“Natura beatis
Omnibus esse dedit, si quis cognoverit uti.”
Although the majestic1 fabrics2, the pillars of porphyry, and the Corinthian domes3 of early writers, now exist only in the tradition, Ethiopia yet retains the fresh vegetation of a northern soil, the vivifying ardour of a tropical sun, and the cloudless azure4 of a southern sky. Palaces and fanes, gardens and gushing5 fountains, have long since departed; but there still remains6 a fertile country possessing vast capabilities7, a salubrious and delightful8 climate, and a race of beings whose existence under absolute and complete despotism, presents a striking contrast to that of the idle and improvident9 Ada?el, whose pride and whose boast is a banner of independence.
Whatever Abyssinia may once have been, it is not to be expected that she should, under a great lapse11 of time, again take place among those countries which are peculiarly happy, opulent, or abundant. All her prevailing12 customs and practices are utterly13 at variance14 with existing laws for the creation, consumption, and distribution of wealth. A heavy taxation15 is levied16 on the produce of the field. Monastic and clerical establishments are fostered to the ruin of the people. The venal17 judges are paid by fees on the suits which they decide; and popular superstition18 and imposture19 possess the royal sanction for abuse. Nothing useful is ever taken into consideration; here are no roads or bridges to facilitate traffic, no schools for the instruction of the rising generation. The improvements of life have stopped at the satisfying point “of barren, bare necessity;” and fear and prejudice unite to deter20 the inhabitants from visiting foreign climes, so as to improve their benighted21 country, by introducing the discoveries in modern science.
But although thus ignorant of comfort even in their highest enjoyments22, the people are yet considerably23 emerged from that state of society which is denominated barbarian24, and practise a species of agriculture which the fertility of the soil has heretofore blessed with an abundant return. Throughout the kingdom the eye is greeted by extensive cultivation25; and the art of husbandry in Shoa has far eclipsed the advances made by any nation hitherto visited on the western coast. Under certain despotic conditions, private property in the land is every where established. There are few forests or wastes, excepting those impracticable for pasture or cultivation. The village and the farm-steading are uniformly secure from predatory bands or hostile neighbours, and although thickly inhabited, the country is unburdened by any over-population.
The processes of preparing the ground are somewhat complex; a primitive26 plough is in use to the exclusion27 of the African hoe, and considerable industry is evinced in collecting and distributing the waters for artificial irrigation. The science of husbandry is nevertheless little understood; the implements28 of culture are few, and of the rudest construction; the various modes of assisting nature are unknown; and unless some civilised power interferes29 for good, a great length of time must necessarily elapse before the habits and prejudices of the uncultivated nation can be overcome for its own advantage.
Situated30 in the middle of the torrid zone, and composed of groups and ranges of lofty mountains overlooking wide plains and deep valleys, equally under the influence of the tropical rains, the climate at different elevations31 is of the most varied32 description. The high table-land, which is clothed with moderate vegetation, and destitute33 of wood, is at all times cool and healthy, and often extremely cold. Here there is no winter,
“Such as when birds die
In the deep forest, and the fishes lie
Stiffened34 in the translucent35 ice.”
The coolness of the mountain breeze is pleasant and refreshing36, and the timely cessation of the rain allows a healthful rest to vegetation.
The low wooded valleys, on the other hand, are close, unwholesome, and insufferably hot. During the cold season the thermometer on the summit of the range stands at about 30 degrees, a thin coating of ice covers the pools, and the country is white under a mantle37 of hoar frost. Below, the quicksilver mounts to 90 degrees, and the total absence of ventilation renders the heat still more oppressive. At the termination of the rains, Fever, with all her attendant horrors, spreads her pestilential wings over the most beautiful locations; and during the month of September even the wild birds for a time forsake38 the poisoned atmosphere, to seek the more congenial breezes of the upper regions.
The amazing fertility of the vales is beyond all conception. Every species of crop attains40 the most gigantic proportions. The rich soil and the nurturing41 shelter, the abundant supply of water, and the ardent42 rays of the sun, all combine to crown the hopes of the husbandman; and these situations would have stood prominent as perfect in the creation, had nature blessed them with a climate corresponding in character to their lovely appearance. On the mountain-side, the vegetation is somewhat inferior in luxuriance—a fact that may be accounted for by the angle at which the sun’s rays meet the ground, their power of imparting heat varying in proportion. As the eastern face of the range rises almost perpendicularly43, it can only during half the day receive them at all, and for many hours in the warmest part of the afternoon, it is thus entirely44 in the shade.
On the elevated plateau, a succession of well-watered undulations of pasture and arable45 land, extend in endless continuation to the view, undisturbed by a solitary46 tree, their scattered47 villages and farm houses proclaiming a country which has long enjoyed the blessings48 of peace. From the centre of this table-land, the craggy mountains rise in magnificent ranges, clothed in part with majestic forests, and graced by the wild rose, the myrtle, the eglantine, and the jessamine; whilst at its foot repose49 the rich and smiling valleys, hid in all the luxuriance of tropical foliage50, from the gigantic sycamore, beloved of the heathen Galla, and measuring upwards51 of forty feet in circumference52, to the light and elegant acacia, which distils53 the much-prized gum.
On the table-land the best soil is found on the sheltered hill-side, of a rich brown colour, and along the river bank where there is a loamy alluvial54 deposit. Black earth is occasionally met with on the mountains, where it may probably have originated in the decomposition55 of those forests to which tradition gives existence in ancient days, but of which no other vestige56 now remains. In the valleys, those which form the governments of Giddem and Geshé especially, the richest black soil prevails throughout; and blessed with an abundant supply of rain, and with a mild genial39 climate, they produce all the crops known in Abyssinia, whilst the soil on the surrounding mountain-side, light, loose, and gravelly, would be found well adapted for the growth of coffee and tea.
Abyssinia is happy in a most copious57 supply of water, the gates of heaven being opened twice during the year to the flooding of every river and streamlet, and to the complete soaking of the earth. The “rain of bounty” commences in February, and lasts for thirty days, and the “rain of covenant” setting in before the termination of June, pours down with extreme violence throughout July, August, and September—at which period is produced that never-failing increase of the Nile to which Egypt is also indebted for her fertility. Immediately after these down-pourings, nature, who had remained bound up in the preceding drought, bursts forth59 into a thousand interesting forms. Pastures and meadows are clothed in cheering green; the hills and dales are adorned60 with myriads61 of beautiful and sweet-scented flowers, and the sides of the mountain ranges become one sheet of the most luxuriant cultivation.
Long after the rains are over, a heavy dew falls during the night; and under its vivifying influence the plants continue to shoot forth, refreshed by the coolness of the morning breeze, and strengthened by the strong heat of the mid-day sun. By the provident10 husbandman two crops are every year garnered62 in, without the land being impoverished63; and whilst the corn is being reaped in one field, the seed is but just sown in another. The cattle are employed in ploughing up the fertile soil of one estate, whilst in the next the muzzled64 ox is trampling65 out its recently yielded treasures; and all the various operations of husbandry, from the breaking up of the ground to the final winnowing66 of the corn, may be simultaneously67 witnessed on one and the same farm.
“Hic ver assiduum, atque alienis mensibus aestas,
Bis gravidae pecudes, bis pomis utilis arbor68.”
Forty-three species of grain and other useful products are already cultivated in Abyssinia. After supplying the immediate58 wants of the working classes, and those of a herd69 of clerical drones who devour70 the fruits of their honest labour, there remains a considerable surplus, which is bartered71 to the lazy Ada?el for the produce of his salt lake—a field that without ploughing or sowing yields an inestimable crop. But if only a small portion of European knowledge were to be instilled72 into the mind of the Christian73 cultivator, the kingdom of Shoa, possessed74 of such unbounded natural advantages, might be rapidly raised from its present condition, and made one inexhaustible granary for all the best fruits of the earth.
点击收听单词发音
1 majestic | |
adj.雄伟的,壮丽的,庄严的,威严的,崇高的 | |
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2 fabrics | |
织物( fabric的名词复数 ); 布; 构造; (建筑物的)结构(如墙、地面、屋顶):质地 | |
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3 domes | |
n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 );像圆屋顶一样的东西;圆顶体育场 | |
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4 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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5 gushing | |
adj.迸出的;涌出的;喷出的;过分热情的v.喷,涌( gush的现在分词 );滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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6 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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7 capabilities | |
n.能力( capability的名词复数 );可能;容量;[复数]潜在能力 | |
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8 delightful | |
adj.令人高兴的,使人快乐的 | |
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9 improvident | |
adj.不顾将来的,不节俭的,无远见的 | |
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10 provident | |
adj.为将来做准备的,有先见之明的 | |
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11 lapse | |
n.过失,流逝,失效,抛弃信仰,间隔;vi.堕落,停止,失效,流逝;vt.使失效 | |
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12 prevailing | |
adj.盛行的;占优势的;主要的 | |
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13 utterly | |
adv.完全地,绝对地 | |
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14 variance | |
n.矛盾,不同 | |
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15 taxation | |
n.征税,税收,税金 | |
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16 levied | |
征(兵)( levy的过去式和过去分词 ); 索取; 发动(战争); 征税 | |
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17 venal | |
adj.唯利是图的,贪脏枉法的 | |
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18 superstition | |
n.迷信,迷信行为 | |
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19 imposture | |
n.冒名顶替,欺骗 | |
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20 deter | |
vt.阻止,使不敢,吓住 | |
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21 benighted | |
adj.蒙昧的 | |
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22 enjoyments | |
愉快( enjoyment的名词复数 ); 令人愉快的事物; 享有; 享受 | |
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23 considerably | |
adv.极大地;相当大地;在很大程度上 | |
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24 barbarian | |
n.野蛮人;adj.野蛮(人)的;未开化的 | |
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25 cultivation | |
n.耕作,培养,栽培(法),养成 | |
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26 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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27 exclusion | |
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行 | |
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28 implements | |
n.工具( implement的名词复数 );家具;手段;[法律]履行(契约等)v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 );执行;贯彻;使生效 | |
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29 interferes | |
vi. 妨碍,冲突,干涉 | |
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30 situated | |
adj.坐落在...的,处于某种境地的 | |
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31 elevations | |
(水平或数量)提高( elevation的名词复数 ); 高地; 海拔; 提升 | |
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32 varied | |
adj.多样的,多变化的 | |
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33 destitute | |
adj.缺乏的;穷困的 | |
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34 stiffened | |
加强的 | |
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35 translucent | |
adj.半透明的;透明的 | |
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36 refreshing | |
adj.使精神振作的,使人清爽的,使人喜欢的 | |
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37 mantle | |
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红 | |
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38 forsake | |
vt.遗弃,抛弃;舍弃,放弃 | |
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39 genial | |
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的 | |
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40 attains | |
(通常经过努力)实现( attain的第三人称单数 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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41 nurturing | |
养育( nurture的现在分词 ); 培育; 滋长; 助长 | |
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42 ardent | |
adj.热情的,热烈的,强烈的,烈性的 | |
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43 perpendicularly | |
adv. 垂直地, 笔直地, 纵向地 | |
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44 entirely | |
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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45 arable | |
adj.可耕的,适合种植的 | |
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46 solitary | |
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士 | |
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47 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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48 blessings | |
n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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49 repose | |
v.(使)休息;n.安息 | |
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50 foliage | |
n.叶子,树叶,簇叶 | |
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51 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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52 circumference | |
n.圆周,周长,圆周线 | |
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53 distils | |
v.蒸馏( distil的第三人称单数 );从…提取精华 | |
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54 alluvial | |
adj.冲积的;淤积的 | |
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55 decomposition | |
n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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56 vestige | |
n.痕迹,遗迹,残余 | |
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57 copious | |
adj.丰富的,大量的 | |
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58 immediate | |
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的 | |
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59 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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60 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
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61 myriads | |
n.无数,极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
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62 garnered | |
v.收集并(通常)贮藏(某物),取得,获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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63 impoverished | |
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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64 muzzled | |
给(狗等)戴口套( muzzle的过去式和过去分词 ); 使缄默,钳制…言论 | |
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65 trampling | |
踩( trample的现在分词 ); 践踏; 无视; 侵犯 | |
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66 winnowing | |
v.扬( winnow的现在分词 );辨别;选择;除去 | |
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67 simultaneously | |
adv.同时发生地,同时进行地 | |
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68 arbor | |
n.凉亭;树木 | |
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69 herd | |
n.兽群,牧群;vt.使集中,把…赶在一起 | |
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70 devour | |
v.吞没;贪婪地注视或谛听,贪读;使着迷 | |
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71 bartered | |
v.作物物交换,以货换货( barter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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72 instilled | |
v.逐渐使某人获得(某种可取的品质),逐步灌输( instill的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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73 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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74 possessed | |
adj.疯狂的;拥有的,占有的 | |
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