The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-8

Sigüenza first learnt of Atlantis while studying to be a Jesuit where he came across the work of Athanasius Kircher whose 1665 map of the lost continent was the first in history. Expelled from the Jesuit order for his lack of discipline, Sigüenza turned to science, making groundbreaking studies of eclipses before journeying to Teotihuacan to see the city's ruins for himself. What he found there overwhelmed him. Carefully measuring and recording¹ everything he could, Sigüenza found Teotihuacan's layout truly mystifying--a puzzle that appealed to his mathematical talents and would bring him back to this ruined city, time after time. The city bore all the hallmarks of an advanced civilization, and Sigüenza found evidence of astronomy, hieroglyphic² writing and pyramid building that was uncannily similar to that of ancient Egypt.

He saw many parallels between Egypt and the early Mexican culture in the calendar, in the way of dress, in the hieroglyphics³, and in the pyramids.

Could the two civilizations have been related?

I have been stimulated⁴ by the great love, which I have for my country and in which would be found exceedingly strange information. These data will probably die with me on account of my great poverty.

But fortunately, some of Sigüenza's works did survive and we know that amid these vast monumental ruins he believed that he had found the answer to the ancient riddle⁵ of Atlantis.

What he was trying to do, I believe, was to connect Atlantis, Plato's ideas, with the Bible. Sigüenza would have jumped from the myth of Atlantis which would have been kind of a foundation for him to Biblical prophecy of people dispersing⁶ across the globe after the Deluge⁷.

Fusing scientific ideas with his deeply held belief in the truth of the Bible, Sigüenza concluded that the destruction of Atlantis and Noah's flood had actually been one and the same event. A vast deluge which had swept away a forgotten civilization, forcing its survivors⁸ to seek refuge in both Egypt and Mexico where they built the pyramids before vanishing from history.

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hieroglyphic writing: n. 象形文字
uncannily: adv. 惊异地，神秘地
exceedingly:adv. 非常地，极度地
prophecy: n. 预言

1 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

2 hieroglyphic   

n.象形文字

参考例句：

• For centuries hieroglyphic word pictures painted on Egyptian ruins were a mystery.几世纪以来，刻划在埃及废墟中的象形文字一直是个谜。
• Dongba is an ancient hieroglyphic language.东巴文是中国一种古老的象形文字。

3 hieroglyphics   

n.pl.象形文字

参考例句：

• Hieroglyphics are carved into the walls of the temple. 寺庙的墙壁上刻着象形文字。
• His writing is so bad it just looks like hieroglyphics to me. 他写的糟透了，对我来说就像天书一样。

4 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

5 riddle   

n.谜，谜语，粗筛；vt.解谜，给…出谜，筛，检查，鉴定，非难，充满于；vi.出谜

参考例句：

• The riddle couldn't be solved by the child.这个谜语孩子猜不出来。
• Her disappearance is a complete riddle.她的失踪完全是一个谜。

6 dispersing   

adj. 分散的 动词disperse的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• Whereas gasoline fumes linger close to the ground before dispersing. 而汽油烟气却靠近地面迟迟不散。
• Earthworms may be instrumental in dispersing fungi or bacteria. 蚯蚓可能是散布真菌及细菌的工具。

7 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

8 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者