The character, conduct, and life of Dr. Burney were now, therefore, no doubt, critically examined, and morally sifted4, by the jealous herd5 of contemporary rivals, who had worked far longer, and far more laboriously6, through the mazes7 of science; yet, working without similar genius, had failed of rising to similar heights.
Nevertheless, the immediate8 path in which Dr.
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Burney flourished was so new, so untrodden, that he displaced no competitor, he usurped9 no right of others; and the world, unsought and uncanvassed, was so instinctively10 on his side, that, for a considerable time, his palpable pre-eminence seemed as willingly accorded, as it was unequivocally acknowledged.
But the viper11 does not part with its venom12 from keeping its body in ambush13; and, before the History came out, though long after the publication of the Tours, a ludicrous parody14 of the latter was sent forth15 into the world, under the name of Joel Collier.
The Doctor, delicately anxious not to deserve becoming an object for satire16, was much hurt, on its first appearance, by this burlesque17 production. It attacked, indeed, little beyond the technical phraseology of the Tours; the tourist himself was evidently above the reach of such anonymous18 shafts19.
It was generally supposed to be a jeu d’esprit of some enemy, to counteract20 his rapid progress in public favour; and to undermine the promising21 success of his great work.
But the Doctor himself did not give way to this opinion: he had done nothing to incur22 enemies;
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he had done much to conciliate friends; and, believing in virtue23 because practising it, he knew not how to conceive personal malice24 without personal offence. He imagined it, therefore, the work of some stranger, excited solely25 by the desire of making money from his own risible26 ideas; without caring whom they might harass27, or how they might irritate, provided, in the words of Rodrigo, he “put money in his purse.”
The Doctor, however, as has been said, from the unimpeachable28 goodness of his heart and character, had the fair feelings of mankind in his favour. The parody, therefore, though executed with burlesque humour, whether urged or not by malevolence29, was never reprinted; and obtained but the laugh of a moment, without making the shadow of an impression to the disadvantage of the tourist.
点击收听单词发音
1 celebrity | |
n.名人,名流;著名,名声,名望 | |
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2 coteries | |
n.(有共同兴趣的)小集团( coterie的名词复数 ) | |
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3 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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4 sifted | |
v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 );筛滤;细查;详审 | |
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5 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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6 laboriously | |
adv.艰苦地;费力地;辛勤地;(文体等)佶屈聱牙地 | |
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7 mazes | |
迷宫( maze的名词复数 ); 纷繁复杂的规则; 复杂难懂的细节; 迷宫图 | |
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8 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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9 usurped | |
篡夺,霸占( usurp的过去式和过去分词 ); 盗用; 篡夺,篡权 | |
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10 instinctively | |
adv.本能地 | |
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11 viper | |
n.毒蛇;危险的人 | |
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12 venom | |
n.毒液,恶毒,痛恨 | |
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13 ambush | |
n.埋伏(地点);伏兵;v.埋伏;伏击 | |
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14 parody | |
n.打油诗文,诙谐的改编诗文,拙劣的模仿;v.拙劣模仿,作模仿诗文 | |
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15 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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16 satire | |
n.讽刺,讽刺文学,讽刺作品 | |
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17 burlesque | |
v.嘲弄,戏仿;n.嘲弄,取笑,滑稽模仿 | |
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18 anonymous | |
adj.无名的;匿名的;无特色的 | |
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19 shafts | |
n.轴( shaft的名词复数 );(箭、高尔夫球棒等的)杆;通风井;一阵(疼痛、害怕等) | |
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20 counteract | |
vt.对…起反作用,对抗,抵消 | |
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21 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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22 incur | |
vt.招致,蒙受,遭遇 | |
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23 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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24 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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25 solely | |
adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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26 risible | |
adj.能笑的;可笑的 | |
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27 harass | |
vt.使烦恼,折磨,骚扰 | |
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28 unimpeachable | |
adj.无可指责的;adv.无可怀疑地 | |
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29 malevolence | |
n.恶意,狠毒 | |
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