Sun-worship, as the dominant4 cult5 in all pagan systems, furnished more elements of corruption7 than any other.
Lights in Worship.
The pagan origin of lights in worship is universally acknowledged. Their use was sharply condemned8 in the earlier times.[234] The Synod of Elviri (305 or 306 A.D.) condemned their use in cemeteries9, where they already formed a part of the services for the dead. Canon 34 reads: “It is forbidden to light wax candles during the day in cemeteries for fear of disquieting10 the spirits of the saints.”
Baronius explains this as follows: “Many Neophytes brought the custom from paganism of lighting[264] wax candles upon tombs. The Synod forbids this, because, metaphysically, it troubles the souls of the dead; that is to say, this superstition11 wounds them.”
Abespine gives another explanation, which is, that the synod accepted the belief that was then general, that the souls of the dead hovered12 around their tombs. “The Synod consequently forbade that wax candles should be lighted by day, perhaps to abolish a remnant of paganism, but also to prevent the repose13 of the souls of the dead from being troubled.”[235]
Maitland says:
“The burning of lights is specified14 among the idolatrous rites16 forbidden by the Theodosian Code: ‘Let no one in any kind of place whatsoever17 in any city, burn lights, offer incense18, or hang up garlands to senseless idols19.’ Vigilantius, in reference to the custom of using lights in divine service, exclaims: ‘We almost see the ceremonial of the gentiles introduced into the Churches under pretence20 of religion; piles of candles lighted while the sun is still shining; and everywhere people kissing and worshipping, and I know not what; a little dust in a small vessel21 wrapped up in a precious cloth. Great honor do such persons render to the blessed martyrs22, thinking with miserable23 tapers24 to illumine those whom the Lamb, in the midst of the throne, shines upon with the splendor26 of his majesty27.’ This passage proves that Vigilantius,[265] who must have known well the customs of paganism, was struck with the resemblance between them and the rites newly introduced into the Church.”[236]
But love for paganism was too strong, and the custom soon became universal. Paulinus, Bishop28 of Nola (396 A.D.), gloried in the use of lights. In Natalis (3:100) he says:
“The bright altars are crowned with thickly clustered lamps, the fragrant30 lights smell of waxed papyri; day and night they burn; so that night glitters with the splendor of day; and day itself glories with heavenly honors, shines the more, its lustre31 being doubled by innumerable lamps.”[237]
The persistency32 with which the use of lights yet holds a place in many branches of the Church shows how long and how vigorously paganism has continued to corrupt6 Christianity.
“Orientation.”
Another residuum from sun-worship led to building churches with the altar at the east, praying toward the east, burying the dead with reference to the east, etc. Of the pagan origin of the custom, Gale34 speaks as follows:
“Another piece of Pagan Demonolatry was their ceremony of bowing and worshipping towards the East. For the Pagans universally worshipped the sun as their supreme[266] God, even the more reformed of them, the new Platonists, Plotinus, Porphyry, and Julian the apostate35, as it appears by his oration36 to the Sun. Whence it came to pass, that the sun rising in the east they usually worshipped in that way (as the Jews in Babylon usually worshipped west, because Jerusalem stood west thence). Hence also they built their temples and buried their dead towards the East. So Diogenes Laertius, in the life of Solon, says: that the Athenians buried their dead towards the East, the head of their graves being made that way. And do not Anti-Christ and his sons exactly follow this Pagan ceremony in building their temples and High Altars towards the East, and in bowing that way in their worship?”[238]
Various explanations were made concerning this practice, to cover up the prominence37 of this paganism. For instance, Clement38 of Alexandria says:
“And since the dawn is an image of the day of birth, and from that point the light which has shone forth39 at first from the darkness, increases, there has also dawned on those involved in darkness a day of the knowledge of truth. In correspondence with the manner of the sun’s rising, prayers are made looking towards the sunrise in the East. Whence also the most ancient temples looked towards the West, that people might be taught to turn to the East when facing the images. ‘Let my prayer be directed before thee as incense, the uplifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice,’ say the Psalms40.”[239]
[267]
Tertullian seeks to avoid the charge of paganism, while defending this practice, as follows:
“Others, with greater regard to good manners, it must be confessed, suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians41, because it is a well known fact that we pray toward the East, or because we make Sunday a day of festivity. What then? Do you do less than this? Do not many among you, with an affectation of sometimes worshipping the heavenly bodies, likewise, move your lips in the direction of the sunrise? It is you, at all events, who have even admitted the sun into the calendar of the week; and you have selected its day, in preference to the preceding day, as the most suitable in the week, for either an entire abstinence from the bath, or for its postponement42 until the evening, or for taking rest, and for banqueting.”[240]
Easter Fires.
Another element of pagan sun-worship continues to the present time in the Easter fires, which abound43 especially in Northern Europe. Fire is regarded as a living thing, in Teutonic mythology44. It is often spoken of as a bird, the “Red Cock.” Notfuer, “Need-fire,” is yet produced by friction45, at certain times. Such fire is deemed sacred. On such occasions all fires in the neighborhood are extinguished, that they may be rekindled46 from the Notfuer. This fire is yet used to ward1 off evil,[268] and to cure diseases in domestic animals. Traces of sex-worship appear in connection with the producing of this sacred fire; “two chaste48 boys” must pull the ropes which produce the friction necessary to generate the fire; and a “chaste youth” must strike the light for curing the disease known as “St. Anthony’s fire.” In Scotland such fire is held as a safeguard against the “bewitching of domestic animals.”
Grimm, who is the highest authority on the mythology of Northern Europe, has abundant material touching49 all forms of fire-worship in that region. Here is a single extract with reference to Easter Fires.
“At all the cities, towns and villages of the country, towards evening on the first (or third) day of Easter, there is lighted every year, on mountain and hill, a great fire of straw turf and wood, amidst a concourse and jubilation50, not only of the young, but of many grown up people. On the Weser, especially in Schaumburg, they tie up a tar29 barrel on a fir tree wrapt around with straw, and set it on fire at night. Men and maids, and all who come dance, exulting51 and singing, hats are waved, handkerchiefs thrown into the fire. The mountains all around are lighted up, and it is an elevating spectacle, scarcely paralleled by any thing else, to survey the country for many miles around from one of the higher points, and in every direction at once to see a vast number of these bonfires, brighter or fainter, blazing up to heaven. In some places they marched up the hill in stately procession,[269] carrying white rods: by turns they sang Easter hymns52, grasping each other’s hands, and at the Hallelujah, clashed their rods together. They liked to carry some of the fire home with them.
“For these ignes paschales there is no authority reaching beyond the sixteenth century; but they must be a great deal older, if only for the contrast with Midsummer fires, which never could penetrate53 into North Germany, because the people there held fast by their Easter fires. Now seeing that the fires of St. John, as we shall presently show, are more immediately connected with the Christian33 Church than those of Easter, it is not unreasonable54 to trace these all the way back to the worship of the goddess Ostara, or Eastre, who seems to have been more a Saxon and Anglican divinity than one revered55 all over Germany. Her name and her fires, which are likely to have come at the beginning of May, would, after the conversion56 of the Saxons, be shifted back to the Christian feast. Those mountain fires of the people are scarcely derivable57 from the taper25 lighted in the Church the same day: it is true that Boniface calls it ignis paschalis, and such Easter lights are mentioned in the sixteenth century. Even now, in the Hildesheim country, they light the lamp on Maundy Thursday, and that on Easter day, at an Easter fire which has been struck with a steel. The people flock to this fire, carrying oaken crosses, or simply crossed sticks, which they set on fire and then preserve for a whole year. But the common folk distinguish between this fire and the wild fire produced by rubbing wood. Jager speaks of a consecration58 fire of logs.”[241]
[270]
Midsummer Fires.
Midsummer was the central point of a great pagan festival in honor of the sun, who had then reached his greatest height, from which he must soon decline. Catholic Christianity continued these festivals, in St. John Baptist Day. Many of the peculiarities59 of these midsummer fires were similar to those of the Easter fires already noticed. The following description of the modern festival in Germany is taken from Grimm:
“We have a fuller description of a Midsummer fire, made in 1823 at Konz, a Lorrainian but still German village, on the Moselle, near Sierk and Thionville. Every house delivers a truss of straw on the top of the Stromberg, where men and youths assemble toward evening. Women and girls are stationed by the Burbach springs. Then a huge wheel is wrapt round with straw, so that none of the wood is left in sight, a strong pole is passed through the middle, which sticks out a yard on each side, and is grasped by the guiders of the wheel; the remainder of the straw is tied up into a number of small torches. At a signal given by the Maire of Sierk (who according to the ancient custom, earns a basket of cherries by the service), the wheel is lighted with a torch, and set rapidly in motion; a shout of joy is raised, all wave their torches on high, part of the men stay on the hill, part follow the rolling globe of fire, as it is guided down the hill to the Moselle. It often goes out first: but if alight when it touches the river, it prognosticates an abundant vintage, and the Konz people have a right to levy60 a tun of white wine from the[271] adjacent vineyards. Whilst the wheel is rushing past the women and the girls, they break out into cries of joy, answered by the men on the hill, and inhabitants of neighboring villages, who have flocked to the river side, mingle61 their voices in the universal rejoicing.”[242]
Beltane or Baal Fires.
The Beltane or Baal fires and the ancient sacrifices to the sun-god still continue in modified form in Scotland. Grimm speaks of them as follows:
“The present custom is thus described by Armstrong sub v. bealtainn: In some parts of the Highlands the young folks of a hamlet meet in the moors62, on the first of May. They cut a table in the green sod, of a round figure, by cutting a trench63 in the ground, of such circumference64 as to hold the whole company. They then kindle47 a fire and dress a repast of eggs and milk, in the consistence of a custard. They knead a cake of oatmeal, which is toasted at the embers, against a stone. After the custard is eaten up, they divide the cake in so many portions, as similar as possible to one another in size and shape, as there are persons in the company. They daub one of these portions with charcoal65, until it is perfectly66 black. They then put all the bits of the cake into a bonnet67, and every one, blindfold68, draws out a portion. The bonnet-holder is entitled to the last bit. Whoever draws the black bit is the devoted69 person who is to be sacrificed to Baal, whose favor they mean to implore70 in rendering71 the year productive. The devoted person is compelled to leap three times over the flames. Here the reference to the worship of a deity72 is[272] too plain to be mistaken; we see by the leaping over the flame, that the main point was, to select a human being to propitiate73 the god, and make him merciful; that afterwards an animal sacrifice was substituted for him, and finally nothing remained of the bodily immolation74 but a leap through the fire, for man and beast. The holy rite15 of friction is not mentioned here, but as it was necessary for the ‘needfire’ that purged75 pestilence76, it must originally have been much more in requisition at the great yearly festival.”[243]
Penance.
The pagan theory of baptismal regeneration created a necessity for the doctrine77 of penance. Under the idea that baptism removed all sins up to the time of the ceremony, something was necessary to atone78 for sins committed after baptism. Dr. Schaff describes the origin of penance as follows:
“The effect of baptism, however, was thought to extend only to sins committed before receiving it. Hence the frequent postponement of the sacrament, which Tertullian very earnestly recommends, though he censures79 it when accompanied with moral levity80 and presumption81. Many, like Constantine the Great, put it off to the bed of sickness and of death. They preferred the risk of dying unbaptized to that of forfeiting82 forever the baptismal grace. Death-bed baptisms were then what death-bed repentances are now.
[273]
“But then the question arose, how the forgiveness of sins committed after baptism could be obtained? This is the starting-point of the Roman doctrine of the sacrament of penance. Tertullian and Cyprian were the first to suggest that satisfaction must be made for such sins by self-imposed penitential exercises and good works, such as prayers and alms-giving. Tertullian held seven gross sins, which he denoted mortal sins, to be unpardonable after baptism, and to be left to the uncovenanted mercies of God; but the Catholic Church took a milder view, and even received back the adulterers and apostates85 on their public repentance83.”[244]
More need not be said. The reader will readily see the connection between these two elements of paganism; he will also see the deeply corrupting86 effect of them both.
Mariolatry.
The worship of a Mother Goddess and her son formed a distinct feature in the paganism of Babylon, India, Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome. Though variant87 in conception, the core of Mariolatry runs through all these pagan systems. Those who desire to follow this theme in detail will do well to consult Alexander Hislop.[245] A single extract from page 82 of that work is all that space will permit:
[274]
“The worship of the Goddess-Mother with the child in her arms continued to be observed in Egypt till Christianity entered. If the gospel had come in power among the mass of the people, the worship of this goddess-queen would have been overthrown88. With the generality, it came only in name. Instead, therefore, of the Babylonian goddess being cast out, in too many cases her name only was changed. She was called the Virgin89 Mary, and, with her child, was worshipped with the same idolatrous feeling by professing90 Christians, as formerly91 by open and avowed92 pagans.”
The Mass.
The mass, which has been for centuries the central item in Roman Catholic worship, finds its origin in the “unbloody sacrifices” which were offered to the Paphian Venus, and to her counterpart in Babylonia and Assyria. It was this worship of the Queen of Heaven into which the apostate women of Judah were drawn94, whom Jeremiah[246] condemns95 for “burning incense, pouring out drink offerings, and offering cakes to the Queen of Heaven.” These cakes were marked with the phallic symbol of the cross. As before noted84, they were the progenitors96 of the modern “hot cross-buns,” which are associated with Friday—day of Venus.
The form of the cake-wafer adopted in paganized Christianity, its roundness, was borrowed from[275] the Egyptians, to whom the form represented the disk of the sun. The mystic letters on the wafer form another link which connects it with Egyptian paganism. Christians explain these letters as meaning Jesus Hominum Salvator; but when the worshippers of Isis, who were everywhere in the Roman empire in the early centuries, read them on the unbloody sacrifice, they understood by them Isis, Horus, Seb, i. e., The Mother, the Child, and the Father of the Gods. The pagan character of this unbloody sacrifice was so patent at the first, that it was sharply condemned; but familiarity changed opposition97 to acceptance, and what was wholly pagan became the centre of worship in paganized Christianity.
Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead.
All the leading systems of pagan religions have some form of purgatory, with its associate prayers for the dead, for which large sums are paid by the surviving friends. The purgatory which was developed in the Christian cult is like its pagan prototype in almost every particular. An extract from Wilkinson describing the practical workings of the doctrine in pagan Egypt would need little changing to fit the facts connected with the purgatory of Christians. We quote from Hislop[247]:
[276]
“‘The Priest,’ says Wilkinson, ‘induced the people to expend98 large sums on the celebration of funeral rites; and many who had barely sufficient to obtain the necessaries of life were anxious to save something for the expenses of their death. For besides the embalming99 process, which sometimes cost a talent of silver, or about ￡250, English money, the tomb itself was purchased at an immense expense; and numerous demands were made upon the estate of the deceased, for the celebration of prayer and other services for the soul.’ ‘The ceremonies,’ we find him elsewhere saying, ‘consisted of a sacrifice similar to those offered in the temples, vowed93 for the deceased to one or more gods (as Osiris, Anubis, and others connected with Amenti); incense and libation were also presented; and a prayer was sometimes read, the relations and friends being present as mourners. They even joined their prayers to those of the priest. The priest who officiated at the burial service was selected from the grade of Pontiffs, who wore the leopard100 skin; but various other rites were performed by one of the minor101 priests, to the mummies, previous to their being lowered into the pit of the tomb after that ceremony. Indeed, they continued to be administered at intervals102, as long as the family paid for their performance.’ Such was the operation of the doctrine of purgatory and prayers for the dead among avowed and acknowledged pagans; and in what essential respect does it differ from the operation of the same doctrine in Papal Rome?”
Saint Peter’s Keys.
Those who claim the primacy of St. Peter and his right to the keys of heaven, pretend to found[277] that claim upon Christ’s words to Peter. But an examination of the history and characteristics of the doctrine reveals its pagan origin too clearly to admit of question. Roman paganism had its college of pontiffs, headed by the emperor, as Pontifex Maximus. Babylonian and Assyrian paganism had a similar council of pontiffs. The especial primacy among the deities103 was associated with Janus and Cybele. Each of these bore a key. The Pope assumed them both in the fifth century, after Christianity had been paganized. The term cardinal104 is plainly derived105 from cardo, a hinge. Janus was God of the Hinges, and was called the “Opener, and Shutter106.”
The sovereign pontiff of the pagan cult was the representative of the divinity on earth, and was worshipped as a god. This continued in the Roman empire long after the emperors were called “Christian.” After that the Pope became God’s representative among men. A single quotation107 from Ovid will close this glance at St. Peter and his keys. In it Janus is described, and he in turn describes his office:
“He, holding in his right hand a staff, and in his left a key, uttered these accents to me from the mouth of his front face.... ‘Whatever thou beholdest around thee, the sky, the sea, the air, the earth, all these have been shut up and are opened by my hand. In my power[278] alone is the guardianship108 of the vast universe, and the prerogative109 of turning the hinge is entirely110 my own. When it has been my pleasure to send forth Peace, from her tranquil111 habitation, then at liberty she treads her paths unobstructed by the restraints of war. The whole world would be thrown into confusion in deadly bloodshed, did not my rigid112 bolts confine imprisoned113 warfare114. Together with the gentle seasons, I preside over the portals of Heaven; through my agency Jupiter himself doth pass and repass.’”[248]
Representative Festivals.
Those who have given even a cursory115 examination of the subject, know that the swarm116 of festivals which came into Christianity, after the second century, were nearly, if not all, pagan days, with new or modified names, but with little or no change of character. A few of the representative ones will be noticed here.
Christmas.
The Scriptures117 are wholly silent as to the date of Christ’s birth. The 25th of December, the winter solstice, was not fixed118 as Christmas until a long time after the New Testament119 period. But in spite of serious objections, historical and otherwise, that date triumphed. The winter solstice was the date of the birth of Osiris, son of Isis the[279] Egyptian Queen of Heaven. The term “Yule,” another name for Christmas, comes from the Chaldee, and signifies “child’s day.” This name for the festival was familiar to our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, long before they knew anything of Christianity. In Rome, this winter-solstice festival was Saturn’s festival; the wild, drunken, licentious120 “Saturnalia.” It was observed in Babylonia in a similar manner. When it came into Christianity its leading features were like those of the Saturnalia. These have been far too prevalent from that time. Lighted candles and ornamented121 trees were a part of the observance of the festival among the pagans. The “Christmas goose” and “Yule cakes” came, with the day, from paganism.
Easter.
The earliest Christians continued to observe the Jewish Passover on the 14th of the month Nisan. As the pagan element increased in the Church, and the anti-Jewish feeling accordingly, after a sharp struggle, the time was changed from the fourteenth of the month to the Sunday nearest the vernal equinox. This brought it in conjunction with the festival of the Goddess of Spring, an ancient pagan feast, which probably dates back to the time of Astarte-worship, in Babylonia. The name “Easter” is comparatively modern. It comes from Oestra,[280] the Goddess of Spring, in the Northern European mythology. The forms of observance were almost wholly heathen. Easter eggs, dyed, and “hot cross-buns,” figured in the Chaldean Easter, as they have done in the Christian. The Hindus, and Chinese, and Egyptians had a sacred egg, the history of which can be traced to the Euphrates and the worship of Astarte.
Lent.
Lent has been given some appearance of having a Christian origin by the assumption, for which there is not a shadow of scriptural, or even apostolic authority, that it is the counterpart of Christ’s fast of forty days. But the history of Lent shows unmistakably its pagan origin. Its source is found in the fasting which the Babylonians associated with the Goddess of Reproduction, whose worship formed the starting-point of Easter. During that period of fasting, social joy and all expressions of sexual regard were forbidden, because the goddess then mourned the loss of her consort122. From this came the germ of Lent, and especially the practice of abstaining123 from marriage at that season.
The pagan tribes of Koordistan still keep such a fast. Humboldt found the same in Mexico, and Landseer in Egypt. It came into Christianity[281] comparatively slowly, and brought gross evils with it. Witness the following:
“This change of the calendar in regard to Easter was attended with momentous124 consequences. It brought into the Church the grossest corruption, and the rankest superstition in connection with the abstinence of Lent. Let any one only read the atrocities125 that were commemorated126 during the ‘sacred fast’ or pagan Lent, as described by Arnobius and Clemens Alexandrinus, and surely he must blush for the Christianity of those, who with the full knowledge of all these abominations ‘went down to Egypt for help’ to stir up the languid devotion of the degenerate127 Church, and who could find no more excellent way to ‘revive’ it than by borrowing from so polluted a source; the absurdities128 and abominations connected with which the early Christian writers held up to scorn.”[249]
Many devout129 Christians now observe Lent without taint130 of paganism; but with the undevout, Lent is only a resting time from the fashionable dissipation of “society,” which refreshes them for the excesses that follow Easter.
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ward
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| n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开 | |
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penance
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| n.（赎罪的）惩罪 | |
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purgatory
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| n.炼狱；苦难；adj.净化的，清洗的 | |
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dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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cult
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| n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜 | |
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corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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cemeteries
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| n.（非教堂的）墓地，公墓( cemetery的名词复数 ) | |
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disquieting
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| adj.令人不安的，令人不平静的v.使不安，使忧虑，使烦恼( disquiet的现在分词 ) | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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hovered
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| 鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫 | |
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repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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specified
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| adj.特定的 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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idols
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| 偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像 | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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tapers
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taper
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| n.小蜡烛，尖细，渐弱；adj.尖细的；v.逐渐变小 | |
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splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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tar
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| n.柏油，焦油；vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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lustre
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| n.光亮，光泽；荣誉 | |
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persistency
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| n. 坚持(余辉, 时间常数) | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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34
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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35
apostate
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| n.背叛者，变节者 | |
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36
oration
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| n.演说，致辞，叙述法 | |
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37
prominence
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| n.突出；显著；杰出；重要 | |
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38
clement
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| adj.仁慈的；温和的 | |
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39
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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40
psalms
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| n.赞美诗( psalm的名词复数 )；圣诗；圣歌；(中的) | |
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41
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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42
postponement
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| n.推迟 | |
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43
abound
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| vi.大量存在；(in，with)充满，富于 | |
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44
mythology
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| n.神话，神话学，神话集 | |
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45
friction
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| n.摩擦，摩擦力 | |
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46
rekindled
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| v.使再燃( rekindle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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47
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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48
chaste
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| adj.贞洁的；有道德的；善良的；简朴的 | |
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49
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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50
jubilation
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| n.欢庆，喜悦 | |
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51
exulting
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| vi. 欢欣鼓舞，狂喜 | |
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52
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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53
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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54
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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55
revered
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| v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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56
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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57
derivable
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| adj.可引出的，可推论的，可诱导的 | |
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58
consecration
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| n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式 | |
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59
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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60
levy
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| n.征收税或其他款项，征收额 | |
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61
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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62
moors
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| v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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63
trench
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| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
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64
circumference
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| n.圆周，周长，圆周线 | |
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65
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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66
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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67
bonnet
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| n.无边女帽；童帽 | |
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68
blindfold
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| vt.蒙住…的眼睛；adj.盲目的；adv.盲目地；n.蒙眼的绷带[布等]； 障眼物，蒙蔽人的事物 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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implore
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| vt.乞求，恳求，哀求 | |
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71
rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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72
deity
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| n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物) | |
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73
propitiate
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| v.慰解，劝解 | |
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74
immolation
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| n.牺牲品 | |
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75
purged
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| 清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响 | |
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76
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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77
doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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78
atone
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| v.赎罪，补偿 | |
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79
censures
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的第三人称单数 ) | |
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levity
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| n.轻率，轻浮，不稳定，多变 | |
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presumption
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| n.推测，可能性，冒昧，放肆，[法律]推定 | |
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forfeiting
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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83
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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84
noted
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| adj.著名的，知名的 | |
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85
apostates
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| n.放弃原来信仰的人( apostate的名词复数 )；叛教者；脱党者；反叛者 | |
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86
corrupting
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的现在分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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87
variant
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| adj.不同的，变异的；n.变体，异体 | |
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88
overthrown
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| adj. 打翻的，推倒的，倾覆的 动词overthrow的过去分词 | |
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89
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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professing
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| 声称( profess的现在分词 )； 宣称； 公开表明； 信奉 | |
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91
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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92
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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93
vowed
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| 起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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94
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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95
condemns
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| v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地 | |
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96
progenitors
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| n.祖先( progenitor的名词复数 )；先驱；前辈；原本 | |
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97
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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98
expend
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| vt.花费，消费，消耗 | |
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99
embalming
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| v.保存（尸体）不腐( embalm的现在分词 )；使不被遗忘；使充满香气 | |
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100
leopard
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| n.豹 | |
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101
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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102
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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103
deities
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| n.神，女神( deity的名词复数 )；神祗；神灵；神明 | |
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104
cardinal
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| n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的 | |
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105
derived
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| vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取 | |
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106
shutter
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| n.百叶窗；(照相机)快门；关闭装置 | |
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107
quotation
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| n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情 | |
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108
guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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109
prerogative
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| n.特权 | |
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110
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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111
tranquil
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| adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的 | |
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112
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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113
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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114
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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115
cursory
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| adj.粗略的；草率的；匆促的 | |
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116
swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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117
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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118
fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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119
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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120
licentious
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| adj.放纵的，淫乱的 | |
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121
ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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122
consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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123
abstaining
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| 戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的现在分词 )； 弃权（不投票） | |
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124
momentous
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| adj.重要的，重大的 | |
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125
atrocities
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| n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪 | |
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126
commemorated
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| v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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127
degenerate
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| v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者 | |
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128
absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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129
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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130
taint
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| n.污点；感染；腐坏；v.使感染；污染 | |
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