羅馬帝國衰亡史‧第三卷（簡體書）

經典名著的語言無疑是最凝練、最優美、最有審美價值的。雪萊的那句“如冬已來臨，春天還會遠嗎？”讓多少陷於絕望的人重新燃起希望之火，鼓起勇氣，迎接嚴冬過後的春天。徐志摩一句“悄悄的我走了，正如我悄悄的來；我揮一揮衣袖，不帶走一片雲彩”又讓多少人陶醉。尼采的那句“上帝死了”，又給多少人以振聾發聵的啟迪作用。
讀經典名著，尤其閱讀原汁原味作品，可以怡情養性，增長知識，加添才幹，豐富情感，開闊視野。所謂“經典”，其實就是作者所屬的那個民族的文化積澱，是那個民族的靈魂縮影。英國戲劇泰斗莎士比亞的《哈姆雷特》和《麥克白》等、“意大利語言之父”的但丁的《神曲》之《地獄篇》《煉獄篇》及《天堂篇》、愛爾蘭世界一流作家詹姆斯·喬伊斯的《尤利西斯》及《一個藝術家的肖像》等、美國風趣而筆法超一流的著名小說家馬克·吐溫的《哈克歷險記》以及《湯姆索亞歷險記》等，德國著名哲學家尼采的《查拉圖斯特拉如是說》及《快樂的科學》等等，都為塑造自己民族的文化積澱，做出了永恒的貢獻，也同時向世界展示了他們所屬的民族的優美剪影。
很多著名領袖如林肯、毛澤東等偉大人物，也都曾從經典名著中汲取力量，甚至獲得治國理念。耶魯大學教授查爾斯·希爾曾在題為《經典與治國理念》的文章，闡述了讀書與治國之間的絕妙關係。他這樣寫道：“在幾乎所有經典名著中，都可以找到讓人嘆為觀止、深藏其中的治國藝術原則。”
經典名著，不僅僅有治國理念，更具提升讀者審美情趣的功能。世界上不同時代、不同地域的優秀經典作品，都存在一個共同屬性：歌頌贊美人間的真善美，揭露抨擊世間的假惡丑。
讀歐美自但丁以來的經典名著，你會看到，西方無論是在漫長的黑暗時期，抑或進入現代進程時期，總有經典作品問世，對世間的負面，進行冷峻的批判。與此同時，也有更多的大家作品問世，熱情謳歌人間的真誠與善良，使讀者不由自主地沉浸於經典作品的審美情感之中。
英語經典名著，顯然是除了漢語經典名著以外，人類整個進程中至關重要的文化遺產的一部分。從歷史上看，英語是全世界經典閱讀作品中，使用得最廣泛的國際性語言。這一事實，沒有產生根本性變化。本世紀相當長一段時間，這一事實也似乎不會發生任何變化。而要更深入地了解並切身感受英語經典名著的風采，閱讀原汁原味的英語經典作品的過程，顯然是必不可少的。
遼寧人民出版社及時並隆重推出“最經典英語文庫”系列叢書，是具有遠見與卓識的出版行為。我相信，這套既可供閱讀，同時也具收藏價值的英語原版經典作品系列叢書，在幫助人們了解什麼才是經典作品的同時，也一定會成為廣大英語愛好者、大中學生以及學生家長們摯愛的“最經典英語文庫”。

《羅馬帝國衰亡史（第三卷）》：
The hope， that truth and wisdom would be found in the assemblies of the orthodox clergy， induced the emperor to convene， at Constantinople， a synod of one hundred and fifty bishops， who proceeded， without much difficulty or delay， to complete the theological system which had been established in the council of Nice. The vehement disputes of the fourth century had been chiefly employed on the nature of the Son of God； and the various opinions which were embraced， concerning the Second， were extended and transferred，
by a natural analogy， to the Third person of the Trinity. Yet it was found， or it was thought， necessary， by the victorious adversaries of Arianism， to explain the ambiguous language of some respectable doctors； to confirm the faith of the Catholics； and to condemn an unpopular and inconsistent sect of Macedonians； who freely admitted that the Son was consubstantial to the Father， while they were fearful of seeming to acknowledge the existence of Three Gods， A final and unanimous sentence was pronounced to ratify the equal Deity of the Holy Ghost： the mysterious doctrine has been received by all the nations， and all the churches of the Christian world； and their grateful reverence has assigned to the bishops of Theodosius the second rank among the general councils. Their knowledge of religious truth may have been preserved by tradition， or it may have been communicated by inspiration； but the sober evidence of history will not allow much weight to the personal authority of the Fathers of Constantinople. In an age when the ecclesiastics had scandalously degenerated from the model of apostolic purity， the most worthless and corrupt were always the most eager to frequent， and disturb， the episcopal assemblies. The conflict and fermentation of so many opposite interests and tempers inflamed the passions of the bishops： and their ruling passions were， the love of gold， and the love of dispute. Many of the same prelates who now applauded the orthodox piety of Theodosius， had repeatedly changed， with prudent fiexibility， their creeds and opinions； and in the various revolutions of the church and state， the religion of their so Vereign was the rule of their obsequious faith. When the emperor suspended his prevailing influence， the turbulent synod was blindly impelled by the absurd or selfish motives of pride： hatred， or resentment. The death of Meletius， which happened at the council of Constantinople， presented the most favorable opportunity of terminating the schism of Antioch， by suffering his aged rival， Paulinus， peaceably to end his days in the episcopal chair. The faith and virtues of Paulinus were unblemished. But his cause was supported by the Western churches； and the bishops of the synod resolved to perpetuate the mischiefs of discord， by the hasty ordination of a perjured candidate， rather than to betray the imagined dignity of the East， which had been illustrated by the birth and death of the Son of God. Such unjust and disorderly proceedings forced the gravest members of the assembly to dissent and to secede； and the clamorous majority which remained masters of the field of battle， could be compared only to wasps or magpies， to a flight of cranes， or to a flock of geese.
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