纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 062希伯来星盘（7）

 

By the fourteenth century, this scholarly legacy¹ was embedded² in European thought, in science and medicine as well as philosophy and theology. The astrolabe became the indispensable attribute for astronomers³, astrologers, doctors, geographers⁴, or indeed anyone with intellectual aspirations⁵ - even a ten-year-old English boy like Chaucer's son.

The shared inheritance of Islamic, Christian⁶ and Jewish thinkers, would survive for centuries. But the 'convivencia' of the three faiths did not. Although medieval Spain is today often hailed by politicians as a beacon⁷ of tolerance⁸ and the model for multi-faith co-existence, the historical truth is distinctly less comfortable. Here's Sir John Elliott again.

"As regards actual religious tolerance, it's rather less clear cut than coexistence. Christendom in general, though, was a pretty intolerant society, and very opposed to deviants of all kinds. And that intolerance was particularly directed against the Jews. For instance, England expelled its Jews in 1290, and France a decade later, and as far as Christian-Muslim relations were concerned, there was a hardening of religious attitudes, really from the twelfth century onwards. And as the Christians⁹ preached the Crusades, and the Almohads who moved into Spain from North Africa, preached the Jihad, there was an increasing aggressiveness on both sides."

到了十四世纪，他们的文化遗产已经深深扎根于包括科学、医学、哲学与神学在内的欧洲思想中。星盘成了天文学家、占星学家、医生、地理学家乃至所有受过一定教育的群体的必备工具。就连乔叟的儿子这样的十岁小男孩也需要它。最终，这件多功能的物品分裂为地球仪、印刷地图、六分仪、经线仪和罗盘，各司其职。

穆斯林、犹太人和基督教思想家们的共同遗产在数个世纪间不断流传，但三种信仰之间的交流却没有延续下去。虽然如今的政治家常宣称中世纪欧洲为文化包容的楷模和多元文化并存的典范，但历史的真相并非如此轻松。约翰·埃利奥特爵士接着说：

真正的宗教宽容并不像各民族共存那样简单明了…总体来说，基督教世界是相对苛刻的社会，不能容忍任何背离正统的行为，尤其是对待犹太人。比如在一二九年，英国驱逐了境内所有的犹太人，一百多年后的法国也出现了同样的现象。至于基督徒与穆斯林，十二世纪之后二者的关系便逐渐僵化。基督教派出了十字军团，来自北非的穆瓦希德王朝则发动了圣战。双方的攻击性都在逐渐增强。

 

1 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

2 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

3 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 geographers   

地理学家( geographer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geographers study the configuration of the mountains. 地理学家研究山脉的地形轮廓。
• Many geographers now call this landmass Eurasia. 许多地理学家现在把这块陆地叫作欧亚大陆。

5 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

8 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

9 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。