- If you think I have used rather strong language, I shall have to

read something to you out of the book of this keen and witty



scholar, - the great Erasmus, - who "laid the egg of the

Reformation which Luther hatched." Oh, you never read his



NAUFRAGIUM, or "Shipwreck," did you? Of course not; for, if you

had, I don't think you would have given me credit - or discredit -



for entire originality in that speech of mine. That men are

cowards in the contemplation of futurity he illustrates by the



extraordinary antics of many on board the sinking vessel; that they

are fools, by their praying to the sea, and making promises to bits



of wood from the true cross, and all manner of similar nonsense;

that they are fools, cowards, and liars all at once, by this story:



I will put it into rough English for you. - "I couldn't help

laughing to hear one fellow bawling out, so that he might be sure



to be heard, a promise to Saint Christopher of Paris - the

monstrous statue in the great church there - that he would give him



a wax taper as big as himself. 'Mind what you promise!' said an

acquaintance that stood near him, poking him with his elbow; 'you



couldn't pay for it, if you sold all your things at auction.'

'Hold your tongue, you donkey!' said the fellow, - but softly, so



that Saint Christopher should not hear him, - 'do you think I'm in

earnest? If I once get my foot on dry ground, catch me giving him



so much as a tallow candle!'"

Now, therefore, remembering that those who have been loudest in



their talk about the great subject of which we were speaking have

not necessarily been wise, brave, and true men, but, on the



contrary, have very often been wanting in one or two or all of the

qualities these words imply, I should expect to find a good many



doctrines current in the schools which I should be obliged to call

foolish, cowardly, and false.



- So you would abuse other people's beliefs, Sir, and yet not tell

us your own creed! - said the divinity-student, coloring up with a



spirit for which I liked him all the better.

- I have a creed, - I replied; - none better, and none shorter. It



is told in two words, - the two first of the Paternoster. And when

I say these words I mean them. And when I compared the human will



to a drop in a crystal, and said I meant to DEFINE moral

obligations, and not weaken them, this was what I intended to



express: that the fluent, self-determining power of human beings

is a very strictlylimitedagency in the universe. The chief



planes of its enclosing solid are, of course, organization,

education, condition. Organization may reduce the power of the



will to nothing, as in some idiots; and from this zero the scale

mounts upwards by slight gradations. Education is only second to



nature. Imagine all the infants born this year in Boston and

Timbuctoo to change places! Condition does less, but "Give me



neither poverty nor riches" was the prayer of Agur, and with good

reason. If there is any improvement in modern theology, it is in



getting out of the region of pure abstractions and taking these

every-day working forces into account. The great theological



question now heaving and throbbing in the minds of Christian men is

this:-



No, I wont talk about these things now. My remarks might be

repeated, and it would give my friends pain to see with what



personal incivilities I should be visited. Besides, what business

has a mere boarder to be talking about such things at a breakfast-



table? Let him make puns. To be sure, he was brought up among the

Christian fathers, and learned his alphabet out of a quarto



"Concilium Tridentinum." He has also heard many thousand

theological lectures by men of various denominations; and it is not



at all to the credit of these teachers, if he is not fit by this

time to express an opinion on theological matters.



I know well enough that there are some of you who had a great deal

• perfume [´pə:fju:m, pə´fju:m] n.香味 vt.使发香 (初中英语单词)


• condemn [kən´dem] vt.谴责；定罪，判处 (初中英语单词)


• lively [´laivli] a.活泼的；热烈的 (初中英语单词)


• mental [´mentl] a.精神的；心理的 (初中英语单词)


• remarkable [ri´mɑ:kəbl] a.值得注意的；显著的 (初中英语单词)


• occasionally [ə´keiʒənəli] ad.偶然地；非经常地 (初中英语单词)


• actual [´æktʃuəl] a.现实的；实际的 (初中英语单词)


• miracle [´mirəkl] n.奇迹；令人惊奇的 (初中英语单词)


• infant [´infənt] n.&a.婴(幼)儿 (初中英语单词)


• poetry [´pəuitri] n.诗；诗意 (初中英语单词)


• driven [´driv(ə)n] drive 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• passion [´pæʃən] n.激情；激怒；恋爱 (初中英语单词)


• swallow [swɔləu] n.燕子 v.吞，咽；淹没 (初中英语单词)


• tendency [´tendənsi] n.趋势；倾向 (初中英语单词)


• graceful [´greisfəl] a.优美的，流畅的 (初中英语单词)


• distinct [di´stiŋkt] a.清楚的；独特的 (初中英语单词)


• humble [´hʌmbəl] a.谦卑的 vt.贬抑 (初中英语单词)


• suspect [´sʌspekt, sə´spekt] v.怀疑；觉得 n.嫌疑犯 (初中英语单词)


• dispute [di´spju:t] v.&n.争论，辩论；争吵 (初中英语单词)


• shallow [´ʃæləu] a.肤浅的；表面的 (初中英语单词)


• crystal [´kristəl] n.水晶 a.水晶的 (初中英语单词)


• collection [kə´lekʃən] n.收集；征收；募捐 (初中英语单词)


• preach [pri:tʃ] v.宣扬；鼓吹 n.训诫 (初中英语单词)


• sensation [sen´seiʃən] n.感觉；轰动；轰动一时 (初中英语单词)


• movement [´mu:vmənt] n.活动；运动；动作 (初中英语单词)


• beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)


• schoolmistress [´sku:l,mistris] n.女教师；女校长 (初中英语单词)


• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)


• forehead [´fɔrid] n.额，前部 (初中英语单词)


• volume [´vɔlju:m, ´vɑljəm] n.卷；书籍；体积；容量 (初中英语单词)


• ribbed [ribd] n.呈肋状的；有罗纹的 (初中英语单词)


• spoken [´spəukən] speak的过去分词 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• solemn [´sɔləm] a.严肃的；隆重的 (初中英语单词)


• vessel [´vesəl] n.容器；船；脉管 (初中英语单词)


• statue [´stætʃu:] n.塑像，雕像 (初中英语单词)


• softly [´sɔftli] ad.软化地；柔和地 (初中英语单词)


• therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)


• agency [´eidʒənsi] n.代理商；机构；代理 (初中英语单词)


• poverty [´pɔvəti] n.贫穷(乏，瘠)；不足 (初中英语单词)


• improvement [im´pru:vmənt] n.改进，改善，进步 (初中英语单词)


• working [´wə:kiŋ] a.工人的；劳动的 (初中英语单词)


• account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)


• alphabet [´ælfəbet] n.字母表 (初中英语单词)


• fragrant [´freigrənt] a.芳香的，芬芳的 (高中英语单词)


• seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)


• continually [kən´tinjuəli] ad.不断地，频繁地 (高中英语单词)


• related [ri´leitid] a.叙述的；有联系的 (高中英语单词)


• appreciation [ə,pri:ʃi´eiʃən] n.评价；感激 (高中英语单词)


• intellectual [,inti´lektʃuəl] n.知识分子 (高中英语单词)


• potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中英语单词)


• intensity [in´tensiti] a.激烈；强度；深度 (高中英语单词)


• extension [ik´stenʃən] n.延长；扩展；延期 (高中英语单词)


• saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)


• sentinel [´sentinəl] n.哨兵；看守人 (高中英语单词)


• traverse [´trævə:s] vt.横越，穿过 (高中英语单词)


• universe [´ju:nivə:s] n.天地；全人类；银河系 (高中英语单词)


• hurried [´hʌrid] a.仓促的，慌忙的 (高中英语单词)


• cupful [´kʌpful] n.一满杯 (高中英语单词)


• infinite [´infinit] a.无限的，无穷的 (高中英语单词)


• pleasing [´pli:ziŋ] a.使人愉快的；合意的 (高中英语单词)


• imitation [,imi´teiʃən] n.模仿；仿制品；赝品 (高中英语单词)


• stately [´steitli] a.庄严的，雄伟的 (高中英语单词)


• breadth [bredθ] n.宽度，幅面，广度 (高中英语单词)


• automatic [,ɔ:tə´mætik] a.自动的 n.自动装置 (高中英语单词)


• weaken [´wi:kən] v.(使)弱化；衰弱；稀薄 (高中英语单词)


• define [di´fain] vt.解释；说明；限定 (高中英语单词)


• sermon [´sə:mən] n.说教；训诫；讲道 (高中英语单词)


• formidable [´fɔ:midəbəl] a.可怕的；艰难的 (高中英语单词)


• preliminary [pri´liminəri] a.初步的 n.预赛 (高中英语单词)


• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)


• falsehood [´fɔ:lshud] n.错误；撒谎 (高中英语单词)


• substantial [səb´stænʃəl] a.实质的，真的 (高中英语单词)


• conspicuous [kən´spikjuəs] a.显著的；出众的 (高中英语单词)


• oxford [´ɔksfəd] n.牛津 (高中英语单词)


• earthly [´ə:θli] a.地球的；世俗的 (高中英语单词)


• remembrance [ri´membrəns] n.记忆(力)；回忆 (高中英语单词)


• draught [drɑ:ft] n.通风，通气；吸出 (高中英语单词)


• necessarily [´nesisərili] ad.必定，必然地 (高中英语单词)


• strictly [´striktli] ad.严格地 (高中英语单词)


• limited [´limitid] a.有限(制)的 (高中英语单词)


• learned [´lə:nid] a.有学问的，博学的 (高中英语单词)


• lifeless [´laifləs] a.无生命的，无生气的 (英语四级单词)


• saturn [´sætən, -ərn] n.农神 (英语四级单词)


• contemplation [,kɔntem´pleiʃən] n.注视；冥想；打算 (英语四级单词)


• retirement [ri´taiəmənt] n.退休；撤退；幽静处 (英语四级单词)


• briskly [´briskli] ad.轻快地；活泼地 (英语四级单词)


• right-hand [´rait´hænd] a.右手的，右边的 (英语四级单词)


• immortality [,imɔ:´tæliti] n.不死，不朽，永生，来生 (英语四级单词)


• cowardly [´kauədli] a.&ad.胆小的(地) (英语四级单词)


• upwards [´ʌpwədz] ad.=upward (英语四级单词)


• theology [θi´ɔlədʒi] n.神学 (英语四级单词)


• boarder [´bɔ:də] n.搭伙者；寄宿者 (英语四级单词)


• theological [θiə´lɔdʒikəl] a.神学(上)的 (英语四级单词)


• august [ɔ:´gʌst] a.尊严的；威严的 (英语六级单词)


• miraculous [mi´rækjuləs] a.非凡的；奇迹般的 (英语六级单词)


• facial [´feiʃəl] a.面部的，脸部的 (英语六级单词)


• eminence [´eminəns] n.杰出；重要人物；高处 (英语六级单词)


• insanity [in´sæniti] n.疯狂；精神错乱 (英语六级单词)


• especial [i´speʃəl] a.特别的，特殊的 (英语六级单词)


• involuntary [in´vɔləntəri] a.无意识的；非自愿的 (英语六级单词)


• instinctive [in´stiŋktiv] a.本能的，天性的 (英语六级单词)


• crystalline [´kristəlain] a.水晶(般)的；透明的 (英语六级单词)


• discredit [dis´kredit] n.&vt.不信任；丢(脸) (英语六级单词)


• originality [ə,ridʒi´næliti] n.独创性；创举；新颖 (英语六级单词)


• tallow [´tæləu] n.脂，兽脂 (英语六级单词)


• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)


• wanting [´wɔntiŋ, wɑ:n-] a.短缺的；不足的 (英语六级单词)


• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)