第一章

　　Mesopotamia

　　美索不达米亚

　　Mesopotamia-The Second Center of Eastern Civilisation

　　美索不达米亚--东方文明的第二个中心

　　I am going to take you to the top of the highest pyramid and I am going to ask that you imagine yourself possessed of the eyes of a hawk.

　　现在，我将带你到最雄伟的金字塔之颠，让你想象自己拥有一双鹰一般锐利的眼睛。

　　Way, way off, in the distance, far beyond the yellow sands of the desert, you will see something green and shimmering.

　　你将目光指向遥远的东方，越过大沙漠的漫漫黄沙，你将看见一块绿色的 国土在闪烁微光，

　　It is a valley situated between two rivers. It is the Paradise of the Old Testament.

　　那是位于两条大河之间的一个河谷，《旧约全书》曾提到的乐土。

　　It is the land of mystery and wonder which the Greeks called Mesopotamia-the "country between the rivers."

　　这块充满神秘的仙境被希腊人称为"美索不达米亚"，意为"两河之间的国度"。

　　The names of the two rivers are the Euphrates (which the Babylonians called the Purattu) and the Tigris (which was known as the Diklat).

　　这两条河分别叫"幼发拉底河"（巴比伦人称其为普拉图河）和"底格里斯河"（也叫迪克拉特河）。

　　They begin their course amidst the snows of the mountains of Armenia where Noah's Ark found a resting place

　　它们发源于亚美尼亚白雪皑皑的群山之中，就是挪亚逃 难途中曾驻脚休息的地方。

　　and slowly they flow through the southern plain until they reach the muddy banks of the Persian gulf.

　　然后，它们缓慢的流过南部的平原，抵达波斯湾泥泞的海岸。

　　They perform a very useful service. They turn the arid regions of western Asia into a fertile garden.

　　它们养育着两岸的人民，将西亚干旱的沙漠地区变成了肥沃的花园。

　　The valley of the Nile had attracted people because it had off ered them food upon fairly easy terms.

　　尼罗河谷吸引人们，是因为它供给了丰盛的食物。

　　The "land between the rivers" was popular for the same reason.

　　这块"两河之间的国土"同样因此倍受青睐。

　　It was a country full of promise

　　它是一块充满希望的土地，

　　and both the inhabitants of the northern mountains and the tribes which roamed through the southern deserts tried to claim this territory as their own and most exclusive possession.

　　来自北部高山的居民和游荡在南部荒漠的部落都曾试图独占它，拒绝外人的进入。

　　The constant rivalry between the mountaineers and the desertnomads led to endless warfare.

　　山区居民与沙漠游牧部落的长期争夺招致了无休无止的战争，

　　Only the strongest and the bravest could hope to survive

　　只有最强悍、最聪明的人才能够存活下来。

　　and that will explain why Mesopotamia became the home of a very strong race of men who were capable of creating a civilisation which was in every respect as important as that of Egypt.

　　这也解释了 为什么美索不达米亚会成为一个最强壮种族的家园，他们何以能创造一个在各方面都足与古埃及比肩的伟大文明。