On a second trip,Alfred spent a whole year in the Eternal City,
第二次罗马之旅 阿尔弗雷德与父亲一起在这不朽之城
along with his father,walking the ruins of the empire and the sacred sites.
逗留了一整年 踏访罗马帝国与宗教圣地的遗迹
It was surely this experience which made him what he was a philosopher prince,
无疑是这一经历 成就了其日后的美名 一位崇尚知识的王子
and someone who in more than a literal sense,translated the works of Roman wisdom for Anglo-Saxon consumption.
并毫不夸张地说 是他将罗马智慧的结晶翻译来 为盎格鲁-撒克逊人所用
Through Alfred, England got something it hadn't had since the legions departed:
阿尔弗雷德的统治 让英格兰重新成为 自罗马军团撤离后就已消逝的
An authentic vision of a realm governed by law and education,
一个真正用法律与教育治理的王国
a realm which, since Alfred commissioned a translation of Bede into Anglo-Saxon,
阿尔弗雷德命人 将比德的著作翻译成古英语
understood its past and its special destiny as the western bastion of a Christian Roman world.
让这个王国了解了自己的历史和基督教罗马世界西方壁垒的特殊命运
But first, he had to win those battles.
但首先 他必须取胜疆场
He took the throne of Wessex at a time when,despite a recent victory,
他加冕登上韦塞克斯王位之时 非但没有疆场捷报为其立威
the collapse of his kingdom seemed all but imminent,
而且他的王国乃至于
and with it the entirety of Anglo-Saxon England.
整个盎格鲁-撒克逊英格兰都命悬一线
It was here amidst the reeds of Athelney Island that the heroic legend of Alfred, the fugitive on the run,
就在这里 阿塞尔内小岛的芦苇丛中 阿尔弗雷德大王败北逃亡仅以身免
finally turning the tide against his enemies,was born.
最终却扭转乾坤大败丹麦的传奇由此开始
By the spring of 878, Alfred had managed to piece together an improvised alliance of resistance.
878年春 阿尔弗雷德拼凑汇集了 一支临时御敌联盟
At King Egbert's stone on the borders of Wiltshire and Somerset,
在威尔特郡与萨默塞特郡交界处的 埃格伯特国王像
near the site of this 19th-century folly built to celebrate it,he took command of an army which two days later,fought and defeated Guthrum's Vikings.
这个19世纪为欢庆胜利而建 却极富讽刺意义的雕像附近 他指挥着这支部队 两天后 大败格斯鲁姆所率的维京海盗