第9章　约翰·班扬

9.1　复习笔记

John Bunyan (1628-1688) (约翰·班扬)

1．Life (生平)

John Bunyan, the son of a poor tinker, was born in the little village of Elstow, near Bedford in 1628. He received little education and soon worked in his father’s shop, where he saw vivid pictures of hell and devils among the fire and smoke of the forge. He went to church occasionally, and would rush away when he found himself wrapped in terrors and torments by fiery preachers. However, his marriage to a poor good woman, who only brought two religious books, changed his life. After reading them, he attended church more regularly, began slowly and painfully to read the Bible, and finally with strength and sincerity, emerged as an open-air preacher and acknowledged leader of an immense congregation. According to the law forbidding preaching without the authority of the Established Church, he was imprisoned for 12 years. The publication of The Pilgrim’s Progress in 1678 made him the most popular writer, as he was already the most popular preacher in England. He died in 1688.

约翰·班扬是一名穷苦补锅匠的儿子，于1628年出生在贝德福特附近埃尔斯多村庄。他只受了一点教育就去父亲的铺子做工，在那熔炉的烈火浓烟中看到了地狱恶魔的生动图景。他偶尔去教堂，一旦觉得那些激昂的传教士让他恐惧难受时，他就逃出来。然而，他娶了一个善良贫穷的女人后，人生从此改变。这个女人只带来了两本宗教书籍，看了这两本书后，他更经常去教堂，开始缓慢艰难地阅读圣经，最终凭借力量和真诚，成为一个户外传教士及大批信徒的领袖。之后，他因触犯法律，未经英国国教许可而布道，被打入监狱12年。1678年《天路历程》的出版让他成为最受欢迎的作家，正如他已经是当时英国最受欢迎的传道士一样。他于1688年去世。

2．Major Work (主要作品)

◆The Pilgrim’s Progress《天路历程》

It is an old-fashioned, medieval religious allegory. The allegory takes the form of a dream by the author, in which he sees and tells Christian’s pilgrimage to the Holy City, then begins a journey in ten stages, which is a vivid picture of the difficulties and triumphs of the Christian life. Every trial is put into the form and discourse of a living character.

Though an allegory, its characters impress the reader like real persons. The places that Bunyan paints are English scenes, and the conversations vividly repeat the language of his time. In fact, the Celestial City in The Pilgrim’s Progress is the vision of an ideal happy society dreamed by a poor tinker in the 17th century, though under a veil of religious mist.

The most famous scene in the novel is the Vanity Fair. Bunyan had a deep hatred of both the king and his government.

此书是中世纪古老的宗教寓言。这个寓言出现在作者的一个梦里，在梦里他看到并讲述了一名叫“基督徒”的男子去圣城的朝圣历程。这个历程分为十个阶段，生动展现了基督徒生活中的困难和成功。每个考验都化为一个活生生的人物。

虽然使用寓言体，书中的人物却留给读者真实人物的印象。书中描绘的场景来自英国真实场景，所讲语言是他那个时代语言的形象再现。事实上，书中的天国是17世纪一位穷苦的补锅匠对理想幸福社会的幻想，尽管这个幻想掩藏在宗教外衣下面。

小说中最有名的场景是名利场。班扬表现出对国王及其统治下的政府的痛恨。

3．Writing Features (写作特征)

Bunyan is known for his simple but lively prose style. Everyday idiomatic expressions are used naturally and forcefully. The simple, unaffected language of the common people and the details contributed to the modernity of his prose.

班扬以他简洁而生动的散文风格著称。他自然有力地运用惯用日常表达法，来自普通群众的简朴自然的语言和反映普通人生活的细节是造就其作品具有现代性的原因。