美国学生人类历史第49期:古希腊的自治制度(2)

 　　His place had been taken by the nobles-a class of rich people who during the course of time had got hold of an undue¹ share of the farms and estates.

　　他的位置被一群贵族占据。他们是在社会演进的过程中攫取了超额的土地与财产，是赫然得势的富人阶级。

　　These nobles enjoyed many advantages over the common crowd of freemen. They were able to buy the best weapons which were to be found on the market of the eastern Mediterranean². They had much spare time in which they could practise the art of fighting. They lived in strongly built houses and they could hire soldiers to fight for them. They were constantly quarrelling among each other to decide who should rule the city. The victorious³ nobleman then assumed a sort of Kingship over all his neighbours and governed the town until he in turn was killed or driven away by still another ambitious nobleman.

　　这些贵族享有许多普通自由 民享受不到的特权。他们能够到地中海东部的集市去购买最精良的武器。他们拥有大量闲暇时间来操练搏击之术。他们住在防御坚固的大宅子里，并花钱雇佣士兵为他们作战。为决定该由谁来统治城市，他们之间不断发生争吵。在争斗中获胜的贵族于是僭夺王位，其地位超越所有的邻人，并统治着整个城市，直到某一天他被另一个野心勃勃的贵族杀掉或驱逐。

　　Such a King, by the grace of his soldiers, was called a "Tyrant⁴" and during the seventh and sixth centuries before our era every Greek city was for a time ruled by such Tyrants⁵, many of whom, by the way, happened to be exceedingly capable men. But in the long run, this state of affairs became unbearable⁶. Then attempts were made to bring about reforms and out of these reforms grew the first democratic government of which the world has a record.

　　这样一位靠手下士兵保护的国王通常被称为"暴君"。在公元前7到6世纪期间，几乎每一个希腊城邦都由这样一位暴君统治着。顺便提一句，他们中的许多人碰巧也会是特别有才干的。可到头来，这种统治终于发展到让人无法忍受的地步，于是出现了许多革新的尝试。世界上最早的民主 制度，便是从这些革新的努力中成长起来的。

　　It was early in the seventh century that the people of Athens decided⁷ to do some housecleaning and give the large number of freemen once more a voice in the government as they were supposed to have had in the days of their Ach?an ancestors.

　　公元前7世纪初，雅典人决定废除因袭以久的僭主制度，赋予为数众多的自由 民们以发言权，让他们参与政府的管理。这种权利在其亚该亚人的先祖时代就一直存在。

1 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

4 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

5 tyrants   

专制统治者( tyrant的名词复数 )； 暴君似的人； （古希腊的）僭主； 严酷的事物

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a succession of tyrants. 这个国家接连遭受暴君的统治。
• The people suffered under foreign tyrants. 人民在异族暴君的统治下受苦受难。

6 unbearable   

adj.不能容忍的；忍受不住的

参考例句：

• It is unbearable to be always on thorns.老是处于焦虑不安的情况中是受不了的。
• The more he thought of it the more unbearable it became.他越想越觉得无法忍受。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。