrzt     
adj.敌手,对手
参考例句:
  • He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
  • They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。
19 zealous 0MOzS     
adj.狂热的,热心的
参考例句:
  • She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
  • She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。
20 redress PAOzS     
n.赔偿,救济,矫正;v.纠正,匡正,革除
参考例句:
  • He did all that he possibly could to redress the wrongs.他尽了一切努力革除弊端。
  • Any man deserves redress if he has been injured unfairly.任何人若蒙受不公平的损害都应获得赔偿。
21 mischief jDgxH     
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹
参考例句:
  • Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
  • He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。
22 ecclesiastic sk4zR     
n.教士,基督教会;adj.神职者的,牧师的,教会的
参考例句:
  • The sounds of the church singing ceased and the voice of the chief ecclesiastic was heard,respectfully congratulating the sick man on his reception of the mystery.唱诗中断了,可以听见一个神职人员恭敬地祝贺病人受圣礼。
  • The man and the ecclesiastic fought within him,and the victory fell to the man.人和教士在他的心里交战,结果人取得了胜利。
23 cavilling 6de35c9b6632904db2b41affb1b372d0     
n.(矿工的)工作地点抽签法v.挑剔,吹毛求疵( cavil的现在分词 )
参考例句:
24 secondly cjazXx     
adv.第二,其次
参考例句:
  • Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二,动脑筋提出自己的见解。
  • Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次,需要确定所作用的载荷。
25 conscientiously 3vBzrQ     
adv.凭良心地;认真地,负责尽职地;老老实实
参考例句:
  • He kept silent,eating just as conscientiously but as though everything tasted alike. 他一声不吭,闷头吃着,仿佛桌上的饭菜都一个味儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • She discharged all the responsibilities of a minister conscientiously. 她自觉地履行部长的一切职责。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 scrupulous 6sayH     
adj.审慎的,小心翼翼的,完全的,纯粹的
参考例句:
  • She is scrupulous to a degree.她非常谨慎。
  • Poets are not so scrupulous as you are.诗人并不像你那样顾虑多。
27 scruples 14d2b6347f5953bad0a0c5eebf78068a     
n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 );顾虑,顾忌v.感到于心不安,有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • I overcame my moral scruples. 我抛开了道德方面的顾虑。
  • I'm not ashamed of my scruples about your family. They were natural. 我并未因为对你家人的顾虑而感到羞耻。这种感觉是自然而然的。 来自疯狂英语突破英语语调
28 quotation 7S6xV     
n.引文,引语,语录;报价,牌价,行情
参考例句:
  • He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
  • The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。


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