2016年6月13日功課

HOW THE GREEKS LIVED

古希臘人怎么生活

BUT how, you will ask, did the ancient Greeks have time to look after their families and their business if they were forever running to the market-place to discuss affairs of state? In this chapter I shall tell you.

但是你會(huì)問(wèn)，如果古希臘人需要不停跑到集市上討論國(guó)家大事，那他們?cè)趺从袝r(shí)間照看自己的家庭和生意呢？在這一章我會(huì)告訴你。

In all matters of government, the Greek democracy recognised only one class of citizens–the freemen. Every Greek city was composed of a small number of free born citizens, a large number of slaves and a sprinkling of foreigners.

在所有的政府事物里，古希臘的民主制度只承認(rèn)唯一的自由市民等級(jí)。每一個(gè)城市都由一小部分自由公民和絕大多數(shù)的奴隸以及少數(shù)的外國(guó)人組成。

2016年6月14日功課

At rare intervals (usually during a war, when men were needed for the army) the Greeks showed themselves willing to confer the rights of citizenship upon the “barbarians” as they called the foreigners. But this was an exception. Citizenship was a matter of birth. You were an Athenian because your father and your grandfather had been Athenians before you. But however great your merits as a trader or a soldier, if you were born of non-Athenian parents, you remained a “foreigner" until the end of time.

在極少數(shù)（通常在戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)期間，當(dāng)軍隊(duì)需要男丁時(shí)）的情況下，希臘人才會(huì)主動(dòng)將公民權(quán)授給被稱為外來(lái)戶的“野蠻人門(mén)”。但這是一個(gè)特例。公民權(quán)與出身有關(guān)。你是一個(gè)雅典人那是因?yàn)槟愕母赣H和你的祖父是雅典人。作為一個(gè)商人或者士兵，無(wú)論你多么突出，多么優(yōu)秀，如果你的父母親不是雅典人，終其一生你也只能是一個(gè)“外來(lái)者”。

2016年6月15日功課

The Greek city, therefore, whenever it was not ruled by a king or a tyrant, was run by and for the freemen, and this would not have been possible without a large army of slaves who outnumbered the free citizens at the rate of six or five to one and who performed those tasks to which we modern people must devote most of our time and energy if we wish to provide for our families and pay the rent of our apartments.

無(wú)論是在國(guó)王統(tǒng)治時(shí)期還是暴君時(shí)代，古希臘城市都是被自由民控制也為自由民存在，如果不是因?yàn)橐恢慌`軍團(tuán)的存在，這是不可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的。奴隸群體在數(shù)量上遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)自由民，大概五或六比一的樣子。我們現(xiàn)代人必須竭盡全力工作以供養(yǎng)家庭和繳納房租，而這些工作希臘人都讓奴隸來(lái)做。

2016年6月16日功課

The slaves did all the cooking and baking and candlestick making of the entire city. They were the tailors and the carpenters and the jewelers and the school-teachers and the bookkeepers and they tended the store and looked after the factory while the master went to the public meeting to discuss questions of war and peace or visited the theatre to see the latest play of AEschylus or hear a discussion of the revolutionary ideas of Euripides, who had dared to express certain doubts upon the omnipotence of the great god Zeus.

奴隸們承擔(dān)了整個(gè)城市里所有的烹飪、烘焙和蠟燭制作工作。他們是裁縫、木匠、珠寶匠人、教員、圖書(shū)管理員。當(dāng)他們的主人離開(kāi)去參加公眾集會(huì)討論戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)與和平時(shí)，或者去劇場(chǎng)觀看埃斯庫(kù)羅斯（希臘的詩(shī)人及悲劇作家）的最新演出時(shí)，或者是去旁聽(tīng)關(guān)于歐里庇得斯（希臘的悲劇詩(shī)人）的革命性觀念的討論時(shí)，他們照管商店和工廠。歐里庇得斯敢于對(duì)宙斯大帝的全能性表示明確的懷疑。

Indeed, ancient Athens resembled a modem club. All the freeborn citizens were hereditary members and all the slaves were hereditary servants, and waited upon the needs of their masters, and it was very pleasant to be a member of the organisation.

實(shí)際上，古雅典人組成了一個(gè)現(xiàn)代式俱樂(lè)部。所有的自由出生公民天生就是成員，所有的奴隸天生就是仆人，對(duì)他們主人的需求隨時(shí)待命。成為這個(gè)組織的一員是一種極大的樂(lè)趣。

2016年6月17日功課

But when we talk about slaves. we do not mean the sort of people about whom you have read in the pages of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” It is true that the position of those slaves who tilled the fields was a very unpleasant one, but the average freeman[ (who had come down in the world and who had been obliged to hire himself out as a farm hand) ]led just as miserable a life. In the cities, furthermore, many of the slaves were more prosperous than the poorer classes of the freemen. For the Greeks, who loved moderation in all things, did not like to treat their slaves after the fashion which afterward was so common in Rome, where a slave had as few rights as an engine in a modern factory and could be thrown to the wild animals upon the smallest pretext.

但是當(dāng)我們討論奴隸時(shí)，可不是在說(shuō)你從《湯姆叔叔的小屋》的故事里聽(tīng)說(shuō)的那些人。的確，那些耕地的奴隸是一個(gè)非常不幸的角色，但是當(dāng)普通的自由民落魄后也不得不自己干農(nóng)活，（落魄的自由民）生活同樣悲。并且在城市里，大多數(shù)奴隸的生活比貧困的自由民更富足。對(duì)萬(wàn)事講究適度的希臘人來(lái)說(shuō)，對(duì)待他們的奴隸不會(huì)像羅馬人那樣。后來(lái)在羅馬非常流行的方式——那里的奴隸和工廠里的機(jī)器差不多，可能會(huì)因?yàn)槟氂械淖锩晃沽艘矮F。

The Greeks accepted slavery as a necessary institution, without which no city could possibly become the home of a truly civilised people.

古希臘人將奴隸視為一種必要的制度，離開(kāi)了奴隸沒(méi)有城市可以成為適合一個(gè)真正文明人居住的地方。

2016年6月18日功課

The slaves also took care of those tasks which nowadays are performed by the business men and the professional men. As for those household duties which take up so much of the time of your mother and which worry your father when he comes home from his office, the Greeks, who understood the value of leisure, had reduced such duties to the smallest possible minimum by living amidst surroundings of extreme simplicity.

奴隸們也承擔(dān)一些在現(xiàn)代由商人和專業(yè)人士做的工作。家務(wù)活兒占用了你媽媽太多的時(shí)間，也讓你爸爸下班后傷透腦筋。但希臘人懂得消遣的意義，為了盡量減少干家務(wù)活兒，他們居住在簡(jiǎn)單到極致的環(huán)境里。

To begin with, their homes were very plain. Even the rich nobles spent their lives in a sort of adobe barn, which lacked all the comforts which a modern workman expects as his natural right. A Greek home consisted of four walls and a roof. There was a door which led into the street but there were no windows. The kitchen, the living rooms and the sleeping quarters were built around an open courtyard in which there was a small fountain, or a statue and a few plants to make it look bright. Within this courtyard the family lived when it did not rain or when it was not too cold.

現(xiàn)在我們來(lái)看看希臘人的家，他們的住宅非常的簡(jiǎn)單。甚至富有的貴族都居住在一種類似土坯壘成的谷倉(cāng)里，哪里還沒(méi)有現(xiàn)代工人的工作環(huán)境舒適。一個(gè)希臘人的住宅有四堵墻和一個(gè)屋頂組成，有一扇門(mén)開(kāi)到街上，但沒(méi)有窗戶。廚房、起居室和臥室就坐落在一個(gè)開(kāi)放院子的四周。院子里擺放一個(gè)噴泉，或者一個(gè)雕塑也或者是少許綠植，這樣使院子充滿生機(jī)。當(dāng)天不下雨或者不是太冷時(shí)，一家人就住在這個(gè)院子里。

2016年6月19日功課

In one corner of the yard the cook (who was a slave) prepared the meal and in another corner, the teacher (who was also a slave) taught the children the alpha beta gamma and the tables of multiplication and in still another corner the lady of the house, who rarely left her domain (since it was not considered good form for a married woman to be seen on the street too often) was repairing her husband’s coat with her seamstresses (who were slaves,) and in the little office, right off the door, the master was inspecting the accounts which the overseer of his farm (who was a slave) had just brought to him.

廚子（他是一個(gè)奴隸）在院子的一個(gè)角落里準(zhǔn)備飯食，另一個(gè)角落里家庭教師（他是一個(gè)奴隸）正在教孩子們字母表和乘法口訣，剩下的一個(gè)角落里女主人和縫紉女工們（她們都是奴隸）正在準(zhǔn)備他丈夫的外套，女主人很少離開(kāi)家（因?yàn)榻Y(jié)過(guò)婚的女人不能經(jīng)常到大街上去），在門(mén)右側(cè)的小辦公室里，男主人正在檢查他的農(nóng)場(chǎng)監(jiān)工（也是一個(gè)奴隸）剛帶過(guò)來(lái)的賬本。

When dinner was ready the family came together but the meal was a very simple one and did not take much time. The Greeks seem to have regarded eating as an unavoidable evil and not a pastime, which kills many dreary hours and eventually kills many dreary people. They lived on bread and on wine, with a little meat and some green vegetables. They drank water only when nothing else was available because they did not think it very healthy. They loved to call on each other for dinner, but our idea of a festive meal, where everybody is supposed to eat much more than is good for him, would have disgusted them. They came together at the table for the purpose of a good talk and a good glass of wine and water, but as they were moderate people they despised those who drank too much.

當(dāng)飯菜就緒，家人們都圍在一起吃飯。但飯菜非常簡(jiǎn)單，要不了一會(huì)兒就吃完了。古希臘人將吃飯視為一件無(wú)法避免的煩心事，而不是一種消遣。吃飯這件事排解了許多無(wú)聊的時(shí)光，甚至消遣了許多苦悶的人。他們以面包和葡萄酒為食，也吃一些少量的肉和綠色蔬菜。他們只有在沒(méi)東西可喝時(shí)才喝點(diǎn)水，因?yàn)樗麄冋J(rèn)為喝水對(duì)健康沒(méi)什么益處。他們樂(lè)于呼朋引伴一起聚餐，每個(gè)人都會(huì)吃的太多不舒服，在我們看來(lái)就是一次節(jié)日宴會(huì)。他們圍坐一起是為了痛快的聊天以及暢飲葡萄酒和水，但因?yàn)楣畔ＥD人是喜歡中庸的人，他們鄙視那些喝多的人。

2016年6月20日功課

The same simplicity which prevailed in the dining room also dominated their choice of clothes. They liked to be clean and well groomed, to have their hair and beards neatly cut, to feel their bodies strong with the exercise and the swimming of the gymnasium, but they never followed the Asiatic fashion which prescribed loud colours and strange patterns. They wore a long white coat and they managed to look as smart as a modern Italian officer in his long blue cape.

在餐廳起決定作用的極簡(jiǎn)主義原則同樣支配著希臘人在穿衣的選擇上。他們喜歡干凈整潔的樣子，胡子和頭發(fā)都剪的很整齊，他們通過(guò)健身和游泳來(lái)保持強(qiáng)壯的身體，但他們從不追隨亞洲人的潮流——固定的強(qiáng)烈色彩和奇怪圖形。他們穿一個(gè)白色長(zhǎng)袍，設(shè)法使自己看起來(lái)像穿著長(zhǎng)披肩的現(xiàn)代意大利公務(wù)員那樣精明。

They loved to see their wives wear ornaments but they thought it very vulgar to display their wealth (or their wives) in public and whenever the women left their home they were as inconspicuous as possible.

希臘人樂(lè)意看自己的妻子戴首飾，但是他們認(rèn)為在公眾場(chǎng)合顯露財(cái)富（或者妻子）非常粗俗。所以，只要希臘人的妻子離開(kāi)家，她們盡可能地使自己不顯眼。

2016年6月21日功課

In short, the story of Greek life is a story not only of moderation but also of simplicity. “Things,” chairs and tables and books and houses and carriages, are apt to take up a great deal of their owner’s time. In the end they invariably make him their slave and his hours are spent looking after their wants, keeping them polished and brushed and painted. The Greeks, before everything else, wanted to be “free,” both in mind and in body. That they might maintain their liberty, and be truly free in spirit, they reduced their daily needs to the lowest possible point.

簡(jiǎn)單的說(shuō)，希臘人的生活不僅是一部關(guān)于中庸的故事也是關(guān)于簡(jiǎn)單的故事。“萬(wàn)事”都只是浪費(fèi)光陰，比如椅子、桌子、書(shū)籍、房子以及馬車。最終這些工作總是推給他們的奴隸來(lái)做，他們自己就養(yǎng)尊處優(yōu)。希臘人什么都可以不要，但想要“自由”，思想和身體都要自由。因此，希臘人可能為了維護(hù)他們的自由，精神上真正的自由，他們把每天的需求降低到最可能的低點(diǎn)。