Twenty-two German dynasties had been deprived of power — not by compulsion from without, hardly even by the natives themselves, but by corrosion, by the rust of an era which had served its purposes and was now ready for death.

二十二个德国王朝被剥夺了权力——不是来自外部的强制，甚至几乎不是当地人自己的强迫，而是腐蚀，是一个时代的锈蚀，这个时代已经达到了它的目的，现在已经准备好走向死亡。

'If you respect a vow, I think you must respect your own, ' said the parson, acquiring some further firmness. 'Had it been wrung from you by compulsion, moral or physical, it would have been open to you to break it.

“如果你尊重一个誓言，我想你也必须尊重你自己的誓言，”牧师说道，语气变得更加坚定。 “如果它是出于道德或身体上的强迫而从你身上夺走的，你就会敞开心扉去打破它。