讀西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (23)

該如何形容悲傷與不幸的極致? 薇依用她非常切身的經歷說明: 飢餓。被暴力操縱的受難者，承受無法平息的羞辱與難過，就像飢餓的苦楚。

這裡，我們回頭讀一段The Iliad:

Iliad 24. 527-533

希臘文本引用出處:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D507

δοιοὶ γάρ τε πίθοι κατακείαται ἐν Διὸς οὔδει

δώρων οἷα δίδωσι κακῶν, ἕτερος δὲ ἑάων:

ᾧ μέν κ᾽ ἀμμίξας δώῃ Ζεὺς τερπικέραυνος,

ἄλλοτε μέν τε κακῷ ὅ γε κύρεται, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ ἐσθλῷ:

ᾧ δέ κε τῶν λυγρῶν δώῃ, λωβητὸν ἔθηκε,

καί ἑ κακὴ βούβρωστις ἐπὶ χθόνα δῖαν ἐλαύνει,

φοιτᾷ δ᾽ οὔτε θεοῖσι τετιμένος οὔτε βροτοῖσιν.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad24.htm

On Zeus’ floor stand two jars which hold his gifts—                     

one has disastrous things, the other blessings.

When thunder-loving Zeus hands out a mixture,

that man will, at some point, meet with evil,  

then, some other time, with good. When Zeus’ gift

comes only from the jar containing evil,

he makes the man despised. A wicked frenzy

drives him all over sacred earth—he wanders
without honour from the gods or mortal men.

提到宙斯的禮物，當然最有名的典故就是潘朵拉的盒子，這個故事可參考Hesiod, Works and Days, II. 69-104。或參考維基百科的介紹。雖然中文翻譯成盒子，其實古希臘文用πίθοι，是指甕 (urns)。
       Achilles此刻是悲觀的。Achilles提到兩種禮物，第一種是福禍參半(mixture of blessings and evils)，另一種全然是禍(evils)。而第二種，就像被惡鬼追殺，流離失所，顛沛逃難。史詩中的英雄大多接到第二種禮物，詩人洞悉自古豪傑多磨難。而薇依為此下一註腳:

L'homme qui se trouve partout le plus faible est au cœur des cités aussi seul, plus seul que ne peut l'être l'homme perdu au milieu d'un désert.

孤零游離在城市之心，憂傷寂寞迷失在沙漠曠野。宙斯的大禮? 力越大，責任越大，盡是孤單受苦。



以下圖片資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandora

This is an engraving of Pandora trying to close the box that she had opened out of curiosity. At left, the evils of the world taunt her as they escape. The engraving is based on a painting by F. S. Church.

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

讀西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (21-22)

十分瀑布 (2013春)

薇依談到，奴隸再也不會失去任何東西，因為內心已被掏空。歷史的暴力與殘忍，心傷，悲痛欲絕，極致，內心全然被掏空。

efface toute vie intérieure

閱讀The Iliad第二十四卷，Achilles對Priam說的一段話，主題是: 悲傷與厭食症。神話故事中的Niobe， 因為對Apollo與Artemis不敬，失去12個小孩。痛失孩子的母親，憂傷不已，終日不食，最後變成石頭，傳說中母親的淚水還是滾滾流下。就是著名的流淚的岩石(Weeping Rock)的典故。Pausanias (1.21.3)也提到這個地理典故。


以下圖片資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niobe
The Weeping Rock in Mount Sipylus, Manisa,Turkey, has been associated with Niobe's legend since Antiquity

Niobe 的故事大綱

以下內容出處:

 http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/niobe.html 
Niobe is one of the more tragic figures in Greek myth. She was the daughter of Tantalus and either Euryanassa, Eurythemista, Clytia, or Dione (no one seems to know for sure) and had two brothers, Broteas and Pelops. Niobe was the queen of Thebes (the principle city in Boetia), married to Amphion, King of Thebes. 

Niobe and Amphion had fourteen children (the Niobids), and in a moment of arrogance, Niobe bragged about her seven sons and seven daughters at a ceremony in honor ofLeto, the daughter of the titans Coeus and Phoebe. She mocked Leto, who only had two children, Apollo, god of prophecy and music, and Artemis, virgin goddess of the wild. Leto did not take the insult lightly, and in retaliation, sent Apollo and Artemis to earth to slaughter all of Niobe's children. Apollo killed the seven sons while they practiced their athletics. The last son begged to be spared, but the arrow had already left Apollo's bow, and the boy was struck dead. Artemis killed the seven daughters with her lethal arrows. (Some versions have a few of the children being spared.)
At the sight of his dead sons, Amphion either committed suicide or was also killed by Apollo for wanting to avenge his children's deaths. In any event, Niobe's entire family was dead in a matter of minutes. In shock, she cradled the youngest daughter in her arms, then fled to Mt. Siplyon in Asia Minor. There she turned to stone and from the rock formed a stream (the Achelous) from her ceaseless tears. She became the symbol of eternal mourning. Niobe's children were left unburied for nine days because Zeus had turned all of the people of Thebes into stone. Only on the tenth day did the gods have pity and entomb her children.

___________________________________

以下圖片資料出處: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niobe
A 1772 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Niobe attempting to shield her children from Artemis and Apollo.

不過荷馬史詩的描述，雖以神話故事為本(mythological paradigm)，卻有創新多處細節，以配合史詩情節:

Iliad 24. 596-613

希臘文本引用出處:

 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D596

ἦ ῥα, καὶ ἐς κλισίην πάλιν ἤϊε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,

ἕζετο δ᾽ ἐν κλισμῷ πολυδαιδάλῳ ἔνθεν ἀνέστη

τοίχου τοῦ ἑτέρου, ποτὶ δὲ Πρίαμον φάτο μῦθον:

υἱὸς μὲν δή τοι λέλυται γέρον ὡς ἐκέλευες,

κεῖται δ᾽ ἐν λεχέεσσ᾽: ἅμα δ᾽ ἠοῖ φαινομένηφιν

ὄψεαι αὐτὸς ἄγων: νῦν δὲ μνησώμεθα δόρπου.

καὶ γάρ τ᾽ ἠΰκομος Νιόβη ἐμνήσατο σίτου,

τῇ περ δώδεκα παῖδες ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ὄλοντο

ἓξ μὲν θυγατέρες, ἓξ δ᾽ υἱέες ἡβώοντες.

τοὺς μὲν Ἀπόλλων πέφνεν ἀπ᾽ ἀργυρέοιο βιοῖο

χωόμενος Νιόβῃ, τὰς δ᾽ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα,

οὕνεκ᾽ ἄρα Λητοῖ ἰσάσκετο καλλιπαρῄῳ:

φῆ δοιὼ τεκέειν, ἣ δ᾽ αὐτὴ γείνατο πολλούς:

τὼ δ᾽ ἄρα καὶ δοιώ περ ἐόντ᾽ ἀπὸ πάντας ὄλεσσαν.

οἳ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἐννῆμαρ κέατ᾽ ἐν φόνῳ, οὐδέ τις ἦεν

κατθάψαι, λαοὺς δὲ λίθους ποίησε Κρονίων:

τοὺς δ᾽ ἄρα τῇ δεκάτῃ θάψαν θεοὶ Οὐρανίωνες.

ἣ δ᾽ ἄρα σίτου μνήσατ᾽, ἐπεὶ κάμε δάκρυ χέουσα.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad24.htm

Godlike Achilles spoke,

then went back once more into the hut and sat

on the richly decorated chair he’d left   

by the opposite wall. Then he spoke to Priam:

“Old man, your son has been given back,

as you requested. He’s lying on a bier. 

You’ll see him for yourself at day break,

when you take him. We should think of eating.

Even fair-haired Niobe remembered food,

with twelve of her own children murdered in her home,

her six young daughters and her six strong sons.

Apollo was so enraged at Niobe,

with his silver bow he killed the sons. The daughters                 

Artemis the Archer slaughtered, for Niobe

had compared herself to lovely Leto,

saying the goddess only had two children,

while she had given birth to many. Even so,

though only two, those gods killed all her children.

For nine days they lay in their own blood— 

there was no one there to give them burial.

Cronos’ son had turned the people all to stone.

      The tenth day, the gods in heaven buried them.

吃是大事，也有很多象徵意義。當Achilles邀請Priam一起用餐，就表示和他和解(reconciliation)。別忘了Achilles到此刻都還不能原諒Agamemnon，拒絕和希臘將領一起吃飯，總是獨自一人在他的軍營吃喝。
     荷馬改寫神話故事，第一，Niobe並非不吃不喝，而是儘管如此傷悲，為了愛小孩，還是吃飯。因為Achilles是要勸Priam 吃飯。
     倒是第十天才埋葬小孩的屍體，Niobe的故事和荷馬的引用是平行的，雖然神話故事中，Zeus在第十天把小孩變成石頭，而Hector的埋葬是第十天舉行。
     有些學者認為Iliad 24.614-617能是後來添加的(post-Homeric addition)，這幾行多加了後人看到流淚的岩石 ，聯想Niobe傷痛至極的景像。



西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

讀西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (19-20)

奴隸的眼中只有她的主人，不能愛，也不能付出，沒有自由，所有的路都被封鎖。史詩中的戰奴何其多，但是像Briseis這樣幸運的並不多，也可以說是奇蹟。

Briseis為何流淚? 第一次，因為父母與兄弟都死於Achilles手下，她成為Achilles的戰俘的那刻；第二次，悲働Patroclus之死；第三次，哀傷Achilles之死。

        The Iliad 第十九卷的這段描述，當Patroclus戰死，Briseis淚流不已:

Iliad 19.287-302

希臘文本引用出處:

 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D19%3Acard%3D276

 Πάτροκλέ μοι δειλῇ πλεῖστον κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ

ζωὸν μέν σε ἔλειπον ἐγὼ κλισίηθεν ἰοῦσα,

νῦν δέ σε τεθνηῶτα κιχάνομαι ὄρχαμε λαῶν

ἂψ ἀνιοῦσ᾽: ὥς μοι δέχεται κακὸν ἐκ κακοῦ αἰεί.

ἄνδρα μὲν ᾧ ἔδοσάν με πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ

εἶδον πρὸ πτόλιος δεδαϊγμένον ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ,

τρεῖς τε κασιγνήτους, τούς μοι μία γείνατο μήτηρ,

κηδείους, οἳ πάντες ὀλέθριον ἦμαρ ἐπέσπον.

οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδέ μ᾽ ἔασκες, ὅτ᾽ ἄνδρ᾽ ἐμὸν ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεὺς

ἔκτεινεν, πέρσεν δὲ πόλιν θείοιο Μύνητος,

κλαίειν, ἀλλά μ᾽ ἔφασκες Ἀχιλλῆος θείοιο

κουριδίην ἄλοχον θήσειν, ἄξειν τ᾽ ἐνὶ νηυσὶν

ἐς Φθίην, δαίσειν δὲ γάμον μετὰ Μυρμιδόνεσσι.

τώ σ᾽ ἄμοτον κλαίω τεθνηότα μείλιχον αἰεί.’

ὣς ἔφατο κλαίουσ᾽, ἐπὶ δὲ στενάχοντο γυναῖκες

Πάτροκλον πρόφασιν, σφῶν δ᾽ αὐτῶν κήδε᾽ ἑκάστη.

英文譯本引用出處: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/homer/iliad19.htm

“Patroclus, you who brought the utmost joy to my sad heart,

I left you here alive, when I went off,  

taken from these huts. But now, at my return,

I find you dead, you, the people’s leader.

Again for me, as always, evil follows evil.

I saw the husband I was given to

by my father and my noble mother killed

by sharp bronze before our city. My brothers,

three of them, whom my own mother bore,

whom I loved, have all met their fatal day.

But when swift Achilles killed my husband,

you wouldn’t let me weep. You told me then 

you’d make me lord Achilles’ wedded wife,

he’d take me in his ships back to Phthia,

for a marriage feast among the Myrmidons.

You were always gentle. That’s the reason

I’ll never stop this grieving for your death.”

As Briseis said this, she wept. The women joined her

in wailing for Patroclus, although each of them

had her own private sorrows. 

Patroclus是良善的，當時Briseis最悲傷之際，Patroclus真誠的安慰與鼓勵Briseis。Patroclus給Briseis一個可以脫離奴隸的希望----Achilles將娶她成為合法的妻子，Patroclus走了，這個盼望可能落空。當Achilles陣亡，希望全然落空。

此刻，Briseis或許是悲傷希望破滅，或許是因為感同身受，或許基於同情，或許打從內心悲傷。流淚，生命的出口。

絕處逢生，唯有真誠，若以惡治惡，只會不斷陷入暴力的惡果與惡性循環。甚麼是奴隸?就是不能愛，不能付出；那麼，自由，就是享受關愛他人，付出，與幫助別人的許多可能與選擇。薇依說到奴隸的困窘:

le mors barrent tous les chemins 

奴隸，無路可走，無路可逃。那麼，自由是甚麼?當我隨意行走，當我在選擇不同道路，就是自由。

Casey Dué, Homeric Variations on a Lament by Briseis

線上文本: http://chs.harvard.edu/wa/pageR?tn=ArticleWrapper&bdc=12&mn=1720

書中提到:
"Briseis’ lament alludes to many of her life experiences, most of which are not narrated by the Iliad except in her own voice in this one passage. As I noted already, we see her fall down weeping over the body of Patroklos, in the same way that the unnamed widow of Odyssey 8 falls down over the dead body of her warrior husband (19.284 ἀμφ' αὐτᾠ χυμένη λίγ' ἐκώκυε ~ Odyssey 8.527). The generic widow of Odyssey 8 is led off as a captive into slavery before our eyes even as she weeps. The death of Patroklos does not bring about slavery for Briseis, who is already a captive. But when she sees the body of Patroklos “torn by the sharp bronze” (δεδαϊγμένον ὀξέϊ χαλκᾠ 19.283), she recalls her own husband, who died in just this same way (δεδαϊγμένον ὀξέϊ χαλκᾠ 19.292). Briseis’ lament for Patroklos reenacts the lament that she must have performed for her husband upon learning of his death, perhaps, just before Briseis herself was led off into slavery, just as the woman in the simile of Odyssey 8. Achilles killed her husband in the sack of Lyrnessos, a raid that takes place outside of the confines of the poem but to which the poem frequently alludes. Thus in just two lines (19.283–284), traditional resonances that are contained in the phrases themselves evoke a whole range of experiences and events."


Briseis成為後來文學、繪畫與電影常出現的主題:

以下圖片與資料出處:

 http://www.wikigallery.org/wiki/painting_386004/(after)-Sir-Peter-Paul-Rubens/The-Return-Of-Briseis-To-Achilles

The Return Of Briseis To Achilles 

by (after) Sir Peter Paul Rubens

以下維基百科列出的清單: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Briseis 

Cultural references

• In Ovid's Heroides, an apocryphal letter from Briseis to Achilles makes up the third entry, in which she reproaches him for both giving her up too easily to Agamemnon, and being tardy in gaining her return.
• In The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Briseis fell in love with Achilles and chose to leave Troy to be with him.
• The novel Daughter of Troy by Sarah B. Franklin is written from Briseis' point of view with a substantial pre-history before the events of the Iliad unfold [1].
• In Christa Wolf's novel Kassandra, aspects of the Homeric and medieval versions of Briseis' story are blended so that the character is steadily degraded from being Troilus' lover to Agamemnon's and Achilles' plaything.
• Briseis is played by Gloria Milland in the 1962 film The Fury of Achilles.
• Briseis is featured in the 2004 film Troy. In the film, Briseis (Rose Byrne) is a cousin of the Trojan princes Hector and Paris, and falls in love with Achilles (Brad Pitt). She later killsAgamemnon (Brian Cox) during the Sack of Troy; in classical mythology Agamemnon is killed by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.
• In Steven Saylor's novel A Murder on the Appian Way, part of the Roma Sub Rosa series, Gordianus tries to insult someone by comparing her to Briseis, but the woman fails to understand the allusion and is therefore not insulted.
• In Orson Scott Card's Shadow of the Hegemon, Briseis is the code name for Petra Arkanian while she was being held prisoner by Achilles de Flandres.
• Glenn Hergenhahn's 2012 play Briseis is a retelling of the Iliad with Briseis at its center.
• Madeline Miller's 2011 book, Briseis is in love with Patroclus.
• 
  

西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

讀西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force (14-18)

今年預定讀薇依的著作，下午到圖書館借一本中文本《柏拉圖對話中的神----薇依論古希臘文學》。寫閱讀心得，也是思考，學習與寫作的功課。
     

 讀一陣子The Iliad or the Poem of Force，今天進度 (第14-18段)，談到戰爭的另一悲慘面向: 奴隸。
     說起特洛伊戰爭，帶給特洛伊人三種悲哀: 死亡，乞求，與變成奴隸。第二種和第三種都是「活在死亡」的弔詭狀態，乞求是一時的，變成奴隸之後的「人生」，卻是生不如死，終其一生都似活的死人，或是被當作物品對待，沒有自我的世界、沒有自己的存在、沒有自由，肉體仍然動著，但是靈魂已被判死刑，心理期待死，卻須拖著動的皮肉身軀漫長地等死，根本是活在死亡當中，死亡霸佔奴隸的生存。薇依如是描寫這悲慘的為奴之苦:
une vie que la mort a glacée longtemps avant de l'avoir supprimée

死亡凍結(glacée)在他們的日子裡，而且是漫長的往後人生。

   接下來薇依提到三個例子，阿波羅神殿祭司的女兒Chryseis (Iliad 1.29-31)，Hector上戰場前預測將來妻女淪為奴隸的慘狀(Iliad 6.456-58)，以及Hector死後，Andromache知道將要目睹幼小的兒子Astyamax就要變成奴隸(Iliad 24.731-734)。

   

   從荷馬史詩的敘述與相關史料呈現，戰敗的城與國是多麼悽慘，特別是手無寸鐵的婦女與年幼的小孩，都和被奪的金銀財寶一樣，成為戰勝一方的物品或玩物。不論出生是祭司之女，皇后，還是公主，戰敗後，她們都成為奴隸，任憑勝利者瓜分與使喚。Hector早明白自己這一出去打仗是條不歸路，知道家人日後成為奴隸，這是不可避免的殘酷事實。

　　　薇依用"subira" (英文翻譯 It awaits....)。英文翻譯表達，等著少女，妻子與嬰兒的是「那」(it)，不生不死，生不如死的為奴命運。而原法文中subira刻劃出，這些無辜的生命被迫放入如此的苦難。（subir，動詞，to suffer, to be subjected to...)。
　　　戰爭，掀起的是無盡的受苦受難，奪走的是受難者的夢想、過去、未來、家、生存的意義.....
           Hector認為死了還比苟活為奴好，他不必活生生看著親愛的妻子與小孩被奴隸，但是，他的妻子自身變成奴隸，還得目睹親生的嬰兒遭受這般悲哀。



西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄

Simone Weil: The Iliad or the Poem of Force (第10-13段)

花好幾天閱讀下面四段，Weil分析與討論Priam如何屈膝懇求Achilles還回兒子Hector的屍體，也是史詩The Iliad最動人的終曲。我很佩服Weil的細膩觀察，也必須承認Weil寫得有點難懂，我反覆咀嚼，又重新回頭看荷馬史詩如何描述這場「Priam 和Achilles的對手戲」，我和Weil看法不同: Weil認為Achilles把Priam當成無生命的東西看待，如一個全然無力的物品 (un objet inerte)，我則想說，只有Priam的無力能「撼動」天下第一武士Achilles:

法文原文引用出處
http://www.ebooksgratuits.com/pdf/weil_iliade.pdf

Quand, hors de tout combat, un étranger faible et sans armes supplie un guerrier, il n'est pas de ce fait condamné à mort ; mais un instant d'impatience de la part du guerrier suffirait à lui ôter la vie. C'est assez pour que sa chair perde la principale propriété de la chair vivante. Un morceau de chair vivante manifeste la vie avant tout par le sursaut ; une patte de grenouille, sous le choc électrique, sursaute ; l'aspect proche ou le contact d'une chose horrible ou terrifiante fait sursauter n'importe quel paquet de chair, de nerfs et de muscles. Seul, un pareil suppliant ne tressaille pas, ne frémit pas ; il n'en a plus licence ; ses lèvres vont toucher l'objet pour lui le plus chargé d'horreur :

On ne vit pas entrer le grand Priam. Il s'arrêta,
Étreignit les genoux d'Achille, baisa ses mains,
Terribles, tueuses d'hommes, qui lui avaient massacré tant
de fils.

Le spectacle d'un homme réduit à ce degré de malheur glace à peu près comme glace l'aspect d'un cadavre :

Comme quand le dur malheur saisit quelqu'un, lorsque dans son pays
Il a tué, et qu'il arrive à la demeure d'autrui,
De quelque riche ; un frisson saisit ceux qui le voient ;
Ainsi Achille frissonna en voyant le divin Priam.
Les autres aussi frissonnèrent, se regardant les uns les
autres.

Mais ce n'est qu'un moment, et bientôt la présence même du malheureux est oubliée :

Il dit. L'autre, songeant à son père, désira le pleurer ;
Le prenant par le bras, il poussa un peu le vieillard.
Tous deux se souvenaient, l'un d'Hector tueur d'hommes,
Et il fondait en larmes aux pieds d'Achille, contre la terre ;
Mais Achille, lui, pleurait son père, et par moments aussi
Patrocle ; leurs sanglots emplissaient la demeure.

Ce n'est pas par insensibilité qu'Achille a d'un geste poussé à évoquant son vieux père l'ont ému jusqu'aux larmes. Tout simplement il se trouve être aussi libre dans ses attitudes, dans ses mouvements que si au lieu d'un suppliant c'était un objet inerte qui touchait ses genoux. Les êtres humains autour de nous ont par leur seule présence un pouvoir, et qui n'appartient qu'à eux, d'arrêter, de réprimer, de modifier chacun des mouvements que notre corps esquisse ; un passant ne détourne pas notre marche sur une route de la même manière qu'un écriteau, on ne se lève pas, on ne marche pas, on ne rassied pas dans sa chambre quand on est seul de la même manière que lorsqu'on a un visiteur. Mais cette influence indéfinissable de la présence humaine n'est pas exercée par les hommes qu'un mouvement d'impatience peut priver de la vie avant même qu'une pensée ait eu le temps de les condamner à mort. Devant eux les autres se meuvent comme s'ils n'étaient pas là ; et eux à leur tour, dans le danger où ils se trouvent d'être en un instant réduits à rien, ils imitent le néant. Poussés ils tombent, tombés demeurent à terre, aussi longtemps que le hasard ne fait pas passer dans l'esprit de quelqu'un la pensée de les relever. Mais qu'enfin relevés, honorés de paroles cordiales, ils ne s'avisent pas de prendre au sérieux cette résurrection, d'oser exprimer un désir ; une voix irritée les ramènerait aussitôt au silence :

Il dit, et le vieillard trembla et obéit.

法文guerrier ，英文warrior，武士，Achilles 和Hector都是。試問，如果一個棄械投降，無力，殘廢的人跪在我們的面前，我們真的會無動於衷?冷血，殘酷，就是武士，就是力的極致? 再看一次，Weil引用的第24卷 (我引用較多上下文，重新思考當中意義):

Iliad 24.468-506

希臘文本引用出處:

 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D468

ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπέβη πρὸς μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον

Ἑρμείας: Πρίαμος δ᾽ ἐξ ἵππων ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,

Ἰδαῖον δὲ κατ᾽ αὖθι λίπεν: ὃ δὲ μίμνεν ἐρύκων

ἵππους ἡμιόνους τε: γέρων δ᾽ ἰθὺς κίεν οἴκου,

τῇ ῥ᾽ Ἀχιλεὺς ἵζεσκε Διῒ φίλος: ἐν δέ μιν αὐτὸν

εὗρ᾽, ἕταροι δ᾽ ἀπάνευθε καθήατο: τὼ δὲ δύ᾽ οἴω

ἥρως Αὐτομέδων τε καὶ Ἄλκιμος ὄζος Ἄρηος

ποίπνυον παρεόντε: νέον δ᾽ ἀπέληγεν ἐδωδῆς

ἔσθων καὶ πίνων: ἔτι καὶ παρέκειτο τράπεζα.

τοὺς δ᾽ ἔλαθ᾽ εἰσελθὼν Πρίαμος μέγας, ἄγχι δ᾽ ἄρα στὰς

χερσὶν Ἀχιλλῆος λάβε γούνατα καὶ κύσε χεῖρας

δεινὰς ἀνδροφόνους, αἵ οἱ πολέας κτάνον υἷας.

ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἄνδρ᾽ ἄτη πυκινὴ λάβῃ, ὅς τ᾽ ἐνὶ πάτρῃ

φῶτα κατακτείνας ἄλλων ἐξίκετο δῆμον

ἀνδρὸς ἐς ἀφνειοῦ, θάμβος δ᾽ ἔχει εἰσορόωντας,

ὣς Ἀχιλεὺς θάμβησεν ἰδὼν Πρίαμον θεοειδέα:

θάμβησαν δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι, ἐς ἀλλήλους δὲ ἴδοντο.

τὸν καὶ λισσόμενος Πρίαμος πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε:

‘μνῆσαι πατρὸς σοῖο θεοῖς ἐπιείκελ᾽ Ἀχιλλεῦ,

τηλίκου ὥς περ ἐγών, ὀλοῷ ἐπὶ γήραος οὐδῷ:

καὶ μέν που κεῖνον περιναιέται ἀμφὶς ἐόντες

τείρουσ᾽, οὐδέ τίς ἐστιν ἀρὴν καὶ λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι.

ἀλλ᾽ ἤτοι κεῖνός γε σέθεν ζώοντος ἀκούων

χαίρει τ᾽ ἐν θυμῷ, ἐπί τ᾽ ἔλπεται ἤματα πάντα

ὄψεσθαι φίλον υἱὸν ἀπὸ Τροίηθεν ἰόντα:

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ πανάποτμος, ἐπεὶ τέκον υἷας ἀρίστους

Τροίῃ ἐν εὐρείῃ, τῶν δ᾽ οὔ τινά φημι λελεῖφθαι.

πεντήκοντά μοι ἦσαν ὅτ᾽ ἤλυθον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν:

ἐννεακαίδεκα μέν μοι ἰῆς ἐκ νηδύος ἦσαν,

τοὺς δ᾽ ἄλλους μοι ἔτικτον ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γυναῖκες.

τῶν μὲν πολλῶν θοῦρος Ἄρης ὑπὸ γούνατ᾽ ἔλυσεν:

ὃς δέ μοι οἶος ἔην, εἴρυτο δὲ ἄστυ καὶ αὐτούς,

τὸν σὺ πρῴην κτεῖνας ἀμυνόμενον περὶ πάτρης

Ἕκτορα: τοῦ νῦν εἵνεχ᾽ ἱκάνω νῆας Ἀχαιῶν

λυσόμενος παρὰ σεῖο, φέρω δ᾽ ἀπερείσι᾽ ἄποινα.

ἀλλ᾽ αἰδεῖο θεοὺς Ἀχιλεῦ, αὐτόν τ᾽ ἐλέησον

μνησάμενος σοῦ πατρός: ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐλεεινότερός περ,

ἔτλην δ᾽ οἷ᾽ οὔ πώ τις ἐπιχθόνιος βροτὸς ἄλλος,

ἀνδρὸς παιδοφόνοιο ποτὶ στόμα χεῖρ᾽ ὀρέγεσθαι.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D468

So spake Hermes, and departed unto high Olympus; and Priam leapt from his chariot to the ground, [470] and left there Idaeus, who abode holding the horses and mules; but the old man went straight toward the house where Achilles, dear to Zeus, was wont to sit. Therein he found Achilles, but his comrades sat apart: two only, the warrior Automedon and Alcimus, scion of Ares, [475] waited busily upon him; and he was newly ceased from meat, even from eating and drinking, and the table yet stood by his side. Unseen of these great Priam entered in, and coming close to Achilles, clasped in his hands his knees, and kissed his hands, the terrible, man-slaying hands that had slain his many sons. [480] And as when sore blindness of heart cometh upon a man, that in his own country slayeth another and escapeth to a land of strangers, to the house of some man of substance, and wonder holdeth them that look upon him; even so was Achilles seized with wonder at sight of godlike Priam, and seized with wonder were the others likewise, and they glanced one at the other. [485] But Priam made entreaty, and spake to him, saying: “Remember thy father, O Achilles like to the gods, whose years are even as mine, on the grievous threshold of old age. Him full likely the dwellers that be round about are entreating evilly, neither is there any to ward from him ruin and bane. [490] Howbeit, while he heareth of thee as yet alive he hath joy at heart, and therewithal hopeth day by day that he shall see his dear son returning from Troy-land. But I—I am utterly unblest, seeing I begat sons the best in the broad land of Troy, yet of them I avow that not one is left. [495] Fifty I had, when the sons of the Achaeans came; nineteen were born to me of the self-same womb, and the others women of the palace bare. Of these, many as they were, furious Ares hath loosed the knees, and he that alone was left me, that by himself guarded the city and the men, [500] him thou slewest but now as he fought for his country, even Hector. For his sake am I now come to the ships of the Achaeans to win him back from thee, and I bear with me ransom past counting. Nay, have thou awe of the gods, Achilles, and take pity on me, remembering thine own father. Lo, I am more piteous far than he, [505] and have endured what no other mortal on the face of earth hath yet endured, to reach forth my hand to the face of him that hath slain my sons.”

我在讀這段史詩時，看到的三層寒顫: Hector冰冷的屍體，Priam看見兒子的心痛，還有我們看到Achilles冷酷無情時的恐懼。

失去人性的是死去的Hector，還是Achilles?

Weil提到活人與死人的差異，或許很基本，但耐人尋味: 就像實驗室裡的青蛙，活人有觸電的反應。此刻沒有這種反應的是躺在地上的Hector，而拖著屍體狂奔的Achilles也失去這種反應?

老邁傷心欲絕的Priam走下馬車，獨自走入Achilles的軍營。此時，Achilles剛用完餐，餐桌都未撤走，他沒發現Priam進來，Achilles親吻自己的雙手，此刻，焦點是雙手，但是我們可以想像Priam的淚乾的雙眼，此刻注視這雙手的苦與痛，那雙殺人的手 (man-slaying hands)，那雙奪走 Priam好幾個兒子年輕生命的手。這是Weil提醒我們注意的焦點。
     史詩下個註腳，此刻的Achilles不只沒看到悲痛的Priam，更是全然心盲 (overpowering blindness of heart)! 
     總算，Achilles注意到Priam，頓然，四眼交會，力與無力(being inert; non-force)的接觸?這裡，我讀到出路，那就是被動的無力，放棄力的糾纏，物理學裡用的詞彙是「惰性」(inert)。我不知道Weil會如何解釋這一幕，但這卻是我最感動的 一刻，因為在這一刻，Priam不是富霸一方的特洛伊國王，而是一個可憐兮兮的乞丐，是一個失去兒子與未來的老人，是一個完全無力可施的弱者，但是，卻是唯一讓Achilles感動與流淚的人。

Iliad 24.507-512

希臘文本引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0133%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D507

ὣς φάτο, τῷ δ᾽ ἄρα πατρὸς ὑφ᾽ ἵμερον ὦρσε γόοιο:

ἁψάμενος δ᾽ ἄρα χειρὸς ἀπώσατο ἦκα γέροντα.

τὼ δὲ μνησαμένω ὃ μὲν Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο

κλαῖ᾽ ἁδινὰ προπάροιθε ποδῶν Ἀχιλῆος ἐλυσθείς,

αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς κλαῖεν ἑὸν πατέρ᾽, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτε

Πάτροκλον: τῶν δὲ στοναχὴ κατὰ δώματ᾽ ὀρώρει.

英文翻譯引用出處: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D24%3Acard%3D507

So spake he, and in Achilles he roused desire to weep for his father; and he took the old man by the hand, and gently put him from him. So the twain bethought them of their dead, and wept; the one for man-slaying Hector wept sore, [510] the while he grovelled at Achilles' feet, but Achilles wept for his own father, and now again for Patroclus; and the sound of their moaning went up through the house.

Priam的一番話勾起Achilles 的回憶，想起自己的父親與Patroclus，而Priam又想到自己的兒子，頓時，這房子被哭泣聲填滿。Weil強調Achilles 輕輕( ἦκα, gently)推開Priam是多麼無知覺(insensibility)，這兒，Weil可能依照法文的譯本把ἦκα當成"un peu"，以為Achilles是輕視老人(le vieillard)。正好相反，Achilles對Priam充滿敬意，是很有禮貌推開這傷心的老人。
   淚水，讓原本冷冰冰的Achilles與他的世界復活。Priam的話，是連結過去與不同生命的道路。這裡，我找到一些答案，Weil反省人類歷史充滿暴力(force, violence)，而暴力的終結就是死亡。那麼，淚水，(沒有暴力的)文字，和回憶或許就是提供另一條非暴力的路?
    Weil再用陌生人與訪客形容求情的老人Priam，這些比喻讓我感動，是因為，想到Priam冒著極大的危險，不顧自己的安危，夜奔敵營，而且是最英勇的戰士Achilles的軍營，他憑藉的不是力，而是無力。

Weil的文字和The Iliad的第二十四卷都值得一讀再讀，或許下次我會有不同體會，但這次我的小小結論是:

Achilles is profoundly moved by what Priam does not have rather than what he himself possesses. 

    
西蒙娜‧薇依 (Simone Weil): The Iliad or the Poem of Force: 目錄