第一章第二节第一页译文,欢迎大家批评指正!

[dian...@yahoo.com.cn]

Chapter I: The Extend Of The Empire In The Age Of The
Antoninies. --
第一章 帝国的扩张 安东尼(the Antoninies)王朝时代

Part II. 第二部分
It was an ancient tradition, that when the Capitol was founded by one
of the Roman kings, the god Terminus (who presided over boundaries, and
was represented, according to the fashion of that age, by a large
stone) alone, among all the inferior deities, refused to yield his
place to Jupiter himself. A favorable inference was drawn from his
obstinacy, which was interpreted by the augurs as a sure presage that
the
boundaries of the Roman power would never recede. During many ages, the
prediction, as it is usual, contributed to its own accomplishment. But
though Terminus had resisted the Majesty of Jupiter, he submitted to
the authority of the
emperor Hadrian. The resignation of all the eastern conquests of Trajan
was the first measure of his reign. He restored to the

自古便有一传说：当年某罗马国王修筑主神殿（注：为罗马神话中朱庇特(Jupiter)的神殿）时，独有一卑微小神名忒尔弥诺斯(Terminus)（掌管边界，按当时的风俗，以巨石为其标志）拒绝将自己的地盘让位给朱庇特(Jupiter)。由于他的顽固不化人们便得出
了一个讨人喜欢的说法，再经过占卜师的解释，这个故事就变成了一则毋庸质疑的预言：罗马帝国的权力边界将永不退却。经过了漫长的岁月，这个预言毫无例外的得到了验证。可是尽管忒尔弥诺斯(Terminus)曾藐视朱庇特(Jupiter)的权威，他在哈德(Hadrian)皇帝的威严面前却不得不臣服。哈德良(Hadrian)在位期间的第一件大事便是放弃了所有图拉真(Trajan)曾经征服的东方领土。

Parthians the election of an independent sovereign; withdrew the Roman
garrisons from the provinces of Armenia, Mesopotamia, and Assyria; and,
in compliance with the precept of Augustus, once more established the
Euphrates as the frontier of the empire. Censure, which arraigns the
public actions and the private motives of princes, has ascribed to
envy, a conduct which might be attributed to the prudence and
moderation of Hadrian. The various character of that emperor, capable,
by turns, of the meanest and the most generous sentiments, may afford
some color to the suspicion. It was, however, scarcely in his power to
place the superiority of his predecessor in a more conspicuous light,
than by thus confessing himself unequal to the task of defending the
conquests of Trajan.

他恢复了帕提亚人(Parthians)选择独立自治的权利，将罗马驻军从亚美尼亚(Armenia)，美索不达米亚(Mesopotamia)和亚述(Assyria)这几个行省撤出。此外，他还遵照奥古斯都(Augustus)曾经定下的规则，重新将幼发拉底河(the
Euphrates)设为帝国的边防屏障。通常人们会对公众行为和王公贵族们的私欲批评指责，大概是出于嫉妒，而哈德良(Hadrian)因其审慎和克制也遭到了不少非难。这位皇帝集极度吝啬与极度大方于一体，这样与众不同的品格也确实会招来不少人的猜疑。但是，与其说他的能力与那些前任的功绩相比实在是太相形见绌，还不如说通过放弃领土他坦承自己无力捍卫图拉真(Trajan)的征服伟绩。