古羅馬的十大創新發明(2)

n Arches

7.羅馬凱旋門

Arches have existed for roughly 4,000 years, but the ancient Romans were the first to effectively harness their power in the construction of bridges, monuments and buildings. The ingenious design of the arch allowed the weight of buildings to be evenly distributed along various supports, preventing massive Roman structures like the Colosseum from crumbling under their own weight. Roman engineers improved on arches by flattening their shape to create what is known as a segmental arch and repeating them at various intervals to build stronger supports that could span large gaps when used in bridges and aqueducts. Along with columns, domes and vaulted ceilings, the arch became one of the defining characteristics of the Roman architectural style.

凱旋門從建立之初至今，已有將近4000年的歷史了。古羅馬是首個充分利用自己的力量來建橋、建紀念碑、建房的國家。凱旋門的拱門設計極爲巧妙，使得建築的重量均勻分散在拱門上。正是因爲有了這巧妙的設計，像羅馬鬥獸場這類的大型建築纔不至於被自身的重量壓垮。古羅馬的建築師致力於改良拱門的設計，最終設計出了形狀更爲扁平的"平圓拱"，並將它運用到橋樑和渡槽的建造中。多個不同間距的平圓拱合在一起能構成更穩固的支撐，可以加大橋樑和渡槽的跨度。於是，圓柱、圓屋頂和拱形天花板成爲了古羅馬建築風格的典型特徵之一。

s and Highways

6.馬路和高速公路

At its height, the Roman empire encompassed nearly 1.7 million square miles and included most of southern Europe. To ensure effective administration of this sprawling domain, the Romans built the most sophisticated system of roads the ancient world had ever seen. These Roman roads—many of which are still in use today—were constructed with a combination of dirt, gravel and bricks made from granite or hardened volcanic lava. Roman engineers adhered to strict standards when designing their highways, creating arrow-straight roads that curved to allow for water drainage. The Romans built over 50,000 miles of road by 200 A.D., primarily in the service of military conquest. Highways allowed the Roman legion to travel as far as 25 miles per day, and a complex network of post houses meant that messages and other intelligence could be relayed with astonishing speed. These roads were often managed in the same way as modern highways. Stone mile markers and signs informed travelers of the distance to their destination, while special complements of soldiers acted as a kind of highway patrol.

在其鼎盛時期,羅馬帝國包含近170萬平方英里,甚至覆蓋了歐洲南部大多數地區。爲確保這個龐大領域的管理高效有序,羅馬人建造了古代世界最爲複雜的道路系統。這些羅馬公路至今仍被大量使用，它們由花崗岩或硬化火山熔岩形成的泥土、碎石和磚構造而成。在設計公路時，羅馬工程師秉持嚴格的設計標準,創建筆直的道路,以便排水。到公元200年，羅馬人已經建造超過50000英里的道路,主要是服務于軍事征服。高速公路允許羅馬軍團每天步行25英里,一系列的網狀驛站使得信息和其他情報以驚人的速度廣爲傳播。這些道路通常以現代高速公路的模式被管理：石碑上的英里標記和標誌告知旅客距離到達目的地的里程數,與此同時，被民衆廣爲歌頌的士兵也成爲了"公路巡警"。

d Books

5.紙質書

For most of human history, literature took the form of unwieldy clay tablets and scrolls. The Romans streamlined the medium by creating the codex, a stack of bound pages that is recognized as the earliest incarnation of the book. The first codices were made of bound wax tablets, but these were later replaced by animal skin parchment that more clearly resembled pages. Ancient historians note that Julius Caesar created an early version of a codex by stacking pages of papyrus to form a primitive notebook, but bound codices did not become popular in Rome until the first century or thereabouts. Early Christians became some of the first to adopt the new technology, using it extensively to produce copies of the Bible.

在人類歷史的大多數時期，文學作品都採用在笨拙的泥板和卷軸上創作的形式。羅馬人通過創造法典（被認爲是最早的書的原型），使這種形式得以簡化。首部法典由蠟質的紙製成，隨後就被動物的皮毛羊皮紙所取代，因而能更清晰的顯示紙頁。古歷史學家指出，尤利烏斯•凱撒（Julius Caesar）創造了早期的莎草紙頁形式的法典版本，但這種紙質法典直到公元一世紀左右才被推廣。早期的基督教徒成了首批利用此項革新的民衆，他們運用此技術大批量的印製聖經。

are

4.福利事業

Ancient Rome was the wellspring for many modern government programs, including measures that subsidized food, education and other expenses for the needy. These entitlement programs date back to 122 B.C., when the tribune Gaius Gracchus instituted lex frumentaria, a law that ordered Rome's government to supply its citizens with allotments of cheaply priced grain. This early form of welfare continued under Trajan, who implemented a program known as "alimenta" to help feed, clothe and educate orphans and poor children. Other items including corn, oil, wine, bread and pork were eventually added to the list of price-controlled goods, which may have been collected with tokens called "tesserae." These generous handouts helped Roman emperors win favor with the public, but some historians have argued that they also contributed to Rome's economic decline.

現代政府的很多福利事業，其雛形都起源於古羅馬，包括爲救助貧困居民所制定的發放糧食補貼標準、教育經費以及其他費用補貼的發放標準。這些福利項目可以追溯到公元前122年，當時的保民官蓋約·格拉古（Gaius Gracchus）設立《糧食法》（lex frumentaria），要求國家政府實現羅馬公民低價購進穀物的需求。羅馬皇帝圖拉真（Trajan）在位期間，保留了這些福利項目，還實行一項"供給"（alimenta）福利，用以養育貧苦無靠的孤兒，確保他們衣食無憂，還可以接受教育。同時，爲了控制物價，頒發了一種"代幣券"（tesserae），包括玉米，糧油，酒品，麪包和豬肉在內的物品價格都得以控制。圖拉真皇帝這些慷慨的行爲深受羅馬民衆愛戴，但有些歷史學家認爲，正是他如此慷慨的行爲才導致了羅馬經濟的衰落。

審校:省略珺 編輯:橘子