THE SPIRITUAL STEAM-ROLLER

 The secret of prophecy is to find what is right, and prophesy¹ that.

 

It is very simple. What is wrong will go down.

 

The cosmic spiritual laws are just as accurate, just as sure-footed, as the laws of gravitation and chemical reaction.

 

Any institution that is founded on non-facts, any government that is maintained in violation² of plain human rights, any system, any propaganda, that depends upon cheating, lying, or injustice³, is certain at length to fail.

 

The certainty of the defeat of Prussian militarism is not based on its inferiority in numbers, wealth, and resources, but upon 111 the moral rottenness of its ideas. It will come to grief, not because of its lack of force—it would make no difference if it were a hundred times stronger—but because it is based on principles which to humanity are intolerable.

 

If the Hohenzollern crowd had met no resistance in Belgium, if they had conquered Paris as they hoped, if they had crushed England, if they had realized to the full their dream of dominance over Europe and the whole world, their structure would have crumbled⁴ just the same, because it would have been reared upon violence, inhumanity, faithlessness, and fraud.

 

In the little affairs of a day it seems sometimes as if the wicked prosper⁵. The gambler is flush, the lecher flourishes, the swindler gets away with his swag, and the pirate, the assassin, and the robber feast on their booty. 112 But when this sort of thing is stretched out over any considerable space of time or territory, so that the cosmic laws, which move slowly, have a chance, it is sure to break down.

 

What we call righteousness and justice is just as much a part of nature as the physical laws. It is just as true and certain that lying brings disgrace, robbery cannot be made a permanent basis of business, uncleanness ends in shame, tyranny brings revolution, and cruelty eventuates in counter-cruelty and insecurity, as that water runs down hill and flame mounts upward.

 

It is the glory of the Hebrew that he first saw and made clear to the world these spiritual verities⁶. His Bible is a book of spiritual chemistry and physics.

 

When he said that “the ungodly shall not stand,” “the covenant⁷ with hell shall be disannulled,” 113 “though hand join in hand the wicked shall not go unpunished,” and “be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatsoever⁸ a man soweth, that shall he also reap,” he was not indulging in sentiment, but he had a real vision of cosmic law.

 

It was the supreme⁹ genius of Jesus that He saw the majestic¹⁰ certainty and fatefulness of this law, and recommended to His followers¹¹ that they let it alone, and trust in it.

 

“Vengeance is mine, I will avenge¹², saith the Lord.” Time, evolution, destiny, nature, God—all these flow onward¹³ as irresistible¹⁴ tides, and even the inventive ferocity of an efficient nation gone mad cannot stop nor delay them.

 

The Prussian military steam-roller could only get so far, then it had to stop. The steam-roller of spiritual law carries on.

1 prophesy   

v.预言；预示

参考例句：

• He dares to prophesy what will happen in the future.他敢预言未来将发生什么事。
• I prophesy that he'll be back in the old job.我预言他将重操旧业。

2 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

3 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

4 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

5 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

6 verities   

n.真实( verity的名词复数 )；事实；真理；真实的陈述

参考例句：

• the eternal verities of life 生命永恒的真理

7 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

8 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

13 onward   

adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先

参考例句：

• The Yellow River surges onward like ten thousand horses galloping.黄河以万马奔腾之势滚滚向前。
• He followed in the steps of forerunners and marched onward.他跟随着先辈的足迹前进。

14 irresistible   

adj.非常诱人的，无法拒绝的，无法抗拒的

参考例句：

• The wheel of history rolls forward with an irresistible force.历史车轮滚滚向前，势不可挡。
• She saw an irresistible skirt in the store window.她看见商店的橱窗里有一条叫人着迷的裙子。