论塞缪尔·约翰逊的整体观

On Samuel Johnson's generality

塞缪尔·约翰逊深受基督教关于人类生存有限性的影响,认为人的存在某种意义上乃是一种悖论,在追求无限性的过程中往往过于偏执,以偏概全。这一由于人类生存的有限性所滋生的狂妄与傲慢、偏狭与非理性也成为18世纪英国文学讽刺的潮流。因此约翰逊认为,诗人应把握整体,将描写事物的普遍性放在首位,只有这样才能引导人类正确认识自身在宇宙中的位置,克服"一叶障目,不见泰山"的片面性和局限性,使人类从狭小的自我封闭空间中解放出来,从而实现人类的自我完善和自我救赎。

Johnson's idea of generality first of all is based on Christian's belief in the very essence of human limitation. It holds that the existence of human beings is to some extent paradoxical,because in pursuit of the limitless human beings tend to concentrate all their attention upon onething at the expense of all others. In consequence,this will make them lose rationality and end in madness,which are very frequently the butt of 18 thcentury English literary satire. So the main function of poetry,according to Johnson,is to present us with the general state of man. By presenting this,it frees us from our limitation and widens our horizon in a way which should enable us to place each particular detail in the context of a whole so as to achieve human being's self-perfection and self-salvation.