V. M.希利爾（1875—1931），美國著名兒童教育家、科普作家，創(chuàng)建了卡爾弗特教育體系。他為孩子們編寫了一套趣味盎然的歷史、地理、藝術(shù)讀物， 即《寫給孩子看的世界歷史》《寫給孩子看的世界地理》《寫給孩子看的藝術(shù)史》。本文選自《寫給孩子看的藝術(shù)史》，該書寫于20世紀(jì)二三十年代。

You have heard of a fireproof building. But have you ever heard of a fireproof animal？ A little animal that looks like a lizard and is called a salamander was always supposed to be fireproof. The people of the sixteenth century used to think that if they put a salamander in the fire the salamander wouldn’t mind it a bit. The hotter the fire， the more he’d like it. They used to call asbestos cloth （which is fireproof） salamander’s skin.

In those days of the sixteenth century there reigned in France a king named

Francis I whose badge was a salamander. Francis I also used a capital letter F as a badge. The salamander and the letter F were like trade-marks and FrancisⅠhad them put on all the many buildings he built during his reign. He was a powerful monarch with plenty of money to spend and his delight was to spend the money on the works of the best painters， goldsmiths， sculptors， and architects. Many of the painters， sculptors， and goldsmiths were Italians who came to work for Francis I. The architects were mostly Frenchmen.

你應(yīng)該聽說過防火的建筑，但是你聽說過能防火的動(dòng)物嗎？據(jù)說有一種長得和蜥蜴很像的動(dòng)物，一直被認(rèn)為具有防火的能力，它的名字叫沙拉曼達(dá)。16世紀(jì)的人們一度認(rèn)為，即使把沙拉曼達(dá)放進(jìn)火里烤也沒什么關(guān)系，火越大、溫度越高，它不但不怕還越開心。因此16世紀(jì)的人們把防火的石棉布稱為“沙拉曼達(dá)皮”。

在16世紀(jì)，有一位名叫弗朗索瓦一世的法國統(tǒng)治者，他的象征性標(biāo)志便是一條沙拉曼達(dá)。大寫的F是他的另一個(gè)標(biāo)志，這兩個(gè)標(biāo)志就像是他的兩個(gè)商標(biāo)。在弗朗索瓦一世統(tǒng)治期間修建的所有建筑，都被打上了他的商標(biāo)。弗朗索瓦一世是一個(gè)強(qiáng)勢(shì)的君主，在自己的喜好方面愿意花很多錢，而他最大的愛好就是花錢購買最好的畫家、金匠、雕塑家、建筑師的作品。許多意大利的畫家、金匠和雕刻家都來到法國為他工作，但為他工作的建筑師大多還是法國人。

The buildings of these French Renaissance architects were different from the Italian Renaissance buildings. Most of the French Renaissance buildings were still Gothic in shape. The lines still ran vertically up from the ground as they did in the Gothic style. You remember the horizontal lines of some of the Italian Renaissance buildings. This difference was because the Renaissance in France changed from Gothic little by little， while in Italy the Renaissance was not a slow change， but a sudden break from the Gothic.

In Italy many of the Renaissance buildings were churches. In France there were already plenty of fine Gothic churches. Most of the French Renaissance buildings， therefore， were palaces and castles. Chateaux is what the French call them， and we too use the French word when speaking of the French Renaissance.

So many of these chateaux were built along the river Loire in France that the valley of this river is known as the Chateau Country.

與意大利文藝復(fù)興式建筑相比，法國文藝復(fù)興式建筑大不一樣。大多數(shù)的法國文藝復(fù)興式建筑的外形仍然是哥特式風(fēng)格，線條布局也是哥特式風(fēng)格——經(jīng)典的垂直于地面的直上直下的線條。但是意大利文藝復(fù)興式建筑的風(fēng)格卻不同，你還記得嗎？它們的線條主要是水平的。造成這種差異的原因是，法國文藝復(fù)興式風(fēng)格只是對(duì)哥特式風(fēng)格一點(diǎn)一點(diǎn)地逐步改變，而意大利文藝復(fù)興式風(fēng)格卻不是緩慢地變化，而是突然背離了哥特式風(fēng)格。

在意大利，許多文藝復(fù)興式風(fēng)格的建筑都是教堂;在法國，已經(jīng)有很多哥特式風(fēng)格的精美教堂，而法國的文藝復(fù)興式建筑大部分都是宮殿和城堡。法國人稱呼法國文藝復(fù)興式建筑為“Chateaux”，翻譯過來就是法式城堡，我們也常常隨法國人這樣稱呼它們。

法國的盧瓦爾河河畔修建有許多法式城堡，這條河的河谷也因此被稱為“法式城堡之鄉(xiāng)”。

A very famous chateau still stands at Blois in the Chateau Country. Parts of the Chateau of Blois were built in the Gothic style before the Renaissance reached France， but one whole section was built by Francis I in the Renaissance style. This section is called the Wing of Francis I. There is a celebrated spiral staircase attached to the outside wall of the building in an open tower—something like a fire-escape. The staircase tower is stone and marble， like the rest of the building. On the staircase are carved again and again the salamander and the letter F of Francis I. The salamanders are royal salamanders and each has a crown above him. Little flames of fire seem to be flying all around the salamanders.You can see these “trade-marks” of Francis I on other parts of the building.

Notice that the building is still Gothic enough to have Gothic gargoyles sticking out from the staircase and the roof.

If you should walk down the staircase at the Chateau of Blois and some one else started to walk up at the same time， you two would meet on the stairs. But there is another staircase in France where persons going down never meet persons going up at the same time. It sounds mysterious， but it really happens just that way. The pass-without-meeting staircase is in the central tower of a large chateau at Chambord.

城堡之鄉(xiāng)的盧瓦爾有一座著名的城堡，叫盧瓦爾城堡，直到現(xiàn)今還依然屹立著。盧瓦爾城堡的部分建筑是在文藝復(fù)興式風(fēng)格波及法國之前就修建了的，因此還是哥特式的風(fēng)格;但是部分單元建筑則是弗朗索瓦一世按照文藝復(fù)興式風(fēng)格修建的，這一部分也被稱為“弗朗索瓦一世之翼”。在這一建筑的外墻上建有一個(gè)著名的旋轉(zhuǎn)樓梯，它被嵌建在敞口的、有點(diǎn)像防火梯的塔樓之中。這個(gè)旋轉(zhuǎn)樓梯與整座建筑的其他部分一樣，也是由石塊和大理石砌成的。塔樓的階梯目光所及，到處都刻著弗朗索瓦一世的象征性標(biāo)志：沙拉曼達(dá)和大寫的字母F。這里的沙拉曼達(dá)是皇室的專有圖案，它們的頂部畫有皇冠，周圍隱約有許多舞動(dòng)的小火苗。弗朗索瓦一世的這些“商標(biāo)”在建筑的各個(gè)地方都可看到。

注意一下你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，這座建筑還是很具有哥特式建筑的特征，比如階梯和屋頂上都砌有典型的哥特式外凸的滴水嘴。

如果你沿著盧瓦爾城堡的階梯往下走，而另一個(gè)人同時(shí)沿階梯往上走，那么你倆肯定會(huì)在階梯中間相遇。不過，在法國有一座樓梯，同時(shí)往下和往上走的兩個(gè)人永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)在樓梯上相遇，聽起來似乎是不可思議的事，但事實(shí)卻真的是這樣。這座“上下樓互不相遇”的樓梯，就位于法國著名的大城堡——香波爾城堡的主塔里。

No girl or boy who likes to read of knights and ladies in the days of chivalry could help getting a thrill at seeing the Chateau of Chambord. It is a huge castle， partly fortified and once protected by a moat or ditch of water. It has towers， steep roofs， tall chimneys， and thick stone walls. With its towers and chimneys pointing toward the sky， it really looks more Gothic than Renaissance.

The pass-without-meeting staircase is in the tallest tower and works the way it does because there are two sets of steps which corkscrew up the tower together， one set above the other. The Statue of Liberty in New York has an iron staircase inside it built the same way as the stone staircase at Chambord.

Francis I liked to stay at Chambord when he wanted a change from city life. He liked to stay at Blois， too. But he liked best of all the palace of Fontainebleau， which is noted for its beautiful gardens， terraces， and lakes， and for its rich interiors. The outsides of the palace buildings aren’t as interesting as Chambord and Blois， so we’ll hurry on to still another palace of Francis I. This is the Louvre in Paris.

如果你也是喜歡讀騎士與公主故事的小朋友，那么當(dāng)你看到香波爾城堡的時(shí)候，一定也會(huì)和這些小朋友一樣，抑制不住自己激動(dòng)的心情。這是一座非常龐大的城堡，對(duì)外的部分有加固的城墻，四周曾經(jīng)還有護(hù)城河的環(huán)繞。香波爾城堡有堅(jiān)固的塔樓、陡峭的屋頂、高高的煙囪和厚重的磚墻。由于塔樓和煙囪都高聳直立、伸向天際，整個(gè)建筑相比于文藝復(fù)興式，倒更具有哥特式建筑的風(fēng)格。

“上下樓互不相遇”的樓梯位于香波爾城堡最高的塔樓內(nèi)。之所以“上下樓互不相遇”，是因?yàn)樗怯蓛勺鶚翘萁M成的。這兩座樓梯的一座比另一座高，也就是說它們不在一個(gè)平面上，但是一起螺旋向上延伸。美國紐約的自由女神像內(nèi)部也有供人們攀登的樓梯，盡管它是與香波爾城堡的石階梯材質(zhì)不同的鐵階梯，但也是以同樣方式修建的。

每當(dāng)弗朗索瓦一世想暫時(shí)離開城市的喧囂換一個(gè)生活環(huán)境時(shí)，他就會(huì)前往香波爾城堡。不過他最喜歡的還是住在楓丹白露宮。楓丹白露宮之所以聞名，是因?yàn)槠淦恋幕▓@、庭院露臺(tái)、美麗的湖泊，以及富麗堂皇的內(nèi)部裝飾。不過楓丹白露宮的外部建筑比不上香波爾城堡和盧瓦爾城堡那么有趣，因此就不詳細(xì)介紹它了，讓我們抓緊時(shí)間認(rèn)識(shí)弗朗索瓦一世的另外一座宮殿——巴黎的羅浮宮。

Word Study

lizard /'l?z?d/ n. 蜥蜴

asbestos /?s'best?s/ n. 石棉

badge /b?d?/ n. 標(biāo)記;象征;徽章;獎(jiǎng)?wù)?/p>

His gun was a badge of power for him.

reign /re?n/ n. 任期;當(dāng)政期;君主統(tǒng)治時(shí)期

vertically /'v??t?kl?/ adv. 垂直地; 直立地; 縱向地

The cliff was almost vertical.

Word Study

spiral /'spa?r?l/ adj. 螺旋形的;螺旋式的

attach /?'t?t?/ v. 把……固定，把……附（在……上）

They have attached a number of conditions to the agreement.

gargoyle /'ɡɑ?ɡ??l/ n. 滴水嘴

chivalry /'??v?lri/ n.（中世紀(jì)的）騎士制度

fortify /'f??t?fa?/ v. 筑防御工事以防衛(wèi);（尤指）筑城防御

The town had to be fortified against invaders.

moat /m??t/ n. 護(hù)城河