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#1 If you want to market luxury, you have to understand what luxury is. Aristotle believed that the natural aim of human life is to know. The word ‘know’ in Greek has a double meaning: άνάγκη means something like ‘to obtain’ and also ‘pleasure’; the object of our knowledge is therefore the good we desire, which we obtain by understanding it. In other words, we need knowledge to be able to choose wisely. This is why knowledge is so important in aristocratic culture: it is the basis of taste, which is therefore born from a certain type of knowledge. Indeed, for the ancients, the basis of taste was usually something that was acquired through experience and not some innate quality. What enabled humans to distinguish between good and bad actions was not some innate instinct but rather a wisdom born from experience. The ancients therefore believed that the human capacity for enjoying was an acquired one and not something inherent in the human species. In other words, it is not the case that humans are born with the capacity for enjoying or being affected by certain things; rather, it is their experience that makes them capable of identifying with certain things.

#2 The history of luxury starts with our species’ desire for knowledge.

#3 The history of luxury starts with our species’ desire for knowledge.

#4 The history of luxury starts with our species’ desire for knowledge. The most sophisticated techniques were developed and then applied to ensure the pomp and splendour of the afterlife.

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