《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

20180127  Iliad 24. 372-377

τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα γέρων Πρίαμος θεοειδής:

‘οὕτω πῃ τάδε γ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλον τέκος ὡς ἀγορεύεις.

ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι τις καὶ ἐμεῖο θεῶν ὑπερέσχεθε χεῖρα,

ὅς μοι τοιόνδ᾽ ἧκεν ὁδοιπόρον ἀντιβολῆσαι

αἴσιον, οἷος δὴ σὺ δέμας καὶ εἶδος ἀγητός,

πέπνυσαί τε νόῳ, μακάρων δ᾽ ἔξεσσι τοκήων.

Then the old man, godlike Priam, answered him: Just so, dear son, are all these things as you say. But still some god has stretched out his hand even over me, since he has sent a wayfarer such as you to meet me, a good omen, so wondrous in form and beauty, and you are wised in understanding; happy parents are they from who you are sprung.

《伊里亞德》提到的老人(γέρων) Priam，也有神的光燁 (θεοειδής)，儘管內心無比恐懼，為了摯愛的長子，仍隻身夜奔敵營。此時，Hermes佯裝一位美男子，親切地陪伴與鼓勵Priam。Priam把這位「旅伴」(ὁδοιπόρος a wayfarer, traveller)當成此刻的貴人，是神的出手相助，感謝這位俊美、有禮、善解人意的旅伴，並祝福他的家人。

Priam是多麼佩服的典範，即使在患難中仍不抱怨，心存感激，敬天，並善待他人。

μάκαρ blessed, happy

下面圖文出處: http://www.maicar.com/GML/000Iconography/Hermes/slides/8235detail.html

Priam | 8235 (detail): Priam (right); the other perhaps Achilles’ attendant or Hermes. Red-figured cup. Athens c. 480 BC. British Museum, London.

20180125 Iliad 24. 359-361

ὣς φάτο, σὺν δὲ γέροντι νόος χύτο, δείδιε δ᾽ αἰνῶς,

ὀρθαὶ δὲ τρίχες ἔσταν ἐνὶ γναμπτοῖσι μέλεσσι,

στῆ δὲ ταφών:

So he spoke, and the old man’s mind was thrown into confusion, and he was dreadfully afraid, and straight up stood the hair on his pliant limbs, and he stood in a daze.

《伊里亞德》提到的老人(γέροντι)通常是指Priam，為了長子Hector的屍首，老人夜奔敵營，實在是了不起。但是，老人的內心恐懼、焦慮，甚至心智昏亂，這裡描述老人家嚇到頭髮(τρίχες)豎起，腿(μέλεσσι)發軟，整個人呆掉。

但是，不會因為害怕就畏縮不前進。

下面圖文出處: https://www.ebts.org/2014/01/boxwood-in-classical-times-the-greeks-by-mark-v-braimbridge/

Silver cup showing Priam imploring Achilles to return the body of Hector (Photo: Courtesy National Museum, Copenhagen)

20180121 Iliad 24. 275-280

ἐκ θαλάμου δὲ φέροντες ἐϋξέστης ἐπ᾽ ἀπήνης

νήεον Ἑκτορέης κεφαλῆς ἀπερείσι᾽ ἄποινα,

ζεῦξαν δ᾽ ἡμιόνους κρατερώνυχας ἐντεσιεργούς,

τούς ῥά ποτε Πριάμῳ Μυσοὶ δόσαν ἀγλαὰ δῶρα.

ἵππους δὲ Πριάμῳ ὕπαγον ζυγόν, οὓς ὃ γεραιὸς

αὐτὸς ἔχων ἀτίταλλεν ἐϋξέστῃ ἐπὶ φάτνῃ.

Then they brought out from the treasure chamber and heaped on the polished wagon the countless ransom for Hector’s head, and yoked the strong-hoofed mules that toil in harness, which once the Mysians had given to Priam, a glorious gift. And for Priam they led beneath the yoke horses that the old king kept for his own and reared the polished stall.

備好騾車，又從庫房拿出數不完的寶藏當贖金 (ἄποινα)，推放在車裡。這裡強調這部騾車整理的極佳(ἐϋξέστης)，ἀπήνης通常指四輪的車。還使用十分特別的馬具，據說是小亞細亞Mysia人送的禮物。

從上述的文字，老國王還另外其一匹好馬。

下面圖文出處: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/46216/46216-h/46216-h.htm#Page_30

書名是: Carriages & Coaches: Their History & Their Evolution

Assyrian Chariot

(From Smith’s “Concise History of English Carriages”)