纪伯伦-先知

先知

纪伯伦

The Coming of the Ship船的来临

Almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, who was a dawn unto his own day, had waited twelve years in the city of Orphalese for his ship that was to return and bear him back to the isle of his birth.

被选和被爱的艾勒?穆斯塔法，当代的曙光，已在奥法利斯城等候了十二年，期待着他的航船前来迎他返回自己出生的岛屿。

And in the twelfth year, on the seventh day of Ielool, the month of reaping, he climbed the hill without the city walls and looked seaward; and he beheld the ship coming with the mist.

时值第十二载，“颐露”月的第七日，他登上没有城墙阻隔的山岗，眺望大海；他看到他的航船正从雾霭中驶来。

Then the gates of his heart were flung open, and his joy flew far over the sea. And he closed his eyes and prayed in the silences of his soul.

他的心胸豁然开朗，他的喜悦越过海面，流溢远方。他轻闭双眸，在灵魂的静默中祈祷。

But he descended the hill, a sadness came upon him, and he thought in his heart: How shall I go in peace and without sorrow? Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave this city.

当他步下山岗时，却有一阵悲哀袭来。他心中默想：我怎能毫无愁绪、平静地告别？不，我无法离开这座城市而不负任何精神创伤。

Long were the days of pain I have spent within its walls, and long were the nights of aloneness; and who can depart from his pain and his aloneness without regret?

在这城垣中，我度过了多少漫长的痛苦日子，又经历了多少漫长的孤寂夜晚；谁能够毫无眷恋地离开他的痛苦和孤寂？

Too many fragments of the spirit have I scattered in these streets, and too many are the children of my longing that walk naked among these hills, and I cannot withdraw from them without a burden and an ache.

我曾将那么多心灵碎片撒落于这大街小巷，我曾有那么多希望之子赤裸地穿行于这丘陵山岗，我不能没有负荷、没有痛苦地弃之而去。

It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands. Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst.

今天，我不是脱去一件罩衣，而是用自己的手撕裂一层肌肤。我留在身后的不是一种思绪。而是一颗因饥渴而甜蜜的心。

Yet I cannot tarry longer. The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark. For to stay, though the hours burn in the night, is to freeze and crystallize and be bound in a mould.

但我却无法再滞留。那召唤一切的大海在召唤我，我必须登舟了。因为尽管时光在夜晚燃烧，但留下却意味着冻结，被禁烟于铸模。

Fa

in would I take with me all that is here. But how shall I?

多么希望将这里的一切带到身边，但我怎么能够？

A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that give it wings. Alone must it seek the ether.

声音无法带走赋予它翅翼的唇舌，它只能独自寻找天空。

And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun.

苍鹰不携巢禾，才能独自飞越太阳。

Now when he reached the foot of the hill, he turned again towards the sea, and he saw his ship approaching the harbour, and upon her prow the mariners, the men of his own land.

他行至山脚，再次面向大海，看到他的航船已驶近港湾，船头是来自故乡的水手。

And his soul cried out to them, and he said:

于是他的灵魂向他们发出呼唤，说道：

Sons of my ancient mother, you riders of the tides,

我古老母亲的子孙，你们这弄潮的健儿，

How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening, which is my deeper dream.

多少次你们沉浮于我的梦境。如今你们驶入我的清醒，也就是我更深的梦境。

Ready am I to go, and my eagerness with sails full set awaits the wind.

我已整装待发，我的希望与扬起的帆一起等待着风起。

Only another breath will I breathe in this still air, only another loving look cast backward,

只想再呼吸一口这宁静的气息，再回首投下深情的一瞥。

Then I shall stand among you, a seafarer among seafarers.

然后我就会加入到你们的中间，宛如水手在水手中间。

And you, vast sea, sleepless mother, Who alone are peace and freedom to the river and the stream,

而你，浩渺的大海，不眠的母亲，江河溪流唯一的安宁与自由，

Only another winding will this stream make, only another murmur in this glade, And then shall I come to you, a boundless drop to a boundless ocean.

等这溪流再绕过一道弯，林中空地再传来一阵温偏低语，我就会投入你的慈怀，犹如无穷之水滴融入无穷之大海。

And as he walked he saw from afar men and women leaving their fields and their vineyards and hastening towards the city gates.

行走间，他远远地看到男人们和妇女们离开了农田与果园，纷纷涌向城门。

And he heard their voices calling his name, and shouting from the field to field telling one another of the coming of the ship.

他听到他们呼唤着自己的名字，在田野奔走相告航船到达的消息。

And he said to himself:

他问自己：

Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering?

莫非分别的一刻也是相聚的时分？

And shall it be said that my eve wa

s in truth my dawn?

难道我的夜晚实际是我的黎明？

And what shall I give unto him who has left his plough in midfurrow, or to him who has stopped the wheel of his winepress?

我能为那些放下耕田犁体、停下酿酒转轮的人们奉献什么？

Shall my heart become a tree heavy-laden with fruit that I may gather and give unto them?

是以心灵为树，采摘累累果实与他们分享？

And shall my desires flow like a fountain that I may fill their cups?

还是将渴望化作涌泉，倾满他们的杯盏？

Am I a harp that the hand of the mighty may touch me, or a flute that his breath may pass through me?

是作一架强者之手可以弹拨的竖琴，还是一管他们呼吸可以穿过我身躯的长笛？

A seeker of silences am I, and what treasure have I found in silences that I may dispense with confidence?

我是个寻求寂寞的人，我在寂寞中究竟觅得了什么宝藏，使我得以自信地施与？

If this is my day of harvest, in what fields have I sowed the seed, and in what unrembered seasons?

如果今天是收获的日子，那么我是在哪个被遗忘的季节和哪片土地上播撒的种子？

If this indeed be the our in which I lift up my lantern, it is not my flame that shall burn therein.

如果此刻的确是我举起明灯的时候，那灯中燃烧的并不是我点燃的焰火。

Empty and dark shall I raise my lantern,

我举起的灯空虚而晦暗，

And the guardian of the night shall fill it with oil and he shall light it also.

夜的守护者将为它添上油，点起火。

These things he said in words. But much in his heart remained unsaid. For he himself could not speak his deeper secret.

他用语言倾诉了这些，但还有许多未说出的话藏在心间。因为他自己也无法表达自己更深的秘密。

And when he entered into the city all the people came to meet him, and they were crying out to him as with one voice.

他回到城中，人们纷纷迎上来。他们异口同声地呼唤着他。

And the elders of the city stood forth and said:

城中的老者趋前说道：

Go not yet away from us.

请不要就这样离开我们。

A noontide have you been in our twilight, and your youth has given us dreams to dream.

你一直是我们黄昏中的正午，你的青春引导我们的梦幻进入梦幻。

No stranger are you among us, nor a guest, but our son and our dearly beloved. Suffer not yet our eyes to hunger for your face.

你并不是我们中间的陌生者，也不是过客，你是我们的儿子，我们诚挚爱戴的人。不要让我们的眼睛因渴望见到你的面容而酸楚。

And the priests

and the priestesses said unto him:

男女祭司对他说道：

Let not the waves of the sea separate us now, and the years you have spent in our midst become a memory.

请不要现在就让海浪将我们分开，让你在我们中间度过的岁月成为回忆。

You have walked among us a spirit, and your shadow has been a light upon our faces.

你似精魂在我们之中行走，你的身影是映在我们脸上的光辉。

Much have we loved you. But speechless was our love, and with veils has it been veiled. Yet now it cries aloud unto you, and would stand revealed before you.

我们一直如此热爱着你。但我们的爱曾悄然无语，被面纱遮掩。如今她大声呼唤你，坦然无饰地面对你。

And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

爱直到分别的时刻，才知道自己的深度。

And others came also and entreated him.

其他人也走上前挽留他。

But he answered them not. He only bent his head; and those who stood near saw his tears falling upon his breast.

但他没有作答。他低首不语，身边的人看到眼泪坠落到他的胸前。

And he and the people proceeded towards the great square before the temple. And there came out of the sanctuary a woman whose name was Almitra. And she was a seeress.

他与大家一起走向圣殿前的广场。一位名叫艾尔梅特拉的女子迎出圣殿。她是一位女预言家。

And he looked upon her with exceeding tenderness, for it was she who had first sought and believed in him when he had been but a day in their city.

他用无比温柔的目光看着她，因为正是她在他到达这座城市的第一天就追随他，笃信他。

And she hailed him, saying: Prophet of God, in quest for the uttermost, long have you searched the distances for your ship.

她向他致贺，说道：上帝的先知，为了寻求终极，你很久以来一直计算着你的航船的行程，

And now your ship has come, and you must needs go.

如今船只已到，你必须离去了。

Deep is your longing for the land of your memories and the dwelling place of your greater desires; and our love would not bind you nor our needs hold you.

你是如此深切地向往着你记忆的土地和你更大希冀之所；我们的爱不会羁绊你，我们的需要也不能滞留你。

Yet this we ask ere you leave us, that you speak to us and give us of your truth. And we will give it unto our children, and they unto their children, and it shall not perish.

不过，请你在离去之前对我们谈谈，为我们言说真理。我们将把它传给我们的子孙，他们再传给他们的后代，使它永不湮灭。

In your aloneness you have watched w

ith our days, and in your wakefulness you have listened to the weeping and the laughter of our sleep.

你在孤独中审视过我们的白昼，在清醒中倾听过我们梦中的哭泣与欢笑。

Now therefore disclose us to ourselves, and tell us all that has been shown you of that which is between birth and death.

因此现在请向我们披露我们自己，告诉我们你所知道的生与死之间的一切。

And he answered,

他回答道：

People of Orphalese, of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving your souls?

奥法利斯城的民众啊，除了此刻激荡于你们灵魂中的事物外，我还能说些什么呢！

On Love爱

Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."

于是艾尔梅特拉说，请给我们谈谈爱吧。

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:

他抬头望着众人，人群一片寂静。他用洪亮的声音说道：

When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep.

当爱挥手召唤你们时，跟随着他，尽管他的道路艰难而险峻。

And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

当他展翼拥抱你们时，依顺着他，尽管他羽翼中的利刃会伤害你们。

And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

当他对你们说话时，要相信他，尽管他的声音会击碎你的梦，像狂风尽扫园中的花。

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you..

爱虽可为你们加冕，也能将你们钉上十字架。

Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

他虽可助你们成长，也能将你们削砍剪刈。

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

他会攀至你们的高处，轻抚你们在阳光下颤动的最柔嫩的枝条，

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

他也会降至你们的根柢，动摇你们紧紧依附着大地的根须。

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

爱把你们像麦捆般聚拢在身边。

He threshes you to make you naked.

他将你们脱粒，使你们赤裸。

He sifts you to free you from your husks.

他将你们筛选，使你们摆脱麸糠。

He grinds you to whiteness.

他碾磨你们，直至你们清白。

He kneads you until you are pliant;

他揉捏你们，直至你们柔顺。

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for

God's sacred feast.

尔后，他把你们交与圣火，让你们成为上帝圣宴上的圣饼。

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

这一切都是爱为你们所做，使你们或许能从中领悟自己心中的秘密，从而成为生命之心的一小部分。

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

但是如果你们出于畏惧只去寻求爱的和美与爱的欢乐，

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

那你们最好掩起自己的赤裸，离开爱的打谷场，

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

踏入那没有季节的世界，在那里，你会开怀，但不是尽情欢笑；你会哭泣，但不是尽抛泪水。

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

爱除了自身别无所予，除了自身别无所取。

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love.

爱不占有，也不被占有；因为爱有了自己就足够了。

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."

当你爱了，你不应说“上帝在我心中”，而应说“我在上帝心中”。

And think not you can direct the course of love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

别以为你可以指引爱的方向，因为爱，如果他认为你配，将指引你的方向。

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

爱别无他求，只求成全自己。

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

但如果你爱了，又必定有所渴求，那就让这些成为你的所求吧：

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

融化为一道奔流的溪水，在夜晚吟唱自己的清曲。

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

体会太多温柔带来的痛苦。

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

被自己对爱的体会所伤害。

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

心甘情愿地淌血。

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

清晨，带着一颗生翼的心醒来，感谢又一个充满爱的日子；

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

午休，沉思爱的心醉神怡；

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

黄昏，带着感激归家；

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

睡前，为你心中的挚爱祈祷，唇间吟诵着赞美诗。

On Marriage婚姻

Then Almitra spoke again and said, "And what of Marriage, master?"

艾尔梅特拉又开口问道：婚姻又是怎样的呢，大师？

And he answered saying:

他回答道：

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

你们一同降生，你们将永远相依。

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

当死神的白色羽翼驱散你们的日子，你们也应在一起。

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

的确，你们始终相守，即使在上帝的记忆中。

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

但在聚守中你们要保留空间，

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

让空中的风在你们之间飞舞。

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

彼此相爱，但不要让爱成为束缚；

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

让爱成为奔流于你们灵魂海岸间的大海。

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

盛满彼此的杯盏，但不要只从一只杯盏中取饮。

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

彼此互赠面包，但不要只向一块面包取食。

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

一起欢歌曼舞，但要保持各自的独立。

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

鲁特琴的琴弦也彼此分开，即使它们为同一首乐曲震颤。

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

奉献你们的心，但不要让对方保管。

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

因为只有生命之手才能接纳你们的心。

And stand together, yet not too near together:

站立在一起，但不要靠得太近；

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

因为殿宇的支柱总是彼此分立的，

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

橡树和松柏也不在彼此的阴影下生长。

On Children孩子

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

一位怀抱婴儿的妇女说，请给我们讲讲孩子。

And he said:

他说道：

Your children are not your children.

你们的孩子并不是你们的孩子。

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

他们是生命对自身的渴求的儿女。

They come through you but not from you,

他们借

你们而来，却不是因你们而来。

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

尽管他们在你们身边，却并不属于你们。

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

你们可以把你们的爱给予他们，却不能给予思想，

For they have their own thoughts.

因为他们有自己的思想。

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

你们可以建造房舍荫庇他们的身体，但不是他们的心灵，

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

因为他们的心灵栖息于明日之屋，即使在梦中，你们也无缘造访。

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

你们可努力仿效他们，却不可企图让他们像你。

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

因为生命不会倒行，也不会滞留于往昔。

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

你们是弓，你们的孩子是被射出的生命的箭矢。

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

那射者瞄准无限之旅上的目标，用力将你弯曲，以使他的箭迅捷远飞。

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

让你欣然在射者的手中弯曲吧；

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

因为他既爱飞驰的箭，也爱稳健的弓。

On Giving施与

Then said a rich man, "Speak to us of Giving."

一位富人接下来说，请为我们讲施与。

And he answered:

他答道：

You give but little when you give of your possessions.

当你们拿出自己的财产时，你们的施与微不足道。

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

你们奉献自己时，才是真正的施与。

For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?

因为你们的财产不就是一些你们担心明天可能需要才占有、才保护的东西吗？

And tomorrow, what shall tomorrow bring to the overprudent dog burying bones in the trackless sand as he follows the pilgrims to the holy city?

而明天，明天又能给那谨小慎微追随朝圣者，而又把骨头埋藏在荒沙里的狗带来什么？

And what is fear of need but need itself?

除了需要本身，你们还需要什么呢？

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?

当井水满溢，你对干渴的恐惧岂不就是一种无法解脱的干渴？

There are those who give little of the much which they have -- and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

有些人只捐弃自己财产中的一点一些——他们是为得到认可而施与，而他们隐藏的欲望使他们的馈赠不成为美。

And there are those who have little and give it all.

也有一些人，他们拥有甚少，却全部付出。

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

他们相信生命和生命的赠礼，他们的储柜从不空虚。

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.

有些人快乐地施与，这快乐就是他们的回报。

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.

有些人痛苦地施与，这痛苦就是他们的洗礼。

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;

还有一些人，给予时并不觉得痛苦，也不是为了寻求快乐，或布善施德；

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.

他们施与，就像山谷那边的桃金娘散发芳香。

Though the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth.

上帝通过这些人之手施教，透过他们的双眸向大地微笑。

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;

被祈求时施与固然很好，但更高的境界是通过体察，在别人开口前相赠。

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

对于慷慨的人，能找到乐于接受馈赠的人较之施与本身是更深的快乐。

And is there aught you would withhold?

你有什么不能舍弃的呢？

All you have shall some day be given;

总有一天，你所有的一切都将留与他人；

Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'.

所以现在就馈赠吧，把奉献的时机留给你自己，而不是你的继承人。

You often say, "I would give, but only to the deserving."

你们常说：“我会解囊，但只为值得的人。”

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.

你们果园中的树木不会这样说，你们草地上的羊群也不会这样说。

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.

因为奉献，它们才会生存，而拒绝只会带来灭亡。

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.

一个配得到自己白昼与黑夜的人，无疑配从你们这里获得

其他一切。

And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream.

一个配从生命之海中取饮的人，也配从你们的小溪里汲满水杯。

And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?

什么样的美德能超过接受的勇气、信任、甚至慈悲？

And who are you that men should rend their bosom and unveil their pride, that you may see their worth naked and their pride unabashed?

你是谁，值得人们撕开胸膛、摘下自尊的面纱，让你看到他们赤裸的价值和他们无愧的尊严？

See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving.

先审视一下自己是否配作一个馈赠者，一件施与的工具。

For in truth it is life that gives unto life -- while you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness.

因为一切都是生命对生命的馈赠——而你，将自己视为施主的你，不过是一个见证。

And you receivers -- and you are all receivers -- assume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives.

至于你们这些受惠者——你们的确都是受惠者——毋须背负感恩戴德的重担，以免给自己以至施与者套上枷锁。

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;

不如与施与者凭借馈赠，如同凭借一对翅膀，一起飞翔，

For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father.

因为耿耿于欠负，就是怀疑那以乐善好施的大地为母，以上帝为父的施与者的慷慨了。

On Eating and Drinking饮食

Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, "Speak to us of Eating and Drinking."

然后一位老人，客栈的店主说道，请给我们谈谈饮食。

And he said:

他说道：

Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.

我固然希望你们能靠大地的芬芳生存，如空气中的植物靠阳光延续生命。

But since you must kill to eat, and rob the young of its mother's milk to quench your thirst, let it then be an act of worship,

但既然你们不得不杀生为食，从初生羔犊口中抢夺它们母亲的乳汁以解干渴，那就让这成为一种崇拜方式吧。

And let your board stand an altar on which the pure and the innocent of forest and plain are sacrificed for that which is purer and still more innocent in many.

在你们的案俎上立起一座祭坛，让森林和平原的纯真为人类的更加纯真，在这祭坛上奉献牺牲。

When you kill a beas

t say to him in your heart,

当你们宰杀一只畜禽，你们应在心中对它说：

"By the same power that slays you, I to am slain; and I too shall be consumed.

“现在屠宰你的力量也将屠宰我，我同样也会被吞食。

For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand.

因为把你送到我手中的那一规律也将把我送到更强者的手中。

Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven."

你的血和我的血都不过是滋养天国之树的汁液。”

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,

当你们用牙齿咀嚼一只苹果，你们应在心中对它说：

"Your seeds shall live in my body, And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,

“你的种子将在我的体内生存，你明日的花蕾将在我心中开放，

And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons."

你的芬芳融入我的气息，你我将带着喜悦共度每一个季节。”

And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress, say in you heart,

秋日里，当你们采集园中葡萄酿制醇酒，请在你们的心中说：

"I to am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress, And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels."

“我也是一座葡萄园，我的果实也将被采摘酿制，我亦将如新酒，注入永恒的容器。”

And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;

冬季，当你们斟饮美酒，请在心中为每一杯酒歌上一曲；

And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.

让歌声忆起秋日，葡萄园，和美酒的酿制。

On Work劳作

Then a ploughman said, "Speak to us of Work."

一位农夫说，请为我们谈谈劳作。

And he answered, saying:

他答道：

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

你们劳作，故能与大地和大地的精神同步。

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

你们慵懒，就会变为季节的生客，落伍于生命的行列；那行列正带着庄严豪迈和骄傲的顺从向永恒前进。

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

劳作时你们便是一管笛，时间的低语通过你的心化作音乐。

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

你们中谁愿做一根芦苇，当万物齐声合唱时，惟独自己沉寂无声？

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

总有人对你们说：工作是一种诅咒，劳动是一种不幸。

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

但我要对你们说：当你们工作时，你们便实现了大地一部分最悠远的梦想，在梦想成形之初，这部分便已分派给你，

And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,

你们辛勤劳动，便是真正热爱生命，

And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

在劳动中热爱生命，便是通晓了生命最深的秘密。

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

然而，如果你们在痛苦中把降生称作折磨，把维持肉体生存当成写在额头的诅咒，那么我要回答，只有你们额头上的汗水，才能洗去那些字迹。

You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

也总有人对你们说生活是黑暗的，你们疲惫时重复疲惫者的语

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,

而我说生活的确是黑暗的，除非有了渴望，

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,

所有渴望都是盲目的，除非有了知识，

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

一切知识都是徒然的，除非有了工作，

And all work is empty save when there is love;

所有工作都是空虚的，除非有了爱；

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

当你们带着爱工作时，你们就与自己、与他人、与上帝会为一体。

And what is it to work with love?

什么是带着爱工作？

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

是用你心中的丝线织布缝衣，仿佛你的至爱将穿上这衣服。

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

是带着热情建房筑屋，仿佛你的至爱将居住其中。

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

是带着深情播种，带着喜悦收获，仿佛你的至爱将品尝果实。

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

是将你灵

魂的气息注入你的所有制品。

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

是意识到所有受福的逝者都在身边注视着你。

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "he who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.

我常听你们梦中吃语般地说："雕刻大理石，在石中找到自己灵魂形象的人，比耕田的农夫高贵。

And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."

“捕捉彩虹，用虹霞在一方织物上绘出人的形象的人比制鞋的人高明。”

But I say, not in sleep but in the over--wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;

但是我要说——不是在睡梦中，而是在正午格外清醒中说：风对高大橡树说话时的声音，并不比它对纤细草叶说话时更甜蜜，

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

一个人若能把风声变为歌声，又能用自己的爱使之变得更加甜美，他才是伟大的。

Work is love made visible.

劳动就是有形可见的爱。

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

假如你们无法带着爱劳动而只觉厌烦，那么你们不如放弃劳作，坐在殿宇的门前，等待以劳动为乐的人给你们施舍。

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

假如你们毫无热情地焙制面包，那么你们烤出的面包将会变苦，只能使人半饱。

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.

假如你们勉为其难地压榨葡萄，那么你们的忿懑就在葡萄酒中滴入了毒液。

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

假如你们纵能如天使般歌唱却并不爱歌唱，那么你们就堵塞了人们聆听日夜之声的耳朵。

On Joy & Sorrow欢乐与忧愁

Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."

一位女子说，请给我们讲讲欢乐和忧愁。

And he answered:

他答道：

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

揭开面具，你们的欢乐就是你们的忧愁。

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

从你泪水注满的同一眼井中，你的欢乐

泉涌。

And how else can it be?

能不如此吗？

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

哀愁刻划在你们身上的伤痕愈深，你们就能容纳愈多的欢乐。

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

难道不是曾经锻炼于陶工炉火中的杯盏，如今斟满你们的葡萄美酒？

And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

难道不是曾经被利刃楼空的树木，如今成为抚慰你们心灵的鲁特琴？

When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

当你们欣喜时，深究自己的心灵，你们会发现如今带给你们欢乐的，正是当初带给你们忧愁的。

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

当你们悲哀时，再审视自己的心灵，你们会发现如今带给你们忧愁的，正是当初带给你们欢乐的。

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."

你们当中一些人说：“欢乐甚于忧愁。”而另一些人说：“否，忧愁甚于欢乐。”

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

但我对你们说，它们是不可分的。

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

它们一同降临，当其中一个独自与你同席时，要记住另一个正在你的床上安眠。

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

的确，你们像摇摆于忧愁与欢乐之间的一架天平。

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

只有当你们完全虚空时，你们才会静止，平衡。

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

当宝藏守护者用你称量他的金银时，必然需要你的欢乐和忧愁升降起伏。

On Houses居室

Then a mason came forth and said, "Speak to us of Houses."

一位泥瓦匠走上前说道：请给我们谈谈居室。

And he answered and said:

他答道：

Build of your imaginings a bower in the wilderness ere you build a house within the city walls.

在你们建房于城墙内之前，先用你们的想像在旷野建一所凉亭。

For even as you have home-comings in your twilight, so has the wanderer in you, the ever distant and alone.

正如你们在暮色降临时有家可归，你们心中遥远而孤单的漂泊者也

应如此。

Your house is your larger body.

你们的房屋是你们更大的躯壳。

It grows in the sun and sleeps in the stillness of the night; and it is not dreamless. Does not your house dream? And dreaming, leave the city for grove or hilltop?

它在阳光下生长，在夜的寂静中安眠，而那睡眠并非天梦。难道你们的居室无梦？它们不也想远离城市，前往林中或山上？

Would that I could gather your houses into my hand, and like a sower scatter them in forest and meadow.

我愿将你们的房舍收聚于手中，然后似播种般将它们撒向森林和草原。

Would the valleys were your streets, and the green paths your alleys, that you might seek one another through vineyards, and come with the fragrance of the earth in your garments.

我愿山谷成为你们的街道，绿径是你们的小巷，如是你们可以穿过葡萄园彼此造访，衣裳留着泥土的芳香。

But these things are not yet to be.

然而这却暂难实现。

In their fear your forefathers gathered you too near together. And that fear shall endure a little longer. A little longer shall your city walls separate your hearths from your fields.

出于恐惧，你们的祖先将你们聚得过近。这恐惧还会持续一些时日，你们的城墙在一段时间内也会继续把你们的家庭和你们的土地隔开。

And tell me, people of Orphalese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you guard with fastened doors?

告诉我，奥法利斯城的人们，你们房屋中有些什么？你们用紧闭的门守护什么呢？

Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power?

你们可有安宁，那显示你们力量的平静的冲动？

Have you remembrances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind?

你们可有回忆，那连接心灵峰峦的隐约闪现的桥梁？

Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain?

你们可有美，那将心灵从木石之所引向圣山的向导？

Tell me, have you these in your houses?

告诉我，你们的居室可拥有这些？

Or have you only comfort, and the lust for comfort, that stealthy thing that enters the house a guest, and becomes a host, and then a master?

莫非其中只有安逸和追求安逸的欲望——这鬼祟之物入室做客，却变为主人，进而成为一家之长？

Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires.

可叹啊，它竟又化作驯师，以诱饵和皮鞭使你们更大的愿望变作玩偶。

Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron.

尽管它的手如丝，但它的心如铁。

It lulls you to

sleep only to stand by your bed and jeer at the dignity of the flesh. It makes mock of your sound senses, and lays them in thistledown like fragile vessels.

它诱你们入睡，只为站在你们睡榻边嘲弄你们肉体的尊严。它嘲笑你们健全的意识，把它们像脆弱的器皿般置于蓟绒下。

Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral.

的确，贪图安逸的欲望扼杀了灵魂的情感，而它还在葬礼上例嘴嬉笑。

But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed.

但你们，宇宙之子，静中之动，你们不应被捕陷，不应被驯服。

Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast.

你们的居室不应是锚，而应是桅。

It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye.

它不应是遮掩伤口的闪亮的薄膜，而应是保护眼睛的眼睑。

You shall not fold your wings that you may pass through doors, nor bend your heads that they strike not against a ceiling, nor fear to breathe lest walls should crack and fall down.

你们不应为穿过房门而收敛翅膀，不应为防止撞到天花板而俯身低头，也不应因担心墙壁开裂坍塌而屏住呼吸。

You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living.

你们不应居住在死者为生者建造的坟墓中。

And though of magnificence and splendour, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing.

纵然你们的宅邸金碧辉煌，它们也无法隐藏你们的秘密，掩盖你们的愿望。

For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of the sky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night.

因为你们内在的无穷性居住在天宫里，它以晨雾为门，以夜的歌声和寂静为窗。

On Clothes衣服

And the weaver said, "Speak to us of Clothes."

一位织工说，请给我们谈谈衣服。

And he answered:

他答道：

Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful.

你们的衣服遮掩了你们许多的美，却不能遮盖住丑。

And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain.

尽管你们借衣服寻求隐私的自由，但你们找到的却是羁绊和束缚。

Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment,

但愿你们用自己的肌肤而不是衣服去迎接阳光和清风，

For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind.

因为阳光中有生命的气息，而风中有生命之手。

Some of

you say, "It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear."

你们中一些人说：“是北风织造了我们所穿的衣服。”

But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread.

我说，是的，的确是北风，但它以羞怯为织机，以纤弱的肌腱为纱线。

And when his work was done he laughed in the forest.

它一旦完成工作，便会在林中大笑。

Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean.

不要忘记，羞怯原是抵挡不洁目光的盾牌。

And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling of the mind?

若无邪狎，那羞怯除了是精神上的束缚和污垢外还能是什么？

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.

也不要忘记，大地乐于感觉体赤裸的双脚，风儿渴望与你的头发嬉戏。

On Buying & Selling买卖

And a merchant said, "Speak to us of Buying and Selling."

一位商贾说，“请给我们谈谈买卖。”

And he answered and said:

他回答说：

To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands.

大地为你们果实累累，如果你们不懂，就不要捧满双手。

It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied.

你们应当在交换大地的馈赠中体会富裕与满足。

Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger.

但此种交换若非在爱心的仁善公平中进行，便会导致一些人贪得无厌，另一些人饥肠辘辘。

When in the market place you toilers of the sea and fields and vineyards meet the weavers and the potters and the gatherers of spices,

在市场上，你们这些在海上、田间和果园里辛勤劳作的人们，与织工、陶工和采集香料的人们相遇……

Invoke then the master spirit of the earth, to come into your midst and sanctify the scales and the reckoning that weighs value against value.

那就请求大地的主宰精神来到你们之中，为你们圣化度量衡器和计价法则。

And suffer not the barren-handed to take part in your transactions, who would sell their words for your labour.

勿让空手而来的人加入你们的交易，他们会以空言换取你们的劳动。

To such men you should say,

你们当对这些人说：

"Come with us to the field, or go with our brothers to the sea and cast your net; For the land and the sea shall be bountiful to you even as to us."

“与我们一同去耕田，或与我们的兄弟一同去海上撒网

；因为土地和海洋对你们就像对我们一样慷慨。”

And if there come the singers and the dancers and the flute players, -- buy of their gifts also.

如果歌者、舞者和吹笛者也来到市场，——请同样买下他们的礼物。

For they too are gatherers of fruit and frankincense, and that which they bring, though fashioned of dreams, is raiment and food for your soul.

因为他们也采集了果实和乳香，而他们所带来的，尽管由梦幻织造，也是你们灵魂的衣食。

And before you leave the marketplace, see that no one has gone his way with empty hands.

当你们离开集市时，审视一下是否有人空手而归。

For the master spirit of the earth shall not sleep peacefully upon the wind till the needs of the least of you are satisfied.

因为大地的主宰精神不会安眠于风中，直到你们中最低微之人的需求也得到满足。

On Crime & Punishment罪与罚

Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, "Speak to us of Crime and Punishment."

城中的一位法官趋前言道，请给我们讲讲罪与罚。

And he answered saying:

他回答说：

It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,

当你们的灵魂随风飘荡时，

That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto yourself.

你们孤独而无心地锚待了别人，从而也错待了自己。

And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate of the blessed.

由于所犯下的过错，你们必须去叩击那受福者的门，且会在片刻恭候中受到冷落。

Like the ocean is your god-self;

你们的神性自我像大海；

It remains for ever undefiled.

永远不会被玷污。

And like the ether it lifts but the winged.

又像天空，它仅仅举拓展翼者。

Even like the sun is your god-self;

你们的神性自我甚至像太阳；

It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent.

它不诸熟鼠辈的路径，也不寻迹虫蛇的洞穴。

But your god-self does not dwell alone in your being.

然而你们的身上并非只有神性存在。

Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man,

你们身上大部分属于人性，但也有许多不属人性，

But a shapeless pigmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening.

而是一个未成形的侏儒，梦游于雾中，寻找着自己的觉醒。

And of the man in you would I now speak.

我现在的话都是为你们身上的人性而说。

For it is he and not your god-self nor the pigmy in the mist, that knows cri

me and the punishment of crime.

因为只有它，而不是你们的神性或雾中的侏儒，才能了解罪与罚。

Oftentimes have I heard you speak of one who commits a wrong as though he were not one of you, but a stranger unto you and an intruder upon your world.

我常听你们指斥某人犯了错误，仿佛他不是你们中的一员，倒是你们中的一个陌生者，你们世界的一个闯入者。

But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,

但我要说，即使是圣人大德，也不可能高过你们每个人内中的至尊，

So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also.

同样，即使是恶人弱小，也不可能低于你们内中的至卑。

And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,

就像一片孤叶，不会未经整个大树的默许就枯黄，

So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all.

作恶者胡作非为的背后并非没有你们大家隐匿的允诺。

Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self.

你们如同队列向你们的神性前进，

You are the way and the wayfarers.

你们是道路，也是行路者。

And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone.

当你们中的一个人跌倒，他是为后面的人失足，使他们小心避开绊脚的石头。

Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone.

噢，他也是为了前面的人失足，因为他们步履虽然轻捷坚定，然而却没有挪开绊脚石。

And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts:

还有，这话尽管让你们心情沉重：

The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder,

被杀者对其被杀并非全无责任，

And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed.

被劫者对其被劫并非无可责难。

The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked,

行善守法者在恶人恶行中并非纯洁无邪。

And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon.

在作恶多端者犯下的罪行中，双手无染者也未必清白。

Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured,

的确，被判有罪者往往是罹难者的受害人，

And still more often the condemned is the burden-bearer for the guiltless and unblamed.

更常见的是被判刑的人为未获罪名和免于责罚的人承担重负。

You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked;

你们不能把公正与

不公。善良与邪恶分开；

For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together.

因为它们并立于阳光下，就像黑线与白线被编织在一起。

And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also.

当黑线断开，织工就应审视整块织物，他也应检查机杼。

If any of you would bring judgment the unfaithful wife, Let him also weight the heart of her husband in scales, and measure his soul with measurements.

如果你们把一位不忠的妻子送上法庭，请你们也用天平称量她丈夫的心，用同样的标准去衡量他的灵魂。

And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended.

让鞭笞犯罪者的人也审视那受害者的灵魂。

And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the ax unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots;

如果你们以公正的名义施行惩罚，加斧于罪恶之树，请你们也观察一下那树的根茎；

And verily he will find the roots of the good and the bad, the fruitful and the fruitless, all entwined together in the silent heart of the earth.

实际上，你们将发现善根与恶根、不育的根与丰产的根彼此交织在大地沉默的心中。

And you judges who would be just,

而你们这些力图主持公平的法官，

What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit?

对于那躯体忠实而精神上是一个窃贼的人将如何判处？

What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit?

对于那伤害他人肢体但实际自己在精神上受害的人，又将给予何种惩罚？

And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor, Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged?

你们如何起诉一个有欺诈或压迫行为，但又是受到侵害和虐待的人呢？

And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds?

你们又如何惩罚那些沉痛悔恨，所受折磨已超过所犯过错的人？

Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve?

难道悔恨不正是你们所侍奉的法律实施的公正？

Yet you cannot lay remorse upon the innocent nor lift it from the heart of the guilty.

你们无法将悔恨加于无事者身上，也无法使罪人免受悔恨的折磨。

Unbidden shall it call in the night, that men may wake and gaze upon themselves.

它不邀自来，在午夜发出呼唤，人们会醒来，审视自己。

And you who would understand justice, how shall you un