英國思想界對里斯本大地震（1755）的回應

Intellectual Responses in Britain to the Lisbon Earthquake

1755年的里斯本（Lisbon）大地震，引發歐洲思想界對上帝與災難諸般課題的重探與辯論。本文試圖探究學者相對較少研究的英國情況。本文認為，以神職人員、聖經學者為首的英格蘭智識界藉此地震的發生，積極強調正統論述如神蹟論、特殊神恩觀等，藉以抗抑十八世紀初以來擅場的自然宗教論述。此一波新教復興一方面揚礪了新教-民族的自我認同，另一方面再度掀起對天主教信仰的攻擊。最後，英格蘭宗教界普遍將災難預警說，與即將爆發的英法七年戰爭勾連在一起，成為信仰、效忠、道德操守合一的民族教育。相對於英格蘭的新教復興，蘇格蘭宗教界，尤其是啟蒙思想家們普遍採取一般性的哲學思維，討論災厄、善惡的問題。蘇格蘭智識界面對新聞性、聳動性的歐洲世紀災難表現出異常的溫和與冷靜。他們一方面試圖回歸自然神學的傳統，避免神蹟、特殊神恩的論述；另一方面對於災難的超越意義追尋，則表現出極大的遲疑。

This article gives an account of contemporary intellectual reactions in Great Britain to the Lisbon Earthquake of 1755. Unlike French and German reactions to the earthquake, the British counterpart is much understudied. This article argues that the patterns of reactions in England and Scotland were very much different. In England, the Church took a leading role in making public sentiments about the event and its ramifications. It argues forcefully that the earthquake agitated an Evangelical revival and antipathy of Catholicism. In addition, many churchmen consciously appropriated the earthquake event to call for collective identity and loyalty of the convents on the eve the Seven Year's War. Theologically, those churchmen were inspired by the event to dispute ideas of natural religion in face of Revelation religion. In Scotland, however, this paper argues, intellects and writers alike generally kept their view of religion as metaphysical as before. Not only the skeptical David Hume, but also moderate Adam Ferguson, Church leaders such as Hugh Blair and others said no words of the earthquake. The collective silence in Scotland shows their hesitation to Revelation religion. Accordingly, physical evils were treated as pragmatic issues and severed from religious or transcendental meanings.