Plato: Listen, then, to a tale which is though strange, but wholly true, for these histories tell of a mighty power, Atlantis.
柏拉图:听着,接下来这个故事可能有点离奇,但是它完全是真的。因为这些历史故事诉说了一个强大的力量,亚特兰蒂斯。
Atlantis is an 7)allegory, a morality tale. Plato wrote it as a warning to his fellow Athenians that wealth and power lead to destruction if they are not grounded in virtue. But Plato's description of Atlantis is so rich in specific detail that I think he picked up on stories he'd heard, and transmitted a fantastical version of something that once existed.
亚特兰蒂斯是一个寓言,是一个关于道德的故事。柏拉图创作它是为了警告他雅典同胞们,如果他们品行不端,财富和权力会带来毁灭。但是柏拉图对亚特兰蒂斯的描述是那么地详细,以致我认为他是从他听到过的故事中取材,再将一些曾经存在过的事实转化汇编成一个魔幻的版本。
Angie Hobbs: …But he is in the streets, he's chatting away, he's picking up ideas, he's…
安琪·霍比斯:……但他在街上,不停地闲聊,收集不同的观点,他……
Bettany Hughes: Angie Hobbs is an expert on Plato. In return for a historical tour of his world, I want to find out what she thinks about the roots of the story.
贝特妮·休斯:安琪·霍比斯是研究柏拉图的专家。作为柏拉图世界的历史之旅的起点,我想知道她认为传说的根源是什么。
Angie Hobbs: …That's what I love about Plato, the idea that he's out here, he's in the city, he's using all the tricks he can, in a way, to try to encourage people to listen to his philosophy and to be moved by it and to learn from it. Yes, and, of course, we've got an age without media to promote your message for you. You have to do everything yourself. But he never loses sight of his 8)Socratic inheritance of wanting to get out there and really make individuals', people's lives better. To save their lives, save their souls, as he puts it.
安琪·霍比斯:……这就是我为什么那么热爱柏拉图,他的想法都来源这里,他就在这个城市里。他竭尽所能,试图鼓励人民去听他的哲学,并能被他的哲学所折服,从中收获知识。是的,当然,我们得知道那是一个没有媒体可以宣传你观点的时代,你不得不每件事情都亲力亲为。但他从未忽略苏格拉底的遗训,那就是设法摆脱束缚,真正让每个人、所有人生活得更好。为了挽救人们的生活,拯救人们的灵魂,正如他所付出的。
Bettany Hughes: It could be, then, that this is just a moral fable, that the Atlantis story is just one grand political allegory?
贝特妮·休斯:就这样,可能亚特兰蒂斯就这样成为了一则关于道德的传说。那么,亚特兰蒂斯的故事只是一个伟大的政治寓言?