|
Letters of congratulations arrived from all over the world, including one marked only Ignatius Donnelly, America. To Donnelly’s astonishment, it came from William Gladstone, prime minister of the British Empire.
"Though much pressed by public affairs, I have contrived to read an already appreciable portion of your book, and I’m much disposed to believe in Atlantis. "
Gladstone sent this letter and addressed it to Ignatius Donnelly Esquire, America. And Ignatius being an Irish man and not wishing to be outdone, decided to reply to him and his reply said: The Right Honorable William Ewart Gladstone, the world.
I could not but smile. I was corresponding with a man whose word was fate anywhere in the British Empire. I could have uttered a whirlpool of exultation.
Because his book was so popular, people tended to believe that it was / fact. A good parallel, I think , is with Peter Benchley’s book Jaws. What Benchley has the white shark doing in Jaws does not actually happen, but think about how many people read this book and became absolutely terrified to swim in the ocean. It is possible for people to take what is essentially a work of fiction, but if it’s presented cleverly enough and if it has enough science woven into it, to believe that it’s absolute fact.
Flushed by the overwhelming success of his book, Donnelly, now a wealthy man, turned his attention to the truth behind other ancient myths. But none of his other books ever came close to matching the success of Atlantis, the Antediluvian world. Disappointed, he returned to politics again without success. He died in 1901.
In many ways, politics was his undoing. This, a quote, from the obituary, which says, the memory of Donnelly the politician will die. It is for Donnelly the author as we weep, which sounds bitter.
Donnelly’s book began a tradition of armchair exploration that has accompanied the search for Atlantis ever since. The father of Atlantology, Donnelly was the first man to convince the public that Atlantis really could be found. Little did he realize that his work would prompt a search for the lost continent that is literally out of this work.
-----------------------------
disposed: adj. 有...倾向的
exultation: n. 狂喜
obituary: n. 讣告
armchair: adj. 空想的，不切实际的
|