经济学人下载:魔鬼和那湾蔚蓝深邃的海

The cargoes transported across the Mediterranean included terrified slaves and prisoners (like the apostle Paul, whose ship was smashed to pieces) as well as exotic spices. Voyages, whether military or commercial, were undertaken in a spirit of ruthless calculation, not open-hearted adventure. Despite the warm feelings it now evokes in north European hearts, as a locus of healthy food and blissful ecology, the Mediterranean is a perilous place for sailors. In winter, storms can brew up fast and rage for days. That is one reason why Mediterranean people who make their living from the sea do not share the romantic emotions of those who splash about for fun. Indeed before the age of tourism not many littoral folk learned to swim; the risk of drowning was too high.

通过地中海运输的货物既有来自异域的香料，也有担惊受怕的奴隶和囚犯（例如耶稣的门徒保罗，他乘坐的船触角沉没）。彼时在地中海上的旅行，无论是军事性质的还是商业性质的，都是一种无情的深思熟虑而非敞开胸怀的冒险精神下进行的。尽管今天居住在欧洲偏北部地区的人们都对地中海怀有一种好感，把它看作是健康食品和优良生态的处所，地中海对于海员来书仍然是一个危险四伏的地方。冬季的风暴不仅说来就来而且能持续数天。这是那些靠海吃饭的地中海渔民们缺乏来此玩水嬉戏的游人对这片海域所怀有的浪漫感情的原因之一。的确在大规模旅游业时代到来之前，海边居民中学会游泳的人并不多，因为在海中溺水身亡的危险性太高了。

Cross-fertilisation between cultures and religions did, of course, take place, often despite the efforts of secular and religious leaders to stop it, or to ensure that influence only flowed one way. In Tunis you can see the tomb of a Majorcan friar who studied Islam in Bologna and then moved to north Africa where he became a learned and distinguished Muslim.

尽管经常受到来自世俗和宗教领袖的阻碍，以及他们试图确保影响力单方向起作用的努力，地中海地区不同文化和宗教间仍然实现了相互交融。在突尼斯你能见到一位马略卡修士的坟墓。他曾在博洛尼亚学习伊斯兰教，后又来到北非并成为一名博学而显赫的穆斯林。

Mr Abulafia notes with approval that Sephardic Jews, such as his own forebears, forced to leave Spain for Ottoman Smyrna, have been especially open to integration with surrounding cultures. Whereas modern Judaism celebrates the Jewish revolt against the Hellenised dynasty that ruled the Levant, Mr Abulafia prefers to focus on Alexandria, where there was a more productive symbiosis between Hellene and Hebrew. Its fruits include a great Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures and Philo’s brilliant exposition of Jewish metaphysics—written in Greek.

阿布拉菲亚先生在书中对那些被迫离开西班牙前往奥斯曼帝国控制下的士麦那的瑟法底犹太人（包括作者本人的祖先）做出了肯定，认为他们尤其乐于融入周围的文化。现在的犹太教纪念犹太人对那些曾经统治地中海东部的希腊化王朝的反叛，阿布拉菲亚先生却选择将目光转向埃及亚历山大港，那里的希腊人和希伯来人曾经和睦共处并创造出很多文化成果，包括希伯来语经文的一个伟大的古希腊语译本和斐洛以古希腊语写成的对犹太人形而上学思想的杰出阐释。