书城外语一本书读懂消失的文明:英汉对照
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第17章 巴比伦——沙尘掩盖下的沉睡文明(3)

The gardens were attributed to the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled between 605 and 562 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens to please his homesick wife Amytis of Media, who longed for the plants of her homeland. The gardens were said to have been destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon are documented by ancient Greek and Roman writers, including Strabo, Diodorus Siculus and Quintus Curtius Rufus. However, no cuneiform texts describing the Hanging Gardens are extant, and no definitive archaeological evidence concerning its whereabouts has been found.

Ancient writers described the possible use of something similar to an Archimedes screw as a process of irrigating the terraced gardens. Estimates based on deions of the gardens in ancient sources say the Hanging Gardens would have required a minimum amount of 8,200 gallons (37,000 liters) of water per day. Nebuchadnezzar II is reported to have used massive slabs of stone, a technique not otherwise attested in Babylon, to prevent the water from eroding the ground.

巴比伦空中花园:古代世界的七大奇迹之一

巴比伦空中花园是古代世界的七大奇迹之一,也是唯一一个纯粹传说的奇迹。据说,空中花园建在了古巴比伦城邦,在当今伊拉克巴比伦省的希拉附近。空中花园并不是巴比伦唯一的世界奇迹,巴比伦城墙和塞米勒米斯女王的方尖碑也出现在古代奇迹的列表当中。

空中花园是新巴比伦国王尼布甲尼撒二世所建,他于公元前605年到公元前562年在位。据说,他是为自己思乡的妻子,也即米底帝国的公主埃米提斯而建造这座花园,因为她渴望看到家乡的花草树木。相传在公元前2世纪,经过几次地震后花园就被彻底摧毁了。古代希腊和罗马的作家们斯特拉博、狄奥多罗斯·西库路斯和卢夫斯等曾记载了有关巴比伦空中花园的事迹。然而,有关空中花园是否存在没有楔形文字的描述,也没有可以证明其行踪的明确考古证据。

据古代作家们描述,巴比伦人可能使用一种类似于阿基米德式螺旋抽水机的设备来灌溉这些梯台式花园。基于古代资料中那样的估计,空中花园每天将需要最少8200加仑(37000升)水。传说,尼布甲尼撒二世用巨大石板来防止水侵蚀地面,而这个技术在巴比伦无法得到证实。

The praise of the LORD:A beautiful legend about the Towerof Babel

The tower of Babel, or the tower of Babylon, was in existence already before Nebuchadnezzar and his father. A few kings of the ancient kingdom of Babylon had done some renovations. But the conquerors continued to destroy it. There is only a beautiful Bible story about the culture of it.

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” THE LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. And the LORD said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand on another’s speech.”So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

耶和华的赞美:巴别塔的美丽传说

巴别塔又称为巴比伦塔,早在尼布甲尼撒及其父亲之前就已存在,古巴比伦王国的几位国王都曾对其进行过整修。但外来征服者不断地将之摧毁。关于巴别塔的文化仅留有一段美丽的圣经传说。

那时,全世界通用一种语言和一种文字。当人们从东方迁移的时候,他们看见了一片平原便在那里住下了。他们商量说:“来,让我们烧制些砖。”他们就拿砖当石头,以石漆当灰泥。他们又说:“来,让我们为自己建造一座城和一尊塔。塔顶要通天,好使我们名留后世,免得我们流散各地,一事无成。”耶和华遂降临人间要察看世人建的城和塔。耶和华说:“看哪!他们都属同一个民族,都说同样的语言。既然今天他们能做成这件事,将来他们想做的事便不可能不获成功。来,让我们下去,变乱他们的语言,让他们彼此无法沟通。”于是耶和华将那里的人分散到各地,那座城便停建了。因此,该城被称作巴别,因为从那里耶和华将一种语言变成多种语言,从那里将众人分散到世界各地。

Code of Hummurabi:the Babylonian law code dealing withthe contract

The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating back to about 1772 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world. The sixth Babylonian king, Hammurabi, enacted the code, and partial copies exist on a human-sized stone stele and various clay tablets. The Code consists of 282 laws, with scaled punishments, adjusting "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" as graded depending on social status, of slave versus free man.

Nearly one-half of the Code deals with matters of contract, establishing for example the wages to be paid to an ox driver or a surgeon. Other provisions set the terms of a transaction, establishing the liability of a builder for a house that collapses, for example, or property that is damaged while left in the care of another. A third of the code addresses issues concerning household and family relationships such as inheritance, divorce, paternity and sexual behavior. Only one provision appears to impose obligations on an official; this provision establishes that a judge who reaches an incorrect decision is to be fined and removed from the bench permanently. A handful of provisions address issues related to military service.

One nearly complete example of the Code survives today, on a diorite stele in the shape of a huge index finger, 2.25-metre (7.4 ft) tall. The Code is inscribed in the Akkadian language, using cuneiform carved into the stele. It is currently on display in The Louvre, with exact replicas in the Oriental Institute in the University of Chicago, the library of the Theological University of the Reformed Churches in The Netherlands and the Pergamon Museum of Berlin.

汉谟拉比法典:与合同有关的巴比伦法典

汉谟拉比法典是一部保存完好的巴比伦法典,它的历史可以追溯到公元前1772年,这是世界上最古老的费解的长篇著作。巴比伦国王的第六个国王汉谟拉比颁布了这部法典,并下令将一部分复制本雕刻在真人大小的石碑上和各种黏土片上。汉谟拉比法典包括282条法律条文以及相应的惩罚,按照奴隶和自由人的社会地位分成惩罚等级,作出相应的“以眼还眼,以牙还牙”的惩罚条例。

法典中近一半的条文都与合同有关,例如建立牧牛人或外科医生的工资支付制度;其他的条文规定的是交易条款,比如在房子倒塌或寄存的财产被损坏时的建筑工人的责任制度,另有1/3的法典条文内容涉及家庭和家庭关系,例如继承、离婚、父权以及性行为事宜;只有一个条文似乎规定的是强加给官员的义务,这一条文规定:一个法官如果判决失误,将会被罚款,并被永远撤职。还有少数的条文内容与军事服务有关。

该法典幸存至今的是一篇几乎完整的样本,它被刻在一块2.25米(7.4英尺)高的巨大手指形状的闪长岩石碑上。该法典是用阿卡德人的语言题写的,使用楔形文字刻在石碑上。这块石碑目前陈列在卢浮宫里,在芝加哥大学东方学院、荷兰改革教会神学院的图书馆以及柏林的佩加蒙考古博物馆里都存有其精确的复制品。