The civilization of the West, however, was not the result of some inevitable process through which other cultures will automatically pass.

然而,西方文明的发展之路,并非经历了其他文明必经之途中,一些不可避免的发展过程

耶鲁公开课 - 古希腊历史简介课程节选

All the goods of civilization, Hobbes tells us, stem from our ability to control pride.

霍布斯告诉我们说，文明之所以文明，源自于我们对追求荣誉之心的克制。

耶鲁公开课 - 政治哲学导论课程节选

It was a civilization that was rather advanced in terms of its agricultural skill.

这是一个文明,在农业技艺方面先进之所在

耶鲁公开课 - 古希腊历史简介课程节选

I think they probably also invented a few things, but it was very,very characteristic of the Greeks to borrow from the cultures they encountered and to adapt them, to make them more useful for their own purposes and nothing could be clearer than the alphabet as an example of that.

我认为他们或许也发明过一些事物,但从他们所遇到的文明中进行借鉴,将之应用到自己的生活中去,并使它们更适于希腊人自己的目的,这样的方式也是非常希腊风格的,也没有什么,能比字母表这个例子更能清晰地说明这点了

耶鲁公开课 - 古希腊历史简介课程节选