評論
打印
The civil wars were not just an unfortunate accident or an occasion to dress up as Cavaliers and Roundheads.
內戰不僅僅是 所謂保皇黨和議會派之間 一場不幸的意外或是巧合
They were that most un-British event,
這不是典型的英國戰爭
a war of ideas,ideas that mattered deeply to contemporaries
因為這是場理念之戰 是人們根深蒂固的理念 引發的爭端
because at the heart of them was an argument about liberty and obedience.
因為在人民內心深處 盤踞著民主與服從的爭論
That argument became lethal at Edgehill,
這一爭論最終導致了邊山的大戰
and it would echo for generations down through British history,
并將在大不列顛歷史中一代代回響
and as a matter of fact,that argument has never really gone away.
事實上 這一爭論再也沒有銷聲匿跡
To the survivors, looking back, the issue was simple.
幸存者回首過往 會發現內戰原因很簡單
Whether the king should govern as a god by his will and the people governed by force as beasts,
是君權神授 國王至上 將人民當野獸奴役
or whether the people should be governed by their own consent.
還是由人民民主自治
Yes, that's the voice of a republican in exile,Edmund Ludlow,
沒錯 這是一位流亡中的共和黨人的吶喊 他就是艾蒙德·勒德洛
but that same voice, that same memory,
相同的聲音 相同的記憶
would be heard through the centuries and in revolutions far beyond our shores in America in 1776, in France in 1789.
還會在幾個世紀以后 在遠離不列顛的革命中聽到 在1776年的美國和1789年的法國
It goes against the grain, doesn't it?A bit embarrassing, not to say painful,
世事往往背道而馳 不是嗎 不列顛被認為是革命的源泉
to be thought of as the fountainhead of revolutions.
雖說不上痛苦 多少有些尷尬
It's not very British.All that shouting, all that Bible waving, all that killing.
這可不是不列顛的風格 所有的吶喊 揮舞圣經與殺戮
So was it all an aberration, then?Well, no, actually.
這算不算一場錯誤呢 事實上 并非如此
