19 Spinoza
19 史宾诺莎
……God is not a puppeteer……
……上帝不是一个傀儡戏师傅……
They sat silently for a long time. Then Sophie spoke, trying to get Alberto's mind off what had happened.
他们坐在那儿，许久没有开口。后来苏菲打破沉默，想让艾伯特忘掉刚才的事。
"Descartes must have been an odd kind of person. Did he become famous?"
“笛卡尔一定是个怪人。他后来成名了吗？”
Alberto breathed deeply for a couple of seconds before answering:
艾伯特深呼吸了几秒钟才开口回答:
"He had a great deal of significance. Perhaps most of all for another great philosopher, Ba-ruch Spinoza, who lived from 1632 to 1677."
“他对后世的影响非常重大，尤其是对另外一位大哲学家史宾诺莎。他是荷兰人，生于一六三二到一六七七年间。”
"Are you going to tell me about him?"
“你要告诉我有关他的事情吗？”
"That was my intention. And we're not going to be stopped by military provocations."
“我正有此意。我们不要被来自军方的挑衅打断。”
"I'm all ears."
“你说吧，我正在听。”
"Spinoza belonged to the Jewish community of Amsterdam, but he was excommunicated for heresy. Few philosophers in more recent times have been so blasphemed and so persecuted for their ideas as this man. It happened because he criticized the established religion. He believed that Christianity and Judaism were only kept alive by rigid dogma and outer ritual. He was the first to apply what we call a historico-critical interpretation of the Bible."
“史宾诺莎是阿姆斯特丹的犹太人，他因为发表异端邪说而被逐出教会。近代很少有哲学家像他这样因为个人的学说而备受毁谤与迫害，原因在于他批评既有的宗教。他认为基督教与犹太教之所以流传至今完全是透过严格的教条与外在的仪式。他是第一个对圣经进行‘历史性批判’的人。”
"Explanation, please."
“请你说得更详细一些。”
"He denied that the Bible was inspired by God down to the last letter. When we read the Bible, he said, we must continually bear in mind the period it was written in. A 'critical' reading, such as the one he proposed, revealed a number of inconsistencies in the texts. But beneath the surface of the Scriptures in the New Testament is Jesus, who could well be called God's mouthpiece. The teachings of Jesus therefore represented a liberation from the orthodoxy of Judaism. Jesus preached a 'religion of reason' which valued love higher than all else. Spinoza interpreted this as meaning both love of God and love of humanity. Nevertheless, Christianity had also become set in its own rigid dogmas and outer rituals."
“他否认整本圣经都是受到上帝启示的结果。他说，当我们阅读圣经时，必须时时记得它所撰写的年代。他建议人们对圣经进行‘批判性’的阅读，如此便会发现经文中有若干矛盾之处。不过他认为新约的经文代表的是耶稣，而耶稣又是上帝的代言人。因此耶稣的教诲代表基督教已脱离正统的犹太教。耶稣宣扬‘理性的宗教’，强调爱甚于一切。史宾诺莎认为这里所指的‘爱’代表上帝的爱与人类的爱。然而遗憾的是，后来基督教本身也沦为一些严格的教条与外在的仪式。”
"I don't suppose these ideas were easy to swallow, either for the church or the synagogue."
“我想无论基督教或犹太教大概都很难接受他这些观念。”
"When things got really tough, Spinoza was even deserted by his own family. They tried to disinherit him on the grounds of his heresy. Paradoxically enough, few have spoken out more powerfully in the cause of free speech and religious tolerance than Spinoza. The opposition he was met with on all sides led him to pursue a quiet and secluded life devoted entirely to philosophy. He earned a meager living by polishing lenses, some of which have come into my possession."
“到事态最严重时，连史宾诺莎自己的家人也与他断绝关系，他们以他散布异端邪说为由，剥夺他的继承权。这点令人备感讽刺，因为很少人像史宾诺莎这样大力鼓吹言论自由与宗教上的宽容精神。由于来自四面八方的反对，史宾诺莎最后决定过清静隐遁的生活，全心研修哲学，并靠为人磨镜片煳口。其中有些镜片后来成为我的收藏晶。”
"Very impressive!"
“哇！”
"There is almost something symbolic in the fact that he lived by polishing lenses. A philosopher must help people to see life in a new perspective. One of the pillars of Spinoza's philosophy was indeed to see things from the perspective of eternity."
“他后来以磨镜片维生这件事可说具有象征性的意义。一个哲学家必须帮助人们用一种新的眼光来看待生命。史宾诺莎的主要哲学理念之一就是要用永恒的观点来看事情。”
"The perspective of eternity?"
永恒的观点？”
"Yes, Sophie. Do you think you can imagine your own life in a cosmic context? You'll have to try and imagine yourself and your life here and now ..."
“是的，苏菲。你想你可以用宇宙的观点来看你自己的生命吗？你必须试着想象此时此刻自己在人世间的生活……”
"Hm ... that's not so easy."
“嗯……不太容易。”
"Remind yourself that you are only living a minuscule part of all nature's life. You are part of an enormous whole."
“提醒自己你只是整个大自然生命中很小的一部分，是整个浩瀚宇宙的一部分。”
"I think I see what you mean ..."
“我想我了解你的意思……”
"Can you manage to feel it as well? Can you perceive all of nature at one time--the whole universe, in fact-- at a single glance?"
“你能试着去感觉吗？你能一下子看到整个大自然(应该说整个宇宙)吗？”
"I doubt it. Maybe I need some lenses."
“我不确定。也许我需要一些镜片。”
"I don't mean only the infinity of space. I mean the eternity of time as well. Once upon a time, thirty thousand years ago there lived a little boy in the Rhine valley. He was a tiny part of nature, a tiny ripple on an endless sea. You too, Sophie, you too are living a tiny part of nature's life. There is no difference between you and that boy."
“我指的不仅是无穷的空间，也包括无限的时间。三万年前在莱茵河谷住着一个小男孩，他曾经是这整个大自然的一小部分，是一个无尽的汪洋中的一个小涟漪。你也是，苏菲。你也是大自然生命中的一小部分。你和那个小男孩并没有差别。”
"Except that I'm alive now."
“只不过我现在还活着。”
"Yes, but that is precisely what I wanted you to try and imagine. Who will you be in thirty thousand years?"
“是的。但这正是我要你试着去想象的。在三万年之后，你会是谁呢？”
"Was that the heresy?"
“你说的异端邪说就是指这个吗？”
"Not entirely ... Spinoza didn't only say that everything is nature. He identified nature with God. He said God is all, and all is in God."
“并不完全是……史宾诺莎并不只是说万事万物都属于自然，他认为大自然就是上帝。他说上帝不是一切，一切都在上帝之中。”
"So he was a pantheist."
“这么说他是一个泛神论者。”
一元论
"That's true. To Spinoza, God did not create the world in order to stand outside it. No, God is the world. Sometimes Spinoza expresses it differently.
“没错。对史宾诺莎而言，上帝创造这个世界并不是为了要置身其外。不，上帝就是世界，有时史宾诺莎自己的说法会有些出入。
He maintains that the world is in God. In this, he is quoting St. Paul's speech to the Athenians on the Areopagos hill: 'In him we live and move and have our being.' But let us pursue Spinoza's own reasoning. His most important book was his Ethics Geometrically Demonstrated."
他主张世界就在上帝之中。这里他乃是引用保罗在雅典小丘上对雅典人说的话：‘我们生活、动作、存留都在乎他。不过我们还是追随史宾诺莎的思想脉络吧。他最重要著作是《几何伦理学》(Ethics Geometrically Demonstrated)。”
"Ethics--geometrically demonstrated?"
“依几何方式证明的伦理学？”
"It may sound a bit strange to us. In philosophy, ethics means the study of moral conduct for living a good life. This is also what we mean when we speak of the ethics of Socrates or Aristotle, for example. It is only in our own time that ethics has more or less become reduced to a set of rules for living without treading on other people's toes."
“听起来可能有点奇怪，在哲学上，伦理学研究的是过善良生活所需的道德行为。这也是我们提到苏格拉底或亚理斯多德的‘伦理学’时所指的意思，可是到了现代，伦理学却多多少少沦为教导人们不要冒犯别人的一套生活准则。”
"Because thinking of yourself is supposed to be egoism?"
“是不是因为时常想到自己便有自我主义之嫌？”
"Something like that, yes. When Spinoza uses the word ethics, he means both the art of living and moral conduct."
“是的，多少有这种意味，史宾诺莎所指的伦理学与现代不太相同，它包括生活的艺术与道德行为。”
"But even so ... the art of living demonstrated geometrically?"
“可是……怎样用几何方法来展现生活的艺术呢？”
"The geometrical method refers to the terminology he used for his formulations. You may recall how Descartes wished to use mathematical method for philosophical reflection. By this he meant a form of philosophic reflection that was constructed from strictly logical conclusions. Spinoza was part of the same rationalistic tradition. He wanted his ethics to show that human life is subject to the universal laws of nature. We must therefore free ourselves from our feelings and our passions. Only then will we find contentment and be happy, he believed."
“所谓几何方法是指他所有的术语或公式。你可能还记得笛卡尔曾经希望把数学方法用在哲学性思考中，他的意思是用绝对合乎逻辑的推理来进行哲学性的思考。史宾诺莎也禀承这种理性主义的传统。他希望用他的伦理学来显示人类的生命乃是遵守大自然普遍的法则，因此我们必须挣脱自我的感觉与冲动的束缚。他相信唯有如此，我们才能获得满足与快乐。”
"Surely we are not ruled exclusively by the laws of nature?"
“我们不只受到自然法则的规范吧？”
"Well, Spinoza is not an easy philosopher to grasp. Let's take him bit by bit. You remember that Descartes believed that reality consisted of two completely separate substances, namely thought and extension."
“你要知道，史宾诺莎不是一位让人很容易了解的哲学家，所以我们得慢慢来，你还记得笛卡尔相信真实世界是由‘思想’与‘外扩’这两种完全不同的实体所组成的吧？”
"How could I have forgotten it?"
“我怎么可能忘记呢？”
"The word 'substance' can be interpreted as 'that which something consists of,' or that which something basically is or can be reduced to. Descartes operated then with two of these substances. Everything was either thought or extension.
“‘实体’这个词可以解释成‘组成某种东西的事物’或‘某种东西的本质或最终的面貌’。笛卡尔认为实体有两种。每一件事物不是‘思想’就是‘扩延’。”
"However, Spinoza rejected this split. He believed that there was only one substance. Everything that exists can be reduced to one single reality which he simply called Substance. At times he calls it God or nature. Thus Spinoza does not have the dualistic view of reality that Descartes had. We say he is a monist. That is, he reduces nature and the condition of all things to one single substance."
“不过，史宾诺莎拒绝使用这种二分法。他认为宇宙间只有一种实体。既存的每样事物都可以被分解、简化成一个他称为‘实体’的真实事物。他有时称之为‘上帝’或‘大自然’。因此史宾诺莎并不像笛卡尔那样对真实世界抱持二元的观点。我们称他为‘一元论者’。也就是说，他将大自然与万物的情况简化为一个单一的实体。”
"They could hardly have disagreed more."
“那么他们两人的论点可说是完全相反。”
"Ah, but the difference between Descartes and Spinoza is not as deep-seated as many have often claimed. Descartes also pointed out that only God exists independently. It's only when Spinoza identifies God with nature--or God and creation--that he distances himself a good way from both Descartes and from the Jewish and Christian doctrines."
“是的。但笛卡尔与史宾诺莎之间的差异并不像许多人所说的那么大。笛卡尔也指出，唯有上帝是独立存在的。只是，史宾诺莎认为上帝与大自然(或上帝与他的造物)是一体的。只有在这方面他的学说与笛卡尔的论点和犹太、基督两教的教义有很大的差距。”
"So then nature is God, and that's that."
“这么说他认为大自然就是上帝，只此而已。”
"But when Spinoza uses the word 'nature,' he doesn't only mean extended nature. By Substance, God, or nature, he means everything that exists, including all things spiritual."
“可是史宾诺莎所指的‘自然’并不仅指扩延的自然界。他所说的实体，无论是上帝或自然，指的是既存的每一件事物，包括所有精神上的东西。”
"You mean both thought and extension."
“你是说同时包括思想与扩延。”
"You said it! According to Spinoza, we humans recognize two of God's qualities or manifestations. Spinoza called these qualities God's attributes, and these two attributes are identical with Descartes's 'thought' and 'extension.' God--or nature--manifests itself either as thought or as extension. It may well be that God has infinitely more attributes than 'thought' and 'extension,' but these are the only two that are known to man."
“对。根据史宾诺莎的说法，我们人类可以认出上帝的两种特质(或上帝存在的证明)。史宾诺莎称之为上帝的‘属性’。这两种属性与笛卡尔的‘思想’和‘扩延’是一样的。上帝(或‘自然’)以思想或扩延的形式出现。上帝的属性很可能无穷无尽，远不止于此。但‘思想’与‘扩延’却是人类所仅知的两种。”
"Fair enough, but what a complicated way of saying it."
“不错。但他把它说得好复杂呀！”
"Yes, one almost needs a hammer and chisel to get through Spinoza's language. The reward is that in the end you dig out a thought as crystal clear as a diamond."
“是的。我们几乎需要一把锤子和一把凿子才能参透史宾诺莎的证言，不过，这样的努力还是有报偿的。最后你会挖掘出像钻石一般清澄透明的思想。”
"I can hardly wait!"
“我等不及了。”
"Everything in nature, then, is either thought or extension. The various phenomena we come across in everyday life, such as a flower or a poem by Wordsworth, are different modes of the attribute of thought or extension. A 'mode' is the particular manner which Substance, God, or nature assumes. A flower is a mode of the attribute of extension, and a poem about the same flower is a mode of the attribute of thought. But both are basically the expression of Substance, God, or nature."
“他认为自然界中的每一件事物不是思想就是扩延。我们在日常生活中看到的每一种现象，例如一朵花或华兹华士的一首诗，都是思想属性或扩延属性的的各种不同模态。所谓‘模态’就是实体、上帝或自然所采取的特殊表现方式。一朵花是扩延属性的一个模态，一首咏叹这朵花的诗则是思想属性的一个模态。但基本上两者都是实体、上帝或自然的表现方式。”
"You could have fooled me!"
“你差一点把我唬住了。”
"But it's not as complicated as he makes it sound. Beneath his stringent formulation lies a wonderful realization that is actually so simple that everyday language cannot accommodate it."
“不过，其中道理并没有像他说的那么复杂。在他严峻的公式之下，其实埋藏着他对生命美妙之处的体悟。这种体悟简单得无法用通俗的语言表达出来。”
"I think I prefer everyday language, if it's all the same to you."
“我想我还是比较喜欢用通俗的语言。”
"Right. Then I'd better begin with you yourself. When you get a pain in your stomach, what is it that has a pain?"
“没错。那么我还是先用你来打个比方好了。当你肚子痛的时候，这个痛的人是谁？”
"Like you just said. It's me."
“就像你说的，是我。”
"Fair enough. And when you later recollect that you once had a pain in your stomach, what is it that thinks?"
“嗯。当你后来回想到自己曾经肚子痛的时候，那个想的人是谁？”
"That's me, too."
“也是我。”
"So you are a single person that has a stomachache one minute and is in a thoughtful mood the next. Spinoza maintained that all material things and things that happen around us are an expression of God or nature. So it follows that all thoughts that we think are also God's or nature's thoughts. For everything is One. There is only one God, one nature, or one Substance."
“所以说你这个人这会儿肚子痛，下一会儿则回想你肚子痛的感觉。史宾诺莎认为所有的物质和发生在我们周遭的事物都是上帝或自然的表现方式。如此说来，我们的每一种思绪也都是上帝或自然的的思绪。因为万事万物都是一体的。宇宙间只有一个上帝、一个自然或一个实体。”
"But listen, when I think something, I'm the one who's doing the thinking. When I move, I'm doing the moving. Why do you have to mix God into it?"
“可是，当我想到某一件事时，想这件事的人是我；当我移动时，做这个动作的人也是我。这跟上帝有什么关系呢？”
"I like your involvement. But who are you? You are Sophie Amundsen, but you are also the expression of something infinitely bigger. You can, if you wish, say that you are thinking or that you are moving, but could you not also say that it is nature that is thinking your thoughts, or that it is nature that is moving through you? It's really just a question of which lenses you choose to look through."
“你很有参与感。这样很好。可是你是谁呢？你是苏菲，没错，但你同时也是某种广大无边的存在的表现。你当然可以说思考的人是你，或移动的人是你，但你也可以说是自然在透过你思考或移动。这只是你愿意从哪一种观点来看的问题罢了。”
"Are you saying I cannot decide for myself?"
“你是说我无法为自己做决定吗？”
"Yes and no. You may have the right to move your thumb any way you choose. But your thumb can only move according to its nature. It cannot jump off your hand and dance about the room. In the same way you also have your place in the structure of existence, my dear. You are Sophie, but you are also a finger of God's body."
“可以说是，也可以说不是。你当然有权决定以任何一种方式移动自己的拇指。但你的拇指只能根据它的本质来移动。它不能跳脱你的手，在房间里跳舞。同样的，你在这个生命的结构中也有一席之地。你是苏菲，但你也是上帝身体上的一根手指头。”
"So God decides everything I do?"
“这么说我做的每一件事都是由上帝决定的啦？”
"Or nature, or the laws of nature. Spinoza believed that God--or the laws of nature--is the inner cause of everything that happens. He is not an outer cause, since God speaks through the laws of nature and only through them."
“也可以说是由自然或自然的法则决定的。史宾诺莎认为上帝(或自然法则)是每一件事的‘内在因’。他不是一个外在因，因为上帝透过自然法则发言，而且只透过这种方式发言。”
"I'm not sure I can see the difference."
“我好像还是不太能够了解其间的差异。”
"God is not a puppeteer who pulls all the strings, controlling everything that happens. A real puppet master controls the puppets from outside and is therefore the 'outer cause' of the puppet's movements. But that is not the way God controls the world. God controls the world through natural laws. So God--or nature--is the 'inner cause' of everything that happens. This means that everything in the material world happens through necessity. Spinoza had a determinist view of the material, or natural, world."
“上帝并不是一个傀儡戏师傅，拉动所有的绳子，操纵一切的事情。一个真正的傀儡戏师傅是从外面来操纵他的木偶，因此他是这些木偶做出各种动作的‘外在因’。但上帝并非以这种方式来主宰世界。上帝是透过自然法则来主宰世界。因此上帝(或自然)是每一件事情的‘内在原因’。这表示物质世界中发生的每一件事情都有其必要性。对于物质(或自然)世界，史宾诺莎所采取的是决定论者的观点。”
"I think you said something like that before."
“你从前好像提过类似的看法。”
自然法则
"You're probably thinking of the Stoics. They also claimed that everything happens out of necessity. That was why it was important to meet every situation with 'stoicism.' Man should not get carried away by his feelings. Briefly, that was also Spinoza's ethics."
“你说的大概是斯多葛学派，他们确实也认为世间每一件事的发生都有其必要。这是为什么我们遇到各种情况时要坚忍卓绝的缘故。人不应该被感情冲昏了头。简单地说，这也是史宾诺莎的道德观。”
"I see what you mean, but I still don't like the idea that I don't decide for myself."
“我明白你的意思了。可是我仍然不太能够接受我不能替自己决定任何事情的看法。”
"Okay, let's go back in time to the Stone Age boy who lived thirty thousand years ago. When he grew up, he cast spears after wild animals, loved a woman who became the mother of his children, and quite certainly worshipped the tribal gods. Do you really think he decided all that for himself?"
“好，那么让我们再来谈三万年前石器时代那个小男孩好了。当长大后，他开始用矛射杀野兽，然后爱上了一个女人并结婚生子，同时崇奉他们那个部落的神。你真的认为那些事情都是由他自己决定的吗？”
"I don't know."
“我不知道。”
"Or think of a lion in Africa. Do you think it makes up its mind to be a beast of prey? Is that why it attacks a limping antelope? Could it instead have made up its mind to be a vegetarian?"
“或者我们也可以想想非洲的一只狮子。你认为是它自己决定要成为一只兽的吗？它是因为这样才攻击一只跛脚的羚羊吗？它可不可能自己决定要吃素？”
"No, a lion obeys its nature."
“不，狮子会依照自己的天性来做。”
"You mean, the laws of nature. So do you, Sophie, because you are also part of nature. You could of course protest, with the support of Descartes, that a lion is an animal and not a free human being with free mental faculties. But think of a newborn baby that screams and yells. If it doesn't get milk it sucks its thumb. Does that baby have a free will?"
“所谓天性就是‘自然法则’。你也一样，苏菲，因为你也是自然的一部分。你当然可以拿笛卡尔的学说来反驳我，说狮子是动物，不是一个具有自由心智的自由人。可是请你想一想，一个新生的婴儿会哭会叫，如果没有奶喝，它就会吸自己的手指头。你认为那个婴儿有自由意志吗？”
"I guess not."
“大概没有吧。”
"When does the child get its free will, then? At the age of two, she runs around and points at everything in sight. At the age of three she nags her mother, and at the age of four she suddenly gets afraid of the dark. Where's the freedom, Sophie?"
“那么，一个孩子是怎样产生自由意志的呢？两岁时，她跑来跑去，指着四周每一样东西。三岁时她总是缠着妈妈叽哩呱啦说个不停。四岁时，她突然变得怕黑。所谓的自由究竟在哪里？”
"I don't know."
“我也不知道。”
"When she is fifteen, she sits in front of a mirror experimenting with makeup. Is this the moment when she makes her own personal decisions and does what she likes?"
“当她十五岁时，她坐在镜子前面练习化妆。难道这就是她开始为自己做决定并且随心所欲做事的时候吗？”
"I see what you're getting at."
“我开始明白你的意思了。”
"She is Sophie Amundsen, certainly. But she also lives according to the laws of nature. The point is that she doesn't realize it because there are so many complex reasons for everything she does."
“当然，她是苏菲，但她同时也依据自然法则而活。问题在于她自己并不了解这点，因为她所做的每一件事背后都有很多复杂的理由。”
"I don't think I want to hear any more."
“好了，你不需要再说了。”
"But you must just answer a last question. Two equally old trees are growing in a large garden. One of the trees grows in a sunny spot and has plenty of good soil and water. The other tree grows in poor soil in a dark spot. Which of the trees do you think is bigger? And which of them bears more fruit?"
“可是最后你必须回答一个问题。在一个大花园中，有两棵年纪一样大的树。其中一棵长在充满阳光、土壤肥沃、水分充足的地方，另外一棵长在土壤贫瘠的黑暗角落。你想哪一棵树会长得比较大？哪一棵树会结比较多的果子？”
"Obviously the tree with the best conditions for growing."
“当然是那棵拥有最佳生长条件的树。”
"According to Spinoza, this tree is free. It has its full freedom to develop its inherent abilities. But if it is an apple tree it will not have the ability to bear pears or plums. The same applies to us humans. We can be hindered in our development and our personal growth by political conditions, for instance. Outer circumstances can constrain us. Only when we are free to develop our innate abilities can we live as free beings. But we are just as much determined by inner potential and outer opportunities as the Stone Age boy on the Rhine, the lion in Africa, or the apple tree in the garden."
“史宾诺莎认为，这棵树是自由的，它有充分的自由去发展它先天的能力。但如果它是一棵苹果树，它就不可能有能力长出梨子或李子。同样的道理也适用于我们人类。我们的发展与个人的成长可能会受到政治环境等因素的阻碍，外在的环境可能限制我们，只有在我们能够‘自由’发展本身固有能力时，我们才活得像个自由的人。但无论如何，我们仍然像那个生长在石器时代莱茵河谷的男孩、那只非洲的狮子或花园里那棵苹果树一样受到内在潜能与外在机会的左右。”
"Okay, I give in, almost."
“好了。我投降了。”
"Spinoza emphasizes that there is only one being which is totally and utterly 'its own cause' and can act with complete freedom. Only God or nature is the expression of such a free and 'nonaccidental' process. Man can strive for freedom in order to live without outer con-straint, but he will never achieve 'free will.' We do not control everything that happens in our body--which is a mode of the attribute of extension. Neither do we 'choose' our thinking. Man therefore does not have a 'free soul'; it is more or less imprisoned in a mechanical body."
“史宾诺莎强调世间只有一种存在是完全自主，且可以充分自由行动的，那就是上帝(或自然)。唯有上帝或自然可以表现这种自由、‘非偶然’的过程。人可以争取自由，以便去除外在的束缚，但他永远不可能获得‘自由意志’。我们不能控制发生在我们体内的每一件事，这是扩延属性的一个模态。我们也不能‘选择’自己的思想。因此，人并没有自由的灵魂，他的灵魂或多或少都被囚禁在一个类似机器的身体内。”
"That is rather hard to understand."
“这个理论实在很难了解。”
"Spinoza said that it was our passions--such as ambition and lust--which prevent us from achieving true happiness and harmony, but that if we recognize that everything happens from necessity, we can achieve an intuitive understanding of nature as a whole.
“史宾诺莎指出，使我们无法获得真正的幸福与和谐的是我们内心的各种冲动。例如我们的野心和欲望。但如果我们体认到每一件事的发生都有其必然性，我们就可以凭直觉理解整个大自然。
We can come to realize with crystal clarity that everything is related, even that everything is One. The goal is to comprehend everything that exists in an all-embracing perception. Only then will we achieve true happiness and contentment. This was what Spinoza called seeing everything 'sub specie aeternitatis.' "
我们会很清楚地领悟到每一件事都有关联，每一件事情都是一体的。最后的目标是以一种全然接纳的观点来理解世间的事物。只有这样，我们才能获得真正的幸福与满足。这是史宾诺莎所说的sub specie aeternitatis。”
"Which means what?"
“什么意思？”
"To see everything from the perspective of eternity. Wasn't that where we started?"
“从永恒的观点来看每一件事情。我们一开始不就是讲这个吗？”
"It'll have to be where we end, too. I must get going."
“到这里我们也该结束了。我得走了。”
Alberto got up and fetched a large fruit dish from the book shelves. He set it on the coffee table.
艾伯特站起身来，从书架上拿了一个大水果盘，放在茶几上。
"Won't you at least have a piece of fruit before you go?"
“你走前不吃点水果吗？”
Sophie helped herself to a banana. Alberto took a green apple.
苏菲拿了一根香蕉，艾伯特则拿了一个绿苹果。
She broke off the top of the banana and began to peel it.
她把香蕉的顶端弄破，开始剥皮。
"There's something written here," she said suddenly.
“这里写了几个字。”她突然说。
"Where?"
“哪里？”
"Here--inside the banana peel. It looks as if it was written with an ink brush."
“这里——香蕉皮里面。好像是用毛笔写的。”
Sophie leaned over and showed Alberto the banana. He read aloud:
苏菲倾过身子，把香蕉拿给艾伯特看。他把字念出来:
Here I am again, Hilde. I'm everywhere. Happy birthday!
“席德，我又来了。孩子，我是无所不在的。生日快乐！”
"Very funny," said Sophie.
“真滑稽。”苏菲说。
"He gets more crafty all the time."
“他愈来愈会变把戏了。”
"But it's impossible ... isn't it? Do you know if they grow bananas in Lebanon?"
“可是这是不可能的呀……是不是？黎巴嫩也种香蕉吗？”
Alberto shook his head.
艾伯特摇摇头。
"I'm certainly not going to eat that."
“这种香蕉我才不要吃呢！”
"Leave it then. Someone who writes birthday greetings to his daughter on the inside of an unpeeled banana must be mentally disturbed. But he must also be quite ingenious."
“那就别吃吧。要是谁把送给女儿的生日贺词写在一根没有剥的香蕉里面，那他一定神经不太正常，可是一定也很聪明。”
"Yes, both."
“可不是嘛！”
"So shall we establish here and now that Hilde has an ingenious father? In other words, he's not so stupid."
“那我们可不可以从此认定席德有一个很聪明的父亲？换句话说，他并不笨。”
"That's what I've been telling you. And it could just as well be him that made you call me Hilde last time I came here. Maybe he's the one putting all the words in our mouths."
“我不是早就告诉过你了吗？上次我来这里时，让你一直叫我席德的人很可能就是他。也许他就是那个透过我们的嘴巴说话的人。”
"Nothing can be ruled out. But we should doubt everything."
“任何一种情况都有可能，但我们也应该怀疑每一件事情。”
"For all we know, our entire life could be a dream."
“我只知道，我们的生命可能只是一场梦。”
"But let's not jump to conclusions. There could be a simpler explanation."
“我们还是不要太早下结论。也许有一个比较简单的解释。”
"Well whatever, I have to hurry home. My mom is waiting for me."
“不管怎样，我得赶快回家了。妈妈正在等我呢？”
Alberto saw her to the door. As she left, he said:
艾伯特送她到门口。她离去时，他说:
"We'll meet again, dear Hilde."
“亲爱的席德，我们会再见面。”
Then the door closed behind her.
然后门就关了。