底层的情感——奥古斯丁与古典精神的分野

A Grassroots Compassion:St.Augustine's Divergence from Classical Antiquity

学界长期对“西方古典主义”推崇备至,以其为思想与文化的巅峰,却忽视了另一重要的传统“犹太-基督教传统”。希腊-罗马文明与犹太-基督教文明分属不同的源流,价值取向各异,文体分殊,在西方文明史中此消彼长,相互渗透,共同推动了思想与文化的演进。本文选取一特殊的历史时刻——罗马城的陷落与古典传统的终结,以及一位卓越的人物圣奥古斯丁,他站在文明转型的十字路口上,为新确立的基督教辩护,针砭古典价值的虚妄。这是两个文明针锋相对之际,相左的文化立场、新与旧的价值对立、不同语言风格在这场论争中展现自身。回溯公元5世纪欧洲思想的分野,以期矫正厚此薄彼的弊端,反拨浪漫化古典的片面。

This paper situates St.Augustine within the ancient philosophical tradition of using words to order emotions.It reveals a man deeply indebted to the Roman past and yet distinctly Christian.Equipped with his classical learning,Augustine’s Christian philosophy reinvigorated those elements of the Roman wisdom that he believed were slipping into decadence.In particular,Augustine not only used classical rhetorical theory to express his theological vision,but also infused it with the Judeo-Christian tradition.With his contributions,the history witnessed a civilizational transformation in Late Antiquity.