2023年经济学人 英国的革命性世纪: 激扬时代

 

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    England's Revolutionary Century: Heady Times英国的革命性世纪：激扬时代

    The Blazing World. By Jonathan Healey.

    《炽烈世界》。作者：乔纳森·希利。

    Writing an accessible history of Britain in the turbulent 17th century, as Jonathan Healey sets out to do in “The Blazing World”, is a noble aim.

    写一部深入浅出的关于动荡的17世纪的英国历史是一个崇高的目标，正如乔纳森·希利在《炽烈世界》中所力图做到的那样。

    Starting with the seeds of one revolution and ending with a second, the period teems¹ with ideas about what it means to be a citizen as opposed to a subject, and about how God should be worshipped.

    17世纪以一场革命的种子开始，以第二场革命的种子结束，这一时期充斥着各种思考：作为公民而非臣民意味着什么？应该如何崇拜上帝？

    By the end of it, a modern concept of the state was emerging.

    到17世纪末，现代国家概念开始形成。

    Yet even in Britain it is neglected.

    然而，即使在英国，这一点也被忽视了。

    At the turn of the century nine out of ten people lived in the countryside.

    在16和17世纪之交，十分之九的人住在乡村。

    A tiny minority were literate².

    极少数人识字。

    Famine and plague were regular scourges³; a rising population and stagnant⁴ economy spelt misery⁵.

    饥荒和瘟疫是常见灾祸；人口增长和经济停滞意味着苦难。

    Fear of witchcraft⁶ was common, as were executions for petty crimes.

    对巫术的恐惧很常见，对轻微罪行的处决也很普遍。

    Fornication could land you in court.

    通奸会让你上法庭。

    By 1700 trade had replaced farming as the mainstay of a burgeoning⁷ market economy.

    到1700年，贸易已经取代农业，成为蓬勃发展的市场经济的支柱。

    Relief from extreme poverty was mandated⁸ by Parliament.

    摆脱极端贫困是由议会授权的。

    Towns were hubs of commerce and culture; religious dissent⁹ was accepted by a relatively¹⁰ tolerant Anglican elite¹¹.

    城镇是商业和文化中心；宗教异议被相对宽容的英国国教精英所接受。

    Rich Protestant England was a force in Europe.

    富有的新教英格兰成为欧洲的一股力量。

    A continuous thread runs from the accession of England’s first Stuart king, James I, in 1603, to the dynasty’s fall in the so-called Glorious Revolution of 1688-89.

    从1603年英国第一位斯图亚特国王詹姆斯一世登基，到1688年至1689年光荣革命中斯图亚特王朝垮台，一条连续的线索贯穿其中。

    Yet historians often balk¹² at telling the tumultuous, ideologically¹³ charged story in one go.

    然而，历史学家往往不愿一口气叙述完这段混乱且充满意识形态色彩的历史。

    Often it is divided into three chunks¹⁴.

    通常，它被分成三个部分。

    First come increasing resistance to absolutism and religious intolerance, civil war, the parliamentary army’s victory, the execution of Charles I, and the establishment of the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell.

    首先是对专制制度和宗教不容忍的日益不满、内战、议会军队的胜利、查理一世被处决以及克伦威尔开启护国时期。

    Next, the monarchy¹⁵’s restoration under Charles II; finally, the disastrous¹⁶ reign¹⁷ of James II and invitation to William of Orange to take his place and establish a proto-constitutional monarchy.

    接下来是查理二世复辟；最后是詹姆斯二世的灾难性统治，以及威廉三世接替王位，建立原始君主立宪制。

    Mr Healey takes on the whole saga¹⁸ in under 500 pages.

    希利用不到500页的篇幅囊括了全部历史。

    It begins when the first James acceded¹⁹ to the throne and was struck by England’s apparent wealth compared with his native Scotland.

    故事始于詹姆斯一世即位，他震惊于英格兰远超其祖国苏格兰的巨大财富。

    But the monarchy itself was chronically²⁰ broke, a condition made worse by the excesses of his court.

    但君主制本身就在慢慢崩溃，在他统治下，宫廷的奢华无度使情况变得更糟。

    Tension ensued between his need for cash (he even sold peerages) and Parliament’s traditional control over the royal purse strings²¹.

    詹姆斯一世对金钱的需求(他甚至出售贵族头衔)和议会一直以来对王室钱包的控制之间出现了紧张关系。

    In an era in which absolutism had become the norm across Europe—but was a relatively newfangled notion in England—such restraints were seen first by James, then by his son Charles, as a direct challenge to the “divine right of kings”.

    在那个专制制度已经成为整个欧洲的常态的时代——但在英格兰还是一个相对新奇的概念——这种限制接连被詹姆斯一世和其儿子查理一世视为对“神圣王权”的直接挑战。

    All the dynasty’s calamities²² sprang from this clash.

    王朝的所有灾难都源于这一冲突。

    A far less canny²³ operator than his father, the priggish Charles I was widely seen to be trampling²⁴ over ancient English liberties.

    严肃正经的查理一世远没有他的父亲那么精明，人们普遍认为查理一世践踏了古代英国的自由。

    Initially²⁵, this was a bigger cause for rebellion than the novel idea of government by and for the people: that developed later, particularly in the ranks of the radicalised parliamentary army.

    最初，这是比民治民享的政府观念更大的反叛原因：政府观念是后来发展起来的，特别是在激进的议会军队中。

    When the civil war began in 1642, nobody thought it would lead to the decapitation of a king and advent²⁶ of a republic (albeit a short-lived one).

    1642年内战开始时，没有人想到这会导致国王被斩首以及共和国出现(尽管是短暂的)。

    Wily and pragmatic as well as louche, Charles II may have been the only Stuart to see that public opinion, fed by the proliferating²⁷ news-sheets and pamphlets, could confer or deny legitimacy²⁸.

    狡猾、务实又奸邪的查理二世可能是唯一一个看清楚这个道理的斯图尔特：在大量涌现的单张报纸和宣传册子的推动下，公众舆论可以赋予也可以否认王权正统性。

    The clumsy attempt by James II, a Catholic, to restore absolutist rule was always doomed²⁹ to failure.

    天主教徒詹姆斯二世试图恢复专制统治的拙劣尝试是注定要失败的。

    The ferment³⁰ of ideas about politics, society and religion led inexorably to his ousting³¹ in the Glorious Revolution—and Britain’s emergence³² as a stable modern state.

    政治、社会和宗教思想的发酵，势不可挡地导致他在光荣革命中被赶下台——以及英国成为一个稳定的现代国家。

    The tempo³³ never slackens in this erudite book.

    在这本精深广博的书中，节奏从未松懈。

    But sometimes the reader feels bombarded by detail (all those parliaments, the Short, the Long, the Rump…).

    但有时读者会感到被细节轰炸(比如各种议会：短期议会、长期议会、残缺议会……)。

    Worse, there is too little attempt to flesh out the luminaries³⁴ of the age, such as the outrageous³⁵ editor and propagandist Marchamont Nedham,更不妙的是，作者很少试图把那个时代的一些风云人物写得更为丰满一些，比如常作骇人之言的编辑和宣传家马卡蒙特·尼德海姆，or John Lambert, the brilliant parliamentary general who drafted England’s first written constitution, and whom the author thinks would have made a more enlightened Lord Protector than Cromwell.

    或者起草了英国第一部成文宪法的杰出议会军将领约翰·兰伯特，作者认为他会成为比克伦威尔更开明的护国公。

    Mr Healey’s is avowedly³⁶ a narrative³⁷ history.

    希利的这部著作无疑是一部叙述史。

    A bit more attention to its characters would not have gone amiss.

    但是多关注一下其中的人物是不会有问题的。

1 teems   

v.充满( teem的第三人称单数 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The swamp teems with mosquitoes. 这片沼泽地蚊子多极了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• That book teems with blunders. 那本书错误不少。 来自辞典例句

2 literate   

n.学者；adj.精通文学的，受过教育的

参考例句：

• Only a few of the nation's peasants are literate.这个国家的农民中只有少数人能识字。
• A literate person can get knowledge through reading many books.一个受过教育的人可以通过读书而获得知识。

3 scourges   

带来灾难的人或东西，祸害( scourge的名词复数 )； 鞭子

参考例句：

• Textile workers suffer from three scourges -- noise, dust and humidity. 纱厂工人的三大威胁，就是音响、尘埃和湿气。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Believe, if Internet remains great scourges, also won't have present dimensions. 相信，如果互联网仍然是洪水猛兽，也不会有现在的规模。

4 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

5 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

6 witchcraft   

n.魔法，巫术

参考例句：

• The woman practising witchcraft claimed that she could conjure up the spirits of the dead.那个女巫说她能用魔法召唤亡灵。
• All these things that you call witchcraft are capable of a natural explanation.被你们统统叫做巫术的那些东西都可以得到合情合理的解释。

7 burgeoning   

adj.迅速成长的，迅速发展的v.发芽，抽枝( burgeon的现在分词 )；迅速发展；发（芽），抽（枝）

参考例句：

• Our company's business is burgeoning now. 我们公司的业务现在发展很迅速。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These efforts were insufficient to contain the burgeoning crisis. 这些努力不足以抑制迅速扩散的危机。 来自辞典例句

8 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

9 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 balk   

n.大方木料；v.妨碍；不愿前进或从事某事

参考例句：

• We get strong indications that his agent would balk at that request.我们得到的强烈暗示是他的经纪人会回避那个要求。
• He shored up the wall with a thick balk of wood.他用一根粗大的木头把墙撑住。

13 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

14 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

15 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

16 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

17 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

18 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

19 acceded   

v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职

参考例句：

• He acceded to demands for his resignation. 他同意要他辞职的要求。
• They have acceded to the treaty. 他们已经加入了那个条约。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

21 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

22 calamities   

n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事

参考例句：

• They will only triumph by persevering in their struggle against natural calamities. 他们只有坚持与自然灾害搏斗，才能取得胜利。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• One moment's false security can bring a century of calamities. 图一时之苟安，贻百年之大患。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

23 canny   

adj.谨慎的，节俭的

参考例句：

• He was far too canny to risk giving himself away.他非常谨慎，不会冒险暴露自己。
• But I'm trying to be a little canny about it.但是我想对此谨慎一些。

24 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

25 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

26 advent   

n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临

参考例句：

• Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
• The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。

27 proliferating   

激增( proliferate的现在分词 )； （迅速）繁殖； 增生； 扩散

参考例句：

• Computerized data bases are proliferating fast. 计算机化的数据库正在激增。
• Crown galls are cancerous growths composed of disorganized and proliferating plant cells. 冠瘿是无组织的正在不断增殖的植物细胞所组成的癌状物。

28 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

29 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。

30 ferment   

vt.使发酵；n./vt.（使）激动，（使）动乱

参考例句：

• Fruit juices ferment if they are kept a long time.果汁若是放置很久，就会发酵。
• The sixties were a time of theological ferment.六十年代是神学上骚动的时代。

31 ousting   

驱逐( oust的现在分词 )； 革职； 罢黜； 剥夺

参考例句：

• The resulting financial chaos led to the ousting of Bristol-Myers' s boss. 随后引发的财政混乱导致了百时美施贵宝的总裁下台。
• The ousting of the president has drawn widespread criticism across Latin America and the wider world. 洪都拉斯总统被驱逐时间引起拉丁美洲甚至全世界的广泛批评。

32 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

33 tempo   

n.(音乐的)速度；节奏，行进速度

参考例句：

• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。
• They waltz to the tempo of the music.他们跟着音乐的节奏跳华尔兹舞。

34 luminaries   

n.杰出人物，名人（luminary的复数形式）

参考例句：

• In that day there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 亚14:6那日、必没有光．三光必退缩。 来自互联网
• Includes household filament light bulbs & luminaries. 包括家用的白炙灯泡和光源。 来自互联网

35 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

36 avowedly   

adv.公然地

参考例句：

• He was avowedly in the wrong. 他自认错了。 来自辞典例句
• Their policy has been avowedly marxist. 他们的政策被公开地宣称为马克思主义政策。 来自互联网

37 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。