美国学生人类历史 第161期:中世纪的城市(5)

 No, the progress of the last six hundred years would not have been possible without the existence of cities. 不过，如果不是因为城市的存在，过去六百年来的进步将是完全不可能的。

I shall, therefore, have to make this chapter a little longer than many of the others. 因此，我将用比其它各章稍长一点的篇幅来谈论这个问题。

It is too important to be reduced to three or four pages, devoted¹ to mere² political events. 它太重要了，不可能像对待单纯的政治时间那样，用三四页文字便概括了。

The ancient world of Egypt and Babylonia and Assyria had been a world of cities. 古代的埃及、巴比伦、亚述都是以城市为中心的世界。

Greece had been a country of City-States. 古希腊则完全是由许多小城邦组成的国家。

The history of Phoenicia was the history of two cities called Sidon and Tyre. The Roman Empire was the "hinterland" of a single town. 而腓尼基的历史几乎就是西顿和提尔这两个城市的历史。再看看伟大的罗马帝国，它辽阔的行省无非是罗马这个城市的"腹地"。

Writing, art, science, astronomy, architecture, literature, the theatre-the list is endless-have all been products of the city. 书写、艺术、科学、天文学、建筑学、文学--这是一个可以无穷开列的名单，它们全都属于城市的产物。

For almost four thousand years the wooden bee-hive which we call a town had been the workshop of the world. 在整整四千年的漫长岁月里，我们称为城市的这个木制蜂房，其间居住着大量像工蜂一样生活劳碌的人群，它一直就是世界的大作坊，它出产商品，推动文明，催化文学与艺术。

Then came the great migrations³. The Roman Empire was destroyed. 可随后就到了日尔曼人大迁移的时代。他们灭亡了灿烂一时的罗马帝国，

The cities were burned down and Europe once more became a land of pastures and little agricultural villages. 一个劲地焚毁他们并不理解的城市，使欧洲再度成为一块由草原和小村庄构成的土地。

During the Dark Ages the fields of civilisation⁴ had lain fallow. 在这段黑暗愚昧的岁月，欧洲文明进入了休耕期。

The Crusades had prepared the soil for a new crop. 十字军东征为文明的重新播种准备好了适合的土壤。

It was time for the harvest, but the fruit was plucked by the burghers of the free cities. 快到收获的季节了，但果实却被自由城市的自由民抢先一步摘走。

I have told you the story of the castles and the monasteries⁵, 我曾经给你们讲过关于城堡与修道院的故事。

with their heavy stone enclosures-the homes of the knights⁶ and the monks⁷, who guarded men's bodies and their souls. 在它们高大沉重的石墙后面，居住着骑士和他的朋友僧侣，一个负责照顾人们的肉体，一个则悉心看护着人们的灵魂。

1 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

4 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。

5 monasteries   

修道院( monastery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In ancient China, there were lots of monasteries. 在古时候，中国有许多寺院。
• The Negev became a religious center with many monasteries and churches. 内格夫成为许多庙宇和教堂的宗教中心。

6 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

7 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》