PALESTINE'S ROLE IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY

 Even territories are subject to the incalculable caprice of Fate. Palestine, a small territory in Western Asia, forming the southern third of the province of Syria, excelled in natural beauty by Switzerland or the Tyrol, has nevertheless been touched by the Spirit of Humanity and has exerted a greater influence upon the development of the human mind than any other country in the world, not excepting ancient Hellas and Rome. There is hardly another land that has witnessed as great historic events as has Palestine; there is surely no other land that has seen so many invading conquerors¹ on its soil. No other spot on the globe has so kindled² the magnetism³ of the great nations throughout the ages as Palestine. Today, when an army of the mighty⁴ British Empire is fighting hard to conquer Palestine, the land of eternal mystery and miracles, it is well to remember that throughout the ages every great power has fought for the possession of the Holy Land. In the early days of our civilization Babylonians, Egyptians, Assyrians and Persians in turn tried to conquer the country. At a later time, the Greeks and the Romans made the attempt; in the middle ages the great nations of Europe were organized by the Church to wrest⁵ Palestine from the Mohammedans. All the great conquerors in history, from Nebuzaradan and Titus to Napoleon, have commanded invading armies on Palestine soil.

 

This small land of Palestine, drenched⁶ with human blood since time immemorial, has become the holy centre of three great religions, and witnessed the birth of two great religions, Judaism and Christianity. From the purely⁸ religious point of view the land is as holy to Islam as it is to Christendom or Jewry. Politically, it has always been and still remains⁹ the goal of many a great power. The Turk holds it, the British are anxious to conquer it, the French have politico-historical claims on Syria, which includes Palestine, the Roman Church considers it its special domain¹⁰ and aspires¹¹ to possess it; the Emperor of Austria still bears the title King of Jerusalem, and the King of the Belgians, on the assumption that[19] he is an offspring of the Crusader Prince who ruled over Jerusalem for a while, asserts historic claims on the Holy Land which, however, he does not press. Palestine has seen many a change of masters and has been inhabited in turn by many peoples. But among all the peoples that have lived in Palestine there is only one, the nationhood and culture of which has grown and developed there—the Jewish people.

 

The Judaism originating in Palestine has become one of the driving powers in history; it continues to fructify¹² the human mind of the present day. Mankind bears in mind that just as in modern philosophy there is scarcely a single thought that was not already known either to the Greeks or to the Romans, so in modern social ethics¹³, humanitarianism¹⁴ and countless¹⁵ branches of modern political life there is scarcely an idea or thought that was not propounded¹⁶ by the representatives of the ancient Jewish mind. Many a radical¹⁷ idea commonly supposed to be a product of the civilization of the 19th century is found on close examination to be the embodiment of an ancient Jewish idea born on Palestinian soil. The kernel¹⁸ and sum total of Marxism is of ancient Jewish origin; Karl Marx added a modern garb¹⁹ to an ancient Jewish thought.

 

But Palestine has witnessed not only the birth and development of Judaism but also of Christianity. Christianity is, reduced to its original components²⁰, a synthesis of Eastern and Western Aryan thought, consisting of the universalism and pessimism²¹ of ancient India and the individualism and optimism of the Greeks and Romans. Christianity is therefore not only not a continuation of Judaism, but its very antithesis²², despite the fact that there is nothing in Eastern Aryan and Western Aryan thought, when looked at separately, that cannot also be found in Judaism.

 

The fight for Palestine by the great nations of ancient times, the origin and growth of two historic religions on Palestinian soil, the subsequent struggle for Palestine by united Christendom against the Islam and the constant attention that humanity pays to Palestine does not explain why Palestine is held sacred. Another explanation must be found why Palestine, a strip of coast land on the Mediterranean²³, has become the land of wonders, the cradle of European spiritualism.

 

Palestine has become the very well and centre of the spiritual life of humanity because she was so placed geographically²⁴ as to be in a position to mediate²⁶ between the Eastern and the Western Aryans and because Jewish thought, born in Palestine, the mediating²⁷ centre, was later to act as the spiritual mediator²⁸ between both wings of the Aryan race without giving up its own position and independence.

 

The geographical²⁵ position of the region where Judaism arose is located just between the settlements of the West and East Aryans. Just as Palestine is the geographical centre between East and West Aryans, so also does the Jewish mind born in Palestine mediate between Tibet and Greece.

 

The East Aryans believed in the universal, the infinite—the West Aryans in the individual, as expressed in classic mythology²⁹. The Jewish God-concept comprises both of these extremes. The Jewish God is the highest individuality, but he is also God who has created the universe, the God of all mankind. The Biblical cosmogony shows combination of this individuality with universality. As the Biblical metaphysic mediates³⁰ between the extremes of Aryan thought, so does the Jewish mind born in Palestine hold the middle between Greek and Indian thought. The Jewish mind lacks both the cold, analytical³¹ intellectuality of the Greek and the mystic, fantastical tendency of the Indian mind. With the Jew, however, reason is praised and knowledge highly valued, while feeling is given its due and is not mortified³². The prophet is not an individualist nor is he a hazy³³ universalist, but a self-sacrificing patriot³⁴ who for the love of his people suffers martyrdom, and yet a cosmopolitan³⁵ who in his heart full of love embraces all mankind.

 

When the two Aryan culture thoughts met in Alexandria and Rome, the Jewish thought intervened and acted as mediator between the two extremes. Of course it was not done by conscious design, but we cannot disregard the influence men like Philo exercised on the course of events. While many momenta³⁶ and causes co-operated in making the Jew the mediator between these two extremes, the main cause no doubt was the middle position occupied by Judaism. It was related to both sides and could therefore effect a reconciliation³⁷.

 

This, to our mind, explains in the main the place of Palestine and Judaism in the world's history. The Jews, a small Asiatic people, owing to a remarkable³⁸ concatenation of events and chances, have set in motion a circulation of ideas, which later on cemented other great cultures. Christianity is not, as Christian⁷ theologians would have the world believe, a continuation of Judaism. What Judaism in the main did contribute to Christianity was the form, the architecture, and the cohesive³⁹ power of its various elements. If there be any truth in the assertion that the Jews are the "everlasting⁴⁰ middlemen," it is not because they have been for the last two thousand years the economic or political middlemen among the nations who forced them into a parasitical⁴¹ life, but because they, a Palestinian people, have brought about a union between worlds of thought which were arrayed against each other. By reason of this mediation⁴², they have impregnated other peoples with their own mind.

 

1 conquerors   

征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Danes had selfconfidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. 这些丹麦人具有征服者的自信，而且他们的安全防卫也是漫不经心的。
• The conquerors believed in crushing the defeated people into submission, knowing that they could not win their loyalty by the victory. 征服者们知道他们的胜利并不能赢得失败者的忠心，于是就认为只有通过武力才能将他们压服。

2 kindled   

（使某物）燃烧，着火( kindle的过去式和过去分词 )； 激起（感情等）； 发亮，放光

参考例句：

• We watched as the fire slowly kindled. 我们看着火慢慢地燃烧起来。
• The teacher's praise kindled a spark of hope inside her. 老师的赞扬激起了她内心的希望。

3 magnetism   

n.磁性，吸引力，磁学

参考例句：

• We know about magnetism by the way magnets act.我们通过磁铁的作用知道磁性是怎么一回事。
• His success showed his magnetism of courage and devotion.他的成功表现了他的胆量和热诚的魅力。

4 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

5 wrest   

n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲

参考例句：

• The officer managed to wrest the gun from his grasp.警官最终把枪从他手中夺走了。
• You wrest my words out of their real meaning.你曲解了我话里的真正含义。

6 drenched   

adj.湿透的；充满的v.使湿透( drench的过去式和过去分词 )；在某人（某物）上大量使用（某液体）

参考例句：

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin. 我们遇上了暴雨，淋得浑身透湿。
• The rain drenched us. 雨把我们淋得湿透。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

11 aspires   

v.渴望，追求( aspire的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The fame to which he aspires was beyond his reach. 他追求的名誉乃是他所不能及的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li. 老骥伏枥，志在千里。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 fructify   

v.结果实；使土地肥沃

参考例句：

• When you grow up,your love will bloom and fructify.人成熟一点，你的爱情便会开花结果。
• After many years of perseverance his plan fructified.经过多年的不屈不挠，他的计画终於成功了。

13 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

14 humanitarianism   

n.博爱主义；人道主义；基督凡人论

参考例句：

• Humanitarianism is apt to be forgotten when the balloon goes up. 一旦战争爆发，人道主义往往就被抛到脑后了。 来自互联网
• We must heal the wounded, rescue the dying, practicing revolutionary humanitarianism. 我们要救死扶伤，实行革命的人道主义。 来自互联网

15 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

16 propounded   

v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the theory of natural selection, first propounded by Charles Darwin 查尔斯∙达尔文首先提出的物竞天择理论
• Indeed it was first propounded by the ubiquitous Thomas Young. 实际上，它是由尽人皆知的杨氏首先提出来的。 来自辞典例句

17 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

18 kernel   

n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心

参考例句：

• The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
• The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

19 garb   

n.服装，装束

参考例句：

• He wore the garb of a general.他身着将军的制服。
• Certain political,social,and legal forms reappear in seemingly different garb.一些政治、社会和法律的形式在表面不同的外衣下重复出现。

20 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

21 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。

22 antithesis   

n.对立；相对

参考例句：

• The style of his speech was in complete antithesis to mine.他和我的讲话方式完全相反。
• His creation was an antithesis to academic dogmatism of the time.他的创作与当时学院派的教条相对立。

23 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

24 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

25 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

26 mediate   

vi.调解，斡旋；vt.经调解解决；经斡旋促成

参考例句：

• The state must mediate the struggle for water resources.政府必须通过调解来解决对水资源的争夺。
• They may be able to mediate between parties with different interests.他们也许能在不同利益政党之间进行斡旋。

27 mediating   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的现在分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• So many factors are mediating. 如此众多的因素在起作用。
• The contrast in mediating noted in the sitting room. 客厅中注重了调和中的对比。

28 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

29 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

30 mediates   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的第三人称单数 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• We therefore investigated whether hypercoagulability mediates a beneficial effect during denovo atherogenesis. 因此我们研究了高凝在原位动脉粥样硬化形成中是否介导了有益的作用。
• Not happy when the mood that how mediates oneself? 不开心的时候怎样调解自己的情绪？

31 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

32 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 hazy   

adj.有薄雾的，朦胧的；不肯定的，模糊的

参考例句：

• We couldn't see far because it was so hazy.雾气蒙蒙妨碍了我们的视线。
• I have a hazy memory of those early years.对那些早先的岁月我有着朦胧的记忆。

34 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

35 cosmopolitan   

adj.世界性的，全世界的，四海为家的，全球的

参考例句：

• New York is a highly cosmopolitan city.纽约是一个高度世界性的城市。
• She has a very cosmopolitan outlook on life.她有四海一家的人生观。

36 momenta   

动力，要素，动量(momentum的复数)

参考例句：

• Each of the individual momenta may change in time. 每个单独的动量可能随时间而变化。

37 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

38 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

39 cohesive   

adj.有粘着力的；有结合力的；凝聚性的

参考例句：

• She sealed the parcel with cohesive tape.她用粘胶带把包裹封起来。
• The author skillfully fuses these fragments into a cohesive whole.作者将这些片断巧妙地结合成一个连贯的整体。

40 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

41 parasitical   

adj. 寄生的(符加的)

参考例句：

• It is related to her prior infestation by the dominant parasitical species here. 那是涉及在她身上已经滋生了的具备支配权的优势寄生物种。
• Finally, the array antennas composed of parasitical cells are mainly researched. 最后，本文重点研究了由加寄生天线的单元组成的天线阵列。

42 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。