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...was now too big, too wealthy,
現在羅馬太過遼闊，太過富庶，
too powerful to be effectively run by annual magistrates running under the overall control of the Roman Senate.
太過強大元老院控制下的每年一任的治安官已經無法有效管理這個國家。
Defending the Roman world now required powers far greater than the mos maiorum had been comfortable in granting just one man.
按照慣例應該只任命一個人但是現在要保衛羅馬需要超過一個人的權力，
Victory over King Mithradates of Pontus had required a five-year grant of proconsular imperium to Pompey.
要征戰本都王國國王米特里達提需要給龐培五年的地方總督統治權。
Only then could Pompey defeat Mithradates,
只有這樣龐培才能擊敗米特里達提，
reorganize Rome's new Near Eastern territories
重組羅馬在近東的新領土
and establish a belt of buffer states between the Roman Empire and Parthia.
并在羅馬帝國和帕提亞之間設立一系列城邦作為緩沖帶，
None of this would have been possible for a general who was constantly asking the Senate for permission.
如果龐培需要不斷征得元老院的允許，這些是不可能實現的，
Pompey did indeed lay his imperium down when he returned to Rome.
而且龐培回到羅馬的時候確實放下了自己的總督統治權，
In 61 BC Pompey held a triumph and dismissed his troops.
前61年龐培舉行了慶功會并將自己的軍隊解散。
But like Marius before him, he wanted the Senate to ratify his political arrangements
但是像之前的馬略一樣，龐培希望元老院批準他的政治安排，
and to give land to his faithful client soldiers.
并且給他忠誠的職業士兵土地，
The Senate, trying to hang on to a scrap of its former prominence, refused.
元老院想要守住自己那點重要地位，拒絕了龐培的請求。
Crassus had become Rome's wealthiest man during Sulla's reign of terror
蘇拉統治期間克拉蘇已經成了羅馬首富
by buying very cheaply the property of proscribed Romans.
他通過低價收購被剝奪權利的羅馬人的房產斂得大量財產，
Crassus did most of the work in putting down Spartacus's rebellion,
鎮壓斯巴達克斯奴隸起義大部分功勞是克拉蘇的，
only to have Pompey show up in time to claim the credit.
卻是龐培及時出現邀功，
After serving with Pompey as consul for seventy BC,
在和龐培一起擔任公元前70年的執政官之后，
Crassus looked to his financial affairs.
克拉蘇開始著手自己的經濟問題，
In the Senate, he was the patron for the publicani, or tax collectors.
他是元老院publicani的頭，publicani就是收稅官。
Because Pompey had extracted so much money from the East during his smashing victories,
由于龐培在東方戰無不勝榨取了很多錢，
the publicani had fallen on tough times.
稅務官收稅很艱難，
They wanted to renegotiate what they had promised to pay the Senate,
他們想和元老院商討降低原來答應上交元老院的數額，
but the Senate refused.
但是元老院不從。
Gaius Julius Caesar was a dirt poor politician,
蓋烏斯·朱利葉斯·凱撒是個一窮二白的政客，
further handicapped by being the nephew of Marius's wife.
還是馬略妻子的侄子，使他境況更艱難
But Julius had mad political skillz, which he displayed in getting elected pontifex maximus.
但是朱利葉斯有超凡的政治技巧，他能被選為大祭司就體現了這一點。
From that important office, Julius Cesar did the groundwork for winning the consulship of fifty nine BC.
在當大祭司期間，凱撒為他在公元前59年贏得執政官的地位打好了基礎。
He reached out to Pompey and to Crassus and promised to help them get what they wanted from the Senate,
他找到龐培和克拉蘇，保證幫他們使元老院滿足他們的要求
provided they helped him get the consulship and a nice long grant of proconsular imperium in Gaul to follow his consulship.
只要他們幫助自己獲得執政官的地位并在那之后獲得在高盧的地方總督統治權。
The arrangement Caesar made between Pompey, Crassus,
凱撒在龐培，克拉蘇，前三頭同盟，
and himself is best known now as the First Triumvirate,
和他自己之間做的這種安排被稱為
even though it was not a legal entity like the Second Triumvirate truly was.
盡管它不像后三頭同盟一樣是真正的法律實體。
The three triumvirs had hoped to bring the silver-tongued Cicero in to make it a foursome,
這三頭曾想拉雄辯的西塞羅入伙湊成四頭，
but to his credit Cicero could not be conned in to joining.
但是鑒于西塞羅的信用沒有被騙加入，
As planned, Caesar was elected one of the consuls of fifty nine BC,
和計劃的一樣凱撒被選為公元前59年的執政官之一，
along with an unfortunate fellow by the name of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus.
和他同為執政官的是不幸的普爾尼烏斯畢布路斯，
That year Caesar did his utmost,
同年凱撒不擇手段，
legally or illegally, to pass the legislation Pompey and Crassus wanted.
不管合法還是非法，通過龐培和克拉蘇想要的立法，
Anyone in Caesar's way found himself on the receiving end of a beating from Pompey's burly veterans.
阻礙凱撒行徑的人都會遭到龐培軍隊老兵的痛打，
His tactics were so heavy handed that Bibulus just stayed home all year claiming that he was watching the skies,
凱撒的手段太過殘酷，畢布路斯一整年都待在家中稱自己在觀察天空，
This meant that he was collecting bizarre religious portents
意思是他在收集異樣的宗教兇兆，
to help him invalidate Caesar's legislation after their year was over.
幫他在執政官任期結束后證明凱撒的立法是無效的。
Roman humorists called that year not the consulship of Caesar and Bibulus,
羅馬幽默作家稱那一年的執政官是朱利葉斯和凱撒，
but the consulship of Julius and Caesar.
而非凱撒和畢布路斯
Pompey got his official "attaboy" for beating Mithradates and his client soldiers got land.
龐培擊敗米特里達提的戰功獲得了官方"表揚" 他的士兵也得到了土地。
Crassus's tax collector buddies got to renegotiate their contracts on more favorable terms.
克拉蘇的稅務官們也得以和元老院重新商討協議，獲得更有利的條款。
