that people believed it was just a superstitious,

人们认为那时的法国只是一个迷信
isolated, rural France

封闭农业化的国家
in which civilization, entre guillemets ,

而文明这个词带引号
could only come through, along with national identity,

还有国家的身份认同感只能通过
through these sort of agencies of change.

所谓现代化的动力来到法国
And this is what sociologists used to call Modernization theory,

这是社会学家们说的现代化理论
almost at its worst;

这可能是最糟糕的理论了
and I say this

虽然我这么说
with considerable affection for my late friend Eugen Weber,

但我对故去的朋友韦伯仍是怀有敬意的
and we had debated this before.

我们曾经为此争辩
And the three big agencies of change,

而带来变革的三大动力
some of which you've already heard a little bit about,

你们已经听过一些了