I grow up — am hated by my Relations — sent to School — neglected by my Grandfather — maltreated by my Master — seasoned to Adversity — I form Cabals1 against the Pedant2 — am debarred Access to my Grandfather — hunted by his Heir — I demolish3 the Teeth of his Tutor
There were not wanting some who suspected my uncles of being concerned in my father’s fate, on the supposition that they would all share in the patrimony4 destined5 for him; and this conjecture6 was strengthened by reflecting that in all his calamities7 they never discovered the least inclination8 to serve him; but, on the contrary, by all the artifices9 in their power, fed his resentment10 and supported his resolution of leaving him to misery11 and want. But people of judgment12 treated this insinuation as an idle chimera13; because, had my relations been so wicked as to consult their interest by committing such an atrocious crime, the fate of my father would have extended to me too whose life was another obstacle to their expectation. Meanwhile, I grew apace, and as I strongly resembled my father, who was the darling of the tenants14, I wanted nothing which their indigent15 circumstances could afford: but their favour was a weak resource against the jealous enmity of my cousins; who the more my infancy16 promised, conceived the more implacable hatred17 against me: and before I was six years of age, had so effectually blockaded my grandfather that I never saw him but by stealth, when I sometimes made up to his chair as he sat to view his labourers in the field: on which occasion he would stroke my head, bid me be a good boy, and promise to take care of me.
I was soon after sent to school at a village hard by, of which he had been dictator time out of mind; but as he never paid for my board, nor supplied me with clothes, books, and other necessaries I required, my condition was very ragged18 and contemptible19, and the schoolmaster, who, through fear of my grandfather, taught me gratis20, gave himself no concern about the progress I made under his instruction. In spite of all these difficulties and disgraces, I became a good proficient21 in the Latin tongue; and, as soon as I could write tolerably, pestered22 my grandfather with letters to such a degree that he sent for my master, and chid23 him severely24 for bestowing25 such pains on my education, telling him that, if ever I should be brought to the gallows26 for forgery27, which he had taught me to commit, my blood would lie on his head.
The pedant, who dreaded28 nothing more than the displeasure of his patron, assured his honour that the boy’s ability was more owing to his own genius and application than to any instruction or encouragement he received; that, although he could not divest29 him of the knowledge he had already imbibed30, unless he would empower him to disable his fingers, he should endeavour, with God’s help, to prevent his future improvement. And, indeed, he punctually performed what he had undertaken; for, on pretence31 that I had written impertinent letters to my grandfather, he caused a board to be made with five holes in it, through which he thrust the fingers and thumb of my right hand, and fastened it by whipcord to my wrist, in such a manner as effectually debarred me the use of my pen. But this restraint I was freed from in a few days, by an accident which happened in a quarrel between me and another boy; who, taking upon him to insult my poverty, I was so incensed32 at his ungenerous reproach that with one stroke with my machine I cut him to the skull33, to the great terror of myself and schoolfellows, who left him bleeding on the ground, and ran to inform the master of what had happened. I was so severely punished for this trespass34 that, were I to live to the age of Methusalem, the impression it made on me would not be effaced35; the more than the antipathy36 and horror I conceived for the merciless tyrant37 who inflicted38 it. The contempt which my appearance naturally produced in all who saw me, the continual wants to which I was exposed, and my own haughty39 disposition40, impatient of affronts41, involved me in a thousand troublesome adventures, by which I was at length inured42 in adversity, and emboldened43 to undertakings44 far above my years. I was often inhumanly45 scourged46 for crimes I did not commit, because, having the character of a vagabond in the village, every piece of mischief47, whose author lay unknown, was charged upon me. I have been found guilty of robbing orchards48 I never entered, of killing49 cats I never hunted, of stealing gingerbread I never touched, and of abusing old women I never saw. Nay50, a stammering51 carpenter had eloquence52 enough to persuade my master that I fired a pistol loaded with small shot into his window; though my landlady53 and the whole family bore witness that I was abed fast asleep at the time when this outrage54 was committed, I was once flogged for having narrowly escaped drowning, by the sinking of a ferry boat in which I was passenger. Another time, for having recovered of a bruise55 occasioned by a horse and cart running over me. A third time, for being bitten by a baker’s dog. In short, whether I was guilty or unfortunate, the correction and sympathy of this arbitrary pedagogue56 were the same.
Far from being subdued57 by this informal usage, my indignation triumphed over that slavish awe58 which had hitherto enforced my obedience59; and the more my years and knowledge increased, the more I perceived the injustice60 and barbarity of his behaviour. By the help of an uncommon61 genius, and the advice and direction of our usher62, who had served my father in his travels, I made a surprising progress in the classics, writing, and arithmetic; so that, before I was twelve years old, I was allowed by everybody to be the best scholar in the school. This qualification, together with the boldness of temper and strength of make which had subjected almost all my contemporaries, gave me such influence over them that I began to form cabals against my persecutor63; and was in hope of, being able to bid him defiance64 in a very short time. Being at the head of a faction65, consisting of thirty boys, most of them of my own age, I was determined66 to put their mettle67 to trial, that I might know how far they were to be depended upon, before I put my grand scheme in execution: with this view, we attacked a body of stout68 apprentices69, who bad taken possession of a part of the ground allotted70 to us for the scheme of our diversions, and who were then playing at ninepins on the spot; but I had the mortification71 to see my adherents72 routed in an instant, and a leg of one of them broke in his flight by the bowl, which one of our adversaries73 had detached in pursuit of us. This discomfiture74 did not hinder us from engaging them afterwards in frequent skirmishes, which we maintained by throwing stones at a distance, wherein I received many wounds, the scars of which still remain. Our enemies were so harassed75 and interrupted by these alarms that they at last abandoned their conquest, and left us to the peaceable enjoyment76 of our own territories.
It would be endless to enumerate77 the exploits we performed in the course of this confederacy, which became the terror of the whole village; insomuch that, when different interests divided it, one of the parties commonly courted the assistance of Roderick Random78 (by which name I was known) to cast the balance, and keep the opposite faction in awe. Meanwhile, I took the advantage of every play-day to present myself before my grandfather, to whom I seldom found access, by reason of his being closely besieged79 by a numerous family of his female grandchildren, who, though they perpetually quarrelled among themselves, never failed to join against me, as the common enemy of all. His heir, who was about the age of eighteen, minded nothing but fox-hunting, and indeed was qualified80 for nothing else, notwithstanding his grandfather’s indulgence in entertaining a tutor for him at home; who at the same time performed the office of parish clerk. This young Actaeon, who inherited his grandfather’s antipathy to everything in distress81, never sat eyes on me without uncoupling his beagles, and hunting me into some cottage or other, whither I generally fled for shelter. In this Christian82 amusement he was encouraged by his preceptor, who, no doubt, took such opportunities to ingratiate himself with the rising sun, observing, that the old gentleman, according to the course of nature, had not long to live, for he was already on the verge83 of fourscore.
The behaviour of this rascally84 sycophant85 incensed me so much, that one day, when I was beleaguered86 by him and his hounds in a farmer’s house, where I had found protection, I took aim at him (being an excellent marksman) with a large pebble87, which struck out four of his foreteeth, and effectually incapacitated him from doing the office of a clerk.
1 cabals | |
n.(政治)阴谋小集团,(尤指政治上的)阴谋( cabal的名词复数 ) | |
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2 pedant | |
n.迂儒;卖弄学问的人 | |
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3 demolish | |
v.拆毁(建筑物等),推翻(计划、制度等) | |
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4 patrimony | |
n.世袭财产,继承物 | |
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5 destined | |
adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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6 conjecture | |
n./v.推测,猜测 | |
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7 calamities | |
n.灾祸,灾难( calamity的名词复数 );不幸之事 | |
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8 inclination | |
n.倾斜;点头;弯腰;斜坡;倾度;倾向;爱好 | |
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9 artifices | |
n.灵巧( artifice的名词复数 );诡计;巧妙办法;虚伪行为 | |
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10 resentment | |
n.怨愤,忿恨 | |
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11 misery | |
n.痛苦,苦恼,苦难;悲惨的境遇,贫苦 | |
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12 judgment | |
n.审判;判断力,识别力,看法,意见 | |
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13 chimera | |
n.神话怪物;梦幻 | |
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14 tenants | |
n.房客( tenant的名词复数 );佃户;占用者;占有者 | |
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15 indigent | |
adj.贫穷的,贫困的 | |
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16 infancy | |
n.婴儿期;幼年期;初期 | |
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17 hatred | |
n.憎恶,憎恨,仇恨 | |
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18 ragged | |
adj.衣衫褴褛的,粗糙的,刺耳的 | |
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19 contemptible | |
adj.可鄙的,可轻视的,卑劣的 | |
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20 gratis | |
adj.免费的 | |
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21 proficient | |
adj.熟练的,精通的;n.能手,专家 | |
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22 pestered | |
使烦恼,纠缠( pester的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23 chid | |
v.责骂,责备( chide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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24 severely | |
adv.严格地;严厉地;非常恶劣地 | |
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25 bestowing | |
砖窑中砖堆上层已烧透的砖 | |
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26 gallows | |
n.绞刑架,绞台 | |
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27 forgery | |
n.伪造的文件等,赝品,伪造(行为) | |
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28 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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29 divest | |
v.脱去,剥除 | |
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30 imbibed | |
v.吸收( imbibe的过去式和过去分词 );喝;吸取;吸气 | |
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31 pretence | |
n.假装,作假;借口,口实;虚伪;虚饰 | |
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32 incensed | |
盛怒的 | |
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33 skull | |
n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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34 trespass | |
n./v.侵犯,闯入私人领地 | |
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35 effaced | |
v.擦掉( efface的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;超越;使黯然失色 | |
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36 antipathy | |
n.憎恶;反感,引起反感的人或事物 | |
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37 tyrant | |
n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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38 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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39 haughty | |
adj.傲慢的,高傲的 | |
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40 disposition | |
n.性情,性格;意向,倾向;排列,部署 | |
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41 affronts | |
n.(当众)侮辱,(故意)冒犯( affront的名词复数 )v.勇敢地面对( affront的第三人称单数 );相遇 | |
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42 inured | |
adj.坚强的,习惯的 | |
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43 emboldened | |
v.鼓励,使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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44 undertakings | |
企业( undertaking的名词复数 ); 保证; 殡仪业; 任务 | |
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45 inhumanly | |
adv.无人情味地,残忍地 | |
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46 scourged | |
鞭打( scourge的过去式和过去分词 ); 惩罚,压迫 | |
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47 mischief | |
n.损害,伤害,危害;恶作剧,捣蛋,胡闹 | |
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48 orchards | |
(通常指围起来的)果园( orchard的名词复数 ) | |
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49 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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50 nay | |
adv.不;n.反对票,投反对票者 | |
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51 stammering | |
v.结巴地说出( stammer的现在分词 ) | |
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52 eloquence | |
n.雄辩;口才,修辞 | |
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53 landlady | |
n.女房东,女地主 | |
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54 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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55 bruise | |
n.青肿,挫伤;伤痕;vt.打青;挫伤 | |
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56 pedagogue | |
n.教师 | |
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57 subdued | |
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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58 awe | |
n.敬畏,惊惧;vt.使敬畏,使惊惧 | |
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59 obedience | |
n.服从,顺从 | |
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60 injustice | |
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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61 uncommon | |
adj.罕见的,非凡的,不平常的 | |
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62 usher | |
n.带位员,招待员;vt.引导,护送;vi.做招待,担任引座员 | |
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63 persecutor | |
n. 迫害者 | |
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64 defiance | |
n.挑战,挑衅,蔑视,违抗 | |
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65 faction | |
n.宗派,小集团;派别;派系斗争 | |
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66 determined | |
adj.坚定的;有决心的 | |
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67 mettle | |
n.勇气,精神 | |
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69 apprentices | |
学徒,徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 ) | |
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70 allotted | |
分配,拨给,摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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71 mortification | |
n.耻辱,屈辱 | |
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72 adherents | |
n.支持者,拥护者( adherent的名词复数 );党羽;徒子徒孙 | |
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73 adversaries | |
n.对手,敌手( adversary的名词复数 ) | |
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74 discomfiture | |
n.崩溃;大败;挫败;困惑 | |
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75 harassed | |
adj. 疲倦的,厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词 | |
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76 enjoyment | |
n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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77 enumerate | |
v.列举,计算,枚举,数 | |
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78 random | |
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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79 besieged | |
包围,围困,围攻( besiege的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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80 qualified | |
adj.合格的,有资格的,胜任的,有限制的 | |
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81 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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82 Christian | |
adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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83 verge | |
n.边,边缘;v.接近,濒临 | |
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84 rascally | |
adj. 无赖的,恶棍的 adv. 无赖地,卑鄙地 | |
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85 sycophant | |
n.马屁精 | |
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86 beleaguered | |
adj.受到围困[围攻]的;包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词);困扰;骚扰 | |
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87 pebble | |
n.卵石,小圆石 | |
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