Translator’s Preface

 Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, might well have been entitled Charles the Greatest. He was great in war and great in peace—a great conqueror¹, great law-maker, great scholar, great organizer, great civilizer². He subdued³ savage⁴ nations, introduced learning, extended religion, encouraged the arts and sciences, and established one of the mightiest⁵ empires of the olden times. All the races of Germany, of Italy, and of France were welded by him into one great monarchy⁶. He maintained and extended the influence of Christian⁸ culture. A large part of his life was spent in the field, and yet he found time for the political establishment and development of a great empire, for the reorganization of the Church, for the promotion⁹ of education, for the conservation of classic culture, and for an astonishing display of many-sided activity. Gibbon, the historian, says of him:

 

“The dignity of his person, the length of his reign¹⁰, the prosperity of his arms, the vigor¹¹ of his government, and the reverence¹² of distant nations, distinguish him from the royal crowd: and Europe dates a new era from his restoration of the Western Empire.”

 

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He was a monarch⁷ whose life was characterized by extraordinary activity and energy, by nobility of purpose and wisdom in administration, and by a constructive¹³ genius and innate¹⁴ capacity for wise and generous ruling, which have rarely been found in “the royal crowd.” As one of the most conspicuous¹⁵ figures in history, the events of his life as narrated¹⁶ in this volume deserve careful study at the hands of youth.

 

G. P. U.

 

Chicago, July 1910.

1 conqueror   

n.征服者，胜利者

参考例句：

• We shall never yield to a conqueror.我们永远不会向征服者低头。
• They abandoned the city to the conqueror.他们把那个城市丢弃给征服者。

2 civilizer   

vt.使文明；使开化；教化；启发vi.变得文明

参考例句：

• We must civilize away the boy's bad habit. 我们必须教育这孩子使其改掉恶习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Those facilities are intended to civilize people. 那些设施的目的在于教化民众。 来自辞典例句

3 subdued   

adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He seemed a bit subdued to me. 我觉得他当时有点闷闷不乐。
• I felt strangely subdued when it was all over. 一切都结束的时候，我却有一种奇怪的压抑感。

4 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

5 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

6 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

7 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

10 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。

11 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

12 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

13 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

14 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

15 conspicuous   

adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的

参考例句：

• It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显，抽烟对健康有害。
• Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。

16 narrated   

v.故事( narrate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some of the story was narrated in the film. 该电影叙述了这个故事的部分情节。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Defoe skilfully narrated the adventures of Robinson Crusoe on his desert island. 笛福生动地叙述了鲁滨逊·克鲁索在荒岛上的冒险故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》