纪录片《凡尔赛宫》 20时光荏苒,热情便也退却

Louis recovered his health, but other troubles were looming¹.

路易康复后其他问题却浮现出来

His fame and success had earned him many enemies.

他的名声与成功树敌不少

Two years after his operation,

手术2年后

France began a costly² war

法国与西班牙 英格兰

against Spain, England and Sweden.

和瑞典开战 开销巨大

As the fighting dragged on, some of Versailles' silver

战事持久 凡尔赛宫的部分银子

was quietly removed and melted down to pay the King's soldiers.

也被拿去熔化 以作为军饷

Unable to win the war,

路易因无法赢得战争

Louis signed an unfavourable peace treaty,

只得签署对法国不利的和平条约

conceding territory to his enemies.

割让土地给敌人

The Sun King was finally in decline and,

太阳王终究日薄西山

although he continued to make small improvements

尽管他继续逐渐改进

to his great palace,

他宏大的宫殿

he lost much of his enthusiasm.

他已经兴趣尽失

After just four years of peace, a new crisis threatened.

4年的和平后 新的危机浮现

The Spanish king died, leaving his empire to Louis' grandson.

西班牙国王死后王位传与路易之孙

If Louis accepted on the boy's behalf,

如果路易以孙子的名义接受

he knew the other European powers would try to stop him.

欧洲其他君主便会阻止他

But if he refused, the territories

但他若拒绝 西班牙的土地

would go to France's rivals in Austria.

便交由法国的对手奥地利

He was in an impossible situation.

他面临艰难的抉择

Louis was damned if he did, damned if he didn't.

路易进退两难

Faced with an issue which concerns the honour of his dynasty,

此问题事关王朝的荣誉

it's perhaps not surprising

意料之中的是

that he opts³ for the acceptance of the Spanish offer.

他接受了西班牙的王位

But inevitably⁴, therefore,

因此他无可避免地

provokes war with the other major European powers.

挑起了与欧洲其他国家的战事

This, the most gruelling war of Louis' reign⁵,

路易在位时最漫长的战争

lasted for 12 years and brought France to the brink⁶ of ruin.

持续了12年 几乎摧毁了法国

1 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

2 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。

3 opts   

v.选择，挑选( opt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One player hoping to get another chance to shine if Mourinho opts to rest Cole backBridge. 假如穆里尼奥安排阿。科尔轮休，那么同一位置上的将会得到一个上场的机会来证实自己。 来自互联网
• If he opts out this summer, he d sign a five year deal. 如果今夏跳出，他估计会签五年。 来自互联网

4 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

5 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

6 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。