纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 011古埃及法老德闻的凉鞋标签（6）

The inscriptions² give us the name of King Den³ and, between him and the enemy, are the chilling words 'they shall not exist'. This 'other' is going to be obliterated⁴. Who he is we don't know but, to the right of the label, is an inscription¹ which reads: 'the first occasion of smiting⁵ the east'. And, as the sandy ground beneath the figures rises to the right-hand side, it's been suggested that the enemy comes from the east, from Sinai. All the tricks of savage⁶ political propaganda are already here-the ruler calm and victorious⁷, the alien misshapen, defeated enemy.

这铭文告诉了我们这法老的名字是德闻，然后在他与他的敌人之间是一句令人心寒的话：“他们不得存在。”这些“他们”终将被消灭。虽然我们不知道这里的“他们”指的是谁，不过这标签的右侧刻的是：“第一次东征”。而且在人物形像脚下的沙质地面向东方延伸，这说明了敌人是来自于东部的，有人在猜，也许是西奈半岛。总之，这里集中体现了所有野蛮的政治宣传伎俩：顺我者昌，逆我者亡。

The area that this Egyptian state was able to coerce⁸ and control is staggering; at its height, it included virtually all the Nile Valley from the Delta⁹ to what is modern Sudan, as well as a huge area to the east up to the borders of Sinai. We asked archaeologist Toby Wilkinson what state building on this scale required:

当时埃及国王能够进行强权统治的疆土范围之大令人咋舌，在王朝鼎盛时期，几乎囊括整个尼罗河谷，从三角洲到现代苏德闻，向东直达西奈半岛的边界。我们请教了考古学家托比?威尔金森，到底建设这么大规模的王朝需要什么呢？

"Well obviously this is an early period in Egypt's history, when the nation is still being consolidated¹⁰, not so much territorially¹¹ as ideologically¹² and psychologically. And the king and his advisers¹³ are looking for ways to reinforce Egypt's sense of its own nationhood, and support for their regime.

“嗯，显然这是埃及历史上一个早期的阶段，国家仍旧在扩张兼并中，思想上与心理上还没形成一种固定疆土的理念。法老与他的智囊团不断地寻找可以进一步强化埃及自身的国家民族意识及支持他们政权的方法。

And I think they realised, as world leaders have realised throughout history, that nothing binds¹⁴ a nation and a people together quite so effectively as a foreign war against a common enemy, whether that enemy is real or manufactured.

我认为他们已经意识到了，作为世界各国领导人都清楚的一点，纵观历史，对于一个国家或一个民族而言，没有什么比团结一致对抗一个共同敌人具有更大的约束力与凝聚力，这敌人真实也好，假想也罢，都无所谓。

1 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

2 inscriptions   

（作者）题词( inscription的名词复数 )； 献词； 碑文； 证劵持有人的登记

参考例句：

• Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
• The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了，石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。

3 den   

n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室

参考例句：

• There is a big fox den on the back hill.后山有一个很大的狐狸窝。
• The only way to catch tiger cubs is to go into tiger's den.不入虎穴焉得虎子。

4 obliterated   

v.除去( obliterate的过去式和过去分词 )；涂去；擦掉；彻底破坏或毁灭

参考例句：

• The building was completely obliterated by the bomb. 炸弹把那座建筑物彻底摧毁了。
• He began to drink, drank himself to intoxication, till he slept obliterated. 他一直喝，喝到他快要迷糊地睡着了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 smiting   

v.猛打，重击，打击( smite的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He set to smiting and overthrowing. 他马上就动手殴打和破坏。 来自辞典例句

6 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

7 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。

8 coerce   

v.强迫，压制

参考例句：

• You can't coerce her into obedience.你不能强制她服从。
• Do you think there is any way that we can coerce them otherwise?你认为我们有什么办法强迫他们不那样吗？

9 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

10 consolidated   

a.联合的

参考例句：

• With this new movie he has consolidated his position as the country's leading director. 他新执导的影片巩固了他作为全国最佳导演的地位。
• Those two banks have consolidated and formed a single large bank. 那两家银行已合并成一家大银行。

11 territorially   

参考例句：

• Today, prescriptive jurisdiction (capacity to make law) can be based on nationality and exercised extra-territorially. 今日，指示性管辖权﹝制订法律的能力﹞能够基于国籍和于领土以外执行。 来自互联网
• As the seemingly endless ages passed, the night elves' civilization expanded both territorially and culturally. 很久很久之后，暗夜精灵的文明无论在疆域还是文化方面都有了巨大的进步。 来自互联网

12 ideologically   

adv. 意识形态上地，思想上地

参考例句：

• Ideologically, they have many differences. 在思想意识上，他们之间有许多不同之处。
• He has slipped back ideologically. 他思想退步了。

13 advisers   

顾问，劝告者( adviser的名词复数 )； （指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
• She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。

14 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》