the things aloft and the things under the ground?

到底有几分可信度呢
The Clouds was written in 423

《云》写于公元前423年
when Socrates was in his mid-forties and the Aristophanic Socrates

当时苏格拉底四十多岁阿里斯托芬笔下的苏格拉底
is essentially what we call a natural philosopher.

基本上是一个我门所谓的自然哲学家
Again, investigating the things aloft, under the ground.

探查那些在高于天低于地的东西
He is what we would call today a scientist, a natural scientist.

今天我们也许会称之为科学家自然科学家
But, this seems quite removed, doesn't it, from the Socrates

但是这似乎大相径庭不是吗
who is brought up on charges of corrupting the young and the impiety.

苏格拉底是被控以腐蚀青年和渎神罪的
In the Apology and here is where Socrates actually

在《申辩篇》中苏格拉底讲述了这个故事
tells the story, very important in the course of this speech;

这是演说中非常重要的一部分
he provides a kind of intellectual biography of an incident that

他所提的类似思想传记讲述一件久远于审判之前的事
occurred long before the trial and set him on a very different path.

这件事使其从此另辟一条截然不同的路