纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 053洛泰尔一世水晶雕刻（7）

These ideals, articulated over a thousand years ago, are still central to European political life today. Here's Lord Bingham again:

这一早在一千多年前便提出的政治理想，如今仍是欧洲政治生活的核心。宾厄姆勋爵告诉我：

"In the centre of the Lothair Crystal, one sees the king who commissioned it to be made in the role of judge, and this is of considerable interest and importance, because historically the crown and monarchy¹ has always been regarded as the fount of justice. Interestingly, the Queen, when she took her Coronation Oath in 1953, swore-it's a very old oath prescribed by an Act of 1688 - but she swore to do justice and mercy in all her judgements. And this is exactly the role in which one sees King Lothair, in the role of actually personally administering justice which, of course, the Queen no longer does. But the judges who do it in her name are very proud to be called Her Majesty's judges, recognising that they're exercising their judicial² functions on her behalf."

在水晶的中央，能看到国王承担了法官的职责。这十分有趣，也意义重大，因为自古以来，王位与王杈就被视作正义的源泉。1953年伊丽莎白二世在加冕典礼上宣读的晳词便来自一项立于1688年的法案中的古老替词。她将在日后的所有判决中秉持仁慈与公正。这正是民众眼中洛泰尔应当担任的践行正义的角色。诚然，如今女王并不亲自担任这一角色，但以女王之名行使审判权的法官都以“女王陛下的法官”这一头衔为荣。

The Susannah Crystal was made for a king without an heir, in a kingdom without a future. In 869, when Lothair died un-divorced, his uncles did indeed partition his lands, and all that remains³ of Lotharingia today is the name of Lorraine. For over a thousand years, indeed until 1945, Lothair's Middle Kingdom was bitterly fought over by the successors of the wicked uncles, France and Germany.

苏撒拿水晶是在一个没有未来的王国里为一位没有子嗣的国王制作的。869年，洛泰尔去世了，其时他仍未离婚。叔叔们果然瓜分了他的王国，洛塔林基亚如今只剩下一个地区名—洛林。在逾千年的光阴 里，实际上直到1954年，洛泰尔那中部王国一直都是两位邪恶叔叔的继任者-德国与法国所争抢的土地。

But if Lothair had succeeded in divorcing his wife, and had a legitimate⁴ heir, Lorraine might now rank with Spain, France and Germany as one of the great states of continental⁵ Europe. Lotharingia perished, but the principle that Lothair's Crystal proclaims has survived. A central duty of the ruler of the state is to guarantee that justice is done, dispassionately and in open court. Innocence⁶ must be protected. The Lothair Crystal is one of the first European images of the notion of the rule of law.

如果洛泰尔能如愿与妻子离婚并拥有合法继承人，也许如今洛林已是欧洲大陆上与西班牙、法国和德国并驾齐驱的大国。洛塔林基亚消失了，但洛泰尔水晶上宣扬的原则被保留了下来：国家统治者的核心任务是在公开法庭上不带任何私人倾向地保证正义的伸张。无辜者必须得到保护。洛泰尔水晶是欧洲最早体现法治观念的图像之一。

1 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

2 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

3 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

4 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

5 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

6 innocence   

n.无罪；天真；无害

参考例句：

• There was a touching air of innocence about the boy.这个男孩有一种令人感动的天真神情。
• The accused man proved his innocence of the crime.被告人经证实无罪。