审视与反思:琉善眼中的神灵

Review and Reflection:Gods in Lucian's Views

琉善是2世纪罗马帝国重要的修辞学家、讽刺文学家、诡辩家。关于他的宗教思想,学者们考察的角度不同,得出结论各异。要准确理解琉善的宗教思想,就必须从整体上把握其作品。通过系统总结琉善的作品,可以看到他运用讥讽的手法,以哲学理念为武器,抨击祭祀,批评预言,讽刺神灵,用严密的理性思维,攻击传统宗教中脆弱的环节。不过,琉善不是无神论者,他的批判并不是要与希腊罗马宗教决裂,或彻底否认信仰存在的必要性,而是要将传统宗教提升到一个新的神学高度,为罗马的宗教活动寻找更为坚实的理论基础。

Lucian was an important rhetorician,satirist and sophist of Roman Empire in the second century AD.Scholars looked back on his religious thought from various angles and reached different conclusions.The key to having a true grasp of Lucian＇s religious thought is to understand his works as an integral whole.It can be seen that Lucian adopted the technique of ridicule and used philosophical concepts as an arm to attack sacrifice,criticize prophesy,and satire gods.He applied rigorous rational thinking to fustigate every vulnerable spot in traditional religion.However,Lucian was not an atheist.His criticism was not a complete break with traditional Greco-Roman religion or a stark denial of the necessity of belief,but an endeavor to enhance traditional religion to a new theology level and explore a theoretical foundation for traditional religious activities.