Chapter 7 -3

All the eminent philosophers of the old world were strangers to them before our arrival. But in every field of music, argument, arithmetic, and geometry their discoveries nearly equaled those of our classical philosophers. Can be compared with the ancients, they are far less creative than our new logicians. Regarding the restrictions, extensions, assumptions, etc., which our children generally learn in the subject of "little logic", we have invented various rules, Utopia People haven't found any of them yet. About "re-concept" , the Utopians have not been able to think about it, so that they have not been able to recognize man himself as a generalized concept, although, as you know, such a man is bigger than any giant, and can also be pointed out with our fingers. However The Utopians have done a lot of research on the movement of stars and the movement of celestial bodies. And they are clever at inventing all kinds of instruments, which are used to observe the movement and positions of the sun and the moon very accurately, and observe the movements and positions of all stars appearing on the horizon. As for The stars produce and restrain each other. In short, they have never dreamed of all the shameful nonsense of star divination. The exact signs they have discovered through long-term practice can predict wind, rain, and all other climate changes. About the causes of the above-mentioned phenomena, and how the tides are formed. , why the sea water is salty, and in short about the origin and nature of the celestial bodies and the universe, their arguments partly agree with those of our ancient philosophers. Our ancient philosophers have a certain degree of disagreement with each other. Similarly, they are adopting new theories partly disagreed with all the ancient philosophers, and lacked a unified view on all matters. In the part of philosophy dealing with morality, they debated the same as we do. They explored the soul, the body and the good of the external faculties. They again raise the question whether the name good is applied to all three above, or is it applied exclusively to the properties of the soul. They discuss virtues and happiness, but their main debate is that what constitutes happiness What is it, is it one thing, or several things? On this question they seem to be unduly inclined to a school which regards pleasure as constituting the whole or chief happiness of man. It is all the more surprising that they invoke their Religion justifies this impotent doctrine, and their religion is earnest, austere, almost solemn, and ruthless. When they discuss happiness, they always connect philosophical reason and religious principles. They believe that without these principles reason itself is too weakened to pursue the study of the question of true happiness. Examples of these principles are as follows. Virtue, there is reward after death; we do evil, and we are punished after death. These are principles of religion, but the Utopians maintain that reason makes people recognize these principles. Once these principles are abolished, the Utopians do not hesitate to maintain that, A man is foolish if he does not pursue happiness in every possible way, but he must try not to covet small pleasures that interfere with larger ones, and do not covet pleasures that lead to painful consequences. Sweetness, even the willingness to endure pain that does not bring good, the Utopians think it is extremely unwise. For if a person lives unhappy, that is to say, poor, he will not be rewarded for it after death How can it be good for any remuneration?

In reality the Utopians maintain that happiness is not constituted by every pleasure, but only the right and noble pleasures. Virtue directs our natural nature toward the right and noble pleasures, as toward the highest good. The opposite school ascribes happiness to the highest good. Utopians define the highest good as: a life that conforms to nature. God created man just to make him live like this. That is to follow the guidance of nature. And reason first kindles in people the love and reverence for God. Our existence and enjoyment of happiness come from God. Second, reason advises and urges us to live as free from worry as possible and as full of joy as possible. life; and, for the sake of loving my fellow man, help all others to achieve the same. Never was a man so austere a practitioner of virtue and a pleasure abhorrent as to compel you to work, watch nights, toil , without at the same time urging you to try your best to alleviate the poverty and hardship of others. In the name of humanitarianism, he will think that it is commendable that we take care of the well-being of others-if we alleviate the suffering of others, so that they can remove everything in life. Sorrow restores pleasure, which is especially true of humanism (and humanism is the most peculiar virtue of man).That being the case, why shouldn't each of us be required to treat ourselves in the same way?

Or, a life of comfort, that is, of pleasure, is bad, and you should not only help no one to live it, but try to free everyone from a life that is considered harmful. Others seek a comfortable, i.e., happy life, and think it is good, so why shouldn't you live it yourself first (you can't be thicker than others and weaker than yourself)? When nature tells you to be kind to others, it does not teach you to be kind to yourself. Utopians believe that nature instructs us to live a life of comfort, that is, happiness, as the goal of all our actions. Utopians interpret virtue as living according to the instructions of nature. .Therefore, nature calls upon all to help one another to achieve a more pleasant life. (It does so with good reason, no doubt, since no one is more fortunate than any other to be the only object of nature's care. All people are treated equally.)

Therefore, nature teaches you to be careful not to injure the interests of others while seeking your own interests. Therefore, the Utopians believe that not only private contracts should be observed, but also public laws concerning the distribution of living materials, that is, substances for obtaining happiness, should be observed. Such decrees are either justly promulgated by a wise king, or unanimously passed by a people free from tyranny and deceit. It is wise to look after one's own interests while such decrees are not violated. Besides, your duty is marked by caring The public interest. It is of course unfair to deprive others of happiness in order to obtain happiness for oneself. On the contrary, it has a humanitarian and benevolent sense to take part of one's own possessions and transfer them to others. And the benefits received are greater than the benefits given. This is rewarded from two aspects: the benefits returned by the other party, and the self-awareness of doing good deeds. When we recall that the people who have benefited from us have kindness and Good intentions, the pleasures that our hearts produce, are far superior to those of the flesh that we forsake. At last—and this is readily accepted by the religious—in place of small, ephemeral pleasures, God gives eternal Great happiness. Therefore, after careful consideration and weighing of this issue, Utopians advocate that all our behaviors, including even moral behavior, finally regard happiness as the goal and happiness. The so-called happiness, Utopians refer to the body that people naturally like. or the actions and states of the mind. They are right in including the natural inclinations of men. As the faculties and right reason aim at whatever is inherently pleasant—that is, anything not pursued by unfair means, No more pleasant things were lost, no painful consequences were incurred—so they thought that anything, though unnatural, was unanimously and unrealistically supposed to be sweet to them (as if they had a right to Change the nature of things, as has the right to change the names of things)

Well, then, such things not only fail to lead to happiness, but seriously hinder them. The reason is that, once such things have taken root in some people, they will leave in their minds a false idea of ​​​​pleasure. Acceptance of room for true happiness. In fact, many things are not sweet in their nature, and most of them have a lot of bitterness, but because of the deception of bad desires, such things are not only regarded as the highest happiness, but as life. So some of the main reasons for being valuable. Among the group of false pleasure seekers, the Utopians include those I mentioned earlier, who think that the higher the clothes they wear, the higher they are. In this In this regard, they make a double mistake: thinking that the clothes they wear are high-end and that they are high-end, they are deceiving themselves. From the practical point of view of clothes, why is fine wool better than thick wool?However, it seems that the difference between the two depends on the nature of the wool, and it is not their mistake. They are arrogant and believe that their worth is doubled. Therefore, if they dare not covet an honor when they are not well dressed, they even claim it, as if As soon as they put on their rich clothes, they deserve honor. If they are slighted, they rage. Is it not equally foolish to place so much value on vain honor?

What natural and real pleasure can it give you in having others take their hat off and kneel to you?Could this move cure your sore knees and correct your neurosis?A strange and agreeable madness emerges from this notion of false pleasure in the man who thinks he is noble, and prides himself on it, and flatters himself, because he has been fortunate enough to be descended from some ancestors, To be rich and famous--for the noble families of today are all like this--and especially rich in estates. Even if such a person's ancestors did not leave a square foot of land They still consider themselves equally noble. The Utopians also ascribe to the above-mentioned group of people, as I have said, their love of jewels. If they get fine jewels, especially at that time The most valuable goods recognized in the world, just like the gods. A gem is not valued at all times and everywhere. Therefore, if they buy a gem, they must first remove it from the gold inlaid base to reveal its true color, and must sell it. People swear to guarantee that it is authentic, lest Huo Jue pretend to be real jade and dazzle their eyes. But if you can't tell the real from the fake, why won't you be equally satisfied with counterfeit gems?

True and false should be as precious to you as they are to a blind man. There is another kind of people who take pleasure in amassing superfluous wealth for viewing and not spending it. What is to be said of them?Do they enjoy real happiness or are they deceived by false happiness? And what about those who think differently, who hide their gold and never use it, never live it, lest they lose it, and so do lose it?They have gold that they don't use, maybe they don't allow anyone to use it, they just bury it in the ground, what is it if they don't lose it?Yet they can be very proud of their hoard of treasure, as if they had nothing to worry about. Suppose a thief digs up the gold, and the owner knows nothing about it, and it is ten years before he dies; What does it matter to the owner whether the gold is stolen or safe during the ten years of life?In any case, this lot of gold is of no use to the owner. People who indulge in such stupid pleasures, Utopians think there are dice gamblers (the madness of which the Utopians have never seen, only hearsay )

, and hunting falconers. Utopians don't understand what entertainment there is in throwing dice at a table. You roll dice a lot, and even if there is some fun in it, it gets boring after a while. As for hearing a pack of hounds barking , get rid of the disgusting, but satisfying? How does a dog chasing a rabbit make you happier than a dog chasing a dog? The two have one thing in common, that is, chasing, and you will be happy as long as you see the galloping. But if what you want to see is the scene of killing and the flesh and blood of creatures, then, in front of you, a cowardly fleeing That innocent little rabbit torn to pieces by a fierce and cruel dog should arouse your sympathy. So the Utopians deem the whole business of hunting birds and beasts unbefitting to a free citizen, and leave them to the butcher. I am in It has been mentioned above that the Utopians put their slaves in the butchery business. Hunting, they thought, was the basest part of the butchery business; But the hunter seeks only the pleasure of killing and maiming poor animals. Even if the subject is a wild animal, their bleeding is considered a spectacle, whether, in the Utopian judgment, it is due to the cruelty of our nature, or to the fact that we are often engaged in it. savage pleasures and finally degenerates into cruel men. While the common man takes pleasure in these and all similar pastimes, of which there are innumerable, the Utopians expressly assert that none of these constitute true pleasure, and from Essence says there is nothing pleasant about it. Ordinary people derive enjoyment from these diversions, and enjoyment is a function of pleasure. But this fact does not change the opinion of the Utopians. For enjoyment does not come from the nature of things themselves, but from those who Perverted habits, which make them sweeter than bitter, as a pregnant woman who has a bad palate finds resin and tallow more palatable than honey. Yet no one from a state of health, nor from a judgment formed by habit, can alter happiness. as it is impossible to change the nature of anything else. The true pleasures recognized by the Utopians are divided into classes, some of which are spiritual and others of the body. The joy derived from the contemplation of the truth. There are also the pleasant remembrance of a past good life and the expectation of future happiness. They are divided into two kinds of bodily pleasures. The first is the vivid pleasures which are fully felt by man. Pleasure sometimes arises from the recovery of certain organs which have been lost by natural heat. These organs are brought back to their original shape by eating and drinking. Sometimes the pleasure comes from the excretion of excess in the body. When we are either shitting, or couples There is such a pleasure in intercourse, or in scratching an itch. Yet from time to time we feel a pleasure, neither derived from the recovery of a loss in some part of the body, nor from the removal of any pain, but from something, It touches our senses, makes it feel a secret, very moving power, attracts it. Such is the pleasure that springs from music. Another kind of bodily pleasure, according to the utopians, consists in the tranquility and harmony of the body. This actually means that everyone enjoys health free from disease. Health without suffering is a source of happiness in itself, although there is no happiness caused from outside. It is so clearly felt, but many people admit that health is the greatest happiness. Almost all Utopians regard health as the greatest happiness.Happiness is regarded as the basis and root of all happiness. As long as there is health, life will be quiet and comfortable. On the contrary, without health, there is absolutely no room for happiness. Utopians think that it is not painful without health. Insensitivity is not happiness. They have long dismissed the idea of ​​some people that a quiet healthy life (because they also had a lively discussion on this issue) cannot be happiness, because it is only possible to feel this happiness through movement from the outside Yet they are almost unanimous today in the view that health is the greatest cause of happiness. Why, they ask, since disease brings pain, and pain is the enemy of pleasure as disease is the enemy of health, why do we not see pleasure in tranquil health? ?Utopians feel that it is unimportant whether disease is pain or disease causes pain, because the result of the two is the same thing. Of course, if you think that health is happiness or health is an indispensable cause of happiness, it is like fire. is the necessary cause of heat, then, the conclusion in both cases is: it is impossible for a person who enjoys eternal health to not enjoy happiness. ?When health gradually strengthens, and regains its usual vigor, this gives us pleasure in regaining it. Can health not rejoice in victory, since it fights with gaiety?When health has at last attained its purpose of combat, namely, the recovery of its inherent vigor, does it at once become numb and blind to its own good?The assertion that health cannot be felt is held by the Utopians to be utterly untrue. How can a man, they say, not be conscious of his health when he is awake (unless he is deprived of it)?Who is so insensitive and lifeless that it is pleasing to him to deny health?Isn't the so-called gratifying another name for happiness?

All in all, Utopians are especially unwilling to let go of spiritual happiness as the first and most important of all happiness. They believe that the main spiritual happiness comes from the practice of virtue and the self-awareness of noble life. As for the physical Pleasure, they put health first. Delicious food and drink, and the like, they enjoy, but only for the promotion of health. This enjoyment is not desirable in itself, but only because of its resistance to disease. A wise man strives for Avoid sickness, rather than seek medical treatment after it; always keep pain from happening, instead of seeking medicine to alleviate pain. In the same way, instead of enjoying pleasure in front of it, it is better to avoid this pleasure. If anyone maintains that this enjoyment constitutes his Happiness, he is bound to admit that only such a life, incessantly hungry and thirsty, incessantly eating and drinking, incessantly itching, incessantly scratching with his nails, is very happy. Who does not know that such a life is repulsive and miserable?Those pleasures are the lowest and most impure, because they can never be accompanied by pain as its opposite. For example, the pleasure of eating is connected with hunger, and the two are not balanced, and the pain is stronger and more persistent. Pain Born before the pleasure, it does not end until the pleasure disappears with it. Utopians believe that this pleasure should not be overestimated unless it is necessary. Yet they enjoy it and thank Mother Nature for her kindness and very lovingly directs her children to use all that is often necessary. How miserable our lives should be if we daily cured our hunger and thirst with the same bitter medicine that cures all other rarer diseases. Beautiful, Vitality, lightness, these are the Utopians gladly prized as special and delightful gifts from nature. Appreciate the splendor of the universe, cannot smell aromas except for food choices, cannot distinguish musical intervals from consonance and disharmony)

, they also go for it, and use it as a pleasant condiment in life. But they set such a limit on all this: small pleasures will not interfere with great pleasures, and pleasures will not cause painful consequences. Utopians believe that low-level Pleasure must have painful consequences. But to despise beauty, to impair vigor, to dull lightness, to injure health by diet, to spoil one's health, and to reject all other bounties of nature (unless one neglects one's own All interests in order to be more zealous for the happiness of others, or the public, in the expectation that God would give him greater happiness by such a sacrifice—otherwise to treat oneself harshly in order to gain an illusory reputation for virtue and benefit no one, or It is to train myself to make myself more able to endure hardships that will never come)

The Utopians regard this attitude as extreme insanity, a sign of a state of mind that is cruel to itself and ungrateful to nature, which disdains to thank nature and therefore refuses any benefit from nature. The above is the Utopian view of virtue and Happy opinion. They think that human reason cannot reach a more correct opinion than this, unless a god-given religion prompts people to a more divine opinion. Are the Utopians right? We have no time or need to study Our task is to describe their relevant principles, not to defend them. But I firmly believe that, whatever you may say about their views, there is no better people and happier countries in the world. Their stature, you can't imagine that they are all so strong, although they are not short. Although their land is not very fertile and the climate is not very good, they live in moderation, so that cold and heat cannot invade them, and they work hard to cultivate the soil quality. Improvement. Because of this, here is the country with the most abundant grain and the most prosperous livestock in the world, and its people are also the healthiest and the least sick. The soil has been improved due to human processing, and you can also see a whole forest being uprooted by hand and transplanted from place A to place B. This is not for the purpose of propagating trees, but for the convenience of transportation, so that the source of the trees is close to the sea and the river. Or close to the city, because transporting timber by land is more laborious than transporting food. The people here are generally free, gentle, intelligent, and easy to live. Whenever necessary, they patiently participate in manual labor, otherwise they may not like this kind of labor. They are never tired of engaging in intellectual inquiry. After hearing us talk about Greek literature and scholarship (only poetry and history in Latin seem to be greatly appreciated by them) , they are eager for us to explain it so that they can master it. This is surprising to us. So we gave public lectures to Utopians, at first just to show that we were not unwilling to take up this troublesome work, but we didn't hope to have any effect. However, after a short process, because of their diligence and learning, we were convinced that our serious lectures would not be in vain .They learned how to write the Greek alphabet easily, they have no difficulty in pronouncing words, they remember firmly, and they can recite what they have learned without error. , and had reached the age of maturity, and were highly motivated by their voluntary attendance, and at the same time were charged with the task of learning as directed by the council. In less than three years, they had mastered the Greek language and could read it without difficulty. The works of famous writers, unless the original text is corrupted. According to my guess, they did not take too much effort to study Greek literature, because it is quite close to their own literature. I think the ancestors of this nation are Greeks, because although the language spoken is almost All are similar to Persian, but there are traces of Greek in the names of cities and offices. When we were preparing to sail for the fourth time, I did not load the goods for sale on board, but put a large bundle of books on board, determined never to Return from there, and not next time. The Utopians get from me most of Plato, Aristotle on several species, and Theophrastus on plants. Unfortunately the last part Incomplete, due to carelessness during the voyage, it was discovered by a monkey, taken away for fun, and several pages of chapters were torn and torn. As for our grammarians, ① Aristotle (Aristotle, 384-32 B.C.)—Ancient Greek philosopher, a disciple of Plato, who wrote many works. ——Chinese translator ②Theophrstus (B.C. 371-about 287)—Greek philosopher, whose writings have been handed down to the present day. There are two kinds of works about plants. ——Chinese translator