《罗马帝国衰亡史》译文推敲

Notes on Some Translation Errors of the Chinese Version of History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

吉本的《罗马帝国衰亡史》第15章论述了基督教的兴起,1964年译成汉语,流行中国已近半个世纪。但是译文中的错误很多,至今未获改正。这里选出14条例子,大都涉及对基督教的史实和对吉本所处时代的文化背景的误解。其他错误尚有不少,因为多是语言方面的误解,未遑论及。

This paper discusses translation errors found in the Chinese version of Chapter XV of the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Examples are chosen mainly to illustrate barriers to the translator that arise from the complex history of the early Christian Church, from the condescending attitude of the Enlightenment towards religion, and from the ironies of Gibbon＇s prose.