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It seems at first weird that we might learn from Thomas Aquinas.
我们刚开始向托马斯·阿奎那学习时可能会觉得很奇怪。
He was a medieval saint,
他是一位中世纪的圣人，
who was reputed to have levitated and had visions of the Virgin Mary.
据说他曾漂浮在空中，并见过圣母玛利亚的幻象。
He was much concerned with explaining how angels speak and move.
他对解释天使的言行很感兴趣。
And yet, he continues to matter
然而，他仍然很重要，
because he helps us with the problem which continues to bedevil us:
因为他帮助我们解决了困扰我们的问题：
how we can reconcile religion with science, and faith with reason.
我们如何使宗教与科学、信仰与理性相协调。
Aquinas was both a philosopher and a saint.
阿奎那既是哲学家又是圣人。
Refusing either to lose his faith or mindlessly believe,
他既不放弃信仰，也不盲目相信，
he developed a new understanding of the place of reason in human life.
他对理性在人类生活中的地位有了新的认识。
Aquinas's monumental contribution was to teach Western Europeans civilisation
阿奎那的巨大贡献是教导西欧社会，
that any human being, not just a Christian,
任何人，不仅仅是基督徒，
could have access to great truths, whenever they made use of God's greatest gift to human beings: reason.
只要他们利用好上帝给人类最伟大的礼物：理性，就可以获得伟大的真理。
Aquinas broke a logjam in Christian thinking -
阿奎那打破了基督教思维的僵局——
the question of non-Christians could have both wisdom
非基督徒可能既有智慧，
and at the same time, no interest in or even knowledge of Jesus.
又同时对耶稣没有兴趣，甚至不了解。
Aquinas universalised intelligence.
阿奎那普及了智慧。
He opened the Christian minds to the insights of all of humanity from across the ages and the continents.
让基督教思想接受所有人的思考，无论年龄，不限地域。
The modern world,
多亏阿奎那，现代世界才坚信，
insofar as it insists that good ideas can come from any quarter,
伟大的想法可以来自任何地方，
regardless of creed or background, remains hugely in Aquinas' debt.
无论信仰或背景。
Thomas Aquinas was born to a noble family in Italy in 1225.
托马斯·阿奎那1225年出生于意大利的一个贵族家庭。
As a young man, he went to study at the University of Naples
年轻时，他到那不勒斯大学学习，
and there came into contact with a source of knowledge which had just then been rediscovered -
在那里接触到一种刚刚被重新发现的知识来源——
the texts of ancient Greek and Roman authors.
古希腊和罗马作家的著作。
Aquinas then became an academic at the University of Paris and an exceptionally prolific writer,
阿奎那后来成为巴黎大学的一名学者和一位非常多产的作家，
producing nearly 200 pieces about Christian theology in less than three decades.
在不到30年的时间里创作了近200篇有关基督教神学的作品。
His books bear beautiful and strange titles,
他的书有着美丽而奇怪的标题，
like the Summa Theologica, and Summa Contra Gentiles.
比如《神学大全》和《反异教大全》。
Such was his devotion to knowledge even at the moment of his death at the age of 49,
即使在他49岁去世的那一刻，他依旧热爱知识，
Aquinas was reputed to have been in the middle of writing an extended commentary on the Song of Songs.
据说他去世前正撰写一篇关于《诗经》的长篇评论。
After he died, he was canonised in the Catholic church
他死后，被封为天主教堂的圣徒，
and he is now the "patron saint of teachers".
现在他是“教师的守护神”。
Aquinas's starting point was that some of the world's greatest thinkers have not been Christian,
阿奎那的启蒙者是世界上一些最伟大的思想家不是基督徒，
but this didn't bar them from having huge insights,
但这并不妨碍他们有巨大的见解，
because, as Aquinas proposed,
因为正如阿奎那所提出的，
the world can be usefully explored through reasons and not just through faith.
世界可以通过理性而不仅仅是通过信仰来有益地探索。
To explain how this could work,
为了解释这是如何运作的，
Aquinas brilliantly proposed that universe and all its dynamics operate according to two kinds of law
阿奎那巧妙地提出宇宙及其动态运作靠的是两种法则。
For Aquinas, a lot of the world follows natural laws.
阿奎那认为，世界上大多数人都遵循自然规律。
We can find out for ourselves how to smelt iron,
我们可以自己发现如何炼铁，
build an aqueduct,
建造一条水渠，
or organise an economy.
或者规划经济体。
And none of these relies on believing in God.
这些都不依赖于对上帝的信仰。
Aquinas discussed Jesus is in junction to
阿奎那谈到耶稣的戒令
Jesus may have given this idea
阿奎那认为，这一思想
a particular memorable formulation, considered Aquinas,
或许在经过耶稣的系统阐述后 很容易记住
but it's in fact been a cornerstone of moral principles in most societies at most times.
但事实上它是大多数社会在大多数时候道德原则的基石。
How could this be possible?
怎么会这样呢？
Well, the reason, Aquinas argued,
好吧，原因是，阿奎那认为，
is that it's an idea that belongs to natural and not eternal law.
这一思想属于自然法则，而非永恒法则
Aquinas considered that in a few situations
阿奎那认为，在一些情况下，
God does works simply through eternal law, outside of human reason.
上帝只是采用了永恒法则，不在人类理性的理解范围内。
And he cited prophetic revelations and the visits of angels as examples.
他以先知的启示和天使的来访为例。
However, he reassured us
然而，他向我们保证，
the most useful knowledge can be found by atheists and secular-minded people within the realm of natural law.
无神论者和世俗主义者可以在自然法则领域找到最有用的知识。
Aquinas's ideas unfolded at a time when Islamic culture was going through very similar dilemmas as Christianity
阿奎那的思想是在伊斯兰文化和基督教一样陷入困境时出现的，
in terms of how one can reconcile reason and faith.
他的思想针对如何调和理性和信仰的问题。
For a long time the Islamic caliphates in Spain, Morocco and Egypt had flourished by being open to knowledge from all over the world,
很长一段时间以来，西班牙、摩洛哥和埃及的伊斯兰哈里发通过汲取世界各地的知识而蓬勃发展，
generating a wealth of new scientific ideas and philosophy.
产生了大量新的科学思想和哲学。
However, due to the increasing influence of fanatical religious leaders,
然而，由于狂热的宗教领袖的影响越来越大，
Islam had become more dogmatic and oppressive by the time Aquinas was born.
伊斯兰教在阿奎那出生时变得更加教条和压迫。
It had, for example, reacted violently against the Muslim philosopher Averroes.
例如，他们对穆斯林哲学家阿弗罗斯没有一丝宽容。
Like Aquinas, Averroes's been deeply influenced by Aristotle,
和阿奎那一样，阿维罗斯深受亚里士多德的影响，
and had argued that reason and religion could be compatible.
他认为理性和宗教可以兼容。
However, the caliphates, anxious never to depart from the literal words of God,
然而，哈里发人急于永不偏离上帝的字面意思，
made sure that Averroes's ideas would be banned and his books burned.
他们禁了阿维罗斯的思想，烧了他的书
Aquinas knew that the Muslim world's increasingly radical rejection of reason
阿奎那知道，穆斯林世界对理性日益激进的排斥
was harming what had once been its thriving intellectual culture.
正在损害其曾经欣欣向荣的知识文化。
And it was overwhelmingly thanks to Aquinas's ideas
多亏了阿奎那的思想
that Christianity did not suffer the same process of stultification.
基督教才没有像那样的愚昧。
Though Aquinas was a man of deep faith,
虽然阿奎那是一个有着深厚信仰的人，
he provided a philosophical framework for open scientific inquiry.
但他为开放的科学研究提供了一个哲学框架。
He reminds us that knowledge can and should come from multiple sources,
他提醒我们，知识可以而且应该来自多种来源，
from intuition but also from rationality,
来自直觉，但也来自理性，
from science but also from revelation,
来自科学，但也来自启示，
from pagans but also from monks,
来自异教，但也来自僧侣，
that sounds obvious,
这似乎是显而易见的
until we notice just
直到我们注意到，
how often civilisation has been and is still being harmed by people's refusal to take this brilliant idea on board.
很多人拒绝接受这一辉煌的想法，致使文明已经并仍然经常受到伤害。
