THE ELEPHANT THAT SPARED LIFE

At that time the Bodisat was born as a nobleman’s son. On the naming-day they gave him the name of Prince Magha, and when he grew up he was known as “Magha the young Brahmin.”

His parents procured¹ him a wife from a family of equal rank; and, increasing in sons and daughters, he became a great giver of gifts, and kept the Five Commandments.

In that village there were as many as thirty families; and one day the men of those families stopped in the middle of the village to transact² some village business. The Bodisat removed with his feet the lumps of soil on the place where he stood, and made the spot convenient to stand on; but another came up and stood there. Then he smoothed out another spot, and took his stand there; but another man came and stood upon it. Still the Bodisat tried again and again, with the same result, until he had made convenient standing-room for all the thirty.

The next time he had an open-roofed shed put up there; and then pulled that down, and built a hall, and had benches spread in it, and a water-pot placed there. On another occasion those thirty men were reconciled by the Bodisat, who confirmed them in the Five Commandments; and thenceforward he continued with them in works of piety³.

Whilst they were so living they used to rise up early, go out with bill-hooks and crowbars in their hands, tear up with the crowbars the stones in the four high roads and village paths, and roll them away, take away the trees which would be in the way of vehicles, make the rough places plain, form causeways, dig ponds, build public halls, give gifts, and keep the Commandments—thus, in many ways, all the dwellers⁴ in the village listened to the exhortations⁵ of the Bodisat, and kept the Commandments.

Now the village headman said to himself: “I used to have great gain from fines, and taxes, and pot-money, when these fellows drank strong drink, or took life, or broke the other Commandments. But now Magha the young Brahmin has determined⁶ to have the Commandments kept, and permits none to take life, or to do anything else that is wrong. I’ll make them keep the Commandments with a vengeance⁷!”

And he went in a rage to the King, and said: “O King! there are a number of robbers going about sacking the villages!”

“Go and bring them up!” said the King in reply.

And he went, and brought back all those men as prisoners, and had it announced to the King that the robbers were brought up. And the King, without inquiring what they had done, gave orders to have them all trampled⁸ to death by elephants!

Then they made them all lie down in the courtyard, and fetched the elephant. And the Bodisat exhorted⁹ them, saying: “Keep the Commandments in mind. Regard them all—the slanderer¹⁰, and the King, and the elephant—with feelings as kind as you harbor towards yourselves!”

And they did so.

Then men led up the elephant; but though they brought him to the spot, he would not begin his work, but trumpeted¹¹ forth¹² a mighty¹³ cry, and took to flight. And they brought up another and another, but they all ran away.

“There must be some drug in their possession,” said the King; and gave orders to have them searched. So they searched, but found nothing, and told the King so.

“Then they must be repeating some spell. Ask them if they have any spell to utter.”

The officials asked them, and the Bodisat said there was. And they told the King, and he had them all called before him, and said: “Tell me that spell you know!”

Then the Bodisat spoke¹⁴, and said: “O King! we have no other spell but this—that we destroy no life, not even of grass; that we take nothing which is not given to us; that we are never guilty of unfaithfulness, nor speak falsehood, nor drink intoxicants; that we exercise ourselves in love, and give gifts; that we make rough places plain, dig ponds, and put up rest-houses—this is our spell, this is our defense¹⁵, this is our strength!”

Then the King had confidence in them, and gave them all the property in the house of the slanderer, and made him their slave; and bestowed¹⁶, too, the elephant upon them, and made them a grant of the village.

1 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

2 transact   

v.处理；做交易；谈判

参考例句：

• I will transact my business by letter.我会写信去洽谈业务。
• I have been obliged to see him；there was business to transact.我不得不见他，有些事物要处理。

3 piety   

n.虔诚，虔敬

参考例句：

• They were drawn to the church not by piety but by curiosity.他们去教堂不是出于虔诚而是出于好奇。
• Experience makes us see an enormous difference between piety and goodness.经验使我们看到虔诚与善意之间有着巨大的区别。

4 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 exhortations   

n.敦促( exhortation的名词复数 )；极力推荐；（正式的）演讲；（宗教仪式中的）劝诫

参考例句：

• The monuments of men's ancestors were the most impressive exhortations. 先辈们的丰碑最能奋勉人心的。 来自辞典例句
• Men has free choice. Otherwise counsels, exhortations, commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments would be in vain. 人具有自由意志。否则，劝告、赞扬、命令、禁规、奖赏和惩罚都将是徒劳的。 来自辞典例句

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

8 trampled   

踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• He gripped his brother's arm lest he be trampled by the mob. 他紧抓着他兄弟的胳膊，怕他让暴民踩着。
• People were trampled underfoot in the rush for the exit. 有人在拼命涌向出口时被踩在脚下。

9 exhorted   

v.劝告，劝说( exhort的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The party leader exhorted his members to start preparing for government. 该党领袖敦促党员着手准备筹建政府。
• He exhorted his elder. 他规劝长辈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 slanderer   

造谣中伤者

参考例句：

• A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. 箴16:28乖僻人播散分争．传舌的离间密友。
• Desdemona. O, fie upon thee, slanderer! 苔丝狄蒙娜啊，啐！你这毁谤女人的家伙！

11 trumpeted   

大声说出或宣告（trumpet的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Soldiers trumpeted and bugled. 士兵们吹喇叭鸣号角。
• The radio trumpeted the presidential campaign across the country. 电台在全国范围大力宣传总统竞选运动。

12 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

13 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

14 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

15 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

16 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。