b 高卢：英文Gaul，是指现今西欧的法国、比利时、意大利北部、荷兰南部、瑞士西部和德国莱茵河西岸的一带。前文说女主人哼唱着凯尔特风格的曲调，意指他们属于凯尔特人，而凯尔特人正是高卢地区的主要居民。--译者注8.同时村里的男人们也被分为不同岗位，各司其职。部落首领在看管完牛羊之后，便带上他的长矛，背上他的弓箭，吹一声口哨，招呼上他的猎犬，到树林深处搜寻野鹿野猪去了。另一个男人则解开他的皮划小舟，拿一根长木头当船桨，沿着小溪顺流而下，撒网捕鱼去了。每当日落，这些劳作了一天的男人们会回到家里享受一顿丰盛的晚餐，有牛羊肉、有热面包、有新鲜的黄油和奶酪，一边吃还一边喝着大碗的蜂蜜酒或者麦芽酒。然后夜幕降临，他们会在粗糙的皮毛毡毯上美美地睡上一觉，穿了一天的外衣这时就成了他们温暖的被子。
9.黎明时分，我们也能见到整个村子生机勃勃的早晨。到了恺撒入侵之后，打猎已经不再是不列颠南部居民们的每日要务了，更多的只是一项业余活动，南部的不列颠人至此结束了作为野蛮民族的漫长时代。如今他们一大清早要放牧牛羊，要用白泥灰给耕地施肥，要播种和收割粮食，要在地窖里储存没有脱粒的稻谷。这些保证日常生活的事务，全都要靠他们用双手去完成，也占去了他们每天绝大部分的劳作时间，就像一根无形的棍棒不停地敲打着他们，让他们非常疲惫。
10.这还没完，还有很多其他的事呢。比如用藤条编制篮筐，当然这可能更多由老年男人和男孩子们完成，妇女们有时也会过来帮忙。我们现在还发现了不列颠人使用的一些模具，他们用这些模具来浇铸融化的锡和铜，以制成斧头和长矛的锋刃。还有红黄灰黑各色的燧石被从采石场开采出来，送到能工巧匠那里切削打磨成锋利的箭头。当这些削磨工作结束以后，还要在燧石箭头上打个孔，穿一根细细的皮革线将箭头和长杆牢牢捆住，以此确保稳固和箭头的笔直。
11.很多时候还得制作独木舟，不仅要用到火和石斧，可能还需用到榔头和骨刀a。陶器的制作一样是在村子里完成的，因此很可能前一天的士兵或者猎手第二天却在另外一个地方肩并肩地一起捏揉黄土，然后做成模型，再用尖木棍在柔软的表面描上点线构成图案，然后以一个艺术家的自豪感，把他用尽所有才艺才大功告成的粗糙杰作放到小屋门外面，等它晒干。
a 骨刀：一种动物骨头制成的凿子或斧头形状的刀具。
03
CUSTOMS OF THE DRUIDS
德鲁伊宗教的流风习俗
appease，quiet.
Arch-Druid，chief druid.
ban，curse.circular，round.crescent，curve.
criminals，persons accused of crime.
embodied，set forth.
hedged，fenced；guarded.
immortal，deathless.intently，earnestly.mystery，secrecy.
parasite，a plant nourished on the sap of another.
prominent，principal.
pronounced，spoken；called down.
1.The 10th of March has come and gone.The moon，now a thin silver crescent，has reached its sixth day.Bearded Druids，pacing solemnly along the dark avenues of the oak wood which surrounds their circular temple of stones，have long watched through summer days the yellowish leaves of mistletoe peeping out from among the darker foliage of one old tree，and have grown glad at heart when autumn withered the pointed oak leaves，and left the sacred evergreen hanging on a naked bough，ripe for the golden knife.The apple-tree being the favourite home of this pretty parasite，its presence on the oak，where it rarely grew，was considered a special mark of Divine favour.
2.Calling his priests together，the Arch-Druid，a priest of extraordinary power，hedged with a dignity far beyond what earthly kingship could bestow，leads a procession to the tree.The Oakmen，whose short hair，flowing beards，and loose white robes distinguish them from the lines ofawe-struck people，between whichSTONE-CIRCLES AT STONEHENGE.
they slowly pass，march to the hallowed spot，moving，perhaps，to the wild music of the chants with which the holy maidens of the Sacred Island profess to raise storms and to cure the sick.
3.Two milk-white bulls are led along，and are bound by their horns to the trunk of the oak.And when the Arch-Druid has climbed the tree，and the mistletoe，cut with a golden knife，has fallen into the snowy cloth stretched out lest the branch should touch the earth and lose its magic power，another knife pierces the pinky throats of the oxen.The sacrifice is offered.A blessing is pronounced on the sacred plant，the leaves and berries of which are believed to possess wonderful virtues against poison and disease.Then the ceremony-most solemn of all the Druid rites-is wound up by a banquet，probably consisting of the flesh of the sacrifice.
4.But there were bloodier scenes than this in the Druid worship.Within a huge cage of wicker-work，woven in imitation of the human form，a huddled heap of men and oxen were roasted alive in one great offering，to appease the wrathof some offended deity；and，as the wretched victims shrieked out in wordless agony amid the red-tongued flames，songs，shouted to the music of harps and the loud beating of drums，drowned their screams.Criminals and prisoners of wargenerally suffered this fearful death.
5.The Druids，whose creed is thought to have grown out of Eastern fire-worship，paid homage to many gods.They worshipped the sun and the moon；and fire played a prominentpart in all their great festivals-the first of May，DRUID CUTTING THE MISTLETOE.
Midsummer Eve，the last day of October，and that day of March on which the mistletoe was cut.They also worshipped the serpent，and are said to have worn，hung from the neck，a ball like an apple，generally cased in gold，which they called a serpent‘s egg.
6.They had other deities，whom Caesar calls by the Roman names，placing Mercury first，and after him Apollo，Jupiter，Mars，and Minerva.That the soul was immortal they believed；but the simplicity of that doctrine was marred by their notion that it passed through a series of brute bodies before it was received into the abode of final bliss.
7.According to the wont of ancient priesthoods，they clothed their rites and their lives with a mystery which the common people beheld with the deepest awe.The shadowy oak glades，which formed their college halls，were thronged with noble youths，who devoted many years to the study of those charms andsongs in which the secrets of the order were embodied.These verses were never committed to writing，although the Druids wrote their common documents in the Greek character.They studied the stars intently；and their woodland life enabled them to acquire a knowledge of herbs，with which they performed some simple cures.
8.They sat as judges in the weightiest matters.The true wielder of the British sceptre then was the Arch-Druid，who held the keys of life and death，of peace and war.A word from those powerful lips could shut a man out even from the hearts in which his own blood ran.None dared give food or fire to the wretch on whom the ban had fallen.Need we wonder that the British kings-huge swordsmen though they were-were merely puppets in the hands of this dark and merciless superstition？
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