第 38 节
作者:      更新:2021-02-18 23:31      字数:9322
  For {epi touto} cf。 Plat。 〃Soph。〃 218 C; 〃Parmen。〃 147 D。
  No! hardly! (some member of the company replied)。
  Soc。 Well; but now suppose a man confine himself to eating venison or
  other dainty without any plain food at all; not as a matter of training;'9'
  but for the pleasure of it: has such a man earned the title? 〃The rest of the
  world   would   have   a   poor   chance   against   him;〃'10'   some   one   answered。
  〃Or;〃 interposed another; 〃what if the dainty dishes he devours are out of
  all proportion to the rest of his mealwhat of him?〃'11'
  '9'   Lit。  〃{opson}      (relish)  by   itself;  not  for  the   sake   of  training;〃
  etc。 The English reader wil bear in mind that a raw beefsteak or                      other
  meat prescribed by the gymnastic trainer in preference to                     farinaceous
  food ({sitos}) would be {opson}。
  '10'    Or;  more    lit。  〃Hardly    any   one   could    deserve    the  appellation
  better。〃
  '11' Lit。 〃and what of the man who eats much {opson} on the top of a
  little   ({sitos})?〃    {epesthion}      =   follows     up   one   course     by   another;
  like the man in a fragment of Euripides; 〃Incert。〃 98: {kreasi                      boeiois
  khlora     suk'  epesthien};     who    〃followed     up   his   beefsteak          with    a
  136
  … Page 137…
  The Memorabilia
  garnish of green figs。〃
  Soc。 He has established a very fair title at any rate to the appellation;
  and when the rest of the world pray to heaven for a fine harvest: 〃May our
  corn and oil   increase!〃   he   may reasonably  ejaculate;   〃May  my  fleshpots
  multiply!〃
  At   this   last   sally   the   young   man;   feeling   that   the   conversation   set
  somewhat in his direction; did not desist indeed from his savoury viands;
  but    helped    himself    generously   to     a  piece    of  bread。   Socrates     was    all…
  observant; and added: Keep an eye on our friend yonder; you others next
  him; and see fair play between the sop and the sauce。'12'
  '12' Lit。 〃see whether he will make a relish of the staple or a staple
  of the relish〃 (〃butter his bread or bread his butter〃)。
  Another      time;   seeing    one    of  the   company       using   but   one    sop   of
  bread'13'   to   test   several   savoury   dishes;   he   remarked:   Could   there   be   a
  more extravagant style of cookery; or more murderous to the dainty dishes
  themselves;       than    this   wholesale      method     of   taking    so   many      dishes
  together?why;        bless   me;    twenty    different    sorts   of  seasoning      at  one
  swoop!'14'   First   of   all   he   mixes   up   actually   more   ingredients   than   the
  cook   himself   prescribes;   which   is   extravagant;   and   secondly;   he   has   the
  audacity  to   commingle  what   the   chef holds   incongruous;  whereby  if   the
  cooks are right in their method he is wrong in his; and consequently the
  destroyer of their art。 Now is it not ridiculous first to procure the greatest
  virtuosi to cook for us; and then without any claim to their skill to take and
  alter their procedure? But there is a worse thing in store for the bold man
  who habituates himself to eat a dozen dishes at once: when there are but
  few   dishes   served;   out   of   pure   habit   he   will   feel   himself   half   starved;
  whilst his neighbour; accustomed to send his sop down by help of a single
  relish; will feast merrily; be the dishes never so few。
  '13' {psomos}; a sop or morsel of bread (cf。 {psomion}; N。 T。; in mod。
  Greek = 〃bread〃)。
  '14'   Huckleberry   Finn        (p。  2  of   that  young     person's    〃Adventures〃)
  propounds the rationale of the system: 〃In a barrel of odds and                           ends
  it   is   different;   things   get   mixed   up;   and   the   juice   kind   of       swaps
  137
  … Page 138…
  The Memorabilia
  around; and the things go better。〃
  He had a saying that {euokheisthai}; to 〃make good cheer;〃'15' was in
  Attic parlance a synonym for 〃eating;〃 and the affix {eu} (the attributive
  〃good〃) connoted the eating of such things as would not trouble soul or
  body;   and   were   not   far   to   seek   or   hard   to   find。   So   that   to   〃make   good
  cheer〃   in   his   vocabulary   applied   to   a   modest   and   well…ordered   style   of
  living。'16'
  '15'   {euokheisthai};   cf。   〃Cyrop。〃   IV。   v。   7;   〃Pol。 Ath。〃   ii。   9;   Kuhner
  cf。    Eustah。     〃ad    Il。〃  ii。  p。   212;     37;   {'Akhaioi      ten   trophen      okhen
  legousin   oxutonos}。 Athen。   viii。   363   B。   See   〃Hipparch;〃   viii。   4;               of
  horses。 Cf。 Arist。 〃H。 A。〃 viii。 6。
  '16' See 〃Symp。〃 vi。 7; and for similar far…fetched etymologies; Plat。
  〃Crat。〃 passim。
  138
  … Page 139…
  The Memorabilia
  BOOK IV
  I
  Such   was   Socrates;   so   helpful   under   all   circumstances   and   in   every
  way     that  no   observer;    gifted   with   ordinary    sensibility;   could   fail  to
  appreciate the fact; that to be with Socrates; and to spend long time in his
  society    (no   matter    where    or  what    the  circumstances);      was    indeed   a
  priceless    gain。   Even   the   recollection    of  him;   when    he  was   no   longer
  present; was felt as no small benefit by those who had grown accustomed
  to be with him; and who accepted him。 Nor indeed was he less helpful to
  his acquaintance in his lighter than in his graver moods。
  Let us take as an example that saying of his; so often on his lips: 〃I am
  in love with so and so〃; and all the while it was obvious the going…forth of
  his soul was not towards excellence of body in the bloom of beauty; but
  rather towards faculties of the soul unfolding in virtue。'1' And these 〃good
  natures〃 he detected by certain tokens: a readiness to learn that to which
  the attention was directed; a power of retaining in the memory the lessons
  learnt; and a passionate predilection for those studies in particular which
  serve to good administration of a house or of a state;'2' and in general to
  the proper handling of man and human affairs。 Such beings; he maintained;
  needed only to be educated'3' to become not only happy themselves and
  happy   administrators   of   their   private   households;   but   to   be   capable   of
  rendering other human beings as states or individuals happy also。
  '1'  Or;   〃not   excellence   of   body  in   respect   of beauty;   but   of   the   soul
  as regards virtue; and this good natural disposition might be                    detected
  by the readiness of its possessor to learn;〃 etc。 Cf。                 Plat。 〃Rep。〃 535
  B。
  '2' Cf。 above; I。 i。 7。
  139
  … Page 140…
  The Memorabilia
  '3'   Or;   〃A  person   of   this   type   would;   if   educated;   not   only   prove   a
  fortune…favoured invididual himself and;〃 etc。 Al。 Kuhner; 〃Eos;                          qui
  ita instituti sunt; ut tales sint。〃
  He    had   indeed    a  different   way   of   dealing    with   different    kinds   of
  people。'4' Those who thought they had good natural ability and despised
  learning   he   instructed   that   the   most   highly…gifted   nature   stands   most   in
  need of training and education;'5' and he would point out how in the case
  of horses it is just the spirited and fiery thoroughbred which; if properly
  broken in as a colt; will develop into a serviceable and superb animal; but
  if left unbroken will turn out utterly intractable and good for nothing。 Or
  take the case of dogs: a puppy exhibiting that zest for toil and eagerness to
  attack wild creatures which are the marks of high breeding;'6' will; if well
  brought up; prove excellent for the chase or for any other useful purpose;
  but    neglect   his   education    and    he  will   turn  out   a  stupid;   crazy   brute;
  incapable   of     obeying    the   simplest    command。       It  is   just  the  same  with
  human beings; here also the youth of best natural endowments that is to
  say; possessing the most robust qualities of spirit and a fixed determination
  to carry out whatever he has laid his hand to will; if trained and taught
  what   it   is   right   to   do;   prove   a   superlatively   good   and   useful   man。   He
  achieves; in fact; what is best upon the grandest scale。 But leave him in
  boorish ignorance untrained;