ROD.

The Theurgists and ancient sages¹ had always a rod with which they operated.

Mercury passes for the first whose rod worked miracles. It is asserted that Zoroaster also bore a great rod. The rod of the ancient Bacchus was his Thyrsus, with which he separated the waters of the Orontes, the Hydaspus, and the Red Sea. The rod of Hercules was his club. Pythagoras was always represented with his rod. It is said it was of gold; and it is not surprising that, having a thigh² of gold, he should possess a rod of the same metal.

Abaris, priest of the hyperborean Apollo, who it is pretended was contemporary with Pythagoras, was still more famous for his rod. It was indeed only of wood, but he traversed the air astride of it. Porphyry and Iamblichus pretend that these two grand Theurgists, Abaris and Pythagoras, amicably³ exhibited their rods to each other.

The rod, with sages, was at all times a sign of their superiority. The sorcerers of the privy⁴ council of Pharaoh at first effected as many feats⁵ with their rods as Moses with his own. The judicious⁶ Calmet informs us, in his “Dissertation on the Book of Exodus,” that “these operations of the Magi were not miracles, properly speaking, but metamorphoses, viz.: singular and difficult indeed, but nevertheless neither contrary to nor above the laws of nature.” The rod of Moses had the superiority, which it ought to have, over those of the Chotins of Egypt.

Not only did the rod of Aaron share in the honor of the prodigies⁷ of that of his brother Moses, but he performed some admirable things with his own. No one can be ignorant that, out of thirteen rods, Aaron’s alone blossomed, and bore buds and flowers of almonds.

The devil, who, as is well known, is a wicked aper of the deeds of saints, would also have his rod or wand, with which he gratified the sorcerers. Medea and Circe were always armed with this mysterious instrument. Hence, a magician never appears at the opera without his rod, and on which account they call their parts, “roles de baguette.” No performer with cups and balls can manage his hey presto⁸! without his rod or wand.

Springs of water and hidden treasures are discovered by means of a rod made of a hazel twig⁹, which fails not to press the hand of a fool who holds it too fast, but which turns about easily in that of a knave¹⁰. M. Formey, secretary of the academy of Berlin, explains this phenomenon by that of the loadstone. All the conjurers of past times, it was thought, repaired to a sabbath or assembly on a magic rod or on a broom-stick; and judges, who were no conjurers, burned them.

Birchen rods are formed of a handful of twigs¹¹ of that tree with which malefactors are scourged¹³ on the back. It is indecent and shameful¹⁴ to scourge¹² in this manner the posteriors of young boys and girls; a punishment which was formerly¹⁵ that of slaves. I have seen, in some colleges, barbarians¹⁶ who have stripped children almost naked; a kind of executioner, often intoxicated¹⁷, lacerate them with long rods, which frequently covered them with blood, and produced extreme inflammation. Others struck them more gently, which from natural causes has been known to produce consequences, especially in females, scarcely less disgusting.

By an incomprehensible species of police, the Jesuits of Paraguay whipped the fathers and mothers of families on their posteriors. Had there been no other motive¹⁸ for driving out the Jesuits, that would have sufficed.

1 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：

• Homage was paid to the great sages buried in the city. 向安葬在此城市的圣哲们表示敬意。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Confucius is considered the greatest of the ancient Chinese sages. 孔子被认为是古代中国最伟大的圣人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

3 amicably   

adv.友善地

参考例句：

• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The couple parted amicably. 这对夫妻客气地分手了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

5 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

6 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

7 prodigies   

n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It'seldom happened that a third party ever witnessed any of these prodigies. 这类壮举发生的时候，难得有第三者在场目睹过。 来自辞典例句
• She is by no means inferior to other prodigies. 她绝不是不如其他神童。 来自互联网

8 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

9 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

10 knave   

n.流氓；（纸牌中的）杰克

参考例句：

• Better be a fool than a knave.宁做傻瓜，不做无赖。
• Once a knave,ever a knave.一次成无赖，永远是无赖。

11 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

12 scourge   

n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏

参考例句：

• Smallpox was once the scourge of the world.天花曾是世界的大患。
• The new boss was the scourge of the inefficient.新老板来了以后，不称职的人就遭殃了。

13 scourged   

鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 )； 惩罚，压迫

参考例句：

• He was scourged by the memory of his misdeeds. 他对以往的胡作非为的回忆使得他精神上受惩罚。
• Captain White scourged his crew without mercy. 船长怀特无情地鞭挞船员。

14 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

15 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

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

16 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：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

17 intoxicated   

喝醉的，极其兴奋的

参考例句：

• She was intoxicated with success. 她为成功所陶醉。
• They became deeply intoxicated and totally disoriented. 他们酩酊大醉，东南西北全然不辨。

18 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。