哲學 - 蒙田：英語精讀講義

We generally think that philosophers should be proud of their big brains

我們通常認為哲學家應該為自己的聰明才智感到驕傲

and be fans of thinking,

並且熱衷於思考、

self-reflection and rational analysis.

自我反省和理性分析。

But there's one philosopher,

但有一位哲學家，

born in France in 1533,

1533年出生於法國，

who had a refreshingly different take. 片語搭配

他的觀點卻令人耳目一新。

Michel de Montaigne was an intellectual

米歇爾·德·蒙田是一位知識分子，

who spent his writing life

他將自己的寫作生涯

knocking the arrogance of intellectuals.

用於抨擊知識分子的傲慢。

In his great masterpiece,

在他的偉大傑作

The Essays,

《隨筆集》中，

he comes across as relentlessly wise and intelligent, 片語動詞

他表現出無比的智慧和聰慧，

but also as constantly modest

同時也始終保持謙遜，

and keen to debunk the pretensions of learning. 用詞

致力於揭穿學術上的自命不凡。

Not least,

尤其值得一提的是，

he's extremely funny,

他非常幽默，

reminding his readers

他提醒讀者：

to learn that we have said or done a stupid thing is nothing. 表達脈絡

發現自己說錯話或做錯事根本算不上什麼。

We must learn a more ample and important lesson,

我們必須吸取一個更充分、更重要的教訓：

that we are but blockheads.

那就是我們不過是一群笨蛋。

Or as he put it,

或者正如他所說：

on the highest throne in the world, 慣用語

即使坐在世界上最高的王座上，

we are seated still upon our arses.

我們依然是坐在自己的屁股上。

Montaigne was a child of the Renaissance, 文化背景

蒙田是文藝復興時代的產兒，

and the ancient philosophers popular in Montaigne's day

蒙田時代流行的古代哲學家們

believed that our powers of reason

認為，我們的理性能力

could afford us a happiness and greatness denied to other creatures. 用詞

能夠賦予我們其他生物所沒有的幸福與偉大。

Reason was a sophisticated,

理性是一種精密、

almost divine tool

幾乎神聖的工具，

offering us mastery over the world and ourselves.

使我們能夠主宰世界和自我。

That was the line taken by philosophers like Cicero. 片語搭配

這就是西塞羅等哲學家所持的觀點。

But this characterization of human reason enraged Montaigne.

但這種對人類理性的刻畫激怒了蒙田。

After hanging out with academics and philosophers, 片語動詞

在與學者和哲學家們打交道之後，

he wrote,

他寫道：

"In practice,

「在現實中，

thousands of little women in their villages

村莊裡的成千上萬個普通婦女，

have lived more gentle, 文法

已經過上了更加溫和、

more equable and more constant lives than Cicero."

比西塞羅更平靜、更堅定的生活。」

His point wasn't that human beings can't reason at all, 表達脈絡

他的觀點並非說人類完全無法推理，

simply that they tend to be far too arrogant

只是說人類往往過於傲慢，

about the limits of their brains.

沒有認識到自己大腦的局限性。

As he wrote,

正如他所寫：

"Our life consists partly in madness,

「我們的生活一部分是由瘋狂構成，

partly in wisdom.

另一部分是智慧。

Whoever writes about it merely respectfully and by rule,

那些只以恭敬和守規矩的態度來描寫生活的人，

leaves more than half of it behind." 慣用語

遺漏了生活的一大半。」

Perhaps the most obvious example of our madness is the struggle of living within a human body.

也許我們瘋狂最明顯的例子就是在一副人類軀體中掙扎求生。

Our bodies smell,

我們的身體會散發氣味、

ache, sag,

疼痛、下垂、

pulse, throb, and age,

脈動、抽搐並逐漸衰老，

whatever the desires of our minds. 文法

無論我們的心靈有什麼渴望。

Montaigne was the world's first and possibly only philosopher

蒙田是世界上第一位，也可能是唯一一位

to talk at length about impotence, 片語搭配

長篇大論探討陽痿的哲學家，

which seemed to him a prime example 片語搭配

在他看來，這是一個典型的例子，

of how crazy and fragile our minds are.

證明了我們的心靈是多麼瘋狂和脆弱。

Montaigne had a friend who'd grown impotent

蒙田有個朋友，

with a woman he particularly liked.

在面對自己特別喜歡的女人時患上了陽痿。

Montaigne didn't blame the penis.

蒙田並沒有怪罪陰莖。

The problem was the mind,

問題在於心理，

the oppressive notion that we had complete control over our bodies,

在於那種認為我們可以完全控制自己身體的壓迫性觀念，

and the horror of departing from this theoretical normality. 用詞

以及偏離這種理論常態時的恐懼。

The solution, Montaigne said,

蒙田說，解決辦法

was to redraw our sense of what's normal. 慣用語

是重新定義我們對「正常」的認知。

By accepting a loss of command over the penis 文法

透過將失去對陰莖的控制

as a harmless common possibility in lovemaking,

視為做愛時無害且常見的可能性，

one could preempt its occurrence,

人們就可以預防它的發生，

as the stricken man eventually discovered.

正如那位受打擊的男士最終發現的那樣。

In bed with a woman,

在與女人上床時，

he learned to admit beforehand

他學會了預先承認

that he was subject to this infirmity 用詞

自己容易受這種小毛病的影響，

and spoke openly about it,

並公開談論它，

so relieving the tensions within his soul. 文法

從而緩解了靈魂深處的緊張。

By bearing the malady

透過將這種症狀

as something to be expected,

視為意料之中的事，

his sense of constriction grew less

他的壓抑感減輕了，

and weighed less heavily upon him. 慣用語

心理負擔也沒有那麼重了。

Montaigne's frankness allows the tensions in the reader's own soul

蒙田的坦率讓讀者內心的緊張

to be relieved.

也得以緩解。

A man who failed with his girlfriend

一個在女友面前表現不佳的男人

could regain his forces and soothe the anxieties of his beloved 片語搭配

能夠恢復力量並安撫愛人的焦慮，

by accepting that his impotence belonged to a broad realm of sexual mishaps,

只要他接受自己的陽痿屬於廣泛的性意外範疇，

neither very rare nor very peculiar. 文法

既不極其罕見也非特別奇特。

Montaigne was equally frank about the limitations of his intellect

蒙田對自己的智力局限性

and of its usefulness.

以及其用途的有限性同樣坦率。

Academia was deeply prestigious in Montaigne's day,

在蒙田時代，學術界極具聲望，

as in our own.

就像我們今天一樣。

Yet although Montaigne was an excellent scholar,

然而，儘管蒙田是一位出色的學者，

he hated pedantry in academia.

他卻討厭學術界的賣弄學問。

He only wanted to learn things that were useful

他只想學習有用的東西，

and relentlessly attacked academics for being out of touch. 慣用語

並無情地抨擊學者們脫離實際。

"If man were wise,

「如果人是明智的，

he would gauge the true worth of anything 片語搭配

他就會衡量任何事物的真正價值，

by its usefulness and appropriateness

根據它對他的生活的有用性和

to his life," he said.

適宜性，」他說。

Only that which makes us feel better

只有那些讓我們感覺更好的東西

may be worth understanding.

才值得去理解。

In this vein, 表達脈絡

在這種理念下，

Montaigne mocked books that were difficult to read.

蒙田嘲笑那些晦澀難懂的書籍。

He admitted to his readers

他向讀者承認，

that he found Plato more than a little boring 語氣意圖

他覺得柏拉圖的作品非常無聊，

and that he just wanted to have fun with books.

他只想在書本中找到樂趣。

"I'm not prepared to bash my brains out for anything, 慣用語

「我不打算為任何事情絞盡腦汁，

not even for learning's sake, 片語搭配

哪怕是為了學問，

however precious it may be. 文法

無論它多麼珍貴。

From books,

從書中，

all I seek is to get myself some pleasure. 文法

我所尋求的只是獲得一些快樂。

By an honorable pastime.

透過一種體面的消遣方式。

If I come across some difficult passages in my reading, 片語動詞

如果我在閱讀時遇到一些難懂的段落，

I don't bite my nails over them. 慣用語

我不會為此咬著指甲苦思冥想。

After making a charge or two, 慣用語

稍微琢磨一兩次後，

I let them be. 片語搭配

我就隨它去了。

If one book tires me,

如果一本書讓我覺得累了，

I just take up another." 片語動詞

我就換另一本。」

He could be pretty caustic about incomprehensible philosophers. 用詞

對於晦澀難懂的哲學家，他有時會非常刻薄。

"Difficulty is a coin which the learned conjure with, 慣用語

「晦澀是學者們變戲法的硬幣，

so as not to reveal the vanity of their studies,

為的是不暴露他們研究的空虛，

and which human stupidity is keen to accept in payment."

而人類的愚蠢卻樂於接受這種付款。」

Montaigne observed how an intimidating scholarly culture

蒙田觀察到，令人畏懼的學術文化

has made all of us study other people's books 文法

是如何讓我們所有人都去研究別人的書，

way before we study our own minds.

而不是先去研究我們自己的內心。

And yet,

然而，

as he put it, 片語搭配

正如他所說：

"We are richer than we think,

「我們比自己想像的要富有，

each one of us."

我們每個人都是。」

Montaigne is refreshing because he describes a life

蒙田令人耳目一新，因為他描述了一種生活，

which is recognizably like our own

這種生活和我們自己的生活非常相似，

and yet inspiring still.

卻依然充滿啟發。

He is a very human ideal.

他是一個非常人性化的理想典範。

We may all arrive at wise ideas

我們都可以得出明智的想法，

if we cease to think of ourselves 片語搭配

只要我們不再認為自己

as unsuited to the task,

不適合這項任務，

just because we aren't 2,000 years old

僅僅因為我們沒有兩千歲，

or aren't interested in the topics

或者對柏拉圖對話錄

of Plato's dialogues

的主題不感興趣，

or have a so-called ordinary life.

或者過著所謂的平凡生活。

Montaigne reassures us.

蒙田寬慰我們。

"You can attach the whole of moral philosophy

「你可以把整個道德哲學

to a commonplace private life

附著在平凡的私人生活上，

just as well as to one with richer stuff." 文法

就像附著在內涵更豐富的生活上一樣完美。」

In Montaigne's redrawn portrait of the adequate semi-rational human being,

在蒙田重新描繪的那個勉強半理性的人類畫像中，

it's possible to speak no Greek,

我們完全可以不懂希臘語，

change one's mind after a meal,

飯後改變主意，

get bored with a book,

覺得一本書無聊，

be impotent,

患上陽痿，

and know pretty much none of the ancient philosophers.

而且對古代哲學家幾乎一無所知。

A virtuous ordinary life 表達脈絡

過著普通但有德行的生活，

striving for wisdom,

努力追求智慧，

but never far from folly,

卻從未遠離愚蠢，

is achievement enough.

這已經足夠是一項成就了。

Montaigne remains the great readable intellectual

蒙田依然是那位極具可讀性的偉大知識分子，

with whom we can laugh at intellectuals

我們可以和他一起嘲笑知識分子，

and pretensions of many kinds.

嘲笑各種自命不凡。

He was a breath of fresh air 慣用語

他的存在就像是一股清新的空氣，

in the cloistered,

吹進了那封閉、

unworldly, snobbish corridors

脫離世俗、自命清高的走廊，

of the academia of the 16th century.

也就是十六世紀的學術界。

And because academia has sadly not changed very much,

可悲的是，學術界並沒有太大改變，

he continues to be an inspiration and a solace 用詞

因此他依然是一種啟迪和慰藉，

to all of us who feel routinely oppressed and patronized 用詞

獻給我們所有時常感到被壓迫和居高臨下對待的人，

by the pedantry and arrogance of so-called clever people. 語氣意圖

因為那些所謂聰明人的迂腐與傲慢。