世界小史 第171期:仇恨人类

 　　The Christians¹ had often said that this world must end so that a better, purer world might take its place.

　　基督徒们曾常常说，这个世界必须毁灭，好让一个更好的、更纯洁的世界诞生。

　　Of course, you and I know that they meant Heaven.

　　你知道，他们这话是什么意思。

　　But because people tend not to listen very carefully, soon they were saying: "The Christians want the world to end because they hate mankind."

　　但是由于人们通常只是粗略地倾听别人说话，所以罗马不久便盛传：基督徒希望世界毁灭，他们仇恨人类。

　　An extraordinary accusation², don't you think?

　　这难道不是一个奇怪的指责吗?

　　Nero had them arrested wherever he found them, and they were brutally³ put to death.

　　尼禄一找到他们便统统将其逮捕，并残忍地处死他们。

　　Some were torn to pieces by wild beasts in the arena⁴, while others were burnt alive as torches at a grand nocturnal banquet in his garden.

　　他不仅让他们在剧场里被野兽撕碎，他也让他们在他的私人花园里在一个盛大的晚会上当火炬活活烧死。

　　But the Christians bore all these tortures and those of later persecutions with unbelievable courage.

　　但是基督徒在这次以及后来受迫害时都以闻所未闻的勇气忍受住了种种痛苦，

　　They were proud to testify to the power of their new faith.

　　他们为成为这一新的信仰力量的见证人而感到自豪。

　　And these testifiers – or 'martyrs⁵', to use the Greek word – later became the first saints.

　　这些见证人在希腊语中叫“martyrs”。这些殉教者后来被敬奉为第一批圣徒。

　　Christians used to pray at the tombs of their martyrs,

　　基督徒们去朝拜他们的坟墓并在那里祈祷。

　　whom they buried in a whole network of underground passages and burial chambers⁶ called catacombs, outside the city gates.

　　由于他们不能再大白天公开集会，所以他们就偷偷地在墓室里聚集。那是城市前面的地下通道和墓室。

1 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

2 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

3 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

4 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

5 martyrs   

n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情）

参考例句：

• the early Christian martyrs 早期基督教殉道者
• They paid their respects to the revolutionary martyrs. 他们向革命烈士致哀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网