第 9 节
作者:
津鸿一瞥 更新:2021-02-20 15:36 字数:9322
ealed a pleasant thing; and are those who are being healed pleased? Pol。 I think not。 Soc。 A useful thing; then? Pol。 Yes。 Soc。 Yes; because the patient is delivered from a great evil; and this is the advantage of enduring the pain…that you get well? Pol。 Certainly。 Soc。 And would he be the happier man in his bodily condition; who is healed; or who never was out of health? Pol。 Clearly he who was never out of health。 Soc。 Yes; for happiness surely does not consist in being delivered from evils; but in never having had them。 Pol。 True。 Soc。 And suppose the case of two persons who have some evil in their bodies; and that one of them is healed and delivered from evil; and another is not healed; but retains the evil…which of them is the most miserable? Pol。 Clearly he who is not healed。 Soc。 And was not punishment said by us to be a deliverance from the greatest of evils; which is vice? Pol。 True。 Soc。 And justice punishes us; and makes us more just; and is the medicine of our vice? Pol。 True。 Soc。 He; then; has the first place in the scale of happiness who has never had vice in his soul; for this has been shown to be the greatest of evils。 Pol。 Clearly。 Soc。 And he has the second place; who is delivered from vice? Pol。 True。 Soc。 That is to say; he who receives admonition and rebuke and punishment? Pol。 Yes。 Soc。 Then he lives worst; who; having been unjust; has no deliverance from injustice? Pol。 Certainly。 Soc。 That is; he lives worst who commits the greatest crimes; and who; being the most unjust of men; succeeds in escaping rebuke or correction or punishment; and this; as you say; has been accomplished by Archelaus and other tyrants and rhetoricians and potentates? Pol。 True。 Soc。 May not their way of proceeding; my friend; be compared to the conduct of a person who is afflicted with the worst of diseases and yet contrives not to pay the penalty to the physician for his sins against his constitution; and will not be cured; because; like a child; he is afraid of the pain of being burned or cut:…Is not that a parallel case? Pol。 Yes; truly。 Soc。 He would seem as if he did not know the nature of health and bodily vigour; and if we are right; Polus; in our previous conclusions; they are in a like case who strive to evade justice; which they see to be painful; but are blind to the advantage which ensues from it; not knowing how far more miserable a companion a diseased soul is than a diseased body; a soul; I say; which is corrupt and unrighteous and unholy。 And hence they do all that they can to avoid punishment and to avoid being released from the greatest of evils; they provide themselves with money and friends; and cultivate to the utmost their powers of persuasion。 But if we; Polus; are right; do you see what follows; or shall we draw out the consequences in form? Pol。 If you please。 Soc。 Is it not a fact that injustice; and the doing of injustice; is the greatest of evils? Pol。 That is quite clear。 Soc。 And further; that to suffer punishment is the way to be released from this evil? Pol。 True。 Soc。 And not to suffer; is to perpetuate the evil? Pol。 Yes。 Soc。 To do wrong; then; is second only in the scale of evils; but to do wrong and not to be punished; is first and greatest of all? Pol。 That is true。 Soc。 Well; and was not this the point in dispute; my friend? You deemed Archelaus happy; because he was a very great criminal and unpunished: I; on the other hand; maintained that he or any other who like him has done wrong and has not been punished; is; and ought to be; the most miserable of all men; and that the doer of injustice is more miserable than the sufferer; and he who escapes punishment; more miserable than he who suffers。…Was not that what I said? Pol。 Yes。 Soc。 And it has been proved to be true? Pol。 Certainly。 Soc。 Well; Polus; but if this is true; where is the great use of rhetoric? If we admit what has been just now said; every man ought in every way to guard himself against doing wrong; for he will thereby suffer great evil? Pol。 True。 Soc。 And if he; or any one about whom he cares; does wrong; he ought of his own accord to go where he will be immediately punished; he will run to the judge; as he would to the physician; in order that the disease of injustice may not be rendered chronic and become the incurable cancer of the soul; must we not allow this consequence; Polus; if our former admissions are to stand:…is any other inference consistent with them? Pol。 To that; Socrates; there can be but one answer。 Soc。 Then rhetoric is of no use to us; Polus; in helping a man to excuse his own injustice; that of his parents or friends; or children or country; but may be of use to any one who holds that instead of excusing he ought to accuse…himself above all; and in the next degree his family or any of his friends who may be doing wrong; he should bring to light the iniquity and not conceal it; that so the wrong…doer may suffer and be made whole; and he should even force himself and others not to shrink; but with closed eyes like brave men to let the physician operate with knife or searing iron; not regarding the pain; in the hope of attaining the good and the honourable; let him who has done things worthy of stripes; allow himself to be scourged; if of bonds; to be bound; if of a fine; to be fined; if of exile; to be exiled; if of death; to die; himself being the first to accuse himself and his relations; and using rhetoric to this end; that his and their unjust actions may be made manifest; and that they themselves may be delivered from injustice; which is the greatest evil。 Then; Polus; rhetoric would indeed be useful。 Do you say 〃Yes〃 or 〃No〃 to that? Pol。 To me; Socrates; what you are saying appears very strange; though probably in agreement with your premises。 Soc。 Is not this the conclusion; if the premises are not disproven? Pol。 Yes; it certainly is。 Soc。 And from the opposite point of view; if indeed it be our duty to harm another; whether an enemy or not…I except the case of self…defence…then I have to be upon my guard…but if my enemy injures a third person; then in every sort of way; by word as well as deed; I should try to prevent his being punished; or appearing before the judge; and if he appears; I should contrive that he should escape; and not suffer punishment: if he has stolen a sum of money; let him keep what he has stolen and spend it on him and his; regardless of religion and justice; and if he has done things worthy of death; let him not die; but rather be immortal in his wickedness; or; if this is not possible; let him at any rate be allowed to live as long as he can。 For such purposes; Polus; rhetoric may be useful; but is of small if of any use to him who is not intending to commit injustice; at least; there was no such use discovered by us in the previous discussion。 Cal。 Tell me; Chaerephon; is Socrates in earnest; or is he joking? Chaer。 I should say; Callicles; that he is in most profound earnest; but you may well ask him Cal。 By the gods; and I will。 Tell me; Socrates; are you in earnest; or only in jest? For if you are in earnest; and what you say is true; is not the whole of human life turned upside down; and are we not doing; as would appear; in everything the opposite of what we ought to be doing? Soc。 O Callicles; if there were not some community of feelings among mankind; however varying in different persons…I mean to say; if every man's feelings were peculiar to himself and were not shared by the rest of his species…I do not see how we could ever communicate our impressions to one another。 I make this remark because I perceive that you and I have a common feeling。 For we are lovers both; and both of us have two loves apiece:…I am the lover of Alcibiades; the son of Cleinias…I and of philosophy; and you of the Athenian Demus; and of Demus the son of Pyrilampes。 Now; I observe that you; with all your cleverness; do not venture to contradict your favourite in any word or opinion of his; but as he changes you change; backwards and forwards。 When the Athenian Demus denies anything that you are saying in the assembly; you go over to his opinion; and you do the same with Demus; the fair young son of Pyrilampes。 For you have not the power to resist the words and ideas of your loves; and is a person were to express surprise at the strangeness of what you say from time to time when under their influence; you would probably reply to him; if you were honest; that you cannot help saying what your loves say unless they are prevented; and that you can only be silent when they are。 Now you must understand that my words are an echo too; and therefore you need not wonder at me; but if you want to silence me; silence philosophy; who is my love; for she is always telling me what I am telling you; my friend; neither is she capricious like my other love; for the son of Cleinias says one thing to…day and another thing to…morrow; but philosophy is always true。 She is the
teacher at whose words you are。 now wondering; and you have heard her yourself。 Her you must refute; and either show; as I was saying; that to do injustice and to escape punishment is not the worst of all evils; or; if you leave her word unre