月球书写与弥尔顿的《失乐园》——17世纪英国宇宙旅行文学中的“多重世界”

Moon Writings and Milton’s Paradise Lost:“Other Worlds”in 17th-Century England’s Cosmic Voyage Literature

随着《天体运行论》在1543年出版,“新天文学”领域成就斐然,一系列不同于“亚里士多德-托勒密地心模式”的有形宇宙假设相继出现,后续各种天文观测技术与实践更是突飞猛进。此背景下,可追溯至古希腊的“宇宙旅行文学”重新流行,想象式描述着星球之间的互动、各星球上的生物状态等。“多重世界”是其书写的对象也是存在前提。因17世纪英国正好处于新、旧天文学交替时期,此时的“多重世界”呈现出两个特点。首先,违背宗教教义的它曾一度举步维艰,最终不得不妥协为基督教化后的世界;其次,伽利略等的发现主要聚焦月球,故“多重世界”的故事常常发生在那里,直至牛顿1687年出版《自然哲学的数学原理》,这种空间束缚才逐渐解除。《失乐园》在17世纪英国宇宙旅行文学中非常特殊,弥尔顿笔下的“多重世界”因“中和”特征不同于当时诸多月球书写:态度方面,它中和了开普勒的“激进”和伽利略的“保守”;内容方面,它中和了新、旧有形宇宙假设;范围方面,它中和了月球书写与其他星球书写。因其特殊性,燕卜荪又将它称作“弥尔顿类型”的“宇宙旅行文学”。

With the publication of De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium in 1543, “new astronomy” achieved remarkable achievements, and a series of tangible universe hypotheses different from the “Aristotelian-Ptolemaic geocentric model” appeare one after another. Meanwhile, various subsequent astronomical observation techniques and practices made rapid progress. In this context, the “Cosmic Voyage Literature” dating back to the ancient Greek became popular again, depicting the interactional process among stars, creatures on them and so on. “Other Worlds” is the object of this writing and the premise of its existence. Because 17th-century England coincides with the conflicting of new and old astronomy, the concept of “Other Worlds” is very special. Firstly, it finally had to compromise to be a Christian world. Secondly, the moon was multi-focused by Galileo and others, so the “Other Worlds” writing often occured there until Newton published “the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” in 1687. The “Other Worlds” in Milton' s Paradise Lost seemed different from other lunar writings at that time because of its “neutral” characteristics: in attitude, it neutralized Keple's “radicalism” and Galileo's “conservatism”;in content, it neutralizes the new and old physical universe hypotheses;in scope, it neutralizes moon writing and other planetary writing. Thus Empson names this epic as “Miltonian type” of Cosmic Voyage Literature.