1·There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere.
这里有伟大的文明，辉煌的帝国，但没有自由。
2·That is not territory that you can build colonies; you've got powerful empires to deal with.
你不能在那个领域上建立殖民地；你要对付强大的帝国。
3·Dependence on long-distance trade also meant that the great empires of the Middle East were built both literally and figuratively on shifting sand.
对长途贸易的依赖也意味着，伟大的中东帝国无论是实际上还是象征意义上，都是建立在流沙之上的。
4·The East also had a more deeply rooted unity in the Greek culture of the numerous Greek and Near Eastern cities that Rome had inherited from earlier Grecian empires.
东方在希腊文化中也有更根深蒂固的统一，罗马从早期希腊帝国继承了许多希腊和近东城市。
5·The accessions of Arcadius and Honorius as emperors in the East and West respectively illustrate the unfortunate pattern of child heirs that had unfavorable effects for both empires.
阿卡狄俄斯和霍诺里乌斯分别在东方和西方当上了皇帝，这说明了继承人的不幸模式对两个帝国都有不利的影响。