视觉、想象、灵视:《失乐园》中的“所见之真”

Physical Vision,Imagination and Spiritual Vision:“The Envisioned Truth”in Paradise Lost

《失乐园》中,弥尔顿以“看”书写真理求索。诗中的“看”可以分为视觉、想象与灵视三种类型。结合柏拉图真理观,探析诗中三种“看”的认知机制与结果,可以发现:视觉虽易遭受恶的影响,其认知仍是回忆获取真理的重要起点;限于表象的想象只能获得意见,神启想象却能沟通感性与神性知识,通达不可感世界的本质;灵视则是最理想的认知方式,且上帝的灵视规定至善作为终极真理。对“看”的分析表明诗中的观看认知方式与真理标准都是柏拉图式的,进而揭示弥尔顿认识论思想的古典主义维度。

In Paradise Lost,Milton uses the action of seeing to represent the quest of truth.“Seeing”in the epic can be divided into three types,physical vision,imagination and spiritual vision.This article,in light of platonic theory of truth,analyses the cognitive mechanisms and results of each kind of“seeing.”The analysis reveals that physical vision,though vulnerable to the influence of evil,is a principal beginning of the recollection of truth.The imagination of appearances only produces opinion while inspirational imagination serves as a mediator between sensual and divine knowledge.Spiritual vision is the most ideal means of cognition and the spiritual vision of God sets the Good as the ultimate truth.Such analysis demonstrates that the means of cognition and the standard of envisioned truth in the epic are platonic,further revealing the classic dimension of Miltonic epistemological ideas.