Origins of Love and Beauty 爱在罗马 美源希腊
美式发音 适合精听
古希腊和古罗马这两大文明是西方文化的摇篮。其中古希腊文化又是罗马文化的源头,“希腊”一词意为典雅、优美。希腊人神合一的雕刻充分体现了人类爱美、善于创造美的天性。从双唇的魅力到完美体型的塑造,我们来一同窥探古代西方文明是如何创造最原始性感之美的。
Lips 感性的双唇
They say it all begins with a kiss.
The first ever screen kiss was filmed by the Thomas Edison Company for a stage show. It lasted a whole minute and caused a sensation when it was first shown in 1896.
But, just when was the kiss invented? Yup, I did say invented. It seems that us human beings haven’t always been kissing, and that the kiss might be yet another thing that we owe to the ancient Romans. In most of the ancient 1)civilizations that have left any record of what they did, it appears that rubbing noses or cheeks was the commonest form of greeting and pressing the lips together was an action reserved for mother and child. The ancient Romans, however, were so excited by the idea of kissing that they invented a whole new vocabulary for it. Now that’s what they called a basiam, a polite kissing of the hand and a little 2)peck on the cheek.
1)civilization [9sIvIlaI5zeIFEn] n. 文明, 文化
2)peck [pek] n. 啄
他们说,这一切都是由一个吻开始的。
银幕上有史以来的第一次亲吻出现在托马斯·爱迪生公司拍摄的一部舞台剧当中。这个亲吻镜头持续了整整一分钟,并且在1896年首次公映时引起了轰动。
但是,亲吻究竟是在什么时候被发明出来的呢?没错,我的确用了“发明”这个词。看起来似乎我们人类并不是一直都有亲吻这一习惯的,而亲吻或许又是一项我们应该归功于古罗马人的发明。在大多数记录了人类生活的古文明中,互相蹭蹭鼻子或碰碰脸颊似乎是最常见的打招呼方式,而双唇紧贴则是母亲和孩子之间特有的亲密动作。然而古罗马人却为“亲吻”这一概念兴奋不已,他们甚至还为此创造了连串全新的词汇。现在这就是他们所说的“basiam”,是指礼貌地吻手和轻啄面颊。
Body健美的线条
The word 3)gymnasium comes from the Greek meaning to exercise naked. Yup, even the gym is an ancient invention. The Greeks and Romans took the 4)workout more seriously than, perhaps, any other culture in recorded history. Young men were expected to go to the gym every day. 5)Pumping iron is another invention we owe to the 6)classical world. Weight training, running, boxing, wrestling, throwing the 7)javelin and 8)discus were all part of the routine.
“gymnasium”一词来自于古希腊,意思是裸体锻炼。没错,甚至连健身房都是一项古老的发明。也许古希腊人和古罗马人在对待体育锻炼方面,要比有历史记载的任何文明都来得严肃认真。他们认为年轻人每天都应该去健身房。健美是另一项我们要归功于古希腊和古罗马的发明。举重锻炼、跑步、拳击、摔跤、掷标枪和铁饼全都是他们日常锻炼中不可或缺的组成部分。
3)gymnasium [dVIm5neIzIEm] n. 健身房, 体育馆
4)pump iron 做负重训练，锻炼肌肉
5)workout [5w\:kaJt] n. 体育锻炼
6)classical [5klAsIkEl] a. 古希腊的，古罗马的
7)javelin [5dVAvlIn] n. 标枪
8)discus [5dIskEs] n. 铁饼
Beauty Contest 选美的由来
The 20th century seems to have elevated physical beauty into a competitive sport 9)in its own right, but the beauty contest is as old as history. It was invented, according to Greek mythology, when the gods asked the shepherd, 10)Paris, to decide who was the fairest goddess, Athena, goddess of wisdom, Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, or Hera, the wife of Zeus. Paris chose Aphrodite who had promised him the most beautiful mortal woman as a bride, Helen of Troy. Helen’s husband 11)took a dim view of this offer and, thus, the world’s first beauty contest ended up in a bloody war.
According to the historical record the forerunner of the modern beauty contest first took place over 3,000 years ago on the Greek Island of Lesbos.
But in ancient Greece, beauty was even more of a boy’s thing than a girl’s. The Greeks may be best known for inventing the Olympic Games, but they also invented the Mr. Universe contest. The Greeks took physical beauty so seriously, that they even invented mathematical guidelines for bodily perfection according to rules of proportion and 12)symmetry. For them, physical beauty was equated with moral beauty. Being out of shape and unattractive was consequently considered a 13)vice.
9)in one’s own right 凭借自身的力量
10)Paris 帕里斯，原名亚历山大(Alexander)，为荷马史诗《伊利亚特》(Iliad)中的特洛伊王子。出生前因母亲梦见火炬，其姐卡珊德拉预言其会为国家带来灾祸，出生后被丢弃山中，被一位牧羊人所抚养，并取名为帕里斯。
11)took a dim view of 持不赞成的态度
12)symmetry [5sImItrI] n. 对称, 匀称
13)vice [vaIs] n. 缺憾，恶习
到了20世纪,人体美似乎凭借自身的魅力晋升为一项竞技运动,但选美比赛的历史却是由来已久。根据希腊神话的记载,它的起源是这样的:众神让牧羊人帕里斯决定,在智慧女神雅典娜、掌管爱与美的女神阿佛洛狄忒和主神宙斯之妻赫拉之中,谁才是最美的女神。帕里斯选择了阿佛洛狄忒,因为她许诺将人世间最美的女子——特洛伊的海伦——许配为他的新娘。海伦的丈夫不赞成这个主意,因此这世界上的第一次选美比赛最终以血腥的战争而告终。
根据历史记载,现代选美比赛的前身早诞生于3000多年前希腊的莱斯博斯岛。
但是在古希腊,“美”更多是属于男孩而非女孩的专利。古希腊人或许因创办了奥林匹克运动会而举世闻名,但他们也首创了宇宙先生大赛。古希腊人非常看重人体美,他们甚至根据比例和对称法则为身体的完美度订立了数学准则。对于他们来说,人体美就等同于心灵美,因此身体走形和丧失吸引力就必然被看作是一种缺憾。
翻译:小狐
