海外文化:英美民俗 神奇的數字:7

【英文原文】

摘要：數字7 數字7在《聖經》裏代表完整。上帝創世用了六天，第七天歇了，意思是活兒已幹完。這樣他爲世人立下規矩，幹六天，歇一天，七天爲一週。

Seven is used frequently in the Bible to signify completeness. God created the world in six days, and had a rest on the seventh, meaning his job had been done. In this way he set the pattern for the seven-day week. The number also appears frequently in the third book of the Old Testament, in which it is connected with rules of offerings and cleansings. In the sixth book, an angel told Joshua that he and his men should march around the city of Jericho for six days, with the Ark of the Covenant carried in front of them. Seven priests blowing trumpets should march in front of the Ark. On the seventh day they must march around the city seven times. The Israelites did exactly as God had told them and finally they broke into the city. The book of Revelation is full of symbolic use of the number seven in connection with the things of God and his angels, and also the things of Satan and his followers, such as seven spirits, seven stars, seven churches, seven gold candlesticks. Superstitious people used to believe that the seventh son of a seventh son was gifted with supernatural powers. Three times seven is also lucky. Queen Victoria always had fine weather for her ceremonies because there were twenty-one cannons. Since seven seems to be a mysterious number, people have tended to create groups of seven things. For example, there were seven sages in ancient Greece; to Christians there are Seven Virtues: faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance; and Seven Deadly Sins: pride, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, avarice, and sloth. There are also “Seven Wonders of the World”. Finally, each man’s life is divided into seven stages, as Jaques describes in Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

【中文譯文】

數字7 數字7在《聖經》裏代表完整。上帝創世用了六天，第七天歇了，意思是活兒已幹完。這樣他爲世人立下規矩，幹六天，歇一天，七天爲一週。《舊約•利未記》裏，祭祀和潔淨的規矩都與七這個數字有關。在《舊約•約書亞》裏，上帝通知想攻下耶利哥城的約書亞，要他率領軍隊，每天繞城走一圈，連續六天。要派七個祭司，帶着號角，走在約櫃前頭。到第七天，約書亞要率軍繞城七週，然後祭司們吹起號角，全軍齊聲吶喊。以色列人一絲不苟地按上帝說的去做了，結果耶利哥城不攻自破。《新約•啓示錄》時，凡與上帝和天使、魔鬼與其追隨者有關的事，多與7這個數字有關。如七靈、七星、七教會、七支金燭臺等。過去曾有迷信的人認爲第七個兒子生下的第七個兒子天生有超人的本領。3與7的乘積也吉利。維多利亞女王舉行儀式，總能趕上晴朗天氣，據認爲是因爲有二十一響禮炮。由於7這個數字很神祕，人們就喜歡拼湊它，以示圓滿。於是古希臘就有七哲，基督徒有七德：信、望、愛、智、義、勇、節；七宗罪：傲、怒、妒、淫、饕、貪、懶。世界有七大奇觀；人生分七個階段，莎士比亞的喜劇《如願以償》裏的傑開斯把這七個階段描繪得惟妙惟肖。

【題外話】

古希臘羅馬時代人們所認爲的世界七大奇觀是：埃及的金字塔、巴比倫的空中花園、小亞細亞的摩索拉斯陵墓、以弗所的月神阿爾忒彌斯神廟、羅得島的巨像、奧林匹亞的宙斯像、法羅斯島的燈塔。中世紀人們所認爲的世界七大奇觀是：羅馬的大斗獸場、亞歷山大的地下墓窟、中國的長城、英格蘭的懸石壇、比薩的斜塔、中國南京的瓷塔（琉璃塔）、君士坦丁堡（伊斯坦布爾）的索非亞清青寺。