Beyond the garden, Ceres crowded abundantly into every corner. Half a mile away, at the foot of the hill, its red-tiled roofs just showing above the terraced vines, was the house of the farm-bailiff; thither14 came the tall daughters of the peasantry bringing the offerings of their mothers in plaited baskets, pale honey in its wax, young leverets, and capons luscious15 for cooking. In the yard all the crowd of common poultry16 wandered about, while the tower echoed with the joy of pigeons, answered from the neighbouring trees by the cooing of ring-doves and white turtles. Thither also, on feast-days, or to the humble17 marriage of one of their companions, all the slaves of the estate were bidden, the huntsmen with the 101herds; and Serenus would sit among them, eating the same fare and drinking the same wine, while much wood burnt to the festal Lares.
As he grew older, Serenus had come to love the tranquil18 life at his country-house, the soft, warm air blowing from off the sea, the noise of rippling19 water and of wind stirring in the leaves. He had arrived at that period of life when a man is content to stand aside and become a spectator. In the last few years his hold upon the management of his large properties had been gradually relaxed, and he had come to rely more and more upon one or two trusted slaves and freedmen; but at irregular intervals20 he would make a journey to all his possessions in Spain, visiting Bilbilis where he had iron-fields, and bred horses; a delightful21 country it was, "high Bilbilis enriched by arms and horses; Caunus austere22 with snows, and the broken hills of Vadevero, the sweet grove23 of Botrodus which Pomona loves."
His interests extended in many directions: he was concerned in the mines of Spain; he owned a fleet of ships which sailed to Rome, and beyond, even to Corinth; his agents followed the army to buy slaves; and he 102lent money, though principally for political purposes, to the young officials, half civil and half military, for whom the government of a province was a means to fortune and imperial favour at Rome. At first this villa24 in the country had been used only in the hottest months of the year, and the site chosen because there seemed always to be some mysterious currents of air flowing about it from the cool hills toward the sea, and because innumerable springs had their sources in the rocks; but gradually there woke in him that living interest in rural pleasures and labours, which was always an instinct with the Romans even during their worst decadence25; he became glad at any time to visit it, and drink in its mild delicious air in that peaceable garden overlooking the mysterious sea.
The need for leisure grew upon him, and he added a wing to the originally modest house in order that he might transport thither his libraries from Gades; he transported also his Greek statues, his tables of citrus wood and ivory, his myrrhine vases; he built a roofed colonnade26, pierced with windows on both sides, and with movable shutters27, so that the weather-side might be closed at will; he 103devised rooms to catch all the winter sun, and rooms shaded by vines which were cool through the hottest days; he built sumptuous28 baths, and a new triclinium, and new guest-chambers; by every window, colonnade, and walk he planted roses and violets to sweeten the air; and he stocked his fish ponds with rare fish for the table.
But in spite of the later more sumptuous buildings, and new elegances30 which he brought with him, he did not forget that he had come into the country in order to be with the elementary conditions of life. He felt very near to this earth which furnished him with everything he ate. From the time the wheat was sown until it came upon his table in little loaves it had been handled by none except his own slaves. At the vintage, he would go out to the wine-press and gaze on the wine-jars, as they were carried into the cellar to stand with the older jars, in which mellowed32 the fragrance33 of earlier autumns; and day after day, in a broad-brimmed hat and worn military cloak, he would walk down to the farm and listen to the pleasant, familiar noises, the clamour of the geese, the lambs calling to their full mothers, the cooing of the pigeons in the tower, the murmur34 of 104the bees about the populous35 hives; and the children hung shyly about him, for he generally brought them some nuts, and would tempt36 the wild-eyed things toward him, holding the nuts in his open hand, as a man might tempt a bird with crumbs37.
He was still fond of hunting, fond of the deep shadow of the woods, the stealthy alertness, the cunning and science of wood-craft, he felt that he could best repel38 the advance of age by such exercises; but even in the woods perhaps his chief pleasure was in a kind of meditation39, a conversation with himself, induced by that silence which the sport imposed; and, when the boars had been finally driven into the nets and slain40, he would sit beside them, eating bread which he dipped in wine, and writing on his tablets, in a small, fine hand, the thoughts suggested by the day's journey. It seemed to him that the physical exercise, the free play of the air on face and limbs, awakened41 an equal vivacity42 and alertness in the mind; and that Minerva, no less than Diana, was a goddess of the deep solitudes43. Two Roman officers from Gades, Sulpicianus Rufus and Marcus Licinius were his usual hunting companions.
After his morning exercise, Serenus was 105used to take a cold bath, and then sleep for a little while during the heat of the day. Coming from his bath one morning, a little before noon, he found his two friends in the hall.
"Seneca is dead;" was the news they brought him.
Then, in one of the libraries, he learned the details.
Rufus had been a friend of Seneca, and the story had come direct to him. The three friends were strangely moved. Marcus and Serenus listened in silence as Rufus described the scene at the villa.
"He asked for his will, that he might make some bequests44 to his friends; but this was forbidden. Turning then, to his wife and the two friends who were dining with him, he said that since Nero had murdered his mother and brother it was not to be expected that he might spare the instructor45 of his youth. Paulina desired to die with him, and the physician opened the veins46 of both. But Seneca's blood would not flow, and he drank poison; finally, he was carried to a warm bath, and died. Paulina's wounds were bound up, by command of Nero, and she still lives."
"She is more to be pitied," said Serenus. "What others died?"
106Rufus gave their names.
"Lucan, too!" exclaimed Serenus. "Does Gallio still live?"
"I have not heard of his death; but it is impossible that he would escape."
"Yes," said Serenus; "Seneca's family is annihilated48. It is like the working of Nemesis49. We have been the spectators of one of Fate's tragedies, which are so rare. It is complete, large, full of irony50; and Seneca's own words, 'the murderer of his mother and brother would not spare the instructor of his youth!' One thinks of them less as Seneca's own words, than as the sardonic51 comment of a later historian. They are too apt."
"You were not one of Seneca's friends," said Rufus.
"No," said Serenus; "Nero is the direct result of Seneca's teachings. So brutal52 a voluptuary could hardly issue from any but a Stoic53 school. It is at once raw, crude, and narrow; it coarsens our natural appetites instead of refining them. For Stoicism the human emotions, love and pity, are but weaknesses, which it denies and attempts to stifle54. It is very far from the secret of human sympathy. Nero as a young man had many 107excellent qualities, which an artistic55 and delicate training might have developed into fine accomplishments56: he might have learned the art of life; and instead he has learned only rhetoric57, the sort of rhetoric that vitiates every action, and makes our emotions the subject for a stage declamation58, makes life a mere59 piece of acting60. Yet I must not forget, Rufus, that Seneca was your friend. Perhaps he was better than his philosophy; but I have never been able to forgive him either for his adulation of Claudius during his life, or his satire61 upon him after his death."
"Seneca was un-Roman," said Marcus.
"All his ideals were un-Roman," answered Marcus. "His notions of the brotherhood63 and natural equality of man, his unpractical nature and sentimentalism, his absolute lack of a grasp upon realities and their significance, his condemnation64 of war and of slavery. His life was composed almost entirely65 of noble maxims66, and of trivial actions."
"A final gesture," said Marcus, rubbing his arm. "We Romans are superbly self-conscious. We die in public, with appropriate speeches."
108"What you think peculiar68 to Seneca, his sentimentalism and idealism, are really parts of the present spirit, and common to all schools," answered Serenus. "Rome has broken down the ancient national barriers, and given to all peoples the notion of humanity as a whole. It is from this cause that the idea of a world-state has its origin. But Rome governs by force; other nations are tributary69 to her; she has enslaved them; they are the base upon which she has raised her grandeur70. They feel that they are unjustly treated. We have created new conditions. We have shut them off from their legitimate71 activities by refusing to allow them to govern themselves, or to make war upon their neighbours; so that the whole life of the Empire is centralised in Rome, and the provinces have become stagnant72. And from these new conditions has been born a new spirit. Life seems too full of suffering; the poor and the oppressed are many, and because they are so many they are becoming articulate. They would build a new heaven and a new earth. I learnt of this first at Corinth."
"The whole corruption73 of the world comes from the Greeks and the Jews," said Rufus contemptuously. "What is the use of 109clamouring against life? It is a problem that we must each solve for ourselves, and no theory will help us. If society were wrong, if Rome were wrong, if force were wrong, we should not be sitting here in comparative comfort. To talk of the tyranny of the State is nonsense; individual liberty is what each man wins for himself, and the State merely offers the most convenient mechanism74 by which it may be gained. As an example we have the growth of a large class of rich freedmen. The disease, from which we are suffering at present, is simply a form of sentimentality. What is morality? What is justice? What is good? The only answer is: 'That which law orders.'"
"Do you believe in the gods, Rufus?" enquired Marcus, with amusement.
"I follow the customs of my forefathers," answered Rufus bluntly.
"The gods are dead," said Marcus, still rubbing his arm.
"They are not dead," answered Serenus gently; "but they have changed their names. The people will always worship the same Divinity, the Giver of rain and good crops and victory in battle, and health in life, and peace toward death."
"I never understood Seneca's philosophy; 110but I loved the man," said Rufus. "The greater part of him was weakness, but he had strength. He was a good man of business, Serenus."
"He was a clever man, with admirable opportunities," answered Serenus. "I am an Epicurean, and Seneca's teaching is not mine. Yet, in some of its details his teaching is also Epicurean. With him, philosophy was less an affair of the mind than of the imagination, and of good taste; it is always the artist, the orator75, who is teaching, and his eloquence76 is never quite persuasive77, because the artist is never quite persuaded. He belongs to no school, he is an eclectic; and he seeks rather to inculcate the practice of virtue78 than to show what virtue is. He neither asks nor answers a question. The vices79 and weaknesses which he condemned80 in others he had found in himself; his was a subjective81, a poetic82, a romantic mind. And it was precisely83 for this reason that his disciples84 loved him, because of that emotional and many coloured nature, which saw virtue, the most austere virtue, ever as a god, and found it unattainable."
"Yes, that is true," said Rufus.
"But did Seneca believe in the gods, and in the immortality85 of the soul?" enquired Marcus.
111Serenus smiled.
"Yes," he answered; "Seneca spent his whole life in seeking for the truth, but the truth for which he sought was one which should be agreeable to his own nature. A divinity was necessary to his well-being87. He speaks of a loving God, of a God who orders the world aright and whose will we should obey without a murmur; and in consequence his hatred88 for the Epicureans was great. He could not forgive us for showing the gods serene89 and untroubled in their abode90, into which penetrates91 no whisper of mortal anguish92; and for saying that no voice of prayer troubles their endless pleasure, and that without tears or anger they gaze at once upon our sorrow and our sin, and are heedless of the hands uplifted in supplication94 from every corner of the earth. Yes; God is necessary to a Stoic. But we Epicureans have called upon the gods and they have not answered us; we have sought them throughout the world and have not found them; neither are they in the seas nor in the skies; we have not seen them destroy the wicked nor protect the innocent; we think that they are not interested in our humble affairs; they are neither our masters nor our creators, but belong to the same order 112of things as we do, though of a finer and less perishable95 nature: if, indeed, they exist at all."
"Stoicism is a hatred of humanity," said Marcus; "perhaps Epicureanism is a love of it. Rufus, do you not think the Epicureans are clever? They do not deny the existence of gods; but they make their gods of such a divinely intangible substance that doubt becomes in itself almost an act of worship. It is as if they feared to profane96 the sanctuary97 with human feet soiled by the dust of travail98."
"I have given you my opinion of philosophy and philosophers," said Rufus. "Once a man begins to think of the difference between right and wrong he is lost, morally and mentally. I studied philosophy in order to learn how to write despatches; and in the short course I took, I acquired enough knowledge of the subject to know that good and evil belong to the category of reflex actions, they are spasmodic movements over which we have no control. Do I praise my legionaries because they are brave? I do, as a matter of fact. It makes an admirable prelude101 to the imposition of another task. Seneca imagined that men could be disciplined into virtue. It was a great mistake, because discipline is not 113applicable to the individual, it is only applicable to a crowd. It is easy to fill a regiment102 with courage; but it is impossible to make one man brave."
"You do not think that it is possible to form individual habits?" said Serenus.
"Yes, of course," answered Rufus; "it is possible to accustom103 a man to sleep on a hard bed, to deny himself wine or flesh, even in some degree to control his temper. But an action is good or bad, only in so far as it is a reflex action."
"What you say is very curious," said Serenus quickly.
"In fact Rufus is a complete philosopher," said Marcus, laughing. "I should like to drink a little wine."
Serenus struck a sounding-bowl of silver, and a Greek boy entered.
"Wine," said Serenus, and the boy left them. "Rufus, you have heard of a sect104 of Jews called Christians105; do you know their belief?"
"No," said Rufus contemptuously; "I only know that it is against the Jewish religion to pay tribute. I believe that they have no religion; they are contemptuous of all known gods; they will eat no flesh which has been 114offered in the temples; and they loathe107 the whole human race: a feeling which, I think, is reciprocated108. The Christians seem to be one of the numerous sects109 given over to the practice of a depraved and fantastic superstition110. The East is full of such monstrous111 cults113."
The Greek boy set wine before them, threw a few grains of incense114 on a brazier, and departed softly. Marcus drank a white Greek wine; Rufus poured himself out a large bowl of Falernian.
"I take mine with a great deal of water," said Serenus; "because my stomach is weak. Alas115! sometimes I think it is my stomach which has taught me the virtue of moderation. I have heard a man, who was a Christian106, speak in almost the identical words of Seneca. The cardinal116 point of his doctrine117 was not the Stoic apathy118, but the recommendation of sympathy, that is the difference between them. Here and there he uses the same phrases and illustrations as Seneca. It shows how widespread the new spirit is."
"Seneca's teaching did not interest me," answered Rufus. "It was the man I loved. Though it is long since saw him, I cannot believe that he was contaminated by Judaism."
115Serenus felt a curious desire to disburden himself.
"I went a great deal among the Christians once," he said softly.
The two men looked at him for a moment, with that curious expression of distrust which men adopt when another confesses to some social indiscretion.
"It was nearly nine years ago, and perhaps my nature resembled Seneca's then; my philosophy was an affair of the heart. I was seeking for a beauty that is not of this world. It was at Corinth. I met a man named Paul."
"All things are possible at Corinth," said Rufus. "Tell us your story, Serenus."
"And then we shall stay to dinner," said Marcus, as he finished his wine.
"It is a long story," said Serenus, smiling. "I have written it on a roll, and shall read it to you. Let us go out into the garden; it is cool and pleasant there now. Lysis will bring you what you want. Do you remember telling me, Rufus, that Seneca drew you to him by his weakness? Paul drew me to him by his strength."
Passing out of the library through the atrium 116the friends crossed a small courtyard enclosed on three sides, and turning sharp to the left began to climb the slope which sheltered the house. The walk was shaded by a thick hedge of ilex, and there were tall, slim cypresses119 at irregular intervals. Leaving the path, they crossed a plot of grass, starry120 with little flowers, and, passing through a thicket11 of myrtles, came presently to a semicircular stone seat shaded by beeches121 which stood, eastward122, a little way behind it. Falling water tinkled123 like little silver bells somewhere close to them; and the leaves made a pleasant whispering noise. Lysis covered the seat with rugs, and left them. The seat faced westward124, overlooking the olive-yards which the winds flushed to silver; and the friends had a magnificent view of the Atlantic. In the declining light the distant promontories125, blue and lemon, seemed to jut126 out into a bath of liquid colours, as if suspended in the vague; and the horizon was indeterminate. A fleet of fishing-boats, some miles from the shore, seemed like small, brown moths127 with motionless wings that had settled upon a flat screen of transparent128 blue gauze, and about them the light gleamed and flickered129 upon innumerable little dancing waves. It was all blue and green, but so pale and silent 117as to seem a mirage130. Marcus, lounging easily upon the wide seat, looked over the prospect131 with unconscious enjoyment132. Rufus sat with his chin in his hands.
"I love to sit here on tranquil evenings," said Serenus; "and listen for the cry of the halcyon133, or the heavy plunge134 of a dolphin, drifting up through the delicious air from the bay."
He unrolled his manuscript, and presently began to read, in a smooth, low voice:--
"When Venus rose out of the foam135 and froth of Ocean it was upon the prow136 of a Ph?nician trader, that carried her into every part of the known world; and when her worship fell away and her votaries137 became few, the cult112 of Venus Pandemos still flourished at Corinth, and her temples there were served by a thousand priestesses. There she loves to have her abiding138 place, where she can look out upon two seas, and watch the sail-winged ships bringing her tribute from distant lands; she is the lure139, beckoning140 them over the pathless sea. The port Cenchrea is surrounded by green hills and pine forests, and through the stone-pines at dawn the sun sends his first level rays, so that their trunks show black 118against the gold. The streets are infested141 with traders of all nations; Jews and Syrians swarm142 there; child courtesans with delicate and innocent faces pluck strangers by the sleeve and smile; the quays143 and streets are crowded with the booths of merchants and moneychangers, whose gay awnings144 striped red or yellow glare vividly145 in the sunlight; and doves are everywhere, fluttering about the streets, fanning the air with a soft pulse of wings, alighting upon awnings and architraves to preen146 their feathers, running swiftly among the passengers on their pink feet and cooing, cooing softly like the young girls who touch men on the sleeve, the very gentle, insinuating147 whisper of Aphrodite.
"I arrived at Corinth in the beginning of December, and remember well the gaiety, animation148, and bustle149 of the scene as I watched it from the steps of the temple; for a long time I fed my sight upon that busy, amorous150, wholly pleasure-loving crowd, until, at last, the red and yellow awnings so hot and vivid even in the winter sunlight, the perpetual passing to and fro of men and women, the continual change and motion of colours, and the humming noise, all combined in a curious hypnotic effect upon my nerves. 119What had seemed the very epitome151 of life became a mere stage-scene, and then again nothing but the dance of motes152 in a sunbeam.
"It irritated me and then tired me. I turned from the Temple of Venus and sought that of Apollo, where I rested a little time in peace. Then I went to the house of my agent, with whom I was to lodge153 until I had taken a house for my own use. The man was kindly154, but tactless; his tedious anxiety to please distracted and irritated me, he was so much at my service that I could find no possible use for him. I said I wished to bathe, and my host insisted on coming with me. It was amusing to watch his air of importance as he conducted me through the crowded ways, for he was a notable person in the city, and every other man we met greeted us; as we paused a moment before a funeral procession I heard a voice saying: 'That is Serenus, a cousin of Acte's Serenus,' and once again I felt the intolerable stare of curious eyes, that dropped obsequiously155 when I met them. After my bath, my host led me to the Prefect's palace, for I had letters to Gallio, and then at last he left me. Gallio received me charmingly; his manners are those of a man who has known 120and forgotten everything. He begged me to dine, and to stay with him until I had found a house; but I excused myself on the score of business and fatigue156. He smiled, answered that he would always be glad of my company, and I left him.
"Once again in the streets, that vivid and passionate157 life appealed to me with a new sympathy; I read beneath the superficial gaiety and glitter, the human tragedy, the flight of pleasures and the irrevocable advance of death; women passed me in soft murmuring draperies, smiled at me languorously158 and passed on leaving the air tainted159 with Eastern perfumes. I noticed that even as they smiled their eyes were wistful. The delicate winter sunset began. I called a boy to me and asked him to guide me to the house of Caius, whom I wished to see personally on some business connected with the outfit160 of my ship. He led me to a house in the Jews' quarter and I tapped at the door. A freedwoman admitted me, looked at me with surprise, and was just going to speak but changed her mind and led me toward the doorway161 of a room whence came a sound of some one reading. Light fell through the doorway as she drew back the curtain; and she motioned me to enter; 121but I drew back in astonishment162, for a voice was reading aloud these words: 'Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become sounding brass163 or a tinkling164 cymbal165. And though I have prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And if I give away in food all my goods, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.'
"The grave voice ceased, for the servant had beckoned166 the reader, and presently Caius came toward me. I gave him my orders with reference to the sails and tackling of my ship, and spoke167 of other ships of mine which he had refitted for me; and then asked him what author he had been reading. For a moment he hesitated, and then answered that he had been reading to some friends a letter by Paul, an apostle of Christ. I enquired if I might look a little more closely at it as I had been interested in what I heard; and after hesitating again for a moment he brought it me. The scroll168 half opened in my hands and I read:--
"For behold169 your calling, brethren, how 122that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty170, not many noble, are called, but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought171 the things that are.' Mine eyes followed the words as the roll opened: 'Howbeit we speak wisdom among the perfect; yet a wisdom not of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, which are coming to nought; but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory; which none of the rulers of this world knoweth; for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.' My sight ran heedlessly over the next few lines until they came to these words: 'For I think, God hath set forth173 us the apostles last of all, as men doomed174 to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye 123are strong; ye have glory but we have dishonour175. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted176, and have no certain dwelling-place; and we toil177, working with our own hands; being reviled178, we bless; being persecuted180, we endure; being defamed, we entreat181; we are made as the filth182 of the world, the off-scouring of things, even until now.... What will ye, shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love, and a spirit of meekness183?'
"I rolled up the scroll, and gave it back to Caius, saying that I should like to read it all, but that at the moment I had not the time; and I suggested that he should lend it to me. He shook his head, murmuring that it was not his property, that it was only deposited in his house for safe keeping, the convenience of those who wished to consult it; but he offered to let me see it, in his house, at any time that I might wish. I said that perhaps I might come again, and went out into the street. I do not think that I had any intention of coming again; but as the women passed me in the moonlit streets, and the beggar children held out their supplicating184 hands, I seemed to hear the words: 'If I give away in food all my goods, 124and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.'
"Yes; I felt it in those streets, where little girls, still children and innocent, aped with a diabolic mimicry185 the manners and allurements186 of the women who followed me, followed me with a soft, rippling noise of draperies and odour of cosmetics187, like shadows, like ghosts. In the city of the goddess of pleasure, I seemed to learn, for the first time, the secret of pain. But beyond and above that sympathy with this drifting helpless mass that is humanity, I felt a curious desire to learn more of the personality of the writer who could write: 'If any man considereth himself wise among you, let him become a fool that he may be wise, and threaten to come among his disputing disciples with a rod.' His humility188 seemed to overpass189 the bounds of pride, his words were whips, his contempt for argument and disputation burned with a superhuman energy. He seemed to say: 'These are but words, empty sounds. I teach you the truth, accept it humbly190; have I not suffered for it, and will you, who have but enjoyed it in peace and plenty, attempt to alter it?'
"The next ten days I spent on business; and I went a great deal to the Prefect's palace where the conversation of Gallio and his friends charmed and delighted me. Gallio saw the world and the Empire drifting toward a complete breakdown192. Civilisation193, according to him, filled man with desires which he can never gratify; it tended to accentuate194 the difference between the poor and the rich, and the whole question resolved itself for him into a question of politics. The Roman stock was perishing, and its place was being taken by a horde195 of servile races. The people were only being kept in check by a system of doles196, and amused with pageants197. The burden of taxation198 was becoming insufferable.
"It may last our time," he said with a smile; "but the disease is ineradicable. A revolution, or a series of great wars, might carry us forward for a time. We are suffering from a mortal sickness, growth, which inevitably199 brings decay."
It had been arranged that one of my ships should follow three weeks after my departure from Gades; and on my arrival at lazy Naples, 126I had intended to wait for it, consequently I had remained there for three weeks and a few days, and the other ship not coming by that time I continued my voyage to Brundusium. There again I waited, anxious for news, and at last reluctantly put out to sea without it. It arrived at Corinth fourteen days after I did, and brought me a letter from my nephew, but none from my wife. In an agony of doubt I opened it, and read that my wife and child had died of a fever which had afflicted200 them a few days after my departure. First my son had died, a boy little more than three years old; and my wife, after lingering some time, followed him. I had moved into my own house, and was alone. Sending a messenger to my agent I bade him see to all things; and told him that I wished to be left undisturbed. The words of the Master came to me:
"Nam iam non domus accipiet te l?ta neque uxor
Optima, nec dulces occurrent oscula nati
Pr?ripere, et tacita pectus dulcedine tangent."
It seemed to me that the peace and tranquillity201 of my home, the sole aim of my life, having been shrivelled up like unsubstantial things, vanished like dreams, life had thrown 127me, too, aside and left me stranded202, a piece of wreckage203, upon this alien shore. For many days I sat alone in my sumptuous house, and the statues of the gods, blithe204 Greek things, which I had bought to furnish it, and for transhipment to the new home which I had meant to make at Rome, smiled at my unavailing tears. Then one morning my slaves admitted a young boy to my presence.
"Caius bids me tell you that Paul is in Corinth," he said.
"I shall go," I answered.
After he had left me, I repented205. Why should I choose to frequent the Jews and miracle-mongers of Corinth, who swarmed206 there on the way to Rome from every part of the East, astrologers, and sellers of love-potions, poisoners, and go-betweens? But the words rose up in my mind: "God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise:" and I wished to be ashamed. In my weakness and grief my hands went forth and groped in the darkness, seeking the hands of those who had also suffered, seeking for the little familiar, common-place things, that twine207 themselves round our being and are the mainstays of life. My 128abandonment of life in my grief had been so complete, that but for the message which came to me from Caius, I might have drifted towards self-destruction, merely because of the sullen208 inertia209, which followed after the force of the blow had been spent. Philosophy, religion, discipline, every vain convention which we imagine may buttress210 our will in moments of great spiritual weakness, fell away from me like garments, and the only thing remaining was a sense of human sympathy, a craving211 for human consolation212.
Our master, Epicurus, was a lover of children; he knew, no one better, their delicate and insinuating ways, the strange unreal world in which they play, their unconsciousness of time; and he seems to have taken them as patterns and exemplars of the life of pleasure, unsuspicious of the future, and forgetful of the past, but living always with a vivid intensity213, in that little, shut-in pleasure-house of the senses, the moment. As I thought of my child, I remembered all his caresses214, the soft touch of his flower-like hands upon my face, and the grave eyes that seemed to keep a wisdom older than the world; and beside that image in my dreams stooped another, Drusilla, her hands guiding him to me, she whose whole 129life was like some attenuated215 fragrance, difficult of apprehension216, but inexpressibly sweet, her quiet brows with neat bands of hair smoothed against the cool flesh; and the love that grew between us, first for what she revealed to me, and then for what she hid. When I thought of these two brief, beautiful creatures, I seemed to see in them the true fragility of life, as if it were no more than wind in the stops of a flute217 or sweet vibration218 from the strings219 of a lyre, aerial, elusive220, never to be wholly imprisoned221 in any one form, but wandering, vocal222, through the whole of creation, illuminating223 it to one exquisite224 moment, like light upon hill and sea, and then vanishing, fleeing away into darkness, never to be exactly repeated.
So to me, sitting apart and outwardly unmoved, there came that fierce hunger for things departed, that blind, bitter struggle against the unalterable conditions of life.
I hesitated, and delayed to set out on my adventure until well on into the night At last I went. A fresh wind was blowing from the north-west, it stung my face and eyes, and I saw that snow lay lightly upon the summit of Acrocorinth, silvery in the moonlight. As I passed into the Jews' quarter I 130began to meet little knots and groups of people talking with excited gestures, and I heard rumours225 of brawls226 and quarrels; but I reached the house of Caius without incident. The same boy who had brought me the message admitted me. He had fine clear-cut features, distinctive227 of no particular race, though with evidence of Roman blood somewhere. Caius was the son of a freedman I gathered later, and this boy was the eldest228 of his two children, the other being a girl. The boy told me that the meeting was over, but that Caius was with Paul and his travelling companions in an upper chamber29; he led the way and I followed. I felt cold and suspicious, but curious. The boy drew back the curtain, whispered my name, and I went into the warmly-lighted room. Seated by the brazier was a thick-set, crook-backed man, ugly and mean, with a small head, much too small for his shoulders, a sallow skin and thick beard. As I entered he lifted his face; the eyebrows229 met above the beaky nose, and he regarded me for a moment in complete silence. The eyes were piercing, as though full of smouldering fires. They seemed to explore the most secret recesses230 of my soul; then to grow kinder, as if recognising something in it.
131"Peace be with you, and light, and understanding," he said; and as he spoke there seemed to me a hesitation232 and an embarrassment233 in his manner. I murmured something in reply, at which, perhaps, a slight smile broke about his lips, and he turned away. Caius brought me the manuscript which I had looked at, gave me a chair in a warm corner by a lamp, and went back to the others. I began to read. Four men, besides Caius, and a woman were gathered at a table by Paul. One of the men was holding a pen. Then the voice of Paul broke the silence.
"For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness234 of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. That the ordinance235 of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the spirit is life and peace.... And if Christ 132is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness."
Holding the manuscript on my knees, I listened. The passion of the speaker seized and held me; he was like one so full of speech as to be inarticulate, he seemed to falter236 through many phrases until he found the right one; he would go on blindly, following the mere impulse of his mind, without thought or reason, until at last, as with pain, words came to him that seemed to touch the heart, to illuminate237 hidden places, and what had gone before was transfused238 and crystallised by it into a kind of rude and imperfect unity239. Sometimes after one of these magnificent utterances240, he would give forth phrase after phrase, that glowed with the heat of his own certainty. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation241, or anguish, or persecution242, or famine, or nakedness, or peril243, or the sword?" He dealt with speech as one dealing244 with iron in the fire, hammering out the words. "Nay245, in all these things we are more than conquerors246 through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 133powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."
He was persuaded. Seeing that they had forgotten me, I lifted my eyes and studied him as he spoke. I saw that his health was bad; the carriage of his head seemed epileptic, but bodily health was nothing to him; he seemed worn with travel and hunger, misfortune and persecution, yet the fire of his speech showed the strength of his conviction; even as, in his words, he seemed to thrust the world away from him for the sake of an idea, so, for the sake of an idea he had thrust away his infirmities, and pursued his way heedless of obstacles. "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it. Why didst thou make me thus? Or, hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel247 unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"
Sometimes Paul moved a little, with nervous half-conscious movements; or while speaking he would stretch his large toil-worn hands over the brazier where the light gleaming through the fingers made them seem more distorted. As a rule he spoke slowly, but 134when he became dominated by his thought the words hurried, more and more quickly, until the writer paused, perplexed249, and, not without a slight gesture of impatience250 followed by a swifter smile as if of encouragement, Paul would repeat himself; sometimes losing the thread of his discourse251. Indeed, from what I learned of his life, it seemed that it was his fate to be thwarted252 and hindered by material restrictions253, of health, of liberty, of speech. No vessel was capable of sustaining the flame that burned in him. I could not understand all that he said, as I knew nothing of what was behind; but here and there his words burnt into my brain.
The man who had been writing stopped, stretched his cramped254 fingers; and Paul motioned another to his place: "Abhor255 that which is evil, cleave256 to that which is good. In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another.... patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly257 in prayer, communicating to the necessities of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless them that persecute179 you; bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice; weep with them that weep.... Be not wise in your own conceits258. Render unto 135no man evil for evil.... Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the powers that be are ordained172 of God." I had sat listening to these words of conviction until I felt numbed259, yet I was not satisfied.
Paul also seemed to weary for a minute. The word "love" that seemed to contain all their mystical creed260 fell again from his lips: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself; Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; Love therefore is the fulfilment of the law; and this knowing the season, that now it is high time for you to awake out of sleep."
He ceased, rose and walked to the window, drew back the curtain, and leaned out as if to cool his head. The sky was grey with dawn. From the streets below came drunken voices of men and women, singing ribald songs; and presently I heard the tramp of the armed guard. For a moment Paul leaned there.
"The night is far spent," he said, "and the day is at hand; therefore let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour261 of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in revelling262 and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife263 and jealousy264. But put ye on the Lord Jesus 136Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts265 thereof."
He ceased, drew the curtain to again, and came towards me. Through his incredible ugliness there shone a majesty266 of power, fascinating, enchanting267, wooing me with its strength and flame-like intensity. His hands were cold from the ledge100 of the window, and as they took mine a thrill ran through me. The other men looked at us quietly, as if they were conscious of some crisis, and of some antagonism268 between us. Paul looked at the manuscript upon my knees, and smiled.
"What are my words to you?" he asked.
"I have also thought of these things," I answered him.
"Yes; it is not the thinking of them that is strange, but what do they mean to you? What does our law mean to you? What does our mystery mean to you? Nothing. You are given over to vain imaginations, the conceits of the mind. You have no humility, no faith. Your great possessions have turned your mind. Until the blow fell upon you, you had imagined that you were secure through life. You have put your trust in perishable things, and they have fallen through your fingers like water, like 137dry sand. What have you left sacred in the world? Your wisdom has made a desert about you, a desert where there is no God. What have you to hope?"
It was as if he mocked me, pitied me, understood me. He made me cold toward him; and at the same time my sorrow flooded me.
"What is my trouble to you? I can bear it alone," I said harshly. "The things which you have written I have read in our own philosophers."
"You have found nothing else in me which was not in them?"
"Nothing."
A gloom spread over his face, the light which had illuminated269 it died out, leaving only the smouldering fires of his eyes, which burned dimly. He dropped my hands. The others turned away their eyes and shifted uneasily.
"There is he in whose name I speak. The love of Christ constrained270 me."
I sat frowning, without comprehension.
"It is not yet time," he continued sadly. "One must have patience, exceeding patience. You do not understand what we teach concerning Christ, who is the Son of God. Yet 138you came to us willingly; you, a Roman, came and took the hand of a Jew, whose touch, to your fellows, is contamination; and, in my pride I said: Lo! I have triumphed over the wisdom of the Gentile. It is through God's grace only that I am called to be an apostle to men. It is through his grace alone that you will be saved; for you will come again. Tell me that you will come again."
"I shall come again," I said simply; the curious anxiety of his words troubled me vaguely271. I felt a profound pity for this man, to whom even a stranger was a brother. I rose and took my cloak; as I passed out each gave me a salutation, the salutation of peace.
Outside it was dawn. The lupanars were giving up their dead, some sailors and devotees of the great goddess were already congregating272 in the wine-shops. Muffled273 as I was in my great coarse cloak they suspected me of being one of the Roman soldiers, and none spoke to me or offered me insult. I did not heed93 them but passed along the quays, looking at Acrocorinth towering like Eryx, that other home of the sea-born and lure for sailors, into the infinite blue of a cloudless sky. Wreaths of vapour cloaked its lower reaches, and it 139seemed like a great dome274 suspended in the air. On the other side laughed the wide sea in multitudinous ripples275 of light. It all seemed to reflect some childish half-conscious gaiety of my soul. My sorrow still lay there, but comforted with human sympathy, and the two mystical gifts of the Christians, peace and love.
It was only after I had escaped from the enchantment276 of his presence that I was able to understand the aims and ambitions of Paul, as he showed them in the letter which he had dictated277 that night, and which was to be copied and sent to all the communities that had come together in Greece, Asia and Italy. His aim was principally to abolish the restrictions which hampered278 conversion279 into his faith, rites280 of the Jews, circumcision, the use of certain meats which they had considered unclean, and the huge body of formul? and observances, which had grown and developed out of casuistry and the old Hebrew law; but beyond and above that he wished them to propitiate281 the civil power. When he spoke of the abolition282 of the law he meant those rites and ceremonies which seemed a profanation283 of, a bartering284 with, the divinity. He 140felt that his mission was not to the Jews alone, but to all the nations of the world. In this he was opposed by the more rigid285 Christians at Jerusalem, who held that circumcision was necessary, and that only a Jew could be saved. One of the most rigid adherents286 of this narrower sect was a brother of Christ, who seemed to pass his whole life in the Temple, praying and fasting.
Paul was often bitter against this sect. Yet it was out of that same kind of formalism that he himself had sprung; and he seldom lost traces of it, except in a few isolated287 moments, when love and indignation burnt him up. I went among these Christians again and again; and each time became more fascinated by their hidden, gentle lives. A very intimate tie bound Caius to Paul, for Paul had initiated288 him into their mysteries, which were, I imagine, the same as in other religions, a purification and a mystic meal. Caius was a man of considerable power, but of immense reserve, from whom I learnt very little. Paul was a fanatic289, impatient of the opposition290 to his teaching at Jerusalem. Sometimes in anger he would satirise his opponents and the rite99 of circumcision with a bitter and sardonic humour. He was honey 141to those he loved, gall47 to those who withstood him.
The community in Corinth having fallen back during his absence into a moral laxity, almost excusable considering their environment, he withdrew them from all social intercourse291 with their fellow-citizens. They obeyed because they loved, but more, because they feared him. Before his conversion he had persecuted the Christians to turn them from their faith; afterwards he persecuted them to keep them in it. I learned the story of his conversion. It had its origin in the death of one called Stephen, who had been accused before the Jewish Collegium of blasphemy292; a frivolous293 pretext294 for the punishment of one's opponents which had obtained everywhere but in Rome.
As you know, the law of the Empire is that no one shall be punished with death except by a Roman court, and only when he has been convicted of specified295 crimes; for the spirit of Roman usage has always been, in the words of Tiberius, that the injuries of the gods are the gods' affair. Stephen, after an argument with his accusers, suddenly cried out with a loud voice: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing231 at the right hand 142of God." With one accord his exasperated296 enemies stripped off their cloaks and laid them at the feet of Paul, who took charge of them; and they stoned Stephen, Paul consenting to his death.
Even at the time, perhaps, standing aside and taking no part in the murder, Paul's conscience may have reproved him. In any case the incident assumed, afterwards, an enormous importance for him. He could not speak of it without emotion. Perhaps also he feared that he might be accused to the Roman authorities for his part in the riot. His mind became abnormally excited.
Some days afterwards he set out for Damascus to bring up some more Christians to Jerusalem, to be tried by the same barbarous assembly. Suddenly at noon he saw a blinding light, and he fell to the ground. A voice called to him out of the sky. According to some accounts the voice uttered a phrase from Euripides: it is hard for thee to kick against the goads297. The phrase had passed into current use. However strange it may seem that a voice from heaven should have uttered these words, it is perfectly natural that Paul should have heard them; he must have heard them before, many times.
143But what goads were meant? The pricks298 of conscience, perhaps, for his share in the murder of Stephen; some secret remorse299, against which he had steeled his heart, in the hope that time and use would cure it. Such was the conversion of Paul. His nature had suffered no change from it; he had merely found a new aim for his life, and the same zeal300, which he had used in his persecution of the Christians, he now asserted in their cause. To himself this incident of his conversion seemed unnatural301, miraculous302; but to us it is simple, and easily explained, being merely a repetition of Stephen's vision. As I have already written, he was of delicate health; some nervous, constitutional weakness affected303 him; epilepsy, perhaps, or something akin248 to it. His accounts of what happened varied304; for he seemed to have told the story in different ways to different people. In one account, those who were with him heard the voice, but did not see the light; and in another version they saw the light, but did not hear the voice. Paul himself had not known Christ in the flesh. He knew little of him, except that he had been born, had gathered about him a group of disciples, had preached, and had died on the cross.
144His mind therefore could fashion no clear image in the vision. He could only see a light and hear familiar words. He himself always treated this vision of the risen Master as distinct from the visions which had been manifested to the other disciples, as a purely305 spiritual manifestation306: "and lastly," he said, "He appeared to me as to an abortion307." What does he mean by this phrase? Does it mean that Paul's spiritual birth was effected by violence, prematurely308; that it was precipitated309 by the murder of Stephen? Is it remorse for Stephen's death that forces him to apply this hideous310 epithet311 to himself; or is it a reference to the lack of definite, sensible impressions; or to the fact of the lateness of his conversion; or merely a scornful reference to his own physical deformities? He was accustomed to speak with a bitter mockery of his infirmities, yet, it seemed also, with a little pride. He mentioned in the letter, which Caius showed me, that he had prayed for the removal of some physical disability, but the prayer had not been granted. The fragility of his vision was even used by his opponents, the small sect practising poverty at Jerusalem, among whom was the brother of their Master, as a ground for denying his mission. One is almost tempted312 to 145agree with them. The evidence is vague, the accounts vary. We may wonder into what form these floating legends will crystallise, if the community endures and increases; if they will ever form a complete unity, like the myths of Orpheus and Dionysos.
There are some who imagine that Christianity is but one of the many features of the new social movement, which was Gallio's opinion; but I cannot think so, for the reason that the Christians believe in the rapidly approaching end of the world. They believe that their Master, who was crucified, will return, even before his own generation has passed away, to judge the world. It is the cardinal point of their teaching. Any definite social reconstruction313 is consequently outside their aims; but the organisation314 of their communities, in so far as it can be called an organisation, resembles rather closely our popular funerary societies, which have always been looked upon with suspicion by the authorities.
Paul's exhortation315 to his community "to be in subjection to the higher powers," was written with the intention of guarding against any outbreak which might prejudice "the powers that be, and are ordained of God," against the communities, who seek only to 146be left to the peace of their quiet lives and the practice of their cult. They are a little humble folk for the most part, except where there are Jews among them, and then arises the question of the tribute money; whether it be lawful316 to pay it? That is the only cause which may put them in conflict with the authorities.
But there is a graver danger to the friends of Paul. They are for the most part humble artisans, followers317 of the lowest trades, mendicants, and cheap hawkers; despised by all classes, they are at once despised, hated, and feared, by the class immediately above them, with whom they must necessarily enter into competition where the dividing line is faint, or barely drawn318 at all. Beside this natural jealousy of an alien competition, there is the sense of distrust which the secrecy319 of their lives breeds in the minds of the citizens. People invariably suspect a man who leads a retired320 life, either of some shameful321 practices, or of a guilty past. Yet suspicion and persecution do not suffice to turn this little community out of the way they have chosen. After the day is over, they meet together, as one family, in some dimly-lit room, and greet each other with peace and love. It is time 147to awake out of sleep, they say; the hour approaches, the Lord cometh. That is their whole life, they have no active part in the great revolutionary social movement of slaves and freedom, they sit with folded hands, patiently, awaiting the coming of their Lord, who shall judge the world, and end it.
Moving among them, taking part almost in their daily life, a life removed and hidden from the world, how could I blame them? Their credulity even seemed sacred to me, it was so fragile a thing, of such delicate and exquisite growth, a desire which has lain always close to the heart of man. For me, beyond the flaming walls of the world sit the deathless gods in their quiet seats, peace flooding their hearts; and no sound of mortal anguish ascends322 to them, but they sit ever in their halls shining with silver and glittering with gold, and the lovely lyre makes an immortal86 music about them, and wine gladdens the feast, and the rhythmic323 motion of the dancing choirs324; but for these poor artisans of Corinth the god is a companion by the way, they love to speak of him under homely325 words, he is the vine-dresser, the grafter326 of olives, the sower; he carries into their sordid327 lives the peace of wide skies and tranquil waters, he is the 148shepherd who tends his flock and leads them into pleasant pastures. Yes, behind Paul, the man of fire, whose life was an odyssey328, full of arduous329 endeavour and storm, was another figure, a figure of singular beauty, before whom even the fire of Paul's ardour flickered and was tamed, the Christ whom man had crucified, and who had redeemed330 man from sin and death. They seemed to have fashioned him out of their own weary lives, their blood and tears; he had pity on their suffering, and suffered for them; he had mercy on their sin, and took it upon himself, they could bear all for his sake who had borne all for theirs; he had revealed to them sympathy and love.
The great central points of their teaching meant nothing to me. The promise for me was void; but the conditions of the promise, there was the charm. Sometimes I think that if I could have put away from me all my philosophical332 preoccupations, I would willingly have left everything I possessed333, for the sake of that peace, that security, that trust in something outside ourselves, which is infinitely334 wise, infinitely merciful, infinitely loving. But faith, belief, is not an act of volition335, it is the spiritual nature; it is the possession of children and of simple folk.
149To those who have looked into the nature of things, who with Epicurus see man as only the momentary336 grouping together of a substance essentially337 transient and mutable, life itself is the end, a life of fine appreciations338, retirement339, and leisure, and a death that has no awakening340. We, too, love our neighbour; we, too, have charity toward the bruised341 and broken lives about us; we, too, recommend all men to hide their lives, to be moderate, to abhor that which is evil and cling to that which is good. We are Christians without Christ.
My own grief was still with me, but a serene and hopeless resignation had taken the place of despair. The memory of Drusilla and my child haunted my waking moments, and daily thoughts, like vain phantoms342 escaped for a brief moment from the shadowy realm of fabled343 Proserpina. The past was part of my consciousness; as it is, I suppose of every man. I began again to frequent the Prefect's palace, to listen to his mellow31 wisdom which he cloaked in laughing phrase, as we passed easily from one subject to another without exhausting any. Seneca's raillery was dull beside his brother's; Seneca laughed at women and the comedy of manners, to Gallio 150nothing was sacred, not even his philosophic331 brother. At the same time I still continued to frequent the house of Caius, and the society of the Christians. It placed me in an anomalous344 position, and one day Gallio said laughingly that a friend had accused me of assisting at the secret rites and orgies of the Christians, but that he had replied I was more likely to frequent the pretty daughter of Caius. Then I remembered the daughter of Caius, a young girl of extraordinary beauty, with a perverse345 expression, blonde hair, and eyes like a cat, that watched every movement with a stealthy curiosity. She seemed lonely and out of place in that house of austere gravity.
"She is already famous as a beauty," said Gallio.
"I go there on business," I said with a smile, and willing to let him believe what he would; and, I added, after a moment's thought: "she is charming."
Gallio laughed, and then changed his tone quickly.
"I do not advise you to frequent that quarter of our delightful town," he said. "It is the haunt of the worst characters in Corinth, thieves, sorcerers, and charlatans346 inhabit it. 151Even the house of Caius is not free from suspicion; it is said that some of our ladies go there for love-potions, or for other purposes."
I was thinking, and did not reply to the innuendo347. Gallio watched me for a moment curiously348, in silence. I did not speak.
"I have bought a little masterpiece, a painting by Parrhasios of the triumph of Bacchus. Come and see it; it only arrived from Athens this morning."
The next time I visited the house of Caius I spoke to Paul of what Gallio's suspicions were; a sullen glow filled his eyes.
"It is no new thing," he said; "on every side we are looked upon with suspicion and distrust; we are poor, and live cheek by jowl with the evil things of life, and therefore we are also evil. The rich, and those in high places trample349 upon us; yet we shall be justified350."
Pride filled him.
"In a little time you go away to Rome, and I to Jerusalem to carry alms to the saints there, whom the Jews persecute. We are like two travellers, who have met together in an inn, and spoken of their travels; but at dawn they separate and go their several ways. 152Shall we meet again? You are not one of us, but perchance God will lead you to us. Be humble; put away all vain imaginings of the mind; love all things; suffer all things."
He gazed at me sadly for a time.
"If you would but close your eyes and put out your hand trustfully, God would lead you through the darkness. You are almost of us; and yet you are not of us. There is a barrier which you cannot pass: you cannot believe."
Then, again, after a moment's pause.
"You must not come here again."
He rose and left me. The last time I saw that small, bald head poised351 upon the huge misshapen shoulder was when they were framed in the doorway; then the curtain fell and he had gone. I sat a little while, almost sorrowful. Then a small, delicate hand was slid into mine, and I heard a soft voice whispering:
"You are going away. Take me with you."
It was the daughter of Caius, she clung to me and gazed appealingly at me out of her precocious352 eyes.
"Take me away with you," she repeated. "I shall do anything for you; only take me away, take me away. I cannot stay here. It will kill me. They are so good and I am 153wicked; yes, I am very wicked. Some one told me I was beautiful, and it pleased me. I want to go with you. I am wicked. I want people to see that I am beautiful...."
Serenus began to roll up his manuscript.
"It is too dark to read the rest. But now you know the Christians. What do you think of them?"
"I think as I have always thought," said Rufus; "all Jews are alike. They are the enemies of the human race; their religion is one of despair, and they do not hope to find salvation353 in this world. The East is the home of all credulity and superstition. Come to dinner and let us arrange to do something to-morrow. A hunt?"
"What happened to the girl?" enquired Marcus, stretching himself slowly.
Serenus looked over the sea, toward the fishing-boats, each of which showed a light.
"Go down to the house, both of you, and bathe. I shall follow presently. We shall dine sumptuously354 to-night; and, yes, to-morrow we shall hunt. It will pass the time."
They left him. For a little while he sat watching the lights out at sea, the spires355 of mist wreathing above the olives, the dance 154of fire-flies over the sloping lawn. He sat motionless for some time; then he rose, and sighed.
"A little pleasure, and then darkness and silence," he said.
He began to walk slowly toward the house. A path below him echoed with the sound of footsteps and voices; looking through the low branches he thought that he discovered in the uncertain light the figure and features of Paul, surrounded by the slaves of the household.
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ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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alleys
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| 胡同，小巷( alley的名词复数 )； 小径 | |
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diversified
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| adj.多样化的，多种经营的v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 )；进入新的商业领域 | |
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dense
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| a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的 | |
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boughs
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tortuously
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labyrinthine
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windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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perfectly
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thickets
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| n.灌木丛( thicket的名词复数 )；丛状物 | |
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thicket
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| n.灌木丛，树林 | |
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12
lizards
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| n.蜥蜴( lizard的名词复数 ) | |
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13
bask
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| vt.取暖，晒太阳，沐浴于 | |
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14
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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15
luscious
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| adj.美味的；芬芳的；肉感的，引与性欲的 | |
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16
poultry
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| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
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17
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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18
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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19
rippling
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| 起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的 | |
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20
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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21
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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22
austere
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| adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的 | |
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23
grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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24
villa
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| n.别墅，城郊小屋 | |
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25
decadence
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| n.衰落，颓废 | |
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26
colonnade
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| n.柱廊 | |
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27
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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28
sumptuous
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| adj.豪华的，奢侈的，华丽的 | |
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29
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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30
elegances
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| n.高雅( elegance的名词复数 )；（举止、服饰、风格等的）优雅；精致物品；（思考等的）简洁 | |
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31
mellow
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| adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟 | |
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32
mellowed
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| （使）成熟( mellow的过去式和过去分词 )； 使色彩更加柔和，使酒更加醇香 | |
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33
fragrance
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| n.芬芳，香味，香气 | |
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34
murmur
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| n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言 | |
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35
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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36
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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37
crumbs
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| int. (表示惊讶)哎呀 n. 碎屑 名词crumb的复数形式 | |
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38
repel
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| v.击退，抵制，拒绝，排斥 | |
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39
meditation
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| n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录 | |
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40
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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41
awakened
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| v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到 | |
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42
vivacity
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| n.快活，活泼，精神充沛 | |
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43
solitudes
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| n.独居( solitude的名词复数 )；孤独；荒僻的地方；人迹罕至的地方 | |
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44
bequests
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| n.遗赠( bequest的名词复数 )；遗产，遗赠物 | |
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45
instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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46
veins
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| n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理 | |
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47
gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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48
annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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49
nemesis
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| n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手 | |
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50
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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51
sardonic
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|
| adj.嘲笑的，冷笑的，讥讽的 | |
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52
brutal
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|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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53
stoic
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| n.坚忍克己之人，禁欲主义者 | |
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54
stifle
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| vt.使窒息；闷死；扼杀；抑止，阻止 | |
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55
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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56
accomplishments
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| n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就 | |
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57
rhetoric
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| n.修辞学，浮夸之言语 | |
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58
declamation
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| n. 雄辩，高调 | |
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59
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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60
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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61
satire
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|
| n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品 | |
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62
enquired
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|
| 打听( enquire的过去式和过去分词 )； 询问； 问问题； 查问 | |
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63
brotherhood
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|
| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
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64
condemnation
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| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
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65
entirely
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|
| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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66
maxims
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|
| n.格言，座右铭( maxim的名词复数 ) | |
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67
tersely
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|
| adv. 简捷地, 简要地 | |
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68
peculiar
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|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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69
tributary
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| n.支流；纳贡国；adj.附庸的；辅助的；支流的 | |
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70
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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71
legitimate
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|
| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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72
stagnant
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| adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的 | |
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73
corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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74
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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75
orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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76
eloquence
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|
| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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77
persuasive
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| adj.有说服力的，能说得使人相信的 | |
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78
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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79
vices
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| 缺陷( vice的名词复数 )； 恶习； 不道德行为； 台钳 | |
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80
condemned
|
|
| 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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81
subjective
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| a.主观(上)的，个人的 | |
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82
poetic
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| adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的 | |
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83
precisely
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|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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84
disciples
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|
| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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85
immortality
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| n.不死，不朽 | |
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86
immortal
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|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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87
well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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88
hatred
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|
| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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89
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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90
abode
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| n.住处，住所 | |
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91
penetrates
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| v.穿过( penetrate的第三人称单数 )；刺入；了解；渗透 | |
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92
anguish
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| n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼 | |
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93
heed
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| v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心 | |
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94
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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95
perishable
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|
| adj.（尤指食物）易腐的，易坏的 | |
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96
profane
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|
| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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97
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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98
travail
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| n.阵痛；努力 | |
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99
rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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100
ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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101
prelude
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| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
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102
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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103
accustom
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| vt.使适应，使习惯 | |
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104
sect
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|
| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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105
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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106
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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107
loathe
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| v.厌恶，嫌恶 | |
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108
reciprocated
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|
| v.报答，酬答( reciprocate的过去式和过去分词 )；（机器的部件）直线往复运动 | |
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109
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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110
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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111
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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112
cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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113
cults
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| n.迷信( cult的名词复数 )；狂热的崇拜；（有极端宗教信仰的）异教团体 | |
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114
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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115
alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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116
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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117
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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118
apathy
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| n.漠不关心，无动于衷；冷淡 | |
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119
cypresses
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| n.柏属植物，柏树( cypress的名词复数 ) | |
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120
starry
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| adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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121
beeches
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| n.山毛榉( beech的名词复数 )；山毛榉木材 | |
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122
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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123
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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124
westward
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|
| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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125
promontories
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| n.岬，隆起，海角( promontory的名词复数 ) | |
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126
jut
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| v.突出；n.突出，突出物 | |
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127
moths
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| n.蛾( moth的名词复数 ) | |
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128
transparent
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| adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的 | |
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129
flickered
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| （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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130
mirage
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| n.海市蜃楼，幻景 | |
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131
prospect
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| n.前景，前途；景色，视野 | |
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132
enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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133
halcyon
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| n.平静的，愉快的 | |
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134
plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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135
foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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136
prow
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| n.(飞机)机头，船头 | |
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137
votaries
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| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
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138
abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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139
lure
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| n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引 | |
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140
beckoning
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| adj.引诱人的，令人心动的v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的现在分词 ) | |
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141
infested
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| adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于 | |
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142
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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143
quays
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| 码头( quay的名词复数 ) | |
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144
awnings
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| 篷帐布 | |
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145
vividly
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| adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地 | |
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146
preen
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| v.（人）打扮修饰 | |
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147
insinuating
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| adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
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148
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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149
bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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150
amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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151
epitome
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| n.典型，梗概 | |
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152
motes
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| n.尘埃( mote的名词复数 )；斑点 | |
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153
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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154
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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155
obsequiously
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156
fatigue
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| n.疲劳，劳累 | |
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157
passionate
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| 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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158
languorously
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| adv.疲倦地，郁闷地 | |
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159
tainted
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|
| adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏 | |
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160
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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161
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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162
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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163
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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164
tinkling
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| n.丁当作响声 | |
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165
cymbal
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| n.铙钹 | |
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166
beckoned
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| v.（用头或手的动作）示意，召唤( beckon的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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167
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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168
scroll
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| n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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169
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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170
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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171
nought
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| n.／adj.无，零 | |
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172
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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173
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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174
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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175
dishonour
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| n./vt.拒付（支票、汇票、票据等）；vt.凌辱，使丢脸；n.不名誉，耻辱，不光彩 | |
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176
buffeted
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| 反复敲打( buffet的过去式和过去分词 )； 连续猛击； 打来打去； 推来搡去 | |
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177
toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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178
reviled
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| v.辱骂，痛斥( revile的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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179
persecute
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| vt.迫害，虐待；纠缠，骚扰 | |
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180
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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181
entreat
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| v.恳求，恳请 | |
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182
filth
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| n.肮脏，污物，污秽；淫猥 | |
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183
meekness
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| n.温顺，柔和 | |
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184
supplicating
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| v.祈求，哀求，恳求( supplicate的现在分词 ) | |
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185
mimicry
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| n.（生物）拟态，模仿 | |
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186
allurements
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| n.诱惑( allurement的名词复数 )；吸引；诱惑物；有诱惑力的事物 | |
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187
cosmetics
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| n.化妆品 | |
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188
humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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189
overpass
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| n.天桥，立交桥 | |
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190
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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191
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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192
breakdown
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| n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌 | |
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193
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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194
accentuate
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| v.着重，强调 | |
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195
horde
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| n.群众，一大群 | |
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196
doles
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| 救济物( dole的名词复数 )； 失业救济金 | |
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197
pageants
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| n.盛装的游行( pageant的名词复数 )；穿古代服装的游行；再现历史场景的娱乐活动；盛会 | |
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198
taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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199
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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200
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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201
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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202
stranded
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| a.搁浅的，进退两难的 | |
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203
wreckage
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| n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏 | |
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204
blithe
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| adj.快乐的，无忧无虑的 | |
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205
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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206
swarmed
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| 密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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207
twine
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| v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕 | |
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208
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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209
inertia
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| adj.惰性，惯性，懒惰，迟钝 | |
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210
buttress
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| n.支撑物；v.支持 | |
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211
craving
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| n.渴望,热望 | |
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212
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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213
intensity
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| n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度 | |
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214
caresses
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| 爱抚，抚摸( caress的名词复数 ) | |
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215
attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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216
apprehension
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| n.理解，领悟；逮捕，拘捕；忧虑 | |
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217
flute
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| n.长笛；v.吹笛 | |
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218
vibration
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| n.颤动，振动；摆动 | |
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219
strings
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| n.弦 | |
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220
elusive
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| adj.难以表达(捉摸)的；令人困惑的；逃避的 | |
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221
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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222
vocal
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| adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目 | |
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223
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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224
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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225
rumours
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| n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传 | |
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226
brawls
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| 吵架，打架( brawl的名词复数 ) | |
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227
distinctive
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| adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的 | |
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228
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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229
eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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230
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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231
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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232
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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233
embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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234
likeness
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| n.相像，相似（之处） | |
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235
ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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236
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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237
illuminate
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| vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释 | |
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238
transfused
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| v.输（血或别的液体）( transfuse的过去式和过去分词 )；渗透；使…被灌输或传达 | |
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239
unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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240
utterances
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| n.发声( utterance的名词复数 )；说话方式；语调；言论 | |
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241
tribulation
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| n.苦难，灾难 | |
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242
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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243
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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244
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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245
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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246
conquerors
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| 征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 ) | |
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247
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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248
akin
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| adj.同族的，类似的 | |
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249
perplexed
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| adj.不知所措的 | |
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250
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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251
discourse
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| n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述 | |
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252
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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253
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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254
cramped
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| a.狭窄的 | |
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255
abhor
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| v.憎恶；痛恨 | |
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256
cleave
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| v．(clave；cleaved)粘着，粘住；坚持；依恋 | |
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257
steadfastly
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| adv.踏实地，不变地；岿然；坚定不渝 | |
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258
conceits
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| 高傲( conceit的名词复数 )； 自以为； 巧妙的词语； 别出心裁的比喻 | |
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259
numbed
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| v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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260
creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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261
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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262
revelling
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| v.作乐( revel的现在分词 )；狂欢；着迷；陶醉 | |
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263
strife
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| n.争吵，冲突，倾轧，竞争 | |
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264
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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265
lusts
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| 贪求（lust的第三人称单数形式） | |
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266
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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267
enchanting
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| a.讨人喜欢的 | |
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268
antagonism
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| n.对抗，敌对，对立 | |
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269
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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270
constrained
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| adj.束缚的,节制的 | |
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271
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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272
congregating
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| （使）集合，聚集( congregate的现在分词 ) | |
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273
muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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274
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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275
ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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276
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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277
dictated
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| v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布 | |
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278
hampered
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| 妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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279
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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280
rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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281
propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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282
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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283
profanation
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| n.亵渎 | |
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284
bartering
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| v.作物物交换，以货换货( barter的现在分词 ) | |
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285
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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286
adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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287
isolated
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| adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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288
initiated
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| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
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289
fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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290
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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291
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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292
blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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293
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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294
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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295
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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296
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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297
goads
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| n.赶牲口的尖棒( goad的名词复数 )v.刺激( goad的第三人称单数 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人 | |
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298
pricks
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| 刺痛( prick的名词复数 )； 刺孔； 刺痕； 植物的刺 | |
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299
remorse
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| n.痛恨，悔恨，自责 | |
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300
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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301
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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302
miraculous
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| adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的 | |
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303
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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304
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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305
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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306
manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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307
abortion
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| n.流产，堕胎 | |
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308
prematurely
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| adv.过早地，贸然地 | |
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309
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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310
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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311
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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312
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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313
reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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314
organisation
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| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
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315
exhortation
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| n.劝告，规劝 | |
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316
lawful
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| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
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317
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 | |
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318
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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319
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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320
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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321
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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322
ascends
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的第三人称单数 ) | |
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323
rhythmic
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| adj.有节奏的，有韵律的 | |
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324
choirs
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| n.教堂的唱诗班( choir的名词复数 )；唱诗队；公开表演的合唱团；（教堂）唱经楼 | |
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325
homely
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| adj.家常的，简朴的；不漂亮的 | |
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326
grafter
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| 嫁接的人，贪污者，收贿者； 平铲 | |
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327
sordid
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| adj.肮脏的，不干净的，卑鄙的，暗淡的 | |
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328
odyssey
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| n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险 | |
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329
arduous
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| adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的 | |
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330
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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331
philosophic
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| adj.哲学的，贤明的 | |
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332
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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333
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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334
infinitely
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| adv.无限地，无穷地 | |
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335
volition
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| n.意志；决意 | |
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336
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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337
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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338
appreciations
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| n.欣赏( appreciation的名词复数 )；感激；评定；（尤指土地或财产的）增值 | |
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339
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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340
awakening
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| n.觉醒，醒悟 adj.觉醒中的；唤醒的 | |
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341
bruised
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| [医]青肿的，瘀紫的 | |
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342
phantoms
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| n.鬼怪，幽灵( phantom的名词复数 ) | |
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343
fabled
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| adj.寓言中的，虚构的 | |
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344
anomalous
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| adj.反常的；不规则的 | |
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345
perverse
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| adj.刚愎的；坚持错误的，行为反常的 | |
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346
charlatans
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| n.冒充内行者，骗子( charlatan的名词复数 ) | |
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347
innuendo
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| n.暗指，讽刺 | |
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348
curiously
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| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
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349
trample
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| vt.踩，践踏；无视，伤害，侵犯 | |
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350
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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351
poised
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| a.摆好姿势不动的 | |
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352
precocious
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| adj.早熟的；较早显出的 | |
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353
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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354
sumptuously
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| 奢侈地，豪华地 | |
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355
spires
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| n.（教堂的） 塔尖，尖顶( spire的名词复数 ) | |
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