温馨夜读II PART4 11.The Brilliant Lessons of Michelangelo

 

[00:00.51]11.The Brilliant Lessons of Michelangelo

[00:04.22]The artist Michelangelo often stirred up the opposition¹ of the contemporary artists of his day. 

[00:11.07]Many of them envied his magnificent abilities. 

[00:15.28]One example was the architect Bramante.

[00:18.54]Pope Julius retained Michelangelo to build him a splendid tomb. 

[00:24.32]Michelangelo gladly accepted the project and spent eight months in a marble pit personally cutting and selecting the most perfect stones. 

[00:34.22]When he returned, he found the pope had second thoughts. 

[00:40.22]Bramante had turned Pope Julius against the project. The Pope cancelled it.

[00:45.66]Later the idea for another special project entered the Pope’s mind. 

[00:50.67]Bramante saw the project as a time consuming trap for which there would be little public recognition. 

[00:57.09]Bramante recommended Michelangelo for the job.

[01:01.56]The great artist saw the trap. 

[01:04.61]He knew what Bramante was up to. 

[01:07.22]He wished to turn the project down but did not want to refuse the Pope’s request. 

[01:13.10]So Michelangelo went to work. 

[01:15.93]He spent many years doing the slow and tedious labor² the project required. 

[01:21.48]It was the Sistine Chapel³.

[01:24.75]The inspiration that flowed through Michelangelo can likewise flow through any human being. 

[01:30.96]That is what inspiration wants to do. It cannot be stopped. 

[01:35.85]It is a living, powerful river that easily circumvents⁴ all obstacles.

[01:41.52]Michelangelo collected his inner forces for a complete victory. 

[01:46.53]Likewise, we must not fear to face the trickery of some people and expose it for what it is. 

[01:53.28]This is not negative, but intelligent protection and spiritual perception.

[01:59.06]In his many books on inner development author Vernon Howard refers to Michelangelo several times. 

[02:06.28]He quotes him as saying, “The more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows.” 

[02:12.95]And, “I released the statue from the stone.” 

[02:17.33]He chiseled⁵ away all that was unnecessary, and David emerged.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

4 circumvents   

n.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的名词复数 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行v.设法克服或避免（某事物），回避( circumvent的第三人称单数 )；绕过，绕行，绕道旅行

参考例句：

• It is a living, powerful river that easily circumvents all obstacles. 生活就是如此，强有力的激流才可以轻易的绕过所有的阻碍。 来自互联网

5 chiseled   

adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Woltz had chiseled the guy, given him peanuts for the book. 乌尔茨敲了这个作家的竹杠，用了他的书，却只给微不足道的一点点钱。 来自教父部分
• He chiseled the piece of wood into the shape of a head. 他把这块木头凿刻成人头的形状。 来自辞典例句