Chapter 22

I therefore regarded it as a compliment when to insult me you asserted that my whole household consisted of a wallet and a staff. Would that my spirit were made of such stern stuff as to permit me to dispense¹ with all this furniture and worthily² to carry that equipment for which Crates³ sacrificed all his wealth! Crates, I tell you, though I doubt if you will believe me, Aemilianus, was a man of great wealth and honour among the nobility of Thebes; but for love of this habit, which you cast in my face as a crime, he gave his large and luxurious⁴ household to his fellow citizens, resigned his troops of slaves for solitude⁵, so contemned⁶ the countless⁷ trees of his rich orchards⁸ as to be content with one staff, exchanged his elegant villas⁹ for one small wallet, which, when he had fully¹⁰ appreciated its utility, he even praised in song by diverting from their original meaning certain lines of Homer in which he extols¹¹ the island of Crete. I will quote the first lines, that you may not think this a mere¹² invention of mine designed to meet the needs of my own case:

There is a twon named Wallet in the midst

of smoke that’s dark as wine.

The lines which follow are so wonderful, that had you read them you would envy me my wallet even more than you envy me my marriage with Pudentilla.

You reproach philosophers for their staff and wallet. You might as well reproach cavalry¹³ for their trappings, infantry¹⁴ for their shields, standard-bearers for their banners, triumphant¹⁵ generals for their chariots drawn¹⁶ by four white horses and their cloaks embroidered¹⁷ with palmleaves. The staff and wallet are not, it is true, carried by the Platonic¹⁸ philosophers, but are the badges of the Cynic school. To Diogenes and Antisthenes they were what the crown is to the king, the cloak of purple to the general, the cowl to the priest, the trumpet¹⁹ to the augur²⁰. Indeed the Cynic Diogenes, when he disputed with Alexander the Great, as to which of the two was the true king, boasted of his staff as the true sceptre. The unconquered Hercules himself, since you despise my instances as drawn from mere mendicancy²¹, Hercules that roamed the whole world, exterminated²² monsters, and conquered races, god though he was, had but a skin for raiment and a staff for company in the days when he wandered through the earth. And yet but a brief while afterwards he was admitted to heaven as a reward for his virtue²³.

1 dispense   

vt.分配，分发；配(药)，发(药)；实施

参考例句：

• Let us dispense the food.咱们来分发这食物。
• The charity has been given a large sum of money to dispense as it sees fit.这个慈善机构获得一大笔钱，可自行适当分配。

2 worthily   

重要地，可敬地，正当地

参考例句：

• Many daughters have done worthily, But you surpass them all. 29行事有才德的女子很多，惟独你超过众人。
• Then as my gift, which your true love has worthily purchased, take mydaughter. 那么，就作为我的礼物，把我的女儿接受下来吧--这也是你的真实爱情应得的报偿。

3 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

4 luxurious   

adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的

参考例句：

• This is a luxurious car complete with air conditioning and telephone.这是一辆附有空调设备和电话的豪华轿车。
• The rich man lives in luxurious surroundings.这位富人生活在奢侈的环境中。

5 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

6 contemned   

v.侮辱，蔑视( contemn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

7 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。

8 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

9 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

10 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

11 extols   

v.赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone extols his noble qualities. 人人称颂他的崇高品德。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Dance Art is an art in which sentiment enlightens genuineness, extols benevolence, and arouses beauty. 舞蹈艺术是以情启真、以情扬善、以情唤美的艺术。 来自互联网

12 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

13 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

14 infantry   

n.[总称]步兵(部队)

参考例句：

• The infantry were equipped with flame throwers.步兵都装备有喷火器。
• We have less infantry than the enemy.我们的步兵比敌人少。

15 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。

16 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

17 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

18 platonic   

adj.精神的；柏拉图（哲学）的

参考例句：

• Their friendship is based on platonic love.他们的友情是基于柏拉图式的爱情。
• Can Platonic love really exist in real life?柏拉图式的爱情，在现实世界里到底可能吗？

19 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

20 augur   

n.占卦师；v.占卦

参考例句：

• Does this news augur war?这消息预示将有战争吗？
• The signs augur well for tomorrow's weather.种种征候预示明天天气良好。

21 mendicancy   

n.乞丐，托钵，行乞修道士

参考例句：

• They were reduced to mendicancy. 他们沦落成了乞丐。 来自互联网

22 exterminated   

v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was exterminated root and branch. 它被彻底剪除了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The insects can be exterminated by spraying DDT. 可以用喷撒滴滴涕的方法大量杀死这种昆虫。 来自《用法词典》

23 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。