英語美文朗讀 第387期 The Meditations

《沉思錄》是公元2世紀(jì)后期，古羅馬皇帝馬可·奧勒留傳下來的一部個(gè)人哲學(xué)思考錄，主要思考人生倫理問題，兼及自然哲學(xué)；是奧勒留所作的一本寫給自己的思想散文集。這本與自己的十二卷對話，內(nèi)容大部分是他在鞍馬勞頓中所寫，是斯多葛派哲學(xué)（斯多亞哲學(xué)）的一個(gè)里程碑。

 

 

The Meditations

沉思錄

 

Begin each day by telling yourself: I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness 一 all of them due to the offenders' ignorance of what is good or evil.

每天早晨醒來的時(shí)候告訴你自己：今天我將要面對紛紛擾擾，忘恩負(fù)義，傲慢無禮，背叛與敵意，自私自利，所有這些都是那些冒犯者對善惡無知的表現(xiàn)。

 

But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the evildoer himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow-creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine).

而對我來說，自己一直都深知善的真諦和崇高，惡的本質(zhì)和低俗，以及施惡者的本性。那些所謂施惡者其實(shí)是我的兄弟（并非因?yàn)槿怏w上的，而是神賦予我們共同的理智和神圣）。

 

Therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man's two hands, feet, or eyelids, or like the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Natures law 一 and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction.

既然如此，任何的攻擊都無法傷我一根毛發(fā)，任何人都不能夠?qū)⑽揖砣氡傲拥氖虑?。我既不?huì)生我兄弟的氣，也不會(huì)與之發(fā)生爭吵，因?yàn)槲覀兲焐⒍ㄒ谝黄鸸ぷ鳎腿缤说膬芍皇?一雙腳，或一對眼瞼，上下兩排牙齒一樣緊密不可分。妨礙別人就是違反自然法則，而憤怒與厭惡只是這種妨礙的一種形式。

 

Men seek for seclusion in the wilderness, by the seashore, or in the mountains — a dream you have cherished only too fondly yourself. But such fancies are wholly unworthy of a philosopher, since at any moment you choose you can retire within yourself. Nowhere can man find aquieter or more untroubled retreat than in his own soul... avail yourself often, then, of this retirement, and so continually renew yourself. Make your rules of life brief, yet so as to embrace the fundamentals; recurrence to them will then suffice to remove all vexation, and send you back without fretting to the duties to which you must return.

人在荒郊野外、高山海濱尋求隱居之所,愉快地追尋著自己所珍視的夢想。但是，對于一個(gè)哲人來說，這些幻想毫無必要。一個(gè)哲人可以隨時(shí)選擇自我隱居，最清靜、不受紛擾的靜修之所莫過于他的內(nèi)心。善于利用好隱居所帶來的好處，不斷地升華自己，使你的生活規(guī)則變得簡單，擁抱世間的基本規(guī)律。如此循環(huán)往復(fù)，定會(huì)消除一切煩惱，并且讓你安然返回到原來的生活責(zé)任當(dāng)中，而不需憤怒和焦慮。

 

At day's first light have in readiness, against disinclination to leave your bed, the thought that"I am rising for the work of man." Must I grumble at setting out to do what I was born for, and for the sake of which I have been brought into the world? Is this the purpose of my creation, to lie here under the blankets and keep myself warm? "ah, but it is a great deal more pleasant!" was it for pleasure, then, that you were born, and not for work, not for effort? Look at the plants, the sparrows, ants, spiders, bees, all busy at their own tasks, each doing his part towards a coherent world-order; and will you refuse man's share of the work, instead of being prompt to carry out Nature's bidding?

當(dāng)清晨第一縷陽光將要照射進(jìn)來的時(shí)候，打消掉一切不愿起床的念頭,要想到：“我起來是要為人類工作的。”對于我們注定要完成的天賦使命，我們非得去抱怨一番嗎？殊不知我們正是為這個(gè)天賦使命而來到世間。上帝創(chuàng)造了我，難道就是讓我躺在毯子下面溫暖自己的身體嗎？“噢，但是那樣做很舒適的??！”難道我們生來便是為了舒適,而不是為了辛勤努力，為了工作勞動(dòng)嗎？看看那些植物，那些麻雀，那些螞蟻，那些蜘蛛，那些蜜蜂，它們都在忙著自己的工作，為世界秩序的和諧盡著自己的那份力；難道你真的情愿放棄人類應(yīng)該履行的職責(zé)，而不主動(dòng)接受大自然給我們的賞賜嗎？