| 释义 |
ˈselfness
[f. self n. + -ness.]
1. Self-centredness; egoism; selfishness; † occas. pl. selfish acts or manifestations. Rarely in a neutral sense, Due regard for oneself.
a1586Sidney Astr. & Stella Sonn. lxi, Wholly hers all selfenesse he forbeares. a1628F. Grevil Of Hum. Learn. cxlv. Wks. (1633) 50 A sound foundation, not on sandy parts Of light Opinion, Selfenesse, Words of men. a1628― Sidney xvii. (1652) 240 This Noble Secretary..moved, but not removed with those selfenesses of my opinion. 1665Wither Lord's Prayer 158 That selfness which made the Temptation [of Adam and Eve] prevalent.
1857Emerson Poems 30 Now, to a savage selfness grown, Think nature barely serves for one. 1883Beecher in Chr. World Pulpit XXIV. 404 Religion is the power to deliver men from sinful, animal selfishness into a benevolent and other-seeking selfness. 1899Q. Rev. Apr. 433 The magnificent ‘self-ness’ of his [Byron's] poetry.
2. Individuality, personality, essence. rare.
1611Cotgr., Mesmeté, selfenesse. 1642H. More Song of Soul iv. xxxvi, The most profound and centrall energie, The very selfnesse of the soul. 1651J. E[llistone] tr. Behmen's Sign. Rerum xi. §89 The expressed Mercury must again come unto the End of its selfness [orig. Selbheit]. |