英语学习

The Roman Peace 罗马的和平

By Aelius Aristides [古罗马] 阿里斯蒂德斯 ■孙有中选译

If one considers the vast extent of your empire he must be amazed that so small a fraction of it rules the world, but when he beholds the city and its spaciousness it is not astonishing that all the habitable world is ruled by such a capital . . . . Your possessions equal the sun's course . . . . You do not rule within fixed boundaries, nor can anyone dictate the limits of your sway . . . . Whatever any people produces can be found here, at all times and in abundance . . . . Egypt, Sicily, and the civilized part of Africa are your farms; ships are continually coming and going . . . .

Vast as it is, your empire is more remarkable for its thoroughness than its scope: there are no dissident or rebellious enclaves . . . . The whole world prays in unison that your empire may endure forever.

Governors sent out to cities and peoples each rule their charges, but in their relations to each other they are equally subjects. The principal difference between governors and their charges is this—they demonstrate the proper way to be a subject. So great is their reverence for the great Ruler [the emperor], who administers all things. Him they believe to know their business better than they themselves do, and hence they respect and heed him more than one would a master overseeing a task and giving orders. No one is so self-assured that he can remain unmoved upon hearing the emperor's name; he rises in prayer and adoration and utters a twofold prayer—to the gods for the Ruler, and to the Ruler for himself. And if the governors are in the least doubt concerning the justice of claims or suits of the governed, public or private, they send to the Ruler for instructions at once and await his reply, as a chorus awaits its trainer's directions. Hence the Ruler need not exhaust himself by traveling to various parts to settle matters in person. It is easy for him to abide in his place and manage the world through letters; these arrive almost as soon as written, as if borne on wings.

But the most notable and praiseworthy feature of all, a thing unparalleled, is your magnanimous conception of citizenship. All of your subjects (and this implies the whole world) you have divided into two parts: the better endowed and more virile, wherever they may be, you have granted citizenship and even kinship; the rest you govern as obedient subjects. Neither the seas nor expanse of land bars citizenship; Asia and Europe are not differentiated. Careers are open to talent . . . . Rich and poor find contentment and profit in your system; there is no other way of life. Your polity is a single and all-embracing harmony . . . .

You alone are, so to speak, natural rulers. Your predecessors were masters and slaves in turn; as rulers they were counterfeits, and reversed their positions like players in a ball game. . . . You have measured out the world, bridged rivers, cut roads through mountains, filled the wastes with posting stations, introduced orderly and refined modes of life . . . .

Be all gods and their offspring invoked to grant that this empire and this city flourish forever and never cease until stones float upon the sea and trees forbear to sprout in the springtide. May the great Ruler and his sons be preserved to administer all things well.

考虑到你的帝国幅员之辽阔，任何人都会惊讶不已：如此弹丸之地居然统治着全世界。然而，只要他目睹这座气势恢弘的城市，世间人迹所至之处之所以受制于此一都城，也就不足为怪了。……普天之下，莫非王土。……你的统治并不囿于固定的疆域，也没有任何人能够约束你的权力。……在这里，一年四季，世间物产应有尽有，源源不竭。……埃及、西西里以及非洲的开化地带都是你的农场；船舶往来，川流不息……

你的帝国固然广袤无边，而更值得称道的不是它的疆域，而是它的稳固：这里没有任何叛逆的飞地。……全世界同声祈祷：愿你的帝国万古长存。

派往各城市和民族区域的总督们治理着各自辖区的人民，但就其相互关系而言，他们不过是平等的臣民。总督与其辖区人民之间的首要区别在于：前者模范地履行臣民的职责。他们对统率天下的伟大君主[即罗马皇帝]无限崇拜，相信他比他们自己更了解他们的事务，因而他们对他的景仰之情决非人们对一个发号施令的主人的尊崇可以比拟。没有人会如此自命不凡，听到皇帝的名字居然能无动于衷；他定会肃然起敬，连声祈祷，一面祈求神灵保佑君主，一面祈求君主保佑自己。假如总督对其辖区官民申诉的合理性有任何的疑虑，他们便立刻向君主请示，然后像合唱团等待教练的指令一样等待他的批复。这样，君主便无须因事必躬亲而疲于四处奔波。通过信函，他足不出宫便可轻易治理天下；这些信函几乎朝发夕至，仿佛插上了飞翔的翅膀。

但是，最引人注目、最可颂扬且举世无双的特性还要数你宽宏大量的公民观。你将所有的臣民（也就是全世界）分成两类：对于那些更有天资、更强健的，无论他们身在何处，你都授予公民身份，甚至视为同胞；其余的你便作为顺从的臣民加以统治。无论是海洋还是广袤的陆地，都不能构成公民身份的障碍；亚细亚与欧罗巴平等相待。英才俊士均可脱颖而出。……在你的制度里，无论贫富，人人各安其分，各谋其利；舍此别无他途。你的国度政通人和，欣欣向荣。……

可以说，你是天生的统治者。从前的帝王们不过是轮流交换着主仆的角色；作为统治者，他们徒有虚名，好似一场球赛中的选手更换着彼此的位置。……你指点江山，架设桥梁，开山凿路，在荒野设立驿站，将安宁、优雅的生活方式传播四方。……

愿天地间所有神灵保佑帝国和都城繁荣昌盛，万古长春，直到海枯石烂。愿吾皇子孙万代，永享国泰民安。

从公元前27年到公元180年大约200年的时间，史称“罗马的和平”（Pax Romana，即Roman Peace）。在这一时期，罗马帝国的统治达到辉煌的顶峰，其疆域横跨欧、亚、非大陆，地中海一时成为其内湖。帝国境内，政治开明、社会安宁、经济繁荣、文化兴旺，一派“和平”景象。罗马帝国的文人墨客们于是纷纷写诗赋词，讴歌太平盛世、皇上英明。本文作者是公元2世纪的一位希腊文人，在这篇献给罗马城的演说词中，他使用了大量华丽的辞藻和夸张的手法。从中，读者不难感受到罗马帝国当年恢弘博大的气象。

	The Roman Peace 罗马的和平 By Aelius Aristides [古罗马] 阿里斯蒂德斯 ■孙有中选译
	If one considers the vast extent of your empire he must be amazed that so small a fraction of it rules the world, but when he beholds the city and its spaciousness it is not astonishing that all the habitable world is ruled by such a capital . . . . Your possessions equal the sun's course . . . . You do not rule within fixed boundaries, nor can anyone dictate the limits of your sway . . . . Whatever any people produces can be found here, at all times and in abundance . . . . Egypt, Sicily, and the civilized part of Africa are your farms; ships are continually coming and going . . . . Vast as it is, your empire is more remarkable for its thoroughness than its scope: there are no dissident or rebellious enclaves . . . . The whole world prays in unison that your empire may endure forever. Governors sent out to cities and peoples each rule their charges, but in their relations to each other they are equally subjects. The principal difference between governors and their charges is this—they demonstrate the proper way to be a subject. So great is their reverence for the great Ruler [the emperor], who administers all things. Him they believe to know their business better than they themselves do, and hence they respect and heed him more than one would a master overseeing a task and giving orders. No one is so self-assured that he can remain unmoved upon hearing the emperor's name; he rises in prayer and adoration and utters a twofold prayer—to the gods for the Ruler, and to the Ruler for himself. And if the governors are in the least doubt concerning the justice of claims or suits of the governed, public or private, they send to the Ruler for instructions at once and await his reply, as a chorus awaits its trainer's directions. Hence the Ruler need not exhaust himself by traveling to various parts to settle matters in person. It is easy for him to abide in his place and manage the world through letters; these arrive almost as soon as written, as if borne on wings. But the most notable and praiseworthy feature of all, a thing unparalleled, is your magnanimous conception of citizenship. All of your subjects (and this implies the whole world) you have divided into two parts: the better endowed and more virile, wherever they may be, you have granted citizenship and even kinship; the rest you govern as obedient subjects. Neither the seas nor expanse of land bars citizenship; Asia and Europe are not differentiated. Careers are open to talent . . . . Rich and poor find contentment and profit in your system; there is no other way of life. Your polity is a single and all-embracing harmony . . . . You alone are, so to speak, natural rulers. Your predecessors were masters and slaves in turn; as rulers they were counterfeits, and reversed their positions like players in a ball game. . . . You have measured out the world, bridged rivers, cut roads through mountains, filled the wastes with posting stations, introduced orderly and refined modes of life . . . . Be all gods and their offspring invoked to grant that this empire and this city flourish forever and never cease until stones float upon the sea and trees forbear to sprout in the springtide. May the great Ruler and his sons be preserved to administer all things well.	考虑到你的帝国幅员之辽阔，任何人都会惊讶不已：如此弹丸之地居然统治着全世界。然而，只要他目睹这座气势恢弘的城市，世间人迹所至之处之所以受制于此一都城，也就不足为怪了。……普天之下，莫非王土。……你的统治并不囿于固定的疆域，也没有任何人能够约束你的权力。……在这里，一年四季，世间物产应有尽有，源源不竭。……埃及、西西里以及非洲的开化地带都是你的农场；船舶往来，川流不息…… 你的帝国固然广袤无边，而更值得称道的不是它的疆域，而是它的稳固：这里没有任何叛逆的飞地。……全世界同声祈祷：愿你的帝国万古长存。派往各城市和民族区域的总督们治理着各自辖区的人民，但就其相互关系而言，他们不过是平等的臣民。总督与其辖区人民之间的首要区别在于：前者模范地履行臣民的职责。他们对统率天下的伟大君主[即罗马皇帝]无限崇拜，相信他比他们自己更了解他们的事务，因而他们对他的景仰之情决非人们对一个发号施令的主人的尊崇可以比拟。没有人会如此自命不凡，听到皇帝的名字居然能无动于衷；他定会肃然起敬，连声祈祷，一面祈求神灵保佑君主，一面祈求君主保佑自己。假如总督对其辖区官民申诉的合理性有任何的疑虑，他们便立刻向君主请示，然后像合唱团等待教练的指令一样等待他的批复。这样，君主便无须因事必躬亲而疲于四处奔波。通过信函，他足不出宫便可轻易治理天下；这些信函几乎朝发夕至，仿佛插上了飞翔的翅膀。但是，最引人注目、最可颂扬且举世无双的特性还要数你宽宏大量的公民观。你将所有的臣民（也就是全世界）分成两类：对于那些更有天资、更强健的，无论他们身在何处，你都授予公民身份，甚至视为同胞；其余的你便作为顺从的臣民加以统治。无论是海洋还是广袤的陆地，都不能构成公民身份的障碍；亚细亚与欧罗巴平等相待。英才俊士均可脱颖而出。……在你的制度里，无论贫富，人人各安其分，各谋其利；舍此别无他途。你的国度政通人和，欣欣向荣。…… 可以说，你是天生的统治者。从前的帝王们不过是轮流交换着主仆的角色；作为统治者，他们徒有虚名，好似一场球赛中的选手更换着彼此的位置。……你指点江山，架设桥梁，开山凿路，在荒野设立驿站，将安宁、优雅的生活方式传播四方。…… 愿天地间所有神灵保佑帝国和都城繁荣昌盛，万古长春，直到海枯石烂。愿吾皇子孙万代，永享国泰民安。
	从公元前27年到公元180年大约200年的时间，史称“罗马的和平”（Pax Romana，即Roman Peace）。在这一时期，罗马帝国的统治达到辉煌的顶峰，其疆域横跨欧、亚、非大陆，地中海一时成为其内湖。帝国境内，政治开明、社会安宁、经济繁荣、文化兴旺，一派“和平”景象。罗马帝国的文人墨客们于是纷纷写诗赋词，讴歌太平盛世、皇上英明。本文作者是公元2世纪的一位希腊文人，在这篇献给罗马城的演说词中，他使用了大量华丽的辞藻和夸张的手法。从中，读者不难感受到罗马帝国当年恢弘博大的气象。