世界小史 第169期:狼吞虎咽

Now about 30 years after Christ's death on the cross, that is, around 60 years after his birth – in AD 60, a cruel emperor was ruling over the Roman empire.

在耶穌釘死于十字架之后的大約30年，也就是說在他出生后60年——公元60年左右，一位殘暴的皇帝尼祿統(tǒng)治著羅馬帝國。

He was called Nero. People still shudder when they hear the name of this monster.

今天，人們還像談?wù)撟羁膳碌膼汗髂菢用倾と坏卣務(wù)撍?/p>

But what is truly repellent about him is that he didn't start out as a monster – ruthless and wicked through and through.

他的可惡之處其實(shí)就在于，他不是一個了不起的，完全毫無顧忌的，極壞極壞的人，

He was simply weak, vain, suspicious and lazy. Nero fancied himself as a poet and composed songs which he performed himself.

而是簡簡單單的一個懦弱、愛好虛榮、多疑、懶惰的人，他自己寫詩文和唱歌，

He ate – or, rather, gorged himself on – the rarest delicacies and was utterly devoid of decency or dignity.

幾乎是狼吞虎咽地吃著珍饈美味，是一個毫無誠信或堅定意志的人。

He was not unattractive, but there was something cruel and self-satisfied about his smile.

他有著一張松弛的、并非不漂亮的臉，嘴角掛著一絲知足、殘忍的笑意。

He had his own mother murdered, and his wife and his tutor, along with a number of other relations and friends.

他殺害了自己的母親、妻子和他的老師，還殺害了許多親朋好友。

He lived in constant fear of assassination, for he was a coward too.

他經(jīng)常感到害怕，怕人家總有一天也會殺死他，因?yàn)樗材懶　?/p>