Of course, they could tell themselves, and they did,
当然他们也时常这样安慰自己
that their houses and parks were not just monuments to wealthy self-indulgence.
他们的府邸庄园 并非只是纵情享乐的天堂
They were also a testimony to the greatness and glory of the nation.
更能展现国家富有强大 昌盛繁荣
Stephen Switzer,one of the leading landscape architects of the day,certainly saw this as his duty.
斯蒂芬·斯威扎尔 当时顶尖景观建筑大师之一 显然将建造豪宅看作自己的使命
Magnificent gardens, statues and waterworks complete the grandeur of the British nation.
宏伟的花园 雕像以及湖景 让英国大地更显壮美
It is then that we may hope to excel the gardens of the French
我们希望借此超越法式花园
make that great nation give way to the superior beauties of our gardens
叫法式园林为我国的美丽花园让路
as her late prince has to the invincible force of British arms.
正如法国权贵必须面对不列颠强大实力
This was the kind of battle the rich and powerful in Hanoverian Britain really liked to fight,war by gardening.
这种花园王冠之争 正是汉诺威王朝显要权贵 最喜闻乐见的
Stourhead in Wiltshire is one of the great 18th-century landscape gardens.
威尔特郡的斯托海德风景园 是十八世纪恬景观庄园的代表
Taking inspiration from villas ancient Roman,
此类庄园的设计灵感取自古罗马别墅
aristocrats like Sir Henry Hall,who built Stourhead,
像亨利·霍尔爵士这样 建造了斯托海德风景园的贵族设计师
even thought of their parks as a kind of public education
甚至希望庄园能教育大众
and encouraged locals to pay a visit,provided of course,
并鼓励当地人进入参观 当然只能允许
they stuck rigidly to the designated tour route.
严格按照既定路线参观