美国学生人类历史 第126期:穆罕默德(5)

 Incidentally it explains why even to-day Moslem¹ soldiers will charge into the fire of European machine guns quite indifferent to the fate that awaits them and why they are such dangerous and persistent² enemies. 这一点也能解释，为什么到了今天，穆斯林士兵依然可以奋不顾身冲入欧洲人的枪林弹雨，全然不顾被机枪射杀的命运。正因为如此，他们一直是危险而顽强的对手。

Having put his religious house in order, Mohammed now began to enjoy his power as the undisputed ruler of a large number of Arab tribes. 将他的宗教大厦整顿就序后，穆罕默德开始享受作为众多阿拉伯部落公认领袖的权力，

But success has been the undoing³ of a large number of men who were great in the days of adversity. 不过，他的成功往往是剥夺了大量身处逆境的人们的权利才得来的。

He tried to gain the good will of the rich people by a number of regulations which could appeal to those of wealth. 为赢得富人阶层的好感，穆罕默德特意制定了一些有利于富人的规定，

He allowed the Faithful to have four wives. 比如他允许信徒娶四个妻子。

As one wife was a costly⁴ investment in those olden days when brides were bought directly from the parents, four wives became a positive luxury 在那个时代，娶妻的习 俗是男子直接从女方父母家购买。娶一房妻子已经是一项花费不菲的投资，娶四个妻子当然是纯粹的奢侈。

except to those who possessed⁵ camels and dromedaries and date orchards⁶ beyond the dreams of avarice⁷. 除非是那些拥有单峰驼和椰枣园的大富之家，普通贪财之人也难以奢望此种享受。

A religion which at first had been meant for the hardy⁸ hunters of the high skied desert was gradually transformed to suit the needs of the smug merchants who lived in the bazaars⁹ of the cities. 伊斯兰教本是为生活在穷荒大漠的劳苦牧人而创立的，可随时势的发展，它逐渐变化到以迎合生活在城市别墅中的富商的需要。

It was a regrettable change from the original program and it did very little good to the cause of Mohammedanism. 这一离其初衷的转变令人遗憾，对穆罕默德的伟大事业也并无好处。

As for the prophet himself, he went on preaching the truth of Allah and proclaiming new rules of conduct until he died, quite suddenly, of a fever on June the seventh of the year 632. 至于先知本人，他继续传布安拉的真理，颁布新的行为标准，为事业不辞劳苦。直至在公元632年6月7日，穆罕默德因热病突然辞世。

His successor as Caliph (or leader) of the Moslems was his father-in-law, Abu-Bekr, who had shared the early dangers of the prophet's life. 穆罕默德的继任者被称为哈里发，意为"穆斯林的领袖"。首先继任的是他的岳父阿布?艾克尔，他曾与穆罕默德出生人死，一起经历了创业初期的患难岁月。

Two years later, Abu-Bekr died and Omar ibn Al-Khattab followed him. 两年后，阿布?艾克尔死去，由奥玛尔继位。

1 Moslem   

n.回教徒，穆罕默德信徒；adj.回教徒的，回教的

参考例句：

• Moslem women used to veil their faces before going into public.信回教的妇女出门之前往往用面纱把脸遮起来。
• If possible every Moslem must make the pilgrimage to Mecca once in his life.如有可能，每个回教徒一生中必须去麦加朝觐一次。

2 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

3 undoing   

n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭

参考例句：

• That one mistake was his undoing. 他一失足即成千古恨。
• This hard attitude may have led to his undoing. 可能就是这种强硬的态度导致了他的垮台。

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

5 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

6 orchards   

（通常指围起来的）果园( orchard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They turned the hills into orchards and plains into granaries. 他们把山坡变成了果园，把平地变成了粮仓。
• Some of the new planted apple orchards have also begun to bear. 有些新开的苹果园也开始结苹果了。

7 avarice   

n.贪婪；贪心

参考例句：

• Avarice is the bane to happiness.贪婪是损毁幸福的祸根。
• Their avarice knows no bounds and you can never satisfy them.他们贪得无厌，你永远无法满足他们。

8 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

9 bazaars   

（东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场

参考例句：

• When the sky chooses, glory can rain into the Chandrapore bazaars. 如果天公有意，昌德拉卜的集市也会大放光彩。
• He visited the shops and bazaars. 他视察起各色铺子和市场来。