美国语文第六册 第102期:拿破仑·波拿巴的性格(2)

 Subsidiary to this, there was no creed¹ that he did not profess², there was no opinion that he did not promulgate³: 需要补充的是，他不会公开宣称任何一种信条，他也不会公开发表任何一种意见：

in the hope of a dynasty, he upheld the crescent; for the sake of a divorce, he bowed before the cross; 怀着对建立王朝的希望，他支持奥斯曼帝国；为了离婚，他在十字架前鞠躬；

the orphan⁴ of St. Louis, he became the adopted child of the Republic; 圣路易的孤儿，他成为共和国的养子；

and, with a parricidal⁵ ingratitude⁶, on the ruins both of the throne and the tribune, he reared the throne of his despotism. 还有，在王座和讲坛的废墟上，他凭借杀长上者的忘恩负义，树立起进行专制统治的宝座。

A professed⁷ Catholic, he imprisoned⁸ the Pope; a pretended patriot⁹, he impoverished¹⁰ the country; 作为一名立誓信教的天主教徒，他将教皇囚禁起来；作为一名假装爱国的人，他使这个国家愈发贫困；

and in the name of Brutus, he grasped without remorse¹¹, and wore without shame, the diadem¹² of the Caesars. 他以暗杀恺撒的布鲁图的名义，在攫取皇帝的王权时没有丝毫自责，在发誓时没有任何羞愧。

The whole continent trembled at beholding¹³ the audacity¹⁴ of his designs, and the miracle of their execution. 整个大陆在目睹他退位的大胆举动和属下被处决这一奇迹后瑟瑟发抖。

Skepticism bowed to the prodigies¹⁵ of his performance; romance assumed the air of history; 持怀疑态度的人屈服于他的表演天才；浪漫史披上了历史的外衣；

nor was there aught too incredible for belief, or too fanciful for expectation, 当这个世界见证了来自科西嘉的一名中尉将帝国的大旗覆在她最古老的首都上时，

when the world saw a subaltern of Corsica waving his imperial flag over her most ancient capitals. 对信仰而言，任何事物都不足为信，对期望而言，再多的幻想也是虚妄。

All the visions of antiquity¹⁶ became commonplace in his contemplation: kings were his people; nations were his outposts; 所有对古代幻想在他沉思中成了最寻常不过的事情：国王是他的臣民，国家是他的前哨；

and he disposed of courts, and crowns, and camps, and churches, and cabinets, as if they were the titular¹⁷ dignitaries of the chessboard! 他随意处置法律、王权、军营、教堂和内阁事务，仿佛他们只不过是随意摆布的棋子！

Amid all these changes, he stood immutable¹⁸ as adamant¹⁹. 在所有这些变化中间，他坚如磐石地岿然不动。

 

1 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

2 profess   

v.声称，冒称，以...为业，正式接受入教，表明信仰

参考例句：

• I profess that I was surprised at the news.我承认这消息使我惊讶。
• What religion does he profess?他信仰哪种宗教？

3 promulgate   

v.宣布；传播；颁布（法令、新法律等）

参考例句：

• The king promulgate a decree.国王颁布了一项命令。
• The shipping industry promulgated a voluntary code.航运业对自律守则进行了宣传。

4 orphan   

n.孤儿；adj.无父母的

参考例句：

• He brought up the orphan and passed onto him his knowledge of medicine.他把一个孤儿养大，并且把自己的医术传给了他。
• The orphan had been reared in a convent by some good sisters.这个孤儿在一所修道院里被几个好心的修女带大。

5 parricidal   

adj.杀父母的，杀长上者

参考例句：

6 ingratitude   

n.忘恩负义

参考例句：

• Tim's parents were rather hurt by his ingratitude.蒂姆的父母对他的忘恩负义很痛心。
• His friends were shocked by his ingratitude to his parents.他对父母不孝，令他的朋友们大为吃惊。

7 professed   

公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的

参考例句：

• These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
• Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。

8 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

9 patriot   

n.爱国者，爱国主义者

参考例句：

• He avowed himself a patriot.他自称自己是爱国者。
• He is a patriot who has won the admiration of the French already.他是一个已经赢得法国人敬仰的爱国者。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 remorse   

n.痛恨，悔恨，自责

参考例句：

• She had no remorse about what she had said.她对所说的话不后悔。
• He has shown no remorse for his actions.他对自己的行为没有任何悔恨之意。

12 diadem   

n.王冠，冕

参考例句：

• The diadem is the symbol of royalty.王冠就是王权的象征。
• Nature like us is sometimes caught without diadem.自然犹如我等，时常没戴皇冠。

13 beholding   

v.看，注视( behold的现在分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟

参考例句：

• Beholding, besides love, the end of love,/Hearing oblivion beyond memory! 我看见了爱，还看到了爱的结局，／听到了记忆外层的哪一片寂寥！ 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
• Hence people who began by beholding him ended by perusing him. 所以人们从随便看一看他开始的，都要以仔细捉摸他而终结。 来自辞典例句

14 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

15 prodigies   

n.奇才，天才（尤指神童）( prodigy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It'seldom happened that a third party ever witnessed any of these prodigies. 这类壮举发生的时候，难得有第三者在场目睹过。 来自辞典例句
• She is by no means inferior to other prodigies. 她绝不是不如其他神童。 来自互联网

16 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

17 titular   

adj.名义上的，有名无实的；n.只有名义（或头衔）的人

参考例句：

• The Queen is titular head of the Church of England.英国女王是英国国教名义上的领袖。
• He is titular head,and merely signs laws occasionally.他是名义上的首脑，不过偶尔签字批准法律法规。

18 immutable   

adj.不可改变的，永恒的

参考例句：

• Nothing in the world is immutable.世界没有一成不变的东西。
• They free our minds from considering our world as fixed and immutable.它们改变着人们将世界看作是永恒不变的观点。

19 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。