評論
打印
During the time of the five good emperors the Limes was fairly quiet.
在五賢帝統治時期邊界線相對平靜。
It was well governed and there was a shortage of barbarians.
得到了良好的管理，蠻族入侵也很少。
Marcus Aurelius' wars on the Danube gave a dangerous foretaste though of Roman future,
馬可·奧勒留在多瑙河地區的戰爭是羅馬未來的一個危險預兆，
the barbarians got knocked down, but they got up again.
蠻族人雖然被擊敗了，卻又卷土重來。
Two, national gut check.
第二點 羅馬面臨大考驗
The dynasty of Septimius Severus, which ruled from 193 AD to 235 AD kept Rome's impending crisis at arm's length.
公元193到235年的塞維魯王朝一直都在避免危險逼近。
Severus' personal contribution was to all but trash the principate.
塞維魯的個人貢獻就是拋棄了元首制。
The republican forms still existed but Severus worked around them.
共和國政府形式仍然存在，但是塞維魯解決了這個問題。
Severus was more concerned with keeping his army paid and trained so much for the solace generus humani or common good of human kind.
塞維魯更關心軍隊的軍餉和訓練，并不關心蒼生疾苦或者什么人類福祉。
The Roman's safety net rotted away but Severus assumed no doubt rightly,
羅馬的安全網逐漸腐爛，但是塞維魯正當地假定
that the solace generus humani wouldn't be worth much with barbarians traipsing around the roads of the inner empire.
人類疾苦當然沒有抵御蠻族的入侵來得重要，
Nor would it be worth much with Roman armies traipsing along the same roads to install their own commanders as imperator.
也沒有防止羅馬軍隊將自己的將軍擁為元首來得重要。
The government crumbled so badly that it wouldn't even accept its own coinage in payment of taxes.
政府衰落得厲害，甚至都不愿意接受以本國貨幣上繳的稅收。
The world's greatest super power had gone back to a barter economy.
這個世界超級大國又回到了以物易物的經濟狀態。
This national gut check made Hannibal look like a trick-or-treater.
跟這次考驗一比，漢尼拔當年的入侵簡直小巫見大巫。
Three, blame the Christians
第三點 歸咎于基督徒
Not that the Christians or anyone else for that matter deserved to be persecuted of course
并不是說基督徒或者其他人應當受到迫害，
but in times as wretched as those during the crisis of the third century AD it was almost understandable.
只是在那種艱難處境里，在三世紀危機時，這種做法也是可以理解的。
