I TRY in these lectures to give some account of an exceptionally great subject—a subject, I ought rather to say, of sublime5 magnificence. It may, I believe, be affirmed without exaggeration that the theme which is to occupy our attention represents the most daring height to which the human intellect has ever ventured to soar in its efforts to understand the great operations of Nature. The earth’s beginning relates to phenomena6 of such magnitude and importance that the temporary concerns which usually engage our thoughts must be forgotten in its presence. Our personal affairs, the affairs of the nation, and of the empire—indeed, of all nations and of all empires—nay, even all human affairs, past, present, and to come, shrink into utter insignificance7 when we are 2to consider the majestic8 subject of the evolution of that solar system of which our earth forms a part. We shall obtain a glimpse of what that evolution has been in the mighty9 chapter of the book of Nature on which we are now to enter.
The nebular theory discloses the beginning of this earth itself. It points out the marvellous process by which from original chaos10 the firm globe on which we stand was gradually evolved. It shows how the foundations of this solid earth have been laid, and how it is that we have land to tread on and air to breathe. But the subject has a scope far wider than merely in its relation to our earth. The nebular theory accounts for the beginning of that great and glorious orb12 the sun, which presides over the system of revolving13 planets, guides them in their paths, illuminates14 them with its light, and stimulates15 the activities of their inhabitants with its genial16 warmth. The nebular theory explains how it comes about that the sun still continues in these latter days to shine with the brilliance17 and warmth that it had throughout the past ages of human history and the vastly greater periods of geological time. Then, as another supreme18 achievement, it discloses the origin of the planets which accompany the sun, and shows how they have come to run their mighty courses; and it tells us how revolving satellites have been associated with the planets. The nebular theory has, indeed, a remarkable19 relation to all objects belonging to that wonderful scheme which we call the solar system.
It should also be noticed that the nebular theory often brings facts of the most diverse character into striking apposition. As it accounts for the continued 3maintenance of the solar radiation, so it also accounts for that beneficent rotation20 by which each continent, after the enjoyment21 of a day under the invigorating rays of the sun, passes in due alternation into the repose22 of night. The nebular theory is ready with an explanation of the marvellous structure revealed in the rings of Saturn23, and it shows at the same time how the volcanoes of the moon acquired their past phenomenal activity, and why, after ages of activity, they have now at last become extinct. With equal versatility24 the nebular theory will explain why a collier experiences increasing heat as he descends25 the coalpit, and why the planet Jupiter is marked with those belts which have so much interest for the astronomer26. The nebular theory offers an immediate27 explanation of the earthquake which wrought28 such awful destruction at Lisbon, while it also points out the cause of that healing warmth of the waters at Bath. Above all, the nebular theory explains that peerless discovery of cosmical chemistry which declares that those particular elements of which the sun is composed are no other than the elements which form the earth beneath our feet.
When a doctrine of such transcendent importance is proposed for our acceptance, it is fitting that we should look, in the first instance, to the source from which the doctrine has emanated30. It would already have made good its claim to most careful hearing, though not perhaps to necessary acceptance, if it came to us bearing credentials31 which prove it to be the outcome of the thought and research of one endowed with the highest order of intellect. If the nebular theory had been propounded32 by only a single great leader of thought, the sublimity33 of the subject with which it deals would have compelled 4the attention of those who love to study the book of Nature. If it had appeared that a second investigator34, also famous for the loftiest intellectual achievement, had given to the nebular theory the sanction of his name, a very much stronger claim for its consideration would at once have been established. If it should further appear that yet a third philosopher, a man who was also an intellectual giant, had been conducted to somewhat similar conclusions, we should admit, I need hardly say, that the argument had been presented with still further force. It may also be observed that there might even be certain conditions in the work of the three philosophers which would make for additional strength in the cause advocated; if it should be found that each of the great men of science had arrived at the same conclusion irrespective of the others, and, indeed, in total ignorance of the line of thought which his illustrious compeers were pursuing, this would, of course, be in itself a corroboration35. If, finally, the methods of research adopted by these investigators36 had been wholly different, although converging37 to the establishment of the theory, then even the most sceptical might be disposed to concede the startling claim which the theory made upon his reason and his imagination.
All the conditions that I have assumed have been fulfilled in the presentation of the nebular theory to the scientific world. It would not be possible to point to three names more eminent38 in their respective branches of knowledge than those of Kant, Laplace, and William Herschel. Kant occupies a unique position by the profundity39 and breadth of his philosophical40 studies; Laplace applied41 the great discoveries of Newton to the investigation42 5of the movements of the heavenly bodies, publishing the results in his immortal43 work, Mécanique Céleste; Herschel has been the greatest and the most original observer of the heavens since the telescope was invented. It is not a little remarkable that the great philosopher from his profound meditation44, the great mathematician45 from a life devoted46 to calculations about the laws of Nature, the great observer from sounding the depths of the firmament47, should each in the pursuit of his own line of work have been led to believe that the grand course of Nature is essentially48 expressed by the nebular theory. There have been differences of detail in the three theories; indeed, there have been differences in points which are by no means unimportant. This was unavoidable in the case of workers along lines so distinct, and of a subject where many of the elements were still unknown, as indeed many are still. Even at the present day no man can give a complete account of what has happened in the great evolution. But the monumental fact remains49 that these three most sagacious men of science, whose lives were devoted to the pursuit of knowledge, each approaching the subject from his own direction, each pursuing his course in ignorance of what the others were doing, were substantially led to the same result. The progress of knowledge since the time when these great men lived has confirmed, in ways which we shall endeavour to set forth50, the sublime doctrine to which their genius had conducted them.
Immanuel Kant, whose grandfather was a Scotsman, was born in 1724 at K?nigsberg, where his life was spent as a professor in the University, and where he died in 1804. In the announcement of the 6application of the principle of evolution to the solar system, Laplace was preceded by this great German philosopher. The profound thinker who expounded51 the famous doctrine of time and space did not disdain52 to allow his attention to be also occupied with things more material than the subtleties53 of metaphysical investigation. As a natural philosopher Kant was much in advance of his time. His speculations55 on questions relating to the operations in progress in the material universe are in remarkable conformity56 with what is now accepted as the result of modern investigation. Kant outlined with a firmness inspired by genius that nebular theory to which Laplace subsequently and independently gave a more definite form, and which now bears his name.
Kant’s famous work with which we are now concerned appeared in 1755.[1] In it he laid down the immortal principle of the nebular theory. The greatness of this book is acknowledged by all who have read it, and notwithstanding that the progress of knowledge has made it obvious that many of the statements it contains must now receive modification57, Kant’s work contains the essential principle affirming that the earth, the sun, the planets, and all the bodies now forming the solar system did really originate from a vast contracting nebula1. In later years Kant’s attention was diverted from these physical questions to that profound system of philosophy with which his name is chiefly associated. The nebular 8theory is therefore to be regarded as incidental to Kant’s great lifework rather than as forming a very large and important part of it.
1. We are now fortunately able to refer the English reader to the work of Professor W. Hastie, D.D., entitled “Kant’s Cosmogony,” Glasgow, 1900. Kant’s most interesting career is charmingly described in De Quincey’s “Last Days of Immanuel Kant.”
IMMANUEL KANT.
(From an old Print.)
At the close of the last century, while France was in the throes of the Revolution, a school of French mathematicians58 was engaged in the accomplishment59 of a task which marked an epoch60 in the history of human thought. Foremost among the mathematicians who devoted their energies to the discussion of the great problems of the universe was the illustrious Laplace. As a personal friend of Napoleon, Laplace received marked distinction from the Emperor, who was himself enough of a mathematician to be able to estimate at their true value the magnificent results to which Laplace was conducted.
It was at the commencement of Kant’s career, and before his great lifework in metaphysics was undertaken, that he was led to his nebular theory of the solar system. In the case of Laplace, on the other hand, the nebular theory was not advanced until the close of the great work of his life. The Mécanique Céleste had been written, and the fame of its author had been established for all time; and then in a few pages of a subsequent volume, called the Système du Monde, he laid down his famous nebular theory. In that small space he gave a wonderful outline of the history of the solar system. He had not read that history in any books or manuscripts; he had not learned it from any ancient inscriptions61; he had taken it direct from the great book of Nature.
Influenced by the caution so characteristic of one whose life had been devoted entirely62 to the pursuit of the most accurate of all the sciences, Laplace accompanied 9his announcement of the nebular theory with becoming words of warning. The great philosopher pointed63 out that there are two methods of discovering the truths of astronomy. Some truths may be discovered by observing the heavenly bodies with telescopes, by measuring with every care their dimensions and their positions, and by following their movements with assiduous watchfulness64. But there is another totally different method which has enabled many remarkable discoveries to be made in astronomy; for discoveries may be made by mathematical calculations which have as their basis the numerical facts obtained by actual observation. This mathematical method often yields results far more profound than any which can be obtained by the astronomer’s telescope. The pen of the mathematician is indeed an instrument which sometimes anticipates revelations that are subsequently confirmed by actual observation. It is an instrument which frequently performs the highly useful task of checking the deductions65 that might too hastily be drawn66 from telescopic observations. It is an instrument the scope of whose discoveries embraces regions immeasurably beyond the reach of the greatest telescope. The pen of the mathematician can give us information as to events which took place long before telescopes came into existence—nay, even unnumbered ages prior to the advent67 of man on this earth.
Laplace was careful to say that the nebular theory which he sketched68 must necessarily be judged by a standard different from that which we apply to astronomical69 truths revealed by telescopic observation or ascertained70 by actual calculation. The nebular theory, 10said the great French mathematician, has to be received with caution, inasmuch as from the nature of the case it cannot be verified by observation, nor does it admit of proof possessing mathematical certainty.
A large part of these lectures will be devoted to the evidence bearing upon this famous doctrine. Let it suffice here to remark that the quantity of evidence now available is vastly greater than it was a hundred years ago, and furthermore, that there are lines of evidence which can now be followed which were wholly undreamt of in the days of Kant and Laplace. The particular canons laid down by Laplace, to which we have just referred, are perhaps not regarded as so absolutely binding71 in modern days. If we were to reject belief in everything which cannot be proved either by the testimony72 of actual eye-witnesses or by strict mathematical deductions, it would, I fear, fare badly with not a few great departments of modern science. It will not be necessary to do more at present than just to mention, in illustration of this, the great doctrine of the evolution of life, which accounts for the existing races of plants and animals, including even man himself. I need hardly say that the Darwinian theory, which claims that man has come by lineal descent from animals of a lower type, admits of no proof by mathematics; it receives assuredly no direct testimony from eye witnesses; and yet the fact that man has so descended73 is, I suppose, now almost universally admitted.
In the case of the great German philosopher, as well as in the case of the great French mathematician, the enunciation74 and the promulgation75 of their nebular theories were merely incidental to the important scientific undertakings76 with which their respective lives were 11mainly occupied. The relation of the nebular theory to the main lifework of the third philosopher I have named, has been somewhat different. When William Herschel constructed the telescopes with which, in conjunction with his illustrious sister, he conducted his long night-watches, he discovered thousands of new nebul?; he may, in fact, be said to have created nebular astronomy as we now know it. Ever meditating77 on the objects which his telescopes brought to light, ever striving to sound the mysteries of the universe, Herschel perceived that between a nebula which was merely a diffused78 stain of light on the sky, and an object which was hardly distinguishable from a star with a slight haze79 around it, every intermediate grade could be found. In this way he was led to the splendid discovery which announced the gradual transformation80 of nebul? into stars. We have already noted81 how the profound mathematician was conducted to a view of the origin of the solar system which was substantially identical with that which had been arrived at by the consummate82 metaphysician. The interest is greatly increased when we find that similar conclusions were drawn independently from the telescopic work of the most diligent83 and most famous astronomical observer who has ever lived. Not from abstract speculation54 like Kant, not from mathematical suggestion like Laplace, but from accurate and laborious84 study of the heavens was the great William Herschel led to the conception of the nebular theory of evolution.
That three different men of science, approaching the study of perhaps the greatest problem which Nature offers us from points of view so fundamentally different, 12should have been led substantially to the same result, is a remarkable incident in the history of knowledge. Surely the theory introduced under such auspices85 and sustained by such a weight of testimony has the very strongest claim on our attention and respect.
In the discussion on which we are about to enter in these lectures we must often be prepared to make a special effort of the imagination to help us to realise how greatly the scale of the operations on which the attention is fixed86 transcends87 that of the phenomena with which our ordinary affairs are concerned. Our eyes can explore a region of space which, however vast, must still be only infinitesimal in comparison with the extent of space itself. Notwithstanding all that telescopes can do for us, our knowledge of the universe must be necessarily restricted to a mere11 speck88 in space, a speck which bears to the whole of space a ratio less—we might perhaps say infinitely89 less—than that which the area of a single daisy bears to the area of the continent where that daisy blooms. But we need not repine at this limitation; a whole life devoted to the study of a daisy would not be long enough to explore all the mysteries of its life. In like manner the duration of the human race would not be long enough to explore adequately even that small part of space which is submitted for our examination.
But it is not merely the necessary limits of our senses which restrict our opportunities for the study of the great phenomena of the universe. Man’s life is too short for the purpose. That our days are but a span is the commonplace of the preacher. But it is a commonplace specially90 brought home to us in the study of the nebular theory. A man of fourscore will 13allude to his life as a long one, and no doubt it may be considered long in relation to the ordinary affairs of our abode91 on earth; but what is a period of eighty years in the history of the formation of a solar system in the great laboratory of the universe? Such a period then seems to be but a trifle—it is nothing. Eighty years may be long enough to witness the growth of children and grandchildren; but it is too short for a single heartbeat in the great life of Nature. Even the longest lifetime is far too brief to witness a perceptible advance in the grand transformation. The periods of time demanded in the great evolution shadowed forth by the nebular theory utterly92 transcend29 our ordinary notions of chronology. The dates at which supreme events occurred in the celestial93 evolution are immeasurably more remote than any other dates which we are ever called upon to consider in other departments of science. The time of the story on which we are to be engaged is earlier, far earlier, than any date we have ever learned at school, or have ever forgotten since. The incidents of that period took place long before any date was written in figures—earlier than any of those very ancient dates which the geologists95 indicate not by figures indeed, but by creatures whose remains imbedded in the rocks suffice to give a character to the period referred to. The geologist96 will specify97 one epoch as that in which the fossilized bone of some huge extinct reptile98 was part of a living animal; he may specify another by the statement that the shell of some beautiful ammonite was then inhabited by a living form which swam in the warm prim99?val seas. The date of our story has at least this much certainty: that it is prior—immeasurably 14prior—to the time when that marvellous thing which we call life first came into being.
Voltaire has an instructive fable which I cannot resist repeating. It will serve, at all events, to bring before us the way in which the lapse100 of time ought to be regarded by one who desires to view the great operations of Nature in their proper proportions. He tells how an inhabitant of the star Sirius went forth on a voyage of exploration through the remote depths of space. In the course of his travels he visited many other worlds, and at length reached Saturn, that majestic orb, which revolved101 upon the frontier of the solar system, as then known. Alighting on the ringed globe for rest and investigation, the Sirian wanderer, in quest of knowledge, was successful in obtaining an interview with a stately inhabitant of Saturn who enjoyed the reputation of exceptional learning and wisdom. The Sirian hoped to have some improving conversation with this sage102 who dwelt on a globe so utterly unlike his own, and who had such opportunities of studying the majestic processes of Nature in remote parts of the universe. He thought perhaps they might be able to compare instructive notes about the constitution of the suns and systems in their respective neighbourhoods. The visitor accordingly prattled103 away gaily104. He opened all his little store of knowledge about the Milky105 Way, about the Great Bear, and about the great Nebula in Orion; and then pausing, he asked what the Saturnian had to communicate in reply. But the philosopher remained silent. Eagerly pressed to make some response, the grave student who dwelt on the frontier globe at last said in effect: “Sirian, I can tell you but little of Nature. I can tell you indeed 15nothing that is really worthy106 of the great theme which Nature proposes; for the grand operations of Nature are very slow; they are so slow that the great transformations107 in progress around us would have to be watched for a very long time before they could be properly understood. To observe Nature so as to perceive what is really happening, it would be necessary to have a long life; but the lives of the inhabitants of Saturn are not long; none of us ever lives more than fifteen thousand years.”
Change is the order of Nature. Many changes no doubt take place rapidly, but the great changes by which the system has been wrought into its present form, those profound changes which have produced results of the greatest magnificence in celestial architecture are extremely slow. We should make a huge mistake if we imagined that changes—even immense changes—are not in progress, merely because our brief day is too short a period wherein to perceive them.
On the village green stands an oak-tree, a veteran which some say dates from the time of William the Conqueror108, but which all agree must certainly have been a magnificent piece of timber in the days of Queen Elizabeth. The children play under that tree just as their parents and their grandparents did before them. A year, a few years, even a lifetime, may show no appreciable109 changes in a tree of such age and stature110. Its girth does not perceptibly increase in such a period. But suppose that a butterfly whose life lasts but a day or two were to pass his little span in and about this venerable oak. He would not be able to perceive any changes in the tree during the insignificant111 period over which his little life extended. Not alone 16the mighty trunk and the branches, but even the very foliage112 itself would seem essentially the same in the minutes of the butterfly’s extreme old age as they did in the time of his life’s meridian113 or at the earliest moment of his youth. To the observations of a spectator who viewed it under such ephemeral conditions the oak-tree would appear steadfast114, and might incautiously be deemed eternal. If the butterfly could reflect on the subject, he might perhaps argue that there could not be any change in progress in the oak-tree, because although he had observed it carefully all his life he could not detect any certain alteration115. He might therefore not improbably draw the preposterous116 conclusion that the oak-tree must always have been just as large and just as green as he had invariably known it; and he might also infer that just as the oak-tree is now, so will it remain for all time.
(Photographed by Dr. Isaac Roberts, F.R.S.)
In our study of the heavens we must strive to avoid inferences so utterly fallacious as these which I have here tried to illustrate117. Let it be granted that to our superficial view the sun and the moon, the stars and the constellations118 present features which appear to us as eternal as the bole of the oak seemed to the butterfly. But though the sun may seem to us always of the same size and always of the same lustre119, it would be quite wrong to infer that the lustre and size of the sun are in truth unchanging. The sun is no more unchanging than the oak-tree is eternal. The sun and the earth, no less than the other bodies of the universe, are in process of a transformation no less astonishing than that wonderful transformation which in the course of centuries develops an acorn120 into the giant of the forest. We could not indeed with 18propriety apply to the great transformation of the sun the particular word growth; the character of the solar transformation cannot be so described. The oak-tree, of course, enlarges with its years, while the sun, on the other hand, is becoming smaller. The resemblance between the sun and the oak-tree extends no further than that a transformation is taking place in each. The rate at which each transformation is effected is but slow; the growth of the oak is too slow to be perceived in a day or two; the contraction121 of the sun is too slow to be appreciable within the centuries of human history.
Whatever the butterfly’s observation might have suggested with regard to the eternity122 of the oak, we know there was a time when that oak-tree was not, and we know that a time will come when that oak-tree will no longer be. In like manner we know there was a time when the solar system was utterly different from the solar system as we see it now; and we know that a time will come when the solar system will be utterly different from that which we see at present. The mightiest123 changes are most certainly in progress around us. We must not deem them non-existent, merely because they elude124 our scrutiny125, for our senses may not be quick enough to perceive the small extent of some of these changes within our limited period of observation. The intellect in such a case confers on man a power of surveying Nature with a penetration126 immeasurably beyond that afforded by his organs of sense.
(Photographed by Dr. Isaac Roberts, F.R.S)
That the great oak-tree which has lived for centuries sprang from an acorn no one can doubt; but what is the evidence on which we believe this to have been 19the origin of a veteran of the forest when history and tradition are both silent? In the absence of authentic128 documents to trace the growth of that oak-tree from the beginning, how do we know that it sprouted129 from an acorn? The only reason we have for believing that the oak-tree has gone through this remarkable development is deduced from the observation of other oak-trees. We know the acorn that has just sprouted; we know the young sapling as thick as a walking stick; we know the vigorous young tree as stout130 as a man’s arm or as his body; we know the tree when it first approaches the dignity of being called timber; we can therefore observe different trees grade by grade in a continuous succession from the acorn to the monarch131 of five centuries. No one doubts for a moment that the growth as witnessed in the stages exhibited by several different trees, gives a substantially accurate picture of the development of any individual tree. Such is the nature of one of the arguments which we apply to the great problem before us. We are to study what the solar system has been in the course of its history by the stages which we witness at the present moment in the evolution of other systems throughout the universe. We cannot indeed read the history in time, but we can read it in space.
20The mighty transformation through which the solar system has passed, and is even now at this moment passing, cannot be actually beheld132 by us poor creatures of a day. It might perhaps be surveyed by beings whose pulses counted centuries, as our pulses count seconds, by beings whose minutes lasted longer than the dynasties of human history, by beings to whom a year was comparable with the period since the earth was young, and since life began to move in the waters.
May I, with all reverence133, try to attune134 our thoughts to the time conceptions required in this mighty theme by quoting those noble lines of the hymn—
“A thousand ages in Thy sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night,
Before the rising sun.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
nebula
|
|
| n.星云，喷雾剂 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
founders
|
|
| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
fable
|
|
| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
phenomena
|
|
| n.现象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
insignificance
|
|
| n.不重要；无价值；无意义 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
majestic
|
|
| adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
mighty
|
|
| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
chaos
|
|
| n.混乱，无秩序 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
orb
|
|
| n.太阳；星球；v.弄圆；成球形 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
revolving
|
|
| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
illuminates
|
|
| v.使明亮( illuminate的第三人称单数 )；照亮；装饰；说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
stimulates
|
|
| v.刺激( stimulate的第三人称单数 )；激励；使兴奋；起兴奋作用，起刺激作用，起促进作用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
genial
|
|
| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
brilliance
|
|
| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
rotation
|
|
| n.旋转；循环，轮流 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
Saturn
|
|
| n.农神，土星 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
versatility
|
|
| n.多才多艺，多样性，多功能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
descends
|
|
| v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
astronomer
|
|
| n.天文学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
immediate
|
|
| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
wrought
|
|
| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
transcend
|
|
| vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
emanated
|
|
| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的过去式和过去分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
credentials
|
|
| n.证明，资格，证明书，证件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
propounded
|
|
| v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
sublimity
|
|
| 崇高，庄严，气质高尚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
investigator
|
|
| n.研究者，调查者，审查者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
corroboration
|
|
| n.进一步的证实，进一步的证据 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
investigators
|
|
| n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
converging
|
|
| adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
eminent
|
|
| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
profundity
|
|
| n.渊博；深奥，深刻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
philosophical
|
|
| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
investigation
|
|
| n.调查，调查研究 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
meditation
|
|
| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
mathematician
|
|
| n.数学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
devoted
|
|
| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
firmament
|
|
| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
essentially
|
|
| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
forth
|
|
| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
expounded
|
|
| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
disdain
|
|
| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
subtleties
|
|
| 细微( subtlety的名词复数 )； 精细； 巧妙； 细微的差别等 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
speculation
|
|
| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
speculations
|
|
| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
conformity
|
|
| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
modification
|
|
| n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
mathematicians
|
|
| 数学家( mathematician的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
accomplishment
|
|
| n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
epoch
|
|
| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
inscriptions
|
|
| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
entirely
|
|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
watchfulness
|
|
| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
deductions
|
|
| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
drawn
|
|
| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
advent
|
|
| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
sketched
|
|
| v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
astronomical
|
|
| adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
ascertained
|
|
| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
binding
|
|
| 有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
testimony
|
|
| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
descended
|
|
| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
enunciation
|
|
| n.清晰的发音；表明，宣言；口齿 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
promulgation
|
|
| n.颁布 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
undertakings
|
|
| 企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
meditating
|
|
| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
diffused
|
|
| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
haze
|
|
| n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
transformation
|
|
| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
noted
|
|
| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
consummate
|
|
| adj.完美的；v.成婚；使完美 [反]baffle | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
diligent
|
|
| adj.勤勉的，勤奋的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
laborious
|
|
| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
auspices
|
|
| n.资助，赞助 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
fixed
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
transcends
|
|
| 超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过… | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
speck
|
|
| n.微粒，小污点，小斑点 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
infinitely
|
|
| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
specially
|
|
| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
utterly
|
|
| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
celestial
|
|
| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
fig
|
|
| n.无花果(树) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
geologists
|
|
| 地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
geologist
|
|
| n.地质学家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
specify
|
|
| vt.指定，详细说明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
reptile
|
|
| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
prim
|
|
| adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
lapse
|
|
| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
revolved
|
|
| v.（使）旋转( revolve的过去式和过去分词 )；细想 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
sage
|
|
| n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
prattled
|
|
| v.（小孩般）天真无邪地说话( prattle的过去式和过去分词 )；发出连续而无意义的声音；闲扯；东拉西扯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
gaily
|
|
| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
milky
|
|
| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
worthy
|
|
| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
transformations
|
|
| n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
conqueror
|
|
| n.征服者，胜利者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
appreciable
|
|
| adj.明显的，可见的，可估量的，可觉察的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
stature
|
|
| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
insignificant
|
|
| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
foliage
|
|
| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
meridian
|
|
| adj.子午线的；全盛期的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
steadfast
|
|
| adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
115
alteration
|
|
| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
preposterous
|
|
| adj.荒谬的，可笑的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
illustrate
|
|
| v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
constellations
|
|
| n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
lustre
|
|
| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
acorn
|
|
| n.橡实，橡子 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
contraction
|
|
| n.缩略词，缩写式，害病 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
mightiest
|
|
| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
elude
|
|
| v.躲避，困惑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
scrutiny
|
|
| n.详细检查，仔细观察 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
penetration
|
|
| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
crab
|
|
| n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
authentic
|
|
| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
sprouted
|
|
| v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
monarch
|
|
| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
reverence
|
|
| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
attune
|
|
| v.使调和 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |