When the first disciples of Jesus reached Rome and began to preach their new doctrine of a universal brotherhood of man, nobody objected. The man in the street stopped and listened Rome, the capital of the world, had always been full of wandering preachers, each proclaiming his own"mystery." Most of the self-appointed priests appealed to the senses-promised golden rewards and endless pleasure to the followers of their own particular god. Soon the crowd in the street noticed that the so-called Christians (the followers of the Christ or "anointed") spoke a very different language. They did not appear to be impressed by great riches or a noble position. They extolled the beauties of poverty and humility and meekness. These were not exactly the virtues which had made Rome the mistress of the world. It was rather interesting to listen to a "mystery" which told people in the hey-day of their glory that their worldly success could not possibly bring them lasting happiness.
當(dāng)?shù)谝慌揭d的信徒們抵達(dá)羅馬,開始宣講他們"愛人如己,人人都是兄弟" 的新信仰時(shí),沒人站出來反對(duì)。隨后還有些好奇的路人停下腳步,聆聽這些傳教士新鮮的言辭。作為一個(gè)龐大帝國的首都,當(dāng)時(shí)的羅馬充斥著五花八門、四處周游的傳教士,個(gè)個(gè)都在傳播自己的"神秘之道"。這些自封的傳道者一般訴諸人們的理性,向他們大聲疾呼,對(duì)那些愿意追隨自己所宣講的神的人,允諾金色的未來和無盡的喜悅。不久之后,聚集在大街上的群眾開始發(fā)覺,那些所謂的"基督徒"(意為基督耶穌的跟從者或被上帝用膏油涂抹囑咐的人)宣講的是一些他們從未聽說過的東西。他們似乎根本不關(guān)注財(cái)富的多少或地位的高貴與否,相反,他們對(duì)貧窮、謙卑、順從等等美德大加贊頌。而羅馬之所以成為世界強(qiáng)國,憑借的剛好不是這些品德。在四海升平、戰(zhàn)功遠(yuǎn)播的帝國全盛時(shí)期,有人竟來告訴羅馬的人民,世俗的成功并不能擔(dān)保他們永久的幸福,這倒是挺有意思的事情。
Besides, the preachers of the Christian mystery told dreadful stories of the fate that awaited those who refused to listen to the words of the true God. It was never wise to take chances. Of course the old Roman gods still existed, but were they strong enough to protect their friends against the powers of this new deity who had been brought to Europe from distant Asia? People began to have doubts. They returned to listen to further explanations of the new creed.
更何況,這些傳播基督"神秘之道"的傳教士還講到了那些拒絕聆聽真神話語的人們,等待他們的命運(yùn)將悲慘無比,簡直讓人恐怖。很顯然,碰運(yùn)氣可不是什么好的法子。當(dāng)然,還有羅馬的舊神在,他們就住在不遠(yuǎn)處。不過他們是否有足夠的威力來保護(hù)他們的老朋友,對(duì)抗剛剛從遙遠(yuǎn)亞洲傳到歐洲的新上帝的權(quán)威呢?人們開始恐慌,開始懷疑。他們又回到基督徒傳教的地方,希望進(jìn)一步弄清這些教義的條條款款。
來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/Article/201704/503804.shtml