darkness
 黑暗,冥冥,夜色;罪惡,無知


 Dark·ness, n.
 1. The absence of light; blackness; obscurity; gloom.
    And darkness was upon the face of the deep.   --Gen. i. 2.
 2. A state of privacy; secrecy.
    What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light.   --Matt. x. 27.
 3. A state of ignorance or error, especially on moral or religious subjects; hence, wickedness; impurity.
    Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.   --John. iii. 19.
 Pursue these sons of darkness: drive them out
 From all heaven's bounds.   --Milton.
 4. Want of clearness or perspicuity; obscurity; as, the darkness of a subject, or of a discussion.
 5. A state of distress or trouble.
    A day of clouds and of thick darkness.   --Joel. ii. 2.
 Prince of darkness, the Devil; Satan. “In the power of the Prince of darkness.”
 Syn: -- Darkness, Dimness, Obscurity, Gloom.
 Usage: Darkness arises from a total, and dimness from a partial, want of light. A thing is obscure when so overclouded or covered as not to be easily perceived. As tha shade or obscurity increases, it deepens into gloom. What is dark is hidden from view; what is obscure is difficult to perceive or penetrate; the eye becomes dim with age; an impending storm fills the atmosphere with gloom. When taken figuratively, these words have a like use; as, the darkness of ignorance; dimness of discernment; obscurity of reasoning; gloom of superstition.

 ◄ ►


 darkness
      n 1: absence of light or illumination [syn: dark] [ant: light]
      2: an unilluminated area; "he moved off into the darkness"
         [syn: dark, shadow]
      3: absence of moral or spiritual values; "the powers of
         darkness" [syn: iniquity, wickedness, dark]
      4: an unenlightened state; "he was in the dark concerning their
         intentions"; "his lectures dispelled the darkness" [syn: dark]
      5: having a dark or somber color [ant: lightness]
      6: a swarthy complexion [syn: duskiness, swarthiness]


 Darkness
    The plague (the ninth) of darkness in Egypt (Ex. 10:21) is
    described as darkness "which may be felt." It covered "all the
    land of Egypt," so that "they saw not one another." It did not
    extend to the land of Goshen (ver. 23).

      When Jesus hung upon the cross (Matt. 27:45; Luke 23:44), from
    the "sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the
    ninth hour."

      On Mount Sinai, Moses (Ex. 20:21) "drew near unto the thick
    darkness where God was." This was the "thick cloud upon the
    mount" in which Jehovah was when he spake unto Moses there. The
    Lord dwelt in the cloud upon the mercy-seat (1 Kings 8:12), the
    cloud of glory. When the psalmist (Ps. 97:2) describes the
    inscrutable nature of God's workings among the sons of men, he
    says, "Clouds and darkness are round about him." God dwells in
    thick darkness.

      Darkness (Isa. 13:9, 10; Matt. 24:29) also is a symbol of the
    judgments that attend on the coming of the Lord. It is a symbol
    of misery and adversity (Job 18:6; Ps. 107:10; Isa. 8:22; Ezek.
    30:18). The "day of darkness" in Joel 2:2, caused by clouds of
    locusts, is a symbol of the obscurity which overhangs all divine
    proceedings. "Works of darkness" are impure actions (Eph. 5:11).
    "Outer darkness" refers to the darkness of the streets in the
    East, which are never lighted up by any public or private lamps
    after nightfall, in contrast with the blaze of cheerful light in
    the house. It is also a symbol of ignorance (Isa. 9:2; 60:2;
    Matt. 6:23) and of death (Job 10:21; 17:13).