I had not been seated very long ere a man of a certain venerable robustness1 entered; immediately as the storm-pelted door flew back upon admitting him, a quick regardful eyeing of him by all the congregation, sufficiently2 attested3 that this fine old man was the chaplain. Yes, it was the famous Father Mapple, so called by the whalemen, among whom he was a very great favorite. He had been a sailor and a harpooneer in his youth, but for many years past had dedicated4 his life to the ministry5. At the time I now write of, Father Mapple was in the hardy6 winter of a healthy old age; that sort of old age which seems merging7 into a second flowering youth, for among all the fissures8 of his wrinkles, there shone certain mild gleams of a newly developing bloom-- the spring verdure peeping forth9 even beneath February's snow. No one having previously10 heard his history, could for the first time behold11 Father Mapple without the utmost interest, because there were certain engrafted clerical peculiarities12 about him, imputable13 to that adventurous14 maritime15 life he had led. When he entered I observed that he carried no umbrella, and certainly had not come in his carriage, for his tarpaulin16 hat ran down with melting sleet17, and his great pilot cloth jacket seemed almost to drag him to the floor with the weight of the water it had absorbed. However, hat and coat and overshoes were one by one removed, and hung up in a little space in an adjacent corner; when, arrayed in a decent suit, he quietly approached the pulpit.
Like most old fashioned pulpits, it was a very lofty one, and since a regular stairs to such a height would, by its long angle with the floor, seriously contract the already small area of the chapel18, the architect, it seemed, had acted upon the hint of Father Mapple, and finished the pulpit without a stairs, substituting a perpendicular19 side ladder, like those used in mounting a ship from a boat at sea. The wife of a whaling captain had provided the chapel with a handsome pair of red worsted man-ropes for this ladder, which, being itself nicely headed, and stained with a mahogany color, the whole contrivance, considering what manner of chapel it was, seemed by no means in bad taste. Halting for an instant at the foot of the ladder, and with both hands grasping the ornamental20 knobs of the man-ropes, Father Mapple cast a look upwards21, and then with a truly sailor-like but still reverential dexterity22, hand over hand, mounted the steps as if ascending23 the main-top of his vessel24.
The perpendicular parts of this side ladder, as is usually the case with swinging ones, were of cloth-covered rope, only the rounds were of wood, so that at every step there was a joint25. At my first glimpse of the pulpit, it had not escaped me that however convenient for a ship, these joints26 in the present instance seemed unnecessary. For I was not prepared to see Father Mapple after gaining the height, slowly turn round, and stooping over the pulpit, deliberately27 drag up the ladder step by step, till the whole was deposited within, leaving him impregnable in his little Quebec.
I pondered some time without fully28 comprehending the reason for this. Father Mapple enjoyed such a wide reputation for sincerity29 and sanctity, that I could not suspect him of courting notoriety by any mere30 tricks of the stage. No, thought I, there must be some sober reason for this thing; furthermore, it must symbolize31 something unseen. Can it be, then, that by that act of physical isolation32, he signifies his spiritual withdrawal33 for the time, from all outward worldly ties and connexions? Yes, for replenished34 with the meat and wine of the word, to the faithful man of God, this pulpit, I see, is a self-containing stronghold--a lofty Ehrenbreitstein, with a perennial35 well of water within the walls.
But the side ladder was not the only strange feature of the place, borrowed from the chaplain's former sea-farings. Between the marble cenotaphs on either hand of the pulpit, the wall which formed its back was adorned36 with a large painting representing a gallant37 ship beating against a terrible storm off a lee coast of black rocks and snowy breakers. But high above the flying scud38 and dark-rolling clouds, there floated a little isle39 of sunlight, from which beamed forth an angel's face; and this bright face shed a distant spot of radiance upon the ship's tossed deck, something like that silver plate now inserted into the Victory's plank40 where Nelson fell. "Ah, noble ship," the angel seemed to say, "beat on, beat on, thou noble ship, and bear a hardy helm; for lo! the sun is breaking through; the clouds are rolling off-- serenest41 azure42 is at hand."
Nor was the pulpit itself without a trace of the same sea-taste that had achieved the ladder and the picture. Its panelled front was in the likeness43 of a ship's bluff44 bows, and the Holy Bible rested on a projecting piece of scroll45 work, fashioned after a ship's fiddle-headed beak46.
What could be more full of meaning?--for the pulpit is ever this earth's foremost part; all the rest comes in its rear; the pulpit leads the world. From thence it is the storm of God's quick wrath47 is first descried48, and the bow must bear the earliest brunt. From thence it is the God of breezes fair or foul49 is first invoked50 for favorable winds. Yes, the world's a ship on its passage out, and not a voyage complete; and the pulpit is its prow51.
1 robustness | |
坚固性,健壮性;鲁棒性 | |
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2 sufficiently | |
adv.足够地,充分地 | |
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3 attested | |
adj.经检验证明无病的,经检验证明无菌的v.证明( attest的过去式和过去分词 );证实;声称…属实;使宣誓 | |
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4 dedicated | |
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的 | |
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5 ministry | |
n.(政府的)部;牧师 | |
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6 hardy | |
adj.勇敢的,果断的,吃苦的;耐寒的 | |
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7 merging | |
合并(分类) | |
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8 fissures | |
n.狭长裂缝或裂隙( fissure的名词复数 );裂伤;分歧;分裂v.裂开( fissure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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9 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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10 previously | |
adv.以前,先前(地) | |
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11 behold | |
v.看,注视,看到 | |
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12 peculiarities | |
n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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13 imputable | |
adj.可归罪的,可归咎的,可归因的 | |
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14 adventurous | |
adj.爱冒险的;惊心动魄的,惊险的,刺激的 | |
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15 maritime | |
adj.海的,海事的,航海的,近海的,沿海的 | |
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16 tarpaulin | |
n.涂油防水布,防水衣,防水帽 | |
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17 sleet | |
n.雨雪;v.下雨雪,下冰雹 | |
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18 chapel | |
n.小教堂,殡仪馆 | |
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19 perpendicular | |
adj.垂直的,直立的;n.垂直线,垂直的位置 | |
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20 ornamental | |
adj.装饰的;作装饰用的;n.装饰品;观赏植物 | |
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21 upwards | |
adv.向上,在更高处...以上 | |
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22 dexterity | |
n.(手的)灵巧,灵活 | |
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23 ascending | |
adj.上升的,向上的 | |
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24 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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25 joint | |
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合 | |
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26 joints | |
接头( joint的名词复数 ); 关节; 公共场所(尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所) (非正式); 一块烤肉 (英式英语) | |
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27 deliberately | |
adv.审慎地;蓄意地;故意地 | |
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28 fully | |
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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29 sincerity | |
n.真诚,诚意;真实 | |
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30 mere | |
adj.纯粹的;仅仅,只不过 | |
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31 symbolize | |
vt.作为...的象征,用符号代表 | |
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32 isolation | |
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离 | |
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33 withdrawal | |
n.取回,提款;撤退,撤军;收回,撤销 | |
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34 replenished | |
补充( replenish的过去式和过去分词 ); 重新装满 | |
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35 perennial | |
adj.终年的;长久的 | |
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36 adorned | |
[计]被修饰的 | |
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37 gallant | |
adj.英勇的,豪侠的;(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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38 scud | |
n.疾行;v.疾行 | |
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39 isle | |
n.小岛,岛 | |
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40 plank | |
n.板条,木板,政策要点,政纲条目 | |
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41 serenest | |
serene(沉静的,宁静的,安宁的)的最高级形式 | |
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42 azure | |
adj.天蓝色的,蔚蓝色的 | |
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43 likeness | |
n.相像,相似(之处) | |
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44 bluff | |
v.虚张声势,用假象骗人;n.虚张声势,欺骗 | |
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45 scroll | |
n.卷轴,纸卷;(石刻上的)漩涡 | |
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46 beak | |
n.鸟嘴,茶壶嘴,钩形鼻 | |
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47 wrath | |
n.愤怒,愤慨,暴怒 | |
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48 descried | |
adj.被注意到的,被发现的,被看到的 | |
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49 foul | |
adj.污秽的;邪恶的;v.弄脏;妨害;犯规;n.犯规 | |
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50 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 | |
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51 prow | |
n.(飞机)机头,船头 | |
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