名人认知系列 哲学思想家4：Plato柏拉图

Plato

柏拉图

One day, Plato asked his teacher, “What is love? How can I find it?”

柏拉图有一天问老师苏格拉底：“什么是爱情？我如何找到它？ ”

His teacher answered, “There is a vast wheat field in front. Walk forward without turning back, and pick only one stalk. If you find the most magnificent stalk, then you have found love.”

老师回答说：“前面有一片广袤的麦田。你一直往前走，不要回头，摘一棵麦穗。如果你摘到最大最好的麦穗，你就找到爱情了。”

Plato thought it was easy, so he walked forward confidently. But it was a long time before he returned with empty hands, having picked nothing. His teacher asked,“Why did you not pick any stalk?” Plato answered, “Because I could only pick once, and yet I could not turn back. I did find the most magnificent stalk, but did not know if there were any better ones ahead, so I did not pick it. As I walked further, the stalks that I saw were not as good as the earlier one, so I did not pick any in the end.”

柏拉图觉得很容易，充满信心地出去。可是过了许久他才回来，空着手，什么都没拣回来。老师问：“你为什么一棵麦穗都没有拾回？ ”柏拉图解释道：“因为我只能拣一棵麦穗，而且我不能回头。我确实发现一棵看似很不错的麦穗，可不知道前面有没有更好的，所以就没拣它。当我继续往前走时，我所看到的麦穗还不如先前的那棵好，所以最后什么都没拣到。”

His teacher then said, “And that is love.”

这时，苏格拉底告诉他：“那就是爱情”。

On another day, Plato asked his teacher, “What is marriage? How can I find it?”

柏拉图有一天又问老师苏格拉底：“什么是婚姻？我如何才能找到它呢？ ”

His teacher answered, “There is a thriving forest in front. Walk forward without turning back, and chop down only one tree. If you find the tallest tree, then you have found marriage.” Learning from the last failure, Plato walked forward in confidence this time, and before long, he returned exhausted¹ with a straight, green tree. The tree was not thriving, and it was not tall either. It was an ordinary tree. His teacher asked, “Why did you chop down such an ordinary tree?”

老师回答说：“前面有一片茂密的树林。一直向前走，不要回头，然后砍一棵树回来。如果你找到最高的树，那么你就找到了婚姻。”柏拉图有了上回的教训, 这次充满信心地出去。不久，他一身疲惫地拖了一棵看起来直挺、翠绿，却有点稀疏也并不高大的树。这只是一棵普通的树。老师问他：“你为什么砍了这么一棵普通的树？ ”

Plato answered, “Because of my previous experience, I walked halfway² through the field, but returned with empty hands. This time, I saw this tree, and I felt that it was not bad, so I chopped it down and brought it back. I did not want to miss the opportunity.”

柏拉图回答老师：“上一次，我走了半个麦田，却空手而归。这次，我看到了这棵树，觉得它还不错，就砍下带了回来，我不想错过这个机会。”

His teacher then said, “And that is marriage.”

这时，苏格拉底告诉他：“这就是婚姻”。

1 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

2 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。