Δημοσίευση
από Divine Sinner » Πέμ 08 Ιούλ 2010, 20:12
Επισης αυτό απο αλλη μετάφραση.
THE REPUBLIC
by Plato
(360 B.C.)
translated by Benjamin Jowett.
Well, I said, I will tell you a tale; not one of the tales
which Odysseus tells to the hero Alcinous, yet this too is a tale
of a hero, Er the son of Armenius, a Pamphylian by birth.
He was slain in battle, and ten days afterwards, when the bodies
of the dead were taken up already in a state of corruption, his body
was found unaffected by decay, and carried away home to be buried.
And on the twelfth day, as he was lying on the funeral pile,
he returned to life and told them what he had seen in the other world.
He said that when his soul left the body he went on a journey
with a great company, and that they came to a mysterious place at
which there were two openings in the earth; they were near together,
and over against them were two other openings in the heaven above.
In the intermediate space there were judges seated, who commanded
the just, after they had given judgment on them and had bound
their sentences in front of them, to ascend by the heavenly way
on the right hand; and in like manner the unjust were bidden
by them to descend by the lower way on the left hand; these also
bore the symbols of their deeds, but fastened on their backs.
He drew near, and they told him that he was to be the messenger
who would carry the report of the other world to men, and they bade
him hear and see all that was to be heard and seen in that place.
Then he beheld and saw on one side the souls departing at either
opening of heaven and earth when sentence had been given on them;
and at the two other openings other souls, some ascending
out of the earth dusty and worn with travel, some descending
out of heaven clean and bright. And arriving ever and anon they
seemed to have come from a long journey, and they went forth with
gladness into the meadow, where they encamped as at a festival;
and those who knew one another embraced and conversed, the souls
which came from earth curiously enquiring about the things above,
and the souls which came from heaven about the things beneath.
And they told one another of what had happened by the way,
those from below weeping and sorrowing at the remembrance of the things
which they had endured and seen in their journey beneath the earth
(now the journey lasted a thousand years), while those from above
were describing heavenly delights and visions of inconceivable beauty.
The Story, Glaucon, would take too long to tell; but the sum was this:--
He said that for every wrong which they had done to any one they
suffered tenfold; or once in a hundred years--such being reckoned
to be the length of man's life, and the penalty being thus paid ten
times in a thousand years. If, for example, there were any who had been
the cause of many deaths, or had betrayed or enslaved cities or armies,
or been guilty of any other evil behaviour, for each and all of their
offences they received punishment ten times over, and the rewards
of beneficence and justice and holiness were in the same proportion.
I need hardly repeat what he said concerning young children dying
almost as soon as they were born. Of piety and impiety to gods
and parents, and of murderers, there were retributions other and
greater far which he described. He mentioned that he was present
when one of the spirits asked another, `Where is Ardiaeus the Great?'
(Now this Ardiaeus lived a thousand years before the time of Er:
he had been the tyrant of some city of Pamphylia, and had murdered
his aged father and his elder brother, and was said to have committed
many other abominable crimes.) The answer of the other spirit was:
`He comes not hither and will never come. And this,' said he,
`was one of the dreadful sights which we ourselves witnessed.
We were at the mouth of the cavern, and, having completed all
our experiences, were about to reascend, when of a sudden Ardiaeus
appeared and several others, most of whom were tyrants; and there
were also besides the tyrants private individuals who had been
great criminals: they were just, as they fancied, about to return
into the upper world, but the mouth, instead of admitting them,
gave a roar, whenever any of these incurable sinners or some one
who had not been sufficiently punished tried to ascend; and then
wild men of fiery aspect, who were standing by and heard the sound,
seized and carried them off; and Ardiaeus and others they bound head
and foot and hand, and threw them down and flayed them with scourges,
and dragged them along the road at the side, carding them on thorns
like wool, and declaring to the passers-by what were their crimes,
and that they were being taken away to be cast into hell.'
And of all the many terrors which they had endured, he said that there
was none like the terror which each of them felt at that moment,
lest they should hear the voice; and when there was silence,
one by one they ascended with exceeding joy. These, said Er,
were the penalties and retributions, and there were blessings as
great.
Now when the spirits which were in the meadow had tarried seven days,
on the eighth they were obliged to proceed on their journey, and,
on the fourth day after, he said that they came to a place where
they could see from above a line of light, straight as a column,
extending right through the whole heaven and through the earth,
in colour resembling the rainbow, only brighter and purer;
another day's journey brought them to the place, and there,
in the midst of the light, they saw the ends of the chains of heaven
let down from above: for this light is the belt of heaven,
and holds together the circle of the universe, like the under-girders
of a trireme. From these ends is extended the spindle of Necessity,
on which all the revolutions turn. The shaft and hook of this
spindle are made of steel, and the whorl is made partly of steel
and also partly of other materials. Now the whorl is in form
like the whorl used on earth; and the description of it implied
that there is one large hollow whorl which is quite scooped out,
and into this is fitted another lesser one, and another, and another,
and four others, making eight in all, like vessels which fit
into one another; the whorls show their edges on the upper side,
and on their lower side all together form one continuous whorl.
This is pierced by the spindle, which is driven home through the centre
of the eighth. The first and outermost whorl has the rim broadest,
and the seven inner whorls are narrower, in the following proportions--
the sixth is next to the first in size, the fourth next to the sixth;
then comes the eighth; the seventh is fifth, the fifth is sixth,
the third is seventh, last and eighth comes the second.
The largest (of fixed stars) is spangled, and the seventh (or sun)
is brightest; the eighth (or moon) coloured by the reflected
light of the seventh; the second and fifth (Saturn and Mercury)
are in colour like one another, and yellower than the preceding;
the third (Venus) has the whitest light; the fourth (Mars) is reddish;
the sixth (Jupiter) is in whiteness second. Now the whole spindle
has the same motion; but, as the whole revolves in one direction,
the seven inner circles move slowly in the other, and of these
the swiftest is the eighth; next in swiftness are the seventh,
sixth, and fifth, which move together; third in swiftness appeared
to move according to the law of this reversed motion the fourth;
the third appeared fourth and the second fifth. The spindle turns
on the knees of Necessity; and on the upper surface of each circle
is a siren, who goes round with them, hymning a single tone or note.
The eight together form one harmony; and round about, at equal intervals,
there is another band, three in number, each sitting upon her throne:
these are the Fates, daughters of Necessity, who are clothed in white
robes and have chaplets upon their heads, Lachesis and Clotho
and Atropos, who accompany with their voices the harmony of the sirens--
Lachesis singing of the past, Clotho of the present, Atropos of the future;
Clotho from time to time assisting with a touch of her right hand
the revolution of the outer circle of the whorl or spindle, and Atropos
with her left hand touching and guiding the inner ones, and Lachesis
laying hold of either in turn, first with one hand and then with the
other.
When Er and the spirits arrived, their duty was to go at once to Lachesis;
but first of all there came a prophet who arranged them in order;
then he took from the knees of Lachesis lots and samples
of lives, and having mounted a high pulpit, spoke as follows:
`Hear the word of Lachesis, the daughter of Necessity.
Mortal souls, behold a new cycle of life and mortality.
Your genius will not be allotted to you, but you choose your genius;
and let him who draws the first lot have the first choice,
and the life which he chooses shall be his destiny. Virtue is free,
and as a man honours or dishonours her he will have more or less
of her; the responsibility is with the chooser--God is justified.'
When the Interpreter had thus spoken he scattered lots indifferently
among them all, and each of them took up the lot which fell near him,
all but Er himself (he was not allowed), and each as he took his lot
perceived the number which he had obtained. Then the Interpreter
placed on the ground before them the samples of lives; and there were
many more lives than the souls present, and they were of all sorts.
There were lives of every animal and of man in every condition.
And there were tyrannies among them, some lasting out the tyrant's life,
others which broke off in the middle and came to an end in poverty
and exile and beggary; and there were lives of famous men,
some who were famous for their form and beauty as well as for
their strength and success in games, or, again, for their birth
and the qualities of their ancestors; and some who were the reverse
of famous for the opposite qualities. And of women likewise;
there was not, however, any definite character them, because the soul,
when choosing a new life, must of necessity become different.
But there was every other quality, and the all mingled with one another,
and also with elements of wealth and poverty, and disease and health;
and there were mean states also. And here, my dear Glaucon,
is the supreme peril of our human state; and therefore the utmost
care should be taken. Let each one of us leave every other kind
of knowledge and seek and follow one thing only, if peradventure
he may be able to learn and may find some one who will make him
able to learn and discern between good and evil, and so to choose
always and everywhere the better life as he has opportunity.
He should consider the bearing of all these things which have been
mentioned severally and collectively upon virtue; he should know
what the effect of beauty is when combined with poverty or wealth
in a particular soul, and what are the good and evil consequences
of noble and humble birth, of private and public station, of strength
and weakness, of cleverness and dullness, and of all the soul,
and the operation of them when conjoined; he will then look at the nature
of the soul, and from the consideration of all these qualities he
will be able to determine which is the better and which is the worse;
and so he will choose, giving the name of evil to the life which will
make his soul more unjust, and good to the life which will make
his soul more just; all else he will disregard. For we have seen
and know that this is the best choice both in life and after death.
A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith
in truth and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire
of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies
and similar villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer
yet worse himself; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid
the extremes on either side, as far as possible, not only in this
life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of
happiness.
And according to the report of the messenger from the other world this
was what the prophet said at the time: `Even for the last comer,
if he chooses wisely and will live diligently, there is appointed
a happy and not undesirable existence. Let not him who chooses first
be careless, and let not the last despair.' And when he had spoken,
he who had the first choice came forward and in a moment chose the
greatest tyranny; his mind having been darkened by folly and sensuality,
he had not thought out the whole matter before he chose, and did
not at first sight perceive that he was fated, among other evils,
to devour his own children. But when he had time to reflect,
and saw what was in the lot, he began to beat his breast and lament
over his choice, forgetting the proclamation of the prophet;
for, instead of throwing the blame of his misfortune on himself,
he accused chance and the gods, and everything rather than himself.
Now he was one of those who came from heaven, and in a former life
had dwelt in a well-ordered State, but his virtue was a matter
of habit only, and he had no philosophy. And it was true of others
who were similarly overtaken, that the greater number of them came
from heaven and therefore they had never been schooled by trial,
whereas the pilgrims who came from earth, having themselves
suffered and seen others suffer, were not in a hurry to choose.
And owing to this inexperience of theirs, and also because the lot
was a chance, many of the souls exchanged a good destiny for an evil
or an evil for a good. For if a man had always on his arrival
in this world dedicated himself from the first to sound philosophy,
and had been moderately fortunate in the number of the lot,
he might, as the messenger reported, be happy here, and also his
journey to another life and return to this, instead of being rough
and underground, would be smooth and heavenly. Most curious,
he said, was the spectacle--sad and laughable and strange;
for the choice of the souls was in most cases based on their experience
of a previous life. There he saw the soul which had once been Orpheus
choosing the life of a swan out of enmity to the race of women,
hating to be born of a woman because they had been his murderers;
he beheld also the soul of Thamyras choosing the life of a nightingale;
birds, on the other hand, like the swan and other musicians,
wanting to be men. The soul which obtained the twentieth lot chose
the life of a lion, and this was the soul of Ajax the son of Telamon,
who would not be a man, remembering the injustice which was
done him the judgment about the arms. The next was Agamemnon,
who took the life of an eagle, because, like Ajax, he hated
human nature by reason of his sufferings. About the middle came
the lot of Atalanta; she, seeing the great fame of an athlete,
was unable to resist the temptation: and after her there followed
the soul of Epeus the son of Panopeus passing into the nature of a
woman cunning in the arts; and far away among the last who chose,
the soul of the jester Thersites was putting on the form of a monkey.
There came also the soul of Odysseus having yet to make a choice,
and his lot happened to be the last of them all. Now the recollection
of former tolls had disenchanted him of ambition, and he went
about for a considerable time in search of the life of a private
man who had no cares; he had some difficulty in finding this,
which was lying about and had been neglected by everybody else;
and when he saw it, he said that he would have done the had
his lot been first instead of last, and that he was delighted
to have it. And not only did men pass into animals, but I
must also mention that there were animals tame and wild who
changed into one another and into corresponding human natures--
the good into the gentle and the evil into the savage, in all sorts
of combinations.
All the souls had now chosen their lives, and they went in the order
of their choice to Lachesis, who sent with them the genius whom
they had severally chosen, to be the guardian of their lives
and the fulfiller of the choice: this genius led the souls first
to Clotho, and drew them within the revolution of the spindle
impelled by her hand, thus ratifying the destiny of each;
and then, when they were fastened to this, carried them to Atropos,
who spun the threads and made them irreversible, whence without
turning round they passed beneath the throne of Necessity;
and when they had all passed, they marched on in a scorching heat
to the plain of Forgetfulness, which was a barren waste destitute
of trees and verdure; and then towards evening they encamped
by the river of Unmindfulness, whose water no vessel can hold;
of this they were all obliged to drink a certain quantity,
and those who were not saved by wisdom drank more than was necessary;
and each one as he drank forgot all things. Now after they had gone
to rest, about the middle of the night there was a thunderstorm
and earthquake, and then in an instant they were driven upwards
in all manner of ways to their birth, like stars shooting.
He himself was hindered from drinking the water. But in what
manner or by what means he returned to the body he could not say;
only, in the morning, awaking suddenly, he found himself lying on
the pyre.
And thus, Glaucon, the tale has been saved and has not perished,
and will save us if we are obedient to the word spoken; and we
shall pass safely over the river of Forgetfulness and our soul
will not be defiled. Wherefore my counsel is that we hold fast ever
to the heavenly way and follow after justice and virtue always,
considering that the soul is immortal and able to endure every sort
of good and every sort of evil. Thus shall we live dear to one another
and to the gods, both while remaining here and when, like conquerors
in the games who go round to gather gifts, we receive our reward.
And it shall be well with us both in this life and in the pilgrimage
of a thousand years which we have been describing.
YΓ. αυτα δεν τα βρήκα ψαχνοντας για την λεξη reincarnation. Δεν εψαξα δηλαδη κατι που να επιβεβαιωνει το οτι ο πλατωνας μιλουσε για μετενσαρκωση.
Απλα εψαξα για plato republic
SystemFreaks™
)
???
), δεν εννοώ πως σ' αυτή την περίπτωση συμβαίνει αυτό, απλά γενικά, στη νέα ελληνική (απ' ό,τι έχω καταλάβει) κάποιες λέξεις δεν έχουν την ίδια σημασία με την αρχαία ελληνική. Ένα παράδειγμα (που ήταν για μένα το εφαλτήριο να ρωτήσω και να ψάξω λίγο) είναι το ρήμα "φοβούμαι" που στα αρχαία ελληνικά σήμαινε "σέβομαι", ενώ τώρα υποδηλώνει κάτι διαφορετικό.