本書簡介：《沉思錄》是古羅馬皇帝奧勒留寫給自己的書，內容大部分是他在鞍馬勞頓中寫成的。作品來自奧勒留對身羈宮廷的自己和自己所處混亂世界的感受，追求一種冷靜而達觀的生活。這部著作是斯多葛學派的一個里程碑，亦是溫總理放在枕邊，讀了不下百遍的書。本書原文由古希臘文而作，英文版選擇比較權威的George Long的版本，中文版選擇何懷宏的版本作參考。筆記中的英文釋義摘自《牛津高階英漢雙解詞典》 作者簡介：馬可•奧勒留，著名的“帝王哲學家”，古羅馬帝國皇帝，在希臘文學和拉丁文學、修辭、哲學、法律、繪畫方面受過很好的教育，晚期斯多葛學派代表人物之一。奧勒留也許是西方歷史上唯一的一位哲學家皇帝。他是一個比他的帝國更加完美的人，他的勤奮工作最終并沒有能夠挽救古羅馬，但是他的《沉思錄》卻成為西方歷史上的偉大名著。

卷五01 小編語：看著下面第一段，對于處于期末緊張復習階段的小編來說真的是……這大冬天的，被窩多暖啊，多不想起來啊，可是自習教室或者圖書館一大早就爆滿了，真糾結啊。5.1 IN THE morning when thou risest unwillingly, let this thought be present- I am rising to the work of a human being. Why then am I dissatisfied if I am going to do the things for which I exist and for which I was brought into the world? Or have I been made for this, to lie in the bed-clothes and keep myself warm?- But this is more pleasant.- Dost thou exist then to take thy pleasure, and not at all for action or exertion? Dost thou not see the little plants, the little birds, the ants, the spiders, the bees working together to put in order their several parts of the universe? And art thou unwilling to do the work of a human being, and dost thou not make haste to do that which is according to thy nature?- But it is necessary to take rest also.- It is necessary: however nature has fixed bounds to this too: she has fixed bounds both to eating and drinking, and yet thou goest beyond these bounds, beyond what is sufficient; yet in thy acts it is not so, but thou stoppest short of what thou canst do. So thou lovest not thyself, for if thou didst, thou wouldst love thy nature and her will. But those who love their several arts exhaust themselves in working at them unwashed and without food; but thou valuest thy own own nature less than the turner values the turning art, or the dancer the dancing art, or the lover of money values his money, or the vainglorious man his little glory. And such men, when they have a violent affection to a thing, choose neither to eat nor to sleep rather than to perfect the things which they care for. But are the acts which concern society more vile in thy eyes and less worthy of thy labour?

5.2 Thou sayest, Men cannot admire the sharpness of thy wits.- Be it so: but there are many other things of which thou canst not say, I am not formed for them by nature. Show those qualities then which are altogether in thy power, sincerity, gravity, endurance of labour, aversion to pleasure, contentment with thy portion and with few things, benevolence, frankness, no love of superfluity, freedom from trifling magnanimity. Dost thou not see how many qualities thou art immediately able to exhibit, in which there is no excuse of natural incapacity and unfitness, and yet thou still remainest voluntarily below the mark? Or art thou compelled through being defectively furnished by nature to murmur, and to be stingy, and to flatter, and to find fault with thy poor body, and to try to please men, and to make great display, and to be so restless in thy mind? No, by the gods: but thou mightest have been delivered from these things long ago. Only if in truth thou canst be charged with being rather slow and dull of comprehension, thou must exert thyself about this also, not neglecting it nor yet taking pleasure in thy dulness.

 Notes：[adj] more than you need or want.               e.g.:She gave him a look that made words superfluous.   →superfluity [n]      superfluously [adv]

 先嘗試自己翻譯一下吧，參考譯文見下：

中文翻譯：5.1 早晨當你不情愿地起床時，讓這一思想出現－我正起來去做一個人的工作。如果我是要去做我因此而存在，因此而被帶入這一世界的工作，那么我有什么不滿意呢？難道我是為了躲在溫暖的被子里睡眠而生的嗎？－但這是較愉快的。－那你的存在是為了獲取快樂，而全然不是為了行動和盡力嗎？你沒有看到小小的植物、小鳥、螞蟻、蜘蛛、蜜蜂都在一起工作，從而有條不紊地盡它們在宇宙中的職分嗎？你不愿做一個人的工作，不趕快做那合乎你本性的事嗎？－但休息也是必要的。－休息是必要的，但自然也為這確定了界限，她為吃喝規定了界限，但你還是越過了這些限制，超出了足夠的范圍；而你的行動卻不是這樣，在還沒有做你能做的之前就停止了。所有你不愛你自己，因為，如果你愛，你就將愛你的本性及其意志。那些熱愛他們各自的技藝的人都在工作中忙得精疲力盡，他們沒有洗浴，沒有食物；而你對你的本性的尊重卻甚至還不如雜耍藝人尊重雜耍技藝、舞蹈家尊重舞蹈技藝、聚財者尊重他的金錢，或者虛榮者尊重他小小的光榮。這些人，當他們對一件事懷有一種強烈的愛好時，寧肯不吃不睡也要完善他們所關心的事情。而在你的眼里，難道有益于社會的行為是討厭的，竟不值得你勞作嗎？

5.2 你說，人們不能欣賞你的機智－就算是這樣，但也有許多別的事情是你不能這樣說的，有許多事情是我先天下適合的。那么展示那些完全在你力量范圍內的品質吧：真誠，嚴肅，忍受勞作，厭惡快樂，滿足于你的份額和很少的事物，仁慈，坦白，不愛多余之物，免除輕率的慷慨。你沒有看到你馬上能展示多少品質嗎，那些品質都是你沒有借口說是天生無能或不適合的，你還愿意使自己保留在標準之下嗎？難道你是先天就不健全以致不能抱怨、吝嗇、諂媚、不滿于你可憐的身體、試圖取悅于人，出風頭和內心緊張不安嗎？不，的確，你本來可以早就從這些事情中解脫出來了，除非你的理解力的確天生就相當遲鈍和麻木，但你也必須在這方面訓練自己，不忽視它也不以你的遲鈍為樂。

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