美国学生人类历史第66期:雅典与斯巴达之战(1)

 　　Chapter 19

　　第十九章

　　Athens VS. Sparta

　　雅典与斯巴达之战

　　How Athens and Sparta fought a long and disastrous¹ war for the leadership of Greece

　　为争夺希腊半岛的领导权，雅典与斯巴达展开了一场漫长而灾难深重的战争。

　　Athens and Sparta were both Greek cities and their people spoke² a common language. In every other respect they were different. Athens rose high from the plain. It was a city exposed to the fresh breezes from the sea, willing to look at the world with the eyes of a happy child. Sparta, on the other hand, was built at the bottom of a deep valley, and used the surrounding mountains as a barrier against foreign thought. Athens was a city of busy trade. Sparta was an armed camp where people were soldiers for the sake of being soldiers. The people of Athens loved to sit in the sun and discuss poetry or listen to the wise words of a philosopher. The Spartans³, on the other hand, never wrote a single line that was considered literature, but they knew how to fight, they liked to fight, and they sacrificed all human emotions to their ideal of military preparedness.

　　雅典和斯巴达同属希腊城邦，它们的人民讲同一种语言，但在其它的方面，两个城市则毫无共同点。雅典高高地矗立在平原之上，享受着徐徐而来的清新海风。雅典的人民习惯用孩子般热切好奇的目光，打量这个惬意的世界；而斯巴达坐落在峡谷的底部，高耸的群山环绕四周，成为阻挡外来事物和新鲜思想的天然屏障。雅典是生意繁忙的贸易之邦，是一个开放的大集市；斯巴达却是一座大兵营，人人厉兵株马，公民的理想都是成为一名优秀的士兵。雅典人喜欢坐在温 暖和煦的阳光下，谈论诗歌或聆听哲人智慧的言辞；斯巴达人正好相反，他们从不写下任何一行与文学有关的东西，却熟谙战斗的技巧。事实上，他们喜欢战斗，从内心里渴望战斗。为了战斗，他们宁愿牺牲人类的所有情感。

　　No wonder that these sombre Spartans viewed the success of Athens with malicious⁴ hate. The energy which the defence of the common home had developed in Athens was now used for purposes of a more peaceful nature. The Acropolis was rebuilt and was made into a marble shrine⁵ to the Goddess Athena. Pericles, the leader of the Athenian democracy, sent far and wide to find famous sculptors⁶ and painters and scientists to make the city more beautiful and the young Athenians more worthy⁷ of their home. At the same time he kept a watchful⁸ eye on Sparta and built high walls which connected Athens with the sea and made her the strongest fortress⁹ of that day.

　　难怪这些严肃的斯巴达人会对雅典的成功报以满腔的恶意与仇恨。反抗波斯的战争结束后，雅典人将保卫共同家园所焕发的精力，用于和平建设的目标。他们重建了雅典卫城，将其作为祭祀雅典女神的大理石神殿。雅典民主 制度的伟大领袖伯里克利派人四处邀请著名的雕塑家、画家和科学家，以重金礼聘他们到雅典工作，好让城市变得更优美，让雅典的年轻一代更有才德。与此同时，伯里克利还时刻警惕着斯巴达的动向，他修筑了连接雅典与海洋的高大城池，使雅典成为当时防卫最坚固、最完备的堡垒。

1 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。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 spartans   

n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The ancient Spartans used to expose babies that they did not want. 古斯巴达人常遗弃他们不要的婴儿。
• But one by one the Spartans fell. 可是斯巴达人一个一个地倒下了。

4 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

6 sculptors   

雕刻家，雕塑家( sculptor的名词复数 )； [天]玉夫座

参考例句：

• He is one of Britain's best-known sculptors. 他是英国最有名的雕塑家之一。
• Painters and sculptors are indexed separately. 画家和雕刻家被分开，分别做了索引。

7 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

8 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。

9 fortress   

n.堡垒，防御工事

参考例句：

• They made an attempt on a fortress.他们试图夺取这一要塞。
• The soldier scaled the wall of the fortress by turret.士兵通过塔车攀登上了要塞的城墙。