世界小史 第174期:基督徒

If you weren't a Christian, a Jew or a close relative of the emperor, life in the Roman empire could be peaceful and pleasant.

誰不是基督徒，不是猶太人或不是皇帝的近親，誰就能在當(dāng)時的羅馬帝國過上很安逸很舒適的生活。

You could travel from Spain to the Euphrates, from the Danube to the Nile on wonderful Roman roads.

人們在修得極好的羅馬道路上從西班牙到幼發(fā)拉底河，從多瑙河到尼羅河旅行。

The Roman postal service made regular visits to settlements at the empire's frontiers, carrying news back and forth.

羅馬的國家郵車定期駛往帝國邊疆各個固定的地點，送達(dá)并取走信息。

In all the great cities like Alexandria or Rome you could find everything you needed for a comfortable life.

在各大城市里，在亞歷山大或羅馬有種種舒適的生活設(shè)備。

Of course, in Rome there were whole districts of barrack-like buildings, crudely built and many storeys high, where poor people lived.

在羅馬城里有大的城區(qū)，窮人們居住在那里的高的、多層的簡易出租房里。

The private houses and villas of the well-to-do, in contrast, were luxuriously furnished with beautiful Greek works of art,

而羅馬的私人房屋和別墅則配備有最美的希臘藝術(shù)品和豪華家具,

and had delightful small gardens with cooling fountains.

并且擁有迷人的花園，園中有清涼的噴水池。

In winter months, rooms were warmed by a form of central heating in which hot air circulated through hollow bricks under the floor.

在冬天人們能用一種集中供暖法給各房間供暖：人們讓變得強大的空氣流從地板下面的空心磚吹拂過去。