古羅馬的十大創新發明(1)
The Western Roman Empire may have fallen more than 1,500 years ago, but its rich legacy of innovation and invention can still be seen today. The Romans were prodigious builders and expert civil engineers, and their thriving civilization produced advances in technology, culture and architecture that remained unequaled for centuries. From aqueducts to newspapers, find out more about 10 innovations that built ancient Rome.
西羅馬帝國的沒落已過去近1500年，但其在創造發明方面所留下的富饒文化遺產依然鮮活如新。羅馬人是令世人驚訝的建設者，更是土木工程界的資深專家，其蓬勃發展的社會文明使古羅馬帝國數個世紀以來在科技、文化、建築等方面都保持着無可比擬的優越性。從修建大型輸水道到創立報刊，接下來，讓我們深入瞭解一下古羅馬的十大創新之舉。lefield Surgery
10.戰地外科
The Romans invented many surgical tools and pioneered the use of the cesarean section, but their most valuable contributions to medicine came on the battlefield. Under the leadership of Augustus, they established a military medical corps that was one of the first dedicated field surgery units. These specially trained medics saved countless lives through the use of Roman medical innovations like hemostatic tourniquets and arterial surgical clamps to curb blood loss. Roman field doctors also performed physicals on new recruits and helped stem the spread of disease by overseeing sanitation in military camps. They were even known to disinfect instruments in hot water before use, pioneering a form of antiseptic surgery that was not fully embraced until the 19th century. Roman military medicine proved so advanced at treating wounds and promoting wellness that soldiers tended to live longer than the average citizen despite constantly facing the hazards of combat.
羅馬人發明了許多外科手術工具，並率先進行了剖腹產手術，但值得一提的是，他們在醫學上最有價值的貢獻都是在戰場上。在奧古斯塔斯的統領下，他們組建了一個軍隊醫療隊，這是最早致力於專業領域的一支醫療隊伍。這些經過特殊訓練的醫務人員使用止血帶止血，使用動脈手術鉗抑制術中出血等，通過這些醫療創新手段在戰亂中拯救了無數條瀕臨死亡的生命。羅馬的戰地醫生還爲新入伍的軍人進行體檢，並監管軍營的衛生條件以遏制疾病的傳播。他們甚至知道在使用醫療用具之前需要在熱水中對其進行消毒，開創了抗菌手術的先例，儘管這種手術形式直到19世紀都沒有完全被世人接受。羅馬軍事醫學鮮明的證實了其在愈傷及保健方面技術的先進性，以至於士兵儘管飽受戰爭之苦，卻依然比平民百姓的壽命要長。
Twelve Tables and the Corpus Juris Civilis
9.十二銅表法及羅馬民法大全
Subpoena, habeas corpus, pro bono, affidavit—all these terms derive from the Roman legal system, which dominated Western law and government for centuries. The basis for early Roman law came from the Twelve Tables, a code that formed an essential part of the constitution during the Republican era. First adopted around 450 B.C., the Twelve Tables detailed laws regarding property, religion and divorce and listed punishments for everything from theft to black magic. Even more influential than the Twelve Tables was the Corpus Juris Civilis, an ambitious attempt to synthesize Rome’s history of law into one document. Established by the Byzantine emperor Justinian between 529 and 535 A.D., the Corpus Juris included modern legal concepts such as the notion that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. After the fall of the Roman empire, it became the basis for many of the world’s legal systems. Along with English common law and sharia law, Roman law remains hugely influential and is still reflected in the civil laws of several European nations as well as the U.S. state of Louisiana.
傳票，人身保護權益，義務法律，證詞，所有這些條款都出自羅馬的法律制度，幾個世紀以來，該制度在西方法律和政府管理中都佔有重要的統治地位。最初的古羅馬法律起源於《十二銅表法》，該法則爲共和黨時期制定的憲法中的一個重要部分。《十二銅表法》於公元前450年首次通過，詳述了財產、宗教和離婚方面的相關條例，並列出了從盜竊到巫術等所有罪行的刑罰措施。然而，同《十二銅表法》相比，《羅馬民法大全》更具影響力，這是一部雄心勃勃試圖融合整個羅馬史法律的百科全書。民法大全由拜占庭國王查士丁尼（公元529-535）起草，涵蓋了很多近代法律原理，比如“除非被告被證明有罪，否則就無罪釋放”這樣的概念。羅馬帝國滅亡之後，其成爲世界衆多法律體系的基石。之後，英國普通法和伊斯蘭教教法相繼頒佈，但古羅馬法典仍發揮着其不容小覷的影響力，在一些歐洲國家以及美國路易斯安那州等地的民事法案上依然奏效。Julian Calendar
8.羅馬儒略曆（公曆）
The modern Gregorian calendar is modeled very closely on a Roman version that dates back more than 2,000 years. Early Roman calendars were likely cribbed from Greek models that operated around the lunar cycle. But because the Romans considered even numbers unlucky, they eventually altered their calendar to ensure that each month had an odd number of days. This practice continued until 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar and the astronomer Sosigenes instituted the Julian system to align the calendar with the solar year. Caesar lengthened the number of days in a year from 355 to the now-familiar 365 and eventually included the 12 months as we know them today. The Julian calendar was almost perfect, but it miscalculated the solar year by 11 minutes. These few minutes ultimately threw the calendar off by several days. This led to the adoption of the nearly identical Gregorian calendar in 1582, which fixed the discrepancy by altering the schedule of leap years.
現代的公曆與2000多年前的羅馬儒略曆極爲相似。而羅馬早期的日曆又極有可能是抄襲自古希臘月亮運行週期的模型。由於羅馬人認爲偶數是極不吉利的，於是他們改寫日曆，使每個月都變爲奇數天。這一做法在儒略曆出現前一直被延用，直到公元前46年，羅馬統帥尤利烏斯•凱撒（Julius Caesar）與天文學家索西琴尼（Sosigenes）一起，創立了同陽曆相符的儒略曆。凱撒將當時的一年355天改爲現在我們所熟知的一年365天，並最終將一年劃分爲12個月。儒略曆幾乎可以說是完美的日曆了，但美中不足的是，我們實際一年的時長同365天相比存在11分鐘的誤差。於是人們最終採用了1582年設立的公曆日曆，該年曆考慮到了由於閏年改變所存在的誤差，使得日曆更爲精確。審校:省略珺 編輯:橘子
