A glimpse of teenage life in ancient Rome - Ray Laurence

Translator: tom carter Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: Zhuo Wang 校对人员: Shawnee Huang

It's March the 17th in A.D. 73.

这是公元73年 三月十七日

We're visiting ancient Rome to watch the Liberalia,

我们到古罗马参加酒神节

an annual festival that celebrates the liberty of Rome's citizens.

这个一年一度的庆典 是为了庆祝罗马市民的自由

We're looking in at a 17-year-old named Lucius Popidius Secundus.

我们的主角是一个名叫 Lucius Popidius Secundus的十七岁少年

He's not from a poor family, but he lives in the region known as the Subura,

他的家庭并不贫穷 但他居住的地方叫作Subura

a poorer neighborhood in Rome, yet close to the center of the city.

是一个靠近城市中心却比较贫穷的社区

(Gong)

那里的公寓挤满了居民

The tenants of these apartments are crammed in,

(Grunting)

which poses considerable risk.

住户常面临危险

Fires are frequent and the smell of ash and smoke in the morning is not uncommon.

火灾时常发生 早晨闻到烟灰味是很正常的事

Lucius, who awoke at dawn, has family duties to perform today.

Lucius在黎明醒来 他要参加今天的家庭活动

(Cheering)

（欢呼声）

His 15-year-old brother is coming of age.

他15岁的弟弟要成年了

Half the children in ancient Rome die before they reach adulthood,

在古罗马 有一半的儿童在成年前夭折

so this is a particularly important milestone.

所以这是一个非常重要的时刻

Lucius watches his brother stand in his new toga

Lucius看着他的弟弟穿着新长袍

before the household shrine with its protective deities,

站在家族守护神的神龛前

as he places his bulla, a protective amulet,

把他的护身符垂饰

in the shrine with a prayer of thanks.

放在神龛里 并祈祷表示感谢

The bulla had worked. It had protected him.

这个护身符起了作用 保护他成长

与很多小孩不一样 他存活下来 并且长大成人

Unlike many others, he had survived to become an adult.

At 17, Lucius has almost completed his education.

十七岁的Lucius即将完成他的学业

He has learned to speak well, make public speeches,

他已学会了在公众演讲时得体的阐述他的观点

以及拉丁文和希腊文的读写

and how to read and write both Latin and Greek.

他的父亲也教他很多

His father has taught him the types of things

you can't learn in the classroom:

在课堂上学不到的东西：

how to run,

如何跑步

how to swim,

如何游泳

and how to fight.

如何格斗

Lucius could choose, at 17, to become a military tribune

17岁的Lucius可以选择去做一个民选出的军事保民官

and command soldiers on the edge of the Empire.

或者去帝国边境指挥士兵

然而从另一方面来说 Lucius仍然是个孩子

But in other ways, Lucius is still a child.

他还不能够自如地处理各种交易

He's not trusted to arrange business deals.

His father will take care of that until he is 25.

在他25岁之前 这些事情由他的父亲打理

And Dad will arrange Lucius' marriage to a girl 10 years younger.

父亲还会帮Lucius安排和一个小他10岁的女孩结婚

His dad has his eye on a family with a 7-year-old daughter.

他的父亲看上了一个有7岁大女孩的家庭

Back to the Liberalia.

回到酒神节这个主题

当Lucius和他的家人出门时

As Lucius leaves with his family,

the shops are open as the population goes about its business.

路边的商店都开门做生意了

The streets are full of itinerant traders selling trinkets

街道上充满了卖小商品的旅行商人

and people bustling from place to place.

人潮处处 熙熙攘攘

Large wagons are not allowed in the city until after the ninth hour

大型马车在日间九点（罗马历 相当于下午3点）之前是不许进城的

but the streets are still crowded.

但街上依然水泄不通

Fathers and uncles take the kids to the Forum Augustus

父亲们和亲戚们带着孩子们来到奥古斯都广场

to see statues of Rome's famous warriors

去看一些罗马著名战士的雕像

例如埃涅阿斯 他带领罗马人的祖先 特洛伊人前往意大利

like Aeneas, who led Rome's ancestors, the Trojans, to Italy.

还有罗慕路斯 罗马的奠基者

And Romulus, Rome's founder.

And all the great generals of the Republic from more than 100 years earlier.

以及一百年前所有的共和国将领

Lovingly, we can imagine fathers and guardians

我们可以想象这样一副温馨的画面 父亲和监护人们

with their now adult children

陪伴着他们刚成年的孩子们

remembering stories of Rome's glory

回溯罗马的辉煌历史

and re-telling the good deeds and sayings of the great men of the past:

重温那些历史伟人的名言轶事

lessons on how to live well,

以及经验教训

and to overcome the follies of youth.

让年轻人引以为鉴 避免做出任何蠢事

There is a sense of history in this place, relevant to their present.

对当下的他们来说 这个地方俨然具备一股思古之幽情

Romans made an empire without end in time and space.

罗马人缔造了一个完全不受时间和空间限制的帝国

(Thump)

（鼓声）

Rome was destined to be eternal through warfare.

靠战争来获得永生是罗马的宿命

Wars were a fact of life, even in A.D. 73.

即使在公元73年 战争也是生活的一部分

There are campaigns in the north of England and into Scotland,

有无数关于罗马军队从英国北部打到爱尔兰

从多瑙河以北打到罗马尼亚

to the north of the River Danube into Romania,

and on the frontier between Syria and Iraq to the east.

往东打到叙利亚和伊拉克边界的战役

It's now the eighth hour -- time to head for the baths.

现在是日间八点 到了沐浴的时间

Lucius and his family head up the Via Lata, the wide street,

Lucius一家人前往科尔索大道

to the Campus Martius, and the enormous Baths of Agrippa.

经过战神广场 到达阿格里帕大浴场

The family members leave the clients and freedmen outside,

Lucius一家把门客们留在外面

and enter the baths with their peer group.

和同阶级的人一起进入浴场

Baths would change from dark, steamy rooms to light ones.

蒸汽弥漫的浴场里逐渐由暗变亮

The Romans had perfected window glass.

罗马人懂得如何制造精美的玻璃

Everyone moves from the cold room

每个人从冷水池

to the tepid room

到温水池

and to the very hot room.

再进入高温池

(Man) Oops!

More than an hour later, the bathers leave

一个多小时后 沐浴者离开浴池

massaged, oiled,

进行按摩 抹油

(Whistling)

and have been scraped down with a strigil

并用擦身板除去身上的污垢

to remove the remaining dirt.

在日间九点的时候 他们已经离家七个小时了

At the ninth hour, seven hours after they left home,

the men return for a celebratory dinner.

人们回家享用庆祝的晚宴

Dinner is an intimate affair,

晚宴是全家人的亲密时刻

with nine people reclining around the low table.

九个人斜躺在矮桌周围

用餐者只需打一下手势

Slaves attend to their every need

if the diners, through gestures, demand more food and wine.

奴隶们就会送上美酒和食物

As the day closes, we can hear the rumble of wagons outside.

太阳下山时 我们听见外面马车的喧嚣声

The clients and freedmen,

门客们饱餐一顿后——即使比主人的餐食稍低一等

with a meal of robust -- if inferior -- food inside them,

shuffle off to the now tepid baths

就前去那水已经变温的浴场

before returning to their apartment blocks.

最后才回到他们各自的公寓

Back at Lucius' house, the drinking continues into the night.

回到Lucius的家 他们一直喝酒到晚上

Lucius and his stepbrother don't look too well.

Lucius和他的异母兄弟看起来不太好

A slave stands by in case either of them needs to vomit.

一个奴隶就站在旁边 为他们呕吐做准备

而由后来的历史 我们知道Lucius的未来

With hindsight, we know Lucius' future.

In 20 years' time, the Emperor Vespasian's youngest son, Domitian, as emperor,

二十年后 统治者维斯帕先的小儿子 多米提安成为继任者

will enact a reign of terror.

开始暴政统治

Will Lucius survive?

Lucius能幸存下去吗

(Drums)

（鼓声）