赫西俄德论劳作与正义

Work and Justice in Hesiod

有人认为赫西俄德的《劳作与时日》旨在赞美劳作,有人则认为诗歌中的劳作只是一种必要的恶。但二者皆不可取,因为劳作具有两面性。虽然赫西俄德的真正用意在于解释人为什么要劳作,人如何劳作,乃至人如何生活,但与此同时,他亦论及了“何种劳作”这一问题。为此,赫西俄德现身说法,通过引入正义来解释劳作的必要性与正当性,并在某种意义上树立了一个正义生活的榜样。虽然生存竞争下的繁苦劳动并不值得崇尚,但战争、纠纷以及与之相伴的劳乏更不宜推崇,只有恰当、主动的劳作才是正义的生活方式所必须、神意与人性所要求。这里的正义实质是一套理性、道德的生活原则,而恰当的劳作则是践行正义的根本之道。

Some people believe that Hesiod's Works and Days aims to praise work,while others think that work in this poem is just a necessary evil.In this paper,I argue that neither is desirable,because work is duplicitous.Although Hesiod's real intention is to explain why men are subject to work and how they work,and even how they live,he also examines the question of“what kind of work”.For this reason,Hesiod explains the necessity and justness of work by introducing the concept of,and,in a sense,sets an example of a just life.Although heavy labor,which is the result of vicious competition,is not worthy of admiration,bad works like war,strife,and the accompanying fatigue are even less admirable.Only genuine and positive work are necessary for a righteous way of life,ordained by God and required by humanity.Justice here is essentially a set of rational and moral principles,and genuine work is the fundamental way to practice it.