HERE"S a puzzle fr yu：
A mannce fund a veryld piecef mney that hadn it the date 100 B.C.
That culdn"t be s. Why nt？ See if yu can tell withut lking at the answer at the bttmf the page.
In the year 100 B.C. was brn in Rme a by wh was named Julius Caesar. If yu had asked him when he was brn， he wuld have said in the Year 653. Why d yu suppse？
Because Rman bys cunted time frm the fundingf Rme in 753 B.C. and Caesar was brn 653 years after the city was funded. That makes it 100 years befre Christ， desn"t it？
Pirates seemed t be everywhere in the Mediterranean Sea at that time- Pirates. Nw that Rme was rulerf the wrld， there were many ships carrying gld frm different partsf the empire t Rme. The pirates sailed up and dwn， lying in wait t capture and rb these ships laden with gld.
When Caesar grew t be a yung man， he was sentff t sea t fight these pirates， and he was captured by them. The pirates kept Caesar a prisner and sent t Rme saying they wuld nt let him g unless Rme sent them a great dealf mney. Caesar knew that he wuld be killed if the mney was nt sent. He knew， t， that he might be killed anyway. He was ntnly nt afraid， but he tld the pirates that if he lived t get back hme he wuld return with a fleet and punish everynef them. When at last the mney came they let him g， nevertheless. They thught Caesar wuld nt dare t d what he said. They thught he was just talking big. At any rate， they did nt believe he wuld be able t catch them. Caesar， hwever， kept his wrd， came back after them as he said he wuld d， and tk them prisners. Then he had them all put t deathn the crss， which was the Rman wayf punishing thieves.
The far-ff placesf the Rman Empire were always fighting against Rme， trying t get ridf the freign rule， and they had t be kept inrder by a general with an army. As Caesar had shwn such bravery in fighting the pirates he was given an army and sent t fight twf these far-ff places-Spain and a cuntry nrthf Spain then knwn as Gaul， which is nw France.
Caesar cnquered these cuntries， and then he wrte a histryf his battles in Latin， whichf curse was hiswn language. Nwadays this bk， called Caesar"s Cmmentaries， is usually the first bk read by thse wh study Latin.
In 55 B.C. Caesar crssedver in ships t the islandf Britain， cnquered a large partf it， and went back again next year， in 54 B.C.
Caesar was becming famus fr the way he cnquered and ruledver the western partf the Rman Empire. Besides this， he was very ppular with his sldiers.
Nw there was in Rme at this time anther general named Pmpey. Pmpey had been successfully fighting in the eastern partf the Rman Empire while Caesar had been fighting in the west. Pmpey had been a great friendf Caesar， but when he saw hw much land Caesar had cnquered and hw ppular he was with his sldiers， he became very jealusf him. Ntice hw many quarrels and wars are caused simply by jealusy. Yu have heardf at least tw already.
While Caesar was away with his army， Pmpey went t the Rman Senate and persuaded the senatrs trder Caesar t give up the cmmandf his army and return t Rme.
When Caesar received therder frm the Senate t give up his cmmand and return t Rme， he thughtver the matter fr sme time. Then at last he made up his mind that he wuld return t Rme， but he wuld nt give up his cmmand. Instead， he decided that he and his army wuld take cmmandf Rme itself.
Nw， there was a little stream called the Rubicn， which separated the partf the cuntryver which Caesar was given charge frm thatf Rme. The Rman law frbade any general t crss this stream with an army ready t fight-this was the line beynd which he must nt pass， fr the Rmans were afraid that if a general with an army gt t clse t Rme he might make himself king.
When Caesar decided nt tbey the Senate， he crssed this stream-the Rubicn-with his army and marchedn t Rme.
Peple nw speakf any dividing line frm danger as "the Rubicn" and say that a persn "crsses the Rubicn" when he takes a step frm which there is n turning back， when he starts smething difficultr dangerus which he must finish.
When Pmpey heard that Caesar was cming， he tk t his heels and fled t Greece. In a few days Caesar had made himself head ntnlyf Rme butf all Italy. Caesar then went after Pmpey in Greece and in a battle with his army beat him badly.
Nw that Pmpey wasutf the way， Caesar was the chief rulerf the whlef the Rman Empire.
Egypt did nt yet belng t Rme. Caesar next went there and cnquered that cuntry. Nw， in Egypt there was ruling a beautiful queen named Clepatra. Clepatra was s charming that she seemed able t make everyne fall in lve with her. Clepatra flirted with Caesar and s fascinated him that he almst frgt everything else. Althugh he had wn Egypt， he allwed Clepatra t remain queenver that cuntry.
Just at this time sme peple in the far eastern partf the empire started a war t get ridf the rulef Rme. Caesar left Egypt， traveled rapidly t the place where the enemy were， made quick wrkf cnquering them， then sent back the newsf his victry t Rme in the mst lacnic (d yu remember what that means？) dein ever givenf a battle. There werenly three wrds in the message. Althugh the messenger culd have carried three thusand as easily as three wrds， Caesar sent a message that wuld have been shrt even fr a telegram. He wrte， "Veni， vidi， vici，" which means， "I came， I saw， I cnquered." When Caesar at last gt back t Rme， the peple wanted t make him king， r said they did. Caesar was already mre than king， fr he was headf the whle Rman Empire. But he wasn"t called king， fr there had been n kings since 509 B.C.， when Tarquin was drivenut. The Rmans had been afraidfkings and hated them，r were suppsed t hate them.
A fewf the peple thught that Caesar was getting t much pwer and believed it wuld be a terrible thing t make him a king. They therefre decidedn a plt t prevent such a thing happening.nef these pltters was a man named Brutus， wh had been Caesar"s very best friend.
ne day when Caesar was expected t visit the Rman Senate， they lay in wait fr him until he shuld appear-in the same way I have seen bys hide arund the crner fr sme schlmate， against whm they had a grudge， until he shuld cmeutf schl.
Caesar came alng， and just as he was abut t enter the Senate the pltters crwded arund him， andne after anther they stabbed him.
Caesar， taken by surprise， tried t defend himself； but all he had was his stylus， which was a kindf pen he used fr writing， and he culd nt d much with that， in spitef a famus saying， "The pen is mightier than the swrd."When at last Caesar saw Brutus-his best friend-strike at him， his heart seemed brken and he gave up. Then， exclaiming in Latin， "Et tu， Brute！" which means， "And thu， Brutus！" he fell dwn dead. This was in 44 B.C.
Antny，nef Caesar"s true friends， made a speechver Caesar"s dead bdy， and his wrds s stirred the crwdf peple that gathered rund that they wuld have trn the murderers t pieces if they culd have caught them.
Shakespeare has written a play called Julius Caesar， and the mnthf July isnamed after him.
Nw whm d yu suppse Antny called "The Nblest Rmanf Them All"？
"Julius Caesar"？
N， yu"re wrng. Brutus， the friend wh stabbed Caesar， was called， "The Nblest Rmanf Them All."Why， d yu suppse？
Yu"ll have t read Antny"s speech at the endf the play t findut.
Caesar was prnunced in Latin kaiser； and in later years the rulersf Germany were called this， and thsef Russia by the shrtened frm， czar.
【中文阅读】
下面是给你出的一道智力题： 有个人曾发现了一块非常古老的钱币，上面的日期是公元前 100 年。 那是不可能的。为什么不可能呢？你先不要看后面的答案，看看能不能解答出来。
公元前 100 年，有个男孩在罗马出生了，名叫尤利乌斯 恺撒。 如果你问他，他是哪年出生的，他会说是在 653 年。 你想想这是为什么？
因为罗马男孩计算年代是以公元前 753 年罗马建成的时候为起点的，而恺撒是在罗马城建成后第 653 年出生的。按我们的纪年就是公元前 100 年，是不是啊？ 在那个时代，地中海上似乎到处都有海盗横行--真正的"海上强盗"。既然罗马统治着世界，所以就有很多的船只从帝国各地载着黄金来到罗马。海盗们四处航 行，暗中埋伏伺机俘获并抢劫这些装满黄金的船只。
当恺撒长大成人后，他受命去海上剿灭这些海盗，但却被他们俘虏了。海盗将 他关起来，派人传话给罗马，说如果罗马不给他们送来大笔赎金，他们就不放他走。 恺撒知道如果钱不送来的话，他就会被杀掉。他也知道，即使钱送来了，他还有可 能被杀掉。他不仅不害怕，而且还告诉海盗们如果他能活着回罗马，他会带着一支 舰队回来，狠狠惩罚他们，到时候一个都不会放过。不过，最后钱送来了，他们还 是放了他。他们觉得恺撒不敢按他自己说的那样去做，认为他只是在说大话罢了。 无论如何，他们都不相信他能够逮到他们。但是，恺撒却说到做到，回来追捕他们， 一如他所说的那样，把他们都抓起来了。然后，他将他们全部钉死在十字架上，这 是罗马人惩罚盗贼的方式。
罗马帝国一些偏远的属地总是不断地反抗罗马，想摆脱异国的统治。此时需要 一位大将统领军队去平息叛乱。因为恺撒在与海盗的交战中表现得英勇无畏，于是 让他率领一支军队，然后被派遣去与两个遥远的属地作战，这两个地方是西班牙和西班牙北边一个叫高卢的地区，高卢就是现在的法国。 恺撒征服了这些地区。后来，他用拉丁语把他所经历的战役写成了一部历史书，当然，拉丁语就是他的母语。如今，这本名为《高卢战记》的书通常是学习拉丁语 的人必读的第一本书。
公元前 55 年，恺撒乘船横渡到了大不列颠岛，征服了岛上很大一块地区，并于次年--公元前 54 年再次远征大不列颠。 恺撒因为迅速有力地征服和治理罗马帝国西部的广大地区而声名远扬。除此之外，他还深受手下士兵的爱戴。 在这个时期，罗马还有一位将军名叫庞培。当恺撒在罗马帝国西部征战时，庞培在罗马帝国东部的征战也节节胜利。庞培曾是恺撒的挚友，但是当他看到恺撒征 服了那么多的土地又那么受士兵们爱戴的时候，他就十分妒忌恺撒。看看，仅仅由 于妒忌就引起了多少纠纷和战争啊！你到目前至少已听说两例了。
正当恺撒战征在外的时候，庞培去了罗马的元老院，说服议员们下令要恺撒交 出兵权，返回罗马。
恺撒接到元老院让他交出兵权，返回罗马的命令后，认真考虑了一段时间。最终， 他作出决定返回罗马，但是他绝不交出兵权。相反，他决定，他要领军接管罗马。
在恺撒掌管的地区和罗马城之间有一条小河叫"卢比孔河"，罗马法律禁止任何 带领手执兵器士兵的将领越过这条河--这是一条他决不能逾越的分界线，因为罗 马人担心，万一有哪个将军领军逼近罗马，他就可能会擅自称王。
恺撒决心不再服从元老院后，他跨过了这条河--卢比孔河，率领着军队朝罗 马进发。
现在，人们把任何一条将危险隔开的分界线说成是"卢比孔河"。假设有个人必 须完成的事业困难重重，危险万分，但是为了打开局面，毅然迈出了义无反顾的一 步，人们就会说他"越过了卢比孔河"。
庞培听说恺撒来了，就立即逃往希腊。几天后，恺撒让自己不仅成了罗马、而且 成了整个意大利的头领。随后恺撒追赶庞培去了希腊，在一次战役中把庞培打得惨败。
既然庞培这只"拦路虎"被清除了，恺撒于是成了整个罗马帝国的最高统治者。 埃及当时还不属于罗马。恺撒接下来去了埃及并征服了这个国家。当时，统治 埃及的是一位美丽的女王，名叫克娄巴特拉。克娄巴特拉魅力非凡，似乎可以让每 个人都爱上她。克娄巴特拉向恺撒调情，让他神魂颠倒，几乎忘记了其他的一切。
尽管他占领了埃及，但是他允许克娄巴特拉继续做埃及的女王。 就在此时，在帝国的最东部有一些人挑起了战争，要摆脱罗马的统治。恺撒离开了埃及，迅速来到叛乱地点，很快镇压了他们，然后，他派人把捷报送回了罗马， 用的是迄今为止最具拉科尼亚（还记得这个词是什么意思吗？）含义的方式描述了 这次胜利。
信中只有三个词。虽然对信使来说，传递一封有三千词的信和三个词的信没有 什么区别，但是恺撒的信非常简短，即使用电报来发也很方便。他写道："Veni， vidi， vici，"这三个拉丁语单词的意思就是"我来了，我看见了，我征服了。"恺撒最后回到了罗马，这时，罗马人民都想让他当君王，至少他们是这样表达 的。恺撒此时岂止是王，因为他实际上可以说是整个罗马帝国的皇帝。但是，人们 不喊他君王，因为自从公元前 509 年塔克文被赶走之后就再没有君王了。罗马人过 去对君王既怕又恨，或者现在他们应该还是痛恨君王。
有些人觉得恺撒正在攫取过多的权力，认为让他成为君王将是十分可怕的。因 此，他们为了防止这样的事发生就商定了一个阴谋。策划人中有一个叫布鲁图的人， 他曾是恺撒最好的朋友。
预计恺撒要去元老院的那天，他们埋伏以待，直到他露面--我见过有些男孩 用这同样的方式躲在角落里暗中守候某个他们怨恨的同学，直到他从学校里出来。
恺撒来了，就在他正要进元老院的时候，密谋者们一拥而上把他围起来，你一 剑我一刀地向他捅去。
恺撒大吃一惊，试图自卫，但是他随身带的只有一支书写用的铁笔，而用这支 笔他根本做不了什么反抗，尽管有名言说："笔诛胜于剑伐。"最后，当恺撒看到布鲁图--他最好的朋友--向自己刺来的时候，他的心似 乎碎了，他放弃了抵抗。接着，他用拉丁语大声地叫道："Et tu， Brute！"意思就是： "还有你，噢，布鲁图！"然后倒地身亡。这件事发生在公元前 44 年。
安东尼是恺撒忠诚的朋友之一，他站在恺撒的遗体旁发表了一篇演说，他的演说措辞激烈，聚集在周围的人听了以后怒火中烧，如果此时他们能逮到那些谋杀犯， 他们肯定会把这些人撕成碎片的。
莎士比亚写过一部戏剧叫《尤利乌斯 恺撒》。七月这个月份（July）就是以恺 撒的名字"Julius"命名的。
现在，你猜安东尼所说的"罗马人中最高贵的那个人"是谁？ "尤利乌斯 恺撒"？
不，你错了。布鲁图，那个刺杀恺撒的好朋友，才是被称为"罗马人中最高贵的人"。
你猜为什么？ 你必须读一下莎士比亚写的那部戏剧，在戏剧的结尾从安东尼的演说中找到答案。 "恺撒"这两个字是按拉丁语的读音译的 ， 后来德国统治者的称号也是读这个音，俄国的统治者被称为"沙皇"、"沙"（Czar）就是"恺撒"（Caesar）的简称。
公元前 44 年
