PREFACE

The addresses made to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Institution of Civil Engineers, at the opening meetings of the session—1851, contained obituary¹ notices of Robert Stevenson. The late Alan Stevenson, his eldest² son, also wrote a short Memoir³ of his father, which was printed for private circulation.

But Robert Stevenson’s long practice as a Civil Engineer—the important works he executed—and the valuable contributions he made to Engineering and Scientific literature, seem to me to require a fuller notice of his life than has hitherto been given.

This has been attempted in the following Memoir, which will be found to consist of extracts from Mr. Stevenson’s Professional Reports—of notes from his Diary—and of communications to Scientific Journals and Societies, between the years 1798 and 1843, when he retired⁴ from active practice.

vi These papers embrace a wide field of Engineering, including Lighthouses, Harbours, Rivers, Roads, Railways, Ferries, Bridges, and other cognate⁵ subjects.

Some of them describe Engineering practice which is now obsolete⁶, but not on that account, I think, uninteresting to such modern Engineers as have regard for the antiquities⁷ of their Profession.

Some of them, I am aware, can only be appreciated by those who are specially⁸ interested in the city of Edinburgh.

All of them will, I venture to think, be found worthy⁹ of preservation¹⁰ as interesting Engineering records of an era that has passed away. It formed no part of my duty to criticise¹¹ them, in the light of modern Engineering, and, unaltered in form of expression or statement of opinion, they are now reproduced as they came from my father’s pen.

I offer no apology for presenting these Extracts as the outlines of the life of one who occupied a prominent place among the Civil Engineers who practised during the beginning of the present, and end of the last century, shortly after British Engineering, with Smeaton as its founder¹², may be said to have had its origin.

D. S.

Edinburgh, July 1878.

1 obituary   

n.讣告，死亡公告；adj.死亡的

参考例句：

• The obituary records the whole life of the deceased.讣文记述了这位死者的生平。
• Five days after the letter came,he found Andersen s obituary in the morning paper.收到那封信五天后，他在早报上发现了安德森的讣告。

2 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

3 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 cognate   

adj.同类的，同源的，同族的；n.同家族的人，同源词

参考例句：

• Mathematics and astronomy are cognate sciences.数学和天文学是互相关联的科学。
• English,Dutch and German are cognate languages. 英语、荷兰语、德语是同语族的语言。

6 obsolete   

adj.已废弃的，过时的

参考例句：

• These goods are obsolete and will not fetch much on the market.这些货品过时了，在市场上卖不了高价。
• They tried to hammer obsolete ideas into the young people's heads.他们竭力把陈旧思想灌输给青年。

7 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

10 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

11 criticise   

v.批评，评论；非难

参考例句：

• Right and left have much cause to criticise government.左翼和右翼有很多理由批评政府。
• It is not your place to criticise or suggest improvements!提出批评或给予改进建议并不是你的责任！

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。