The Rise 罗马崛起 - 10

【collation】
The census¹ didn’t create equality or democracy. Rome remained a society governed by kings and nobles. Women had few rights. But it created a level of organization unheard of in the ancient world. No man did more for Rome than the Etruscan king Servius. His reforms laid the foundations for Rome’s greatest achievement: the creation of the republic. But like so many Roman rulers he was brought down by treachery and intrigue². The king’s own daughter wanted her husband Tarquin on the throne. Her henchmen knew how to get him there. And after they murdered the great king, power and paranoia³ went hand in hand in Rome. For almost 2 centuries Rome had been ruled by Etruscan kings and Etruscan nobility. Under Servius, things had gone well. Under Tarquin, his successor, brutality⁴ and decadence⁵ flourished. While he and his relatives devoted⁶ themselves to pleasure, their henchmen carried out campaigns of political murder to remove any and all opposition⁷. Romans were beginning to hate everything the Etruscans stood for. Resentment⁸ smouldered. A woman called Lucretia was the spark that would set it on fire. She was well loved and highly regarded for her kindness, beauty and loyalty⁹. She represented everything Romans felt they had and the Etruscans didn’t: honor, virtue¹⁰, bravery. One day the king's son and some of his Etruscan nobles were on a journey away from Rome. Drunk, they decided¹¹ to creep back into the city and spy on the most beautiful women to see what they were up to. They found their own wives as expected, partying. They found Lucretia hard at work.

Because this was an indication of good virtuous¹² matronly behavior. Right, right...This is how Roman women should behave. They should not be sleeping with 300 members of the Senate, like Augustus’s daughter allegedly did. They are not supposed to be poisoning members of their family as Livia allegedly did. They are supposed to be producing cloth.

1 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

2 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

3 paranoia   

n.妄想狂，偏执狂；多疑症

参考例句：

• Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.她的洁癖近乎偏执。
• The push for reform is also motivated by political paranoia.竞选的改革运动也受到政治偏执狂症的推动。

4 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

5 decadence   

n.衰落，颓废

参考例句：

• The decadence of morals is bad for a nation.道德的堕落对国家是不利的。
• His article has the power to turn decadence into legend.他的文章具有化破朽为神奇的力量。

6 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

9 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。

10 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。