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5. Rome
5．古罗马
Rome was considered by its citizens to be the center of the world. In a time when explorers hadn’t yet discovered the Americas, Australia or the Pacific Ocean, the view of the Earth was much smaller and a lot flatter. The “boot” that is the Italian peninsula, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, made the city of Rome look like it was right in the middle of everything.
在罗马居民看来，他们所在的城市就是世界的中心。在探险家们到达美洲、澳洲和太平洋以前，世界在人们眼中确实要狭小且平坦得多。靴子形状的意大利半岛正好位于地中海中央，这也使得罗马看起来更像世界的中心。
Starting off as a small town on the Tiber River, Rome gathered all the skills required to thrive from its neighbors. From the Greeks to the south it received a model of religion and architecture, while the Etruscans to the north offered the gift of trade. This small town steadily flourished into a magnificent metropolis, mostly through the exchange of goods, but the Italian peninsula was soon too small and these neighbors and benefactors had to go.
罗马起源于台伯河畔的小村庄，从临邦学到了各种发家致富的方法。它从希腊等南部地区学会了宗教和建筑，从伊特鲁里亚等北部地区汲取了贸易的精髓。就这样，这个小城邦在贸易中逐渐成长为繁荣的大都市。小小的意大利半岛就无法满足罗马人了，它曾经的邻居和恩人也都变得无足轻重。
War was the next step into Rome’s evolution, and not long after both the Greeks and Etruscans were gone from the mainland. One after the other, neighboring states fell in the face of this new superpower. The Greeks, Carthaginians, Egyptians, Gauls, the Germanic tribes… all bent the knee to Rome, giving way to the saying “All roads lead to Rome.” But everything has to end eventually, and so did the glory of Rome. But even after 2000 years the lives of people around the world are influenced by this once mighty city.
战争成了罗马发展进程中的下一步，没多久，希腊和伊特鲁里亚都在大陆中消失了。另一方面，附近的城邦在罗马强大的攻势面前纷纷沦陷。古希腊人、迦太基人、古埃及人、高卢人、日耳曼人纷纷向罗马俯首称臣，于是，“条条大路通罗马”这句话也由此产生。但是，一切都会有尽头，罗马亦复如是。不过，即使是2000年后的今天，我们的生活中还是能看到罗马的影子。
