Classical Mythology in Mediaeval Art(26)
Classical Mythology in Mediaeval Art Erwin Panofsky and Fritz Saxl(1933) 译杨瞻。
【】为译者讨论。
美的出现要么作为最高精神美德的象征[a symbol of supreme spiritual virtues],要么作为恶魔诱惑的手段[a means of diabolical temptation]。因此,亚当[Adam]、基督[Christ]和圣母玛利亚[Virgin Mary]必须美丽,因为她们的美丽被认为是特别的创造行为注入人体的永恒光明的反映[their beauty was held to be a reflection of the eternal brightness infused into the human body by the very act of creation],古典雕像的美意味着中世纪的思想[magica quaedam persuasio],为了腐蚀信徒忠实的灵魂[in order to corrupt the souls of the Faithful]。
残酷[Cruelty]被认为是异教的刽子手[pagan executioners]或者恶灵巨人[wicked giants]这样一类人的内在特质[a kind of professional quality]。感官的爱[sensual love]被宗教戒律[commandments of religion]所诅咒[anathematized]。中世纪史诗中,感官的爱[sensual love]通常与效忠封建领主的忠诚[a conflict with feudal loyalty]发生冲突。感官的爱或者被认为要受到警告[warning example],或者被升华为一种准形而上学的体验[a quasi-metaphysical experience],这种体验由深刻的哲学理论所证明[justified by a profound philosophical theory],并由复杂的礼仪规范[ruled by a complicated ceremonial code]所支配。美只是一种功能性的平衡[beauty was a mere func-tional equilibrium](就像在完美动物的组织中所发现的那样[as is found in the organization of a perfect animal]),疼痛只是对身体受到伤害的一种功能性反应[pain was a mere functional reaction against physical injury],爱仅仅只是由于身体上未满足的欲望而引起的功能性的痛苦[love was either a mere functional suffering from unappeased physical appetites]。如此一来,根据这些说法,中世纪艺术[mediaeval art]既没有能力也不倾向于以古典艺术的方式[in the manner of classical art]来形象化我们刚才提到的一个人的品质和情感[visualize the physical qualities and emotions]。
通过令人敬佩的艺术准则[admirable artistic formulae],这些品质和激情[qualities and passions]得以用古典风格表达,这是由于今天一个人的思想与中世纪的人们截然不同。今天的人认为人是身体和灵魂的整体[man as an integral unity of body and soul]时,中世纪的人们认为他自身仅仅是一个“土块”[clod of earth"],不具备自己的力量[not endowed with forces],而是被赋予力量[forcibly],并且,他自身奇迹般的与不朽的神灵结合[united with an immortal soul]。(如一位伟大的中世纪哲学家所言:“plenum fuit miraculo, quod tam diversa et tam divisa ab invicem ad invicem potue-runt coniungi”)
中世纪只是将纯粹的自然功能[mere natural functions]发展成了准道德上的症状[quasi-moralistic symptoms](或者准图像学上的属性)[or quasi-iconographical attributes]。古典艺术的准则显然与这种思潮格格不入。在基督教中世纪艺术[Christian mediaeval art]中,无论哪种古典的类型或态度存在,或者是刚刚被同化[freshly assimilated],比如在兰斯[Reims]或比萨[Pisa],它们似乎都发生了这样一种转变,观众对这种自然的品质和动作[ natural qualities and movements]并没有留下太大的印象。
他没有把自己的感觉与所代表的众生的功能体验[identifying his own sensations with the functional experiences](如有机平衡[organic equilibrium]、快乐[pleasure]或痛苦[pain])联系起来,他认为人物的表达主要是精神原则的象征[indications of spiritual principles],善或恶,圣洁或地狱。
从古代继承下来的形式激情[The formal motives inherited from antiquity]是为了体现非古典的意义,而缺乏了它们在功能上的直接性[ The formal motives inherited from antiquity were deprived of their functional immediacy in order that they might embody non-classical meanings]。
为了达到这个目的,他们被削弱和“精神化”[spiritualized](无论是无生命性的夸张[inorganic exaggeration]或无生命性的膨胀[inorganic torpescence]),他们变得与当前的宗教和道德观念相契合[they became congenial to the current religious and moral ideas]。