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The year this all supposedly happened was 509 BC.
這一年應該是公元前509年
It might as well have been 509 BC. We'll never know.
可能發(fā)生在公元前509年，我們無法確定
The Roman's constitution,
羅馬的憲法
as supposedly constructed in 509 BC,
據(jù)說就是在公元前509年設立的
I hope you've got that date down,
希望你們可以記下這個時間
was never written down in so many words.
這部憲法之前沒有那么多條款
But there's no doubt,
但是毫無疑問的是
it was intended to prevent any future Roman kings.
憲法的目的是阻止未來有國王出現(xiàn)
One major principle of the Roman constitution
羅馬憲法的一個主要原則是
was annuality.
annuality
Annuality means that a new group of magistrates,
意思是一群新的行政官
that's a name for Roman elected officials,
這是羅馬選舉出的官員的名稱
would be elected every year.
他們每年都進行選舉
Each magistrate had a term of exactly 1 year.
每位行政官的任期都是一年
If a magistrate wanted to
如果行政官想
hold an office for more than 1 year,
執(zhí)政超過一年
he would have to go through the election process again.
那么他就要再次參加選舉
And the Roman electorate
羅馬的選民
was traditionally a tough sell.
一直都很難應付
They didn't want any more kings.
他們不想要國王
Another major principle was collegiality.
另一個原則是collegiality
Collegiality meant that power, especially the imperial,
collegiality意味著權利
the power to command obedience,
尤其是王權，指揮權
had to be shared at all times.
一定要分權
The annual magistracies were always held
每年的行政長官都至少
by at least two men at the same time,
同時是兩個人
with each man having equal powers.
每個人擁有同等的權力
This again was a direct reaction
這是對君主制蔓延的
to the excesses of the monarchy.
直接反應
No one annual magistrate could possibly
沒有哪位一年期的行政官
gather enough power to make himself a king.
可以有足夠的權利登上王座
In the very beginning,
最開始時
the highest elected magistrates were two praetors.
得票最高的行政長官是兩位執(zhí)政官
But the praetors were passed up by two consuls.
但是執(zhí)政官被拒絕了
Each consul basically possessed
每位執(zhí)政官基本上擁有
the same amount of imperium,
等量的統(tǒng)治權
as the king had possessed.
他們分配國王的權利
The one and only exception to this policy
共同掌權政策的唯一例外
of collegiality was the office of dictator,
是獨裁者辦公室，只有在發(fā)生
awarded only in times of dire emergency to one man.
悲慘的緊急事件時，才把權利下放給一個人
And this one man could only be a dictator for 6 months,
這個人只能當六個月的獨裁者
then he had to stop.
之后，他就必須卸任
The king's religious functions were also shuffled off
國王的宗教職能也被分配給
to various priesthoods, overseen by
不同的祭祀
an elected Pontifex Maximus or chief priest.
受到選舉出的大祭司長的監(jiān)督
Although these policies of annuality and collegiality
盡管一年制和共同執(zhí)政的政策
staved of monarchy for centuries,
讓君主制延續(xù)了數(shù)百年
they tended to hinder the consistent policies
他們傾向于阻撓
necessary for stable government.
政府必須的一貫的政策
This consistency was instead supplied
這種一貫性由
by the Roman Senate.
羅馬元老會提供
Previously, a body of old, upper class patricians
之前，年老的上層階級貴族
who had given the king advice,
可以給國王提出意見
the Senate developed into
元老會發(fā)展成
ancient Rome's senior legislative body.
古羅馬高級立法機構
While the Senate's opinions never
盡管元老院的意見從來沒有
officially held the force of law,
被官方認可為有法律效力
the magistrates regarded them as binding anyway.
行政官認為元老會有約束力
And here's why.
下面解釋一些原因
The magistrates themselves were
行政官都是
all members of the Senate.
元老會的成員
They would serve their year as a magistrate,
他們這一年擔任行政官
and come right back to the Senate.
之后回到元老院
If they did not obey the Senate
如果在執(zhí)政的一年中
during their one year in office,
不服從元老院的話
they would be shut out for good
那么他們會在回到元老院時
once they returned to the Senate.
被永久地排除在外
They might as well not show up.
他們也可能不再露面
However since the patricians, the upper class,
因為貴族，上層階級
all tended to share the same values in these days,
當時有共同的價值觀
consistency was maintained pretty much
從羅馬共和國一開始
from the beginning of the Roman Republic.
一致性保持的很好
