Unilateralist　Quick,　Henry,the　emollient（英文精解）

“I　ho p e　the　notion　of　a　unilateral　a pp roach　died　in　some　p eo p le's　minds　here　toda y．”President　Geor g e　W．　Bush　told　a　NATO　news　conference　in　Brussels,bridlin g　at　havin g　been　saddled　with　the　dirt y　di p lomatic　word．“Unilateralists　don't　come　around　the　table　to　listen　to　others．　．．．　Unilateralists　don't　ask　o p inions　of　world　leaders．”In　case　an－y bod y　didn't　g et　his　p oint,he　g ave　a　definition:“A　unilateralist　is　one　that　doesn't　understand　the　role　of　NATO．”Were　it　not　for　the　g host　of　the　Nixonian“I　am　not　a　crook,”he　would　surel y　have　added,“I　am　not　a　unilateralist．”
W h y　the　revulsion　at　this　word?Because　the　ad j ective　means“undertaken　b y　one,”which　is　di p lomaticall y　q uite　incorrect,or　“one—sided,”which　carries　an　overtone　of　arro g ance．Born　in　botan y　to　describe　a　cluster　of　flowers　g rowin g　on　one　side　of　a　stalk,it　bloomed　in　di p lolin g o　a　half　centur y　a g o:“Unilateralism,to　coin　one　more　g obbled y g ook　term,”wrote　Arthur　Schlesin g er　Jr．in　1951　in　its　dis p ara g ement,“has　be－come　the　new　isolationism．Go　it　alone;meet　force　with　maximum　force;there　is　no　substitute　for　vic－tor y．．．these　are　the　tenets　of　the　new　faith．”
A　y ear　a g o,Senator　Jose p h　Biden,now　the　Democratic　chairman　of　forei g n　relations,ta gg ed　the　G．O．P　ticket　as“unilateralists　if　not　isolationists．”That　was　the　theme　that　France's　Prime　Minister,Lionel　Jos p in,p icked　u p　this　s p rin g:“This　is　not　an　isolationist　administration　as　has　been　the　case　before　in　the　Re p ublican　tra－dition,”he　noted．“This　is　more　like　a　unilateralist　administration．”
Uni　means“one”；multi　means“man y．”A　few　y ears　a g o,Re p ublicans　were　criticizin g　the　Clinton　administration　for　bein g　too　multilateral,followin g　the　lead　of　the　U．N．and　other　g rou p s　of　nations．Just　as　the　uni　p refix　im p lies　arro g ance,multi　im p lies　meekness,re q uirin g Clinton's　secretar y　of　state,Madeleine　Albri g ht,to　come　u p　with　a　toug hening　modifier:“assertive　multilateralism．”
Rather　than　reachin g　for　a　softenin g　q ualifier　（“ac quiescent　unilateralism”lea p s　to　mind）and　des p ite　an　o p enin g　offered　b y　the　Euro p ean　trade　commissioner,Pascal　Lam y（“One　man's　unilateralism　is　another's　determined　leadershi p”），the　Bush　team　decided　to　den y　it　flatl y．Its　p referred　self—descri p tion　is　neither　iso－lationist　nor　interventionist,but　“internationalist．”
As　the　smoothin g—over　was　decided　on,one　word　muscled　its　wa y　into　vo g ue:emollient．In　The　New　York　Times　in　December,R．　W．　A pp le　Jr．and　Steven　Erlan g er　se p aratel y　wrote　of“emollient　words”used　b y　Bush　to　soften　hard　lines．Last　month,British　anal y sts　became　entranced　with　the　word:“At　his　first　ma j or meetin g　with ske p tical　Euro p ean　leaders,”wrote　Anton　La　Guardia　in　The　Dail y　Tele g ra p h,“Mr．　Bush　struck　an　emollient　note．”M y　collea g ue　in　column y,Anthon y　Lewis,who　I　sus p ect　reads　the　British　p ress,noted　that“the　emollient　Bush　words　about　lovin g　the　environment　did　not　match　the　realit y　of　the　administration's　destructive　actions．”
Get　to　know　this　soothin g　locution,both　noun　and　ad j ective,which　is　not　nearl y　as　stin g in g　as“astrin g ent”and　is　the　o pp osite　of“abrasive．”The　Latin　molli　is“soft”；Alexander　Po p e　wrote　in　1727　of　p oetr y's“emollients　and　o piates．”Pour　it　over　y our　unilateralism,rub　it　in　and　coz y　the　world　alon g．