![罗马帝国衰亡史（套装共6册） - [英] 爱德华·吉本](https://static.book345.com/covers/s/9787546351445.jpg)
书籍介绍
这套书最耐人寻味的地方，或许不在它讲透了罗马的覆灭，而在于它像一面镜子，照出的始终是当下。读者反复咀嚼的，是专制如何把公民驯成“政治侏儒”、盛极之后又如何被内部的暴君与军队反噬——“敌人的罗马在它的腹中”。它不满足于罗列王朝更迭，而是逼问：一个伟大帝国，究竟败在何处？对不少读者而言，阅读它近乎一场苦修：五年读完、半年困于人物政制的迷宫、被华丽辞藻淹没过，却仍愿意“一辈子至少读一本”。它适合那些不愿被轻松喂养、渴望在长卷里与一个帝国的呼吸同频的人。经典之所以为经典，正因为它经得起反复重读，每次都有新的生长。
作者简介
爱德华·吉本(Edward Gibbon 1737年5月8日 - 1794年1月16日) 是英国著名历史学家，《罗马帝国衰亡史》的作者。
吉本出生于伦敦附近的普特尼，父亲是国会议员，他是家中独子。1763年，他前往欧洲大陆旅游，在巴黎结识了狄德罗，也去了罗马，1764年他在罗马废墟上，开始有写作罗马帝国史的念头。1772年，他开始写作《罗马帝国衰亡史》。1776年，第一卷出版。取得了巨大的成功，其受欢迎程度用洛阳纸贵形容不为过，他的书出现每张桌子上，乃至于上流社会仕女的妆台。吉本也一夜成名，受到英国艺文界的追捧。1788年，他完成了《罗马帝国衰亡史》的全部书稿，盛誉满天下。1794年，他在伦敦去世。
AI导读
核心看点
- 全景叙述罗马从盛极到衰亡的十三世纪历史
- 剖析专制体制对共和精神的摧毁与帝国衰颓
- 兼具文学光彩与史学成就，传诵两百年不衰
读者共识
- 公认西方史学巨著，无论何时重读皆有启发
- 席代岳译本辞藻华丽，但部分读者觉其艰涩
- 装帧排版备受争议，书脊处文字难以完整阅读
精彩摘录
- "。。。专制体制刻意摧毁共和精神，使人民变成政治侏儒，一群政治侏儒如何能支撑一个伟大的帝国。"
- "WHENEVER Tacitus indulges himself in those beautiful episodes, in which he relates some domestic transaction of the Germans or of the Parthians, his principal object is to relieve the attention of the reader from a uniform scene of vice and misery. From the reign of Augustus to the time of Alexander"
- "Artaxerxes had served with great reputation in the armies of Artaban, the last king of the Parthians, and it appears that he was driven into exile and rebellion by royal ingratitude, the customary reward for superior merit. His birth was obscure, and the obscurity equally gave room to the aspersions"
- "One of these, Erdaviraph, a young but holy prelate, received from the hands of his brethren three cups of soporiferous wine. He drank them off, and instantly fell into a long and profound sleep. As soon as he waked, he related to the king and to the believing multitude his journey to Heaven, and his"
- "Every mode of religion, to make a deep and lasting impression on the human mind, must exercise our obedience, by enjoining practices of devotion; and must acquire our esteem, by inculcating moral duties analogous to the dictates of our own hearts. The religion of Zoroaster was abundantly provided wi"
- "But there are some remarkable instances, in which Zoroaster lays aside the prophet, assumes the legislator, and discovers a liberal concern for private and public happiness, seldom to be found among the grovelling or visionary schemes of superstition. Fasting and celibacy, the common means of purcha"
- "Had Zoroaster, in all his institutions, invariably supported this exalted character, his name would deserve a place with those of Numa and Confucius, and his system would be justly entitled to all the applause which it has pleased some of our divines, and even some of our philosophers, to bestow on "
- "Such are the circumstances of. this ostentatious and improbable relation, dictated, as it too plainly appears, by the vanity of the monarch, adorned by the unblushing servility of his flatterers, and received without contradiction by a distant and obsequious senate. Far from being inclined to believ"
用户评论
2650页的大部头.
看得是 汉译世界出版的, D. M. 洛节编本
挑了幾個片段看了。可能有些部份我自己在別的地方看過忘記。關於君士坦丁的爭戰，吉朋還是比較客觀的。特別是跟馬克森提烏斯的決戰，連英國BBC都採用的那個詭異的在橋上設陷阱誘敵的“奇謀”，被大史家否決了。他描述這場戰役靠的是敵方錯誤的背水佈陣，加上君士坦丁身先士卒率領騎兵突破對方側翼保護然後襲擊成功，馬克森提烏斯在撤退路上過橋時被自己士兵擠下河淹死(跟謠傳的那個結局倒是一致)。聽起來合理多了。其他幾場戰役也都有比較可靠的描述，君士坦丁也顯得配得上“大帝”之名。吉朋的書還是要看全本比較好。只是這個翻譯，唉，一句話：只恨英文沒學好。
“一个民族所接受的教导，如同个人的教育，并没有多大的差别，在扩展理解力和想象力之前必须尽量运用记忆力，艺术家没有学会模仿前辈的作品，休想达到或超越他们的水平。”总算读完，翻译不够流畅，但能翻出此巨著也实属不易了。
读完第一遍，下一个问题是怎么把书背回家。
看完了，据说错漏很多，但是译得真花哨啊好喜欢
翻译质量非常不佳。而且作者对吉本的注解只挑选能看懂的翻译是一个很大问题。
翻译的实在是…完全都没中文味道了，看在全本上给个四星
看完了看完了。这翻译真是折磨。
“一个城市的兴起最后竟然扩张成为一个帝国，这样奇特的现象，值得哲学家进行深入思考。但罗马的衰亡是伟大到达巅峰状况后，非常自然而且无法避免的结果。繁荣使腐败的条件趋向成熟，毁灭的因素随着征战的扩张而倍增。让我们感到奇怪的并非罗马帝国为何会灭亡，而是帝国怎么能维持这样长久”。
这本书也就这样呵呵
