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拉爾修·第歐根尼笔下的蘇格拉底身世

2014-08-16黃瑞成

古典研究 2014年3期
关键词:哲人格拉大學

黃瑞成

(重慶大學古典學中心)

拉爾修·第歐根尼笔下的蘇格拉底身世

黃瑞成

(重慶大學古典學中心)

拉爾修·第歐根尼的《名哲言行錄》是傳世最古老的古希臘哲人傳記集成,按中國傳統的典籍歸類當屬史部,堪比“世家”或“列傳”。若如哲人尼采所言,第歐根尼“是希臘哲學史的守夜人”,則只有通過註疏方式來研究《名哲言行錄》,方能找到進入古希臘哲學的鑰匙。《名哲言行錄》中的“蘇格拉底傳記”開篇一段話的主題是“蘇格拉底的身世”。“正義者”阿里斯泰德之子呂西馬霍斯所謂的“最好的人”——索普若尼庫斯,作爲父親爲哲人蘇格拉底埋下了“好”的種子;“出身非常”的裴娜瑞德作爲母親施之於婦人的接生術,爲哲人蘇格拉底將“靈魂接生術”施之於高貴青年提供了範例。蘇格拉底生來仿佛就是爲了與柏拉圖相遇,而理解蘇格拉底人生的關鍵就是柏拉圖,就是以《泰阿泰德》爲代表的柏拉圖對話。第歐根尼關於蘇格拉底家世的敘述,則恰好始於蘇格拉底之生而終於蘇格拉底之死。

Author:Huang Ruicheng

is professor at Centre for Classics,Chongqing University(Chongqing 400044,China).Email:huangruicheng@cqu.edu.cn

拉爾修·第歐根尼(Laertius Diogenes)的《名哲言行錄》(Lives of the Eminent Philosophers),

《名哲言行錄》所述八十二位古希臘哲人傳記,絕大多數以傳主的名字開頭,可謂理所當然,這篇“蘇格拉底傳記”亦如此:

蘇格拉底,石匠索普若尼司庫斯和產婆裴娜瑞德的兒子,亦如柏拉圖在《泰阿泰德》中所言,他是雅典人,屬阿羅貝格族。

如上所述,第歐根尼在傳記開篇介紹蘇格拉底身世時提到的蘇格拉底先人僅止於其父母,對其父母的介紹也僅止於名字和職業。但他旋即將我們的目光引向柏拉圖,指引我們參看柏拉圖的《泰阿泰德》——換句話說,在第歐根尼這篇傳記中,“柏拉圖”是僅次於蘇格拉底父母的名字,第歐根尼此舉仿佛暗示我們:由索普若尼庫斯和裴娜瑞德所生的蘇格拉底生命中最重要的人就是柏拉圖,蘇格拉底生來仿佛就是爲了與柏拉圖相遇,而理解蘇格拉底人生的關鍵就是柏拉圖,就是以《泰阿泰德》爲代表的柏拉圖對話。如前所述,這篇以“何爲知識”爲主題的對話告訴我們,蘇格拉底的哲學技藝就是他的“靈魂接生術”,他施行這門技藝的目的就是襄助心懷美好的高貴青年的靈魂穿越意見之迷霧而發現知識。可以說,撰寫《泰阿泰德》的柏拉圖正是蘇格拉底施用“靈魂接生術”所造就的第一個心懷美好的高貴青年。

太史公曰:先人有言:“自周公卒五百歲而有孔子。孔子卒後至於今五百歲,有能紹明世,正易傳,繼春秋,本詩書禮樂之際?”意在斯乎!意在斯乎!小子何敢讓焉。(《史記·太史公自序》)

既然聖人的製作都是“知其不可而爲之”,那麼,孔子“刪述六經”一定是出於迫不得已;也就是說,孔門雖有親炙“弟子三千,賢者七十”,但孔子最看重的弟子顏回早逝以後,想必再沒有誰的學力高深到不必勞孔子親自動手“刪述六經”之程度;退一步講,即便顏回不早逝,“一簞食,一瓢飲,在陋巷,不改其樂”的顏回,未必會有柏拉圖“三顧敘拉古”那樣的膽識;說到底,也許真沒有哪個孔門弟子與孔子的關係達到了第歐根尼眼中柏拉圖與蘇格拉底的關係之密切程度。與此相對,蘇格拉底一定早就知道弟子柏拉圖本來就是爲文字製作而生的哲人,而且柏拉圖的寫作能力之高超至少不亞於自己,足以甚至更能勝任將斯文傳之後世的使命,且不要說他的另一位弟子色諾芬的寫作才能至少不亞於柏拉圖,從而使得寫作對於蘇格拉底本人而言完全成了多餘之舉。所以,蘇格拉底可以說是了無遺憾地放棄了寫作。

*本文为“重庆大学中央高校基本科研业务费科研专项重大项目”(CQDXWL-2012-Z0006)成果。

參考文獻[References]

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第歐根尼·拉爾修,《名哲言行錄》,徐開來、溥林譯,桂林:廣西師範大學出版社,2010。[Laertius,Diogenes.Lives of the Eminent Philosophers.Trans.Xu Kailai and Pulin.Guilin:Guangxi Normal University Press,2010.]

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Socrates Life in Laertius Diogenes

Laertius Diogenes Lives of the Eminent Philosophers is the oldest extant collection of biographies of Greek philosophers.According to the traditional Chinese categories of literatures,Diogenes Lives should belong to the category of Shi(History),somehow as“Shijia”(Kinship)or“Liezhuan”(Series of Biographies).If Nietzsche is right in claiming that Diogenes“is the night watchman of the history of Greek philosophy,”a minute investigationof Diogenes Lives may be of help to the understanding of ancient Greek philosophy.“Life of Socrates”in the book begins with Sophronicus,Socrates father,calling him“the best man”honored by Lysimachus,the son of Aristeides,“the Just.”As Socrates father,Sophronicus sows the seed of“goodness”into the psyche of Socrates;meanwhile,Socrates mother Phaenarete,the“born exceedingly,”who applies her midwifery to women,sets a good example for Socrates to apply his“psychmidwifery”to wellborn young men.This is the upbringing of Socrates.It seems that Socrates is born for Plato,who in return proves vital to the comprehension of him with his Socratic dialogues,especially the Theaetetus where Plato is the very first noble youth resulting from Socrates psychmidwifery.For Socrates,Plato is prior to the Athenian city,or even to his own deme,whereas for the philosophic tradition began by Socrates,the Platonic dialogues,which are writings of a philosopher,have priority over the city,and naturally over his deme.It is Plato who links Socrates with the Athenian city,which may provide us with a key to solve the ageold riddle why“Socrates talks but never writes”:Socrates probably knows that Plato is a born philosopher good at writing,whose outstanding ability of composition is no second to him to shoulder the responsibility of handing down the civilization to later generations.Accordingly,that Socrates gives up writing is without any regret.Diogenes mention of Alopece,the deme to which Socrates belongs,might be a hint of Socrates death with reference to that of Alope.If it is true,Diogenes narrative of Socrates life happens to begin with his birth and end with his death.

Socrates s life;Laertius Diogenes;Lives of the Eminent Philosophers;Plato

關鍵詞:

蘇格拉底身世 拉爾修·第歐根尼 《名哲言行錄》 《蘇格拉底傳記》 柏拉圖

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