But they were not willing to engage in warfare for the benefit of an ambitious emperor who aspired to glory by way of a foreign campaign in the land of the Parthians or the Numidians or the Scots.
但他们不愿为罗马帝国打仗，因为那不过是某个野心勃勃的皇帝为渴求更多更辉煌的胜利，在努米底亚或帕提亚或苏格兰发动的侵略战争。
And so conditions grew worse as the centuries went by. The first Emperors had continued the tradition of "leadership" which had given the old tribal chieftains such a hold upon their subjects. But the Emperors of the second and third centuries were Barrack-Emperors, professional soldiers, who existed by the grace of their body-guards, the so-called Pr?torians. They succeeded each other with terrifying rapidity, murdering their way into the palace and being murdered out of it as soon as their successors had become rich enough to bribe the guards into a new rebellion.
这样，一个又一个世纪过去了，情形变得越来越糟。最初几位罗马皇帝还肯保持"领袖"传统，授权部族的头人管住各自的属民。可二、三世纪的罗马皇帝却是些职业军人，变成了地地道道的"兵营皇帝"，其生存全系于他们的保缥，即所谓禁卫军的忠诚。皇位的轮换如走马灯，你方唱罢我登台，靠着谋杀劈开通向帝王宝座的道路。随后，篡位者又迅速地被谋杀，因为另一个野心家掌握了足够财富，能贿赂禁卫军发动新一轮的政变。
Meanwhile the barbarians were hammering at the gates of the northern frontier. As there were no longer any native Roman armies to stop their progress, foreign mercenaries had to be hired to fight the invader. As the foreign soldier happened to be of the same blood as his supposed enemy, he was apt to be quite lenient when he engaged in battle. Finally, by way of experiment, a few tribes were allowed to settle within the confines of the Empire. Others followed. Soon these tribes complained bitterly of the greedy Roman tax-gatherers, who took away their last penny. When they got no redress they marched to Rome and loudly demanded that they be heard.
与此同时，野蛮民族正在频频敲击北方边境的大门。由于再没有土生土长的罗马士兵可抵御侵略，只能招募些外国雇佣军去对付来犯者。这些外国雇佣兵可能正巧与他抗击的敌人属于同一种族，不难想见，他们在战斗中很容易产生对敌人的怜悯之情。最后，皇帝决定实验一种新措施，允许一些野蛮部族在帝国境内定居。其他的部族也接踵而至。不过他们很快就怨气冲天，抗议贪婪的罗马税吏夺走他们仅有的一切。当他们呼声未能得到重视，他们便进军罗马，更大声的呼吁，以便得到皇帝陛下的声音。