2.但真正付诸行动是始于迎娶了基督徒为妻b的肯特王国国王埃塞尔伯特的一封信。此信发出后，第一批传教士方才离开罗马，踏上漫漫征程，向不列颠岛进发。由于路途遥远，加上深入到岛上粗鲁野蛮的土著居民中是一件非常危险的事，因此a Angli与Angeli：Angli（盎格鲁）就是“英国人”的拉丁语詞，Angeli就是“天使”的拉丁语词。
b 迎娶基督徒为妻：即贝莎，她是法兰克斯王国的公主，该国的首都当时即设在巴黎。
在巨大的恐惧中，领头的奥古斯丁不久带着四十位僧侣就返回了罗马。而格雷戈里却不以为然，坚持要求他们必须开始不列颠的传教事业，于是这帮人不得不重新启程，经过法国本土，穿过狭窄的英吉利海峡，来到了肯特王国。
3.肯特当地的乡巴佬们看见这些一脸严肃的意大利祭司们着实惊奇，而祭司们也万分意外，因为这个期待中的王国不是森林就是荒地，再没有别的。公元597年，肯特国王召集这些传教士们举行了一次隆重集会，排场很大，极尽奢华。传教士们穿着金光闪闪的服饰，迈着缓慢而庄严的步伐，从他们的寓所慢条斯理地走向萨尼特岛，在岛上的一处户外场地，国王与王后正端坐在王座上。传教士们一边走一边用拉丁语念诵《圣经》诗篇，声音在远处听起来悠扬而低沉，但随着距离越来越近，声音也变得如洪钟一般，高亢响亮，彰显出男子的雄浑气概。
4.当他们走进会场，人们看见在队伍前面有一幅画，画上的男人被钉在十字架上，鲜血直流，而且这些身着长袍的外国人每人手里也握着一个银色十字架。埃塞尔伯特国王宅心仁厚，慈善有加，将这些陌生的外来之客全部接纳。当他们说明来意之后，国王还立刻御赐房屋给他们居住，还赐予资金作为对他们日常生活的支持。不久，他便在他妻子贝莎的影响下信仰了基督教，并在奥古斯丁的主持下在教堂成功受洗。
16
EDWIN OF DEIRA
德伊勒的埃德温国王
ambassador，messenger from a king；envoy.
concern，interest.
converted，turned；changed.
exclted，aroused.
impressed，made thoughtful.
inclined，willing.
opportunity，occasion.promised，gave his word.protect，guard；defend.remember，keep in mind.undermined，broken；upset.
usurper，one who had seized what he had no right to.
1.There is much romance in the story of King Edwin of Deira，in whose time Northumbria was converted to the Christian faith.Driven from his throne by an usurper，this prince wandered about the middle of England for a long time，and then waded through the fens that border the Wash，until he found，as he thought，a safe refuge in the wooden palace of King Redwald in East Anglia.
2.Redwald promised to protect him；but that King was very greedy，and his faith was undermined by an offer of some gold from the usurper who had taken Edwin’s place.His fear，too，was excited by a threat of war in case of refusal.One night Edwin was just preparing to go to bed in Redwald‘s house，when a friend came in and told him that men who had come from Northumbria to get Redwald to slay him were at that moment under the same roof with himself！
3.In great alarm he dressed himself，and went out.As the night was very dark，he could not be seen.Having sat down on a stone，which was opposite the palace door，he fell fast asleep.In his sleep he had a wonderful dream：-A tall，grand-looking man seemed to come and ask him what he was doing there in the dark alone，when everybody else was in bed.
4.“How does that concern you？”said Edwin to the man.
“Ah，”said the kingly figure，“what would you give to the person who should save you from your present danger and give you back your crown？”
“I would give everything I possess in the world，”said Edwin.
“Would you obey one who might be able to teach you the sure road to happiness here and hereafter？”
“Yes，”said Edwin，“I would.”
“Then，”said the visitor，putting his hand on the prince’s head，“remember this sign，and，when the crown is given to you，remember to keep the promise you have just made.”
5.Almost at the same time，within the house，Redwald‘s queen was beseeching her husband not to shed the blood of his guest Edwin.Overcome by her strong entreaties，the Anglian King chose to make war rather than to stain his hands so shamefully.Going out to battle on behalf of Edwin，he won on the banks of the Idle a great victory，which ended in the death of the Northumbrian usurper，and in the replacing of the crown on the head of “the wandering prince.”
6.A dark-haired Christian monk，Paulinus，came from Kent to be the chaplain and confessor of Edwin’s second wife，and to him the introduction of Christianity into Northumbria is said to have been due.He worked on Edwin‘s feelings of awe；and probably having heard of the King’s dream，he went in one day and laid his hand on the King‘s head.Edwin was just then a good dealimpressed by a narrow escape he had had from being murdered.A person，pretending to be an ambassador，had rushed on him with a sword，and but for a faithful nobleman，who flung himself before the point and received the thrust，Edwin would have been killed.He was therefore all the more inclined to listen to Paulinus，and he declared himself willing to become a Christian.
7.The first Northumbrian that was baptized was the baby daughter of Edwin.Soon after her admission into the Church，the high priest of the heathen service took an opportunity of showing how little he cared for the temple in which he had been used to conduct a false worship.
8.It was the law in Northumbria that priests should neither ride on horses nor carry spears.In order to defy the idols which he had served，the high priest mounted a horse，and，taking a spear in his hand，galloped to the door of the temple and flung the weapon in.As no punishment followed so daring an act，the people ran for torches，and soon the heathen temple was in a blaze！A large wooden church was built at York，and there Edwin was baptized.
9.Penda，the pagan King of Mercia，hated Edwin，because he had yielded to the preaching of what seemed to his mind a weak superstition；and he also envied the peace and plenty for which the kingdom of Northumbria had become famous.Accordingly，raising an army，and getting the King of Wales to help him，he fought with the army of Edwin in the pine forests of Hatfield.Edwin was slain，and his head was carried from the battle-ground stuck on thepoint of a Mercian spear.
中文阅读
1.关于德伊勒的埃德温国王，历来就有不少浪漫的故事，整个诺森布里亚王国就是在他的治下皈依了基督教。后来他被一位叛臣篡夺了王位，自己在英格兰中部流浪了很长一段时间，然后趟过沃什湾的泥泞沼泽，最后终于在东盎格鲁国王雷德沃尔德的木屋宫殿中找了他自认为安全的避难所。
2.雷德沃尔德虽然口头上承诺保护他的安全，但这位国王却极其阴险贪婪，而且埃德温的那位篡位者还用黄金收买了他。另一方面，雷德沃尔德也非常害怕一旦拒收黄金，战争可能随时降临。一天晚上，埃德温在雷德沃尔德的宫殿寓所里正准备上床睡觉，他的一位朋友急忙赶来通风报信，说那位想让雷德沃尔德杀死他的诺森布里亚人，此刻已经就在这栋房子里了！
3.埃德温惊慌失措，立马乔装改扮后逃离了王宫。但由于当时正是晚上，外面一片漆黑，根本看不见路，他无奈地在王宫正对面不远处的一块大石头上坐了下来，并且很快睡着了。他做了一个怪梦：一个身材魁梧，道貌巍然的男人来到他的面前，说这么晚别人都睡觉了，你一个人在这鬼地方干嘛？
