命運與神話

1. 命運與神話

2. 命 —— 使也，從口從令。《說文解字》 • 注曰︰「令者，發號也。……命者，天之令也。……萬物咸命於天。」《說文解字注箋》 • 《康熙字典通解》︰ • 命 —— 命令。《說文》︰「使也。」 • 《書經‧堯典》︰「乃命羲和。」 • 天命、命運。《詩經‧周頌》︰「維天之命，於穆不已。」 • 《箋》︰「命，猶道也。」

3. 《漢語大字典》 • 天命、命運 —— 《易經‧乾》︰「乾道變化，各正性命。」 • 孔穎達︰「命者，人所稟受若貴賤夭壽之屬是也。」 • 朱熹本義︰「物所受為性，天所賦為命。」 • 「天命注定」—— 巴金《家》(《家、春、秋》)︰「『命啊，一切都是命裡注定的。』她拿這樣的話安慰自己，甚至在想到吃打罵的時候。」 • 「天命」—— 天命運數。 • 漢‧班固《白虎通‧災變》︰「堯遭洪水，湯遭大旱，命運時然。」 • 茅盾《一個女性》︰「她也深信自己過去的種種似乎都和張彥英直接間接有關，這便是所謂命運罷！」—— 比喻發展變化的趨向。例如︰中國人民已經能掌握自己的命運。

4. 《中文大辭典》 • 命運 —— 謂人之禍福窮達得失，非人力所能為者。 • 《辭淵》 • 命運 —— 人的氣數 • 《辭源》 • 命 —— 命運，天命。 • 《易‧乾》︰「乾道變化，各正性命。」 • 《注》︰「命者，人所稟受，若貴賤夭壽之屬是也。」

5. 《辭海》 • 命 —— 道也。《易經‧無妄》︰「大亨以正，天之命也。」按古人每謂人道本乎天道，人之禍福窮通夭壽，皆天所支配，故有生命、性命、命運等說，皆此義所遞衍者也。 • 「命運」 —— 一位詩人曾這樣談命運：「命運也許是我們自身不可克服的缺陷，也許是我們前輩種下的『因』所結的『果』，也許是突如其來的偶然變故，也許是我們無法超越的障礙，也許是……。總之，一切我們所不能預料、不能控制的因素，一切在我們努力下仍不能擺脫的力量，都可謂『命運』。」

6. 陸谷孫編《英漢大詞典》，北京︰三聯，1992。陸谷孫編《英漢大詞典》，北京︰三聯，1992。 • Fate = • 命運 • 天命、天數 • 命中注定的事，命運的安排 • ……………… • Moira = • 希臘命運女神 • 命運

7. 一般認為希臘神話充滿著宿命觀念︰「命運」(Fate) 主宰天地萬物，支配著一切，包括人 (英雄) 、神 (甚至眾神之神 —— 宙斯 [Zeus]) 。所有一切，都不能逃避命運。

8. 命運三女神 (三姊妹)︰ • Atrops 負責剪斷生命線， • Lachesis負責搓揉生命線 (強弱)， • Clotho負責編織生命線。 • Atropos又解作「不可改變的」 “unchangeable”。

9. Oedipus the King • King Laius & Queen Jocasta of Thebes 生下Oedipus • 預言 Oedipus 會殺父娶母 • 果然，命運無可抗拒？！悲劇收場 • Zeus & Semele • Zeus亦無可奈何？！

10. Oceanids: “Who then is the steersman of Necessity?” • Prometheus: “The three-shaped Moirae (plural of Moira; i.e., Clotho, Lachesis and Atropus) and mindful Erinyes (Furies).” • Oceanids: “Can it be that Zeus has less power than they do?” • Prometheus: “Yes, in that even he cannot escape what is foretold.” • [Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound]

11. Achilles’ fate • The Moirae prophesied that Goddess Thetis’ son would be greater and more famous than his father. Zeus, remembered what he had done to his own father Cronos, and fearing that he would be robbed of his power; gave up his desire to marry Thetis (whom he loved very much), who later married a mortal human being, and they gave birth to Achilles. (Achilles, of course, was greater & more famous than his father, husband of Goddess Thetis.)

12. Achilles’ heel • Pandora: • Zeus ordered Hephaestus to make a mixture of earth and water and from it to create a woman as beautiful as a Goddess. When she was ready, Athena adorned her and taught her how to weave, while Aphrodite endowed her with grace and passion, …… Hermes, on the other hand, put malicious and lying words into her heart. Zeus called her Pandora, because she had received gifts (dora) from gods, and sent her off to Epimetheus.

13. Bewitched by her beauty, Epimetheus fell in love with her and took her out for mankind to see. Pandora’s “fate” was to be the cause of all human misfortune, because she opened the lid of jar from which evils of all kinds immediately spilled out to fill the world. Only hope was left in the jar, because Pandora closed the lid again at the last moment.

14. 其他「命運神話」包括︰ • 勇敢面對命運挑戰的 • Sisyphus, • Prometheus, • Heracles, • Tantulus, • Homer, Iliad, Odyssey • 及 Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus the King比比皆是

15. 中國神話對「命」的看法，與希臘的並不完全相同。中國神話雖有天帝的意旨、差遣，但更強調「天命」 —— 天「道」、「天、人」的宇宙秩序，「天人合人」的和諧等；甚至指萬事萬物以道德、倫理相應運作、演變；即是有因果關係；種善因可得善果。亦有是非、對錯、及其後，更加上儒家思想等。

16. 《山海經》︰ • 「夸父追日」的神話 —— 挑戰命運，「道渴而死」 • 《山海經》︰ • 炎帝的女兒 —— 女娃，矢志征服大海，不果而亢遇溺而死，化為一隻鳥兒，名精衛，每日「銜西山之木石，沉煙於東海」……希望憑後天的努力和奮鬥，最終能成功？！ • 鯀、夏禹父子治水與大自然災害搏鬥

17. 總結︰ • 從神話故事，我們看到原始人類如何面對命運︰ • Sisyphus、夸父的樂觀、積極？ • Prometheus、女媧的據理力爭？ • Hercacles、鯀、禹的抗爭到底？ • 抑或，逃避？ • 又或、坐以待斃式的消極？

18. 我們今天的態度 • 是珍惜？ • 是放縱？ • 是怨天？ • 抑或是……？

19. 總而言之，希臘與中國「命運神話」的比較︰ • 一些神話學家認為希臘的較重「情」，中國的較重「義」；可能是民族性(希臘是愛「美」的民族)；又可能與中國的「儒家思想」有關？！

20. 「孔子的天命觀」 • 天、天帝、天命 (Mandate of Heaven)是人間、宇宙的主宰︰無論國家興亡、個人榮辱，都取決於天命。 • 「生死有命，富貴在天」《論語‧顏淵》 • 孔子又說過︰「未知生，焉知死？」《論語‧先進》，被命所決定的個人生死都不可知，那麼，命運又怎樣能知道？ • 但，孔子亦曾說過︰「五十而知天命」《論語‧為政》、「不知命，無以為君子」《論語‧為政》，那麼，天命、命似乎是既「可知」又「不可知」(矛盾？)。

21. 其實，「天命不可知」是指被上天所決定的具體命運而言，如國之興亡、人之壽夭，都是冥冥中有主宰，而不為人所知。但天命又「可知」 就天命觀念本身的特徵而言，例如天帝是決定世間一切的最高主宰，天命不可抗拒等等。 • 孔子認為︰認識和把握命運的途徑，不是通過拜祭鬼神，而是靠實踐仁義道德，因而才能做到「不惑」，進而認識和理解天命。

22. 子曰︰「吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十從心所慾，不逾矩」《論語‧為政》這段話是孔子講述自己學習經歷和道德修養的過程。孔子所說的學是學習如何做人，如何處理人際關係，屬於道德範圍。「五十而知天命」，就是經過五十年的「道德修養」而知天命。子曰︰「吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十從心所慾，不逾矩」《論語‧為政》這段話是孔子講述自己學習經歷和道德修養的過程。孔子所說的學是學習如何做人，如何處理人際關係，屬於道德範圍。「五十而知天命」，就是經過五十年的「道德修養」而知天命。

23. (此部份︰何志華教授提供) • 命運︰ • 命指天命︰ • 《說文》︰「命，使也。」 • 《詩‧周頌，維天之命》︰「維天之命，於穆不已。」孔穎達疏︰「言天道轉運，無極止時也。」 • 《論語‧堯曰》︰「不知命，無以為君子。」何晏注引孔安國曰︰「命，謂窮達之分也。」

24. 運指五行之運轉︰ • 《說文》︰「運，迻徙也。」 • 《古今韻會舉要》︰「運，五運，五行氣化流轉之名。」 • 命運︰ • 漢朝班固《白虎通‧災變》︰「堯遭洪水，湯遭十旱，命運使然。」

25. 古希臘與中國神話的「命運」之解讀 • (張學明編) • 古希臘與中國神話中有關「命運」的故事很多，例如赫拉克力斯(Heracles) 及后羿的故事都可作比較。 • 二者都具有神的屬性， • 都是神射手， • 都完成了很多斬妖除魔的功績，被人視為大英雄， • 都在婚姻方面有挫折。 • 兩者的一生都有很濃厚的宿命色彩，很多情節都像冥冥中有主宰、命中註定似的。

26. 命運的陰差陽錯： • Heracles 一生中有至少四個有關命運的神示： • (Hera令到) Heracles發狂殺子後，太陽神Apollo 的女祭司告訴他，神意要他住在Tiryns，為Eurystheus 做十(十二)件苦差事，之後「便可以住到不朽的諸神中去」！ • Heracles 期間遇到女神Areta, 她告訴Heracles : 當他完成十二件苦差事後，「便將同在不死的天神們之中」。

27. Heracles 又發狂誤殺Eurytus 後，神示：「Heracles 欲治愈其病，便需要被賣為奴三年，以償還殺死Eurytus之罪」。 • 先知一早便說預言：Heracles 不會死於任何生存者之手，而是被一名死者之手所殺。結果，Heracles 死的故事是：在渡河時，半馬人調戲他的妻子，Heracles 怒而用毒箭射殺之；半馬人卻用其毒血給Heracles 的妻子，騙她將來用那些毒血藏於自製新衣，給Heracles 穿，便可使Heracles 不會移情別戀；終於Heracles 便是穿了那有毒的新衣而死(死於「死人」之爭)。

28. Heracles 一生都充滿傳奇，並圍繞和應驗著預言；宿命色彩十分濃厚，其注定發生(destined or pre-destined) 及/或已經命定(fate)的性質是人或神所知的。他們通過神奇的預言或特殊的預兆(omens)透露給人或神知，但無論如何，命運卻不能改變，那些預言都一一實現(儘管人、英雄、或甚至神如何努力試圖逃避或反抗)。每個人或神都各自有自已的命運，我們可以體會到命運的非理性。不過，期間很多情節往往都有其邏輯因果，例如Heracles 的十二件苦差事贏得很多人民的稱頌讚賞，而他殺半馬人則埋下後來被毒殺的伏筆。

29. 后羿 • 后羿最初是天神下降凡間，「帝俊賜羿彤弓素矰，以扶下國，……恤下地之百艱」(《山海經‧海內經》) • 「帝降夷羿，革孽夏民」(《楚辭‧天問》) • 后羿於民間斬妖除魔： • 「堯乃使羿誅鑿齒於疇華之野，殺九嬰於淮水之上，繳大風於青邱之澤，上射十日而下殺窫窳，斷修蛇於洞庭，擒封豨於桑林」(《淮南子‧本經訓》)

30. 后羿英雄自恃，但卻遭報應：「羿仰射十日，中其九日，日中九烏皆死，墮其羽翼」(《楚辭‧天問》)后羿英雄自恃，但卻遭報應：「羿仰射十日，中其九日，日中九烏皆死，墮其羽翼」(《楚辭‧天問》) • 其實，帝俊賜后羿的是「矰」，即是一種附著繩的箭，有一定射程距離的，也表示帝俊並不想后羿射死其兒子(化身為太陽的金烏)，可是，后羿還是一舉射下九個太陽。後來，「昔日夏之方衰也，后羿自鉏遷於窮石，因夏民以代夏政，恃其射也，不修民事，而淫於原獸」(《左傳‧襄公四年》) • 「羿淫遊於佚田兮，又好射乎封豕」(《楚辭‧離騷》)

31. 無論如何，后羿最終(亦如Heracles)，因為民除害(斬妖除魔)仍然升天為神。「羿除天下之害，而死為宗布。」(《淮南子‧汜論篇》)無論如何，后羿最終(亦如Heracles)，因為民除害(斬妖除魔)仍然升天為神。「羿除天下之害，而死為宗布。」(《淮南子‧汜論篇》) • 死亡的宿命，往往逃避也逃避不了，但精神卻可永生，例如神將Heracles升格為神，使人類永遠懷念，敬仰這些為民除害的英雄。最後，Heracles由Zeus的雷聲陪伴上天；而后羿亦能夠在昆崙之墟居住。「海內崑崙之墟，帝之下都，非仁羿莫能上崗之巖」(《山海經‧海內西經》)；據說，后羿被奉為宗布神，用以鎮邪除害。

32. 兩位英雄的愛情與婚姻： • 愛情往往是不可理喻，不可解釋，更可以說：往往好像是「上天註定」似的。后羿的兩段戀愛婚姻： • 后羿與嫦娥夫妻間的背叛。嫦娥下凡與后羿一起吃人間之苦，最後偷不死藥而奔月，后羿顯然亦有很多不滿、怨憤；但面對天命，又無可奈可； • 后羿與宓妃(洛水神仙)的一段情，是虛幻如泡影的浪漫愛情神話，「羿又夢如洛水女神交接也」(《楚辭‧天問》)，這是半人半神與神仙的結合，但是沒有結果。

33. Heracles 除了與Thespius 的五十個女兒同床外，還有以下幾段與女子戀愛、婚姻的神話： • 娶了Megara，本來相親相愛，但因(Hera的佈局)發狂殺子，悲劇收場； • Heracles 射箭比賽贏得Iole，但卻遭Iole之父親反悔，直指怕Heracles 舊病復發，再殺子女而拒婚。

34. Heracles 與Deianira 的婚姻本來頗幸福，但又因Heracles 誤殺而需要逃亡，最後因與Iole 重逢而令Deianira 嫉妒、懷疑，Deianira 想令Heracles 不致移情別戀，誤信半馬人的遺言，把其「毒血」製衣給Heracles 穿。 • Heracles 的戀愛婚姻都是不斷追尋、不斷得而復失，幾經艱苦補償，失而復得後，卻又接著另一個循環而又得而復失，充滿「造物弄人」之感；總是擺脫不了命運的作弄。

35. 不過，命運挫折人的情況，亦有兩種不同的反應：積極和消極。Heracles 最初受命於Eurytheus 時是很不高興的；他發覺其他人都安逸享樂，只有他整日做苦工，頗不以為然，直到遇見兩位女神才明白，沒有苦工便沒有結果，沒有辛苦便沒有偉大的聲名，英雄就是要作勇敢而艱苦的工作(例如斬妖除魔、為民除害)。之後，Heracles 便認真努力去做他的苦工，十二件苦差事遂得以完成，名震四方。

36. 另一方面，后羿求得不死藥而被嫦娥偷走奔月，戀愛、婚姻又不如意，乃至終日在外浪遊，打獵、消極地渡過晚年。另一方面，后羿求得不死藥而被嫦娥偷走奔月，戀愛、婚姻又不如意，乃至終日在外浪遊，打獵、消極地渡過晚年。 • 性格會否改變命運﹖Heracles終於明白逆來順受，化被動為主動，轉消極為積極；這樣，即使英雄氣短，兒女私情，甚至命運也不如意，但希望、幸福終於再降臨！

37. Quotes from Scholars of Myth, Folktales and the Hero • On Heroism and Myth Throughout History and in Today's World • Note all are quotations -- bibliographical information can be found at the end of each quote. • From: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~mmagouli/hero_quotes.htm

38. EDWARDS ~ on The Hero and the HEROINE: Myth and Women • All heroism, in fact, appeals to love, makes love its end, relies on faith where knowledge is impossible. Even The Iliad, memorialized by Simone Weil as a “poem of force,” concludes not with the spectacle of Hector’s bloody body being dragged around the fallen city but with Achilles and Priam joined in prayer, reconciled, if only for a moment. Love, in this sense, is neither romantic nor sexual.

39. A social rather than a private impulse, it seeks expression in a public form and brings about a change from an old idea of community to a new ideal, on Victor Turner calls “communitas.” This term conveys a vision of community in its spiritual rather than its administrative or geographic sense. Communitas is “spontaneous, immediate, concrete . . . as opposed to the norm-governed, institutionalized abstract nature of social structure” (Ritual Process, p. 114).

40. The participants in this relationship confront one another directly and create a “model of society as homogeneous and unstructured” (119) . . .. It is this connection between love and power, so often glossed over in narratives and interpretations of male heroism, that is the central structure of [many women-centered myths] . . ..

41. Heroines typically have sons, hostages to patriarchy, signs that their marriages have been retreats and that they have been incorporated again into an unchanged world. But Pleasure—sensuous, unmanly, feminine—is love’s product, a vital expression of communitas.

42. Where instinct and intellect are fused, Please is born. In a culture that sees love as expressive primarily of sexuality alone and as contained only in relationships that reinforce social and economic hierarchies, the need to liberate eros from this hidden bondage can best be perceived and represented by figures who are truly marginal to society, as women have been rendered marginal in patriarchal culture. Nonetheless, this quest is the prototype of all heroic action. (Lee R. Edwards, Psyche As Hero, 1984, 13-14)  

43. KLUCKHOHN ~ On Comparing Heroes from Various Cultures • Literary scholars, psychiatrists, and behavioral scientists have, of course, long recognized that diverse geographical areas and historical epochs have exhibited striking parallels in the themes of myth and folklore. Father-seekers and father-slayers appear again and again. Mother-murder appears in explicit and in disguised form.

44. Eliade has dealt with the myth of “the eternal return.” Marie Bonaparte has presented evidence that wars give rise to fantasies of patently similar content. Animal stories—at least in the Old World—show likenesses in many details of plot and embellishment: African tales and Reynard the Fox, the Aesop fables, the Panchatantra of India and the Jataka tales of China and India. The Orpheus story has a sizable distribution in the New World.

45. In considering various parallels, some elementary cautions must perforce be observed. First, levels of abstraction must be kept distinct. It is true, and it is relevant, to say that creation myths are universals or near universals. But this is a far more abstract statement than are generalizations about the frequency of the creation of human beings by mother earth and father sky or by an androgynous deity or from vegetables. Second, mere comparisons on the basis of the presence or absence of a trait are tricky and may well be misleading.

46. Although there are cases where I have as yet no positive evidence for the presence of the incest theme, there is no corpus of mythology that I have searched carefully where this motif does not turn up. Even if, however, incest could be demonstrated as a theme present in all mythologies, there would still be an important difference between mythologies preoccupied with incest and those where it occurs only incidentally and infrequently . . ..

47. Most anthropologists today would agree with Lévi-Stauss Lévi-Stauss that throughout the world myths resemble one another to an extraordinary degree; there is, indeed, an “astounding similarity between myths collected in widely different regions.” The differences are there too, of course, between cultures and culture areas, even between versions of “the same” myth collected on the same day from two or more individuals of a particular culture. Some myths appear to have a very limited geographical distribution are varyingly styled, weighted, and combined. These differences are very real and very massive, and there must be no tacit attempt to explain them away.

48. For some purposes of inquiry the focus must be upon questions of emphasis, of inversion of plot, of selective omission and addition, of reinterpretation, of every form of variation. The similarities, however, are also genuine . . . presumably no two events in the universe are literally identical. But there are formal resemblances at varying levels of abstraction that are interesting and significant.

49. {Kluckhohn notes Spencer’s analysis of Navaho mythology reveals these similarities with other world mythology}: • 1.        These are also hero stories: adventures and achievements of extraordinary kind (e.g., slaying monsters, overcoming death, controlling the weather.). • 2.        There is often something special about the birth of the hero (occasionally heroin).

50. 3.        Help from animals is a frequent motif. • 4.       A separation from one or both parents at an early age is involved. • 5.       There is antagonism and violence toward near kin, though mainly toward siblings or father-in-law. This hostility may be channeled in one or both directions. It may be masked but is more often expressed in violent acts.