本书简介:
《沉思录》是古罗马皇帝奥勒留写给自己的书,内容大部分是他在鞍马劳顿中写成的。作品来自奥勒留对身羁宫廷的自己和自己所处混乱世界的感受,追求一种冷静而达观的生活。这部著作是斯多葛学派的一个里程碑,亦是温总理放在枕边,读了不下百遍的书。
本书原文由古希腊文而作,英文版选择比较权威的George Long的版本,中文版选择何怀宏的版本作参考。笔记中的英文释义摘自《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》

 作者简介:
马可•奥勒留(Marcus Aurelius,公元121—180年),著名的“帝王哲学家”,古罗马帝国皇帝,在希腊文学和拉丁文学、修辞、哲学、法律、绘画方面受过很好的教育,晚期斯多葛学派代表人物之一。奥勒留也许是西方历史上唯一的一位哲学家皇帝。他是一个比他的帝国更加完美的人,他的勤奋工作最终并没有能够挽救古罗马,但是他的《沉思录》却成为西方历史上的伟大名著。

卷一:品质闪烁在良好的传承中(5)
 小编语:在卷一中,奥勒留回忆自己身边之人所教会自己的东西,George Long的翻译十分精炼,有些看起来也许不成句子,仅仅是一些词组和短语,但就在字里行间,我们可以感受到作者的思考与自省。如果要作为翻译练习的话,需要注意添加动词及调整语序,使你的翻译语句通顺,易于理解。
几期节目做下来,在翻阅字典,输入词条释义的过程中,也窥探出一些George Long的用词习惯,你可以发现,他的用词以“formal”为主,这是与整本书的基调相吻合的。所以,同学们做翻译什么的时候,一定要注意用词,力求还原原文的行文风格,不要把脑子里蹦出来的第一个词不加思考地写下来。

1.13 From my brother Severus, to love my kin, and to love truth, and to love justice; and through him I learned to know Thrasea, Helvidius, Cato, Dion, Brutus; and from him I received the idea of a polity in which there is the same law for all, a polity administered with regard to equal rights and equal freedom of speech, and the idea of a kingly government which respects most of all the freedom of the governed; I learned from him also consistency and undeviating steadiness in my regard for philosophy; and a disposition to do good, and to give to others readily, and to cherish good hopes, and to believe that I am loved by my friends; and in him I observed no concealment of his opinions with respect to those whom he condemned, and that his friends had no need to conjecture what he wished or did not wish, but it was quite plain. 

 Notes:
deviation [n] ~(from sth) the act of moving away from what is normal or acceptable; a difference form what is expected or acceptable.
              e.g.: deviation from the previously accepted norms 违背事先接受的准则
condemn [v] 1. ~ sb/sth (for/as sth) to express very strong disapproval of sb/sth, usually for moral reasons. e.g.: The government issued a statement condemning the killings. (政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。)
                   2.[usually passive] ~ sb (to sth) to say what sb’s punishment will be.
              e.g.: He was condemned to death for murder and later hanged. (他因凶杀罪被判处死刑后被绞死。)
另还有“迫使……接受困境”、“宣告使用……不安全”、“证明有罪”等意思。


1.14 From Maximus I learned self-government, and not to be led aside by anything; and cheerfulness in all circumstances, as well as in illness; and a just admixture in the moral character of sweetness and dignity, and to do what was set before me without complaining. I observed that everybody believed that he thought as he spoke, and that in all that he did he never had any bad intention; and he never showed amazement and surprise, and was never in a hurry, and never put off doing a thing, nor was perplexed nor dejected, nor did he ever laugh to disguise his vexation, nor, on the other hand, was he ever passionate or suspicious. He was accustomed to do acts of beneficence, and was ready to forgive, and was free from all falsehood; and he presented the appearance of a man who could not be diverted from right rather than of a man who had been improved. I observed, too, that no man could ever think that he was despised by Maximus, or ever venture to think himself a better man. He had also the art of being humorous in an agreeable way. 

 Notes:

disguise [v] to hide sth or change it, so that it cannot be recognized.
            e.g.: She made no attempt to disguise her surprise. (她毫不掩饰自己惊奇的心情。)
另还有“降班,伪装”的意思,也可做名词,是“伪装物”、“化妆用具”或“假扮”的意思。
            e.g.: He is a master of disguise. (他是伪装能手。)
vexation [n] (old-fashioned or formal) the state of feeling upset or annoyed.

 看了笔记注释之后,先尝试自己翻译一下吧,参考译文见下:

中文翻译:
1.13 从我的兄弟西维勒斯,我懂得了爱我的亲人,爱真理,爱正义;从他,我知道了思雷西亚、黑尔维蒂厄斯、加图、戴昂、布鲁特斯;从他我接受了一种以同样的法对待所有人、实施权利平等和言论自由平等的政体的思想,和一种最大范围地尊重被治者的所有自由的王者之治的观念;我也从他那里获得一种对于哲学的始终一贯和坚定不移的尊重,一种行善的品质,为人随和,抱以善望,相信自己为朋友所爱;我也看到他从不隐瞒他对他所谴责的那些人的意见,他的朋友无需猜测他的意愿;这些意愿是相当透明的。 

1.15 从马克西默斯,我学会了自制,不为任何东西所左右,在任何环境里和疾病中欢愉如常,在道德品格方面形成一种甜美和尊严的恰当配合;做摆在面前的事情并毫无怨言。我注意到所有人都相信思如其言,在任何行为中都不抱恶意;他从未表现过奇怪和惊骇,从不匆忙,从不拖延,从不困惑或沮丧,他不以笑声掩饰他的焦虑,另一方面也不狂热或多疑。他已习惯于仁慈的行为,随时准备宽恕,避开所有的错误;他给人的印象与其说是一贯公正,不如说是不断改善。我也注意到:任何人都不能认为受到了他的蔑视,或者敢自认是比他更好的人。他也具有一种令人愉快的幽默的本领。 

回顾:《沉思录》读书笔记系列>>