The philosophers of the eighteenth century explained the gradual decay of religious faith in a very simple manner. Religious zeal5, said they, must necessarily fail, the more generally liberty is established and knowledge diffused6. Unfortunately, facts are by no means in accordance with their theory. There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief is only equalled by their ignorance and their debasement, whilst in America one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world fulfils all the outward duties of religious fervor7.
Upon my arrival in the United States, the religious aspect of the country was the first thing that struck my attention; and the longer I stayed there the more did I perceive the great political consequences resulting from this state of things, to which I was unaccustomed. In France I had almost always seen the spirit of religion and the spirit of freedom pursuing courses diametrically opposed to each other; but in America I found that they were intimately united, and that they reigned8 in common over the same country. My desire to discover the causes of this phenomenon increased from day to day. In order to satisfy it I questioned the members of all the different sects9; and I more especially sought the society of the clergy, who are the depositaries of the different persuasions10, and who are more especially interested in their duration. As a member of the Roman Catholic Church I was more particularly brought into contact with several of its priests, with whom I became intimately acquainted. To each of these men I expressed my astonishment12 and I explained my doubts; I found that they differed upon matters of detail alone; and that they mainly attributed the peaceful dominion13 of religion in their country to the separation of Church and State. I do not hesitate to affirm that during my stay in America I did not meet with a single individual, of the clergy or of the laity14, who was not of the same opinion upon this point.
This led me to examine more attentively15 than I had hitherto done, the station which the American clergy occupy in political society. I learned with surprise that they filled no public appointments; *f not one of them is to be met with in the administration, and they are not even represented in the legislative16 assemblies. In several States *g the law excludes them from political life, public opinion in all. And when I came to inquire into the prevailing17 spirit of the clergy I found that most of its members seemed to retire of their own accord from the exercise of power, and that they made it the pride of their profession to abstain19 from politics.
f
[ Unless this term be applied20 to the functions which many of them fill in the schools. Almost all education is entrusted21 to the clergy.]
g
[ See the Constitution of New York, art. 7, Section 4:— "And whereas the ministers of the gospel are, by their profession, dedicated22 to the service of God and the care of souls, and ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions: therefore no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination23 whatsoever24, shall at any time hereafter, under any pretence25 or description whatever, be eligible26 to, or capable of holding, any civil or military office or place within this State."
See also the constitutions of North Carolina, art. 31; Virginia; South Carolina, art. I, Section 23; Kentucky, art. 2, Section 26; Tennessee, art. 8, Section I; Louisiana, art. 2, Section 22.]
I heard them inveigh27 against ambition and deceit, under whatever political opinions these vices28 might chance to lurk29; but I learned from their discourses30 that men are not guilty in the eye of God for any opinions concerning political government which they may profess18 with sincerity31, any more than they are for their mistakes in building a house or in driving a furrow32. I perceived that these ministers of the gospel eschewed33 all parties with the anxiety attendant upon personal interest. These facts convinced me that what I had been told was true; and it then became my object to investigate their causes, and to inquire how it happened that the real authority of religion was increased by a state of things which diminished its apparent force: these causes did not long escape my researches.
The short space of threescore years can never content the imagination of man; nor can the imperfect joys of this world satisfy his heart. Man alone, of all created beings, displays a natural contempt of existence, and yet a boundless34 desire to exist; he scorns life, but he dreads35 annihilation. These different feelings incessantly37 urge his soul to the contemplation of a future state, and religion directs his musings thither38. Religion, then, is simply another form of hope; and it is no less natural to the human heart than hope itself. Men cannot abandon their religious faith without a kind of aberration39 of intellect, and a sort of violent distortion of their true natures; but they are invincibly40 brought back to more pious41 sentiments; for unbelief is an accident, and faith is the only permanent state of mankind. If we only consider religious institutions in a purely42 human point of view, they may be said to derive43 an inexhaustible element of strength from man himself, since they belong to one of the constituent44 principles of human nature.
I am aware that at certain times religion may strengthen this influence, which originates in itself, by the artificial power of the laws, and by the support of those temporal institutions which direct society. Religions, intimately united to the governments of the earth, have been known to exercise a sovereign authority derived45 from the twofold source of terror and of faith; but when a religion contracts an alliance of this nature, I do not hesitate to affirm that it commits the same error as a man who should sacrifice his future to his present welfare; and in obtaining a power to which it has no claim, it risks that authority which is rightfully its own. When a religion founds its empire upon the desire of immortality46 which lives in every human heart, it may aspire47 to universal dominion; but when it connects itself with a government, it must necessarily adopt maxims48 which are only applicable to certain nations. Thus, in forming an alliance with a political power, religion augments49 its authority over a few, and forfeits50 the hope of reigning51 over all.
As long as a religion rests upon those sentiments which are the consolation52 of all affliction, it may attract the affections of mankind. But if it be mixed up with the bitter passions of the world, it may be constrained53 to defend allies whom its interests, and not the principle of love, have given to it; or to repel54 as antagonists55 men who are still attached to its own spirit, however opposed they may be to the powers to which it is allied56. The Church cannot share the temporal power of the State without being the object of a portion of that animosity which the latter excites.
The political powers which seem to be most firmly established have frequently no better guarantee for their duration than the opinions of a generation, the interests of the time, or the life of an individual. A law may modify the social condition which seems to be most fixed57 and determinate; and with the social condition everything else must change. The powers of society are more or less fugitive58, like the years which we spend upon the earth; they succeed each other with rapidity, like the fleeting59 cares of life; and no government has ever yet been founded upon an invariable disposition60 of the human heart, or upon an imperishable interest.
As long as a religion is sustained by those feelings, propensities61, and passions which are found to occur under the same forms, at all the different periods of history, it may defy the efforts of time; or at least it can only be destroyed by another religion. But when religion clings to the interests of the world, it becomes almost as fragile a thing as the powers of earth. It is the only one of them all which can hope for immortality; but if it be connected with their ephemeral authority, it shares their fortunes, and may fall with those transient passions which supported them for a day. The alliance which religion contracts with political powers must needs be onerous62 to itself; since it does not require their assistance to live, and by giving them its assistance to live, and by giving them its assistance it may be exposed to decay.
The danger which I have just pointed63 out always exists, but it is not always equally visible. In some ages governments seem to be imperishable; in others, the existence of society appears to be more precarious64 than the life of man. Some constitutions plunge65 the citizens into a lethargic66 somnolence67, and others rouse them to feverish68 excitement. When governments appear to be so strong, and laws so stable, men do not perceive the dangers which may accrue69 from a union of Church and State. When governments display so much weakness, and laws so much inconstancy, the danger is self-evident, but it is no longer possible to avoid it; to be effectual, measures must be taken to discover its approach.
In proportion as a nation assumes a democratic condition of society, and as communities display democratic propensities, it becomes more and more dangerous to connect religion with political institutions; for the time is coming when authority will be bandied from hand to hand, when political theories will succeed each other, and when men, laws, and constitutions will disappear, or be modified from day to day, and this, not for a season only, but unceasingly. Agitation70 and mutability are inherent in the nature of democratic republics, just as stagnation71 and inertness72 are the law of absolute monarchies73.
If the Americans, who change the head of the Government once in four years, who elect new legislators every two years, and renew the provincial74 officers every twelvemonth; if the Americans, who have abandoned the political world to the attempts of innovators, had not placed religion beyond their reach, where could it abide75 in the ebb76 and flow of human opinions? where would that respect which belongs to it be paid, amidst the struggles of faction77? and what would become of its immortality, in the midst of perpetual decay? The American clergy were the first to perceive this truth, and to act in conformity78 with it. They saw that they must renounce79 their religious influence, if they were to strive for political power; and they chose to give up the support of the State, rather than to share its vicissitudes80.
In America, religion is perhaps less powerful than it has been at certain periods in the history of certain peoples; but its influence is more lasting81. It restricts itself to its own resources, but of those none can deprive it: its circle is limited to certain principles, but those principles are entirely82 its own, and under its undisputed control.
On every side in Europe we hear voices complaining of the absence of religious faith, and inquiring the means of restoring to religion some remnant of its pristine83 authority. It seems to me that we must first attentively consider what ought to be the natural state of men with regard to religion at the present time; and when we know what we have to hope and to fear, we may discern the end to which our efforts ought to be directed.
The two great dangers which threaten the existence of religions are schism84 and indifference85. In ages of fervent86 devotion, men sometimes abandon their religion, but they only shake it off in order to adopt another. Their faith changes the objects to which it is directed, but it suffers no decline. The old religion then excites enthusiastic attachment87 or bitter enmity in either party; some leave it with anger, others cling to it with increased devotedness88, and although persuasions differ, irreligion is unknown. Such, however, is not the case when a religious belief is secretly undermined by doctrines89 which may be termed negative, since they deny the truth of one religion without affirming that of any other. Progidious revolutions then take place in the human mind, without the apparent co-operation of the passions of man, and almost without his knowledge. Men lose the objects of their fondest hopes, as if through forgetfulness. They are carried away by an imperceptible current which they have not the courage to stem, but which they follow with regret, since it bears them from a faith they love, to a scepticism that plunges90 them into despair.
In ages which answer to this description, men desert their religious opinions from lukewarmness rather than from dislike; they do not reject them, but the sentiments by which they were once fostered disappear. But if the unbeliever does not admit religion to be true, he still considers it useful. Regarding religious institutions in a human point of view, he acknowledges their influence upon manners and legislation. He admits that they may serve to make men live in peace with one another, and to prepare them gently for the hour of death. He regrets the faith which he has lost; and as he is deprived of a treasure which he has learned to estimate at its full value, he scruples91 to take it from those who still possess it.
On the other hand, those who continue to believe are not afraid openly to avow92 their faith. They look upon those who do not share their persuasion11 as more worthy93 of pity than of opposition94; and they are aware that to acquire the esteem95 of the unbelieving, they are not obliged to follow their example. They are hostile to no one in the world; and as they do not consider the society in which they live as an arena96 in which religion is bound to face its thousand deadly foes97, they love their contemporaries, whilst they condemn98 their weaknesses and lament99 their errors.
As those who do not believe, conceal100 their incredulity; and as those who believe, display their faith, public opinion pronounces itself in favor of religion: love, support, and honor are bestowed101 upon it, and it is only by searching the human soul that we can detect the wounds which it has received. The mass of mankind, who are never without the feeling of religion, do not perceive anything at variance102 with the established faith. The instinctive103 desire of a future life brings the crowd about the altar, and opens the hearts of men to the precepts104 and consolations105 of religion.
But this picture is not applicable to us: for there are men amongst us who have ceased to believe in Christianity, without adopting any other religion; others who are in the perplexities of doubt, and who already affect not to believe; and others, again, who are afraid to avow that Christian106 faith which they still cherish in secret.
Amidst these lukewarm partisans107 and ardent108 antagonists a small number of believers exist, who are ready to brave all obstacles and to scorn all dangers in defence of their faith. They have done violence to human weakness, in order to rise superior to public opinion. Excited by the effort they have made, they scarcely knew where to stop; and as they know that the first use which the French made of independence was to attack religion, they look upon their contemporaries with dread36, and they recoil109 in alarm from the liberty which their fellow-citizens are seeking to obtain. As unbelief appears to them to be a novelty, they comprise all that is new in one indiscriminate animosity. They are at war with their age and country, and they look upon every opinion which is put forth110 there as the necessary enemy of the faith.
Such is not the natural state of men with regard to religion at the present day; and some extraordinary or incidental cause must be at work in France to prevent the human mind from following its original propensities and to drive it beyond the limits at which it ought naturally to stop. I am intimately convinced that this extraordinary and incidental cause is the close connection of politics and religion. The unbelievers of Europe attack the Christians111 as their political opponents, rather than as their religious adversaries112; they hate the Christian religion as the opinion of a party, much more than as an error of belief; and they reject the clergy less because they are the representatives of the Divinity than because they are the allies of authority.
In Europe, Christianity has been intimately united to the powers of the earth. Those powers are now in decay, and it is, as it were, buried under their ruins. The living body of religion has been bound down to the dead corpse113 of superannuated114 polity: cut but the bonds which restrain it, and that which is alive will rise once more. I know not what could restore the Christian Church of Europe to the energy of its earlier days; that power belongs to God alone; but it may be the effect of human policy to leave the faith in the full exercise of the strength which it still retains.
How The Instruction, The Habits, And The Practical Experience Of The Americans Promote The Success Of Their Democratic Institutions
What is to be understood by the instruction of the American people—The human mind more superficially instructed in the United States than in Europe—No one completely uninstructed—Reason of this—Rapidity with which opinions are diffused even in the uncultivated States of the West—Practical experience more serviceable to the Americans than book-learning.
I have but little to add to what I have already said concerning the influence which the instruction and the habits of the Americans exercise upon the maintenance of their political institutions.
America has hitherto produced very few writers of distinction; it possesses no great historians, and not a single eminent115 poet. The inhabitants of that country look upon what are properly styled literary pursuits with a kind of disapprobation; and there are towns of very second-rate importance in Europe in which more literary works are annually116 published than in the twenty-four States of the union put together. The spirit of the Americans is averse117 to general ideas; and it does not seek theoretical discoveries. Neither politics nor manufactures direct them to these occupations; and although new laws are perpetually enacted118 in the United States, no great writers have hitherto inquired into the general principles of their legislation. The Americans have lawyers and commentators119, but no jurists; *h and they furnish examples rather than lessons to the world. The same observation applies to the mechanical arts. In America, the inventions of Europe are adopted with sagacity; they are perfected, and adapted with admirable skill to the wants of the country. Manufactures exist, but the science of manufacture is not cultivated; and they have good workmen, but very few inventors. Fulton was obliged to proffer120 his services to foreign nations for a long time before he was able to devote them to his own country.
h
[ [This cannot be said with truth of the country of Kent, Story, and Wheaton.]]
The observer who is desirous of forming an opinion on the state of instruction amongst the Anglo-Americans must consider the same object from two different points of view. If he only singles out the learned, he will be astonished to find how rare they are; but if he counts the ignorant, the American people will appear to be the most enlightened community in the world. The whole population, as I observed in another place, is situated121 between these two extremes. In New England, every citizen receives the elementary notions of human knowledge; he is moreover taught the doctrines and the evidences of his religion, the history of his country, and the leading features of its Constitution. In the States of Connecticut and Massachusetts, it is extremely rare to find a man imperfectly acquainted with all these things, and a person wholly ignorant of them is a sort of phenomenon.
When I compare the Greek and Roman republics with these American States; the manuscript libraries of the former, and their rude population, with the innumerable journals and the enlightened people of the latter; when I remember all the attempts which are made to judge the modern republics by the assistance of those of antiquity122, and to infer what will happen in our time from what took place two thousand years ago, I am tempted123 to burn my books, in order to apply none but novel ideas to so novel a condition of society.
What I have said of New England must not, however, be applied indistinctly to the whole union; as we advance towards the West or the South, the instruction of the people diminishes. In the States which are adjacent to the Gulf124 of Mexico, a certain number of individuals may be found, as in our own countries, who are devoid125 of the rudiments126 of instruction. But there is not a single district in the United States sunk in complete ignorance; and for a very simple reason: the peoples of Europe started from the darkness of a barbarous condition, to advance toward the light of civilization; their progress has been unequal; some of them have improved apace, whilst others have loitered in their course, and some have stopped, and are still sleeping upon the way. *i
i
[ [In the Northern States the number of persons destitute127 of instruction is inconsiderable, the largest number being 241,152 in the State of New York (according to Spaulding's "Handbook of American Statistics" for 1874); but in the South no less than 1,516,339 whites and 2,671,396 colored persons are returned as "illiterate128."]]
Such has not been the case in the United States. The Anglo-Americans settled in a state of civilization, upon that territory which their descendants occupy; they had not to begin to learn, and it was sufficient for them not to forget. Now the children of these same Americans are the persons who, year by year, transport their dwellings129 into the wilds; and with their dwellings their acquired information and their esteem for knowledge. Education has taught them the utility of instruction, and has enabled them to transmit that instruction to their posterity131. In the United States society has no infancy132, but it is born in man's estate.
The Americans never use the word "peasant," because they have no idea of the peculiar class which that term denotes; the ignorance of more remote ages, the simplicity133 of rural life, and the rusticity134 of the villager have not been preserved amongst them; and they are alike unacquainted with the virtues135, the vices, the coarse habits, and the simple graces of an early stage of civilization. At the extreme borders of the Confederate States, upon the confines of society and of the wilderness136, a population of bold adventurers have taken up their abode137, who pierce the solitudes138 of the American woods, and seek a country there, in order to escape that poverty which awaited them in their native provinces. As soon as the pioneer arrives upon the spot which is to serve him for a retreat, he fells a few trees and builds a loghouse. Nothing can offer a more miserable139 aspect than these isolated140 dwellings. The traveller who approaches one of them towards nightfall, sees the flicker141 of the hearth-flame through the chinks in the walls; and at night, if the wind rises, he hears the roof of boughs142 shake to and fro in the midst of the great forest trees. Who would not suppose that this poor hut is the asylum143 of rudeness and ignorance? Yet no sort of comparison can be drawn144 between the pioneer and the dwelling130 which shelters him. Everything about him is primitive145 and unformed, but he is himself the result of the labor146 and the experience of eighteen centuries. He wears the dress, and he speaks the language of cities; he is acquainted with the past, curious of the future, and ready for argument upon the present; he is, in short, a highly civilized147 being, who consents, for a time, to inhabit the backwoods, and who penetrates148 into the wilds of the New World with the Bible, an axe149, and a file of newspapers.
It is difficult to imagine the incredible rapidity with which public opinion circulates in the midst of these deserts. *j I do not think that so much intellectual intercourse150 takes place in the most enlightened and populous151 districts of France. *k It cannot be doubted that, in the United States, the instruction of the people powerfully contributes to the support of a democratic republic; and such must always be the case, I believe, where instruction which awakens152 the understanding is not separated from moral education which amends153 the heart. But I by no means exaggerate this benefit, and I am still further from thinking, as so many people do think in Europe, that men can be instantaneously made citizens by teaching them to read and write. True information is mainly derived from experience; and if the Americans had not been gradually accustomed to govern themselves, their book-learning would not assist them much at the present day.
j
[ I travelled along a portion of the frontier of the United States in a sort of cart which was termed the mail. We passed, day and night, with great rapidity along the roads which were scarcely marked out, through immense forests; when the gloom of the woods became impenetrable the coachman lighted branches of fir, and we journeyed along by the light they cast. From time to time we came to a hut in the midst of the forest, which was a post-office. The mail dropped an enormous bundle of letters at the door of this isolated dwelling, and we pursued our way at full gallop154, leaving the inhabitants of the neighboring log houses to send for their share of the treasure.
[When the author visited America the locomotive and the railroad were scarcely invented, and not yet introduced in the United States. It is superfluous155 to point out the immense effect of those inventions in extending civilization and developing the resources of that vast continent. In 1831 there were 51 miles of railway in the United States; in 1872 there were 60,000 miles of railway.]]
k
[ In 1832 each inhabitant of Michigan paid a sum equivalent to 1 fr. 22 cent. (French money) to the post-office revenue, and each inhabitant of the Floridas paid 1 fr. 5 cent. (See "National Calendar," 1833, p. 244.) In the same year each inhabitant of the Departement du Nord paid 1 fr. 4 cent. to the revenue of the French post-office. (See the "Compte rendu de l'administration des Finances," 1833, p. 623.) Now the State of Michigan only contained at that time 7 inhabitants per square league and Florida only 5: the public instruction and the commercial activity of these districts is inferior to that of most of the States in the union, whilst the Departement du Nord, which contains 3,400 inhabitants per square league, is one of the most enlightened and manufacturing parts of France.]
I have lived a great deal with the people in the United States, and I cannot express how much I admire their experience and their good sense. An American should never be allowed to speak of Europe; for he will then probably display a vast deal of presumption156 and very foolish pride. He will take up with those crude and vague notions which are so useful to the ignorant all over the world. But if you question him respecting his own country, the cloud which dimmed his intelligence will immediately disperse157; his language will become as clear and as precise as his thoughts. He will inform you what his rights are, and by what means he exercises them; he will be able to point out the customs which obtain in the political world. You will find that he is well acquainted with the rules of the administration, and that he is familiar with the mechanism158 of the laws. The citizen of the United States does not acquire his practical science and his positive notions from books; the instruction he has acquired may have prepared him for receiving those ideas, but it did not furnish them. The American learns to know the laws by participating in the act of legislation; and he takes a lesson in the forms of government from governing. The great work of society is ever going on beneath his eyes, and, as it were, under his hands.
In the United States politics are the end and aim of education; in Europe its principal object is to fit men for private life. The interference of the citizens in public affairs is too rare an occurrence for it to be anticipated beforehand. Upon casting a glance over society in the two hemispheres, these differences are indicated even by its external aspect.
In Europe we frequently introduce the ideas and the habits of private life into public affairs; and as we pass at once from the domestic circle to the government of the State, we may frequently be heard to discuss the great interests of society in the same manner in which we converse159 with our friends. The Americans, on the other hand, transfuse160 the habits of public life into their manners in private; and in their country the jury is introduced into the games of schoolboys, and parliamentary forms are observed in the order of a feast.
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exertions
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| n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使 | |
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clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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concur
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| v.同意，意见一致，互助，同时发生 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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fervor
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| n.热诚；热心；炽热 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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persuasion
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| n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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laity
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| n.俗人；门外汉 | |
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attentively
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| adv.聚精会神地；周到地；谛；凝神 | |
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legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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profess
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| v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰 | |
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abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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entrusted
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| v.委托，托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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denomination
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| n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位 | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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eligible
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| adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的 | |
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inveigh
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| v.痛骂 | |
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vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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lurk
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| n.潜伏，潜行；v.潜藏，潜伏，埋伏 | |
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discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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sincerity
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| n.真诚，诚意；真实 | |
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furrow
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| n.沟；垄沟；轨迹；车辙；皱纹 | |
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eschewed
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| v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
boundless
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| adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的 | |
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35
dreads
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| n.恐惧，畏惧( dread的名词复数 )；令人恐惧的事物v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36
dread
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| vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧 | |
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37
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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38
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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39
aberration
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| n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差 | |
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40
invincibly
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| adv.难战胜地，无敌地 | |
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41
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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42
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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43
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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44
constituent
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| n.选民；成分，组分；adj.组成的，构成的 | |
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45
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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46
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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47
aspire
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| vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于 | |
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48
maxims
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| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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49
augments
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| 增加，提高，扩大( augment的名词复数 ) | |
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50
forfeits
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| 罚物游戏 | |
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51
reigning
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| adj.统治的，起支配作用的 | |
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52
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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53
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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54
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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55
antagonists
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| 对立[对抗] 者，对手，敌手( antagonist的名词复数 )； 对抗肌； 对抗药 | |
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56
allied
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| adj.协约国的；同盟国的 | |
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57
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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58
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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59
fleeting
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| adj.短暂的，飞逝的 | |
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60
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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61
propensities
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| n.倾向，习性( propensity的名词复数 ) | |
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62
onerous
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| adj.繁重的 | |
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63
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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64
precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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65
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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66
lethargic
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| adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的 | |
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67
somnolence
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| n.想睡，梦幻；欲寐；嗜睡；嗜眠 | |
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68
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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69
accrue
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| v.(利息等)增大，增多 | |
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70
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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71
stagnation
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| n. 停滞 | |
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72
inertness
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| n.不活泼，没有生气；惰性；惯量 | |
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73
monarchies
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| n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治 | |
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74
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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75
abide
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| vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受 | |
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76
ebb
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| vi.衰退，减退；n.处于低潮，处于衰退状态 | |
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77
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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78
conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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79
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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80
vicissitudes
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| n.变迁，世事变化；变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 )；盛衰兴废 | |
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81
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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82
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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83
pristine
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| adj.原来的，古时的，原始的，纯净的，无垢的 | |
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84
schism
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| n.分派，派系，分裂 | |
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85
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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86
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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87
attachment
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| n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附 | |
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88
devotedness
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89
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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90
plunges
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| n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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91
scruples
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| 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 ) | |
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92
avow
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| v.承认，公开宣称 | |
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93
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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94
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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95
esteem
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| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
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96
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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97
foes
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| 敌人，仇敌( foe的名词复数 ) | |
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98
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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99
lament
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| n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹 | |
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100
conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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101
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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103
instinctive
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| adj.(出于)本能的；直觉的；(出于)天性的 | |
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104
precepts
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| n.规诫，戒律，箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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105
consolations
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| n.安慰，慰问( consolation的名词复数 )；起安慰作用的人（或事物） | |
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106
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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107
partisans
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| 游击队员( partisan的名词复数 )； 党人； 党羽； 帮伙 | |
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108
ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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109
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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110
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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111
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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112
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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113
corpse
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| n.尸体，死尸 | |
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114
superannuated
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| adj.老朽的，退休的；v.因落后于时代而废除，勒令退学 | |
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115
eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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116
annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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117
averse
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| adj.厌恶的；反对的，不乐意的 | |
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118
enacted
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| 制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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119
commentators
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| n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员 | |
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120
proffer
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| v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议 | |
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121
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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122
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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123
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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124
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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125
devoid
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| adj.全无的，缺乏的 | |
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126
rudiments
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| n.基础知识，入门 | |
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127
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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128
illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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129
dwellings
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| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
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130
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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131
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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132
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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133
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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134
rusticity
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| n.乡村的特点、风格或气息 | |
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135
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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136
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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137
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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138
solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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139
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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140
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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141
flicker
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| vi./n.闪烁，摇曳，闪现 | |
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142
boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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143
asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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144
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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145
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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146
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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147
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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148
penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
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149
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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150
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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151
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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152
awakens
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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153
amends
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| n. 赔偿 | |
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154
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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155
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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156
presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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157
disperse
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| vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散 | |
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158
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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159
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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160
transfuse
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| v.渗入；灌输；输血 | |
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