光的降临与灵魂的上升——神秘主义对西方中世纪文艺美学的影响

Illumination,Ascension and Union:The Inflfluence of Mysticism on Medieval Literature and Arts

中世纪主要的神秘主义思想是"基督教神秘主义",其主题是基督教的信仰,而其哲学方法则主要是新柏拉图主义的。^(①)"在中世纪基督教统治的约莫一千年之中,美学思想流派中占统治地位的就是新柏拉图主义。^(②)"这一新传统对古典文艺美学的颠覆在于从"模仿自然"向"模仿神圣"的转变,即文艺来自比自然世界更高的理念世界并且是其映像。^(③)文艺作品的地位因而在理论上得到提升,它自身即有揭示神圣的价值。

The most important philosophical influence on medieval aesthetic schools was Neoplatonism,whose most prominent theoretical feature was Christian mysticism.This tradition transformed the classical literary aesthetic view of arts as“imitations of nature”by suggesting that they had an aesthetic value as“imitations of the divine”and elevated the cultural status of arts.The aesthetics of mysticism is based on its metaphysical scheme that sees beauty as deriving from and pointing towards the archetype of beauty in the world of the intellect.Beauty is also known as the Good,and Christian theologians identify it with the Triune God.In the Christian tradition of mysticism,God is ineffable.Arts and literature related to the Divine mainly use three images or metaphors to unveil the teaching of mysticical theology:illumination,ascension,and union.These correspond respectively to God’s creation(light descending from above),the human soul on its way to know God from this world below,and the ultimate end of mystical theology.The Medieval Gothic churches offer a comprehensive expression of the aesthetics of mysticism.In their overall tone,mystical artworks exhort one to restrain earthly physical desires,and lead one to spiritual transcendence.This article reveals how the mystical tradition constituted an important dimension of medieval culture,and discusses the aesthetic spirit it produced,before offering a close reading of specific works and their modern aesthetic value.