Chapter 70 Reading Notes Praising Free Will--Reading "Divine Comedy"

"Divine Comedy" is a true record of the artist's pursuit of freedom. This process is also the process of human beings from instinctive self-examination (hell), to rational self-examination (purgatory), and then to pure spiritual analysis (heaven).The motive for the pursuit is the invocation of virtue (a somewhat mystical idea).Free will itself is a contradiction. On the one hand, she wants to rise without restraint, and on the other hand, she confines herself to the experience of hell in her desire for asceticism. The forces of these two aspects constitute the rhythmic pattern of pursuit.How is free will embodied in the pursuer whose subject is "I"? Or, how does "I" realize freedom step by step?

In "Inferno", as a poet, Dante's free will is realized through the method of splitting into three parts.Volgier is the rationality and wisdom of the poet, the essence of "I"; Biedrich is the idea of ​​the poet, the deeper essence of "I".With the deepening of exploration, Volgil will hand over the baton to Biedrich, and this goddess will lead "I" to the spiritual extreme.When "I" broke into this isolated area under the domination of primitive momentum, it was Volgil who pointed out the outlet for the boiling wildness in "I" with his gentle and powerful power of reason. direction.This direction is what Virgil called "the other way".The other way is the way of saying goodbye to the world forever, and the other way is the way of entanglement with the projection of the world until death.Virgil's job is to constantly add the miserable experience of hell to "me", making me break through again and again in despair.

"...I will be your guide lead you through a place of eternal doom, There you will hear the cry of despair, Will see ghosts of old in agony, Each of them prayed for a second death..." "Divine Comedy", translated by Zhu Weiji, 7 pages, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 1995. Afterwards, Volgier's physical torture to "I" (sad tears, dizziness, until fainting) made "I" break through extremes, and the spirit of "I" also continued to sublimate.When "I" unknowingly approaches the death experience, the realm becomes more and more pure.However, why did "I" embark on the journey of following Volgier? How could "I" appear to be somewhat indecisive and even weak in character, so how could it produce such great confidence and determination?It has been said in the text that it is out of love and compassion, and out of noble ideal pursuit.Only virtue (love) can make people fearless. Inspired by virtue, people can overcome doubts from secular values ​​and pursue happiness in faith; the will to live can only be reflected in virtue. Without sympathy, people are just The walking dead.This is why "I" can overcome the fear of the flesh and pursue eternal life desperately.The stronger the will to live, the deeper the compassion (even if it takes twists and turns).So "I", in the layer after layer of hell leading to freedom, all I experience is the suffering of "others", but "I" myself seems to be in a relatively safe position.It is precisely these "others" (the objectification of the self) that are assisting me in completing the transformation of the original force in my body.A broad heart contains the joys and sorrows of all mankind.The spectacle of splitting in artistic creation requires readers to experience it carefully before they can feel the layers in between.

With virtue comes a Bridelike fearlessness. "Since you want to get to the bottom of this, I will speak briefly to you," she answered, "Why am I not afraid to come here. Anything that hurts, is terrible; the others are not, Those things are not scary. "The Divine Comedy, p. 7. The "those things" mentioned here by Biedlich refer to the evil that is rampant in people (such as the three beasts, such as the vicious ghost), in other words, it refers to the original vitality of people.Once people realize the evil, the evil will be suppressed, and will be transformed into good under the guidance of reason.Beadlich, who represents the highest rationality, appears in the form of goodness or virtue, and true goodness is fearless, and she can resist any frightening evil without being hurt: "Your misfortunes cannot reach me. ; the flames that burn here cannot burn me." The Divine Comedy, p. 13.Among all things, only human beings have virtue, but this virtue is not used to limit human freedom, but is the basis for people to achieve true freedom experience.When man denounces his meaningless worldly life and drives him to nowhere, it is the yearning for virtue that leads him to take that fatal leap.At the moment of this leap, Xintiandi appears, and human life deviates from the evil track, constantly showing its brilliance in the form of good, and secular life regains its rich meaning.Therefore, Biedrich is aloof and a lucky star in the journey of "me". "I" is the entity of Biedrich, she must absorb the nutrition of her existence from "I"'s real life experience, otherwise she will pale and disappear.When "I" is wrestling with itself in the drowsy hell, the light of Biedrich, the lucky star, is even brighter and more dazzling.Where did Biedrich come from? Of course, it came out of the depths of "I"'s heart. "I" had her before, and only now saw her.Seeing her, "I" boldly chose the difficult and desolate road to hell, in order to go back to "home" and trek to heaven.Through Volgil, Biedrich let "I" see through the emptiness of the body, making "I" firm-willed, and explore to the end on the road of no return.Cutting off the fetters of the physical body was originally intended to create a new structure of the soul and the body, so that the body can better exert its energy and truly become a bridge for people to achieve freedom.Volgier, who is well versed in the mysteries of this, is both contradictory and confident, revealing the true mood of the experimenter.

The baseness of human nature, which is opposite to virtue, is the foundation of human nature, and it is always with virtue.For this reason, virtue means suffering.From that high place, Biedrich passed the eternal pain in her heart to "I", just as God passed his eternal pain to Satan (Lucifer). "I" fulfilled Biedlich's wish in the play of this pain. "O outcast of heaven! Low race!" On that abominable threshold he begins, "Why do you harbor such arrogance in your hearts? Providence's course can never be stopped, And often to add to your misery,

Why do you defy him? What good is it to contradict fate? If you remember, In order to do so, your Sebiro, Still suffering from the peeling jaw and throat. "The Divine Comedy, p. 60. This is the portrayal of the confrontation between the will of heaven and the humble and primitive power of Satan.The will of the kingdom of heaven swept across the obstacles with an uncompromising attitude, but Satan had to endure the pain of being skinned and resisted stubbornly.Knowing that it is the fate prescribed by the heavens, but still wanting to provoke with the stupidity of automatically seeking death, maybe there is a deep wisdom hidden in it? Or is the torture of skinning originally the experience that Satan pursues? When "I" followed Volgil into the When inside the city of the dead, the answer to the question is all clear.The will of heaven is the free will of human beings, and she realizes herself in the negation and comprehensive recognition of "evil".She transforms all "evil" into goodness, elevates the value of life, and injects vitality into herself.A place full of troubles and tortures is the place where free will is realized.The punishment "self-inflicted" is carried out with the characteristics mentioned by Volgier:

"...the more complete a thing is, The more joy and pain it feels. Though these accursed ones will never achieve true completeness, but it seems Later it is always closer to it than ever. "The Divine Comedy, p. 43. This breathless, eerie freedom (or "wholeness") is pursued only by those who have seen through their hearts the nature of earthly pleasures.This is not to say that we should abandon all worldly pleasures and live a life of abstinence; it means that people should establish another life while giving full play to their instincts, so that it can be contrasted with the secular life, interpenetrating and interfering with each other. , such a person is a rational person.It is this inner self-examination mechanism that produces the experience of freedom, otherwise people are just captives of the body or spirit, and there is no freedom at all.

That "fantastic downward flight" on track seventeen is a truly liberating experience.The monster summoned by Volgil from the void under the cliff is responsible for leading "I" to experience freedom. "Look at the fierce beast with the pointed tail, He crossed mountains, broke through walls and sword forests, Behold the monster that devastates the world. "The Divine Comedy, p. 112. This monster has the face of a gentleman.A creation is achieved by the rise of vitality. The monster Killion is ugly and full of evil, so he can break through the barriers of reason and fly wonderfully; this same monster has a nature of goodness, which makes Its flight becomes a purposeful flight, that is, receiving information about a sense of direction from the void without a reference.

There are two kinds of fears when man makes such a flight: one is the deathly fear of being suspended on all sides and all vision disappears; the other is caused by the threat of a terrible roar rising from the evil vortex below. fear.In flying man is afraid of both death and life, and what guides him is actually the original impulse, which, under the guardianship of reason, can bear the dross of the world ("Think of the abnormal weight you bear" "Divine Comedy" , p. 116.), roaming in the void without any hesitation.The purpose of flying here excludes any utilitarianism, it is just flying for the sake of flying and experiencing for the sake of experience, which is exactly in line with the state that the highest will hopes to achieve.

Absolute freedom cannot be attained, of course, so the monster Killian was full of frustration after stopping, it "appeared contemptuous and gloomy", and then it flew away from us. "I" and Volgil, our two human sons, experience the freedom that can only belong to human beings on its back.Killian is insatiable, it regrets that man cannot become a bird, but the freedom of a bird is not real freedom, only the fear and restraint of reason make freedom possible.So despite its contempt, the next pursuit can only proceed in this way. The giants in the thirty-first song are the source of the power to fly freely.This terrible force threatens man and makes him accomplish great things.When the giants fell to Hell, they were bound in strong chains, and the stern repression made their statuesque rebellious gestures eternal.The power that can fly freely is a power that can destroy everything, and what is needed to transform destruction and destruction into creation is the bondage of iron chains.These guys who speak vague primitive language, no matter how the vicissitudes of the world change, they always exist in the thick fog in the abyss as the foundation of humanity.

A deeper structure is revealed in thirty-two songs.Blue-black ghosts are locked in the frozen lake.How do people develop their passions in such a cruel place? These ghosts have a hard heart, but they are not numb.They express their inner heat like this: while tears welled up from between their eyelids, they were frozen by the severe cold.This scenario is really unimaginable.The cold enthusiasm comes from the deep despair of human nature, but the redoubled punishment perfectly preserves the impetus to make waves.Therefore, once it is stimulated by the outside world, the expression under rational observation is as turbulent as a torrential flood of evil, and the pleasure of freedom also emerges from it. This pleasure is transformed from worldly jealousy. "It's you who pull out all my hair, I will not tell you who I am; nor will I show you my head, Even if you hit me on the head a thousand times. "The Divine Comedy, p. 226. He communicates in a disguised form by inhibiting communication, reveals himself by attacking "others", and "chooses his own heart" by biting "partners".If we dare to look into the depths of our souls, we will realize that the picture presented here comes from within us.What are the ghosts doing this for? Still for the liberating experience.When they cut off all hope under the ice, and the severe cold threatened death, their reckless performance and super enthusiasm constituted the artistic conception of freedom.It is a picture of spiritual struggle, and the struggle without support is equal to the deadly flight in the void.Otherwise, in such a situation, why should one have a heart of revenge and never forget to practice it? Human life is really wonderful. The free will generated from this life, and its profound details are always topics that artists can't finish talking about.Lucifer embedded in the center of the earth finally appeared in front of "I".This hard-hearted monster is now cruelly biting criminals with its huge mouth, but the ugly humanity in him is transformed from a beautiful wild nature! I think he was the most beautiful angel in heaven at the beginning, but at that time He is not yet truly human.It was the desperate pursuit of freedom and the desire to become a "man" that led him to oppose the Creator and end up in today's sad end.This "end" is the experience of freedom itself.Lucifer, inserted upside down in the center of the earth, is the core of the entire hell mechanism.When people are dissatisfied with their own status quo, when people want to fly over the secular gap and appreciate the scenery on the other side, Lucifer will tell people what it feels like to be free, and why he wants to be a permanent prisoner in a dark place instead of being the graceful, innocent angel of heaven."We have seen it all," said Volgier. "Divine Comedy", p. 240.This "all" is the truth about Lucifer's pursuit of freedom and his eternal hell.Lucifer's rough body, full of wild power, is the guarantee for the mechanism of hell to work. This eternal joke played by God with him has fulfilled his pursuit mode.It was God who gave him a powerful vitality, enabling him to reach the limit of life and uncover the mystery of the connection between the two poles.Lucifer's experience, while still not quite self-conscious, was a creative one, and each round was something new that hadn't been done before.People in hell understand that the only way to survive here is to experiment with their own bodies.Thus, in a state freed from everything and naked, man repeatedly tormented his soul, reenacting the life of the world above in the form of strange wrestling among the various parts of the soul, and ruthlessly passed despotic judgments. .And the driving force that makes all this possible is the undying wildness in human beings.This is also the reason why God wants to turn the beautiful Lucifer into a scary ugly thing. Only through this transformation can he pursue true freedom and beauty. When "I" comes into contact with Lucifer's body, using his hairy, savage body as a ladder, and walks out of the evil hell, the deep communication between "I" and him is realized unconsciously.At this time, our eyes suddenly brightened, and we saw the beautiful stars.Before this, "I" had lamented angrily: Alas, Genoese! Moral And full of all corrupt people, Why are you not eradicated from the face of the earth? The Divine Comedy, p. 236. To understand Lucifer's grief is also to understand the rationality of the mechanism of hell.If a person wants to exist as a person for a day, the mechanism of hell cannot be cancelled. Instead, he must be more whimsical and perfect himself in a more refined and cruel form.This is the road to heaven arranged by God. As early as when he expelled Lucifer, this magnificent structure was already in his heart.As for Lucifer, he must contend with God to the end and use his evil power to fulfill God's will, otherwise that will would not exist.With vengeful gnashing of teeth he occupies this dark, vast domain, and with a grim pleasure he inflicts punishments, and as he does so the light of heaven shines upon him through the deep caverns. A poet of rare brilliance whose sternness strikes us.For the mysterious life to radiate her brilliance, it turns out that it has to go through such a complicated mechanism, such a life-and-death struggle.This broad and profound product of pure spirit is like the brightest pearl adorned in the crown, and its never-dimmed light can still penetrate the depths of our souls. Man enters hell only when he pursues freedom and overcomes death.Only then did he gradually discover the truth: the only pathless road leading to the grave is also the only way to heaven. 2001.9.3 Talent Park