The Rise 罗马崛起 - 08
【collation】
The story about Romulus killing 1 his twin brother, at the moment of the founding of the city is a very old story. It is very very remarkable 2 that in the late Republic, the Romans were fighting civil wars, and of course, it didn't escape their notice that they seemed to be prefigured in the myth with Romulus killing his brother. They actually thought this was a sort of curse on them that they were fated to destroy each other.
Well, the whole Roman psyche 3 was based on violence. If you look at the foundation legends of Romulus and Remus, that's based on fratricide. Right, one brother kills another to found the city. And from that point, it just escalates 4.
The violence of the early Romans in fact and fiction was born of desperation. In real life, shunned 5 by neighboring tribes, Rome was forced to welcome outcasts, vagrants 6 and fugitives 7. And they lured 8 their neighbors -- the Sabines , to a ritual of peacemaking.
And they are all a pretty desperate lot, and Rome, the earliest community that is organized in that way of course, is a place where no woman wants to go. So they haven't got any women, that's the first problem.
And so the Romans, Romulus in particular got an idea. New religious festival, let's invite the neighbors, bring your wife and kids, especially the daughters.
The Sabines were wary 9, but accepted. As the festivities went on into the night, the Sabines relaxed their guard. It was what the Romans were waiting for. Romulus gave the sign, and they attacked. They grabbed the women, and drove off the Sabine men, the ones they didn't kill. When painters of a later age portrayed 10 the rape 11 of the Sabine women, they imagined the classical city. They were wrong. The early Romans were primitive 12 people, struggling desperately 13 to survive. The grim stories of the first Romans were as surprising to Livy as they are to us. They certainly didn't provide the role models he was looking for. His little book turned into one of the most monumental histories ever written. By the time he died in 17 A.D., it had grown to 142 volumes, all written laboriously in wax. It had absorbed his entire life. Livy's chronicle was the best seller of his day. It was more successful than he could ever have hoped, but had no effect, whatsoever 15, on the moral chaos 16 of the empire. Even 142 books were no match for the influence of so much power. By now, Rome was a Juggernaut, whose momentum 17 was unstoppable. Its course set by its mythic beginnings, whether fact or fiction.
- Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
- Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
- She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
- These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。
- His exploration of the myth brings insight into the American psyche.他对这个神话的探讨揭示了美国人的心理。
- She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche.她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
- As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 面临的挑战越大，越需要团队协同合作。 来自互联网
- I cannot understand why a minor disagreement escalates into a fist-fight. 我真不明白为什么一点意见不合就变成了拳头相见。 来自互联网
- She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
- He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Police kept a close watch on the vagrants. 警察严密监视那些流浪者。
- O Troupe of little vagrants of the world, leave your footprints in my words. 世界上的一队小小的漂泊者呀，请留下你们的足印在我的文字里。
- Three fugitives from the prison are still at large. 三名逃犯仍然未被抓获。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Members of the provisional government were prisoners or fugitives. 临时政府的成员或被捕或逃亡。 来自演讲部分
- The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
- Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。
- He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
- Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。
- Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
- The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
- The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
- He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。
- It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
- His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
- He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
- He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。
- She is tracing laboriously now. 她正在费力地写。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- She is laboriously copying out an old manuscript. 她正在费劲地抄出一份旧的手稿。 来自辞典例句
- There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
- All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。
- After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
- The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。