and to sexual lasciviousness.

以及性欲过于旺盛的人
Where they got this idea from one can't imagine.

我们无法得知他们这想法是哪来的
Wisdom and self-control were regarded as coming only with age,

人们认为智慧和自律只有随年龄增长才能获得
and accordingly there was a preference for age

因此人们习以为常地
and seniority in all institutional life.

偏好年长的人
Well, one could say, "Well, that's just the same today,"

有人可能会说 "现在也是一样的呀"
But one important difference is that in the sixteenth

但那时与现在有个很大的区别
and seventeenth centuries a far larger proportion

在十六十七世纪年轻人的比例
of the population were young.

要比现在大多了
The high birth rates of the time and the low life expectancy

那时候出生率高平均寿命却低
meant that the population was far younger than is the case today.

也就是说那时候的人比现在要年轻得多
Far fewer people lived through to their fifties

能活到五十几岁甚至六十几岁