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 7: SOCRATES (PP49-61) |
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| Title: Wisest is she who knows (T: what) she does not know | ||||||||
| P49 L8: (T: green) mailbox L20: She was surprised T: Her heart jumped L26: Why was (T: were) the envelope(s) wet? | ||||||||
| P50 L3: invitation T: coffee visit L3: it will probably be quite a while before I can come in person to T: it will be a long time before I can show myself at L8: On the other hand T: In compensation L21: Yours T: Regards L30: That was it T: Well, well! L33: Alberto Knox ... what kind of a name was that? T: wasn't that a peculiar name! L34: philosopher T: philosophy teacher L38: she gave up T(cont): with a sigh | ||||||||
| P51 L4: C: See title above L6: He who knows what is right will (T: also) do right L8: Sophie knew T: had understood L19: everybody T: people everywhere, but L22: most people think (topless sunbathing) is 'natural' C: In Scandinavia, at least L25: C: See title above L28: under the sun T: between heaven and earth L32: knowing what (C: what) you don't know is also a kind of knowledge L33: to act like they knew T: as if they knew | ||||||||
| P52 L4: So far, so good T: Well, now! L9: She thought that both children and adults did stupid things - that they probably (T: perhaps) regretted afterwards - precisely because they had done them against their better judgment T: afterwards - and that (in fact) they did them against their better judgement C: Dashes (- ... -) in original text show meaning of sentence L14: Her heart started beating faster T: began to pound L14: It sounded like T: as though L17: dropped at Sophie's feet T: knees L22: Once it was all over she reacted. She started to cry T: came the shock. She put her hands in her lap and wept L24: She looked up suddenly T: up again L30: she may not always have been as smart T: She wasn't always L32: a bit out of the ordinary T: quite special L33: forcing T: pressing L39: intelligent T: sensible | ||||||||
| P53 L1: In any event T: At any rate L3: (Hermes') name is not without significance T: was not chosen fortuitously L14: world picture T: world-view L15: three great classical philosophers T: greatest ancient L22: first of the great philosophers T: first philosopher L24: Anaxagoras ... said the sun was a red-hot stone T: fiery mass L26: It is also important T: even more important L28: as it progresses from natural philosophy to Socrates T: when we move from the natural philosophers L33: Athens was (T: became) the cultural center/centre L36: a central position T: an important | ||||||||
| P54 L1: In order for democracy to work, people had to be educated enough C: but not too much L3: a young democracy needs popular enlightenment C: suitably limited L8: 'sophist' means a wise and informed person T: wise or well-informed L14: man cannot know the truth about T: find sure answers to L20: 'Man is the measure of all things', said ... Protagoras C: Yes, indeed, but interpretations differ L24: A person who is unable to say categorically whether or not the gods or God exists (T: there is a god) is called an agnostic C: And what does one call a person who says 'Yes and no'? (TTR) L30: natural T: innate L31: (The Sophists) paved the way (T: established a framework) for social criticism L40: wrangling T: debate L41: (The Sophists pointed out that) there were no absolute norms for what was right or wrong C: Correct | ||||||||
| P55 L1: Socrates ... tried to show that some such norms are in fact absolute and universally valid C: No L32: left no written accounts T: sources L33: The classic (T: best-known) example L37: It is Plato's portrait of Socrates that has inspired thinkers C: With dire results. | ||||||||
| P56 L1: Socrates ... did not ('appear to' C: justifiably inserted by PM) want to instruct people L13: Socrates, whose mother (T: It is said that Socrates' mother) was a midwife, used to say that his art was like (T: and S. compared his art to) the art of the midwife L15: S. saw his task as helping people to 'give birth' to the correst insight C: But who decides what is 'correct'? L21: everybody can grasp philosophical truths if they just use their (innate) reason C: No L22: Using your innate reason means reaching down inside yourself and using what is there C: How simple! But how far down should one reach? T: When a person 'takes to reason', he fetches something from himself C: Literal translation, meaning ? L27: He was not averse to doing this T: This could happen L31: status T: power L33: I am the gadfly trying to sting (T: wake) it into life L37: stinging T: biting L38: (S.) said that he had a 'divine voice' inside him C: Danger-sign | ||||||||
| P57 L2: This was eventually to (T: In the end, this) cost him his life C: Not clear what 'this' refers to L5: as well as not believing in the accepted gods C: phrase not in original text L6: A jury of five hundred found him guilty C: Democracy in action L7: He could very likely have appealed for leniency T: doubtless ... mercy L9: He valued (T: set) his (T: own) conscience - and the truth (C: his own truth) - higher than (T: his own) life L10: He assured (the jury) that he had only acted in the best interests of the state C: The highest good? L11: He was .... condemned to drink hemlock T: to death L24: self-assuredness T: self-assurance L25: they spoke on behalf of something greater than themselves C: Dangerous sign L26: They challenged the power of the community (T: challenged the society's power-wielders) by criticising all forms of injustice and corruption T: injustice and the use of force L33: They commanded an enormous following, also after they had died T: collected thousands of supporters, even after death | ||||||||
| P58 L5: man and his place in society T: man and man's life L8: (Socrates) forced (philosophy) to investigate T: forced people to think about L10: in one significant way T: on one important point L13: A philosopher ... one who loves (T: seeks) wisdom L16: the difference between a sophist and a philosopher. The Sophists took money C: But professors of philosophy are paid, and writers of books on philosophy receive royalties L18: hairsplitting expoundings T: subtle expositions L24: a philosopher knows that ... he knows very little ... Socrates knew (C: pretended to know) that he knew nothing ... it troubled him that he knew so little C: 'Little' is not 'nothing' L29: A philosopher ... recognises that there is a lot he does not understand, and is troubled by it C: Why 'troubled'? No one can know everything L32: Wisest is she who knows (T: what) she does not know L33: Socrates said 'One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing C: except that one thing C: False modesty L35: It is an admission that is rare C: Socrates' 'admission' of ignorance was a subtle debating ploy L37: subversive T: dangerous L38: not nearly as threatening T: not as dangerous | ||||||||
| P59 Ll: a child C: A small child L1: a courageous child C: An innocent child L3: The similarity between children and philosophers C: Similarity? Small children are innocent and know little; Socrates pretended to be innocent and know little L5: Mankind is faced with a number of difficult (T: important) questions that we have no satisfactory answers to C: Perhaps because some such questions are mistaken or meaningless L6: Two possibilities present themselves C: More than two L7: We can (pretend) that we know all there is to know or ... abandon all progress C: Neither, thanks L9: central issues T: big questions L10: People are, generally speaking, either dead certain or (totally) indifferent C: Fortunately, we are not all generals - nor (L11) fur-crawlers L14: From time to time a joker turns up C: Hurrah for the jokers! L17: All (Socrates) knew was that he knew nothing C: Or 'little'. Perhaps he didn't really know which? L18: a philosopher - someone who ... pursues his quest for truth C: Or (better?) the creation of truth: They seek it here They seek it there Those 'phillies' seek it everywhere Is it in heaven? Is it in hell? That demmed elusive knowledge-well! But TTR says: Seek and you shall find Your questing beam Cosmos encircling Shines back on You Seer, thinker Look out, look in It is the same L21: The oracle answered that Socrates of all mortals was the wisest T: that it was S. L22: (S.) was astounded C: Really? But Athens is not the world L23: He went ... to the person ... whom ... everyone ... thought was excessively (T: exceedingly) wise. But when ... this person was unable to give S. satisfactory answers to his questions, S. realised that the oracle had been right C: So it is possible to be wise and know nothing? C: Could S. give satisfactory answers to his own questions? If not, how was he wiser than the other man? L28: S. felt that it was necessary to establish a solid (T: certain) foundation for our knowledge C: But there are no (positive) eternal truths, no final philosophical answers L30: With his unshakable (T: strong) faith in human reason (C: a misplaced faith?), S. was decidedly a rationalist L35: He who knows what good is (T: what is good) will do good ... When we do wrong it is because we don't know any better C: ?? L39: S. was concerned with finding (T: was seeking) clear and universally valid definitions of right and wrong C: There are none | ||||||||
| P60 Ll: he believed that the ability to distinguish between right and wrong lies in people's reason (C: No) and not in society L4: a bit too obscure T: not too easy to swallow L5: S. thought that no one could possibly be happy if they acted against their better judgment C: 'Better judgements' are personal and subjective; others may well judge differently. Nothing is objectively right or wrong L6: he who knows how to achieve happiness will do so ... Because why would anyone choose to be unhappy? C: Not always. Happiness is not the highest moral good. A person may choose to do what he thinks is right, knowing that it will bring him unhappiness L10: people who lie and cheat and speak ill of others ... Do you think these people are happy? T: think that makes them happy? C: If one describes some people as liars and cheats, is one not 'speaking ill' of them? Does that make Alberto happy? L27: It was just so sad (T: a pity) that he had to die as a result T: pay for it with his life L29: I don't know what I'm to do T: going to do (with you) L31: He was the cleverest person in Athens C: Cleverest? The wisest, perhaps L36: schoolteachers think they know a lot of stuff that they try to force down our throats C: Well said, Sophie! L37: Philosophers try to figure things out together with the pupils C: Sophie's philosophy teacher is a teacher! There is no 'togetherness' as yet L39: I demand (T: I'll soon want) to know who your boyfriend (T: this boyfriend of yours) really is | ||||||||
| P61 L3: he likes (T: he is a gadfly out) to disturb others - to shake them out of their rut T: get them to give up old ways of thinking L5: a bit too T: rather L7: He is trying to reach (T: attain) real wisdom C: Meaning? How? L13: But there's only one joker C: Some packs have two or three L14: How you talk back, Sophie! T: How you answer (back), my child L16: groceries T: goods L17: She closed the door more loudly than usual T: a little extra hard L19: doing the dishes T: the washing-up. | ||||||||