The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere — Page 12
她的崛起迅速而辉煌,她的衰落却是缓慢而黯淡的,
Rapid and brilliant was her rise, gradual and inglorious her steady decline,
从那个光辉灿烂的早晨——卡斯蒂利亚与阿拉贡的旗帜被胜利地插上阿尔罕布拉宫的城垛——
from the bright morning when the banners of Castile and Aragon were flung triumphantly from the battlements of the Alhambra,
到那个短暂的夏日——不久之前,在卡维特与圣地亚哥,这个曾经主宰世界的帝国最后那些破败的残余被迅速而彻底地轰成灰烬,
to the short summer, not so long gone, when at Cavite and Santiago with swift, decisive havoc the last ragged remnants of the once world-dominating power were blown into space and time,
飘散于天地之间,化为无形,成为留给后世的教训与警示。
to hover disembodied there, a lesson and a warning to future generations.
无论她在人类历史上的最终定位如何——无论是现代文明的先驱,还是列国之中的海盗,抑或,最有可能的是,两者兼而有之——
Whatever her final place in the records of mankind, whether as the pioneer of modern civilization or the buccaneer of the nations or, as would seem most likely, a goodly mixture of both,
她至少——仅次于她伟大的母邦罗马——提供了迄今为止最具启示性的政治病理学教训,
she has at least--with the exception only of her great mother, Rome--furnished the most instructive lessons in political pathology yet recorded,
而麦考利那部百科全书式的巨著中,劝告世界进步的研究者熟悉她历史的建议,在将近一个世纪后的今天,比当初问世时更为切中要旨。
and the advice to students of world progress to familiarize themselves with her history is even more apt today than when it first issued from the encyclopedic mind of Macaulay nearly a century ago.
她几乎在刚刚抵达权力顶峰之际,瓦解便已开始,她那一个个辉煌的征服成果相继失落,
Hardly had she reached the zenith of her power when the disintegration began, and one by one her brilliant conquests dropped away,
留下她独自伫立于褪色的荣光之中,除了那傲慢的自负,一无所有,成为又一个'诸国的尼俄伯'。
to leave her alone in her faded splendor, with naught but her vaunting pride left, another "Niobe of nations."
Vocabulary
- rapid
- 速度快的,迅速的
- and
- 以及,与...一起
- brilliant
- 聪慧的,杰出的,光辉的
- was
- 是,过去式的be动词
- her
- 她的,她
- rise
- 上升,兴起,崛起
- gradual
- 逐渐的,缓慢的,循序渐进的
- steady
- 稳定的,稳固的,均匀的
- decline
- 衰退,下降,衰落
- from
- 从,来自,自...起
- the
- 这,那,定冠词
- bright
- 明亮的,聪慧的,光辉的
- morning
- 早晨,上午,早期
- when
- 当...时候,何时
- banners
- 旗帜,横幅,军旗
- of
- 的,属于
- were
- 是,复数过去式be动词
- flung
- 投掷,挥舞,猛然扔出
- triumphantly
- 胜利地,凯旋地,荣耀地
- to
- 到,向,朝向
- short
- 短的,简短的,矮的
- summer
- 夏天,夏季
- not
- 不,否定副词
- so
- 如此,这么,所以
- long
- 长的,久的,长时间
- gone
- 已去的,离开的,过去的
- at
- 在,于,处于
- with
- 与,和,用
- swift
- 迅速的,快速的
- decisive
- 决定性的,坚定的,果断的
- havoc
- 大破坏,浩劫,混乱
- last
- 最后的,最近的,持续
- ragged
- 破烂的,褴褛的,不整齐的
- remnants
- 残余物,遗留物,残迹
- once
- 曾经,一度,一次
- power
- 力量,权力,国力
- blown
- 吹,刮,被吹的
- into
- 进入,到...里面
- space
- 空间,太空,地方
- time
- 时间,时代,次数
- hover
- 盘旋,徘徊,悬停
- there
- 那里,那个地方
- lesson
- 课程,教训,课堂
- warning
- 警告,告诫,预警
- future
- 未来,将来,前景
- generations
- 代,世代,一代人
- Whatever
- 无论什么,任何
- final
- 最后的,最终的,决定性的
- place
- 地方,位置,名次
- in
- 在...里面,在...中
- records
- 记录,档案,唱片
- mankind
- 人类,人种
- whether
- 是否,无论是否
- as
- 作为,当...时,如
- pioneer
- 先驱者,开拓者,先锋
- modern
- 现代的,当代的,新式的
- civilization
- 文明,文化,社会
- or
- 或,或者,否则
- nations
- 国家,民族,国民
- would
- 会,将,用于条件句
- seem
- 似乎,看起来,显得
- most
- 最,大部分,非常
- likely
- 可能的,很可能,似乎
- mixture
- 混合物,混合体,掺合
- both
- 两者,双方,两个都
- she
- 她,女性代词
- has
- 有,拥有,已经
- least
- 最少的,最小的,至少
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