第六章-埃及的故事

2016年4月10日功课

THE STORY OF EGYPT

埃及的故事

THE RISE AND FALL OF EGYPT

埃及的兴起与衰落。

THE river Nile was a kind friend but occasionally it was a hard taskmaster. It taught the people who lived along its banks the noble art of ``team-work. '' They depended upon each other to build their irrigation trenches and keep their dikes in repair. In this way they learned how to get along with their neighbours and their mutual-benefit-association quite easily developed into an organised state.

尼罗河是埃及人和蔼的朋友，但偶尔也是一个严厉的监工。它教会了沿河而居的人们“团队工作”——这项高贵的艺术。他们相互依赖的修建灌溉水渠和修缮河堤。如此一来，他们学会了怎样与邻居和睦相处，并且他们这种互利的联盟形式非常容易的发展成一个有组织的国家。

2016年4月11日功课

Then one man grew more powerful than most of his neighbours and he became the leader of the community and their commander-in-chief when the envious neighbours of western Asia invaded the prosperous valley. In due course of time he became their King and ruled all the land from the Mediterranean to the mountains of the west.

然后，一个人变得比他的大多数邻居们都更有权利，他成为这个社区的领导者，并且在当西亚嫉妒的邻帮入侵这个繁荣的河谷时作为他们的指挥官。在适当的时候，他成为了他们的国王，统治着从地中海到西面山脉的所有土地。

2016年4月12日功课

But these political adventures of the old Pharaohs (the word meant ``the Man who lived in the Big House'') rarely interested the patient and toiling peasant of the grain fields. Provided he was not obliged to pay more taxes to his King than he thought just, he accepted the rule of Pharaoh as he accepted the rule of Mighty Osiris.

但是法老（这个词的意思是“住在大房子里的那个人”）的那些政治冒险很少能激起田地里劳动人民和勤劳的农民的兴趣。只要他没有被强制给他的国王缴比他预想的多的税，他就会接受法老的统治就像他接受强势的奥西里斯的统治一样。

2016年4月13日功课

It was different however when a foreign invader came and robbed him of his possessions. After twenty centuries of independent life, a savage Arab tribe of shepherds, called the Hyksos, attacked Egypt and for five hundred years they were the masters of the valley of the Nile. They were highly unpopular and great hate was also felt for the Hebrews who came to the land of Goshen to find a shelter after their long wandering through the desert and who helped the foreign usurper by acting as his tax-gatherers and his civil servants.

不过当一个外来入侵者到来，并抢夺了埃及人的财产，情况就大不一样了。在与世隔绝的生活的2000年后，埃及被一支野蛮的阿拉伯游牧部队袭击了，他们是西克索斯人。在接下来的500年里，尼罗河河谷由他们统治。西克索斯人非常不受欢迎，同样遭到极度厌恶的还有希伯来人。希伯来人为了寻找一个栖息地，在沙漠里经过漫长的探索来到富饶的歌珊地地区。他们帮助外来的侵略者，充当他们的收税官和公务员。

2016年4月14日功课

But shortly after the year 1700 B.C. the people of Thebes began a revolution and after a long struggle the Hyksos were driven out of the country and Egypt was free once more.

但在过了公元前17世纪不久，底比斯的人们开始了一场革命。经过长期的艰苦奋斗，西克索斯人被赶出了这个国家，埃及人再次恢复了自由。

2016年4月15日功课

A thousand years later, when Assyria conquered all of western Asia, Egypt became part of the empire of Sardanapalus. In the seventh century B.C. it became once more an independent state which obeyed the rule of a king who lived in the city of Saïs in the Delta of the Nile. But in the year 525 B.C., Cambyses, the king of the Persians, took possession of Egypt and in the fourth century B.C., when Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great, Egypt too became a Macedonian province. It regained a semblance of independence when one of Alexander's generals set himself up as king of a new Egyptian state and founded the dynasty of the Ptolemies, who resided in the newly built city of Alexandria.

一千年以后，当亚述王国征服整个西亚后，埃及变成了萨丹纳帕露斯帝国的一部分。在公元前七世纪时埃及再一次成为一个独立的国家，国王在位于尼罗河三角洲的城市——塞易斯统治这个国家。但在公元前525年，波斯国王冈比西斯占领了埃及。然后，当亚历山大大帝在公元前四世纪攻占波斯时，埃及也变成了马其顿人的一个省。当亚历山大大帝的一个将军封自己为埃及的国王后，埃及重新获得表面上的独立。托勒密将军开创了托勒密王朝，他居住在新建的亚历山大城。

2016年4月16日功课

Finally, in the year 89 B.C., the Romans came.The last Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, tried her best to save the country.Her beauty and charm were more dangerous to the Roman generals than half a dozen Egyptian army corps.Twice she was successful in her attacks upon the hearts of her Roman conquerors.But in the year 30 B.C., Augustus, the nephew and heir of Cæsar, landed in Alexandria.He did not share his late uncle's admiration for the lovely princess.He destroyed her armies, but spared her life that he might make her march in his triumph as part of the spoils of war.When Cleopatra heard of this plan, she killed herself by taking poison. And Egypt became a Roman province.

最终，在公元前89年，罗马人来了。克利欧佩特拉，埃及最后的女王，尽她最大的女里来拯救这个国家。对于罗马的将军来说，她的美丽与魅力要比埃及一半的军队更危险。它两次让罗马的征服者都拜倒在她的石榴裙之下。但在公元前30年，凯撒的侄儿与继承者——奥古斯都，来到了亚历山大城。他没有继承他已故叔叔对这个可爱的女王的爱恋。他摧毁了她的军队，但赦免了她的性命，以便在凯旋而归时，作为战利品在队伍中游行。当克利欧佩特拉听说他的计划后，服毒自杀了。然后，埃及变成了罗马的一个省。