美国学生人类历史 第119期:教会之兴(6)

 The old gods must be destroyed. 形形色色的旧神抵必须被摧毁，

For a short spell the emperor Julian, a lover of Greek wisdom, managed to save the pagan Gods from further destruction. 主宰世界的只能是基督教唯一的上帝。有一段时间，热爱希腊智慧的朱利安皇帝在位，他努力拯救异教的神抵，使它们免于被损毁。

But Julian died of his wounds during a campaign in Persia and his successor Jovian re-established the church in all its glory. 不过他不久在征讨波斯的战役中受伤致死。继任的朱维安皇帝重新树立起基督教的绝对权威，

One after the other the doors of the ancient temples were then closed. 古老的异教神庙一个接一个关门大吉。

Then came the emperor Justinian (who built the church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople), who discontinued the school of philosophy at Athens which had been founded by Plato. 接下来是查士丁尼皇帝，他下令在君士坦丁堡修建著名的圣索非亚大教堂，把柏拉图创建的历史悠久的雅典学园彻底关闭。

That was the end of the old Greek world, in which man had been allowed to think his own thoughts and dream his own dreams according to his desires. 这一历史时刻是古希腊世界的终结。人们可以照自己的想法自由思考，按自己的愿望梦想未来的时代黯然逝去了。

The somewhat vague rules of conduct of the philosophers had proved a poor compass by which to steer¹ the ship of life after a deluge² of savagery³ and ignorance had swept away the established order of things. 当野蛮和愚昧的洪水横扫大地，冲毁旧有的秩序，要指导生活之舟在惊涛骇浪中把握航向，古希腊哲学家的行为准则便显得有些模糊而不可靠了。

There was need of something more positive and more definite. This the Church provided. 人们很难再依赖它们作为生活的向导人们需要一些更积极而明确的东西。这正是教会可以提供的。

During an age when nothing was certain, the church stood like a rock and never receded⁴ from those principles which it held to be true and sacred. 在一个世界摇摇欲坠、万事皆不确定的时代里，只有教会像岩石般坚强屹立，坚持真理和神圣准则，从不因危险和情势的变迁而退缩。

This steadfast⁵ courage gained the admiration⁶ of the multitudes and carried the church of Rome safely through the difficulties which destroyed the Roman state. 这种坚定的勇气不仅赢得了群众的爱慕，也同时让罗马教会安然度过了那些毁灭罗马帝国的灾难。

There was however, a certain element of luck in the final success of the Christian⁷ faith. 不过，基督教的最后胜利也有一丝幸运的成分。

After the disappearance⁸ of Theodoric's Roman-Gothic kingdom, in the fifth century, Italy was comparatively free from foreign invasion. 当公元5世纪，西奥多里克建立的罗马--哥特王国覆灭之后，意大利受到的外来侵略相对减少。

1 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

2 deluge   

n./vt.洪水，暴雨，使泛滥

参考例句：

• This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.雨大的时候，这条小溪能变作洪流。
• I got caught in the deluge on the way home.我在回家的路上遇到倾盆大雨。

3 savagery   

n.野性

参考例句：

• The police were shocked by the savagery of the attacks.警察对这些惨无人道的袭击感到震惊。
• They threw away their advantage by their savagery to the black population.他们因为野蛮对待黑人居民而丧失了自己的有利地位。

4 receded   

v.逐渐远离( recede的过去式和过去分词 )；向后倾斜；自原处后退或避开别人的注视；尤指问题

参考例句：

• The floodwaters have now receded. 洪水现已消退。
• The sound of the truck receded into the distance. 卡车的声音渐渐在远处消失了。

5 steadfast   

adj.固定的，不变的，不动摇的；忠实的；坚贞不移的

参考例句：

• Her steadfast belief never left her for one moment.她坚定的信仰从未动摇过。
• He succeeded in his studies by dint of steadfast application.由于坚持不懈的努力他获得了学业上的成功。

6 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

7 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。

8 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。