The Ruins of St. Ignace ? The Relics4 found ? Brébeuf at the Stake ? His Unconquerable Fortitude5 ? Lalemant ? Renegade Hurons ? Iroquois Atrocities6 ? Death of Brébeuf ? His Character ? Death of Lalemant
On the morning of the twentieth, the Jesuits at Sainte Marie received full confirmation7 of the reported retreat of the invaders8; and one of them, with seven armed Frenchmen, set out for the scene of havoc9. They passed St. Louis, where the bloody10 ground was strown thick with corpses11, and, two or three miles farther on, reached St. Ignace. Here they saw a spectacle of horror; for among the ashes of the burnt town were scattered12 in profusion14 the half-consumed bodies of those who had perished in the flames. Apart from the rest, they saw a sight that banished15 all else from their thoughts; for they found what they had come to seek,—the scorched16 and mangled17 relics of Brébeuf and Lalemant. [1]
[1] "Ils y trouuerent vn spectacle d'horreur, les restes de la cruauté mesme, ou plus tost les restes de l'amour de Dieu, qui seul triomphe dans la mort des Martyrs."—Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1649, 13.
388 They had learned their fate already from Huron prisoners, many of whom had made their escape in the panic and confusion of the Iroquois retreat. They described what they had seen, and the condition in which the bodies were found confirmed their story.
On the afternoon of the sixteenth,—the day when the two priests were captured,—Brébeuf was led apart, and bound to a stake. He seemed more concerned for his captive converts than for himself, and addressed them in a loud voice, exhorting18 them to suffer patiently, and promising19 Heaven as their reward. The Iroquois, incensed20, scorched him from head to foot, to silence him; whereupon, in the tone of a master, he threatened them with everlasting21 flames, for persecuting22 the worshippers of God. As he continued to speak, with voice and countenance23 unchanged, they cut away his lower lip and thrust a red-hot iron down his throat. He still held his tall form erect24 and defiant25, with no sign or sound of pain; and they tried another means to overcome him. They led out Lalemant, that Brébeuf might see him tortured. They had tied strips of bark, smeared26 with pitch, about his naked body. When he saw the condition of his Superior, he could not hide his agitation27, and called out to him, with a broken voice, in the words of Saint Paul, "We are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men." Then he threw himself at Brébeuf's feet; upon which the Iroquois seized him, made him fast to a stake, and set fire to the bark that enveloped28 him. As the flame rose, 389 he threw his arms upward, with a shriek29 of supplication30 to Heaven. Next they hung around Brébeuf's neck a collar made of hatchets32 heated red-hot; but the indomitable priest stood like a rock. A Huron in the crowd, who had been a convert of the mission, but was now an Iroquois by adoption33, called out, with the malice34 of a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since they had poured so much cold water on those of others. The kettle was accordingly slung35, and the water boiled and poured slowly on the heads of the two missionaries36. "We baptize you," they cried, "that you may be happy in Heaven; for nobody can be saved without a good baptism." Brébeuf would not flinch37; and, in a rage, they cut strips of flesh from his limbs, and devoured38 them before his eyes. Other renegade Hurons called out to him, "You told us, that, the more one suffers on earth, the happier he is in Heaven. We wish to make you happy; we torment39 you because we love you; and you ought to thank us for it." After a succession of other revolting tortures, they scalped him; when, seeing him nearly dead, they laid open his breast, and came in a crowd to drink the blood of so valiant40 an enemy, thinking to imbibe41 with it some portion of his courage. A chief then tore out his heart, and devoured it.
Thus died Jean de Brébeuf, the founder42 of the Huron mission, its truest hero, and its greatest martyr2. He came of a noble race,—the same, it is said, from which sprang the English Earls of Arundel; but never had the mailed barons43 of his line 390 confronted a fate so appalling44, with so prodigious45 a constancy. To the last he refused to flinch, and "his death was the astonishment46 of his murderers." [2] In him an enthusiastic devotion was grafted47 on an heroic nature. His bodily endowments were as remarkable48 as the temper of his mind. His manly49 proportions, his strength, and his endurance, which incessant50 fasts and penances51 could not undermine, had always won for him the respect of the Indians, no less than a courage unconscious of fear, and yet redeemed52 from rashness by a cool and vigorous judgment53; for, extravagant54 as were the chimeras55 which fed the fires of his zeal56, they were consistent with the soberest good sense on matters of practical bearing.
[2] Charlevoix, I. 294. Alegambe uses a similar expression.
Lalemant, physically57 weak from childhood, and slender almost to emaciation58, was constitutionally unequal to a display of fortitude like that of his colleague. When Brébeuf died, he was led back to the house whence he had been taken, and tortured there all night, until, in the morning, one of the Iroquois, growing tired of the protracted59 entertainment, killed him with a hatchet31. [3] It was said, that, at times, he seemed beside himself; then, rallying, with hands uplifted, he offered his 391 sufferings to Heaven as a sacrifice. His robust60 companion had lived less than four hours under the torture, while he survived it for nearly seventeen. Perhaps the Titanic62 effort of will with which Brébeuf repressed all show of suffering conspired63 with the Iroquois knives and firebrands to exhaust his vitality64; perhaps his tormentors, enraged65 at his fortitude, forgot their subtlety66, and struck too near the life.
[3] "We saw no part of his body," says Ragueneau, "from head to foot, which was not burned, even to his eyes, in the sockets67 of which these wretches68 had placed live coals."—Relation des Hurons, 1649, 15.
Lalemant was a Parisian, and his family belonged to the class of gens de robe, or hereditary69 practitioners70 of the law. He was thirty-nine years of age. His physical weakness is spoken of by several of those who knew him. Marie de l'Incarnation says, "C'était l'homme le plus faible et le plus délicat qu'on e?t pu voir." Both Bressani and Ragueneau are equally emphatic71 on this point.
The bodies of the two missionaries were carried to Sainte Marie, and buried in the cemetery72 there; but the skull73 of Brébeuf was preserved as a relic3. His family sent from France a silver bust61 of their martyred kinsman74, in the base of which was a recess75 to contain the skull; and, to this day, the bust and the relic within are preserved with pious76 care by the nuns77 of the H?tel-Dieu at Quebec. [4]
[4] Photographs of the bust are before me. Various relics of the two missionaries were preserved; and some of them may still be seen in Canadian monastic establishments. The following extract from a letter of Marie de l'Incarnation to her son, written from Quebec in October of this year, 1649, is curious.
"Madame our foundress (Madame de la Peltrie) sends you relics of our holy martyrs; but she does it secretly, since the reverend Fathers would not give us any, for fear that we should send them to France: but, as she is not bound by vows79, and as the very persons who went for the bodies have given relics of them to her in secret, I begged her to send you some of them, which she has done very gladly, from the respect she has for you." She adds, in the same letter, "Our Lord having revealed to him (Brébeuf) the time of his martyrdom three days before it happened, he went, full of joy, to find the other Fathers; who, seeing him in extraordinary spirits, caused him, by an inspiration of God, to be bled; after which time surgeon dried his blood, through a presentiment80 of what was to take place, lest he should be treated like Father Daniel, who, eight months before, had been so reduced to ashes that no remains81 of his body could be found."
Brébeuf had once been ordered by the Father Superior to write down the visions, revelations, and inward experiences with which he was 392 favored,—"at least," says Ragueneau, "those which he could easily remember, for their multitude was too great for the whole to be recalled."—"I find nothing," he adds, "more frequent in this memoir82 than the expression of his desire to die for Jesus Christ: 'Sentio me vehementer impelli ad moriendum pro13 Christo.'… In fine, wishing to make himself a holocaust83 and a victim consecrated84 to death, and holily to anticipate the happiness of martyrdom which awaited him, he bound himself by a vow78 to Christ, which he conceived in these terms"; and Ragueneau gives the vow in the original Latin. It binds85 him never to refuse "the grace of martyrdom, if, at any day, Thou shouldst, in Thy infinite pity, offer it to me, Thy unworthy servant;" … "and when I shall have received the stroke of death, I bind86 myself to accept it at Thy hand, with all the contentment and joy of my heart."
Some of his innumerable visions have been already mentioned. (See ante, (page 108).) Tanner, Societas Militans, gives various others,—as, for example, that he once beheld87 a mountain covered thick with saints, but above all with virgins88, while the Queen of Virgins sat at the top in a blaze of glory. In 1637, when the whole country was enraged against the Jesuits, and above all against Brébeuf, as sorcerers who had caused the pest, Ragueneau tells us that "a troop of demons89 appeared before him divers90 times,—sometimes like men in a fury, sometimes like frightful91 monsters, bears, lions, or wild horses, trying to rush upon him. These spectres excited in him neither horror nor fear. He said to them, 'Do to me whatever God permits you; for without His will not one hair will fall from my head.' And at these words all the demons vanished in a moment."—Relation des Hurons, 1649, 20. Compare the long notice in Alegambe, Mortes Illustres, 644.
In Ragueneau's notice of Brébeuf, as in all other notices of deceased missionaries in the Relations, the saintly qualities alone are brought forward, as obedience92, humility93, etc.; but wherever Brébeuf himself appears in the course of those voluminous records, he always brings with him an impression of power.
We are told that, punning on his own name, he used to say that he was an ox, fit only to bear burdens. This sort of humility may pass for what it is worth; but it must be remembered, that there is a kind of acting94 in which the actor firmly believes in the part he is playing. As for the obedience, it was as genuine as that of a well-disciplined soldier, and incomparably more profound. In the case of the Canadian Jesuits, posterity95 owes to this, their favorite virtue96, the record of numerous visions, inward voices, and the like miracles, which the object of these favors set down on paper, at the command of his Superior; while, otherwise, humility would have concealed97 them forever. The truth is, that, with some of these missionaries, one may throw off trash and nonsense by the cart-load, and find under it all a solid nucleus98 of saint and hero.
点击收听单词发音
1 martyrs | |
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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2 martyr | |
n.烈士,殉难者;vt.杀害,折磨,牺牲 | |
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3 relic | |
n.神圣的遗物,遗迹,纪念物 | |
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4 relics | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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5 fortitude | |
n.坚忍不拔;刚毅 | |
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6 atrocities | |
n.邪恶,暴行( atrocity的名词复数 );滔天大罪 | |
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7 confirmation | |
n.证实,确认,批准 | |
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8 invaders | |
入侵者,侵略者,侵入物( invader的名词复数 ) | |
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9 havoc | |
n.大破坏,浩劫,大混乱,大杂乱 | |
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10 bloody | |
adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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11 corpses | |
n.死尸,尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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12 scattered | |
adj.分散的,稀疏的;散步的;疏疏落落的 | |
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13 pro | |
n.赞成,赞成的意见,赞成者 | |
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14 profusion | |
n.挥霍;丰富 | |
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15 banished | |
v.放逐,驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16 scorched | |
烧焦,烤焦( scorch的过去式和过去分词 ); 使(植物)枯萎,把…晒枯; 高速行驶; 枯焦 | |
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17 mangled | |
vt.乱砍(mangle的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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18 exhorting | |
v.劝告,劝说( exhort的现在分词 ) | |
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19 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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20 incensed | |
盛怒的 | |
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21 everlasting | |
adj.永恒的,持久的,无止境的 | |
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22 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 | |
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23 countenance | |
n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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24 erect | |
n./v.树立,建立,使竖立;adj.直立的,垂直的 | |
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25 defiant | |
adj.无礼的,挑战的 | |
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26 smeared | |
弄脏; 玷污; 涂抹; 擦上 | |
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27 agitation | |
n.搅动;搅拌;鼓动,煽动 | |
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28 enveloped | |
v.包围,笼罩,包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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29 shriek | |
v./n.尖叫,叫喊 | |
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30 supplication | |
n.恳求,祈愿,哀求 | |
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31 hatchet | |
n.短柄小斧;v.扼杀 | |
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32 hatchets | |
n.短柄小斧( hatchet的名词复数 );恶毒攻击;诽谤;休战 | |
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33 adoption | |
n.采用,采纳,通过;收养 | |
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34 malice | |
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋 | |
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35 slung | |
抛( sling的过去式和过去分词 ); 吊挂; 遣送; 押往 | |
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36 missionaries | |
n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 ) | |
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37 flinch | |
v.畏缩,退缩 | |
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38 devoured | |
吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 ); 耗尽; 津津有味地看; 狼吞虎咽地吃光 | |
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39 torment | |
n.折磨;令人痛苦的东西(人);vt.折磨;纠缠 | |
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40 valiant | |
adj.勇敢的,英勇的;n.勇士,勇敢的人 | |
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41 imbibe | |
v.喝,饮;吸入,吸收 | |
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42 Founder | |
n.创始者,缔造者 | |
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43 barons | |
男爵( baron的名词复数 ); 巨头; 大王; 大亨 | |
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44 appalling | |
adj.骇人听闻的,令人震惊的,可怕的 | |
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45 prodigious | |
adj.惊人的,奇妙的;异常的;巨大的;庞大的 | |
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46 astonishment | |
n.惊奇,惊异 | |
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47 grafted | |
移植( graft的过去式和过去分词 ); 嫁接; 使(思想、制度等)成为(…的一部份); 植根 | |
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48 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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49 manly | |
adj.有男子气概的;adv.男子般地,果断地 | |
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50 incessant | |
adj.不停的,连续的 | |
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51 penances | |
n.(赎罪的)苦行,苦修( penance的名词复数 ) | |
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52 redeemed | |
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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53 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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54 extravagant | |
adj.奢侈的;过分的;(言行等)放肆的 | |
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55 chimeras | |
n.(由几种动物的各部分构成的)假想的怪兽( chimera的名词复数 );不可能实现的想法;幻想;妄想 | |
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56 zeal | |
n.热心,热情,热忱 | |
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57 physically | |
adj.物质上,体格上,身体上,按自然规律 | |
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58 emaciation | |
n.消瘦,憔悴,衰弱 | |
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59 protracted | |
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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60 robust | |
adj.强壮的,强健的,粗野的,需要体力的,浓的 | |
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61 bust | |
vt.打破;vi.爆裂;n.半身像;胸部 | |
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62 titanic | |
adj.巨人的,庞大的,强大的 | |
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63 conspired | |
密谋( conspire的过去式和过去分词 ); 搞阴谋; (事件等)巧合; 共同导致 | |
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64 vitality | |
n.活力,生命力,效力 | |
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65 enraged | |
使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 ); 歜; 激愤 | |
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66 subtlety | |
n.微妙,敏锐,精巧;微妙之处,细微的区别 | |
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67 sockets | |
n.套接字,使应用程序能够读写与收发通讯协定(protocol)与资料的程序( Socket的名词复数 );孔( socket的名词复数 );(电器上的)插口;托座;凹穴 | |
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68 wretches | |
n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 );可怜的人;恶棍;坏蛋 | |
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69 hereditary | |
adj.遗传的,遗传性的,可继承的,世袭的 | |
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70 practitioners | |
n.习艺者,实习者( practitioner的名词复数 );从业者(尤指医师) | |
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71 emphatic | |
adj.强调的,着重的;无可置疑的,明显的 | |
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72 cemetery | |
n.坟墓,墓地,坟场 | |
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73 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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74 kinsman | |
n.男亲属 | |
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75 recess | |
n.短期休息,壁凹(墙上装架子,柜子等凹处) | |
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76 pious | |
adj.虔诚的;道貌岸然的 | |
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77 nuns | |
n.(通常指基督教的)修女, (佛教的)尼姑( nun的名词复数 ) | |
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78 vow | |
n.誓(言),誓约;v.起誓,立誓 | |
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79 vows | |
誓言( vow的名词复数 ); 郑重宣布,许愿 | |
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80 presentiment | |
n.预感,预觉 | |
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81 remains | |
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹 | |
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82 memoir | |
n.[pl.]回忆录,自传;记事录 | |
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83 holocaust | |
n.大破坏;大屠杀 | |
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84 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 | |
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85 binds | |
v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 );装订;捆绑;(用长布条)缠绕 | |
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86 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
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87 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 | |
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88 virgins | |
处女,童男( virgin的名词复数 ); 童贞玛利亚(耶稣之母) | |
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89 demons | |
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 );恶魔;精力过人的人;邪念 | |
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90 divers | |
adj.不同的;种种的 | |
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91 frightful | |
adj.可怕的;讨厌的 | |
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92 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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93 humility | |
n.谦逊,谦恭 | |
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94 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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95 posterity | |
n.后裔,子孙,后代 | |
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96 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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97 concealed | |
a.隐藏的,隐蔽的 | |
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98 nucleus | |
n.核,核心,原子核 | |
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