19　宴会奇袭

在我小时候，大人总是对我说：

“你不把饭吃完的话，就别想吃甜点。”

你们很可能也听大人这样说过。

不管我的肚子饿还是不饿，都是“不吃完饭，就没有甜点”。这是一条规矩；我的父亲曾说，它“就像是米堤亚人和波斯人的法律一样”。

那时我并不知道谁是米堤亚人，谁又是波斯人。可如今我却知道，他们是紧挨着巴比伦的两个印欧民族；你们应该都还记得，尼布甲尼撒娶了一个米堤亚姑娘为妻呢。这两个民族都是依法治国，而他们的法律也都制定得非常严格、不可更改，因此我们如今在谈到一些不可更改的东西时，仍然会说它们就像“米堤亚人和波斯人的法律”一样。

米堤亚人和波斯人信奉同一种宗教；可这种宗教，既不同于犹太人所信奉的宗教，也不同于古巴比伦人所信奉的宗教。这种宗教，是由一个叫作琐罗亚斯德的波斯人创立的，他是一个像所罗门那样的智者。琐罗亚斯德曾经深入各地的民众当中，向他们传播箴言和颂歌。这些箴言，已经被人汇编成书了。琐罗亚斯德说，世界上有两种主要的神灵，即善良之神和邪恶之神。

called Mazda. The Persians kept a fire constantly burning on their altar.They thought the Good Spirit burned in the fire,and they had men watch over the flame to see that it never went out.These men who watched the flame were called Magi,and they were supposed to be able to do all sorts of wonderful things,so that we call such wonderful things magic,and the people who are able to do them we call magicians.At the time of this story which I'm telling you,the ruler of the Medes and the Persians was a great king named Cyrus.

But before I go on with this story,I must tell you about a little country not far from Troy. This little country was called Lydia.Perhaps you may know a girl named Lydia.I do.Lydia was ruled over by a king named Croesus,who was the richest man in the world.When we want to describe a man as very wealthy,we still say he is“as rich as Croesus”.

Croesus owned nearly all the gold mines,of which there were a great many in that country,and besides this he collected money in the form of taxes from all the cities near him.

Before the time of Croesus,people did not have money such as we have now. When they wished to buy anything,they simply traded something they had for something they wanted—so many eggs for a pound of meat or so much wine for a pair of sandals.To buy anything expensive,such as a horse,they paid with a lump of gold or silver,which was weighed in the scales to see just how heavy it was.It is hard for us to think how people could get along without cents and nickels,dimes,quarters and dollars—with no money at all—and yet they did.

Croesus,in order to make things simpler,cut up his gold into small bits.Now,it was not easy for everyone to weigh each piece each time it was traded,for he might not have

他说，善良之神就是光明，而邪恶之神则是黑暗。他将善良之神或者光明之神称为玛兹达。波斯人的祭坛上都点着长明灯。他们认为，善良之神在火中燃烧，所以他们会派专人守护，确保火苗永远不灭。守护圣火的这些人叫作魔法师；人们认为，他们能够做出各种各样的奇妙之事来，因此我们将这种奇妙之事称为“魔术”，而将能够做出这种奇妙之事的人称为“魔术师”。在我将要给你们讲述的这个故事所发生的那个年代，统治着米堤亚人和波斯人的，是一位名叫居鲁士的伟大国王。

不过，在继续讲述这个故事之前，我还得跟你们说一说一个离特洛伊不远的小国家。这个小国家叫作吕底亚（Lydia）。或许，你们可能认识一个叫作莉迪娅（Lydia）的小姑娘。我就认识一个。当时，吕底亚由一个叫作克罗伊斯的国王统治着，他是世界上非常富有的人。所以，如今倘若想要说一个人非常富有，我们仍然会说他“富比克罗伊斯”呢。

吕底亚国内有许多的金矿，这些金矿几乎全都是克罗伊斯的；除此之外，他还用税收的形式，向附近地区的所有城镇索要钱财。

在克罗伊斯当上国王之前，人们并没有如今我们所用的这种钱币。他们想要买什么东西的时候，只会用自己已有的东西去交换想要的东西，比如用多少鸡蛋换一磅肉，或者用多少葡萄酒换一双拖鞋。而要购买贵重物品的话，比如说一匹马，他们就会用一块金子或者银子，在秤上称一称重量之后去购买。我们很难想象，在没有五分钱、一角钱、两角五分或者一美元，在没有任何钱币的情况下，人们是怎样过的；不过，他们那时的确没有钱币。

为了让事情变得简单一点，克罗伊斯便把金子分成了小块。注意，要做到每次

any scales handy. So Croesus had each piece weighed and stamped with its weight and with his name or initials to show that he guaranteed the weight.These pieces of gold and silver were only lumps with Croesus's seal pressed into them,but they were probably the first real money even though they were not round and beautifully engraved like our coins.

Now,Cyrus,the great Persian king,thought he would like to own this rich country of Lydia with all its gold mines,so he set out to conquer it.

When Cyrus was on the way,Croesus sent in a hurry to the oracle in Greece to ask what was going to happen and who was going to win. You will remember what I said about the oracle at Delphi and how people used to ask the oracle questions—to have their fortunes told,as some people still do today.

The oracle replied to Croesus's question：

“A great kingdom shall fall.”

Croesus was delighted,for he thought the oracle meant that Cyrus's kingdom would fall. The oracle was right,but not in the way Croesus had thought.

A great kingdom did fall,but it was his own kingdom of Lydia and not Cyrus's that fell.

But Cyrus was still not satisfied with the

买卖东西时都把每块金子称一称，是件很不容易的事情，因为一个人可能手边根本就没有带秤。于是，克罗伊斯便将每块小金子都称上一遍，然后将重量、他的名字或者姓氏的首字母标在金子上，以示他保证每块金子的重量准确无误。这些金、银，不过是印有克罗伊斯印记的小金块和小银块罢了；然而，尽管它们不是圆形的，上面也不像我们如今的硬币那样刻着美丽的图案，但它们很可能就是世界上第一批真正的钱币呢。

此时，居鲁士这位伟大的波斯国王动起了心思，想要占领吕底亚这个富庶的国家，以及该国所有的金矿；于是，他便开始攻打吕底亚。

得知居鲁士正在率军前来进攻的消息后，克罗伊斯急忙派人前往希腊的神谕处，询问接下来的局势如何，以及哪一方将会获胜。你们可能还记得我在前面对特尔斐神谕处的介绍，以及当时的人为什么会向神提问。他们的目的，就是希望神指出他们的命运前程；而如今，有些人还在干这种事情呢。

对于克罗伊斯的问题，神是这样回答的：

“一个伟大的王国将被征服。”

克罗伊斯很高兴，因为他觉得，神谕的意思是指居鲁士的王国将被征服。虽然神谕说得没错，可结果却不是克罗伊斯所想的那样。

一个伟大的王国的确被征服了；但被征服的，却是克罗伊斯自己的吕底亚王

capture of Lydia,and so at last he attacked Babylon.

Now,the people in Babylon who thought of nothing but pleasure were busy feasting and drinking and having a good time. Why should they worry about Cyrus?Their city had walls that were so high and thick and was protected by such strong gates of brass that it seemed as if no one could possibly have captured it.

But you remember that the Euphrates River ran beneath the walls and crossed right through the city. Well,one night when the young prince of Babylon named Belshazzar was having a party and enjoying himself,feeling quite certain that no one could enter the city,Cyrus made a dam and turned the waters of the river to one side.Then Cyrus's army marched into the city through the dry riverbed and captured the surprised Babylonians without even a fight.It is supposed that some of the Babylonian priests helped him to do this and even opened the gates,for Babylon had become so wicked that they thought it time for it to be destroyed.

Old Lycurgus would have said，“I told you so. People who think of nothing but pleasure never come to a good end.”

This surprise party was in 538—5 and 3 are 8.

Two years later Cyrus let the Jews,who had been carried away fifty years before from Jerusalem,return to the home of their fathers,thus ending the Babylonian Captivity.

Today the only thing left of this great city of Babylon—Babylon the Wicked,Babylon the Magnificent,Babylon with all its great walls and brass gates and Hanging Gardens—is a mound of earth

国，而不是居鲁士的王国。

可是，在攻下了吕底亚之后，居鲁士却仍不满足，所以最终他又去攻打巴比伦了。

此时，巴比伦那些除了享乐什么也不想的人，正在忙着大吃大喝、尽情享乐。他们为什么要担心居鲁士来进攻呢？他们的巴比伦，城墙又高又厚，还被极其坚固的铜制城门保护着，所以看上去似乎无人可以攻破。

不过，你们应当还记得，幼发拉底河是在巴比伦的城墙之下穿城而过的。于是，有天晚上，正当巴比伦那位叫作伯沙撒的年轻王子正在举行宴会、尽情享乐，并且自信满满地认为无人能够攻入城内的时候，居鲁士却派人筑起了一道水坝，将河水引到了另一侧。然后，居鲁士的大军便经由干涸了的河床进入了巴比伦城，不费一枪一弹，便俘虏了那些大惊失色的巴比伦人。据说，是巴比伦的一些祭司暗中协助了居鲁士，甚至打开了城门；因为他们觉得，巴比伦已经变得极其堕落，应该将它毁灭了。

莱克格斯如果还活着，他定然会说：“我早说过会这样的。除了享乐什么也不想的人，必定不会有好下场。”

这场宴会奇袭，发生在公元前538年；这很好记，5加3等于8。

两年后，居鲁士便将五十年前从耶路撒冷俘虏过来的那些犹太人全都放回去与父母团聚，从而结束了“巴比伦囚虏”时期。

如今，巴比伦这座伟大的城市，这个邪恶的巴比伦、辉煌的巴比伦、有着牢固城墙和铜制城门及“空中花园”的巴比伦，就只剩下一堆黄土啦。