世界小史 第84期:哲学

 The Ionians in the colonial outposts may have been ahead of them here,

在殖民地的伊安尼尔人已经比他们先走了一步,

for they had already reflected on what the world was actually made of, and what might be the cause of all events and experiences.

因为他们已经在考虑世界究竟由什么组成，什么是一切事件和事情的原因。

This sort of reflection is what we call philosophy.

这种思考就是我们称为哲学的东西。

In Athens, however, their reflecting – or philosophizing – went much further.

但是在雅典，他们的思考——或哲学——更深入。

They also wanted to know how people should act, what was good and what was evil, and what was just and what was unjust.

他们也想知道人们应该做些什么，什么是善什么是恶，什么是公正什么是不公正。

They wanted to find an explanation for human existence and discover the essence of all things.

他们想找出人类为什么存在的解释，发现一切事物中的本质。

Of course, not everyone agreed on matters as complex as these,

当然不是人人对所有这些复杂的事物都有同样的看法

there were various theories and opinions that were argued back and forth¹, just as in the people's Assembly.

他们有各种不同的理论和意见，他们互相讨论，就像在公民大会上那样。

And since that time, the sort of reflection and reasoned argument we call philosophy has never stopped.

自从那个时期以来，这种思考以及这种被称之为哲学的探讨就再也没有终止过。

But the Athenians didn't only pace up and down their porticos and sports fields talking about things like the essence of life and how to recognize it, and where it came from.

但雅典人不只是在他们的圆柱式大厅里和在运动场上走来走去，对诸如：何为生命的本质，如何能认识生命，生命的源泉是什么这样的问题发表意见。

They didn't just picture the world in a new way in their minds, they saw it with new eyes.

他们不仅用他们的思想以新的方式描绘世界，他们还用新的眼光看待世界。

1 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。