The Historical Background-4
In 338 B.C. he defeated the Athenians at Ch?ronea, and saw at last a Greece united, though with chains.?
And then, as he stood upon this victory, and planned how he and his son should master and unify the world, he fell under an assassin's hand.
Alexander, when Aristotle came, was a wild youth of thirteen;?
passionate, epileptic, almost alcoholic;?
it was his pastime to tame horses untamable by men.?
The efforts of the philosopher to cool the fires of this budding volcano were not of much avail;?
Alexander had better success with Bucephalus than Aristotle with Alexander.?
"For a while," says Plutarch, "Alexander loved and cherished Aristotle no less than as if he had been his own father;?
saying that though he had received life from the one, the other had taught him the art of living." ("Life," says a fine Greek adage, "is the gift of nature; but beautiful living is the gift of wisdom.")?
"For my part," said Alexander in a letter to Aristotle, "I had rather excel in the knowledge of what is good than in the extent of my power and dominion."?
But this was probably no more than a royal-youthful compliment;?
beneath the enthusiastic tyro of philosophy was the fiery son of a barbarian princess and an untamed king;?
the restraints of reason were too delicate to hold these ancestral passions in leash;?
and Alexander left philosophy after two years to mount the throne and ride the world.?
History leaves us free to believe (though we should suspect these pleasant thoughts) that Alexander's unifying passion derived some of its force and grandeur from his teacher, the most synthetic thinker in the history of thought;?
and that the conquest of order in the political realm by the pupil, and in the philosophic realm by the master, were but diverse sides of one noble and epic project—two magnificent Macedonians unifying two chaotic worlds.
其師志于學(xué)碟刺，其徒志于天下扳炬，入世之學(xué)徒之幸
Setting out to conquer Asia, Alexander left behind him, in the cities of Greece, governments favorable to him but populations resolutely hostile.?
The long tradition of a free and once imperial Athens made subjection—even to a brilliant world-conquering despot—intolerable;?
despot城看，專(zhuān)制者
and the bitter eloquence of Demosthenes kept the Assembly always on the edge of revolt against the "Macedonian party" that held the reins of city power.?
Now when Aristotle, after another period of travel, returned to Athens in the year 334 B.C., he very naturally associated with this Macedonian group, and took no pains to conceal his approval of Alexander's unifying rule.?
As we study the remarkable succession of works, in speculation and research, which Aristotle proceeded to unfold in the last twelve years of his life;?
and as we watch him in his multifold tasks of organizing his school, and of co?rdinating such a wealth of knowledge as probably never before had passed through the mind of one man;?
let us occasionally remember that this was no quiet and secure pursuit of truth;?
that at any minute the political sky might change, and precipitate a storm in this peaceful philosophic life.?
Only with this situation in mind shall we understand Aristotle's political philosophy, and his tragic end.
▍語(yǔ)言點(diǎn)
assassin: n. 刺客
passionate: adj. 富有激情的
epileptic: adj. 多動(dòng)的；躁動(dòng)的
budding: adj. 萌芽的佛南；發(fā)育期的
avail: n. 益處；效用；利益
Plutarch: 普魯塔克紊遵，公元 46 - 120，是一位用希臘文寫(xiě)作的羅馬傳記文學(xué)家侥蒙、散文家暗膜、以及柏拉圖學(xué)派的知識(shí)分子。
the art of living: 生活的藝術(shù)
adage: n. 名言
no more than: 僅僅是
fiery: adj. 暴躁的鞭衩；激烈的
untamed: adj. 未馴服的学搜；未屈服的
hold something in leash: 用繩索綁起某物
ride the world: 征服世界
grandeur: n. 格局；壯麗
synthetic: adj. 綜合的
realm: n. 領(lǐng)域
resolutely: adv. 堅(jiān)決地论衍；毅然地
subjection: n. 服從瑞佩；隸屬
despot: n. 專(zhuān)制君主，暴君坯台；獨(dú)裁者
Demosthenes: 狄摩西尼炬丸，公元前 384 — 322，古希臘最偉大的政治家蜒蕾、演說(shuō)家稠炬、雄辯家和希臘聯(lián)軍統(tǒng)帥焕阿，為了克服口吃的毛病，口含石子在海邊練習(xí)演說(shuō)首启。
revolt: vi. 反抗捣鲸；反叛
unfold: vt. 展開(kāi)
multifold: adj. 多面的；多種的
precipitate: vt. 促成闽坡；降水
生詞好句
assassin's?assassin: n. 刺客
passionate?adj. 富有激情的
epileptic?adj. 多動(dòng)的栽惶；躁動(dòng)的
budding?adj. 萌芽的；發(fā)育期的
avail?n. 益處疾嗅；效用外厂；利益
Plutarch?普魯塔克，公元 46 - 120代承，是一位用希臘文寫(xiě)作的羅馬傳記文學(xué)家汁蝶、散文家、以及柏拉圖學(xué)派的知識(shí)分子论悴。
the art of living?生活的藝術(shù)
adage?n. 名言
no more than?僅僅是
fiery?adj. 暴躁的掖棉；激烈的
untamed?adj. 未馴服的；未屈服的
hold these ancestral passions in leash?hold sth. in leash: 用繩索綁起某物
ride the world?征服世界
grandeur?n. 格局膀估；壯麗
synthetic?adj. 綜合的
realm?n. 領(lǐng)域
resolutely?adv. 堅(jiān)決地幔亥；毅然地
subjection?n. 服從；隸屬
despot?n. 專(zhuān)制君主察纯，暴君帕棉；獨(dú)裁者
Demosthenes?狄摩西尼，公元前 384 — 322饼记，古希臘最偉大的政治家香伴、演說(shuō)家、雄辯家和希臘聯(lián)軍統(tǒng)帥具则，為了克服口吃的毛病即纲，口含石子在海邊練習(xí)演說(shuō)。
revolt?vi. 反抗博肋；反叛
unfold?vt. 展開(kāi)
multifold?adj. 多面的低斋；多種的
precipitate?vt. 促成；降水
