A New Epoch2 in the Paganizing of Christianity—Paganism Seeking a New God, Strong enough to Save the Empire—Constantine not a “Christian1 Emperor,” but Superstitious3, Time-Serving, and Ambitious—Murdering his Kindred while Promoting Christianity as a rising Political Influence—Seeking Christianity mainly for Ambitious Ends—Professing4 Christianity only on his Death-Bed—Making the Most of Both Worlds—Constantine Corrupted5 and Perverted7 Christianity More than he Aided it.
The opening of the fourth century marks a new era in the process by which paganism poisoned Christianity, by applying to it the pagan theory set forth8 in the last chapter. Though sadly weakened and corrupted by these influences, Christianity was a growing power in the empire. On the other hand, paganism was declining, and the fortunes of the disintegrating9 empire seemed to be going down with the national religious cult10. Pagan superstition11 looked upon all the fortunes of the empire as the direct work of the gods, and as misfortunes piled up around the empire, it was natural to think that the old gods were deserting it, and that new gods must be sought. When the[204] empire became subdivided12 under different rulers, the rivalry13 between them, and the varying success which attended the efforts of each, naturally associated success and failure with the gods to whom each was devoted14. The firmness of the Christians15 under persecution16 was looked upon by the pagans as evidence that the Christian’s God had great power to help those who worshipped him. In this way many were brought to consider the idea of adding this God to the catalogue of those whom they already worshipped.
The severe edicts of Diocletian against the Christians, issued in 303 A.D., spread desolation far and wide. In Gaul, Britain, and Spain, where Constantius Chlorus and Constantine his son reigned17, the edict was tamely enforced, they preferring to favor the Christians. The bitterness of the persecutions in other parts of the empire inflamed19 the zeal20 of Christians, and martyrdom was sought by many, not so much from calm faith as from fanatical zeal.[184] This cruel persecution was the last direct effort of paganism to destroy Christianity by the sword. The fortunes which befell the leaders in the persecution increased superstitious regard for the God of the martyrs22, who was thought to be like the gods of the pagans, only more powerful.
[205]
Galerius, who was the leader in the horrid23 work, being stricken by a terrible disease, was overcome with fear, and, in connection with Constantine and Licinius, ordered the persecutions to cease, by an edict in 311 A.D. This edict was to the effect that since punishment had not reclaimed24 the Christians, they might now hold their assemblies, providing they did not disturb the order of the state. The real animus25 of the edict is seen in its closing words, in which Galerius suggested that “after this manifestation26 of grace, Christians ought to pray to their God for the welfare of the Emperors and of the State.” Constantine attributed the military success which finally made him sole ruler in 323 A.D. to the help of the Christians’ God. All parties looked upon the issue as a political struggle between Jupiter and Jehovah, in which the latter was victorious27.
Boissier, a late, learned French writer, says:
“Constantine recalled that of all the princes that he had known, the only one who had lived prosperously, without eclipse, was his father Constance, who had protected the Christians; while nearly all those who had persecuted28 them had ended their lives miserably29.”[185]
[206]
Character of Constantine.
Constantine has been called the “first Christian Emperor”; how unjustly will be seen in what follows. In a certain sense, Christianity ascended30 the throne of the C?sars with Constantine. It was a political triumph, but a spiritual defeat. That we may the better understand the case, the reader needs to look carefully into the character of this first representative of the pagan state-church policy, and of the subordinating of Christianity to the political power. The reader will be permitted to make this survey mainly through the eyes of other writers, which I think will be more satisfactory than any picture that I might draw.
Killen thus summarizes the character of Constantine:
“The personal conduct of Constantine in advanced life did not exhibit Christianity as a religion fitted to effect a marked improvement in the spirit and character. In A.D. 326, he put to death his son Crispus, a youth of the highest promise, who had in some way disturbed his suspicious temper. His nephew Licinius and his own wife Fausta shared the same fate. His growing passion for gaudy31 dress betrayed pitiable vanity in an old man of sixty; and towards the end of his reign18, the general extravagance of his expenditure32 led to an increase of taxation33 of which his subjects complained. He desired to be a dictator of the Church, rather than a disciple34; and with a view to share its privileges without submitting to[207] its discipline, deferred35 his baptism until the near approach of death. He then received the ordinance36 from the Arian bishop37 of Nicomedia.
“The defects in the religious character of Constantine greatly impaired38 his moral influence. Though he did much to promote the extension of the visible Church, his reign forms an era in the history of ecclesiastical corruption39. His own Christianity was so loose and accommodating that it seemed to consist chiefly in the admiration40 of a new ritual; and the courtiers who surrounded him and who complimented him by the adoption41 of his creed42, seldom seemed to feel that it taught the necessity of personal reformation. All at once, the profession of the Gospel became fashionable; crowds of merely nominal43 converts presented themselves at the baptismal font; and many even entered the clerical office who had no higher object in view than an honorable or a lucrative44 position. Ecclesiastical discipline was relaxed; and that the heathen might be induced to conform to the religion of the emperor, many of their ceremonies were introduced into the worship of the Church. The manner in which Constantine intermeddled with ecclesiastical affairs was extremely objectionable. He undertook not only to preach, but also to dictate45 to aged46 and learned ministers. Had any other individual who had never been baptized appeared in the Nicene synod, and ventured to give counsel to the assembled fathers, he would have been speedily rebuked47 for his presumption48; but all were so delighted to see a great prince among them, that there was a general unwillingness49 to challenge his intrusion. He sometimes indeed declared, that he left spiritual matters to Church courts; but his conduct demonstrated[208] how little he observed such an arrangement. He convened50 synods by his own authority; took a personal share in their discussions; required their members to appear before him, and submit their proceedings51 to his review; and inflicted53 on them civil penalties when their official acts did not meet his approval. Had Constantine given his sanction and encouragement to the Church, and yet permitted her to pursue her noble mission in the full enjoyment54 of the right of self government, he might have contributed greatly to promote her safe and vigorous development; but by usurping55 the place of her chief ruler, and bearing down with the weight of the civil power on all who refused to do his pleasure, he secularized her spirit, robbed her of her freedom, and converted her divine framework into a piece of political machinery56.”[186]
Rev52. E. Edwin Hall, who was for many years chaplain of the American Legation at Rome, Italy, also chaplain of the American Church at Florence, made a careful study of the early history and of the modern characteristics of Roman Catholicism. In July, 1889, a paper from his pen was published in the Outlook, a Sabbath quarterly from which the following is taken:
“Soon after the so-called conversion57 of Constantine, when he became sole emperor, the Church entered on its apostasy58 from the primitive59 simplicity60 and purity which marked its earlier history. Pagans in vast multitudes pressed into the Christian fold, bringing with them old[209] practices and customs, and filling the places of Christian worship with the pageantry and the ornaments61 which characterized the worship of the gods in heathen temples. These unconverted millions became only nominally63 Christian, impressing their character together with the doctrines64, rites65 and forms of pagan religion upon the Christian Church. Gibbon, speaking of these innovations, shows that: ‘Rites and ceremonies were introduced which seemed most powerfully to affect the senses of the people. If in the beginning of the 5th century Tertullian or Lactantius had been suddenly raised from the dead, to assist at the festival of some popular saint or martyr21, they would have gazed with astonishment66 and indignation on the profane67 spectacle which had succeeded the pure and spiritual worship of a Christian congregation. As soon as the doors of the church were thrown open, they must have been offended at the smoke of incense68, the perfume of flowers, the glare of lamps and tapers69 which diffused70 at noonday, in their opinions, a gaudy, superfluous71, and sacrilegious light. They would see a prostrate72 crowd of worshipers devoutly73 kissing the walls and pavement of the sacred edifice74, their fervent75 prayers directed to the bones, the blood, or ashes of the saints, the walls covered with votive offerings, representing the favors received from saints in answer to their prayers and illustrating76 the abuse of indiscreet or idolatrous devotion, in recognition of the image, the attributes, and the miracles of the tutelar saint, which had the same value to their mind as a local divinity in the pagan religion. The ministers of various names in the Catholic Church imitated the profane model which they should have been impatient to destroy. So the religion of Constantine achieved, in less than a century, the[210] final conquest of the Roman Empire, but the victors themselves were insensibly subdued77 by the acts of their vanquished78 rivals.’[187]
“From that time the worship of the Roman Catholic Church, in its forms and ceremonies, has been more clearly identified with the paganism of ancient Rome than with the religion of the New Testament79. The customs of pagan religion were only baptized with Christian names. Gregory the Great in the latter part of the 6th century, ignoring the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit and the power of the Gospel, directed the Monk80 Augustine, whom he sent to convert the idolaters of England, ‘not to suspend or abolish the pagan festivals, nor the customs of their worship, but rather retain them, contenting himself with substituting for the names of false gods, the names of saints borne by their temples, and whose relics81 were deposited in them.’”[188]
F. W. Maurice aptly describes the Christianity of Constantine’s time as follows:
“And to the gloss82 of civilisation83 had been added the gloss of Christianity. The Emperor had believed, when other help was failing, that in the might of the Cross he might still conquer. The sign was indeed there, but it was marked upon the standard, not written upon the hearts, of those rulers of the world. They saw not what it meant; how it interpreted and crowned all that had been great in their history hitherto; how it separated the real great from the real little; how it sanctified all those feelings of obedience84, duty, reverence85 for unseen law, self-devotion,[211] by which the city had risen from nothing; how it poured contempt upon dominion86, except as an instrument by which the highest might serve the lowest, upon glory, except as it grew out of humiliation87, and was the exaltation of man above himself. The civilised Christian Roman had lost the heart, the reverence, the faith which belonged to his rude Pagan ancestors; that Christianity and civilisation might be victorious, the miserable88 patrons of both were swept away.”[189]
Speaking of the effect of Constantine’s attitude in favoring Christianity as a rising influence in the nation, Merivale says:
“We may suppose, indeed, that the favor thus unexpectedly showered on the new faith by the Imperial government would tend inevitably89 to reverse the proportions of the two persuasions90, or rather of the two parties, which now divided the Roman world. Powerful as the example of rulers has always been in such matters, it would never, perhaps, be more so than at the moment when paganism, corrupt6 and effete91, had lost all the spirit of a real faith, and when, as we shall see, Christianity was only too ready to accept overtures92 to the easy compromise which its rivals soon began to offer it. Nevertheless, the progress of the Church of Christ was really slower and less complete than might have been expected. Some allowance, as we have seen, must be made for the spirit of pique93 and the wounded pride of a class so deeply prejudiced on all matters of sentiment as the magnates of Roman society. But paganism, it must be added, developed at her last[212] gasp94 a new principle of vitality95, and nerved herself for a desperate conflict along her whole line.”[190]
Concerning the overthrow96 of paganism, as late as the time of Gratian, 375-383 A.D., Merivale says:
“It seems clear that, as might indeed be expected, the earliest edicts for the confiscation97 of the temple-endowments under Gratian, big and stern as they look in the codes or statute-book, were practically of little effect. If many temples were really closed, as we may readily believe, though certainly by no means all or the greater number of them, we must suppose that the lordly holders98 of their property contrived99 to retain the enjoyment of the funds, while they, not unwillingly100 perhaps, relieved themselves from the services for which these funds had been originally given. Theodosius found the pagan priesthood despoiled101 of their wealth in name only, and however earnest he might be in his Christian profession, he long abstained102, both in policy and mercy, from asserting the full authority of previous enactments103.”[191]
Alzog, a modern Roman Catholic Church historian, though laboring104 hard to set forth Constantine as the first Christian emperor, and a “saint” of the Roman Catholic Church, is forced to say:
“The law said to have been published by Constantine, A.D. 335, prohibiting all pagan sacrifices, is of doubtful authenticity105, and, if authentic106, is of very little importance, for like a great many others of a similar nature, it was[213] never enforced. The execution of such laws met with a determined107 resistance in many places, and particularly at Rome. Constantine, although professing to be a Christian, lived pretty much the same sort of life he had lived while a pagan, and even stained his reputation by the commission of deeds of murder.
“Licinius was executed A.D. 324, and Licinianus, his son, who appears to have excited the fears of Constantine, shortly afterward108 met the fate of his father. Constantine also had Crispus, his son by his first wife, Minervina, apprehended109 in the midst of a solemn festival and exiled him to the shore of Istria, where he perished by an obscure death. Learning afterward, as it is supposed, that Fausta, his second wife, the daughter of Maximianus Herculeus, had been instrumental in causing the death of his brave and illustrious son Crispus, he had her strangled in a bath of warm water heated to an insupportable temperature. It may be that these murders, in which the designing policy of Fausta played so conspicuous110 a part, prompted Constantine to delay his entrance into the Church, and to put off his baptism till the hour of his death. He was, moreover, influenced by the prevailing111 prejudice relative to the sacrament of baptism, and also wished to be baptized in the river Jordan, which, however, ‘God did not permit.’”[192]
Dr. Schaff describes Constantine’s relation to Christianity as follows:
“Constantine adopted Christianity first as a superstition, and put it by the side of his heathen superstition, till[214] finally, in his conviction, the Christian vanquished the pagan, though without itself developing into a pure and enlightened faith.
“At first Constantine, like his father, in the spirit of the Neo-Platonic syncretism of dying heathendom, reverenced112 all the Gods as mysterious powers; especially Apollo, the god of the sun, to whom in the year 308 he presented munificent113 gifts. Nay114, so late as the year 321 he enjoined115 regular consultation116 of the soothsayers in public misfortunes, according to ancient heathen usage; even later, he placed his new residence, Byzantium, under the protection of the God of the Martyrs and the heathen goddess of Fortune; and down to the end of his life he retained the title and the dignity of a Pontifex Maximus, or high-priest of the heathen hierarchy117. His coins bore on the one side the letters of the name of Christ, on the other the figure of the Sun-God, and the inscription118 ‘Sol invictus.’ Of course these inconsistencies may be referred also to policy and accommodation to the toleration edict in 313. Nor is it difficult to adduce parallels of persons who in passing from Judaism to Christianity, or from Romanism to Protestantism have so wavered between their old and their new position that they might be claimed by both. With his every victory over his pagan rivals, Galerius, Maxentius, and Licinius, his personal leaning to Christianity and his confidence in the magic power of the sign of the cross increased; yet he did not formally renounce119 heathenism and did not receive baptism until in 337 he was laid upon the bed of death....
“He was far from being so pure and so venerable as Eusebius, blinded by his favor to the Church, depicts[215] him in his bombastic120 and almost dishonestly eulogistic121 biography, with the evident intention of setting him up as a model for all future Christian princes. It must, with all regret, be conceded that his progress in the knowledge of Christianity was not a progress in the practice of its virtues122. His love of display and his prodigality123, his suspiciousness and his despotism, increased with his power.
“The very brightest period of his reign is stained with gross crimes, which even the spirit of the age and the policy of an absolute monarch124 cannot excuse. After having reached upon the bloody125 path of war the goal of his ambition, the sole possession of the empire, yea, in the very year in which he summoned the great council Nic?a, he ordered the execution of his conquered rival and brother-in-law Licinius, in breach126 of a solemn promise of mercy (324). Not satisfied with this he caused soon afterwards, from political suspicion, the death of the young Licinius, his nephew, a boy of hardly eleven years. But the worst of all is the murder of his eldest127 son, Crispus, in 326, who had incurred128 suspicion of political conspiracy129, and of adulterous and incestuous purposes towards his step-mother, Fausta, but is generally regarded as innocent....
“At all events, Christianity did not produce in Constantine a thorough moral transformation130. He was concerned more to advance the outward social position of the Christian religion than to further its inward mission. He was praised and censured131 in turn by the Christians and pagans, the orthodox and the Arians, as they successively experienced his favor or dislike. He bears some resemblance to Peter the Great both in his public acts and his private character, by combining great virtues and merits[216] with monstrous132 crimes, and he probably died with the same consolation133 as Peter, whose last words were: ‘I trust that in respect of the good I have striven to do my people (the Church), God will pardon my sins.’ It is quite characteristic of his piety134 that he turned the sacred nails of the Saviour’s cross, which Helena brought from Jerusalem, the one into the bit of his war horse, the other into an ornament62 of his helmet. Not a decided135, pure, and consistent character, he stands on the line of transition between two ages and two religions; and his life bears plain marks of both. When at last on his deathbed he submitted to baptism with the remark: ‘Now let us cast away all duplicity,’ he honestly admitted the conflict of two antagonistic136 principles which swayed his private character and public life.”[193]
After such an array of testimony137, which might be extended much farther if space would permit, it seems unnecessary to say more than this: the personal character and the political attitude of Constantine make it impossible to think of him as a “Christian Emperor.” He adopted and used the paganized Christianity of his time for personal ends, rather than because of true piety. The political aid which he gave it was overbalanced many times by the destruction of its best spiritual interests. Judged from the standpoint of the Bible and the facts of history, Constantine was the corrupter138 of Christianity, not its defender139.
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1
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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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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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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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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perverted
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| adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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disintegrating
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 ) | |
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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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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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subdivided
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| 再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rivalry
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| n.竞争，竞赛，对抗 | |
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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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Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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persecution
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| n. 迫害,烦扰 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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inflamed
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| adj.发炎的，红肿的v.（使）变红，发怒，过热( inflame的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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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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horrid
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| adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的 | |
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reclaimed
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| adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救 | |
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animus
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| n.恶意；意图 | |
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manifestation
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| n.表现形式；表明；现象 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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gaudy
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| adj.华而不实的；俗丽的 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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disciple
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| n.信徒，门徒，追随者 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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ordinance
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| n.法令；条令；条例 | |
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bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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impaired
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| adj.受损的；出毛病的；有（身体或智力）缺陷的v.损害，削弱( impair的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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adoption
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| n.采用，采纳，通过；收养 | |
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creed
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| n.信条；信念，纲领 | |
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nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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lucrative
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| adj.赚钱的，可获利的 | |
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dictate
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| v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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rebuked
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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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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unwillingness
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| n. 不愿意，不情愿 | |
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convened
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| 召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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rev
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| v.发动机旋转，加快速度 | |
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inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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55
usurping
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| 篡夺，霸占( usurp的现在分词 )； 盗用； 篡夺，篡权 | |
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56
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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57
conversion
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| n.转化，转换，转变 | |
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58
apostasy
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| n.背教，脱党 | |
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59
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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60
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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61
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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62
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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63
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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64
doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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rites
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| 仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 ) | |
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66
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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67
profane
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| adj.亵神的，亵渎的；vt.亵渎，玷污 | |
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68
incense
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| v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气 | |
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69
tapers
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| （长形物体的）逐渐变窄( taper的名词复数 )； 微弱的光； 极细的蜡烛 | |
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70
diffused
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| 散布的，普及的，扩散的 | |
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71
superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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72
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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73
devoutly
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| adv.虔诚地，虔敬地，衷心地 | |
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74
edifice
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| n.宏伟的建筑物(如宫殿，教室) | |
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75
fervent
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| adj.热的，热烈的，热情的 | |
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76
illustrating
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| 给…加插图( illustrate的现在分词 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明 | |
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77
subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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78
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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79
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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80
monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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81
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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82
gloss
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| n.光泽，光滑；虚饰；注释；vt.加光泽于；掩饰 | |
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83
civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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84
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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85
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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86
dominion
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| n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图 | |
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87
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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88
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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90
persuasions
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| n.劝说，说服（力）( persuasion的名词复数 )；信仰 | |
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effete
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| adj.无生产力的，虚弱的 | |
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92
overtures
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| n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲 | |
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93
pique
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| v.伤害…的自尊心，使生气 n.不满，生气 | |
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94
gasp
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| n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说 | |
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vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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96
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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confiscation
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| n. 没收, 充公, 征收 | |
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98
holders
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| 支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物 | |
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99
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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100
unwillingly
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| adv.不情愿地 | |
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101
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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102
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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103
enactments
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| n.演出( enactment的名词复数 )；展现；规定；通过 | |
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104
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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105
authenticity
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| n.真实性 | |
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106
authentic
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| a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的 | |
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107
determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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108
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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109
apprehended
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| 逮捕，拘押( apprehend的过去式和过去分词 )； 理解 | |
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110
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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111
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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112
reverenced
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| v.尊敬，崇敬( reverence的过去式和过去分词 )；敬礼 | |
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113
munificent
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| adj.慷慨的，大方的 | |
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114
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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115
enjoined
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| v.命令( enjoin的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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116
consultation
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| n.咨询；商量；商议；会议 | |
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117
hierarchy
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| n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层 | |
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118
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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119
renounce
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| v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系 | |
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120
bombastic
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| adj.夸夸其谈的，言过其实的 | |
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121
eulogistic
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| adj.颂扬的，颂词的 | |
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122
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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123
prodigality
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| n.浪费，挥霍 | |
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124
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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125
bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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126
breach
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| n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破 | |
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127
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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128
incurred
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| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
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129
conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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130
transformation
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| n.变化；改造；转变 | |
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131
censured
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| v.指责，非难，谴责( censure的过去式 ) | |
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132
monstrous
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| adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的 | |
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133
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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134
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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135
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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136
antagonistic
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| adj.敌对的 | |
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137
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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138
corrupter
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| 堕落的，道德败坏的； 贪污的，腐败的； 腐烂的； （文献等）错误百出的 | |
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139
defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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