cratylus-第21部分
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nou; the pure and garnished mind (sc。 apo tou chorein)。 He; as we are
informed by tradition; was begotten of Uranus; rightly so called (apo tou
oran ta ano) from looking upwards; which; as philosophers tell us; is the
way to have a pure mind; and the name Uranus is therefore correct。 If I
could remember the genealogy of Hesiod; I would have gone on and tried more
conclusions of the same sort on the remoter ancestors of the Gods;then I
might have seen whether this wisdom; which has come to me all in an
instant; I know not whence; will or will not hold good to the end。
HERMOGENES: You seem to me; Socrates; to be quite like a prophet newly
inspired; and to be uttering oracles。
SOCRATES: Yes; Hermogenes; and I believe that I caught the inspiration
from the great Euthyphro of the Prospaltian deme; who gave me a long
lecture which commenced at dawn: he talked and I listened; and his wisdom
and enchanting ravishment has not only filled my ears but taken possession
of my soul;and to…day I shall let his superhuman power work and finish the
investigation of namesthat will be the way; but to…morrow; if you are so
disposed; we will conjure him away; and make a purgation of him; if we can
only find some priest or sophist who is skilled in purifications of this
sort。
HERMOGENES: With all my heart; for am very curious to hear the rest of the
enquiry about names。
SOCRATES: Then let us proceed; and where would you have us begin; now that
we have got a sort of outline of the enquiry? Are there any names which
witness of themselves that they are not given arbitrarily; but have a
natural fitness? The names of heroes and of men in general are apt to be
deceptive because they are often called after ancestors with whose names;
as we were saying; they may have no business; or they are the expression of
a wish like Eutychides (the son of good fortune); or Sosias (the Saviour);
or Theophilus (the beloved of God); and others。 But I think that we had
better leave these; for there will be more chance of finding correctness in
the names of immutable essences;there ought to have been more care taken
about them when they were named; and perhaps there may have been some more
than human power at work occasionally in giving them names。
HERMOGENES: I think so; Socrates。
SOCRATES: Ought we not to begin with the consideration of the Gods; and
show that they are rightly named Gods?
HERMOGENES: Yes; that will be well。
SOCRATES: My notion would be something of this sort:I suspect that the
sun; moon; earth; stars; and heaven; which are still the Gods of many
barbarians; were the only Gods known to the aboriginal Hellenes。 Seeing
that they were always moving and running; from their running nature they
were called Gods or runners (Theous; Theontas); and when men became
acquainted with the other Gods; they proceeded to apply the same name to
them all。 Do you think that likely?
HERMOGENES: I think it very likely indeed。
SOCRATES: What shall follow the Gods?
HERMOGENES: Must not demons and heroes and men come next?
SOCRATES: Demons! And what do you consider to be the meaning of this
word? Tell me if my view is right。
HERMOGENES: Let me hear。
SOCRATES: You know how Hesiod uses the word?
HERMOGENES: I do not。
SOCRATES: Do you not remember that he speaks of a golden race of men who
came first?
HERMOGENES: Yes; I do。
SOCRATES: He says of them
'But now that fate has closed over this race
They are holy demons upon the earth;
Beneficent; averters of ills; guardians of mortal men。' (Hesiod; Works and
Days。)
HERMOGENES: What is the inference?
SOCRATES: What is the inference! Why; I suppose that he means by the
golden men; not men literally made of gold; but good and noble; and I am
convinced of this; because he further says that we are the iron race。
HERMOGENES: That is true。
SOCRATES: And do you not suppose that good men of our own day would by him
be said to be of golden race?
HERMOGENES: Very likely。
SOCRATES: And are not the good wise?
HERMOGENES: Yes; they are wise。
SOCRATES: And therefore I have the most entire conviction that he called
them demons; because they were daemones (knowing or wise); and in our older
Attic dialect the word itself occurs。 Now he and other poets say truly;
that when a good man dies he has honour and a mighty portion among the
dead; and becomes a demon; which is a name given to him signifying wisdom。
And I say too; that every wise man who happens to be a good man is more
than human (daimonion) both in life and death; and is rightly called a
demon。
HERMOGENES: Then I rather think that I am of one mind with you; but what
is the meaning of the word 'hero'? (Eros with an eta; in the old writing
eros with an epsilon。)
SOCRATES: I think that there is no difficulty in explaining; for the name
is not much altered; and signifies that they were born of love。
HERMOGENES: What do you mean?
SOCRATES: Do you not know that the heroes are demigods?
HERMOGENES: What then?
SOCRATES: All of them sprang either from the love of a God for a mortal
woman; or of a mortal man for a Goddess; think of the word in the old
Attic; and you will see better that the name heros is only a slight
alteration of Eros; from whom the heroes sprang: either this is the
meaning; or; if not this; then they must have been skilful as rhetoricians
and dialecticians; and able to put the question (erotan); for eirein is
equivalent to legein。 And therefore; as I was saying; in the Attic dialect
the heroes turn out to be rhetoricians and questioners。 All this is easy
enough; the noble breed of heroes are a tribe of sophists and rhetors。 But
can you tell me why men are called anthropoi?that is more difficult。
HERMOGENES: No; I cannot; and I would not try even if I could; because I
think that you are the more likely to succeed。
SOCRATES: That is to say; you trust to the inspiration of Euthyphro。
HERMOGENES: Of course。
SOCRATES: Your faith is not vain; for at this very moment a new and
ingenious thought strikes me; and; if I am not careful; before to…morrow's
dawn I shall be wiser than I ought to be。 Now; attend to me; and first;
remember that we often put in and pull out letters in words; and give names
as we please and change the accents。 Take; for example; the word Dii
Philos; in order to convert this from a sentence into a noun; we omit one
of the iotas and sound the middle syllable grave instead of acute; as; on
the other hand; letters are sometimes inserted in words instead of being
omitted; and the acute takes the place of the grave。
HERMOGENES: That is true。
SOCRATES: The name anthropos; which was once a sentence; and is now a
noun; appears to be a case just of this sort; for one letter; which is the
alpha; has been omitted; and the acute on the last syllable has been
changed to a grave。
HERMOGENES: What do you mean?
SOCRATES: I mean to say that the word 'man' implies that other animals
never examine; or consider; or look up at what they see; but that man not
only sees (opope) but considers and looks up at that which he sees; and
hence he alone of all animals is rightly anthropos; meaning anathron a
opopen。
HERMOGENES: May I ask you to examine another word about which I am
curious?
SOCRATES: Certainly。
HERMOGENES: I will take that which appears to me to follow next in order。
You know the distinction of soul and body?
SOCRATES: Of course。
HERMOGENES: Let us endeavour to analyze them like the previous words。
SOCRATES: You want me first of all to examine the natural fitness of the
word psuche (soul); and then of the word soma (body)?
HERMOGENES: Yes。
SOCRATES: If I am to say what occurs to me at the moment; I should imagine
that those who first used the name psuche meant to express that the soul
when in the body is the source of life; and gives the power of breath and
revival (anapsuchon); and when this reviving power fails then the body
perishes and dies; and this; if I am not mistaken; they called psyche。 But
please stay a moment; I fancy that I can discover something which will be
more acceptable to the disciples of Euthyphro; for I am afraid that they
will scorn this explanation。 What do you say to another?
HERMOGENES: Let me hear。
SOCRATES: What is that which holds and carries and gives life and motion
to the entire nature of the body? What else but the soul?
HERMOGENES: Just that。
SOCRATES: And do you not believe with Anaxagoras; that mind or soul is the
ordering and containing principle of all things?
HERMOGENES: Yes; I do。
SOCRATES: Then you may well call that power phuseche which carries and
holds nature (e phusin okei; kai ekei); and this may be refined away into
psuche。
HERMOGENES: Certainly; and this derivation is; I think; more scientific
than the other。
SOCRATES: It is so; but I cannot help laughing; if I am to suppose that
this was the true meaning of the name。
HERMOGENES: But what shall we say of the next word?
SOCRATES: You mean soma (the body)。
HERMOGENES: Yes。
SOCRATES: That may be variously interpreted; and yet more variously if a
little permutation is allowed。 For some say that the body is the grave
(sema) of the soul which may be thought to be buried in our present life;
or again the index of the soul; because the soul gives indications to
(semainei) the body; probably the Orphic poets were the inventors of the
name; and they were under the impression that the soul is suffering the
punishment of sin; and that the body is an enclosure or prison in which the
soul is incarcerated; kept safe (soma; sozetai); as the name soma implies;
until the penalty is paid; according to this view; not even