核心问题
As long ago as the fourteenth century, an Englishman, Sir John Hawkwood, made the remarkable discovery that people would rather pay large sums of money than have their life work destroyed by gangsters. (New Concept English, Book 3, p. 38)
[原译]早在十四世纪以前英国人约翰·霍克伍德先生就惊奇地发现：人们宁愿付巨款而不愿他们毕生的事业受到暴徒破坏。（中译本）将 as long ago as 译为“早在……以前”是否正确？
词典解答
as long ago as 一般可译作“早在……”。例如：
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I knew him as long ago as the year 1902. 我早在 1902 年就认识他。
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As long ago as the eleventh century the Chinese people not only invented the compass but also used it in navigation. 早在十一世纪中国人就不仅发明了指南针，而且还把它用到航海上。
由此可见，原译文把 as long ago as 译为“早在……以前”是不准确的。