CHAPTER VI. INSTANCES OF IMMENSE WEALTH.

 The ancients had no number whereby to express a larger sum than one hundred thousand; and at the present day, we reckon by multiples of that number, as, for instance, ten times one hundred thousand, and so on. For these multiplications¹ we are indebted to usury² and the use of coined money; hence the expressions “?s alienum,” or “another man’s money,” which we still use to signify debt, and in later times the surname “Dives,” rich: only be it known to all, that the man who first received this surname became a bankrupt and bubbled his creditors³.[204] Marcus Crassus, a member of the same family, used to say that no man was rich who could not maintain a legion upon his yearly income. He possessed⁴ in land two hundred millions of sesterces, being the richest Roman citizen next to Sylla. Nor was even this enough for him, but he must want to possess all the gold of the Parthians too![205] And yet, although he was the first to 264 become memorable⁵ for his opulence—so pleasant is the task of stigmatizing⁶ this insatiate cupidity—we have known of many manumitted slaves, since his time, much more wealthy than he ever was; three for example, all at the same time, in the reign⁷ of the Emperor Claudius: Pallas, Callistus, and Narcissus.

 

But to omit further mention of these men, let us turn to Caius C?cilius Claudius Isidorus, who, in the consulship⁸ of Gallus and Censorinus, upon the sixth day before the calends of February, declared by his will, that though he had suffered great losses through the civil wars, he was still able to leave behind him four thousand one hundred and sixteen slaves, three thousand six hundred pairs of oxen, and two hundred and fifty-seven thousand heads of other kind of cattle, besides, in ready money, sixty millions of sesterces. Upon his funeral, also, he ordered eleven hundred thousand sesterces to be expended⁹.

 

And yet, supposing all these enormous riches to be added together, how small a proportion will they bear to the wealth of Ptolem?us; the person who, according to Varro, when Pompey was on his expedition in the countries adjoining Jud?a, entertained eight thousand horsemen at his own expense, and gave a repast to one thousand guests, setting before every one of them a drinking-cup of gold, and changing these vessels¹⁰ at every course! And then, again, how insignificant¹¹ would his wealth have been by the side of that of Pythius the Bithynian[206]—for I here make no mention of 265 kings. He it was who gave the celebrated¹² plane-tree and vine of gold to King Darius, and who entertained at a banquet the troops of Xerxes, seven hundred and eighty-eight thousand men in all; with a promise of pay and corn for the whole of them during the next five months, on condition that one at least of his five children, who had been drawn¹³ for service, should be left to him as the solace¹⁴ of his old age. And yet, let any one compare the wealth of Pythius to that possessed by King Cr?sus!

 

In the name of all that is unfortunate, what madness it is for human nature to centre its desires upon a thing that has either fallen to the lot of slaves, or else has reached no known limit in the aspirations¹⁵ even of kings!

1 multiplications   

增多( multiplication的名词复数 )； 增加； 乘； 繁殖

参考例句：

• The optimum paths for multiplications of 7 and 8 are depicted in Figure 6.17. 图6．17中描绘了倍增7倍和8倍的最优路径。

2 usury   

n.高利贷

参考例句：

• The interest of usury is unfairly high.高利贷的利息惊人得高。
• He used to practise usury frequently.他过去经常放高利贷。

3 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

5 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

6 stigmatizing   

v.使受耻辱，指责，污辱( stigmatize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Laing regards the concept of mental illness as both unscientific and stigmatizing. 菜恩认为精神病的概念是不科学的和诬蔑性的。 来自辞典例句
• The existing social benefits are considered to be stigmatizing and repressive. 现存的社会福利被指责为是无价值的、残暴的。 来自互联网

7 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

8 consulship   

领事的职位或任期

参考例句：

9 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

12 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

13 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

14 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

15 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。