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。

卷三:享受那你认为是最好的东西的快乐02
 小编语:到第三卷啦!个人倒是更喜欢这一卷,你呢?

3.3 Do not waste the remainder of thy life in thoughts about others, when thou dost not refer thy thoughts to some object of common utility. For thou losest the opportunity of doing something else when thou hast such thoughts as these, What is such a person doing, and why, and what is he saying, and what is he thinking of, and what is he contriving, and whatever else of the kind makes us wander away from the observation of our own ruling power. We ought then to check in the series of our thoughts everything that is without a purpose and useless, but most of all the over-curious feeling and the malignant; and a man should use himself to think of those things only about which if one should suddenly ask, What hast thou now in thy thoughts? With perfect openness thou mightest, immediately answer, This or That; so that from thy words it should be plain that everything in thee is simple and benevolent, and such as befits a social animal, and one that cares not for thoughts about pleasure or sensual enjoyments at all, nor has any rivalry or envy and suspicion, or anything else for which thou wouldst blush if thou shouldst say that thou hadst it in thy mind.

 Notes:
contrive [v] 
   ~to do sth: to manage to do something despite difficulties;
   ~sth: to succeed in making something happen despite difficulties; to think of or make something, for example a plan or a machine, in a clever way
benevolent [adj]
   1. (formal)(especially of peaple in authority) kind, helpful and generous
       [opp]malevolent
   2. used in the names of some organizations that give help and money to people in need

3.4 Labour not unwillingly, nor without regard to the common interest, nor without due consideration, nor with distraction; nor let studied ornament set off thy thoughts, and be not either a man of many words, or busy about too many things. And further, let the deity which is in thee be the guardian of a living being, manly and of ripe age, and engaged in matter political, and a Roman, and a ruler, who has taken his post like a man waiting for the signal which summons him from life, and ready to go, having need neither of oath nor of any man's testimony. Be cheerful also, and seek not external help nor the tranquility which others give. A man then must stand erect, not be kept erect by others.

 Notes:
ornament [n] an object that is used as decoration in a room, garden/yard, etc. rather than for a particular purpose.

 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:
3.3 当你不把你的思想指向公共福利的某个目标时,不要把你剩下的生命浪费在思考别人上。因为,当你有这思想时,你就丧失了做别的事情的机会。这个人在做什么,为什么做,他说了什么,想了什么,争论什么,注意所有这些事情将使我们忽略了观察我们自己的支配力量。所以我们应当在我们的思想行进中抑制一切无目的和无价值的想法,以及大量好奇和恶意的情感;一个人应当仅仅使他想这样一些事:即当别人突然问:"你现在想什么?"他都能完全坦白地直接回答:想这个或那个,并且从你的话里清楚地表明:你心中的一切都是朴实和仁爱的,都有利于一个社会动物,你是一个全然不关注快乐或感官享受的人,也没有敌意、嫉妒和疑心,或者有任何别的你说出来会感到脸红的念头。

3.4 不要不情愿地劳作,不要不尊重公共利益,不要不加以适当的考虑,不要分心,不要虚有学问的外表而丧失自己的思想,也不要成为喋喋不休或忙忙碌碌的人。而且,让你心中的神成为一个保护者,一个有生命的存在的保护者,一个介入政治的成熟的男子的保护者,一个罗马人,一个统治者的保护者。这个统治者像一个等待从生活中召唤他的信号的人一样接受了自己的职位,无需誓约也无需别人的证言。同时也欢乐吧,不寻求外在的帮助也不要别人给的安宁。这样,一个人就必然笔直的站立,而不是让别人扶着直立。

回顾:《沉思录》读书笔记系列>>