第一章误译集锦
河道往来繁忙，运送着用以平整金属和塑形的锤子
A large water-wheel powered the heavy hammers that flattened and shaped the metal.
水车是用来驱动锤子的、不是运送锤子的
不能像17世纪初的瑞典一样，因享有自足的军事装备而称霸一方
It did not enjoy the self-sufficiency in armaments that enabled Sweden to assert itself as a regional power in the early seventeenth century.
不是不能像瑞典那样称霸，而是不能像称霸一时的瑞典那样军备自足
然而，事实难以说明，这些最成功的地主赚得的利润会对当地范围之外的生产力提高或长期经济增长有所贡献
Yet there is little to suggest that the profits earned even by the most successful landlords were contributing to productivity gains or longer-term economic growth on a more than local scale.
“当地范围之外的生产力”令人费解，起码也得是“当地范围之外的其他地区的生产力”，即这种提高仅限于当地的局部区域
除了声望，这笔交易更带来了实际的领地
The transaction brought prestige as well as land
不仅带来了土地，也带来了声望
5 而在赢得勃兰登堡选帝侯新头衔的同时，腓特烈一世也跨入了一个全新的政治世界，一个后来在欧洲版图中完全消失的政治世界
In acquiring his new title, Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg, entered a political universe that has since vanished utterly from the map of Europe.
腓特烈一世开始开始统治的勃兰登堡之前属于卢森堡王朝，勃兰登堡从卢森堡王朝进入霍亨索伦王朝后，这一地区的前一王朝政治体自然就消失了。political universe 并非指代神圣罗马帝国
在1546~1547年的施马尔卡尔登战争中，天主教势力赢得了显著胜利、但为了哈布斯堡更好的发展前景，最终还是在帝国内外与对手和解
These forces won some notable victories in the Schmalkaldic War of 1546–7, but the prospect of further Habsburg advancement sufficed to bring together the dynasty’s opponents and rivals within and outside the Empire.
面对哈布斯堡可能继续进攻的前景，帝国内外的对手们团结了起来
从柏林到柯尼斯堡，长达700多公里的公路与铁路，若遇到雨天，很多路段几乎无法行进
Over 700 kilometres of roads and tracks
16、17世纪没有铁路，只有煤矿用的运煤的木质轨道
而普鲁士公国则处于坚持扩张的瑞士与波兰-立陶宛联邦的纷争地带
Ducal Prussia lay in the conflict zone between expansionist Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
