本文是《伯罗奔尼撒战争史》卷1导读，但放心，一定让你读的不知不觉～
听说2016年最霸道的总裁是下面这位:
但霸动总裁可不是当代才有，《西方经典学习群》昨天读书会时，就发现了这位仁兄:
他是修昔底德 (Thucydides)。夸下海口，要流芳百世，而且实际做到的男人！
他是谁？
在《伯罗奔尼撒战争史》卷1第1节有回答(标注为1.1)：
1.1 Thucydides of Athens wrote this history of the war fought against each other by the Peloponnesians and the Athenians.
修昔底德是雅典人，他的生卒年介于公元前460~400 年间，亲眼见证自己的国家打输斯巴达人（伯罗奔尼撒战争发生于公元前431~404年），却写下这本史书。
啥，输了还写？
他为什么要写这本书？
1.1 He began his work right at the outbreak, reckoning that this would be a major war and more momentous than any previous conflict. There were two grounds for this belief: both sides were at the full height of their power and their resource for war, and he saw the rest of the Greeks allying with one or the other, either immediately or in intent.
修昔底德说，因为他认为，这是当时最大的一场战争，值得纪录。
……当然他的原因不止于此，下面会再说到。
他写这本书的困难是什么？
1.1 Accurate research into earlier or yet more ancient history was impossible given the great gap of time, but I have enquired as far into the past as I can, and on the evidence which I can trust I think there was nothing then on a large scale, either in wars or in anything else.
他说，准确的历史难以求得，他只是尽可能做到接近真相
1.20 All men show the same uncritical acceptance of the oral traditions handed on to them, even about the history of their own country...This shows how little trouble most people take in their search for the truth — they happily resort to ready-made opinions.
他说，我搜集材料真的很困难，因为人们倾向道听途说。
譬如在本句稍早，他就说了一个道听途说的故事。这故事也见于希罗多德《历史》第6卷第123节，但他考证出来的真相，与这些说法都是不同的 (此处藏有火药味～)。
1.22 My method in this book has been to make each speaker say broadly what I supposed would have been needed on any given occasion, while keeping as closely as I could to the overall intent of what was actually said. In recording the events of the war my principle has been not to rely on casual information or my own suppositions, but to apply the greatest possible rigour in pursuing every detail both of what I saw myself and of what I heard from others. It was laborious research, as eyewitnesses on each occasion would give different accounts of the same event, depending on their individual loyalties or memories.
他说，他克服困难的方式是：采访时尽量问一个大图景，再从大图景中挖掘出自己想要的关键材料。挖掘材料时，尽可能把握细节。
既然，写这书有那么多困难，他又自己挖坑给自己跳，硬是要使用可靠的材料，让自己增加负担，他干嘛让自己那么累？
这问题，又回到他的初衷，他为什么要写这本书？
请见1.22:
他说，这部历史著作读起来可能无法引人入胜，因为书中缺少虚构的故事。但是，对那些想要了解实情的人，本书具有价值。毕竟，人类的历史是重复的，相似的问题，会在某个时候再次发生。本书的抱负是成为人类永远的遗产 ，而不是只是为了说一个浮夸的故事，夺人眼目。
简言之，本书的写作宗旨是，探讨战争成败的人为因素。而且修昔底德希望通过这本书，让自己留名千古。
他很厉害，他真的成功做到了。
他怎么做到的？
维基百科上，History of the Peloponnesian War词条下有写：
The gods play no active role in Thucydides' work. This is very different from Herodotus, who frequently mentions the role of the gods, as well as a nearly ubiquitous divine presence in the centuries-earlier poems of Homer. Instead, Thucydides regards history as being caused by the choices and actions of human beings.
这段话翻译过来，就是说：修昔底德跟他的前辈希罗多德不同，也跟早期作者荷马不同，他们写历史像在写故事，经常讲到神力的作用，但修昔底德，认为神明不具有解释历史的效力。
他在那个时代，亮出了不同的写作姿态，不谈怪力乱神，与先贤作出明显的区隔，所以他成功了！他被后世尊称为「科学历史」之父，也被政治科学，视为现实主义派的创始人。
修昔底德认为，影响战争成败的关键，不是神谕，而是：
军事技术、地理形势、经济资源、心理素质等等因素的影响。
看看修昔底德深刻的分析：
他说，自由来自勇气。这个观点在他的记载中，重复出现。我们一再看到盟国为了害怕被奴役，起而打仗战斗。
我们总说和平是好的。但这里他说，战争也是必要的，如果有人企图奴役你、压迫你。
他说，所谓朋友，不是口头说说，是实际互惠。这在历史的描写中也可以看到，所谓结盟，就是要出人、出资、出军队的，这是结盟的真谛。口头说的，算不得什么。
他说，你随便附和人家，人家只会看轻你而已。这点我们在本书也可以重复看到。例如在卷1，当斯巴达人刁难雅典时，雅典领袖说，虽然今天斯巴达只是小小的为难我们，但我们也不能退让，否则就有更大的为难等在后头。雅典领袖呼吁，一定要有自己的立场，不要轻易复议他人。
更多关于修昔底德的看法：请搜 thucydides quotes
修昔底德认为，造成战争的原因，是人性的恐惧与自利：
有人眼红别人，有人担心被侵犯，这时候就算没有谁攻击谁，也可能杯弓蛇影，引起挑畔。
1.23 In my view the real reason, true but unacknowledged, which forced the war was the growth of Athenian power and Spartan fear of it: but the openly proclaimed grievances on either side causing the breach of the treaty and the outbreak of war were as follows.
1.88 In voting for war on the grounds of breach of the treaty the Spartans were not so much influenced by the arguments of their allies as by their fear of increasing Athenian power, when they could see much of Greece already subject to Athens.
1.118 The Spartans could see what was happening, but made only little attempt to prevent it and were inactive for most of the time. They had never been quick to go to war without immediate compulsion, and they were to some extent hampered by wars closer to home: but now the growth of Athenian power was unmistakable, and the Athenians were making inroads on Sparta’s allies. At this point, then, the Spartans could tolerate it no longer, and decided that they must go on the attack with all their energies and, if possible, destroy the power of Athens by undertaking this war.
这三段，简言之，就是在说。修昔底德分析，两方开打，主要是因为斯巴达人惧怕雅典人崛起，惧怕他们的势力，会侵犯到自己，最终让自己受制于雅典。
还记得修昔底德的这个分析吗？
修昔底德通过让自己的作品，与荷马和希罗多德等前辈的作品，作出区隔。他被后世人誉为，现代历史开山祖师。他的书也真的成为了大家心目中的经典。
而你，也顺着本文，不知不觉读完《伯罗奔尼撒战争史》卷一了。恭喜。
是不是大家也来订个小目标呢？ 比如说，先当个开山祖师再说？
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