It has been our fate, among all the innumerable generations of mankind, to face the most frightful1 calamity2 that has ever befallen the world. There is a basic fact which cannot be denied, and should not be overlooked. For a most important deduction3 must immediately follow from it. That deduction is that we, who have borne the pains, shall also learn the lesson which they were intended to convey. If we do not learn it and proclaim it, then when can it ever be learned and proclaimed, since there can never again be such a spiritual ploughing and harrowing and preparation for the seed? If our souls, wearied and tortured during these dreadful five years of self-sacrifice and suspense4, can show no radical5 changes, then what souls will ever respond to a fresh influx6 of heavenly inspiration? In that case the state of the human race would indeed be hopeless, and never in all the coming centuries would there be any prospect7 of improvement.
Why was this tremendous experience forced upon mankind? Surely it is a superficial thinker who imagines that the great Designer of all things has set the whole planet in a ferment8, and strained every nation to exhaustion9, in order that this or that frontier be moved, or some fresh combination be formed in the kaleidoscope of nations. No, the causes of the convulsion, and its objects, are more profound than that. They are essentially10 religious, not political. They lie far deeper than the national squabbles of the day. A thousand years hence those national results may matter little, but the religious result will rule the world. That religious result is the reform of the decadent11 Christianity of to-day, its simplification, its purification, and its reinforcement by the facts of spirit communion and the clear knowledge of what lies beyond the exit-door of death. The shock of the war was meant to rouse us to mental and moral earnestness, to give us the courage to tear away venerable shams13, and to force the human race to realise and use the vast new revelation which has been so clearly stated and so abundantly proved, for all who will examine the statements and proofs with an open mind.
Consider the awful condition of the world before this thunder-bolt struck it. Could anyone, tracing back down the centuries and examining the record of the wickedness of man, find anything which could compare with the story of the nations during the last twenty years! Think of the condition of Russia during that time, with her brutal14 aristocracy and her drunken democracy, her murders on either side, her Siberian horrors, her Jew baitings and her corruption15. Think of the figure of Leopold of Belgium, an incarnate16 devil who from motives17 of greed carried murder and torture through a large section of Africa, and yet was received in every court, and was eventually buried after a panegyric18 from a Cardinal19 of the Roman Church—a church which had never once raised her voice against his diabolical20 career. Consider the similar crimes in the Putumayo, where British capitalists, if not guilty of outrage21, can at least not be acquitted22 of having condoned23 it by their lethargy and trust in local agents. Think of Turkey and the recurrent massacres24 of her subject races. Think of the heartless grind of the factories everywhere, where work assumed a very different and more unnatural26 shape than the ancient labour of the fields. Think of the sensuality of many rich, the brutality27 of many poor, the shallowness of many fashionable, the coldness and deadness of religion, the absence anywhere of any deep, true spiritual impulse. Think, above all, of the organised materialism28 of Germany, the arrogance29, the heartlessness, the negation30 of everything which one could possibly associate with the living spirit of Christ as evident in the utterances32 of Catholic Bishops33, like Hartmann of Cologne, as in those of Lutheran Pastors34. Put all this together and say if the human race has ever presented a more unlovely aspect. When we try to find the brighter spots they are chiefly where civilisation35, as apart from religion, has built up necessities for the community, such as hospitals, universities, and organised charities, as conspicuous37 in Buddhist38 Japan as in Christian12 Europe. We cannot deny that there has been much virtue39, much gentleness, much spirituality in individuals. But the churches were empty husks, which contained no spiritual food for the human race, and had in the main ceased to influence its actions, save in the direction of soulless forms.
This is not an over-coloured picture. Can we not see, then, what was the inner reason for the war? Can we not understand that it was needful to shake mankind loose from gossip and pink teas, and sword-worship, and Saturday night drunks, and self-seeking politics and theological quibbles—to wake them up and make them realise that they stand upon a narrow knife-edge between two awful eternities, and that, here and now, they have to finish with make-beliefs, and with real earnestness and courage face those truths which have always been palpable where indolence, or cowardice41, or vested interests have not obscured the vision. Let us try to appreciate what those truths are and the direction which reform must take. It is the new spiritual developments which predominate in my own thoughts, but there are two other great readjustments which are necessary before they can take their full effect. On the spiritual side I can speak with the force of knowledge from the beyond. On the other two points of reform, I make no such claim.
The first is that in the Bible, which is the foundation of our present religious thought, we have bound together the living and the dead, and the dead has tainted42 the living. A mummy and an angel are in most unnatural partnership44. There can be no clear thinking, and no logical teaching until the old dispensation has been placed on the shelf of the scholar, and removed from the desk of the teacher. It is indeed a wonderful book, in parts the oldest which has come down to us, a book filled with rare knowledge, with history, with poetry, with occultism, with folklore45. But it has no connection with modern conceptions of religion. In the main it is actually antagonistic46 to them. Two contradictory47 codes have been circulated under one cover, and the result is dire40 confusion. The one is a scheme depending upon a special tribal48 God, intensely anthropomorphic and filled with rage, jealousy49 and revenge. The conception pervades50 every book of the Old Testament51. Even in the psalms52, which are perhaps the most spiritual and beautiful section, the psalmist, amid much that is noble, sings of the fearsome things which his God will do to his enemies. "They shall go down alive into hell." There is the keynote of this ancient document—a document which advocates massacre25, condones53 polygamy, accepts slavery, and orders the burning of so-called witches. Its Mosaic54 provisions have long been laid aside. We do not consider ourselves accursed if we fail to mutilate our bodies, if we eat forbidden dishes, fail to trim our beards, or wear clothes of two materials. But we cannot lay aside the provisions and yet regard the document as divine. No learned quibbles can ever persuade an honest earnest mind that that is right. One may say: "Everyone knows that that is the old dispensation, and is not to be acted upon." It is not true. It is continually acted upon, and always will be so long as it is made part of one sacred book. William the Second acted upon it. His German God which wrought55 such mischief56 in the world was the reflection of the dreadful being who ordered that captives be put under the harrow. The cities of Belgium were the reflection of the cities of Moab. Every hard-hearted brute57 in history, more especially in the religious wars, has found his inspiration in the Old Testament. "Smite58 and spare not!" "An eye for an eye!", how readily the texts spring to the grim lips of the murderous fanatic59. Francis on St. Bartholomew's night, Alva in the Lowlands, Tilly at Magdeburg, Cromwell at Drogheda, the Covenainters at Philliphaugh, the Anabaptists of Munster, and the early Mormons of Utah, all found their murderous impulses fortified60 from this unholy source. Its red trail runs through history. Even where the New Testament prevails, its teaching must still be dulled and clouded by its sterner neighbour. Let us retain this honoured work of literature. Let us remove the taint43 which poisons the very spring of our religious thought.
This is, in my opinion, the first clearing which should be made for the more beautiful building to come. The second is less important, as it is a shifting of the point of view, rather than an actual change. It is to be remembered that Christ's life in this world occupied, so far as we can estimate, 33 years, whilst from His arrest to His resurrection was less than a week. Yet the whole Christian system has come to revolve61 round His death, to the partial exclusion62 of the beautiful lesson of His life. Far too much weight has been placed upon the one, and far too little upon the other, for the death, beautiful, and indeed perfect, as it was, could be matched by that of many scores of thousands who have died for an idea, while the life, with its consistent record of charity, breadth of mind, unselfishness, courage, reason, and progressiveness, is absolutely unique and superhuman. Even in these abbreviated63, translated, and second-hand64 records we receive an impression such as no other life can give—an impression which fills us with utter reverence65. Napoleon, no mean judge of human nature, said of it: "It is different with Christ. Everything about Him astonishes me. His spirit surprises me, and His will confounds me. Between Him and anything of this world there is no possible comparison. He is really a being apart. The nearer I approach Him and the closer I examine Him, the more everything seems above me."
It is this wonderful life, its example and inspiration, which was the real object of the descent of this high spirit on to our planet. If the human race had earnestly centred upon that instead of losing itself in vain dreams of vicarious sacrifices and imaginary falls, with all the mystical and contentious66 philosophy which has centred round the subject, how very different the level of human culture and happiness would be to-day! Such theories, with their absolute want of reason or morality, have been the main cause why the best minds have been so often alienated67 from the Christian system and proclaimed themselves materialists. In contemplating68 what shocked their instincts for truth they have lost that which was both true and beautiful. Christ's death was worthy69 of His life, and rounded off a perfect career, but it is the life which He has left as the foundation for the permanent religion of mankind. All the religious wars, the private feuds70, and the countless71 miseries72 of sectarian contention73, would have been at least minimised, if not avoided, had the bare example of Christ's life been adopted as the standard of conduct and of religion.
But there are certain other considerations which should have weight when we contemplate74 this life and its efficacy as an example. One of these is that the very essence of it was that He critically examined religion as He found it, and brought His robust75 common sense and courage to bear in exposing the shams and in pointing out the better path. THAT is the hall-mark of the true follower76 of Christ, and not the mute acceptance of doctrines77 which are, upon the face of them, false and pernicious, because they come to us with some show of authority. What authority have we now, save this very life, which could compare with those Jewish books which were so binding78 in their force, and so immutably79 sacred that even the misspellings or pen-slips of the scribe, were most carefully preserved? It is a simple obvious fact that if Christ had been orthodox, and had possessed80 what is so often praised as a "child-like faith," there could have been no such thing as Christianity. Let reformers who love Him take heart as they consider that they are indeed following in the footsteps of the Master, who has at no time said that the revelation which He brought, and which has been so imperfectly used, is the last which will come to mankind. In our own times an equally great one has been released from the centre of all truth, which will make as deep an impression upon the human race as Christianity, though no predominant figure has yet appeared to enforce its lessons. Such a figure has appeared once when the days were ripe, and I do not doubt that this may occur once more.
One other consideration must be urged. Christ has not given His message in the first person. If He had done so our position would be stronger. It has been repeated by the hearsay81 and report of earnest but ill-educated men. It speaks much for education in the Roman province of Judea that these fishermen, publicans and others could even read or write. Luke and Paul were, of course, of a higher class, but their information came from their lowly predecessors82. Their account is splendidly satisfying in the unity36 of the general impression which it produces, and the clear drawing of the Master's teaching and character. At the same time it is full of inconsistencies and contradictions upon immaterial matters. For example, the four accounts of the resurrection differ in detail, and there is no orthodox learned lawyer who dutifully accepts all four versions who could not shatter the evidence if he dealt with it in the course of his profession. These details are immaterial to the spirit of the message. It is not common sense to suppose that every item is inspired, or that we have to make no allowance for imperfect reporting, individual convictions, oriental phraseology, or faults of translation. These have, indeed, been admitted by revised versions. In His utterance31 about the letter and the spirit we could almost believe that Christ had foreseen the plague of texts from which we have suffered, even as He Himself suffered at the hands of the theologians of His day, who then, as now, have been a curse to the world. We were meant to use our reasons and brains in adapting His teaching to the conditions of our altered lives and times. Much depended upon the society and mode of expression which belonged to His era. To suppose in these days that one has literally83 to give all to the poor, or that a starved English prisoner should literally love his enemy the Kaiser, or that because Christ protested against the lax marriages of His day therefore two spouses84 who loathe85 each other should be for ever chained in a life servitude and martyrdom—all these assertions are to travesty86 His teaching and to take from it that robust quality of common sense which was its main characteristic. To ask what is impossible from human nature is to weaken your appeal when you ask for what is reasonable.
It has already been stated that of the three headings under which reforms are grouped, the exclusion of the old dispensation, the greater attention to Christ's life as compared to His death, and the new spiritual influx which is giving us psychic87 religion, it is only on the latter that one can quote the authority of the beyond. Here, however, the case is really understated. In regard to the Old Testament I have never seen the matter treated in a spiritual communication. The nature of Christ, however, and His teaching, have been expounded88 a score of times with some variation of detail, but in the main as reproduced here. Spirits have their individuality of view, and some carry over strong earthly prepossessions which they do not easily shed; but reading many authentic89 spirit communications one finds that the idea of redemption is hardly ever spoken of, while that of example and influence is for ever insisted upon. In them Christ is the highest spirit known, the son of God, as we all are, but nearer to God, and therefore in a more particular sense His son. He does not, save in most rare and special cases, meet us when we die. Since souls pass over, night and day, at the rate of about 100 a minute, this would seem self-evident. After a time we may be admitted to His presence, to find a most tender, sympathetic and helpful comrade and guide, whose spirit influences all things even when His bodily presence is not visible. This is the general teaching of the other world communications concerning Christ, the gentle, loving and powerful spirit which broods ever over that world which, in all its many spheres, is His special care.
Before passing to the new revelation, its certain proofs and its definite teaching, let us hark back for a moment upon the two points which have already been treated. They are not absolutely vital points. The fresh developments can go on and conquer the world without them. There can be no sudden change in the ancient routine of our religious habits, nor is it possible to conceive that a congress of theologians could take so heroic a step as to tear the Bible in twain, laying one half upon the shelf and one upon the table. Neither is it to be expected that any formal pronouncements could ever be made that the churches have all laid the wrong emphasis upon the story of Christ. Moral courage will not rise to such a height. But with the spiritual quickening and the greater earnestness which will have their roots in this bloody90 passion of mankind, many will perceive what is reasonable and true, so that even if the Old Testament should remain, like some obsolete91 appendix in the animal frame, to mark a lower stage through which development has passed, it will more and more be recognised as a document which has lost all validity and which should no longer be allowed to influence human conduct, save by way of pointing out much which we may avoid. So also with the teaching of Christ, the mystical portions may fade gently away, as the grosser views of eternal punishment have faded within our own lifetime, so that while mankind is hardly aware of the change the heresy92 of today will become the commonplace of tomorrow. These things will adjust themselves in God's own time. What is, however, both new and vital are those fresh developments which will now be discussed. In them may be found the signs of how the dry bones may be stirred, and how the mummy may be quickened with the breath of life. With the actual certainty of a definite life after death, and a sure sense of responsibility for our own spiritual development, a responsibility which cannot be put upon any other shoulders, however exalted93, but must be borne by each individual for himself, there will come the greatest reinforcement of morality which the human race has ever known. We are on the verge94 of it now, but our descendants will look upon the past century as the culmination95 of the dark ages when man lost his trust in God, and was so engrossed96 in his temporary earth life that he lost all sense of spiritual reality.
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1 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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2 calamity | |
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件 | |
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3 deduction | |
n.减除,扣除,减除额;推论,推理,演绎 | |
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4 suspense | |
n.(对可能发生的事)紧张感,担心,挂虑 | |
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5 radical | |
n.激进份子,原子团,根号;adj.根本的,激进的,彻底的 | |
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6 influx | |
n.流入,注入 | |
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7 prospect | |
n.前景,前途;景色,视野 | |
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8 ferment | |
vt.使发酵;n./vt.(使)激动,(使)动乱 | |
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9 exhaustion | |
n.耗尽枯竭,疲惫,筋疲力尽,竭尽,详尽无遗的论述 | |
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10 essentially | |
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上 | |
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11 decadent | |
adj.颓废的,衰落的,堕落的 | |
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12 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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13 shams | |
假象( sham的名词复数 ); 假货; 虚假的行为(或感情、言语等); 假装…的人 | |
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14 brutal | |
adj.残忍的,野蛮的,不讲理的 | |
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15 corruption | |
n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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16 incarnate | |
adj.化身的,人体化的,肉色的 | |
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17 motives | |
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
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18 panegyric | |
n.颂词,颂扬 | |
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19 cardinal | |
n.(天主教的)红衣主教;adj.首要的,基本的 | |
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20 diabolical | |
adj.恶魔似的,凶暴的 | |
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21 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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22 acquitted | |
宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(自己)作出某种表现 | |
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23 condoned | |
v.容忍,宽恕,原谅( condone的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 massacres | |
大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 ); 惨败 | |
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25 massacre | |
n.残杀,大屠杀;v.残杀,集体屠杀 | |
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26 unnatural | |
adj.不自然的;反常的 | |
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27 brutality | |
n.野蛮的行为,残忍,野蛮 | |
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28 materialism | |
n.[哲]唯物主义,唯物论;物质至上 | |
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29 arrogance | |
n.傲慢,自大 | |
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30 negation | |
n.否定;否认 | |
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31 utterance | |
n.用言语表达,话语,言语 | |
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32 utterances | |
n.发声( utterance的名词复数 );说话方式;语调;言论 | |
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33 bishops | |
(基督教某些教派管辖大教区的)主教( bishop的名词复数 ); (国际象棋的)象 | |
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34 pastors | |
n.(基督教的)牧师( pastor的名词复数 ) | |
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35 civilisation | |
n.文明,文化,开化,教化 | |
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36 unity | |
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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37 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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38 Buddhist | |
adj./n.佛教的,佛教徒 | |
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39 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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40 dire | |
adj.可怕的,悲惨的,阴惨的,极端的 | |
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41 cowardice | |
n.胆小,怯懦 | |
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42 tainted | |
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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43 taint | |
n.污点;感染;腐坏;v.使感染;污染 | |
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44 partnership | |
n.合作关系,伙伴关系 | |
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45 folklore | |
n.民间信仰,民间传说,民俗 | |
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46 antagonistic | |
adj.敌对的 | |
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47 contradictory | |
adj.反驳的,反对的,抗辩的;n.正反对,矛盾对立 | |
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48 tribal | |
adj.部族的,种族的 | |
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49 jealousy | |
n.妒忌,嫉妒,猜忌 | |
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50 pervades | |
v.遍及,弥漫( pervade的第三人称单数 ) | |
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51 testament | |
n.遗嘱;证明 | |
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52 psalms | |
n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 );圣诗;圣歌;(中的) | |
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53 condones | |
v.容忍,宽恕,原谅( condone的第三人称单数 ) | |
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54 mosaic | |
n./adj.镶嵌细工的,镶嵌工艺品的,嵌花式的 | |
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55 wrought | |
v.引起;以…原料制作;运转;adj.制造的 | |
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56 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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57 brute | |
n.野兽,兽性 | |
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58 smite | |
v.重击;彻底击败;n.打;尝试;一点儿 | |
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59 fanatic | |
n.狂热者,入迷者;adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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60 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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61 revolve | |
vi.(使)旋转;循环出现 | |
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62 exclusion | |
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行 | |
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63 abbreviated | |
adj. 简短的,省略的 动词abbreviate的过去式和过去分词 | |
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64 second-hand | |
adj.用过的,旧的,二手的 | |
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65 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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66 contentious | |
adj.好辩的,善争吵的 | |
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67 alienated | |
adj.感到孤独的,不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 );使不友好;转让;让渡(财产等) | |
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68 contemplating | |
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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69 worthy | |
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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70 feuds | |
n.长期不和,世仇( feud的名词复数 ) | |
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71 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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72 miseries | |
n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 );痛苦的事;穷困;常发牢骚的人 | |
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73 contention | |
n.争论,争辩,论战;论点,主张 | |
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74 contemplate | |
vt.盘算,计议;周密考虑;注视,凝视 | |
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75 robust | |
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的 | |
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76 follower | |
n.跟随者;随员;门徒;信徒 | |
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77 doctrines | |
n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 );教义;学说;(政府政策的)正式声明 | |
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78 binding | |
有约束力的,有效的,应遵守的 | |
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79 immutably | |
adv.不变地,永恒地 | |
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80 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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81 hearsay | |
n.谣传,风闻 | |
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82 predecessors | |
n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 );前辈;(被取代的)原有事物;前身 | |
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83 literally | |
adv.照字面意义,逐字地;确实 | |
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84 spouses | |
n.配偶,夫或妻( spouse的名词复数 ) | |
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85 loathe | |
v.厌恶,嫌恶 | |
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86 travesty | |
n.歪曲,嘲弄,滑稽化 | |
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87 psychic | |
n.对超自然力敏感的人;adj.有超自然力的 | |
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88 expounded | |
论述,详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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89 authentic | |
a.真的,真正的;可靠的,可信的,有根据的 | |
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90 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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91 obsolete | |
adj.已废弃的,过时的 | |
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92 heresy | |
n.异端邪说;异教 | |
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93 exalted | |
adj.(地位等)高的,崇高的;尊贵的,高尚的 | |
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94 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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95 culmination | |
n.顶点;最高潮 | |
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96 engrossed | |
adj.全神贯注的 | |
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