世界小史 第80期:活着

 Boys were beaten just to harden them to pain.

人们打男孩只是为了让他们变得坚强，习惯疼痛。

A harsh upbringing is still called 'Spartan¹' today,

今天人们仍把这种严格的教育称之为“斯巴达式教育”，

and as you know, it worked: at Thermopylae, in 480 BC, in obedience² to their law, the Spartans³ allowedthemselves to be massacred by the Persians.

你知道，这种教育卓有成效：在公元前480年的温泉关战役中，为服从他们的法律，斯巴达人宁愿被波斯人杀害。

Knowing how to die like that isn't easy.

知道这样去死，并不容易。

But knowing how to live is, perhaps, even harder. And this is what the Athenians aimed to do.

但是知道如何活着，也许更艰难。这就是雅典人力求的。

They weren't looking for an easy, comfortable life, but one which had meaning.

不谋求一种好的、安逸的生活，而是谋求一种有意义的生活。

A life of which something remained after one's death. Something of benefit to those who came after.

谋求一种人死后会留下点什么的生活。会让后人有所得益的生活。

You shall see how they succeeded.

你将会看到，他们成功地做到了这一点。

Had they not lived in fear – fear of their own slaves – the Spartans might never have become so warlike and brave.

要不是斯巴达人生活在害怕之中——害怕他们自己的奴仆——斯巴达人也许不会变得如此好战和勇敢。

Athenians had fewer reasons to be afraid and they didn't live under the same pressures.

雅典人却没有多少理由害怕，他们生活在不同的压力下。

Things were different for them even though, as in Sparta, the nobles who once ruled Athens imposed harsh laws drawn⁴ up by an Athenian named Draco.

尽管他们的情况和斯巴达不同，但和斯巴达一样，贵族曾统治雅典，实施严厉的法律，一个名叫德拉古的雅典人制定这些法律。

1 spartan   

adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人

参考例句：

• Their spartan lifestyle prohibits a fridge or a phone.他们不使用冰箱和电话，过着简朴的生活。
• The rooms were spartan and undecorated.房间没有装饰，极为简陋。

2 obedience   

n.服从，顺从

参考例句：

• Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
• Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。

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 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。