美国学生人类历史 第113期:罗马帝国的衰亡(6)

 The old bridges were gone and commerce had come to a standstill. 帝国的大道因年旧失修而塌陷，桥梁断绝，早已不堪使用。

Civilisation¹-the product of thousands of years of patient labor² on the part of Egyptians and Babylonians and Greeks and Romans, 曾经兴盛的商业贸易停顿了，繁荣的意大利变成了一块死寂之地。世界的文明--一历经埃及人、巴比伦人、希腊人、罗马人几千年的辛苦工作所创造的成果，

which had lifted man high above the most daring dreams of his earliest ancestors, threatened to perish from the western continent. 曾把人类的生活提升到他们的远祖不敢梦想的境界，如今却面临在西方大陆 上消亡的危险。

It is true that in the far east, Constantinople continued to be the centre of an Empire for another thousand years. 当然，远东的君士坦丁堡作为帝国的中心还继续存在了1000年。

But it hardly counted as a part of the European continent. 不过它很难被看作是欧洲大陆的一部分。

Its interests lay in the east. 它的兴趣和心思都朝向东方，

It began to forget its western origin. 忘记了自己是欧洲出身。

Gradually the Roman language was given up for the Greek. 渐渐地，拉丁语让位于希腊语，

The Roman alphabet was discarded and Roman law was written in Greek characters and explained by Greek judges. 罗马字母被废弃不用，罗马法律用希腊文重写，并由希腊法官加以解释。

The Emperor became an Asiatic despot, worshipped as the god-like kings of Thebes had been worshipped in the valley of the Nile, three thousand years before. 东罗马皇帝成为受到神一样崇拜的君主，其情形如同3000年前尼罗河谷的底比斯。

When missionaries³ of the Byzantine church looked for fresh fields of activity, 当拜占庭的传教士想要寻找新的活动领地时，

they went eastward⁴ and carried the civilisation of Byzantium into the vast wilderness⁵ of Russia. 他们便向东行进，把拜占庭文明带到俄罗斯的广阔荒野。

As for the west, it was left to the mercies of the Barbarians⁶. 至于西方，已落人了蛮族之手。

For twelve generations, murder, war, arson⁷, plundering⁸ were the order of the day. 在大约12个世代里，谋杀、战争、纵火、劫掠成为统治世界的原则。

One thing-and one thing alone-saved Europe from complete destruction, from a return to the days of cave-men and the hyena⁹. 只有这一样东西，它使得欧洲文明免于彻底的毁灭，使人们不至重返穴居与茹毛饮血的时代。

This was the church-the flock of humble¹⁰ men and women who for many centuries had confessed themselves the followers¹¹ of Jesus, 这就是教会--由那些千百年来承认是拿撒勒木匠耶稣的追随者的谦卑男女所组成的群体。

the carpenter of Nazareth, who had been killed that the mighty¹² Roman Empire might be saved the trouble of a street-riot in a little city somewhere along the Syrian frontier. 而这位卑微的拿撒勒人之死，原是为了使光荣的罗马帝国免于发生在叙利亚边境上一个小城市的街头暴乱。

1 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

5 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

6 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

7 arson   

n.纵火，放火

参考例句：

• He was serving a ten spot for arson.他因纵火罪在服十年徒刑。
• He was arraigned on a charge of arson.他因被指控犯纵火罪而被传讯。

8 plundering   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The troops crossed the country, plundering and looting as they went. 部队经过乡村，一路抢劫掳掠。
• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。

9 hyena   

n.土狼，鬣狗

参考例句：

• African hyena noted for its distinctive howl.非洲鬣狗，以其特别的嚎叫而闻名。
• The hyena's public image is not aided by its ridiculous appearance.鬣狗滑稽的外表无助于改善它在公众心中的形象。

10 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

11 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。

12 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。