Art is a great thing. But it is not the greatest. The most important of all perceptions is the continual perception of cause and effect — in other words, the perception of the continuous development of the universe — in still other words, the perception of the course of evolution. When one has thoroughly¹ got imbued² into one’s head the leading truth that nothing happens without a cause, one grows not only large-minded, but large-hearted.

It is hard to have one’s watch stolen, but one reflects that the thief of the watch became a thief from causes of heredity and environment which are as interesting as they are scientifically comprehensible; and one buys another watch, if not with joy, at any rate with a philosophy that makes bitterness impossible. One loses, in the study of cause and effect, that absurd air which so many people have of being always shocked and pained by the curiousness of life. Such people live amid human nature as if human nature were a foreign country full of awful foreign customs. But, having reached maturity³, one ought surely to be ashamed of being a stranger in a strange land!

The study of cause and effect, while it lessens⁴ the painfulness of life, adds to life’s picturesqueness⁵. The man to whom evolution is but a name looks at the sea as a grandiose⁷, monotonous⁸ spectacle, which he can witness in August for three shillings third-class return. The man who is imbued with the idea of development, of continuous cause and effect, perceives in the sea an element which in the day-before-yesterday of geology was vapour, which yesterday was boiling, and which to-morrow will inevitably⁹ be ice.

He perceives that a liquid is merely something on its way to be solid, and he is penetrated

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1 thoroughly
adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地
参考例句：
The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。 The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

2 imbued
v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）
参考例句：
Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness. 她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。 These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose. 这些有教养的人满怀着社会责任感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 maturity
n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期
参考例句：
These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。 This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。

4 lessens
变少( lessen的第三人称单数 )； 减少（某事物）
参考例句：
Eating a good diet significantly lessens the risk of heart disease. 良好的饮食习惯能大大减少患心脏病的机率。 Alcohol lessens resistance to diseases. 含有酒精的饮料会减弱对疾病的抵抗力。

5 picturesqueness
参考例句：
The picturesqueness of the engineer's life was always attractive to Presley. 这司机的丰富多彩的生活，始终叫普瑞斯莱醉心。 Philip liked the daring picturesqueness of the Americans'costume. 菲利浦喜欢美国人装束的那种粗犷的美。

6 picturesque
adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的
参考例句：
You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。 That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

7 grandiose
adj.宏伟的，宏大的，堂皇的，铺张的
参考例句：
His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time.他那种夸大的举止给第一次遇见他的人留下了深刻的印象。 As the fog vanished,a grandiose landscape unfolded before the tourists.雾气散去之后，一幅壮丽的景观展现在游客面前。

8 monotonous
adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的
参考例句：
She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。 His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

9 inevitably
adv.不可避免地；必然发生地
参考例句：
In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。 Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

10 penetrated
adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式
参考例句：
The knife had penetrated his chest. 刀子刺入了他的胸膛。 They penetrated into territory where no man had ever gone before. 他们已进入先前没人去过的地区。

11 durable
adj.持久的，耐久的
参考例句：
This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。 They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。

12 appreciation
n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨
参考例句：
I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。 I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

13 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。

14 sufficiently
adv.足够地，充分地
参考例句：
It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。 The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

15 immortal
adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的
参考例句：
The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。 The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

16 humdrum
adj.单调的，乏味的
参考例句：
Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.他们的生活由日常生存的平凡活动所构成。 The accountant said it was the most humdrum day that she had ever passed.会计师说这是她所度过的最无聊的一天。

17 Oxford
n.牛津（英国城市）
参考例句：
At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。 This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

18 zest
n.乐趣；滋味，风味；兴趣
参考例句：
He dived into his new job with great zest.他充满热情地投入了新的工作。 He wrote his novel about his trip to Asia with zest.他兴趣浓厚的写了一本关于他亚洲之行的小说。

19 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。

20 enthralling
迷人的
参考例句：
There will be an enthralling race tomorrow. 明天会有场吸引人的比赛。 There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. 在这样地施加影响时，令人感到销魂夺魄。

21 slippers
n. 拖鞋
参考例句：
a pair of slippers 一双拖鞋 He kicked his slippers off and dropped on to the bed. 他踢掉了拖鞋，倒在床上。

22 moths
n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )
参考例句：
The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》 The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去，弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

23 devoted
adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的
参考例句：
He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。 We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。