Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in an art history class.

旁白：听一段艺术历史的演讲。

Professor: OK. We have been talking about the art and architecture of the Italian Renaissance, from around A.D. 1400 to around A.D. 1600.

教授：好的。我们已经讨论过从公元1400年到公元1600年左右的意大利文艺复兴的艺术和建筑。

Last class, we had a look at some of the magnificent palaces and villas built during this time period.

上节课，我们看了一下这个时期的一些宏伟的宫殿和别墅。

And just as class was ending, someone asked about the gardens associated with these palaces and villas.

就当上次课要结束的时候，有些人问了和这些宫殿和别墅相关的庭院。

And so I'd like to say a few things about them before we move on.

所以在我们继续讨论之前我先说一些关于这些庭院的事情。

Now, when I say gardens, I don't mean vegetable gardens or simple flower gardens.

现在，当我说庭院的时候，我并不是指那些蔬菜园或者是简单的花园。

These were lavishly constructed, finely detailed gardens that covered hundreds of acres, with exotic plants and ornamental statues.

我说的庭院是建造得非常豪华的，有着精致细节的庭院，这些庭院占了几百亩地，有着外来植物和装饰雕塑。

And they were just as much a symbol of their owners' social position as their palaces and villas were.

并且，他们和宫殿和别墅一样，是他们主人社会地位的象征。

Again, what was the inspiration for the Renaissance? Rebecca.

此外，什么是文艺复兴的灵感来源? Rebecca.

Student: Classical art and architecture of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

学生：古希腊和古罗马的古典艺术和建筑。

Professor: That's right.

教授：正确。

As we've said before, the main point of the Renaissance was to revive the genius of the ancient Greeks and Romans, which is why designers of Renaissance gardens designed them as the ancient Romans would have designed them, or at least as they imagined the ancient Romans would have designed them.

就像我们以前说过的，文艺复兴的核心要点就是去复兴古希腊和古罗马的睿智，这也是为什么文艺复兴时期的庭院设计师像古罗马人那样设计这些庭院，或者至少他们猜测古罗马人会这样设计庭院。

Student: How did they know what ancient Roman gardens looked like?

学生：他们是怎么知道古罗马的庭院是长啥样的？

Professor: Well, they didn't have any pictures.

教授：他们并没有任何图片。

But they did have some very detailed descriptions of ancient Roman villas and their gardens that had been written by famous Roman authors who lived during the height of the Roman Empire.

但是他们有一些古罗马别墅以及他们庭院的非常细节的描绘，这些描绘是有生活在罗马帝国巅峰的非常著名的罗马作者编写的。

And at least three of those authors, one was a scholar, one was a poet, and one was lawyer, were very authoritative, very reliable sources.

并且在这些作者中至少有3个是非常有权威的可靠的人士，他们一个是学者，一个是诗人，一个是律师。

Ah…and interestingly enough, there was another source that didn't describe classical gardens but still became a great influence on Renaissance gardens.

有趣的是，另外还有一个原始资料，它并没有描绘古典园林，但是仍然对文艺复兴庭院产生了很大的影响。

It was also written back during the height of the Roman Empire by a mathematician known as Hero of Alexandria.

这本书也是由生活在古罗马巅峰时期的一位数学家所编写，他被称为Hero of Alexandria。

Hero was a Greek.

Hero是一个希腊人。

But he lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which was at the time part of the Roman Empire.

但是他住在埃及的亚历山大港，这个城市在当时也是罗马帝国的一部分。

Hero compiled descriptions and sketches of seventy some clever little mechanical devices, most of which utilized compressed air to cause water, or in some cases wine, to flow from one place to another, or sometimes to squirt or to make some kind of noise. Yes? John?

Hero编辑了70个左右灵巧的小机械设备的说明和草图，大部分的设备都利用压缩空气去引水，有些时候是酒，从一个地方引到另一个地方，有些时候让它们喷出来或者是制造一些声音。是的，John？

Student: Could you give an example?

学生：您能举个例子么？

Professor: Well, one of the devices was a sacrificial vessel that was obviously designed for a temple, not for a garden.

教授：那么，这些设备之一是祭器，这显然专为寺庙设计的，而不是为花园设计。

Anyway, if you drop money into this vessel, water would flow out of it.

无论如何，如果你把钱投入到这个容器中，水会流出来。

Well, creative minds in the Renaissance realized that this little device could be nicely repurposed as a nifty little fountain.

嗯，创造性思维在文艺复兴意识到，这个小装置可以很好地改变用途，作为一个漂亮的小喷泉。

Designers of Renaissance gardens loved this sort of thing.

文艺复兴花园设计师喜爱这样的东西。

They loved to incorporate novelties and tricks, things to amuse and impress guests.

他们喜欢融入新奇的事物和技巧，可以娱乐客人并给他们留下深刻的印象的东西。

Student: And that was the purpose?

学生：那么这样做的目的是什么？

To impress people?

给人们留下深刻印象？

Professor: Sure. As a nobleman or wealthy landowner, one purpose of having a fabulous villa with a fantastic garden was to impress people.

教授：当然。作为一个贵族或者是有钱的地主，让精美的别墅拥有一个庭院的一个目的就是给人们留下深刻的印象。

It was a way of proving your social position.

这是证明你社会地位的方法。

Student: Well…OK. You also mentioned tricks.

学生：好吧，你也提到了诀窍。

Professor: Well, for example, some gardens had plaster or marble birds that sang when water flowed through them.

教授：比如，一些庭院有石膏或是大理石制造的鸟，当水流过它们时，它们会唱歌。

Some fountains were designed to squirt people with water.

有些喷泉是被设计来用水喷射人用的。

Student: And these things were popular?

学生：所有的这些东西都很流行？

Professor: Yes. They may have been the most popular features of the gardens.

教授：是的。他们可能是庭院最流行的特色了。

I mean, flowers and statues can be nice to look at, but these things were a lot more fun.

我的意思是，尽管花朵和雕塑看起来也很不错，但是这些东西更有意思。

And the more clever the device is, the more famous the garden and the greater prestige the landowner enjoyed. Yes? Rebecca.

并且这些设备越是灵巧，这个庭院就越有名，那么这个地主就越有威望。是的，Rebecca?

Student: What about mazes?

学生：那么迷宫呢？

I read that they were a major part of the Renaissance gardens.

我读到过他们是罗马庭院的主要组成部分。

Professor: Oh, yes. They certainly were!

教授：是的。他们当然是！

Mazes or labyrinths, as they're also called, were very common in Renaissance gardens.

曲径，也常被称为迷宫，它在文艺复兴庭院是非常常见的。

How that came to be though is a bit of a mystery.

为什么会这么常见是有点神秘的。

Mazes have a long history going back to the ancient Egyptians, but they started appearing in gardens only during the Renaissance, or perhaps just a little bit prior to that.

迷宫有着悠久的历史，可以追溯到古埃及，只有在文艺复兴时期，或者说再早一点点的时候，迷宫才开始出现在庭院中。

According to one source, what happened was: in the late 1400s, a highly respected expert published a book on architecture.

根据一个原始资料，事情是这样的：在1400s晚期，一个非常受敬仰的专家出了一本关于建筑的书籍。

And readers somehow mistakenly inferred from that book that ancient Romans had mazes in their gardens.

而读者不知道为什么从这本书中错误地推断古罗马人在他们的庭院是有迷宫的。

So then designers of Renaissance gardens thinking they were following in the footsteps of the ancient Romans…well…guess what they did.

因此，文艺复兴时期的庭院设计师认为他们应该跟着古罗马人的脚步……猜猜他们做了些什么。