世界小史 第87期:戏剧

 Both wisdom of thought and beauty of form were to be united by the Athenians in a third art: the art of poetry.

在第三种艺术中，即在诗艺中，雅典人把思想的睿智和形式的美统一起来。

And here, too, they invented something new: the theater.

而且它们也在这方面发明了新的东西——戏剧。

Their theater, like their sport, was also once bound up with their religion, with festivals held in honor of their god Dionysus, also known as Bacchus.

他们的戏剧也曾和体育那样与宗教，与纪念狄俄倪索斯神（也叫巴克科斯的）的节日会演联系在一起的。

On his feast-day a performance was held which could last all day.

在他的节庆日上，一个节目可能要持续一整天。

It took place in the open air, and the actors wore huge masks and high heels, so that they could be easily seen from a distance.

人们在露天演出，演员们头戴大面具脚穿高跟鞋，这样他们在远处也能被看清楚。

We still have plays which they performed. Some are serious, grand and solemn. They are called tragedies.

当初演出的戏剧至今还保存着。一些戏剧严肃、庄重、肃穆。它们叫悲剧。

But there were other ones that were very sharp, witty¹ and lively, which made fun of certain Athenian citizens. These are called comedies.

但是也有一些其它的戏剧，它们很尖刻、诙谐、生动，逗笑了一些雅典公民。这些叫喜剧。

I could tell you lots more about the Athenians – about their historians² and their doctors, their singers, their thinkers and their artists,

我还可以讲更多关于雅典人的事情——讲述他们的历史学家、医生们、歌唱家们、思想家们和艺术家们，

but I think it would be better for you to find out about them yourself, one day.

但我认为有一天你找一些他们的作品来读会更好。

Then you'll see that I haven't exaggerated.

到时候你就会看到，我没有言过其实。

1 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

2 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。