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西欧世俗世界对“古代史”的研究,一直与古典传统及希腊罗马对西方文化形成的影响有关。对其他古代文明(以色列、埃及、近东、印度、中国、日本)的批判研究出现较晚,并且依然居于西方文化起源研究的边缘。西方的古史观具有局限性,它以两个分离的概念,即帝国主义和自由为中心。第一个兴趣说明了罗马史的重要性,它是有关帝国命运,即帝国兴起、衰落、灭亡的例证。第二个兴趣包含政治自由史和民主政府史,以及个人自由和个人观念的兴起,该进程被视为从古代到现在的完整进程,希腊史是一个例证。这两个概念都说明了西方古史观的优点和缺陷。犹太史在这个“古史”概念中的角色无疑是奇特的,它的地位指出了西方传统的一系列缺陷。我将通过英国翻译约瑟夫斯(Josephus)著作的传统考察这些问题。
The study of the “ancient history” in the secular world in Western Europe has been related to the classical tradition and the influence of the Greek and Roman cultures on the formation of Western culture. Criticism on other ancient civilizations (Israel, Egypt, Near East, India, China, Japan) appears later and remains on the margins of Western cultural origins. The Western concept of ancient history has its limitations. It centers on two separate concepts, imperialism and freedom. The first interest illustrates the importance of Roman history as an example of the fate of the empire, the rise, decline, and demise of the empire. The second interest includes the history of political freedom and democratic government, as well as the rise of personal liberty and personal conceptions, which are seen as a complete process from ancient times to the present. The history of Greece is an example. Both of these concepts illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of Western ancient history. The role of Jewish history in this “ancient history” concept is undoubtedly peculiar, and its position points to a series of shortcomings of Western tradition. I will examine these issues through the British tradition of translating Josephus’s writings.