Now, what has Dr. Farrar to urge per contra? Simply this: that the "early Christians" pleaded for toleration. "Force," they said, "is hateful to God." "It is no part of religion," said Tertullian, "to compel religion." But suppose all this be admitted—and there is much to be said by way of qualification—what does it amount to? The "early Christians" were in a minority. They did not yet command the sword of the magistrate26. They could not persecute27 except by holding no fellowship with unbelievers, by shaking off the dust of their feet against those who rejected their Gospel, and by other harmless though detestable exhibitions of bigotry28. They had to plead for their own existence, and in doing so they were obliged to appeal to the principle of general toleration. But the moment they triumphed, under Constantine, they began to flout29 the very principle to which they had formerly30 appealed. The humility31 of their weakness was more than equalled by the pride of their power. And what was the result? "From Augustine's days down to those of Luther," Dr. Farrar says, "scarcely one voice was raised in favor, I will not say of tolerance32, but even of abstaining33 from fire and bloodshed in support of enforced uniformity." Dr. Farrar denounces in creditable language the frightful34 butcheries of Alva in the Netherlands, for which the Pope presented him with a jewelled sword bearing a pious35 inscription36. He is properly horrified37 at the massacre38 of St. Bartholomew, in honor of which Pope Gregory XIII. struck a triumphant39 medal, and went in procession to sing a Te Deum to God, while the cannon40 thundered from the Castle of St. Angelo and bonfires blazed in the streets of Rome. He is bitter against the Church of Rome for its vast shedding of innocent blood. He reminds us that the infamous41 Holy Inquisition is still toasted by Catholic professors at Madrid; and that intolerance, having lost its power, has not lost its virulence43, nor "ceased to justify44 its burning hatred45 by Scripture quotations46." And he cites Manning's successor at Westminster, the truculent47 Cardinal48 Vaughan, as declaring with perfect approval that "the Catholic Church has never spared the knife, when necessary, to cut off rebels against her faith and authority."
But let it not be imagined that all the guilt49 of persecution rested upon the Church of Rome. Protestantism persecuted50 as freely as the Papacy. That heretics should be put down, and if necessary killed, was a principle common to both Churches. The question in dispute was, Which were the heretics? This is so incontestable that we need not fortify51 it with Protestant quotations and Protestant examples. It is not true, as Dr. Farrar alleges52, that Luther "boldly proclaimed that thoughts are toll-free," if it is meant that he condemned53 persecution. Thoughts were toll-free against Romish exactions; that was what Luther meant. He held as strongly as any Papist that those who denied one essential doctrine54 of Christianity should be punished by the magistrates55. He declared that reason always led to unbelief. He besought56 the Protestant princes to uphold "the faith" by every means in their power. And when the serfs rebelled, thinking that the "freedom" the Reformers talked about was to become a reality, it was Luther who wrote against them with unsurpassable ferocity, and advised that they should be "slaughtered57 like mad dogs."
Dr. Farrar rather judiciously59 refrains from mentioning Calvin in this connection, but in another part of the volume he refers to the great Genevian "reformer" in a somewhat gingerly manner. When the sins of Catholics have to be condemned he is quite dithyrambic; but when he has to censure60 the sins of Protestants he displays a most touching61 tenderness. Nothing could well be worse than the mixture of religious bigotry, personal spleen, and low duplicity, with which Calvin hunted Servetus to his fiery62 doom63. Dr. Farrar sympathetically describes this vile64 act as an "error." He tries to satisfy his conscience, afterwards, by confessing that the Calvinists in general "were for the most part as severe to all who differed from them as they imagined God to be severe to the greater part of the human race."
Dr. Farrar's treatment of this subject is superficial. It is not a Bible text here or there which is the real basis of persecution. We advise him to read George Eliot's review of Lecky's History of Rationalism. He will then see that persecution is founded upon the fatal doctrine of salvation65 by faith. This doctrine makes the heretic more noxious66 than a serpent. A serpent poisons the body, a heretic poisons the soul. If it be true that his teaching may draw souls to hell, human welfare demands his extermination. Dr. Farrar does not disclaim67 this doctrine, and if he fails to act upon it he only betrays an amiable68 inconsistency. His heart is better than his head.
Dr. Farrar, like other Protestants, talks about the right of private judgment69. But this is only fine and futile70 verbiage71, unless he admits the sinlessness of intellectual error. If judgment depends on the will, it is through the will amenable72 to motives73; consequently, the way to pro-mote correct opinions is to promise rewards and threaten punishments. But if judgment does not depend on the will; if it is necessarily determined74 by the laws of reason and evidence; then it is an absurdity75 to bribe76 and intimidate77. Now there is no third alternative. One of these two theories must be right, and the other must be wrong. Dr. Farrar is logically bound to take his choice. If he believes that judgment depends on the will, he has no right to denounce persecution. If he believes that judgment does not depend on the will, he has no right to censure the most absolute freethought.
There are but two camps—the camp of Faith and the camp of Reason. Dr. Farrar belongs to the former. But he does not find his position comfortable. He casts a longing78 eye on the other camp. He wants to be in both. He therefore tries to form an alliance between them, if not to amalgamate79 them under one banner.
Reason, said Bishop80 Butler, is the only faculty81 wherewith we can judge of anything, even of revelation itself. Dr. Farrar quotes this statement with approval. He quotes similar sentences from other Protestant writers. Then he turns upon the Roman Church for keeping the Bible out of the hands of the people, and denounces it for this with ultra-Protestant vigor82. He imagines that this is a vindication83 of Protestantism, at any rate relatively84, as a champion of reason in opposition85 to blind faith and absolute authority. But private judgment and free judgment are not identical. When the Protestant puts an open Bible into your hands, and tells you to read it and judge of it for yourself, he is acting86 like a Freethinker; but when he proceeds to say that if you do not find it to be a divine book, and believe all its teaching about God, and Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and heaven and hell, you will infallibly be damned, he is acting like a Papist. His right of private judgment, at the finish, always means the right to differ from him on trivial points, and the duty of agreeing with him on every point which he chooses to regard as essential. If this is denied by Dr. Farrar, let him honestly answer this question—Is a Freethinker who has examined the Bible, and rejected it as a divine revelation, liable to any sort of penalty for his disbelief? The answer to this question will decide whether Dr. Farrar is really maintaining the rights of reason, or is merely maintaining the Protestant theory of faith against that of the Catholics, and standing87 up for the authority of the Book instead of the authority of the Church.
Meanwhile we venture to suggest that the Bible texts referred to by Dr. Farrar, as requiring us to exercise the right of private judgment, are very little to the point. "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord" is a pretty text, but it does not seem to have much bearing on the issue. "Try the spirits" is all right in its way; but what if you find that all the spirits are illusions? "Prove all things" is good, but it must be taken with the context. Jesus indeed is reported to have said, "Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" But he is also reported to have said, "He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned."
By a judicious58 selection of texts you can prove anything from the Bible, and disprove anything—as Catholics have often reminded Protestants. To pick out passages that to some extent are favorable to a certain view, and to ignore much stronger passages that are clearly opposed to it, may be an exercise of private judgment, and may satisfy the conscience of neo-Protestants of the school of Dr. Farrar; but it invites a contemptuous smile from Freethinkers who believe that Reason ought not to suffer such a prostitution.
We have to point out, finally, that Protestantism, with its open Bible, has everywhere maintained laws against blasphemy88 and heresy89. The laws against heresy have fallen into desuetude90 in England, but while they lasted they were simply ferocious91. We heard the late Lord Coleridge say from his seat in the Court of Queen's Bench, as Lord Chief Justice, that the Protestant laws against Roman Catholics, particularly in Ireland, where they were executed with remorseless ferocity, are without a parallel in the history of the world. Catholicism, however, is no longer under a ban. Even the Jews have been admitted to equal rights with their fellow citizens. But laws still remain in existence, and are occasionally put into operation, against "blasphemers." According to the language of common law indictments92, it is a crime to bring the Holy Scripture or the Christian1 Religion into disbelief and contempt. It is true that many Christians are ready to profess42 a certain aversion to such laws, but they make no effort to repeal93 them. Many others contend that "blasphemy" is a question of manner, that the feelings of Christians should be protected, and that while men should not be punished for being Freethinkers, they should be punished for wounding orthodox susceptibilities. It is not proposed, however, that any limitations of taste or temper should be imposed upon Christian controversialists; and this contention94 may therefore be regarded as a subterfuge95 of bigotry. On the whole, it may be said that Catholics without the Bible, and Protestants with the Bible, persecute unbelief to the full extent of their opportunities; and it is only as toleration grows from other roots, and is nourished by other causes, that the Bibliolaters find out subtle interpretations96 of simple texts in favor of the prevailing97 tendency.
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Christian
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adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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2
persecution
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n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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entirely
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ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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scripture
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n.经文,圣书,手稿;Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》,《圣经》中的一段 | |
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lucid
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adj.明白易懂的,清晰的,头脑清楚的 | |
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intervals
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n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 );间隔时间;[数学]区间;(戏剧、电影或音乐会的)幕间休息 | |
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mere
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adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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atrocities
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n.邪恶,暴行( atrocity的名词复数 );滔天大罪 | |
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extermination
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n.消灭,根绝 | |
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lust
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n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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elevation
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n.高度;海拔;高地;上升;提高 | |
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softening
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变软,软化 | |
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civilisation
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n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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obliterate
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v.擦去,涂抹,去掉...痕迹,消失,除去 | |
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precisely
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adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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Christians
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n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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bloody
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adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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justified
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a.正当的,有理的 | |
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scruple
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n./v.顾忌,迟疑 | |
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writ
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n.命令状,书面命令 | |
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corrupted
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(使)败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 ); (使)腐化; 引起(计算机文件等的)错误; 破坏 | |
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lavish
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adj.无节制的;浪费的;vt.慷慨地给予,挥霍 | |
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testament
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n.遗嘱;证明 | |
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virtue
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n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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garb
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n.服装,装束 | |
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magistrate
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n.地方行政官,地方法官,治安官 | |
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persecute
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vt.迫害,虐待;纠缠,骚扰 | |
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bigotry
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n.偏见,偏执,持偏见的行为[态度]等 | |
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flout
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v./n.嘲弄,愚弄,轻视 | |
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formerly
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adv.从前,以前 | |
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humility
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n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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tolerance
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n.宽容;容忍,忍受;耐药力;公差 | |
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abstaining
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戒(尤指酒),戒除( abstain的现在分词 ); 弃权(不投票) | |
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frightful
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adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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pious
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adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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inscription
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n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文 | |
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horrified
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a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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massacre
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n.残杀,大屠杀;v.残杀,集体屠杀 | |
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triumphant
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adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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cannon
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n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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infamous
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adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的,邪恶的 | |
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profess
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v.声称,冒称,以...为业,正式接受入教,表明信仰 | |
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virulence
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n.毒力,毒性;病毒性;致病力 | |
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justify
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vt.证明…正当(或有理),为…辩护 | |
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hatred
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n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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quotations
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n.引用( quotation的名词复数 );[商业]行情(报告);(货物或股票的)市价;时价 | |
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truculent
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adj.野蛮的,粗野的 | |
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cardinal
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n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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guilt
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n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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persecuted
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(尤指宗教或政治信仰的)迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 ); 烦扰,困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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fortify
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v.强化防御,为…设防;加强,强化 | |
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52
alleges
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断言,宣称,辩解( allege的第三人称单数 ) | |
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condemned
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adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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doctrine
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n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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magistrates
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地方法官,治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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besought
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v.恳求,乞求(某事物)( beseech的过去式和过去分词 );(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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slaughtered
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v.屠杀,杀戮,屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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judicious
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adj.明智的,明断的,能作出明智决定的 | |
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judiciously
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adv.明断地,明智而审慎地 | |
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censure
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v./n.责备;非难;责难 | |
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touching
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adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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fiery
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adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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doom
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n.厄运,劫数;v.注定,命定 | |
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vile
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adj.卑鄙的,可耻的,邪恶的;坏透的 | |
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salvation
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n.(尤指基督)救世,超度,拯救,解困 | |
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noxious
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adj.有害的,有毒的;使道德败坏的,讨厌的 | |
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disclaim
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v.放弃权利,拒绝承认 | |
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amiable
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adj.和蔼可亲的,友善的,亲切的 | |
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judgment
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n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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futile
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adj.无效的,无用的,无希望的 | |
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verbiage
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n.冗词;冗长 | |
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amenable
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adj.经得起检验的;顺从的;对负有义务的 | |
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motives
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n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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determined
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adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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absurdity
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n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 | |
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bribe
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n.贿赂;v.向…行贿,买通 | |
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intimidate
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vt.恐吓,威胁 | |
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longing
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n.(for)渴望 | |
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amalgamate
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v.(指业务等)合并,混合 | |
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bishop
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n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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faculty
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n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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vigor
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n.活力,精力,元气 | |
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vindication
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n.洗冤,证实 | |
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relatively
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adv.比较...地,相对地 | |
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opposition
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n.反对,敌对 | |
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acting
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n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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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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blasphemy
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n.亵渎,渎神 | |
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heresy
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n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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desuetude
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n.废止,不用 | |
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ferocious
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adj.凶猛的,残暴的,极度的,十分强烈的 | |
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indictments
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n.(制度、社会等的)衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 );刑事起诉书;公诉书;控告 | |
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93
repeal
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n.废止,撤消;v.废止,撤消 | |
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contention
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n.争论,争辩,论战;论点,主张 | |
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subterfuge
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n.诡计;藉口 | |
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interpretations
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n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 );表演;演绎;理解 | |
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prevailing
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adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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