| 释义 |
oblivion, n.|əˈblɪvɪən|
[a. OF. oblivion (c 1245 in Godef.), ad. L. oblīviōn-em forgetfulness, state of being forgotten, f. vb.-stem oblīv-, found in inceptive deponent oblīv-iscī to forget; f. ob- (ob- 1 b) + *līv-: cf. līvēre to be black and blue, līvid-us black and blue, dark.]
1. a. The state or fact of forgetting or having forgotten; forgetfulness.
1390Gower Conf. II. 23 Which Ring bar of Oblivion The name. 1432–50tr. Higden (Rolls) I. 197 There be oþer ij. welles also, of whom oon inducethe memory, that other obliuion. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. iv. iii, Make us drinke Lethe by your queint conceipts; That for two daies oblivion smother griefe. 1770Goldsmith Des. Vill. 242 Thither no more the peasant shall repair To sweet oblivion of his daily care. 1873Hamerton Intell. Life i. iv. (1875) 24 Your soul had become deaf in sleep's oblivion.
b. Forgetfulness as resulting from inattention or carelessness; heedlessness, disregard.
c1470G. Ashby Policy Prince 637 Take this lesson to noon obliuion. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 80 b, By obliuion or forgetynge of my selfe. a1700Dryden (J.), Among our crimes oblivion may be set; But 'tis our king's perfection to forget. 1850Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. ii. (1872) 43 The deep oblivion of the Law of Right and Wrong..is by no means beautiful. 1895Forum (N.Y.) Feb. 674 Oblivion of this fact is the root of the wasteful opposition to prison labor and imported labor.
c. Intentional overlooking, esp. of political offences. Act or Bill of Oblivion, an act or bill granting a general pardon for political offences.
In Eng. Hist. the term is specifically applied to the Acts of 1660 and 1690, exempting those who had taken arms or acted against Charles II and William III respectively from the penal consequences of their former deeds.
1612North Plutarch, Thrasyb. 1233 A law that no man should be called in question nor troubled for things that were past..called Amnestia, or law of obliuion. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §49 The Armies were to be disbanded: an Act of Oblivion passed. 1654tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 98 The oblivion of injuries is an Act every way as noble as revenge. 1793Burke Rem. Policy Allies Wks. 1842 I. 603 A valuable friend..asked me what I thought of acts of general indemnity and oblivion, as a means of settling France. 1804Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1837) III. 400 There shall be a mutual oblivion and pardon of all injuries on both sides. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiv. III. 398 William..expressed his hope that a bill of general pardon and oblivion would be..presented for his sanction.
2. a. The state or condition of being forgotten. (Hence many phrases and fig. expressions.)
c1425Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1337 Your names shalbe put to oblyuyone. 1447O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 2 To..Throwyn it [a book] in the angle of oblyvyoun. a1548Hall Chron. Pref. (1809) 6 Buried in the poke of oblivion. 1555Eden Decades Ded. (Arb.) 63 Drowned in the whirle⁓poole of obliuion. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iii. vii. 129 The swallowing Gulfe Of darke Forgetfulnesse, and deepe Obliuion. 1697Evelyn Numism. Introd. 2 Men have sought Immortality and Freedom from Oblivion, by Marbles, Statues, Trophies. 1769Junius Lett. i. 6 A question..which ought to have been buried in oblivion. 1810D. Stewart Philos. Ess. iii. 117 In England..this doctrine has sunk into complete oblivion. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. II. 38 Let him pass into the garret of oblivion, where many things as good, or better, are piled away. 1912Galsworthy Inn of Tranquility 128 Hand⁓wrought bronze sconces and a band of metal bordering, all blackened with oblivion.
†b. transf. A thing forgotten. Obs.
1598Yong Diana 75 Minds change from that they wont to bee, Obliuions doe reuiue againe.
3. attrib., as oblivion point, oblivion power.
1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. vii, To lower himself to oblivion-point. 1871Macduff Mem. Patmos vii. 90 If first convictions are suffered to die away, the world's oblivion-power does its work.
Hence † oˈblivion v. Obs., to put into oblivion; oˈblivionist, one who holds a theory of, or favours, oblivion.
1658–9Burton's Diary (1828) III. 210, I wish there were an act to oblivion all these things. 1878T. Sinclair Mount 22 The oblivionists do not clearly see the whole truth here. |