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Book I.
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The Republic opens with a truly Greek scene — a festival in honour of the goddess Bendis which is held in the Piraeus; to this is added the promise of an equestrian1 torch-race in the evening. The whole work is supposed to be recited by Socrates on the day after the festival to a small party, consisting of Critias, Timaeus, Hermocrates, and another; this we learn from the first words of the Timaeus.
When the rhetorical advantage of reciting the Dialogue has been gained, the attention is not distracted by any reference to the audience; nor is the reader further reminded of the extraordinary length of the narrative2. Of the numerous company, three only take any serious part in the discussion; nor are we informed whether in the evening they went to the torch-race, or talked, as in the Symposium3, through the night. The manner in which the conversation has arisen is described as follows:— Socrates and his companion Glaucon are about to leave the festival when they are detained by a message from Polemarchus, who speedily appears accompanied by Adeimantus, the brother of Glaucon, and with playful violence compels them to remain, promising5 them not only the torch-race, but the pleasure of conversation with the young, which to Socrates is a far greater attraction. They return to the house of Cephalus, Polemarchus’ father, now in extreme old age, who is found sitting upon a cushioned seat crowned for a sacrifice. ‘You should come to me oftener, Socrates, for I am too old to go to you; and at my time of life, having lost other pleasures, I care the more for conversation.’ Socrates asks him what he thinks of age, to which the old man replies, that the sorrows and discontents of age are to be attributed to the tempers of men, and that age is a time of peace in which the tyranny of the passions is no longer felt. Yes, replies Socrates, but the world will say, Cephalus, that you are happy in old age because you are rich. ‘And there is something in what they say, Socrates, but not so much as they imagine — as Themistocles replied to the Seriphian, “Neither you, if you had been an Athenian, nor I, if I had been a Seriphian, would ever have been famous,” I might in like manner reply to you, Neither a good poor man can be happy in age, nor yet a bad rich man.’ Socrates remarks that Cephalus appears not to care about riches, a quality which he ascribes to his having inherited, not acquired them, and would like to know what he considers to be the chief advantage of them. Cephalus answers that when you are old the belief in the world below grows upon you, and then to have done justice and never to have been compelled to do
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1
equestrian
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| adj.骑马的;n.马术 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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symposium
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| n.讨论会,专题报告会;专题论文集 | |
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sage
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| n.圣人,哲人;adj.贤明的,明智的 | |
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promising
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| adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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injustice
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| n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利 | |
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blessings
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| n.(上帝的)祝福( blessing的名词复数 );好事;福分;因祸得福 | |
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facetiously
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| adv.爱开玩笑地;滑稽地,爱开玩笑地 | |
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allusion
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| n.暗示,间接提示 | |
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discourse
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| n.论文,演说;谈话;话语;vi.讲述,著述 | |
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precepts
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| n.规诫,戒律,箴言( precept的名词复数 ) | |
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precept
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| n.戒律;格言 | |
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partnerships
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| n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 );合伙人身份;合作关系 | |
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maxim
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| n.格言,箴言 | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的;巨大的 | |
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aphoristic
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| 警句(似)的,格言(似)的 | |
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inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的,不适当的 | |
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winding
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| n.绕,缠,绕组,线圈 | |
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mazes
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| 迷宫( maze的名词复数 ); 纷繁复杂的规则; 复杂难懂的细节; 迷宫图 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的;n.基督教徒 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的;v.应用,适用 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老;高龄;古物,古迹 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到,获得,完成 | |
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platonic
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| adj.精神的;柏拉图(哲学)的 | |
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arena
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| n.竞技场,运动场所;竞争场所,舞台 | |
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savage
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| adj.野蛮的;凶恶的,残暴的;n.未开化的人 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨,愚蠢,蠢事,蠢行,傻话 | |
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vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 );战胜;克服;抑制 | |
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wrestler
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| n.摔角选手,扭 | |
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pompous
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| adj.傲慢的,自大的;夸大的;豪华的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地;表面上,似乎 | |
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disciple
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| n.信徒,门徒,追随者 | |
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evasion
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| n.逃避,偷漏(税) | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释,说明,描述;艺术处理 | |
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insinuates
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| n.暗示( insinuate的名词复数 );巧妙或迂回地潜入;(使)缓慢进入;慢慢伸入v.暗示( insinuate的第三人称单数 );巧妙或迂回地潜入;(使)缓慢进入;慢慢伸入 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手,对手 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘,边沿 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的,必然发生的 | |
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fatten
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| v.使肥,变肥 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君,专制的君主,残暴的人 | |
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deluged
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| v.使淹没( deluge的过去式和过去分词 );淹没;被洪水般涌来的事物所淹没;穷于应付 | |
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humble
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| adj.谦卑的,恭顺的;地位低下的;v.降低,贬低 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地,严格地;严密地 | |
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solely
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| adv.仅仅,唯一地 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的,假装的 | |
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motive
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| n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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satire
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| n.讽刺,讽刺文学,讽刺作品 | |
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irony
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| n.反语,冷嘲;具有讽刺意味的事,嘲弄 | |
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mutual
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| adj.相互的,彼此的;共同的,共有的 | |
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hesitation
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| n.犹豫,踌躇 | |
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paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法;自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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virtue
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| n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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elicited
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| 引出,探出( elicit的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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random
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| adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动 | |
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perspiration
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| n.汗水;出汗 | |
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judicious
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| adj.明智的,明断的,能作出明智决定的 | |
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excellence
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| n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德 | |
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accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的;有造诣的;达到了的 | |
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attained
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| (通常经过努力)实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 ); 达到; 获得; 达到(某年龄、水平、状况) | |
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fabric
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| n.织物,织品,布;构造,结构,组织 | |
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demolished
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| v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 );推翻;拆毁(尤指大建筑物);吃光 | |
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implement
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| n.(pl.)工具,器具;vt.实行,实施,执行 | |
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virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 ); 德行; 优点; 长处 | |
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faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 );全体教职员;技巧;院 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索,沉思;猜测;投机 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地 | |
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absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 );荒谬;谬论;荒谬的行为 | |
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noted
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| adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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obedience
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| n.服从,顺从 | |
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ethical
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| adj.伦理的,道德的,合乎道德的 | |
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mythological
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| adj.神话的 | |
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unity
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| n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调 | |
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covetousness
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discord
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| n.不和,意见不合,争论,(音乐)不和谐 | |
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touching
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| adj.动人的,使人感伤的 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义;主义;学说 | |
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下一章:
Book II.
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