"Oh, how miserable9!" he exclaimed, turning to the friends that accompanied him. "In the Hall of the Greater Council, from the throne of the Doges, how is it possible to find metaphors10 that will move a thousand starched11 shirt-bosoms? Let us go back; let us inhale12 the odor of the real crowd, the true crowd. The Queen has not yet left the royal palace. We have time enough."
"Until the moment that I see you on the platform, I shall not feel sure that you will really speak," said Francesco de Lizo, laughing.
"I believe that Stelio would prefer the balcony to the platform," said Piero Martello, wishing to flatter the master's taste for sedition13, and his factious14 spirit, which he himself affected15, in imitation. "He would like to harangue16, between the two red columns, the mutinous17 people who threatened to set fire to the new Procuratie and the old Libreria."
"Yes, certainly," said Stelio, "if the harangue had power to prevent or to precipitate18 an irreparable act. I hold that we use the written word to create a pure form of beauty, which, even in an uncut book, is enclosed and shut in, as in a tabernacle that may be entered only by election, with the same premeditated will used in the breaking of a seal. But the spoken word, it seems to me, when it is addressed directly to a multitude, should have only action for its aim. On this condition alone can a proud spirit, without lessening20 itself in dignity, communicate with the masses by means of voice and gesture. Otherwise, his effort becomes merely histrionic. And so I repent21 bitterly of having accepted this function of an ornamental22 orator23, who must not speak unless he speaks agreeably. Consider, I ask you, how humiliating for me is the honor that they think to do me, and consider also the uselessness of my speech. All these people, strangers here, have left their mediocre24 occupations, or their favorite amusements, to come and listen to me with the same vain and stupid curiosity that would lead them to listen to some new virtuoso25. For the women that will listen to me, the art with which I have tied my cravat26 will be much more appreciated than the art with which I shall round my periods. And, after all, the only effect of my speech will be a clapping of hands, deadened by gloves, or a brief, discreet27 murmur28, to which I shall reply with a gracious inclination29 of the head. Does it seem to you that I am about to attain30 the summit of my ambition?"
"You are wrong," said Francesco de Lizo. "You should congratulate yourself for this happy occasion, which will allow you, for several hours, to impress the rhythm of art on the life of a forgetful city, and to make us dream of the splendors32 that might embellish33 our existence by a renewed union of Art with Life. If the man that built the Teatro di Festa were there, he would praise you for that harmony which he predicted. But the most wonderful thing about this affair is the fact that, notwithstanding your absence, and your ignorance of the project, the festival seems to have been prepared under the direct inspiration of your genius. This is the best proof that it is possible to restore and diffuse35 taste, even in the midst of the barbaric present. Your influence to-day is more powerful than you think. The lady who has desired to honor you—she that you call the Dogeressa—at every new idea that came to her, asked herself: 'Would it please Effrena?' If you only knew how many young and eager spirits put to themselves to-day the same question, when they consider the aspects of their inner life!"
"And for whom should you speak, if not for them?" said Daniele Glauro, the fervent36 and sterile37 ascetic38 of Beauty, with that melodious39 voice which seemed to reflect the frank and inextinguishable ardor40 of the soul beloved by the master as one of the most faithful. "If, when you stand upon the platform, you will look about you, you will easily recognize the expression in their eyes. There are many of them, and some have come a long distance; they await your words with an eagerness that you perhaps do not understand. They are those who have imbibed41 the spirit of your poetry, who have breathed the fiery42 ether of your dream, and felt the grip of your chimera43; those to whom you have announced the transfiguration of the world by the miracle of a new art. The number that you have attracted as an apostle of hope and of joy is very great. They have heard that you are to speak in Venice, in the Ducal Palace—one of the most splendid and glorious places on earth. They will be able to see you and listen to you for the first time, surrounded by the magnificence that seems to them an appropriate frame to your personality. The old Palace of the Doges, which has so long been wrapped in nocturnal darkness, is suddenly illuminated44 and aroused this night for you, and, to their minds, it is you alone that have had the power to rekindle45 these long-extinguished torches. Do you understand now the eagerness of their expectation? Does it not seem to you that to them only you ought to speak? The condition you impose on the man that harangues46 a multitude may be fulfilled. You can awaken47 an emotion in their breasts that shall turn them forever toward the Ideal. For how many of them, Stelio, you might make this Venetian night an experience never to be forgotten!"
Stelio laid his hand on the prematurely48 bent49 shoulders of the mystic doctor, and, smiling, repeated Petrarch's words: "Non ego50 loquar omnibus, sed tibi, sed mihi, et his."
He saw within himself the radiant eyes of his unknown disciples51, and heard within his soul, in clear tones, the sound of his own exordium.
"Nevertheless," he replied gayly, addressing Piero Martello, "it would be amusing to conjure52 up a tempest on this sea."
They were standing34 under the arch, near a column, in contact with the noisy, unanimous crowd, which gathered in the Piazzetta, stretched out toward the Zecca, was swallowed up near the Procuratie, barred the Torre dell'Orologio, occupied every space like a wave without form, and communicated its living warmth to the marble columns and the walls, against which it surged in its violent movement. From time to time, a louder cry arose from the distance, at the farther end of the Piazza53, swelling54 higher and stronger until it burst out near them like a clap of thunder, then diminishing until it died away in a murmur.
"I should like to-night to find myself for the first time with a woman I loved, on a floating couch, over there, beyond the gardens, toward the Lido," said the romantic poet, Paris Eglano, a blond, beardless youth, whose handsome mouth, with its full red lips, contrasted with the almost angelic delicacy55 of his other features. "Within an hour, Venice will present to some Nero-like lover, hidden in a gondola56, the spectacle of a city set on fire by its own delirium57."
Stelio smiled, noting to what extent his intimates had become imbued58 with his own spiritual essence, and how deep the seal of his own style had stamped itself on their minds. Suddenly the image of La Foscarina flashed across his mental vision: La Foscarina, poisoned by too much art, remembering too many amatory experiences, with the stamp of maturity59 and of corruption60 on her eloquent61 mouth, the aridity62 of the vein63 fever that burned in those hands that pressed out the juices of deceitful fruits, and the marks of a hundred masks on that face which had simulated the fury of all mortal passions. Thus she appeared to his ardent64 thought of her, and his heart throbbed65 faster as he pictured her emerging soon from the multitude, as from some element that enslaved her, and thought that from her glance he should draw the necessary inspiration.
"Come, let us go," said he resolutely66 to his friends. "It is the hour."
The cannon67 announced that the Queen had left the royal palace. A prolonged quiver ran through the living human mass, like that which precedes a storm at sea. From the bank of San Giorgio Maggiore, a rocket rushed up with a long hiss68, rising in the air like a fiery stem and bursting into a mass of pink splendor31 at the top; then it curved, grew fainter, and dissolved in trembling sparks, extinguished finally with a slight crackling in the water. And the joyous69 clamor that greeted the beautiful Queen, repeating her name—the name of the starry70, white flower and of the pearl—evoked71 in Stelio's imagination the pomp of the ancient Promissione, the triumphal procession of the Arts escorting the new Dogaressa to the palace; the wave of joy on which Morosina Grimani mounted to her throne, shimmering73 with gold, while all the Arts bowed before her, laden74 with gifts as if they bore horns of plenty.
"Certainly," said Francesco de Lizo, "if the Queen loves your books, she will wear all her pearls this evening. You will have before you a veritable labyrinth75 of jewels—all the hereditary76 gems77 of the Venetian patricians78."
"Look toward the foot of the stairway, Stelio," said Daniele Glauro. "A group of devotees is waiting for you to pass that way."
Stelio stopped at the well indicated by La Foscarina. He leaned over the bronze edge, his knees touching79 the little carved caryatides, and saw in the dark water the reflection of the stars. For the moment his soul isolated80 itself, shut out the surrounding sounds, and withdrew into the shadowy disc, from which rose a slight dampness betokening81 the presence of water. His excited desire felt a need to attain even greater intoxication82 than this night promised him, and he felt that in the farthest depths of his being lay a secret soul, which, like this dark, watery83 mirror, remained immovable, strange, and intangible.
"What do you see there?" inquired Piero Martello, also leaning over the rim72, worn in places by the ropes of centuries.
"The face of Truth!" the master answered.
In the apartments contiguous to the Hall of the Greater Council, once occupied by the Doge, but now by the pagan statues that were seized as booty in ancient wars, Stelio awaited the summons from the master of the ceremonies to mount to the platform. He was quite calm, and smiled on the friends that spoke19 to him, but their words reached his ear between pauses, like interrupted sounds borne from afar by the wind. From time to time, with an abrupt84, involuntary movement, he drew near to one of the statues, and ran his hand nervously85 over it, as if seeking some weak spot, that he might break it; or he bent curiously86 over some rare medal, as if to read on it some indecipherable sign. But his eyes saw nothing of all this; they were turned within, where the multiplied power of his will evoked the silent forms that his voice would presently transform into the perfection of verbal music. His whole being contracted itself in an effort to raise to the highest degree of intensity87 the representation of the extraordinary feelings that possessed88 him. Since he could speak only of himself, and of his own universe, at least he would unite in one ideal figure the sovereign qualities of his art, and show to his disciples by his genius for imagery what an invincible89 force hastened him through this life. Once more he intended to show them that, in order to obtain the victory over men and circumstances, there is no other way than to persevere90 in exalting91 oneself and to magnify one's own dream of beauty or of power.
He bent over a medallion by Pisanello, feeling at his temples the ardent, rapid pulsation92 of his thought.
"See, Stelio," said Daniele Glauro to him, with that pious93 reverence94 which veiled his voice whenever he spoke of his religion, "see how the mysterious affinities95 of Art work upon you, and how an infallible instinct leads you, amid so many forms, and at the very moment when your thought is about to reveal itself, toward the example of the most perfect expression, the highest model of style. At the very instant of coining your own idea, you are led to study one of Pisanello's medallions; you are attracted by the impression of one of the greatest stylists that ever have lived in the world, the most frankly96 Hellenic soul of the whole Renaissance97. And suddenly your forehead is illumined by a ray of light."
The pure bronze bore the effigy98 of a young man with beautiful, waving hair, an imperial profile and Apollo-like neck, and the head was so perfect a type of elegance99 and vigor100 that the imagination could not picture him in life except as free from all decadence101 and eternally unchangeable, as the artist had presented him in this circle of bronze.—Dux equitum pr?stans Malatesta Novellus Cesen? dominus. Opus Pisani pictoris.—And beside it was another medallion by the same artist, bearing the effigy of a virgin102, with narrow chest, a swan-like throat, and hair drawn103 back in the shape of a heavy bag; the forehead, high and receding104, seemed already to promise the aureole of the blessed, and she was like a vase of purity sealed forever, hard, precise, and limpid105 as a diamond, an adamantine pyx where the spirit, consecrated106 like the Host, rested as a sacrifice.—Cicilia Virgo, filia Johannis Francesco primi Marchionis Mantuae.
"Here comes La Foscarina, with Donatella Arvale," announced Francesco de Lizo, who had been watching the crowd that climbed the Censors107' Stairway and pressed into the vast hall.
Again Stelio Effrena felt a wave of agitation108 sweep over him. The murmur of the throng seemed to come from afar and mingle109 in his ears with the throbbing110 of his arteries111, and in this murmur he fancied he heard once more the last words of Perdita.
点击收听单词发音
1 throng | |
n.人群,群众;v.拥挤,群集 | |
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2 swarmed | |
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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3 fixed | |
adj.固定的,不变的,准备好的;(计算机)固定的 | |
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4 repugnance | |
n.嫌恶 | |
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5 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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6 paltry | |
adj.无价值的,微不足道的 | |
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7 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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8 harmoniousness | |
和谐 | |
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9 miserable | |
adj.悲惨的,痛苦的;可怜的,糟糕的 | |
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10 metaphors | |
隐喻( metaphor的名词复数 ) | |
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11 starched | |
adj.浆硬的,硬挺的,拘泥刻板的v.把(衣服、床单等)浆一浆( starch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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12 inhale | |
v.吸入(气体等),吸(烟) | |
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13 sedition | |
n.煽动叛乱 | |
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14 factious | |
adj.好搞宗派活动的,派系的,好争论的 | |
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15 affected | |
adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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16 harangue | |
n.慷慨冗长的训话,言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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17 mutinous | |
adj.叛变的,反抗的;adv.反抗地,叛变地;n.反抗,叛变 | |
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18 precipitate | |
adj.突如其来的;vt.使突然发生;n.沉淀物 | |
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19 spoke | |
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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20 lessening | |
减轻,减少,变小 | |
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21 repent | |
v.悔悟,悔改,忏悔,后悔 | |
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22 ornamental | |
adj.装饰的;作装饰用的;n.装饰品;观赏植物 | |
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23 orator | |
n.演说者,演讲者,雄辩家 | |
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24 mediocre | |
adj.平常的,普通的 | |
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25 virtuoso | |
n.精于某种艺术或乐器的专家,行家里手 | |
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26 cravat | |
n.领巾,领结;v.使穿有领结的服装,使结领结 | |
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27 discreet | |
adj.(言行)谨慎的;慎重的;有判断力的 | |
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28 murmur | |
n.低语,低声的怨言;v.低语,低声而言 | |
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29 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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30 attain | |
vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
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31 splendor | |
n.光彩;壮丽,华丽;显赫,辉煌 | |
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32 splendors | |
n.华丽( splendor的名词复数 );壮丽;光辉;显赫 | |
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33 embellish | |
v.装饰,布置;给…添加细节,润饰 | |
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34 standing | |
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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35 diffuse | |
v.扩散;传播;adj.冗长的;四散的,弥漫的 | |
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36 fervent | |
adj.热的,热烈的,热情的 | |
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37 sterile | |
adj.不毛的,不孕的,无菌的,枯燥的,贫瘠的 | |
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38 ascetic | |
adj.禁欲的;严肃的 | |
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39 melodious | |
adj.旋律美妙的,调子优美的,音乐性的 | |
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40 ardor | |
n.热情,狂热 | |
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41 imbibed | |
v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 );喝;吸取;吸气 | |
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42 fiery | |
adj.燃烧着的,火红的;暴躁的;激烈的 | |
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43 chimera | |
n.神话怪物;梦幻 | |
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44 illuminated | |
adj.被照明的;受启迪的 | |
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45 rekindle | |
v.使再振作;再点火 | |
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46 harangues | |
n.高谈阔论的长篇演讲( harangue的名词复数 )v.高谈阔论( harangue的第三人称单数 ) | |
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47 awaken | |
vi.醒,觉醒;vt.唤醒,使觉醒,唤起,激起 | |
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48 prematurely | |
adv.过早地,贸然地 | |
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49 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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50 ego | |
n.自我,自己,自尊 | |
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51 disciples | |
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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52 conjure | |
v.恳求,祈求;变魔术,变戏法 | |
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53 piazza | |
n.广场;走廊 | |
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54 swelling | |
n.肿胀 | |
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55 delicacy | |
n.精致,细微,微妙,精良;美味,佳肴 | |
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56 gondola | |
n.威尼斯的平底轻舟;飞船的吊船 | |
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57 delirium | |
n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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58 imbued | |
v.使(某人/某事)充满或激起(感情等)( imbue的过去式和过去分词 );使充满;灌输;激发(强烈感情或品质等) | |
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59 maturity | |
n.成熟;完成;(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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60 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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61 eloquent | |
adj.雄辩的,口才流利的;明白显示出的 | |
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62 aridity | |
n.干旱,乏味;干燥性;荒芜 | |
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63 vein | |
n.血管,静脉;叶脉,纹理;情绪;vt.使成脉络 | |
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64 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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65 throbbed | |
抽痛( throb的过去式和过去分词 ); (心脏、脉搏等)跳动 | |
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66 resolutely | |
adj.坚决地,果断地 | |
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67 cannon | |
n.大炮,火炮;飞机上的机关炮 | |
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68 hiss | |
v.发出嘶嘶声;发嘘声表示不满 | |
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69 joyous | |
adj.充满快乐的;令人高兴的 | |
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70 starry | |
adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的 | |
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71 evoked | |
[医]诱发的 | |
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72 rim | |
n.(圆物的)边,轮缘;边界 | |
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73 shimmering | |
v.闪闪发光,发微光( shimmer的现在分词 ) | |
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74 laden | |
adj.装满了的;充满了的;负了重担的;苦恼的 | |
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75 labyrinth | |
n.迷宫;难解的事物;迷路 | |
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76 hereditary | |
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的 | |
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77 gems | |
growth; economy; management; and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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78 patricians | |
n.(古罗马的)统治阶层成员( patrician的名词复数 );贵族,显贵 | |
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79 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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80 isolated | |
adj.与世隔绝的 | |
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81 betokening | |
v.预示,表示( betoken的现在分词 ) | |
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82 intoxication | |
n.wild excitement;drunkenness;poisoning | |
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83 watery | |
adj.有水的,水汪汪的;湿的,湿润的 | |
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84 abrupt | |
adj.突然的,意外的;唐突的,鲁莽的 | |
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85 nervously | |
adv.神情激动地,不安地 | |
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86 curiously | |
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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87 intensity | |
n.强烈,剧烈;强度;烈度 | |
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88 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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89 invincible | |
adj.不可征服的,难以制服的 | |
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90 persevere | |
v.坚持,坚忍,不屈不挠 | |
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91 exalting | |
a.令人激动的,令人喜悦的 | |
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92 pulsation | |
n.脉搏,悸动,脉动;搏动性 | |
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93 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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94 reverence | |
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬 | |
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95 affinities | |
n.密切关系( affinity的名词复数 );亲近;(生性)喜爱;类同 | |
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96 frankly | |
adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 | |
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97 renaissance | |
n.复活,复兴,文艺复兴 | |
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98 effigy | |
n.肖像 | |
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99 elegance | |
n.优雅;优美,雅致;精致,巧妙 | |
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100 vigor | |
n.活力,精力,元气 | |
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101 decadence | |
n.衰落,颓废 | |
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102 virgin | |
n.处女,未婚女子;adj.未经使用的;未经开发的 | |
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103 drawn | |
v.拖,拉,拔出;adj.憔悴的,紧张的 | |
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104 receding | |
v.逐渐远离( recede的现在分词 );向后倾斜;自原处后退或避开别人的注视;尤指问题 | |
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105 limpid | |
adj.清澈的,透明的 | |
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106 consecrated | |
adj.神圣的,被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣,给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 );奉献 | |
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107 censors | |
删剪(书籍、电影等中被认为犯忌、违反道德或政治上危险的内容)( censor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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108 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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109 mingle | |
vt.使混合,使相混;vi.混合起来;相交往 | |
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110 throbbing | |
a. 跳动的,悸动的 | |
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111 arteries | |
n.动脉( artery的名词复数 );干线,要道 | |
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