ONLY THE EXPRESSION of the will of the Deity¹, not depending on time, can relate to a whole series of events that have to take place during several years or centuries; and only the Deity, acting² by His will alone, not affected³ by any cause, can determine the direction of the movement of humanity. Man acts in time, and himself takes part in the event.

Restoring the first condition that was omitted, the condition of time, we perceive that no single command can be carried out apart from preceding commands that have made the execution of the last command possible.

Never is a single command given quite independently and arbitrarily, nor does it cover a whole series of events. Every command is the sequel to some other; and it never relates to a whole course of events, but only to one moment in those events.

When we say, for instance, that Napoleon commanded the army to go to fight, we sum up in one single expression a series of consecutive⁴ commands, depending one upon another. Napoleon could not command a campaign against Russia, and never did command it. He commanded one day certain papers to be written to Vienna, to Berlin, and to Petersburg; next day certain decrees and instructions to the army, the fleet, and the commissariat, and so on and so on—millions of separate commands, making up a whole series of commands, corresponding to a series of events leading the French soldiers to Russia.

Napoleon was giving commands all through his reign⁵ for an expedition to England. On no one of his undertakings⁷ did he waste so much time and so much effort, and yet not once during his reign was an attempt made to carry out his design. Yet he made an expedition against Russia, with which, according to his repeatedly expressed conviction, it was to his advantage to be in alliance; and this is due to the fact that his commands in the first case did not, and in the second did, correspond with the course of events.

In order that a command should certainly be carried out, it is necessary that the man should give a command that can be carried out. To know what can and what cannot be carried out is impossible, not only in the case of Napoleon's campaign against Russia, in which millions took part, but even in the case of the simplest event, since millions of obstacles may always arise to prevent its being carried out. Every command that is carried out is always one out of a mass of commands that are not carried out. All the impossible commands are inconsistent with the course of events and are not carried out. Only those which are possible are connected with consecutive series of commands, consistent with series of events, and they are carried out.

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1 deity
n.神，神性；被奉若神明的人(或物)
参考例句：
Many animals were seen as the manifestation of a deity.许多动物被看作神的化身。 The deity was hidden in the deepest recesses of the temple.神藏在庙宇壁龛的最深处。

2 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

3 affected
adj.不自然的，假装的
参考例句：
She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。 His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 consecutive
adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的
参考例句：
It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。 The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

5 reign
n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势
参考例句：
The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。 The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

6 undertaking
n.保证，许诺，事业
参考例句：
He gave her an undertaking that he would pay the money back with in a year.他向她做了一年内还钱的保证。 He is too timid to venture upon an undertaking.他太胆小，不敢从事任何事业。

7 undertakings
企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务
参考例句：
The principle of diligence and frugality applies to all undertakings. 勤俭节约的原则适用于一切事业。 Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. 此举要求军事上战役中所需要的准确布置和预见。

8 stencil
v.用模版印刷；n.模版；复写纸，蜡纸
参考例句：
He then stencilled the ceiling with a moon and stars motif.他随后用模版在天花板上印上了月亮和繁星图案。 Serveral of commonly used methods are photoprinting,photoengraving,mechnical engraving,and stencil.通常所采用的几种储存方法是：影印法、照相蚀刻、机械雕刻和模板。

9 sketched
v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）
参考例句：
The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》 He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 dependence
n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属
参考例句：
Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。 He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

11 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 remains
n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹
参考例句：
He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。 The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 organisation
n.组织，安排，团体，有机休
参考例句：
The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。 His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

14 cone
n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果
参考例句：
Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。 The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

15 apex
n.顶点，最高点
参考例句：
He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。 His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。

16 hacking
n.非法访问计算机系统和数据库的活动
参考例句：
The patient with emphysema is hacking all day. 这个肺气肿病人整天不断地干咳。 We undertook the task of hacking our way through the jungle. 我们负责在丛林中开路。

17 pillaging
v.抢劫，掠夺( pillage的现在分词 )
参考例句：
The rebels went looting and pillaging. 叛乱者趁火打劫，掠夺财物。 Soldiers went on a rampage, pillaging stores and shooting. 士兵们横冲直撞，洗劫商店并且开枪射击。 来自辞典例句

18 immediate
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。 We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

19 converging
adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集
参考例句：
Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句 This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

20 strata
n.地层（复数）；社会阶层
参考例句：
The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。 They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。