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As imperial powers went the roman hand fell very lightly on the East during the time of the Pax Romano.
在羅馬和平時期，羅馬帝國對于東部地區的干涉非常少。
In the far less urbanized west the Roman culture did not have to compete with Hellenistic ways it therefore established deeper roots and did so more quickly.
在欠城市化的西部地區，羅馬文化不需要與希臘文化競爭，因此扎根更深，也更快。
In northern Africa and coastal Spain, once Carthaginian territory,
在北非和原本是迦太基的西班牙海濱地區，
great cities already existed and were allowed much the same rights as Greek cities.
大城市已經存在了，它們和希臘城市一樣 擁有了同樣的權利。
In the roman provinces of Spain, Gaul, Germany and Britain however people passed more or less directly from tribal government and tribal culture to an urban culture and roman citizenship.
在西班牙，高盧，德國和英國的羅馬行省中，人們直接從部落政府部落文化一躍到了城市文化和羅馬公民身份。
Latin was never more than a second or third language, however important it was in the Greek east.
不管拉丁語在希臘東部有多重要，都只是第二，第三外語。
But in the Romanized western provinces Latin or some variant of Latin became the native tongue.
但是在羅馬化的西部行省，拉丁或變體拉丁語已經成了當地人的母語。
To these former tribal people the divinity of the Roman Empire and the Roman emperor made perfect sense.
對于這些前部落人民而言，羅馬帝國和羅馬皇帝的神圣性。
Accepting the imperial call was no problem for them, since the Romans were the first to bring urban civilization to most of Western Europe
毋庸置疑，對他們而言，接受帝國的召喚當然不成問題，因為羅馬人首先把城市文明帶到了西歐大部分地區，
the West's great cities tend to have developed out of Roman military bases such as Lundenium, and Lutitia Parosorum.
西部的大城市傾向于從羅馬軍事基地發展而來，例如倫敦等。
As we have seen the Roman Empire brought the benefits of Roman government and law to an enormous territory.
我們看到 羅馬帝國把羅馬政府和法律的益處傳播到了非常廣袤的地區。
At the same time the Romans willingly accepted what other cultures had to offer.
與此同時，羅馬也非常樂于接受其它文化。
Especially in the case of the Greeks, whose science, art, literature and philosophy
尤其是希臘文化，科學文學藝術和哲學，
the Romans had assimilated as Hellenism long before the republic fell.
羅馬在共和國衰亡之前就已經同化了希臘。
The Romans also embraced the influence of other eastern civilizations such as the Jews,
羅馬人也吸收了其它東部文明的影響，例如猶太文明
the Persian, the Babylonians and the ancient Egyptians.
波斯文明，巴比倫文明和古埃及文明。
Jews, Egyptians, Persians and ancient Egyptians were allowed to become roman citizens and Rome was again that much the richer for the needed new blood.
猶太人，埃及人，波斯人，和古埃及人都被允許可以成為羅馬公民，羅馬再次得到了所需的新鮮血液。
Many of these new Romans, men and women alike rose to high and responsible positions in roman life.
這些新羅馬人，不管男女都在羅馬生活中攀到了高位。
For a nation so fixated on its own Mos Majorum, so in love with the way of its own elders the Romans demonstrated a surprisingly amazing ability to adapt.
羅馬這樣依戀自己祖先遺風的國家，這樣喜歡自己祖先的方式的國家表現出了驚人的適應能力。
Back in one second.
休息一下，回來再講。
