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Book III. MAN, HIS BIRTH AND HIS ORGANIZATION. CHAPTER I. MAN.
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Remarkable as is the present state of the world, and of the countries, nations, seas, islands, and cities which it contains, the nature of the animated1 beings which exist upon it, is hardly in any degree less worthy2 of our contemplation than its other features; if, indeed, the human mind is able to embrace the whole of so diversified3 a subject. Our first attention is justly due to Man, for whose sake all other things appear to have been produced by Nature; though, on the other hand, with so great and so severe penalties for the enjoyment4 of her bounteous5 gifts, that it is far from easy to determine, whether she has proved to him a kind parent, or a merciless step-mother.
In the first place, she obliges him alone, of all animated beings, to clothe himself with the spoils of the others; while, to all the rest, she has given various kinds of coverings, such as shells, crusts, spines6, hides, fur, bristles7, hair, down, feathers, scales, and fleeces. The very trunks of the trees even, she has protected against the effects of heat and cold by a bark, which is, in some cases, twofold. Man alone, at the very moment of his birth cast naked upon the naked earth, she abandons to cries, to lamentations, and, a thing that is the case with no other animal whatever, to tears: this, too, from the very moment that he enters upon existence. But as for 38 laughter, why, by Hercules!—to laugh, if but for an instant only, has never been granted to man before the fortieth day from his birth, and even then it is looked upon as a miracle of precocity8. Introduced thus to the light, man has fetters9 and swathings instantly put upon all his limbs,[45] a thing that falls to the lot of none of the
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1
animated
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adj.生气勃勃的,活跃的,愉快的 | |
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2
worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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3
diversified
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adj.多样化的,多种经营的v.使多样化,多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 );进入新的商业领域 | |
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4
enjoyment
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n.乐趣;享有;享用 | |
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5
bounteous
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adj.丰富的 | |
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6
spines
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n.脊柱( spine的名词复数 );脊椎;(动植物的)刺;书脊 | |
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7
bristles
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短而硬的毛发,刷子毛( bristle的名词复数 ) | |
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8
precocity
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n.早熟,早成 | |
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9
fetters
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n.脚镣( fetter的名词复数 );束缚v.给…上脚镣,束缚( fetter的第三人称单数 ) | |
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10
brutes
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兽( brute的名词复数 ); 畜生; 残酷无情的人; 兽性 | |
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destined
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adj.命中注定的;(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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12
alas
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int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等) | |
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13
folly
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n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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presage
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n.预感,不祥感;v.预示 | |
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bounty
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n.慷慨的赠予物,奖金;慷慨,大方;施与 | |
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16
naught
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n.无,零 [=nought] | |
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faculty
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n.才能;学院,系;(学院或系的)全体教学人员 | |
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18
mastication
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n.咀嚼 | |
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19
thwarted
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阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 ); 使受挫折; 挫败; 横过 | |
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20
instinctive
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adj.(出于)本能的;直觉的;(出于)天性的 | |
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21
annihilated
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v.(彻底)消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 );使无效;废止;彻底击溃 | |
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22
prey
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n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨 | |
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avarice
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n.贪婪;贪心 | |
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tenure
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n.终身职位;任期;(土地)保有权,保有期 | |
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frail
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adj.身体虚弱的;易损坏的 | |
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frantic
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adj.狂乱的,错乱的,激昂的 | |
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expended
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v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 );使用(钱等)做某事;用光;耗尽 | |
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vent
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n.通风口,排放口;开衩;vt.表达,发泄 | |
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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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spotted
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adj.有斑点的,斑纹的,弄污了的 | |
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trifling
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adj.微不足道的;没什么价值的 | |
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apparently
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adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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countenance
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n.脸色,面容;面部表情;vt.支持,赞同 | |
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distinguished
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adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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standing
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n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的 | |
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