世界小史 第38期:楔形文字

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 The script is called cuneiform, meaning wedge-shaped.

人們稱它為cuneiform，意思是楔形文字。

Books made of papyrus1 were unknown to the Mesopotamians.

人們在美索不達(dá)米亞不曾發(fā)現(xiàn)過莎草紙書。

They inscribed2 these signs into tablets of soft clay, which they then baked hard in ovens.

人們將全部記號寫在軟的泥土上，然后將它放在爐里烤干，于是就產(chǎn)生了堅硬的碑。

Huge numbers of these ancient tablets have been found, some recounting long and wonderful stories,

人們找到了一大批這樣的古老的碑，一些碑上面刻著極美的長篇故事，

such as that of the hero Gilgamesh and his battles with monsters and dragons.

比如英雄吉爾伽美什以及他與巨獸和龍搏斗的故事。

On other tablets kings boast of their deeds:the temples they have built for all eternity3, and all the nations they have conquered.

在其它碑上國王們吹噓它們的業(yè)績，他們建立了哪些永恒的神廟，他們征服了多少個部族。

There are also tablets on which merchants recorded their business dealings–contracts, receipts and inventories4 of goods,

也有碑上記載著商人們的活動——上面刻著貨物的合同、配方和庫存，

and thanks to these we know that, even before the Babylonians and Assyrians, the ancient Sumerians were already great traders.

多虧了這些東西，我們知道蘇美爾人在巴比倫尼亞人和亞述人之前就已經(jīng)是偉大的商人。

Their merchants could calculate with ease, and plainly knew the difference between what was lawful5 and what was not.

蘇美爾人商人很善于計算并且知道區(qū)分什么是合法的，什么是不合法的。