纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 045阿拉伯青铜手(1)

All this week I've been looking at the ways in which, around 1,700 years ago, the great religions of the age created images that would bring the faithful closer to their gods, and how those religions became embedded¹ in the great empires of the time.

本周我一直带来大约1700年前伟大宗教所创造忠实接近他们的神的物品以及那些宗教如何被庞大帝国所依赖。

We've had images of the Buddha², Hindu gods and Christ.

最近几节，我们已看过了佛陀坐像，印度神祇以及基督。

Today's object is part of a human body but it doesn't belong to a god; it's a gift to a god, it's a right hand, cast in bronze.

本节中的物品是一只青铜右手，是献给神的供品，这几乎是用实物表达了为了某一目的，奉献我的右手之意。

We all know the expressions...to give your right hand for something, to be sitting at someone's right hand, or to be someone's right-hand man.

这只手的主人希望能将自己的手放进他所敬拜的神祇手中，以获得神的恩宠。

Well, we can imagine the man whose hand this represented, wishing very much to be at the right hand of his particular god-he even bears the god's name, Ta'lab.

我们可以想象代表这只手的人们,他甚至与这位神拥有同样的名字—塔拉布。

1 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

2 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。