The Lost Continent 遗失的大陆-9

Don Carlos Sigüenza was the first Atlantis seeker to search for physical proof of the lost continent, but he was not alone in wanting to cast new light on an ancient legend. Across the ocean in 17th century England, two courtiers of Queen Elizabeth I were also immeasurably broadening the scope of the quest for Atlantis.

One of the reasons that by the 17th century the Atlantis myth had become reintroduced was because there was much more exploration under Elizabeth I. And there was a renewed interest in science in Elizabethan England. This obviously would have encouraged people to reopen the Atlantis story and therefore people began once again, if not to look for it specifically, certain to... certainly to refer to it specifically.

Francis Bacon was a statesman, playwright¹ and one of the first modern scientists. Eager to promote the merits of science to still a largely unscientific world, Bacon wrote a fable² called The New Atlantis, the first reworking of the myth since Plato. The New Atlantis told the story of how survivors³ from the original Atlantis had founded an idyllic⁴ society in the still unknown reaches of the Pacific Ocean and used science to uncover the mysteries of the universe. Like Plato, he left his story tantalizingly⁵ incomplete.

Bacon refers to Plato, so this was the origin of his story, but it is not seriously an attempt to resurrect Plato's Atlantis, but to create a Utopian society that the British could look at as a way of rewriting the way people could live together.

But Bacon's linking of Atlantis to advanced technology would stay with the myth ever after, as would Atlantis' association with a rather different field of human investigation⁶.

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courtier: n. 朝臣
playwright: n. 剧作家
reach: n. 区域，延伸
merit: n. 优点，价值
tantalizingly: adv. 令人着急地
resurrect: v. 复兴
Utopian: adj. 乌托邦的，理想化的

1 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

2 fable   

n.寓言；童话；神话

参考例句：

• The fable is given on the next page. 这篇寓言登在下一页上。
• He had some motive in telling this fable. 他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

3 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

4 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

5 tantalizingly   

adv.…得令人着急，…到令人着急的程度

参考例句：

• A band of caribou passed by, twenty and odd animals, tantalizingly within rifle range. 一群驯鹿走了过去，大约有二十多头，都呆在可望而不可即的来福枪的射程以内。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命
• She smiled at him tantalizingly. 她引诱性地对他笑着。 来自互联网

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。