CHAPTER ONE: Plato I. The Context of Plato 

Traditions and dogmas rub one another down to a minimum in such centers of varied intercourse; where there are a thousand faiths we are apt to become sceptical of them all. 

Probably the traders were the first sceptics; they had seen too much to believe too much; and the general disposition of merchants to classify all men as either fools or knaves inclined them to question every creed. 

disposition，性情

knave，骗子，不诚实的

creed，信条

Gradually, too, they were developing science; mathematics grew with the increasing complexity of exchange, astronomy with the increasing audacity of navigation. 

audacity，大胆，勇气

The growth of wealth brought the leisure and security which are the prerequisite of research and speculation; men now asked the stars not only for guidance on the seas but as well for an answer to the riddles of the universe; the first Greek philosophers were astronomers.

prerequisite，前提，先决条件

riddle，秘密

" Proud of their achievements," says Aristotle, "men pushed farther afield after the Persian wars; they took all knowledge for their province, and sought ever wider studies." 

Men grew bold enough to attempt natural explanations of processes and events before attributed to supernatural agencies and powers; magic and ritual slowly gave way to science and control; and philosophy began. 

At first this philosophy was physical; it looked out upon the material world and asked what was the final and irreducible constituent of things. 

irreducible，不可缩减的

The natural termination of this line of thought was the materialism of Democritus (460–360 B.C.)—"in reality there is nothing but atoms and space." 

materialism，唯物主义

Democritus，德谟克利特

This was one of the main streams of Greek speculation; it passed underground for a time in Plato's day, but emerged in Epicurus (342–270), and became a torrent of eloquence in Lucretius (98–55 B.C.). 

Epicurus ，伊壁鸠鲁，花园哲学家，宁静状态的享乐，“陌生人，你将在此过上舒适的生活，在这里享乐，乃是至善之事”，强调静态的快乐

Lucretius，卢克莱修

But the most characteristic and fertile developments of Greek philosophy took form with the Sophists, travelling teachers of wisdom, who looked within upon their own thought and nature, rather than out upon the world of things. 

Sophist，智者学派

They were all clever men (Gorgias and Hippias, for example), and many of them were profound (Protagoras, Prodicus); there is hardly a problem or a solution in our current philosophy of mind and conduct which they did not realize and discuss. 

Gorgias，高尔基斯

They asked questions about anything; they stood unafraid in the presence of religious or political taboos; and boldly subpoenaed every creed and institution to appear before the judgment-seat of reason. 

subpoena，发传票

In politics they divided into two schools. 

One, like Rousseau, argued that nature is good, and civilization bad; that by nature all men are equal, becoming unequal only by class-made institutions; and that law is an invention of the strong to chain and rule the weak. 

Rousseau，卢梭

Another school, like Nietzsche, claimed that nature is beyond good and evil; that by nature all men are unequal; that morality is an invention of the weak to limit and deter the strong; that power is the supreme virtue, and the supreme desire of man; and that of all forms of government the wisest and most natural is aristocracy.

Nietzsche，尼采

deter，组织，打击

[ 00’42” ] dogma (教条)

[ 01’25” ] sceptical (怀疑的)

[ 02’17” ] the general disposition of (……的整体特性)

[ 02’41” ] fool (愚蠢的人)

[ 02’45” ] knave (不诚实的人)

[ 03’08” ] I incline to (我倾向于)

[ 03’10” ] incline sb to (使某人倾向于)

[ 03’20” ] creed (信条)

[ 05’10” ] audacity (勇敢)

[ 05’50” ] prerequisite (前提)

[ 06’52” ] farther afield (远离故乡)

[ 07’42” ] attribute to (归因于)

[ 07’47” ] supernatural agencies and powers (超自然的介质和力量)

[ 09’09” ] irreducible (不能缩减的)

[ 09’19” ] constituent (构成，组成成分)

[ 09’34” ] termination (决定论)

[ 09’40” ] materialism (唯物主义)

[ 09’46” ] Democritus (德谟克利特，古希腊哲学家)

[ 10’43” ] atom (原子)

[ 11’58” ] Epicurus (伊壁鸠鲁，古希腊无神论哲学家，花园哲学家，他认为快乐是静态的，是发自内心的，主张回归内心的宁静。)

[ 12’10” ] Epicureanism (伊比鸠鲁学说，享乐主义)

[ 14’03” ] If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires. (增加一个人的财富并不能让他变得快乐，削减他的欲望才能带来真正的快乐。)

[ 14’24” ] Alain de Botton (阿兰·德波顿，作家，现住英国伦敦，著有《哲学的慰藉》。)

[ 15’43” ] fertile (富饶的，肥沃的)

[ 15’46” ] fertilizer (肥料)

[ 15’54” ] Sophists (智者学派)

[ 15’55” ] Soph (智慧)

[ 17’35” ] There is nothing new under the sun. (天下并没有所谓的新的东西。)

[ 18’42” ] stood unafraid (无畏地站在)

[ 19’00” ] subpoena (传唤出庭作证的传票，也做动词传唤，传票。)

[ 19’19” ] judgment-seat of reason (理性的审判)

[ 19’37” ] subpoena every conduct of human deeds before the judgment of our ethics and morality.(将罪行传唤来，接受良心的审判。)

[ 20’01” ] Rousseau (卢梭，法国启蒙思想家，著有《论人类不平等的起源和基础》。)

[ 21’32” ] Nietzsche (尼采，德国著名哲学家，被认为是西方现代哲学的开创者，提出超人学说。)

备注：音频 9：30 处拓展信息

最早提出原子概念并为之命名的是古希腊哲学家德谟克利特 Democritus，他继承了其老师留基伯Leucippus 的哲学思想，认为宇宙间万物都是由各种不可分割的最小粒子组成，这些“最小粒子”的大小、形状、质量等都各不向同，并且是永远守恒的，它们不能毁灭，也不能创造出来。因为这种“最小粒子”不可再分割，故取名为 ἄτομος【不可分割的（粒子）】。1805年，英国化学家道尔顿Dalton 继承了古希腊哲学家的思想，将当时认为不可再分割的基本粒子命名为 atom，源自希腊语的τομον，中文翻译为原子。后来，随着核物理的出现，人们发现这种【不可分割的】atom 其实是可以分割的，但由于原子的概念已经被广泛接受。