It is almost unnecessary to remark that the civil distractions of the empire, the licence of the soldiers, the inroads of the barbarians, and the progress of despotism, had proved very unfavourable to genius, and even to learning. The succession of Illyrian princes restored the empire without restoring the sciences. Their military education was not calculated to inspire them with the love of letters; and even the mind of Diocletian, however active and capacious in business, was totally uninformed by study or speculation. The professions of law and physic are of such common use and certain profit that they will always secure a sufficient number of practitioners endowed with a reasonable degree of abilities and knowledge; but it does not appear that the students in those two faculties appeal to any celebrated masters who have flourished within that period. The voice of poetry was silent. History was reduced to dry and confused abridgments, alike destitute of amusement and instruction. A languid and affected eloquence was still retained in the pay and service of the emperors, who encouraged not any arts except those which contributed to the gratification of their pride or the defence of their power.
毫無疑問,帝國的政治動亂、士兵的橫行、野蠻人的入侵,和日趨嚴重的專制政府,都是對天才,甚至對鑽研學問極為不利的。伊利裡亞諸帝的繼位者恢復了帝國,卻並沒有恢復科學。他們的軍事教育無法激起他們對文學的愛好;戴克裡先的思想,儘管在處理國事方面顯得十分活躍,面面俱到,卻完全和深入研究和思考問題無緣。法律和物理學兩種職業,具有普遍用處,也能獲得一定利益,因而不論什麼時候總有足夠的具有一定才能和知識的人來從事這方面的工作;但是,學習這兩種行當的學生當中似乎並沒有特別出衆的大師。詩歌的聲音沉默了,歷史書全變成了乾巴巴、思路不清的節本,既無興趣,也無教益作用。一些閒扯淡的虛假的舌辯之士現在仍在朝廷供職,拿著皇家的薪俸,他們除了拍皇帝的馬屁或為皇權辯護之外,別無任何才能。
The declining age of learning and of mankind is marked, however, by the rise and rapid progress of the new Platonists. The school of Alexandria silenced those of Athens; and the ancient sects enrolled themselves under the banners of the more fashionable teachers, who recommended their system by the novelty of their method and the austerity of their manners. Several of these masters - Ammonius, Plotinus, Amelius, and Porphyry - were men of profound thought and intense application; but, by mistaking the true object of philosophy, their labours contributed much less to improve than to corrupt the human understanding.
不管怎麼,新柏拉圖學派的興起和迅速發展卻標誌著學術和人類衰敗時期的來臨。亞歷山大學派使得雅典派的聲音沉寂下去;一些古老的派別都紛紛站到更時髦的旗幟之下來,而他們則標榜自己的體系,方法新穎,態度嚴肅。這些大師中有許多——如阿摩尼奧斯托提努斯和波菲利——都是精於思想、勤於思考的人物;但是,由於他們沒有弄清哲學的真正目的,他們的努力倒是更有助於損害,而非增進人類的理解能力。
The knowledge that is suited to our situation and powers, the whole compass of moral, natural, and mathematical science, was neglected by the new Platonists; whilst they exhausted their strength in the verbal disputes of metaphysics, attempted to explore the secrets of the invisible world, and studied to reconcile Aristotle with Plato, on subjects of which both these philosophers were as ignorant as the rest of mankind. Consuming their reason in these deep but unsubstantial meditations, their minds were exposed to illusions of fancy. They flattered themselves that they possessed the secret of disengaging the soul from its corporeal prison; claimed a familiar intercourse with daemons and spirits; and, by a very singular revolution, converted the study of philosophy into that of magic.
新柏拉圖派完全忽略了適合於我們的情況和能力的知識,忽略了整個道德、自然科學和數理科學領域;他們竭盡全力進行徒托空言的形而上學的論爭,企圖使得柏拉圖和亞里斯多德的思想在一些他們自己其實和所有其他人一樣毫無所知的問題上,彼此協調一致。把他們的理智消磨在這類雖似深刻卻不切實際的思索之中,他們的頭腦則完全暴露於空洞的幻想的侵襲之下。他們狂妄地自信握有使靈魂得以從肉體的禁錮中解脫出來的奧秘;聲稱能和魔鬼和各種精靈隨意交談;實際是,通過一次十分奇特的變革,把對哲學的探索,變成了對法術的研究。
The ancient sages had derided the popular superstition; after disguising its extravagance by the thin pretence of allegory, the disciples of Plotinus and Porphyry became its most zealous defenders. As they agreed with the Christians in a few mysterious points of faith, they attacked the remainder of their theological system with all the fury of civil war. The new Platonists would scarcely deserve a place in the history of science, but in that of the church the mention of them will very frequently occur.
古代的智士便曾恥笑一般人民的迷信;現在托提努斯和波菲利的門徒們,經過用一層薄如紙的寓言形式對它加以裝扮之後,卻又成了它的狂熱的辯護人。由於他們在關於信仰的幾個神秘問題上和基督教徒的意見一致,他們便以進行內戰似的狂怒對他們的神學體系的其餘部分大肆攻擊。新柏拉圖派在科學史中幾乎不配享有任何地位,但在教會史中也許免不了會隨時提到它的名字。題上和基督教徒的意見一致,他們便以進行內戰似的狂怒對他們的神學體系的其餘部分大肆攻擊。新柏拉圖派在科學史中幾乎不配享有任何地位,但在教會史中也許免不了會隨時提到它的名字。
嗰陣拉丁文同希臘文地位係點?
嗰陣拉丁文同希臘文地位係點?
嗰陣拉丁文同希臘文地位係點?
雙語政策
嗰陣拉丁文同希臘文地位係點?
雙語政策
咁d人用開邊隻語言居多?
嗰陣拉丁文同希臘文地位係點?
雙語政策
咁d人用開邊隻語言居多?
東西地區各有不同
純粹搞笑