雅典的苏格拉底

集市上的问题

The Question in the Market

公元前大约四百年，雅典是一座由白石、船只和谈话构成的城市。早晨，人们在集市上碰面，谈论各种事情：战争、金钱、神灵，还有邻居。

Athens, about four hundred years before Christ. A city of white stone, of ships, of talk. People met in the market in the morning, and they talked about everything: war, money, the gods, the neighbours.

有一个人总是在那里。他身材矮壮，长着扁鼻子、大眼睛和浓密的胡子。不管是夏天还是冬天，他都穿着同一件薄斗篷，还常常光着脚。他的名字叫苏格拉底。

One man was always there. He was short and stocky, with a flat nose, wide eyes and a thick beard. He wore the same thin cloak in summer and in winter, and he often went barefoot. His name was Socrates.

他什么也不卖，也没有任何官职。他做的事就是提问。他拦住一位将军问：什么是勇气？他拦住一位法官问：什么是正义？他拦住一个年轻人问：什么是美好的生活？

He did not sell anything, and he did not hold office. What he did was ask questions. He stopped a general and asked: what is courage? He stopped a judge and asked: what is justice? He stopped a young man and asked: what is a good life?

将军立刻回答了。接着苏格拉底又问了一个问题，又一个问题，直到将军那些动听的话完全站不住脚。将军生气地走开了。年轻人们留了下来，他们非常喜欢这样。

The general answered at once. Then Socrates asked another question, and another, until the general’s fine words fell apart. The general walked away angry. The young men stayed. They loved it.

“我唯一知道的，”苏格拉底说，“就是我什么都不知道。”他说这话时带着微笑，让人们感到非常愤怒。

“All I know,” said Socrates, “is that I know nothing.” He said it with a smile, and it made people furious.