第十四章

　　The Greek cities

　　古希腊城邦

　　The Greek cities that were really states.

　　古希腊的城市其实是独立的国家

　　We modern people love the sound of the word "big." We pride ourselves upon the fact that we belong to the "biggest" country in the world and possess the "biggest" navy and grow the "biggest" oranges and potatoes, and we love to live in cities of "millions" of inhabitants and when we are dead we are buried in the "biggest cemetery of the whole state."

　　我们现代人总喜欢"大"这个字眼。我们为自己属于世界上"最大"的国家、拥有"最大"的海军、出产"最大'的柑橘和马铃薯而自豪不已。我们喜欢住在数百万人口的"大城市"，死后被葬在"全国最大的公墓"。

　　A citizen of ancient Greece, could he have heard us talk, would not have known what we meant. "Moderation in all things" was the ideal of his life and mere bulk did not impress him at all. And this love of moderation was not merely a hollow phrase used upon special occasions: it influenced the life of the Greeks from the day of their birth to the hour of their death. It was part of their literature and it made them build small but perfect temples. It found expression in the clothes which the men wore and in the rings and the bracelets of their wives. It followed the crowds that went to the theatre and made them hoot down any playwright who dared to sin against the iron law of good taste or good sense.

　　如果一个古希腊公民听见我们诸如此类的说法，他很可能一头雾水，根本不明白我们的意思。"万事追求适度"，这是他们对理想生活的准则。单纯的数量与体积的庞大根本引不起他们的兴趣。并且，这种对适度与节制的热爱并非特定场会的空洞说辞，它渗入了古希腊人由生到死的全部日常生活。它是他们文学的一个组成部分；它使他们造出了小巧而完美的神庙；它在男人穿着的服装和女人佩戴的手镯里，也表现出自己的特性；它还随公众来到剧场，使他们对任何胆敢违反高雅趣味和优良理性的剧作家报以一片嘘声。

　　The Greeks even insisted upon this quality in their politicians and in their most popular athletes. When a powerful runner came to Sparta and boasted that he could stand longer on one foot than any other man in Hellas the people drove him from the city because he prided himself upon an accomplishment at which he could be beaten by any common goose.

　　希腊人甚至要他们的政治家和最受欢迎的运动员也具备这种平衡与适度感。当一位著名的长跑手来到斯巴达，吹嘘自己能够用单脚长时间站立，比希腊的任何人都来得久，这时人们会不留情面地把他赶出城市，因为任何一只普通的鹅都能做到他引以为豪的"壮举"。