Our Lord’s connection with the sea and its toilers was confined to those petty Syrian lakes which to-day excite the traveller’s wonder as he recalls the historical accounts of hundreds of Roman galleys10 floating thereupon; and all his childish dreams of[269] the great sea upon which the Lord was sailing and sleeping when that memorable11 storm arose which He stilled with a word suffer much by being brought face to face with the realities of little lake and tiny boat. St. John and St. James show by their almost terror-stricken words about the sea what they felt, and from want of a due consideration of proportion their allusions have been much misunderstood. No man who knew the sea could have written as one of the blissful conditions of the renewed heaven and earth that there should “be no more sea,” any more than he could have spoken of the limpid12 ocean wave as casting up “mire and dirt.”
But by one incomparable piece of writing Paul, the Apostle born out of due time, has rescued the New Testament from this reproach of neglect, and at the same time has placed himself easily in the front rank of those who have essayed to depict13 the awful majesty14 of wind and wave as well as the feebleness, allied15 to almost presumptuous16 daring, of those who do business in great waters. Wonder and admiration17 must also be greatly heightened if we do but remember the circumstances under which this description was written. The writer had, by the sheer force of his eloquence18, by his daring to await the precise moment in which to assert his citizenship19, escaped what might at any moment have become martyrdom. Weary with a terrible journey, faint from many privations, he was hurried on board a ship of Adramyttium bound to the coast of Asia (places not specified). What sort of accommodation[270] and treatment awaited him there under even the most favourable20 circumstances we know very well. For on the East African coast even to this day we find precisely21 the same kind of vessels22, the same primitive24 ideas of navigation, the same absence of even the most elementary notions of comfort, the same touching25 faith in its being always fine weather as evinced by the absence of any precautions against a storm.
Such a vessel23 as this carried one huge sail bent26 to a yard resembling a gigantic fishing-rod whose butt27 when the sail was set came nearly down to the deck, while the tapering28 end soared many feet above the masthead. As it was the work of all hands to hoist29 it, and the operation took a long time, when once it was hoisted30 it was kept so if possible, and the nimble sailors with their almost prehensile31 toes climbed up the scanty rigging, and clinging to the yard gave the sail a bungling32 furl. The hull33 was just that of an exaggerated boat, sometimes undecked altogether, and sometimes covered in with loose planks34, excepting a hut-like erection aft which was of a little more permanent character. Large oars35 were used in weather that admitted of this mode of propulsion, and the anchors were usually made of heavy forked pieces of wood, whereto big stones were lashed36. There was a rudder, but no compass, so that the crossing of even so narrow a piece of water as separated Syria from Cyprus was quite a hazardous37 voyage. Tacking38 was unknown or almost so, and once the mariners39 got hold of the land they were so reluctant to lose[271] sight of it that they heeded40 not how much time the voyage took or what distances they travelled.
The nameless ship of Adramyttium then at last ventured from Sidon and fetched Cyprus, sailing under its lee. How salt that word tastes, and what visions it opens up of these infant navigators creeping cautiously from point to point along that rugged41 coast, heeding42 not at all the unnecessary distance so long as they were sheltered from the stormy autumn weather. Another perilous43 voyage across “the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia” (another purely44 maritime45 term) and the harbour of Myra was gained. Great were the rejoicings of the voyagers, but premature46, for every day that passed brought them nearer to the time of tempest, and consequently of utmost danger. In fact the memorable voyage of St. Paul may be said to begin here. The crossing of the Great Sea had been accomplished47 without incident, although doubtless occupying so many days that the landsmen were by this time somewhat accustomed to the misery48 of life at sea in those days, when in coarse weather sea-sickness was one of the least of their woes49.
The shipment by the centurion50 of his prisoners on board of the Alexandrian wheat-ship marked the commencement of a series of troubles. In the first place, for such a ship and such a voyage the number of people on board was far too great, even if we accept the lower estimate—seventy-six—which is placed on her complement51 by some ancient authorities. If she carried two hundred and seventy-six she must have been like an Arab dhow running[272] a full cargo52 of slaves, and it is difficult to see how, even taking into consideration the way in which both mariners and passengers were inured53 to hardship, she could have carried them all through the wild weather and weary days following without some deaths. “And when we had sailed slowly many days” (what a world of suffering can be read into those few pathetic words), they fetched under the lee of Crete with all the thankfulness that might be expected from men who had been so pitilessly exposed to the fury of the open sea. With difficulty they crept along the coast until they got into the Fair Havens54 and refreshed their weary hearts.
No wonder they were reluctant to put again to sea, even though they knew that every day brought wilder weather, and their chance of wintering in their present harbour safely was poor, from its exposed position. And now we find St. Paul taking the risky55 step of advising seafarers as to the proper conduct of their own business—risky because while no man likes to be interfered56 with at his work by one whom he considers an outsider, sailors are perhaps more touchy57 upon this matter than most people. True, the science of navigation and seamanship was in its infancy59, and no such gulf60 of knowledge separated landsmen from seamen61 in those days as existed afterwards, but one can easily picture the indignation of the commander of the ship (curiously enough here called the owner, the very same slang title given to the Captain of a man-of-war by his officers and crew to-day) when he heard this presumptuous passenger-prisoner thus daring to give his unasked advice.[273] Besides, Paul’s motive62 for wishing to remain in port was one easily misconstrued.
Therefore the centurion’s refusal to listen to Paul’s suggestion was quite natural; nay63, it was inevitable64. Still, there was evidently no intention of persevering65 with the voyage upon getting under way, only of entering the nearest harbour that might afford sufficient shelter against the fury of the winter gales67. With a gentle southerly breeze they left Fair Havens, and moved along the shore. But presently down from the Cretan mountains Euraquilo came rushing, the furious Levanter, which is not surpassed in the world for ferocity, hurling68 their helpless cockle-shell off shore. Their fear of the storm was far greater than their fear of the land, for unlike the sailors of to-day, to whom the vicinity of land in a gale66 is far more dreaded69 than the gale itself, they hugged the small island, Clauda, and succeeded in their favourite manœuvre, that of getting under the lee of the land once more. It was high time. The buffeting70 of the ship had weakened her to such an extent that she must have threatened to fall asunder71, since they were driven actually to “frap” her together, that is, bind72 their cable round and round her and heave it taut—a parlous73 state of things, but one to which sailors have often been brought with a crazy ship in a heavy gale.
In this dangerous state they feared the proximity74 of hungry rocks, but instead of reducing sail and endeavouring to get along in some definite direction, they lowered down the big yard and let the ship drive whithersoever she would. The storm continued, the[274] poor, bandaged hull was leaking at every seam, a portion of the cargo, called by St. Paul by its true nautical75 name “freight,” was jettisoned76. But that did not satisfy them, and they proceeded to the desperate extremity77 of casting overboard the “tackling,” the great sail and yard, and all movable gear from the upper works except the anchors.
Then in misery, with death yawning before them, already half drowned, foodless, and hopeless, they drifted for many days into the unknown void under that heavy-laden sky before the insatiable gale. In the midst of all this horror of great darkness, the dauntless prisoner comforted them, even while unable to forbear reminding them that had they listened to him, this misery would have been spared them. His personality never shone brighter than on this occasion; the little ascetic78 figure must have appeared Godlike to those poor, ignorant sufferers.
At the expiration79 of a fortnight, the sailors surmised80 that land was near, although it was midnight. How characteristic is that flash of insight into the sea-faring instinct, and how true! They sounded and got twenty fathoms81, and in a little while found the water had shoaled to fifteen. Then they performed a piece of seamanship which may be continually seen in execution on the East African coast to-day—they let the anchors down to their full scope of cable and prayed for daylight. The Arabs do it in fair weather or foul—lower the sail, slack down the anchor, and go to sleep. She will bring up before she hits anything.
Unfortunately, space will not admit of further[275] dealing82 with this great story of the sea, so familiar and yet so little understood. The sailors’ cowardly attempt at escape, the discipline of the soldiers foiling it, the arrangements for beaching her by the aid of what is here called a foresail, but was probably only a rag of sail rigged up temporarily to get the ship before the wind, and the escape of all as foretold83 by St. Paul, need much more space for dealing with than can be spared.
But the one thing which makes this story go to the heart of every seaman58 is its absolute fidelity84 to the facts of sea-life; its log-like accuracy of detail; its correct use of all nautical terms. In fact, some old seamen go so far as to aver85 that St. Paul, having kept an accurate record of the facts, got the captain of the ship to edit them for him, as in no other way could a landsman such as Paul was have obtained so seaman-like a grip of the story, both in detail and language.
Note.—It will of course be noted86 that while the general opinion is in favour of assigning to Luke the authorship of the narrative87 commented upon above, I have credited Paul with it. I have my reasons, but because of controversy88 I refrain from stating them.
点击收听单词发音
1 pang | |
n.剧痛,悲痛,苦闷 | |
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2 allusions | |
暗指,间接提到( allusion的名词复数 ) | |
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3 scanty | |
adj.缺乏的,仅有的,节省的,狭小的,不够的 | |
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4 Mediterranean | |
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的 | |
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5 margin | |
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘 | |
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6 boundless | |
adj.无限的;无边无际的;巨大的 | |
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7 testament | |
n.遗嘱;证明 | |
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8 gems | |
growth; economy; management; and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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9 sparsely | |
adv.稀疏地;稀少地;不足地;贫乏地 | |
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10 galleys | |
n.平底大船,战舰( galley的名词复数 );(船上或航空器上的)厨房 | |
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11 memorable | |
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的 | |
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12 limpid | |
adj.清澈的,透明的 | |
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13 depict | |
vt.描画,描绘;描写,描述 | |
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14 majesty | |
n.雄伟,壮丽,庄严,威严;最高权威,王权 | |
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15 allied | |
adj.协约国的;同盟国的 | |
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16 presumptuous | |
adj.胆大妄为的,放肆的,冒昧的,冒失的 | |
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17 admiration | |
n.钦佩,赞美,羡慕 | |
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18 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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19 citizenship | |
n.市民权,公民权,国民的义务(身份) | |
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20 favourable | |
adj.赞成的,称赞的,有利的,良好的,顺利的 | |
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21 precisely | |
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地 | |
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22 vessels | |
n.血管( vessel的名词复数 );船;容器;(具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的)人 | |
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23 vessel | |
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管 | |
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24 primitive | |
adj.原始的;简单的;n.原(始)人,原始事物 | |
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25 touching | |
adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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26 bent | |
n.爱好,癖好;adj.弯的;决心的,一心的 | |
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27 butt | |
n.笑柄;烟蒂;枪托;臀部;v.用头撞或顶 | |
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28 tapering | |
adj.尖端细的 | |
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29 hoist | |
n.升高,起重机,推动;v.升起,升高,举起 | |
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30 hoisted | |
把…吊起,升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31 prehensile | |
adj.(足等)适于抓握的 | |
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32 bungling | |
adj.笨拙的,粗劣的v.搞糟,完不成( bungle的现在分词 );笨手笨脚地做;失败;完不成 | |
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33 hull | |
n.船身;(果、实等的)外壳;vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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34 planks | |
(厚)木板( plank的名词复数 ); 政纲条目,政策要点 | |
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35 oars | |
n.桨,橹( oar的名词复数 );划手v.划(行)( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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36 lashed | |
adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 );煽动;紧系;怒斥 | |
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37 hazardous | |
adj.(有)危险的,冒险的;碰运气的 | |
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38 tacking | |
(帆船)抢风行驶,定位焊[铆]紧钉 | |
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39 mariners | |
海员,水手(mariner的复数形式) | |
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40 heeded | |
v.听某人的劝告,听从( heed的过去式和过去分词 );变平,使(某物)变平( flatten的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41 rugged | |
adj.高低不平的,粗糙的,粗壮的,强健的 | |
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42 heeding | |
v.听某人的劝告,听从( heed的现在分词 ) | |
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43 perilous | |
adj.危险的,冒险的 | |
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44 purely | |
adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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45 maritime | |
adj.海的,海事的,航海的,近海的,沿海的 | |
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46 premature | |
adj.比预期时间早的;不成熟的,仓促的 | |
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47 accomplished | |
adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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48 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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49 woes | |
困境( woe的名词复数 ); 悲伤; 我好苦哇; 某人就要倒霉 | |
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50 centurion | |
n.古罗马的百人队长 | |
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51 complement | |
n.补足物,船上的定员;补语;vt.补充,补足 | |
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52 cargo | |
n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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53 inured | |
adj.坚强的,习惯的 | |
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54 havens | |
n.港口,安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口,安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 ) | |
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55 risky | |
adj.有风险的,冒险的 | |
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56 interfered | |
v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 );调停;妨碍;干涉 | |
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57 touchy | |
adj.易怒的;棘手的 | |
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58 seaman | |
n.海员,水手,水兵 | |
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59 infancy | |
n.婴儿期;幼年期;初期 | |
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60 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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61 seamen | |
n.海员 | |
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62 motive | |
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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63 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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64 inevitable | |
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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65 persevering | |
a.坚忍不拔的 | |
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66 gale | |
n.大风,强风,一阵闹声(尤指笑声等) | |
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67 gales | |
龙猫 | |
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68 hurling | |
n.爱尔兰式曲棍球v.猛投,用力掷( hurl的现在分词 );大声叫骂 | |
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69 dreaded | |
adj.令人畏惧的;害怕的v.害怕,恐惧,担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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70 buffeting | |
振动 | |
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71 asunder | |
adj.分离的,化为碎片 | |
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72 bind | |
vt.捆,包扎;装订;约束;使凝固;vi.变硬 | |
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73 parlous | |
adj.危险的,不确定的,难对付的 | |
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74 proximity | |
n.接近,邻近 | |
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75 nautical | |
adj.海上的,航海的,船员的 | |
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76 jettisoned | |
v.抛弃,丢弃( jettison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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77 extremity | |
n.末端,尽头;尽力;终极;极度 | |
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78 ascetic | |
adj.禁欲的;严肃的 | |
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79 expiration | |
n.终结,期满,呼气,呼出物 | |
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80 surmised | |
v.臆测,推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 );揣测;猜想 | |
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81 fathoms | |
英寻( fathom的名词复数 ) | |
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82 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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83 foretold | |
v.预言,预示( foretell的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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84 fidelity | |
n.忠诚,忠实;精确 | |
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85 aver | |
v.极力声明;断言;确证 | |
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86 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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87 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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88 controversy | |
n.争论,辩论,争吵 | |
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