A day in the life of a Roman soldier

羅馬士兵生活中的一天

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The year is 15?CE and the Roman Empire is prospering.

Most of the credit will go to the emperor,

but this success wouldn’t ?have been possible

without loyal soldiers like Servius Felix.

15世紀(jì)，羅馬帝國繁榮發(fā)展著。

這主要歸功于帝國皇帝，

但是如果沒有像Servius Felix一樣忠誠的士兵們，

這種成功不可能發(fā)生。

Servius enlisted?as a legionary ?eight years ago at age ,

the son of a poor farmer with few prospects.

Unlike the majority of legionaries, he doesn’t gamble,

so he’s been able to save ?most of his wages.

He’s even kept his viaticum,

the three gold coins he received ?when he enlisted.

enlist? ??v. 參軍；爭取

legionary???adj. 軍隊的? ??n. 軍團士兵

viaticum???n. 旅費

八年前，十八歲的Servius 成為羅馬軍團的一名士兵，

作為一個貧窮農(nóng)夫的孩子， 他并沒有什么前程。

不想很多其他的士兵， 他不賭博，

所以他存下了他的薪水。

他甚至存下了他的入伍費，

那是在他入伍時收到的三個金幣。

If he survives until retirement, ?he’ll receive several acres of land.

And he’s grown rather fond ?of a girl back home

whom he intends to marry.

But he’ll have to wait until he completes ?his ?years of service

before that can happen.

如果他能活到他退伍， 他將能收到一些土地。

他會喜歡上一個家鄉(xiāng)的女孩，

一個他想娶回家的人。

但是他必須等到他 完成年的服役之后

這些才有可能。

And the life of a legionary ?is dangerous and grueling.

Today,?Servius’s legion, ?along with three others,

has undertaken a “great march” ?of? 30, 000 Roman paces,

the equivalent of nearly ?kilometers.

Servius’s armor and weapons,

including his gladius,

scutum,

and two pila,

weigh over 36?kilograms.

And that’s not counting his backpack, ?or sarcina,

which contains food and all the tools he needs to help build the camp –

spade,

saw,

pickaxe,

and basket.

grueling? ?adj. 使人精疲力盡的

軍隊的生活是危險且疲憊的。

今天， Servius的軍團 和其他三個團，

進行了3萬羅馬步（古羅馬 長度單位）的宏大行軍儀式，

相當(dāng)于近36千米。

Servius的盔甲和武器，

包括他的短劍，

長形盾，

兩個短矛，

重20多千克。

這還不包括他的 背包或行軍包裹，

里面裝滿了食物 和他需要的扎營工具——

鏟子，

鋸子，

十字鎬，

和籃子。

Although Servius is exhausted, ?he won’t sleep much tonight.

He’s been assigned the first watch,

which means looking after ?the baggage animals

and keeping alert against a possible ambush.

After he’s done, he lies awake, ?dreading the day ahead,

which will force him ?to recall his worst nightmare.

At dawn, Servius eats breakfast ?with his seven tent companions.

They’re like a family, all bearing scars ?from the battles they’ve fought together.

ambush? ?n. 埋伏? ??v. 伏擊

雖然 Servius很累， 今晚他還是無法睡得很好。

他負(fù)責(zé)第一輪望風(fēng)，

他要注意隨行的動物，

警覺潛在的埋伏。

之后，他躺著但無法入眠， 思索著明天，

不得不回憶起他最壞的噩夢。

黎明時，Servius和他的七個 同帳篷的士兵一起吃過早飯。

他們就像是一家人， 身上有著一起戰(zhàn)斗的疤痕。

Servius is from Italia,

but his fellow soldiers hail ?from all over the empire,

which stretches from Syria to Spain.

So they’re all far from home ?in the northern land of Germania.

Servius’s legion ?and three others with him today

are under the command of emperor Tiberius’s nephew Germanicus,

named for his father’s military successes against the Germanic tribes.

Servius來自意大利，

但是他其他的同伴們 來自帝國的其他各個地方，

從敘利亞到西班牙，

他們都遠(yuǎn)離家鄉(xiāng) 在北日耳曼服役。

Servius的軍團 和其他三個軍團

服從于皇帝臺比留的外甥 格馬尼庫斯的命令，

他肩負(fù)著父親的英名 對抗日耳曼部落。

Each legion has close to 5,000?men,

divided into cohorts of about 500,

further subdivided into centuries ?of around 80-100?men.

Each century is commanded by a centurion.

An aquilifer, or eagle-bearer, marches at the head of each legion

carrying its eagle standard.

The centurions march beside ?the legionaries belting out orders,

“Dex, sin, dex, sin,"

“Right, left, right, left,"

starting with the right foot as the left ?is considered unlucky or sinister.

subdivid? ?v.?細(xì)分

centurion??n. 百夫長

aquilifer? ?n.?鷹旗長

（aquilifer 是羅馬軍團鷹級標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的高級標(biāo)志，aquila的意思是"鷹"，-fer的后綴與拉丁語中攜帶或攜帶的單詞有關(guān)。aquilifer排名僅次于百夫長，獲得的薪水是普通軍團士兵的兩倍。

——引自?Military Wiki）

每個軍團有近5000人，

被分成500人的隊列，

又被分成80-100人的百人團。

每個百人團有 一個百夫長，

每個鷹旗長帶領(lǐng)一個軍團，

手持鷹旗，

百夫長在軍團旁游行。

“dex，sin，dex，sin，”

“左，右，左，右，”

先邁左腳因為右腳被 認(rèn)為是不吉利的。

Despite the strict discipline, ?there’s tension in the air.

Last year, some legions ?in the area revolted,

demanding better pay ?and a cut in the length of service.

Only their general’s charisma and negotiating skills

prevented wholesale mutiny.

Today is a “just march,” ?only 30?kilometers.

As the marshes and forests of Germania ?lie beyond the empire’s road system

the men must build causeways and bridges to make headway—

something they’ve recently spent ?more time doing than fighting.

charisman? ??n. 個人魅力

wholesale? ?n. 批發(fā)? ??adj. 批發(fā)的；大規(guī)模的? ?adv. 批發(fā)地；完全地

mutiny? ?n. 叛亂? ??vi. 反叛

盡管有嚴(yán)格的紀(jì)律， 氣氛還是很緊張。

去年，區(qū)域內(nèi)的一些軍團起義，

要求更好的待遇 和減少服役時長。

將軍用他的人格 魅力和談判技巧

阻止了大規(guī)模暴動。

今天是“只有行軍”， 僅僅30千米。

因為日耳曼沼澤和森林 穿過帝國的道路系統(tǒng)，

士兵們必須建筑 堤道和橋梁來通過。

有時候他們會花費比戰(zhàn)斗 更多的時間來做這些。

Finally, they arrive at their destination, a place Servius knows too well.

It’s a clearing on the outskirts ?of the Teutoburg Forest,

where six years ago, during the reign of the emperor Augustus,

Germanic tribes under ?their chieftain Arminius

ambushed and destroyed three legions.

Proceeding along a narrow path,

the legions were attacked from ?forest cover under torrential rain

with their escape blocked.

It was one of the worst defeats ?the Romans ever suffered

and Augustus never lived it down.

Servius was one of the few survivors.

Servius still has nightmares of ?his comrades lying where they fell.

最后他們到了目的地， Servius對這里了如指掌。

這里是頓堡森林郊區(qū)，

六年前，奧古斯都皇帝 統(tǒng)治著這里。

日耳曼部落在酋長 阿米紐斯的帶領(lǐng)下，

在這里埋伏并摧毀了 三個羅馬軍團。

沿著狹窄的道路前進，

軍團受到在暴雨中受到襲擊，

退路被截斷。

這是羅馬人經(jīng)歷過的 最慘的失敗之一，

也是奧古斯都皇帝 一生的恥辱。

Servius是少數(shù)的幸存者之一，

Servius至今還會夢到 他死去的同伴們躺在那里。

But now the army is back to bury ?the dead with full military honors.

As he helps in the task,

he can’t help wondering whether the bones he handles belonged to someone he knew.

Several times he wants to weep aloud, ?but he pushes on with the task.

The glory of the Empire ?can go to the crows.

All he craves is to retire ?on a small farm with his wife-to-be,

if the gods should spare his life ?for ?more years.

但是現(xiàn)在軍隊回到了這里 埋葬這些獻身的戰(zhàn)士。

當(dāng)他埋葬他們時，

他忍不住想這些骨頭 是否屬于他認(rèn)識的人。

多少次他想要落淚， 但他忍住了繼續(xù)完成任務(wù)。

讓帝國的榮耀去見鬼吧！

他所想要的不過是和 他未來的妻子退休到一個小農(nóng)場，

如果上帝可以讓他活過這年。