Fanaticism3 is the effect of a false conscience, which makes religion subservient4 to the caprices of the imagination, and the excesses of the passions.
It arises, in general, from legislators entertaining too narrow views, or from their extending their regulations beyond the limits within which alone they were intended to operate. Their laws are made merely for a select society. When extended by zeal6 to a whole people, and transferred by ambition from one climate to another, some changes of institution should take place, some accommodation to persons, places, and circumstances. But what, in fact, has been the case? Certain minds, constituted in a great degree like those of the small original flock, have received a system with equal ardor7, and become its apostles, and even its martyrs8, rather than abate9 a single iota10 of its demands. Others, on the contrary, less ardent11, or more attached to their prejudices of education, have struggled with energy against the new yoke12, and consented to receive it only after considerable softenings and mitigations; hence the schism13 between rigorists and moderates, by which all are urged on to vehemence14 and madness — the one party for servitude and the other for freedom.
Let us imagine an immense rotunda15, a pantheon, with innumerable altars placed under its dome16. Let us figure to ourselves a devotee of every sect, whether at present existing or extinct, at the feet of that divinity which he worships in his own peculiar17 way, under all the extravagant18 forms which human imagination has been able to invent. On the right we perceive one stretched on his back upon a mat, absorbed in contemplation, and awaiting the moment when the divine light shall come forth19 to inform his soul. On the left is a prostrate21 energumen striking his forehead against the ground, with a view to obtain from it an abundant produce. Here we see a man with the air and manner of a mountebank22, dancing over the grave of him whom he invokes23. There we observe a penitent24, motionless and mute as the statue before which he has bent25 himself in humiliation26. One, on the principle that God will not blush at his own resemblance, displays openly what modesty27 universally conceals28; another, as if the artist would shudder29 at the sight of his own work, covers with an impenetrable veil his whole person and countenance30; another turns his back upon the south, because from that quarter blows the devil’s tempest. Another stretches out his arms towards the east, because there God first shows His radiant face. Young women, suffused31 with tears, bruise32 and gash33 their lovely persons under the idea of assuaging34 the demon35 of desire, although by means tending in fact rather to strengthen his influence; others again, in opposite attitudes, solicit36 the approaches of the Divinity. One young man, in order to mortify37 the most urgent of his feelings, attaches to particular parts of his frame large iron rings, as heavy as he can bear; another checks still more effectually the tempter’s violence by inhuman38 amputation39, and suspends the bleeding sacrifice upon the altar.
Let us observe them quite the temple, and, full of the inspiration of their respective deities40, spread the terror and delusion41 over the face of the earth. They divide the world between them; and the four extremities42 of it are almost instantly in flames: nations obey them, and kings tremble before them. That almost despotic power which the enthusiasm of a single person exercises over a multitude who see or hear him; the ardor communicated to each other by assembled minds; numberless strong and agitating43 influences acting44 in such circumstances, augmented45 by each individual’s personal anxiety and distress46, require but a short time to operate, in order to produce universal delirium47. Only let a single people be thus fascinated and agitated48 under the guidance of a few impostors, the seduction will spread with the speed of wild-fire, prodigies49 will be multiplied beyond calculation, and whole communities be led astray forever. When the human mind has once quitted the luminous50 track pointed51 out by nature, it returns to it no more; it wanders round the truth, but never obtains of it more than a few faint glimmerings, which, mingling52 with the false lights of surrounding superstition53, leave it, in fact, in complete and palpable obscurity.
It is dreadful to observe how the opinion that the wrath54 of heaven might be appeased55 by human massacre56 spread, after being once started, through almost every religion; and what various reasons have been given for the sacrifice, as though, in order to preclude57, if possible, the escape of any one from extirpation58. Sometimes they are enemies who must be immolated59 to Mars the exterminator60. The Scythians slay61 upon the altars of this deity62 a hundredth part of their prisoners of war; and from this usage attending victory, we may form some judgment63 of the justice of war: accordingly, among other nations it was engaged in solely65 to supply these human sacrifices, so that, having first been instituted, as it would seem, to expiate66 the horrors of war, they at length came to serve as a justification67 of them.
Sometimes a barbarous deity requires victims from among the just and good. The Get? eagerly dispute the honor of personally conveying to Zamolxis the vows68 and devotions of their country. He whose good fortune has destined69 him to be the sacrifice is thrown with the greatest violence upon a range of spears, fixed70 for the purpose. If on falling he receives a mortal wound, it augurs71 well as to the success of the negotiation72 and the merit of the envoy73; but if he survives the wound, he is a wretch74 with whom the god would not condescend75 to hold any communication.
Sometimes children are demanded, and the respective divinities recall the life they had but just imparted: “Justice,” says Montaigne, “thirsting for the blood of innocence76!” Sometimes the call is for the dearest and nearest blood: the Carthaginians sacrificed their own sons to Saturn77, as if Time did not devour78 them with sufficient speed. Sometimes the demand was for the blood of the most beautiful. That Amestris, who had buried twelve men alive in order to obtain from Pluto79, in return for so revolting an offering, a somewhat longer life — that same Amestris further sacrifices to that insatiable divinity twelve daughters of the highest personages in Persia; as the sacrificing priests have always taught men that they ought to offer on the altar the most valuable of their possessions. It is upon this principle that among some nations the first-born were immolated, and that among others they were redeemed80 by offerings more valuable to the ministers of sacrifice. This it is, unquestionably, which introduced into Europe the practice prevalent for centuries of devoting children to celibacy82 at the early age of five years, and shutting up in a cloister83 the brothers of an hereditary84 prince, just as in Asia the practice is to murder them.
Sometimes it is the purest blood that is demanded. We read of certain Indians, if I recollect85 rightly, who hospitably86 entertain all who visit them and make a merit of killing87 every sensible and virtuous88 stranger who enters their country, that his talents and virtues89 may remain with them. Sometimes the blood required is that which is most sacred. With the majority of idolaters, priests perform the office of executioner at the altar; and among the Siberians, it is the practice to kill the priests in order to despatch90 them to pray in the other world for the fulfilment of the wishes of the people.
But let us turn our attention to other frenzies91 and other spectacles. All Europe passes into Asia by a road inundated92 with the blood of Jews, who commit suicide to avoid falling into the hands of their enemies. This epidemic93 depopulates one-half of the inhabited world: kings, pontiffs, women, the young and the aged64, all yield to the influence of the holy madness which, for a series of two hundred years, instigated94 the slaughter95 of innumerable nations at the tomb of a god of peace. Then were to be seen lying oracles96, and military hermits97, monarchs98 in pulpits, and prelates in camps. All the different states constitute one delirious99 populace; barriers of mountains and seas are surmounted100; legitimate101 possessions are abandoned to enable their owners to fly to conquests which were no longer, in point of fertility, the land of promise; manners become corrupted102 under foreign skies; princes, after having exhausted103 their respective kingdoms to redeem81 a country which had never been theirs, complete the ruin of them for their personal ransom104; thousands of soldiers, wandering under the banners of many chieftains, acknowledge the authority of none and hasten their defeat by their desertion; and the disease terminates only to be succeeded by a contagion105 still more horrible and desolating106.
The same spirit of fanaticism cherished the rage for distant conquests: scarcely had Europe repaired its losses when the discovery of a new world hastened the ruin of our own. At that terrible injunction, “Go and conquer,” America was desolated107 and its inhabitants exterminated108; Africa and Europe were exhausted in vain to repeople it; the poison of money and of pleasure having enervated109 the species, the world became nearly a desert and appeared likely every day to advance nearer to desolation by the continual wars which were kindled110 on our continent, from the ambition of extending its power to foreign lands.
Let us now compute111 the immense number of slaves which fanaticism has made, whether in Asia, where uncircumcision was a mark of infamy112, or in Africa, where the Christian113 name was a crime, or in America, where the pretext114 of baptism absolutely extinguished the feelings of humanity. Let us compute the thousands who have been seen to perish either on scaffolds in the ages of persecution115, or in civil wars by the hands of their fellow citizens, or by their own hands through excessive austerities, and maceration116. Let us survey the surface of the earth, and glance at the various standards unfurled and blazing in the name of religion; in Spain against the Moors117, in France against the Turks, in Hungary against the Tartars; at the numerous military orders, founded for converting infidels by the point of the sword, and slaughtering118 one another at the foot of the altar they had come to defend. Let us then look down from the appalling119 tribunal thus raised on the bodies of the innocent and miserable120, in order to judge the living, as God, with a balance widely different, will judge the dead.
In a word, let us contemplate121 the horrors of fifteen centuries, all frequently renewed in the course of a single one; unarmed men slain122 at the feet of altars; kings destroyed by the dagger123 or by poison; a large state reduced to half its extent by the fury of its own citizens; the nation at once the most warlike and the most pacific on the face of the globe, divided in fierce hostility124 against itself; the sword unsheathed between the sons and the father; usurpers, tyrants125, executioners, sacrilegious robbers, and bloodstained parricides violating, under the impulse of religion, every convention divine or human — such is the deadly picture of fanaticism.
§ II.
If this term has at present any connection with its original meaning it is exceedingly slight.
“Fanaticus” was an honorable designation. It signified the minister or benefactor126 of a temple. According to the dictionary of Trévoux some antiquaries have discovered inscriptions127 in which Roman citizens of considerable consequence assumed the title of “fanaticus.”
In Cicero’s oration128 “pro20 domo sua,” a passage occurs in which the word “fanaticus” appears to me of difficult explanation. The seditious and libertine129 Clodius, who had brought about the banishment130 of Cicero for having saved the republic, had not only plundered131 and demolished132 the houses of that great man, but in order that Cicero might never be able to return to his city residence he procured133 the consecration134 of the land on which it stood; and the priests had erected135 there a temple to liberty, or rather to slavery, in which C?sar, Pompey, Crassus, and Clodius then held the republic. Thus in all ages has religion been employed as an instrument in the persecution of great men. When at length, in a happier period, Cicero was recalled, he pleaded before the people in order to obtain the restoration of the ground on which his house had stood, and the rebuilding of the house at the expense of the Roman people. He thus expresses himself in the speech against Clodius (Oratio pro Domo sua, chap. xl): “Adspicite, adspicite, pontifices, hominem religiosum . . . . monete eum, modum quemdam esse religionis; nimium esse superstitiosum non oportere. Quid tibi necesse fuit anili superstitione, homo fanatice, sacrificium, quod ali?n? domi fieret invisere?”
Does the word “fanaticus,” as used above, mean senseless, pitiless, abominable136 fanatic2, according to the present acceptation, or does it rather imply the pious137, religious man, the frequenter and consecrator138 of temples? Is it used here in the meaning of decided139 censure140 or ironical141 praise? I do not feel myself competent to determine, but will give a translation of the passage:
“Behold142, reverend pontiffs, behold the pious man . . . . suggest to him that even religion itself has its limits, that a man ought not to be so over-scrupulous. What occasion was there for a sacred person, a fanatic like yourself, to have recourse to the superstition of an old woman, in order to assist at a sacrifice performed in another person’s house?”
Cicero alludes143 here to the mysteries of the Bona Dea, which had been profaned144 by Clodius, who, in the disguise of a female, and accompanied by an old woman, had obtained an introduction to them, with a view to an assignation with C?sar’s wife. The passage is, in consequence, evidently ironical.
Cicero calls Clodius a religious man, and the irony146 requires to be kept up through the whole passage. He employs terms of honorable meaning, more clearly to exhibit Clodius’s infamy. It appears to me, therefore, that he uses the word in question, “fanaticus,” in its respectable sense, as a word conveying the idea of a sacrificer, a pious man, a zealous147 minister of temple.
The term might be afterwards applied148 to those who believed themselves inspired by the gods, who bestowed149 a somewhat curious gift on the interpreters of their will, by ordaining150 that, in order to be a prophet, the loss of reason is indispensable.
Les Dieux à leur interprète
?Ont fait un étrange don;
Ne peut on être prophète
?Sans qu’on perde la raison?
The same dictionary of Trévoux informs us that the old chronicles of France call Clovis fanatic and pagan. The reader would have been pleased to have had the particular chronicles specified151. I have not found this epithet152 applied to Clovis in any of the few books I possess at my house near Mount Krapak, where I now write.
We understand by fanaticism at present a religious madness, gloomy and cruel. It is a malady153 of the mind, which is taken in the same way as smallpox154. Books communicate it much less than meetings and discourses155. We seldom get heated while reading in solitude156, for our minds are then tranquil157 and sedate158. But when an ardent man of strong imagination addresses himself to weak imaginations, his eyes dart159 fire, and that fire rapidly spreads; his tones, his gestures, absolutely convulse the nerves of his auditors160. He exclaims, “The eye of God is at this moment upon you; sacrifice every mere5 human possession and feeling; fight the battles of the Lord”— and they rush to the fight.
Fanaticism is, in reference to superstition, what delirium is to fever, or rage to anger. He who is involved in ecstasies161 and visions, who takes dreams for realities, and his own imaginations for prophecies, is a fanatical novice162 of great hope and promise, and will probably soon advance to the highest form, and kill man for the love of God.
Bartholomew Diaz was a fanatical monk164. He had a brother at Nuremberg called John Diaz, who was an enthusiastic adherent166 to the doctrines167 of Luther, and completely convinced that the pope was Antichrist, and had the sign of the beast. Bartholomew, still more ardently168 convinced that the pope was god upon earth, quits Rome, determined169 either to convert or murder his brother; he accordingly murdered him! Here is a perfect case of fanaticism. We have noticed and done justice to this Diaz elsewhere.
Polyeuctes, who went to the temple on a day of solemn festival, to throw down and destroy the statues and ornaments170, was a fanatic less horrible than Diaz, but not less foolish. The assassins of Francis, duke of Guise145, of William, prince of Orange, of King Henry III., of King Henry IV., and various others, were equally possessed171, equally laboring172 under morbid173 fury, with Diaz.
The most striking example of fanaticism is that exhibited on the night of St. Bartholomew, when the people of Paris rushed from house to house to stab, slaughter, throw out of the window, and tear in pieces their fellow citizens not attending mass. Guyon, Patouillet, Chaudon, Nonnotte, and the ex-Jesuit Paulian, are merely fanatics174 in a corner — contemptible175 beings whom we do not think of guarding against. They would, however, on a day of St. Bartholomew, perform wonders.
There are some cold-blooded fanatics; such as those judges who sentence men to death for no other crime than that of thinking differently from themselves, and these are so much the more guilty and deserving of the execration176 of mankind, as, not laboring under madness like the Clements, Chatels, Ravaillacs, and Damiens, they might be deemed capable of listening to reason.
There is no other remedy for this epidemical malady than that spirit of philosophy, which, extending itself from one to another, at length civilizes177 and softens178 the manners of men and prevents the access of the disease. For when the disorder179 has made any progress, we should, without loss of time, fly from the seat of it, and wait till the air has become purified from contagion. Law and religion are not completely efficient against the spiritual pestilence180. Religion, indeed, so far from affording proper nutriment to the minds of patients laboring under this infectious and infernal distemper, is converted, by the diseased process of their minds, into poison. These malignant181 devotees have incessantly182 before their eyes the example of Ehud, who assassinated183 the king of Eglon; of Judith, who cut off the head of Holofernes while in bed with him; of Samuel, hewing185 in pieces King Agag; of Jehoiada the priest, who murdered his queen at the horse-gate. They do not perceive that these instances, which are respectable in antiquity186, are in the present day abominable. They derive187 their fury from religion, decidedly as religion condemns189 it.
Laws are yet more powerless against these paroxysms of rage. To oppose laws to cases of such a description would be like reading a decree of council to a man in a frenzy190. The persons in question are fully191 convinced that the Holy Spirit which animates192 and fills them is above all laws; that their own enthusiasm is, in fact, the only law which they are bound to obey.
What can be said in answer to a man who says he will rather obey God than men, and who consequently feels certain of meriting heaven by cutting your throat?
When once fanaticism has gangrened the brain of any man the disease may be regarded as nearly incurable193. I have seen Convulsionaries who, while speaking of the miracles of St. Paris, gradually worked themselves up to higher and more vehement194 degrees of agitation195 till their eyes became inflamed196, their whole frames shook, their countenances197 became distorted by rage, and had any man contradicted them he would inevitably198 have been murdered.
Yes, I have seen these wretched Convulsionaries writhing199 their limbs and foaming200 at their mouths. They were exclaiming, “We must have blood.” They effected the assassination201 of their king by a lackey202, and ended with exclaiming against philosophers.
Fanatics are nearly always under the direction of knaves204, who place the dagger in their hands. These knaves resemble Montaigne’s “Old Man of the Mountain,” who, it is said, made weak persons imagine, under his treatment of them, that they really had experienced the joys of paradise, and promised them a whole eternity205 of such delights if they would go and assassinate184 such as he should point out to them. There has been only one religion in the world which has not been polluted by fanaticism and that is the religion of the learned in China. The different sects206 of ancient philosophers were not merely exempt207 from this pest of human society, but they were antidotes208 to it: for the effect of philosophy is to render the soul tranquil, and fanaticism and tranquillity209 are totally incompatible210. That our own holy religion has been so frequently polluted by this infernal fury must be imputed211 to the folly212 and madness of mankind. Thus Icarus abused the wings which he received for his benefit. They were given him for his salvation213 and they insured his destruction:
Ainsi du plumage qu’il eut
?Icare pervertit l’usage;
Il le re?ut pour son salut,
?Il s’en servit pour son dommage.
— Bertaut, bishop214 of Séez.
§ III.
Fanatics do not always fight the battles of the Lord. They do not always assassinate kings and princes. There are tigers among them, but there are more foxes.
What a tissue of frauds, calumnies215, and robberies has been woven by fanatics of the court of Rome against fanatics of the court of Calvin, by Jesuits against Jansenists, and vice163 versa! And if you go farther back you will find ecclesiastical history, which is the school of virtues, to be that of atrocities216 and abominations, which have been employed by every sect against the others. They all have the same bandage over their eyes whether marching out to burn down the cities and towns of their adversaries217, to slaughter the inhabitants, or condemn188 them to judicial218 execution; or when merely engaged in the comparatively calm occupation of deceiving and defrauding219, of acquiring wealth and exercising domination. The same fanaticism blinds them; they think that they are doing good. Every fanatic is a conscientious220 knave203, but a sincere and honest murderer for the good cause.
Read, if you are able, the five or six thousand volumes in which, for a hundred years together, the Jansenists and Molinists have dealt out against each other their reproaches and revilings, their mutual221 exposures of fraud and knavery222, and then judge whether Scapin or Trevelin can be compared with them.
One of the most curious theological knaveries223 ever practised is, in my opinion, that of a small bishop — the narrative224 asserts that he was a Biscayan bishop; however, we shall certainly, at some future period find out both his name and his bishopric — whose diocese was partly in Biscay and partly in France.
In the French division of his diocese there was a parish which had formerly225 been inhabited by some Moors. The lord of the parish or manor226 was no Mahometan; he was perfectly227 catholic, as the whole universe should be, for the meaning of catholic is universal. My lord the bishop had some suspicions concerning this unfortunate seigneur, whose whole occupation consisted in doing good, and conceived that in his heart he entertained bad thoughts and sentiments savoring228 not a little of heresy229. He even accused him of having said, in the way of pleasantry, that there were good people in Morocco as well as in Biscay, and that an honest inhabitant of Morocco might absolutely not be a mortal enemy of the Supreme230 Being, who is the father of all mankind.
The fanatic, upon this, wrote a long letter to the king of France, the paramount231 sovereign of our little manorial232 lord. In this letter he entreated233 his majesty234 to transfer the manor of this stray and unbelieving sheep either to Lower Brittany or Lower Normandy, according to his good pleasure, that he might be no longer able to diffuse235 the contagion of heresy among his Biscayan neighbors, by his abominable jests. The king of France and his council smiled, as may naturally be supposed, at the extravagance and folly of the demand.
Our Biscayan pastor236 learning, some time afterwards, that his French sheep was sick, ordered public notices to be fixed up at the church gates of the canton, prohibiting any one from administering the communion to him, unless he should previously237 give in a bill of confession238, from which it might appear that he was not circumcised; that he condemned239 with his whole heart the heresy of Mahomet, and every other heresy of the like kind — as, for example, Calvinism and Jansenism; and that in every point he thought like him, the said Biscayan bishop.
Bills of confession were at that time much in fashion. The sick man sent for his parish priest, who was a simple and sottish man, and threatened to have him hanged by the parliament of Bordeaux if he did not instantly administer the viaticum to him. The priest was alarmed, and accordingly celebrated240 the sacred ordinance241, as desired by the patient; who, after the ceremony, declared aloud, before witnesses, that the Biscayan pastor had falsely accused him before the king of being tained with the Mussulman religion; that he was a sincere Christian, and that the Biscayan was a calumniator242. He signed this, after it had been written down, in presence of a notary243, and every form required by law was complied with. He soon after became better, and rest and a good conscience speedily completed his recovery.
The Biscayan, quite exasperated244 that the old patient should have thus exposed and disappointed him, resolved to have his revenge, and thus he set about it.
He procured, fifteen days after the event just mentioned, the fabrication, in his own language or patois245, of a profession of faith which the priest pretended to have heard and received. It was signed by the priest and three or four peasants, who had not been present at the ceremony; and the forged instrument was then passed through the necessary and solemn form of verification and registry, as if this form could give it authenticity246.
An instrument not signed by the party alone interested, signed by persons unknown, fifteen days after the event, an instrument disavowed by the real and credible247 witnesses of that event, involved evidently the crime of forgery248; and, as the subject of the forgery was a matter of faith, the crime clearly rendered both the priest and the witnesses liable to the galleys249 in this world, and to hell in the other.
Our lord of the manor, however, who loved a joke, but had no gall250 or malice251 in his heart, took compassion252 both upon the bodies and souls of these conspirators253. He declined delivering them over to human justice, and contented254 himself with giving them up to ridicule255. But he declared that after the death of the Biscayan he would, if he survived, have the pleasure of printing an account of all his proceedings256 and man?uvres on this business, together with the documents and evidences, just to amuse the small number of readers who might like anecdotes257 of that description; and not, as is often pompously258 announced, with a view to the instruction of the universe. There are so many authors who address themselves to the universe, who really imagine they attract, and perhaps absorb, the attention of the universe, that he conceived he might not have a dozen readers out of the whole who would attend for a moment to himself. But let us return to fanaticism.
It is this rage for making proselytes, this intensely mad desire which men feel to bring others over to partake of their own peculiar cup or communion, that induced the Jesuit Chatel and the Jesuit Routh to rush with eagerness to the deathbed of the celebrated Montesquieu. These two devoted259 zealots desired nothing better than to be able to boast that they had persuaded him of the merits of contrition260 and of sufficing grace. We wrought261 his conversion262, they said. He was, in the main, a worthy263 soul: he was much attached to the society of Jesus. We had some little difficulty in inducing him to admit certain fundamental truths; but as in these circumstances, in the crisis of life and death, the mind is always most clear and acute, we soon convinced him.
This fanatical eagerness for converting men is so ardent, that the most debauched monk in his convent would even quit his mistress, and walk to the very extremity264 of the city, for the sake of making a single convert.
We have all seen Father Poisson, a Cordelier of Paris, who impoverished265 his convent to pay his mistresses, and who was imprisoned266 in consequence of the depravity of his manners. He was one of the most popular preachers at Paris, and one of the most determined and zealous of converters.
Such also was the celebrated preacher Fantin, at Versailles. The list might be easily enlarged; but it is unnecessary, if not also dangerous, to expose the freaks and freedoms of constituted authorities. You know what happened to Ham for having revealed his father’s shame. He became as black as a coal.
Let us merely pray to God, whether rising or lying down, that he would deliver us from fanatics, as the pilgrims of Mecca pray that they may meet with no sour faces on the road.
§ IV.
Ludlow, who was rather an enthusiast165 for liberty than a fanatic in religion — that brave man, who hated Cromwell more than he did Charles I., relates that the parliamentary forces were always defeated by the royal army in the beginning of the civil war; just as the regiment267 of porters (portes-cochères) were unable to stand the shock of conflict, in the time of the Fronde against the great Condé. Cromwell said to General Fairfax: “How can you possibly expect a rabble268 of London porters and apprentices269 to resist a nobility urged on by the principle, or rather the phantom270, of honor? Let us actuate them by a more powerful phantom — fanaticism! Our enemies are fighting only for their king; let us persuade our troops they are fighting for their God.
“Give me a commission, and I will raise a regiment of brother murderers, whom I will pledge myself soon to make invincible271 fanatics!”
He was as good as his word; he composed his regiment of red-coated brothers, of gloomy religionists, whom he made obedient tigers. Mahomet himself was never better served by soldiers.
But in order to inspire this fanaticism, you must be seconded and supported by the spirit of the times. A French parliament at the present day would attempt in vain to raise a regiment of such porters as we have mentioned; it could, with all its efforts, merely rouse into frenzy a few women of the fishmarket.
Only the ablest men have the power to make and to guide fanatics. It is not, however, sufficient to possess the profoundest dissimulation272 and the most determined intrepidity273; everything depends, after these previous requisites274 are secured, on coming into the world at a proper time.
§ V.
Geometry then, it seems, is not always connected with clearness and correctness of understanding. Over what precipices275 do not men fall, notwithstanding their boasted leading-strings of reason! A celebrated Protestant, who was esteemed276 one of the first mathematicians277 of the age, and who followed in the train of the Newtons, the Leibnitzes, and Bernouillis, at the beginning of the present century, struck out some very singular corollaries. It is said that with a grain of faith a man may remove mountains; and this man of science, following up the method of pure geometrical analysis, reasoned thus with himself: I have many grains of faith, and can, therefore, remove many mountains. This was the man who made his appearance at London in 1707; and, associating himself with certain men of learning and science, some of whom, moreover, were not deficient278 in sagacity, they publicly announced that they would raise to life a dead person in any cemetery279 that might be fixed upon. Their reasoning was uniformly synthetical280. They said, genuine disciples281 must have the power of performing miracles; we are genuine disciples, we therefore shall be able to perform as many as we please. The mere unscientific saints of the Romish church have resuscitated282 many worthy persons; therefore, a fortiori, we, the reformers of the reformed themselves, shall resuscitate283 as many as we may desire.
These arguments are irrefragable, being constructed according to the most correct form possible. Here we have at a glance the explanation why all antiquity was inundated with prodigies; why the temples of ?sculapius at Epidaurus, and in other cities, were completely filled with ex-votos; the roofs adorned284 with thighs285 straightened, arms restored, and silver infants: all was miracle.
In short, the famous Protestant geometrician whom I speak of appeared so perfectly sincere; he asserted so confidently that he would raise the dead, and his proposition was put forward with so much plausibility286 and strenuousness287, that the people entertained a very strong impression on the subject, and Queen Anne was advised to appoint a day, an hour, and a cemetery, such as he should himself select, in which he might have the opportunity of performing his miracle legally, and under the inspection289 of justice. The holy geometrician chose St. Paul’s cathedral for the scene of his exertion290: the people ranged themselves in two rows; soldiers were stationed to preserve order both among the living and the dead; the magistrates291 took their seats; the register procured his record; it was impossible that the new miracles could be verified too completely. A dead body was disinterred agreeably to the holy man’s choice and direction; he then prayed, he fell upon his knees, and made the most pious and devout292 contortions293 possible; his companions imitated him; the dead body exhibited no sign of animation294; it was again deposited in its grave, and the professed295 resuscitator296 and his adherents297 were slightly punished. I afterwards saw one of these misled creatures; he declared to me that one of the party was at the time under the stain of a venial298 sin, for which the dead person suffered, and but for which the resurrection would have been infallible.
Were it allowable for us to reveal the disgrace of those to whom we owe the sincerest respect, I should observe here, that Newton, the great Newton himself, discovered in the “Apocalypse” that the pope was Antichrist, and made many other similar discoveries. I should also observe that he was a decided Arian. I am aware that this deviation299 of Newton, compared to that of the other geometrician, is as unity288 to infinity300. But if the exalted301 Newton imagined that he found the modern history of Europe in the “Apocalypse,” we may say: Alas302, poor human beings!
It seems as if superstition were an epidemic disease, from which the strongest minds are not always exempt. There are in Turkey persons of great and strong sense, who would undergo empalement for the sake of certain opinions of Abubeker. These principles being once admitted, they reason with great consistency303; and the Navaricians, the Radarists, and the Jabarites mutually consign304 each other to damnation in conformity305 to very shrewd and subtle argument. They all draw plausible306 consequences, but they never dare to examine principles.
A report is publicly spread abroad by some person, that there exists a giant seventy feet high; the learned soon after begin to discuss and dispute about the color of his hair, the thickness of his thumb, the measurement of his nails; they exclaim, cabal307, and even fight upon the subject. Those who maintain that the little finger of the giant is only fifteen lines in diameter burn those who assert that it is a foot thick. “But, gentlemen,” modestly observes a stranger passing by, “does the giant you are disputing about really exist?” “What a horrible doubt!” all the disputants cry out together. “What blasphemy308! What absurdity309!” A short truce310 is then brought about to give time for stoning the poor stranger; and, after having duly performed that murderous ceremony, they resume fighting upon the everlasting311 subject of the nails and little finger.
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1
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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fanatic
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| n.狂热者，入迷者；adj.狂热入迷的 | |
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3
fanaticism
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| n.狂热，盲信 | |
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subservient
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| adj.卑屈的，阿谀的 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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6
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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ardor
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| n.热情，狂热 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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abate
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| vi.(风势，疼痛等)减弱，减轻，减退 | |
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iota
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| n.些微，一点儿 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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12
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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schism
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| n.分派，派系，分裂 | |
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vehemence
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| n.热切；激烈；愤怒 | |
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rotunda
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| n.圆形建筑物；圆厅 | |
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dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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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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18
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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19
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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20
pro
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| n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者 | |
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21
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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22
mountebank
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| n.江湖郎中；骗子 | |
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23
invokes
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| v.援引( invoke的第三人称单数 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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24
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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25
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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26
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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27
modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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28
conceals
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的第三人称单数 ) | |
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29
shudder
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| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
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30
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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31
suffused
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| v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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32
bruise
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| n.青肿，挫伤；伤痕；vt.打青；挫伤 | |
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33
gash
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| v.深切，划开；n.(深长的)切(伤)口；裂缝 | |
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34
assuaging
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| v.减轻( assuage的现在分词 )；缓和；平息；使安静 | |
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35
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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36
solicit
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| vi.勾引；乞求；vt.请求，乞求；招揽(生意) | |
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37
mortify
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| v.克制，禁欲，使受辱 | |
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38
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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39
amputation
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| n.截肢 | |
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40
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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41
delusion
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| n.谬见，欺骗，幻觉，迷惑 | |
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42
extremities
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| n.端点( extremity的名词复数 )；尽头；手和足；极窘迫的境地 | |
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43
agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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44
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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45
Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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46
distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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47
delirium
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| n. 神智昏迷,说胡话;极度兴奋 | |
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48
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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49
prodigies
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| n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 ) | |
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50
luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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51
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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52
mingling
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| adj.混合的 | |
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53
superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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54
wrath
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| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
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55
appeased
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| 安抚，抚慰( appease的过去式和过去分词 )； 绥靖（满足另一国的要求以避免战争） | |
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56
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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57
preclude
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| vt.阻止，排除，防止；妨碍 | |
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58
extirpation
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| n.消灭，根除，毁灭；摘除 | |
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59
immolated
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| v.宰杀…作祭品( immolate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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60
exterminator
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| n.扑灭的人，害虫驱除剂 | |
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61
slay
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| v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮 | |
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62
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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63
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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64
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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65
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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66
expiate
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| v.抵补，赎罪 | |
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67
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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68
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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69
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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70
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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71
augurs
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| n.（古罗马的）占兆官( augur的名词复数 )；占卜师，预言者v.预示，预兆，预言( augur的第三人称单数 )；成为预兆；占卜 | |
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72
negotiation
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| n.谈判，协商 | |
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73
envoy
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| n.使节，使者，代表，公使 | |
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74
wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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75
condescend
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| v.俯就，屈尊；堕落，丢丑 | |
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76
innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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77
Saturn
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| n.农神，土星 | |
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78
devour
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| v.吞没；贪婪地注视或谛听，贪读；使着迷 | |
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79
Pluto
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| n.冥王星 | |
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80
redeemed
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| adj. 可赎回的，可救赎的 动词redeem的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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81
redeem
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| v.买回，赎回，挽回，恢复，履行（诺言等） | |
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82
celibacy
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| n.独身(主义) | |
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83
cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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84
hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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85
recollect
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| v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得 | |
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86
hospitably
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| 亲切地，招待周到地，善于款待地 | |
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87
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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88
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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89
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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90
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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91
frenzies
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| 狂乱( frenzy的名词复数 )； 极度的激动 | |
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92
inundated
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| v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
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93
epidemic
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| n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的 | |
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94
instigated
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| v.使（某事物）开始或发生，鼓动( instigate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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95
slaughter
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| n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀 | |
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96
oracles
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| 神示所( oracle的名词复数 )； 神谕； 圣贤； 哲人 | |
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97
hermits
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| （尤指早期基督教的）隐居修道士，隐士，遁世者( hermit的名词复数 ) | |
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98
monarchs
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| 君主，帝王( monarch的名词复数 ) | |
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99
delirious
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| adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的 | |
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100
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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101
legitimate
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| adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法 | |
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102
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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103
exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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104
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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105
contagion
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| n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延 | |
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106
desolating
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| 毁坏( desolate的现在分词 )； 极大地破坏； 使沮丧； 使痛苦 | |
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107
desolated
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| adj.荒凉的，荒废的 | |
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108
exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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109
enervated
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| adj.衰弱的，无力的v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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110
kindled
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| （使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光 | |
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111
compute
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| v./n.计算，估计 | |
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112
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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113
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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114
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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115
persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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116
maceration
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| n.泡软，因绝食而衰弱 | |
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117
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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118
slaughtering
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| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 ) | |
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119
appalling
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| adj.骇人听闻的，令人震惊的，可怕的 | |
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120
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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121
contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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122
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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123
dagger
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| n.匕首，短剑，剑号 | |
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124
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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125
tyrants
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| 专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物 | |
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126
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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127
inscriptions
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| （作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记 | |
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128
oration
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| n.演说，致辞，叙述法 | |
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129
libertine
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| n.淫荡者；adj.放荡的，自由思想的 | |
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130
banishment
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| n.放逐，驱逐 | |
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131
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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132
demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光 | |
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133
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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134
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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135
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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136
abominable
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| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
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137
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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138
consecrator
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| adj.使神圣化的，奉献的 | |
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139
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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140
censure
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| v./n.责备；非难；责难 | |
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141
ironical
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| adj.讽刺的，冷嘲的 | |
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142
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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143
alludes
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| 提及，暗指( allude的第三人称单数 ) | |
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144
profaned
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| v.不敬( profane的过去式和过去分词 )；亵渎，玷污 | |
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145
guise
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| n.外表，伪装的姿态 | |
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146
irony
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| n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄 | |
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147
zealous
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| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
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148
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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149
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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150
ordaining
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的现在分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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151
specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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152
epithet
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| n.（用于褒贬人物等的）表述形容词，修饰语 | |
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153
malady
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| n.病，疾病(通常做比喻) | |
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154
smallpox
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| n.天花 | |
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155
discourses
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| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
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156
solitude
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| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
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157
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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158
sedate
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| adj.沉着的，镇静的，安静的 | |
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159
dart
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| v.猛冲，投掷；n.飞镖，猛冲 | |
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160
auditors
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| n.审计员，稽核员( auditor的名词复数 )；（大学课程的）旁听生 | |
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161
ecstasies
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| 狂喜( ecstasy的名词复数 )； 出神； 入迷； 迷幻药 | |
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162
novice
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| adj.新手的，生手的 | |
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163
vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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164
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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165
enthusiast
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| n.热心人，热衷者 | |
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166
adherent
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| n.信徒，追随者，拥护者 | |
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167
doctrines
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| 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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168
ardently
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| adv.热心地，热烈地 | |
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169
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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170
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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171
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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172
laboring
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|
| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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173
morbid
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| adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的 | |
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174
fanatics
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| 狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 ) | |
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175
contemptible
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|
| adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的 | |
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176
execration
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| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
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177
civilizes
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| v.使文明，使开化( civilize的第三人称单数 ) | |
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178
softens
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| （使）变软( soften的第三人称单数 )； 缓解打击； 缓和； 安慰 | |
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179
disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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180
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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181
malignant
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|
| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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182
incessantly
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| ad.不停地 | |
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183
assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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184
assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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185
hewing
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| v.（用斧、刀等）砍、劈( hew的现在分词 )；砍成；劈出；开辟 | |
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186
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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187
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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188
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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189
condemns
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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190
frenzy
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| n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动 | |
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191
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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192
animates
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| v.使有生气( animate的第三人称单数 )；驱动；使栩栩如生地动作；赋予…以生命 | |
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193
incurable
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| adj.不能医治的，不能矫正的，无救的；n.不治的病人，无救的人 | |
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194
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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195
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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196
inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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197
countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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198
inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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199
writhing
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的现在分词 ) | |
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200
foaming
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| adj.布满泡沫的；发泡 | |
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201
assassination
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| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
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202
lackey
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| n.侍从；跟班 | |
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203
knave
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| n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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204
knaves
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| n.恶棍，无赖( knave的名词复数 )；（纸牌中的）杰克 | |
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205
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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206
sects
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| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
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207
exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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208
antidotes
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| 解药( antidote的名词复数 )； 解毒剂； 对抗手段； 除害物 | |
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209
tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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210
incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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211
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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212
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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213
salvation
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| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
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214
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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215
calumnies
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| n.诬蔑，诽谤，中伤（的话）( calumny的名词复数 ) | |
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216
atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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217
adversaries
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| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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218
judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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219
defrauding
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| v.诈取，骗取( defraud的现在分词 ) | |
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220
conscientious
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| adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的 | |
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221
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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222
knavery
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| n.恶行，欺诈的行为 | |
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223
knaveries
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| n.流氓行为( knavery的名词复数 ) | |
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224
narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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225
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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226
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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227
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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228
savoring
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| v.意味，带有…的性质( savor的现在分词 )；给…加调味品；使有风味；品尝 | |
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229
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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230
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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231
paramount
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| a.最重要的，最高权力的 | |
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232
manorial
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| adj.庄园的 | |
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233
entreated
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| 恳求，乞求( entreat的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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234
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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235
diffuse
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| v.扩散；传播；adj.冗长的；四散的，弥漫的 | |
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236
pastor
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| n.牧师，牧人 | |
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237
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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238
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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239
condemned
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|
| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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240
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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241
ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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242
calumniator
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| n.中伤者，诽谤者 | |
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243
notary
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| n.公证人，公证员 | |
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244
exasperated
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| adj.恼怒的 | |
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patois
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| n.方言；混合语 | |
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authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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credible
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| adj.可信任的，可靠的 | |
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248
forgery
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| n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为） | |
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249
galleys
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| n.平底大船，战舰( galley的名词复数 )；（船上或航空器上的）厨房 | |
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250
gall
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| v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难 | |
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malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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compassion
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| n.同情，怜悯 | |
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253
conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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contented
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| adj.满意的，安心的，知足的 | |
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ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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anecdotes
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| n.掌故，趣闻，轶事( anecdote的名词复数 ) | |
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pompously
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| adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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contrition
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| n.悔罪，痛悔 | |
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261
wrought
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| v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的 | |
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conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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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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extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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impoverished
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| adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化 | |
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imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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rabble
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| n.乌合之众，暴民；下等人 | |
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apprentices
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| 学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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dissimulation
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| n.掩饰，虚伪，装糊涂 | |
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intrepidity
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| n.大胆，刚勇；大胆的行为 | |
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requisites
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| n.必要的事物( requisite的名词复数 ) | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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mathematicians
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| 数学家( mathematician的名词复数 ) | |
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deficient
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| adj.不足的，不充份的，有缺陷的 | |
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cemetery
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| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
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synthetical
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| adj.综合的，合成的 | |
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disciples
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| n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一 | |
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resuscitated
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| v.使（某人或某物）恢复知觉，苏醒( resuscitate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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resuscitate
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| v.使复活，使苏醒 | |
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adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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thighs
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| n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿 | |
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plausibility
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| n. 似有道理, 能言善辩 | |
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strenuousness
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unity
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| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
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inspection
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| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
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exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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contortions
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| n.扭歪，弯曲；扭曲，弄歪，歪曲( contortion的名词复数 ) | |
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animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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professed
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| 公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的 | |
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resuscitator
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| n.使苏醒或复活的人；复苏器 | |
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adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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venial
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| adj.可宽恕的；轻微的 | |
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deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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alas
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| int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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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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consign
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| vt.寄售（货品），托运，交托，委托 | |
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conformity
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| n.一致，遵从，顺从 | |
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306
plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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307
cabal
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| n.政治阴谋小集团 | |
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308
blasphemy
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| n.亵渎，渎神 | |
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absurdity
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| n.荒谬，愚蠢；谬论 | |
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truce
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| n.休战，(争执，烦恼等的)缓和；v.以停战结束 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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