蛇精，情侶與道德家：西洋的「拉米亞傳」，中國的「白蛇傳」，與正統基督教及諾斯替派對創世紀的詮釋

Snakes, Lovers, and Moralities: A Comparative Look At the Lamia Legends of China, and the Orthodox and Gnostic Interpretation of Genesis

本論文討論幾篇出現於不同的地點、不同的時代，但卻有不少讓人注目之共同點的故事。古代的地中海地區關於拉米亞(Lamia，即女蛇精)的故事，尤其是菲洛斯屈塔思(Philostratus)所撰的「阿波隆尼亞斯傳」(Appolonius)；十九世紀英國詩人濟慈(Keats)的長篇詩「拉米亞」，十七世紀的中國文人馮夢龍所撰的「警世通言」中的一篇「白娘子永鎮雷峰塔」；以及正統基督教及諾斯替派(Gnostic Attitudes)對創世紀裡的亞當、夏娃、蛇與神的故事－－這些故事都有非常相似的角色，也有非常相似的情節。角色包括一個年輕的美女、她同時也就是蛇精或與蛇結盟，一個天真的、易受騙的年輕男人，以及一個比較年老的男性道德權威。到最後，道德權威的角色驅逐蛇精，同時責備年輕男人。這些故事無論地點或時代的來源，也都漸漸地產生出兩種相反的版本；在第一種版本，蛇精和女人是邪惡的；在令另一種版本，老道德家則演壞人。本文討論這些故事，同時也提出幾個心理學上的問題，並針對這些故事來源及其關係加以討論。

This paper looks at several stories, spread over a wide distance through both time and space, that share some remarkable features. The lamia stories of the ancient Mediterranean area, especially that told by Philostratus in his life of Apollonius, John Keats retelling of Philostratus's story, the 17th century Chines legend of White Snake as told by Feng Menglong, as well as the so-called orthodox and Gnostic interpretations of the Genesis story of Adam, Eve, God, and the snake, all seem to share a very similar cast of characters acting out a very similar plot. The characters include a young woman who is either identical to or in league with a powerful snake, a gullible, naive young man whom she tempts or seduces, and an older, male, moral authority figure who exorcizes or punishes the snake and upbraids the young man for his moral laxity. All the stories, regardless of their temporal or spatial origins, seem eventually to be interpreted in two, diametrically opposing versions, one version with the snake/woman cast as the villain, the other with the moral authority figure playing the bad guy. This paper examines some of these stories and raises a few questions about psychological meanings as well as possible connections.