The Stone of Foundation constitutes one of the most important and abstruse1 of all the symbols of Freemasonry. It is referred to in numerous legends and traditions, not only of the Freemasons, but also of the Jewish Rabbins, the Talmudic writers, and even the Mussulman doctors. Many of these, it must be confessed, are apparently4 puerile5 and absurd; but some of them, and especially the masonic ones, are deeply interesting in their allegorical signification.
The Stone of Foundation is, properly speaking, a symbol of the higher degrees. It makes its first appearance in the Royal Arch, and forms, indeed, the most important symbol of that degree. But it is so intimately connected, in its legendary6 history, with the construction of the Solomonic temple, that it must be considered as a part of Ancient Craft Masonry2, although he who confines the range of his investigations8 to the first three degrees, will have no means, within that narrow limit, of properly appreciating the symbolism of the Stone of Foundation.
As preliminary to the inquiry9 which is about to be instituted, it is necessary to distinguish the Stone of Foundation, both in its symbolism and in its legendary history, from other stones which play an important part in the masonic ritual, but which are entirely10 distinct from it. Such are the corner-stone, which was always placed in the north-east corner of the building about to be erected11, and to which such a beautiful reference is made in the ceremonies of the first degree; or the keystone, which constitutes an interesting part of the Mark Master's degree; or, lastly, the cape-stone, upon which all the ritual of the Most Excellent Master's degree is founded. These are all, in their proper places, highly interesting and instructive symbols, but have no connection whatever with the Stone of Foundation or its symbolism. Nor, although the Stone of Foundation is said, for peculiar12 reasons, to have been of a cubical form, must it be confounded with that stone called by the continental13 Masons the cubical stone—the pierre cubique of the French, and the cubik stein of the German Masons, but which in the English system is known as the perfect ashlar.
The Stone of Foundation has a legendary history and a symbolic14 signification which are peculiar to itself, and which differ from the history and meaning which belong to these other stones.
Let us first define this masonic Stone of Foundation, then collate15 the legends which refer to it, and afterwards investigate its significance as a symbol. To the Mason who takes a pleasure in the study of the mysteries of his institution, the investigation7 cannot fail to be interesting, if it is conducted with any ability.
But in the very beginning, as a necessary preliminary to any investigation of this kind, it must be distinctly understood that all that is said of this Stone of Foundation in Masonry is to be strictly16 taken in a mythical17 or allegorical sense. Dr. Oliver, the most learned of our masonic writers, while undoubtedly18 himself knowing that it was simply a symbol, has written loosely of it, as though it were a substantial reality; and hence, if the passages in his "Historical Landmarks19," and in his other works which refer to this celebrated20 stone are accepted by his readers in a literal sense, they will present absurdities21 and puerilities which would not occur if the Stone of Foundation was received, as it really is, as a philosophical22 myth, conveying a most profound and beautiful symbolism. Read in this spirit, as all the legends of Masonry should be read, the mythical story of the Stone of Foundation becomes one of the most important and interesting of all the masonic symbols.
The Stone of Foundation is supposed, by the theory which establishes it, to have been a stone placed at one time within the foundations of the temple of Solomon, and afterwards, during the building of the second temple, transported to the Holy of Holies. It was in form a perfect cube, and had inscribed23 upon its upper face, within a delta24 or triangle, the sacred tetragrammaton, or ineffable25 name of God. Oliver, speaking with the solemnity of an historian, says that Solomon thought that he had rendered the house of God worthy27, so far as human adornment28 could effect, for the dwelling29 of God, "when he had placed the celebrated Stone of Foundation, on which the sacred name was mystically engraven, with solemn ceremonies, in that sacred depository on Mount Moriah, along with the foundations of Dan and Asher, the centre of the Most Holy Place, where the ark was overshadowed by the shekinah of God." 217 The Hebrew Talmudists, who thought as much of this stone, and had as many legends concerning it as the masonic Talmudists, called it eben shatijah218 or "Stone of Foundation," because, as they said, it had been laid by Jehovah as the foundation of the world; and hence the apocryphal30 book of Enoch speaks of the "stone which supports the corners of the earth."
This idea of a foundation stone of the world was most probably derived31 from that magnificent passage of the book of Job, in which the Almighty32 demands of the afflicted33 patriarch,—
"Where wast thou, when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Declare, since thou hast such knowledge!
Or who stretched out the line upon it?
Upon what were its foundations fixed?
And who laid its corner-stone,
When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?" 219
Noyes, whose beautiful translation I have adopted as not materially differing from the common version, but which is far more poetical35 and more in the strain of the original, thus explains the allusions36 to the foundation-stone: "It was the custom to celebrate the laying of the corner-stone of an important building with music, songs, shouting, &c. Hence the morning stars are represented as celebrating the laying of the corner-stone of the earth." 220
Upon this meagre statement have been accumulated more traditions than appertain to any other masonic symbol. The Rabbins, as has already been intimated, divide the glory of these apocryphal histories with the Masons; indeed, there is good reason for a suspicion that nearly all the masonic legends owe their first existence to the imaginative genius of the writers of the Jewish Talmud. But there is this difference between the Hebrew and the masonic traditions, that the Talmudic scholar recited them as truthful37 histories, and swallowed, in one gulp38 of faith, all their impossibilities and anachronisms, while the masonic student has received them as allegories, whose value is not in the facts, but in the sentiments which they convey.
In that blasphemous40 work, the "Toldoth Jeshu" or Life of Jesus, written, it is supposed, in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, we find the following account of this wonderful stone:—
"At that time [the time of Jesus] there was in the House of the Sanctuary41 [that is, the temple] a Stone of Foundation, which is the very stone that our father Jacob anointed with oil, as it is described in the twenty-eighth chapter of the book of Genesis. On that stone the letters of the tetragrammaton were inscribed, and whosoever of the Israelites should learn that name would be able to master the world. To prevent, therefore, any one from learning these letters, two iron dogs were placed upon two columns in front of the Sanctuary. If any person, having acquired the knowledge of these letters, desired to depart from the Sanctuary, the barking of the dogs, by magical power, inspired so much fear, that he suddenly forgot what he had acquired."
This passage is cited by the learned Buxtorf, in his "Lexicon42 Talmudicum;" 221 but in the copy of the "Toldoth Jeshu" which I have the good fortune to possess (for it is among the rarest of books), I find another passage which gives some additional particulars, in the following words:—
"At that time there was in the temple the ineffable name of God, inscribed upon the Stone of Foundation. For when King David was digging the foundation for the temple, he found in the depths of the excavation43 a certain stone, on which the name of God was inscribed. This stone he removed, and deposited it in the Holy of Holies." 222
The same puerile story of the barking dogs is repeated, still more at length. It is not pertinent44 to the present inquiry, but it may be stated as a mere45 matter of curious information, that this scandalous book, which is throughout a blasphemous defamation46 of our Saviour47, proceeds to say, that he cunningly obtained a knowledge of the tetragrammaton from the Stone of Foundation, and by its mystical influence was enabled to perform his miracles.
The masonic legends of the Stone of Foundation, based on these and other rabbinical reveries, are of the most extraordinary character, if they are to be viewed as histories, but readily reconcilable with sound sense, if looked at only in the light of allegories. They present an uninterrupted succession of events, in which the Stone of Foundation takes a prominent part, from Adam to Solomon, and from Solomon to Zerubbabel.
Thus the first of these legends, in order of time, relates that the Stone of Foundation was possessed48 by Adam while in the garden of Eden; that he used it as an altar, and so reverenced49 it, that, on his expulsion from Paradise, he carried it with him into the world in which he and his descendants were afterwards to earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.
Another legend informs us that from Adam the Stone of Foundation descended50 to Seth. From Seth it passed by regular succession to Noah, who took it with him into the ark, and after the subsidence of the deluge51, made on it his first thank-offering. Noah left it on Mount Ararat, where it was subsequently found by Abraham, who removed it, and consequently used it as an altar of sacrifice. His grandson Jacob took it with him when he fled to his uncle Laban in Mesopotamia, and used it as a pillow when, in the vicinity of Luz, he had his celebrated vision.
Here there is a sudden interruption in the legendary history of the stane, and we have no means of conjecturing52 how it passed from the possession of Jacob into that of Solomon. Moses, it is true, is said to have taken it with him out of Egypt at the time of the exodus53, and thus it may have finally reached Jerusalem. Dr. Adam Clarke223 repeats what he very properly calls "a foolish tradition," that the stone on which Jacob rested his head was afterwards brought to Jerusalem, thence carried after a long lapse54 of time to Spain, from Spain to Ireland, and from Ireland to Scotland, where it was used as a seat on which the kings of Scotland sat to be crowned. Edward I., we know, brought a stone, to which this legend is attached, from Scotland to Westminster Abbey, where, under the name of Jacob's Pillow, it still remains55, and is always placed under the chair upon which the British sovereign sits to be crowned, because there is an old distich which declares that wherever this stone is found the Scottish kings shall reign56.224
But this Scottish tradition would take the Stone of Foundation away from all its masonic connections, and therefore it is rejected as a masonic legend.
The legends just related are in many respects contradictory57 and unsatisfactory, and another series, equally as old, are now very generally adopted by masonic scholars, as much better suited to the symbolism by which all these legends are explained.
This series of legends commences with the patriarch Enoch, who is supposed to have been the first consecrator58 of the Stone of Foundation. The legend of Enoch is so interesting and important in masonic science as to excuse something more than a brief reference to the incidents which it details.
The legend in full is as follows: Enoch, under the inspiration of the Most High, and in obedience59 to the instructions which he had received in a vision, built a temple under ground on Mount Moriah, and dedicated60 it to God. His son, Methuselah, constructed the building, although he was not acquainted with his father's motives61 for the erection. This temple consisted of nine vaults62, situated64 perpendicularly65 beneath each other, and communicating by apertures67 left in each vault63.
Enoch then caused a triangular68 plate of gold to be made, each side of which was a cubit long; he enriched it with the most precious stones, and encrusted the plate upon a stone of agate69 of the same form. On the plate he engraved70 the true name of God, or the tetragrammaton, and placing it on a cubical stone, known thereafter as the Stone of Foundation, he deposited the whole within the lowest arch.
When this subterranean71 building was completed, he made a door of stone, and attaching to it a ring of iron, by which it might be occasionally raised, he placed it over the opening of the uppermost arch, and so covered it that the aperture66 could not be discovered. Enoch himself was not permitted to enter it but once a year, and after the days of Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech, and the destruction of the world by the deluge, all knowledge of the vault or subterranean temple, and of the Stone of Foundation, with the sacred and ineffable name inscribed upon it, was lost for ages to the world.
At the building of the first temple of Jerusalem, the Stone of Foundation again makes its appearance. Reference has already been made to the Jewish tradition that David, when digging the foundations of the temple, found in the excavation which he was making a certain stone, on which the ineffable name of God was inscribed, and which stone he is said to have removed and deposited in the Holy of Holies. That King David laid the foundations of the temple upon which the superstructure was subsequently erected by Solomon, is a favorite theory of the legend-mongers of the Talmud.
The masonic tradition is substantiallv the same as the Jewish, but it substitutes Solomon for David, thereby72 giving a greater air of probability to the narrative73; and it supposes that the stone thus discovered by Solomon was the identical one that had been deposited in his secret vault by Enoch. This Stone of Foundation, the tradition states, was subsequently removed by King Solomon, and, for wise purposes, deposited in a secret and safer place.
In this the masonic tradition again agrees with the Jewish, for we find in the third chapter of the "Treatise74 on the Temple" written by the celebrated Maimonides, the following narrative—
"There was a stone in the Holy of Holies, on its west side, on which was placed the ark of the covenant75, and before it the pot of manna and Aaron's rod. But when Solomon had built the temple, and foresaw that it was, at some future time, to be destroyed, he constructed a deep and winding76 vault under ground, for the purpose of concealing77 the ark, wherein Josiah afterwards, as we learn in the Second Book of Chronicles, xxxv. 3, deposited it, with the pot of manna, the rod of Aaron, and the oil of anointing."
The Talmudical book "Yoma" gives the same tradition, and says that "the ark of the covenant was placed in the centre of the Holy of Holies, upon a stone rising three fingers' breadth above the floor, to be, as it were, a pedestal for it." "This stone," says Prideaux,225 "the Rabbins call the Stone of Foundation, and give us a great deal of trash about it."
There is much controversy78 as to the question of the existence of any ark in the second temple. Some of the Jewish writers assert that a new one was made; others, that the old one was found where it had been concealed79 by Solomon; and others again contend that there was no ark at all in the temple of Zerubbabel, but that its place was supplied by the Stone of Foundation on which it had originally rested.
Royal Arch Masons well know how all these traditions are sought to be reconciled by the masonic legend, in which the substitute ark and the Stone of Foundation play so important a part.
In the thirteenth degree of the Ancient and Accepted Rite3, the Stone of Foundation is conspicuous80 as the resting-place of the sacred delta.
In the Royal Arch and select Master's degrees of the Americanized York Rite, the Stone of Foundation constitutes the most important part of the ritual. In both of these it is the receptacle of the ark, on which the ineffable name is inscribed.
Lee, in his "Temple of Solomon", has devoted81 a chapter to this Stone of Foundation, and thus recapitulates82 the Talmudic and Rabbinical traditions on the subject:—
"Vain and futilous are the feverish83 dreams of the ancient Rabbins concerning the Foundation Stone of the temple. Some assert that God placed this stone in the centre of the world, for a future basis and settled consistency84 for the earth to rest upon. Others held this stone to be the first matter, out of which all the beautiful visible beings of the world have been hewn forth85 and produced to light. Others relate that this was the very same stone laid by Jacob for a pillow under his head, in that night when he dreamed of an angelic vision at Bethel, and afterwards anointed and consecrated86 it to God. Which when Solomon had found (no doubt by forged revelation, or some tedious search, like another Rabbi Selemoh), he durst not but lay it sure, as the principal foundation stone of the temple. Nay87, they say further, he caused to be engraved upon it the tetragrammaton, or the ineffable name of Jehovah." 226
It will be seen that the masonic traditions on the subject of the Stone of Foundation do not differ very materially from these Rabbinical ones, although they give a few additional circumstances.
In the masonic legend, the Foundation Stone first makes its appearance, as I have already said, in the days of Enoch, who placed it in the bowels88 of Mount Moriah. There it was subsequently discovered by King Solomon, who deposited it in a crypt of the first temple, where it remained concealed until the foundations of the second temple were laid, when it was discovered and removed to the Holy of Holies. But the most important point of the legend of the Stone of Foundation is its intimate and constant connection with the tetragrammaton, or ineffable name. It is this name, inscribed upon it, within the sacred and symbolic delta, that gives to the stone all its masonic value and significance. It is upon this fact, that it was so inscribed, that its whole symbolism depends.
Looking at these traditions in anything like the light of historical narratives89, we are compelled to consider them, to use the plain language of Lee, "but as so many idle and absurd conceits90." We must go behind the legend, viewing it only as an allegory, and study its symbolism.
The symbolism of the Foundation Stone of Masonry is therefore the next subject of investigation.
In approaching this, the most abstruse, and one of the most important, symbols of the Order, we are at once impressed with its apparent connection with the ancient doctrine91 of stone worship. Some brief consideration of this species of religious culture is therefore necessary for a proper understanding of the real symbolism of the Stone of Foundation.
The worship of stones is a kind of fetichism, which in the very infancy92 of religion prevailed, perhaps, more extensively than any other form of religious culture. Lord Kames explains the fact by supposing that stones erected as monuments of the dead became the place where posterity93 paid their veneration94 to the memory of the deceased, and that at length the people, losing sight of the emblematical95 signification, which was not readily understood, these monumental stones became objects of worship.
Others have sought to find the origin of stone-worship in the stone that was set up and anointed by Jacob at Bethel, and the tradition of which had extended into the heathen nations and become corrupted97. It is certain that the Phoenicians worshipped sacred stones under the name of Baetylia, which word is evidently derived from the Hebrew Bethel; and this undoubtedly gives some appearance of plausibility98 to the theory.
But a third theory supposes that the worship of stones was derived from the unskilfulness of the primitive99 sculptors100, who, unable to frame, by their meagre principles of plastic art, a true image of the God whom they adored, were content to substitute in its place a rude or scarcely polished stone. Hence the Greeks, according to Pausanias, originally used unhewn stones to represent their deities101, thirty of which that historian says he saw in the city of Pharas. These stones were of a cubical form, and as the greater number of them were dedicated to the god Hermes, or Mercury, they received the generic102 name of Hermaa. Subsequently, with the improvement of the plastic art, the head was added.227
One of these consecrated stones was placed before the door of almost every house in Athens. They were also placed in front of the temples, in the gymnasia or schools, in libraries, and at the corners of streets, and in the roads. When dedicated to the god Terminus they were used as landmarks, and placed as such upon the concurrent103 lines of neighboring possessions.
The Thebans worshipped Bacchus under the form of a rude, square stone.
Arnobius228 says that Cybele was represented by a small stone of a black color. Eusebius cites Porphyry as saying that the ancients represented the deity104 by a black stone, because his nature is obscure and inscrutable. The reader will here be reminded of the black stone Hadsjar el Aswad, placed in the south-west corner of the Kaaba at Mecca, which was worshipped by the ancient Arabians, and is still treated with religious veneration by the modern Mohammedans. The Mussulman priests, however, say that it was originally white, and of such surprising splendor105 that it could be seen at the distance of four days' journey, but that it has been blackened by the tears of pilgrims.
The Druids, it is well known, had no other images of their gods but cubical, or sometimes columnar, stones, of which Toland gives several instances.
The Chaldeans had a sacred stone, which they held in great veneration, under the name of Mnizuris, and to which they sacrificed for the purpose of evoking106 the Good Demon107.
Stone-worship existed among the early American races. Squier quotes Skinner as asserting that the Peruvians used to set up rough stones in their fields and plantations108, which were worshipped as protectors of their crops. And Gam a says that in Mexico the presiding god of the spring was often represented without a human body, and in place thereof a pilaster or square column, whose pedestal was covered with various sculptures.
Indeed, so universal was this stone-worship, that Higgins, in his "Celtic Druids," says that, "throughout the world the first object of idolatry seems to have been a plain, unwrought stone, placed in the ground, as an emblem96 of the generative or procreative powers of nature." And the learned Bryant, in his "Analysis of Ancient Mythology," asserts that "there is in every oracular temple some legend about a stone."
Without further citations110 of examples from the religious usages of other countries, it will, I think, be conceded that the cubical stone formed an important part of the religious worship of primitive nations. But Cudworth, Bryant, Faber, and all other distinguished111 writers who have treated the subject, have long since established the theory that the pagan religions were eminently112 symbolic. Thus, to use the language of Dudley, the pillar or stone "was adopted as a symbol of strength and firmness,—a symbol, also, of the divine power, and, by a ready inference, a symbol or idol109 of the Deity himself." 229 And this symbolism is confirmed by Cornutus, who says that the god Hermes was represented without hands or feet, being a cubical stone, because the cubical figure betokened113 his solidity and stability.230
Thus, then, the following facts have been established, but not precisely114 in this order: First, that there was a very general prevalence among the earliest nations of antiquity115 of the worship of stones as the representatives of Deity; secondly116, that in almost every ancient temple there was a legend of a sacred or mystical stone; thirdly, that this legend is found in the masonic system; and lastly, that the mystical stone there has received the name of the "Stone of Foundation."
Now, as in all the other systems the stone is admitted to be symbolic, and the tradition connected with it mystical, we are compelled to assume the same predicates of the masonic stone. It, too, is symbolic, and its legend a myth or an allegory.
Of the fable26, myth, or allegory, Bailly has said that, "subordinate to history and philosophy, it only deceives that it may the better instruct us. Faithful in preserving the realities which are confided117 to it, it covers with its seductive envelope the lessons of the one and the truths of the other." 231 It is from this stand-point that we are to view the allegory of the Stone of Foundation, as developed in one of the most interesting and important symbols of Masonry.
The fact that the mystical stone in all the ancient religions was a symbol of the Deity, leads us necessarily to the conclusion that the Stone of Foundation was also a symbol of Deity. And this symbolic idea is strengthened by the tetragrammaton, or sacred name of God, that was inscribed upon it. This ineffable name sanctifies the stone upon which it is engraved as the symbol of the Grand Architect. It takes from it its heathen signification as an idol, and consecrates118 it to the worship of the true God.
The predominant idea of the Deity, in the masonic system, connects him with his creative and formative power. God is, to the Freemason, Al Gabil, as the Arabians called him, that is, The Builder; or, as expressed in his masonic title, the Grand Architect of the Universe, by common consent abbreviated119 in the formula G.A.O.T.U. Now, it is evident that no symbol could so appropriately suit him in this character as the Stone of Foundation, upon which he is allegorically supposed to have erected his world. Such a symbol closely connects the creative work of God, as a pattern and exemplar, with the workman's erection of his temporal building on a similar foundation stone.
But this masonic idea is still further to be extended. The great object of all Masonic labor120 is divine truth. The search for the lost word is the search for truth. But divine truth is a term synonymous with God. The ineffable name is a symbol of truth, because God, and God alone, is truth. It is properly a scriptural idea. The Book of Psalms121 abounds122 with this sentiment. Thus it is said that the truth of the Lord "reacheth unto the clouds," and that "his truth endureth unto all generations." If, then, God is truth, and the Stone of Foundation is the masonic symbol of God, it follows that it must also be the symbol of divine truth.
When we have arrived at this point in our speculations123, we are ready to show how all the myths and legends of the Stone of Foundation may be rationally explained as parts of that beautiful "science of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated124 by symbols," which is the acknowledged definition of Freemasonry.
In the masonic system there are two temples; the first temple, in which the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry are concerned, and the second temple, with which the higher degrees, and especially the Royal Arch, are related. The first temple is symbolic of the present life; the second temple is symbolic of the life to come. The first temple, the present life, must be destroyed; on its foundations the second temple, the life eternal, must be built.
But the mystical stone was placed by King Solomon in the foundations of the first temple. That is to say, the first temple of our present life must be built on the sure foundation of divine truth, "for other foundation can no man lay."
But although the present life is necessarily built upon the foundation of truth, yet we never thoroughly125 attain126 it in this sublunary sphere. The Foundation Stone is concealed in the first temple, and the Master Mason knows it not. He has not the true word. He receives only a substitute.
But in the second temple of the future life, we have passed from the grave, which had been the end of our labors127 in the first. We have removed the rubbish, and have found that Stone of Foundation which had been hitherto concealed from our eyes. We now throw aside the substitute for truth which had contented128 us in the former temple, and the brilliant effulgence129 of the tetragrammaton and the Stone of Foundation are discovered, and thenceforth we are the possessors of the true word—of divine truth. And in this way, the Stone of Foundation, or divine truth, concealed in the first temple, but discovered and brought to light in the second, will explain that passage of the apostle, "For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
And so, the result of this inquiry is, that the masonic Stone of Foundation is a symbol of divine truth, upon which all Speculative130 Masonry is built, and the legends and traditions which refer to it are intended to describe, in an allegorical way, the progress of truth in the soul, the search for which is a Mason's labor, and the discovery of which is his reward.
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abstruse
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| adj.深奥的，难解的 | |
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masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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puerile
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| adj.幼稚的，儿童的 | |
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legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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ERECTED
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| adj. 直立的，竖立的，笔直的 vt. 使 ... 直立，建立 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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collate
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| vt.(仔细)核对，对照；(书籍装订前)整理 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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mythical
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| adj.神话的；虚构的；想像的 | |
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undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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landmarks
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| n.陆标( landmark的名词复数 )；目标；（标志重要阶段的）里程碑 ~ (in sth)；有历史意义的建筑物（或遗址） | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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delta
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| n.（流的）角洲 | |
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ineffable
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| adj.无法表达的，不可言喻的 | |
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fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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28
adornment
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| n.装饰；装饰品 | |
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29
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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30
apocryphal
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| adj.假冒的，虚假的 | |
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31
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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almighty
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| adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的 | |
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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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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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35
poetical
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| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
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36
allusions
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| 暗指，间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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37
truthful
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| adj.真实的，说实话的，诚实的 | |
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38
gulp
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| vt.吞咽，大口地吸（气）；vi.哽住；n.吞咽 | |
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39
collation
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| n.便餐；整理 | |
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40
blasphemous
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| adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的 | |
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41
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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42
lexicon
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| n.字典，专门词汇 | |
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43
excavation
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| n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地 | |
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44
pertinent
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| adj.恰当的；贴切的；中肯的；有关的；相干的 | |
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45
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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46
defamation
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| n.诽谤；中伤 | |
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47
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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48
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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49
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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50
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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51
deluge
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| n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥 | |
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52
conjecturing
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| v. & n. 推测，臆测 | |
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53
exodus
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| v.大批离去，成群外出 | |
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54
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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55
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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56
reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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57
contradictory
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| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
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58
consecrator
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| adj.使神圣化的，奉献的 | |
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59
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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60
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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61
motives
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| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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62
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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63
vault
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| n.拱形圆顶，地窖，地下室 | |
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64
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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perpendicularly
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| adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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66
aperture
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| n.孔，隙，窄的缺口 | |
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67
apertures
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| n.孔( aperture的名词复数 )；隙缝；（照相机的）光圈；孔径 | |
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triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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agate
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| n.玛瑙 | |
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70
engraved
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| v.在（硬物）上雕刻（字，画等）( engrave的过去式和过去分词 )；将某事物深深印在（记忆或头脑中） | |
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71
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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72
thereby
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| adv.因此，从而 | |
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73
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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74
treatise
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| n.专著；(专题)论文 | |
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75
covenant
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| n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约 | |
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76
winding
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| n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈 | |
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77
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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78
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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79
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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80
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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81
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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82
recapitulates
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| n.总结，扼要重述( recapitulate的名词复数 )v.总结，扼要重述( recapitulate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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83
feverish
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| adj.发烧的，狂热的，兴奋的 | |
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84
consistency
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| n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度 | |
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85
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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86
consecrated
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| 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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87
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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88
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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89
narratives
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| 记叙文( narrative的名词复数 )； 故事； 叙述； 叙述部分 | |
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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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91
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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92
infancy
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| n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期 | |
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93
posterity
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| n.后裔，子孙，后代 | |
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94
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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95
emblematical
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| adj.标志的，象征的，典型的 | |
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96
emblem
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| n.象征，标志；徽章 | |
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97
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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98
plausibility
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| n. 似有道理, 能言善辩 | |
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99
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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100
sculptors
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| 雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座 | |
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101
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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102
generic
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| adj.一般的，普通的，共有的 | |
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103
concurrent
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| adj.同时发生的，一致的 | |
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104
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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105
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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106
evoking
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| 产生，引起，唤起( evoke的现在分词 ) | |
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107
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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108
plantations
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| n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 ) | |
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109
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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110
citations
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| n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬 | |
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111
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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112
eminently
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| adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地 | |
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113
betokened
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| v.预示，表示( betoken的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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115
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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116
secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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117
confided
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| v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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118
consecrates
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| n.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的名词复数 )；奉献v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的第三人称单数 )；奉献 | |
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119
abbreviated
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| adj. 简短的，省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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120
labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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121
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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122
abounds
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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123
speculations
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| n.投机买卖( speculation的名词复数 )；思考；投机活动；推断 | |
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124
illustrated
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| adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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125
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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126
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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127
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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128
contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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129
effulgence
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| n.光辉 | |
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130
speculative
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| adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的 | |
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