By G. W. FOOTE.
We have often wondered whether Shakespeare had the story of Jonah in his mind when he wrote that brief dialogue between Hamlet and Polonius, which immediately precedes the famous closet-scene in the Master's greatest play—
Hamlet.—Do you see yonder cloud that's almost in shape of a camel?
Polonius.—By the mass, and 'tis like a camel, indeed.
Hamlet.—Methinks it is like a weasel.
Polonius.—It is backed like a weasel.
Hamlet.—Or like a whale?
Polonius.—Very like a whale.
Having, however, no means whereby to decide this question, we must content ourselves with broaching2 it, and leave the reader to form his own conclusion. Yet we cannot refrain from expressing our opinion that the story of the strange adventures of the prophet Jonah is "very like a whale."
In another of Shakespeare's plays, namely "The Tempest," we find a phrase which exactly applies to the romance of Jonah. When Trinculo discovers Caliban lying on the ground, he proceeds to investigate the monster. "What," quoth he, "have we here? a man or a fish? dead or alive? A fish: he smells like a fish; a very ancient and fish-like smell." Now that is a most admirable description of the Book of Jonah. It has "a very ancient and fish-like smell." In fact, it is about the fishiest of all the fishy3 stories ever told.
Sailors' "yarns5" have become proverbial for their audacious and delicious disregard of truth, and the Book of Jonah is "briny6" from beginning to end. It contains only forty-eight verses, but its brevity is no defect. On the contrary, that is one of its greatest charms. The mind takes in the whole story at once, and enjoys it undiluted; as it were a goblet7 of the fine generous wine of romance. Varying the expression, the Book of Jonah may be called the perfect cameo of Bible fiction.
When the Book of Jonah was written no one precisely8 knows, nor is it discoverable who wrote it. According to Matthew Arnold some unknown man of genius gave to Christendom the fourth gospel, and with sublime9 self-abnegation allowed his name to perish. A similar remark must be made concerning the unknown author who gave to the world this racy story of Jonah and the whale. We heartily10 wish his name had been preserved for remembrance and praise.
Our marginal Bibles date the Book of Jonah b.c. cir11. 862. Other authorities give, the more recent date of b.c. 880 as that of the events recorded in it. This chronology will suggest an important reflection later on.
The wonderful story of Jonah and the whale begins in this wise:—"Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."
Who Amittai was, and whether man or woman, is a problem still unsolved; but it is reasonable to suppose the name was that of Jonah's father, as the ancient Jews paid no superfluous12 attentions to women, and generally traced descent from the paternal13 stem alone. Amittai belonged to a place called Gathhepher, "the village of the Cow's tail," or, as otherwise interpreted, "the Heifer's trough." Jonah's tomb is said to have been long shown on a rocky hill near the town; but whether the old gentleman was ever buried there no man can say. According to Mr. Bradlaugh, the word Jonah means a dove, and is by some derived14 from an Arabic root, signifying to be weak or gentle. Another interpretation15, by Gesenius, is a feeble, gentle bird. This refractory16 prophet was singularly ill-named. If his cognomen17 was bestowed18 on him by his parents, they must have been greatly deceived as to his character. The proverb says that it is a wise son that knows his own father; and with the history of Jonah before us, we may add that it is a wise father who rightly knows his own son.
The solicitude19 of "the Lord God of the Hebrews" for the welfare of the Ninevites is to the sceptical mind an extraordinary phenomenon. It is one of the very few cases in which he shows the slightest concern for any other people than the Jews. His ordinary practice was to slaughter20 them wholesale21 by pestilence22 or the sword; and it is therefore very refreshing23 to meet with such an instance of his merciful care. For once he remembers that the rest of Adam's posterity24 are his children, and possess a claim on his attention.
Jonah, however, did not share this benign25 sentiment; and disrelishing the missionary26 enterprise assigned him, he "rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord." Jehovah does not seem to have been omnipresent then; that attribute attaches to him only since the beginning of the Christian27 era, when he assumed universal sway. Long before the time of Jonah, another man, the first ever born in this world, namely Cain, also "went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod;" probably so called because the Lord was not quite awake in that locality. No one knows were Nod was situated28, nor can the most learned archaeologists denote the actual position of Tarshish. These two places would be well worth study. A careful examination of them would to some extent reveal what went on in those parts of the world to which God's presence did not extend; and we should be able to compare their geological and other records with those of the rest of the world. No doubt some striking differences would be perceptible.
Jonah determined29 to voyage by the Joppa and Tarshish line. So he went to the former port and embarked30 in one of the Company's ships, after paying his fare like a man.
Having a perfectly31 untroubled conscience, and no apprehension32 of his coming troubles, Jonah no doubt felt highly elated at having done the Lord so neatly33. Perhaps it was this elation34 of spirits which safe-guarded him from sea-sickness. At any rate he went "down into the sides of the ship," and there slept the sleep of the just. So profound was his slumber35, that it was "quite unbroken" by the horrible tempest that ensued. The Lord had his eye on Jonah, for the prophet had not yet reached the safe refuge of Tarshish; and he "sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty36 tempest in the sea, so that the ship was likely to be broken." The mariners37 "cast forth38 the wares39 that were in the ship" to lighten her, and toiled40 hard to keep afloat; but their efforts were apparently41 fruitless, and nothing lay before them but the certain prospect42 of a watery43 grave. The reader will be able to imagine the tumult44 of the scene; the dash of ravening45 waves, the fierce howling of the wind, the creaking of masts and the straining of cordage, the rolling and pitching of the good ship and the shifting of her cargo46, the captain's hoarse47 shouts of command and the sailors' loud replies, alternated with frenzied48 appeals to their gods for help. Yet amidst all the uproar49 Jonah still slept, as though the vessel50 were gaily51 skimming the waters before a pleasant breeze.
Let us pause here to interpose a question. Did the "great wind sent out into the sea" by the Lord confine its attentions to the immediate1 vicinity of Jonah's ship, or did it cause a general tempest and perhaps send some other vessels52 to Davy Jones's locker53? As no restrictions54 are mentioned, we presume that the tempest was general, and that the Lord's wind, like the Lord's rain referred to by Jesus, fell alike upon the just and the unjust. This circumstance very naturally heightens our previous conception of his righteousness.
That the Lord, or some other supernatural power, caused the tempest, the mariners of Jonah's ship and their captain never once doubted. Living as they did, and as we do not, under a miraculous55 dispensation, they attributed every unusual, and especially every unpleasant, occurrence to the agency of a god. The idea of predicting storms, with which the civilised world is now familiar, they would doubtless have regarded as blasphemous56 and absurd. It is, therefore, by no means wonderful that every man on board (except Jonah, who was fast asleep) "called unto his god." Ignorant of what god was afflicting57 them, they appealed impartially58 all round, in the hope of hitting the right one. But the circle of their deities59 did not include the one which sent the wind; so the tempest continued to prevail, despite their prayers.
In this extremity60 a happy thought occurred to the "ship-master." It struck him that the strange passenger down below might know something about the tempest, and that his god might have caused it. Forthwith there dawned within him a recollection of words which Jonah had uttered on embarking61. Had he not told them "that he fled from the presence of the Lord?" "Dear me," the captain probably said to himself, "what a fool I was not to think of this before. That chap down below is the occasion of all these troubles; I'll go and hunt him up, confound him!" Thereupon he doubtless slapped his thigh62, as is the wont63 of sailors when they solve a difficulty or hit on a brilliant idea; after which he descended64 "into the sides of the ship," whither Jonah had gone. There he found the prophet slumbering65 as peacefully as a weanling child, with a smile of satisfaction playing over his Hebrew features. We can imagine the captain's profound disgust in presence of this scene. He and his men had been toiling67 and praying, and, alas68! pitching the cargo overboard, in order to save their skins; and all the while the occasion of their trouble had been lying fast asleep! Preserving an outward decorum, however, he accosted69 Jonah in very mild terms. "What meanest thou, O sleeper70?" said he, "Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not."
What exquisite71 simplicity72! It reminds us of the childlike and bland73 Sir Henry Drummond Wolff, when he opposed Mr. Brad-laugh's entry to the House of Commons. That honorable champion of Almighty74 God objected to Mr. Bradlaugh on the ground that he acknowledged no God, and was thus vastly different from the other members of the House, all of whom "believed in some kind of deity75 or other." You must have a god to be a legislator, it seems, even if that god is, as the Americans say, only a little tin Jesus. So the captain of this tempest-tost ship desired Jonah to call upon his god. He made no inquiry76 into the character of the god, any more than did Sir Henry Drummond Wolff on a later occasion. It was enough to know that Jonah had "some kind of deity or other." Any god would do.
Now comes the most remarkable77 episode in this wonderful story. The captain and the crew were aware that Jonah had "fled from the presence of the Lord," because he had told them; they had, therefore, every reason to believe that Jonah's god had caused the tempest. Yet, curiously78 enough, instead of at once proceeding79 on this belief, they said, everyone to his fellow, "Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us." This wholly superfluous procedure may, perhaps, be attributed to their exceptional love of justice. They wished to make assurance doubly sure before they "went for" Jonah. And with sweet simplicity they had recourse to the casting of lots, in which their wills would be inoperative, and the whole responsibility of deciding be thrown on the gods, who alone possessed80 the requisite81 information.
The lot of course fell upon Jonah. Any other result would have spoiled the story. "Then," continues our narrative82, "said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us? What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought83 and was tempestuous84. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you."
We are almost dumb with astonishment85 before this act of self-sacrifice on the part of Jonah, for which his previous history left us quite unprepared. Who would have thought him capable of such disinterested86 conduct? His self-abnegation was assuredly heroic, and may even be called sublime. No doubt the captain and crew of the ship were as much astonished as we are, and their opinion of Jonah went up several hundred per cent. They resolved to make a last supreme87 effort before turning him into a fish-bait. But all their gallant88 endeavors were discovered to be futile89 and a mere90 waste of time. So the men, more in sorrow than in anger, finally took Jonah up and threw him overboard. They had done their best for him, and now, finding that they could do no more except at too great a risk, they sadly left him to do the rest for himself.
Immediately, we are told, "the sea ceased from her raging." Jonah was oil upon the troubled waters. What an invaluable91 recipe does this furnish us against the dangers of the deep sea! The surest method of allaying92 a storm is to throw a prophet overboard. Every ship should carry a missionary in case of need. It would, indeed, be well if the law made this compulsory93. The cost of maintaining the missionary would be more than covered by the saving effected in insurance. Here is a splendid field for Christian self-sacrifice! Hundreds of gentlemen who are now engaged in very doubtful labor94 among the heathen, might engage in this new enterprise with the absolute certainty of a beneficent result; for poor ungodly mariners would thus be spared a hasty dispatch from this world without time to repent95 and obtain forgiveness, and be allowed ample leisure to secure salvation96.
When the men saw that "the sea ceased from her raging" on Jonah's being cast into her depths, "they feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows97." To the sceptical mind it would seem that they had much more reason to "fear" the Lord during the continuance of the tempest than after it had subsided98. It also seems strange that they should have the means wherewith to offer a sacrifice. Perhaps they had a billy-goat on board, and made him do duty, in default of anything better. Or failing even a billy-goat, as the Lord God of the Hebrews could only be propitiated99 by the shedding of blood, they perhaps caught and immolated100 a stray rat. The nature of their "vows" is not recorded, but it is not unreasonable101 to assume that they swore never again to take on board a passenger fleeing "from the presence of the Lord."
Meanwhile, what had become of poor Jonah? Most men would be effectually settled if thrown overboard in a storm. But there are some people who were not born to be drowned, and Jonah was one of them. He was destined102 to another fate. The Lord, it appears, "had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah," and the feat66 was of course duly performed. Our narrative does not describe the character of this "great fish," but light is cast on the subject by another passage of Scripture103. In the twelfth chapter of St. Matthew, and the fortieth verse, Jesus is represented as saying, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly104; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." The great fish was then a whale. Jesus said so, and there can be no higher authority. Sharks and such ravenous105 fish have an unpleasant habit of "chawing" their victims pretty considerably106 before swallowing them; so, on the whole, we prefer to believe that it was a whale. Yet the Levant is a curious place for a whale to be lurking107 in. The creature must have been miraculously108 led there to go through its appointed performance. It must also have been "prepared," to use the language of the Bible, in a very remarkable way, for the gullet of a whale is not large enough to allow of the passage of an object exceeding the size of an ordinary herring. Swallowing Jonah must have been a tough job after the utmost preparation. With a frightfully distended110 throat, however, the whale did its best, and by dint111 of hard striving at last got Jonah down.
Having properly taken Jonah in out of the wet, the poor whale doubtless surmised112 that its troubles had ended. But alas they had only just begun! Swallowing a prophet is one thing; digesting him is another. For three days and three nights the whale struggled desperately113 to digest Jonah, and for three days and nights Jonah obstinately114 refused to be digested. Never in the entire course of its life had it experienced such a difficulty. During the whole of that period, too, Jonah carried on a kind of prayer meeting, and the strange rumbling115 in its belly must have greatly added to the poor animal's discomfort116 At last it grew heartily sick of Jonah, and vomited117 him up on dry land. We have no doubt that it swam away into deep waters, a sadder but wiser whale; and that ever afterwards, instead of bolting its food, it narrowly scrutinised every morsel118 before swallowing it, to make sure it wasn't another prophet. According to its experience, prophets were decidedly the most unprofitable articles of consumption.
We are of course aware that the narrative states that "the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited Jonah upon the dry land." But this we conceive to be a mere pleasantry on the part of the unknown author. The idea of the Lord whispering into a whale's ear is ineffably119 ludicrous: besides, the whale had a very natural inclination120 to rid itself of Jonah, and needed no divine prompting.
Jonah's prayer "unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly" is very amusing. There is not a sentence in it which bears any reference to the prophet's circumstances. It is a kind of Psalm121, after the manner of those ascribed to David. Our belief is that the author found it floating about, and thinking it would do for Jonah, inserted it in his narrative, without even taking the trouble to furbish it into decent keeping with the situation.
The word of the Lord came unto Jonah a second time, and presuming no more to disobey, he went to Nineveh. It is to be supposed, however, that he first well-lined his poor stomach, for both he and the whale had fasted for three days and nights, and must have been sadly in want of victuals122.
Nineveh, according to our author, was a stupendous city of "three days' journey." This means its diameter and not its circumference123, for we are told that Jonah "entered into the city a day's journey." If we allow twenty miles as a moderate days' walk, Nineveh was sixty miles through from wall to wall, or about twenty times as large as London; and if densely124 populated like our metropolis125, it must have contained more than eighty million inhabitants. This is too great a stretch even for a sailor's yarn4. Our author did not take pains to clear his narrative of discrepancy126. In his last verse he informs us that the city contained "more than six score thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left." If this number is correct Nineveh was a large place, but its dimensions were very much less than those stated in the Book of Jonah.
Jonah obeyed the Lord this time and began to preach. "Yet forty days," cried he, "and Nineveh shall be overthrown127." How the prophet made himself understood is an open question! Either the Lord taught him their language, or he miraculously enabled them to understand Hebrew. Further, they worshipped Baal, and Jonah preached to them in the name of his foreign God. According to ancient, and to a large extent modern custom, we should expect them in such a case to kill the presumptuous128 prophet, or at least to shut him up as a madman. Yet they did nothing of the kind. On the contrary, "the people of Nineveh believed God." Even the king was converted. He covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He also decreed that neither man nor beast in the city should eat or drink anything; but, said he, "let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily129 unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way." What an enormous consumption of sackcloth there must have been! The merchants who sold it did a surprising business, and no doubt quotations130 went up immensely. We wonder, indeed, how they managed to supply such a sudden and universal demand. And what a sight was presented by the whole population of the city! Men, women, and children, high and low, rich and poor, were all arrayed in the same dingy131 garments. Even the horses, cows, pigs and sheep, were similarly attired132. What a queer figure they must have cut! And what an astonishing chorus of prayer ascended133 to heaven! According to the text, the beasts had to "cry mightily" as well as the men. Since the confusion of tongues at Babel, neither history nor tradition records such a frightful109 hubbub134.
Their supplications prevailed. God "saw their works, that they had turned from their evil way; and God repented135 of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not." Immutable136 God changes his mind, infallible God repents137!
God spared Nineveh, but only for a brief while, for it was destroyed a few years later by Arbaces, the Mede. The merciful respite138 was thus not of long continuance. Yet it "displeased139 Jonah exceedingly." He had been suspicious from the first, and he only fulfilled God's mission under constraint140. And now his worst suspicions were confirmed. After he had told the Ninevites that their city would be overthrown in forty days, God had relented, and utterly141 ruined Jonah's reputation as a prophet. So he made himself a booth outside the city, and sat in its shadow, to watch what would happen, with a deep feeling, which he plainly expressed to the Almighty, that now his reputation was gone he might as well die. The Lord considerately "prepared a gourd142," which grew up over Jonah's head to protect him from the heat; at which the sulky prophet was "exceedingly glad," although it would naturally be thought that the booth would afford ample protection. He, however, soon found himself sold; for the Lord prepared a worm to destroy the gourd, and when the sun arose he sent "a vehement143 east wind" which beat upon poor Jonah's head, and made him so faint that he once more asked God to despatch144 him out of his misery145. Whereupon the Lord said coaxingly146, "Doest thou well to be angry?" And Jonah pettishly147 answered, "Yes, I do." Then the Lord, with a wonderful access of pathos148, altogether foreign to his general character, twitted Jonah with having pity for the gourd and none for the inhabitants of "that great city." With this the story concludes. We are unable to say whether the poor prophet, so wretchedly sold, ever recovered from his spleen, or whether it shortened his days and brought him to an untimely grave.
The Book of Jonah is as true as Gospel, for Jesus endorsed149 it. The Bible contains the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So without expressing any sceptical sentiments, we will end by repeating Byron's words, "Truth is strange—stranger than fiction."
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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broaching
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| n.拉削；推削；铰孔；扩孔v.谈起( broach的现在分词 )；打开并开始用；用凿子扩大（或修光）；（在桶上）钻孔取液体 | |
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fishy
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| adj. 值得怀疑的 | |
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yarn
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| n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事 | |
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yarns
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| n.纱( yarn的名词复数 )；纱线；奇闻漫谈；旅行轶事 | |
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briny
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| adj.盐水的；很咸的；n.海洋 | |
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goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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sublime
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| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
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heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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cir
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| abbr.circular 通知；circulation （货币，货物等的）流通；circle 圆；circa (Latin=about) （拉丁语）大约 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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paternal
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| adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的 | |
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derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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refractory
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| adj.倔强的，难驾驭的 | |
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cognomen
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| n.姓；绰号 | |
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bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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solicitude
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slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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wholesale
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| n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售 | |
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pestilence
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refreshing
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| adj.使精神振作的，使人清爽的，使人喜欢的 | |
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posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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benign
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| adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的 | |
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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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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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situated
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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perfectly
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apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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neatly
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elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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slumber
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| n.睡眠，沉睡状态 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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mariners
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| 海员，水手（mariner的复数形式） | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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toiled
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的过去式和过去分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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watery
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| adj.有水的，水汪汪的；湿的，湿润的 | |
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44
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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45
ravening
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| a.贪婪而饥饿的 | |
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46
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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47
hoarse
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| adj.嘶哑的，沙哑的 | |
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48
frenzied
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| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
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49
uproar
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| n.骚动，喧嚣，鼎沸 | |
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50
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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51
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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52
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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53
locker
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| n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人 | |
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54
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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55
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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56
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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57
afflicting
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| 痛苦的 | |
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58
impartially
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| adv.公平地，无私地 | |
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59
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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60
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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61
embarking
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| 乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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62
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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63
wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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64
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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65
slumbering
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| 微睡，睡眠（slumber的现在分词形式） | |
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66
feat
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| n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的 | |
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67
toiling
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| 长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉 | |
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68
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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69
accosted
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| v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的过去式和过去分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭 | |
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70
sleeper
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| n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺 | |
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71
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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72
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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73
bland
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| adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的 | |
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74
almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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75
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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76
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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77
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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78
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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79
proceeding
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| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
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80
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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81
requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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82
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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83
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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84
tempestuous
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| adj.狂暴的 | |
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85
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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86
disinterested
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| adj.不关心的，不感兴趣的 | |
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87
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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88
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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89
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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90
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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91
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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92
allaying
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的现在分词 ) | |
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93
compulsory
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| n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的 | |
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94
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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95
repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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96
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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97
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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98
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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99
propitiated
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| v.劝解，抚慰，使息怒( propitiate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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100
immolated
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| v.宰杀…作祭品( immolate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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101
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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102
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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103
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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104
belly
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| n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛 | |
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105
ravenous
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| adj.极饿的，贪婪的 | |
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106
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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107
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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108
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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109
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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110
distended
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| v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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111
dint
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| n.由于，靠；凹坑 | |
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112
surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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113
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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114
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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115
rumbling
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| n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词 | |
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116
discomfort
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| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
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117
vomited
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118
morsel
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| n.一口，一点点 | |
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119
ineffably
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| adv.难以言喻地，因神圣而不容称呼地 | |
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120
inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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121
psalm
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| n.赞美诗，圣诗 | |
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122
victuals
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| n.食物；食品 | |
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123
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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124
densely
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| ad.密集地；浓厚地 | |
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125
metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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126
discrepancy
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| n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾 | |
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127
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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128
presumptuous
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| adj.胆大妄为的，放肆的，冒昧的，冒失的 | |
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129
mightily
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| ad.强烈地；非常地 | |
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130
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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131
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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132
attired
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| adj.穿着整齐的v.使穿上衣服，使穿上盛装( attire的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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133
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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134
hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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135
repented
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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136
immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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137
repents
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| 对（自己的所为）感到懊悔或忏悔( repent的第三人称单数 ) | |
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138
respite
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| n.休息，中止，暂缓 | |
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139
displeased
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| a.不快的 | |
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140
constraint
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| n.(on)约束，限制；限制(或约束)性的事物 | |
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141
utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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142
gourd
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| n.葫芦 | |
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143
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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144
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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145
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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146
coaxingly
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| adv. 以巧言诱哄，以甘言哄骗 | |
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147
pettishly
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148
pathos
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| n.哀婉，悲怆 | |
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149
endorsed
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| vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品 | |
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