本书简介：
《沉思录》是古罗马皇帝奥勒留写给自己的书，内容大部分是他在鞍马劳顿中写成的。作品来自奥勒留对身羁宫廷的自己和自己所处混乱世界的感受，追求一种冷静而达观的生活。这部著作是斯多葛学派的一个里程碑，亦是温总理放在枕边，读了不下百遍的书。
本书原文由古希腊文而作，英文版选择比较权威的George Long的版本，中文版选择何怀宏的版本作参考。笔记中的英文释义摘自《牛津高阶英汉双解词典》

 作者简介：
马可•奥勒留（Marcus Aurelius，公元121—180年），著名的“帝王哲学家”，古罗马帝国皇帝，在希腊文学和拉丁文学、修辞、哲学、法律、绘画方面受过很好的教育，晚期斯多葛学派代表人物之一。奥勒留也许是西方历史上唯一的一位哲学家皇帝。他是一个比他的帝国更加完美的人，他的勤奋工作最终并没有能够挽救古罗马，但是他的《沉思录》却成为西方历史上的伟大名著。

卷二（4）
 小编语：到第二卷啦！感觉这本书真的很难懂的啊，英文也好，中文也好，都需要反反复复揣摩，不过，不要放弃哦，一点一点地看，肯定是有收获滴。

2.8 The soul of man does violence to itself, first of all, when it becomes an abscess and, as it were, a tumour on the universe, so far as it can. For to be vexed at anything which happens is a separation of ourselves from nature, in some part of which the natures of all other things are contained. In the next place, the soul does violence to itself when it turns away from any man, or even moves towards him with the intention of injuring, such as are the souls of those who are angry. In the third place, the soul does violence to itself when it is overpowered by pleasure or by pain. Fourthly, when it plays a part, and does or says anything insincerely and untruly. Fifthly, when it allows any act of its own and any movement to be without an aim, and does anything thoughtlessly and without considering what it is, it being right that even the smallest things be done with reference to an end; and the end of rational animals is to follow the reason and the law of the most ancient city and polity.

 Notes：
这段的结构挺工整的，为了阐述“The soul of man does violence to itself” 这个观点，提出了五点理由。平时写作文的时候可以借鉴一下结构。
ascend [n] a swollen and infected area on your skin or in your body, full of a thick yellowwish liquid.
vex [v] (old-fashionshed or formal) to annoy or worry sb.
      e.g.: The memory of their conversationstill vexed him.他想起他们的谈话，仍然感到恼火。

2.9 Of human life the time is a point, and the substance is in a flux, and the perception dull, and the composition of the whole body subject to putrefaction, and the soul a whirl, and fortune hard to divine, and fame a thing devoid of judgement. And, to say all in a word, everything which belongs to the body is a stream, and what belongs to the soul is a dream and vapour, and life is a warfare and a stranger's sojourn, and after-fame is oblivion. What then is that which is able to conduct a man? One thing and only one, philosophy. But this consists in keeping the daemon within a man free from violence and unharmed, superior to pains and pleasures, doing nothing without purpose, nor yet falsely and with hypocrisy, not feeling the need of another man's doing or not doing anything; and besides, accepting all that happens, and all that is allotted, as coming from thence, wherever it is, from whence he himself came; and, finally, waiting for death with a cheerful mind, as being nothing else than a dissolution of the elements of which every living being is compounded. But if there is no harm to the elements themselves in each continually changing into another, why should a man have any apprehension about the change and dissolution of all the elements? For it is according to nature, and nothing is evil which is according to nature.

 Notes：
这是第二卷的最后一部分，作者再次强调的哲学的重要性。尊重自然法则，看淡死亡。
to say all in a word 一言以蔽之。 写作文常用来总结全文的短语。类似的相信大家也能举出很多，比如：in conclusion, last but not least, above of all等等。
hypocrisy [n] (disapproving) behaviour in which sb pretends to have moral standards or opinions that they do not actually have.
              e.g.: He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another.
allot [v] ~sth(to sb/sth)|~(sb/sth)sth to give time, money, tasks, etc. to sb/sth as a share of what is available.

 看了笔记注释之后，先尝试自己翻译一下吧，参考译文见下：

中文翻译：

2.8 人的灵魂的确摧残自身，首先是在它变成宇宙的一个肿块的，或者说，就其可能而言变成一个赘生物的时候。因为，为发生的事情烦恼就是使我们自己脱离本性－所有别的事物的本性都包含在这一本性的某一部分之中。其次，灵魂摧残自身是在它被什么人排斥甚或怀着恶意攻击的时候，那些愤怒的人的灵魂就是这样。第三，灵魂摧残自身是在它被快乐或痛苦压倒的时候。第四，灵魂摧残自身是在它扮演一个角色，言行不真诚的时候。第五，是在它让自己的行动漫无目标，不加考虑和不辨真相地做事的时候，因为甚至最小的事情也只有在参照一个来做时才是对的，而理性动物的目的就是要遵循理性和最古老的城邦和政府的法律。

2.9 在人的生活中，时间是瞬息即逝的一个点，实体处在流动之中，知觉是迟钝的，整个身体的结构容易分解，灵魂是一涡流，命运之谜不可解，名声并非根据明智的判断。一言以蔽之，属于身体的一切只是一道激流，属于灵魂的只是一个梦幻，生命是一场战争，一个过客的旅居，身后的名声也迅速落入忘川。那么一个人靠什么指引呢？惟有哲学。而这就在于使一个人心中的神不受摧残，不受伤害，免于痛苦和快乐，不做无目的事情，而且毫不虚伪和欺瞒，并不感到需要别人做或不做任何事情，此外，接受所有对他发生的事情，所有分配给他的份额，不管它们是什么，就好象它们是从那儿，从他自己所来的地方来的；最后，以一种欢乐的心情等待死亡，把死亡看做不是别的，只是组成一切生物的元素的分解。而如果在一个事物不断变化的过程中元素本身并没有受到损害，为什么一个人竟忧虑所有这些元素的变化和分解呢？因为死是合乎本性的，而合乎本性的东西都不是恶。

回顾：《沉思录》读书笔记系列>>