美国学生人类历史 第102期:罗马帝国的故事(12)

 　　It had created a large bureaucracy-petty officials who were underpaid and who were forced to take graft¹ in order to buy bread and clothing for their families. Worst of all, it had accustomed people to violence, to blood-shed, to a barbarous pleasure in the pain and suffering of others.

　　战争滋生出一个庞大的官僚阶层，小吏们拿着少得可怜的薪水，不得不接受贿赂以养家糊口。最遭的是，战争使人民对暴力和流血视若无睹，甚至形成了一种以他人的痛苦为乐的麻木不仁的心理。

　　Outwardly, the Roman state during the first century of our era was a magnificent political structure, so large that Alexander's empire became one of its minor² provinces. Underneath³ this glory there lived millions upon millions of poor and tired human beings, toiling⁴ like ants who have built a nest underneath a heavy stone. They worked for the benefit of some one else. They shared their food with the animals of the fields. They lived in stables. They died without hope.It was the seven hundred and fifty-third year since the founding of Rome. Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus was living in the palace of the Palatine Hill, busily engaged upon the task of ruling his empire.

　　从外表上看，公元1世纪的罗马帝国无疑是一个辉煌庄严的政治体，疆域辽阔，连亚历山大的帝国都变成它一个微不足道的行省。不过在其辉煌下面，生活着的却是成百上千万穷苦而疲倦的人民，终日劳碌挣扎，像在巨石下孜孜筑巢的蚂蚁。他们辛苦工作的成果为他人享受。他们吃牲畜吃的食物，住牛棚马圈一样的房子。他们在绝望中死去。斗转星移，到了罗马建国第753年。此时，裘利斯·恺撒 渥大维·奥古斯都正住在帕拉坦山的宫殿里，忙于处理国事。

　　In a little village of distant Syria, Mary, the wife of Joseph the Carpenter, was tending her little boy, born in a stable of Bethlehem.

　　在一个遥远的叙利亚小村庄里，木匠约瑟夫的妻子玛利亚正在悉心照料她的小男孩，一个诞生在伯利恒马槽里的孩子。

　　This is a strange world.

　　这是一个奇妙的世界。

　　Before long, the palace and the stable were to meet in open combat.

　　最终，王宫和马槽将要相遇，发生公开的斗争。

　　And the stable was to emerge victorious⁵.

　　而马槽将取得最后的胜利。

1 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

5 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。