07 MESOPOTAMIA

美索博达米亚

MESOPOTAMIA—THE SECOND CENTRE OF EASTERN CIVILISATION

I AM going to take you to the top of the highest pyramid and I am going to ask that you imagine yourself possessed of the eyes of a hawk. Way, way off, in the distance, far beyond the yellow sands of the desert, you will see something green and shimmering. It is a valley situated between two rivers. It is the Paradise of the Old Testament. It is the land of mystery and wonder which the Greeks called Mesopotamia—the “country between the rivers.”

The names of the two rivers are the Euphrates (which the Babylonians called the Purattu) and the Tigris (which was known as the Diklat). They begin their course amidst the snows of the mountains of Armenia where Noah’s Ark found a resting place and slowly they flow through the southern plain until

MESOPOTAMIA, THE MELTING POT OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

（古代世界的熔炉美索博达米亚）

they reach the muddy banks of the Persian gulf. They perform a very useful service. They turn the arid regions of western Asia into a fertile garden.

The valley of the Nile had attracted people because it had of ered them food upon fairly easy terms. The “land between the rivers” was popular for the same reason. It was a country full of promise and both the inhabitants of the northern mountains and the tribes which roamed through the southern deserts tried to claim this territory as their own and most exclusive possession. The constant rivalry between the mountaineers and the desertnomads led to endless warfare. Only the strongest and the bravest could hope to survive and that will explain why Mesopotamia became the home of a very strong race of men who were capable of creating a civilisation which was in every respect as important as that of Egypt.

中文阅读

美索博达米亚——东方文明的第二中心

我要把你带到最高的金字塔顶，再要你想象你有一对老鹰的眼睛。很远很远的，一直在黄色沙漠之外，你会望见一点绿色闪亮的东西。这是两河中间的流域，就是《旧约》中所说的天国。这是一个神秘的奇境，希腊人称之为美索博达米亚 ——“两河间的地方”。

这两条河，一名幼发拉的河（巴比伦人称之为普拉土河），一名底格里河（原名迪克雷脱河），都是发源于阿尔孟尼亚山的积雪中，就是以先挪亚方舟停泊的地方，它们缓缓经过南部的平原，直达波斯湾。这两河成就了一件很有功用的事业，使西亚细亚荒芜的土地变为肥沃的庭园。

尼罗河流域之所以能受人欢迎，因为它在极容易的条件之下供给人食物。“两河间的地方”的著名也有同样的理由。它是一个最有希望的地方，所以北方山中的居民与南部沙漠的游牧民族，都争着要求它为自己的领域。这两种人民的争执引起了无尽期的战争。只有强壮、勇敢的，方有存在的希望。这就可以解释美索博达米亚所以成为一个强有力的民族的理由。他们很有能力创造一个与埃及同样重要的文化。