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During the time of the five good emperors the Limes was fairly quiet.
在五贤帝统治时期边界线相对平静。
It was well governed and there was a shortage of barbarians.
得到了良好的管理，蛮族入侵也很少。
Marcus Aurelius' wars on the Danube gave a dangerous foretaste though of Roman future,
马可·奥勒留在多瑙河地区的战争是罗马未来的一个危险预兆，
the barbarians got knocked down, but they got up again.
蛮族人虽然被击败了，却又卷土重来。
Two, national gut check.
第二点 罗马面临大考验
The dynasty of Septimius Severus, which ruled from 193 AD to 235 AD kept Rome's impending crisis at arm's length.
公元193到235年的塞维鲁王朝一直都在避免危险逼近。
Severus' personal contribution was to all but trash the principate.
塞维鲁的个人贡献就是抛弃了元首制。
The republican forms still existed but Severus worked around them.
共和国政府形式仍然存在，但是塞维鲁解决了这个问题。
Severus was more concerned with keeping his army paid and trained so much for the solace generus humani or common good of human kind.
塞维鲁更关心军队的军饷和训练，并不关心苍生疾苦或者什么人类福祉。
The Roman's safety net rotted away but Severus assumed no doubt rightly,
罗马的安全网逐渐腐烂，但是塞维鲁正当地假定
that the solace generus humani wouldn't be worth much with barbarians traipsing around the roads of the inner empire.
人类疾苦当然没有抵御蛮族的入侵来得重要，
Nor would it be worth much with Roman armies traipsing along the same roads to install their own commanders as imperator.
也没有防止罗马军队将自己的将军拥为元首来得重要。
The government crumbled so badly that it wouldn't even accept its own coinage in payment of taxes.
政府衰落得厉害，甚至都不愿意接受以本国货币上缴的税收。
The world's greatest super power had gone back to a barter economy.
这个世界超级大国又回到了以物易物的经济状态。
This national gut check made Hannibal look like a trick-or-treater.
跟这次考验一比，汉尼拔当年的入侵简直小巫见大巫。
Three, blame the Christians
第三点 归咎于基督徒
Not that the Christians or anyone else for that matter deserved to be persecuted of course
并不是说基督徒或者其他人应当受到迫害，
but in times as wretched as those during the crisis of the third century AD it was almost understandable.
只是在那种艰难处境里，在三世纪危机时，这种做法也是可以理解的。
