世界小史 第186期:罗马帝国

 　　Constantine no longer ruled the empire from Rome.

　　君士坦丁不再坐镇罗马进行统治。

　　In those days the chief threat came from the east, the Persians having once again become powerful.

　　当时帝国在东方受到最大的威胁，受到波斯人的威胁，波斯人又强大起来了。

　　So he chose as his seat the ancient Greek colony of Byzantium on the Black Sea, upon which it was renamed Constantine's City, or Constantinople.

　　于是他选中黑海附近的古希腊殖民地拜占庭为他的王室所在地，

　　Today we know it as Istanbul.

　　从此他便按他的名字叫君士坦丁市：君士坦丁堡。

　　By 395, the Roman empire didn't only have two capitals, it had two states: the Western Empire, consisting of Italy, Gaul, Britannia,

　　此后不久，自395年起，罗马帝国不仅有两个首都，而且分裂为两个国家：讲拉丁语的西罗马帝国，包括意大利、高卢不列颠、

　　Spain and North Africa, where people spoke¹ Latin, and the Eastern Empire, consisting of Egypt, Palestine, Asia Minor², Greece and Macedonia, where they spoke Greek.

　　西班牙、北非；讲希腊语的东罗马帝国，包括埃及、巴勒斯坦、小亚细亚、希腊和马其顿。

　　In both states Christianity became the official religion from 380 onwards.

　　现在，自380年起，在这两个国家中基督教均成为国教。

　　This meant that bishops³ and archbishops became important dignitaries who wielded⁴ great influence in the affairs of state.

　　这就是说，主教和大主教是身居要职的显贵，他们在国家事务中也拥有很大的影响力。

　　Christians⁵ no longer met in underground passages, but in grand churches with fine pillars.

　　基督徒们不再在地下房间里，而是在华丽的、用柱子装饰起来的教堂里聚会

　　And the Cross, symbol of the deliverance from suffering, now became the legions' battle emblem⁶.

　　而十字架这苦难中的拯救标志被作为战争标志，由人们扛着行进在军团的前列。

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

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 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

4 wielded   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的过去式和过去分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The bad eggs wielded power, while the good people were oppressed. 坏人当道，好人受气
• He was nominally the leader, but others actually wielded the power. 名义上他是领导者，但实际上是别人掌握实权。

5 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

6 emblem   

n.象征，标志；徽章

参考例句：

• Her shirt has the company emblem on it.她的衬衫印有公司的标记。
• The eagle was an emblem of strength and courage.鹰是力量和勇气的象征。