第3章　基路伯與國王

你們會講亞述語嗎？說什么？當然不會？但我敢肯定，即便是已經忘記了亞述這個國家，你們也至少知道一個亞述語單詞呢。亞述是一個與埃及一樣歷史悠久的文明古國，位于埃及以東一千英里的地方。我認為你們應該知道的這個亞述語單詞，就是“基路伯”。

如今，我們把那種長著翅膀的天使叫作基路伯。有的時候，一個長得非常漂亮的嬰兒，也會被人們稱為基路伯呢。可亞述語中的基路伯，卻既非小天使，也非小寶寶。它是神話傳說中的一種野獸，要么是一頭獅子，要么是一頭公牛，并且都有著人類的腦袋和老鷹的翅膀。有的時候，我們也用“精靈”這個詞來指亞述語中的這種基路伯；它們就像是你們摸過一盞神燈后，可能會突然現身并要你們說出三個愿望的那種精靈一樣。

在古亞述，基路伯或者精靈都是用漢白玉制作而成的。漢白玉是一種石頭，通常都是白色的，并且質地不像古埃及人所用的絕大部分石頭那樣堅硬。

古埃及人制作的斯芬克斯，是一種臥著的人首獅身雕像。而古亞述人制作的基路伯，則是一尊站立著的人首獅身雕像。下圖所示即為古亞述人制作出來的一尊基路伯。請注意，這尊雕像的頭發和胡須，卷曲得多么仔細和嚴實啊。

給你們出一個很容易回答的問題。這尊基路伯雕像的哪個部分有問題呢？答案

person looking at him from the front would see two legs together as if he were standing still, and when looking at him from the side a person would see the animal walking.

The next two pieces of Assyrian sculpture are in low relief. Notice the muscles that these men have.They are different from the Egyptian men, who were shown to be slender and with no muscles.The Assyrians thought that beauty was strength and that to be beautiful, a person must be strong, so they showed their kings with big, bulging muscles.

The Assyrians believed also that hair was another sign of strength and that no real man who could grow a beard would choose to have a smooth, less-manly face. Do you know the Bible story of Samson?His great strength was supposed to be due to his long hair.When it was cut off, he became weak.

Here the men have long hair and long beards tightly curled like ropes. Notice that the eyes are like the Egyptians'-front view on the side view of their heads.The men have more clothing on, too, with tasseled shawls or skirts that come to their ankles and half sandals.They are not altogether barefooted.

The two chief things the Assyrian kings liked to do best-their two chief sports—

就是：它竟然有五條腿！制作這尊雕像的人當然知道，一頭公牛只有四條腿，可他們還是給它雕了五條。原因就在于，這樣一來，倘若站在雕像前面，我們就會看到它一共有兩條腿，仿佛靜靜地站在那兒不動似的；而倘若從側面去看，我們就會看到這頭神獸正在走路呢。

下面這兩座由古亞述人制作的雕塑，都屬于淺浮雕。注意浮雕中那些男子的肌肉。他們不同于古埃及人，后者通常都顯得身材修長，并且看不出肌肉來。而古亞述人認為力量就是美，一個人只有身材強壯才算得上美；因此，他們雕刻出來的國王形象都孔武有力，個個都有著大塊隆起的肌肉。

古亞述人還認為，頭發是力量的另一種標志，并且沒有哪一個能夠長出一叢胡須的人愿意剃去胡須，愿意讓自己的臉龐變得光滑順溜和沒有陽剛之氣。你們聽說過《圣經》中關于大力士參孫的故事嗎？人們認為，參孫之所以力大無窮，就在于他有一頭長發。頭發剪短之后，他就變得虛弱無力了。

這里的男子都留著長發和長須，并且把它們像繩子一樣緊緊地纏了起來。注意，浮雕上人物的眼睛跟古埃及人制作的那些浮雕相似，也是頭部是側像，眼睛卻是正面像。浮雕中人物身上穿著的衣物，也比古埃及人制作的雕像人物身上的衣物多，既有垂著穗帶且直達腳踝處的披肩或裙擺，腳上還穿著露趾的拖鞋。他們可不是全然光著腳呢。

古亞述的國王們最喜歡干的兩件大事，就是獵殺野獸和在戰斗中殺戮敵人；這

were hunting animals and killing their enemies in battle, so most of their reliefs show them doing these things.But the best things the Assyrian artists made were figures of animals.They made them much more lifelike than those of the Egyptians.In many reliefs the horses are fine spirited steeds, and their manes and tails are tightly curled.

The Assyrians also made tiny reliefs on the curved surfaces of cylindrical-shaped pieces of stone or clay. A small axle was put through a hole in the center of the cylinder.The cylinder then became a tiny rolling pin that could be rolled over any soft surface such as mud or wax to leave a flat imprint of the picture on the cylinder.

In this way they could make as many small reliefs as they pleased. We think, however, they used these cylinders as seals to sign their writing.They did not write on paper since they had none.They wrote on mud bricks before the bricks were dried, and they stamped their seal at the end instead of signing their names.

Today in Japan and China, artists sign their names with a stamp made of carved stone called a chop. If you have seen a round or square symbol made with red-orange ink on the

也是他們兩種主要的娛樂活動，因此他們命人制作出來的浮雕上，絕大部分都是表現他們做這些事情時的場景。不過，古亞述的藝術家們最擅長制作的，還是動物雕像。他們制作出來的動物雕像，比古埃及人制作出來的要逼真得多。在許多浮雕作品中，馬匹都是生龍活虎的駿馬，而馬匹的鬃毛和尾巴也都是嚴嚴實實地卷曲著的。

古亞述人也曾在柱狀石料或柱狀陶土的曲面上制作微型浮雕。他們會用一根細細的軸，穿過一個縱貫柱體中心的洞。這樣一來，柱體就變成了一根細細的搟面杖，可以在任何柔軟的表面滾動，比如濕泥或者蜂蠟，從而將柱體上的圖案淺淺地壓印出來了。

用這種辦法，他們就可以隨心所欲地制作出許多的微型浮雕了。然而，我們卻認為，他們是用這些柱狀浮雕來做印章，代替他們的簽名的。由于當時還沒有紙張，因此他們并不是在紙上寫字。他們是在還沒有干的泥塊上寫字，而在結尾處也并不是簽下自己的大名，而是蓋上自己的這種印章。

如今，在日本和中國，藝術家們也都是用一種叫作“圖章”的石刻印章來簽名的哩。假如在一幅水彩畫或者版畫的一角看到有一個由橘紅色油墨形成的圓形或方

comer of a watercolor or block print, you know just what I mean.

These sculptures of the Assyrians have been dug up from the ruins of their old cities, carried away, and placed in museums. So if you want to see them, you must go not to Assyria but to the British Museum in London, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, or to other great museums.

From what I have told you of Assyrian sculpture, how would you describe it in a few words?

Huge beasts called cherubs-with five legs

Strong and powerful men and animals

Hair and beards in rope-like curls

Low reliefs showing hunting and fighting scenes

Very natural-looking animals

Small, engraved cylindrical-shaped seals

形標志，那么你們就會明白我的意思了。

古亞述人制作出來的這些雕塑，被人們從一些古城的廢墟之下挖掘出來，帶走并放進了博物館。因此，假如想要看一看這些雕塑，你們大可不必前往亞述古國，只需到倫敦的大英博物館、巴黎的盧浮宮、紐約的大都會藝術博物館、馬里蘭州巴爾的摩的沃爾特斯藝術博物館，或者其他一些大型博物館去看看就行了。

根據上面我對古亞述雕塑藝術的介紹，你們又怎樣用幾句話來加以總結呢？可以參考下面這種方式：

基路伯這種巨獸有五條腿；

男人和動物全都強壯有力；

人物發須卷曲，就像繩子；

淺浮雕呈現狩獵作戰場景；

動物形態都非常自然逼真；

還有雕刻的微型柱狀章印。

And that's about all we know of Assyrian sculpture. There are not many remains left to tell the tale of the proud, powerful, and cruel tyrants who ruled over millions of people.These monarchs and their subjects have been dead for thousands of years.

Perhaps you think some things you are familiar with will last forever too. Can you name some of them?Imagine that a boy or girl in Assyria must have thought the very same thing about what they saw around them, but those things have practically all disappeared.

對于古亞述的雕塑藝術，我們了解到的情況就是這些了。世界上并沒有留下多少遺跡，可以來講述那些曾經統治著數百萬民眾、神氣十足、強大有力而殘酷無比的暴君們的故事。這些暴君，連同他們的子民，都已經死去好幾千年了。

你們或許會認為，你們所熟悉的一些東西會永遠存在下去。你們能說出一些這樣的東西來么？想象一下，亞述古國的一位小朋友對周圍所見的一切必定也懷有同樣的想法呢；只不過，他所看到的那些東西，事實上都已經消失得無影無蹤了。