世界小史 第177期:遥远的边境

 　　Beyond the distant frontiers all aroundwere fierce, barbarian¹ tribes waiting to raid and pillage² the rich provinces.

　　因为在遥远的边境的那一边到处都有未开化的、好战的名族，他们很想侵入各富庶的行省，掠夺那里的财富。

　　The Germans, who lived in the north at the otherside of the Danube and the Rhine,

　　在北方，在多瑙河和莱茵河的彼岸，那里居住着日耳曼人，

　　were especially troublesome – Caesar hadalready clashed with them during his conquest of Gaul.

　　他们让罗马人尤其感到头疼。凯撒在占领法国时就已和他们交战过。

　　Tall and powerfully built, they towered overthe Romans and frightened the life out of them.

　　他们是身材高大、强壮有力的人，单凭其魁梧的身量就吓唬住了罗马人。

　　Not only that, but their country, nowGermany, was in those days a land of swamps and dark forests in which Romanlegions were forever losing their way.

　　他们的国家，即今日的德国，也还布满茂密的森林和黑乎乎的沼泽地，使罗马军团在其中失去方向。

　　But, above all, the Germans simply weren'tused to living in fine, centrally heated villas³.

　　但是主要是日耳曼人自己不习惯居住在有集中供暖设施的漂亮别墅里，

　　They were peasants and herdsmen, as theRomans themselves had once been, and they preferred to live as they always had,in isolated⁴ wooden farmsteads.

　　他们是农民，罗马人从前也曾是这样的农民，他们居住在很分散的、用木头构造的农家房屋里。

　　Educated Romans from the cities liked towrite about the great simplicity⁵ of the Germanic way of life, the plainness andausterity of their traditions,

　　在拉丁语论文里曾报道过他们的罗马大城市居民如今喜欢讲述日耳曼人的极度简朴而严格的生活习俗，

　　their love of warfare⁶ and their loyalty⁷ totheir chieftains.

　　他们的好斗和他们对部落首领的忠诚。

1 barbarian   

n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的

参考例句：

• There is a barbarian tribe living in this forest.有一个原始部落居住在这个林区。
• The walled city was attacked by barbarian hordes.那座有城墙的城市遭到野蛮部落的袭击。

2 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

3 villas   

别墅，公馆( villa的名词复数 )； （城郊）住宅

参考例句：

• Magnificent villas are found throughout Italy. 在意大利到处可看到豪华的别墅。
• Rich men came down from wealthy Rome to build sea-side villas. 有钱人从富有的罗马来到这儿建造海滨别墅。

4 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

5 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

6 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

7 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。