萨摩斯的伊壁鸠鲁

花园

The Garden

伊壁鸠鲁出生在萨摩斯岛，但他的家族来自雅典。他很贫穷，也没有有权势的朋友。年轻时，他在沿海的几座城市里教书；到了大约三十五岁，他搬到了雅典。

Epicurus was born on the island of Samos, but his family had come from Athens. He was poor, and he had no powerful friends. As a young man he taught in a few cities along the coast, and then, at about thirty-five, he moved to Athens.

他没有把学堂开在集市上——那些伟大的哲学家都在那里讲学；他也没有想要成名。他在城墙外面买了一座带花园的小房子，就在那里讲学。人们把他的学堂简称为“花园”。

He did not open his school in the market, where the great philosophers taught, and he did not try to become famous. He bought a small house with a garden outside the city wall, and he taught there. People called his school simply “the Garden”.

“花园”很特别，整座城市都在议论它。那里没有把任何人拒之门外的大门。女人来了，这在当时很不寻常。奴隶也来了。富人和穷人都来了，在花园里大家都是平等的。所有人一起学习，一起吃饭，一起交谈。

The Garden was strange, and the whole city talked about it. There was no door that shut anyone out. Women came, which was unusual. Slaves came. Rich men and poor men came, and inside the garden they were equals. Everyone studied, ate and talked together.

这些朋友中有很多人留下了名字，有的自身就很有名气。这里有写过书并与其他哲学家辩论过的莱昂提翁；有泰米斯塔；还有奴隶迈斯。在当时的大多数学堂里，这样的人根本不被允许发言。但在“花园”里，他们也是老师。

Many of the friends had names that were remembered, and some of them were famous in their own right. There was Leontion, who wrote books and argued with other philosophers. There was Themista, and there was Mys, a slave. In most schools of that time, such people would never have been allowed to speak. In the Garden they were teachers too.

伊壁鸠鲁不希望自己的名字挂在大众嘴边。他有一句座右铭：“避世而居。”他说：“我从不想讨好大众。我懂得的大众不喜欢；而大众喜欢的我却不懂。”

Epicurus did not want his name in the mouths of the crowd. He had a motto: “Live unnoticed.” He said: “I never wished to please the crowd. What I understand, the crowd does not like; and what the crowd likes, I do not understand.”