世界小史 第166期:受苦难者
英语课
But Christ had taught that the world's worst sorrows had a meaning, that beggars, those in torment 1, the persecuted 2, the sick and the suffering were blessed in their misfortune.
但是基督曾教导：世上最大的痛苦自有其意义，乞丐、哭泣者、受迫害者、受苦难者在其不幸中都是有福的。
And so it was that the Son of God, martyred and in agony, became for the first Christians 3 the very symbol of his teaching.
所以对于第一批基督徒来说，这位受苦难的、受折磨的圣子恰恰就是他学说的象征。
Today we can hardly imagine what that meant.
今天我们几乎再也无法想象，这意味着什么。
The cross was even worse than the gallows 4.
十字架是某种比绞刑架更恶劣的东西，
And this cross of shame became the symbol of the new teaching.
而这个耻辱的绞刑架则成了这种新学说的标志。
Just imagine what a Roman official or soldier, or a Roman teacher steeped in Greek culture, proud of his wisdom, his rhetoric 5 and his knowledge of philosophy,
你想象一下吧，一个罗马官员或士兵，一个对自己的睿智、自己的演说术和自己的哲学知识,
would have thought when he heard Christ's teaching from one of the great preachers – perhaps the Apostle Paul in Athens or in Rome.
搞到自豪的受过希腊教育的罗马教师必定会有些什么想法，如果他在雅典或在罗马听到大传教士中的一位，譬如师徒保罗传教基督学说的话。
We can read what he preached there today, in his First Letter to the Corinthians: I will show you a more excellent way:
这位在那里这样传教，这是我们今天还可以在他的致哥林多人的第一封信里：我把最妙的道指示给你们：
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am but a sounding gong or a tinkling 6 cymbal 7.
我若能说万人的方言，并天使的话语却没有爱，我就成了鸣的锣、响的钹一般。
n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠
- He has never suffered the torment of rejection.他从未经受过遭人拒绝的痛苦。
- Now nothing aggravates me more than when people torment each other.没有什么东西比人们的互相折磨更使我愤怒。
（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人
- Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
- Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
- Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
- His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
n.绞刑架，绞台
- The murderer was sent to the gallows for his crimes.谋杀犯由于罪大恶极被处以绞刑。
- Now I was to expiate all my offences at the gallows.现在我将在绞刑架上赎我一切的罪过。
n.修辞学，浮夸之言语
- Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
- Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。
n.丁当作响声
- I could hear bells tinkling in the distance. 我能听到远处叮当铃响。
- To talk to him was like listening to the tinkling of a worn-out musical-box. 跟他说话，犹如听一架老掉牙的八音盒子丁冬响。 来自英汉文学
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