as a great power among Europe.

欧洲强国的位子上来
The war with Prussia had shown that Germany was a nation on the move,

普法战争表明德国是一个崛起之国
and England's dominance in world affairs,

而英国在世界事务中的支配地位
especially its empire, was unquestioned.

尤其是大英帝国的地位毋庸置疑
As you all know by now, politics in France during the 1870s

你们现在都知道十九世纪七八十年代
and the 1880s were tumultuous, to say the least.

法国的政治至少是极度动荡不安的
As France hobbled from one affaire to the next

法国沉浸在一件又一件国家事务的中
critics attacked the Republic

批评家指责共和国就像一个
as a cesspool of intrigue and scandal.

充满阴谋和丑闻的污水池
Periodic industrial downturns

周期性的工业衰退
brought political challenges from left and right,

导致了政治上腹背受敌
as Boulangism and socialism

同时布朗热主义和社会主义