Letter to Menoeceus 10-230 致美诺寇的信……………………………………………………………….266

Let no one when young delay to study philosophy,
nor when he is old grow weary of his study.
For no one can come too early or too late to secure the health of his soul.
And the man who says that the age for philosophy has either not yet come or has gone by
is like the man who says that the age for happiness is not yet come to him, or has passed away.
Wherefore both when young and old a man must study philosophy,
that as he grows old he may be young in blessings
through the grateful recollection of what has been,
and that in youth he may be old as well, since he will know no fear of what is to come.
We must then meditate on the things that make our happiness,
seeing that when that is with us we have all, but when it is absent we do all to win it.

当一个人年青的时候，不要让他耽搁了哲学研究，
当他年老的时候，也不要让他对他的研究发生厌倦，
因为要获得灵魂的健康，谁也不会有太早或太晚的问题。
说研究哲学的时间还没到或已经晚了，就像说享福的时间还没到或已经晚了一样。
所以青年人和老年人都应该研究哲学，
老年人通过回忆过去的愉快，仍然可以在好的事情上是年青的，
而青年人由于对将来无所畏惧，也可以同时既年青又年老。
当幸福在时，我们便拥有一切，而当幸福不在时，我们便尽力来谋得它，
所以一个人思虑到产生幸福的事物，是应该的。

The things which I used unceasingly to commend to you, these do and practise,
considering them to be the first principles of the good life.
First of all believe that God is a being immortal and blessed,
even as the common idea of a god is engraved on men’s minds,
and do not assign to Him anything alien to His immortality or ill-suited to His blessedness,
but believe about Him everything that can uphold His blessedness and immortality.
For gods there are, since the knowledge of them is by clear vision.
But they are not such as the many believe them to be,
for indeed they do not consistently represent them as they believe them to be.
And the impious man is not he who denies the gods of the many,
but he who attaches to the gods the beliefs of the many.
For the statements of the many about the gods are not conceptions derived from sensation,
but false suppositions, according to which the greatest misfortunes
befall the wicked and the greatest blessings the good by the gift of the gods.
For men being accustomed always to their own virtues welcome those like themselves,
but regard all that is not of their nature as alien.

我时常指点给你的那些事，我都希望你去作并且实行，
拿它当作幸福生活的根本原则。
第一，要相信神是一个不朽和幸福的实体，一如世人关于神的共同意见所说；
不要把任何与不朽和幸福不一致的东西加到你对神的观念上去，
并且要相信神拥有足以保持这种幸福和不朽的一切。
神灵是有的，因为我们关于神灵的知识是明显的；但是神灵的本性并不是像一般人所想的那样；
一般人对于神灵所表的敬意，没有一点符合于他们所存的神灵观念。
摈斥众人所信的神灵的人，并不是不敬神灵的，
拿众人所存的关于神灵的意见加在神灵身上的人，才是不敬神灵的。
因为众人关于神的肯定都不是从感觉得来的概念而是虚妄的假定，
根据这种假定，临到恶人头上的大祸和降到善人身上的大福都被归之于神灵：
因为众人总是把人类的美德联系到他们关于神灵的观念上，
而把一切与人类性质不同的，都认为与神性不合。

Become accustomed to the belief that death is nothing to us.
For all good and evil consists in sensation, but death is deprivation of sensation.
And therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us
makes the mortality of life enjoyable,
not because it adds to it an infinite span of time,
but because it takes away the craving for immortality.
For there is nothing terrible in life for the man who has truly comprehended
that there is nothing terrible in not living.
So that the man speaks but idly who says that he fears death
not because it will be painful when it comes,
but because it is painful in anticipation.
For that which gives no trouble when it comes
is but an empty pain in anticipation.
So death, the most terrifying of ills, is nothing to us,
since so long as we exist, death is not with us;
but when death comes, then we do not exist.
It does not then concern either the living or the dead,
since for the former it is not, and the latter are no more.

你要习惯于相信死亡是一件和我们毫不相干的事，
因为一切善恶吉凶都在感觉中，而死亡不过是感觉的丧失。
因为这个缘故，正确地认识到死亡与我们无干，便使我们对于人生有死这件事愉快起来，
这种认识并不是给人生增加上无尽的时间，
而是把我们从对于不死的渴望中解放了出来。
一个人如果正确地了解到中止生存并没有什么可怕，
对于他而言，活着也就没有什么可怕的。
那么，如果有人说他之所以怕死，并不是因为死在当前使他难过，
而是因为死还未到使他难过，那就是个傻瓜了。
一件事情在当前并不使一个人忧虑，反而在未到时使他烦恼，这是很荒谬的。
所以一切恶中最可怕的–死亡–对于我们是无足轻重的，
因为当我们存在时，死亡对于我们还没有来，而当死亡时，我们已经不存在了。
因此死对于生者和死者都不相干；
因为对于生者说，死是不存在的，而死者本身根本就不存在了。

But the many at one moment shun death as the greatest of evils,
at another yearn for it as a respite from the evils in life.
But the wise man neither seeks to escape life nor fears the cessation of life,
for neither does life offend him nor does the absence of life seem to be any evil.
And just as with food he does not seek simply the larger share and nothing else,
but rather the most pleasant,
so he seeks to enjoy not the longest period of time, but the most pleasant.

然而一般人有时逃避死亡，把它看成最大的灾难，
有时却盼望死亡，以为这是摆脱人生灾难的休息。
贤者既不厌恶生存，也不畏惧死亡，既不把生存看成坏事，也不把死亡看成灾难。
贤者对于生命，正如同他对于食品那样，并不是单单选多的，而是选最精美的；
同样地，他享受时间也不是单单度量它是否最长远，而是度量它是否最合意。

And he who counsels the young man to live well,
but the old man to make a good end, is foolish,
not merely because of the desirability of life,
but also because it is the same training which teaches to live well and to die well.
Yet much worse still is the man who says it is good not to be born, but

once born make haste to pass the gates of Death.
[Theognis, 427]

For if he says this from conviction why does he not pass away out of life?
For it is open to him to do so, if he had firmly made up his mind to this.
But if he speaks in jest, his words are idle among men who cannot receive them.

如果叫一个青年好好地活，而叫一个老人好好地死，就是一个傻瓜了，
这不但是因为生命是愉快的，而且是因为好好地活和好好地死二者都属于同样的教养。
更糟糕的是说，不出世最好，

“如果出世了，就赶快进阴曹地府去吧”。

因为如果他真是这样想，他为什么不捐生自尽呢？
如果这真是他的信念，那是他很容易办到的事。
可是如果他是在开玩笑，那就是在人们不会接受的情形下说蠢话。

We must then bear in mind that the future is neither ours, nor yet wholly not ours,
so that we may not altogether expect it as sure to come,
nor abandon hope of it, as if it will certainly not come.

我们要记住，将来不是我们自己的，
从另外一方面说，将来也并非完全不是我们自己的。
所以我们既不能期待将来，认为它一定要来到，
也不能对它失望，认为它永远不会来到。

We must consider that of desires some are natural, others vain,
and of the natural some are necessary and others merely natural;
and of the necessary some are necessary for happiness,
others for the repose of the body, and others for very life.
The right understanding of these facts enables us to refer all choice and avoidance
to the health of the body and the soul’s freedom from disturbance,
since this is the aim of the life of blessedness.
For it is to obtain this end that we always act, namely, to avoid pain and fear.
And when this is once secured for us, all the tempest of the soul is dispersed,
since the living creature has not to wander as though in search of something that is missing,
and to look for some other thing
by which he can fulfil the good of the soul and the good of the body.
For it is then that we have need of pleasure,
when we feel pain owing to the absence of pleasure;
but when we do not feel pain, we no longer need pleasure.
And for this cause we call pleasure the beginning and end of the blessed life.
For we recognize pleasure as the first good innate in us,
and from pleasure we begin every act of choice and avoidance, and to pleasure we return again,
using the feeling as the standard by which we judge every good.

还有，我们要体会到，在欲望中间，有些是自然的，有些是虚浮的；
在自然的欲望中，有些是必要的，有些则仅仅是自然的；
在必要的欲望中，有些是幸福所必要的，
有些是养息身体所必要的，有些则是生命本身的存在所必要的。
我们对于这些东西，有了正确的了解，就能够为了肉体的健康和灵魂的平静（）来考虑取舍，
因为肉体的健康和灵魂的平静乃是幸福生活的目的。
就是为了达到这个目的，我们才竭力以求避免痛苦和恐惧。
我们一旦达到了这种境地，灵魂的骚动就消散了；
因为动物就不需要寻觅所欠缺的东西，也不需要去寻找其他可以使灵魂和肉体安好的东西。
只有当我们痛苦时，我们才需要快乐，因为快乐不在场；
而当我们不痛苦时，我们就不需要快乐了。
因为这个缘故，我们说快乐是幸福生活的开始和目的。因为我们认为幸福生活是我们天生的最高的善，
我们的一切取舍都从快乐出发；我们的最终目的乃是得到快乐，
而以感触（）为标准来判断一切的善。

And since pleasure is the first good and natural to us,
for this very reason we do not choose every pleasure,
but sometimes we pass over many pleasures,
when greater discomfort accrues to us as the result of them;
and similarly we think many pains better than pleasures,
since a greater pleasure comes to us when we have endured pains for a long time.
Every pleasure then because of its natural kinship to us is good,
yet not every pleasure is to be chosen;
even as every pain also is an evil, yet not all are always of a nature to be avoided.
Yet by a scale of comparison and by the consideration of advantages and disadvantages
we must form our judgment on all these matters.
For the good on certain occasions we treat as bad, and conversely the bad as good.

既然快乐是我们天生的最高的善，所以我们并不选取所有的快乐，
当某些快乐会给我们带来更大的痛苦时，我们每每放过这许多快乐；
如果我们一时忍受痛苦而可以有更大的快乐随之而来，
我们就认为有许多种痛苦比快乐还好。
就快乐与我们有天生的联系而言，
每一种快乐都是善，然而并不是每一种快乐都值得选取；
正如每一种痛苦都是恶，却并非每一种痛苦都应当趋避。
对于这一切，我们必须加以权衡，考虑到合适不合适，从而加以判断；
因为有的时候我们可以觉得善是恶的，
而有的时候，相反地，我们可以觉得恶是善的。

And again independence of desire we think a great good—
not that we may at all times enjoy but a few things,
but that, if we do not possess many,
we may enjoy the few in the genuine persuasion
that those have the sweetest pleasure in luxury who least need it,
and that all that is natural is easy to be obtained, but that which is superfluous is hard.
And so plain savours bring us a pleasure equal to a luxurious diet
when all the pain due to want is removed;
and bread and water produce the highest pleasure
when one who needs them puts them to his lips.
To grow accustomed therefore to simple and not luxurious diet gives us health to the full,
and makes a man alert for the needful employments of life,
and, when after long intervals we approach luxuries, disposes us better towards them,
and fits us to be fearless of fortune.

我们认为知足是一件大善，并不是因为我们在任何时候都只能有很少的东西享用，
而是因为如果我们没有很多东西，我们可以满足于很少的东西。
我们真正相信，最能充分享受奢侈品的人，也就是最不需要奢侈品的人；
凡是自然的东西，都是最容易得到的，只有无用的东西才不容易到手。
当要求所造成的痛苦取消了的时候，简单的食品给人的快乐就和珍贵的美味一样大；
当需要吃东西的时候，面包和水就能给人极大的快乐，
养成简单朴素的生活习惯，是增进健康的一大因素，
使人对于生活必需品不加挑剔。
当我们偶尔过比较奢侈的生活时，朴素的习惯也可使我们处理得更好一点，
而对于命运无所畏惧。

When, therefore, we maintain that pleasure is the end,
we do not mean the pleasures of profligates and those that consist in sensuality,
as is supposed by some who are either ignorant or disagree with us or do not understand,
but freedom from pain in the body and from trouble in the mind.
For it is not continuous drinkings and revellings,
nor the satisfaction of lusts,
nor the enjoyment of fish and other luxuries of the wealthy table which produce a pleasant life,
but sober reasoning, searching out the motives for all choice and avoidance,
and banishing mere opinions,
to which are due the greatest disturbance of the spirit.

当我们说快乐是目的是，我们并不是指放荡者的快乐或肉体享受的快乐
（如有些人所想的那样，这些人或者是无知的，或者是不赞成我们的意见或曲解了我们的意见）。
我们所谓的快乐，是指身体的无痛苦和灵魂的无纷扰。
不断地饮酒作乐，享受童子与妇人的欢乐，或享用有鱼的盛筵，以及其他的珍馐美馔，都不能使生活愉快；
使生活愉快的乃是清醒的静观，它找出了一切取舍的理由，
清除了那些在灵魂中造成最大的纷扰的空洞意见。

Of all this the beginning and the greatest good is prudence.
Wherefore prudence is a more precious thing even than philosophy;
for from prudence are sprung all the other virtues,
and it teaches us that it is not possible to live pleasantly
without living prudently and honourably and justly, nor, again,
to live a life of prudence, honour, and justice without living pleasantly.
For the virtues are by nature bound up with the pleasant life,
and the pleasant life is inseparable from them.
For indeed who, think you,
is a better man than he who holds reverent opinions concerning the gods,
and is at all times free from fear of death, and has reasoned out the end ordained by nature?
He understands that the limit of good things is easy to fulfil and easy to attain,
whereas the course of ills is either short in time or slight in pain:
he laughs at Destiny, whom some have introduced as the mistress of all things.
He thinks that with us lies the chief power in determining events,
some of which happen by necessity and some by chance, and some are within our control;
for while necessity cannot be called to account,
he sees that chance is inconstant, but that which is in our control is subject to no master,
and to it are naturally attached praise and blame.
For, indeed, it were better to follow the myths about the gods
than to become a slave to the Destiny of the natural philosophers;
for the former suggests a hope of placating the gods by worship,
whereas the latter involves a necessity which knows no placation.
As to chance, he does not regard it as a god as most men do (for in a god’s acts there is no disorder),
nor as an uncertain cause of all things;
for he does not believe that good and evil are given by chance to man
for the framing of a blessed life,
but that opportunities for great good and great evil are afforded by it.
He therefore thinks it better to be unfortunate in reasonable action than to prosper in unreason.
For it is better in a man’s actions that what is well chosen should fail,
rather than that what is ill chosen should be successful owing to chance.

这一切的开始以及最大的善，乃是审慎。
因此审慎甚至比哲学还要可贵，因为一切其他美德都是由它而出。
它告诉我们，一个人除非审慎地，正大光明地，正当地活着，就不可能愉快地活着；
没有人会审慎地，正大光明地，正当地活着而不愉快地活着。
因为各种美德都与愉快的生活共存，愉快的生活是不能与各种美德分开的。
你还能想得出比这样一个人更好的人吗？–
他对于神灵有虔诚的看法，对于死亡完全没有恐惧，
他正确地思考自然所规定的目的，他领会到主要的善是容易完成并且容易图谋的，
而最大的恶只能于短期内持续并且只能致使顷刻的痛苦。
他不信有些人拿来当作万物之主的那个命运，
他认为我们拥有决定事变的主要力量，
他把一切事物归因于必然，一些事物归因于机遇，一些事物归因于我们自己，
因为必然取消了责任，机遇是不经常的，而我们的行动是自由的，
这种自由就形成了使我们承受褒贬的责任。
就是听从那些关于神灵的神话，也比作自然哲学家们所主张的命运的奴隶好得多；
因为神话还给我们指出一点希望，可以借崇拜神灵而缓和神灵的震怒，
至于命运则对于我们显得是一种不可挽回的必然。
他也不像众人那样把机遇看成一位女神（因为一位神灵是不会胡乱行事的），
他也不把机遇看成一个不确定的原因，因为他不相信善和恶是机遇为了使人生活得幸福而给人的，
虽然大善或大恶的开始却是机遇所供给的。
他以为遵从理性而不走运，比不遵从理性而走运还要好，
因为凡是被判定为最好的行为，都是遵从理性正当地作成的。

Meditate therefore on these things and things akin to them night and day by yourself,
and with a companion like to yourself, and never shall you be disturbed waking or asleep,
but you shall live like a god among men.
For a man who lives among immortal blessings is not like to a mortal being.

你要日夜奉行这些诫命以及与此有密切关系的诫命，
你要自己去做，并且和与你一样的人一道去做，
这样，你就永远不会被睡眠中的或清醒时的妄念所扰，
你就会在人群中像一尊神似的活着，
因为一个生活在不死的神灵中的人是没有一点像有死的生物的。

齐良骥 译 王太庆 校