History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 15
现任编者曾沿着吉本的足迹，追溯其著作的许多部分；
The present editor has followed the track of Gibbon through many parts of his work;
他以不断对照吉本原文的方式研读了其所引用的史料，
he has read his authorities with constant reference to his pages,
并且必须以最高度的钦佩之词，对其总体上的准确性作出审慎的评判。
and must pronounce his deliberate judgment, in terms of the highest admiration as to his general accuracy.
他的许多表面错误，几乎都是由于对材料过于精简压缩而难以避免的。
Many of his seeming errors are almost inevitable from the close condensation of his matter.
由于其史书涵盖范围极其广博，有时不得不将拜占庭编年史家一整页冗长模糊的叙述，压缩成寥寥一句话。
From the immense range of his history, it was sometimes necessary to compress into a single sentence, a whole vague and diffuse page of a Byzantine chronicler.
或许某些重要内容因此而有所遗漏，他的措辞也未必能完全涵盖所引原文的全部实质。
Perhaps something of importance may have thus escaped, and his expressions may not quite contain the whole substance of the passage from which they are taken.
他所受篇幅所限，有时迫使他只能勾勒轮廓；若是如此，便不应苛求他提供一幅完整画作的全部细节。
His limits, at times, compel him to sketch; where that is the case, it is not fair to expect the full details of the finished picture.
有时他只能着眼于重大的结果；在叙述某场战争时，有时需要格外留心，才能发现那些看似发生在同一役中的事件，实际上跨越了数年之久。
At times he can only deal with important results; and in his account of a war, it sometimes requires great attention to discover that the events which seem to be comprehended in a single campaign, occupy several years.
然而，这种从中甄选、突出真正重要关键之处的卓越技巧——这种对明暗轻重的精妙分配——尽管偶尔或许会使他落入措辞模糊、叙述不够完整的境地，却仍是吉本史学风格中最为杰出的特质之一。
But this admirable skill in selecting and giving prominence to the points which are of real weight and importance—this distribution of light and shade—though perhaps it may occasionally betray him into vague and imperfect statements, is one of the highest excellencies of Gibbon's historic manner.
Vocabulary
- present
- 当前的；现任的；此处指现任的
- editor
- 编辑；负责编辑书籍或出版物的人
- followed
- 跟随；沿着某人的足迹或方法前进
- track
- 轨迹；某人走过的路径或研究方向
- authorities
- 权威文献；被认可的参考资料或专家著作
- constant
- 持续的；不断的；始终如一的
- reference
- 参考；查阅；将某物与另一物相对照
- pronounce
- 宣告；正式表达某种判断或意见
- deliberate
- 经过深思熟虑的；慎重的判断
- judgment
- 判断；经过考量后得出的结论或评价
- terms
- 措辞；用语；表达某种评价时使用的词语
- admiration
- 钦佩；赞赏；对某人或某物高度评价的情感
- accuracy
- 准确性；正确无误的程度
- seeming
- 表面上的；看似如此但未必真实的
- errors
- 错误；不正确之处
- inevitable
- 不可避免的；必然发生的
- close
- 紧密的；高度精简的；此处指非常紧凑的
- condensation
- 压缩；浓缩；将大量信息简化为少量文字
- matter
- 内容；材料；所涉及的题材或素材
- immense
- 巨大的；广阔的；范围极大的
- range
- 范围；涵盖的广度或领域
- compress
- 压缩；将大量信息浓缩成简短文字
- vague
- 模糊的；不清晰的；不够具体的
- diffuse
- 散漫的；冗长的；缺乏集中焦点的文字
- Byzantine
- 拜占庭的；与东罗马帝国相关的
- chronicler
- 编年史家；记录历史事件的作者
- thus
- 因此；从而；表示结果或推论
- escaped
- 遗漏；被忽略；未被注意到
- expressions
- 表达；措辞；用来传达意思的词语或短语
- contain
- 包含；容纳；涵盖某种内容或意义
- substance
- 实质；核心内容；最重要的部分
- passage
- 段落；文章中的一节或一段文字
- limits
- 限制；局限；篇幅或空间上的约束
- compel
- 迫使；强迫某人做某事
- sketch
- 简略描述；粗略勾勒，不作详细说明
- fair
- 公平的；合理的；此处指合情合理的期望
- details
- 细节；具体的细小信息或描述
- finished
- 完善的；精细完成的；此处指精致完美的
- deal
- 处理；应对；此处指涉及或讨论某事
- account
- 叙述；记述；对某事件的描述或报告
- attention
- 注意；关注；仔细观察某事的行为
- comprehended
- 包含于；被涵盖在某个更大范围之内
- campaign
- 战役；军事行动；一系列有组织的军事活动
- occupy
- 占据；历时；在时间上持续延续
- admirable
- 令人钦佩的；值得赞赏的；出色的
- selecting
- 挑选；选择；从多个选项中择优取用
- prominence
- 突出；显著；使某事物得到特别关注
- weight
- 分量；重要性；在讨论中值得重视的程度
- distribution
- 分配；分布；事物在不同部分的安排方式
- shade
- 阴影；此处比喻次要或弱化处理的部分
- occasionally
- 偶尔；有时候；并非经常发生
- betray
- 暴露；揭示；无意中显示出某种缺陷
- imperfect
- 不完美的；有缺陷的；不够准确完整的
- statements
- 陈述；说法；所表达的论述或主张
- excellencies
- 卓越之处；优点；出众的特质
- historic
- 历史性的；与历史书写或研究相关的
- manner
- 方式；风格；作者处理题材的独特手法
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