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FERDINAND AND ISABELLA were the King and Queen of Spain who supplied Columbus with ships and men to prosecute his voyage of discovery.
WASHINGTON IRVING, from whose works this extract is taken, is an American author of distinction. He is one of the best and most popular of modern authors in America or England.
1. IT has been well observed of Ferdinand and Isabella, that they lived together, not like man and wife, whose estates are in common, under the orders of the husband, but like two monarchs, strictly allied. They had separate claims to sovereignty, in virtue of their separate kingdoms, and held separate councils. Yet they were so happily united by common views, common interests, and a great deference for each other, that this double administration never prevented a unity of purpose and action. All acts of sovereignty were executed in both their names all public writings subscribed with both their signatures their likenesses were stamped together on the public coin and the royal seal displayed the united arms of Castile and Arragon.
2. Ferdinand possessed a clear and comprehensive genius, and great penetration. He was equable in temper, indefatigable in business, a great observer of men, and is extolled by Spanish writers as unparalleled in the science of the cabinet. It has been maintained by writers of other nations, however, and apparently with reason, that he was bigoted in religion, and craving rather than magnanimous inhis ambition that he made war less like a paladin
than a prince, less for glory than for mere dominion and that his policy was cold, selfsh, and artful. He was called the wise and prudent, in Spain in Italy, the pious in France and England, the ambitious and perfdious.
Ferdinand and Isabelle
3. Contemporary writers have been enthusiastic in their descriptions of Isabella but time has sanctioned their culogies. She was of the middle size, and well formed with a fair complexion, auburn hair, and clear blue eyes. There was a mingled gravity and sweetness in her countenance, and a singular modesty in her mien, gracing, as it did, great firmness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. Though strongly attached to her husband, and studious of his fame, yet she always maintained her distinct rights as an allied prince. She exceeded him in beauty, personal dignity, acuteness of genius, and grandeur of soul. Combining the active, the resolute qualities of man, with the softer charities of woman, she mingled in the warlike councils of her husband, and, being inspired with a truer idea of glory, infused a more lofty and generous temper into his subtle and calculating policy.
4. It is in the civil history of their reign, however, that the character of Isabella shines most illustrious. Her fostering and maternal care was continually directed to reform the laws, and heal the ills engendered by a long course of civil wars. She assembled round her the ablest men in literature and science, and directed herself by their councils in encouraging literature and the arts. She promoted the distribution of honors and rewards for the promulgation of knowledge, fostered the recently-invented art of printing, and, through her patronage, Salamanca rose to that eminence which it assumed among the learned institutions of the age. Such was the noble woman, who was destined to acquire immortal renown by her spirited patronage of the discovery of the New World.
(WASHINGTON IRVING)
费迪南德和伊莎贝拉是西班牙的国王与王后，二人曾支持哥伦布船队继续他们的远航发现之旅。
本文作者华盛顿·欧文是一位优秀的美国作家，他是美国乃至英国最杰出、最受欢迎的现代作家之一。
1. 关于费迪南德和伊莎贝拉，众所周知，他们生活在一起，却不像寻常夫妻那样——丈夫为一家之主且财产双方共有；而是像两位君主，紧密结盟。由于他们分别拥有自己的国家，他们享有各自的最高统治权以及议事机构。无论如何，他们的结合是幸福的，他们有共同的见解、共同的爱好和对彼此的极大尊重，因此这个双重政府从来没有阻止过任何一项统一的目标或行动。所有关于国家主权的法案都是以两人的共同名义来执行的，所有公告都是由两人共同签署的。此外，皇家印章上呈现的是卡斯提尔和阿拉贡手挽手的图像。
2. 费迪南德拥有广博的天赋、惊人的洞察力。他性情温和，对事业坚持不懈、百折不挠，洞悉人性，他被西班牙的作家们赞誉为内阁中空前绝后的人物。但是，外国的作家们对他却持保留态度，明显的原因是：他对宗教有偏见、野心勃勃、恣意贪求、不够宽宏大量；他打仗时不像个骑士，而更像王子，不是为了争取荣誉，而更多的仅仅是为了掌握领土主权；他的政策冷酷、自私而诡诈。在西班牙，人们称他睿智而审慎；在意大利，人们说他伪善；而在法国人和英国人眼中，他野心勃勃，背信弃义。
3. 当代作家曾经热情洋溢地描述伊莎贝拉，而时间认可了他们的评价。她中等身材，体态优雅。她皮肤白皙，拥有赤褐色的头发、清澈的蓝眼睛。她神情中夹杂着庄重与和蔼，气质中透着谦逊，举止优雅迷人，正如她昔日那样，一如既往的目标坚定、感情诚挚。尽管紧紧地依附在丈夫身边，致力于成就他的声望，可是作为一个同盟君主，伊莎贝拉会经常坚持她特有的权利。在容貌、人格尊严、天赋的敏锐性和灵魂的庄严方面，她样样都超越了她的丈夫。结合了男人的活跃、刚毅与女人的温柔、慈爱，伊莎贝拉进入丈夫那好战的议会，受到真理光环的启迪，她在丈夫那精明、狡诈的政策中注入了更多的崇高与仁善。
4. 然而，在他们统治的历史时期，伊莎贝拉的声望是最显赫的。她那慈母般的关爱继续导引着其国内的法律改革，为长期以来由内战而引发的疾患疗伤。她集合了身边在文学和科学方面最有建树的人们，通过议会来鼓励文学及艺术的发展。她加大了给予荣誉和奖励的力度，以加快知识的传播。在她的支持下，萨拉曼卡崛起了，并一举成名，进入了当时最具学术气息的机构的行列。这就是伊莎贝拉，这位高贵的女人，注定了要因为她对这个新世界的进步与开发的支持而流芳百世。
（华盛顿·欧文）