| 词组 | charisma |
| 释义 | charisma Charisma is an originally theological term that was first appropriated for secular use by the German sociologist Max Weber. The work of Weber's in which he uses the term was not translated into English until 1947, but it was known to people who were familiar with his thought: • Charisma is, then, a quality of things and persons by virtue of which they are specifically set apart from the ordinary, the everyday, the routine —Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action, 1937 Thus, the earliest uses of the word in English are elucidations of Weber's theories or applications to Germany: • ... the strange German conception of the leader's "charisma," a combination of manliness, recklessness, and intellectualism —Louis L. Snyder, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, July 1947 • The superficial adulation paid to Mussolini never approached the aura—the charisma, as some Germans name it—surrounding the Führer —R. M. Maclver, The Web of Government, 1947 It was not long before charisma turned up in literary criticism: • ... for Paul radiates what the sociologists, borrowing the name from theology, call charisma, the charm of power, the gift of leadership —Lionel Trilling, The Liberal Imagination, 1950 • What the junior editor means is that the author of the manuscript, although lacking in sales appeal, has a high value on the literary stock exchange. He has ... what political sociologists would call charisma — Malcolm Cowley, The Literary Situation, 1954 So the word was current in some intellectual circles when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960. The frequent application of charisma to Kennedy seems to have been in large measure responsible for the popularity of the word in the press. By the end of the 1960s, charisma was busting out all over: • Beauty, wealth, birth—where could you find a better summary of what gives the Kennedys ... their charisma? —Max Lerner, N. Y. Post, 28 June 1968 • ... Jesse Jackson, who has been described as being closer than anyone else to Dr. King in charisma — Charlayne A. Hunter, Trans-Action, October 1968 • ... those gifted with the charisma to lead us out of the wilderness —W. Warren Wagar, Center Mag., September 1968 • ... has at least as much to do with United States blindness as with Fidel Castro's well-established charisma —Irving Louis Horowitz —Trans-Action, April 1969 The boom has continued through the 1970s: • She had more than charisma; it was almost an inner radiance —Ralph G. Martin, McCall's, November 1971 • Of all the world's capitals, this city seems to be the most gifted with charisma —Patrick McGivern, Cosmopolitan, March 1972 • The charisma of the aerospace and defense industries —Gary DeWard Brown, Datamation, March 1972 • Autumn is Libra's special season, and through Thanksgiving, the private you is blessed with extra sparkle and charisma —Lila Spencer, Cosmopolitan, October 1976 • What she lacked was charisma, the magic that leaped out from the screen —Sidney Sheldon, Cosmopolitan, September 1976 • ... whose acting in Sunday Too Far Away and Caddie leaves no doubt of his intelligence and charisma —S. S. Prawer, Times Literary Supp., 18 July 1980 You can perhaps detect here—as several commentators have—a certain devaluation or trivialization of the word from its early application to national leaders like Hitler, Kennedy, or Castro to its extension to movie actors, the aerospace industry, and even to the ordinary Libra (at least through Thanksgiving). We could give further examples, but the point has been made. Commentators such as Howard 1977, Phythian 1979, Bremner 1980, and Harper 1985 object mildly to the trend. The word may have descended in application from the definition Weber gave it—quoted in translation in Howard 1977 and in the OED Supplement—but Parsons had already deflated it somewhat in 1937, and its spread to literary criticism also sowed the seeds for most current use. If the coin is somewhat devalued, it is nonetheless in wide circulation. |
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