How Art Made The World 说服的艺术 -13

It's the power to persuade us to think what they want us to think and to see things the way they do, and even to deceive us. So how did art go from being a tool of political promotion¹, to being an instrument of mass deception²? To find out, we need to discover just how and why imagery was first used to tell a political lie.

That weapon was invented here in Rome. 40 years before the birth of Christ, ancient Rome was on the point of collapse³. For decades, a civil war had divided the city. And the city was split not just politically, but culturally, too, a split that manifested itself even in people's appearance.

It seems hard to imagine today, but it was as if you could tell everyone's political allegiance simply by seeing how they were dressed. It would be as if today Rome were divided into two camps, each with their own distinctive⁴ uniforms. Suppose one group dressed in an old-fashioned and conservative way, they were the Republicans. They believed that the great traditional Roman family should rule Rome as they had for centuries. They dressed in traditional and austere⁵ clothes.

And suppose the other group were more like today's trendies. Although it seems strange, this group were Monarchists, they wanted to replace the traditional families with the powerful and ostentatious king. They wore more flamboyant⁶ clothes to parade these exotic sympathies.


allegiance: (n.) Loyalty⁷ or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation, sovereign, or cause. 忠诚
austere: (a.) Severe or stern in disposition⁸ or appearance; somber⁹ and grave 严厉的
trendy: (n.) One who is drawn¹⁰ to and represents the latest trends 领导时尚的人
Monarchist: (n.) 君主主义者
ostentatious: (a.) Characterized by or given to ostentation¹¹; pretentious¹². 炫耀的
flamboyant: Richly colored; resplendent. 色彩艳丽的; 灿烂辉煌的

1 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

2 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

5 austere   

adj.艰苦的；朴素的，朴实无华的；严峻的

参考例句：

• His way of life is rather austere.他的生活方式相当简朴。
• The room was furnished in austere style.这间屋子的陈设都很简单朴素。

6 flamboyant   

adj.火焰般的，华丽的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.他的衣着在这种严肃场合太浮夸了。
• The King's flamboyant lifestyle is well known.国王的奢华生活方式是人尽皆知的。

7 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。

8 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

9 somber   

adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
• His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。

10 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

11 ostentation   

n.夸耀，卖弄

参考例句：

• Choose a life of action,not one of ostentation.要选择行动的一生，而不是炫耀的一生。
• I don't like the ostentation of their expensive life - style.他们生活奢侈，爱摆阔，我不敢恭维。

12 pretentious   

adj.自命不凡的，自负的，炫耀的

参考例句：

• He is a talented but pretentious writer.他是一个有才华但自命不凡的作家。
• Speaking well of yourself would only make you appear conceited and pretentious.自夸只会使你显得自负和虚伪。