美国学生人类历史 第97期:罗马帝国的故事(7)

 　　Cicero, a public-spirited lawyer, had discovered the plot, had warned the Senate, and had forced Catiline to flee. But there were other young men with similar ambitions and it was no time for idle talk.

　　一个颇具公众精神的律师西塞罗察觉了卡梯林的阴谋，及时向元老院告发他。卡梯林被迫逃亡。可危机依然存在，罗马城到处是野心勃勃的年轻人，随时准备着向政府发难。

　　Pompey organised a triumvirate which was to take charge of affairs. He became the leader of this Vigilante Committee. Gaius Julius Caesar, who had made a reputation for himself as governor of Spain, was the second in command. The third was an indifferent sort of person by the name of Crassus. He had been elected because he was incredibly rich, having been a successful contractor¹ of war supplies. He soon went upon an expedition against the Parthians and was killed.

　　于是由功勋卓著的庞培将军出面，组织了一个三人同盟来负责处理政府事务。他本人则担任这个三人委员会的领袖。其次是裘利斯·恺撒，因为在做西班牙总督期间获得了良好声望，他坐上了第二把交 椅。排在第三位的克拉苏是无足轻重的角色，他的当选完全是因其拥有的惊人财富。因为成功承办罗马军队的战争给养与物资装备，克拉苏大发其财。可还没来得及充分享受他的财富和地位，他便被派遣远征帕提亚，迅速阵亡了。

　　As for Caesar, who was by far the ablest of the three, he decided² that he needed a little more military glory to become a popular hero. He crossed the Alps and conquered that part of the world which is now called France. Then he hammered a solid wooden bridge across the Rhine and invaded the land of the wild Teutons. Finally he took ship and visited England. Heaven knows where he might have ended if he had not been forced to return to Italy. Pompey, so he was informed, had been appointed dictator for life. This of course meant that Caesar was to be placed on the list of the"retired officers," and the idea did not appeal to him. He remembered that he had begun life as a follower³ of Marius. He decided to teach the Senators and their "dictator" another lesson.

　　至于恺撒，他属于三人之中最有能力的一个。他断定，为实现自己更宏大的目标，他需要建立一些辉煌的战功，使自己成为大众崇拜的英雄。于是恺撒出发去征服世界。他越过阿尔卑斯山，征服了现在被称为法国的欧洲荒野。接着，他在莱茵河上架设了一座坚实的木桥，侵人条顿人的土地。最后他搜罗船只，造访英格兰。若不是因为国内局势使他被迫返回意大利，天知道恺撒的远征会打到什么地方。在征途中，恺撒突然接到国内的消息，告之庞培已被任命为"终身独裁 官"。这意味着悄撒的名字只能被列人"退休军官"的名单，他将失去通向更显赫位置的可能性。雄心勃勃的悄撒当然不喜欢这种情形。想当年，他是跟随马略开始他的军事生涯的。他决定要给元老院和他们的"终身独裁 官"一个教训。

1 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。