上句见：Day54
The Story of Philosophy的第55句：第1章Plato第1节The Context of Plato第1段第3句：

If you look at a map of Europe you will observe that Greece is a skeleton-like hand stretching its crooked fingers out into the Mediterranean Sea. South of it lies the great island of Crete, from which those grasping fingers captured, in the second millennium before Christ, the beginning of civilization and culture. To the east, across the Ægean sea, lies Asia Minor, quiet and apathetic now, but throbbing, in prePlatonic days, with industry, commerce and speculation. To the west, across the Ionian, Italy stands, like a leaning tower in the sea, and Sicily and Spain, each in those days with thriving Greek colonies; and at the end, the “Pillars of Hercules” (which we call Gibraltar), that sombre portal through which not many an ancient mariner dared to pass. And on the north those still untamed and half-barbaric regions, then named Thessaly and Epirus and Macedonia, from which or through which the vigorous bands had come which fathered the geniuses of Homeric and Periclean Greece.
浙江大学版本：越过爱琴海，东面便是小亚细亚，平静而麻木，然而在前柏拉图时代，这里曾是一个欣欣向荣的工商业中心。

解读

这句描述东面的小亚细亚，如今平静及缺乏活力，但在前柏拉图时代曾活力四射。我就很好奇在柏拉图时代如何？是不是已经步入衰退呢？ 前面的克里特岛也曾有过古文明。
1、"To the east, across the Ægean sea, lies Asia Minor, …”这是这句的主体部分。越过爱琴海，东面便是小亚细亚。
Ægean Sea：爱琴海
"Ægean" 这种写法通常与英语中对 "Aegean" 海的拼写有关，其中 "Æ" 是一个特殊的拉丁字母，有时用于表示 "a" 的长音，或在某些特定的名称和术语中。这种写法在古典拉丁文本的现代转录中较为常见，尤其是在涉及到古希腊语的专有名词时。
Asia Minor： 小亚细亚

2、”...quiet and apathetic now, …”指出小亚细亚的当前状态：平静且缺乏活力。
apathetic：not having or showing much emotion or interest冷漠；没活力
He seemed somewhat apathetic in the search, as though he expected no great results from it.他在搜索中似乎有些冷漠， 好像他不希望从中得到什么好结果。

3、"...but throbbing, in prePlatonic days, with industry, commerce and speculation.”用but来与前面半句的反差描写：曾经的小亚细亚是充满活力，是一个商业、工业及金融中心。 throbbing对应quiet and apathetic，一个悸动的时代，一个平静的时代。
throb： to beat with a strong, steady rhythm
Then the new slate roof of Aunt Pitty's house came in view with its red-brick walls, and Scarlett's heart throbbed.皮蒂姑妈家的新石板屋顶和红色砖墙，终于在前面出现了，这时思嘉的心也怦怦地跳起来。
pre-Platonic：“pre-Platonic days” 指的是古希腊哲学家柏拉图出生之前的时期，通常认为是公元前4世纪之前，这个时期是古希腊文明和其他地中海文明的早期阶段。
Speculation: activity in which someone buys and sells things (such as stocks or pieces of property) in the hope of making a large profit but with the risk of a large loss投机活动；金融活动
He lost everything in foolish land speculation.

在东面，只需越过爱琴海，是小亚细亚。虽然现在它安静且缺乏活力，但在柏拉图时代之前，这里曾因工业、商业和投机活动而充满活力。

克里特上的古文明，小亚细亚曾经活跃的经济活动，希腊文明等等一切都归于平静。曾经的不可一世，都消失在历史长河中，但还是依稀留下它的足迹。