纪录片《凡尔赛宫》 50为时已晚 覆水难收

It was too late for Louis to play the reformer.

路易再想扮演改革者就已经太迟了

Years of erotic self-indulgence, along with failed wars

多年荒淫糜烂的生活 失败的战争

and bungled¹ diplomacy²,

及笨拙的外交政策

had cemented his subjects' opinion of him,

早已使民众确信他是

a bad king and a bad man.

一位不称职的国王和一个坏人

Louis XV, towards the end of his reign³, is sunk in vice⁴,

路易十五 在他执政后期积重难返

and the people of Paris and the courtiers

巴黎民众和大臣

are all very well aware that he has, somehow,

都或多或少了解

taken the path of personal pleasure

他沉迷于个人享乐

and not been a very successful king.

没有多大的建树和功绩

His reforms are falling flat,

他的改革落空

he's got a mistress who is, frankly⁵,

他找了一名情妇 坦白说

not of courtly rank,

并不是一名贵族

and he's simply not kingly.

且他也不再如国王般受人尊敬

On top of it all, on Easter Sunday, 1774,

之外 在1774年的复活节星期日

The Abbe Beauvais,

神父博韦

the most eloquent⁶ sermoniser at the court of Louis XV,

路易十五时期最能言善辩的布道者

makes this devastating⁷ sermon.

做了一场灾难性的布道

1 bungled   

v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的过去式和过去分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成

参考例句：

• They bungled the job. 他们把活儿搞糟了。
• John bungled the job. 约翰把事情搞糟了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

3 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

6 eloquent   

adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的

参考例句：

• He was so eloquent that he cut down the finest orator.他能言善辩，胜过最好的演说家。
• These ruins are an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war.这些废墟形象地提醒人们不要忘记战争的恐怖。

7 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。