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苏菲的世界|Sophie’s World

两种文化|Two Cultures

属类： 双语小说 【分类】魔幻小说 -[作者: 乔斯坦·贾德] 阅读：[30737]
《 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 字+字- 行+行- 页+页- 》
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……避免在真空中飘浮的唯一方式……

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亲爱的苏菲：

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我们相见的日子已经不远了。我想你大概会回到少校的小木屋，所以我才把席德的父亲寄来的明信片留在那儿，这是把那些明信片转给她的唯一方式。你毋需担心她如何才能拿到它们，在六月十五日以前有许多事可能会发生呢！

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我们已经谈过希腊文化时期的哲学家如何重新利用早期哲学家的学说，其中有人还把这些哲学家当成宗教先知。普罗汀就只差没有把柏拉图说成人类的救星。

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说到救星，我们知道，在这个时期，另外一位救星诞生了。这件事情发生在希腊罗马地区以外的地方，我们所说的这位救星就是拿撒勒的耶稣。在这一章中我们会谈到基督教如何逐渐渗透希腊罗马地区，就像席德的世界逐渐渗透我们的世界一样。

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耶稣是犹太人，而犹大人属于闪族文化。

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希腊人与罗马人则属于印欧文化。我们可以断言欧洲文明曾同时受到这两种文化的孕育。不过，在我们详细讨论基督教如何影响希腊罗马地区之前，必须先了解一下这两种文化。

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印欧民族

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所谓印欧民族指的是所有使用印欧语言的民族与文化，包括所有的欧洲国家，除了那些讲菲诺攸格里克(Finno一Ugrian)语族语言(包括斯堪地那维亚半岛最北端的拉普兰语、芬兰语、爱沙尼亚语和匈牙利语)或巴斯克语的民族之外。除此之外，印度和伊朗地区的大多数语言也属于印欧语系。

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大约四千年前，原始的印欧民族住在邻近黑海与里海的地区。

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后来他们陆续向四方迁徙。他们往东南进入伊朗与印度，往西南到达希腊、意大利与西班牙，往西经过中欧，到达法国与英国，往西北进入斯堪地那维亚半岛，往北进入东欧与俄罗斯。无论到什么地方，这些印欧民族都努力吸收当地文化，不过在语言和宗教方面还是以印欧语和印欧宗教较占优势。

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无论是古印度的吠陀经、希腊的哲学或史特卢森(SnorriSturluson)的神话都是以相近的印欧语言撰写的。但相近的不只是语言而已，因为相近的语言往往导致相近的思想，这是我们为何经常谈到印欧“文化”的缘故。

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印欧民族相信宇宙间有许多天神(此即所谓的“多神论”)，这对他们的文化有很深远的影响。这些天神的名字和许多宗教词汇曾出现在印欧文化所及的各个地区。下面我将举一些例子：

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古印度人尊奉的天神是戴欧斯(Dyaus)，希腊文称他为宙斯(Zeus)，拉丁文称他为朱彼得(Jupitter)(事实上是iov—pater，或“法父”之意)，古斯堪地那维亚文则称之为泰尔(Tyr)。这些名字事实上指的是同一个字，只是各地称呼不同罢了。你可能读过古代维京人相信他们所谓的Aser(诸神)的事，Aser这个字也出现在各印欧文化地区。在印度古代的传统语言“梵语”中，诸神被称为asura，在波斯文中则被称为ahura。梵语中另外一个表示“神”的字为deva，在波斯文中为daeve，在拉丁文中为deus，在古斯堪地那维亚文中则为tivurr。

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古代的北欧人也相信有一群掌管万物生育、生长的神(如尼欧德与芙瑞雅)。这些神有一个通称，叫做vaner，这个字与拉丁文中代表生育之神的字Venus(维纳斯)相近。梵语中也有一个类似的宇叫Vani为“欲望”之意。

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有些印欧神话也很明显有相近之处。在有关古代北欧诸神的故事中，有些与两三千午前印度流传下来的神话非常相似。

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尽管Snorri的神话反映的是古代北欧的环境，印度神话则反映印度当地的环境，但其中许多神话都有若干痕迹显示他们具有共同的渊源。其中最明显的是那些关于长生不老仙丹与诸神对抗浑沌妖魔的神话故事。

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此外，很明显的，各印欧文化也有相近的思想模式。最典型的例于是他们都将世界看成善与恶无休无止相互对抗的场所，因此舟欧民族才会经常试图“预测”世界未来的前途。

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我们可以说，希腊哲学源自印欧文化并非偶然。印度、希腊与古代北欧的神话明显都有一种以哲学或“思索”的观点来看这个世界的倾向。

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印欧人希望能够“洞察”世界的历史。我们甚至可以发现在各舟欧文化中都有一个特别的字来表示“洞见”或“知识”。在梵语中，这个字是vidya，这个字的意思与希腊文中的idea这个字相当。而idea船此字在柏拉图的哲学中占有很重要的分量。在拉丁文中这个字是video，不过对罗马人来说，这个字只是“看见”的意思。在英文中，Isee可能表示“我懂了”。在卡通影片中，啄木鸟想到一个聪明的办法时，脑袋上方会有灯泡发亮。(到了现代，seeing这个字才变成“盯着电视看”的同义字。)英文中有wise和wisdom这两个字。

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在德文中有wissen(知道)这个字，在挪威文中则有viten。这些字的来源与印度文中的vidya、希腊文中的idea与拉丁文中的video这些字相同。

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总而言之，我们可以断定对印欧人而言，视觉乃是最重要的感官。印度、希腊、波斯与条顿民族(Teut。ns)的文学都以宏大的宇宙观(cosmicvision)为特色(在这里vision这个字源自拉丁文中的Video这个动词)。此外，印欧文化的另一个特色是经常制作描绘诸神以及神话事件的图画和雕刻。

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最后一点，印欧民族认为历史是循环的。他们相信历史就像四季一样会不断循环。因此历史既没有开始，也没有结束，只不过在无尽的生生死死中有不同的文明兴亡消长罢了。

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印度教与佛教这两大东方宗教都源自印欧文化，希腊哲学亦然。我们可以看到这两者间有明显相似的痕迹。到了今天，印度教与佛教仍然充满了哲学式的省思。

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我们可以发现，印度教与佛教都强调万物皆有神性(此即“泛神论”)，并主张人悟道后就可以成佛。(还记得普罗汀的说法吗？)为了要悟道，人必须深深自省或打坐冥想。因此，在东方，清净无为、退隐山林可以成为一种宗教理想。同样的，在古代的希腊，许多人也相信禁欲苦修或不食人间烟火的生活可以使灵魂得救。中世纪僧侣的生活在许多方面就是受到希腊罗马观念的影响。

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此外，许多印欧文化也有“灵魂转生”或“生命轮回”的观念。

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两千五百多年来，每一个印度人的生命终极目的就是要挣脱轮回。柏拉图也相信灵魂可以转生。

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闪族文化

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现在让我们来谈一谈闪族文化。这是一个完全不同的文化，他们的语言也和印欧语系完全不同。闪族人源自阿拉伯半岛，不过他们后来同样也迁徙到世界各地。两千多年来，这些犹大人一直过着离乡背井的生活。透过基督教与回教，闪族文化(历史与宗教)的影响遍及各地。

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西方三大宗教——犹太教、基督教(编按：Christianity，系包括所有信奉基督的教派，最重要的有四种：主要是天主教、基督教、东正教、英国圣公会，其中基督教又称新教，是十六世纪宗教革命后才分出来的)与伊斯兰教——都源出闪族。伊斯兰教的圣经古兰经与基督教的旧约圣经都是以闪族语系的语言写成的。旧约中代表神”的一个字和伊斯兰文中的Allah(“阿拉”，就是“神”的意思)同样都源自闪语。

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谈到基督教时，情况就变得比较复杂了。基督教虽然也是源自闪族文化，但新约则是以希腊文撰写，同时，基督教的教义神学成形时，曾受到希腊与拉丁文化的影响，因此当然也就受到希腊哲学的影响。

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我们说过，印欧民族乃是多神论者，但闪族一开始就相信宇宙间只有一个上帝，这就是所谓的“一神论”。犹大教、基督教与伊斯兰教都是一神论的宗教。

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闪族文化另外一个共同的特色是相信历史乃是呈直线式发展，捷句话说，他们认为历史是一条不断延伸的线。神在鸿濛大初时创造了世界，历史从此展开，但终于有一天它会结束，而这一天就是所谓的“最后审判日”，届时神将会对所有生者与死者进行审判。

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历史扮演的角色乃是这西方三大宗教中一个很重要的特色。

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他们相信，上帝会干预历史发展的方向，他们甚至认为历史存在的目的，是为了让上帝可以完成他在这世界的旨意。就像他曾经带领亚伯拉罕到“应许之地”一般，他将带领人类通过历史，迈向“最后审判日”。当这一天来临时，世界上所有的邪恶都将被摧毁。

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由于强调上帝在历史过程中所扮演的角色，闪族人数千年来一直非常注重历史的纪录。这些历史文献后来成为圣经的核心。

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到了今天，耶路撒冷城仍是犹太人、基督徒与伊斯兰教徒共同的重要宗教中心。这显示三大宗教显然具有某种相同的背景。

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我们曾经说过，对印欧人而言，最重要的感官乃是视觉。而有趣的是，闪族文化中最重要的感官则是听觉，因此犹大人的圣经一开始就是“听哪！以色列”。在旧约圣经中我们也读到人们如何“听到”上帝的话语，而犹太先知通常也以“耶和华(上帝)说”这几个字开始他们的布道。同样的，基督教也强调信徒应“听从”上帝的话语。无论基督教、犹太教或伊斯兰教，同样都有大声朗诵经文的习惯。

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此外，我曾提到印欧人经常以图画或雕刻来描绘诸神的形象。

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在这一点上闪族人正好相反，他们从来不这样做，对闪族人而言，描绘或雕凿神像是不可以的。旧约曾训诫人们不要制作任何神像。

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你也许会想：

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“可是，基督教会的教堂却到处都是耶稣与上帝的画像呀！”没错，确是如此。不过，这是基督教受到希腊罗马文化影响的结果(希腊与俄罗斯等地的希腊正教至今仍不许信徒制作有关圣经故事的雕像)。

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与东方各大宗教相反的是，西方三大宗教强调上帝与造物之间有一段距离。对他们而言，生命的目的不在脱离轮回，而在于从罪恶与谴责中得救。此外，西方的宗教生活较偏重祈祷、布道和研究圣经，而不在于自省与打坐。

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以色列

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苏菲，我无意与你的宗教课老师互别苗头，但现在我想简短地谈一下基督教与犹大文化的渊源。

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一切都是从上帝创造世界时开始。你可以在圣经第一页看到这件事的始末。后来人类开始反抗上帝，为了惩罚他们，上帝不但将亚当与夏娃逐出伊甸园，并且从此让人类面对死亡。

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人类对上帝的反抗乃是贯穿整部圣经的主题，旧约创世记中记载洪水与诺亚方舟的故事。然后我们读到上帝与亚伯拉罕以及他的子孙立约，要求亚伯拉罕与他的世代子孙都必须遵守上帝的戒律。为了奖赏他们，上帝答应保护亚伯拉罕的后裔。公元前1200年左右，上帝在西乃山上向摩西颁布十诫时，又再次与他立约。那时以色列人在埃及已经当了很久的奴隶，但借着上帝的帮助，他们在摩西的领导下终于回到了以色列的土地。

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约公元前一千年时(在希腊哲学诞生很久很久之前)有三位伟大的以色列王。第一位是扫罗王，第二位是大卫王，第三位是所罗门王。当时，所有的以色列子孙已经在这个王国之下团结起来。尤其是大卫王统治时期，以色列在政治、军事与文化上都卓然有成。

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依当时的习俗，国王被遴选出来时，要由人民行涂油礼，因此他们被赋予“弥赛亚”(意为“受膏者”)的称号。在宗教的意义上，国王被视为上帝与他的子民间的媒介，因此国王也称为“上帝之子”，而他的王国则可称为“天国”。

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然而，不久之后，以色列的国力开始式微，国家也分裂成南北两国，南国为“犹太”，北国则仍称“以色列”。公元前722年时北国被亚述人征服，失去了政治与宗教的影响力。南国的命运也好不了多少。它在公元前五八六午时被巴比伦人征服，圣殿被毁，大多数人民也被运往巴比伦充当奴隶。这段“巴比伦奴隶时期”一直持续了四十余年，直到公元前五三九年时以色列人民才获准返回耶路撒冷，重建圣殿。然而，一直到基督降生，犹太人都生活在异族统治之下。

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犹太人经常提出的一个问题是：

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上帝既已答应保护以色列，为何大卫的王国会被摧毁？犹太人又为何一次次遭逢劫难？不过，话说回来，人们也曾答应要遵守上帝的诫律。因此，愈来愈多人相信，上帝是因为以色列不遵守诫律才加以惩罚。

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公元前75O年左右，有多位先知开始宣称上帝已因以色列不遵守诫律而发怒。他们说，总有一天上帝会对以色列进行最后的审判。我们称这类预言为“末日预言”。

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后来，又另有一些先知预言上帝将拯救少数的子民，并且派遣一位“和平之子”或大卫家族的国王协助他们重建大卫的王国，使这些人民享受繁荣的生活。

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先知以赛亚说：

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“那坐在黑暗里的百姓，看见了大光，坐在死荫之地的人，有光发现照着他们。”我们称这类预言为“救赎预言”。

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总而言之，以色列的予民原来在大卫王的统治之下安居乐业，但后来当情形每下愈况时，他们的先知开始宣称有一天将会出现一位大卫家族的新国王。这位“弥赛亚”或“上帝之予”将“拯救”人民，使以色列重新成为一个伟大的国家，并建立“天国”。

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耶稣

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苏菲，你还在看吗？我刚才说的关键字是“弥赛亚”、“上帝之子”与“天国”。最初人们只是从政治角度来解释这些字眼。在耶稣的时代，有很多人想象将来会出现一位“救世主”(像大卫王一样有才干的政治、军事与宗教领袖)。这位“救世主”被视为国家救星，可以使犹大人脱离受罗马人统治之苦。

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这固然是一件美事，但也有许多人把眼光放得较远。在那两百年间，不断有先知预言上帝应许派来的“救世主”将会拯救全世界。

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他不仅将使以色列人挣脱异族的桎梏，并将拯救所有世人，使其免于罪草与上帝的责罚，得到永生。这种渴望救赎的想法在希腊文化影响所及的各地区也很普遍。

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于是拿撒勒的耶稣出现了。他不是唯一以“救世主”姿态出现的人，但他同时也使用“上帝之子”、“天国”与“救赎”等字眼，因此保持了他与旧先知之间的联系。他骑马进入耶路撒冷，接受群众赞颂为人民救星，仿佛从前的国王在登基时例行的“加冕典礼”一般。

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他并接受民众涂油。他说：

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“时候到了，天国近了。”

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这些都很重要，但请你注意：耶稣不同于其他“救世主”，因为他声明他并非军事或政治叛徒。他的任务要比这伟大得多。他宣称每一个人都可以得到上帝的拯救与赦免，因此他可以置身沿途所见的人群中，对他们说：

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“你们的罪已经得到赦免了。”

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这种“赦免罪恶”的方式是当时人闻所未闻的。更糟的是他称上帝为“天父”。对于当时的犹太人而言，这是从未有过的事。于是，不久后，律法学者便一致起而反对他。他们一步一步地准备将他处决。

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当时的情况是这样：

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耶稣那个时代有许多人等待一位“救世主”在嘹亮的军号声中(换句话说，就是大举挥军)重建“天国”。耶稣传道时的确也时常提到“天国”这个字眼，但意义要宽广得多。耶稣说，“天国”就是爱你的邻居、同情病弱穷困者，并宽恕犯错之人。

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于是，“天国”这样一个原本具有战争意味的古老字眼，到了耶稣口中便在意义上有了一百八十度的转变。人们原本期待的是一位很快能够建立“天国”的军事领袖，但他们看到的却是穿着短袍、凉鞋，告诉他们“天国”——或“新约”——就是要“爱邻如己”的耶稣。除此之外，耶稣还说我们必须爱我们的敌人，当他们打我们时，我们不得报复，不但如此，我们还要“把另外一边脸转过来”让他们打，同时我们必须宽恕，不止宽恕七次，更要宽恕七十个七次。

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耶稣用他一生的行动显示，他并不以和妓女，贪污、放高利贷的人与政治颠覆分子交谈为耻。但他所行之事还不止于此；他说一个把父亲的家财挥霍净尽的浪子或一个侵吞公款的卑微税吏只要肯悔改并祈求上帝宽恕，在上帝眼中就是一个义人，因为上帝的恩典浩瀚广大。

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然而，耶稣还认为，像浪子与税吏这般的罪人在上帝眼中比那些到处炫耀自己德行的法利赛人要更正直，更值得宽恕。

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耶稣指出，没有人能够获得上帝的怜悯，我们也不能(像许多希腊人相信的)拯救自己。耶稣在《登山宝训》中要求人们遵守的严格道德规范不仅显示上帝的旨意，也显示在上帝眼中，没有人是正直的。上帝的恩典无垠无涯，但我们必须向他祈祷，才能获得宽恕。

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有关耶稣与他的教诲的细节，我还是留给你的宗教老师来讲授吧。这可不是一件容易的事。我希望他能够让你们了解耶稣是一个多么伟大不凡的人。他很巧妙地用那个时代的语言，赋予一个古老的战争口号崭新而宽广的意义。无怪乎他会被钉上十字架，因为他那些有关救赎的崭新信息已经威胁到当时许多人的利益与在位者的权势，因此他们非铲除他不可。

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在谈到苏格拉底时，我们发现，如果有人诉诸人们的理性，对某些人可能会造成很大的威胁。同样的，在耶稣的身上，我们也发现要求人们无条件地爱别人、无条件地宽恕别人，也可能对于某些人造成极大的威胁。即使在今天，我们也可以看到，当人民开始要求和平与爱、要求让穷人免于饥饿、要求当权者赦免政敌时，强权也可能因此在一夕之间倾覆。

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你也许还记得柏拉图对于苏格拉底这位雅典最正直的人居然被处死一事如何忿忿不平。根据基督教的教义，耶稣也是世上唯一正直的人。然而他最后还是被判了死刑。基督徒说他是为了人类而死，这就是一般所称的“基督受难记”。耶稣是“受苦的仆人”(sulfenngservant)，背负起人类所有的罪孽，以使我们能够得到“救赎”，并免受上帝的责罚。

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保罗

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耶稣被钉上十字架后就下葬了。几天后有人传言他已经从坟墓中复活。因此证明他并非凡人，而真正是“上帝之子”。

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我们可以说复活节当天早上，人们传言耶稣复活之时就是基督教会创始之日。保罗已经断言：

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“若基督没有复活，则我们所传的便是枉然，你们所信的也是枉然。”

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如今全人类都可以盼望“肉体的复活”，因为耶稣正是为了拯救我们才被钉上十字架。不过，苏菲，你不要忘了：

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从犹太人的观点来看，世间并没有“不朽的灵魂”，也没有任何形式的“转生”。这些都是希腊人和整个印欧民族的想法。基督教认为人并没有什么东西（如灵魂)是生来就不朽的。虽然基督教会相信“人的肉体将复活并得到永生”，但我们之所以能免于死亡与“天谴”，乃是由于上帝所行的神迹之故，并非由于我们自身的努力或先天的能力。

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秉持着这种信念，早期的基督徒开始传扬相信耶稣基督即可得救的“福音”。他们宣称，在耶稣的努力之下，“天国”即将实现。

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他们想使全世界归于基督的名下。(Christ“基督”这个字是希腊文救世主”的意思。在希伯来文中，此字为messlah，即“弥赛亚”。)耶稣去世数年后，法利赛人保罗改信基督教。他在希腊罗马各地游历布道，使基督教义传遍世界各地。我们在圣经使徒行传中可以读到有关的记载。从他写给早期教会会众的多封使徒书信中，我们可以了解保罗传扬的教义。

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后来，保罗来到了雅典。他直接前往这个哲学首府的市中心广场，据说当时他“看见满城都是偶像，就心里着急”。他拜访了雅典城内的犹太教会堂，并与伊比鸠鲁学派和斯多葛学派的哲学家谈话。他们带他到最高法院所在的一座小丘上，问他：

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“你所讲的这新道，我们也可以知道吗？因为你有些奇怪的事传到我们耳中，我们愿意知道这些事是什么意思。”

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苏菲，你可以想象吗？一个犹太人突然出现在雅典的市集，并开始谈到一个被钉在十字架上而后从坟墓里复活的救星。从保罗这次造访雅典，我们便可察觉到希腊哲学与基督教救赎的教义间即将发生的冲突。不过保罗显然办到了一件事：他使得雅典人倾听他的言论。在最高法院小丘——卫城的宏伟神殿下——他发表了以下演讲：

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众位雅典人哪，我看你们凡事很敬畏鬼神。我游行的时候，观看你们所敬拜的，遇见一座坛，上面写着未识之神。你们所不认识而敬拜的，我现在告诉你们。

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创造宇宙和其中万物的神，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿，也不用人手服侍，好像缺少什么，自己倒将生命、气息、万物赐给万人。他从一本造出万族的人，住在全地上，并且预先定准他们的年限和所住的疆界。要叫他们寻求神，或者可以揣摩而得，其实他离我们各人不远。我们生活、动作、存留都在乎他。就如你们作诗的，有人说，我们也是他所生的。我们既是神所生的，就不当以为神的神性像人用手艺、心思所雕刻的金、银、石。世人蒙昧无知的时候，神并不监察，如今却吩咐各处的人都要悔改。

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因为他已经定了日子，要借着他所设立的人，按公义审判天下。并且叫他从死里复活，给万人作可信的凭据。

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从保罗到雅典传教开始，基督教会就逐渐渗透希腊罗马地区。

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它虽不同于希腊原有的伊比鸠鲁学派、斯多葛学派或新柏拉图哲学，但保罗仍然在两者间找到了共同点。他强调世人皆试图寻找上帝。对希腊人而言这并非新的概念，但是保罗声称上帝已经向人类显现他自己，并且实际上已经把手伸给人类，因此他不再是一位人们可用理性来了解的“哲学的上帝”，也不是“金、银、石雕刻的偶像”(这两者在希腊的卫城与市集中到处都是)，而是一位“不住人手所造殿”的神，也是一位会干预历史发展方向，并为世人而死在十字架上的人形的神。

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根据使徒行传的记载，保罗在最高法院小丘发表演讲，提到耶稣死而复活的事时，有人就讥笑他，但也有人说：

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“我们再听你讲这个吧。”有些人后来追随保罗，开始信奉基督教，其中有一个女人名叫大马哩(Damaris)。这件事之所以特别值得一提，是因为妇女是最热切信奉基督教的族群之一。

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就这样，保罗继续他的传教活动。耶稣受难数十年后，雅典、罗马、亚力山卓、以弗所(Ephesus)与哥林多(Corinth)等重要的希腊罗马城市都成立了基督教会。在后来的三四百年之间，整个希腊文化地区都成为基督教的世界。

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教义

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保罗对基督教的贡献不仅是做一个传教士而已，他对基督教的教会也有很大的影响。因为当时的教徒普遍需要灵性上的指引。

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耶稣受难后的最初几年中，基督教面临一个很重要的问题是：

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非犹太人(外邦人)是否可以成为基督徒？还是一定要先归化为犹太人才可以？又，外邦人——如希腊人——应该遵守十诫吗？保罗认为，外邦人不一定要成为犹太人才可以信奉基督教，因为基督教不只是犹太人的宗教。它的目标在拯救全体世人。上帝与以色列订的“旧约”已经由耶稣代表上帝与人类订的“新约”所取代。

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无论如何，基督教并非当时唯一的宗教。我们已经看到希腊文化如何受到各种宗教的影响，因此，为了显示与其他宗教有别，也为了防止教会内部分裂，基督教会认为有必要提出一套简明扼要的教义。因此他们写成了第一部《使徒信经》(Creed)，总结基督徒教义的中心“信条”或主要教义。

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其中一条是：

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耶稣是神，也是人。他不仅是凭借上帝之力的“上帝之子”，他也是上帝本身。然而，他同时也是一个为人类分担灾祸并因此在十字架上受苦的“真人”。

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乍听之下，这话也许有自相矛盾之嫌，但教会的意思正是：

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上帝已经变成了人，耶稣不是一位“半人半神”(当时希腊与地中海东岸的许多宗教都相信宇宙有此类“半人半神”的存在)，教会宣称耶稣乃是“完全的神，完全的人”。

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后记：亲爱的苏菲，让我再描述一下当时的整个情况。当基督教进入希腊罗马地区后，两种文化于是浩浩荡荡地交会融合，形成了历史上的一大文化革命。

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此时，距早期希腊哲学家的年代已经大约有一千年了。古代时期就要过去，历史将进入以基督教为重心的中世纪。这段期间同样维持了将近一千年之久。

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德国诗人歌德曾经说过：

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“不能汲取三千年历史经验的人没有未来可言。”我不希望你成为这些人当中之一。我将尽我所能，让你熟悉你在历史上的根。这是人之所以为人(而不仅是一只赤身露体的猿猴)的唯一方式，也是我们避免在虚空中飘浮的唯一方式。

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“这是人之所以为人(而不仅仅是一只赤身露体的猿猴)的唯一方式……”

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苏菲坐了一会儿，从树篱的小洞中凝视着花园。她开始了解为何人必须要了解自己在历史上的根。对于以色列的子民来说，这当然是很重要的。

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她只是一个平凡的人而已。不过，如果她了解自己在历史上的根，她就不至于如此平凡了。

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同时，她生活在地球上的时间也不会只有几年而已。如果人类的历史就是她的历史，那么从某方面来说，她已经有好几千岁了。

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苏菲拿着所有的信纸，爬出密洞，蹦蹦跳跳地穿过花园，回到楼上的房间。

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... the only way to avoid floating in a vacuum 

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It won’t be long now before we meet, my dear Sophie. I thought you would return to the major’s cabin--that’s why I left all the cards from Hilde’s father there. That was the only way they could be delivered to her. Don’t worry about how she will get them. A lot can happen before June 15.

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We have seen how the Hellenistic philosophers recycled the ideas of earlier philosophers. Some even attempted to turn their predecessors into religious prophets. Plotinus came close to acclaiming Plato as the savior of humanity.

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But as we know, another savior was born during the period we have just been discussing--and that happened outside the Greco-Roman area. I refer to Jesus of Nazareth. In this chapter we will see how Christianity gradually began to permeate the Greco-Roman world--more or less the same way that Hilde’s world has gradually begun to permeate ours.

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Jesus was a jew, and the Jews belong to Semitic culture. The Greeks and the Romans belong to Indo-European culture. European civilization has its roots in both cultures. But before we take a closer look at the way Christianity influenced Greco-Roman culture, we must examine these roots.

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THE INDO-EUROPEANS By Indo-European we mean all the nations and cultures that use Indo-European languages. This covers all European nations except those whose inhabitants speak one of the Finno-Ugrian languages (Lapp, Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian) or Basque. In addition, most Indian and Iranian languages belong to the Indo-European family of languages.

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About 4,000 years ago, the primitive Indo-Europeans lived in areas bordering on the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. From there, waves of these Indo-European tribes began to wander southeast into Iran and India, southwest to Greece, Italy, and Spain, westward through Central Europe to France and Britain, northwestward to Scandinavia and northward to Eastern Europe and Russia. Wherever they went, the Indo-Europeans assimilated with the local culture, although Indo-European languages and Indo-European religion came to play a dominant role.

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The ancient Indian Veda scriptures and Greek philosophy, and for that matter Snorri Sturluson’s mythology are all written in related languages. But it is not only the languages that are related. Related languages often lead to related ideas. This is why we usually speak of an Indo-European "culture."

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The culture of the Indo-Europeans was influenced most of all by their belief in many gods. This is called polytheism. The names of these gods as well as much of the religious terminology recur throughout the whole Indo-European area. I’ll give you a few examples: The ancient Indians worshipped the celestial god Dyaus, which in Sanskrit means the sky, day, heaven/ Heaven. In Greek this god is called Zeus, in Latin, Jupiter (actually iov-pater, or "Father Heaven"), and in Old Norse, Tyr. So the names Dyaus, Zeus, lov, and Tyr are dialectal variants of the same word.

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You probably learned that the old Vikings believed in gods which they called Aser. This is another word we find recurring all over the Indo-European area. In Sanskrit, the ancient classical language of India, the gods are called asura and in Persian Ahura. Another word for "god" is deva in Sanskrit, claeva in Persian, deus in Latin and tivurr in Old Norse.

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In Viking times, people also believed in a special group of fertility gods (such as Niord, Freyr, and Freyja). These gods were referred to by a special collective name, vaner, a word that is related to the Latin name for the goddess of fertility, Venus. Sanskrit has the related word van/, which means "desire."

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There is also a clear affinity to be observed in some of the Indo-European myths. In Snorri’s stories of the Old Norse gods, some of the myths are similar to the myths of India that were handed down from two to three thousand years earlier. Although Snorri’s myths reflect the Nordic environment and the Indian myths reflect the Indian, many of them retain traces of a common origin. We can see these traces most clearly in myths about immortal potions and the struggles of the gods against the monsters of chaos .

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We can also see clear similarities in modes of thought across the Indo-European cultures. A typical likeness is the way the world is seen as being the subject of a drama in which the forces of Good and Evil confront each other in a relentless struggle. Indo-Europeans have therefore often tried to "predict" how the battles between Good and Evil will turn out.

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One could say with some truth that it was no accident that Greek philosophy originated in the Indo-European sphere of culture. Indian, Greek, and Norse mythology all have obvious leanings toward a philosophic , or "speculative," view of the world.

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The Indo-Europeans sought "insight" into the history of the world. We can even trace a particular word for "insight" or "knowledge" from one culture to another all over the Indo-European world. In Sanskrit it is vidya. The word is identical to the Greek word idea, which was so important in Plato’s philosophy. From Latin, we have the word video, but on Roman ground the word simply means to see. For us, "I see" can mean "I understand," and in the cartoons, a light bulb can flash on above Woody Woodpecker’s head when he gets a bright idea. (Not until our own day did "seeing" become synonymous with staring at the TV screen.) In English we know the words wise and wisdom--in German, wissen (to know). Norwegian has the word viten, which has the same root as the Indian word vidya, the Greek idea, and the Latin video.

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All in all, we can establish that sight was the most important of the senses for Indo-Europeans. The literature of Indians, Greeks, Persians, and Teutons alike was characterized by great cosmic visions. (There is that word again: "vision" comes from the Latin verb "video."} It was also characteristic for Indo-European culture to make pictures and sculptures of the gods and of mythical events.

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Lastly, the Indo-Europeans had a cyc//c view of history. This is the belief that history goes in circles, just like the seasons of the year. There is thus no beginning and no end to history, but there are different civilizations that rise and fall in an eternal interplay between birth and death.

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Both of the two great Oriental religions, Hinduism and Buddhism , are Indo-European in origin. So is Greek philosophy, and we can see a number of clear parallels between Hinduism and Buddhism on the one hand and Greek philosophy on the other. Even today, Hinduism and Buddhism are strongly imbued with philosophical reflection.

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Not infrequently we find in Hinduism and Buddhism an emphasis on the fact that the deity is present in all things (pantheism) and that man can become one with God through religious insight. (Remember Plotinus, Sophie?) To achieve this requires the practice of deep self-communion or meditation . Therefore in the Orient, passivity and seclusion can be religious ideals. In ancient Greece, too, there were many people who believed in an ascetic , or religiously secluded , way of life for the salvation of the soul Many aspects of medieval monastic life can be traced back to beliefs dating from the Greco-Roman civilization.

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Similarly, the transmigration of the soul, or the cycle of rebirth, is a fundamental belief in many Indo-European cultures. For more than 2,500 years, the ultimate purpose of life for every Indian has been the release from the cycle of rebirth. Plato also believed in the transmigration of the soul.

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The Semites Let us now turn to the Semites, Sophie. They belong to a completely different culture with a completely different language. The Semites originated in the Arabian Peninsula, but they also migrated to different parts of the world. The Jews lived far from their home for more than 2,000 years. Semitic history and religion reached furthest away from its roots by way of Christendom, although Semitic culture also became widely spread via Islam.

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All three Western religions--Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--share a Semitic background. The Muslims’ holy scripture , the Koran, and the Old Testament were both written in the Semitic family of languages. One of the Old Testament words for "god" has the same semantic root as the Muslim allah. (The word "allah" means, quite simply, "god.")

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When we get to Christianity the picture becomes more complicated. Christianity also has a Semitic background, but the New Testament was written in Greek, and when the Christian theology or creed was formulated , it was influenced by Greek and Latin, and thus also by Hellenistic philosophy.

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The Indo-Europeans believed in many different gods. It was just as characteristic for the Semites that from earliest times they were united in their belief in one God. This is called monotheism. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all share the same fundamental idea that there is only one God.

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The Semites also had in common a linear view of history. In other words, history was seen as an ongoing line. In the beginning God created the world and that was the beginning of history. But one day history will end and that will be Judgment Day, when God judges the living and the dead.

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The role played by history is an important feature of these three Western religions. The belief is that God intervenes in the course of history--even that history exists in order that God may manifest his will in the world, just as he once led Abraham to the "Promised Land," he leads mankind’s steps through history to the Day of Judgment. When that day comes, all evil in the world will be destroyed.

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With their strong emphasis on God’s activity in the course of history, the Semites were preoccupied with the writing of history for many thousands of years. And these historical roots constitute the very core of their holy scriptures.

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Even today the city of Jerusalem is a significant religious center for Jews, Christians , and Muslims alike. This indicates something of the common background of these three religions.

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The city comprises prominent (Jewish) synagogues, (Christian) churches, and (Islamic) mosques . It is therefore deeply tragic that Jerusalem should have become a bone of contention--with people killing each other by the thousand because they cannot agree on who is to have ascendancy over this "Eternal City." May the UN one day succeed in making Jerusalem a holy shrine for all three religions! (We shall not go any further into this more practical part of our philosophy course for the moment. We will leave it entirely to Hilde’s father. You must have gathered by now that he is a UN observer in Lebanon. To be more precise, I can reveal that he is serving as a major. If you are beginning to see some connection, that’s quite as it should be. On the other hand, let’s not anticipate events!)

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We said that the most important of the senses for Indo-Europeans was sight. How important hearing was to the Semitic cultures is just as interesting. It is no accident that the Jewish creed begins with the words: "Hear, O Israel!" In the Old Testament we read how the people "heard" the word of the Lord, and the Jewish prophets usually began their sermons with the words: "Thus spake Jehovah (God)." "Hearing" the word of God is also emphasized in Christianity. The religious ceremonies of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all characterized by reading aloud or "reciting."

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I also mentioned that the Indo-Europeans always made pictorial representations or sculptures of their gods. It was just as characteristic for the Semites that they never did. They were not supposed to create pictures or sculptures of God or the "deity." The Old Testament commands that the people shall not make any image of God. This is still law today both for Judaism and Islam. Within Islam there is moreover a general aversion to both photography and art, because people should not compete with God in "creating" anything.

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But the Christian churches are full of pictures of Jesus and God, you are probably thinking. True enough, Sophie, but this is just one example of how Christendom was influenced by the Greco-Roman world. (In the Greek Orthodox Church--that is, in Greece and in Russia-- "graven images," or sculptures and crucifixes, from Bible stories are still forbidden.)

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In contrast to the great religions of the Orient, the three Western religions emphasize that there is a distance between God and his creation. The purpose is not to be released from the cycle of rebirth, but to be redeemed from sin and blame. Moreover, religious life is characterized more by prayer, sermons, and the study of the scriptures than by self-communion and meditation. Israel I have no intention of competing with your religion teacher, Sophie, but let us just make a quick summary of Christianity’s Jewish background.

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It all began when God created the world. You can read how that happened on the very first page of the Bible. Then mankind began to rebel against God. Their punishment was not only that Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden--Death also came into the world.

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Man’s disobedience to God is a theme that runs right through the Bible. If we go further on in the Book of Genesis we read about the Flood and Noah’s Ark. Then we read that God made a covenant with Abraham and his seed. This covenant--or pact--was that Abraham and all his seed would keep the Lord’s commandments. In exchange God promised to protect all the children of Abraham. This covenant was renewed when Moses was given the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai around the year 1200 B.C. At that time the Israelites had long been held as slaves in Egypt, but with God’s help they were led back to the land of Israel.

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About 1,000 years before Christ--and therefore long before there was anything called Greek philosophy--we hear of three great kings of Israel. The first was Saul, then came David, and after him came Solomon. Now all the Israelites were united in one kingdom, and under King David, especially, they experienced a period of political, military, and cultural glory.

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When kings were chosen, they were anointed by the people. They thus received the title Messiah, which means "the anointed one." In a religious sense kings were looked upon as a go-between between God and his people. The king could therefore also be called the "Son of God" and the country could be called the "Kingdom of God."

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But before long Israel began to lose its power and the kingdom was divided into a Northern kingdom (Israel) and a Southern kingdom (Judea). In 722 B.C. the Northern kingdom was conquered by the Assyrians and it lost all political and religious significance. The Southern kingdom fared no better, being conquered by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Its temple was destroyed and most of its people were carried off to slavery in Babylon. This "Babylonian captivity " lasted until 539 B.C. when the people were permitted to return to Jerusalem, and the great temple was restored. But for the rest of the period before the birth of Christ the Jews continued to live under foreign domination.

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The question Jews constantly asked themselves was why the Kingdom of David was destroyed and why catastrophe after catastrophe rained down on them, for God had promised to hold Israel in his hand. But the people had also promised to keep God’s commandments. It gradually became widely accepted that God was punishing Israel for her disobedience.

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From around 750 B.C. various prophets began to come forward preaching God’s wrath over Israel for not keeping his commandments. One day God would hold a Day of Judgment over Israel, they said. We call prophecies like these Doomsday prophecies.

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In the course of time there came other prophets who preached that God would redeem a chosen few of his people and send them a "Prince of Peace" or a king of the House of David. He would restore the old Kingdom of David and the people would have a future of prosperity.

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"The people that walked in darkness will see a great light," said the prophet Isaiah, and "they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." We call prophecies like these prophecies of redemption.

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To sum up: The children of Israel lived happily under King David. But later on when their situation deteriorated , their prophets began to proclaim that there would one day come a new king of the House of David. This "Messiah," or "Son of God," would "redeem" the people, restore Israel to greatness, and found a "Kingdom of God." Jesus I assume you are still with me, Sophie? The key words are "Messiah," "Son of God," and "Kingdom of God." At first it was all taken politically. In the time of Jesus, there were a lot of people who imagined that there would come a new "Messiah" in the sense of a political, military, and religious leader of the caliber of King David. This "savior" was thus looked upon as a national deliverer who would put an end to the suffering of the Jews under Roman domination.

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Well and good. But there were also many people who were more farsighted. For the past two hundred years there had been prophets who believed that the promised "Messiah" would be the savior of the whole world. He would not simply free the Israelites from a foreign yoke , he would save all mankind from sin and blame--and not least, from death. The longing for "salvation" in the sense of redemption was widespread all over the Hellenistic world.

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So along comes Jesus of Nazareth. He was not the only man ever to have come forward as the promised "Messiah." Jesus also uses the words "Son of God," the "Kingdom of God," and "redemption." In doing this he maintains the link with the old prophets. He rides into Jerusalem and allows himself to be acclaimed by the crowds as the savior of the people, thus playing directly on the way the old kings were installed in a characteristic "throne accession ritual." He also allows himself to be anointed by the people. "The time is fulfilled," he says, and "the Kingdom of God is at hand."

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But here is a very important point: Jesus distinguished himself from the other "messiahs" by stating clearly that he was not a military or political rebel. His mission was much greater. He preached salvation and God’s forgiveness for everyone. To the people he met on his way he said "Your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake."

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Handing out the "remission of sins" in this way was totally unheard of. And what was even worse, he addressed God as "Father" (Abba). This was absolutely un-precedented in the Jewish community at that time. It was therefore not long before there arose a wave of protest against him among the scribes.

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So here was the situation: a great many people at the time of Jesus were waiting for a Messiah who would reestablish the Kingdom of God with a great flourish of trumpets (in other words, with fire and sword). The expression "Kingdom of God" was indeed a recurring theme in the preachings of Jesus--but in a much broader sense. Jesus said that the "Kingdom of God" is loving thy neighbor, compassion for the weak and the poor, and forgiveness of those who have erred .

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This was a dramatic shift in the meaning of an age-old expression with warlike overtones. People were expecting a military leader who would soon proclaim the establishment of the Kingdom of God, and along comes Jesus in kirtle and sandals telling them that the Kingdom of God-- or the "new covenant"--is that you must "love thy neighbor as thyself." But that was not all, Sophie, he also said that we must love our enemies. When they strike us, we must not retaliate ; we must even turn the other cheek. And we must forgive--not seven times but seventy times seven.

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Jesus himself demonstrated that he was not above talking to harlots, corrupt usurers, and the politically subversive . But he went even further: he said that a good-for-nothing who has squandered all his father’s inheritance-- or a humble publican who has pocketed official funds-- is righteous before God when he repents and prays for forgiveness, so great is God’s mercy.

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But hang on--he went a step further: Jesus said that such sinners were more righteous in the eyes of God and more deserving of God’s forgiveness than the spotless Pharisees who went around flaunting their virtue .

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Jesus pointed out that nobody can earn God’s mercy. We cannot redeem ourselves (as many of the Greeks believed). The severe ethical demands made by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount were not only to teach what the will of God meant, but also to show that no man is righteous in the eyes of God. God’s mercy is boundless , but we have to turn to God and pray for his forgiveness.

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I shall leave a more thorough study of Jesus and his teachings to your religion teacher. He will have quite a task. I hope he will succeed in showing what an excep-tional man Jesus was. In an ingenious way he used the language of his time to give the old war cries a totally new and broader content. It’s not surprising that he ended on the Cross. His radical tidings of redemption were at odds with so many interests and power factors that he had to be removed.

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When we talked about Socrates, we saw how dangerous it could be to appeal to people’s reason. With Jesus we see how dangerous it can be to demand unconditional brotherly love and unconditional forgiveness. Even in the world of today we can see how mighty powers can come apart at the seams when confronted with simple demands for peace, love, food for the poor, and amnesty for the enemies of the state.

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You may recall how incensed Plato was that the most righteous man in Athens had to forfeit his life. According to Christian teachings, Jesus was the only righteous person who ever lived. Nevertheless he was condemned to death. Christians say he died for the sake of humanity. This is what Christians usually call the "Passion" of Christ Jesus was the "suffering servant" who bore the sins of humanity in order that we could be " atoned " and saved from God’s wrath. Paul A few days after Jesus had been crucified and buried, rumors spread that he had risen from the grave. He thereby proved that he was no ordinary man. He truly was the "Son of God."

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We could say that the Christian Church was founded on Easter Morning with the rumors of the resurrection of Jesus. This is already established by Paul: "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain."

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Now all mankind could hope for the resurrection of the body, for it was to save us that Jesus was crucified. But, dear Sophie, remember that from a Jewish point of view there was no question of the " immortality of the soul" or any form of "transmigration"; that was a Greek--and therefore an Indo-European--thought. According to Christianity there is nothing in man--no "soul," for example-- that is in itself immortal. Although the Christian Church believes in the "resurrection of the body and eternal life," it is by God’s miracle that we are saved from death and "damnation." It is neither through our own merit nor through any natural--or innate--ability.

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So the early Christians began to preach the "glad tidings" of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Through his mediation , the "Kingdom of God" was about to be-come a reality. Now the entire world could be won for Christ. (The word "christ" is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word "messiah," the anointed one.)

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A few years after the death of Jesus, the Pharisee Paul converted to Christianity. Through his many missionary journeys across the whole of the Greco-Roman world he made Christianity a worldwide religion. We hear of this in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul’s preaching and guidance for the Christians is known to us from the many epistles written by him to the early Christian congregations.

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He then turns up in Athens. He wanders straight into the city square of the philosophic capital. And it is said that "his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." He visited the Jewish synagogue in Athens and conversed with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. They took him up to the Areopagos hill and asked him: "May we know what this new doctrine , whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean."

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Can you imagine it, Sophie? A Jew suddenly appears in the Athenian marketplace and starts talking about a savior who was hung on a cross and later rose from the grave. Even from this visit of Paul in Athens we sense a coming collision between Greek philosophy and the doctrine of Christian redemption. But Paul clearly succeeds in getting the Athenians to listen to him. From the Areopa-gos--and beneath the proud temples of the Acropolis-- he makes the following speech:

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"Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious . For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription , TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

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God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent : Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given as-surance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."

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Paul in Athens, Sophie! Christianity has begun to penetrate the Greco-Roman world as something else, something completely different from Epicurean, Stoic, or Neoplatonic philosophy. But Paul nevertheless finds some common ground in this culture. He emphasizes that the search for God is natural to all men. This was not new to the Greeks. But what was new in Paul’s preaching is that God has also revealed himself to mankind and has in truth reached out to them. So he is no longer a "philosophic God" that people can approach with their understanding. Neither is he "an image of gold or silver or stone"--there were plenty of those both on the Acropolis and down in the marketplace! He is a God that "dwelleth not in temples made with hands." He is a personal God who intervenes in the course of history and dies on the Cross for the sake of mankind.

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When Paul had made his speech on the Areopagos, we read in the Acts of the Apostles, some mocked him for what he said about the resurrection from the dead. But others said: "We will hear thee again of this matter." There were also some who followed Paul and began to believe in Christianity. One of them, it is worth noting, was a woman named Damaris. Women were amongst the most fervent converts to Christianity.

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So Paul continued his missionary activities. A few decades after the death of Jesus, Christian congregations were already established in all the important Greek and Roman cities--in Athens, in Rome, in Alexandria, in Ephesos, and in Corinth. In the space of three to four hundred years, the entire Hellenistic world had become Christian.

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The Creed It was not only as a missionary that Paul came to have a fundamental significance for Christianity. He also had great influence within the Christian congregations. There was a widespread need for spiritual guidance.

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One important question in the early years after Jesus was whether non-Jews could become Christians without first becoming Jews. Should a Greek, for instance, observe the dietary laws? Paul believed it to be unnecessary. Christianity was more than a Jewish sect

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. It addressed itself to everybody in a universal message of salvation. The "Old Covenant" between God and Israel had been replaced by the "New Covenant" which Jesus had established between God and mankind.

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However, Christianity was not the only religion at that time. We have seen how Hellenism was influenced by a fusion of religions. It was thus vitally necessary for the church to step forward with a concise summary of the Christian doctrine, both in order to distance itself from other religions and to prevent schisms within the Christian Church. Therefore the first Creed was established, summing up the central Christian "dogmas" or tenets.

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One such central tenet was that Jesus was both God and man. He was not the "Son of God" on the strength of his actions alone. He was God himself. But he was also a "true man" who had shared the misfortunes of mankind and actually suffered on the Cross.

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This may sound like a contradiction. But the message of the church was precisely that God became man. Jesus was not a "demigod" (which was half man, half god). Belief in such "demigods" was quite widespread in Greek and Hellenistic religions. The church taught that Jesus was "perfect God, perfect man."

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Postscript Let me try to say a few words about how all this hangs together, my dear Sophie. As Christianity makes its entry into the Greco-Roman world we are witnessing a dramatic meeting of two cultures. We are also seeing one of history’s great cultural revolutions.

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We are about to step out of antiquity

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. Almost one thousand years have passed since the days of the early Greek philosophers. Ahead of us we have the Christian Middle Ages, which also lasted for about a thousand years.

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The German poet Goethe once said that "he who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth." I don’t want you to end up in such a sad state. I will do what I can to acquaint you with your historical roots. It is the only way to become a human being. It is the only way to become more than a naked ape. It is the only way to avoid floating in a vacuum.

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"It is the only way to become a human being. It is the only way to become more than a naked ape ..."

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Sophie sat for a while staring into the garden through the little holes in the hedge. She was beginning to understand why it was so important to know about her historical roots. It had certainly been important to the Children of Israel.

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She herself was just an ordinary person. But if she knew her historical roots, she would be a little less ordinary.

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She would not be living on this planet for more than a few years. But if the history of mankind was her own history, in a way she was thousands of years old.

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