In the midst of this brown gloom Mr. Bodiham sat at his desk. He was the man in the Iron Mask. A grey metallic5 face with iron cheek-bones and a narrow iron brow; iron folds, hard and unchanging, ran perpendicularly6 down his cheeks; his nose was the iron beak7 of some thin, delicate bird of rapine. He had brown eyes, set in sockets8 rimmed9 with iron; round them the skin was dark, as though it had been charred10. Dense11 wiry hair covered his skull12; it had been black, it was turning grey. His ears were very small and fine. His jaws13, his chin, his upper lip were dark, iron-dark, where he had shaved. His voice, when he spoke14 and especially when he raised it in preaching, was harsh, like the grating of iron hinges when a seldom-used door is opened.
It was nearly half-past twelve. He had just come back from church, hoarse15 and weary with preaching. He preached with fury, with passion, an iron man beating with a flail16 upon the souls of his congregation. But the souls of the faithful at Crome were made of india-rubber, solid rubber; the flail rebounded17. They were used to Mr. Bodiham at Crome. The flail thumped18 on india-rubber, and as often as not the rubber slept.
That morning he had preached, as he had often preached before, on the nature of God. He had tried to make them understand about God, what a fearful thing it was to fall into His hands. God—they thought of something soft and merciful. They blinded themselves to facts; still more, they blinded themselves to the Bible. The passengers on the “Titanic” sang “Nearer my God to Thee” as the ship was going down. Did they realise what they were asking to be brought nearer to? A white fire of righteousness, an angry fire...
When Savonarola preached, men sobbed19 and groaned20 aloud. Nothing broke the polite silence with which Crome listened to Mr. Bodiham—only an occasional cough and sometimes the sound of heavy breathing. In the front pew sat Henry Wimbush, calm, well-bred, beautifully dressed. There were times when Mr. Bodiham wanted to jump down from the pulpit and shake him into life,—times when he would have liked to beat and kill his whole congregation.
He sat at his desk dejectedly. Outside the Gothic windows the earth was warm and marvellously calm. Everything was as it had always been. And yet, and yet...It was nearly four years now since he had preached that sermon on Matthew xxiv. 7: “For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences21, and earthquakes, in divers22 places.” It was nearly four years. He had had the sermon printed; it was so terribly, so vitally important that all the world should know what he had to say. A copy of the little pamphlet lay on his desk—eight small grey pages, printed by a fount of type that had grown blunt, like an old dog’s teeth, by the endless champing and champing of the press. He opened it and began to read it yet once again.
“‘For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.’
“Nineteen centuries have elapsed since Our Lord gave utterance23 to those words, and not a single one of them has been without wars, plagues, famines, and earthquakes. Mighty24 empires have crashed in ruin to the ground, diseases have unpeopled half the globe, there have been vast natural cataclysms25 in which thousands have been overwhelmed by flood and fire and whirlwind. Time and again, in the course of these nineteen centuries, such things have happened, but they have not brought Christ back to earth. They were ‘signs of the times’ inasmuch as they were signs of God’s wrath26 against the chronic27 wickedness of mankind, but they were not signs of the times in connection with the Second Coming.
“If earnest Christians28 have regarded the present war as a true sign of the Lord’s approaching return, it is not merely because it happens to be a great war involving the lives of millions of people, not merely because famine is tightening30 its grip on every country in Europe, not merely because disease of every kind, from syphilis to spotted31 fever, is rife32 among the warring nations; no, it is not for these reasons that we regard this war as a true Sign of the Times, but because in its origin and its progress it is marked by certain characteristics which seem to connect it almost beyond a doubt with the predictions in Christian29 Prophecy relating to the Second Coming of the Lord.
“Let me enumerate33 the features of the present war which most clearly suggest that it is a Sign foretelling34 the near approach of the Second Advent35. Our Lord said that ‘this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.’ Although it would be presumptuous36 for us to say what degree of evangelisation will be regarded by God as sufficient, we may at least confidently hope that a century of unflagging missionary37 work has brought the fulfilment of this condition at any rate near. True, the larger number of the world’s inhabitants have remained deaf to the preaching of the true religion; but that does not vitiate the fact that the Gospel HAS been preached ‘for a witness’ to all unbelievers from the Papist to the Zulu. The responsibility for the continued prevalence of unbelief lies, not with the preachers, but with those preached to.
“Again, it has been generally recognised that ‘the drying up of the waters of the great river Euphrates,’ mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of Revelation, refers to the decay and extinction38 of Turkish power, and is a sign of the near approaching end of the world as we know it. The capture of Jerusalem and the successes in Mesopotamia are great strides forward in the destruction of the Ottoman Empire; though it must be admitted that the Gallipoli episode proved that the Turk still possesses a ‘notable horn’ of strength. Historically speaking, this drying up of Ottoman power has been going on for the past century; the last two years have witnessed a great acceleration39 of the process, and there can be no doubt that complete desiccation is within sight.
“Closely following on the words concerning the drying up of Euphrates comes the prophecy of Armageddon, that world war with which the Second Coming is to be so closely associated. Once begun, the world war can end only with the return of Christ, and His coming will be sudden and unexpected, like that of a thief in the night.
“Let us examine the facts. In history, exactly as in St. John’s Gospel, the world war is immediately preceded by the drying up of Euphrates, or the decay of Turkish power. This fact alone would be enough to connect the present conflict with the Armageddon of Revelation and therefore to point to the near approach of the Second Advent. But further evidence of an even more solid and convincing nature can be adduced.
“Armageddon is brought about by the activities of three unclean spirits, as it were toads40, which come out of the mouths of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet. If we can identify these three powers of evil much light will clearly be thrown on the whole question.
“The Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet can all be identified in history. Satan, who can only work through human agency, has used these three powers in the long war against Christ which has filled the last nineteen centuries with religious strife41. The Dragon, it has been sufficiently42 established, is pagan Rome, and the spirit issuing from its mouth is the spirit of Infidelity. The Beast, alternatively symbolised as a Woman, is undoubtedly43 the Papal power, and Popery is the spirit which it spews forth44. There is only one power which answers to the description of the False Prophet, the wolf in sheep’s clothing, the agent of the devil working in the guise45 of the Lamb, and that power is the so-called ‘Society of Jesus.’ The spirit that issues from the mouth of the False Prophet is the spirit of False Morality.
“We may assume, then, that the three evil spirits are Infidelity, Popery, and False Morality. Have these three influences been the real cause of the present conflict? The answer is clear.
“The spirit of Infidelity is the very spirit of German criticism. The Higher Criticism, as it is mockingly called, denies the possibility of miracles, prediction, and real inspiration, and attempts to account for the Bible as a natural development. Slowly but surely, during the last eighty years, the spirit of Infidelity has been robbing the Germans of their Bible and their faith, so that Germany is to-day a nation of unbelievers. Higher Criticism has thus made the war possible; for it would be absolutely impossible for any Christian nation to wage war as Germany is waging it.
“We come next to the spirit of Popery, whose influence in causing the war was quite as great as that of Infidelity, though not, perhaps, so immediately obvious. Since the Franco-Prussian War the Papal power has steadily46 declined in France, while in Germany it has steadily increased. To-day France is an anti-papal state, while Germany possesses a powerful Roman Catholic minority. Two papally controlled states, Germany and Austria, are at war with six anti-papal states—England, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and Portugal. Belgium is, of course, a thoroughly47 papal state, and there can be little doubt that the presence on the Allies’ side of an element so essentially48 hostile has done much to hamper49 the righteous cause and is responsible for our comparative ill-success. That the spirit of Popery is behind the war is thus seen clearly enough in the grouping of the opposed powers, while the rebellion in the Roman Catholic parts of Ireland has merely confirmed a conclusion already obvious to any unbiased mind.
“The spirit of False Morality has played as great a part in this war as the two other evil spirits. The Scrap50 of Paper incident is the nearest and most obvious example of Germany’s adherence51 to this essentially unchristian or Jesuitical morality. The end is German world-power, and in the attainment52 of this end, any means are justifiable53. It is the true principle of Jesuitry applied54 to international politics.
“The identification is now complete. As was predicted in Revelation, the three evil spirits have gone forth just as the decay of the Ottoman power was nearing completion, and have joined together to make the world war. The warning, ‘Behold, I come as a thief,’ is therefore meant for the present period—for you and me and all the world. This war will lead on inevitably55 to the war of Armageddon, and will only be brought to an end by the Lord’s personal return.
“And when He returns, what will happen? Those who are in Christ, St. John tells us, will be called to the Supper of the Lamb. Those who are found fighting against Him will be called to the Supper of the Great God—that grim banquet where they shall not feast, but be feasted on. ‘For,’ as St. John says, ‘I saw an angel standing56 in the sun; and he cried in a loud voice, saying to all the fowls57 that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the Great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.’ All the enemies of Christ will be slain58 with the sword of him that sits upon the horse, ‘and all the fowls will be filled with their flesh.’ That is the Supper of the Great God.
“It may be soon or it may, as men reckon time, be long; but sooner or later, inevitably, the Lord will come and deliver the world from its present troubles. And woe59 unto them who are called, not to the Supper of the Lamb, but to the Supper of the Great God. They will realise then, but too late, that God is a God of Wrath as well as a God of Forgiveness. The God who sent bears to devour60 the mockers of Elisha, the God who smote61 the Egyptians for their stubborn wickedness, will assuredly smite62 them too, unless they make haste to repent63. But perhaps it is already too late. Who knows but that to-morrow, in a moment even, Christ may be upon us unawares, like a thief? In a little while, who knows? The angel standing in the sun may be summoning the ravens64 and vultures from their crannies in the rocks to feed upon the putrefying flesh of the millions of unrighteous whom God’s wrath has destroyed. Be ready, then; the coming of the Lord is at hand. May it be for all of you an object of hope, not a moment to look forward to with terror and trembling.”
Mr. Bodiham closed the little pamphlet and leaned back in his chair. The argument was sound, absolutely compelling; and yet—it was four years since he had preached that sermon; four years, and England was at peace, the sun shone, the people of Crome were as wicked and indifferent as ever—more so, indeed, if that were possible. If only he could understand, if the heavens would but make a sign! But his questionings remained unanswered. Seated there in his brown varnished chair under the Ruskinian window, he could have screamed aloud. He gripped the arms of his chair—gripping, gripping for control. The knuckles65 of his hands whitened; he bit his lip. In a few seconds he was able to relax the tension; he began to rebuke66 himself for his rebellious67 impatience68.
Four years, he reflected; what were four years, after all? It must inevitably take a long time for Armageddon to ripen69 to yeast70 itself up. The episode of 1914 had been a preliminary skirmish. And as for the war having come to an end—why, that, of course, was illusory. It was still going on, smouldering away in Silesia, in Ireland, in Anatolia; the discontent in Egypt and India was preparing the way, perhaps, for a great extension of the slaughter71 among the heathen peoples. The Chinese boycott72 of Japan, and the rivalries73 of that country and America in the Pacific, might be breeding a great new war in the East. The prospect74, Mr. Bodiham tried to assure himself, was hopeful; the real, the genuine Armageddon might soon begin, and then, like a thief in the night...But, in spite of all his comfortable reasoning, he remained unhappy, dissatisfied. Four years ago he had been so confident; God’s intention seemed then so plain. And now? Now, he did well to be angry. And now he suffered too.
Sudden and silent as a phantom75 Mrs. Bodiham appeared, gliding76 noiselessly across the room. Above her black dress her face was pale with an opaque77 whiteness, her eyes were pale as water in a glass, and her strawy hair was almost colourless. She held a large envelope in her hand.
“This came for you by the post,” she said softly.
The envelope was unsealed. Mechanically Mr. Bodiham tore it open. It contained a pamphlet, larger than his own and more elegant in appearance. “The House of Sheeny, Clerical Outfitters, Birmingham.” He turned over the pages. The catalogue was tastefully and ecclesiastically printed in antique characters with illuminated78 Gothic initials. Red marginal lines, crossed at the corners after the manner of an Oxford79 picture frame, enclosed each page of type, little red crosses took the place of full stops. Mr. Bodiham turned the pages.
“Soutane in best black merino. Ready to wear; in all sizes. Clerical frock coats. From nine guineas. A dressy garment, tailored by our own experienced ecclesiastical cutters.”
Half-tone illustrations represented young curates, some dapper, some Rugbeian and muscular, some with ascetic80 faces and large ecstatic eyes, dressed in jackets, in frock-coats, in surplices, in clerical evening dress, in black Norfolk suitings.
“A large assortment81 of chasubles.
“Rope girdles.
“Sheeny’s Special Skirt Cassocks. Tied by a string about the waist...When worn under a surplice presents an appearance indistinguishable from that of a complete cassock...Recommended for summer wear and hot climates.”
With a gesture of horror and disgust Mr. Bodiham threw the catalogue into the waste-paper basket. Mrs. Bodiham looked at him; her pale, glaucous eyes reflected his action without comment.
“The village,” she said in her quiet voice, “the village grows worse and worse every day.”
“What has happened now?” asked Mr. Bodiham, feeling suddenly very weary.
“I’ll tell you.” She pulled up a brown varnished chair and sat down. In the village of Crome, it seemed, Sodom and Gomorrah had come to a second birth.
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1
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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grudgingly
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varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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second-hand
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| adj.用过的，旧的，二手的 | |
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metallic
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| adj.金属的；金属制的；含金属的；产金属的；像金属的 | |
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perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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beak
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| n.鸟嘴，茶壶嘴，钩形鼻 | |
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sockets
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| n.套接字，使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 )；孔( socket的名词复数 )；（电器上的）插口；托座；凹穴 | |
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rimmed
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| adj.有边缘的，有框的v.沿…边缘滚动；给…镶边 | |
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charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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skull
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| n.头骨；颅骨 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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flail
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| v.用连枷打；击打；n.连枷（脱粒用的工具） | |
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rebounded
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| 弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效 | |
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thumped
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| v.重击， （指心脏）急速跳动( thump的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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sobbed
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| 哭泣，啜泣( sob的过去式和过去分词 )； 哭诉，呜咽地说 | |
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groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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pestilences
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| n.瘟疫， （尤指）腺鼠疫( pestilence的名词复数 ) | |
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divers
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utterance
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| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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cataclysms
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| n.（突然降临的）大灾难( cataclysm的名词复数 ) | |
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wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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tightening
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| 上紧，固定，紧密 | |
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spotted
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| adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的 | |
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rife
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| adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的 | |
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enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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foretelling
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| v.预言，预示( foretell的现在分词 ) | |
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advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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missionary
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| adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士 | |
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extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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acceleration
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| n.加速，加速度 | |
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toads
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| n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 ) | |
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strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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hamper
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| vt.妨碍，束缚，限制；n.(有盖的)大篮子 | |
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50
scrap
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| n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废 | |
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adherence
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| n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着 | |
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52
attainment
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| n.达到，到达；［常pl.］成就，造诣 | |
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53
justifiable
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| adj.有理由的，无可非议的 | |
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54
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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57
fowls
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| 鸟( fowl的名词复数 )； 禽肉； 既不是这； 非驴非马 | |
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58
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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smote
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| v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去式 ) | |
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smite
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| v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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64
ravens
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| n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 ) | |
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knuckles
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| n.（指人）指关节( knuckle的名词复数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝v.（指人）指关节( knuckle的第三人称单数 )；（指动物）膝关节，踝 | |
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66
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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rebellious
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| adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的 | |
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68
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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69
ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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70
yeast
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| n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫 | |
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71
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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72
boycott
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| n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与 | |
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73
rivalries
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| n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 ) | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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75
phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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76
gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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77
opaque
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| adj.不透光的；不反光的，不传导的；晦涩的 | |
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78
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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79
Oxford
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| n.牛津（英国城市） | |
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80
ascetic
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| adj.禁欲的；严肃的 | |
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81
assortment
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| n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集 | |
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