康熙開光素三彩瓶

Famille verte, (French: “green family”) group of Chinese porcelain wares characterized by decoration painted in a colour range that includes yellow, blue, red, purple, and green, the latter sometimes used for the ground. The verte palette that uses a yellow ground is famille jaune; the palette that uses a rich greenish black ground is famille noire. Famille verte ware was made largely during the Kangxi period (1661–1722) of the Qing dynasty.

** 素三彩是燒高溫沒上釉瓷胎，但底部大多會落釉下青花底款再上透明高溫釉，坯體會有淺刻花紋圖案，再上含鉛量高的唐三彩釉(不止三種顏色)進窯燒約900.c，燒成後這高溫瓷坯低溫釉彩稱作素三彩，它所使用的原料跟釉上粉彩不相同，溫差約100.c。

https://www.britannica.com/art/famille-verte

康熙年間彩繪風格之一，即在畫面開出「窗口」，另繪圖案，英文叫cartouche 。

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
清康熙 墨地素三彩開光人物故事圖鳳尾尊

好管家?好主人

這星期與學生分享《馬太福音》中非常有名的一個比喻故事: Matthew 25: 14-29 The Parable of the Talents，維基百科翻譯成「按才幹受責任的比喻」，這個比喻是經濟學與社會學中「馬太效應」一詞典故出處，除此之外比喻中意義深遠、多重，值得三思。
這比喻給我最大的啟示是關於天賦(talents)與努力的問題，讓我反思人應該善用老天爺給我們的任何能力與才華，這些都是白白得來的「恩典」，應該心存感恩並與他人分享。

這星期有位學生問我如何看待比喻中的主人，特別是第三個僕人頂嘴時說的話:

— And he who had had the one talent came and said, Lord, I had knowledge that you are a hard man, getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work: And I was in fear, and went away, and put your talent in the earth: here is what is yours.

重新思考這段話，原來我們常常都屬於第三個僕人這類型，人都是有惰性，不做事也都可以找千百個藉口，還有，我們對我們的「主人」、老闆、上司….也常常持有類似的心態。

這個僕人眼中主人像是一個剝削雇工的資本家，但是，僕人不會檢討自己拿了主人給他的資源，卻甚麼事也不做，這個僕人連把錢拿去銀行存或世借人都不肯。早期羅馬帝國的合法利息是八分，但高利貸有十二分、二十四分甚至四十八分的。比喻中的主人確實自資本雄厚，但卻沒有剝削勞工，因為主人信任僕人、並樂意把資源和僕人分享。

這個僕人定義主人在資本家，其實是矮化自己的價值與意義；他計較利益，但未曾思考更高的發揮空間。也就是說，一個人怎麼定義「主人」等於一個人的視角(scope)。

這個僕人還很皮的頂嘴：getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work

試想一個小孩不寫功課被爸媽罵，還頂嘴，「你們也沒寫功課，就可以看電視、不必背書就都會…..」

當一個人說別人可以「不勞而獲」，是投射他期待不勞而獲的心態。

此外，故事中的「主人」是甚麼都不缺的上帝、老天爺。這位僕人認為主人給他是理所當然，驕傲反而變成一個人偷懶的原因。

Matthew 25: 14-29

25:14	「天國又好比一個人要往外國去，就叫了僕人來，把他的家業交給他們，	For it is as when a man, about to take a journey, got his servants together, and gave them his property.
25:15	按著各人的才幹給他們銀子：一個給了五千，一個給了二千，一個給了一千，就往外國去了。	And to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one; to everyone as he was able; and he went on his journey.
25:16	那領五千的隨即拿去做買賣，另外賺了五千。	Straight away he who had been given the five talents went and did trade with them, and made five more.
25:17	那領二千的也照樣另賺了二千。	In the same way he who had been given the two got two more.
25:18	但那領一千的去掘開地，把主人的銀子埋藏了。	But he who was given the one went away and put it in a hole in the earth, and kept his lord's money in a secret place.
25:19	過了許久，那些僕人的主人來了，和他們算帳。	Now after a long time the lord of those servants comes, and makes up his account with them.
25:20	那領五千銀子的又帶著那另外的五千來，說：『主啊，你交給我五千銀子。請看，我又賺了五千。』	And he who had the five talents came with his other five talents, saying, Lord, you gave into my care five talents: see, I have got five more.
25:21	主人說：『好，你這又良善又忠心的僕人，你在不多的事上有忠心，我要把許多事派你管理；可以進來享受你主人的快樂。』	His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.
25:22	那領二千的也來，說：『主啊，你交給我二千銀子。請看，我又賺了二千。』	And he who had the two talents came and said, Lord, you gave into my care two talents: see, I have got two more.
25:23	主人說：『好，你這又良善又忠心的僕人，你在不多的事上有忠心，我要把許多事派你管理；可以進來享受你主人的快樂。』	His lord said to him, Well done, good and true servant: you have been true in a small thing, I will give you control over great things: take your part in the joy of your lord.
25:24	那領一千的也來，說：『主啊，我知道你是忍心的人，沒有種的地方要收割，沒有散的地方要聚斂，	And he who had had the one talent came and said, Lord, I had knowledge that you are a hard man, getting in grain where you have not put seed, and making profits for which you have done no work:
25:25	我就害怕，去把你的一千銀子埋藏在地裡。請看，你的原銀子在這裡。』	And I was in fear, and went away, and put your talent in the earth: here is what is yours.
25:26	主人回答說：『你這又惡又懶的僕人，你既知道我沒有種的地方要收割，沒有散的地方要聚斂，	But his lord in answer said to him, You are a bad and unready servant; if you had knowledge that I get in grain where I did not put seed, and make profits for which I have done no work,
25:27	就當把我的銀子放給兌換銀錢的人，到我來的時候，可以連本帶利收回。	Why, then, did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I would have got back what is mine with interest?
25:28	奪過他這一千來，給那有一萬的。	Take away, then, his talent and give it to him who has the ten talents.
25:29	因為凡有的，還要加給他，叫他有餘；沒有的，連他所有的也要奪過來。	For to everyone who has will be given, and he will have more: but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

《無知的財主》

林布蘭特畫了不少以聖經為主題的作品。年輕時候，林布蘭特尚在尋覓自己的風格，仍然努力從前輩畫家作品裡學習構圖與造型，而畫作體裁方面，他另闢蹊徑，焦點常常放在小人物的刻畫。例如，1627年(那年畫家二十歲)的畫作《無知的財主》，取材自《路加福音》12:13-21，畫中的財主在半夜裡仍然在算自己的錢財。除了新約的故事主題，畫家以融入十七世紀的概念，例如金幣、秤、後方牆角的時鐘、還有堆滿桌的「紙張」與文件，都與新約時代的用品迥異。《路加福音》中，耶穌善用比喻彰顯道理，而林布蘭特利用光暗的強烈對比訴說更多的故事，暗夜裡的時鐘，點出時間在不知不覺之間一分一秒消逝，財主手上的燭火也慢慢燃燒到盡頭，那一刻，生命也就瞬間結束；林布蘭特的畫隱隱重複那問號:『無知的人哪，今夜必要你的靈魂；你所預備的要歸誰呢？』(《路加福音》12:20)

   無知的財主在意的是他的財富，他的錢，我想像林布蘭特畫中的「紙張」可能是債券、地契…。而新約中常提及錢的單位是talents，這字另一意思是才能、天賦，從此觀點，很多極具天賦的人也可能是此「財主」，擁有太多，就容易陷入無知。

Luke 12: 13-21 The Parable of the Rich Fool

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.

17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.

19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

《亞伯拉罕接待上主與兩位天使》

《創世記》18:1-16描寫亞伯拉罕真誠地接待遠遊的客旅：第一，當他看見此三人，主動從帳棚門口跑去迎接他們；第二，他還俯伏在地，誠懇地請三人留下；第三，拿水幫客人洗腳；第四，拿餅請客人。第五，請客人奶油和奶、牛犢；第五，最後送客人一程。已經高齡99歲的亞伯拉罕，秉持敬天和善的精神，自發地接待他人，不知不覺中接待了神與天使，他的善心得到最好的回報。

林布蘭特早期的版畫《亞伯拉罕接待上主與兩位天使》(Abraham Entertaining the Angels, 1656)，右下角的人物是亞伯拉罕，謙卑地拿著水壺服務客人，低頭模樣，像是僕人。三位旅客地位尊貴，反倒像是主人。花亦芬分析，林布蘭特早期臨摹印度蒙兀兒宮廷的精密小畫(miniature painting)，此畫充分運用此種畫風，並加上畫家慧眼，結合聖經故事，開創與當時歐洲流行的宗教藝術迥異的新風格 (頁10-13)。仔細觀察，《亞伯拉罕接待上主與兩位天使》的布局的確和蒙兀兒宮廷的精密小畫及相似，但是畫中人物的穿著變成近東的游牧民族風格；此外，林布蘭特巧妙地在畫的背景中加上兩人，左後方躲在門後的撒拉與後方打水的僕人。

18:1	耶和華在幔利橡樹那裡向亞伯拉罕顯現出來。那時正熱，亞伯拉罕坐在帳棚門口，
18:2	舉目觀看，見有三個人在對面站著。他一見，就從帳棚門口跑去迎接他們，俯伏在地，
18:3	說：「我主，我若在你眼前蒙恩，求你不要離開僕人往前去。
18:4	容我拿點水來，你們洗洗腳，在樹下歇息歇息。
18:5	我再拿一點餅來，你們可以加添心力，然後往前去。你們既到僕人這裡來，理當如此。」他們說：「就照你說的行吧。」
18:6	亞伯拉罕急忙進帳棚見撒拉，說：「你速速拿三細亞細麵調和做餅。」
18:7	亞伯拉罕又跑到牛群裡，牽了一隻又嫩又好的牛犢來，交給僕人，僕人急忙預備好了。
18:8	亞伯拉罕又取了奶油和奶，並預備好的牛犢來，擺在他們面前，自己在樹下站在旁邊，他們就吃了。
18:9	他們問亞伯拉罕說：「你妻子撒拉在哪裡？」他說：「在帳棚裡。」
18:10	三人中有一位說：「到明年這時候，我必要回到你這裡；你的妻子撒拉必生一個兒子。」撒拉在那人後邊的帳棚門口也聽見了這話。
18:11	亞伯拉罕和撒拉年紀老邁，撒拉的月經已斷絕了。
18:12	撒拉心裡暗笑，說：「我既已衰敗，我主也老邁，豈能有這喜事呢？」
18:13	耶和華對亞伯拉罕說：「撒拉為甚麼暗笑，說：『我既已年老，果真能生養嗎？』
18:14	耶和華豈有難成的事嗎？到了日期，明年這時候，我必回到你這裡，撒拉必生一個兒子。」
18:15	撒拉就害怕，不承認，說：「我沒有笑。」那位說：「不然，你實在笑了。」
18:16	三人就從那裡起行，向所多瑪觀看，亞伯拉罕也與他們同行，要送他們一程。

花亦芬。《林布蘭特與聖經─荷蘭黃金時代藝術與宗教的對話》。台北：三民書局，2008。

20180206 Iliad 24. 457-461

δή ῥα τόθ᾽ Ἑρμείας ἐριούνιος ᾦξε γέροντι,

ἐς δ᾽ ἄγαγε κλυτὰ δῶρα ποδώκεϊ Πηλεΐωνι,

ἐξ ἵππων δ᾽ ἀπέβαινεν ἐπὶ χθόνα φώνησέν τε:

“ὦ γέρον ἤτοι ἐγὼ θεὸς ἄμβροτος εἰλήλουθα

Ἑρμείας: σοὶ γάρ με πατὴρ ἅμα πομπὸν ὄπασσεν….”

Then the helper Hermes opened the door for the old man, and brought in the glorious gifts for the swift-footed son of Peleus; and from the chariot he stepped down to the ground and spoke, saying, “Old Sir, I who have come to you an immortal god, Hermes; for my father sent me to guide you on your way…”

Hermes護送老人Priam到敵營，到了Achilles的營帳外面，也完成使命，這時，他才告訴老人家他其實是不朽之神Hermes，奉天神宙斯之命一路引領與保護他到這裡。

    Hermes扮演的腳色就是: ἐριούνιος，是幫助者、幸運使者，也就是「小天使」。在我們困頓之際，身邊常常出現這樣的「小天使」或是「貴人」相助，也就是來自上蒼一種神聖不朽(ἄμβροτος immortal, divine)之力量，藉由不同型式出現，史詩的描述用具體的人物表達此「小天使」，簡單卻貼切。

  

下圖出處:　 http://elfinspell.com/MurrayMyth/Hermes.html  

20180201 Iliad 24. 411-421

ὦ τέκος, ἦ ῥ᾽ ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἐναίσιμα δῶρα διδοῦναι

ἀθανάτοις, ἐπεὶ οὔ ποτ᾽ ἐμὸς πάϊς, εἴ ποτ᾽ ἔην γε,

λήθετ᾽ ἐνὶ μεγάροισι θεῶν οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσι:

τώ οἱ ἀπεμνήσαντο καὶ ἐν θανάτοιό περ αἴσῃ.

My Child, a good thing truly is it to give to the immortals such as are due them; far never did my son—if ever in fact he was—forget in our halls the gods hold Olympus; so they have rememnbered this for him, even though he is in the doom of death.

慢慢讀荷馬史詩《伊里亞德》最後一卷，聆聽人與人之間的對話、觀察天地神之奧妙、以及思考生與死的意義。老國王Priam在喪子之痛的悲傷情緒中，堅持諸般應盡禮儀，得到神祗幫助，Hermes扮成年輕人安慰與鼓勵Priam，當Priam知道長子Hector之屍首仍完好，感謝眾神之眷顧—看顧兒子之生死。

若只在意失去的，擔心沒有擁有的，就會放不下生死；但是若是感謝遇到的每一件事、珍惜現在擁有的一切，就不會害怕失去。

欣賞這位特洛伊老國王的雍容大度、修養與智慧。

下面圖文出處:　 http://www.towntopics.com/nov1605/art.html

VERY HUMAN ARM: Priam kissing the hand that killed his son in Joseph Wencker's "Priam at the Feet of Achilles," which can be seen at the Princeton Art Museum's current exhibition, "The Legacy of Homer: Four Centuries of Art from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris." Presented in collaboration with the Dahesh Museum of Art in New York City, the show will run through January 15, 2006. It was organized by École curator Emmanuel Schwartz and coordinated at Princeton by Betsy Rosasco, research curator of later Western art.

20180130 Iliad 24. 411-421

20180130  Iliad 24. 411-421

 ‘ὦ γέρον οὔ πω τόν γε κύνες φάγον οὐδ᾽ οἰωνοί,

ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι κεῖνος κεῖται Ἀχιλλῆος παρὰ νηῒ

αὔτως ἐν κλισίῃσι: δυωδεκάτη δέ οἱ ἠὼς

κειμένῳ, οὐδέ τί οἱ χρὼς σήπεται, οὐδέ μιν εὐλαὶ

ἔσθουσ᾽, αἵ ῥά τε φῶτας ἀρηϊφάτους κατέδουσιν.

ἦ μέν μιν περὶ σῆμα ἑοῦ ἑτάροιο φίλοιο

ἕλκει ἀκηδέστως ἠὼς ὅτε δῖα φανήῃ,

οὐδέ μιν αἰσχύνει: θηοῖό κεν αὐτὸς ἐπελθὼν

οἷον ἐερσήεις κεῖται, περὶ δ᾽ αἷμα νένιπται,

οὐδέ ποθι μιαρός: σὺν δ᾽ ἕλκεα πάντα μέμυκεν

ὅσσ᾽ ἐτύπη: πολέες γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ χαλκὸν ἔλασσαν.

Old sir, not yet have dogs and birds devoured him, but he still lies there beside the ship of Achilles among the huts as he was at the first; and this is now the twelfth day that he lies there, yet his flesh decays not at all, nor do worms coonsume it, such as feed on men slain in battle. To be sure Achilles drags him ruthlessly about the mound of his dear comrades, but he mars him not; you would yoursled marvel, were you to come and see how dew-fresh he lies, and is washed clean of blood, not is he anywhere stained; and all the wounds are closed with which he was struck, for many there were who drove the bronze into his flesh.

老人家問眼前的這位帥哥—其實是Hermes假扮的—唯一的問題，也是他此刻出現在敵營的目的: Hector的屍體狀況。Hermes既然是神，地上發生的事都倆若指掌，提供十分完善資訊：

時間—Hector死後第十二天。

地點—在Achilles營帳旁邊。

狀況—完好如初。沒成被野狗或是飛鳥吃掉，身體也沒被蟲蛀蝕。

細節—儘管每天白天Achilles拖著Hecot屍體示威，但是Hector沒被解體、也沒變形。身上的血已經洗乾淨、被無數銅製兵器擊傷的傷口也都癒合。

這是神蹟? 還是因為當時天氣狀況，屍體歷經12天都不會發臭或腐爛? 還是古代有特殊方法保存屍體?

下面圖文出處:　 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector#/media/File:Hector_brought_back_to_Troy.jpg　

Hector brought back to Troy, from a Roman sarcophagus of c. 180–200 AD