旅行的藝術(shù):Ⅵ 壯闊-7

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上帝和壯闊景致的聯(lián)系在圣經(jīng)中的一章里寫得最具體，其情境相當(dāng)特別。一個(gè)正直但卻沮喪萬分的人質(zhì)問，為什么他的生活中有那么多磨難。上帝的回答是，他應(yīng)當(dāng)去想想天地間的山川河流等自然景觀。在這里，壯闊的景觀承擔(dān)了如此迫切且沉重的問題，這的確是罕見的。

The link between God and sublime landscapes is made most explicit in one book of the Bible. The circumstances are peculiar. God is asked by a righteous but desperate man to explain why his life has grown full of suffering. And God answers him by bidding him to contemplate the deserts and the mountains, rivers and icecaps, oceans and skies. Seldom have sublime places been asked to bear the burden of such a weighty, urgent question.

伯克把《約伯記》描繪為《舊約》中氣象最壯闊的篇章。該篇章的開頭說到有一個(gè)名為約伯的富人，他非常虔誠，住在烏斯這塊土地上。他有7個(gè)兒子、3個(gè)女兒、7000只羊、3000只駱駝、500對(duì)牛和500頭驢子。他本來事事順心，德行也得到了回報(bào)。然而，有一天，災(zāi)難降臨了。示巴人偷走了約伯的牛和驢子，他的羊被閃電擊斃，而駱駝也被迦勒底人掠奪了。沙漠吹起了一陣颶風(fēng)，將他長子的寓所給吹毀、同時(shí)奪走了大兒子和他弟妹們的生命。接著，約伯從腳掌到頭頂全都長出了毒瘡，他呆坐在被毀房子的灰燼中，用陶器碎片刮著自己的身體，并痛哭一場(chǎng)。

At the beginning of the Book of Job, described by Edmund Burke as the most sublime book of the Old Testament, we hear that Job was a wealthy, devout man from the land of Uz. He had seven sons, three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys. His wishes were obeyed and his virtue rewarded. Then one day disaster struck. The Sabaeans stole Job's oxen and asses, lightning killed his sheep and the Chaldeans raided his camels. A hurricane blew in from the desert and wrecked the house of his eldest son, killing him and his siblings. Painful sores developed from the soles of Job's feet to the top of his head and, as he sat in the ashes of his house, he scratched them with a piece of broken pottery and wept.

為什么約伯會(huì)遭受到磨難？他的朋友提供了答案：他一定是做了什么罪大惡極的事。書亞人比勒達(dá)告訴約伯，如果他和孩子沒做過壞事，上帝是不會(huì)殺死他的孩子的。比勒達(dá)說：“上帝不會(huì)遺棄正直的人。”拿瑪人瑣法則認(rèn)為，上帝對(duì)約伯已經(jīng)夠好了，他說：“你必須知道，上帝給予你的懲罰，少于你的罪行所應(yīng)得的果報(bào)。”

Why had Job been so afflicted? Job's friends had the answer. He had sinned. Bildad the Shuhite told Job that his children could not have been killed by God unless they and Job had done wrong. 'God will not reject a righteous man,' said Bildad. Zophar the Naamathite ventured that God must have been generous in his treatment of Job: 'Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.'

但約伯卻不能接受這些解釋。他稱之為“灰燼的箴言”和“淤泥的堡壘”。他從不是個(gè)壞人，為什么會(huì)遭遇不幸？

But Job could not accept these words. He called them 'proverbs of ashes' and 'defences of clay'. He had not been a bad man-why therefore had bad things occurred to him?

在整部《舊約》中，這是上帝面臨的最尖銳的一個(gè)問題。沙漠刮起了一陣旋風(fēng)，而憤怒的上帝從中給予了約伯這樣的回答：

It is one of the most acute questions asked of God in all the books of the Old Testament. And from a whirlwind in the desert, a furious God answered Job as follows:

誰用無知的言語使我的旨意暗昧不明？

你要如勇士束腰；

我問你，你可以指示我。

我立大地根基的時(shí)候，你在哪里呢？

你若有聰明，只管說吧！

你若曉得就說，是誰定地的尺度？

是誰把準(zhǔn)繩拉在其上？

光亮從何路分開？

東風(fēng)從何路分散遍地？

誰為雨水分道？

誰為雷電開路？

冰出于誰的胎？

天上的霜是誰生的呢？

你知道天的定例嗎？

能使地歸在天的權(quán)下嗎？

你能向云彩揚(yáng)起聲來，

使傾盆的雨遮蓋你嗎？

鷹雀飛翔，展開翅膀一直向南，

豈是藉你的智慧嗎？

你有神那樣的膀臂嗎？

你能像他發(fā)雷聲嗎？

你能用魚鉤釣上鱷魚嗎？

Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?

Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou has understanding.

Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? …

By what way is the light parted, which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?

Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; …

Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? …

Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? …

Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him? …

Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south? …

Canst thou draw out leviathan with a hook?

當(dāng)上帝被問及為什么約伯沒做壞事卻遭受禍害時(shí)，他把約伯的注意力引向偉大的自然現(xiàn)象。不要因?yàn)槭屡c愿違而感到驚訝，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)宇宙比你大得多。當(dāng)無法理解為什么會(huì)發(fā)生事與愿違的情況時(shí)不要驚訝，因?yàn)槟愀静荒軓氐桌斫庥钪娴倪壿嫛Ｕ驹谌荷街?，你就知道自己有多么渺小。接受比自己偉大的事物，也接受自己不了解的道理。這個(gè)世界對(duì)約伯而言可能缺乏邏輯性，但是這不表示世界本身缺乏邏輯。我們不能用自己的人生去衡量一切，而應(yīng)該通過壯闊的景致提醒我們?nèi)祟惖拿煨『痛嗳酢?/p>

Asked to explain to Job why he has been made to suffer though he has been good, God draws Job's attention to the mighty phenomena of nature. Do not be surprised that things have not gone your way: the universe is greater than you. Do not be surprised that you do not understand why they have not gone your way: for you cannot fathom the logic of the universe. See how small you are next to the mountains. Accept what is bigger than you and you do not understand. The world may appear illogical to Job, but it does not follow that it is illogical per se. Our lives are not the measure of all things: consider sublime places for a reminder of human insignificance and frailty.

這里當(dāng)然有非常清楚的宗教訊息。上帝向約伯保證，即使他不是所有事件的焦點(diǎn)人物，甚至命運(yùn)多舛，上帝還是會(huì)把他放在心上。當(dāng)神圣的智慧遠(yuǎn)離人們的理解力時(shí)，正直的人因?yàn)榭吹綁验煹淖匀痪跋蠖w會(huì)到自己的有限性，也就必須繼續(xù)相信上帝為宇宙作出的安排。

There is a strictly religious message here. God assures Job that he has a place in his heart, even if all events do not centre around him and may at times appear to run contrary to his interest. When divine wisdom eludes human understanding, the righteous, made aware of their limitations by the spectacle of sublime nature, must continue to trust in God's plans for the universe.