忏悔录 Confessions | BOOKVIII Chapter2 维克托利努斯归正

BOOKVIII Chapter2

维克托利努斯归正

To Simplicianus then I went, the father of Ambrose (a Bishop now) in receiving Thy grace, and whom Ambrose truly loved as a father. To him I related the mazes of my wanderings. But when I mentioned that I had read certain books of the Platonists, such as Victorinus, sometime Rhetoric Professor of Rome (who had died a Christian, as I had heard), had translated into Latin, he testified his joy that I had not fallen upon the writings of other philosophers, full of fallacies and deceits, after the rudiments of this world, where as the Platonists many ways led to the belief in God and His Word. Then to exhort me to the humility of Christ, hidden from the wise, and revealed to little ones, he spoke of Victorinus himself, whom while at Rome he had most intimately known: and of him he related what I will not conceal. For it contains great praise of Thy grace, to be confessed unto Thee, how that aged man, most learned and skilled in the liberal sciences, and who had read, and weighed so many works of the philosophers; the instructor of so many noble Senators, who also, as a monument of his excellent discharge of his office, had (which men of this world esteem a high honour) both deserved and obtained a statue in the Roman Forum; he, to that age a worshipper of idols, and a partaker of the sacrilegious rites, to which almost all the nobility of Rome were given up, and had inspired the people with the love of Anubis, barking Deity, and all The monster Gods of every kind, who fought 'Gainst Neptune, Venus, and Minerva: whom Rome once conquered, now adored, all which the aged Victorinus had with thundering eloquence so many years defended; he now blushed not to be the child of Thy Christ, and the new-born babe of Thy fountain; submitting his neck to the yoke of humility, and subduing his forehead to the reproach of the Cross.

我去谒见西姆普利齐亚努斯，对于蒙受你的恩宠而言，他是当时主教安布罗西乌斯的授洗者，安布罗西乌斯也敬爱他犹如父亲一般。我向他讲述了我所犯错误的曲折情况。他听到我读到柏拉图派的一些著作，这些著作是由已故罗马雄辩术教授维克托利努斯译成拉丁文的，我曾听说维克托利努斯将近逝世之前信了基督教；当时西姆普利齐亚努斯向我道贺，因为我没有涉猎其他满纸谰言的形而下的哲学著作，至于柏拉图派的学说，却用各种方式表达上帝和上帝的“道”。接着他勉励我效法基督的谦卑，这种谦德是“瞒着明智的人而启示于稚子的”；[8]他又向我追述维克托利努斯的事迹，他在罗马时和维克托利努斯非常投契；我将他所讲述的传录出来，因为这事使我们兴奋地赞颂你所赐予的恩宠。这位维克托利努斯，耆年博学，精通各种自由学术，而且批判过许多哲学著作，一时高贵的元老多出于他门下，由于他对教育的卓越贡献，受到举世所公认的最大荣誉；人们在市场上建立他的纪念像；可是一直到那时候，他还敬奉偶像，参加着罗马贵族和民众们举国若狂的亵渎神圣的淫祀，如奥赛烈司、各种妖神和犬首人身的阿努俾斯，他们曾和“涅普顿、维纳斯、密纳发对抗”[9]交战；罗马战胜他们后，反而向他们崇拜！老年的维克托利努斯多少年来用他惊人的口才充任他们的护法，但他绝无顾虑地成为基督的奴隶，而你的泉水下的婴孩终于引颈接受谦逊的轭，俯首接受十字架的耻辱。

O Lord, Lord, Which hast bowed the heavens and come down, touched the mountains and they did smoke, by what means didst Thou convey Thyself into that breast?

主啊！“你使诸天下垂，你亲自陟降，你一触山，山岳生烟”，[10]你用什么方法进入这样一个人的心灵中呢？

He used to read (as Simplicianus said) the holy Scripture, most studiously sought and searched into all the Christian writings, and said to Simplicianus (not openly, but privately and as a friend), "Understand that I am already a Christian." Where to he answered, "I will not believe it, nor will I rank you among Christians, unless I see you in the Church of Christ." The other, in banter, replied, "Do walls then make Christians?" And this he often said, that he was already a Christian; and Simplicianus as often made the same answer, and the conceit of the "walls" was by the other as often renewed. For he feared to offend his friends, proud daemon-worshippers, from the height of whose Babylonian dignity, as from cedars of Libanus, which the Lord had not yet broken down, he supposed the weight of enmity would fall upon him. But after that by reading and earnest thought he had gathered firmness, and feared to be denied by Christ before the holy angels, should he now be afraid to confess Him before men, and appeared to himself guilty of a heavy offence, in being ashamed of the Sacraments of the humility of Thy Word, and not being ashamed of the sacrilegious rites of those proud daemons, whose pride he had imitated and their rites adopted, he became bold-faced against vanity, and shame-faced towards the truth, and suddenly and unexpectedly said to Simplicianus (as himself told me), "Go we to the Church; I wish to be made a Christian." But he, not containing himself for joy, went with him. And having been admitted to the first Sacrament and become a Catechumen, not long after he further gave in his name, that he might be regenerated by baptism, Rome wondering, the Church rejoicing. The proud saw, and were wroth; they gnashed with their teeth, and melted away. But the Lord God was the hope of Thy servant, and he regarded not vanities and lying madness.

西姆普利齐亚努斯说，维克托利努斯读了圣经，又非常用心地钻研基督教的各种书籍。他私下对西姆普利齐亚努斯真心地说：“你知道吗？我已是基督的信徒了！”西姆普利齐亚努斯回答说：“除非我看见你在基督的圣堂中，否则我不相信、我也不能认为你是信徒。”他便笑着说：“那么墙壁能使人成为信徒了！”他屡次说自己是信徒，西姆普利齐亚努斯屡次作同样的答复，而他也屡次重复墙壁的笑话。其实他是害怕得罪朋友们，害怕得罪那些傲慢的魔鬼崇拜者，害怕他们从巴比伦城上，犹如从尚未被上帝砍断的黎巴嫩的香柏树梢上对他仇视而加以打击。但他经过熟读深思，打定了坚定的主意，他担心自己害怕在人前承认基督，基督也将在上帝的使者面前不认识他；他觉得自己以你的“道”自卑自贱的奥迹为耻辱，而对于自己效法傲魔，举行魔鬼的淫祀却不以为耻，这种行径真是荒谬绝伦。因此他对于诞妄之事，便无所惶虑，而在真理之前深觉惭愧。所以突然对西姆普利齐亚努斯说：“我们一起往圣堂中去；我愿意成为基督徒！”西姆普利齐亚努斯自言这事出乎他意料之外。便喜不自胜，陪他去了。他学习了基本教义后，不久就要求领受使人重生的“洗礼”；此事在罗马引起了惊愕，教会却只是欢忭。骄傲的人们看到了是愤恨、切齿，怒火中烧；但是，主啊，为你的仆人，你是他的希望，他已不再措意于那种虚妄欺诬的疯狂了。

To conclude, when the hour was come for making profession of his faith (which at Rome they, who are about to approach to Thy grace, deliver, from an elevated place, in the sight of all the faithful, in a set form of words committed to memory), the presbyters, he said, offered Victorinus (as was done to such as seemed likely through bashfulness to be alarmed) to make his profession more privately: but he chose rather to profess his salvation in the presence of the holy multitude. "For it was not salvation that he taught in rhetoric, and yet that he had publicly professed: how much less then ought he, when pronouncing Thy word, to dread Thy meek flock, who, when delivering his own words, had not feared a mad multitude!" When, then, he went up to make his profession, all, as they knew him, whispered his name one to another with the voice of congratulation. And who there knew him not? and there ran a low murmur through all the mouths of the rejoicing multitude, Victorinus! Victorinus! Sudden was the burst of rapture, that they saw him; suddenly were they hushed that they might hear him. He pronounced the true faith with an excellent boldness, and all wished to draw him into their very heart; yea by their love and joy they drew him thither, such were the hands where with they drew him.

最后信仰宣誓的时刻到了。在罗马，誓文有一定格式，凡将受洗礼的人事先将誓文记住，届时站在高处，向教友群众朗诵。那时神职人员请维克托利努斯采用比较隐秘的方式，凡比较胆怯怕羞的人往往乐意采取这种方式，但维克托利努斯宁愿在神圣的群众之前表示自己的得救。他以为他所教的雄辩术与救恩无关，尚且公开讲授，不怕在疯狂的人群之前发挥自己的见解，那么更何惮于在你的驯顺的羊群前宣布你的言论？因此他上台宣誓了，听众认识他的，都在相互指称他的名字，带着低低的赞叹声。可是谁不认识他呢？在皆大欢喜中，可以听到勉强抑制的欢呼：“维克托利努斯！维克托利努斯！”大家一看见他登台，欢欣鼓舞的情绪突然爆发了，但很快就肃静下来，都聚精会神地倾听着。他带着非常的信心，朗朗诵读着真实的信仰誓文。大家都想拥抱他，把他迎接到自己心中。的确大家都用敬爱和欢乐的双手去拥抱他。