纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 020法老拉美西斯二世雕像(5)

To deliver our sculpture a literate, numerate and very well-oiled bureaucratic machine was essential-and that same machine was of course also employed to manage Egypt's international trade and to organise and equip her armies.

此过程中，一个庞大而运作良好的政府机构以及一群能写会算的公务员必不可少。同一国家机器也统筹管理着埃及的国际贸易、军队组织与武装。

Ramesses undoubtedly had something of the magic touch, and like all great masters of propaganda, where he didn't actually succeed, he just made it up.

拉美西斯确实能力超群，成就斐然。但和所有的宣传大师一样，如果事情不像他们想象得那么顺利，便会选择编造。

While he wasn't exceptional in combat, he was able to mobilise a considerable army and supply them with ample weaponry and equipment.

他本身并非骁勇善战，却有能力调动起一支强大的军队，并用充足的武器武装他们。

And whatever the actual result of his battles, the official line was always the same-knock-out for Ramesses.

不管实际战况如何，官方记录永远一致：拉美西斯取得了胜利！

The whole of the Ramesseum, like our statue, conveyed this consistent message of serene success.

拉美西斯神殿从整体上传达的信息就是：沉着的胜利。

This is egyptologist Karen Exell, on Ramesses the propagandist:

埃及古物学家卡伦?埃克塞尔博士对宣传家拉美西斯的评价是：

"He very much understood that being visible was central to the success of the kingship, so he put up as many colossal statues as he could, very very quickly.

他深谙成功统治的核心就是要让臣民随时看到自己的面孔，于是竭尽所能地修建巨大雕像，并为埃及传统神祇修建神庙。

He built temples to the traditional gods of Egypt, and this kind of activity has been interpreted as being bombastic-showing off and so on, but we really need to see it in the context of the requirements of the kingship.

从前人们总把这种行为解读为浮夸、炫耀…但我们真的要从统治需求的角度来考虑。

People needed a strong leader and they understood a strong leader to be a king who was out there campaigning on behalf of Egypt, and was very visible within Egypt.

人民需要强大的领袖，而他们所理解的强大，便是在外代表埃及出战，在内则无处不在。