As the daylight grows, or as our knowledge grows, the forms of men come into view, wild creatures armed with clubs and stones. They will be named Ligurians, just as the earlier folk of Britain were named Britons. Later on less uncouth2 men, furnished with weapons of bronze or iron, can be seen to land from boats or to be plodding3 along the shore as if they had journeyed far. They will be called Ph?nicians, Carthaginians or Phoc?ans according to the leaning of the writer who deals with them. There may be bartering4 on the beach, there may be fighting or pantomimic love-making; but in the end those who are better armed take the place of the old dwellers5, and the rough woman in her apron6 of skins walks off into the wood by the side of the man with the bronze knife and the beads7.
There is little more than this to be seen through the haze8 of far distant time. The written history, such as it is, is thus part fiction, part surmise9, for the very small element of truth is based upon such fragments of evidence as a few dry bones, a few implements10, a bracelet11, a defence work, a piece of pottery12.
The Ligurians or aborigines formed themselves, for purposes of defence, into clans13 or tribes. They built fortified14 camps as places of refuge. Relics15 of these forts or castra remain, and very remarkable16 relics they are, for they show immense walls built of blocks of unworked stone that the modern wall builder may view with amazement17. Nowhere are these camps found in better preservation18 than around Monte Carlo.
In the course of time into this savage19 country, marching in invincible20 columns, came the stolid21, orderly legions of Rome. They subdued22 the hordes23 of hillmen, broke up their forts, and commemorated24 the victory by erecting25 a monument on the crest26 of La Turbie which stands there to this day. The Romans brought with them discipline and culture, and above all, peace. The natives, reassured27, came down from their retreats among the heights and established themselves in the towns which were springing up by the edge of the sea. The Condamine of Monaco, for example, was inhabited during the first century of the present era, as is made manifest by the relics which have been found there.
With the fall of the Roman Empire peace vanished and the whole country lapsed28 again into barbarism. It was overrun from Marseilles to Genoa by gangs of hearty29 ruffians whose sole preoccupation was pillage30, arson31 and murder. They uprooted32 all that the Romans had established, and left in their fetid trail little more than a waste of burning huts and dead men.
These pernicious folk were called sometimes Vandals, sometimes Goths, sometimes Burgundians, and sometimes Swabians. The gentry33, however, who seem to have been the most persistent34 and the most diligent35 in evil were the Lombards. They are described as “ravishing the country” for the immoderate period of two hundred years, namely from 574 to 775. How it came about that any inhabitants were left after this exhausting treatment the historian does not explain.
At the end of the eighth century there may possibly have been a few years’ quiet along the Riviera, during which time the people would have recovered confidence and become hopeful of the future. Now the Lombards had always come down upon them by land, so they knew in which direction to look for their troubles, and, moreover, they knew the Lombards and had a quite practical experience of their habits. After a lull36 in alarms and in paroxysms of outrage37, and after what may even be termed a few calm years, something still more dreadful happened to these dwellers in a fool’s paradise. Marauders began to come, not by the hill passes, but by sea and to land out of boats. They were marauders, too, of a peculiarly virulent38 type, compared with whom the Lombards were as babes and sucklings; for not only were their actions exceptionally violent and their weapons unusually noxious39, but they themselves were terrifying to look at, for they were nearly black.
These alarming people were the Saracens, otherwise known as the Moors40 or Arabs. They belonged to a great race of Semitic origin which had peopled Syria, the borders of the Red Sea and the North of Africa. They invaded—in course of time—not only this tract41 of coast, but also Rhodes, Cyprus, France, Spain and Italy. They were by birth and inheritance wanderers, fighters and congenital pirates. They spread terror wherever they went, and their history may be soberly described as “awful.” They probably appeared at their worst in Provence and at their best in Spain, where they introduced ordered government, science, literature and commerce, and left behind them the memory of elegant manners and some of the most graceful42 buildings in the world.
As early as about 800 the Saracens had made themselves masters of Eze, La Turbie and Sant’ Agnese; while by 846 they seem to have terrorised the whole coast from the Rhone to the Genoese Gulf43, and in the first half of the tenth century to have occupied nearly every sea-town from Arles to Mentone. Finally, in 980, a great united effort was made to drive the marauders out of France. It was successful. The leader of the Ligurian forces was William of Marseilles, first Count of Provence, and one of the most distinguished44 of his lieutenants45 was a noble Genoese soldier by name Gibellino Grimaldi. It is in the person of this knight46 that the Grimaldi name first figures in the history of the Ligurian coast.
As soon as the Saracens had departed the powers that had combined to drive them from the country began to fight among themselves. They fought in a vague, confused, spasmodic way, with infinite vicissitudes47 and in every available place, for over five hundred years. The siege of Nice by the French in 1543 may be conveniently taken as the end of this particular series of conflicts.
It was a period of petty fights in which the Counts of Provence were in conflict with the rulers of Northern Italy, with the Duke of Milan, it may be, or the Duke of Savoy or the Doge of Genoa. It was a time when town fought with town, when Pisa was at war with Genoa and Genoa with Nice, when the Count of Ventimiglia would make an onslaught on the Lord of Eze and the ruffian who held Gorbio would plan a descent upon little Roquebrune. This delectable48 part of the continent, moreover, came within the sphere of that almost interminable war which was waged between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. In the present area the Grimaldi were for the Guelphs and the Pope, and the Spinola for the Ghibellines and the Emperor. The feud49 began in the twelfth century and lasted until the French invasion in 1494.
This period of five hundred years was a time of interest that was dramatic rather than momentous50. So far as the South of France was concerned one of the most beautiful tracts51 of country in Europe was the battle-ground for bands of medi?val soldiers, burly, dare-devil men carrying fantastic arms and dressed in the most picturesque52 costumes the world has seen.
It was a period of romance, and, indeed—from a scenic53 point of view—of romance in its most alluring54 aspect. Here were all the folk and the incidents made famous by the writers of a hundred tales—the longbowman in his leather jerkin, the man in the slashed55 doublet sloping a halberd, the gay musketeer, the knight in armour56 and plumes57, as well as the little walled town, the parley58 before the gate, the fight for the drawbridge and the dash up the narrow street.
It was a period when there were cavalcades59 on the road, glittering with steel, with pennons and with banners, when there were ambushes60 and frenzied61 flights, carousing62 of the Falstaffian type at inns, and dreadful things done in dungeons63. It was a time of noisy banquets in vaulted64 halls with dogs and straw on the floor; a time of desperate rescues, of tragic65 escapes, of fights on prison roofs, and of a general and brilliant disorder66. It was a delusive67 epoch68, too, with a pretty terminology69, when the common hack70 was a palfrey, the footman a varlet, and the young woman a damosel.
The men in these brawling71 times were, in general terms, swashbucklers and thieves; but they had some of the traits of crude gentlemen, some rudiments72 of honour, some chivalry73 of an emotional type, and an unreliable reverence74 for the pretty woman.
It was a time to read about rather than to live in; a period that owes its chief charm to a safe distance and to the distortion of an artificial mirage75. In any case one cannot fail to realise that these scenes took place in spots where tramcars are now running, where the char-à-banc rumbles76 along, and where the an?mic youth and the brazen77 damosel dance to the jazz music of an American band.
When the five hundred years had come to an end there were still, in this particular part of the earth, wars and rumours78 of wars that ceased not; but they were ordinary wars of small interest save to the student in a history class, for the day of the hand-to-hand combat and of the dramatic fighting in streets had passed away.
So far as our present purpose is concerned the fact need only be noted79 that the spoiled and petted Riviera has been the scene of almost continuous disturbance80 and bloodshed for the substantial period of some seventeen hundred years, and that it has now become a Garden of Peace, calmed by a kind of agreeable dream-haunted stupor81 such as may befall a convulsed man who has been put asleep by cocaine82.
点击收听单词发音
1 mariner | |
n.水手号不载人航天探测器,海员,航海者 | |
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2 uncouth | |
adj.无教养的,粗鲁的 | |
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3 plodding | |
a.proceeding in a slow or dull way | |
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4 bartering | |
v.作物物交换,以货换货( barter的现在分词 ) | |
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5 dwellers | |
n.居民,居住者( dweller的名词复数 ) | |
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6 apron | |
n.围裙;工作裙 | |
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7 beads | |
n.(空心)小珠子( bead的名词复数 );水珠;珠子项链 | |
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8 haze | |
n.霾,烟雾;懵懂,迷糊;vi.(over)变模糊 | |
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9 surmise | |
v./n.猜想,推测 | |
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10 implements | |
n.工具( implement的名词复数 );家具;手段;[法律]履行(契约等)v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 );执行;贯彻;使生效 | |
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11 bracelet | |
n.手镯,臂镯 | |
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12 pottery | |
n.陶器,陶器场 | |
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13 clans | |
宗族( clan的名词复数 ); 氏族; 庞大的家族; 宗派 | |
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14 fortified | |
adj. 加强的 | |
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15 relics | |
[pl.]n.遗物,遗迹,遗产;遗体,尸骸 | |
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16 remarkable | |
adj.显著的,异常的,非凡的,值得注意的 | |
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17 amazement | |
n.惊奇,惊讶 | |
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18 preservation | |
n.保护,维护,保存,保留,保持 | |
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19 savage | |
adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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20 invincible | |
adj.不可征服的,难以制服的 | |
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21 stolid | |
adj.无动于衷的,感情麻木的 | |
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22 subdued | |
adj. 屈服的,柔和的,减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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23 hordes | |
n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 );部落 | |
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24 commemorated | |
v.纪念,庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25 erecting | |
v.使直立,竖起( erect的现在分词 );建立 | |
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26 crest | |
n.顶点;饰章;羽冠;vt.达到顶点;vi.形成浪尖 | |
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27 reassured | |
adj.使消除疑虑的;使放心的v.再保证,恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词) | |
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28 lapsed | |
adj.流失的,堕落的v.退步( lapse的过去式和过去分词 );陷入;倒退;丧失 | |
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29 hearty | |
adj.热情友好的;衷心的;尽情的,纵情的 | |
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30 pillage | |
v.抢劫;掠夺;n.抢劫,掠夺;掠夺物 | |
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31 arson | |
n.纵火,放火 | |
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32 uprooted | |
v.把(某物)连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 );根除;赶走;把…赶出家园 | |
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33 gentry | |
n.绅士阶级,上层阶级 | |
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34 persistent | |
adj.坚持不懈的,执意的;持续的 | |
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35 diligent | |
adj.勤勉的,勤奋的 | |
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36 lull | |
v.使安静,使入睡,缓和,哄骗;n.暂停,间歇 | |
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37 outrage | |
n.暴行,侮辱,愤怒;vt.凌辱,激怒 | |
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38 virulent | |
adj.有毒的,有恶意的,充满敌意的 | |
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39 noxious | |
adj.有害的,有毒的;使道德败坏的,讨厌的 | |
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40 moors | |
v.停泊,系泊(船只)( moor的第三人称单数 ) | |
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41 tract | |
n.传单,小册子,大片(土地或森林) | |
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42 graceful | |
adj.优美的,优雅的;得体的 | |
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43 gulf | |
n.海湾;深渊,鸿沟;分歧,隔阂 | |
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44 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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45 lieutenants | |
n.陆军中尉( lieutenant的名词复数 );副职官员;空军;仅低于…官阶的官员 | |
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46 knight | |
n.骑士,武士;爵士 | |
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47 vicissitudes | |
n.变迁,世事变化;变迁兴衰( vicissitude的名词复数 );盛衰兴废 | |
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48 delectable | |
adj.使人愉快的;美味的 | |
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49 feud | |
n.长期不和;世仇;v.长期争斗;世代结仇 | |
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50 momentous | |
adj.重要的,重大的 | |
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51 tracts | |
大片土地( tract的名词复数 ); 地带; (体内的)道; (尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的)短文 | |
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52 picturesque | |
adj.美丽如画的,(语言)生动的,绘声绘色的 | |
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53 scenic | |
adj.自然景色的,景色优美的 | |
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54 alluring | |
adj.吸引人的,迷人的 | |
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55 slashed | |
v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 );鞭打;割破;削减 | |
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56 armour | |
(=armor)n.盔甲;装甲部队 | |
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57 plumes | |
羽毛( plume的名词复数 ); 羽毛饰; 羽毛状物; 升上空中的羽状物 | |
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58 parley | |
n.谈判 | |
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59 cavalcades | |
n.骑马队伍,车队( cavalcade的名词复数 ) | |
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60 ambushes | |
n.埋伏( ambush的名词复数 );伏击;埋伏着的人;设埋伏点v.埋伏( ambush的第三人称单数 );埋伏着 | |
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61 frenzied | |
a.激怒的;疯狂的 | |
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62 carousing | |
v.痛饮,闹饮欢宴( carouse的现在分词 ) | |
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63 dungeons | |
n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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64 vaulted | |
adj.拱状的 | |
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65 tragic | |
adj.悲剧的,悲剧性的,悲惨的 | |
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66 disorder | |
n.紊乱,混乱;骚动,骚乱;疾病,失调 | |
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67 delusive | |
adj.欺骗的,妄想的 | |
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68 epoch | |
n.(新)时代;历元 | |
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69 terminology | |
n.术语;专有名词 | |
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70 hack | |
n.劈,砍,出租马车;v.劈,砍,干咳 | |
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71 brawling | |
n.争吵,喧嚷 | |
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72 rudiments | |
n.基础知识,入门 | |
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73 chivalry | |
n.骑士气概,侠义;(男人)对女人彬彬有礼,献殷勤 | |
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74 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 | |
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75 mirage | |
n.海市蜃楼,幻景 | |
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76 rumbles | |
隆隆声,辘辘声( rumble的名词复数 ) | |
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77 brazen | |
adj.厚脸皮的,无耻的,坚硬的 | |
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78 rumours | |
n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 );风闻;谣言;谣传 | |
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79 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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80 disturbance | |
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调 | |
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81 stupor | |
v.昏迷;不省人事 | |
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82 cocaine | |
n.可卡因,古柯碱(用作局部麻醉剂) | |
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