8 Athens
8 雅典
……several tall buildings had risen from the ruins……
……废墟中升起了几栋高楼……
Early that evening Sophie's mother went to visit a friend. As soon as she was out of the house Sophie went down the garden to the den. There she found a thick package beside the big cookie tin. Sophie tore it open. It was a video cassette.
那天傍晚，苏菲的妈妈去拜访一位朋友。她一出门，苏菲立刻下楼，跑到花园中老树篱内的密洞。她在里面发现了一个厚厚的包裹，就放在饼干盒旁。苏菲拆开包裹，里面是一卷录影带。
She ran back to the house. A video tape! How on earth did the philosopher know they had a VCR? And what was on the cassette?
她跑回屋里。一卷录影带!这次特别不同。哲学家怎会知道她家有录放影机？录影带内又是什么呢？
Sophie put the cassette into the recorder. A sprawling city appeared on the TV screen. As the camera zoomed in on the Acropolis Sophie realized that the city must be Athens. She had often seen pictures of the ancient ruins there.
苏菲将带子放进录影机。电视荧屏出现了一座面积辽阔的城市。当摄影机镜头带人到巴特农神殿时，苏菲知道这座城市一定是雅典。她从前常常看到当地古代废墟的照片。
It was a live shot. Summer-clad tourists with cameras slung about them were swarming among the ruins. One of them looked as if he was carrying a notice board.
这卷录影带拍的是真实的情景。一群穿着夏装的游客背着相机在废墟之间走动。其中有一个人好像拿着一块告示牌。又来了。
There it was again. Didn't it say "Hilde"?
苏菲心想，牌子上面写的可不是“席德”这两个字吗？
After a minute or two there was a close-up of a middle-aged man. He was rather short, with a black, well-trimmed beard, and he was wearing a blue beret. He looked into the camera and said:
一两分钟后，镜头变成一个中年男子的特写。他个子甚为矮小，留着一脸整齐干净的黑胡子，头上戴着一顶蓝扁帽。他看着镜头说：
Welcome to Athens, Sophie. As you have probably guessed, I am Alberto Knox. If not, I will just reiterate that the big rabbit is still being pulled from the top hat of the universe.
“欢迎你来到雅典，苏菲。我想你大概已经猜到了，我就是艾伯特。如果你还没猜到，我可以再说一次，那只大兔子仍然可以被魔术师从宇宙的帽子之中拉出来。
"We are standing at the Acropolis. The word means 'citadel'--or more precisely, 'the city on the hill.' People have lived up here since the Stone Age. The reason, naturally, was its unique location. The elevated plateau was easy to defend against marauders. From the Acrop-olis there was also an excellent view down to one of the best harbors in the Mediterranean. As the early Athens began to develop on the plain below the plateau, the Acropolis was used as a fortress and sacred shrine... During the first half of the fifth century B.C., a bitter war was waged against the Persians, and in 480 the Persian king Xerxes plundered Athens and burned all the old wooden buildings of the Acropolis. A year later the Persians were defeated, and that was the beginning of the Golden Age of Athens. The Acropolis was rebuilt-- prouder and more magnificent than ever--and now purely as a sacred shrine.
“我们现在正站在雅典的高城(Acropolis)。这个字的意思是‘城堡’，或者更准确地说，是‘山城’的意思。自从石器时代以来，这里就有人居住。这自然是因为它地理位置特殊的缘故。它的地势高，在盗匪入侵时容易防守。从高城这儿俯瞰，可以很清楚地看到地中海的一个良港。古代雅典人开始在高地下面的平原发展时，高城被当作城堡和神庙。公元前第四世纪的前半，雅典人对波斯人发动了一场惨烈的战争。公元前四八O年时，波斯国王齐尔克西(Xerxes)率兵掠夺了雅典城，并将高城所有的古老木造建筑焚烧净尽。一年后，波斯人被打败，雅典的黄金时代也从此开始。雅典人开始重建高城，规模更大，气象也更雄浑，而且完全做为神庙使用。
"This was the period when Socrates walked through the streets and squares talking with the Athenians. He could thus have witnessed the rebirth of the Acropolis and watched the construction of all the proud buildings we see around us. And what a building site it was! Behind me you can see the biggest temple, the Parthenon, which means 'the Virgin's Place.' It was built in honor of Athene, the patron goddess of Athens.
“就在这个时期，苏格拉底穿梭在大街小巷与广场上，与雅典人民谈话。他原本可以目睹高城的复兴，并看到我们四周这些雄伟建筑的进展。你瞧，这是一个多么好的地方。在我后面，你可以看到世界上最大的神庙巴特农神殿。巴特农(Panhenon)的意思是‘处女之地’，是为了崇奉雅典的保护神雅典娜(Athene)而建造的。
The huge marble structure does not have a single straight line; all four sides are slightly curved to make the building appear less heavy. In spite of its colossal dimensions, it gives the impression of lightness. In other words, it presents an optical illusion. The columns lean slightly inwards, and would form a pyramid 1,500 meters high if they were continued to a point above the temple. The temple contained nothing but a twelve-meter-high statue of Athene. The white marble, which in those days was painted in vivid colors, was transported here from a mountain sixteen kilometers away."
这整座宏伟的大理石建筑看不到一条直线。它的四面墙壁都稍微有些弧度，以使整栋建筑看来不致太过沉重。也因此这座神庙虽然硕大无朋，却仍给人轻巧之感，这就是所谓的视觉幻象。神殿所有的柱子都微向内弯，如果继续朝上发展，将可以形成一座一千五百公尺高的金字塔。神殿内只有一尊十二公尺高的雅典娜雕像。此处所用的白色大理石是从十六公里以外的一座山上运来的，当年上面还有五彩的图画。”
Sophie sat with her heart in her mouth. Was this really the philosopher talking to her? She had only seen his profile that one time in the darkness. Could he be the same man who was now standing at the Acropolis in Athens?
苏菲的心差一点跳出来。哲学家真的是在跟她说话吗？她只有一次在黑暗中看过他的侧影。他真的就是这位站在雅典高城的男人吗？
He began to walk along the length of the temple and the camera followed him. He walked right to the edge of the terrace and pointed out over the landscape. The camera focused on an old theater which lay just below the plateau of the Acropolis.
他开始沿着神殿的前方走，摄影机也跟着他。他走到台地边缘；指着四周的风景。摄影机把焦点放在高城高地的正下方一座古老的戏院。
"There you can see the old Dionysos Theater," continued the man in the beret. "It is probably the very oldest theater in Europe. This is where the great tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were performed during the time of Socrates. I referred earlier to the ill-fated King Oedipus. The tragedy about him, by Sophocles, was first performed here. But they also played comedies. The best known writer of comedies was Aristophanes, who also wrote a spiteful comedy about Socrates as the buffoon of Athens. Right at the back you can see the stone wall which the actors used as a backdrop. It was called skene, and is the origin of our word 'scene.' Incidentally, the word 'theater' comes from an old Greek word meaning 'to see.' But we must get back to the philosophers, Sophie. We are going around the Parthenon and down through the gateway ..."
“你在那里可以看到古老的酒神剧院。”这位戴着扁帽的老人继续说：“这也许是欧洲最古老的剧院。在苏格拉底时期，伊思齐勒斯(Aeschylus)、索福克里斯(Sophoeles)与尤瑞皮底斯(Euripides)等希腊剧作家写的伟大悲剧就在这儿上演。我以前曾经提到命运凄惨的伊迪帕斯国王。这出悲剧最先就是在这儿上演。不过这里也演喜剧。当时最知名的喜剧作家叫亚里斯多芬尼斯(Aristophanes)。他曾经写过一出恶毒的喜剧，将苏格拉底描写成雅典的一个丑角。在剧院正后方，你可以看到一块当年被演员们用作背景的地方，叫做skene，英文的scene(场景)这个字就是由此字衍生的。顺便一提的是，英文theater(剧院、剧场)这个字是源自古希腊文，原意是“看”。不过，到这里，我们得回头谈谈哲学家了。现在我们要绕过巴特农神殿走下去，经过大门口……”
The little man walked around the huge temple and passed some smaller temples on his right. Then he began to walk down some steps between several tall columns. When he reached the foot of the Acropolis, he went up a small hill and pointed out toward Athens: "The hill we are standing on is called Areopagos. It was here that the Athenian high court of justice passed judgment in murder trials. Many hundreds of years later, St. Paul the Apostle stood here and preached about Jesus and Christianity to the Athenians. We shall return to what he said on a later occasion.
这个矮小的男人绕过巨大的神殿，经过右边几座较小的神庙。然后他开始沿着两边排列着高大石柱的梯阶走下去。到达高城的最低点时，他走上一座小山丘，用手遥指着雅典的方向：“我们现在站的这个小山丘是古代雅典的高等法院(Areopagos)，也是雅典人审判杀人犯的地方。几百年以后，使徒保罗曾站在此处对雅典人宣扬耶稣基督的教诲。以后我们会谈到他所说的。
Down to the left you can see the remains of the old city square in Athens, the agora. With the exception of the large temple to Hephaestos, the god of smiths and metalworkers, only some blocks of marble are preserved. Let us go down ..."
在左下方，你可以看到雅典古老的市区广场(Agora)的遗迹，如今除了供奉铁匠与金属工人之神贺非斯托思(Hephaestos)的大神庙之外，只剩下几块大理石了。现在我们继续往下走……”
The next moment he appeared among the ancient ruins. High up beneath the sky--at the top of Sophie's screen--towered the monumental Athene temple on the Acropolis. Her philosophy teacher had seated himself on one of the blocks of marble. He looked into the camera and said:
不久，他出现在这片古废墟中。在荧屏上方，只见高城的雅典娜神殿巍然矗立在天空下。她的哲学教师已经坐在一块大理石上。一两分钟后，他看着摄影机说：
"We are sitting in the old agora in Athens. A sorry sight, don't you think? Today, I mean. But once it was surrounded by splendid temples, courts of justice and other public offices, shops, a concert hall, and even a large gymnastics building. All situated around the square, which was a large open space ... The whole of European civilization was founded in this modest area.
“现在我们正坐在从前雅典的市区广场上。如今这里的景象令人唏嘘，不是吗？但从前这里四周环绕的都是壮丽的神殿、法院和其他政府机构、商店、音乐厅，甚至还有一个大型的体育场。这些建筑物环绕着广场，而广场本身则是一个宽阔开放的空间……整个欧洲的文明都在这个朴实的地方扎下根基。
"Words such as politics and democracy, economy and history, biology and physics, mathematics and logic, theology and philosophy, ethics and psychology, theory and method, idea and system date back to the tiny populace whose everyday life centered around this square. This is where Socrates spent so much of his time talking to the people he met. He might have buttonholed a slave bearing a jar of olive oil, and asked the unfortunate man a question on philosophy, for Socrates held that a slave had the same common sense as a man of rank. Perhaps he stood in an animated wrangle with one of the citizens--or held a subdued conversation with his young pupil Plato. It is extraordinary to think about. We still speak of Socratic or Platonic philosophy, but actually being Plato or Socrates is quite another matter."
“今天我们听到的一些字眼，如政治与民主、经济与历史、生物与物理、数学与逻辑、神学与哲学、伦理学与心理学、理论与方法、概念与系统以及其他许许多多的字眼，最先都是由以这个广场为日常生活中心的一小群人发明的。这里也就是当年苏格拉底花了许多时间与人谈话的广场，那个时候，他可能会抓住一个扛着一瓶橄榄油的奴隶不放，并且问这个倒楣的人一个哲学问题，因为苏格拉底认为奴隶与一般人一样有常识。有时他也会与别人争辩得脸红脖子粗，或与他的学生柏拉图进行一场温和的讨论。想起来，这是多么奇妙的事啊!现代人仍然时常提到‘苏格拉底式’与‘柏拉图式’的哲学，但真正做苏格拉底或柏拉图却是两码子事。”
Sophie certainly did think it was extraordinary to think about. But she thought it was just as extraordinary the way her philosopher was suddenly talking to her on a video that had been brought to her own secret hideout in the garden by a mysterious dog.
一时之间，苏菲也觉得这件事想起来真是很奇妙。不过，她认为，她的哲学老师居然派他那只很不寻常的狗把录影带送到她在花园中的密洞，而现在他本人正在荧屏上对她说话，这件事不是也很奇妙吗？
The philosopher rose from the block of marble he was sitting on and said quietly:
哲学家从大理石上起身，平静地说道：
"It was actually my intention to leave it at that, Sophie. I wanted you to see the Acropolis and the remains of the old agora in Athens. But I am not yet sure that you have grasped just how splendid these surroundings once were ... so I am very tempted to go a bit further. It is quite irregular of course ... but I am sure I can count on it remaining just between the two of us. Oh well, a tiny glimpse will suffice anyway ..."
“苏菲，我原来只打算到此为止，让你看看高城和古代雅典广畅的遗迹就好了。但是现在我还不确定你是否能够想象从前这儿四周的景象是多么壮观……因此我很想……再进一步……当然这是不太寻常的……但我确实想要这么做。我相信你一定不会告诉别人吧？不管怎么说，我们看一下就够了……”
He said no more, but remained standing there for a long time, staring into the camera. While he stood there, several tall buildings had risen from the ruins. As if by magic, all the old buildings were once again standing. Above the skyline Sophie could still see the Acropolis, but now both that and all the buildings down on the square were brand-new. They were covered with gold and painted in garish colors. Gaily dressed people were strolling about the square. Some wore swords, others carried jars on their heads, and one of them had a roll of papyrus under his arm.
他说完后站在那儿静默了好一会儿，眼睛看着摄影机。就在这段时间，废墟中突然升起了几栋高大的建筑。就像魔术一般，所有昔日的建筑又突然再现。高城依旧巍然矗立天际，但不同的是，无论高城或是广场上的屋宇建筑，如今看来都焕然一新，上面镶着金箔，绘着艳丽的色彩。服饰鲜明的人群在广场四周慢慢走着。有人佩着剑，有人头上顶着瓶子，其中有一个人腋下夹着一卷纸草做成的纸。
Then Sophie recognized her philosophy teacher. He was still wearing the blue beret, but now he was dressed in a yellow tunic in the same style as everyone else. He came toward Sophie, looked into the camera, and said:
这时，苏菲看到了她的哲学老师。他还是戴着那顶蓝色的扁帽，只是换了衣裳。如今他穿着一件长及膝盖的黄衫，与其他人没有两样。他走向苏菲，看着镜头说道：
"That's better! Now we are in the Athens of antiquity, Sophie. I wanted you to come here in person, you see. We are in the year 402 B.C., only three years before Socrates dies. I hope you appreciate this exclusive visit because it was very difficult to hire a video camera ..."
“这样好些了。我们来到了古代的雅典城，我就是希望你能亲自来这儿。你瞧，现在的年代是公元前四O二年，也就是苏格拉底逝世的三年前。我希望你喜欢这次游览，因为我可是费了很大的劲才雇到一个摄影师的……”
Sophie felt dizzy. How could this weird man suddenly be in Athens 2,400 years ago? How could she be seeing a video film of a totally different age? There were no videos in antiquity ... so could this be a movie?
苏菲觉得头昏。这个奇怪的人怎么会一下子就到了两千四百年前的雅典？自己怎么可能看到另外一个时代的录影带？古代并没有录影机呀!难道这是电影吗？
But all the marble buildings looked real. If they had recreated all of the old square in Athens as well as the Acropolis just for the sake of a film--the sets would have cost a fortune. At any rate it would be a colossal price to pay just to teach Sophie about Athens.
然而，那些大理石建筑看起来却是如此逼真。如果他们为了拍片而重建整座雅典广场与高城的话，那光是布景一定就要花一大笔钱。如果这样做，只是为了让苏菲了解雅典昔日的景象，那花费实在是太大了。
The man in the beret looked up at her again.
戴着蓝扁帽的男人再度抬起头看着苏菲
"Do you see those two men over there under the colonnade?"
“你看到那边廊柱下站的两个男人吗？”
Sophie noticed an elderly man in a crumpled tunic. He had a long unkempt beard, a snub nose, eyes like gimlets, and chubby cheeks. Beside him stood a handsome young man.
苏菲看到一个年长的男子穿了一件皱巴巴的长衫，一脸乱七八糟的胡子，狮子鼻，目光犀利，两颊丰满。他身旁站了一个英俊的年轻人。
"That is Socrates and his young pupil, Plato. You are going to meet them personally."
“这就是苏格拉底和他的学生柏拉图，你将亲自与他们见面。”
The philosopher went over to the two men, took off his beret, and said something which Sophie did not understand. It must have been in Greek. Then he looked into the camera and said,
哲学家走到那两人身旁，取下他的扁帽，说了一些苏菲听不懂的话。苏菲想，那一定是希腊文。然后，他看着摄影机说：
"I told them you were a Norwegian girl who would very much like to meet them. So now Plato will give you some questions to think about. But we must do it quickly before the guards discover us."
“我告诉他们你是一个挪威女孩，很想见见他们。因此，现在柏拉图会问你一些问题让你思考。不过我们得快点，以免被警卫发现。”
Sophie felt the blood pounding in her temples as the young man stepped forward and looked into the camera.
当那位年轻人走向前来，看着摄影机时，苏菲觉得自己全身的血液都涌到太阳穴来。
"Welcome to Athens, Sophie," he said in a gentle voice. He spoke with an accent. "My name is Plato and I am going to give you four tasks. First you must think over how a baker can bake fifty absolutely identical cookies. Then you can ask yourself why all horses are the same. Next you must decide whether you think that man has an immortal soul. And finally you must say whether men and women are equally sensible. Good luck!"
“苏菲，欢迎你到雅典来，”年轻人用一种浓厚的外国腔调轻声地说。“我的名字叫柏拉图。我要让你做四件事。第一，请你想一想，一个面包师傅如何能做五十个一模一样的饼干。其次，你要问自己，为何所有的马都一样。第三，你必须肯定地回答人的灵魂是否不朽。最后请你告诉我们，男人与女人是否一样具有理性。祝你好运。”
Then the picture on the TV screen disappeared. Sophie wound and rewound the tape but she had seen all there was.
然后，电视荧屏上的影像消失了。苏菲将带子转了又转，倒了又倒。不过再也没有任何影像了。
Sophie tried to think things through clearly. But as soon as she thought one thought, another one crowded in before she had thought the first one to its end.
苏菲努力整理自己的思绪。不过她一件事还没想完，第二件事已开始在脑中浮现。
She had known from the start that her philosophy teacher was eccentric. But when he started to use teaching methods that defied all the laws of nature, Sophie thought he was going too far.
她一开始就知道她的哲学教师与常人不同。不过苏菲认为，他运用这类违反所有自然法则的教学方法也实在是太过分了。
Had she really seen Socrates and Plato on TV? Of course not, that was impossible. But it definitely wasn't a cartoon.
她真的在电视上看到了苏格拉底与柏拉图吗？当然不，这完全不可能。但那看起来又绝对不像是卡通。
Sophie took the cassette out of the video recorder and ran up to her room with it. She put it on the top shelf with all the Lego blocks. Then she sank onto the bed, exhausted, and fell asleep.
苏菲将带子从录影机内取出，拿到楼上房间。她把它放在柜子上层，积木的旁边，然后她就一股脑儿躺下，整个人疲倦不堪。不久就睡着了。
Some hours later her mother came into the room. She shook Sophie gently and said:
几个小时后，妈妈走进她的房间，轻轻地摇一摇她，说：
"What's the matter, Sophie?"
“苏菲，你怎么啦？”
"Mmmm?"
“嗯？”
"You've gone to sleep with all your clothes on!"
“你衣服都没脱就睡了。”
Sophie blinked her eyes sleepily.
苏菲睁了睁惺忪的睡眼。
"I've been to Athens," she mumbled. That was all she could manage to say as she turned over and went back to sleep.
“我到雅典去了。”她含糊地说，之后翻个身又睡着了。