世界小史 第128期:下跪

 　　Anyone who came into his presence had to fall on their knees before him and speak to him as if he were a god.

　　任何人来到他的面前必须向他下跪并仿佛他真的是一个神似的同他讲话。

　　And in the manner of Oriental kings he had several wives, among them the daughter of the Persian king, Darius,

　　他像东方国王们那样娶了好几个妻子，其中有波斯国王大流士的女儿，

　　which made him that king's rightful successor.

　　以便成为后者的真正的继承人。

　　For Alexander didn't wish to be seen as a foreign conqueror¹.

　　因为他不想被看作是个外来的占领者，

　　His aim was to combine the wisdom and splendor² of the East with the clear thinking and vitality³ of the Greeks, and so create something entirely⁴ new and wonderful.

　　他的目标是把东方的智慧和财富与希腊人的清晰思路和活力融合为某种崭新的、神奇的东西。

　　But this idea didn't please the Greeks and Macedonians at all.

　　可是希腊人和马其他人不喜欢这样。

　　They were the conquerors⁵, so they should be the masters.

　　他们这些征服者也想保持其主人的地位。

　　What was more, they were free men, and used to their freedom.

　　而且他们是自由人、他们习惯自由。

　　They weren't going to bow down to any man on earth – or, as they put it, lick any man's boots.

　　他们不愿意向任何人或大地跪拜——或者，像他们说的“拍任何人的马屁”。

　　His Greek friends and the soldiers became increasingly rebellious⁶, and he was forced to send them home.

　　他的希腊朋友和士兵们变得越来越反叛，他不得不将他们遣送回家。

1 conqueror   

n.征服者，胜利者

参考例句：

• We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
• They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。

2 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

3 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 conquerors   

征服者，占领者( conqueror的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Danes had selfconfidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. 这些丹麦人具有征服者的自信，而且他们的安全防卫也是漫不经心的。
• The conquerors believed in crushing the defeated people into submission, knowing that they could not win their loyalty by the victory. 征服者们知道他们的胜利并不能赢得失败者的忠心，于是就认为只有通过武力才能将他们压服。

6 rebellious   

adj.造反的，反抗的，难控制的

参考例句：

• They will be in danger if they are rebellious.如果他们造反，他们就要发生危险。
• Her reply was mild enough,but her thoughts were rebellious.她的回答虽然很温和，但她的心里十分反感。