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NeilMacGregor_2011G-_一件物品所反映出的2600年历史_
The things we make have one supreme quality -- they live longer than us. 我们所制造的物件 具有一项极其卓越的优点 它们比我们活得久
supreme:adj.最高的;至高的;最重要的;n.至高;霸权;
We perish , they survive; we have one life, they have many lives, and in each life they can mean different things. 我们终将消逝,它们则万世长存 我们只有一世, 它们却有许多 而且每一世都有不同的意义
perish:v.死亡;暴死;丧失;毁灭;老化;
Which means that, while we all have one biography , they have many. 这就意味着,我们只能写一次传记 而它们却可以写很多次
biography:n.传记;档案;个人简介;
I want this morning to talk about the story, the biography -- or rather the biographies -- of one particular object, one remarkable thing. 今早,我想谈谈 一件特殊的文物身上的故事,它的传记 它每一世的传记 这是件非凡的文物
biographies:n.列传,传记(biographie的复数形式); remarkable:adj.卓越的;非凡的;值得注意的;
It doesn't, I agree, look very much. 我同意,它看起来 并不起眼
It's about the size of a rugby ball. 差不多是一只橄榄球的大小
rugby:n.英式橄榄球;拉格比(英格兰中部的城市);
It's made of clay , and it's been fashioned into a cylinder shape, covered with close writing and then baked dry in the sun. 用陶土制成 先做成一个 圆柱的形状 刻满楔形文字后 再在阳光下烘干
clay:n.黏土;陶土; cylinder:n.圆筒;汽缸;[数]柱面;圆柱状物; baked:v.烘烤;焙;烤硬;灼热;(bake的过去分词和过去式)
And as you can see , it's been knocked about a bit, which is not surprising because it was made two and a half thousand years ago and was dug up in 1879. 你可以看到 它上面有破损的痕迹 这并不奇怪 因为它已有超过2500年的历史了 它是在1879年 被挖掘出来的
as you can see:正如你所看到的;你是知道的;
But today, this thing is, I believe, a major player in the politics of the Middle East . 但是今天 我相信 它在中东地区的政治领域 也扮演着重要的角色
politics:n.政治;钩心斗角;政治观点;v.(贬)从事政治活动;(politic的第三人称单数) Middle East:n.中东(包括亚洲西南部和非洲东北部);
And it's an object with fascinating stories and stories that are by no means over yet. 在它身上 发生了很多精彩的故事 有些故事到现在也没有完结
fascinating:adj.极有吸引力的;迷人的;v.深深吸引;迷住;(fascinate的现在分词) by no means:决不;
The story begins in the Iran-Iraq war and that series of events that culminated in the invasion of Iraq by foreign forces, the removal of a despotic ruler and instant regime change. 故事始于 两伊战争 以及随后一系列的事件 累积起来 针对伊拉克的 外国武装的入侵 暴君被推翻 政局发生骤变
series:n.系列,连续;[电]串联;级数;丛书; culminated:vi.到绝顶;达到高潮;达到顶点;vt.使结束;使达到高潮; invasion:n.武装入侵;侵略;侵犯;涌入;干预; removal:n.去除;消除;清除;除去; despotic:adj.暴虐的,暴君的;专横的; instant:n.瞬间; adj.立即的; conj.同"assoonas"; regime:n.政权,政体;社会制度;管理体制;
And I want to begin with one episode from that sequence of events that most of you would be very familiar with, 我想从 那一系列事件中的一个章节开始说起 你们中的大多数对此不会陌生
episode:n.一段经历;片段,插曲;一集; sequence:n.顺序; v.按顺序排列; familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
Belshazzar's feast -- because we're talking about the Iran-Iraq war of 539 BC. 那就是伯萨沙王的宴会 因为我们说的这场两伊战争 发生在公元前539年
feast:n.盛宴;宴会;(宗教的)节日;v.尽情享用(美味佳肴);
And the parallels between the events of 539 BC and 2003 and in between are startling . 而公元前539年 和2003年发生的事件 两者之间有 惊人的相似之处
parallels:n.平行线; v.使…成平行; startling:adj.惊人的;让人震惊的;极鲜亮的;v.使惊吓;使吓一跳;(startle的现在分词)
What you're looking at is Rembrandt's painting, now in the National Gallery in London, illustrating the text from the prophet Daniel in the Hebrew scriptures . 你现在看到的是伦勃朗的油画作品 现陈列于伦敦的国家美术馆 这幅画阐释了希伯来圣经中的 但以理书
Gallery:n.画廊;走廊;旁听席;地道;v.在…修建走廊;挖地道; illustrating:图解; prophet:n.先知;预言者;提倡者; Hebrew:n.希伯来人,犹太人;希伯来语;adj.希伯来语的;希伯来人的; scriptures:n.经文,经典著作;
And you all know roughly the story. 你们都知道故事的大概
roughly:adv.粗糙地;概略地;
Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar , 伯萨沙是尼布甲尼撒的儿子
Nebuchadnezzar:n.尼布甲尼撒二世(古巴比伦王,等于Nebuchadrezzar);
Nebuchadnezzar who'd conquered Israel , sacked Jerusalem and captured the people and taken the Jews back to Babylon . 尼布甲尼撒征服了以色列,洗劫了耶路撒冷 俘虏了那里的人民 将犹太人带到了巴比伦
conquered:v.攻克;征服;击败,战胜;控制;(conquer的过去分词和过去式) Israel:n.以色列(亚洲国家);犹太人,以色列人; sacked:v.解雇;炒鱿鱼;破坏;擒杀(四分卫);(sack的过去分词和过去式) Jerusalem:n.耶路撒冷(以色列首都); captured:adj.捕获的;被俘的;v.捕获;占领;引起;(capture的过去式和过去分词) Babylon:n.巴比伦(古代巴比伦王国Babylonia的首都);繁华的都市,罪恶之都;
Not only the Jews, he'd taken the temple vessels . 不仅仅是犹太人,他还带回了圣殿的器皿
vessels:n.血管(vessel的复数);船舶;容器;
He'd ransacked , desecrated the temple. 他将圣殿洗劫一空,还亵渎了神明
ransacked:v.洗劫;(为找东西)把…翻腾得乱七八糟;(ransack的过去分词和过去式) desecrated:v.亵渎(圣物或圣地);(desecrate的过去分词和过去式)
And the great gold vessels of the temple in Jerusalem had been taken to Babylon. 来自耶路撒冷圣殿中的金制器皿 被带回了巴比伦
Belshazzar, his son, decides to have a feast. 他的儿子伯萨沙 决定举办一场盛宴
And in order to make it even more exciting, he added a bit of sacrilege to the rest of the fun, and he brings out the temple vessels. 为了让宴会更加刺激 他又加了点亵渎神灵的余兴节目 他拿出了圣殿器皿
sacrilege:n.冒渎;亵渎圣物;悖理逆天的行为;
He's already at war with the Iranians , with the king of Persia. 那时他已与伊朗人开战 和波斯国王也打得不可开交
Iranians:n.伊朗人(Iranian的复数形式);
And that night, Daniel tells us, at the height of the festivities a hand appeared and wrote on the wall, "You are weighed in the balance and found wanting, and your kingdom is handed over to the Medes and the Persians ." 那天晚上,但以理告诉我们 在宴会达到高潮时 出现了一只手在墙上写字 你被称在天平里,显出你的亏欠 你的国分裂 归与玛代人和波斯人
festivities:n.庆祝活动;欢庆;欢乐;(festivity的复数) Persians:n.波斯人;波斯语;百叶窗;波斯绸;adj.波斯的;(persians是Persian的复数);
And that very night 就在那个晚上
Cyrus, king of the Persians, entered Babylon and the whole regime of Belshazzar fell. 波斯国王塞鲁士攻入巴比伦 整个伯萨沙政权覆灭了
It is, of course, a great moment in the history of the Jewish people. 当然 这是犹太人历史上 一个伟大的时刻
Jewish:adj.犹太人的;犹太族的;
It's a great story. It's story we all know. 这是个精彩的故事,我们都知道
'"The writing on the wall" 墙上之字” (“不祥之兆”)这个说法
is part of our everyday language. 已经成为我们的日常用语
What happened next was remarkable, and it's where our cylinder enters the story. 而接下来发生了 一件意义重大的事情 赛鲁士圆柱也在 此时出现而来
Cyrus, king of the Persians, has entered Babylon without a fight -- the great empire of Babylon, which ran from central southern Iraq to the Mediterranean , falls to Cyrus. 波斯国王赛鲁士 不费一兵一卒就进入了巴比伦 而伟大的巴比伦帝国 国土从伊拉克中南部 一直延伸到地中海 却落于赛鲁士之手
Mediterranean:n.地中海;adj.地中海的;
And Cyrus makes a declaration . 接着赛鲁士发表了声明
declaration:n.宣言;宣告;宣布;公告;
And that is what this cylinder is, the declaration made by the ruler guided by God who had toppled the Iraqi despot and was going to bring freedom to the people. 声明内容就刻在这个圆柱上 这是统治者受到神的指引而发表的声明 神推翻了伊拉克的独裁统治 并将自由带给人民
toppled:v.倾倒;倒塌;摇摇欲坠;
In ringing Babylonian -- it was written in Babylonian -- he says, "I am Cyrus, king of all the universe, the great king, the powerful king, king of Babylon, king of the four quarters of the world." 在包围巴比伦时 有巴比伦语这样写道 他说:“我是赛鲁士,是整个宇宙的王 我是伟大的国王,是强盛的国王 我是巴比伦的国王,是世界之王“
Babylonian:adj.巴比伦的;邪恶的;奢华堕落的;n.巴比伦人;迦勒底人;占星家;
They're not shy of hyperbole as you can see. 你看,他们夸张起来可真不害臊
hyperbole:n.夸张的语句;夸张法;
This is probably the first real press release by a victorious army that we've got. 这可能是 由获胜方发表的第一场 真正意义上的 新闻发布会
press release:n.(向媒体发布的)新闻稿; victorious:adj.胜利的;凯旋的;
And it's written, as we'll see in due course , by very skilled P.R. consultants . 我们后来看到 它被技巧娴熟的公关顾问们记录下来了
in due course:及时;顺次;及时地;到一定时候;在适当的时候;在适当时;在适当时机; skilled:adj.熟练的;有技能的;需要技能的; consultants:n.[经]顾问;咨询顾问;咨询公司;咨询人员(consultant的复数);
So the hyperbole is not actually surprising. 所以这里的夸张其实并不叫人惊讶
And what is the great king, the powerful king, the king of the four quarters of the world going to do? 那么这位伟大而强盛的 世界之王打算做些什么呢
He goes on to say that, having conquered Babylon, he will at once let all the peoples that the Babylonians -- Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar -- have captured and enslaved go free. 他接着说,征服巴比伦之后 他会立即让所有 被尼布甲尼撒和伯萨沙 俘虏和奴役的不同种族的人 获得自由
enslaved:v.使成为奴隶;奴役;使受控制;(enslave的过去分词和过去式)
He'll let them return to their countries. 他会让他们回到自己的国家
And more important, he will let them all recover the gods, the statues , the temple vessels that had been confiscated . 更重要的是 他会让他们恢复信仰 并拿回 缴获的雕像 和圣殿器皿
statues:n.[建]雕像(statue的复数);v.在…处装饰;用雕像装饰(statue的三单形式); confiscated:v.充公,没收(confiscate的过去分词);
All the peoples that the Babylonians had repressed and removed will go home, and they'll take with them their gods. 所有受到巴比伦人压迫 和被掳至巴比伦的人都将回家 他们将与他们的神一同回去
repressed:adj.被压抑的;被抑制的;v.抑制;镇压;约束;(repress的过去分词)
And they'll be able to restore their altars and to worship their gods in their own way, in their own place. 他们可以修复他们的祭坛 并以他们自己的方式 在属于他们的地方,祭拜他们的神
restore:v.恢复;修复;恢复(某种情况或感受);使复原; altars:n.(教堂内的)圣坛,祭坛(altar的复数形式); worship:n.崇拜;崇敬;爱慕;阁下;v.崇拜(上帝或神);做礼拜;热爱;崇拜;
This is the decree , this object is the evidence for the fact that the Jews, after the exile in Babylon, the years they'd spent sitting by the waters of Babylon, weeping when they remembered Jerusalem, those Jews were allowed to go home. 这是就是当时颁布的法令 赛鲁士圆柱就是证据 证明了犹太人 被流放到巴比伦之后 好多年,他们都会坐在巴比伦的水畔 一想起耶路撒冷就会哭泣 那些犹太人被准许回家了
decree:n.法令;判决;vt.命令;颁布;注定;判决;vi.注定;发布命令; evidence:n.证据,证明;迹象;明显;v.证明; exile:n.流放,充军;放逐,被放逐者;流犯;v.放逐,流放;使背井离乡; weeping:adj.有下垂枝条的;v.哭泣,流泪;流出,渗出(液体);(weep的现在分词)
They were allowed to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. 他们被允许回到耶路撒冷 重建神庙
It's a central document in Jewish history. 这在犹太历史上 是一份核心文件
And the Book of Chronicles , the Book of Ezra in the Hebrew scriptures reported in ringing terms. 在希伯来圣经里的历代志和以斯拉记中 也清楚的记载着
Chronicles:n.历代记(旧约);
This is the Jewish version of the same story. 下面是关于同一个故事的 犹太版本
'"Thus said Cyrus, king of Persia, 'All the kingdoms of the earth have the Lord God of heaven given thee , and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem. “因此,波斯国王赛鲁士说 *上天的神耶和华天下万国赐给我, 又嘱咐我 在犹大的耶路撒冷为他建造一座殿宇
Lord:n.(英国)贵族,大人,大臣;v.使成贵族;作威作福; thee:pron.(第二人称单数的宾格)你;
Who is there among you of his people? 你们中间凡是作为他的子民的
The Lord God be with him, and let him go up.'" 愿上帝与这人同在 你们要回归耶路撒冷建造他的神殿“
'"Go up" -- aaleh. “回归耶路撒冷”
The central element , still, of the notion of return, a central part of the life of Judaism . 这里的核心要素 仍然是回归 这也是犹太教教义的 核心部分
element:n.元素;要素;原理;成分;自然环境; notion:n.观念;信念;理解; Judaism:n.犹太教;(总称)犹太人;犹太主义;
As you all know, that return from exile, the second temple, reshaped Judaism. 你们知道,结束流放回到耶路撒冷 和第二神殿 重塑了犹太教
reshaped:vt.改造;再成形;
And that change, that great historic moment, was made possible by Cyrus, the king of Persia, reported for us in Hebrew in scripture and in Babylonian in clay. 那次改变 那个伟大的历史时刻 是由波斯国王赛鲁士实现的 这一切在希伯来圣经中都有记载 也用巴比伦语刻在赛鲁士圆柱上
historic:adj.有历史意义的;历史上著名的;
Two great texts, what about the politics? 这是两篇伟大的文献 那么政治上又如何呢
What was going on was the fundamental shift in Middle Eastern history. 那时所发生的事 是中东历史上一个根本性的转变
fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的; shift:n.移动;变化;手段;轮班;v.移动;转变;转换; Eastern:adj.东方的;向东的;东部的;东方国家的;n.东方人;东正教信徒;
The empire of Iran, the Medes and the Persians, united under Cyrus, became the first great world empire. 伊朗,米底和波斯帝国 被赛鲁士统一 成为第一个伟大的世界帝国
united:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
Cyrus begins in the 530s BC. 赛鲁士于公元前530年左右开始统治
And by the time of his son Darius , the whole of the eastern Mediterranean is under Persian control. 到了他的儿子大流士的时期 整个东地中海 都处于波斯的统治之下
Darius:n.大流士;
This empire is, in fact, the Middle East as we now know it, and it's what shapes the Middle East as we now know it. 事实上,这个帝国 也就是我们现在所熟知的中东 它形成了现在的中东地区
It was the largest empire the world had known until then. 在那个时期,它是世界上最大的帝国
Much more important, it was the first multicultural , multifaith state on a huge scale . 更重要的是 它是第一个 规模如此宏大的 多文化,多信仰的国家
multicultural:adj.多种文化的;融合或具有多种文化的; scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢;
And it had to be run in a quite new way. 所以必须采用新的方法来治理这个帝国
It had to be run in different languages. 必须采用多语言的治理方式
The fact that this decree is in Babylonian says one thing. 其实巴比伦语版本的法令说明了这一点
And it had to recognize their different habits, different peoples, different religions, different faiths. 还必须认识到人民的不同习俗 不同民族,不同宗教和不同信仰
recognize:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到;
All of those are respected by Cyrus. 所有这一切都受到赛鲁士的尊重
Cyrus sets up a model of how you run a great multinational , multifaith, multicultural society. 他建立了一个模式 即如何治理一个庞大的 多民族,多信仰和多文化的社会
multinational:adj.跨国公司的;多国的;n.跨国公司;
And the result of that was an empire that included the areas you see on the screen, and which survived for 200 years of stability until it was shattered by Alexander. 他这样做的结果就是 这个帝国涵盖了你在屏幕上所看到的地区 并享有了长达200年的稳定 直到被亚历山大大帝推翻
stability:n.稳定性;坚定,恒心; shattered:adj.受到严重打击的; v.(使)破碎,碎裂; (shatter的过去式和过去分词)
It left a dream of the Middle East as a unit, and a unit where people of different faiths could live together. 它给中东的统一留下了一个梦 即不同信仰的人们 能够和平共处
The Greek invasions ended that. 然而希腊的入侵结束了这一切
invasions:n.武装入侵;侵略;侵犯;涌入;干预;(invasion的复数)
And of course, Alexander couldn't sustain a government and it fragmented . 当然,亚历山大大帝无法维持一个政府 帝国变得四分五裂
sustain:v.支持;支撑;遭受;证实; fragmented:v.(使)碎裂,破裂,分裂;(fragment的过去分词和过去式)
But what Cyrus represented remained absolutely central. 但是赛鲁士所代表的意义 仍然保持绝对的核心地位
represented:v.代表; (represent的过去式和过去分词) absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地;
The Greek historian Xenophon wrote his book "Cyropaedia" 希腊历史学家色诺芬 在他所著的《赛鲁士的教育》一书中
promoting Cyrus as the great ruler. 认为赛鲁士是一位伟大的统治者
promoting:v.促进;推动;促销;提升;晋升;(promote的现在分词)
And throughout European culture afterward , 且在之后的整个欧洲文化中
throughout:adv.自始至终,到处;全部;prep.贯穿,遍及; afterward:adv.以后,后来;
Cyrus remained the model. 赛鲁士仍然是楷模
This is a 16th century image to show you how widespread his veneration actually was. 这个16世纪的形象 向你展示了人们对赛鲁士 是多么的崇敬
widespread:adj.普遍的,广泛的;分布广的; veneration:n.尊敬;崇拜;
And Xenophon's book on Cyrus on how you ran a diverse society was one of the great textbooks that inspired the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution . 色诺芬关于赛鲁士 及如何治理一个多样化的社会的书 是对引领美国革命的国父们 起到激励作用的 最伟大的课本之一
diverse:adj.不同的;多种多样的;变化多的; inspired:adj.受到启发的; v.鼓舞; (inspire的过去分词和过去式) Revolution:n.革命;旋转;运行;循环;
Jefferson was a great admirer -- the ideals of Cyrus obviously speaking to those 18th century ideals of how you create religious tolerance in a new state. 杰弗逊就是其仰慕者之一 赛鲁士的典范 清楚的向18世纪的理念证明了 如何在一个新的国家 建立宗教宽容的氛围
admirer:n.爱慕者;赞赏者;钦佩者; religious:adj.宗教的;虔诚的;严谨的;修道的;n.修道士;尼姑; tolerance:n.公差;耐量;宽容;容忍;
Meanwhile , back in Babylon, things had not been going well. 现在让我们在回头看看巴比伦 情况并不好
Meanwhile:adv.同时,其间;n.其间,其时;
After Alexander, the other empires, 在亚历山大大帝建立新的国家之后
Babylon declines , falls into ruins , and all the traces of the great Babylonian empire are lost -- until 1879 when the cylinder is discovered by a British Museum exhibition digging in Babylon. 巴比伦开始衰落,化为一片废墟 所有关于伟大的巴比伦帝国的痕迹都遗落了 直到1879年 大英博物馆为了寻找展品 在巴比伦挖出赛鲁士圆柱为止
declines:vi.下降;衰退;拒绝(decline的第三人称单数); ruins:n.遗迹(ruin的复数形式);废墟;v.毁灭(ruin的三单形式); traces:v.跟踪;探索;n.痕迹;踪迹;(trace的复数和第三人单数)
And it enters now another story. 现在它又引发了另一个故事
It enters that great debate in the middle of the 19th century: 它引发了19世纪中期 那场伟大的辩论
debate:n.辩论;争论;考虑;v.辩论;争论;考虑;
Are the scriptures reliable ? Can we trust them? 圣经可靠么？我们能够相信它么？
reliable:adj.可信赖的;可依靠的;真实可信的;可靠的;
We only knew about the return of the Jews and the decree of Cyrus from the Hebrew scriptures. 我们只能 从希伯来圣经上得知 犹太人的回归和赛鲁士的法令
No other evidence. 再没有别的证据可以证明了
Suddenly, this appeared. 突然之间,这件文物出现了
And great excitement to a world where those who believed in the scriptures had had their faith in creation shaken by evolution, by geology , here was evidence that the scriptures were historically true. 对于那些相信圣经 却被进化论和地质学 动摇了对创世纪的信仰的人们来说 这是一项振奋人心的证据 它证明了 圣经在历史上的真实性
excitement:n.兴奋;刺激;令人兴奋的事物; faith:n.信心;信任;宗教信仰; creation:n.创造,创作;创作物,产物; geology:n.地质学;地质情况; historically:adv.历史上地;从历史观点上说;
It's a great 19th century moment. 这是19世纪的一个伟大时刻
But -- and this, of course, is where it becomes complicated -- the facts were true, hurrah for archeology , but the interpretation was rather more complicated. 但是,这也让事情变得更加复杂 这些事实都是真的 对于考古学来说是个好消息 但对它的解读却越加复杂
complicated:adj.复杂的;难懂的;v.使复杂化;(complicate的过去分词和过去式) hurrah:n.欢呼声; vi.欢呼; vt.欢呼; archeology:n.考古学(等于archaeology); interpretation:n.解释;翻译;演出;
Because the cylinder account and the Hebrew Bible account differ in one key respect. 因为圆柱上的描述与希伯来圣经上的描述 有一个关键的差异
Bible:n.有权威的书;
The Babylonian cylinder is written by the priests of the great god of Bablyon, Marduk. 圆柱上的巴比伦语 是由信奉巴比伦的主神马杜克的 祭祀写就的
priests:n.司祭,神父;教士,祭司,僧侣;(priest的复数)
And, not surprisingly , they tell you that all this was done by Marduk. 所以他们告诉你这一切都是马杜克的功劳 这一点也不奇怪
surprisingly:adv.令人惊讶地;出乎意料地
'"Marduk, we hold, called Cyrus by his name." “马杜克,我们所信奉的神,召唤了赛鲁士”
Marduk takes Cyrus by the hand, calls him to shepherd his people and gives him the rule of Babylon. 马杜克拉着赛鲁士的手 告诉他要管理好人民 并赋予他治理巴比伦的权力
shepherd:vt.牧羊;带领;指导;看管;n.牧羊人;牧师;指导者;
Marduk tells Cyrus that he will do these great, generous things of setting the people free. 马杜克告诉赛鲁士 他要做这些伟大而慷慨的事 来让人民自由
generous:adj.慷慨的,大方的;宽宏大量的;有雅量的;
And this is why we should all be grateful to and worship Marduk. 这就是为什么我们都应对马杜克 心怀感激和崇敬
The Hebrew writers in the Old Testament , you will not be surprised to learn, take a rather different view of this. 而希伯来圣经的作者 则在旧约中 表达了完全不同的看法 这也不奇怪
Old Testament:n.(圣经)《旧约》;
For them, of course, it can't possibly by Marduk that made all this happen. 当然,对他们来说 不可能是马杜克
It can only be Jehovah. 只能是耶和华造就了这一切
And so in Isaiah, we have the wonderful texts giving all the credit of this, not to Marduk but to the Lord God of Israel -- the Lord God of Israel who also called Cyrus by name, also takes Cyrus by the hand and talks of him shepherding his people. 所以在以赛亚书中 我们能找到相应的文本 这一切的功劳 不属于马杜克 而属于以色列的主神耶和华 耶和华 也召唤了赛鲁士 也拉着赛鲁士的手 让他管理好人民
shepherding:vt.牧羊;带领;指导;看管;n.牧羊人;牧师;指导者;
It's a remarkable example of two different priestly appropriations of the same event, two different religious takeovers of a political fact. 同一件事拥有两种不同宗教的描述 同一个政治事件 有两种不同宗教的解读 这是个绝佳的例子
priestly:adj.祭司的;僧侣的;似教士的; appropriations:n.[财政]拨款;挪用(appropriation复数); takeovers:n.收购(takeover的复数);
God, we know, is usually on the side of the big battalions . 我们知道 神往往站在军事力量强大的那一方
on the side of:拥护…;站在…一边;赞助; battalions:n.(军队的)营;(有组织的)队伍;(battalion的复数)
The question is, which god was it? 但问题是,是哪一个神呢？
And the debate unsettles everybody in the 19th century to realize that the Hebrew scriptures are part of a much wider world of religion. 这场辩论 让19世纪时的每个人都觉得不安 它让人们认识到希伯来圣经 只是一个更广阔的宗教世界的一部分
unsettles:vt.使动摇;使不安定;使心神不宁;vi.不安;动荡不定;
And it's quite clear the cylinder is older than the text of Isaiah, and yet, Jehovah is speaking in words very similar to those used by Marduk. 很明显 赛鲁士圆柱比以赛亚书要更为古老 然而,耶和华所说的话 与马杜克所说的 非常相似
And there's a slight sense that Isaiah knows this, because he says, this is God speaking, of course, "I have called thee by thy name though thou hast not known me." 可能以赛亚对这个事件有些略微的了解 因为他说 当然, 是神说 “我召唤你 虽然你并不知道我“
slight:adj.轻微的;略微的;细小的;纤细的;n.侮慢;冷落;轻视;v.侮慢;冷落;轻视; thy:pron.你的; hast:have的第二人称单数现在式;
I think it's recognized that Cyrus doesn't realize that he's acting under orders from Jehovah. 我认为这是承认 赛鲁士并未意识到 他所听从的是耶和华的命令
recognized:v.认识;认出;辨别出;承认;意识到;(recognize的过去分词和过去式)
And equally, he'd have been surprised that he was acting under orders from Marduk. 他对于听从马杜克的命令也同样感到吃惊
Because interestingly , of course, 因为,有趣的是
interestingly:adv.有趣地;
Cyrus is a good Iranian with a totally different set of gods who are not mentioned in any of these texts. 赛鲁士是一个不错的伊朗人 他另有一整套不同的神的体系 而这些神从未在任何文本中被提到过
(Laughter) (笑)
That's 1879. 那场辩论是1879年的事
40 years on and we're in 1917, and the cylinder enters a different world. 40年之后 到了1917年 赛鲁士圆柱进入了一个不同的世界
This time, the real politics of the contemporary world -- the year of the Balfour Declaration, the year when the new imperial power in the Middle East, Britain, decides that it will declare a Jewish national home, it will allow the Jews to return. 这是一个属于当代世界 属于实际政治的年代 这一年发表了贝尔福宣言 这一年在中东崛起的新帝国 英帝国决定建立 一个犹太人的民族家园 它将准许 犹太人的回归
contemporary:n.同时代的人;同时期的东西;adj.当代的;同时代的;属于同一时期的; imperial:adj.帝国的;皇帝的;至高无上的;威严的;n.纸张尺寸;特等品;
And the response to this by the Jewish population in Eastern Europe is rhapsodic. 身处东欧的犹太人 对于这件事的反应是狂热的
response:n.响应;反应;回答;
And across Eastern Europe, 犹太人在整个东欧
Jews display pictures of Cyrus and of George V side by side -- the two great rulers who have allowed the return to Jerusalem. 将赛鲁士 和乔治五世的图画 并排展示 这两位伟大的统治者 准许犹太人回归耶路撒冷
display:n.显示;炫耀;vt.显示;表现;陈列;vi.[动]作炫耀行为;adj.展览的;陈列用的; side by side:adj.并肩的;并行的;
And the Cyrus cylinder comes back into public view and the text of this as a demonstration of why what is going to happen after the war is over in 1918 is part of a divine plan. 赛鲁士圆柱也进入了公众的视野 其上的文本是神的旨意的一部分 它展示出 为什么战后发生的事 会在1918年结束
demonstration:n.示范;演示;论证;证明; divine:adj.神圣的;非凡的;天赐的;极好的;v.占卜;预言;用占卜勘探;n.牧师;神学家;
You all know what happened. 你们都知道发生了什么
The state of Israel is setup, and 50 years later, in the late 60s, it's clear that Britain's role as the imperial power is over. 以色列建国了 50年后,在20世纪60年代末 很明显,英国的帝国主义也走到了尽头
And another story of the cylinder begins. 另一个关于赛鲁士圆柱的故事开始了
The region , the U.K. and the U.S. decide, has to be kept safe from communism , and the superpower that will be created to do this would be Iran, the Shah. 英国和美国决定 民族家园地区不应受到共产主义的影响 而应起到保护作用的即将诞生的超级大国 将会是沙王所领导的伊朗
region:n.地区;范围;部位; communism:n.共产主义; superpower:n.超级大国;超级强权;
And so the Shah invents an Iranian history, or a return to Iranian history, that puts him in the center of a great tradition and produces coins showing himself with the Cyrus cylinder. 因此沙王创造了伊朗的历史 或者说是伊朗回归的历史 这让他成为一项伟大传统的核心 并发行 印有他自己 和赛鲁士圆柱的硬币
When he has his great celebrations in Persepolis, he summons the cylinder and the cylinder is lent by the British Museum, goes to Tehran , and is part of those great celebrations of the Pahlavi dynasty . 当他在波斯波利斯举办盛大的庆典时 他要求赛鲁士圆柱回到伊朗 大英博物馆遂借出圆柱,并送往德黑兰 这成为巴列维王朝 伟大庆典的一部分
summons:n.召唤;传票;传唤;召集;vt.唤出;传到;传唤到法院; Tehran:n.德黑兰; Pahlavi:n.巴列维金币;巴拉维语(约在公元3世纪至8世纪的伊朗语,等于Pehlevi); dynasty:n.代;王朝;朝代;
Cyrus cylinder: guarantor of the Shah. 赛鲁士圆柱就是沙王统治的保证
guarantor:n.[金融]保证人;
10 years later, another story: 10年后,另一个故事拉开了帷幕
Iranian Revolution, 1979. 即1979年的伊朗革命
Islamic revolution, no more Cyrus; we're not interested in that history, we're interested in Islamic Iran -- until Iraq, the new superpower that we've all decided should be in the region, attacks. 这是伊斯兰革命,与赛鲁士无关 我们对那段历史并不感兴趣 我们感兴趣的是具有伊斯兰特色的伊朗 直到伊拉克 那个我们都认为应属于该地区势力范围的新生力量 发动了攻击
Islamic:adj.穆斯林的;
Then another Iran-Iraq war. 这又是一场两伊战争
And it becomes critical for the Iranians to remember their great past, their great past when they fought Iraq and won. 伊朗人能否铭记他们那伟大的历史 就变得很关键 在那段历史中 他们战胜了伊拉克
critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的;
It becomes critical to find a symbol that will pull together all Iranians -- 至关重要的一点是找到一个象征 让所有伊朗人团结起来
symbol:n.象征;符号;标志; pull together:齐心协力;
Muslims and non-Muslims, 让穆斯林,非穆斯林
Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews living in Iran, people who are devout , not devout. 基督徒,索罗亚斯德教教徒,居住在伊朗的犹太人 和那些无论虔诚与否的人都团结起来
devout:adj.虔诚的;衷心的;
And the obvious emblem is Cyrus. 显然,赛鲁士圆柱是最合适的象征
obvious:adj.明显的;显著的;平淡无奇的; emblem:n.象征;徽章;符号;vt.象征;用符号表示;用纹章装饰;
So when the British Museum and Tehran National Musuem cooperate and work together, as we've been doing, the Iranians ask for one thing only as a loan. 所以当大英博物馆和德黑兰国家博物馆 展开合作时,就像我们一直以来所做的那样 伊朗人只要求 借一样东西
cooperate:v.合作;配合;协作;结合; for one thing:首先;一则;
It's the only object they want. 这是他们唯一想要的东西
They want to borrow the Cyrus cylinder. 他们想借赛鲁士圆柱
And last year, the Cyrus cylinder went to Tehran for the second time. 去年 赛鲁士圆柱被送往德黑兰 这已经是第二次了
It's shown being presented here, put into its case by the director of the National Museum of Tehran, one of the many women in Iran in very senior positions, 它由德黑兰国家博物馆馆长 亲手放进盒子里 这位馆长是一位伊朗妇女,地位非常崇高
senior:adj.大;级别(或地位)高的;成人的;高级水平的;n.上级;上司;较…年长的人;
Mrs. Ardakani. 她就是艾达卡尼女士
It was a huge event. 这是一次隆重的事件
This is the other side of that same picture. 故事的另外一面
It's seen in Tehran by between one and two million people in the space of a few months. 在德黑兰 仅在几个月之内,就有一两百万的人 参观了居鲁士圆柱
This is beyond any blockbuster exhibition in the West. 这次展出的轰动效应 在西方前所未见
blockbuster:n.轰动;巨型炸弹;一鸣惊人者;
And it's the subject of a huge debate about what this cylinder means, what Cyrus means, but above all, Cyrus as articulated through this cylinder -- 这也是一场伟大辩论的主题 即赛鲁士圆柱意味着什么,赛鲁士又意味着什么 但首先,圆柱上所描写的赛鲁士
articulated:adj.铰接式的; v.铰接(articulate的过去分词);
Cyrus as the defender of the homeland, the champion, of course, of Iranian identity and of the Iranian peoples, tolerant of all faiths. 是家国的捍卫者 是为伊朗身份和伊朗人民 而奋斗的战士 他能够对所有的信仰都宽容相待
defender:n.防卫者,守卫者;辩护者;拥护者;卫冕者; identity:n.身份;同一性,一致;特性;恒等式; tolerant:adj.宽容的;容忍的;有耐药力的;
And in the current Iran, 在当今伊朗
Zoroastrians and Christians have guaranteed places in the Iranian parliament , something to be very, very proud of. 索罗亚斯德教教徒和基督徒 在伊朗议会中的地位得以保障,这是非常值得自豪的
guaranteed:adj.必然的; v.保证; parliament:n.议会,国会;
To see this object in Tehran, thousands of Jews living in Iran came to Tehran to see it. 为了在德黑兰一睹这件展品 居住在伊朗的数万犹太人 前往德黑兰
It became a great emblem, a great subject of debate about what Iran is at home and abroad . 赛鲁士圆柱成为了一个伟大的象征 一场辩论的主题 关于伊朗在国内外的意义
abroad:adv.在国外;到海外;adj.往国外的;n.海外;异国;
Is Iran still to be the defender of the oppressed ? 伊朗仍然是被压迫人民的守护者么？
oppressed:adj.受压制的,受压迫的;v.压迫;折磨(oppress的过去分词);
Will Iran set free the people that the tyrants have enslaved and expropriated ? 伊朗仍会赋予那些 被暴君奴役和剥削的人们以自由么？
tyrants:n.暴君;专制君主;(tyrant的复数) expropriated:vt.没收,征用;剥夺;
This is heady national rhetoric , and it was all put together in a great pageant launching the return. 这是令人振奋的全国性的讨论 它由一场 关于回归的隆重盛会 所激发
heady:adj.兴奋的;任性的;性急的;顽固的;使人头晕的; rhetoric:n.修辞,修辞学;华丽的词藻;adj.花言巧语的; put together:..放在一起;组合;装配; pageant:n.盛会;游行;虚饰;露天表演; launching:n.发射;开办;起飞;v.开始从事,发起,发动;(launch的现在分词)
Here you see this out-sized Cyrus cylinder on the stage with great figures from Iranian history gathering to take their place in the heritage of Iran. 在这里,你能看到巨大的赛鲁士圆柱 与伊朗历史中的伟人一起在舞台上 明确他们在伊朗传统中 所占有的一席之地
on the stage:在舞台上;现阶段;当演员; heritage:n.遗产;传统;继承物;继承权;
It was a narrative presented by the president himself. 这是伊朗总统 亲口叙述的
narrative:n.叙述;故事;讲述;adj.叙事的,叙述的;叙事体的;
And for me, to take this object to Iran, to be allowed to take this object to Iran was to be allowed to be part of an extraordinary debate led at the highest levels about what Iran is, what different Irans there are and how the different histories of Iran might shape the world today. 对我来说 将赛鲁士圆柱送回伊朗 或者说被允许将它送回伊朗 就是被允许成为 一场最高层次的 伟大辩论的一部分 这场辩论是关于伊朗是什么 到底有多少个不同的伊朗 以及伊朗不同的历史 将会对今天的世界产生怎样的影响
extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的;
It's a debate that's still continuing, and it will continue to rumble , because this object is one of the great declarations of a human aspiration . 这场辩论仍在继续 它将继续产生轰动的效应 因为赛鲁士圆柱 是象征人类渴望的 伟大的声明之一
rumble:vt.使隆隆响;低沉地说;vi.隆隆作响;n.隆隆声;抱怨声; declarations:n.[法]声明(declaration的复数); aspiration:n.渴望;抱负;送气;吸气;吸引术;
It stands with the American constitution . 它与美国的宪法具有同等地位
constitution:n.宪法;构成;体质;组成;
It certainly says far more about real freedoms than Magna Carta . 他当然比大宪章更能代表 真正的自由
Magna Carta:n.《英格兰大宪章》(1215年英王约翰被迫签署,保障英格兰公民的政治和法律权利,常被视作现代英格兰法律的基础);
It is a document that can mean so many things, for Iran and for the region. 它是一份文件,对伊朗和整个地区 都具有深远的意义
A replica of this is at the United Nations . 它的一份复制品 在联合国
replica:n.复制品,复制物; United Nations:n.联合国;
In New York this autumn, it will be present when the great debates about the future of the Middle East take place . 今年秋天,在纽约 当关于中东未来的伟大辩论开始时 它将被展出
debates:n.[法]辩论;讨论(debate的复数);v.[法]辩论;讨论(debate的三单形式); take place:发生;举行;
And I want to finish by asking you what the next story will be in which this object figures. 我想要问你们几个问题来结束我的演讲 赛鲁士圆柱将引发的下一个故事 又是什么呢？
It will appear, certainly, in many more Middle Eastern stories. 当然,赛鲁士圆柱 会出现在很多的中东故事里
And what story of the Middle East, what story of the world, do you want to see reflecting what is said, what is expressed in this cylinder? 那么你们希望看到 在中东 和世界上发生怎样的故事 来体现赛鲁士圆柱 所表达的意义呢？
reflecting:v.反映;映出(影像);反射;显示,表明,表达;(reflect的现在分词) expressed:v.表示;表达;显而易见;不言自明;(express的过去分词和过去式)
The right of peoples to live together in the same state, worshiping differently, freely -- a Middle East, a world, in which religion is not the subject of division or of debate. 不同的民族有权利 在同一个国家生活 自由的供奉自己信仰的宗教 在中东这个世界里 宗教已不再是辩论 或引发分裂的主题了
worshiping:n.崇拜;礼拜;尊敬;vt.崇拜;尊敬;爱慕;vi.拜神;做礼拜; division:n.师;分配;分开;分歧;
In the world of the Middle East at the moment, the debates are, as you know, shrill . 目前的中东世界里 辩论仍然十分激烈
shrill:adj.尖锐的;刺耳的;adv.尖锐地;vi.尖声喊叫;vt.尖声喊出;n.尖叫声;
But I think it's possible that the most powerful and the wisest voice of all of them may well be the voice of this mute thing, the Cyrus cylinder. 但我认为很有可能 这些声音中最有力最明智的那一个 将会是来自 这件沉默的物品 来自赛鲁士圆柱
mute:adj.沉默的;无声的;哑的;n.弱音器;哑巴;v.消音;减音;减弱;缓解;
Thank you. 谢谢
(Applause) （鼓掌）