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Chapter 07
第一章
Mesopotamia
美索不達米亞
Mesopotamia-The Second Center of Eastern Civilisation
美索不達米亞--東方文明的第二個中心
I am going to take you to the top of the highest pyramid and I am going to ask that you imagine yourself possessed of the eyes of a hawk.
現在，我將帶你到最雄偉的金字塔之顛，讓你想象自己擁有一雙鷹一般銳利的眼睛。
Way, way off, in the distance, far beyond the yellow sands of the desert, you will see something green and shimmering.
你將目光指向遙遠的東方，越過大沙漠的漫漫黃沙，你將看見一塊綠色的 國土在閃爍微光，
It is a valley situated between two rivers. It is the Paradise of the Old Testament.
那是位于兩條大河之間的一個河谷，《舊約全書》曾提到的樂土。
It is the land of mystery and wonder which the Greeks called Mesopotamia-the "country between the rivers."
這塊充滿神秘的仙境被希臘人稱為"美索不達米亞"，意為"兩河之間的國度"。
The names of the two rivers are the Euphrates (which the Babylonians called the Purattu) and the Tigris (which was known as the Diklat).
這兩條河分別叫"幼發拉底河"（巴比倫人稱其為普拉圖河）和"底格里斯河"（也叫迪克拉特河）。
They begin their course amidst the snows of the mountains of Armenia where Noah's Ark found a resting place
它們發源于亞美尼亞白雪皚皚的群山之中，就是挪亞逃 難途中曾駐腳休息的地方。
and slowly they flow through the southern plain until they reach the muddy banks of the Persian gulf.
然后，它們緩慢的流過南部的平原，抵達波斯灣泥濘的海岸。
They perform a very useful service. They turn the arid regions of western Asia into a fertile garden.
它們養育著兩岸的人民，將西亞干旱的沙漠地區變成了肥沃的花園。
The valley of the Nile had attracted people because it had off ered them food upon fairly easy terms.
尼羅河谷吸引人們，是因為它供給了豐盛的食物。
The "land between the rivers" was popular for the same reason.
這塊"兩河之間的國土"同樣因此倍受青睞。
It was a country full of promise
它是一塊充滿希望的土地，
and both the inhabitants of the northern mountains and the tribes which roamed through the southern deserts tried to claim this territory as their own and most exclusive possession.
來自北部高山的居民和游蕩在南部荒漠的部落都曾試圖獨占它，拒絕外人的進入。
The constant rivalry between the mountaineers and the desertnomads led to endless warfare.
山區居民與沙漠游牧部落的長期爭奪招致了無休無止的戰爭，
Only the strongest and the bravest could hope to survive
只有最強悍、最聰明的人才能夠存活下來。
and that will explain why Mesopotamia became the home of a very strong race of men who were capable of creating a civilisation which was in every respect as important as that of Egypt.
這也解釋了 為什么美索不達米亞會成為一個最強壯種族的家園，他們何以能創造一個在各方面都足與古埃及比肩的偉大文明。
