美国学生人类历史 第98期:罗马帝国的故事(8)

 　　He crossed the Rubicon River which separated the province of Cis-alpine Gaul from Italy. Everywhere he was received as the "friend of the people." Without difficulty Caesar entered Rome and Pompey fled to Greece Caesar followed him and defeated his followers¹ near Pharsalus. Pompey sailed across the Mediterranean² and escaped to Egypt. When he landed he was murdered by order of young king Ptolemy. A few days later Caesar arrived. He found himself caught in a trap. Both the Egyptians and the Roman garrison³ which had remained faithful to Pompey, attacked his camp.

　　于是，他率军渡过分隔阿尔卑斯高卢行省和意大利的鲁比康河，向罗马挺进。所过之处，老百姓将他当作"人民之友"来热烈欢迎。他一举攻人罗马，庞培被迫逃到希腊。悄撒率军追击，在法尔萨拉附近击败庞培及其追随者。庞培渡过地中海，逃往埃及。当他登陆后，年轻的埃及国王托勒密命人暗杀了他。几天后，恺撒也抵达埃及，随即发现自己落入了一个阴谋的陷阱。埃及人和仍忠于庞培的罗马驻军联合向他发动攻击。

　　Fortune was with Caesar. He succeeded in setting fire to the Egyptian fleet. Incidentally the sparks of the burning vessels⁴ fell on the roof of the famous library of Alexandria (which was just off the water front,) and destroyed it. Next he attacked the Egyptian army, drove the soldiers into the Nile, drowned Ptolemy, and established a new government under Cleopatra, the sister of the late king. Just then word reached him that Pharnaces, the son and heir of Mithridates, had gone on the war-path. Caesar marched northward⁵, defeated Pharnaces in a war which lasted five days, sent word of his victory to Rome in the famous sentence "veni, vidi, vici," which is Latin for "I came, I saw, I conquered," and returned to Egypt where he fell desperately⁶ in love with Cleopatra, who followed him to Rome when he returned to take charge of the government, in the year 46.

　　不过。恺撒很走运。他成功地焚毁了埃及舰队。可不巧的是，大火迸出的火星落在埃及著名的亚历山大图书馆的屋顶上（它正好位于码头边），将这座珍藏着无数古代典籍的建筑付之一炬。摧毁埃及海军后，恺撒回过头来进攻埃及陆军，将惊慌溃逃的士兵赶进尼罗河，托勒密本人也溺水身亡，随即建立了一个以已故国王的姐姐克娄帕特拉为首的新政府。此时又有消息传来，米特拉达特斯的儿子兼继承人法那西斯准备发动战争，为自杀的父亲复仇。恺撒立刻挥师北上，持续作战五昼夜，打败了法那西斯。在给元老院的捷报中，他为世人留下了一句名言，"veni，vidi，vici"，意思是"我来了，我看见了，我征服了！"然后恺撒返回埃及，不可救药地坠入情网，拜倒在女王克娄帕特拉魅力非凡的裙下。公元46年，恺撒携克娄帕特拉一起返回罗马，接掌政权。

1 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 garrison   

n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防

参考例句：

• The troops came to the relief of the besieged garrison.军队来援救被围的守备军。
• The German was moving to stiffen up the garrison in Sicily.德军正在加强西西里守军之力量。

4 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

6 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。