世界小史 第53期:腓尼基人
The wild tribes1 living there brought them furs and precious stones in exchange for tools, cooking pots and colored cloth.
商人們用他們帶來的毛皮和寶石從居住在那里的未開化的部族換取工具、蒸煮鍋和花布。
For Phoenician craftsmanship2 was known throughout the world,
因?yàn)殡枘峄耸鞘澜缰氖止I(yè)者，
indeed,their artisans had even helped in the construction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem.
并且也曾為建造耶路撒冷的所羅門神廟出過力。
Most popular of all their goods was their dyed cloth, especially the purple, which they sold throughout the world.
他們運(yùn)往世界各地的最著名和受歡迎的商品卻是他們的染布，特別是紫色的。
Many Phoenicians stayed in their trading posts on foreign shores and built towns.
許多腓尼基人留在他們在外國海岸的商行并在那里建立城鎮(zhèn)。
Everywhere they went they were welcomed, in Africa, Spain and in southern Italy, on account of the beautiful things they brought.
在非洲，在西班牙和南意大利，人們到處都?xì)g迎腓尼基人，因?yàn)樗麄儙砻篮玫臇|西。
Nor did they ever feel cut off from home,
他們離家鄉(xiāng)也不再十分遙遠(yuǎn)，
because they could write letters to their friends in Tyre and Sidon,
因?yàn)樗麄兛梢越o他們的泰爾或西頓的朋友寫信。
using the wonderfully simple script they had invented, which we still use today.
用他們發(fā)明的極簡單的文字寫信，我們今天還在用這樣的文字書寫。
It's true! Take this 'B', for example:
這是真的！如果你在這里見到一個(gè)B,
it is almost identical to the one used by the ancient Phoenicians, 3,000 years ago,
那么這跟古代腓尼基人在3000年前從異國海岸給家里，
when they wrote home from distant shores, sending news to their families in those noisy, bustling3 harbor towns.
即向他們的家鄉(xiāng)——人口密集、市面繁華的港口城市寫信時(shí)用的那個(gè)B只有極微小的差別。
Now you know this, you'll be sure not to forget the Phoenicians.
既然你知道了這一情況，你一定再也不會(huì)忘記腓尼基人了。
