Neil MacGregor: 2600 years of history in one object

翻译人员: Ying Ding 校对人员: Karen SONG

The things we make

我们所制造的物件

have one supreme quality --

具有一项极其卓越的优点

they live longer than us.

它们比我们活得久

We perish, they survive;

我们终将消逝，它们则万世长存

we have one life, they have many lives,

我们只有一世, 它们却有许多

and in each life they can mean different things.

而且每一世都有不同的意义

Which means that, while we all have one biography,

这就意味着，我们只能写一次传记

they have many.

而它们却可以写很多次

I want this morning to talk

今早，我想谈谈

about the story, the biography -- or rather the biographies --

一件特殊的文物身上的故事，它的传记

of one particular object,

它每一世的传记

one remarkable thing.

这是件非凡的文物

It doesn't, I agree,

我同意，它看起来

look very much.

并不起眼

It's about the size of a rugby ball.

差不多是一只橄榄球的大小

It's made of clay,

用陶土制成

and it's been fashioned

先做成一个

into a cylinder shape,

圆柱的形状

covered with close writing

刻满楔形文字后

and then baked dry in the sun.

再在阳光下烘干

And as you can see,

你可以看到

it's been knocked about a bit,

它上面有破损的痕迹

which is not surprising

这并不奇怪

because it was made two and a half thousand years ago

因为它已有超过2500年的历史了

and was dug up

它是在1879年

in 1879.

被挖掘出来的

But today,

但是今天

this thing is, I believe,

我相信

a major player

它在中东地区的政治领域

in the politics of the Middle East.

也扮演着重要的角色

And it's an object

在它身上

with fascinating stories

发生了很多精彩的故事

and stories that are by no means over yet.

有些故事到现在也没有完结

The story begins

故事始于

in the Iran-Iraq war

两伊战争

and that series of events

以及随后一系列的事件

that culminated

累积起来

in the invasion of Iraq

针对伊拉克的

by foreign forces,

外国武装的入侵

the removal of a despotic ruler

暴君被推翻

and instant regime change.

政局发生骤变

And I want to begin

我想从

with one episode from that sequence of events

那一系列事件中的一个章节开始说起

that most of you would be very familiar with,

你们中的大多数对此不会陌生

Belshazzar's feast --

那就是伯萨沙王的宴会

because we're talking about the Iran-Iraq war

因为我们说的这场两伊战争

of 539 BC.

发生在公元前539年

And the parallels

而公元前539年

between the events

和2003年发生的事件

of 539 BC and 2003 and in between

两者之间有

are startling.

惊人的相似之处

What you're looking at is Rembrandt's painting,

你现在看到的是伦勃朗的油画作品

now in the National Gallery in London,

现陈列于伦敦的国家美术馆

illustrating the text from the prophet Daniel

这幅画阐释了希伯来圣经中的

in the Hebrew scriptures.

但以理书

And you all know roughly the story.

你们都知道故事的大概

Belshazzar, the son of Nebuchadnezzar,

伯萨沙是尼布甲尼撒的儿子

Nebuchadnezzar who'd conquered Israel, sacked Jerusalem

尼布甲尼撒征服了以色列，洗劫了耶路撒冷

and captured the people

俘虏了那里的人民

and taken the Jews back to Babylon.

将犹太人带到了巴比伦

Not only the Jews, he'd taken the temple vessels.

不仅仅是犹太人，他还带回了圣殿的器皿

He'd ransacked, desecrated the temple.

他将圣殿洗劫一空，还亵渎了神明

And the great gold vessels of the temple in Jerusalem

来自耶路撒冷圣殿中的金制器皿

had been taken to Babylon.

被带回了巴比伦

Belshazzar, his son,

他的儿子伯萨沙

decides to have a feast.

决定举办一场盛宴

And in order to make it even more exciting,

为了让宴会更加刺激

he added a bit of sacrilege to the rest of the fun,

他又加了点亵渎神灵的余兴节目

and he brings out the temple vessels.

他拿出了圣殿器皿

He's already at war with the Iranians,

那时他已与伊朗人开战

with the king of Persia.

和波斯国王也打得不可开交

And that night, Daniel tells us,

那天晚上，但以理告诉我们

at the height of the festivities

在宴会达到高潮时

a hand appeared and wrote on the wall,

出现了一只手在墙上写字

"You are weighed in the balance and found wanting,

你被称在天平里，显出你的亏欠

and your kingdom is handed over

你的国分裂

to the Medes and the Persians."

归与玛代人和波斯人

And that very night

就在那个晚上

Cyrus, king of the Persians, entered Babylon

波斯国王塞鲁士攻入巴比伦

and the whole regime of Belshazzar fell.

整个伯萨沙政权覆灭了

It is, of course, a great moment

当然

in the history

这是犹太人历史上

of the Jewish people.

一个伟大的时刻

It's a great story. It's story we all know.

这是个精彩的故事，我们都知道

"The writing on the wall"

"墙上之字” (“不祥之兆”)这个说法

is part of our everyday language.

已经成为我们的日常用语

What happened next

而接下来发生了

was remarkable,

一件意义重大的事情

and it's where our cylinder

赛鲁士圆柱也在

enters the story.

此时出现而来

Cyrus, king of the Persians,

波斯国王赛鲁士

has entered Babylon without a fight --

不费一兵一卒就进入了巴比伦

the great empire of Babylon,

而伟大的巴比伦帝国

which ran from central southern Iraq

国土从伊拉克中南部

to the Mediterranean,

一直延伸到地中海

falls to Cyrus.

却落于赛鲁士之手

And Cyrus makes a declaration.

接着赛鲁士发表了声明

And that is what this cylinder is,

声明内容就刻在这个圆柱上

the declaration made by the ruler guided by God

这是统治者受到神的指引而发表的声明

who had toppled the Iraqi despot

神推翻了伊拉克的独裁统治

and was going to bring freedom to the people.

并将自由带给人民

In ringing Babylonian --

在包围巴比伦时

it was written in Babylonian --

有巴比伦语这样写道

he says, "I am Cyrus, king of all the universe,

他说：“我是赛鲁士，是整个宇宙的王

the great king, the powerful king,

我是伟大的国王，是强盛的国王

king of Babylon, king of the four quarters of the world."

我是巴比伦的国王，是世界之王“

They're not shy of hyperbole as you can see.

你看，他们夸张起来可真不害臊

This is probably

这可能是

the first real press release

由获胜方发表的第一场

by a victorious army

真正意义上的

that we've got.

新闻发布会

And it's written, as we'll see in due course,

我们后来看到

by very skilled P.R. consultants.

它被技巧娴熟的公关顾问们记录下来了

So the hyperbole is not actually surprising.

所以这里的夸张其实并不叫人惊讶

And what is the great king, the powerful king,

那么这位伟大而强盛的

the king of the four quarters of the world going to do?

世界之王打算做些什么呢

He goes on to say that, having conquered Babylon,

他接着说，征服巴比伦之后

he will at once let all the peoples

他会立即让所有

that the Babylonians -- Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar --

被尼布甲尼撒和伯萨沙

have captured and enslaved

俘虏和奴役的不同种族的人

go free.

获得自由

He'll let them return to their countries.

他会让他们回到自己的国家

And more important,

更重要的是

he will let them all recover

他会让他们恢复信仰

the gods, the statues,

并拿回

the temple vessels

缴获的雕像

that had been confiscated.

和圣殿器皿

All the peoples that the Babylonians had repressed and removed

所有受到巴比伦人压迫

will go home,

和被掳至巴比伦的人都将回家

and they'll take with them their gods.

他们将与他们的神一同回去

And they'll be able to restore their altars

他们可以修复他们的祭坛

and to worship their gods

并以他们自己的方式

in their own way, in their own place.

在属于他们的地方，祭拜他们的神

This is the decree,

这是就是当时颁布的法令

this object is the evidence

赛鲁士圆柱就是证据

for the fact that the Jews,

证明了犹太人

after the exile in Babylon,

被流放到巴比伦之后

the years they'd spent sitting by the waters of Babylon,

好多年，他们都会坐在巴比伦的水畔

weeping when they remembered Jerusalem,

一想起耶路撒冷就会哭泣

those Jews were allowed to go home.

那些犹太人被准许回家了

They were allowed to return to Jerusalem

他们被允许回到耶路撒冷

and to rebuild the temple.

重建神庙

It's a central document

这在犹太历史上

in Jewish history.

是一份核心文件

And the Book of Chronicles, the Book of Ezra in the Hebrew scriptures

在希伯来圣经里的历代志和以斯拉记中

reported in ringing terms.

也清楚的记载着

This is the Jewish version

下面是关于同一个故事的

of the same story.

犹太版本

"Thus said Cyrus, king of Persia,

“因此，波斯国王赛鲁士说

'All the kingdoms of the earth have the Lord God of heaven given thee,

'上天的神耶和华天下万国赐给我，

and he has charged me

又嘱咐我

to build him a house in Jerusalem.

在犹大的耶路撒冷为他建造一座殿宇

Who is there among you of his people?

你们中间凡是作为他的子民的

The Lord God be with him,

愿上帝与这人同在

and let him go up.'"

你们要回归耶路撒冷建造他的神殿“

"Go up" -- aaleh.

“回归耶路撒冷”

The central element, still,

这里的核心要素

of the notion of return,

仍然是回归

a central part

这也是犹太教教义的

of the life of Judaism.

核心部分

As you all know, that return from exile,

你们知道，结束流放回到耶路撒冷

the second temple,

和第二神殿

reshaped Judaism.

重塑了犹太教

And that change,

那次改变

that great historic moment,

那个伟大的历史时刻

was made possible by Cyrus, the king of Persia,

是由波斯国王赛鲁士实现的

reported for us in Hebrew in scripture

这一切在希伯来圣经中都有记载

and in Babylonian in clay.

也用巴比伦语刻在赛鲁士圆柱上

Two great texts,

这是两篇伟大的文献

what about the politics?

那么政治上又如何呢

What was going on

那时所发生的事

was the fundamental shift in Middle Eastern history.

是中东历史上一个根本性的转变

The empire of Iran, the Medes and the Persians,

伊朗，米底和波斯帝国

united under Cyrus,

被赛鲁士统一

became the first great world empire.

成为第一个伟大的世界帝国

Cyrus begins in the 530s BC.

赛鲁士于公元前530年左右开始统治

And by the time of his son Darius,

到了他的儿子大流士的时期

the whole of the eastern Mediterranean

整个东地中海

is under Persian control.

都处于波斯的统治之下

This empire is, in fact,

事实上，这个帝国

the Middle East as we now know it,

也就是我们现在所熟知的中东

and it's what shapes the Middle East as we now know it.

它形成了现在的中东地区

It was the largest empire the world had known until then.

在那个时期，它是世界上最大的帝国

Much more important,

更重要的是

it was the first

它是第一个

multicultural, multifaith state

规模如此宏大的

on a huge scale.

多文化，多信仰的国家

And it had to be run in a quite new way.

所以必须采用新的方法来治理这个帝国

It had to be run in different languages.

必须采用多语言的治理方式

The fact that this decree is in Babylonian says one thing.

其实巴比伦语版本的法令说明了这一点

And it had to recognize their different habits,

还必须认识到人民的不同习俗

different peoples, different religions, different faiths.

不同民族，不同宗教和不同信仰

All of those are respected by Cyrus.

所有这一切都受到赛鲁士的尊重

Cyrus sets up a model

他建立了一个模式

of how you run

即如何治理一个庞大的

a great multinational, multifaith, multicultural society.

多民族，多信仰和多文化的社会

And the result of that

他这样做的结果就是

was an empire that included the areas you see on the screen,

这个帝国涵盖了你在屏幕上所看到的地区

and which survived for 200 years of stability

并享有了长达200年的稳定

until it was shattered by Alexander.

直到被亚历山大大帝推翻

It left a dream of the Middle East as a unit,

它给中东的统一留下了一个梦

and a unit where people of different faiths

即不同信仰的人们

could live together.

能够和平共处

The Greek invasions ended that.

然而希腊的入侵结束了这一切

And of course, Alexander couldn't sustain a government

当然，亚历山大大帝无法维持一个政府

and it fragmented.

帝国变得四分五裂

But what Cyrus represented

但是赛鲁士所代表的意义

remained absolutely central.

仍然保持绝对的核心地位

The Greek historian Xenophon

希腊历史学家色诺芬

wrote his book "Cyropaedia"

在他所著的《赛鲁士的教育》一书中

promoting Cyrus as the great ruler.

认为赛鲁士是一位伟大的统治者

And throughout European culture afterward,

且在之后的整个欧洲文化中

Cyrus remained the model.

赛鲁士仍然是楷模

This is a 16th century image

这个16世纪的形象

to show you how widespread

向你展示了人们对赛鲁士

his veneration actually was.

是多么的崇敬

And Xenophon's book on Cyrus

色诺芬关于赛鲁士

on how you ran a diverse society

及如何治理一个多样化的社会的书

was one of the great textbooks

是对引领美国革命的国父们

that inspired the Founding Fathers

起到激励作用的

of the American Revolution.

最伟大的课本之一

Jefferson was a great admirer --

杰弗逊就是其仰慕者之一

the ideals of Cyrus

赛鲁士的典范

obviously speaking to those 18th century ideals

清楚的向18世纪的理念证明了

of how you create religious tolerance

如何在一个新的国家

in a new state.

建立宗教宽容的氛围

Meanwhile, back in Babylon,

现在让我们在回头看看巴比伦

things had not been going well.

情况并不好

After Alexander, the other empires,

在亚历山大大帝建立新的国家之后

Babylon declines, falls into ruins,

巴比伦开始衰落，化为一片废墟

and all the traces of the great Babylonian empire are lost --

所有关于伟大的巴比伦帝国的痕迹都遗落了

until 1879

直到1879年

when the cylinder is discovered

大英博物馆为了寻找展品

by a British Museum exhibition digging in Babylon.

在巴比伦挖出赛鲁士圆柱为止

And it enters now another story.

现在它又引发了另一个故事

It enters that great debate

它引发了19世纪中期

in the middle of the 19th century:

那场伟大的辩论

Are the scriptures reliable? Can we trust them?

圣经可靠么？我们能够相信它么？

We only knew

我们只能

about the return of the Jews and the decree of Cyrus

从希伯来圣经上得知

from the Hebrew scriptures.

犹太人的回归和赛鲁士的法令

No other evidence.

再没有别的证据可以证明了

Suddenly, this appeared.

突然之间，这件文物出现了

And great excitement

对于那些相信圣经

to a world where those who believed in the scriptures

却被进化论和地质学

had had their faith in creation shaken

动摇了对创世纪的信仰的人们来说

by evolution, by geology,

这是一项振奋人心的证据

here was evidence

它证明了

that the scriptures were historically true.

圣经在历史上的真实性

It's a great 19th century moment.

这是19世纪的一个伟大时刻

But -- and this, of course, is where it becomes complicated --

但是，这也让事情变得更加复杂

the facts were true,

这些事实都是真的

hurrah for archeology,

对于考古学来说是个好消息

but the interpretation was rather more complicated.

但对它的解读却越加复杂

Because the cylinder account and the Hebrew Bible account

因为圆柱上的描述与希伯来圣经上的描述

differ in one key respect.

有一个关键的差异

The Babylonian cylinder

圆柱上的巴比伦语

is written by the priests

是由信奉巴比伦的主神马杜克的

of the great god of Bablyon, Marduk.

祭祀写就的

And, not surprisingly,

所以他们告诉你这一切都是马杜克的功劳

they tell you that all this was done by Marduk.

这一点也不奇怪

"Marduk, we hold, called Cyrus by his name."

“马杜克，我们所信奉的神，召唤了赛鲁士”

Marduk takes Cyrus by the hand,

马杜克拉着赛鲁士的手

calls him to shepherd his people

告诉他要管理好人民

and gives him the rule of Babylon.

并赋予他治理巴比伦的权力

Marduk tells Cyrus

马杜克告诉赛鲁士

that he will do these great, generous things

他要做这些伟大而慷慨的事

of setting the people free.

来让人民自由

And this is why we should all be grateful to

这就是为什么我们都应对马杜克

and worship Marduk.

心怀感激和崇敬

The Hebrew writers

而希伯来圣经的作者

in the Old Testament,

则在旧约中

you will not be surprised to learn,

表达了完全不同的看法

take a rather different view of this.

这也不奇怪

For them, of course, it can't possibly by Marduk

当然，对他们来说

that made all this happen.

不可能是马杜克

It can only be Jehovah.

只能是耶和华造就了这一切

And so in Isaiah,

所以在以赛亚书中

we have the wonderful texts

我们能找到相应的文本

giving all the credit of this,

这一切的功劳

not to Marduk

不属于马杜克

but to the Lord God of Israel --

而属于以色列的主神耶和华

the Lord God of Israel

耶和华

who also called Cyrus by name,

也召唤了赛鲁士

also takes Cyrus by the hand

也拉着赛鲁士的手

and talks of him shepherding his people.

让他管理好人民

It's a remarkable example

同一件事拥有两种不同宗教的描述

of two different priestly appropriations of the same event,

同一个政治事件

two different religious takeovers

有两种不同宗教的解读

of a political fact.

这是个绝佳的例子

God, we know,

我们知道

is usually on the side of the big battalions.

神往往站在军事力量强大的那一方

The question is, which god was it?

但问题是，是哪一个神呢？

And the debate unsettles

这场辩论

everybody in the 19th century

让19世纪时的每个人都觉得不安

to realize that the Hebrew scriptures

它让人们认识到希伯来圣经

are part of a much wider world of religion.

只是一个更广阔的宗教世界的一部分

And it's quite clear

很明显

the cylinder is older than the text of Isaiah,

赛鲁士圆柱比以赛亚书要更为古老

and yet, Jehovah is speaking

然而，耶和华所说的话

in words very similar

与马杜克所说的

to those used by Marduk.

非常相似

And there's a slight sense that Isaiah knows this,

可能以赛亚对这个事件有些略微的了解

because he says,

因为他说

this is God speaking, of course,

当然， 是神说

"I have called thee by thy name

“我召唤你

though thou hast not known me."

虽然你并不知道我“

I think it's recognized

我认为这是承认

that Cyrus doesn't realize

赛鲁士并未意识到

that he's acting under orders from Jehovah.

他所听从的是耶和华的命令

And equally, he'd have been surprised that he was acting under orders from Marduk.

他对于听从马杜克的命令也同样感到吃惊

Because interestingly, of course,

因为，有趣的是

Cyrus is a good Iranian

赛鲁士是一个不错的伊朗人

with a totally different set of gods

他另有一整套不同的神的体系

who are not mentioned in any of these texts.

而这些神从未在任何文本中被提到过

(Laughter)

(笑)

That's 1879.

那场辩论是1879年的事

40 years on

40年之后

and we're in 1917,

到了1917年

and the cylinder enters a different world.

赛鲁士圆柱进入了一个不同的世界

This time, the real politics

这是一个属于当代世界

of the contemporary world --

属于实际政治的年代

the year of the Balfour Declaration,

这一年发表了贝尔福宣言

the year when the new imperial power in the Middle East, Britain,

这一年在中东崛起的新帝国

decides that it will declare

英帝国决定建立

a Jewish national home,

一个犹太人的民族家园

it will allow

它将准许

the Jews to return.

犹太人的回归

And the response to this

身处东欧的犹太人

by the Jewish population in Eastern Europe is rhapsodic.

对于这件事的反应是狂热的

And across Eastern Europe,

犹太人在整个东欧

Jews display pictures of Cyrus

将赛鲁士

and of George V

和乔治五世的图画

side by side --

并排展示

the two great rulers

这两位伟大的统治者

who have allowed the return to Jerusalem.

准许犹太人回归耶路撒冷

And the Cyrus cylinder comes back into public view

赛鲁士圆柱也进入了公众的视野

and the text of this

其上的文本是神的旨意的一部分

as a demonstration of why what is going to happen

它展示出

after the war is over in 1918

为什么战后发生的事

is part of a divine plan.

会在1918年结束

You all know what happened.

你们都知道发生了什么

The state of Israel is setup,

以色列建国了

and 50 years later, in the late 60s,

50年后，在20世纪60年代末

it's clear that Britain's role as the imperial power is over.

很明显，英国的帝国主义也走到了尽头

And another story of the cylinder begins.

另一个关于赛鲁士圆柱的故事开始了

The region, the U.K. and the U.S. decide,

英国和美国决定

has to be kept safe from communism,

民族家园地区不应受到共产主义的影响

and the superpower that will be created to do this

而应起到保护作用的即将诞生的超级大国

would be Iran, the Shah.

将会是沙王所领导的伊朗

And so the Shah invents an Iranian history,

因此沙王创造了伊朗的历史

or a return to Iranian history,

或者说是伊朗回归的历史

that puts him in the center of a great tradition

这让他成为一项伟大传统的核心

and produces coins

并发行

showing himself

印有他自己

with the Cyrus cylinder.

和赛鲁士圆柱的硬币

When he has his great celebrations in Persepolis,

当他在波斯波利斯举办盛大的庆典时

he summons the cylinder

他要求赛鲁士圆柱回到伊朗

and the cylinder is lent by the British Museum, goes to Tehran,

大英博物馆遂借出圆柱，并送往德黑兰

and is part of those great celebrations

这成为巴列维王朝

of the Pahlavi dynasty.

伟大庆典的一部分

Cyrus cylinder: guarantor of the Shah.

赛鲁士圆柱就是沙王统治的保证

10 years later, another story:

10年后，另一个故事拉开了帷幕

Iranian Revolution, 1979.

即1979年的伊朗革命

Islamic revolution, no more Cyrus;

这是伊斯兰革命，与赛鲁士无关

we're not interested in that history,

我们对那段历史并不感兴趣

we're interested in Islamic Iran --

我们感兴趣的是具有伊斯兰特色的伊朗

until Iraq,

直到伊拉克

the new superpower that we've all decided should be in the region,

那个我们都认为应属于该地区势力范围的新生力量

attacks.

发动了攻击

Then another Iran-Iraq war.

这又是一场两伊战争

And it becomes critical for the Iranians

伊朗人能否铭记他们那伟大的历史

to remember their great past,

就变得很关键

their great past

在那段历史中

when they fought Iraq and won.

他们战胜了伊拉克

It becomes critical to find a symbol

至关重要的一点是找到一个象征

that will pull together all Iranians --

让所有伊朗人团结起来

Muslims and non-Muslims,

让穆斯林，非穆斯林

Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews living in Iran,

基督徒，索罗亚斯德教教徒，居住在伊朗的犹太人

people who are devout, not devout.

和那些无论虔诚与否的人都团结起来

And the obvious emblem is Cyrus.

显然，赛鲁士圆柱是最合适的象征

So when the British Museum and Tehran National Musuem

所以当大英博物馆和德黑兰国家博物馆

cooperate and work together, as we've been doing,

展开合作时，就像我们一直以来所做的那样

the Iranians ask for one thing only

伊朗人只要求

as a loan.

借一样东西

It's the only object they want.

这是他们唯一想要的东西

They want to borrow the Cyrus cylinder.

他们想借赛鲁士圆柱

And last year,

去年

the Cyrus cylinder went to Tehran

赛鲁士圆柱被送往德黑兰

for the second time.

这已经是第二次了

It's shown being presented here, put into its case

它由德黑兰国家博物馆馆长

by the director of the National Museum of Tehran,

亲手放进盒子里

one of the many women in Iran in very senior positions,

这位馆长是一位伊朗妇女，地位非常崇高

Mrs. Ardakani.

她就是艾达卡尼女士

It was a huge event.

这是一次隆重的事件

This is the other side of that same picture.

故事的另外一面

It's seen in Tehran

在德黑兰

by between one and two million people

仅在几个月之内，就有一两百万的人

in the space of a few months.

参观了居鲁士圆柱

This is beyond any blockbuster exhibition

这次展出的轰动效应

in the West.

在西方前所未见

And it's the subject of a huge debate

这也是一场伟大辩论的主题

about what this cylinder means, what Cyrus means,

即赛鲁士圆柱意味着什么，赛鲁士又意味着什么

but above all, Cyrus as articulated through this cylinder --

但首先，圆柱上所描写的赛鲁士

Cyrus as the defender of the homeland,

是家国的捍卫者

the champion, of course, of Iranian identity

是为伊朗身份和伊朗人民

and of the Iranian peoples,

而奋斗的战士

tolerant of all faiths.

他能够对所有的信仰都宽容相待

And in the current Iran,

在当今伊朗

Zoroastrians and Christians have guaranteed places

索罗亚斯德教教徒和基督徒

in the Iranian parliament, something to be very, very proud of.

在伊朗议会中的地位得以保障，这是非常值得自豪的

To see this object in Tehran,

为了在德黑兰一睹这件展品

thousands of Jews living in Iran

居住在伊朗的数万犹太人

came to Tehran to see it.

前往德黑兰

It became a great emblem,

赛鲁士圆柱成为了一个伟大的象征

a great subject of debate

一场辩论的主题

about what Iran is at home and abroad.

关于伊朗在国内外的意义

Is Iran still to be the defender of the oppressed?

伊朗仍然是被压迫人民的守护者么？

Will Iran set free the people

伊朗仍会赋予那些

that the tyrants have enslaved and expropriated?

被暴君奴役和剥削的人们以自由么？

This is heady national rhetoric,

这是令人振奋的全国性的讨论

and it was all put together

它由一场

in a great pageant

关于回归的隆重盛会

launching the return.

所激发

Here you see this out-sized Cyrus cylinder on the stage

在这里，你能看到巨大的赛鲁士圆柱

with great figures from Iranian history

与伊朗历史中的伟人一起在舞台上

gathering to take their place

明确他们在伊朗传统中

in the heritage of Iran.

所占有的一席之地

It was a narrative presented

这是伊朗总统

by the president himself.

亲口叙述的

And for me,

对我来说

to take this object to Iran,

将赛鲁士圆柱送回伊朗

to be allowed to take this object to Iran

或者说被允许将它送回伊朗

was to be allowed to be part

就是被允许成为

of an extraordinary debate

一场最高层次的

led at the highest levels

伟大辩论的一部分

about what Iran is,

这场辩论是关于伊朗是什么

what different Irans there are

到底有多少个不同的伊朗

and how the different histories of Iran

以及伊朗不同的历史

might shape the world today.

将会对今天的世界产生怎样的影响

It's a debate that's still continuing,

这场辩论仍在继续

and it will continue to rumble,

它将继续产生轰动的效应

because this object

因为赛鲁士圆柱

is one of the great declarations

是象征人类渴望的

of a human aspiration.

伟大的声明之一

It stands with the American constitution.

它与美国的宪法具有同等地位

It certainly says far more about real freedoms

他当然比大宪章更能代表

than Magna Carta.

真正的自由

It is a document that can mean so many things,

它是一份文件，对伊朗和整个地区

for Iran and for the region.

都具有深远的意义

A replica of this

它的一份复制品

is at the United Nations.

在联合国

In New York this autumn, it will be present

今年秋天，在纽约

when the great debates

当关于中东未来的伟大辩论开始时

about the future of the Middle East take place.

它将被展出

And I want to finish by asking you

我想要问你们几个问题来结束我的演讲

what the next story will be

赛鲁士圆柱将引发的下一个故事

in which this object figures.

又是什么呢？

It will appear, certainly,

当然，赛鲁士圆柱

in many more Middle Eastern stories.

会出现在很多的中东故事里

And what story of the Middle East,

那么你们希望看到

what story of the world,

在中东

do you want to see

和世界上发生怎样的故事

reflecting what is said,

来体现赛鲁士圆柱

what is expressed in this cylinder?

所表达的意义呢？

The right of peoples

不同的民族有权利

to live together in the same state,

在同一个国家生活

worshiping differently, freely --

自由的供奉自己信仰的宗教

a Middle East, a world,

在中东这个世界里

in which religion is not the subject of division

宗教已不再是辩论

or of debate.

或引发分裂的主题了

In the world of the Middle East at the moment,

目前的中东世界里

the debates are, as you know, shrill.

辩论仍然十分激烈

But I think it's possible

但我认为很有可能

that the most powerful and the wisest voice of all of them

这些声音中最有力最明智的那一个

may well be the voice

将会是来自

of this mute thing,

这件沉默的物品

the Cyrus cylinder.

来自赛鲁士圆柱

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

（鼓掌）