一點一滴: 《十日談》（Decameron）

《十日談》（Decameron）為意大利文藝復興時期作家喬萬尼·薄伽丘所著的一本寫實主義短篇小說集。

1348年繁華的佛羅倫斯發生一場殘酷的瘟疫（黑死病），喪鐘亂鳴，死了十多萬人，在整個歐洲，因此病而死的人多達一千萬人。隔年薄伽丘以這次瘟疫為背景，執筆寫下了《十日談》，內容是講述七位女性和三位男性到佛羅倫斯郊外山上的別墅躲避瘟疫，這十位男女就在賞心悅目的園林裏住了下來，除了唱歌跳舞之外，大家決定每人每天講一個故事來渡過酷熱的日子，最後合計講了一百個故事，即《十日談》的內容。

《十日談》故事來源廣泛，取材於歷史事件、意大利中世紀的《金驢記》、法國中世紀的寓言、東方民間故事（阿拉伯、印度和中國的民間故事，如《一千零一夜》、《馬可波羅遊記》、《七哲人書》），乃至於宮廷傳聞、街談巷議，兼容並蓄，熔鑄古典文學和民間文學的特點於一爐。
這些故事中除了對於現實生活的描寫、愛情的稱揚、商人的智慧和才幹之外，同時對於當時的帝王、貴族、教會等等勢力的黑暗面加以揭露諷刺；如《十日談》的「第三日」更描述了一位猛男馬賽多（Masetto）如何以肉體滿足了修道院的修女們。也因此《十日談》完成後薄伽丘倍受教會勢力的咒罵攻擊，這些打擊使他一度想燒燬他的著作，幸而好友兼詩人的佩脫拉克（Francesco Petrarch，Francesco Petrarca）加以阻止，也才使得《十日談》這部傑作得以保存下來。
《十日談》的寫實主義文學風格，對後來西方文學發展影響甚大。開啟歐洲短篇小說的藝術形式之先河。意大利文藝理論家弗朗切斯科·德·桑克蒂斯（1817年—1883年）將《十日談》和但丁的《神曲》相提並論，稱之為《人曲》。後來英國喬叟的《坎特伯雷故事集》、法國馬格里特·德·納瓦爾的《七日談》都是摹仿《十日談》的作品。


The Decameron (subtitle: Prencipe Galeotto) is a collection of 100 novellas by Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio, probably begun in 1350 and finished in 1353. It is a medieval allegorical work best known for its bawdy tales of love, appearing in all its possibilities from the erotic to the tragic. Some believe many parts of the tales are indebted to the influence of The Book of Good Love. Many notable writers such as Chaucer are said to have drawn inspiration from The Decameron (See Literary sources and influence of the Decameron below).

Description

Illustration from a copy of The Decameron, ca. 1492, Venice.

Decameron, painting by Sandro Botticelli from 1487
The Decameron is structured in a frame narrative, or frame tale. Boccaccio begins with a description of the Black Death and a group of seven women and three men who flee from plague-ridden Florence to a villa in the (then) countryside of Fiesole for two weeks. To pass the time, each member of the party tells one story for each one of the nights spent at the villa. Although fourteen days pass, two days each week are set aside; one day for chores and one holy day during which no work is done. In this manner, 100 stories are told by the end of the two weeks.
Each of the ten characters is charged as King or Queen of the company for one of the ten days in turn. Each character tells a tale of a unique individual's personal experience. This charge extends to choosing the theme of the stories for that day, and all but two days have topics assigned: examples of the power of fortune; examples of the power of human will; love tales that end tragically; love tales that end happily; witty replies that save the speaker; tricks that women play on men; tricks that people play on each other in general; examples of virtue. Only Dioneo, who usually tells the tenth tale each day, has the right to tell a tale on any topic he wishes, due to his wit.
Each day also includes a short introduction and conclusion to continue the frame of the tales by describing other daily activities besides story-telling. These frame tale interludes frequently include transcriptions of Italian folk songs. The interactions among tales in a day, or across days, as Boccaccio spins variations and reversals of previous material, form a whole and not just a collection of stories.
Boccacio made similar Greek etymological plays of words in some of his other works. The subtitle is Prencipe Galeotto, which derives from the opening material in which Boccaccio dedicates the work to ladies of the day who did not have the diversions of men (hunting, fishing, riding, falconry) who were forced to conceal their amorous passions and stay idle and concealed in their rooms. Thus the book is subtitled Prencipe Galeotto, that is Galehaut, the go-between of Lancelot and Guinevere, a nod to Dante's allusion to Galeotto in "Inferno V", who was blamed for the arousal of lust in the episode of Paolo and Francesca.

[edit] Analysis

From an edition of Boccaccio's "De Casibus Virorum Illustrium" showing Lady Fortune spinning her wheel.
Beyond the unity provided by the frame narrative, Decameron provides a unity in philosophical outlook. Throughout runs the common medieval theme of Lady Fortune, and how quickly one can rise and fall through the external influences of the "Wheel of Fortune". Boccaccio had been educated in the tradition of Dante's Divine Comedy which used various levels of allegory to show the connections between the literal events of the story and the Christian message. However Decameron uses Dante's model, not to educate the reader but to satirize this method of learning. The Roman Catholic Church, priests, and religious belief become the satirical source of comedy throughout. This was part of a wider historical trend in the aftermath of the Black Death which saw widespread discontent with the church.
Many details of the Decameron are infused with a medieval sense of numerological and mystical significance. For example, it is widely believed that the seven young women are meant to represent the Four Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude) and the Three Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, and Charity). It is further supposed that the three men represent the classical Greek tripartite division of the soul (Reason, Spirit, and Lust, see Book IV of Republic). Boccaccio himself notes that the names he gives for these ten characters are in fact pseudonyms chosen as "appropriate to the qualities of each". The Italian names of the seven women, in the same (most likely significant) order as given in the text, are: Pampinea (the flourishing one), Fiammetta (small flame), Filomena (faithful in love), Emilia (rival), Lauretta (wise, crowned with laurels), Neifile (cloudy), and Elissa (God is my vow).
The men, in order, are: Panfilo (completely in love), Filostrato (overcome by love), and Dioneo (lustful).[2]

政治的力学 梁文道 (2009-04-20 08:11:41)

曾幾何時，查良鏞和《明報》的社評獨步香港，常有一言既出，四方豎耳的結果。後來，則有“香港第一健筆”之稱的林行止，時評文字甚至可以一一結集成冊，供後來者參考法效。兩代政論家，代表的是兩種不同風格，前者當年仍秉承傳統道德文章的傳統，判別忠奸，文采燦然；後者本的是現代經濟學理，往往甘冒天下之大不韙，說出一些價值上很中立的技術評論。
時至今日，除了吳志森（近著《曾先生，你吹什麼口哨》，光看書名，就知其立論傾向）等少數幾位，大部分政論家都不再苦苦追問是非。看來，道德文章這一路是衰微了。但道德本身並沒有失落，只是價值判斷都讓位給了更細密的理論分析。舉個例子，政府開徵消費稅，反對者縱使無法認同其劫貧濟富的效果，也不會馬上就為貧苦大眾鼓呼，聲討無良政府，反而願用更多筆墨去從稅務原理的角度客觀評說，再引導出老早預設的結論。

然而近幾年來，又冒起一派號稱“專業政治評論”的時論作者。這幫人走得更遠，不問銷售稅的開徵有無道理，卻關心政府推銷銷售稅的手法是否得當，反對者又如何結盟造勢等等。這所謂的專業，指的是懸擱一切價值選取、立場抉擇，純就政治事功成就與否，和政治鬥爭勝負的結局而論。簡單地說，這是一種政治力學的分析。從這種分析的角度看來，道德上正確的未必就會成功，學理上錯誤的卻未必不占上風，其中因果，全在擅不擅於“術”的技巧，懂不懂得“力”的作用。難怪有人不屑地譏之為“新法家”。

在這樣的背景底下，遂有政治化妝師（Spin Doctor）這一行的興起。幾個精通現代傳媒運作與民心向背趨勢的軍師，為主子出謀獻策，把有點苦的果子變成可以一嘗的甘果，將還過得去的庸貨乾脆變成果王。葉根銓的《特區政治化妝術》就是專業政治評論這一系統專談政治化妝的第一本書。

葉根銓先是介紹了政治化妝師這一行的源起，再引用許多國際上知名的例子，說明從政者如何利用現代大眾傳媒去達到自己的政治目的。比如說美國第一個在電臺開節目的總統羅斯福，他在大蕭條期間就任，上臺第八天就開始了有名的《爐邊夜話》。他聰明地發揮了廣播電臺聲音上的親切感，讓國民想像自己正和總統圍火爐親切閒聊。在一次盛夏的爐邊夜話，他在大氣電波突然說：“杯水在哪兒？”在倒來了一杯水之後，他徐徐地向聽眾說：“朋友們，今晚華盛頓真的好熱。”多年來的《香港家書》，可曾有過這麼高水準的表演？

說到香港，葉根銓筆下的本地政客和傳媒交手，總是威風得少，敗北得多。原因之一是我們的傳媒和其他地方的同行一樣，嗜血。見到某份報紙幹掉了一個高官，其他行家自然得奮起直追，紛紛發起誓把皇帝拉下馬的宏願，一有細微風聲立即狠咬不放，直至肉盡見骨。

葉根銓又向一般大眾介紹了我們平時未必留意的規律，例如醜聞總在週一爆發。因為越是平淡的日子，醜聞的震撼越大，所以把它策劃在新聞比較平淡的週一發放，效應最佳。而且策劃人更希望讓這樁醜聞可以有一整個星期來發酵，讓它可以乘醜聞主角的不當處理，越滾越大。

對於專業政客來說，《特區政治化妝術》當然是有用的參考書。在普通讀者的立場看來，回顧梁錦松和楊永強等人的倒臺經歷，倒也是不錯的消遣，且看浪淘盡風流人物，乃知傳媒與政壇當中興風作浪的險惡機制。我們可以說這都是旁門的小道末枝，但不知是幸也不幸，小道往往就是主宰時局的軸心。最後申報一下，這本書的出版者，是我自己的“上書局”，祈讀者明察。