精神自传

Spiritual Autobiography: A Keyword in Critical Theory

奥古斯丁的《忏悔录》中的精神内省在中世纪受到了压制。宗教改革赋予了个人独特的价值,使精神内省成为可能,从而推动了精神自传的发展。在17世纪英国特定的宗教、政治和社会的相互作用下,精神自传盛行一时。它们的存在形式不尽相同,但是结构大体相似。精神自传的教诲功能决定了它的结构,其中最具代表性的是约翰·班扬的精神自传《罪魁蒙恩记》。不同教派精神自传对内省的神圣经验和外部的自然经验强调各有不同,导致它们在结构和文字风格上各有特点。精神自传以上帝为中心,与以自我为中心的自传存在着差异。

The inner reflection upon God in Augustine’s Confession has long been repressed over the Medieval period.The Reformation endows the individual with unique value,which makes the inner reflection possible,and promotes the development of spiritual autobiography.The religious,political and social backgrounds in England in the 17 th century,especially over the Restoration,make spiritual autobiographies prevalent.They can be found in various forms,and share a similar structure.Their didactic functions have prescribed their structures with John Banyan’s Grace Abounding as the best example.Different kinds of spiritual autobiographies from different religious sections vary in their different emphases upon inner divine experience and natural experiences,which result in different structures and styles.Spiritual autobiography is different from autobiography in that while autobiographies set self as the center,spiritual autobiographies always try to erase self to reveal God’s grace.