CHAPTER III.

“Comparing your society with ours,” began my celestial¹ visitor, “is like describing the difference between your present intellectual condition, and the state you were in during your cave-dwelling² period. In review of your progress, we recognize two chief agencies at work which have regenerated³ us, viz.: the steady growth of human sympathy, and the fading out of old superstitions⁴. In our advanced development, with the first of these, we have achieved a state of things in our society quite likely beyond your hopes. For instance, that feeling of regard and affinity⁵ for each other which is seldom found among you, except in the midst of family ties, we hold one for another among all. If I were to select from among you a domestic circle, the most refined and correct, its disturbance⁶ and anxiety from the sorrows and misfortunes of one of its members would scarcely represent the feeling in a body of our people for the misfortunes of any. We are shocked at your cruel indifference⁷ to the feelings of one another. When we see one of you sinking by the[Pg 100] wayside, by means of one of the evils which you naturally inherit; or overwhelmed, perhaps, with the penalties of a misadventure, and looked upon by his fellows regardless of his smitten⁸ condition, we can find no parallel to it among ourselves, except in the traditions that have come to us out of our remote ages.

“Your national antagonisms⁹, your cruel wars, and the immense sums wasted by you in maintaining millions of your people, trained for the sole purpose of slaughtering¹⁰ their fellows, we regard as the one most disgraceful relic¹² of your former supremely¹³ barbarous state. While, by the process of social development, all your most cruel brutalisms have disappeared within the range of your higher civilization, the remaining one, of sending masses of your people into deadly combat for the settlement of political and religious questions, is retained for reasons which are not wholly in concurrence¹⁵ with our sense of right. In the first place, no element of justice enters into the arbitration¹⁶ of a question, whose settlement rests entirely¹⁷ upon the physical strength of the contestants¹⁸; and all international settlements by this means are but temporary, when the winning party has not coincidentally a prevailing¹⁹ sense of justice in its favor. All your wars and battles,[Pg 101] without a result on the side of equity²⁰ and truth, have been fought in vain. Your bloody²¹ misjudgments of one century often are, and are ever like to be, reviewed and resubmitted to the same sanguinary and delusive²² arbitration in a succeeding one. In these brutal¹⁴ encounters you stain your hands and garments in the blood of your fellow men without remorse²³, because the wild instincts of your nature have never been suppressed in that particular direction. Those of you in authority, both civil and religious, have this to answer for. For the sake of a concurrence in the selfish schemes of your rulers, they have instituted a series of glittering rewards for the most skillful of their wholesale²⁵ murderers and you have in that way been educated to honor most, those who could deal the heaviest blows.

“We cannot take a survey of the motives²⁶ which have instituted nearly all these sanguinary and dreadful encounters among you, without a sense of horror. Your civilization has witnessed only a single one of these terrible conflicts, wherein a purely²⁷ humane²⁸ question was involved. Your religions have not only been used to sanction this dire²⁴ carnage, but have even themselves been participants in the slaughter¹¹ of millions of your people.[Pg 102] You are not yet freed from the savagery²⁹ of your remote fathers, who, ages ago, entered those fierce contests between tribe and tribe, with strong personal interests in the outcome. The loss or gain of a battle meant to them either a share of spoils or probable torture and death. Yet you have kept alive this inclination³⁰ to collective combat, when individual loss or gain seldom cuts any figure in the incentive³¹ which impels³² you to battle. And even beyond these physical encounters, your struggles of life appear, from our point of view, to be divided between defense³³ and attack, like the beasts of prey³⁴ which still linger on your borders.

“Your society presents to us the spectacle of a continuous skirmish among yourselves, your whole mass struggling to mount the summit of their individual hopes and ambitions, wounding and bruising³⁵ each other with cruel unconcern. Our experience has taught us that this unhappy social condition is entirely due to the crude and imperfect stage of your development. Each of your new epochs brings some approach towards a better terrestrial life; but you have not fairly considered nor endeavored to surmount³⁶ the chief obstacle to your progress in that direction. You have not yet learned to deal justly with[Pg 103] one another. By your system of unequal advantages, one class is permitted, and even encouraged, to prey upon another one. One or more of you will enter upon a scheme of personal gain without the slightest concern for its effect upon others. You have permitted, from time to time, the passage of laws having a direct and unmistakable tendency to throw your wealth into the hands of a few, and as a consequence, to increase the hardships of the many. Your generation exults³⁷ over all preceding ones in its progress in science and knowledge; but even that has not served to soften³⁸ or remove the asperities³⁹ of your lives, for the reason that most of the available material of this new advance has been prostituted to serve the interests of the few.

“The growth of your social betterment rests almost entirely upon the total of your disciplined thought, yet by your methods, correct thinking is the rarest thing among you. Your social field, instead of being evenly stirred and seeded, is cultivated in spots and patches. Even your knowledge has been converted into a weapon of tyranny and oppression, and it is oftener pursued in the love of self than for the benefit of kind. Out of the helplessness of your neglected and unfavored masses, come the greater[Pg 104] number of your individual accumulations of wealth.

“In our stage of progress such a state of things is impossible. The performance of an act inflicting⁴⁰ injury or even discomfort⁴¹ upon one or more fellow beings in our society, brings its punishment in the general condemnation⁴² and disgrace which follows. Active benevolence⁴³, which is with you an impulse, sporadic⁴⁴ and exceptional, is with us an ever-present emotion, and upon it we have founded the chief pleasures of life. We have no eleemosynary establishments, because they are not needed. There can be no suffering from destitution⁴⁵ among us, since each person finds in his own surroundings the ready, helping⁴⁶ hand. No neglected orphan⁴⁷ wanders about uncared for, because each family finds its pleasures increased by the opportunity to bestow⁴⁸ shelter. Each dwelling is open to all, and no assuring salutation is needed to welcome the visitor. He enters the house of the stranger, as the stranger would enter his, by the right of the universal brotherhood⁴⁹ which prevails.

“The love of our kind forms the corner stone of our single religion, just as the like is made the foundation upon which your many creeds⁵⁰ are built. But while your religious teachings have brought no great fruits, ours[Pg 105] have yielded a harvest of glorious consequences. If it will interest you, I shall tell you why.”

1 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

2 dwelling   

n.住宅，住所，寓所

参考例句：

• Those two men are dwelling with us.那两个人跟我们住在一起。
• He occupies a three-story dwelling place on the Park Street.他在派克街上有一幢3层楼的寓所。

3 regenerated   

v.新生，再生( regenerate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are regarded as being enveloped in regenerated gneisses. 它们被认为包围在再生的片麻岩之中。 来自辞典例句
• The party soon regenerated under her leadership. 该党在她的领导下很快焕然一新。 来自辞典例句

4 superstitions   

迷信，迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
• Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。

5 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

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

6 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

7 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

8 smitten   

猛打，重击，打击( smite的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• From the moment they met, he was completely smitten by her. 从一见面的那一刻起，他就完全被她迷住了。
• It was easy to see why she was smitten with him. 她很容易看出为何她为他倾倒。

9 antagonisms   

对抗，敌对( antagonism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fundamental antagonisms in such an arrangement were obvious. 在这样一种安排中，基本矛盾很明显。
• The antagonisms between the two empires and systems were mortal. 这两个帝国和两种制度之间，有着不共戴天的仇恨。

10 slaughtering   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The Revolutionary Tribunal went to work, and a steady slaughtering began. 革命法庭投入工作，持续不断的大屠杀开始了。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• \"Isn't it terrific slaughtering pigs? “宰猪的！ 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

11 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。

12 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

13 supremely   

adv.无上地，崇高地

参考例句：

• They managed it all supremely well. 这件事他们干得极其出色。
• I consider a supremely beautiful gesture. 我觉得这是非常优雅的姿态。

14 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

15 concurrence   

n.同意；并发

参考例句：

• There is a concurrence of opinion between them.他们的想法一致。
• The concurrence of their disappearances had to be more than coincidental.他们同时失踪肯定不仅仅是巧合。

16 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

17 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

18 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

20 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

21 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

22 delusive   

adj.欺骗的，妄想的

参考例句：

• Most of the people realized that their scheme was simply a delusive snare.大多数人都认识到他们的诡计不过是一个骗人的圈套。
• Everyone knows that fairy isles are delusive and illusive things,still everyone wishes they were real.明知神山缥缈，却愿其有。

23 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

24 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

25 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

26 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

27 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

28 humane   

adj.人道的，富有同情心的

参考例句：

• Is it humane to kill animals for food?宰杀牲畜来吃合乎人道吗？
• Their aim is for a more just and humane society.他们的目标是建立一个更加公正、博爱的社会。

29 savagery   

n.野性

参考例句：

• The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.警察对这些惨无人道的袭击感到震惊。
• They threw away their advantage by their savagery to the black population.他们因为野蛮对待黑人居民而丧失了自己的有利地位。

30 inclination   

n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好

参考例句：

• She greeted us with a slight inclination of the head.她微微点头向我们致意。
• I did not feel the slightest inclination to hurry.我没有丝毫着急的意思。

31 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

32 impels   

v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The development of production impels us continuously to study technique. 生产的发展促使我们不断地钻研技术。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Instinct impels the cuckoo to migrate. 本能促使杜鹃迁徒。 来自辞典例句

33 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

34 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

35 bruising   

adj.殊死的；十分激烈的v.擦伤(bruise的现在分词形式)

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• He slipped and fell, badly bruising an elbow. 他滑倒了，一只胳膊肘严重擦伤。 来自辞典例句

36 surmount   

vt.克服；置于…顶上

参考例句：

• We have many problems to surmount before we can start the project.我们得克服许多困难才能著手做这项工作。
• We are fully confident that we can surmount these difficulties.我们完全相信我们能够克服这些困难。

37 exults   

狂喜，欢跃( exult的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Success exactly exults him. 成功确使他高兴。
• Strong man exults in his delighting in such exercises as call his muscles into action. 大力士喜欢炫耀自己的膂力，酷嗜锻炼肌肉之类的运动。

38 soften   

v.(使)变柔软；(使)变柔和

参考例句：

• Plastics will soften when exposed to heat.塑料适当加热就可以软化。
• This special cream will help to soften up our skin.这种特殊的护肤霜有助于使皮肤变得柔软。

39 asperities   

n.粗暴( asperity的名词复数 )；（表面的）粗糙；（环境的）艰苦；严寒的天气

参考例句：

• Agglomerates of delusterant particles located near the surface of sythetic fibers cause asperities. 消光剂颗粒集结在合成纤维表面附近，导致表面粗糙。 来自辞典例句
• If the gouge layer is thin, contact between asperities on the rock surfaces can occur. 如果充填物层很薄，两个岩石表面上的凸起物就有可能互相接触。 来自辞典例句

40 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

41 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

42 condemnation   

n.谴责; 定罪

参考例句：

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

43 benevolence   

n.慈悲，捐助

参考例句：

• We definitely do not apply a policy of benevolence to the reactionaries.我们对反动派决不施仁政。
• He did it out of pure benevolence. 他做那件事完全出于善意。

44 sporadic   

adj.偶尔发生的 [反]regular；分散的

参考例句：

• The sound of sporadic shooting could still be heard.仍能听见零星的枪声。
• You know this better than I.I received only sporadic news about it.你们比我更清楚，而我听到的只是零星消息。

45 destitution   

n.穷困，缺乏，贫穷

参考例句：

• The people lived in destitution. 民生凋敝。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His drinking led him to a life of destitution. 酗酒导致他生活贫穷。 来自辞典例句

46 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

47 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

48 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

49 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

50 creeds   

（尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• people of all races, colours and creeds 各种种族、肤色和宗教信仰的人
• Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds. 天主教徒对于新教教义来说，是不可知论者。