Author's Note

THE "gold piece", here used as the regular monetary¹ standard, is the Latin aureus, a coin worth one hundred sestertü or twenty-five silver denarü ("silver pieces"): it may be thought of as worth roughly one pound sterling², or five American dollars. The "mile" is the Roman mile, some thirty paces shorter than the English mile. The marginal dates have for convenience been given according to Christian³ reckoning: the Greek reckoning, used by Claudius, counted the years from the First Olympiad, which took place in B.C. 776. For convenience also, the most familiar geographical⁴ names have been used: thus "France", not 'Transalpine Gaul", because France covers roughly the same territorial⁵ area and it would be inconsistent to call towns like Nimes and Boulogne and Lyons by their modem⁶ names -their classical ones would not be popularly recognized- while placing them in Galatia Transadpina OT, as the Greeks called it, Galatia. (Greek geographical terms are most confusing: Germany was "the country of the Celts".) Similarly the most familiar forms of proper names have been used- "Livy" for Titus Livius, "Cymbeline" for Cunobelinus, “Mark Antony" for Marcus Antonius.

It has been difficult at times to find suitable renderings⁷ for military, legal and other technical terms. To give a single instance, there is the word "assegai". Aircraftman T. E. Shaw (whom I take this opportunity of thanking for his careful reading of these proofs) questions my use of "assegai" as an equivalent of the German framed or pfreim. He suggests "favelin". But I have not adopted the suggestion, as I have gratefully adopted others of his, because I need "javelin⁸" for pilum, the regular missile weapon of the disciplined Roman infantryman and "assegai" is more savage⁹ sounding. "Assegai" has had a three-hundred year currency in English and acquired new vigour¹⁰ in the nineteenth century because of the Zulu wars. The long-shafted iron-hea framea was used, according to Tacitus, both as a missile and as a stabbing weapon. So was the assegai of the Ama Aaro warriors¹², with whom the Germans of Claudius's day had culturally much in common. If Tacitus's statements, first as to the handiness of the frames at close quarters, and then as to its unmanageability among trees, are to be reconciled, Uw Germans probably did what the Zulus did-they broke off the end of the framed long shaft¹¹ when hand-to-hand fighting started. But it seldom came to that, for the Germans always preferred strike-and-run tactics when engaged with the better-armed Roman infantryman.

Suetonius in his Twelve Caesars refers to Claudius's histories as written "ineptly¹³" rather than "inelegantly". Yet it certain passages of the present work are not only ineptly written but somewhat inelegantly too-the sentences painfully constructed and the digressions awkwardly placed- this is not out of keeping with Claudius's literary style as exhibited in his Latin speech about the Aeduan franchise¹⁴, fragments of which survive. The speech is, indeed, thickly strewn with inelegancies of this sort, but then it is probably a transcription of the official shorthand record of Claudius's exact words to the Senate-the speech of a tired man conscientiously¹⁵ extemporizing¹⁶ oratory¹⁷ from a paper of rough notes. I, Claudius is a conversational¹⁸ piece of writing as Greek, indeed, is a far more conversational language than Latin. Claudius's recently discovered Greek letter to the Alexandrians, which may however be partly the work of an imperial secretary, reads much more easily than the Aeduan speech.

 

For help towards Classical correctness I have to thank Miss Eirlys Roberts; and for criticism of the congroity of the English, Miss Laura Riding.

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。

3 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。

4 geographical   

adj.地理的；地区(性)的

参考例句：

• The current survey will have a wider geographical spread.当前的调查将在更广泛的地域范围內进行。
• These birds have a wide geographical distribution.这些鸟的地理分布很广。

5 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

6 modem   

n.调制解调器

参考例句：

• Does your computer have a modem?你的电脑有调制解调器吗？
• Provides a connection to your computer via a modem.通过调制解调器连接到计算机上。

7 renderings   

n.（戏剧或乐曲的）演奏( rendering的名词复数 )；扮演；表演；翻译作品

参考例句：

• Research about the usability of architectural renderings supports this notion. 关于建筑渲染的可用性研究支持上面提到的这种观点。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Note: Attached Bugatti renderings are for illustrative purposes only. 注：附加布加迪渲染是仅用于说明的目的。 来自互联网

8 javelin   

n.标枪，投枪

参考例句：

• She achieved a throw of sixty metres in the javelin event.在掷标枪项目中，她掷了60米远。
• The coach taught us how to launch a javelin.教练教我们投标枪。

9 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。

10 vigour   

（=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力

参考例句：

• She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情，有朝气。
• At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。

11 shaft   

n.(工具的)柄，杆状物

参考例句：

• He was wounded by a shaft.他被箭击中受伤。
• This is the shaft of a steam engine.这是一个蒸汽机主轴。

12 warriors   

武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I like reading the stories ofancient warriors. 我喜欢读有关古代武士的故事。
• The warriors speared the man to death. 武士们把那个男子戳死了。

13 ineptly   

adv. 不适当地，无能地

参考例句：

• Unless the tests are ineptly designed, removing tests will just remove power. 除非测试用例是不熟练的设计，否则去掉测试用例就是去除作用力。
• This function is ineptly left to a small voice. 这项任务不适当地交给了一个声音小的人。

14 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

15 conscientiously   

adv.凭良心地；认真地，负责尽职地；老老实实

参考例句：

• He kept silent,eating just as conscientiously but as though everything tasted alike. 他一声不吭，闷头吃着，仿佛桌上的饭菜都一个味儿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She discharged all the responsibilities of a minister conscientiously. 她自觉地履行部长的一切职责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 extemporizing   

v.即兴创作，即席演奏( extemporize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

17 oratory   

n.演讲术；词藻华丽的言辞

参考例句：

• I admire the oratory of some politicians.我佩服某些政治家的辩才。
• He dazzled the crowd with his oratory.他的雄辩口才使听众赞叹不已。

18 conversational   

adj.对话的，会话的

参考例句：

• The article is written in a conversational style.该文是以对话的形式写成的。
• She values herself on her conversational powers.她常夸耀自己的能言善辩。