荷馬沒有在Telemachus, Odysses之子的長大經歷上濃墨重彩的去描述(我覺得他將更多描寫的重心放在奧德賽身上)。Telemachus先后去了Nestor和Menelaus家,后來就回來了。我們直接看到的便是他的轉變。但是這些變化中,我看到了“幼稚”和“成熟”的區別。
首先是他說話的姿態,初見雅典娜時,他把頭湊近雅典娜,然后低聲對她說話。而且,他是在演唱者開唱之后才敢開口說話。Telemachus spoke low to Minerva, with his head close to hers that no man might hear.此時的求婚者們異常的放縱,他也無能為力。他能做的就是sitting moodily among the suitors thinking about his brave father, and how he would send them flying out of the house if he were to come to his own again and be honoured as in days gone by. 他除了幻想之外,再也想不出來什么其他法子。
尋父歸來后的他,不再怯懦。他母親說完話后,He sneezed so loudly that the whole house resounded with it. 這里已經可以看出來,他不再是那個唯唯諾諾,說話聲音都不敢放開的人。
他的姿態是他成熟的第一大標志——放開膽量去迎接一切未知
除了他的講話方式之外,講話內容才是更令人深刻的地方。初見Minerva 后,他說: If these men were to see my father come back to Ithaca they would... 雅典娜問起你們家這宴會是怎么回事啊,他又說:as regards your question, so long as my father was here it was well with us and with the house...除了幻想自己父親如果在,他會多么風光之外,他一次又一次的說假如我父親在就bla bla 此時的他當真是一個白日夢少年啊。
我想這里也是幼稚的人常見的一種做法:幻想卻不行動。直白點說就是想的太多,做的太少。
Telemachus與人打交道的方式也有所改變。初見Nestor他還要“咨詢”一下雅典娜 “But how mentor, dare I go up to Nestor, and how am I to address him, I have never yet been used to holding long conversations with people, and am ashamed to begin questioning one who is so much older than myself?”他一開始都不知道怎么開口和人講話。后來,他可以猜出來對方的心思,然后聰明地安排自己的返程計劃,怕Nestor出于熱情留他,他告訴 Pisistratus: “Pisistratus, I hope you will promise to do what I am going to ask you. You know our fathers were old friends before us; moreover, we are both of an age, and this journey has brought us together still more closely; do not, therefore, take me past my ship, but leave me there, for if I go to your father's house he will try to keep me in the warmth of his good will towards me, and I must go home at once."
成熟的另一個標志:懂別人的想法,做事情周到。這一點我一直以來做的不算好,總是在做事、講話時有顧及不到的地方。我想我更要去向Odysses取經:之前專門寫了一篇怎么說話的文章,學著改善自己說話的方式——用一張嘴化險為夷
整本書前后有這樣一個對比,我想也是Telemachus成長的點睛之筆。他在尋父之前說了這樣一句話:He is gone without leaving so much as a trace behind him, and I inherit nothing but dismay. 后來,他的父親化身乞丐時,他說:I will put a stop to the gibes and blows of the suitors, for this is no public house, but belongs to Ulysses, and has passed from him to me.這兩句話的對比格外鮮明。前面他只看到自己從父親那里繼承的只有悲傷,而后面則像父親變的乞丐承諾:你別怕,出了事我頂著,這是我父親的家,現在已經傳給了我。這里是令我印象最深刻的地方!
小時候只會對自己的不幸怨怨自哀,但是長大以后,能看到的,不止是悲傷,更是責任,這是他的家啊,怎么可以拱手相讓于他人。
但是究竟是很多人,長大的只有年齡——弱冠之年埋怨自己條件不好,而立之年埋怨機遇不降臨在自己身上,不惑之年埋怨時間過的太快,知命之年將一不幸推脫給命運,耄耋甚至花甲之年將生命交給死神來處置。
這樣的人從沒有真正長大過,更沒有踏實的活過。
我想Telemachus之轉變告訴我的最重要的一堂課便是生命里其實一直都存在值得你奮斗的事情。不要把自己的焦距只對準悲傷,因為生活所留給你的,還有責任,當你完成重任時,迎接你的便是輝煌。