世界小史 第192期:头领

 　　His hordes¹ burnt and destroyed everything in their path. 因为他的部落烧毁、蹂躏一切。

　　And yet in spite of all the gold and silver and treasures the Huns looted, 但是尽管匈奴人掠夺了那么多的金银财宝，

　　and in spite of all the magnificent finery worn by their leaders, Attila himself remained a plain man. 尽管他们的各个头领把自己打扮得珠光宝气，阿提拉却依然过着俭朴的生活，

　　He ate off wooden plates and he lived in a simple tent. Gold and silver meant nothing to him. Power was what mattered. 只用木碗吃饭并且居住在一座简朴的帐篷里，他不爱金银财宝，他只爱权势。

　　It is said that he never laughed. 据说他从未笑过。

　　He was a fearsome sovereign who had conquered half the world, and those he didn't kill had to fight for him. 他是个可怕的君主，他占领了半个世界，所有没有被他杀死的部落都必须和他一起去进行战争。

　　His army was immense. Many of his soldiers were Germans – largely East Goths, or Ostrogoths, for by this time the Visigoths had settled in Spain. 他的军队无比庞大，其中有许多日耳曼人，尤其是东哥特人（西哥特人已经到达西班牙）。

　　From his camp in Hungary he sent an envoy² to the emperor of the Roman Empire of the West with the following message, 他坐镇在匈牙利自己的军营里，向西罗马皇帝派去一名使者，带去这样的消息，

　　My Lord, and your Lord, Attila, bids me tell you that you will give him half of your empire and your daughter to be his wife. 我的和你的主人阿提拉让我告诉你，你应该把你的王国的一半给他并把你当女儿给他当妻子。

1 hordes   

n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落

参考例句：

• There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
• Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。