熊艷瓊

Every year， the fourteenth day of February has millions across the world presenting their loved ones with candy， flowers， chocolates and other lovely gifts. In many countries， restaurants and eateries are seen to be filled with[1] couples who are eager to celebrate their relationship and the joy of their togetherness through delicious food. There hardly seems to be a young man or woman who is not keen to make the most of[2] the day. We have heard of the name St. Valentine time

and again[3]. But who is this St. Valentine？ The origin of this lovers day goes back as early as

270 A.D. and started with the conflict between a kind priest and a mighty ruler.

每年的2月14日，世界各地的數(shù)百萬(wàn)人會(huì)送給愛(ài)人們糖果、鮮花、巧克力還有其它可愛(ài)的禮物。在許多國(guó)家，大大小小的餐館里，坐滿了一對(duì)對(duì)的情侶，他們想用美味佳肴來(lái)慶祝愛(ài)情和在一起的快樂(lè)。幾乎沒(méi)有哪個(gè)年輕人不想充分利用這一天。我們一次又一次地聽(tīng)到“圣·瓦倫丁”這個(gè)名字。但這個(gè)人是誰(shuí)呢？情人節(jié)的歷史可以追溯到公元270年，它起源于一個(gè)善良的牧師和一個(gè)強(qiáng)大的統(tǒng)治者之間的沖突。

During the lifetime of Valentine， the golden era of Roman empire had almost come to an end. Lack of good administrators led to frequent civil strife[4]. The Roman Empire faced crisis from all sides. The empire had grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos[5] with existing forces. Naturally， more and more capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation. When Claudius became the emperor， he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families， and thus， will not make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding[6] marriage to assure quality soldiers.

在瓦倫丁生活的年代，羅馬帝國(guó)的黃金時(shí)代已經(jīng)接近尾聲。優(yōu)秀領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者的缺乏導(dǎo)致了頻繁的內(nèi)戰(zhàn)。羅馬帝國(guó)面臨著各方面的危機(jī)，由于帝國(guó)面積的擴(kuò)張，以現(xiàn)有的力量已無(wú)法抵御外界侵略和內(nèi)部動(dòng)亂。自然地，就需要招募越來(lái)越多有能力的男性作為為士兵和軍官來(lái)保護(hù)國(guó)家。當(dāng)克勞狄斯成為君主的時(shí)候，他覺(jué)得已婚男人會(huì)更眷戀他們的家庭，因此他們不會(huì)成為優(yōu)秀的士兵。他認(rèn)為是婚姻削弱了他們的力量。所以為保證士兵質(zhì)量，他頒布了一項(xiàng)禁婚令。

The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor. The kind bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the edict. He saw the trauma[7] of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. He

planned to counter the monarchs orders secretly. Whenever lovers thought of marrying， they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place and performed marriages for them. But such things cannot be hidden for long. It was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this “friend of lovers” and had him arrested.

禁婚令對(duì)羅馬人來(lái)說(shuō)是一個(gè)巨大的沖擊，但他們不敢表達(dá)自己對(duì)強(qiáng)大的君主的抗議。善良的主教瓦倫丁也意識(shí)到了法令的不公正。他看到了那些年輕戀人們的痛苦，他們放棄了所有結(jié)為連理的希望。所以他秘密計(jì)劃反抗君主的命令。每當(dāng)一對(duì)戀人想結(jié)婚，他們就會(huì)去找瓦倫丁。瓦倫丁之后會(huì)在一個(gè)秘密的地點(diǎn)為他們主持婚禮。但這樣的事情隱藏不了多久?？藙诘宜拱l(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)“戀人們的朋友”以及逮捕他只是時(shí)間問(wèn)題而已。

When Claudius II met Valentine， he was said to have been impressed by the dignity[8] and conviction of him. It is also said

that the emperor tried to make Valentine believe in the Roman gods but he failed. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor. This made Claudius II very angry and he gave the order of execution of Valentine. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14， 270 AD.

據(jù)說(shuō)克勞狄斯二世會(huì)見(jiàn)瓦倫丁時(shí)就對(duì)他的人性尊嚴(yán)和堅(jiān)定信念印象深刻。君主還試圖讓瓦倫丁轉(zhuǎn)向信奉羅馬眾神，但都徒勞無(wú)功。瓦倫丁拒絕信奉羅馬眾神，甚至試圖讓君主也改變信念。這一行為激怒了克勞狄斯二世，于是他下令將瓦倫丁處決了。據(jù)說(shuō)瓦倫丁于公元270年2月14日被執(zhí)行死刑。

Today， Valentines Day is one of the major holidays in the U.S. and has become a booming[9] commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association， 25% of all cards sent each year are valentines. Valentines Day cards are often designed with hearts to symbolize love. One of the earliest valentines was sent in 1415 AD by Charles， Duke of Orleans， to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.

現(xiàn)在情人節(jié)在美國(guó)是最重要的節(jié)日之一，它帶來(lái)了蓬勃發(fā)展的商業(yè)上的成功。根據(jù)美國(guó)賀卡協(xié)會(huì)統(tǒng)計(jì)，每年贈(zèng)送的賀卡有25%都是情人節(jié)卡片。情人節(jié)卡片一般都設(shè)計(jì)成心形來(lái)象征愛(ài)情。最早的情人節(jié)卡片是在公元1415年，由奧爾良公爵查爾斯在被監(jiān)禁在倫敦塔時(shí)送給他的妻子的?，F(xiàn)在該卡片被保存在大英博物館里。

[1] be filled with 被……充滿 [2] make the most of 充分利用

[3] time and again 一次又一次 [4] civil strife 內(nèi)亂

[5] chaos n. 混亂 [6] forbid v. 禁止

[7] trauma n. 創(chuàng)傷 [8] dignity n. 尊嚴(yán)

[9] booming adj. 興旺的；繁榮的