History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 10
Both these writers adhere, almost entirely, to chronological order; the consequence is, that we are twenty times called upon to break off, and resume the thread of six or eight wars in different parts of the empire; to suspend the operations of a military expedition for a court intrigue; to hurry away from a siege to a council; and the same page places us in the middle of a campaign against the barbarians, and in the depths of the Monophysite controversy.
Beide Schriftsteller halten sich fast vollständig an die chronologische Reihenfolge; die Folge davon ist, dass wir zwanzig Mal aufgefordert werden, den Faden von sechs oder acht Kriegen in verschiedenen Teilen des Reiches abzubrechen und wieder aufzunehmen; die Operationen eines Feldzuges wegen einer Hofintrige zu unterbrechen; von einer Belagerung zu einem Rat zu eilen; und dieselbe Seite versetzt uns mitten in einen Feldzug gegen die Barbaren und in die Tiefen des monophysitischen Streits.
In Gibbon it is not always easy to bear in mind the exact dates but the course of events is ever clear and distinct; like a skilful general, though his troops advance from the most remote and opposite quarters, they are constantly bearing down and concentrating themselves on one point—that which is still occupied by the name, and by the waning power of Rome.
Bei Gibbon ist es nicht immer leicht, die genauen Daten im Gedächtnis zu behalten, aber der Verlauf der Ereignisse ist stets klar und deutlich; wie ein geschickter Feldherr, dessen Truppen zwar aus den entlegensten und entgegengesetztesten Richtungen vorrücken, aber sich beständig auf einen Punkt zubewegen und konzentrieren – jenen Punkt, der noch immer von dem Namen und der schwindenden Macht Roms eingenommen wird.
Whether he traces the progress of hostile religions, or leads from the shores of the Baltic, or the verge of the Chinese empire, the successive hosts of barbarians—though one wave has hardly burst and discharged itself, before another swells up and approaches—all is made to flow in the same direction, and the impression which each makes upon the tottering fabric of the Roman greatness, connects their distant movements, and measures the relative importance assigned to them in the panoramic history.
Ob er den Fortschritt feindlicher Religionen verfolgt oder die aufeinanderfolgenden Heerscharen der Barbaren von den Ufern der Ostsee oder dem Rande des chinesischen Reiches heranführt – obgleich kaum eine Welle gebrochen und verebbt ist, bevor eine andere anschwillt und herannaht – alles wird in dieselbe Richtung gelenkt, und der Eindruck, den jede einzelne auf das wankende Gebäude der römischen Größe macht, verbindet ihre fernen Bewegungen und bemisst die relative Bedeutung, die ihnen in dieser panoramischen Geschichtsdarstellung zugewiesen wird.
Vocabulary
- Beide
- Both; referring to two people or things together
- Schriftsteller
- Author; a person who writes books professionally
- halten
- To hold, keep, or maintain something
- sich
- Reflexive pronoun meaning oneself or themselves
- fast
- Almost; very nearly but not completely
- vollständig
- Complete, entire, or fully without omission
- an
- Preposition meaning at, on, or to
- die
- Definite article for feminine or plural nouns
- chronologische
- Chronological; arranged in order of time
- Reihenfolge
- Sequence or order in which things occur
- Folge
- Consequence, result, or sequence of events
- davon
- Of it, from it; referring to something previously mentioned
- ist
- Is; third person singular of 'sein' (to be)
- dass
- That; subordinating conjunction introducing a clause
- wir
- We; first person plural personal pronoun
- zwanzig
- Twenty; the cardinal number 20
- Mal
- Time(s); indicating frequency or occurrence of something
- aufgefordert
- Prompted, requested, or called upon to do something
- werden
- To become; auxiliary verb for future or passive
- den
- Definite article in accusative masculine or dative plural
- Faden
- Thread; a connecting narrative or storyline
- von
- Of, from; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- sechs
- Six; the cardinal number 6
- oder
- Or; coordinating conjunction offering an alternative
- acht
- Eight; the cardinal number 8
- Kriegen
- Wars; armed conflicts between nations or groups
- in
- In; preposition indicating location or inclusion
- verschiedenen
- Various, different; of multiple distinct kinds
- Teilen
- Parts or regions of a larger area or whole
- des
- Of the; genitive definite article for masculine/neuter
- Reiches
- Of the empire; genitive form of Reich
- abzubrechen
- To break off, interrupt, or discontinue something
- und
- And; coordinating conjunction joining words or clauses
- wieder
- Again; indicating repetition of an action
- aufzunehmen
- To resume, pick up, or take up again
- Operationen
- Operations; military or strategic actions undertaken
- eines
- Of a; indefinite article in genitive masculine/neuter
- Feldzuges
- Of a military campaign; genitive of Feldzug
- wegen
- Because of, due to; preposition indicating reason
- einer
- Of a; indefinite article in genitive/dative feminine
- zu
- To, at, too; preposition or infinitive particle
- unterbrechen
- To interrupt or break off something in progress
- Belagerung
- Siege; surrounding a place to force surrender
- einem
- A, one; indefinite article in dative masculine/neuter
- Rat
- Council or advice; a deliberative body or counsel
- eilen
- To hurry, hasten toward a destination
- dieselbe
- The same; referring to the identical thing
- Seite
- Page or side; one surface of a sheet
- versetzt
- Transports, places; moves someone suddenly elsewhere
- uns
- Us; first person plural accusative/dative pronoun
- mitten
- In the middle of; right into the center
- einen
- A, one; indefinite article in accusative masculine
- Feldzug
- Military campaign; organized series of military operations
- gegen
- Against; preposition indicating opposition or direction
- Barbaren
- Barbarians; peoples considered uncivilized or foreign
- Tiefen
- Depths; the deepest or most intricate parts
- Streits
- Of the dispute; genitive of Streit (argument, quarrel)
- Bei
- With, in the case of; preposition indicating proximity
- es
- It; third person singular neuter pronoun
- nicht
- Not; negation particle in German sentences
- immer
- Always; at all times without exception
- leicht
- Easy or light; not difficult or not heavy
- genauen
- Exact, precise; accurate and without error
- Daten
- Dates or data; specific times or factual information
- im
- In the; contraction of in + dem
- Gedächtnis
- Memory; the faculty of retaining and recalling information
- behalten
- To keep or retain something in one's mind
- aber
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast
- der
- The; definite article for masculine nominative nouns
- Verlauf
- Course or progression of events over time
- Ereignisse
- Events; things that happen or take place
- stets
- Always, constantly; at every point in time
- klar
- Clear; easy to understand or perceive
- deutlich
- Distinct, clear; plainly evident or understandable
- wie
- Like, as, how; comparison or manner conjunction
- ein
- A, one; indefinite article in nominative masculine/neuter
- geschickter
- Skilled, clever; having great ability or dexterity
- Feldherr
- General, commander; leader of an army in battle
- dessen
- Whose, of which; genitive relative/demonstrative pronoun
- Truppen
- Troops; soldiers or military forces collectively
- zwar
- Indeed, admittedly; conceding a point before contrasting
- aus
- From, out of; preposition indicating origin or direction
- entlegensten
- Most remote; farthest from the center or main area
- Richtungen
- Directions; the paths or ways things move toward
- vorrücken
- To advance, move forward toward a position
- beständig
- Constantly, steadily; in a continuous and unchanging way
- auf
- On, upon, onto; preposition of position or direction
- Punkt
- Point; a specific location or focal place
- zubewegen
- To move toward; to advance in the direction of
- konzentrieren
- To concentrate, focus; to bring together at one point
- jenen
- That, those; demonstrative pronoun referring to distant things
- noch
- Still, yet; indicating continuation or addition
- dem
- The; dative definite article for masculine/neuter nouns
- Namen
- Name; a word by which something is known
- schwindenden
- Dwindling, fading; gradually decreasing or disappearing
- Macht
- Power; strength, authority, or political influence
- eingenommen
- Occupied, captured; taken possession of a place
- wird
- Becomes or will be; third singular of werden
- Ob
- Whether; subordinating conjunction introducing indirect question
- er
- He; third person singular masculine pronoun
- Fortschritt
- Progress, advance; forward movement or development
- feindlicher
- Hostile, enemy; of opposing or antagonistic forces
- Religionen
- Religions; systems of faith and worship
- verfolgt
- Follows, traces, or pursues a course or subject
- aufeinanderfolgenden
- Successive, consecutive; following one after another
- Ufern
- Banks, shores; edges of a river, lake, or sea
- Ostsee
- Baltic Sea; the sea between northern Europe and Scandinavia
- Rande
- Edge, border; the outermost boundary of something
- chinesischen
- Chinese; relating to China or its civilization
- obgleich
- Although, even though; concessive conjunction
- kaum
- Hardly, scarcely; almost not at all
- eine
- A, one; indefinite article in nominative/accusative feminine
- Welle
- Wave; a surge of water or figurative surge
- gebrochen
- Broken; past participle of brechen (to break)
- bevor
- Before; conjunction indicating something precedes another
- andere
- Another, other; a different one or additional
- alles
- Everything, all; the totality without exception
- Richtung
- Direction; the path or course toward something
- gelenkt
- Directed, steered; guided toward a goal or destination
- Eindruck
- Impression; an effect or feeling left on someone
- jede
- Each, every; referring to all individually
- einzelne
- Individual, single; each one considered separately
- das
- The; definite article for neuter nominative/accusative
- Gebäude
- Building or structure; a constructed edifice
- römischen
- Roman; relating to ancient Rome or its civilization
- Größe
- Greatness or size; grandeur or physical magnitude
- macht
- Makes or does; third singular present of machen
- verbindet
- Connects, links; joins things together into a whole
- ihre
- Their or her; possessive pronoun third person
- fernen
- Distant, far-off; occurring or located far away
- Bewegungen
- Movements; the acts of moving or changing position
- relative
- Relative; considered in relation to something else
- Bedeutung
- Meaning or significance; the importance of something
- ihnen
- Them; dative form of third person plural pronoun
- dieser
- This; demonstrative pronoun/article in genitive/dative
- zugewiesen
- Assigned, allocated; given a specific role or place
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