Christmas and Easter are fruitful in panegyrics1 on Jesus and the religion which fraudulently bears his name. On these occasions, not only the religious but even the secular2 newspapers give the rein3 to their rhetoric4 and imagination, and indulge in much fervid5 eloquence6 on the birth or the crucifixion of the Nazarene. Time-honored platitudes7 are brought out from their resting-places and dexterously8 moved to a well-known tune9; and fallacies which have been refuted ad nauseam are paraded afresh as though their logical purity were still beyond suspicion. Papers that differ on all other occasions and on all other subjects concur10 then, and "when they do agree their unanimity11 is wonderful." While the more sober and orthodox discourse12 in tones befitting their dignity and repute, the more profane13 riotously14 join in the chorus; and not to be behind the rest, the notoriously misbelieving Greatest Circulator orders from the profanest member of its staff "a rousing article on the Crucifixion," or on the birth of Jesus, as the case may be. All this, however, is of small account, except as an indication of the slavery of our "independent" journals to Bumble and his prejudices, before whom they are obliged to masquerade when he ordains16 a celebration of his social or religious rites17. But here and there a more serious voice is heard through the din18, with an accent of earnest veracity19, and not that of an actor playing a part. Such a voice may be worth listening to, and certainly no other can be. Let us hear the Rev20. J. Baldwin Brown on "The Reign21 of Christ." He is, I believe, honorably distinguished22 among Dissenters23; his sermons often bear marks of originality24; and the goodness of his heart, whatever may be thought of the strength of his head, is sufficiently25 attested26 by his emphatic27 revolt against the doctrine28 of Eternal Torture in Hell.
Before criticising Mr. Brown's sermon in detail I cannot help remarking that it is far too rhetorical and far too empty of argument. Sentimentality is the bane of religion in our day; subservience29 to popularity degrades the pulpit as it degrades the press. If we desire to find the language of reason in theology, we must seek it in the writings of such men as Newman, who contemplate30 the ignorant and passionate31 multitude with mingled32 pity and disdain33. The "advanced" school of theologians, from Dean Stanley to the humblest reconciler of reason and faith, are sentimentalists almost to a man; the reason being, I take it, that although their emotional tendencies are very admirable, they lack the intellectual consistency34 and rigor35 which impel36 others to stand on definite first principles, as a sure basis of operation and an impregnable citadel37 against attack. Mr. Brown belongs to this "advanced" school, and has a liberal share of its failings. He is full of eloquent38 passages that lead to nothing, and he excites expectations which are seldom if ever satisfied. He faces stupendous obstacles raised by reason against his creed39, and just as we look to see him valiantly40 surmount41 them, we find that he veils them from base to summit with a dense42 cloud of words, out of which his voice is heard asking us to believe him on the other side. Yet of all men professional students of the Bible should be freest from such a fault, seeing what a magnificent masterpiece it is of terse43 and vigorous simplicity44. Mr. Brown and his "advanced" friends would do well to ponder that quaint45 and pregnant aphorism46 of old Bishop47 Andrewes—"Waste words addle48 questions." When I first read it I was thrown into convulsions of laughter, and even now it tickles49 my risibility50; but despite its irresistible51 quaint-ness I cannot but regard it as one of the wisest and pithiest52 sentences in our literature. Dr. Newman has splendidly amplified53 it in a passage of his "University Sermons," which I gratuitously54 present to Mr. Brown and every reader who can make use of it:—"Half the controversies55 in the world are verbal ones; and could they be brought to a plain issue, they would be brought to a prompt termination. Parties engaged in them would then perceive, either that in substance they agreed together, or that their difference was one of first principles. This is the great object to be aimed at in the present age, though confessedly a very arduous56 one. We need not dispute, we need not prove,—we need but define. At all events, let us, if we can, do this first of all; and then see who are left for us to dispute with, and what is left for us to prove."
Mr. Brown's sermon on "The Reign of Christ" is preached from a verse of St. Paul's first Epistle to Timothy, wherein Jesus is styled "The blessed and only Potentate57." From this "inspired" statement he derives58 infinite consolation59. This, he admits, is far from being the best of all possible worlds, for it is full of strife60 and cruelty, the wail61 of anguish62 and the clamor of frenzy63; but as Christ is "the blessed and only Potentate," moral order will finally be evolved from the chaos64 and good be triumphant65 over evil. Now the question arises: Who made the chaos and who is responsible for the evil? Not Christ, of course: Mr. Brown will not allow that. Is it the Devil then? Oh no! To say that would be blasphemy66 against God. He admits, however, that the notion has largely prevailed, and has even been formulated67 into religious creeds68, "that a malignant69 spirit, a spirit who loves cursing as God loves blessing70, has a large and independent share in the government of the world." But, he adds, "in Christendom men dare not say that they believe it, with the throne of the crucified and risen Christ revealed in the Apocalypse to their gaze." Ordinary people will rub their eyes in sheer amazement71 at this cool assertion. Is it not plain that Christians73 in all ages have believed in the power and subtlety74 of the Devil as God's sleepless75 antagonist76? Have they not held, and do they not still hold, that he caused the Fall of Adam and Eve, and thus introduced original sin, which was certain to infect the whole human race ever afterwards until the end of time? Was not John Milton a Christian72, and did he not in his "Paradise Lost" develope all the phases of that portentous77 competition between the celestial78 and infernal powers for the virtual possession of this world and lordship over the destinies of our race? If we accept Mr. Brown's statements we shall have to reverse history and belie15 the evidence of our senses.
But who is responsible for the moral chaos and the existence of evil? That is the question. If to say Christ is absurd, and to say the Devil blasphemy, what alternative is left? The usual answer is: Man's freewill. Christ as "the blessed and only Potentate" leaves us liberty of action, and our own evil passions cause all the misery79 of our lives. But who gave us our evil passions? To this question no answer is vouchsafed80, and so we are left exactly at the point from which we started. Yet Mr. Brown has a very decided81 opinion as to the part these "evil passions" play in the history cf mankind. He refers to them as "the Devil's brood of lust82 and lies, and wrongs and hates, and murderous passion and insolent83 power, which through all the ages of earth's sad history have made it liker hell than heaven." No Atheist84 could use stronger language. Mr. Brown even believes that our "insurgent85 lusts86 and passions" are predetermining causes of heresy87, so that in respect both to faith and to works they achieve our damnation. How then did we come by them? The Evolutionist frankly88 answers the question without fear of blasphemy on the one hand or of moral despair on the other. Mr. Brown is bound to give his answer after raising the question so vividly89. But he will not. He urges that it "presents points of tremendous difficulty," although "we shall unravel90 the mystery, we shall solve the problems in God's good time." Thus the solution of the problem is to be postponed91 until we are dead, when it will no longer interest us. However convenient this may be for the teachers of mystery, it is most unsatisfactory to rationalists. Mr. Brown must also be reminded that the "tremendous difficulties" he alludes92 to are all of his own creation. There is no difficulty about any fact except in relation to some theory. It is Mr. Brown's theory of the universe which creates the difficulties. It does not account for all the facts of existence—nay, it is logically contravened93 by the most conspicuous94 and persistent95 of them. Instead of modifying or transforming his theory into accordance with the facts, he rushes off with it into the cloud-land of faith. There let him remain as he has a perfect right to. Our objection is neither to reason nor to faith, but to a mischievous96 playing fast and loose with both.
Mr. Brown opines that Christ will reign until all his enemies are under his feet. And who are these enemies? Not the souls of men, says Mr. Brown, for Christ "loves them with an infinite tenderness." This infinite tenderness is clearly not allied97 to infinite power or the world's anguish would long since have been appeased98 and extinguished, or never have been permitted to exist at all. The real enemies of Christ are not the souls of men, but "the hates and passions which torment99 them." Oh those hates and passions! They are the dialectical balls with which Mr. Brown goes through his performance in that circle of petitio principii so hated by all logicians, the middle sphere of intellects too light for the solid earth of fact and too gross for the aerial heaven of imagination.
It will be a fitting conclusion to present to Mr. Brown a very serious matter which he has overlooked. Christ, "the blessed and only Potentate," came on earth and originated the universal religion nearly two thousand years ago. Up to the present time three-fourths of the world's inhabitants are outside its pale, and more than half of them have never heard it preached. Amongst the quarter which nominally100 professes101 Christianity disbelief is spreading more rapidly than the missionaries102 succeed in converting the heathen; so that the reign of Christ is being restricted instead of increased. To ask us, despite this, to believe that he is God, and possessed103 of infinite power, is to ask us to believe a marvel104 compared with which the wildest fables105 are credible106, and the most extravagant107 miracles but as dust in the balance.
点击收听单词发音
1 panegyrics | |
n.赞美( panegyric的名词复数 );称颂;颂词;颂扬的演讲或文章 | |
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2 secular | |
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的 | |
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3 rein | |
n.疆绳,统治,支配;vt.以僵绳控制,统治 | |
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4 rhetoric | |
n.修辞学,浮夸之言语 | |
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5 fervid | |
adj.热情的;炽热的 | |
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6 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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7 platitudes | |
n.平常的话,老生常谈,陈词滥调( platitude的名词复数 );滥套子 | |
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8 dexterously | |
adv.巧妙地,敏捷地 | |
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9 tune | |
n.调子;和谐,协调;v.调音,调节,调整 | |
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10 concur | |
v.同意,意见一致,互助,同时发生 | |
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11 unanimity | |
n.全体一致,一致同意 | |
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12 discourse | |
n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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13 profane | |
adj.亵神的,亵渎的;vt.亵渎,玷污 | |
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14 riotously | |
adv.骚动地,暴乱地 | |
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15 belie | |
v.掩饰,证明为假 | |
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16 ordains | |
v.任命(某人)为牧师( ordain的第三人称单数 );授予(某人)圣职;(上帝、法律等)命令;判定 | |
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17 rites | |
仪式,典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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18 din | |
n.喧闹声,嘈杂声 | |
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19 veracity | |
n.诚实 | |
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20 rev | |
v.发动机旋转,加快速度 | |
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21 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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22 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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23 dissenters | |
n.持异议者,持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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24 originality | |
n.创造力,独创性;新颖 | |
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25 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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26 attested | |
adj.经检验证明无病的,经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 );证实;声称…属实;使宣誓 | |
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27 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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28 doctrine | |
n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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29 subservience | |
n.有利,有益;从属(地位),附属性;屈从,恭顺;媚态 | |
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30 contemplate | |
vt.盘算,计议;周密考虑;注视,凝视 | |
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31 passionate | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的 | |
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32 mingled | |
混合,混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 ); 混进,与…交往[联系] | |
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33 disdain | |
n.鄙视,轻视;v.轻视,鄙视,不屑 | |
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34 consistency | |
n.一贯性,前后一致,稳定性;(液体的)浓度 | |
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35 rigor | |
n.严酷,严格,严厉 | |
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36 impel | |
v.推动;激励,迫使 | |
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37 citadel | |
n.城堡;堡垒;避难所 | |
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38 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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39 creed | |
n.信条;信念,纲领 | |
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40 valiantly | |
adv.勇敢地,英勇地;雄赳赳 | |
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41 surmount | |
vt.克服;置于…顶上 | |
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42 dense | |
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的 | |
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43 terse | |
adj.(说话,文笔)精炼的,简明的 | |
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44 simplicity | |
n.简单,简易;朴素;直率,单纯 | |
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45 quaint | |
adj.古雅的,离奇有趣的,奇怪的 | |
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46 aphorism | |
n.格言,警语 | |
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47 bishop | |
n.主教,(国际象棋)象 | |
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48 addle | |
v.使腐坏,使昏乱 | |
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49 tickles | |
(使)发痒( tickle的第三人称单数 ); (使)愉快,逗乐 | |
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50 risibility | |
n.爱笑,幽默感 | |
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51 irresistible | |
adj.非常诱人的,无法拒绝的,无法抗拒的 | |
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52 pithiest | |
adj.简练的,精辟的,简洁扼要的( pithy的最高级 ) | |
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53 amplified | |
放大,扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 ); 增强; 详述 | |
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54 gratuitously | |
平白 | |
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55 controversies | |
争论 | |
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56 arduous | |
adj.艰苦的,费力的,陡峭的 | |
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57 potentate | |
n.统治者;君主 | |
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58 derives | |
v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 );(从…中)得到获得;源于;(从…中)提取 | |
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59 consolation | |
n.安慰,慰问 | |
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60 strife | |
n.争吵,冲突,倾轧,竞争 | |
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61 wail | |
vt./vi.大声哀号,恸哭;呼啸,尖啸 | |
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62 anguish | |
n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦,烦恼 | |
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63 frenzy | |
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动 | |
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64 chaos | |
n.混乱,无秩序 | |
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65 triumphant | |
adj.胜利的,成功的;狂欢的,喜悦的 | |
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66 blasphemy | |
n.亵渎,渎神 | |
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67 formulated | |
v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 );规划;确切地阐述;用公式表示 | |
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68 creeds | |
(尤指宗教)信条,教条( creed的名词复数 ) | |
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69 malignant | |
adj.恶性的,致命的;恶意的,恶毒的 | |
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70 blessing | |
n.祈神赐福;祷告;祝福,祝愿 | |
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71 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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72 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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73 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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74 subtlety | |
n.微妙,敏锐,精巧;微妙之处,细微的区别 | |
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75 sleepless | |
adj.不睡眠的,睡不著的,不休息的 | |
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76 antagonist | |
n.敌人,对抗者,对手 | |
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77 portentous | |
adj.不祥的,可怕的,装腔作势的 | |
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78 celestial | |
adj.天体的;天上的 | |
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79 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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80 vouchsafed | |
v.给予,赐予( vouchsafe的过去式和过去分词 );允诺 | |
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81 decided | |
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的 | |
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82 lust | |
n.性(淫)欲;渴(欲)望;vi.对…有强烈的欲望 | |
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83 insolent | |
adj.傲慢的,无理的 | |
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84 atheist | |
n.无神论者 | |
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85 insurgent | |
adj.叛乱的,起事的;n.叛乱分子 | |
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86 lusts | |
贪求(lust的第三人称单数形式) | |
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87 heresy | |
n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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88 frankly | |
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 | |
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89 vividly | |
adv.清楚地,鲜明地,生动地 | |
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90 unravel | |
v.弄清楚(秘密);拆开,解开,松开 | |
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91 postponed | |
vt.& vi.延期,缓办,(使)延迟vt.把…放在次要地位;[语]把…放在后面(或句尾)vi.(疟疾等)延缓发作(或复发) | |
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92 alludes | |
提及,暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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93 contravened | |
v.取消,违反( contravene的过去式 ) | |
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94 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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95 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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96 mischievous | |
adj.调皮的,恶作剧的,有害的,伤人的 | |
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97 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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98 appeased | |
安抚,抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 ); 绥靖(满足另一国的要求以避免战争) | |
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99 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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100 nominally | |
在名义上,表面地; 应名儿 | |
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101 professes | |
声称( profess的第三人称单数 ); 宣称; 公开表明; 信奉 | |
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102 missionaries | |
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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103 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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104 marvel | |
vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异;n.令人惊异的事 | |
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105 fables | |
n.寓言( fable的名词复数 );神话,传说 | |
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106 credible | |
adj.可信任的,可靠的 | |
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107 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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