上句见：Day222
The Story of Philosophy《哲学的故事》第1章Plato第3节III. The Preparation of Plato第5段第4句：

The difficulty in understanding Plato lies precisely in the intoxicating mixture of philosophy and poetry, of science and art; we cannot always tell in which character of the dialogue the author speaks, nor in which form; whether he is literal or speaks in metaphor, whether he jests or is in earnest. His love of jest and irony and myth leaves us at times baffled; almost we could say of him that he did not teach except in parables. "Shall I, as an older person, speak to you, as younger men, in apologue or myth?" asks his Protagoras.7 These dialogues, we are told, were written by Plato for the general reading public of his day: by their conversational method, their lively war of pros and cons, and their gradual development and frequent repetition of every important argument, they were explicitly adapted (obscure though they may seem to us now) to the understanding of the man who must taste philosophy as an occasional luxury, and who is compelled by the brevity of life to read as he who runs may read. Therefore we must be prepared to find in these dialogues much that is playful and metaphorical; much that is unintelligible except to scholars learned in the social and literary minutiae of Plato's time; much that today will seem irrelevant and fanciful, but might well have served as the very sauce and flavor by which a heavy dish of thought was made digestible for minds unused to philosophic fare.
7:Protagoras, 320
浙江大学译本： 据传，这些由柏拉图写就的对话面向的读者是当时普罗大众：它们的会话方式，它们对赞成和反对的生动论战，它们于每重要论点处的循序渐进和频繁重复等等，都经过了明显的调整，以适应那些偶尔接触哲学并将其视为奢侈品玩味的人，以及那些受制于生命苦短而不得不走马观花般阅读的人。

解析

这句话讲对话都是为非哲学专业人士而书写的。有了这个特定受众，对话在很多方面都进行过明显调整，以适应读者。
1、These dialogues, we are told, were written by Plato for the general reading public of his day:
受众：据悉，这些对话是柏拉图写给当时的普通读者写的。

2、by their conversational method, their lively war of pros and cons, and their gradual development and frequent repetition of every important argument,
细节：它们会话方式，正反观点间生动的交锋以及每个要点的渐进式推进以及频繁重复
pros and cons: the advantages and disadvantages of something 利弊；
There are many pros and cons of sharenting. 晒娃也好处也有坏处。《BBC地道英语》

3、they were explicitly adapted (obscure though they may seem to us now) to the understanding of the man
调整：虽然对我们来说还是费解的，但它们是为了让某类人理解还是经过明显调整。
explicitly: clearly, definitely明确地；显然地
It recalls things either explicitly or implicitly.它可以显式或内隐式地回忆事情。《简单心理学》
obscure: difficult to understand, likely to be understood by only a few people.费解的
All these stuffy old white guys with their treatises and obscure terminologies. 迂腐刻板的白人教授以及他们论文晦涩的术语。

4、who must taste philosophy as an occasional luxury, and who is compelled by the brevity of life to read as he who runs may read.
这类人的特点：能偶尔感受哲学并视之为奢侈的人以及苦于生命的短暂而走马观花般阅读的人。
taste: to experience (something) (短暂地）经历、感受，尝试
Anyone who has tasted this life wants it to carry on for as long as possible. 任何过过这种日子的人都希望它持续得越久越好。
brevity: the quality or fact of lasting only for a short period of time短暂；短促
For his part, Titian was employed to convey a central philosophical message about the brevity of life.作为Titian的部分，他被用来传达生命的短暂这一哲学的中心信息。《历史》

据悉，这些对话是柏拉图写给当时的普通读者写的。为了便于那些把哲学当作偶尔的奢侈来感受的人以及因生命短暂只能走马观花式阅读的人理解，柏拉图在会话方式、正反观点间生动的交锋以及对每个要点渐进式推进以及频繁重复都进行了明显地调整（但是调整后对现在的我们来说还是费解的）。