The Epicureans, who had no religion, recommended retirement2 from public affairs, study, and concord3. This sect was a society of friends, for friendship was their principal dogma. Atticus, Lucretius, Memmius, and a few other such men, might live very reputably together; this we see in all countries; philosophize as much as you please among yourselves. A set of amateurs may give a concert of refined and scientific music; but let them beware of performing such a concert before the ignorant and brutal4 vulgar, lest their instruments be broken over their heads. If you have but a village to govern, it must have a religion.
I speak not here of an error; but of the only good, the only necessary, the only proved, and the second revealed.
Had it been possible for the human mind to have admitted a religion — I will not say at all approaching ours — but not so bad as all the other religions in the world — what would that religion have been?
Would it not have been that which should propose to us the adoration5 of the supreme6, only, infinite, eternal Being, the former of the world, who gives it motion and life, “cui nec simile7, nec secundum”? That which should re-unite us to this Being of beings, as the reward of our virtues8, and separate us from Him, as the chastisement10 of our crimes?
That which should admit very few of the dogmas invented by unreasoning pride; those eternal subjects of disputation; and should teach a pure morality, about which there should never be any dispute?
That which should not make the essence of worship consist in vain ceremonies, as that of spitting into your mouth, or that of taking from you one end of your prepuce, or of depriving you of one of your testicles — seeing that a man may fulfil all the social duties with two testicles and an entire foreskin, and without another’s spitting into his mouth?
That of serving one’s neighbor for the love of God, instead of persecuting11 and butchering him in God’s name? That which should tolerate all others, and which, meriting thus the goodwill12 of all, should alone be capable of making mankind a nation of brethren?
That which should have august ceremonies, to strike the vulgar, without having mysteries to disgust the wise and irritate the incredulous?
That which should offer men more encouragements to the social virtues than expiations for social crimes?
That which should insure to its ministers a revenue large enough for their decent maintenance, but should never allow them to usurp13 dignities and power that might make them tyrants14?
That which should establish commodious15 retreats for sickness and old age, but never for idleness?
A great part of this religion is already in the hearts of several princes; and it will prevail when the articles of perpetual peace, proposed by the abbé de St. Pierre, shall be signed by all potentates17.
§ II.
Last night I was meditating18; I was absorbed in the contemplation of nature, admiring the immensity, the courses, the relations of those infinite globes, which are above the admiration19 of the vulgar.
I admired still more the intelligence that presides over this vast machinery20. I said to myself: A man must be blind not to be impressed by this spectacle; he must be stupid not to recognize its author; he must be mad not to adore him. What tribute of adoration ought I to render him? Should not this tribute be the same throughout the extent of space, since the same Supreme Power reigns22 equally in all that extent?
Does not a thinking being, inhabiting a star of the Milky23 Way, owe him the same homage24 as the thinking being on this little globe where we are? Light is the same to the dog-star as to us; morality, too, must be the same.
If a feeling and thinking being in the dog-star is born of a tender father and mother, who have labored25 for his welfare, he owes them as much love and duty as we here owe to our parents. If any one in the Milky Way sees another lame26 and indigent27, and does not relieve him, though able to do it, he is guilty in the sight of every globe.
The heart has everywhere the same duties; on the steps of the throne of God, if He has a throne, and at the bottom of the great abyss, if there be an abyss.
I was wrapt in these reflections, when one of those genii who fill the spaces between worlds, came down to me. I recognized the same a?rial creature that had formerly28 appeared to me, to inform me that the judgments29 of God are different from ours, and how much a good action is preferable to controversy30.
He transported me into a desert covered all over with bones piled one upon another; and between these heaps of dead there were avenues of evergreen31 trees, and at the end of each avenue a tall man of august aspect gazing with compassion32 on these sad remains33.
“Alas! my archangel,” said I, “whither have you brought me?” “To desolation,” answered he. “And who are those fine old patriarchs whom I see motionless and melancholy34 at the end of those green avenues, and who seem to weep over this immense multitude of dead?” “Poor human creature! thou shalt know,” replied the genius; “but, first, thou must weep.”
He began with the first heap. “These,” said he, “are the twenty-three thousand Jews who danced before a calf35, together with the twenty-four thousand who were slain36 while ravishing Midianitish women; the number of the slaughtered37 for similar offences or mistakes amounts to nearly three hundred thousand.
“At the following avenues are the bones of Christians39, butchered by one another on account of metaphysical disputes. They are divided into several piles of four centuries each; it was necessary to separate them; for had they been all together, they would have reached the sky.”
“What!” exclaimed I, “have brethren thus treated their brethren; and have I the misfortune to be one of this brotherhood40?”
“Here,” said the spirit, “are the twelve millions of Americans slain in their own country for not having been baptized.” “Ah! my God! why were not these frightful41 skeletons left to whiten in the hemisphere where the bodies were born, and where they were murdered in so many various ways? Why are all these abominable42 monuments of barbarity and fanaticism43 assembled here?” “For thy instruction.”
“Since thou art willing to instruct me,” said I to the genius, “tell me if there be any other people than the Christians and the Jews, whom zeal44 and religion, unhappily turned into fanaticism, have prompted to so many horrible cruelties?” “Yes,” said he; “the Mahometans have been stained by the same inhuman45 acts, but rarely; and when their victims have cried out ‘amman!’ (mercy!) and have offered them tribute, they have pardoned them. As for other nations, not one of them, since the beginning of the world, has ever made a purely46 religious war. Now, follow me!” I followed.
A little beyond these heaps of dead we found other heaps; these were bags of gold and silver; and each pile had its label: “Substance of the heretics massacred in the eighteenth century, in the seventeenth, in the sixteenth,” and so on. “Gold and silver of the slaughtered Americans,” etc.; and all these piles were surmounted47 by crosses, mitres, crosiers, and tiaras, enriched with jewels.
“What! my genius, was it then to possess these riches that these carcasses were accumulated?” “Yes, my son.”
I shed tears; and when by my grief I had merited to be taken to the end of the green avenues, he conducted me thither48.
“Contemplate,” said he, “the heroes of humanity who have been the benefactors49 of the earth, and who united to banish50 from the world, as far as they were able, violence and rapine. Question them.”
I went up to the first of this band; on his head was a crown, and in his hand a small censer. I humbly51 asked him his name. “I,” said he, “am Numa Pompilius; I succeeded a robber, and had robbers to govern; I taught them virtue9 and the worship of God; after me they repeatedly forgot both. I forbade any image to be placed in the temples, because the divinity who animates52 nature cannot be represented. During my reign21 the Romans had neither wars nor seditions; and my religion did nothing but good. Every neighboring people came to honor my funeral, which has happened to me alone. . . . .”
I made my obeisance53 and passed on to the second. This was a fine old man, of about a hundred, clad in a white robe; his middle finger was placed on his lip, and with the other hand he was scattering54 beans behind him. In him I recognized Pythagoras. He assured me that he had never had a golden thigh55, and that he had never been a cock, but that he had governed the Crotonians with as much justice as Numa had governed the Romans about the same time, which justice was the most necessary and the rarest thing in the world. I learned that the Pythagoreans examined their consciences twice a day. What good people! and how far are we behind them! Yet we, who for thirteen hundred years have been nothing but assassins, assert that these wise men were proud.
To please Pythagoras I said not a word to him, but went on to Zoroaster, who was engaged in concentrating the celestial56 fire in the focus of a concave mirror, in the centre of a vestibule with a hundred gates, each one leading to wisdom. On the principal of these gates I read these words, which are the abstract of all morality, and cut short all the disputes of the casuists: “When thou art in doubt whether an action is good or bad, abstain57 from it.”
“Certainly,” said I to my genius, “the barbarians58 who immolated59 all the victims whose bones I have seen had not read these fine words.”
Then we saw Zaleucus, Thales, Anaximander, and all the other sages60 who had sought truth and practised virtue.
When we came to Socrates I quickly recognized him by his broken nose. “Well,” said I, “you then are among the confidants of the Most High! All the inhabitants of Europe, excepting the Turks and the Crim Tartars, who know nothing, pronounce your name with reverence61. So much is that great name venerated62, so much is it loved, that it has been sought to discover those of your persecutors. Melitus and Anitus are known because of you, as Ravaillac is known because of Henry IV.; but of Anitus I know only the name. I know not precisely63 who that villain64 was by whom you were calumniated65, and who succeeded in procuring66 your condemnation68 to the hemlock69.”
“I have never thought of that man since my adventure,” answered Socrates; “but now that you put me in mind of him, I pity him much. He was a wicked priest, who secretly carried on a trade in leather, a traffic reputed shameful70 amongst us. He sent his two children to my school; the other disciples71 reproached them with their father’s being a currier, and they were obliged to quit. The incensed72 father was unceasing in his endeavors until he had stirred up against me all the priests and all the sophists. They persuaded the council of the five hundred that I was an impious man, who did not believe that the moon, Mercury, and Mars were deities73. I thought indeed, as I do now, that there is but one God, the master of all nature. The judges gave me up to the republic’s poisoner, and he shortened my life a few days. I died with tranquillity74 at the age of seventy years, and since then I have led a happy life with all these great men whom you see, and of whom I am the least. . . . .”
After enjoying the conversation of Socrates for some time, I advanced with my guide into a bower75, situated76 above the groves77, where all these sages of antiquity78 seemed to be tasting the sweets of repose79.
Here I beheld80 a man of mild and simple mien81, who appeared to me to be about thirty-five years old. He was looking with compassion upon the distant heaps of whitened skeletons through which I had been led to the abode82 of the sages. I was astonished to find his feet swelled83 and bloody84, his hands in the same state, his side pierced, and his ribs85 laid bare by flogging. “Good God!” said I, “is it possible that one of the just and wise should be in this state? I have just seen one who was treated in a very odious16 manner; but there is no comparison between his punishment and yours. Bad priests and bad judges poisoned him. Was it also by priests and judges that you were so cruelly assassinated86?
With great affability he answered —“Yes.”
“And who were those monsters?”
“They were hypocrites.”
“Ah! you have said all! by that one word I understand that they would condemn67 you to the worst of punishments. You then had proved to them, like Socrates, that the moon was not a goddess, and that Mercury was not a god?”
“No; those planets were quite out of the question. My countrymen did not even know what a planet was; they were all arrant88 ignoramuses. Their superstitions89 were quite different from those of the Greeks.”
“Then you wished to teach them a new religion?”
“Not at all; I simply said to them —‘Love God with all your hearts, and your neighbor as yourselves; for that is all.’ Judge whether this precept90 is not as old as the universe; judge whether I brought them a new worship. I constantly told them that I was come, not to abolish their law, but to fulfil it; I had observed all their rites87; I was circumcised as they all were; I was baptized like the most zealous91 of them; like them I paid the corban; like them I kept the Passover; and ate, standing92, lamb cooked with lettuce93. I and my friends went to pray in their temple; my friends, too, frequented the temple after my death. In short, I fulfilled all their laws without one exception.”
“What! could not these wretches94 even reproach you with having departed from their laws?”
“Certainly not.”
“Why, then, did they put you in the state in which I now see you?”
“Must I tell you? — They were proud and selfish; they saw that I knew them; they saw that I was making them known to the citizens; they were the strongest; they took away my life; and such as they will always do the same, if they can, to whoever shall have done them too much justice.”
“But did you say nothing; did you do nothing, that could serve them as a pretext95?”
“The wicked find a pretext in everything.”
“Did you not once tell them that you were come to bring, not peace, but the sword?”
“This was an error of some scribe. I told them that I brought, not the sword, but peace. I never wrote anything; what I said might be miscopied without any ill intent.”
“You did not then contribute in anything, by your discourses96, either badly rendered or badly interpreted, to those frightful masses of bones which I passed on my way to consult you?”
“I looked with horror on those who were guilty of all these murders.”
“And those monuments of power and wealth — of pride and avarice97 — those treasures, those ornaments98, those ensigns of greatness, which, when seeking wisdom, I saw accumulated on the way — do they proceed from you?”
“It is impossible; I and mine lived in poverty and lowliness; my greatness was only in virtue.”
I was on the point of begging of him to have the goodness just to tell me who he was; but my guide warned me to refrain. He told me that I was not formed for comprehending these sublime99 mysteries. I conjured100 him to tell me only in what true religion consisted.
“Have I not told you already? — Love God and your neighbor as yourself.”
“What! Can we love God and yet eat meat on a Friday?”
“I always ate what was given me; for I was too poor to give a dinner to any one.”
“Might we love God and be just, and still be prudent101 enough not to intrust all the adventures of one’s life to a person one does not know?”
“Such was always my custom.”
“Might not I, while doing good, be excused from making a pilgrimage to St. James of Compostello?”
“I never was in that country.”
“Should I confine myself in a place of retirement with blockheads?”
“For my part, I always made little journeys from town to town.”
“Must I take part with the Greek or with the Latin Church?”
“When I was in the world, I never made any difference between the Jew and the Samaritan.”
“Well, if it be so, I take you for my only master.”
Then he gave me a nod, which filled me with consolation102. The vision disappeared, and I was left with a good conscience.
§ III.
Questions on Religion.
FIRST QUESTION.
Warburton, bishop103 of Gloucester, author of one of the most learned works ever written, thus expresses himself (“Divine Legation of Moses,” i., 8): “A religion, a society, which is not founded on the belief of a future state, must be supported by an extraordinary Providence104. Judaism is not founded on the belief of a future state; therefore, Judaism was supported by an extraordinary Providence.”
Many theologians rose up against him; and, as all arguments are retorted, so was his retorted upon himself; he was told:
“Every religion which is not founded on the dogma of the immortality105 of the soul, and on everlasting107 rewards and punishments, is necessarily false. Now these dogmas were unknown to the Jews; therefore Judaism, far from being supported by Providence, was, on your own principles, a false and barbarous religion by which Providence was attacked.”
This bishop had some other adversaries108, who maintained against him that the immortality of the soul was known to the Jews even in the time of Moses; but he proved to them very clearly that neither the Decalogue, nor Leviticus, nor Deuteronomy, had said one word of such a belief; and that it is ridiculous to strive to distort and corrupt109 some passages of other books, in order to draw from them a truth which is not announced in the book of the law.
The bishop, having written four volumes to demonstrate that the Jewish law proposed neither pains nor rewards after death, has never been able to answer his adversaries in a very satisfactory manner. They said to him: “Either Moses knew this dogma, and so deceived the Jews by not communicating it, or he did not know it, in which case he did not know enough to found a good religion. Indeed, if the religion had been good why should it have been abolished? A true religion must be for all times and all places; it must be as the light of the sun, enlightening all nations and generations.”
This prelate, enlightened as he is, has found it no easy task to extricate111 himself from so many difficulties. But what system is free from them?
SECOND QUESTION.
Another man of learning, and a much greater philosopher, who is one of the profoundest metaphysicians of the day, advances very strong arguments to prove that polytheism was the primitive112 religion of mankind, and that men began with believing in several gods before their reason was sufficiently113 enlightened to acknowledge one only Supreme Being.
On the contrary, I venture to believe that in the beginning they acknowledged one only God, and that afterwards human weakness adopted several. My conception of the matter is this:
It is indubitable that there were villages before large towns were built, and that all men have been divided into petty commonwealths114 before they were united in great empires. It is very natural that the people of a village, being terrified by thunder, afflicted115 at the loss of its harvests, ill-used by the inhabitants of a neighboring village, feeling every day its own weakness, feeling everywhere an invisible power, should soon have said: There is some Being above us who does us good and harm.
It seems to me to be impossible that it should have said: There are two powers; for why more than one? In all things we begin with the simple; then comes the compound; and after, by superior light, we go back to the simple again. Such is the march of the human mind!
But what is this being who is thus invoked117 at first? Is it the sun? Is it the moon? I do not think so. Let us examine what passes in the minds of children; they are nearly like those of uninformed men. They are struck, neither by the beauty nor by the utility of the luminary118 which animates nature, nor by the assistance lent us by the moon, nor by the regular variations of her course; they think not of these things; they are too much accustomed to them. We adore, we invoke116, we seek to appease119, only that which we fear. All children look upon the sky with indifference120; but when the thunder growls121 they tremble and run to hide themselves. The first men undoubtedly122 did likewise. It could only be a sect of philosophers who first observed the courses of the planets, made them admired, and caused them to be adored; mere123 tillers of the ground, without any information, did not know enough of them to embrace so noble an error.
A village then would confine itself to saying: There is a power which thunders and hails upon us, which makes our children die; let us appease it. But how shall we appease it? We see that by small presents we have calmed the anger of irritated men; let us then make small presents to this power. It must also receive a name. The first that presents itself is that of “chief,” “master,” “lord.” This power then is styled “My Lord.” For this reason perhaps it was that the first Egyptians called their god “knef”; the Syrians, “Adonai”; the neighboring nations, “Baal,” or “Bel,” or “Melch,” or “Moloch”; the Scythians, “Pap?us”; all these names signifying “lord,” “master.”
Thus was nearly all America found to be divided into a multitude of petty tribes, each having its protecting god. The Mexicans, too, and the Peruvians, forming great nations, had only one god — the one adoring Manco Capak, the other the god of war. The Mexicans called their warlike divinity “Huitzilipochtli,” as the Hebrews had called their Lord “Sabaoth.”
It was not from a superior and cultivated reason that every people thus began with acknowledging one only Divinity; had they been philosophers, they would have adored the God of all nature, and not the god of a village; they would have examined those infinite relations among all things which prove a Being creating and preserving; but they examined nothing — they felt. Such is the progress of our feeble understanding. Each village would feel its weakness and its need of a protector; it would imagine that tutelary124 and terrible being residing in the neighboring forest, or on a mountain, or in a cloud. It would imagine only one, because the clan125 had but one chief in war; it would imagine that one corporeal126, because it was impossible to represent it otherwise. It could not believe that the neighboring tribe had not also its god. Therefore it was that Jephthah said to the inhabitants of Moab: “You possess lawfully127 what your god Chemoth has made you conquer; you should, then, let us enjoy what our god has given us by his victories.”
This language, used by one stranger to other strangers, is very remarkable128. The Jews and the Moabites had dispossessed the natives of the country; neither had any right but that of force; and the one says to the other: “Your god has protected you in your usurpation130; suffer our god to protect us in ours.”
Jeremiah and Amos both ask what right the god Melchem had to seize the country of Gad131? From these passages it is evident that the ancients attributed to each country a protecting god. We find other traces of this theology in Homer.
It is very natural that, men’s imaginations being heated, and their minds having acquired some confused knowledge, they should soon multiply their gods, and speedily assign protectors to the elements, the seas, the forests, the fountains, and the fields. The more they observed the stars, the more they would be struck with admiration. How, indeed, should they have adored the divinity of a brook132, and not have adored the sun? The first step being taken, the earth would soon be covered with gods; and from the stars men would at last come down to cats and onions.
Reason, however, will advance towards perfection; time at length found philosophers who saw that neither onions, nor cats, nor even the stars, had arranged the order of nature. All those philosophers — Babylonians, Persians, Egyptians, Scythians, Greeks, and Romans — admitted a supreme, rewarding, and avenging133 God.
They did not at first tell it to the people; for whosoever should have spoken ill of onions and cats before priests and old women, would have been stoned; whosoever should have reproached certain of the Egyptians with eating their gods would himself have been eaten — as Juvenal relates that an Egyptian was in reality killed and eaten quite raw in a controversial dispute.
What then did they do? Orpheus and others established mysteries, which the initiated134 swore by oaths of execration135 not to reveal — of which mysteries the principal was the adoration of a supreme God. This great truth made its way through half the world, and the number of the initiated became immense. It is true that the ancient religion still existed; but as it was not contrary to the dogma of the unity136 of God, it was allowed to exist. And why should it have been abolished? The Romans acknowledged the “Deus optimus maximus,” and the Greeks had their Zeus — their supreme god. All the other divinities were only intermediate beings; heroes and emperors were ranked with the gods, i. e., with the blessed; but it is certain that Claudius, Octavius, Tiberius, and Caligula, were not regarded as the creators of heaven and earth.
In short, it seems proved that, in the time of Augustus, all who had a religion acknowledged a superior, eternal God, with several orders of secondary gods, whose worship was called idolatry.
The laws of the Jews never favored idolatry; for, although they admitted the Malachim, angels and celestial beings of an inferior order, their law did not ordain138 that they should worship these secondary divinities. They adored the angels, it is true; that is, they prostrated139 themselves when they saw them; but as this did not often happen, there was no ceremonial nor legal worship established for them. The cherubim of the ark received no homage. It is beyond a doubt that the Jews, from Alexander’s time at least, openly adored one only God, as the innumerable multitude of the initiated secretly adored Him in their mysteries.
THIRD QUESTION.
It was at the time when the worship of a Supreme God was universally established among all the wise in Asia, in Europe, and in Africa, that the Christian38 religion took its birth.
Platonism assisted materially the understanding of its dogmas. The “Logos,” which with Plato meant the “wisdom,” the reason of the Supreme Being, became with us the “word,” and a second person of God. Profound metaphysics, above human intelligence, were an inaccessible140 sanctuary141 in which religion was enveloped142.
It is not necessary here to repeat how Mary was afterwards declared to be the mother of God; how the consubstantiality of the Father and the “word” was established; as also the proceeding143 of the “pneuma,” the divine organ of the divine Logos; as also the two natures and two wills resulting from the hypostasis; and lastly, the superior manducation — the soul nourished as well as the body, with the flesh and blood of the God-man, adored and eaten in the form of bread, present to the eyes, sensible to the taste, and yet annihilated144. All mysteries have been sublime.
In the second century devils began to be cast out in the name of Jesus; before they were cast out in the name of Jehovah or Ihaho; for St. Matthew relates that the enemies of Jesus having said that He cast out devils in the name of the prince of devils, He answered, “If I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?”
It is not known at what time the Jews recognized Beelzebub, who was a strange god, as the prince of devils; but it is known, for Josephus tells us, that there were at Jerusalem exorcists appointed to cast out devils from the bodies of the possessed129; that is, of such as were attacked by singular maladies, which were then in a great part of the world attributed to the malific genii.
These demons110 were then cast out by the true pronunciation of Jehovah, which is now lost, and by other ceremonies now forgotten.
This exorcism by Jehovah or by the other names of God, was still in use in the first ages of the church. Origen, disputing against Celsus, says to him: “If, when invoking145 God, or swearing by Him, you call Him ‘the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,’ you will by those words do things, the nature and force of which are such that the evil spirits submit to those who pronounce them; but if you call him by another name, as ‘God of the roaring sea,’ etc., no effect will be produced. The name of ‘Israel,’ rendered in Greek, will work nothing; but pronounce it in Hebrew with the other words required, and you will effect the conjuration.”
The same Origen has these remarkable words: “There are names which are powerful from their own nature. Such are those used by the sages of Egypt, the Magi of Persia, and the Brahmins of India. What is called ‘magic,’ is not a vain and chimerical146 art, as the Stoics147 and Epicureans pretend. The names ‘Sabaoth’ and ‘Adonai’ were not made for created beings, but belong to a mysterious theology which has reference to the Creator; hence the virtue of these names when they are arranged and pronounced according to rule.”
Origen, when speaking thus, is not giving his private opinion; he is but repeating the universal opinion.
All the religions then known admitted a sort of magic, which was distinguished148 into celestial magic, and infernal magic, necromancy149 and theurgy — all was prodigy150, divination151, oracle152. The Persians did not deny the miracles of the Egyptians, nor the Egyptians those of the Persians. God permitted the primitive Christians to be persuaded of the truth of the oracles153 attributed to the Sibyls, and left them a few other unimportant errors, which were no essential detriment154 to their religion. Another very remarkable thing is, that the Christians of the primitive ages held temples, altars, and images in abhorrence155. Origen acknowledges this (No. 347). Everything was afterwards changed, with the discipline, when the Church assumed a permanent form.
FOURTH QUESTION.
When once a religion is established in a state, the tribunals are all employed in perverting156 the continuance or renewal157 of most of the things that were done in that religion before it was publicly received. The founders158 used to assemble in private, in spite of magistrates159; but now no assemblies are permitted but public ones under the eyes of the law, and all concealed160 associations are forbidden. The maxim137 formerly was, that “it is better to obey God than man”; the opposite maxim is now adopted, that “to follow the laws of the state is to obey God.” Nothing was heard of but obsessions161 and possessions; the devil was then let loose upon the world, but now the devil stays at home. Prodigies162 and predictions were necessary; now they are no longer admitted: a man who in the places should foretell163 calamities164, would be sent to a madhouse. The founders secretly received the money of the faithful; but now, a man who should gather money for his own disposal, without being authorized165 by the law, would be brought before a court of justice to answer for so doing. Thus the scaffoldings that have served to build the edifice166 are no longer made use of.
FIFTH QUESTION.
After our own holy religion, which indubitably is the only good one, what religion would be the least objectionable?
Would it not be that which should be the simplest; that which should teach much morality and very few dogmas; that which should tend to make men just, without making them absurd; that which should not ordain the belief of things impossible, contradictory167, injurious to the Divinity, and pernicious to mankind; nor dare to threaten with eternal pains whosoever should possess common sense? Would it not be that which should not uphold its belief by the hand of the executioner, nor inundate168 the earth with blood to support unintelligible169 sophisms; that in which an ambiguous expression, a play upon words, and two or three supported charters, should not suffice to make a sovereign and a god of a priest who is often incestuous, a murderer, and a poisoner; which should not make kings subject to this priest; that which should teach only the adoration of one God, justice, tolerance170, and humanity.
SIXTH QUESTION.
It has been said, that the religion of the Gentiles was absurd in many points, contradictory, and pernicious; but have there not been imputed171 to it more harm than it ever did, and more absurdities172 than it ever preached?
Show me in all antiquity a temple dedicated173 to Leda lying with a swan, or Europa with a bull. Was there ever a sermon preached at Athens or at Rome, to persuade the young women to cohabit with their poultry174? Are the fables175 collected and adorned176 by Ovid religious? Are they not like our Golden Legend, our Flower of the Saints? If some Brahmin or dervish were to come and object to our story of St. Mary the Egyptian, who not having wherewith to pay the sailors who conveyed her to Egypt, gave to each of them instead of money what are called “favors,” we should say to the Brahmin: Reverend father, you are mistaken; our religion is not the Golden Legend.
We reproach the ancients with their oracles, and prodigies; if they could return to this world, and the miracles of our Lady of Loretto and our Lady of Ephesus could be counted, in whose favor would be the balance?
Human sacrifices were established among almost every people, but very rarely put in practice. Among the Jews, only Jephthah’s daughter and King Agag were immolated; for Isaac and Jonathan were not. Among the Greeks, the story of “Iphigenia” is not well authenticated177; and human sacrifices were very rare among the ancient Romans. In short, the religion of the Pagans caused very little blood to be shed, while ours has deluged178 the earth. Ours is doubtless the only good, the only true one; but we have done so much harm by its means that when we speak of others we should be modest.
SEVENTH QUESTION.
If a man would persuade foreigners, or his own countrymen, of the truth of his religion, should he not go about it with the most insinuating179 mildness and the most engaging moderation? If he begins with telling them that what he announces is demonstrated, he will find a multitude of persons incredulous; if he ventures to tell them that they reject his doctrine180 only inasmuch as it condemns181 their passions; that their hearts have corrupted182 their minds; that their reasoning is only false and proud, he disgusts them; he incenses183 them against himself; he himself ruins what he would fain establish.
If the religion he announces be true, will violence and insolence184 render it more so? Do you put yourself in a rage, when you say that it is necessary to be mild, patient, beneficent, just, and to fulfil all the duties of society? No; because everyone is of your own opinion. Why, then, do you abuse your brother when preaching to him a mysterious system of metaphysics? Because his opinion irritates your self-love. You are so proud as to require your brother to submit his intelligence to yours; humbled185 pride produces the wrath186; it has no other source. A man who has received twenty wounds in a battle does not fly into a passion; but a divine, wounded by the refusal of your assent187, at once becomes furious and implacable.
EIGHTH QUESTION.
Must we not carefully distinguish the religion of the state from theological religion? The religion of the state requires that the imans keep registers of the circumcised, the vicars or pastors188 registers of the baptized; that there be mosques189, churches, temples, days consecrated190 to rest and worship, rites established by law; that the ministers of those rites enjoy consideration without power; that they teach good morals to the people, and that the ministers of the law watch over the morals of the ministers of the temples. This religion of the state cannot at any time cause any disturbance191.
It is otherwise with theological religion: this is the source of all imaginable follies192 and disturbances193; it is the parent of fanaticism and civil discord194; it is the enemy of mankind. A bonze asserts that Fo is a God, that he was foretold195 by fakirs, that he was born of a white elephant, and that every bonze can by certain grimaces196 make a Fo. A talapoin says, that Fo was a holy man, whose doctrine the bonzes have corrupted, and that Sammono-codom is the true God. After a thousand arguments and contradictions, the two factions197 agree to refer the question to the dalai-lama, who resides three hundred leagues off, and who is not only immortal106, but also infallible. The two factions send to him a solemn deputation; and the dalai-lama begins, according to his divine custom, by distributing among them the contents of his close-stool.
The two rival sects198 at first receive them with equal reverence; have them dried in the sun, and encase them in little chaplets which they kiss devoutly199; but no sooner have the dalai-lama and his council pronounced in the name of Fo, than the condemned200 party throw their chaplets in the vice-god’s face, and would fain give him a sound thrashing. The other party defend their lama, from whom they have received good lands; both fight a long time; and when at last they are tired of mutual201 extermination202, assassination203, and poisoning, they grossly abuse each other, while the dalai-lama laughs, and still distributes his excrement204 to whosoever is desirous of receiving the good father lama’s precious favors.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
sect
|
|
| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
retirement
|
|
| n.退休，退职 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
concord
|
|
| n.和谐；协调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
brutal
|
|
| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
adoration
|
|
| n.爱慕，崇拜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
supreme
|
|
| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
simile
|
|
| n.直喻，明喻 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
virtues
|
|
| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
virtue
|
|
| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
chastisement
|
|
| n.惩罚 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
persecuting
|
|
| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的现在分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
goodwill
|
|
| n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
usurp
|
|
| vt.篡夺，霸占；vi.篡位 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
tyrants
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
commodious
|
|
| adj.宽敞的；使用方便的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
odious
|
|
| adj.可憎的，讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
potentates
|
|
| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
meditating
|
|
| a.沉思的，冥想的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
admiration
|
|
| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
machinery
|
|
| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
reign
|
|
| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
reigns
|
|
| n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
milky
|
|
| adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
homage
|
|
| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
labored
|
|
| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
lame
|
|
| adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
indigent
|
|
| adj.贫穷的，贫困的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
formerly
|
|
| adv.从前，以前 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
judgments
|
|
| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
controversy
|
|
| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
evergreen
|
|
| n.常青树；adj.四季常青的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
compassion
|
|
| n.同情，怜悯 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
remains
|
|
| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
melancholy
|
|
| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
calf
|
|
| n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
slain
|
|
| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
slaughtered
|
|
| v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
Christian
|
|
| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
Christians
|
|
| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
brotherhood
|
|
| n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
frightful
|
|
| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
abominable
|
|
| adj.可厌的，令人憎恶的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
fanaticism
|
|
| n.狂热，盲信 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
zeal
|
|
| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
inhuman
|
|
| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
purely
|
|
| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
surmounted
|
|
| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
thither
|
|
| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
benefactors
|
|
| n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
banish
|
|
| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
humbly
|
|
| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
animates
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
obeisance
|
|
| n.鞠躬，敬礼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
scattering
|
|
| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
thigh
|
|
| n.大腿；股骨 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
celestial
|
|
| adj.天体的；天上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
abstain
|
|
| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
barbarians
|
|
| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
immolated
|
|
| v.宰杀…作祭品( immolate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
sages
|
|
| n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
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： |
|
|
|
|
62
venerated
|
|
| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
63
precisely
|
|
| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
64
villain
|
|
| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
65
calumniated
|
|
| v.诽谤，中伤( calumniate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
66
procuring
|
|
| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
67
condemn
|
|
| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
68
condemnation
|
|
| n.谴责; 定罪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
69
hemlock
|
|
| n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
70
shameful
|
|
| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
71
disciples
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
72
incensed
|
|
| 盛怒的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
73
deities
|
|
| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
74
tranquillity
|
|
| n. 平静, 安静 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
75
bower
|
|
| n.凉亭，树荫下凉快之处；闺房；v.荫蔽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
76
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
77
groves
|
|
| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
78
antiquity
|
|
| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
79
repose
|
|
| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
80
beheld
|
|
| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
81
mien
|
|
| n.风采；态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
82
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
83
swelled
|
|
| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
84
bloody
|
|
| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
85
ribs
|
|
| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
86
assassinated
|
|
| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
87
rites
|
|
| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
88
arrant
|
|
| adj.极端的；最大的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
89
superstitions
|
|
| 迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
90
precept
|
|
| n.戒律；格言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
91
zealous
|
|
| adj.狂热的，热心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
92
standing
|
|
| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
93
lettuce
|
|
| n.莴苣；生菜 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
94
wretches
|
|
| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
95
pretext
|
|
| n.借口，托词 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
96
discourses
|
|
| 论文( discourse的名词复数 )； 演说； 讲道； 话语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
97
avarice
|
|
| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
98
ornaments
|
|
| 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 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
99
sublime
|
|
| adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
100
conjured
|
|
| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
101
prudent
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
102
consolation
|
|
| n.安慰，慰问 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
103
bishop
|
|
| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
104
providence
|
|
| n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
105
immortality
|
|
| n.不死，不朽 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
106
immortal
|
|
| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
107
everlasting
|
|
| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
108
adversaries
|
|
| n.对手，敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
109
corrupt
|
|
| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
110
demons
|
|
| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
111
extricate
|
|
| v.拯救，救出；解脱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
112
primitive
|
|
| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
113
sufficiently
|
|
| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
114
commonwealths
|
|
| n.共和国( commonwealth的名词复数 )；联邦；团体；协会 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
|
115
afflicted
|
|
| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
116
invoke
|
|
| v.求助于(神、法律)；恳求，乞求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
117
invoked
|
|
| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
118
luminary
|
|
| n.名人，天体 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
119
appease
|
|
| v.安抚，缓和，平息，满足 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
120
indifference
|
|
| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
121
growls
|
|
| v.（动物）发狺狺声， （雷）作隆隆声( growl的第三人称单数 )；低声咆哮着说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
122
undoubtedly
|
|
| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
123
mere
|
|
| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
124
tutelary
|
|
| adj.保护的；守护的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
125
clan
|
|
| n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
126
corporeal
|
|
| adj.肉体的，身体的；物质的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
127
lawfully
|
|
| adv.守法地，合法地；合理地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
128
remarkable
|
|
| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
129
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
130
usurpation
|
|
| n.篡位；霸占 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
131
gad
|
|
| n.闲逛；v.闲逛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
132
brook
|
|
| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
133
avenging
|
|
| adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
134
initiated
|
|
| n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
135
execration
|
|
| n.诅咒，念咒，憎恶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
136
unity
|
|
| n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
137
maxim
|
|
| n.格言，箴言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
138
ordain
|
|
| vi.颁发命令；vt.命令，授以圣职，注定，任命 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
139
prostrated
|
|
| v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
140
inaccessible
|
|
| adj.达不到的，难接近的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
141
sanctuary
|
|
| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
142
enveloped
|
|
| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
143
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
144
annihilated
|
|
| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
145
invoking
|
|
| v.援引( invoke的现在分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
146
chimerical
|
|
| adj.荒诞不经的，梦幻的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
147
stoics
|
|
| 禁欲主义者，恬淡寡欲的人，不以苦乐为意的人( stoic的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
148
distinguished
|
|
| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
149
necromancy
|
|
| n.巫术；通灵术 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
150
prodigy
|
|
| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
151
divination
|
|
| n.占卜，预测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
152
oracle
|
|
| n.神谕，神谕处，预言 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
153
oracles
|
|
| 神示所( oracle的名词复数 )； 神谕； 圣贤； 哲人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
154
detriment
|
|
| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
155
abhorrence
|
|
| n.憎恶；可憎恶的事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
156
perverting
|
|
| v.滥用( pervert的现在分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
157
renewal
|
|
| adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
158
founders
|
|
| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
159
magistrates
|
|
| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
160
concealed
|
|
| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
161
obsessions
|
|
| n.使人痴迷的人（或物）( obsession的名词复数 )；着魔；困扰 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
162
prodigies
|
|
| n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
163
foretell
|
|
| v.预言，预告，预示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
164
calamities
|
|
| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
165
authorized
|
|
| a.委任的，许可的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
166
edifice
|
|
| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
167
contradictory
|
|
| adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
168
inundate
|
|
| vt.淹没，泛滥，压倒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
169
unintelligible
|
|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
170
tolerance
|
|
| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
171
imputed
|
|
| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
172
absurdities
|
|
| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
173
dedicated
|
|
| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
174
poultry
|
|
| n.家禽，禽肉 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
175
fables
|
|
| n.寓言( fable的名词复数 )；神话，传说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
176
adorned
|
|
| [计]被修饰的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
177
authenticated
|
|
| v.证明是真实的、可靠的或有效的( authenticate的过去式和过去分词 )；鉴定，使生效 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
178
deluged
|
|
| v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 )；淹没；被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没；穷于应付 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
179
insinuating
|
|
| adj.曲意巴结的，暗示的v.暗示( insinuate的现在分词 )；巧妙或迂回地潜入；（使）缓慢进入；慢慢伸入 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
180
doctrine
|
|
| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
181
condemns
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
182
corrupted
|
|
| （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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
183
incenses
|
|
| 香( incense的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
184
insolence
|
|
| n.傲慢；无礼；厚颜；傲慢的态度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
185
humbled
|
|
| adj. 卑下的，谦逊的，粗陋的 vt. 使 ... 卑下，贬低 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
186
wrath
|
|
| n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
187
assent
|
|
| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
188
pastors
|
|
| n.（基督教的）牧师( pastor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
189
mosques
|
|
| 清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
190
consecrated
|
|
| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
191
disturbance
|
|
| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
192
follies
|
|
| 罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
193
disturbances
|
|
| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
194
discord
|
|
| n.不和，意见不合，争论，（音乐）不和谐 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
195
foretold
|
|
| v.预言，预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
196
grimaces
|
|
| n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
197
factions
|
|
| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
198
sects
|
|
| n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
199
devoutly
|
|
| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
200
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： |
|
|
|
|
201
mutual
|
|
| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
202
extermination
|
|
| n.消灭，根绝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
203
assassination
|
|
| n.暗杀；暗杀事件 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
204
excrement
|
|
| n.排泄物，粪便 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |