纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 035奥古斯都头像(3)（在线收听）

This was an Augustus forever powerful, forever young. His deft, some might say devious, mix of patronage and military power, which he concealed 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, initiating a golden period of stability and prosperity famously known as the 'Pax Romana'. He'd brutally fought and negotiated his way to the top, but now he was there, he wanted to reassure people that he would not be a tyrant. 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 bust sewn onto their cowls. People at dinner parties in Rome would have busts exactly like this above their mantelpieces-that was how he was able to infuse the entire Roman Empire with that sense of loyalty and adherence to Rome. If you wanted to become a local politician, in the Roman Empire, you became a priest in the cult 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。