冰与火之歌系列之《权力的游戏》第943期:第四十四章 琼恩(20)

 　　"The men who formed the Night's Watch knew that only their courage shielded the realm from the darkness to the north. “守夜人军团的创建者深知他们的勇气是守护王国，抵抗北方黑暗势力的惟一屏障。

　　They knew they must have no divided loyalties¹ to weaken their resolve. 他们深知自己不能分神他顾，否则决心必将动摇，

　　So they vowed² they would have no wives nor children. 所以他们誓不娶妻，誓不生子。”

　　Yet brothers they had, and sisters. Mothers who gave them birth, fathers who gave them names. “然而人皆有父母，皆有兄弟姐妹。

　　They came from a hundred quarrelsome kingdoms, and they knew times may change, but men do not. 他们来自纷争不断的大小王国，也深知时局虽改，人性终究不变。

　　So they pledged as well that the Night's Watch would take no part in the battles of the realms it guarded." 于是他们立下誓言：守夜人守护王国，但绝不参与其中任何战役。”

　　They kept their pledge. “他们恪守誓言。

　　When Aegon slew³ Black Harren and claimed his kingdom, Harren's brother was Lord Commander on the Wall, with ten thousand swords to hand. 当伊耿杀死黑心赫伦，夺其王国的时候，赫伦的兄弟正是长城守军总司令，手下有一万精兵，

　　He did not march. 但他没有出兵。

　　In the days when the Seven Kingdoms were seven kingdoms, not a generation passed that three or four of them were not at war. 当七大王国依旧是七国分立的年代，任何一个时代，至少都有三四个国家彼此交战，

　　The Watch took no part. 但守夜人没有参战。

　　When the Andals crossed the narrow sea and swept away the kingdoms of the First Men, 当安达尔人渡海而来，横扫先民诸国，

　　the sons of the fallen kings held true to their vows⁴ and remained at their posts. 这些死去国王的子孙们依旧奉誓不渝，坚守岗位。

1 loyalties   

n.忠诚( loyalty的名词复数 )；忠心；忠于…感情；要忠于…的强烈感情

参考例句：

• an intricate network of loyalties and relationships 忠诚与义气构成的盘根错节的网络
• Rows with one's in-laws often create divided loyalties. 与姻亲之间的矛盾常常让人两面为难。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

3 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

4 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。