从语言到思想：英语文学中时间观念探究

Chapter 1 Introduction

This dissertation aims to study the concepts of time in Old English literature through aseries of analyses of time words, metaphors, styles, and narrative modes in variousOld English texts.^ The two key terms in the title, namely "Old English literature"and "concepts of time”，have defined the scope of the present dissertation. Studyingthe concepts of time in any culture or civilization is no small task, yet for the conceptsof time in Old English literature, the task is even more challenging. This challenge ispartly due to the conceptual ambiguity in defining "Old English literature". It isnecessary, before proceeding to the main business, for me to specify the contextswhere I use them. First, I use tiie term "literature" to include all manner of poetry andprose. It is very difficult to distinguish literature from non-literature in theAnglo-Saxon context since the notion of literature is a modem convention. The Old English texts to be discussed include Beowulf, HE, Chronicle, Dream^ etc. I use "OldEnglish literature" as a convenient category to cover different genres of Old Englishwritings. Then，with “Old English literature”，I emphasise the conversion context inAnglo-Saxon England. According to Bede's account in HE, in AD 592，the Romanpope Gregory sent Augustine to England who began to bodian Godes wordOngolpeode (“preach the God's words to the Angles”)，The conversion of theAnglo-Saxons is an essential context for the production and authorship of Old Englishliterature.5 Lastly, with "concepts of time", I stress the complexity of time in theAnglo-Saxon context. Time is a complex concept with many layers of meanings. Inthis dissertation, I only attempt to cover some aspects rather than all aspects of thecomplex meanings associated with time.The issue of time has received only limited treatment from studies that usuallyfocus on other topics. In the three major bibliographical tools of Anglo-Saxon studies-A Bibliography of Publications on Old English Literature to the End of 1972, theASE Bibliography, and the OEN Bibliography, time is only a sporadic topic，In thesection “Special Vocabulary and Semantic Field Studies’’ of A Bibliography ofPublications on Old English Literature to the End of 1912, only one entry is related totime/ The OEH Bibliography records 59 relevant entries from 1973 to 2006.8 The 83 entries ranging from 1971 to 2009 recorded in the ASE Bibliography overlap withthose in the OEN Bibliography，Considering the total number of literature available,the number of entries relevant to time only occupies a small percentage in theAnglo-Saxon scholarship.Though it has not received explicit critical attention in the previous Anglo-Saxonscholarship，the issue of time has a long critical tradition which could be dated back to1895 when Frederick Tupper published his dissertation "Anglo-Saxon Daeg-mael."^?In the dissertation, he discussed "the Anglo-Saxon day and the method of determiningits divisions，，，and examined "the Canonical Hours the basis of a detailed study of theAnglo-Saxon divisions of time...to show what these divisions meant to clerk andlayman.，，u While acknowledging what he had achieved in his studies, he recognizedhis own limitations: “I had in mind to discuss the Year, Seasons and Day inAnglo-Saxon poetry; but I reserve this treatment on account of the length of mypaper.，，，i2 His study concerns primarily "the measurement sense" of time and hissupporting evidence come from Bede's Temporum. His contribution to the studies oftime lies in his reconsideration of Bede's notion of the measurement of time in theAnglo-Saxon context. In his study, the concepts of the day in Anglo-Saxon Englandare formulated in comparison with those in the Jewish，Greek and Roman civilizations.What he failed to notice is perhaps the two traditions - Germanic and Christiantraditions that come into play in Anglo-Saxon England. Moreover, Tupper was notinclined to use any fuller tiieory of how ideas of time are related to the foil range ofcognition in a culture - as indeed he could hardly be expected to, since such theories are more the focus of our period than his. However, his limitation cannot weaken theposition of his study as the most substantial one at the turn of 19^ century.
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Chapter 2 The Concept of the Future: Nostalgia, Prophecy andIdentity

2.1. The Concept of the Future: Translation and Semantic Issues
The concept of the future has a complex intension and a broad extension. As one ofthe greatest Christian scholars in the late Roman Empire, St. Augustine'sinterpretation of the three variations of "time" in Christianity exerts its influencethroughout the Middle Ages? According to his interpretation, the fiiture is a conceptin contrast with the past and the present and is associated with “expectation. Theperception of time is based on "tfie time present." St. Augustine is the first Christianscholar to expound the issue of time after Constantine's conversion and hisConfessions is often quoted for his elaboration of the concepts of time. His division oftime into "the past，"the present" and "the future" reflects the early medievalChristian concepts of time. In the context of early Middle Ages, the concept of thefuture could be considered as a distinctive feature of early medieval Christianity. Thiswould present it as a foreign concept for the Anglo-Saxons when they were converted.The reception of this concept in Anglo-Saxon England deserves our consideration. In order to study the concept of the future in the Anglo-Saxon context, it isworthwhile for us to examine how this concept is perceived in early medievalChristianity and the early Germanic culture, the two traditions preceding theconversion of the Anglo-Saxons. Our knowledge of the early medieval Christianconcepts of time comes from two primary sources: St. Augustine's Confessions andBede's Temporum. St. Augustine's discussion of time in Confessions is widely quotedby medievalists to illustrate the early medieval Christian concepts of time. I beginwith a discussion of the quotation from Confessions under the title of this chapter.First，Augustine distinguished three variations of "time" in early medieval Christianity:“a time present of things past“a time present of things present", and "a time presentof things future Second, Augustine associated the past with memory, the presentwith direct experience, and the future with expectation. Third，Augustine perceivedthe past，the present and the future with himself as the centre in which the presentserves as the reference point for the past and the future. In this sense，Augustine'sperception of time fits Evans's "Moving Time model”.5 By relating this passage toBook XI of Confessions from which it is quoted, we can see that Augustine'sdiscussion of the past, the present and the future helps him to answer the question:"What was God doing before he made heaven and earth?"According to Augustine'sinterpretation, there was no time before the Creation since God created both the worldand time/ This interpretation served his purpose to answer his own question and toassure the authority of God by questioning the validity of this question. Since timewas also created by God，the question "What was God doing before he made heavenand earth?" is a false one. Augustine's interpretation of the three variations of "time" indicates that the concept of the future is one of the central concerns in early medievalChristianity.This biblical interpretation of time could find its influence in Anglo-SaxonEngland through Bede's two treatises on time，namely De Temporibus andTemporum,^ In the preface to Temporum，Bede acknowledged Augustine's influence:“I prefer to all of these the integral purity of the Hebrew Truth, which the foremostmen of learning  Jerome in his book On Hebrew Questions，Augustine in his book Onthe City of God”9 In Temporum，he imported and reconceptualised the tripartitedivision of time and transformed it into "the Six Ages of the world"

2.2. Nostalgia and Prophecy: Beowulf and King Alfred's Translations
The lexical and semantic disparity between the Latin futurus and the Old Englishtoweard suggests that the concept of the future is very complex in Old Englishliterature. The semantic overlapping is an indication of the possible integration of theconcept represented by futurus and that by toweard. The lexical measure of translatingfuturus into toweard is particularly stimulating for the discussion of the reception ofthis concept. This suggests that the experience of the future in early medieval #Christianity and the experience of the past in the early Germanic culture sharesomething similar and this similarity opens the possibility for a restructuring of theAnglo-Saxon conceptual system to absorb and resolve the tension when the Christianfuture was introduced or borrowed in the Anglo-Saxon context.As the most important text in Old English literature，Beowulf is usuallyconsidered a literary work composed with Christian influence.In the discussion ofthe concept of the future, Beowulf is the ideal choice. If we regard the concept of thefiiture as a product of the interaction of two traditions in Anglo-Saxon England，Beowulf typically reflects that interaction. When discussing the topics concerningAnglo-Saxon England，we cannot exclude Beowulf，the principal Old English text，from the discussion. Furthermore, when dealing with the concepts of time，we cannotdivert the discussion from Beowulf since the narration of Beowulf involves verycomplex temporal relations.访When Anglo-Saxonists criticise Beowidf，its structure and unity are the mostfrequent topics discussed. Lying at the centre of the debate concerning the structureand unity of Beowulf is whether its narration could be considered a structurally unitedwhole. The debate is extremely tense when it comes to digression in Beowulf,Different understandings of digression lead to different artistic judgements" Forthose who interpret the digressive narratives as the organic part of Beowulf, they judgeBeowulf to be a great Old English poem，while for those who explain the digressivenarratives as the artistic flaw of the Beowulf-poet, the artistic achievement of Beowulfcould be degraded. Undoubtedly，Anglo-Saxonists would not like to see Beowulf asan artistically flawed work. However, in order to assure its role as a great Old Englishpoem, we need to demonstrate how these digressive episodes in Beowulf couldbecome the organic parts of Beowulf. The relationship between these digressiveepisodes and the main narrative is of great importance in the discussion of the poet'sconcept of time. We may safely assume that Beowulf involves narrativity since it isusually labelled an epic，a narrative poem, or a heroic legend.^ What matters is thateach piece of narrative，whether long or short, complex or simple, is structuredaccording to a certain perception of time. The relationship between time and narrativeis a complex issue and beyond the range of our present investigation. To illustrate thatrelationship, it suffices to quote Ricoeur's assumption in his Time and Narrative: ...my basic hypothesis that between the activity of narrating a story and thetemporal character of human experience there exists a correlation that is notmerely accidental but that presents a transcultural form of necessity. To put itanother way, time becomes human to the extent that it is articulated througha narrative mode，and narrative attains its full meaning when it becomes acondition of temporal existence?。What Ricoeur wanted to emphasise is the mutual correlation between time andnarrative and the inseparability of the two categories. In other words，we cannot talkabout narrative in the absence of time，or vice versa. If we regard digressive episodesas the organic parts of Beowulf，we need to e?q)ound the underlying concept of timethat structures the narration of Beowulf.We should acknowledge that the digressive episodes in Beowulf，like the ScyldScefing episode (11.4-52) and the Unferth episode (11. 499-606)，divert the narration off：the poem in terms of narrative time. In its overall structure，Beowuirs three fightsrespectively with Grendel，Grendel，s motiier and the dragon organise the narration ofBeowulf, The first fight begins with Grendel's attack on Heorot in the reign of theDanish King from 1. 53 onwards. The digressive narration of the history of the Danishroyal dynasty back to its founder, Scyld Scefing, with the description of theigenealogical links，diverts from the main current of Beowulfhoih in time and in space.The Unferth episode, in which Unferth questions Beowuirs ability to fight againstGrendel because Unferth does not want anyone else including Beowulf to overshadowhim in the Danish court again。

Chapter 3 The Concept of Time Flow: Linearity, Cyclicity md History ......110

3.1. Old English Time Words and Their Spatial Connotations.... 110

3.2. Linearity and Cyclical Linearity: From HE to Christ III .............130

3.3. Cyclicity and Spiral Linearity: Beowulf md Consolation ........157

3.4. Time Flow and Its Historical Intentionality ..........181

Chapter 4 The Concept of Eternity: Everlastingness，Timelessness and Salvation............. 184

4.1. Time Words for Eternity: Etymological and Semantic Issues ....184

4.2. Eternity and Transience: Dream and Icenum life... 199

4.3. Eternity and Salvation: The Phoenix and The Wanderer  ............   212

4.4. The Sacred Ethics of Eternity ...........230

Chapter 5 Conclusion.......... 232

Chapter 4 The Concept of Eternity: Everlastingness, Timelessnessand Salvation

4.1. Time Words for Eternity; Etymological and Semantic Issues
The concept of the future deals with one point in the continuum of time，while theconcept of time flow deals how time changes from point to another in this continuum.As regards the concept of eternity, in the first place, it concerns the continuity orduration of time. Whether time continues permanently or only lasts within a certainlimit is a question that elicits permanent considerations.In the second place，it is themost philosophical "sense" or "concern" of time. When dealing with the issue ofeternity, we are confronted with some tough questions concerning theology andscience? In the third place, it is closely related to the concepts of the future and timeflow. The eschatological sense of the future suggests that time would stop with thecoming of the Last Judgement, and eternity is only achieved when the duration oftime is no longer a problem in the Christian doctrines.^ In the early Germanic context where time is perceived as the permanent transition between the past and the present,the concept of eternity is thus perceived as the everlasting continuity of time withoutsense of flie end of time. When it comes to the linear-cyclical distinction，bothlinear and cyclical concepts of time could embody the notion of eternity, but it isunderstood in a different way. The lines quoted above from The Phoenix describe acase of achieving eternity in the form of resurrection. The notion of resurrectionseems to be a familiar concept in Christianity, yet this notion was adopted by the poetin the poem for the purpose of advocating the sense of eternity. In the Anglo-Saxoncontext, the concept of eternity is important because it has consequences for aconsiderable number of related concepts such as transience, death，fate，and the LastJudgement. As regards eternity, it is worthwhile to mention tr犯isience. Eternity andtransience represent two extreme views of the duration of time. The former viewstime as an everlasting experience of man，while the latter views time as an ephemeralexperience. Both eternity and transience deal with the relationship between man andtime. The junction of man，time and fate finds expression in the concept of eternity..The concept of eternity has a deep-rooted medieval context. Whenever the is ueof time is discussed in the medieval context, the final pursuit lies in the xmderstandingof the concept of eternity.  Considering the complexity of this concept，anetymological investigation of the words denoting it in the English and other relevantlanguages would help to sort out this complexity. The Modem English languageretains the word "eternity" to denote the meaning of eternity. Etymologically, theEnglish words “eternity，，and "eternal" derive from the Latin words cetern ceternalisand ceeternus respectively in the Middle English through the French language, Theearliest record of “eternity” is found in Chaucer's translation of Boethius's best known work，Consolation of Philosophy，OED defines “eternal，，as "infinite in pastand future duration; without beginning or end; that always has existed and always willexist." OLD offers four definitions for ceternus.? "Having no beginning or end in time,eternal，everlasting"; "Lasting through all future time，everlasting, eternal"; “(of time)Infinite"; “(in a weakened sense) Permanent, enduring，life-long; b. (of materials orstructures) durable, lasting; (of leaves) persistent (as opp. To caducous)?” The Latinword ceternalis consists of the root cetern and the suffix -alis. According to OED，ODEE，and OLD，the root cetern derives from the Greek word aicd which denotes theAmeaning of "age". OLD gives nine definitions for cetern: "Time regarded as themedium in which events occur，indefinite continuous duration, the time series，“Timeas productive of change and decay，the passage or lapse of time"; "A very long periodof time, an age"; "The period to which a particular person belongs，age，generation,century"; "The time one lives，lifetime, life; also，tiie time one may expect to live，mortal span"; "Life, existence (esp. as terminated by death)"; "Vigour (as an aspect oflife), health and strength; also，mature powers or the indications of them"; "The periodof time that one has been alive, one's age or years"; "Length of years, old age."

4.2. Eternity and Transience; Dream and Icenum life
I have discussed various words denoting the concept of eternity in Old English and the semantic duality involving this concept. In what follows, I focus the discussion ofeternity in the Old English poem Dream. In order to know how the Anglo-Saxonauthors perceived the concept of eternity, in the absence of direct communication withthem and other material sources, we should turn to their writings. Ricoeur is rightwhen he claimed that we could only have access to the concept of time when it isembodied in the form of narrative.45 Given this，we cannot exclude the narrativepoems from the discussion of the Anglo-Saxon concept of eternity. Furthermore, theChristian and early Germanic concepts of time are most likely to come into conflict inthe type of writings which either deal with the Christian subject in the Germanicmedia or the Germanic subjects with Christian orientations. Considering all thosefactors above，Dream is the perfect text to be considered since it is an Old Englishnarrative poem dealing with the Christian subject and composed in the idiosyncraticsyntax and metrical forms of Old English. It is in Dream that the medieval Christiantradition 肌d the early Germanic value interact and converge with each other to thelargest extent，Except for Beowulf^ Dream is probably the Old English poem that receives mostcritical attention in Old English literature. The poem is collected in the Vercelli Book，the collection of Old English poems which include Andreas, Fates of the Apostles,etc,7 When commenting on the sources and analogues of Dream, Allen and Calderwrote:Whether the composition of The Dream of the Rood was connected with thisrevival remains unresolved，but the poem does stand curiously detached fromthe many devotional expressions accompanying the Cross from the fourthcentury on. The absence of sources and analogues suggests nothing but the characteristiccomposition of the poem that belongs specifically to the Anglo-Saxons. The poemdeals with the subject of the Crucifixion of Christ. The subject of the poem is nothingnew in the tradition of medieval religious poems. What is unconventional aboutDream is that the suffering of Christ was narrated from the perspective of the Rood，which differs the poem from the traditional devotion writings where a Christianauthor was supposed to narrate the suffering. I find no other similar treatment of thesubject in other early Germanic writings，This special point of view reveals a two-level narration of Dream. The first levelof the narration is about how the Dm?m-poet revealed his dream (11. 4-126b): “flwcet!Ic swefria cyst secgan wylle， hwcet me gemcette to midre nihte” ("Listen! I will tell abest dream which I dreamed of in the midnight),。The second level of the narrationis about how wudu selesta ("the Best Wood）（11. 28-121) told its experience with theCrucifixion of Christ, The Rood's revelation is embedded the dream of theDrecm-poet. Therefore，the title of tiie poem, which is assigned by modem editor, is alittle bit misleading: Dream is not the dream of the rood，but the dream of^#ieDream-poct In the dream of the Dreaw-poet, the Rood's experience is revealed andtold: ("Ongan word sprecan wudu selesta") (1. 27) ("The Best-wood began to speakIthese words). The narration of the Crucifixion is made vivid by the first-personrevelation of the Rood and the reader could have first-hand experience with theCrucifixion of Christ. Though dealing with the Christian subject of Christ'sCrucifixion，the poem was composed in metrical forms of the characteristic Old English alliterative lines and with the common stock of vocabularies that wereprobably shared。
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Chapter 5 Conclusion

5.1. Assumptions and Contributions
Throughout this dissertation, I have discussed three concepts of time，namely thefuture, time flow and eternity. My investigations of them have come to the core of theconflict and assimilation of what I have defined as two cultural traditions inAnglo-Saxon England. At this stage of this dissertation，I think it is necessary for meto integrate my arguments and have an overarching discussion of the concepts of timein the Anglo-Saxon context. By discriminating the three concepts, first，I do not meanthat no other concepts are available for the description of time, and second，it is notmy intention to cover all concepts relating to time.The concept of the future has associations with a series of concepts proposed indifferent disciplinary contexts such as the measurement of time，the structure of time，absolute and relative time, sacred and secular time, past, present and future time,earlier and later time, the end and beginning of time, etc. This concept, which isabsent in the early Germanic culture but prominent in early medieval Christianity, liesat the very core of the interaction between the two conceptual systems. My conclusionis that the Anglo-Saxon authors maintained different stances on this issue and theirdifferences are primarily defined by degrees to which they positioned this concept inthe continuum from the past glory to the prophetic future. This conclusion has beenarrived at, on the one hand, by comparing the concepts of time in the two culturaltraditions and，on the other hand，by analysing the Old English translations of theLatin futurus and the perceptions of future in Beowulf，King Alfred's prefaces to histranslations and two other Old English poems. By concluding that the Anglo-Saxonconcept of the future is an issue of degree, I do not mean that every individualAnglo-Saxon took the same position since the term "Anglo-Saxon" is used in itscollective sense. I prefer to use "Anglo-Saxon" to modify "concepts of time" and to use "the Anglo-Saxons" to collectively refer to the Beowulf  King Alfred，thei?wm-author, the Dream-author，etc. Furthermore, I am theory-ox\QnXQ& when I use theterm "Anglo-Saxon". Cognitive linguists presume that language is a mirror ofthought.^ Therefore, a study of the language of a particular culture is supposed toshed light on the thought of the language speakers in that culture. This assumptionmay not be accepted by all，but I suppose it to be significant in the context of thisdissertation. This assumption，to some degree，is the starting point of the discussion inthis dissertation. I intend to analyse the language of the Anglo-Saxons, namely OldEnglish，in order to identify how they understood the concepts of time,The concept of time flow is related to a series of adjacent concepts such as thedirection of time，the motion of time，the space of time，the arrow of time，cyclical andlinear time, etc. I prefer to use "flow of time" or "time flow" as a concept describingthe dynamic aspect of time as opposed to the static aspect. The concept of time flow isprominent in the Anglo-Saxon context since every historical writing is embedded withcertain perceptions of the flow of time. It derives from the spatial conceptualisation oftime. Due to its invisible and abstract nature, time is usually conceptualised in termsof spatial concepts such as tiie metaphor TIME IS SPACE. ^ In the traditionaldiscussion of this concept, the distinction is made between "linear" and "cyclical"with the former attributed to the Christian tradition and the latter to the earlyGermanic tradition. Thus, I could view the concept of time flow as another arena ofthe cultural contradiction between the two cultural traditions in Anglo-Saxon England.My primary conclusion is that the Anglo-Saxon concept of the flow of time is bothlinear and cyclical. I reach this conclusion by analysing the word formations of OldEnglish time words and the perceptions of time in Chronicle，HE, Christ III，Beowulf and Consolation, The contribution of this dissertation also lies its close readings of a number ofOld English texts from the perspective of time to show the diverse understandings oftime in the Anglo-Saxon context in terms of the three levels of time. In the case ofBeowulf where the issue of time has been noticed by other critics, I attempt tointerpret the structural unity of Beowulf hy analysing the Beowulf-ipoeVs concept oftime. In the case of HE and Chronicle, I emphasise the concepts of time underlyingtheir narrative structures. In the case of Consolation，I focus on tiie metaphoricalexpression of time。

5.2. Problems and Limitations
Although I have tried to provide as much evidence as possible to support myjudgements or claims about the concepts of time throughout the dissertation, I have torecognise the limitation of the materials in terms of their scope and quality. Firstly, thelimitation of the materials lies in the range of my coverage. There are four dialects inAnglo-Saxon England，namely，the Northumbrian, the Mercian, the Kentish and theWest Saxon, but the extant Old English manuscripts are mostly composed in WestSaxon. Therefore, it is both reasonable and appropriate to question the quality of mymaterials when I have illustrated my claims with primarily West Saxon sources.Furthermore, in my analysis，I am arbitrary in choosing Old English texts to illustratemy claims. Beowulf HE，Chronicle, King Alfred's translations, and a number of otherOld English poems overshadow other Old English texts. I have almost excluded OldEnglish homilies, which constitute a large portion of the surviving Old English texts,in my discussion.^'* This, to some degree, has undermined the validity of my claimsand conclusions. I have highlighted the singularity of the early Germanic culture.However, "early Germanic" is such an all-embracing term that we take it for grantedthat all early Germanic nations share the same cultural identity. In fact，even within early Germanic culture, we see more diversity than similarity. I have discussed KingAlfred's perception of time and the historical context of the Viking invasion, but Ihave rarely touched upon the Viking influence on the Anglo-Saxons. I haveemphasised the two cultural traditions, but rarely discussed how the classical traditioncould influence the perception of time in Anglo-Saxon England. This classicaltradition, e.g. the Roman antiquity, according to Hunter, has a considerable impact onthe Anglo-Saxons. 15 There is certain clumsiness in separating the different traditionsfor the Anglo-Saxons, for it is clear that they themselves did not have such a cleardivision in their minds. All the traditions in Anglo-Saxon England are knitted into acomprehensive fabric, and what occurs to the Anglo-Saxons is a general impression ofit. While recognising the differences among them，we need to notice the overlappingparts.Secondly, a limitation lies in the context of literary productions in Anglo-SaxonEngland. According to Mitchell and Robinson，the monks and kings in Anglo-SaxonEngland dominated the production of literary texts and decided，"what types of textsshould be produced and what texts should be compiled togetiaer." Thus，it is throughthe judgements and lens of the Anglo-Saxon monks and later editors of Old Englishtexts that we could have access to the Old English texts. Though I have tried to avoidthe influence of the producers of Old English texts, I can never escape that influence.The history of Anglo-Saxon England spans more than 500 years. Viewed in this sense,any claim about the Anglo-Saxons or Anglo-Saxon England cannot avoid beingsubjective and intentional.
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