Servant of the Bones --- Anne Rice

Proem序文;緒言

detritus瓦礫；碎石；垃圾；廢物

yam (the large root of a tropical plant that is cooked as a vegetable 薯蕷；山藥)

grits (corn that is partly crushed before cooking, often eaten for breakfast or as part of a meal in the southern US （美國南部吃的）粗玉米粉，玉米)

nefesh (A careful examination of the biblical material, particularly the words nefesh, neshama, and ruaḥ—which are often too broadly translated as “soul” and...)

addlebrained 愚笨的

ruminate沉思；認真思考

libation (舊時供奉神的）奠酒，祭酒

Obstreperous (noisy and difficult to control 喧鬧的；桀驁不馴的；任性的)

Gilgamesh (/ˈgɪl.gə.meʃ/, Akkadian cuneiform: ������ [������], Gilgameš, also known as Bilgames in the earliest Sumerian texts)[1] was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq and Kuwait (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription,[2] Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of Nippur. Gilgamesh is the central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the greatest surviving work of early Mesopotamian literature. In the epic his father was Lugalbanda and his mother was Ninsun (whom some call Rimat Ninsun), a goddess. In Mesopotamian mythology, Gilgamesh is a demigod of superhuman strength who built the city walls of Uruk to defend his people from external threats, and travelled to meet the sage Utnapishtim, who had survived the Great Deluge. He is usually described as two-thirds god and one third man. This specific fraction of his divine inheritance is highly specific in the ancient world and has recently been revealed to possibly represent the genetic conditions of mosaicism or


I got furious, truly furious. My happy nature left me.

call sb. names 辱罵某人

make water = pee

Zoroastrianism (play /ˌzɒroʊˈæstri.ənɪzəm/) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra, in Avestan) and was formerly among the world's largest religions.[1] It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Persia (Iran). The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority).

hireling (a person who is willing to do anything or work for anyone as long as they are paid 給錢就什麼都願幹的人；有奶就叫娘的人)

charlatan (a person who claims to have knowledge or skills that they do not really have 假充內行的人；騙子)

the Western world was the direct cultural legacy of the Hellenism of Alexander the Great, its concepts of justice and purity infinitely amplified and complicated but never really subverted by Christianity of varying kinds

the nature of the Trinity, that is, whether or not there are three persons in one God

This Western world, this legacy of Hellenism, infused with ever evolving Judaism and Christianity, had flourished most dramatically in northern climes of the planet both in Europe and in America.

The East = the Third World = the Undeveloped Countries = the Backward Countries = Primitive Areas

Shiva(猶太教)(近親者所守的)七日服喪期

off guard不提防

negligee (a woman's dressing gown made of very thin fabric （質地輕薄的）女式晨衣)

charismatic (having charisma 有超凡魅力的；有號召力（或感召力）的)

All his charm was in play now, and his eyes had the depth of greatness, and the sincerity of greatness. Very alluring.

filovirus絲狀病毒科

Badger (to put pressure on somebody by repeatedly asking them questions or asking them to do something 糾纏，煩擾（反複提出問題或要求）)

Brooding 幽怨的；憂思的；森然的；險惡的

ziggurat古代亞述及巴比倫之寶塔式建築