Saturday, October 07, 2006

How can limbo just be abolished?

The Pope may be about to abolish the notion of limbo, the halfway house between heaven and hell, inhabited by unbaptised infants. Is it really that simple?

Pope Benedict XVI's anticipated pronouncement on limbo will have been informed by the International Theological Commission - a group of leading Roman Catholic theologians who have been meeting to consider the issue.

The Pope, himself, has been quoted in the past as saying that he would let the idea of limbo "drop, since it has always been only a theological hypothesis".

He was quoted as saying that limbo has never been a "definitive truth of the faith".

So what is limbo?

According to the BBC's Religion and Ethics site [see internet links, right], the church held that before the 13th Century, all unbaptised people, including new born babies who died, would go to hell. This was because original sin - the punishment that God inflicted on humanity because of Adam and Eve's disobedience - had not been cleansed by baptism.

This idea however was criticised by Peter Abelard, a French scholastic philosophiser, who said that babies who had no personal sin didn't even deserve punishment.

It was Abelard who introduced the idea of limbo. The word comes from the Latin "limbus", meaning the edge. This would be a state of existence where unbaptised babies, and those unfortunate enough to have been born before Jesus, would not experience pain but neither would they experience the Beatific Vision of God.

But limbo has long been a problem for the Church. Unease has remained over reconciling a Loving God with one who sent babies to limbo and the Church has faced much criticism.

The current review of limbo began in 2004, when Pope John Paul II asked the commission to come up with "a more coherent and enlightened way" of describing the fate of such innocent babes.

This review is part of a wider re-examination of the notion of salvation that has been taking place within the Church.

Many Catholics would see the abandonment of limbo as a good thing - there is little doubt that some interpretations of the teaching may have caused untold misery to the millions of parents whose children have died without being baptised.

But there are those who argue that it is not simply a "hypothesis" that can just be swept aside; that the notion that unbaptised children do not go to heaven has been a fundamental part of Church teaching for hundreds of years.

Then, of course, there is the argument that if this can be abolished, what else is disposable?

Not popular

According to church historian Michael Walsh limbo is so unpopular it has all but dropped out of Catholic consciousness.

It has not really been standard teaching for decades and it has not been part of official teaching since the early 1990s, when it was omitted from the catechism - the Church's summary of religious doctrine.

"Most priests don't talk about the notion of limbo anymore. There is a understanding that it just simply doesn't wash with people," says Mr Walsh.

But, there are a number of conservative and traditionally minded Catholics who say they are shocked by the notion of getting rid of limbo.

Father Brian Harrison, a theologian, told the BBC News website that while limbo may have been a "hypothesis", he argues that the clear "doctrine of the Catholic Church for two millennia has been that wherever the souls of such infants do go, they definitely don't go to heaven".

He argues that this is borne out in the various funeral rites for unbaptised children practised by the Church.

"A papal decree reversing the firm Catholic belief of two millennia that infants dying unbaptised do not go to heaven would be like an earthquake in the structure of Catholic theology and belief," he said.

Some argue that the question of limbo has taken on fresh urgency because it could be hindering the Church's conversion of Africa and Asia, where infant mortality rates are high.

An article in the UK's Times newspaper this week suggested that the "Pope - an acknowledged authority on all things Islamic - is only too aware that Muslims believe the souls of stillborn babies go straight to heaven".

The theological commission ends its deliberations on Friday. Most commentators believe the Pope will not make any decision immediately. Until he does, the fate of limbo is in - well, limbo.

Monday, October 02, 2006

“莲花剑淬胡霜重,柳叶衣轻汉月秋”——少年英雄夏完淳(上)

“莲花剑淬胡霜重,柳叶衣轻汉月秋”——少年英雄夏完淳(上)

夏允彝(1596-1645),字彝仲,号瑗公,上海松江人。夏完淳父,其兄夏之旭。崇祯初年,陈子龙、夏允彝、徐孚远、彭宾、杜鳞征、周 立勋六人组成几社,取义于“绝学再兴之几”之意,为“几社六君子”。崇祯二年(1629年),张溥主持在吴江召开“复社”成立大会——尹山大会,合南北各 地文社为一社。包括江南应社,松江几社,苏州羽朋社、匡社,浙西闻社、庄社,浙东超社,江北南社,江西则社,历亭席社,昆阳云簪社,武林读书社,山左大 社,中州端社,莱阳邑社,黄州质社等。复社不同于东林党,未结成政治力量,而是主张以学救时,以学卫教。尤其是夏允彝对东林党有清醒的认识,“东林之持论 高,而于筹边制寇,卒无实着”,认为东林党人“急功名、多议论,恶逆耳、收附会”。崇祯十年(1637年)进士,任福建长乐知县,五年而县大治。吏部推举 天下贤能知县七人,夏允彝居第一,将重用,因母丧,回家“守制”。

崇祯十七年(1644年),闻清军入关,赴扬州走谒兵部尚书史可法,与谋 兴复。闻福王已在南京即帝位,马士英、阮大铖把持朝政,遂还。擢为吏部考功司主事,疏请“终制”,未赴任。次年,清兵下江南,遣安抚使至各郡罗致遗臣。夏 允彝坚拒不见,避居曹溪。后乃与陈子龙、徐孚远、沈狄龙、李待问等在松江起义抗清。吴淞水军副总兵吴志葵乃其门生,夏允彝招之来松,劝说攻取苏州,自任随 军参赞。吴志葵短于谋略,部下水军懦弱,不敢进攻。独有福山副总兵鲁之屿率勇士三百人,斩胥门而入。夏允彝急催吴志葵出动全部大军跟进,吴志葵犹豫不决。 鲁之屿失援战死,三百人悉遭覆没。夏允彝大惊,请吴志葵速与清军决战。吴志葵怯,欲退兵登舰。夏允彝力争不得,于是流泪遍拜诸将士,以大义劝说他们不要退 兵,乃继续屯于苏州城下。相持多日,苏州城终未攻下。清兵出击,水军退至泖湖结寨,夏允彝仍回曹溪家中,作《千秋岁引·丽谯》词感怀:

千秋岁引·丽谯
夏允彝

泽国微茫,海滨廖廓,万堞孤城逼天角。
云外龙车碧树悬,霜前雁字当窗落。
苎城花,秦山月,都萧索。

刺史风流携琴鹤,暇日高吟倚轩阁,酾酒新亭几忘却。
三柳沙明绕郡楼,九峰岚翠扶城郭。
铜壶响,晓更催,宛如昨。

后 闻松江府城被清兵攻占,又闻好友徐石麒领导嘉兴起义失败殉国,好友侯峒曾、黄淳耀等领导嘉定起义失败殉国,以及吴志葵的水军在黄浦江被清军全歼,就说: “某人之军,师败,则死之。”决定自杀殉国。有人劝他渡海到福建去,再图恢复。夏允彝说:“吾昔吏闽,闽中八郡咸怀思我。今驾一航南趋,图再举事,固善。 然举事一不当,而行遯以求生,何以示万世哉!吾将从虞求(徐石麒字虞求)、广成(侯峒曾字广成)游耳。”松江的清军统帅素闻夏允彝名,必欲一见,说:“夏 君来归我,当大用;既不愿为官,只求见一面”。夏允彝在门上大书道:“有贞妇者,或欲嫁之,妇不可。则语之曰:‘尔即无从,姑出其面’。妇将搴帷以出乎? 抑将以死自蔽乎?”

夏允彝在生命的最后日子里,僻居乡间,满怀悲愤地写下了自己经历明朝覆亡的亲见亲闻,取名《幸存录》。写毕,告知儿子夏 完淳要破家酬军,以助义师。又写信致陈子龙与挚友相诀,望子龙勿死,勉励他继续奋斗。九月十七日遣散家人,作绝命诗:“少受父训,长荷国恩,以身殉国,无 愧忠贞。南都既没,犹望中兴。中兴望杳,安忍长存?卓哉我友,虞求、广成、勿斋、绳如、悫人、蕴生,愿言从之,握手九京。人谁无死,不泯者心。修身俟命, 警励后人!”从容自投松塘而死。兄夏之旭本欲同死,夏允彝不肯,将妻子和儿子托付给他,乃作罢。相传,夏允彝投水时,家人遵嘱立于水旁。水很浅,才到夏允 彝胸部,他将头扎入水中,窒息而亡,后背的衣服都未沾湿。夏允彝的死讯传开后,震撼了当时许多义军志士,他们或写诗作文悼念夏允彝,或义无反顾地投身到抗 清复明的斗争中。

当初在几社时,徐孚远、陈子龙、夏允彝曾畅言其志,徐孚远曰:“百折不回,死而后已。”夏允彝曰:“吾仅安于无用,守其不 夺。”陈子龙曰:“吾无闇公(徐孚远字闇公)之才,志则过于彝仲,顾成败而不暇之计也。”结局果如其言。徐孚远在清兵破松江后,从鲁王政权漂泊海岛,复赴 台湾投奔郑成功,最后死于台湾,可谓“百折不回,死而后已”。陈子龙屡次组织反清,最后兵败投水赴难。夏允彝在清兵南下时,意识到“是不可为,而义不可 已”,赴水殉难,以死激励抗清义士。徐孚远(1599-1665),字闇公,上海松江人。终于台湾,为台省大儒,作《桃花》诗明志:“海山春色等闲来,朵 朵还如人面开。千载避秦真此地,问君何必武陵回。”。

夏完淳(1631-1647),乳名端哥,别名复,字存古,号小隐,又号灵首,夏允彝 子,祖籍浙江会稽,大禹之后。聪明早熟,天资极高,且受父亲影响,矢志忠义,崇尚名节。五岁读经史,七岁能作文,八岁随父赴北京,受到前辈赏识,九岁即出 书《代乳集》。后随父赴福建长乐,十二岁返乡,拜其父之友陈子龙为师,又受知于复社领袖张溥,在文章气节方面,深受二人熏陶。录一首随作小诗《绝句》:

绝句
夏完淳

扁舟明月两峰间,千顷芦花人未远。
缥缈苍茫不可接,白云空翠洞庭山。

十三岁,与杜登春等有志少年组织西南得朋会(后改名求社),为古代的少年先锋队,夏完淳任会长。通过同学关系认识后来的妻子钱秦篆,钱秦篆年长夏完淳一岁,娇艳而又能歌善舞,于是夏完淳追求她,天天写情诗,有名的如《卜算子·断肠》、《寻芳草·别恨》:

卜算子·断肠
夏完淳

秋色到空闺,夜扫梧桐叶。
谁料同心结不成,翻就相思结。

十二玉阑干,风动灯明灭。
立尽黄昏泪儿行,一片鸦啼月。

寻芳草·别恨
夏完淳

几阵杜鹃啼,却在那,杏花深处。
小禽儿,唤得人归去,唤不得愁归去。

离别又春深,最恨也,多情飞絮。
恨柳丝,系得离愁住,系不得离人住。

钱 秦篆难免芳心怦动,就在夏完淳老师陈子龙的做媒撮合下,1945年春两人正式拜堂成婚。可惜啊,小两口甜甜蜜蜜的生活没过多久,清军就南下侵略,烧杀抢 掠,无恶不作。一次夏完淳问岳父钱栴(1598-1647):“今日世局如此,不知丈人所重何事?所读何书?”钱栴惊愕,一时无从回答。国难当头,为了保 家卫国,夏完淳便跟随老爹夏允彝、老师陈子龙、岳父钱栴一起起义抗战。后来松江起义失败,夏允彝投水殉国,死前嘱咐儿子继续战斗。

那么夏完 淳就跟着陈子龙继续抵抗。明年春,打听到太湖长白荡有支义军,头儿叫吴易,就把剩下的家产全部变卖,折成军饷送给吴易,并在吴易手下当了参谋长。吴易的部 队是江南第一支抗清义师,曾攻克吴江县城,也曾出动配合苏州之役,后来兵败溃散,吴易覆舟后泅水得生,召集散亡,重整旗鼓。在吴易军中,夏完淳斗志高昂, 留有《即事》、《鹑衣》等战斗诗歌:

即事
夏完淳

复楚情何极,亡秦气未平。
雄风清角劲,落日大旗明。
缟素酬家国,戈船决死生。
胡笳千古恨,一片月临城。

鹑衣
夏完淳

鹑衣东去独登台,歌舞军中转听哀。
赵信城头秋月满,李陵碑上暮云开。
吴江落日围山尽,震泽微风入阵回。
沧海一椎亡命后,桥边黄石待人来。

三 月间,吴易军大败清兵于分湖,“斩伪将二十三员,歼敌三千余级,获船五百余只”。这一仗,打得“水流尽赤,草腥不绿,兵威褫其三蘗,雄名振于七郡”。太湖 义军一时声势浩大,夏完淳写了一道奏章,派人到绍兴送给鲁王,报捷并请鲁王坚持抗清。鲁王听说上书的是个少年,十分赞赏,授夏完淳中书舍人,封吴易为“长 兴伯”,隆武朝也给吴易加官晋爵,以示鼓励。但是打仗有胜有负,在第二次海盐之役兵败之际,夏完淳与大军失掉联系,从此终止了他的游击生涯。六月,吴易部 计划攻打嘉善,清嘉善知县刘肃之知道打不过,就假装投降,邀吴易赴宴。吴易为人豪爽,毫不提防,遂被刘肃之偷袭逮捕,壮烈殉国。

吴易 (1612-1646),崇祯十六年(1643年)进士,未谒选而京师失守,走附史可法。初,吴易行事不拘于礼教,人家都说他难起义兵;后来在军中,经常 跟一群小子打马吊、喝酒;被捕后,也没有必死之心。因此一些自命清高的人都鄙薄吴易。但是吴易始于起义、终于殉国,大德未亏、大节昭然,比之清谈之辈,简 直天上地下。吴易牺牲前作绝命词一首:

绝命词
吴易

落魄少年场,说霸论王,金鞭玉辔拂垂杨。
剑客屠沽连骑去,唤取红妆。
歌笑酒炉旁,筑击高阳,弯弓醉里射天狼。
瞥眼神州何处在,半枕黄粱。

成败论英雄,史笔朦胧,与吴霸越事匆匆。
尽墨凌烟能几个,人虎人龙。
双弓酒杯中,身世萍逢,半窗斜月透西风。
梦里邯郸还说梦,蓦地晨钟。

吴易家有个侍女叫香娘,吴易死后,清兵中有人要非礼她,香娘跪下求道:“虽然我只是个侍女,无守贞之义。但是想到吴公不忘故国,我又怎么忍心忘却吴公呢?”于是苦苦哀求,声泪俱下。那军人原本是汉人,为上头胁迫降清,听了甚是感动,就把香娘放了。

吕 宣忠(1625-1646),字亮工,浙江桐乡人,吕留良侄子。南京陷落,吕宣忠与吕留良起兵抗清,率亲信数人渡江航海晋见鲁王,言:“臣本书生,年二十 有二,臣学颇知通变。今臣有死党数百人,可为内应于浙西,惟大军速济。”鲁监国加其总兵都督佥事,然而当时鲁王将领多是南逃军阀,无心恋战,逡巡不前。吕 宣忠又进言:“北虏恃马,我多步卒,易见短,莫若用水师以胜之。浙直(指南直隶)相接,左右多水乡,北骑从塘上來,我於叶密处出其不意,猝以舟师进前,缚 芻为人,以诱其箭,箭易尽。我用鸟枪以砲其马,马踣人尽墮水,足以夺其锐气。预连太湖之师扰其后,我击其前,则嘉禾不受兵,而苏松皆可图也。”其时吴易驻 军太湖,恰好上疏称欲连吕宣忠部,于是鲁王加吕宣忠扶义将军,率其师出援太湖。三月,与清军大战于澜溪,破之。五月,鲁王败,吴易部也屡遭败绩,吕宣忠穷 蹙战败,走匿太湖洞庭山中。不久被俘,而吴易也遭擒获,于是吕宣忠和吴易等五人同日就刑,临行过市,吕宣忠大呼:“今日,大明义士报国之秋也,请诸君观 之!”就刑之时,五人面如死灰,唯独吕宣忠昂首不屈,始终不改颜色。就义之前,吕宣忠在狱中写有一首《长歌》:

长歌
吕宣忠

倒江拔海自天下,尔势倾动无坚城。
茅檐寒士春冻死,桃李涕泣愁飞莺。
日月黯墨不可得,天地流泛谁为撑?
百事反覆机事深,闭户之外无山林。
谁能远游及春水,片言慰我苍茫心?

义 师失败后,夏完淳并没有灰心绝望。他的爱国思想,他的抗暴复国的决心和信心,仍然坚定不移。为表明自己的心迹,改名为复,寓意光复,故从此又称夏复。夏, 鲁王“赠夏允彝右春坊右中允,给与祭葬,谥曰文忠”。使者至,夏完淳写谢表,连同抗清复明志士数十人名册,交与专在海上往来通信联系的秀才谢尧文,使赴舟 山呈与鲁王。夏完淳时时翘首南向,想望故国的旌旗;也酝酿奔赴南方,投入故国的怀抱。在这一年当中,夏完淳继承父志,写下他的历史著作《续幸存录》,记述 弘光一朝的大事,总结其经验教训,识见超卓,如“南都之政,幅员愈小,则官愈大;郡县愈少,则官愈多;财赋愈贫,则官愈富。斯之谓三反。三反之政,乌乎不 亡?”;还写下大量洋溢爱国主义精神的诗篇,如《长歌》采取《楚辞》香草美人的比喻,隐微曲折地寄寓自己的爱国心情:

长歌
夏完淳

我欲登天云盘盘,我欲御风无羽翰。
我欲陟山泥洹洹,我欲涉江忧天寒。
琼弁玉蕤佩珊珊,蕙桡桂棹凌回澜。
泽中何有多红兰,天风日暮徒盘桓。
芳草盈箧怀所欢,美人何在青云端。
衣玄绡衣冠玉冠,明珰垂絓乘六鸾。
欲往从之道路难,相思双泪流轻纨。
佳肴旨酒不能餐,瑶琴一曲风中弹。
风急弦绝摧心肝,月明星稀斗阑干。

而《采桑子》则抒发亡国的哀愁:

采桑子
夏完淳

片风丝雨笼烟絮,玉点香球。
玉点香球,今日东风不满楼。

暗将亡国伤心事,诉与东流。
诉与东流,万里长江一带愁。

对抗清烈士们,夏完淳是敬仰有加,如《舟中忆邵景说寄张子退》一诗,这是一首悼念死者、寄给生者的诗:

舟中忆邵景说寄张子退
夏完淳

登临泽国半荆榛,战伐年年鬼哭新。
一水晴波青翰舫,孤灯暮雨白纶巾。
何时壮志酬明主,几日浮生哭故人。
万里飞腾仍有路,莫愁四海正风尘。

1647 年春,谢尧文在漴阙候船,被清兵拿获,解送清苏松提督吴胜兆处系狱。幸好此时吴胜兆准备反正,将该案压下。吴胜兆部通过陈子龙与浙东义师联络举兵,陈子龙 与夏完淳感到这次兵变非常重要,败则必死,只能决死以赴。于是清明时节,众义士一起会葬了夏允彝。夏完淳又与挚友来到吴江,替吴易筑了衣冠冢,作《吴江野 哭》追悼恩公,并作《鱼服》誓死报仇:

吴江野哭
夏完淳

江南三月莺花娇,东风系缆垂虹桥。
美人意气埋尘雾,门前枯柳风萧萧。
有客扁舟泪成血,三千珠履音尘绝。
晓气平连震泽云,春风吹落吴江月。
平陵一曲声杳然,灵旗惨淡归荒烟。
茫茫沧海填精卫,寂寂空山哭杜鹃。
梦中细语曾闻得,苍黄不辨公颜色。
江上非无吊屈人,座中犹是悲田客。
感激当年授命时,哭公清夜畏人知。
空闻蔡琰犹堪赎,便作侯芭不敢辞。
相将洒泪衔黄土,筑公虚冢青松路。
年年同祭伍胥祠,人人不上要离墓。

鱼服
夏完淳

投笔新从定远侯,登坛誓饮月氏头。
莲花剑淬胡霜重,柳叶衣轻汉月秋。
励志鸡鸣思击楫,惊心鱼服愧同舟。
一身湖海茫茫恨,缟素秦庭矢报仇。

孰 料吴胜兆保密工作做得不好,被叛徒出卖;浙东援军遇飓风又遭已守候在岸边的清军,会师失败,吴胜兆的部下趁机叛变,导致起义流产。事后清廷大举搜捕反清义 士,陈子龙与夏完淳均在通缉名单上。五月,陈子龙被捕,投水牺牲。夏完淳避在嘉善岳父家中,曾秘密西行受阻;于是决定返回松江探望母亲后,渡海至鲁王处再 图大举。不料六月底回乡探望母亲时,一举被抓获,骨肉难舍之情溢于言表,押走前他写了一首《拜辞家恭人》留给母亲:

拜辞家恭人
夏完淳

孤儿哭无泪,山鬼日为邻。
古道麻衣客,空堂白发亲。
循陔犹有梦,负米竟谁人?
忠孝家门事,何须问此身。

夏完淳被捕还有另外一种传奇说法:
被 俘的陈子龙,作为要犯关押在船舱里,从苏宁之间的塘河解往南京。夏完淳率一群同道,手持利刃,埋伏于囚船必经之处,摩拳擦掌,准备营救他的恩师、同志和战 友,哪怕是以卵击石,他也要孤注一掷。战斗终于打响,大约是在傍晚时分。浓浓的暮色里,年轻的夏完淳犹如一头捷豹,率先纵身跃上囚船,手起刀落,血肉横 飞。双方混战一开始,手铐脚镣的陈子龙便从船舱里冲出,以头颅和身体参与战斗,那些押解他的兵士蜂拥而上,陈子龙与敌人一起滚进塘河,手足被缚的他只能饮 恨而亡。那时,混战也已结束,营救方寡不敌众,一番殊死拼杀之后,夏完淳力竭遭擒。