世界小史 第166期:受苦难者

 　　But Christ had taught that the world's worst sorrows had a meaning, that beggars, those in torment¹, the persecuted², the sick and the suffering were blessed in their misfortune.

　　但是基督曾教导：世上最大的痛苦自有其意义，乞丐、哭泣者、受迫害者、受苦难者在其不幸中都是有福的。

　　And so it was that the Son of God, martyred and in agony, became for the first Christians³ the very symbol of his teaching.

　　所以对于第一批基督徒来说，这位受苦难的、受折磨的圣子恰恰就是他学说的象征。

　　Today we can hardly imagine what that meant.

　　今天我们几乎再也无法想象，这意味着什么。

　　The cross was even worse than the gallows⁴.

　　十字架是某种比绞刑架更恶劣的东西，

　　And this cross of shame became the symbol of the new teaching.

　　而这个耻辱的绞刑架则成了这种新学说的标志。

　　Just imagine what a Roman official or soldier, or a Roman teacher steeped in Greek culture, proud of his wisdom, his rhetoric⁵ and his knowledge of philosophy,

　　你想象一下吧，一个罗马官员或士兵，一个对自己的睿智、自己的演说术和自己的哲学知识,

　　would have thought when he heard Christ's teaching from one of the great preachers – perhaps the Apostle Paul in Athens or in Rome.

　　搞到自豪的受过希腊教育的罗马教师必定会有些什么想法，如果他在雅典或在罗马听到大传教士中的一位，譬如师徒保罗传教基督学说的话。

　　We can read what he preached there today, in his First Letter to the Corinthians: I will show you a more excellent way:

　　这位在那里这样传教，这是我们今天还可以在他的致哥林多人的第一封信里：我把最妙的道指示给你们：

　　If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am but a sounding gong or a tinkling⁶ cymbal⁷.

　　我若能说万人的方言，并天使的话语却没有爱，我就成了鸣的锣、响的钹一般。

1 torment   

n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠

参考例句：

• He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
• Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。

2 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

3 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。

4 gallows   

n.绞刑架，绞台

参考例句：

• The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
• Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。

5 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

6 tinkling   

n.丁当作响声

参考例句：

• I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
• To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学

7 cymbal   

n.铙钹

参考例句：

• The piece ends with a cymbal crash.这支曲子以铙钹的撞击声结束。
• Cymbal is a pair of round brass plates.铙钹是一对黄铜圆盘。