刻骨銘心的“帕杜瓦”

在莎士比亞悲喜劇《仲夏之夢》中，女主人公有一句悲嘆臺詞：“噢，那令人刻骨銘心的帕杜瓦！”帕杜瓦大學是意大利一所著名學府，創立于11世紀的帕杜瓦大學城生活著32萬人，其中有5萬大學生在校就讀。

去年仲夏，我們慕名前往帕杜瓦大學城，雖未趕上聲勢浩大“帕杜瓦大學創辦千年慶典”，但該校“獨一無二”的畢業典禮也令我們驚嘆不已。

廣場滿是辯論圈

帕杜瓦介于米蘭與威尼斯之間，千年之前這里僅是意大利加爾達湖邊的一個小漁村。因為這里有著迷人的湖光山色、充沛的陽光和寧靜的田園，因而它成了意大利大學的創辦地。

我們從加爾達湖畔一路行來，只見各種膚色和穿著各類服飾的游人熙熙攘攘地穿行于花團錦簇的奇卉異木之間，充滿了異國的浪漫情調。但一進帕杜瓦大學城，氛圍突然為之一變！只見整座大學城安靜而潔凈，來來去去的男女穿著整齊正統：男士西裝領帶，女士裙裝，顯得雅致而端莊，很難看到露臍短衣、迷你裙或穿孔挖洞的牛仔褲。學生們大都抱著書或肩挎書包，挺有紳士、淑女風度。

到了中心廣場入口處，忽聽見一陣陣演講聲、辯論聲和鼓掌聲，浪潮般的喝彩聲此起彼伏。于是我們急忙進入廣場，只見萬頭攢動，竟然形成幾十個演講圈同時在演講，各講各的，互不干擾。每個演講圈內的主講者或站場中或立凳上和桌子上，有的舞動雙手，有的舉著掛圖，每當演講到精彩時，圈內便爆出一陣又一陣掌聲，好一派百家爭鳴的求知景象！

在廣場周邊的街巷兩旁，貼著幾千幅傳單與圖文，一眼看去，只見許多人捧著筆記本在抄錄，有的干脆拿起相機將它拍下。陪同的華僑小葉告訴我：帕杜瓦大學鼓勵師生切磋成果，交流信息。所以每天晚上尤其是周六周日，兩個廣場皆人山人海，這時便是師生發表創見或學術成果的機會。通過這種形式的發布和辯論，成果在支持中得到壯大，瑕疵在辯論中得到修補，錯誤在求證中得到改正，這就是帕杜瓦大學千年不衰吸引各國學子的原因。

當晚，筆者也明白了莎翁提到的帕杜瓦的謎底：原來他那高才多情的妻子凱瑟琳娜，就是在帕杜瓦大學獲得歐洲首個女博士學位的，五年的帕杜瓦求學歲月，讓凱瑟琳娜一直魂牽夢繞，這求學情結也讓莎士比亞深為感動，于是在他的筆下，自然會情不自禁地提及帕杜瓦。

畢業典禮充滿“虐待”

曾經在帕杜瓦大學執教講學的伽俐略與但丁，當年就強調青年學子應甘于吃苦，認識世途坎坷。由此，帕杜瓦大學生的畢業典禮便出現了千姿百態的“吃苦”儀式，若不是親眼所見，恐怕難以置信。

當我們穿過但丁故居，進入這里的羅馬大街時，正巧趕上一場畢業慶典儀式：只見一位英俊的小伙子，披頭散發地被逼站在小小的高腳凳上，但他站立不穩摔倒在地，卻又被其同學和親友狠狠地推了上去；接著有人撕破他的襯衫，他只好光著上身了；又有人朝他潑水、潑啤酒，他只得濕漉漉的笑著尖叫；還有人給他頭頸套上大花圈，后來有人給他套上類似中國古代刑具似的木枷，結果他又“砰”的一聲摔了下來，大家哄笑著又推他上去，拍掌，尖叫，大笑，拍照，攝像，一直這樣折磨他……

不一會兒，左邊又來了一支鬧哄哄的隊伍，男女老少擁在一起。走在前頭的是一個背負巨大十字架的男青年，他穿著淺黃色T恤衫，扣子被扯掉兩顆，下身只穿短褲，長褲則被人搭在右肩上。只見他雙肩、脖子及手臂上掛滿背包、書包、雨傘、相機皮套、舊皮鞋等等，雖行走艱難卻面含微笑，一點也不氣惱。后邊的人時不時敲打他，推搡他，戳他的頭與脊背，仿佛在驅趕牛羊。被“虐待”的青年和“虐待”他的人，全都興高采烈，而圍觀的人也春風滿面。陪游的卡羅向我們解釋說：這青年剛從帕杜瓦大學畢業，其父母親友及同學們用這種慶賀方式提醒他：你走出校門面對人生之路充滿風浪，你要自立自強，戰勝坎坷。聽說在意大利只有帕杜瓦地區堅持這種畢業慶賀方式，這方式雖有點“虐待”味兒，卻是政府特批的，它屬于幾百年的歷史非物質遺產呢！

這真是教育界的一大奇觀，我們多年習慣于慶賀畢業的飲酒高歌與高彈“前程錦繡”，而帕杜瓦這種慶賀多么富含人生哲理啊！

為真理殉難的維薩里

但丁故居旁，有一間維薩里紀念館。讀過醫學的醫護人員都知道維薩里是“現代醫學解剖學之父”，不過不一定知道他為追求真理而遇難身亡，更鮮為人知的是維薩里就是在帕杜瓦大學教書之時，寫出了奠定科學解剖基礎《人體機構》的！

16世紀初法國掀起文藝復興浪潮，但巴黎大學的醫學教育仍未擺脫中世紀的精神桎梏。出生于比利時的維薩里慕名進入巴黎大學讀醫科，卻發現教授們講的還是蓋倫陳舊的《解剖學》，不少解剖實驗是請劊子手擔任的，學生極少有動手機會，當時解剖材料也大多為狗和猴子等動物尸體，與人體相距甚遠。一些教材錯誤百出，教授們講課經常不能自圓其說。維薩里對此很不滿意，于是他相約幾位好同窗悄悄動手做實驗。他們冬夜到郊外無主墳盜取殘骨，“秋決”時又利用黑夜摸到絞刑架下盜運罪犯的遺尸，在燭光下進行解剖、觀察、整理、記錄和分析，逐步搞清了人體的詳細結構。不料這種唯物求真的艱難治學方法引起守舊派的仇恨和攻擊，畢業前夕校方不但不授予學位，反而開除他的學籍，罪名是“盜人尸骨，喪心病狂”。

就在年輕維薩里走投無路之時，帕杜瓦大學伸出援手，破格聘請他當講師，并于1537年冬獲得博士學位。在帕杜瓦自由求真的濃濃校風中，維薩里利用業余時間研究和寫作，于1543年出版了對人體骨骼、肌腱、神經、血管等幾大系統進行精確描述的科學巨著《人體機構》，奠定了現代醫學解剖學的堅實基礎，頓時歐洲為之轟動。

然而教會還是不放過他。巨著出版的第二年，宗教裁判所以“解剖尸體、褻瀆人倫”為罪名判他死刑，幸好開明的國王出面干預，改判他去耶路撒冷朝圣懺悔，免他一死。然而“朝圣懺悔”實際是勞動教養式的洗腦教育，白白耗費了維薩里寶貴的科研青春。此事經過帕杜瓦大學師生長達20年的呼吁和請求，維薩里才于1565年遇赦返國，不想歸航途中帆船遭遇暴風雨傾翻，維薩里不幸溺海身亡，可惜這位偉大的生物學家、近代人體解剖學的創始人只活了50歲！帕杜瓦維薩里紀念館的結束詞，引用了維薩里自己總結的一句警語：“帕杜瓦追求科學真理的學風讓我懂得，只要自己不屈不撓練就一對堅強的翅膀，即使被魔鬼重重地打下地面，總有一天我們還會飛向藍天！”

The Unforgettable Padua

By Zhang Gui

Padua University is a famed Italian education institution. Founded in the 12th century， the university today boasts 50，000 students， part of the 320，000-people population of the city.

With the long-cherished reverence for the university town， we visited Padua in the summer of 2006. Though we were not in time to see the grandeur of the ceremony held in the celebration of the 1，000 years of the university， we saw the amazing commencement ceremonies at the university.

Situated between Milan and Venice， Padua was previously a fishing village on Lake Garda in northern Italia. Partly because of its picturesque landscape， ample sunshine and tranquil arable land， it became home to one of the earliest and best universities in Italy.

On our way to the campus， we traveled along the lake， seeing groups of tourists and outlandish trees and flowers. But as soon as we entered the university， the surroundings were different. The campus was quiet. Male students wore suits and female students wore skirts. It was hard to see trendy apparel such as blue jeans on the campus. Students behaved like gentlemen and ladies， carrying books and bags gracefully.

As soon as we reached the city’s central square， we heard noises from afar. We rushed over and saw dozens of people making speeches， each surrounded by a crowd. Speakers stood on a chair or a table， some waving their arms， some explaining a chart in his hands. Applauses could be heard here and there. The scene reminded us of a Chinese phrase that typically describes the scholastic prosperity more than 2，000 years ago in China: contention of a hundred schools of thought.

Lanes and streets by the square were a big spectacle of thousands of leaflets and charts. We saw people taking notes from the sea of words and graphs. Some took photos of academic discussions in the hanging papers. Our guide told us that Padua encourages students and teachers to air their views on issues that interest them. These leaflets and charts appear around the two city squares every evening， especially weekend evenings. Study results are publicized here. Debates are held. Defects and mistakes are pointed out and corrected. This is partly why Padua has been a great attraction to students from all over the world.

Dante and Galileo taught at Padua. They emphasized， among other things， the ability to endure hardships. Probably it is this philosophy that initiated so many graduate torturing activities.

After a visit to the Dante’s residence， we were walking through the Roman street when we ran into an individual graduate torture in full swing. A handsome young man stood on a tall small stool， his hair distressed. He fell from the stool， but his friends and family members pushed him onto the stool again. Someone tore off his shirt and he became topless. Someone splashed water and beer to him and he stood smiling and screaming. A large wreath was placed around his neck and a heavy wooden thing that looked like a cangue was put around his neck. The young lost his balance and crashed. He was put back on the stool. The rowdy crowd kept pushing him， laughing， screaming， taking photographs， clapping hands.

Shortly after this， we ran into another procession of torturers， led by a young man carrying a huge crucifix on his back and followed by people of all ages. It was another young graduate. He wore an orange t-shirt， with two buttons missing. He wore only shorts， his long pants were hanging on his shoulder. He was carrying bags， umbrellas， camera bags， and old leather shoes. He wobbled under the heavy load， but he was smiling. The people behind him kept pushing him， stabbing him with their hands as if he were cattle being driven somewhere. The young man and his torturers were all happy and the spectators were also in high spirits. We learned that the young man had just graduated from Padua University. Celebrating the graduation this way， the young man’s family and friends were reminding him of possible difficulties and dangers he might encounter later in life. We learned further that only Padua has maintained this torturing tradition with the governmental approval. It is said to be an intangible cultural heritage there.

Beside the Dante’s former residence stands a museum in memory of Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564)， the father of modern anatomy. Doctors and nurses know of him， but not many people know that it was in Padua that Vesalius authored the epoch-making Fabrica (Seven Books on the Structure of the Human Body).

Vesalius was a lecturer of surgery at the University of Paris.Textbooks used there during that time were outmoded and the researches based on animal bodies led to inaccurate observations. To seek truth， Vesalius stool bodies from graves and conducted anatomy. His pursuit of the medical truth was fiercely attacked. He was expelled from the university. Padua opened its arms to Vesalius. The young scholar acquired the doctorate degree in 1537 at Padua. In 1543， he published Fabrica， which shocked Europe and laid a solid foundation for modern anatomy.

Church persecuted him for his discovery of human body’s secrets. In 1544， one year after the publication of the book， he was sentenced to death by the Inquisition. But the king changed the decision and exiled Vesalius to Jerusalem to repent. The 20-year exile ended in 1565 on the repeated appeal from students and teachers at Padua. However， Vesalius did not live to see the end of his journey back to Padua. The ship sank in a storm and he died.

(Translated by David)