№.3 - During this long period, the Greek ideas inherited from the age of freedom underwent a gradual process of transformation. Some of the old ideas, notably those which we should regard as specifically religious, gained in relative importance; others, more rationalistic, were discarded because they no longer suited the spirit of the age. In this way the later pagans trimmed the Greek tradition until it became suitable for incorporation in Christian doctrine.
【譯文】在這個漫長的時期里,從自由的時代所繼承下來的希臘觀念經(jīng)歷了一番逐漸轉(zhuǎn)化的過程。某些古老的觀念,尤其是那些我們認為最富于宗教色彩的觀念,獲得了相對的重要性;而另外那些更富理性主義色彩的觀念則因為它們不再符合時代的精神,就被人們拋棄了。后來的異教徒們就是以這種方式整理了希臘的傳統(tǒng),使它終于能夠被吸收到基督教的教義里來。
【小編評注】此即羅素對古希臘羅馬哲學的看法。
【短語筆記】gain in - 增加, 增進
【舉一反三】gain ground - 前進,進步,進展;gain on - 趕上,追上;gain over - 把 ... 爭取過來,把 ... 說服
【例】
(1)No practice, no gain in one's wit.(紙上得來終覺淺,要知此事須躬行。)
(2)The fierce campaign by several anti-Maastricht movements has been gaining ground. (幾個反馬斯特里赫特運動團體組織的激烈運動不斷發(fā)展壯大著。)
(3)As he slithered across the mud I gained on him. (當他在泥濘中滑行的時候,我超過了他。)
(4)The Kuomintang won a resounding victory,gaining over 70 percent of votes cast. (國民黨獲得了徹底的勝利,他們拉到了超過百分之七十的選票。)
№.4 - What had happened in the great age of Greece happened again in Renaissance Italy: traditional moral restraints disappeared, because they were seen to be associated with superstition; the liberation from fetters made individuals energetic and creative, producing a rare florescence of genius; but the anarchy and treachery which inevitably resulted from the decay of morals made Italians collectively impotent, and they fell, like the Greeks, under the domination of nations less civilized than themselves but not so destitute of social cohesion.
【譯文】在希臘的偉大時代里出現(xiàn)過的事,再一次出現(xiàn)于文藝復興的意大利:傳統(tǒng)的道德束縛消失了,因為它們被人認為是與迷信結合在一起的;從羈絆中獲得的解放,使得個人精力旺盛而富于創(chuàng)造力,從而便產(chǎn)生了極其罕見的天才的奔放;但是由于道德敗壞而不可避免地造成的無政府狀態(tài)與陰謀詭詐,卻使得意大利人在集體方面成為無能的了,于是他們也象希臘人一樣,倒在了別的遠不如他們文明、但不象他們那樣缺乏社會團結力的民族的統(tǒng)治之下了。
【小編評注】羅素對文藝復興時期意大利變遷的論述,旨在說明道德對于社會發(fā)展和人類文明所起到的保障作用。中國著名哲學家楊國榮教授也曾在著書中寫到:“作為人的社會性的一種表征,道德構成了社會秩序與個體整合所以可能的必要擔保。”
【短語筆記】result from - 產(chǎn)生于,由 ... 引起,由于
【舉一反三】spring from - 起源于,出身于,來自;由 ... 引起或造成
【例】
(1)Soil damage can result from flooding, the effects of chemicals, or the removal of nutrients that help plants grow.(洪水、化學品的影響,以及植物生長所需營養(yǎng)的流失都會對土地造成傷害。)
(2)In the Middle Ages, wealth sprang largely from the land. (在中世紀,財富主要來自土地。)
№.5 - Social cohesion is a necessity, and mankind has never yet succeeded in enforcing cohesion by merely rational arguments. Every community is exposed to two opposite dangers: ossification through too much discipline and reverence for tradition, on the one hand; on the other hand, dissolution, or subjection to foreign conquest, through the growth of an individualism and personal independence that makes co-operation impossible.
【譯文】社會團結是必要的,但人類迄今還不曾有過單憑說理的論辯就能加強團結的事。每一個社會都受著兩種相對立的危險的威脅:一方面是由于過分講紀律與尊敬傳統(tǒng)而產(chǎn)生的僵化,另一方面是由于個人主義與個人獨立性的增長而使得合作成為不可能,因而造成解體或者是對外來征服者的屈服。
【小編評注】每一方都是部分正確的而又部分錯誤的,沖突必然存在。所以文藝復興,及其后的宗教改革運動和啟蒙運動,實際上是理性文化的復歸。從歷史背景分析,也是因為希臘羅馬的古典文明中具有比其他文明區(qū)域更多的理性成分因素。
【短語筆記】succeed in - 成功;順利完成
【例】A company that fail to reinvent products according to customers' needs probably cannot succeed in business. (一個公司若不能根據(jù)消費者的要求革新產(chǎn)品,可能就不會在商業(yè)上取得成功。)