In time, most of the continent was subdued1 by the descendants of these invaders2,
當(dāng)時(shí),該大陸的大部分被這些侵略者的后裔征服,
who, like the Spartans3, maintained a distance between themselves and the peoples they had conquered.
他們像斯巴達(dá)人一樣,保持他們和他們所奴役民族之間的距離。
Traces of this division persist today in what is known as the "caste system".
這種劃分延續(xù)至今,被稱為“種姓制度”。
In it, professions or occupations are strictly4 separated from each other.
該制度中,不同職業(yè)被嚴(yán)格地分開(kāi)。
Men who were warriors6 had to remain warriors, and their sons had to be warriors too, because they belonged to the warrior5 caste.
是武士的男人必須永遠(yuǎn)當(dāng)武士,他們的子孫也只可以當(dāng)武士,因?yàn)樗麄儗儆谖涫糠N姓。
Other castes were similarly closed, like those of farmers and craftsmen7.
其它種姓幾乎同樣嚴(yán)格自成一體,如手工業(yè)者和農(nóng)民。
A farmer could never become a craftsman8, or a craftsman a farmer – nor could their sons.
一個(gè)農(nóng)民永遠(yuǎn)不能成為手工業(yè)者,反之亦然——他的兒子也不能。
Someone who was a member of one caste couldn't marry a girl from another – or even share a meal with a member of another caste.
一個(gè)種姓的男子不可以娶另一個(gè)種姓的姑娘為妻——連與另一個(gè)種姓的某個(gè)人同桌吃飯也不行。
At the top were the priests, or Brahmins – even higher than the warriors.
最高種姓是僧侶,是婆羅門——他們的地位比武士還高。