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The Pope, once more sorely beset by his enemies, sent north for help. He did not appeal to the ruler of the west-Frankish kingdom, this time. His messengers crossed the Alps and addressed themselves to Otto, a Saxon Prince who was recognised as the greatest chieftain of the different Germanic tribes.
可憐的教皇再度卷人旋渦的中心，被敵人四面包圍，被迫向北方發出求救的呼吁，不過這次他沒找西法蘭克王國的統治者。他的信使翻越阿爾卑斯山，去拜見撒克遜親王奧托，他是當時日爾曼各部落所公認的最偉大領導者。
Otto, who shared his people's affection for the blue skies and the gay and beautiful people of the Italian peninsula, hastened to the rescue. In return for his services, the Pope, Leo VIII, made Otto "Emperor," and the eastern half of Charles' old kingdom was henceforth known as the "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation."
奧托和他的日爾曼族人一樣，向來對意大利半島的蔚藍天空和歡快美麗的人民抱有好感。一聽到教皇陛下的召喚，他馬上率兵救援。作為對奧托忠心效勞的酬報，教皇利奧八世封他為"皇帝"。從此，查理曼王國的東半部分便成為了"日爾曼民族的神圣羅馬帝國"。
This strange political creation managed to live to the ripe old age of eight hundred and thirty-nine years. In the year 1801, (during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson,) it was most unceremoniously relegated to the historical scrapheap. The brutal fellow who destroyed the old Germanic Empire was the son of a Corsican notary-public who had made a brilliant career in the service of the French Republic. He was ruler of Europe by the grace of his famous Guard Regiments, but he desired to be something more. He sent to Rome for the Pope and the Pope came and stood by while General Napoleon placed the imperial crown upon his own head and proclaimed himself heir to the tradition of Charlemagne. For history is like life. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
這一奇特的政治產物以其頑強的生命力延續了很久，一直到839歲的高齡。公元1801年，即托馬斯·杰斐遜就任美國總統那一年，它被毫不留情地掃進了歷史垃圾堆。摧毀這個舊日爾曼帝國的粗野家伙是一位循規蹈矩的公證員的兒子，來自法國科西嘉島，他靠著在法蘭西共和國服役期間的軍功而飛黃騰達。他統帥的近衛軍團以驍勇善戰著稱。在其幫助下，這個人成為了歐洲事實上的統治者，不過他還夢想比這更多的東西。他派人從羅馬把教皇請來，為他舉行加冕儀式。儀式上，教皇只能尷尬地站在一旁，眼巴巴看著這個身材矮小的家伙親手把帝國皇冠戴在了自己頭上，并大聲宣布他是查理曼大帝光榮傳統的繼承人。此人就是著名的拿破侖將軍。歷史猶如人生，變幻越無常，但是萬變不離其宗。
