SOPHIE'S WORLD
(Sofies verden), by Jostein Gaarder (JG), translated from Norwegian into American by Paulette Møller (PM)Guestbook | Guestmap | Discussion forum | Inspired by...
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| CH = chapter, P = page, L = line, C = comment, N = Norwegian, T = (alternative) translation, usually closer to the original text, TTR = Two-Tier Reality (metaphysical system bridging East and West) |
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CHAPTER 12: HELLENISM (PP102-117) |
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| P102 L6: sidewalk T: ground L9: saw (T: realised) that it was a regular (T: picture) postcard L22: reimburse you (T: replace) the (money) L24: Love T: Affectionate greetings | ||||||||
| P103 L11: as good as T: almost L16: getting T: using L18: headstart T: notice L21: joker T: strange man L21: got(ten) hold of T: discovered L24: fathers ... on the other side of the globe T: travelling out in the world L26: unnatural world T: magic world L27: dumb T: foolish L30: Lillesand was hundreds of (T: many many) miles away L31: on her sidewalk T: on the ground L32: just as T: just before L35: Sophie ... made it to T: got to L40: troops T: militiamen L41: Sure T: Pooh | ||||||||
| P104 L1: Religious Knowledge test C: ?? Philosophy test, rather. How many hours allowed? L4: we T: a person L6: Indicate (T: Mention) some of the factors contributing to (T: involved in determining) a person's philosophy of life L13: She was going to (T: would) have to L16: not made of green cheese T: not a big cheese L17: dark side of the moon T: far side L23: life on other planets C: is something we can in principle know about L25: certainly T: at any rate L26: completing her list T: finally C: Then she starts to rabbit. Null poeng, Sophie! People are not insects L33: make it T: succeed L35: Tower of Babel ... destroyed T: razed to the ground | ||||||||
| P105 L5: Another factor was the kind of experience people chose to get themselves T: to acquire C: Then missing sentence T: But a person's reason was important in choosing a philosophy of life L6(cont): Common sense (T: And reason) was not determined by environment. Everybody had that C: Everybody has a certain ability to reason, but abilities differ widely L9: intelligence T: reason L10: journey T: move L15: same apartment building T: block of flats L19(cont): In which case (T: Then) it is more important to accept (T: tolerate) each other's (T: one another's) beliefs L18: covered some ground T: come part of the way L20: her own common sense T: innate reason L21: what she might have read T: had read L22: She applied herself to T: attacked L25: Conscience is people's ability to respond to (T: what is) right and wrong C: Respond in what way? L33: Even if everybody doesn't feel guilty T: Although not everybody feels L35: if they are really mean to someone T: treat someone badly L35: remembered T: stressed L38: deep down T: well hidden L39: sense T: reason | ||||||||
| P106 L4: driving T: road traffic L18: self-reliant T: self-confident L28: grade (T: mark) your paper L28(cont): It will either be a D or an A T: I must give you either NG or S C: Sophie has got herself in the alphabet soup L30: I was T: my answers were L32: So let's say A T: We'll say S C: Poor Sophie! 'B'! L35: gnarled (T: thick) roots L36: a long time T: some time | ||||||||
| P107 L2: Here we are again T: Thanks for (the) last (occasion) C: Polite Norwegian phrase on meeting again L5: I imagine you probably have (T: I dare say you have) plenty of (T: more than enough) other assignments L8: the early (T: the beginning of the) Middle Ages around A.D. 400 L11: factors of T: influence during L12: at the time when (T: by which time) Athens had lost its dominant role L16: even T: actually L21: A (T: world) civilisation sprang up (T: developed) in which Greek culture ... played a leading (T: dominant) role L34: political influence of the Greeks was a thing of the past T: had passed into history L34: Hellenism was characterised by the fact (T: A feature of Hellenism was) that the borders ... became (T: were) erased | ||||||||
| P108 L2: generally call T: can call L13: But as time went on T: But now L13: also T: also being L14: New religious formations arose T: groupings developed. L16: syncretism or the fusion of creeds T: mixture of religions L26: T: By accepting the teachings, which were often secret L32: reward T: value L35: On the contrary T: However L40: town T: city L42: with still functioning (T: with) schools of philosophy after Plato and Aristotle T: following (the teachings of) P. and A. | ||||||||
| P109 L2: the center T: a centre L5: influenced T: marked L6: this opening out has resulted in tremendous upheavals for religion and philosophy T: this has led to great revolutions in L15: is the flotsam of old thought T: is old ideas L20: finding out what true (C: meaning?) happiness was T: consisted in L30: external advantages such as ... good health C: 'external' advantage?! L32: random and fleeting T: fortuitous and vulnerable L34: Having once been attained, (happiness) can never be lost C: How optimistic can you get? L38: steal T: take | ||||||||
| P110 L1: him T: the wise man L2: (Alexander asked Diogenes) if there was anything he could do for him. Was there anything he desired? T: anything he wanted; if so, his wish would immediately be granted L3: Diogenes replied: Stand to one side. You're blocking the sun T: Kindly step aside so that the sun may shine on me L4(cont): Thus Diogenes showed that he was no less happy and rich than the great man T: he was richer and happier than the great general L10: mean a sneering ... and they C: words not in original text L20: the Stoics believed that everyone was a part of (T: shared) the same common sense T: reason L21: They thought that each person was ... a microcosmos (T: microcosm) (reflecting) the macrocosmos T: macrocosm C: As above, so below L24(cont): This led to the thought that there exists a universal rightness, the so-called natural law C: No; led psychologically, not logically L26: alter T: change L31: the Stoics erased the difference between the individual and the universe C: Heavy-duty eraser needed for that! What needs erasing is not the difference but the sharp boundary L32: They also denied any conflict between 'spirit' and 'matter' C: Right L33(cont): There is only one nature C: Yes and no L33: This ... is called monism (in contrast to Plato's clear dualism or two-fold reality) C: Two-Tier Reality (TTR), postulating a one-and-indivisible 'primary reality' (TTR) or objective reality, is a form of monism, not dualism L39: (The Stoics) were preoccupied with (T: active in) politics L39: many T: some | ||||||||
| P111 L6: Seneca said that 'to mankind, mankind is holy' C: Humanism? Yet another religion L9: (Stoics) ... all natural processes, such as sickness and death, follow the unbreakable laws of nature C: There are no 'unbreakable laws of nature'. This dangerous idea has its roots in religion L10(cont): Man must therefore learn to accept his destiny C: False fatalism L15 the Cynics ... who claimed (T: declared) that all external events (T: outer things) were unimportant C: There is no boundary between 'internal' and 'external' excpt that of man's own making L16: 'stoic calm' ... does not let his feelings take over T: succumb to his feelings C: Were there any female Stoics? L37: setting out T: doing everything L39: saved-up pocket money T: savings | ||||||||
| P112 L3: later, when (T: after finishing) all that delicious chocolate (is eaten) L5: short term T: short run L7: long term T: long run L11: Chocolate is good but ... a trip to England is better C: As all philosophers agree L19: Fear of the gods T: Religious anxieties L20: the atom theory of Democritus was a useful cure for (T: measure against) religious superstitions T: religion and superstition L21: it is not unimportant T: it is important, not least L23: theory of T: teaching about L34: comparing philosophical projects with those of medical science T: projects to medical science L35: intention T: idea L37: the four ingredients I mentioned T: these four important medicines L39: the community T: society. | ||||||||
| P113 L2: sought (T: an island or) 'safe harbor' - away from society C: from mass society T: in the great society L3: (T: one-sided) self-indulgence L8: As I showed you T: We have seen how L12: first and foremost T: mainly L16: It is interesting to note T: worth noting L17: (Alexandria) ... central meeting point T: great meeting place L19: Christianity when its time came T: it began to gain influence L23: This meant establishing (T: He also introduced) a clear division between the soul and the body L25: our body consisted of earth and dust C: and (mainly) water L32: this darkness actually has no existence T: has no real existence L36: somewhere a point that (T: boundary beyond which) the divine glow cannot reach | ||||||||
| P114: LL10-17: reality is a bonfire (etc.) C: Ye gods! L18: I am saying that / I believe (P247) / there is something of the (T: a) divine mystery in everything (T: all) that exists L23: we ourselves are that divine mystery C: We shall now sing hymn 243 in our praise L34: the essential (T: many important) features L39: religions emphasise the (T: that there is a) gulf between God and Creation | ||||||||
| P115 L3: the true 'I' T: our real 'I' L10: Angelus Silesius N: Silensius L11: Every drop becomes the sea when it flows oceanward T: reaches the sea L15: very much T: infinitely L17: you are something much (T: infinitely) bigger L17(cont): You are the (T: whole) universe L29: I am You T: I am Thou L30: mystical experiences ... show a remarkable similarity across (T: despite) all cultural boundaries T: differences L42: he has nowhere else to be T: he is nowhere else | ||||||||
| P116 L5: (Swami Vivekenanda): A person who does not believe in himself is an atheist C: Ah, the inscrutable East L9: Radhakrishnan: ... Love thy neigbour as thyself because you are your neighbour. It is an illusion (C: No) that makes you think that your neighbour is someone other than yourself C: TTR says: You are your neighbour and your neighbour is someone else (inclusive-OR logic). Both statements are true (from different viewpoints) and neither statement/viewpoint is illusory L13: They have ... experienced ... an 'oceanic feeling' C: cf. Wilhelm Reich L18: (Sophie) had begun to feel as though she were floating T: had felt that she was beginning to float L20: far off T: high L24: The whole (T: great) world had become (almost) like a living person C: Gaia smiles L25: The world is me (T: I am the world) she thought C: A central principle of TTR L34: Sophie registered (T: realised) with a touch of disillusionment T: disappointment | ||||||||
| P117 L1: born T: created L6: carried T: had/bore L7: it was true (T: so), then she (T: herself) was (truly) a divine creature T: being C: Is Sophie just divine? All together now ... | ||||||||
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