普遍规律与自我意志——论托尔斯泰创作中的两大命题

Universal Law and Individual Will—On Two Major Propositions in Tolstoy’s Works

列夫·托尔斯泰毕生都在努力调和生活的要求与艺术的要求、理论信念与本能判断之间的冲突。一方面,他苦苦求索无懈可击的终极真理,试图构建人间天国;另一方面,他又憧憬个体自由,推崇富有张力的个体生命和顺应本能的自然生活。本文在梳理西方学者对该问题探讨的基础上,从作家生命历程与文学图景两个方面入手,解读托尔斯泰对普遍规律与自我意志的理解。对两个对立命题的苦恼贯穿托尔斯泰创作的始终,在《卢塞恩》《哥萨克》《战争与和平》《安娜·卡列尼娜》等作品中表现得尤为突出。本文认为,作家并非在两个矛盾命题之间作出了舍此取彼的最终选择,托尔斯泰试图对等地理解二者的关系,认为只有当普遍规律对个体也有意义时才会体现其本质的价值。即使是在选择道德说教的创作后期,作者也在《谢尔盖神父》《哈吉穆拉特》等作品中表现了对个体意志的尊重。

Leo Tolstoy spent his life reconciling the demands of life and the demands of art,the contradiction between theoretical belief and instinctive judgment.On one hand,Tolstoy was fascinated throughout his lifetime with the problem of searching for the ultimate truth of life and building a kingdom of God on earth;on the other hand,he also respected the will of the individual,the true life in harmony with human nature.On the basis of summing up the discussions of this problem by western scholars,this paper interprets Tolstoy’s understanding of universal law and individual will from the aspects of his life experience and literary creation.The conflict between these two opposing propositions was reflected in the works of Tolstoy,such as Lucerne,The Cossacks,War and Peace and Anna Karenina.Rather than making a final choice between the two contradictory propositions,Tolstoy perceived universal law and individual will as two equivalent values,and was determined that universal law is only justified if and when it makes sense to the individual.Even in the later period of preaching the ethical teachings of Jesus,the author,too,showed respect for the will of the individual in his works,such as Father Sergei and Hadji Murat.