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2,000 years ago, the most powerful army in the world belonged to the Romans.
两千年前，世界上最强大的军队莫过于古罗马。
The Romans were so strong that they conquered almost all of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, but then they began to grow very rich and a little bit lazy.
古罗马人非常强大，他们几乎征服了整个欧洲，以及亚洲和非洲的部分地区，但之后变得非常富有的他们，同时也开始变得有点懒惰。
Life in the army was harsh and many of the soldiers longed for the comforts of home. They wanted to get married and set up families.
军营生活很艰苦，许多士兵都渴望家的舒适。他们想结婚，组建家庭。
The Emperor, whose name was Claudius II, grew worried that his army was growing soft, and so he made a law that no soldier was allowed to get married.
当时的皇帝名叫克劳迪亚斯二世，越来越担心他的军队会变得孱弱，所以他制定了一条法律，禁止任何士兵结婚。
By that time many of the Romans were Christians, and one of their leaders was a bishop called Valentine.
那时，许多罗马人都是基督徒，他们的领袖之一是一个叫做瓦伦丁的主教。
He believed that if a man and woman fell in love with each other, they should get married,
他认为如果一个男人和一个女人相爱了，他们就应该结婚，
and so he decided to let soldiers get married in his church, even though now it was against the law.
所以他决定让士兵们在他的教堂里结婚，尽管这是一件违法的事情。
The soldiers weddings were meant to be kept secret but, as you know, all secrets are hard to keep, and soon the word got out.
士兵们的婚礼本来是要保密的，但是如你所知，所有的秘密都是很难守住的，很快消息就传出去了。
Valentine was arrested and brought before the Emperor who demanded that he stopped helping soldiers to marry and instead that he prayed to the gods of Rome.
瓦伦丁被捕并被带到皇帝面前，皇帝要求他停止帮助士兵结婚，并且向罗马诸神祈求宽恕。
When he refused, the Emperor sentenced him to death.
不过瓦伦丁拒绝了这一要求，于是皇帝判处他死刑。
While Valentine was in prison, the jailer's daughter used to bring him his food.
瓦伦丁在监狱里的时候，狱卒的女儿常给他送吃的。
She was a young woman. She was unfortunately blind. She and Valentine used to spend long hours talking to each other and soon they fell in love.
她是位年轻的女子。但不幸的是，她双目失明。她和瓦伦丁经常会花很长时间在一起交谈，并且很快他们就相爱了。
One day Valentine put his hand through the bars of the cell and touched the lids of her closed eyes.
一天，瓦伦丁把手伸出牢房的铁栏，摸了摸女子那闭着的眼睛。
When she opened them again, she could see. It was a miracle.
当她再次睁开双眼时，她竟然可以看到了。这真是一个奇迹。
Valentine's execution was set for the 14th of February on his last night on earth he wrote his final message to the girl. He signed his love letter "From your Valentine".
瓦伦丁的死刑被定于2月14日，在他人生的最后一夜，他给那位女子写了最后一封信。并在情书上署名为“来自你的情人”。
This took place in the year 270 and ever since lovers have sent each other messages on February the 14th with the same signature and that's the story.
这个故事发生在公元270年，从那之后，情侣们就会在2月14日用相同的署名互相传递信息，这就是情人节的由来。
