世界小史 第41期:行星
Today we know that these are the stars that are close to us, and that they turn with the earth around the sun.
今天我們知道，那是和地球一道繞著太陽(yáng)轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)的星星。
They are called planets.
人們稱它們?yōu)樾行恰?/p>
But the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians couldn't know that, and so they thought some strange magic must lie behind it.
可是這個(gè)事實(shí)，古代巴比倫尼亞人和亞述人不可能知道，所以他們認(rèn)為，其中必有某種神秘的魔術(shù)。
They gave a name to each wandering star and observed them constantly, convinced that they were powerful beings whose positions influenced the destinies1 of men,
他們給每一個(gè)游星取了名字并持續(xù)不斷的觀測(cè)它們，他們認(rèn)為，這些星星是威力巨大的生命之物，它們的位置對(duì)人類的命運(yùn)具有一定的意義，
and that by studying them they would be able to predict the future.
通過(guò)研究這些星星的位置他們就能夠預(yù)測(cè)未來(lái)。
This belief in the stars has a Greek name: astrology.
這種信仰就叫占星術(shù)，或者用一個(gè)希臘詞就叫“astrology”。
Some planets were believed to bring good luck, others misfortune2: Mars3 meant war and Venus, love.
人們認(rèn)為某些行星帶來(lái)幸運(yùn)，某些行星帶來(lái)不幸?；鹦潜硎緫?zhàn)爭(zhēng)，金星表示愛情。
To each of the five planets known to them they dedicated4 a day, and with the sun and the moon, that made seven.
人們給他們已知的五個(gè)行星奉獻(xiàn)一個(gè)日子，算上太陽(yáng)和月亮恰好是七個(gè)行星。
This was the origin of our seven-day week.
這就產(chǎn)生了我們今天的七天星期制度。
In English we still say Satur (Saturn)-day, Sun-day and Mon (moon)-day, but the other days are named after different gods.
在英語(yǔ)中我們?nèi)匀徽f(shuō)星期六（土星日），星期日（太陽(yáng)日），星期一（月亮日），而其他日子是按不同的神命名的。
In other languages–such as French or Italian–most of the days of the week still belong to the planets that the Babylonians first named.
在其他語(yǔ)言中——比如法語(yǔ)、意大利語(yǔ)——一個(gè)星期中的大多數(shù)日子還是按巴比倫人起初那樣以行星命名的。
Would you ever have guessed that our weekdays had such a strange and venerable history, reaching back all those thousands of years?
你可曾猜到我們普通的日子有著一段如此可敬可嘆的、歷時(shí)數(shù)千年之久的歷史嗎？
