Elements and forces
元素与力
In contrast to Parmenides’s static view of the cosmos, Empedocles proposed a theory of a dynamic system composed of four elements driven by the forces of attraction and separation.
与巴门尼德那种对宇宙的静态观点不同，恩培多克勒提出了一种动态系统理论。该理论认为，宇宙是由四种元素构成的动态系统，这些元素受吸引和分离两种力量的驱动。
Cosmic building blocks
宇宙的构成要素
Although he accepted Parmenides’s assertion that nothing comes from nothing, and that nothing can be destroyed, Empedocles (c.490–c.430 bce) was uncomfortable with the idea of a singular and unchanging world. The world as he saw it is marked by plurality and change. To reconcile the two ideas, he proposed a theory based on the four elements (or “roots,” as he called them) that were identified by early philosophers: earth, water, air, and fire. These, he argued, are each immutable and eternal, satisfying the notion that nothing can be created or destroyed. Empedocles described these elements as the “building blocks” of the cosmos, from which all matter is formed. The various material substances are made from combinations of these elements in different proportions. But, unlike the elements, the substances formed from them are not unchangeable.
尽管恩培多克勒（约公元前490年—约公元前430年）认可巴门尼德“无中不能生有，万物亦不可毁灭”的观点，但他并不赞同世界单一且永恒不变的理念。在他眼中，世界充满了多样性与变化。为了调和这两种看似矛盾的观点，他提出了一种基于早期哲学家所认定的四种元素（他称之为“根源”）的理论，即：土、水、气和火。他主张，这四种元素各自都是永恒不变的，这恰好符合万物既不能被创造也不能被毁灭的观念。恩培多克勒将这些元素描述为宇宙的“基石”，所有的物质都是由它们构成的。各种物质实体是由这些元素以不同的比例组合而成的。但是，与元素本身不同，由它们构成的物质实体并非一成不变。
In this way, Empedocles explains that change in the world is not an illusion: the elements can separate as substances disintegrate and recombine in different proportions to form new substances. He believed that there is a constant process of change and that the cosmos is a dynamic system characterized by the continual separation and combination of the four elements. To account for the behavior of the elements, Empedocles took an idea from Heraclitus: the action of opposing forces. He argues that the cosmic forces of attraction and separation that underlie the formation of matter and even living things govern the ways in which the elements combine and disintegrate. The continual change inherent in the cosmos therefore results from the fluctuation in the balance or dominance of these opposing forces over time.
通过这种方式，恩培多克勒解释说，世界上的变化并非虚幻：当物质实体分解时，元素会分离，然后再以不同的比例重新组合，形成新的物质实体。他相信，变化是一个持续不断的过程，四种元素不断地分离与组合。为了解释元素的这种行为，恩培多克勒借鉴了赫拉克利特（Heraclitus）的一个观点：对立力量的作用。他认为，吸引与分离这两种宇宙力量是物质甚至生命形成的基础，它们决定了元素组合与分解的方式。因此，宇宙中持续存在的变化源于这两种对立力量之间平衡关系的波动，或者说是它们主导地位随时间的变化。
Love and Strife
Empedocles suggests that the changing nature of the cosmos is driven by two opposing cosmic forces: Love and Strife. Love is the creative force of attraction, which causes the elements to combine in various forms. Strife is the destructive force of repulsion, which separates the elements from one another and therefore lies behind the decay of matter. The elements themselves are neither created nor destroyed, but constantly rearranged.
宇宙是一个以“爱”与“斗争”为特征的动态系统。
恩培多克勒认为，宇宙不断变化的本质是由两种相互对立的宇宙力量所驱动的：“爱”与“斗争”。“爱”是一种创造性的吸引力，它促使元素以各种形式组合在一起。而“斗争”则是一种破坏性的排斥力，它使元素相互分离，进而导致物质的衰败。元素本身既不会被创造，也不会被毁灭，只是在不断地重新排列组合。
LOVE
The force of attraction, Love brings together the elements in various proportions and combinations to create the different material objects in the universe. The element of fire is what gives certain things life.
爱
“爱”是一种吸引力，它以各种不同的比例和组合方式将元素聚合在一起，从而创造出宇宙中各种各样的物质实体。其中，火元素赋予了某些事物生命。
STRIFE
Material things are not permanent, but undergo a process of decay in which Strife, the force of repulsion, separates the elements. These elements can then reform in different combinations to make other things.
斗争
物质实体并非永恒不变，它们会经历一个衰败的过程。在这个过程中，“斗争”这种排斥力会使元素相互分离。随后，这些分离的元素又可以以不同的组合方式重新形成其他物质。
Cosmic cycle
The forces of Love and Strife are locked in a battle for dominance, creating an eternal cosmic cycle. When Love completely overcomes Strife, the elements cannot be separated from one another to form the various substances of the cosmos. In conflict with Strife, the elements separate and matter and life can be created. However, when Strife prevails, all that was created dissolves into separate elements, until the influence of Love brings them together again.
宇宙循环
“爱”与“斗争”这两种力量陷入了一场争夺主导权的较量，从而形成了一个永恒的宇宙循环。当“爱”完全战胜“斗争”时，元素之间无法相互分离，也就无法形成宇宙中的各种物质实体。而当“爱”与“斗争”相互冲突时，元素会彼此分离，物质和生命得以产生。然而，当“斗争”占据上风时，所有已创造出来的物质都会分解为单独的元素，直到“爱”的力量再次将它们聚合在一起。
LOVE INCREASES
The elements are brought together and life is created.
- 当“爱”的力量增强时，元素汇聚在一起，生命得以诞生。
LOVE DOMINATES
The elements become too close and life is impossible.
- 当“爱”占据绝对主导时，元素过于紧密地聚集在一起，生命无法存在。
STRIFE INCREASES
The elements are separated by Strife and life is born again.
- 当“斗争”的力量增强时，“斗争”使元素相互分离，生命再次诞生。
STRIFE DOMINATES
The elements are separated and life is destroyed.
- 当“斗争”占据主导时，元素彼此分离，生命走向毁灭。
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
In Empedocles’s version of the birth of the cosmos, he describes a rudimentary form of natural selection. The species originated as separate organs that were brought together by the force of Love in various combinations, forming all kinds of strange creatures. However, those assembled wrongly were unable to breed, and only the “correct” species survived.
物种起源
在恩培多克勒对宇宙诞生的描述中，他阐述了一种早期形式的自然选择。物种最初是以独立的器官形式存在的，这些器官在“爱”的力量作用下以各种组合方式聚集在一起，形成了各种各样奇特的生物。然而，那些组合不当的生物无法繁衍后代，只有“正确”组合的物种得以存活下来。
