Therefore, he chose to live in Athens or Corinth, where travelers from all over the Mediterranean world constantly came and went. And, by design, he publicly behaved in such ways as to show people what real life was.
因此,他决定住在雅典或科林斯,那里常有地中海沿岸国家的游客来来往往。在这些地方,他有意在众人面前展示自己的生活方式,目的是向世人显示什么才是真正的生活。
He thought most people were only half-alive, most men only half-men. At bright noonday he walked through the market place carrying a lighted lamp and inspecting the face of everyone he met. They asked him why. Diogenes answered "I'm trying to find a man."
他认为大多数人没有充分利用自己的生命,都只是半个人。在一个阳光灿烂的中午,他拿着一盏灯穿过集市,仔细审视他遇见的每一个人的脸。人们问他为什么这样做,他回答说我在找一个完整的人。”
To a gentleman whose servant was putting on his shoes for him, Diogenes said, "You won't be really happy until he wipes your nose for you: that will come after you lose the use of your hands."
有一次,见到一个绅士正让仆人帮他穿鞋,第欧根尼对他说,你只有等仆人帮你擦鼻涕时才会真正感到幸福:不过这要等到你的双手残废以后。”
Once there was a war scare so serious that it stirred even the lazy, profit-happy Corinthians. They began to drill, clean their weapons, and rebuild their neglected fortifications. Diogenes took his old cask and began to roll it up and down. "When you are all so busy," he said, "I feel I ought to do something!"
曾经有一场恐怖的战争——它甚至激发了那些懒惰的、唯利是图的科林斯人。他们开始训练、磨刀擦枪,重建荒废已久的防御工事。第欧根尼带上他的旧木桶,把它滚来滚去。“你们都这么忙,”他说,“我觉得我也该干点什么。”
And so he lived—like a dog, some said, because he cared nothing for the conventions of society, and because he showed his teeth and barked at those he disliked. Now he was lying in the sunlight, contented and happy, happier (he himself used to boast) than the Shah of Persia.
他就是这样活着——有人说他像狗一样,因为他毫不顾及社会习俗,还因为他对那些他不喜欢的人龇牙咧嘴,对他们咆哮。现在他躺在阳光下,心满意足,比波斯国王还幸福(他过去经常这样自夸)