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中間性
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導言 |
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歷史注腳
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煉金術
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盛行於中世紀的煉金術曾經是一項近代科學產生之前的富於冒險的事業，它是集化學、物理學、冶金技術、醫學、秘方和宗教於一爐的秘術。煉金術士們在其經常保密的實驗室內做實驗，設法找到“賢哲的試金石(冥石)(the philosopher's stone)”，既能夠把任何金屬轉變為銀子或金子也能夠產生“長生不老藥(elixir of life，既永生不朽的藥物)”的一塊寶石或材料。
許多煉金術士的著述也含有隱喻的特徵，也就是說在字裏行間常常隱含著神聖的寓意-“精神魔力(spiritual alchemy)”。左邊的古老插圖就是一個典型的例子。它顯示了陰陽人(自希臘語andros:
男人和 gyne:
女人)的形象。勿需深入分析此處所繪插圖的每一個神秘細節，您就可以清楚地認出一個雙性人，他佩戴著太陽(sun-自拉丁語sol)、黃金的符號，在他的另一邊則有月亮(moon自拉丁語luna)和銀的符號。這個雙性人代表著心靈的精確平衡，他站跨在有翼的巨龍之上，代表著已經昇華的人類情欲。這條巨龍依次躺在有翼的地球上，代表著已經開竅的靈魂，等等。整幅圖畫因而利用煉金術的符號舉例說明盡善盡美的精神昇華過程。這種盡善盡美之一部分卻是男女要素的融合物。
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Intersexuality - Introduction |
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Historical Footnotes - Alchemy |
Alchemy, widely practiced in the Middle Ages, was a prescientific enterprise combining chemistry, physics, metallurgy, medicine, astrology, mysticism, and religion. Alchemists experimented in their often secret laboratories trying to find “the philosopher’s stone”, i.e. a stone or material that could turn any metal into silver or gold and could also produce an “elixir of life”, i.e. a drink of immortality.
Many alchemist writings also have a metaphorical character, i.e. behind the literal meaning of the texts (transforming metals, brewing elixirs) there is often a hidden spiritual meaning, a “spiritual alchemy”. The old illustration on the left is a typical example. It shows the figure of an
androgyne (from gr. andros: male and gyne: female). Without going into every mysterious detail depicted here, one clearly recognizes a double-sexed person with the sun (lat. sol), the symbol of gold, on one side and the moon (lat. luna), the symbol of silver, on the other. This person represents the perfect balance between heart and mind. The figure stands astride a winged dragon, representing the human passions having become spiritualized. The dragon, in turn, sits on a winged globe – the soul which has become enlightened, etc.
The whole picture thus uses alchemist symbols to illustrate a spiritual journey to perfection. Part of this perfection is the blending of male and female elements. |
