世界小史 第163期:诵读字母顺序

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　　每逢他发怒时，他便总是默默诵读字母顺序，这会花去他的一些时间，然后他又头脑清醒了。

　　This tells you what he was like: cool-headed, a man who ruled the empire fairly and wisely.

　　所以他根本就是一个头脑清醒的人，能够公正地管理着辽阔的帝国。

　　He wasn't only a warrior² and he didn't only enjoy going to gladiator fights.

　　他是一个能征善战的人，而且他爱看角斗表演。

　　He lived simply and appreciated fine sculpture and fine poetry.

　　他过着非常俭朴的生活，对美好的塑像和美好的诗很有鉴赏力。

　　And because the Romans were less gifted than the Greeks at such things, he had copies made of all the finest Greek statues and placed them in his palaces and gardens.

　　由于罗马人不能像当时希腊人那样善于雕塑和写诗，他就让人模仿希腊人的最美的艺术作品并将其摆放在他的宫殿和花园里。

　　The Roman poets of his time – and they are the most famous of all the Roman poets – also took the poems of the Greeks as their models.

　　他那个时代的罗马诗人，都是最著名的罗马诗人，也将尽可能像希腊人那样写诗而努力。

　　For even in those days people thought that all the most beautiful things came from Greece.

　　希腊人是他们的楷模，希腊作品在当时就已经被认为是最美好的作品，

　　And for the same reason it was considered a sign of distinction for a Roman to speak Greek, to read the ancient Greek poets and to collect Greek works³ of art.

　　所以讲希腊语、读希腊诗人的作品和收集希腊艺术品，这在罗马也是一种高贵的行为。

　　This was lucky for us, for if they hadn't, we might never have heard about any of it.

　　这是我们的一件幸事，因为假如罗马人没有这样做的话，那么我们今天也许对所有这些事物便会懵然无知了。

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