纪录片《文明》 第134期 艺术的胜利（11）

The petrifying¹ gaze of Medusa

美杜莎具有石化魔力的凝视

turns David into cold, lifeless stone.

把大卫变成冰冷 毫无生气的石头

Cellini got away with his stupendous work

切利尼用他惊人的作品逃脱了罪责

only because it flattered

只是因为他的作品

his Medici patron's sense of self-importance.

满足了美第奇家族赞助者的自负感

The great days of Florence are gone,

佛罗伦萨光辉的日子一去不复返

but a show of grandstanding art

但存留下来的伟大艺术品

would postpone² insignificance³ indefinitely.

永远不会让此地变得无足轻重

And for rising empires,

至于新兴的崛起帝国

art and artists were indispensable

帝国威势的投射

to the projection⁴ of their power.

离不开帝国的艺术和艺术家

And this was as true in Muslim Asia as in Christian⁵ Europe.

亚洲的穆斯林国家和欧洲的基督教国家都是如此

The Mughal Empire in India was a sponge for all the cultures

印度的莫卧儿帝国是个继承和崇尚

it inherited and admired.

多元文化的海绵

And that tolerant, curious openness to many influences,

在阿克巴统治下 那种对东西方影响

east and west under the Emperor Akbar

容忍 好奇 开放的态度

became a principal of government.

成为了政府的主要政策

When he and his descendants

当他和他的子嗣们

rebuilt the old ruined Hindu city of Lahore,

重建破旧的印度教城市拉合尔时

they borrowed from Indian temple style

他们借鉴了印度庙宇

and from Persian architecture.

以及波斯建筑的风格

But most crucially, Akbar, who had learned painting himself,

但最重要的是 阿克巴他自学了绘画

made art the mirror of his civilisation⁶.

使得艺术成为他那个时期文明的镜子

"There are many that hate painting," Akbar said,

"很多人都讨厌绘画" 阿克巴说

"But such men I dislike."

"但我不喜欢这种人"

Akbar established workshops of hundreds of artists,

阿克巴为数以百计的艺术家们建立了作坊

great factories of royal culture

这些伟大的皇家文化工厂

that dwarfed⁷ the modest studios of western painters.

让西方画家狭窄的画室相形见绌

Mughal art drew on Indian epics⁸,

莫卧儿帝国时期的艺术取材于印度史诗

Persian poetry, calligraphy⁹ and profuse¹⁰ decoration,

波斯诗歌 书法以及装饰品

but it quickly developed its own style,

但它很快发展出了自己的风格

crowded with dashing incident,

充满着气派的故事

courtly elegance¹¹

儒雅且高贵

and sometimes under the influence of Western art

而且有时也会受到阿克巴所见过的

seen by Akbar,

西方艺术的影响

a flair¹² for naturalism.

例如自然主义的内秉性

Akbar himself, always at the centre of the subject matter,

阿克巴他自己一直都是作品主题的中心

paid personal attention to the work,

他会亲自关注作品的创作

regularly descending¹³ on workshops and,

时常去作坊看看

to the terror of the artists,

令艺术家们害怕的是

promoting or demoting painters,

他会根据自己对画家们最近作品的喜恶

depending on how he liked or disliked their latest work.

来擢升或贬斥画家

1 petrifying   

v.吓呆，使麻木( petrify的现在分词 )；使吓呆，使惊呆；僵化

参考例句：

• I found the climb absolutely petrifying. 我觉得这次爬山太吓人了。 来自柯林斯例句

2 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

3 insignificance   

n.不重要；无价值；无意义

参考例句：

• Her insignificance in the presence of so much magnificence faintly affected her. "她想象着他所描绘的一切，心里不禁有些刺痛。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• It was above the common mass, above idleness, above want, above insignificance. 这里没有平凡，没有懒散，没有贫困，也没有低微。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

7 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 epics   

n.叙事诗( epic的名词复数 )；壮举；惊人之举；史诗般的电影（或书籍）

参考例句：

• one of the great Hindu epics 伟大的印度教史诗之一
• Homer Iliad and Milton's Paradise Lost are epics. 荷马的《伊利亚特》和弥尔顿的《失乐园》是史诗。 来自互联网

9 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

10 profuse   

adj.很多的，大量的，极其丰富的

参考例句：

• The hostess is profuse in her hospitality.女主人招待得十分周到。
• There was a profuse crop of hair impending over the top of his face.一大绺头发垂在他额头上。

11 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

12 flair   

n.天赋，本领，才华；洞察力

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design.他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• He had a natural flair for business.他有做生意的天分。

13 descending   

n. 下行 adj. 下降的

参考例句：

• The results are expressed in descending numerical order . 结果按数字降序列出。
• The climbers stopped to orient themselves before descending the mountain. 登山者先停下来确定所在的位置，然后再下山。