The great poet and wit, Heinrich Heine, from whom we select a motto for this article, was not very partial to Englishmen, and still less partial to Scotchmen. He had no objection to their human nature, but a strong objection to their religion, which so resembles that of the chosen people—being, indeed, chiefly modelled on the Old Testament4 pattern—that he was led to describe them as modern Jews, who only differed from the ancient ones in eating pork. Doubtless a great improvement has taken place since Heine penned that pungent5 description, but Scotland is still the home of orthodoxy, and most inaccessible6 to Liberal ideas, unless they wear a political garb7. It need not astonish us, therefore, that a bitter attack on a Freethought martyr8 like Giordano Bruno should emanate9 from the land of John Knox; or that it should appear in the distinctly national magazine which is called the Scottish Review. The writer does not disclose his name, and this is a characteristic circumstance. He indulges his malevolence10, and airs his ignorance, under a veil of anonymity11. His stabs are delivered like those of a bravo, who hides his face as he deals his treacherous12 blow.
Many books and articles have been written on Giordano Bruno, but this writer seems ignorant of them all, except a recent volume by a Romish priest of the Society of Jesus, which he places at the top of his article, and relies upon throughout as an infallible authority. It does not occur to him that an account of Bruno by a Jesuit member of the Church which murdered him, is hardly likely to be impartial13; nor does he scent14 anything suspicious in the fact that the documents reporting Bruno's trial were all written by the Inquisition. He would probably sniff15 at a report of the trial of Jesus Christ by the Scribes and Pharisees, yet that is precisely16 the kind of document on which he relies to blast the memory of Bruno.
Some of those Inquisition records he translates, apparently17 fancying he is making a revelation, though? they have long been before the scholarly public, and were extensively cited in the English Life of Bruno, by I. Frith, which saw the light more than twelve months ago. Berti reprinted the documents of Bruno's trial in Venice in 1880, so that the startling revelations of Father Previti are at least seven years behind the fair.
Before dealing18, however, with the use he would make of those documents, we think it best to track this Scotch3 slanderer19 throughout his slimy course, and expose his astounding20 mixture of ignorance, impudence21 and meanness.
Let us take two instances of the last "virtue22" first. He actually condescends23 to attempt a feeble point in regard to Bruno's name. Bruno, he sagely24 observes—with an air of originality25 only intelligible26 on the ground that he is conscious of writing for the veriest ignoramuses—is the same as Brown; and hence, if we take the baptismal name of Filippo Bruno, it simply means Philip Brown. Well, what of that? What's in a name? One great English poet rejoiced in the vulgar name of Jonson; two other English poets bore the no less vulgar name of Thomson; while at least two have descended27 so low as Smith. We might even remind the orthodox libeller that Joshua, the Jewish formi of Jesus, was as common as Jack28 is among ourselves. Perhaps the reminder29 will sound blasphemous30 in his delicate ears, but fact is fact, and if reputations are to depend on names, we may as well be impartial.
Now, for our second instance. Bruno was betrayed to the Venetian Inquisition by Count Mocenigo while he was that nobleman's guest. Mocenigo had invited him to Venice in order that he might learn what this writer calls "his peculiar31 system for developing and strengthening the memory," although this "peculiar" system was simply the Lullian method. What the nobleman really wanted to learn seems to have been the Black Art. He complained, and Bruno resolved to leave him; whereupon the "nobleman," who had harbored Bruno for months, forcibly detained him, and denounced him to the Inquisition as a heretic and a blasphemer. A more dastardly action is difficult to conceive, but our Scotch libeller is ready to defend it, or at least to give it a coat of whitewash32. He allows that Mocenigo does not appear to have been animated33 "with the motive34 of religious zeal," and that his "conscience" never "troubled him" before the "personal difference." But he discovers a plea for this Judas in his "sworn statement" to the Inquisition that he did not suspect Bruno of being a monk35 until the very day of their quarrel. What miserable36 sophistry37! Would not a man who violated the most sacred laws of friendship and hospitality be quite capable of telling a lie? Still more miserable is the remark that Bruno was not ultimately tried on Mocenigo's denunciations, but on his own published writings. Jesus Christ was not tried on the denunciations of Judas Iscariot, but on his own public utterances38, yet whoever pleaded that this gave a sweeter savor39 to the traitor's kiss?
So much—though more might be said—for the writer's meanness. Now for his other virtues40, and especially his ignorance. After dwelling41 on the battle at Rome over the proposal to erect42 a public monument to Bruno, this writer tells us that "a small literature is arising on the subject," and that the name of Bruno is "suddenly invested with an importance which it never formerly43 possessed44." Apparently he is unaware45 that, so far from a small literature arising, a large Bruno literature has long existed. He has only to turn to the end of Frith's book, and he will find an alphabetical46 list of books, articles, and criticisms on Bruno, filling no less than ten pages of small type. He might also enlighten his ridiculous darkness by reading the fine chapter in Lewes's History of Philosophy, Mr. Swinburne's two noble sonnets47, and Professor Tyndall's glowing eulogy48 of Bruno's scientific prescience in the famous Belfast address. Perhaps Hallam, Schwegler, Hegel, Bunsen and Cousin are too recondite49 for the Scotch libeller's perusal50; but he might, at any rate, look up Lewes, Swinburne and Tyndall, who are probably accessible in his local Free Library.
What on earth, too, does he mean by Bruno's "great obscurity" when he returned to Italy and fell into the jaws51 of the Inquisition? Every scholar in that age was more or less obscure, for the multitude was illiterate52, and sovereigns and soldiers monopolised the public attention. But as notoriety then went, Bruno was a famous figure. Proof of this will be given presently. Meanwhile we may notice the cheap sneer53 at Bruno as "a social and literary failure." Shelley was a literary failure in his lifetime, but he is hardly so now; and if Bruno was poor and unappreciated, Time has adjusted the balance, for after the lapse54 of three centuries he is loved and hated by the rival parties of progress and reaction.
Now let us disprove the Scotch libeller's statements as to "the extreme obscurity in which Giordano Bruno lived and died." Bruno was so "obscure" that he fled from Naples, and doffed55 his priest's raiment, at the age of twenty-eight or twenty-nine, because his superiors were proceeding56 against him for heresy57, through an act of accusation58 which comprised no less than one hundred and thirty counts. He was so "obscure" that the rest of his life was a prolonged flight from persecution59. He was so "obscure" that the Calvinists hunted him out of Geneva, whence he narrowly escaped with his life; the documents relating to the proceedings60 against him being still preserved in the Genevan archives. He was so "obscure" that he took a professorship at Toulouse, and publicly lectured there to large audiences for more than a year. He was so "obscure" that King Henry III. made him professor extraordinary at Paris, and excused him from attending Mass. He was so "obscure" that the learned doctors of the Sorbonne waxed wroth with him, and made it obvious that his continued stay in Paris would be dangerous to his health. He was so "obscure" that he lived for nearly three years as the guest of the French ambassador in London. He was so "obscure" that he was known at the court of Elizabeth. He was so "obscure" that he was a friend of Sir Philip Sidney, and an intimate associate of Dyer, Fulk Greville, and the chief wits of his age. He was so "obscure" that he was allowed, as a distinguished61 foreigner, to lecture at Oxford62, and to hold a public disputation on the Aristotelian philosophy before the Chancellor63 and the university. He was so "obscure" that on his return to Paris he held another public disputation under the auspices64 of the King. He was so "obscure" that his orations65 were listened to by the senate of the university of Wittenberg. He was so "obscure" that he was publicly excommunicated by the zealot Boethius. He was so "obscure" that the Venetian Inquisition broke through its stern rule, and handed him over as a special favor to the Inquisition of Rome. He was so "obscure" that he was at last "butchered to make a Roman holiday," the cardinals66 having presided at his trial, and his sentence being several pages at length. Such was "the obscurity in which Giordano Bruno lived and died."
The Scotch libeller hints that Bruno was not burnt after all. He forgets, or he is ignorant of the fact, that all doubt on that point is removed by the three papers discovered in the Vatican Library. He merely repeats the insinuation of M. Desduits, which has lost its extremely small measure of plausibility67 since the discovery of those documents. The martyrdom of Bruno is much better attested68 than the Crucifixion. There always was contemporary evidence as well as unbroken tradition, and now we have proofs as complete as can be adduced for any event in history.
From the documentary evidence it is clear that Bruno fought hard for his life, and he would have been a fool or a suicide to have acted otherwise. He bent69 all his dialectical skill, and all his subtle intellect, to the task of proving that religion and philosophy were distinct, and that so long as a scholar conformed in practice he should be allowed the fullest liberty of speculation70. The Inquisition, however, pretends that he abjured71 all his errors, and the Scotch libeller is pleased to say he recanted. But, in that case, why was Bruno burnt alive at the stake? According to the laws of the Inquisition, all who reconciled themselves to the Church after sentence were strangled before they were burnt. And why was Bruno allowed a week's grace before his execution, except to give him the opportunity of recanting? Despite all this Jesuitical special pleading, the fact remains72 that Bruno was sentenced and burnt as an incorrigible73 heretic; and the fact also remains that when the crucifix was held up for him to kiss as he stood amidst the flames, he rejected it, as Scioppus wrote, "with a terrible menacing countenance74." Not only did he hurl75 scorn at his judges, telling them that they passed his sentence with more fear than he heard it; but his last words were that "he died a martyr and willingly"—diceva che moriva martire et volontieri.
Bruno is further charged by the Scotch libeller with servility, an accusation about as plausible76 as that Jesus Christ was a highwayman. A passage is cited from Bruno's high-flown panegyric77 on Henry III. as "a specimen78 of the language he was prepared to employ towards the great when there was anything to be got from them." Either this writer is ineffably79 ignorant, or his impudence is astounding. In the first place, that was an age of high-flown dedications80. Look at Bacon's fulsome82 dedication81 of his Advancement83 of Learning to James I. Nay84, look at the dedication of our English Bible to the same monarch85, who is put very little below God Almighty86, and compared to the sun for strength and glory. In the next place, Bruno's praise of Henry III. was far from mercenary. He never at any time had more than bread to eat. He was grateful to the King for protection, and his gratitude87 never abated88. When Henry was in ill repute, Bruno still praised him, and these panegyrics89 were put into one of the counts against "the heretic" when he was arraigned90 at Venice.
The last libel is extorted91 from Bruno's comedy, Il Candelajo. The Scotch puritan actually scents92 something obscene in the very title; to which we can only reply by parodying93 Carlyle—"The nose smells what it brings." As for the comedy itself, it must be judged by the standard of its age. Books were then all written for men, and reticence94 was unknown. Yet, free as Il Candelajo is sometimes in its portrayal95 of contemporary manners, it does not approach scores of works which are found "in every gentleman's library." It certainly is not freer than Shakespeare; it is less free than the Song of Solomon; it is infinitely96 less free than Ezekiel. Nor was the comedy the work of Bruno's maturity97; it was written in his youth, while he was a priest, before he fell under grave suspicion of heresy, and we may be sure it was relished98 by his brother priests in the Dominican monastery99. To draw from this youthful jeu d'e'sprit, a theory of Bruno's attitude towards women is a grotesque100 absurdity101. We have his fine sonnets written in England, especially the one "Inscribed102 to the most Virtuous103 and Delightful104 Ladies," in which he celebrates the beauty, sweetness, and chastity of our English "spouses105 and daughters of angelic birth." Still more striking is the eulogy in his "Canticle of the Shining Ones." Bruno, like every poet, was susceptible106 to love; but he was doomed107 to wander, and the affection of wife and babes was not for him. So he made Philosophy his mistress, and his devotion led him to the stake. Surely there was a prescience of his fate in the fine apostrophe of his Heroic Rapture—"O worthy108 love of the beautiful! O desire for the divine! lend me thy wings; bring me to the dayspring, to the clearness of the young morning; and the outrage109 of the rabble110, the storms of Time, the slings111 and arrows of Fortune, shall fall upon this tender body and shall weld it to steel."
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1 infamous | |
adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的,邪恶的 | |
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2 slanders | |
诽谤,诋毁( slander的名词复数 ) | |
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3 scotch | |
n.伤口,刻痕;苏格兰威士忌酒;v.粉碎,消灭,阻止;adj.苏格兰(人)的 | |
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4 testament | |
n.遗嘱;证明 | |
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5 pungent | |
adj.(气味、味道)刺激性的,辛辣的;尖锐的 | |
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6 inaccessible | |
adj.达不到的,难接近的 | |
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7 garb | |
n.服装,装束 | |
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8 martyr | |
n.烈士,殉难者;vt.杀害,折磨,牺牲 | |
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9 emanate | |
v.发自,来自,出自 | |
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10 malevolence | |
n.恶意,狠毒 | |
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11 anonymity | |
n.the condition of being anonymous | |
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12 treacherous | |
adj.不可靠的,有暗藏的危险的;adj.背叛的,背信弃义的 | |
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13 impartial | |
adj.(in,to)公正的,无偏见的 | |
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14 scent | |
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉 | |
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15 sniff | |
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视 | |
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16 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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17 apparently | |
adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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18 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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19 slanderer | |
造谣中伤者 | |
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20 astounding | |
adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊,使大吃一惊astound的现在分词) | |
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21 impudence | |
n.厚颜无耻;冒失;无礼 | |
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22 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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23 condescends | |
屈尊,俯就( condescend的第三人称单数 ); 故意表示和蔼可亲 | |
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24 sagely | |
adv. 贤能地,贤明地 | |
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25 originality | |
n.创造力,独创性;新颖 | |
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26 intelligible | |
adj.可理解的,明白易懂的,清楚的 | |
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27 descended | |
a.为...后裔的,出身于...的 | |
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28 jack | |
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克 | |
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29 reminder | |
n.提醒物,纪念品;暗示,提示 | |
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30 blasphemous | |
adj.亵渎神明的,不敬神的 | |
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31 peculiar | |
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32 whitewash | |
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33 animated | |
adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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34 motive | |
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35 monk | |
n.和尚,僧侣,修道士 | |
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36 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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37 sophistry | |
n.诡辩 | |
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38 utterances | |
n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 | |
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39 savor | |
vt.品尝,欣赏;n.味道,风味;情趣,趣味 | |
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40 virtues | |
美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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41 dwelling | |
n.住宅,住所,寓所 | |
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42 erect | |
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43 formerly | |
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44 possessed | |
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45 unaware | |
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46 alphabetical | |
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47 sonnets | |
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48 eulogy | |
n.颂词;颂扬 | |
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49 recondite | |
adj.深奥的,难解的 | |
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50 perusal | |
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51 jaws | |
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52 illiterate | |
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53 sneer | |
v.轻蔑;嘲笑;n.嘲笑,讥讽的言语 | |
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54 lapse | |
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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55 doffed | |
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56 proceeding | |
n.行动,进行,(pl.)会议录,学报 | |
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57 heresy | |
n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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58 accusation | |
n.控告,指责,谴责 | |
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59 persecution | |
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60 proceedings | |
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61 distinguished | |
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62 Oxford | |
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63 chancellor | |
n.(英)大臣;法官;(德、奥)总理;大学校长 | |
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64 auspices | |
n.资助,赞助 | |
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65 orations | |
n.(正式仪式中的)演说,演讲( oration的名词复数 ) | |
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66 cardinals | |
红衣主教( cardinal的名词复数 ); 红衣凤头鸟(见于北美,雄鸟为鲜红色); 基数 | |
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67 plausibility | |
n. 似有道理, 能言善辩 | |
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68 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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69 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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70 speculation | |
n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机 | |
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71 abjured | |
v.发誓放弃( abjure的过去式和过去分词 );郑重放弃(意见);宣布撤回(声明等);避免 | |
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72 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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73 incorrigible | |
adj.难以纠正的,屡教不改的 | |
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74 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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75 hurl | |
vt.猛投,力掷,声叫骂 | |
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76 plausible | |
adj.似真实的,似乎有理的,似乎可信的 | |
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77 panegyric | |
n.颂词,颂扬 | |
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78 specimen | |
n.样本,标本 | |
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79 ineffably | |
adv.难以言喻地,因神圣而不容称呼地 | |
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80 dedications | |
奉献( dedication的名词复数 ); 献身精神; 教堂的)献堂礼; (书等作品上的)题词 | |
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81 dedication | |
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82 fulsome | |
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83 advancement | |
n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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84 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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85 monarch | |
n.帝王,君主,最高统治者 | |
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86 almighty | |
adj.全能的,万能的;很大的,很强的 | |
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87 gratitude | |
adj.感激,感谢 | |
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88 abated | |
减少( abate的过去式和过去分词 ); 减去; 降价; 撤消(诉讼) | |
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89 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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90 arraigned | |
v.告发( arraign的过去式和过去分词 );控告;传讯;指责 | |
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91 extorted | |
v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 );曲解 | |
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92 scents | |
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉 | |
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93 parodying | |
v.滑稽地模仿,拙劣地模仿( parody的现在分词 ) | |
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94 reticence | |
n.沉默,含蓄 | |
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95 portrayal | |
n.饰演;描画 | |
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96 infinitely | |
adv.无限地,无穷地 | |
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97 maturity | |
n.成熟;完成;(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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98 relished | |
v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 );从…获得乐趣;渴望 | |
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99 monastery | |
n.修道院,僧院,寺院 | |
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100 grotesque | |
adj.怪诞的,丑陋的;n.怪诞的图案,怪人(物) | |
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101 absurdity | |
n.荒谬,愚蠢;谬论 | |
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102 inscribed | |
v.写,刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 );内接 | |
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103 virtuous | |
adj.有品德的,善良的,贞洁的,有效力的 | |
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104 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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105 spouses | |
n.配偶,夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 ) | |
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106 susceptible | |
adj.过敏的,敏感的;易动感情的,易受感动的 | |
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107 doomed | |
命定的 | |
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108 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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109 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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110 rabble | |
n.乌合之众,暴民;下等人 | |
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111 slings | |
抛( sling的第三人称单数 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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