CONFISCATION.

It is well observed, in the “Dictionnaire Encyclopédique,” in the article “Confiscation¹,” that the fisc, whether public, or royal, or seignorial, or imperial, or disloyal, was a small basket of reeds or osiers, in which was put the little money that was received or could be extorted². We now use bags; the royal fisc is the royal bag.

In several countries of Europe it is a received maxim³, that whosoever confiscates⁵ the body, confiscates the goods also. This usage is established in those countries in particular where custom holds the place of law; and in all cases, an entire family is punished for the fault of one man only.

To confiscate⁴ the body, is not to put a man’s body into his sovereign lord’s basket. This phrase, in the barbarous language of the bar, means to get possession of the body of a citizen, in order either to take away his life, or to condemn⁶ him to banishment⁷ for life. If he is put to death, or escapes death by flight, his goods are seized. Thus it is not enough to put a man to death for his offences; his children, too, must be deprived of the means of living.

In more countries than one, the rigor⁸ of custom confiscates the property of a man who has voluntarily released himself from the miseries⁹ of this life, and his children are reduced to beggary because their father is dead. In some Roman Catholic provinces, the head of a family is condemned¹⁰ to the galleys¹¹ for life, by an arbitrary sentence, for having harbored a preacher in his house, or for having heard one of his sermons in some cavern¹² or desert place, and his wife and family are forced to beg their bread.

This jurisprudence, which consists in depriving orphans¹³ of their food, was unknown to the Roman commonwealth¹⁴. Sulla introduced it in his proscriptions, and it must be acknowledged that a rapine invented by Sulla was not an example to be followed. Nor was this law, which seems to have been dictated¹⁵ by inhumanity and avarice¹⁶ alone, followed either by C?sar, or by the good Emperor Trajan, or by the Antonines, whose names are still pronounced in every nation with love and reverence¹⁷. Even under Justinian, confiscations took place only in cases of high treason. Those who were accused having been, for the most part, men of great possessions, it seems that Justinian made this ordinance¹⁸ through avarice alone. It also appears that, in the times of feudal¹⁹ anarchy²⁰, the princes and lords of lands, being not very rich, sought to increase their treasure by the condemnation²¹ of their subjects. They were allowed to draw a revenue from crime. Their laws being arbitrary, and the Roman jurisprudence unknown among them, their customs, whether whimsical or cruel, prevailed. But now that the power of sovereigns is founded on immense and assured wealth, their treasure needs no longer to be swollen²² by the slender wreck²³ of the fortunes of some unhappy family. It is true that the goods so appropriated are abandoned to the first who asks for them. But is it for one citizen to fatten²⁴ on the remains²⁵ of the blood of another citizen?

Confiscation is not admitted in countries where the Roman law is established, except within the jurisdiction²⁶ of the parliament of Toulouse. It was formerly²⁷ established at Calais, where it was abolished by the English when they were masters of that place. It appears very strange that the inhabitants of the capital live under a more rigorous law than those of the smaller towns; so true is it, that jurisprudence has often been established by chance, without regularity²⁸, without uniformity, as the huts are built in a village.

The following was spoken by Advocate-General Omer Talon²⁹, in full parliament, at the most glorious period in the annals of France, in 1673, concerning the property of one Mademoiselle de Canillac, which had been confiscated³⁰. Reader, attend to this speech; it is not in the style of Cicero’s oratory³¹, but it is curious:

“In the thirteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, God says, ‘If thou shalt find a city where idolatry prevails, thou shalt surely smite³² the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly³³, and all that is therein. And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city and all the spoil thereof, every whit³⁴, for the Lord thy God.’

“So, in the crime of high treason, the king seized the property, and the children were deprived of it. Naboth having been proceeded against, ‘quia maledixerat regi,’ King Ahab took possession of his inheritance. David, being apprised³⁵ that Mephibosheth had taken part in the rebellion, gave all his goods to Sheba, who brought him the news — ‘Tibi sunt omnia qu? fuerunt Mephibosheth.’”

The question here was, who should inherit the property of Mademoiselle de Canillac — property formerly confiscated from her father, abandoned by the king to a keeper of the royal treasure, and afterwards given by this keeper of the royal treasure to the testatrix. And in this case of a woman of Auvergne a lawyer refers us to that of Ahab, one of the petty kings of a part of Palestine, who confiscated Naboth’s vineyard, after assassinating³⁶ its proprietor³⁷ with the poniard of Jewish justice — an abominable³⁸ act, which has become a proverb to inspire men with a horror for usurpation³⁹. Assuredly, Naboth’s vineyard has no connection with Mademoiselle de Canillac’s inheritance. Nor do the murder and confiscation of the goods of Mephibosheth, grandson of King Saul, and son of David’s friend Jonathan, bear a much greater affinity⁴⁰ to this lady’s will.

With this pedantry⁴¹, this rage for citations⁴² foreign to the subject; with this ignorance of the first principles of human nature; with these ill-conceived and ill-adapted prejudices, has jurisprudence been treated on by men who, in their sphere, have had some reputation.

1 confiscation   

n. 没收, 充公, 征收

参考例句：

• Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels. 没收一切流亡分子和叛乱分子的财产。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言
• Confiscation of smuggled property is part of the penalty for certain offences. 没收走私财产是对某些犯罪予以惩罚的一部分。

2 extorted   

v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解

参考例句：

• The gang extorted money from over 30 local businesses. 这帮歹徒向当地30多户商家勒索过钱财。
• He extorted a promise from me. 他硬要我答应。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

3 maxim   

n.格言，箴言

参考例句：

• Please lay the maxim to your heart.请把此格言记在心里。
• "Waste not,want not" is her favourite maxim.“不浪费则不匮乏”是她喜爱的格言。

4 confiscate   

v.没收(私人财产)，把…充公

参考例句：

• The police have the right to confiscate any forbidden objects they find.如发现违禁货物，警方有权查扣。
• Did the teacher confiscate your toy?老师没收你的玩具了吗？

5 confiscates   

没收，充公( confiscate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He'll slip me anything Jerry confiscates from the prisoners. 他会把任何德国佬从囚犯手中没收的违禁品偷偷给我。
• When confiscates the bureaucratic capital, a part of national capitals Confiscation and so on. 在没收官僚资本时，把一部分民族资本没收等。

6 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

7 banishment   

n.放逐，驱逐

参考例句：

• Qu Yuan suffered banishment as the victim of a court intrigue. 屈原成为朝廷中钩心斗角的牺牲品，因而遭到放逐。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He was sent into banishment. 他被流放。 来自辞典例句

8 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

9 miseries   

n.痛苦( misery的名词复数 )；痛苦的事；穷困；常发牢骚的人

参考例句：

• They forgot all their fears and all their miseries in an instant. 他们马上忘记了一切恐惧和痛苦。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I'm suffering the miseries of unemployment. 我正为失业而痛苦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

11 galleys   

n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房

参考例句：

• Other people had drowned at sea since galleys swarmed with painted sails. 自从布满彩帆的大船下海以来，别的人曾淹死在海里。 来自辞典例句
• He sighed for the galleys, with their infamous costume. 他羡慕那些穿着囚衣的苦工。 来自辞典例句

12 cavern   

n.洞穴，大山洞

参考例句：

• The cavern walls echoed his cries.大山洞的四壁回响着他的喊声。
• It suddenly began to shower,and we took refuge in the cavern.天突然下起雨来，我们在一个山洞里避雨。

13 orphans   

孤儿( orphan的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The poor orphans were kept on short commons. 贫苦的孤儿们吃不饱饭。
• Their uncle was declared guardian to the orphans. 这些孤儿的叔父成为他们的监护人。

14 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

15 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 avarice   

n.贪婪；贪心

参考例句：

• Avarice is the bane to happiness.贪婪是损毁幸福的祸根。
• Their avarice knows no bounds and you can never satisfy them.他们贪得无厌，你永远无法满足他们。

17 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

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

18 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

19 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

20 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

21 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

• There was widespread condemnation of the invasion. 那次侵略遭到了人们普遍的谴责。
• The jury's condemnation was a shock to the suspect. 陪审团宣告有罪使嫌疑犯大为震惊。

22 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

23 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。

24 fatten   

v.使肥，变肥

参考例句：

• The new feed can fatten the chicken up quickly enough for market.新饲料能使鸡长得更快，以适应市场需求。
• We keep animals in pens to fatten them.我们把动物关在围栏里把它们养肥。

25 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

26 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

27 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

28 regularity   

n.规律性，规则性；匀称，整齐

参考例句：

• The idea is to maintain the regularity of the heartbeat.问题就是要维持心跳的规律性。
• He exercised with a regularity that amazed us.他锻炼的规律程度令我们非常惊讶。

29 talon   

n.爪；（如爪般的）手指；爪状物

参考例句：

• Can you get a little tighter with the talon?你能不能把摄像探头固定住不动？
• This kind of spice is made of eagle's talon and has a unique flavor.这种香料味道独特，是用鹰爪作原料制成的。

30 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

31 oratory   

n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞

参考例句：

• I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
• He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。

32 smite   

v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿

参考例句：

• The wise know how to teach,the fool how to smite.智者知道如何教导，愚者知道怎样破坏。
• God will smite our enemies.上帝将击溃我们的敌人。

33 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

34 whit   

n.一点，丝毫

参考例句：

• There's not a whit of truth in the statement.这声明里没有丝毫的真实性。
• He did not seem a whit concerned.他看来毫不在乎。

35 apprised   

v.告知，通知( apprise的过去式和过去分词 )；评价

参考例句：

• We were fully apprised of the situation. 我们完全获悉当时的情况。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I have apprised him of your arrival. 我已经告诉他你要来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

36 assassinating   

v.暗杀( assassinate的现在分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• They struck a blow for freedom by assassinating the colonial governor. 他们为了自由而奋力一博，暗杀了那位殖民地总督。 来自互联网

37 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

38 abominable   

adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的

参考例句：

• Their cruel treatment of prisoners was abominable.他们虐待犯人的做法令人厌恶。
• The sanitary conditions in this restaurant are abominable.这家饭馆的卫生状况糟透了。

39 usurpation   

n.篡位；霸占

参考例句：

• The struggle during this transitional stage is to oppose Chiang Kai-shek's usurpation of the fruits of victory in the War of Resistance.过渡阶段的斗争，就是反对蒋介石篡夺抗战胜利果实的斗争。
• This is an unjustified usurpation of my authority.你是在非法纂夺我的权力。

40 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

41 pedantry   

n.迂腐，卖弄学问

参考例句：

• The book is a demonstration of scholarship without pedantry.这本书表现出学术水平又不故意卖弄学问。
• He fell into a kind of pedantry.他变得有点喜欢卖弄学问。

42 citations   

n.引用( citation的名词复数 )；引证；引文；表扬

参考例句：

• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Some dictionary writers use citations to show what words mean. 有些辞典的编纂者用引文作例证以解释词义。 来自辞典例句