名人小故事哲学思想家5：Aristotle亚里士多德

Aristotle

亚里士多德

Aristotle was bom in Stageira, Chalcidice, in 384 BC. His father was the personal physician to King Amyntas of Macedon. Aristotle was trained and educated as a member of the aristocracy. At about the age of eighteen, he went to Athens to continue his education at Plato’s Academy. Aristotle remained at the academy for nearly twenty years before quitting Athens in 347 BC. The traditional story about his departure reports that he was disappointed with the direction the academy took after control passed to Plato’s nephew Speusippus upon his death.

亚里士多德于公元前384年出生于色雷斯的斯塔基拉，父亲是马其顿王的御医。从小亚里士多德在贵族家庭环境里长大。在18岁的时候，亚里士多德被送到雅典的柏拉图学园学习，此后20年间亚里士多德一直住在学园，直至老师柏拉图在公元前347年去世。柏拉图去世后，学园的领导权转移到柏拉图的仅子Speusippus, 学园的学术倾向令亚里士多德感到失望，他便离开了雅典。

He then traveled in Asia Minor on the invitation of his friend Hermias. There, Aristotle married Hermias’ adoptive daughter (or niece) Pythias. She bore him a daughter. Soon after Hermias’ death in BC 344, Aristotle had to leave Asia Minor. Later, he was invited by Philip II of Macedon to become the tutor to his son Alexander the Great who was only 13 years old.

离开学园后，亚里士多德先是接受了朋友赫米阿斯的邀请访问小亚细亚。亚里士多德在那里还娶了赫米阿斯的侄女为妻。她为他生了一个女儿。公元前344年，赫米阿斯被谋杀后不久，亚里士多德不得不离幵小亚细亚。后来，亚里士多德又被马其顿的国王腓力二世召唤回故乡，成为当时年仅13岁的亚历山大大帝的老师。

Aristotle was appointed as the head of the royal academy of Macedon. During that time he gave lessons not only to Alexander, but also to two other future kings: Ptolemy and Cassander. In his Politics, Aristotle states that only one thing could justify monarchy, and that was if the virtue of the King and his family were greater than the virtue of the rest of the citizens put together. Tactfully, he included the young prince and his father in that category.

亚里士多德被任命为马其顿皇家学院的校长。期间，他不仅给亚历山大授课，也为其他两位未来的国王Ptolemy and Cassander授课。在政治观点上，亚里士多德认为只有一种情况能让君主制成为正确的，即国王和其家人的美德合在一起超过了其他所有公民的美德的总和。他很有技巧地将年轻的王子和他的父亲包括在这个范畴之内。

By 335 BC he had returned to Athens, establishing his own school there known as the Lyceum. Aristotle conducted courses at the school for the next twelve years. It is during this period when Aristotle is believed to have composed many of his works. Aristotle wrote many dialogues, only fragments of which survived. The works that have survived are in treatise form and were not, for the most part, intended for widespread publication, as they are generally thought to be lecture aids for his students.

公元前335年，亚里士多德回到雅典，并在那里建立了自己的学校，取名为Lyceum。亚里士多德在接下来的12年中在此授课。正是在此期间，亚里士多德撰写了多部哲学著作。虽然亚里士多德写下了许多对话录，但这些对话录都只有少数残缺的片段流传下来。被保留最多的作品主要都是论文形式，而亚里士多德最初也没有想过要发表这些论文。一般认为这些论文是亚里士多德讲课时给学生的笔记或课本。

Upon Alexander’s death, Aristotle fled the city to Chalcis, explaining, “I will not allow the Athenians to sin twice against philosophy”，a reference to Athens’ prior trial and execution of Socrates. Aristotle died in BC 322.

亚历山大死后，亚里士多德逃亡到加而西斯 (Chalcis )。他这样解释：“我不想让雅典人再犯下第二次毁灭哲学的罪孽。”（隐喻之前苏格拉底在雅典被审判和处死）公元前322年，亚里士多德病逝。