荷马没有在Telemachus, Odysses之子的长大经历上浓墨重彩的去描述(我觉得他将更多描写的重心放在奥德赛身上)。Telemachus先后去了Nestor和Menelaus家,后来就回来了。我们直接看到的便是他的转变。但是这些变化中,我看到了“幼稚”和“成熟”的区别。
首先是他说话的姿态,初见雅典娜时,他把头凑近雅典娜,然后低声对她说话。而且,他是在演唱者开唱之后才敢开口说话。Telemachus spoke low to Minerva, with his head close to hers that no man might hear.此时的求婚者们异常的放纵,他也无能为力。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,再也想不出来什么其他法子。
寻父归来后的他,不再怯懦。他母亲说完话后,He sneezed so loudly that the whole house resounded with it. 这里已经可以看出来,他不再是那个唯唯诺诺,说话声音都不敢放开的人。
他的姿态是他成熟的第一大标志——放开胆量去迎接一切未知
除了他的讲话方式之外,讲话内容才是更令人深刻的地方。初见Minerva 后,他说: If these men were to see my father come back to Ithaca they would... 雅典娜问起你们家这宴会是怎么回事啊,他又说:as regards your question, so long as my father was here it was well with us and with the house...除了幻想自己父亲如果在,他会多么风光之外,他一次又一次的说假如我父亲在就bla bla 此时的他当真是一个白日梦少年啊。
我想这里也是幼稚的人常见的一种做法:幻想却不行动。直白点说就是想的太多,做的太少。
Telemachus与人打交道的方式也有所改变。初见Nestor他还要“咨询”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?”他一开始都不知道怎么开口和人讲话。后来,他可以猜出来对方的心思,然后聪明地安排自己的返程计划,怕Nestor出于热情留他,他告诉 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."
成熟的另一个标志:懂别人的想法,做事情周到。这一点我一直以来做的不算好,总是在做事、讲话时有顾及不到的地方。我想我更要去向Odysses取经:之前专门写了一篇怎么说话的文章,学着改善自己说话的方式——用一张嘴化险为夷
整本书前后有这样一个对比,我想也是Telemachus成长的点睛之笔。他在寻父之前说了这样一句话:He is gone without leaving so much as a trace behind him, and I inherit nothing but dismay. 后来,他的父亲化身乞丐时,他说: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.这两句话的对比格外鲜明。前面他只看到自己从父亲那里继承的只有悲伤,而后面则像父亲变的乞丐承诺:你别怕,出了事我顶着,这是我父亲的家,现在已经传给了我。这里是令我印象最深刻的地方!
小时候只会对自己的不幸怨怨自哀,但是长大以后,能看到的,不止是悲伤,更是责任,这是他的家啊,怎么可以拱手相让于他人。
但是究竟是很多人,长大的只有年龄——弱冠之年埋怨自己条件不好,而立之年埋怨机遇不降临在自己身上,不惑之年埋怨时间过的太快,知命之年将一不幸推脱给命运,耄耋甚至花甲之年将生命交给死神来处置。
这样的人从没有真正长大过,更没有踏实的活过。
我想Telemachus之转变告诉我的最重要的一堂课便是生命里其实一直都存在值得你奋斗的事情。不要把自己的焦距只对准悲伤,因为生活所留给你的,还有责任,当你完成重任时,迎接你的便是辉煌。