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On January 30th, 1649,he was led out through the Banqueting House
1649年1月30日 他被人从宴会厅中带出来
onto the scaffold erected right outside in Whitehall.
等待他的是耸立在白厅外的断头台
The windows were all boarded up,
白厅的窗户被木条封死
so Rubens's great anthem to the god-like omnipotence of kings
就这样 鲁宾斯对国王绝对权力的赞美图
was invisible in the gloom, the light gone out of it.
消失在黑暗之中 失去了光芒
But Charles didn't need the pictures,he had the script off by heart.
但查理并不需要这些图像 这一切 他都了然于心
A subject and a sovereign are clean different things.
臣民与统治者 是截然不同的概念
So the last words out of Charles I's mouth were the truth.
查理一世临终时的最后一句话 道出了真相
With nothing left to lose for himself and everything to gain for his son,
他已经一无所有 但为了他的儿子
he was not about to confuse anyone about the nature of the kingdom that God had ordained.
他要让所有人 都认清王国与生俱来的本质
It was the same kingdom that Rubens had painted on that ceiling
这仍然是鲁宾斯在天花板上描绘的那个王国
the anointed sovereign answerable only to the Almighty,laying down laws for the benefit of his subjects.
那个唯一听命于上帝旨意的君主 将制定出惠及子民的法律
He offered justice and he expected obedience.
他提供一切准则 并期待万众归顺
That was it. Take it or leave it.It had always been about that really,
如此而已 不容商榷 这是条亘古不变的事实
and all the pious hopes of turning Charles into a parliamentary monarch were just so many castles in the air.
所有那些渴望将查理 变成议会君主的天真幻想 只不过是痴人说梦罢了
