These two truths appear to me simple, clear, and fertile in consequences; and they naturally lead me to consider what kind of free government can be established amongst a people in which social conditions are equal. It results from the very constitution of democratic nations and from their necessities, that the power of government amongst them must be more uniform, more centralized, more extensive, more searching, and more efficient than in other countries. Society at large is naturally stronger and more active, individuals more subordinate and weak; the former does more, the latter less; and this is inevitably7 the case. It is not therefore to be expected that the range of private independence will ever be as extensive in democratic as in aristocratic countries—nor is this to be desired; for, amongst aristocratic nations, the mass is often sacrificed to the individual, and the prosperity of the greater number to the greatness of the few. It is both necessary and desirable that the government of a democratic people should be active and powerful: and our object should not be to render it weak or indolent, but solely8 to prevent it from abusing its aptitude9 and its strength.
The circumstance which most contributed to secure the independence of private persons in aristocratic ages, was, that the supreme10 power did not affect to take upon itself alone the government and administration of the community; those functions were necessarily partially12 left to the members of the aristocracy: so that as the supreme power was always divided, it never weighed with its whole weight and in the same manner on each individual. Not only did the government not perform everything by its immediate13 agency; but as most of the agents who discharged its duties derived14 their power not from the State, but from the circumstance of their birth, they were not perpetually under its control. The government could not make or unmake them in an instant, at pleasure, nor bend them in strict uniformity to its slightest caprice—this was an additional guarantee of private independence. I readily admit that recourse cannot be had to the same means at the present time: but I discover certain democratic expedients16 which may be substituted for them. Instead of vesting in the government alone all the administrative17 powers of which corporations and nobles have been deprived, a portion of them may be entrusted18 to secondary public bodies, temporarily composed of private citizens: thus the liberty of private persons will be more secure, and their equality will not be diminished.
The Americans, who care less for words than the French, still designate by the name of "county" the largest of their administrative districts: but the duties of the count or lord-lieutenant are in part performed by a provincial19 assembly. At a period of equality like our own it would be unjust and unreasonable20 to institute hereditary21 officers; but there is nothing to prevent us from substituting elective public officers to a certain extent. Election is a democratic expedient15 which insures the independence of the public officer in relation to the government, as much and even more than hereditary rank can insure it amongst aristocratic nations. Aristocratic countries abound22 in wealthy and influential23 persons who are competent to provide for themselves, and who cannot be easily or secretly oppressed: such persons restrain a government within general habits of moderation and reserve. I am very well aware that democratic countries contain no such persons naturally; but something analogous24 to them may be created by artificial means. I firmly believe that an aristocracy cannot again be founded in the world; but I think that private citizens, by combining together, may constitute bodies of great wealth, influence, and strength, corresponding to the persons of an aristocracy. By this means many of the greatest political advantages of aristocracy would be obtained without its injustice25 or its dangers. An association for political, commercial, or manufacturing purposes, or even for those of science and literature, is a powerful and enlightened member of the community, which cannot be disposed of at pleasure, or oppressed without remonstrance26; and which, by defending its own rights against the encroachments of the government, saves the common liberties of the country.
In periods of aristocracy every man is always bound so closely to many of his fellow-citizens, that he cannot be assailed27 without their coming to his assistance. In ages of equality every man naturally stands alone; he has no hereditary friends whose co-operation he may demand—no class upon whose sympathy he may rely: he is easily got rid of, and he is trampled29 on with impunity30. At the present time, an oppressed member of the community has therefore only one method of self-defence—he may appeal to the whole nation; and if the whole nation is deaf to his complaint, he may appeal to mankind: the only means he has of making this appeal is by the press. Thus the liberty of the press is infinitely31 more valuable amongst democratic nations than amongst all others; it is the only cure for the evils which equality may produce. Equality sets men apart and weakens them; but the press places a powerful weapon within every man's reach, which the weakest and loneliest of them all may use. Equality deprives a man of the support of his connections; but the press enables him to summon all his fellow-countrymen and all his fellow-men to his assistance. Printing has accelerated the progress of equality, and it is also one of its best correctives.
I think that men living in aristocracies may, strictly32 speaking, do without the liberty of the press: but such is not the case with those who live in democratic countries. To protect their personal independence I trust not to great political assemblies, to parliamentary privilege, or to the assertion of popular sovereignty. All these things may, to a certain extent, be reconciled with personal servitude—but that servitude cannot be complete if the press is free: the press is the chiefest democratic instrument of freedom.
Something analogous may be said of the judicial33 power. It is a part of the essence of judicial power to attend to private interests, and to fix itself with predilection34 on minute objects submitted to its observation; another essential quality of judicial power is never to volunteer its assistance to the oppressed, but always to be at the disposal of the humblest of those who solicit35 it; their complaint, however feeble they may themselves be, will force itself upon the ear of justice and claim redress36, for this is inherent in the very constitution of the courts of justice. A power of this kind is therefore peculiarly adapted to the wants of freedom, at a time when the eye and finger of the government are constantly intruding37 into the minutest details of human actions, and when private persons are at once too weak to protect themselves, and too much isolated38 for them to reckon upon the assistance of their fellows. The strength of the courts of law has ever been the greatest security which can be offered to personal independence; but this is more especially the case in democratic ages: private rights and interests are in constant danger, if the judicial power does not grow more extensive and more strong to keep pace with the growing equality of conditions.
Equality awakens39 in men several propensities40 extremely dangerous to freedom, to which the attention of the legislator ought constantly to be directed. I shall only remind the reader of the most important amongst them. Men living in democratic ages do not readily comprehend the utility of forms: they feel an instinctive41 contempt for them—I have elsewhere shown for what reasons. Forms excite their contempt and often their hatred42; as they commonly aspire43 to none but easy and present gratifications, they rush onwards to the object of their desires, and the slightest delay exasperates45 them. This same temper, carried with them into political life, renders them hostile to forms, which perpetually retard46 or arrest them in some of their projects. Yet this objection which the men of democracies make to forms is the very thing which renders forms so useful to freedom; for their chief merit is to serve as a barrier between the strong and the weak, the ruler and the people, to retard the one, and give the other time to look about him. Forms become more necessary in proportion as the government becomes more active and more powerful, whilst private persons are becoming more indolent and more feeble. Thus democratic nations naturally stand more in need of forms than other nations, and they naturally respect them less. This deserves most serious attention. Nothing is more pitiful than the arrogant47 disdain48 of most of our contemporaries for questions of form; for the smallest questions of form have acquired in our time an importance which they never had before: many of the greatest interests of mankind depend upon them. I think that if the statesmen of aristocratic ages could sometimes contemn49 forms with impunity, and frequently rise above them, the statesmen to whom the government of nations is now confided50 ought to treat the very least among them with respect, and not neglect them without imperious necessity. In aristocracies the observance of forms was superstitious51; amongst us they ought to be kept with a deliberate and enlightened deference52.
Another tendency, which is extremely natural to democratic nations and extremely dangerous, is that which leads them ta despise and undervalue the rights of private persons. The attachment53 which men feel to a right, and the respect which they display for it, is generally proportioned to its importance, or to the length of time during which they have enjoyed it. The rights of private persons amongst democratic nations are commonly of small importance, of recent growth, and extremely precarious—the consequence is that they are often sacrificed without regret, and almost always violated without remorse54. But it happens that at the same period and amongst the same nations in which men conceive a natural contempt for the rights of private persons, the rights of society at large are naturally extended and consolidated55: in other words, men become less attached to private rights at the very time at which it would be most necessary to retain and to defend what little remains56 of them. It is therefore most especially in the present democratic ages, that the true friends of the liberty and the greatness of man ought constantly to be on the alert to prevent the power of government from lightly sacrificing the private rights of individuals to the general execution of its designs. At such times no citizen is so obscure that it is not very dangerous to allow him to be oppressed—no private rights are so unimportant that they can be surrendered with impunity to the caprices of a government. The reason is plain:—if the private right of an individual is violated at a time when the human mind is fully57 impressed with the importance and the sanctity of such rights, the injury done is confined to the individual whose right is infringed58; but to violate such a right, at the present day, is deeply to corrupt59 the manners of the nation and to put the whole community in jeopardy60, because the very notion of this kind of right constantly tends amongst us to be impaired61 and lost.
There are certain habits, certain notions, and certain vices62 which are peculiar1 to a state of revolution, and which a protracted63 revolution cannot fail to engender64 and to propagate, whatever be, in other respects, its character, its purpose, and the scene on which it takes place. When any nation has, within a short space of time, repeatedly varied65 its rulers, its opinions, and its laws, the men of whom it is composed eventually contract a taste for change, and grow accustomed to see all changes effected by sudden violence. Thus they naturally conceive a contempt for forms which daily prove ineffectual; and they do not support without impatience67 the dominion68 of rules which they have so often seen infringed. As the ordinary notions of equity69 and morality no longer suffice to explain and justify70 all the innovations daily begotten71 by a revolution, the principle of public utility is called in, the doctrine72 of political necessity is conjured73 up, and men accustom66 themselves to sacrifice private interests without scruple74, and to trample28 on the rights of individuals in order more speedily to accomplish any public purpose.
These habits and notions, which I shall call revolutionary, because all revolutions produce them, occur in aristocracies just as much as amongst democratic nations; but amongst the former they are often less powerful and always less lasting75, because there they meet with habits, notions, defects, and impediments, which counteract76 them: they consequently disappear as soon as the revolution is terminated, and the nation reverts77 to its former political courses. This is not always the case in democratic countries, in which it is ever to be feared that revolutionary tendencies, becoming more gentle and more regular, without entirely78 disappearing from society, will be gradually transformed into habits of subjection to the administrative authority of the government. I know of no countries in which revolutions re more dangerous than in democratic countries; because, independently of the accidental and transient evils which must always attend them, they may always create some evils which are permanent and unending. I believe that there are such things as justifiable79 resistance and legitimate80 rebellion: I do not therefore assert, as an absolute proposition, that the men of democratic ages ought never to make revolutions; but I think that they have especial reason to hesitate before they embark81 in them, and that it is far better to endure many grievances82 in their present condition than to have recourse to so perilous83 a remedy.
I shall conclude by one general idea, which comprises not only all the particular ideas which have been expressed in the present chapter, but also most of those which it is the object of this book to treat of. In the ages of aristocracy which preceded our own, there were private persons of great power, and a social authority of extreme weakness. The outline of society itself was not easily discernible, and constantly confounded with the different powers by which the community was ruled. The principal efforts of the men of those times were required to strengthen, aggrandize84, and secure the supreme power; and on the other hand, to circumscribe85 individual independence within narrower limits, and to subject private interests to the interests of the public. Other perils86 and other cares await the men of our age. Amongst the greater part of modern nations, the government, whatever may be its origin, its constitution, or its name, has become almost omnipotent87, and private persons are falling, more and more, into the lowest stage of weakness and dependence5. In olden society everything was different; unity11 and uniformity were nowhere to be met with. In modern society everything threatens to become so much alike, that the peculiar characteristics of each individual will soon be entirely lost in the general aspect of the world. Our forefathers88 were ever prone89 to make an improper90 use of the notion, that private rights ought to be respected; and we are naturally prone on the other hand to exaggerate the idea that the interest of a private individual ought always to bend to the interest of the many. The political world is metamorphosed: new remedies must henceforth be sought for new disorders91. To lay down extensive, but distinct and settled limits, to the action of the government; to confer certain rights on private persons, and to secure to them the undisputed enjoyment92 of those rights; to enable individual man to maintain whatever independence, strength, and original power he still possesses; to raise him by the side of society at large, and uphold him in that position—these appear to me the main objects of legislators in the ages upon which we are now entering. It would seem as if the rulers of our time sought only to use men in order to make things great; I wish that they would try a little more to make great men; that they would set less value on the work, and more upon the workman; that they would never forget that a nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak, and that no form or combination of social polity has yet been devised, to make an energetic people out of a community of pusillanimous93 and enfeebled citizens.
I trace amongst our contemporaries two contrary notions which are equally injurious. One set of men can perceive nothing in the principle of equality but the anarchical tendencies which it engenders94: they dread2 their own free agency—they fear themselves. Other thinkers, less numerous but more enlightened, take a different view: besides that track which starts from the principle of equality to terminate in anarchy95, they have at last discovered the road which seems to lead men to inevitable96 servitude. They shape their souls beforehand to this necessary condition; and, despairing of remaining free, they already do obeisance97 in their hearts to the master who is soon to appear. The former abandon freedom, because they think it dangerous; the latter, because they hold it to be impossible. If I had entertained the latter conviction, I should not have written this book, but I should have confined myself to deploring98 in secret the destiny of mankind. I have sought to point out the dangers to which the principle of equality exposes the independence of man, because I firmly believe that these dangers are the most formidable, as well as the least foreseen, of all those which futurity holds in store: but I do not think that they are insurmountable. The men who live in the democratic ages upon which we are entering have naturally a taste for independence: they are naturally impatient of regulation, and they are wearied by the permanence even of the condition they themselves prefer. They are fond of power; but they are prone to despise and hate those who wield99 it, and they easily elude100 its grasp by their own mobility101 and insignificance102. These propensities will always manifest themselves, because they originate in the groundwork of society, which will undergo no change: for a long time they will prevent the establishment of any despotism, and they will furnish fresh weapons to each succeeding generation which shall struggle in favor of the liberty of mankind. Let us then look forward to the future with that salutary fear which makes men keep watch and ward44 for freedom, not with that faint and idle terror which depresses and enervates103 the heart.
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1 peculiar | |
adj.古怪的,异常的;特殊的,特有的 | |
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2 dread | |
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧 | |
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3 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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4 skilful | |
(=skillful)adj.灵巧的,熟练的 | |
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5 dependence | |
n.依靠,依赖;信任,信赖;隶属 | |
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6 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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7 inevitably | |
adv.不可避免地;必然发生地 | |
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8 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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9 aptitude | |
n.(学习方面的)才能,资质,天资 | |
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10 supreme | |
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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11 unity | |
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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12 partially | |
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲 | |
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13 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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14 derived | |
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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15 expedient | |
adj.有用的,有利的;n.紧急的办法,权宜之计 | |
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16 expedients | |
n.应急有效的,权宜之计的( expedient的名词复数 ) | |
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17 administrative | |
adj.行政的,管理的 | |
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18 entrusted | |
v.委托,托付( entrust的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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19 provincial | |
adj.省的,地方的;n.外省人,乡下人 | |
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20 unreasonable | |
adj.不讲道理的,不合情理的,过度的 | |
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21 hereditary | |
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的 | |
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22 abound | |
vi.大量存在;(in,with)充满,富于 | |
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23 influential | |
adj.有影响的,有权势的 | |
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24 analogous | |
adj.相似的;类似的 | |
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25 injustice | |
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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26 remonstrance | |
n抗议,抱怨 | |
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27 assailed | |
v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 );困扰;质问;毅然应对 | |
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28 trample | |
vt.踩,践踏;无视,伤害,侵犯 | |
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29 trampled | |
踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯 | |
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30 impunity | |
n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除 | |
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31 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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32 strictly | |
adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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33 judicial | |
adj.司法的,法庭的,审判的,明断的,公正的 | |
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34 predilection | |
n.偏好 | |
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35 solicit | |
vi.勾引;乞求;vt.请求,乞求;招揽(生意) | |
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36 redress | |
n.赔偿,救济,矫正;v.纠正,匡正,革除 | |
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37 intruding | |
v.侵入,侵扰,打扰( intrude的现在分词);把…强加于 | |
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38 isolated | |
adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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39 awakens | |
v.(使)醒( awaken的第三人称单数 );(使)觉醒;弄醒;(使)意识到 | |
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40 propensities | |
n.倾向,习性( propensity的名词复数 ) | |
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41 instinctive | |
adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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42 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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43 aspire | |
vi.(to,after)渴望,追求,有志于 | |
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44 ward | |
n.守卫,监护,病房,行政区,由监护人或法院保护的人(尤指儿童);vt.守护,躲开 | |
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45 exasperates | |
n.激怒,触怒( exasperate的名词复数 )v.激怒,触怒( exasperate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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46 retard | |
n.阻止,延迟;vt.妨碍,延迟,使减速 | |
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47 arrogant | |
adj.傲慢的,自大的 | |
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48 disdain | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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49 contemn | |
v.蔑视 | |
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50 confided | |
v.吐露(秘密,心事等)( confide的过去式和过去分词 );(向某人)吐露(隐私、秘密等) | |
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51 superstitious | |
adj.迷信的 | |
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52 deference | |
n.尊重,顺从;敬意 | |
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53 attachment | |
n.附属物,附件;依恋;依附 | |
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54 remorse | |
n.痛恨,悔恨,自责 | |
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55 consolidated | |
a.联合的 | |
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56 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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57 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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58 infringed | |
v.违反(规章等)( infringe的过去式和过去分词 );侵犯(某人的权利);侵害(某人的自由、权益等) | |
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59 corrupt | |
v.贿赂,收买;adj.腐败的,贪污的 | |
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60 jeopardy | |
n.危险;危难 | |
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61 impaired | |
adj.受损的;出毛病的;有(身体或智力)缺陷的v.损害,削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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62 vices | |
缺陷( vice的名词复数 ); 恶习; 不道德行为; 台钳 | |
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63 protracted | |
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64 engender | |
v.产生,引起 | |
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65 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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66 accustom | |
vt.使适应,使习惯 | |
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67 impatience | |
n.不耐烦,急躁 | |
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68 dominion | |
n.统治,管辖,支配权;领土,版图 | |
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69 equity | |
n.公正,公平,(无固定利息的)股票 | |
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70 justify | |
vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护 | |
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71 begotten | |
v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 );产生,引起 | |
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72 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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73 conjured | |
用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 ); 祈求,恳求; 变戏法; (变魔术般地) 使…出现 | |
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74 scruple | |
n./v.顾忌,迟疑 | |
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75 lasting | |
adj.永久的,永恒的;vbl.持续,维持 | |
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76 counteract | |
vt.对…起反作用,对抗,抵消 | |
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77 reverts | |
恢复( revert的第三人称单数 ); 重提; 回到…上; 归还 | |
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78 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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79 justifiable | |
adj.有理由的,无可非议的 | |
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80 legitimate | |
adj.合法的,合理的,合乎逻辑的;v.使合法 | |
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81 embark | |
vi.乘船,着手,从事,上飞机 | |
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82 grievances | |
n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 );苦衷;不满;牢骚 | |
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83 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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84 aggrandize | |
v.增大,扩张,吹捧 | |
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85 circumscribe | |
v.在...周围划线,限制,约束 | |
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86 perils | |
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境) | |
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87 omnipotent | |
adj.全能的,万能的 | |
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88 forefathers | |
n.祖先,先人;祖先,祖宗( forefather的名词复数 );列祖列宗;前人 | |
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89 prone | |
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的 | |
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90 improper | |
adj.不适当的,不合适的,不正确的,不合礼仪的 | |
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91 disorders | |
n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 );凌乱;骚乱;(身心、机能)失调 | |
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92 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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93 pusillanimous | |
adj.懦弱的,胆怯的 | |
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94 engenders | |
v.产生(某形势或状况),造成,引起( engender的第三人称单数 ) | |
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95 anarchy | |
n.无政府状态;社会秩序混乱,无秩序 | |
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96 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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97 obeisance | |
n.鞠躬,敬礼 | |
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98 deploring | |
v.悲叹,痛惜,强烈反对( deplore的现在分词 ) | |
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99 wield | |
vt.行使,运用,支配;挥,使用(武器等) | |
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100 elude | |
v.躲避,困惑 | |
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101 mobility | |
n.可动性,变动性,情感不定 | |
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102 insignificance | |
n.不重要;无价值;无意义 | |
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103 enervates | |
v.使衰弱,使失去活力( enervate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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