英语听力：Byzantium-The Lost Empire 拜占庭：失落的帝国-11

 But Simon was a nutter¹. Simon had tremendous presence like an emperor. He sat still and silent, and in his contest between flesh and the devil, it seemed to most people, that he was beyond touch. And there he was, on his pillar, half way between heaven and earth, a perfect man to settle disputes. So they used Simon. The farmers of Syria would come here when they were in arguments, and he would settle one against the other. The Bedouin, the Arab Bedouin came to see him, too. The emperor used to come to see him. And always he acted as a balance in society, such a terrifying balance that if he cursed somebody from the top of his pillar, a rock would explode next to the unfortunate individual. So Simon, it was a vital element in this new Christian² Empire, an element which somehow had taken the old stern order of Roman Age and left it half way between Heaven and Earth.

 

In the eastern Mediterranean³, in the warm heartland of the pagan world, the first Christian Empire, the Empire of Byzantium, found its balance. It was a good life, a rich life, and there was peace in plenty.

 

You know, it always strikes me as funny when people talk about the fall of the Roman Empire. After all, standing⁴ here in Constantinople, it just got richer and richer and richer, didn’t fall at all. I suppose really it’s because Rome fell, in fact Rome didn’t fall, it just got poor. Constantine had moved the capital from the great old cities in the west to here in the east. And with him moved the government, the generals, the artists, and the architects, everybody who made the empire moved with him. So in 475, that’s 25 years after these walls were finished, the last Roman Emperor of the West, a young man, a junior Emperor, sent the crown back here to Constantinople to new Rome. This was a new city.

 

Now I suppose really, the story about the fall of the Roman Empire, that’s the western Empire, was really invented in the Renaissance⁵ by the popes, who really wanted to get the idea of a pagan empire falling and a Christian empire of the west rising. There are good propagandas like Raphael and Michelangelo to buzz on their way. But the truth is, the real truth is, that old Rome, ancient Rome, had been modeled on the great cities of the east, on Antioch and Alexandria, world’s great marvel⁶ cities. So when you say Rome fell, it didn’t fall at all, it simply went back home again.

 

After the last emperor of the west resigned, Byzantium lost most of its European provinces. Only for a century then, by the year 555, brand new Byzantine armies had ruthlessly reconquered some of them. And in northern Italy of Ravenna, they left triumphant⁷ decorations in this church as their memorial.

 

1 nutter   

n.疯子

参考例句：

• Don't call him nutter because it is such a bad term.别叫他“疯子”，这不是个好词。
• But it's awfully ruthless and cold-blooded for a nutter from the other side.但是对那边的疯子们来说，却也实在太冷血无情了。

2 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

3 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

6 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

7 triumphant   

adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的

参考例句：

• The army made a triumphant entry into the enemy's capital.部队胜利地进入了敌方首都。
• There was a positively triumphant note in her voice.她的声音里带有一种极为得意的语气。