Ere long we discern the promontory of Trafalgar stretching into the Atlantic—a spot hallowed by what, in the estimation of Englishmen, is certainly the most of all the events which have made this corner of Europe famous in ancient and in modem story.
不久后我们就看到了一直延伸到大西洋的特拉法加海角，据英国人猜测，毫无疑问正是这些使得欧洲这一小小的角落成为从古至今的著名之地的事件让其变得神圣。
On the south, the lonely headland of Cape Spartel rises from the African coast above the Atlantic waters; and to the east of it may be seen the white buildings of Tangier, a city of Phoenician origin, and of note in the times of the Romans. Seized in 1457 by the Portuguese, Tangier was by them ceded to England in 1662, along with Bombay, as part of the dower of Catherine of Braganza, when she became queen of Charles II. It proved so useless and so expensive a possession, however, owing to the constant attacks of the Moons, that it was very soon abandoned to them, and they at once set about repairing the costly works which the English had dismantled at their departure. In this region, according to ancient fable, the Hesperides—daughters of the evening star—had their famous gardens, whose golden apples Hercules ruthlessly carried off.
南边，斯帕特尔那孤独的海角从非洲海岸升起高出大西洋水面，东边，可以看到丹吉尔的白色建筑，那里是腓尼基人的起源地，而那种白色建筑在罗马时代享有盛誉。丹吉尔于1457年被葡萄牙人占领，后又于1662年被葡萄牙人割让给英国，连同孟买一起，作为凯瑟琳成为查理二世的王后时布拉干萨王朝的部分陪嫁。但是由于受到穆恩思的不断攻击，丹吉尔被证明是无用且昂贵的财产，所以很快又被遗弃给他们，他们则立即着手修理英国人离开时拆除的那些昂贵的工程。根据古老的传说，在这里，赫斯珀里得斯——长庚星的女儿们，有着自己著名的花园，而花园里的金苹果被赫拉克勒斯无情地带走了。
We are now fairly within the renowned strait which was regarded by the ancients with so much awe as the remote boundary of their world, beyond which all was mystery and fable. On our left are the green hills of Spain, swelling into lofty mountains not far from the shore, with here and there a white village or a picturesque watch-tower. By-and-by we get a glimpse of the mouldering and forlorn ramparts of Tarifa, the most thoroughly Moorish town in Spain, and the most southern in Europe. From this point the Vandals were driven across to Africa by the Goths in 417 A. D. At this point Tarif, a great Moorish general, after whom Tarifa is named, landed with his army in 711, when he came to conquer the Goths and establish the Moorish kingdom in Spain. Here, finally, Alfonzo XI. overthrew the Moors in a decisive action in 1340. Tarifa is a quaint old town, with its island fortress and lighthouse—fitting memento of the fierce struggles in which the inhabitants of the opposing shores engaged.
我们此时还算处在这片著名的海峡之中，古人十分敬重这片海峡，因为他们认为这里是世界的遥远边界，而边界之外的一切都是神秘的、梦幻的。我们的左边是西班牙郁郁葱葱的山丘，山丘绵延不绝，直至涌入海岸不远处那片高耸的群山。此外，这里到处都是白色的村庄或者风景如画的瞭望塔。之后，我们又瞥到了塔里法的那些被遗弃的破败的城墙，塔里法是西班牙摩尔人居住最多的一个城镇，位于欧洲最南边。公元417年，汪达尔人被哥特人驱赶到非洲。而塔利夫，一位伟大的摩尔将军，塔里法便是以他的名字命名，他于711年带着军队来到这里，征服了哥特人并在西班牙建立了摩尔王国。最后，阿方索十一于1340年又一举推翻了摩尔人。塔里法是一个古色古香的古老城镇，岛上的堡垒和灯塔则是海岸两边居民进行过的激烈斗争的见证。
评论
打印
