林中斌 部落格 / Blog Chong-Pin Lin

本質美

accessed Dec 6, 2020

"Beautiful things of any kind are beautiful in themselves. Praise is extraneous....Does anything genuinely beautiful need supplementing? No more than justice does -- or truth, or kindness, or humility. Are any of those improved by being praised ? Or damaged by contempt? Is an emerald suddenly flawed if no one admires it? Or gold, or ivory, or purple? Lyres? Knives? Flowers? Bushes?

--- excerpt from "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius (121 - 180 A.D.) Roman Emperor

「美麗事物本身即美麗，何須任何多餘的讚美？真正美麗的事物本身還需要任何增補嗎？─無論是正義、真理、仁慈或謙卑。譽之能使其益嗎？毀之能使其損嗎？如果沒有人欣賞祖母綠，祖母綠就瑕污了嗎？黃金亦然、象牙亦然、紫色亦然、七弦琴亦然、刀亦然、花亦然、灌木亦然。」

---摘自古羅馬皇帝奧里略（Marcus Aurelius， 121-180）《沉思錄》

（譯者：廖偉鈞）