Chapter 65

All the month of November, Mason and Dixon run the East Line, 11 miles, 20 Chains, 88 Links from the Post Mark'd West in Mr. Bryant's Field, now mark'd East as well,— eastward¹ to the shore of Delaware, from which the five degrees of Longitude³ in the original Grant were to extend. It is a task they might have sub-contracted out to any of dozens of local Surveyors.
"Industrious⁴ Pair," speculates Capt. Zhang. "Unless you be, rather, jealous, to possess the Line in its entirety."
"As who would not?" Dixon replies. "Five degrees. Twenty minutes out of a day's Turn. Time enough for all sorts of activities,— eat the wrong Fish, fall in love, sign an order that will alter History, take a Nap...? A globe-ful of people, and not one is ignorant of the worth of twenty minutes, each minute a Pearl, let slip, one after the next, into Oblivion's Gulfs."
"Or twenty-one minutes, if you add another Quarter of a Degree," twinkles the Chinaman, "Crossing Ohio, as you might say. It was five and a Quarter Degrees that the Jesuits remov'd from the Chinese Circle, in reducing it to three hundred sixty. Bit like the Eleven Days taken from your Calendar, isn't it? Same Questions present themselves,— Where'd that Slice of Azimuth go? How will it be redeem'd? Perhaps your five Degrees of Visto were meant to be a sort of.. .Repository?"
The Surveyors exchange Grimaces⁵. What now? Can he be serious? Have they another fictitious⁶ Spaniard in the Offing? "Wouldn't each Degree simply've been widen'd by just a hair, to make up for the loss?" Dixon gently, in a voice Mason has heard him use with pack-horses that the Killogh brothers, their Pack-Men, vouch⁷ are "daft." "So that in some way, so should I imagine, congenial to the Oriental Beliefs...?, thy missing Degrees are distributed indistinguishably thro'out the Entirety of the Circle...?"
"And what may that slender Blade of Planetary Surface they took away, not be concealing⁸?" Zhang dementedly on, oblivious⁹, "— twenty-one minutes of Clock-Time, and eleven Million Square Miles,— any?thing may be hiding in there, more than your Herodotus, aye nor immortal¹⁰ Munchausen, might ever have dreamt. The Fountain of Youth, the Seven Cities of Gold, the Other Eden, the Canyons¹¹ of black Obsid?ian, the eight Immortals¹², the Victory over Death, the Defeat of the Wrath¹³?ful Deities¹⁴? Histories ever Secret. Lands whose Surveys will never be tied into any made here, in this Priest-tainted three-sixty,— blue Seas, as Oceanick Depths, call'd into Being by Mathesis alone...without Shores, nor any but their own Weather blowing in from no-where upon the official Globe—
"Nor ought we to be forgetting the Heavens,— as above, so below!— Stars beyond numbering, Planets unsuspected, Planets harboring Life! Morally Intelligent Life! an extra sign of the Zodiack, tho' of course run?ning a bit narrower,— yet might it stretch out North to South, perhaps even all the width of the Semi-Circle,— a Dragon? a Pennsylvania Rifle? a Surveyors' Line?"
"Am I content with this? Was that your Question, Dixon?"
"Ah didn't say anything...?"
"Of course you did. You were muttering over there, I heard it."
"Happen I may have audibly wonder'd, how one with so much Invest?ment in the matter of the Eleven Days, could be much offended when the Hysteresis be express'd in Degrees...?"
"And taken at the correct Scale," declares Captain Zhang, "what is there to choose? both are Experiences of that failure of perfect Return, that haunts all for whom Time elapses. In the runs of Lives, in Company as alone, what fails to return, is ever a source of Sorrow."
"And a lively Issue among the Metaphysickal I am sure," Mason attempts to beam, "the even yet more compelling Question, just now,
 however, being, Are you planning on growing particularly violent any time soon?"
"You cannot shame me. I have lost Shame, as one loses a Bore at an Assembly, creeping behind, whispering, 'You should have left her in Quebec. Your Fate was never to bide¹⁵ this long, amid this Continental¹⁶ Folly¹⁷.—  Folly that you, yourself, are now fallen into.''
"Sounds like half the Axmen," notes Mason.
"The half who aren't past themselves over that Zsusza...?" adds Dixon.
"This quite exceeds, Sirs, the unsophisticated Grunting¹⁸ of Back-Woodsmen,— She was the captive Ward² of my Life's great enemy. Tho' any sight of her, even at a distance, begin in Delight, soon enough shall his evil features emerge from, and replace, those belov'd ones...yet do I desire...not him, never him...yet...given such Terms, to desire her, clearly, I must transcend¹⁹ all Shame,— or be dissolv'd beneath it."
"And you're doing an excellent job!" exclaims Mason, "Isn't he, Lads?"
They return to Harlands' in early December, and get busy with the Royal Society's Degree of Latitude²⁰. No telling if they'll ever take the West Line west of Allegheny. All is in the hands of Sir William Johnson.
"Pleasant Gentleman," recalls Capt. Zhang. "Tho' what in distant parts be judg'd Madness, the wanderer may not say, or even know." Like others of the Party, he is apt now and then to drop in without prior Notice, at the Harlands', who are ever happy to have the Company. Advent²¹ sees the forming of something near a Club, for the purpose of Discourse²² upon the Topick of Christ's Birth, repairing after dinner to the Horse-Barn, Capt. Zhang and the Revd Cherrycoke being observ'd among those in faithful Attendance. The Astronomers²³ prove less consistent, tho' willing to pronounce upon points of Chronology, or Astronomy,— or both, such as the Star that brought the Magi.
" 'Twas either a Conjunction of Planets," Dixon opines, "or a Comet."
"In seven B.C., according to Kepler, Jupiter and Saturn²⁴ were conjunct three times,— and the next year, Mars join'd them," Mason declares. "No one who was out at night could have fail'd to notice that. It must have been the most spectacular Event in the Sky."
"Again, in perhaps twelve B.C.," Capt. Zhang points out, "appear'd the late Comet of 'fifty-nine, whose return to our Era Dr. Halley pre-
 dieted,— the Tail, taper'd ever toward the Sun, thus able to direct your Magi,— or perhaps mine,— after each Sunset, to the West."
"Gentlemen, surely," the Revd, as mildly as he may, advances, "Christ was not born any time Before Christ?"
"If," says the Geomancer, "like all Christian²⁵ nations, you accept the reckoning of Dionysius Exiguus,— then, Herod died in four B.C.,— yet the Gospels have him alive when Christ was born,— the taxation²⁶ decree that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem may've been as early as eight B.C. There are a number of these... strange inconsistencies."
"Unless the death of Herod be wrongly dated,— for Dennis the Mea?ger, as we know him,— was an agent of God."
"God should've found another Agent," remarks Dixon, in the same side-of-the-mouth delivery as Mason.
"Mr. Mason!" the Revd turning to shake his Index.
"I didn't say that," Mason protests, "— Did I?”

1 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

2 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

3 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

4 industrious   

adj.勤劳的，刻苦的，奋发的

参考例句：

• If the tiller is industrious,the farmland is productive.人勤地不懒。
• She was an industrious and willing worker.她是个勤劳肯干的员工。

5 grimaces   

n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Clark winked at the rude child making grimaces. 克拉克先生假装没有看见那个野孩子做鬼脸。 来自辞典例句
• The most ridiculous grimaces were purposely or unconsciously indulged in. 故意或者无心地扮出最滑稽可笑的鬼脸。 来自辞典例句

6 fictitious   

adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的

参考例句：

• She invented a fictitious boyfriend to put him off.她虚构出一个男朋友来拒绝他。
• The story my mother told me when I was young is fictitious.小时候妈妈对我讲的那个故事是虚构的。

7 vouch   

v.担保；断定；n.被担保者

参考例句：

• They asked whether I was prepared to vouch for him.他们问我是否愿意为他作担保。
• I can vouch for the fact that he is a good worker.我保证他是好员工。

8 concealing   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Despite his outward display of friendliness, I sensed he was concealing something. 尽管他表现得友善，我还是感觉到他有所隐瞒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• SHE WAS BREAKING THE COMPACT, AND CONCEALING IT FROM HIM. 她违反了他们之间的约定，还把他蒙在鼓里。 来自英汉文学 - 三万元遗产

9 oblivious   

adj.易忘的，遗忘的，忘却的，健忘的

参考例句：

• Mother has become quite oblivious after the illness.这次病后，妈妈变得特别健忘。
• He was quite oblivious of the danger.他完全没有察觉到危险。

10 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

11 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

12 immortals   

不朽的人物( immortal的名词复数 )； 永生不朽者

参考例句：

• Nobody believes in the myth about human beings becoming immortals. 谁也不相信人能成仙的神话。
• Shakespeare is one of the immortals. 莎士比亚是不朽的人物之一。

13 wrath   

n.愤怒，愤慨，暴怒

参考例句：

• His silence marked his wrath. 他的沉默表明了他的愤怒。
• The wrath of the people is now aroused. 人们被激怒了。

14 deities   

n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明

参考例句：

• Zeus and Aphrodite were ancient Greek deities. 宙斯和阿佛洛狄是古希腊的神。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Taoist Wang hesitated occasionally about these transactions for fearof offending the deities. 道士也有过犹豫，怕这样会得罪了神。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文

15 bide   

v.忍耐；等候；住

参考例句：

• We'll have to bide our time until the rain stops.我们必须等到雨停。
• Bide here for a while. 请在这儿等一会儿。

16 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

17 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

18 grunting   

咕哝的，呼噜的

参考例句：

• He pulled harder on the rope, grunting with the effort. 他边用力边哼声，使出更大的力气拉绳子。
• Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard. 猪在院子里哼哼地叫个不停。

19 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

20 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

21 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

22 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

23 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

25 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

26 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。