For all their enormous differences, every hyperpower in history was, at least by the standards of its time, extraordinarily pluralistic and tolerant during its rise to preeminence.

• 迄今，还没有人系统地分析超级强国这一更为罕见的现象：在历史上，只有屈指可数的少数几个国家，能够拥有巨大的军事和经济实力，基本上统治了世界。