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On January 30th, 1649,he was led out through the Banqueting House
1649年1月30日 他被人從宴會廳中帶出來
onto the scaffold erected right outside in Whitehall.
等待他的是聳立在白廳外的斷頭臺
The windows were all boarded up,
白廳的窗戶被木條封死
so Rubens's great anthem to the god-like omnipotence of kings
就這樣 魯賓斯對國王絕對權力的贊美圖
was invisible in the gloom, the light gone out of it.
消失在黑暗之中 失去了光芒
But Charles didn't need the pictures,he had the script off by heart.
但查理并不需要這些圖像 這一切 他都了然于心
A subject and a sovereign are clean different things.
臣民與統治者 是截然不同的概念
So the last words out of Charles I's mouth were the truth.
查理一世臨終時的最后一句話 道出了真相
With nothing left to lose for himself and everything to gain for his son,
他已經一無所有 但為了他的兒子
he was not about to confuse anyone about the nature of the kingdom that God had ordained.
他要讓所有人 都認清王國與生俱來的本質
It was the same kingdom that Rubens had painted on that ceiling
這仍然是魯賓斯在天花板上描繪的那個王國
the anointed sovereign answerable only to the Almighty,laying down laws for the benefit of his subjects.
那個唯一聽命于上帝旨意的君主 將制定出惠及子民的法律
He offered justice and he expected obedience.
他提供一切準則 并期待萬眾歸順
That was it. Take it or leave it.It had always been about that really,
如此而已 不容商榷 這是條亙古不變的事實
and all the pious hopes of turning Charles into a parliamentary monarch were just so many castles in the air.
所有那些渴望將查理 變成議會君主的天真幻想 只不過是癡人說夢罷了
