美国学生人类历史 第108期:罗马帝国的衰亡(1)

 Chapter 26 The fall of Rome The Twilight¹ of Rome 第二十六章 罗马帝国的衰亡 罗马帝国的黄昏

The text-books of ancient History give the date 476 as the year in which Rome fell, because in that year the last emperor was driven off his throne. 古代历史教科书把公元476年定为罗马帝国灭亡之年，因为在那一年，末代罗马皇帝被赶下了宝座。

But Rome, which was not built in a day, took a long time falling. 不过正如罗马的建立并非朝夕之功，

The process was so slow and so gradual that most Romans did not realise how their old world was coming to an end. 罗马的灭亡也是一个缓慢消亡的过程，以至绝大多数罗马人根本未能觉察到他们热爱的旧世界气数已尽。

They complained about the unrest of the times-they grumbled² about the high prices of food and about the low wages of the workmen-they cursed the profiteers who had a monopoly of the grain and the wool and the gold coin. 他们抱怨时局的动荡，喟叹生活之艰难。食品价格奇高，可工人的薪水少得可怜。他们诅骂奸商们囤积居奇的行为。这些人垄断了谷物、羊毛和金币，只管自己牟取暴利。

Occasionally they rebelled against an unusually rapacious³ governor. 有时遇上一个贪得无厌、横征暴敛的总督，他们也会起来造反。

But the majority of the people during the first four centuries of our era ate and drank (whatever their purse allowed them to buy) 不过总的说起来，在公元头4个世纪里，大多数的罗马人依旧过着正常日子。他们照常吃喝（视钱囊的鼓瘪，尽量购买），

and hated or loved (according to their nature) and went to the theatre (whenever there was a free show of fighting gladiators) 他们照常爱恨（根据他们各自的性格），他们照常去剧场（只要有免费的角斗士搏击表演）。当然，像所有时代一样，

or starved in the slums of the big cities, utterly⁴ ignorant of the fact that their empire had outlived its usefulness and was doomed⁵ to perish. 也有不幸的人们饿死。可生活在继续，而人们一点不知道，他们的帝国已注定要灭亡的命运。

How could they realise the threatened danger? 他们怎么意识得到迫在眉睫的危险呢？

Rome made a fine showing of outward glory. 罗马帝国正在处处显示着辉煌繁荣的外景。

Well-paved roads connected the different provinces, the imperial police were active and showed little tenderness for highwaymen. 有宽阔畅通的大道连接各个省份；有帝国警察在勤勉地工作，毫不留情地清除拦路盗贼；

The frontier was closely guarded against the savage⁶ tribes who seemed to be occupying the waste lands of northern Europe. 边界防御良好，使居住在欧洲北部荒野的蛮族不能越雷池一步；

The whole world was paying tribute to the mighty⁷ city of Rome,  全世界都在向强大的罗马进贡纳税；

and a score of able men were working day and night to undo⁸ the mistakes of the past and bring about a return to the happier conditions of the early Republic. 而且，还有一群精明能干的人们在夜以继日地工作，试图纠正过去的错误，争取使帝国重返共和国早期的幸福岁月。

1 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

2 grumbled   

抱怨( grumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 发牢骚； 咕哝； 发哼声

参考例句：

• He grumbled at the low pay offered to him. 他抱怨给他的工资低。
• The heat was sweltering, and the men grumbled fiercely over their work. 天热得让人发昏，水手们边干活边发着牢骚。

3 rapacious   

adj.贪婪的，强夺的

参考例句：

• He had a rapacious appetite for bird's nest soup.他吃燕窝汤吃个没够。
• Rapacious soldiers looted the houses in the defeated city.贪婪的士兵洗劫了被打败的城市。

4 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

5 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

8 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。