Narrator: Listen to part of a lecture in a music class.

旁白：听一段音乐课的演讲片段。

Professor: Today we are going to do something a little different.

教授：今天我准备讲一些有所不同的话题。

In the past few classes, we've listened to traditional music from around the world and we've talked about the characteristics of these music, what makes these styles distinctive, what kinds of instruments are used.

在过去的几节课中，我们已经听过来自世界各地的传统音乐，并且我们也讨论过这些音乐的特点，是什么让这些风格有所不同，又用了什么样的乐器。

And you've talked about what sounds familiar to you and what sounds strange.

你们也谈了你们所熟悉的声音，以及什么样的声音会让你们觉得奇怪。

And many of you found some of what we've listened to very strange indeed.

事实上，你们当中的很多人觉得我们听过的一些非常奇怪。

Well, today I want to start talking about western music and I am going to start in ancient Greece.

好的，今天我想开始讲西方音乐，并且我打算从古希腊开始。

But, now here's the part that's different.

但是，这就是有所不同的地方。

We're not going to talk very much about the actual music.

我们并不会讲真正的音乐。

Instead, we are going to talk about what the Greeks believed about music.

事实上，我们会讨论希腊人对音乐的看法。

Now, there are some very good reasons to approach the material in this way.

有很多理由让我们通过这种方式去处理这些材料。

First, well, we don't have very much ancient Greek music studied.

首先，我们并没有研究过太多的古希腊的音乐。

Only about 45 pieces survived…uh…these are mostly records of poems and songs.

只有大约45个片段还尚存……额……而这些大部分是诗歌的记录。

And we are not sure how well we can reproduce the melodies or rhythms, because they were apparently improvised in many cases.

并且，我们也不是很肯定，我们到底能够多大程度地将这些音乐旋律和节奏重现，因为，在很多情况下他们明显是即兴创作。

So we really don't know all that much about what the music sounded like.

所以，这音乐听起来是什么样的，我们知道的并不多。

What we do know about--and this really is the most important reason I am approaching today's lecture the way I am--is the Greek philosophy about music and its continuing influence on western attitudes toward music.

我们所知道的是，并且这也是我今天这样开展讲课的最重要的原因，就是希腊关于音乐的哲学，以及它对西方人对音乐态度的持续的影响力。

Now, if we're going to understand the philosophy, we have to first understand that music for the Greeks was about much more than entertainment.

现在，如果我们要理解这个哲学，我们不得不首先了解到，对于希腊人，音乐不只是为了娱乐。

Yes, there was music at festivals and we have sculptures and paintings showing people listening to music for many of the same reasons that we do.

的确，在节日中会有音乐，并且我们也有雕塑和图画显示当时的人们会和我们因为相同的原因去听音乐。

But this isn't the whole story.

但是，这并不是全部。

The important thing about music was that it was governed by rules, mathematical rules.

对于音乐，一件非常重要的事情就是，它是被规则所支配的，数学规则。

And for those of you who are also studying music theory, you'll see that it is in fact highly mathematical.

对于你们这些正在学习音乐理论的学生来说，你们可以明白，事实上音乐是非常数学的。

Um…and for the Greeks, the same mathematical principles that govern music also govern the universe as well as the human character, the essence of personality.

额……对于希腊人来说，支配着音乐的数学准则同样也支配宇宙，支配着人物品性，个性中的精髓。

People's characters were believed to be very sensitive to music.

人的品性被认为是对音乐非常敏感的。

If you started playing around with the rules, you know, messing up the mathematical order, you could do serious harm.

如果你开始轻率对待这样的规则，比如，打乱数学顺序，你可能会造成严重的危害。

That's why music was considered so powerful.

这是为什么音乐被认为是非常强大的。

If you knew the rules, it could do great good.

如果你了解规则，那么就能很好地表现。

But if you broke them, you could do great harm to the character of the listener.

但是，如果你破坏了它们，就会对听众造成伤害。

So, we have this Greek idea that music is directly related to human character and behavior.

所以，希腊人才会认为音乐和人类的品性及行为有着直接关联的。

The philosopher, Plato, talks about this in the context of education.

哲学家柏拉图，在教育的背景下讨论过这个。

For Plato, music is an important element in education, but only the right kind of music.

对于柏拉图来说，音乐对于教育是非常重要的元素，但这仅限于正确的音乐。

That means the kind of music that builds the kind of character a good citizen or a future leader would need.

这种音乐指的是能够塑造一个好公民或好的未来领导人优良品性的音乐。

Yes. For Plato, there is a kind of music that instills the qualities of leadership, just as there is a kind of music that makes a person soft and weak.

是的，对于柏拉图，有些音乐是可以灌输领导力品质的，这和有的音乐会使人软弱是一样的。

Now, Plato has very specific, very conventional kinds of music in mind.

由于在柏拉图的脑海中有着非常特定的、传统的音乐，

He is not fond of innovation.

他并不是很喜欢创新。

There were musicians in Plato's day who were experimenting with different melodies and rhythms.

在柏拉图的那个时代，有些音乐家尝试不同的旋律和节奏。

A definite no-no for Plato.

这对于柏拉图来说绝对是不可以的。

He thinks that breaking with tradition leads to all sorts of social problems, serious problems, even the breakdown of the fabric of society.

他认为打破社会传统会导致各种社会问题，严重的问题，甚至会破坏社会的构造。

I am thinking back now to when I first started listening to rock'n'roll and I remember my father saying it was a bad influence on us.

现在我回想起当我第一次听到摇滚乐时，我父亲说，这对我们会有不好的影响。

I think he would have gotten along well with Plato.

我想这和柏拉图的想法是差不多的。

Anyway, I don't need to tell you what I think about Plato's ideas about innovation, do I?

不管怎样，我不用告诉你们柏拉图对创新的看法，我是怎么想的，我需要吗？

Though I have to say it's interesting that the same arguments against new music and art are still being made.

尽管，我不得不说，有意思的是，相同的针对新兴音乐和艺术的争论仍然存在。

Perhaps like the Greeks, we recognize, and maybe even fear the power of music.

也许就像希腊人，我们认识到，并且也可能甚至是惧怕音乐的力量。