Chapter XXXIV: Attila.—Part III. 第三十四章 阿提拉——第三节
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I must acknowledge myself unable to form any satisfactory theory as to the connection of these poems with the history of the time, or the period, from which they may date their origin; notwithstanding the laborious investigations and critical sagacity of the Schlegels, the Grimms, of P. E. Muller and Lachman, and a whole host of German critics and antiquaries; not to omit our own countryman, Mr. Herbert, whose theory concerning Attila is certainly neither deficient in boldness nor originality. I conceive the only way to obtain any thing like a clear conception on this point would be what Lachman has begun, (see above,) patiently to collect and compare the various forms which the traditions have assumed, without any preconceived, either mythical or poetical, theory, and, if possible, to discover the original basis of the whole rich and fantastic legend. One point, which to me is strongly in favor of the antiquity of this poetic cycle, is, that the manners are so clearly anterior to chivalry, and to the influence exercised on the poetic literature of Europe by the chivalrous poems and romances. I think I find some traces of that influence in the Latin poem, though strained through the imagination of a monk. The English reader will find an amusing account of the German Nibelungen and Heldenbuch, and of some of the Scandinavian Sagas, in the volume of Northern Antiquities published by Weber, the friend of Sir Walter Scott. Scott himself contributed a considerable, no doubt far the most valuable, part to the work. 4612 4712
这些诗篇究竟与当时的历史有何关联，又可追溯到哪个年代起源，我必须承认，自己实在提不出一套令人满意的说法——尽管施莱格尔兄弟、格林兄弟、P. E. 米勒、拉赫曼以及一大批德国批评家与考古学家已倾力钻研、明察秋毫，更不必说还有我们的同胞赫伯特先生，他关于阿提拉的见解，论胆识与新意都绝不逊色。依我看，要在这一点上求得稍为清晰的认识，唯有循拉赫曼已开的门径（见前文）：耐心搜罗、比对这些传说所呈现的种种形态，不预设任何神话或诗学的成见，尽可能探明这整篇瑰丽奇诡的传奇最初赖以生成的根基。有一点在我看来极能佐证这一诗歌系列之古老，那就是：其中的风习分明早于骑士制度，也早于骑士诗与骑士传奇给欧洲诗歌所带来的影响。至于那部拉丁诗，我以为仍可寻见这种影响的若干痕迹，只是它已经过一位僧侣的想象滤染。英语读者若想读到关于德意志《尼伯龙根》与《英雄之书》、以及若干斯堪的纳维亚萨迦的趣味介绍，可参看韦伯所刊《北方古物》一卷——韦伯乃是沃尔特·司各特爵士的友人。司各特本人也为此书贡献良多，其所撰部分无疑最见价值。 4612 4712
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See also the various German editions of the Nibelungen, to which Lachman, with true German perseverance, has compiled a thick volume of various readings; the Heldenbuch, the old Danish poems by Grimm, the Eddas, &c. Herbert’s Attila, p. 510, et seq.—M.]
另可参看《尼伯龙根》的德文各版本——拉赫曼以德国人特有的坚韧，为之编纂了厚厚一卷异文校记；此外还有《英雄之书》、格林辑录的古丹麦诗篇、《埃达》诸篇，等等。参见赫伯特《阿提拉》，p. 510 及以下。—M]
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But the Roman ambassador was ignorant of the treacherous design, which had been concealed under the mask of the public faith. The surprise and satisfaction of Edecon, when he contemplated the splendor of Constantinople, had encouraged the interpreter Vigilius to procure for him a secret interview with the eunuch Chrysaphius, 48 who governed the emperor and the empire. After some previous conversation, and a mutual oath of secrecy, the eunuch, who had not, from his own feelings or experience, imbibed any exalted notions of ministerial virtue, ventured to propose the death of Attila, as an important service, by which Edecon might deserve a liberal share of the wealth and luxury which he admired. The ambassador of the Huns listened to the tempting offer; and professed, with apparent zeal, his ability, as well as readiness, to execute the bloody deed; the design was communicated to the master of the offices, and the devout Theodosius consented to the assassination of his invincible enemy. But this perfidious conspiracy was defeated by the dissimulation, or the repentance, of Edecon; and though he might exaggerate his inward abhorrence for the treason, which he seemed to approve, he dexterously assumed the merit of an early and voluntary confession. If we now review the embassy of Maximin, and the behavior of Attila, we must applaud the Barbarian, who respected the laws of hospitality, and generously entertained and dismissed the minister of a prince who had conspired against his life. But the rashness of Vigilius will appear still more extraordinary, since he returned, conscious of his guilt and danger, to the royal camp, accompanied by his son, and carrying with him a weighty purse of gold, which the favorite eunuch had furnished, to satisfy the demands of Edecon, and to corrupt the fidelity of the guards. The interpreter was instantly seized, and dragged before the tribunal of Attila, where he asserted his innocence with specious firmness, till the threat of inflicting instant death on his son extorted from him a sincere discovery of the criminal transaction. Under the name of ransom, or confiscation, the rapacious king of the Huns accepted two hundred pounds of gold for the life of a traitor, whom he disdained to punish. He pointed his just indignation against a nobler object. His ambassadors, Eslaw and Orestes, were immediately despatched to Constantinople, with a peremptory instruction, which it was much safer for them to execute than to disobey. They boldly entered the Imperial presence, with the fatal purse hanging down from the neck of Orestes; who interrogated the eunuch Chrysaphius, as he stood beside the throne, whether he recognized the evidence of his guilt. But the office of reproof was reserved for the superior dignity of his colleague Eslaw, who gravely addressed the emperor of the East in the following words: “Theodosius is the son of an illustrious and respectable parent: Attila likewise is descended from a noble race; and he has supported, by his actions, the dignity which he inherited from his father Mundzuk. But Theodosius has forfeited his paternal honors, and, by consenting to pay tribute has degraded himself to the condition of a slave. It is therefore just, that he should reverence the man whom fortune and merit have placed above him; instead of attempting, like a wicked slave, clandestinely to conspire against his master.” The son of Arcadius, who was accustomed only to the voice of flattery, heard with astonishment the severe language of truth: he blushed and trembled; nor did he presume directly to refuse the head of Chrysaphius, which Eslaw and Orestes were instructed to demand. A solemn embassy, armed with full powers and magnificent gifts, was hastily sent to deprecate the wrath of Attila; and his pride was gratified by the choice of Nomius and Anatolius, two ministers of consular or patrician rank, of whom the one was great treasurer, and the other was master-general of the armies of the East. He condescended to meet these ambassadors on the banks of the River Drenco; and though he at first affected a stern and haughty demeanor, his anger was insensibly mollified by their eloquence and liberality. He condescended to pardon the emperor, the eunuch, and the interpreter; bound himself by an oath to observe the conditions of peace; released a great number of captives; abandoned the fugitives and deserters to their fate; and resigned a large territory, to the south of the Danube, which he had already exhausted of its wealth and inhabitants. But this treaty was purchased at an expense which might have supported a vigorous and successful war; and the subjects of Theodosius were compelled to redeem the safety of a worthless favorite by oppressive taxes, which they would more cheerfully have paid for his destruction. 49
但那位罗马使臣对这条诡计一无所知——它一直以邦交信义为假面，深藏不露。埃德孔目睹君士坦丁堡的繁华壮丽，又惊又喜；译员维吉利乌斯见状，便大胆为他安排了一次与宦官克里萨菲乌斯的密谈——正是此人操纵着皇帝、也操纵着整个帝国。48 一番寒暄之后，双方立誓彼此保密。这位宦官，无论就其心性还是阅历而言，都从未对为臣之德怀有多少崇高的观念，于是壮着胆子提议：不妨取阿提拉的性命，作为一桩大功；埃德孔既这般艳羡眼前的财富与奢华，凭此便可分得丰厚的一份。这位匈人使者听着这诱人的许诺，表面上热切地声称：自己既有本事、也乐意去干这桩血腥的勾当。于是此谋上达诸司大臣，虔诚的狄奥多西也点头应允，要行刺这个不可战胜的敌人。然而这一背信弃义的密谋，终因埃德孔的佯装（或者说是幡然悔悟）而落空。他先前佯作赞同这场叛卖，如今纵然把内心的憎恶夸大其词，却也不失机巧，抢先自愿供出实情，从而博得了一份功劳。如今回看马克西明这趟出使，再看阿提拉的举止，我们不能不称赞这位蛮族君王：他恪守待客之道，对一位君主派来的使臣，尽管那君主正谋害他的性命，他仍以礼相待，从容遣归。相形之下，维吉利乌斯之鲁莽更教人称奇：他明知自己有罪、处境凶险，却还带着儿子重返匈王大营，随身携着一袋沉甸甸的黄金——那是宠宦克里萨菲乌斯备下的，用来满足埃德孔的索求，并收买卫士，令其背弃职守。这译员当即被擒，押到阿提拉座前受审。他起初振振有词，一口咬定自己清白；直到对方扬言要立时处死他的儿子，他才被逼吐露了这桩罪恶勾当的实情。这位贪得无厌的匈人之王不屑于惩办一个叛徒，只借赎金或抄没之名，收下两百磅黄金，权当买下了这条叛徒的命。他把正当的义愤，转向了一个更值得对付的目标。他随即派使臣埃斯劳与俄瑞斯忒斯前往君士坦丁堡，带着一道不容违抗的严令——对二人来说，照办远比抗命安全得多。二人昂然入朝，觐见皇帝，那只招祸的钱袋就悬在俄瑞斯忒斯颈间。俄瑞斯忒斯当面质问侍立御座旁的宦官克里萨菲乌斯：可认得这桩罪证？而斥责之任，则留给了身份更尊的同僚埃斯劳。他神色庄重，向东部皇帝进言如下：“狄奥多西乃名门显贵之后；阿提拉同样出身高贵，且以自身的作为，撑起了从其父蒙祖克承袭而来的尊荣。然而狄奥多西却辱没了父辈的荣名——他甘愿纳贡，已把自己贬到了奴隶的地步。既然命运与功业已把阿提拉置于他之上，他理当敬奉此人才是；岂可像个卑劣的奴才，暗地里图谋算计自己的主人？”阿卡狄乌斯之子平日听惯的只是谄媚之声，骤然听到这般严厉的真话，惊愕不已，又羞又颤；埃斯劳与俄瑞斯忒斯奉命索取克里萨菲乌斯的首级，他竟不敢当面回绝。于是匆匆派出一个隆重的使团，携全权与厚礼，前去平息阿提拉的震怒。使团人选颇能满足他的自尊：诺米乌斯与阿纳托利乌斯，二人皆为执政官或贵族之尊，一位掌管国库，一位是东部军队的统帅。阿提拉屈尊在德伦科河畔接见了这几位使臣。起初他故作严厉高傲之态，但在使者的辩才与慷慨馈赠之下，怒气不知不觉便消融了。他开恩宽赦了皇帝、宦官和那名译员，并立誓遵守和约的各项条款；释放了大批俘虏，把逃亡者与叛卒交由其自生自灭；又让出多瑙河以南的一大片土地——那里的财富与居民早已被他榨取一空。然而买下这纸和约所耗之资，本足以支撑一场强劲而制胜的战争；狄奥多西的臣民为了替一个不值一提的宠臣赎买平安，不得不忍受苛捐重赋；这笔钱，他们若是用来置那宠臣于死地，倒还会掏得痛快些。49
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The emperor Theodosius did not long survive the most humiliating circumstance of an inglorious life. As he was riding, or hunting, in the neighborhood of Constantinople, he was thrown from his horse into the River Lycus: the spine of the back was injured by the fall; and he expired some days afterwards, in the fiftieth year of his age, and the forty-third of his reign. 50 His sister Pulcheria, whose authority had been controlled both in civil and ecclesiastical affairs by the pernicious influence of the eunuchs, was unanimously proclaimed Empress of the East; and the Romans, for the first time, submitted to a female reign. No sooner had Pulcheria ascended the throne, than she indulged her own and the public resentment, by an act of popular justice. Without any legal trial, the eunuch Chrysaphius was executed before the gates of the city; and the immense riches which had been accumulated by the rapacious favorite, served only to hasten and to justify his punishment. 51 Amidst the general acclamations of the clergy and people, the empress did not forget the prejudice and disadvantage to which her sex was exposed; and she wisely resolved to prevent their murmurs by the choice of a colleague, who would always respect the superior rank and virgin chastity of his wife. She gave her hand to Marcian, a senator, about sixty years of age; and the nominal husband of Pulcheria was solemnly invested with the Imperial purple. The zeal which he displayed for the orthodox creed, as it was established by the council of Chalcedon, would alone have inspired the grateful eloquence of the Catholics. But the behavior of Marcian in a private life, and afterwards on the throne, may support a more rational belief, that he was qualified to restore and invigorate an empire, which had been almost dissolved by the successive weakness of two hereditary monarchs. He was born in Thrace, and educated to the profession of arms; but Marcian’s youth had been severely exercised by poverty and misfortune, since his only resource, when he first arrived at Constantinople, consisted in two hundred pieces of gold, which he had borrowed of a friend. He passed nineteen years in the domestic and military service of Aspar, and his son Ardaburius; followed those powerful generals to the Persian and African wars; and obtained, by their influence, the honorable rank of tribune and senator. His mild disposition, and useful talents, without alarming the jealousy, recommended Marcian to the esteem and favor of his patrons; he had seen, perhaps he had felt, the abuses of a venal and oppressive administration; and his own example gave weight and energy to the laws, which he promulgated for the reformation of manners. 52
这不光彩的一生中，最屈辱的一幕过后不久，皇帝狄奥多西便溘然长逝。一次他在君士坦丁堡近郊骑马（或说是狩猎），坠马跌入利科斯河，脊背受伤，数日后气绝，享年五十，在位四十三年。50 他的姐姐普尔喀丽亚，一向在政务与教务上都受制于宦官的恶劣影响，如今被众口一致拥立为东部女皇；罗马人也头一回俯首于女子之治。普尔喀丽亚一登大位，便顺着自己与公众的义愤，做了一件大快人心的公道之举。未经任何合法审判，宦官克里萨菲乌斯便在城门前被处死；这个贪婪宠臣聚敛的巨额财富，非但没能救他，反倒加速了对他的惩处，也印证了他罪有应得。51 在教士与民众的一片欢呼声中，女皇并未忘记自己身为女子所受的偏见与不利；她明智地打定主意，要挑一位共治者以杜绝众人的非议——此人须始终敬重其妻更高的位分，以及她守贞不嫁的操守。她于是下嫁给一位年约六旬的元老马尔西安；这位普尔喀丽亚名义上的丈夫，便隆重地披上了帝王的紫袍。卡尔西顿会议所确立的正统信条，他为之竭诚拥护，单凭这一点，就足以激起大公教徒感恩戴德、交口称颂。不过，无论看马尔西安早年的为人，还是日后在位时的作为，都可让人有更实在的理由相信：他确有本事重振并整顿这个帝国——两代世袭之君接连的孱弱，几乎已使它土崩瓦解。他生于色雷斯，自幼受的是从军的训练；然而马尔西安的青年时代，饱受贫困与厄运的磨砺——初到君士坦丁堡时，他全部的家当，不过是向一位友人借来的两百枚金币。他在阿斯帕尔及其子阿尔达布里乌斯门下，又是家仆又是军士，一干就是十九年；随这两位权势煊赫的将领征战波斯与非洲，并借他们的援引，获授军事保民官与元老的荣衔。他性情温和，又有实干之才，既不致招人猜忌，便赢得了两位主公的器重与青睐；贪贿横暴之政的种种弊害，他曾亲眼目睹，或许也曾亲身尝受；日后他为整饬风俗而颁布律令，又以身作则，使这些律令更有分量、更见成效。52
Notes 注释
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The Scythian was an idiot or lunatic; the Moor a regular buffoon—M.
那斯基泰人是个白痴或疯子，那摩尔人则是个十足的丑角。—M
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The curious narrative of this embassy, which required few observations, and was not susceptible of any collateral evidence, may be found in Priscus, p. 49-70. But I have not confined myself to the same order; and I had previously extracted the historical circumstances, which were less intimately connected with the journey, and business, of the Roman ambassadors.
关于这次出使的奇特记述，几乎无需评说，也难以旁证，可见普里斯库斯，p. 49-70。不过我并未拘守其原有次第；凡与罗马使臣的行程和使命关系不那么密切的史事，我此前已先行抽出叙述了。
48
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M. de Tillemont has very properly given the succession of chamberlains, who reigned in the name of Theodosius. Chrysaphius was the last, and, according to the unanimous evidence of history, the worst of these favorites, (see Hist. des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 117-119. Mem. Eccles. tom. xv. p. 438.) His partiality for his godfather the heresiarch Eutyches, engaged him to persecute the orthodox party
蒂耶蒙先生极为妥帖地列出了以狄奥多西名义把持朝政的历任内侍总管。克里萨菲乌斯是其中最后一位，而据史家众口一词，也是这些宠臣中最坏的一个（见 Hist. des Empereurs, tom. vi. p. 117-119；Mem. Eccles. tom. xv. p. 438）。他偏袒自己的教父、异端首领欧迪奇，因而卖力迫害正统一派。
49
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This secret conspiracy and its important consequences, may be traced in the fragments of Priscus, p. 37, 38, 39, 54, 70, 71, 72. The chronology of that historian is not fixed by any precise date; but the series of negotiations between Attila and the Eastern empire must be included within the three or four years which are terminated, A.D. 450. by the death of Theodosius.
这桩密谋及其重大后果，可在普里斯库斯的残篇中查考，p. 37, 38, 39, 54, 70, 71, 72。这位史家的纪年并无确切日期可考；不过阿提拉与东部帝国之间一连串的交涉，必然都在那三四年之内，而这段时期以公元 450 年狄奥多西之死告终。
50
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Theodorus the Reader, (see Vales. Hist. Eccles. tom. iii. p. 563,) and the Paschal Chronicle, mention the fall, without specifying the injury: but the consequence was so likely to happen, and so unlikely to be invented, that we may safely give credit to Nicephorus Callistus, a Greek of the fourteenth century.
诵经者塞奥多鲁斯（见 Vales. Hist. Eccles. tom. iii. p. 563）与《复活节编年史》都提到这次坠马，却未言明所受何伤；但这样的后果既极可能发生，又极不像是杜撰，因此我们尽可采信十四世纪的希腊人尼基弗鲁斯·卡利斯图斯之说。
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Pulcheriae nutu (says Count Marcellinus) sua cum avaritia interemptus est. She abandoned the eunuch to the pious revenge of a son, whose father had suffered at his instigation. Note: Might not the execution of Chrysaphius have been a sacrifice to avert the anger of Attila, whose assassination the eunuch had attempted to contrive?—M.
“Pulcheriae nutu（马尔切利努斯伯爵语）sua cum avaritia interemptus est”（普尔喀丽亚一点头，他便连同其贪婪一并被处死）。她把这宦官交给了一个孝子去行虔诚的复仇——那孝子的父亲，正是因宦官的怂恿而遭难。编者按：克里萨菲乌斯之被处死，会不会是为平息阿提拉之怒而献上的牺牲？——毕竟此宦官曾图谋行刺阿提拉。—M
52
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de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4. Evagrius, l. ii. c. 1. Theophanes, p. 90, 91. Novell. ad Calcem. Cod. Theod. tom. vi. p. 30. The praises which St. Leo and the Catholics have bestowed on Marcian, are diligently transcribed by Baronius, as an encouragement for future princes.
见 de Bell. Vandal. l. i. c. 4；埃瓦格里乌斯，l. ii. c. 1；塞奥法尼斯，p. 90, 91；Novell. ad Calcem. Cod. Theod. tom. vi. p. 30。圣利奥与大公教徒对马尔西安的种种赞誉，巴罗尼乌斯都勤加迻录，以为后世君主之劝勉。