纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 035奥古斯都头像(3)

This was an Augustus forever powerful, forever young. His deft¹, some might say devious², mix of patronage³ and military power, which he concealed⁴ behind the familiar offices and titles of the old Republic, has served as a model and a master-class for ambitious rulers ever since. He built new roads and developed a highly effective courier system, so that the empire could be effectively ruled from the centre and so that he could be visible to his subjects everywhere. He reinvigorated the formidable Roman army to defend and extend the Imperial borders, and he established a long-lasting peace during his 40 years of steady rule, initiating⁵ a golden period of stability and prosperity famously known as the 'Pax Romana'. He'd brutally⁶ fought and negotiated his way to the top, but now he was there, he wanted to reassure⁷ people that he would not be a tyrant⁸. So he set to work to make people believe in him, and more astonishingly want to follow him, brilliantly turning subjects into supporters. We asked Boris Johnson, a classicist and a political leader, how he rated Augustus:

这就是力量与青春永驻的奥古斯都。他仍保留了罗马共和国的表面形式，执政手段灵活狡黠，恩威并施，成为后世野心勃勃的统治者们的榜样。他铺设新的道路，建立了更高效的邮递系统，使帝国的中央控制更为有力，他的形象也变得随处可见。他整治并加强原本就战无不胜的军力，保卫疆土，扩大版图。在他统治的40年中，政治稳定，国内战火平息，罗马进入了长期稳定并繁荣发展的黄金时期，史称罗马和平时期。在通往权利顶峰的途中，奥古斯都曾经经历过残暴的斗争，但在成为君主之后，他并不希望百姓将自己看作暴君。他用了种种措施来获取百姓的信任，最终成为他们所爱戴的君主。我曾问过古典文化学者兼政治领袖鲍里斯约翰逊对于奥古斯都的看法:

"He became a vital part of the glue that held the whole Roman Empire together. You could be out there in Spain or Gaul or Cyrenaica-you could be all over the world-and you could go to a temple and you would find women, with images of Augustus, of this man, in this bust⁹ sewn onto their cowls. People at dinner parties in Rome would have busts¹⁰ exactly like this above their mantelpieces-that was how he was able to infuse the entire Roman Empire with that sense of loyalty¹¹ and adherence¹² to Rome. If you wanted to become a local politician, in the Roman Empire, you became a priest in the cult¹³ of Augustus."

他是罗马帝国团结一致的关键。在西班牙和高卢，无论走进哪座神庙，都能看到随身佩戴奥古斯都头像，或将他的半身像缝在自己衣服上的女性。罗马人举行晚宴时，旁边的壁炉架上摆放着他的半身像，就像这座一样。他能让整个帝国完全效忠于他的政府。事实上，成为罗马帝国的官员，便意味着你成为奥古斯都教的一名神父。

1 deft   

adj.灵巧的，熟练的（a deft hand 能手）

参考例句：

• The pianist has deft fingers.钢琴家有灵巧的双手。
• This bird,sharp of eye and deft of beak,can accurately peck the flying insects in the air.这只鸟眼疾嘴快，能准确地把空中的飞虫啄住。

2 devious   

adj.不坦率的，狡猾的；迂回的，曲折的

参考例句：

• Susan is a devious person and we can't depend on her.苏姗是个狡猾的人，我们不能依赖她。
• He is a man who achieves success by devious means.他这个人通过不正当手段获取成功。

3 patronage   

n.赞助，支援，援助；光顾，捧场

参考例句：

• Though it was not yet noon,there was considerable patronage.虽然时间未到中午，店中已有许多顾客惠顾。
• I am sorry to say that my patronage ends with this.很抱歉，我的赞助只能到此为止。

4 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

5 initiating   

v.开始( initiate的现在分词 )；传授；发起；接纳新成员

参考例句：

• He is good at initiating projects but rarely follows through with anything. 他善于创建项目，但难得坚持完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Only the perchlorate shows marked sensitiveness and possibly initiating properties. 只有高氯酸盐表现有显著的感度和可能具有起爆性能。 来自辞典例句

6 brutally   

adv.残忍地，野蛮地，冷酷无情地

参考例句：

• The uprising was brutally put down.起义被残酷地镇压下去了。
• A pro-democracy uprising was brutally suppressed.一场争取民主的起义被残酷镇压了。

7 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

8 tyrant   

n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人

参考例句：

• The country was ruled by a despotic tyrant.该国处在一个专制暴君的统治之下。
• The tyrant was deaf to the entreaties of the slaves.暴君听不到奴隶们的哀鸣。

9 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

10 busts   

半身雕塑像( bust的名词复数 )； 妇女的胸部； 胸围； 突击搜捕

参考例句：

• Dey bags swells up and busts. 那奶袋快胀破了。
• Marble busts all looked like a cemetery. 大理石的半身象，简直就象是坟山。

11 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

12 adherence   

n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着

参考例句：

• He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。
• The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。

13 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。