纪伯伦《先知》中英文对照

发布时间:2020-08-21   来源:文档文库   
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纪伯伦《先知》中英文对照
纪伯伦《先知》中英文对照版 内容提要: 书中的哲理可以说是纪伯伦经积年累月爱与睿智的结晶。其深邃广博几乎已达到人类精神修养所能及的最高境界,《先知》之所以可历久弥新,不受时间的限制,因为,它直接表达了“真理”,纪伯伦视《先知》为其一生最在的成就,他曾经说过:“我想,自我从黎巴嫩山构思《先知》一书开始,我就已和它寸步不离了,它仿佛是我身体的一部分„„在我完成四年之后才将其付印,因为我想要确定,非常地确定,书中的每一个文字都必须是我的最佳贡献。这一本奇妙的著作,它满足了个别心灵的不同需求,哲学家认为它是哲学,诗人称是诗,青年则说:“这里有一切蕴含在我心中的东西。”老年人说:“我曾不断追寻,但却不知追寻为何,在我垂暮之年,我在这本书中找到我的宝藏。”
作者简介: 卡里?纪伯伦于188316日生于黎巴嫩一处名叫布雪里的地方。布雪里位于称巴嫩的“圣谷”瓦第?卡地沙悬崖旁的平原之上,卡地沙以其丰沛的水源和青绿的柏树林闻名,当地居民称这引起柏树林为”上帝的柏树林”,而今,人们称纪伯伦家旁边的柏树为“神圣的柏树”。纪伯伦的童年便是在“神圣的柏树”下度过的。纪伯伦生长在一个宗教气息浓厚的家庭中。母亲卡蜜拉是一位民龙教派牧师的女儿,美丽聪慧,多才多艺。在和纪伯伦的父亲结婚之前,是一寡妇,育有一子——彼得。嫁给纪伯伦的父亲之后,所生的头一胎便是纪伯伦,后来又陆续生下两个女儿——苏妲娜和玛丽安娜。 童年时期,纪伯伦的母亲亲自教他阿拉伯文和法文,以后,又请家庭教师教他英文。1888年纪伯伦随母亲和哥哥彼得与两个妹移居美国波士顿,父亲为了守护
家中的产业仍然留在故乡。到达美国之后,得彼以经营杂货店维持生计,而纪伯伦继续求学。在学校中,纪伯伦的表现相当优异。1897年纪伯伦返回黎巴嫩以便接受祖国的教育,于是他讲入贝鲁特的一所教会大学就读,继续研读阿拉伯文和法文,并且选修了医学、国际法及宗教史和音乐等课程。1898年,暑假期间,纪伯伦随父亲旅游中东各地。心灵豁然开朗,开始以丰富的思维和充沛的情感架构自己的生命。十五岁时,他以阿拉伯文写下《先知》的初稿,并主编一份文学与哲学刊物,名为《真理》。十六岁时发表了第一篇散文诗。 编辑推荐: “纪伯伦那音韵曼妙且充满活力的感情所造就的言语,尤如圣经传道第一章中的庄严节奏„„如果一个男人或者女人读了这本书,不安静地接受一位伟人的哲学:心中不欢唱着内心涌出的音乐,那么,这个男人或者女人,就生命和真理而言,确已死亡。”这是芝加哥邮报对于《先知》一书推崇的评价。 目录: 关于本书 关于作者 船来了 婚姻 孩子 施与 饮食 工人 快乐与悲伤 房屋
衣服 买卖 罪与罚 法律 自由 理性与热情 苦痛 自知 教学 友谊 说话 时光 善与恶 祈祷 欢乐 宗教 死亡 归程 纪伯伦的作品 《先知》序言 —— 冰心译 纪伯伦一八八三年生于黎巴嫩山。十二岁时到过美国,两年后又回到东方,进了贝鲁持的阿希马大学。
一九?三年,他又到美国,住了五年,在波士顿的时候居多。此后他便到巴黎学绘画,同时漫游了欧洲,一九一二年回到纽约,在那里久住。 这时他用阿拉伯文写了许多的书,有些已译成欧洲各国的文字。以后又用英文写了几本,如《疯人》(,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,《先驱者》(,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,《先知》(,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,《人子耶稣》(,,,,, ,,, ,,, ,, ,,,,,,,等,都在纽约克那夫书店出版——。《先知》是他的最受欢迎的作品。 关于作者的生平,我所知道的,只是这些了。我又知道法国的雕刻名家罗丹称他为二十世纪的布莱克;又知道他的作品曾译成十八种文字,到处受到热烈的欢迎。 这本书,《先知》,是我在一九二七年冬月在美国朋友处读到的,那满含着东方气息的超妙的哲理和流丽的文词,予我以极深的印象~一九二八年春天,我曾请我的 “习作”班同学,分段移译。以后不知怎样,那译稿竟不曾收集起来。一九?年三月,病榻无聊,又把它重看了一遍,觉得这本书实在有翻译的价值,于是我逐段翻译了。从那年四月十八日起,逐日在天津《益世报》文学副刊发表。不幸那副刊不久就停止了,我的译述也没有继续下去。 今年夏日才一鼓作气地把它译完。我感到许多困难,哲理的散文本来难译,哲理的散文诗就更难译了。我自信我还尽力,不过书中还有许多词句,译定之后,我仍有无限的犹疑。这是我初次翻译的工作,我愿得到读者的纠正和指导。 八,二十三,一九三一。冰心 《先知》船的归来 于是那女预言者爱尔美差说:愿这一日,这地方,和你讲说的心灵都蒙福佑。 他回答说,说那话的是我么,我不也是一个听者么, 他走下殿阶,一切的人都跟着他,他上了船,站在舱面。 转面向着大众,他提高了声音说:
阿法利斯的民众呵,风命令我离开你们了。 我虽不像风那样地迅急,我也必须去了。 我们这些飘泊者,永远地寻求更寂寞的道路,我们不在安歇的时地起程,朝阳与落日也不在同一地方看见我们。 大地在睡眠中时,我们仍在行路。 我们是那坚牢植物的种子,在我们的心成熟丰满的时候,就交给大风纷纷吹散。 我在你们中间的日子是非常短促的,而我所说的话是更短了。 但等到我的声音在你们的耳中模糊,我的爱在你们的记忆中消灭的时候,我要重来。 我要以更丰满的心,更受灵感的嘴唇说话。 是的,我要随着潮水归来,虽然死要遮蔽我,更大的沉默要包围我,我却仍要寻求你们的了解。 而且我这寻求不是徒然的。 假如我所说的都是真理,这真理要在更清澈的声音中,更明白的言语里显示出来。 阿法利斯的民众呵,我将与风同去,却不是坠入虚空; 假如这一天不是你们的需要和我的爱的满足,那就让这个算是一个应许,直到践言的一天。 人的需要会变换,但他的爱是不变的,他的“爱必满足需要”的愿望,也是不变的。 所以你要知道,我将在更大的沉默中归来。 那在晓光中消散,只留下露水的田间的烟雾,要上升凝聚在云中,化雨下降。 我也不是不象这烟雾。
在夜的寂静中,我曾在你们的衔市上行走,我的心魂曾进入你们的院宅。 你们的心跳曾在我的心中,你们的呼吸曾在我的脸上,我都认识你们。 是的,我知道你们的喜乐与哀痛。在你们的睡眠中,你们的梦就是我的梦。 我在你们中间常像山间的湖水。 我照见了你们的高峰与危崖,以及你们思想和愿望的徘徊的云影。 你们的孩子的欢笑,和你们的青年的想望,都溪泉似地流到我的寂静之中。 当它流入我心之深处的时候,这溪泉仍是不停地歌唱。 但还有比欢笑还甜柔,比想望还伟大的东西流到我的心田。 那是你们身中的无穷性; 你们在这巨人里面,都不过是血脉与筋腱, 在他的吟诵中,你们的歌音只不过是无声的颤动。 只因为在这巨人里,你们才伟大。 我因为关心他,才关心你们,怜爱你们。 因为若不是在这阔大的空间里,爱能达到多远呢, 有什么幻像、什么期望、什么臆断能够无碍地高翔呢, 在你们本性中的巨人,如同一株缘满苹果花的大橡树。 他的神力把你缠系在地上,他的香气把你超升入高空,在他的永存之中,你永不死。 你们曾听说过,像一条锁链,你们是脆弱的链环中最脆弱的一环。 但这不完全是真的。你们也是坚牢的链环中最坚牢的一环。 用你最小的事功来衡量你,如同用柔弱的泡沫来核计大海的威权。 用你的失败来论断你,就是怨责四季之常变。 是呵,你们是像大海。 那重载的船舶,停在你的岸边待潮。你们虽像大海,也不能催促你的潮水。
你们也像四季。 虽然你们在冬天的时候,拒绝了春日。 你们的春日,和你们一同静息,它在睡中微笑,并不怨嗔。 不要想我说这话是要使你们彼此说:“他夸奖得好,他只看见我们的好处。” 我不过用言语说出你们意念中所知道的事情。 言语的知识不只是无言的知识的影子么, 你们的意念和我的言语,都是从封缄的记忆里来的波浪,这记忆是保存我们昨日的,大地还不认识我们也不认识他自己,正在混沌中受造的太古的白日和黑夜的记录。 哲人们曾来过,将他们的智慧给你们。我来却是领取你们的智慧: 要知道我找到了比智慧更伟大的东西。 那就是你们心里愈聚愈旺的火焰似的心灵。 你却不关心它的发展,只哀悼你岁月的凋残。 那是生命在宇宙的大生命中寻求扩大,而躯壳却在恐惧坟墓。 这里没有坟墓。 这些山岭和平原只是摇篮和垫脚石, 无论何时你从祖宗坟墓上走过,你若留意,你就会看见你们自己和子女们在那里携手跳舞。 真的,你们常在不知不觉中作乐。 别人曾来到这里,为了他们在你们信仰上的黄金般的应许,你们所付与的只是财富、权力与光荣。 我所给予的还不及应许,而你们待我却更慷慨。 你们将生命的更深的渴求给予了我。
真的,对那把一切目的变作枯唇,把一切生命变作泉水的人,没有比这个更大的礼物了。 这便是我的荣誉和报酬—— 当我到泉边饮水的时候,我觉得那流水也在渴着; 我饮水的时候,水也饮我。 你们中有人责备我对于领受礼物上太狷傲、太羞怯了。 在领受劳金上我是太骄傲了,在领受礼物上却不如此。 虽然在你们请我赴席的时候,我却在山中采食浆果。 在你们款留我的时候,我却在庙宇的廊下睡眠。 但岂不是你们对我的日夜的关怀,使我的饮食有味,使我的魂梦甜美么, 为此我正要祝福你们: “你们给予了许多,却不知道你们已经给与。 真的,慈悲自己看镜的时候,变成石像。 善行自诩嘉名的时候,变成了咒诅的根源。” 你们中有人说我高蹈,与我自己的‘孤独’对饮。 你们也说过:“他和山林谈论却不和人说话。 他独自坐在山巅,俯视我们的城市。” 我确会攀登高山,孤行远地。 但除了在更高更远之处,我怎能看见你们呢, 除了相远之外,人们怎能相近呢, 还有人在无言中对我呼唤,他们说:“异乡人,异乡人,‘至高’的爱慕者, 为什么你住在那鹰鸟作巢的山峰上呢, 为什么你要追求那不能达到的事物呢, 在你的窝巢中,你要网罗甚样的风雨,
要捕取天空中哪一种虚幻的飞鸟呢, 加入我们罢。 你下来用我们的面包充饥,用我们的醇酒解渴罢。”
在他们灵魂的静默中,他们说了这些话;但是他们若再静默些,他们就知道 我所要网罗的,只是你们的欢乐和哀痛的奥秘。 我所要捕取的,只是你们在天空中飞行的大我。 但是猎者也曾是猎品。 因为从我弓上射出的箭儿,有许多只是瞄向我自己的心胸的。 并且那飞翔者也曾是爬行者; 因为我的翅翼在日下展开的时候,在地上的影儿是一个龟鳖。 我是信仰者也曾是怀疑者; 因为我常常用手指抚触自己的伤痕,使我对你们有更大的信仰和认识。 凭着这信仰和认识,我说: 你们不是幽闭在躯壳之内,也不是禁锢在房舍与田野之中。 你们的真我是住在云间,与风同游。 你们不是在日中匍匐取暖,在黑暗里钻穴求安的一只动物,却是一件自由的 物事,一个包涵大地在以太中运行的魂灵。 如果这是模棱的言语,就不必寻求把这些话弄明白。 模糊和混沌是万物的起始,却不是终结。 我愿意你们把我当作个起始。 生命,和一切有生,都隐藏在烟雾里,不在水晶中。 谁知道水晶就是凝固的云雾呢, 在忆念我的时候,我愿你们记着这个: 你们心中最软弱、最迷乱的,就是那最坚决、最刚强的。
不是你的呼吸使你的骨骼竖立坚强么, 不是一个你觉得从未做过的梦,建造了你的城市,形成了城中的一切么, 你如能看见你呼吸的潮汐,你就看不见别的一切。 你如能听见那梦想的微语,你就听不见别的声音。 你看不见,也听不见,这却是好的。 那蒙在你眼上的轻纱,也要被包扎这纱的手揭去; 那塞在你耳中的泥土,也要被那填塞这泥土的手指戳穿。 你将要看见。 你将要听见。 你也不为曾经聋聩而悲悔。 因为在那时候,你要知道万物的潜隐的目的,你要祝福黑暗,如同祝福光明一样。 他说完这些话,望着四周,他看见他船上的舵工凭舵而立,凝视着那胀满的风帆,又望着无际的天末。 他说: 耐心的,我的船主是太耐心的了。 大风吹着,帆篷也烦燥了;连船舵也急要起程; 我的船主却静候着我说完话。 我的水手们,听见了那更大的海的啸歌,他们也耐心地听着我。 现在他们不能再等待了。 我预备好了。 山泉已流入大海,那伟大的母亲又把他的儿子抱在胸前。 别了,阿法利斯的民众呵。 这一天完结了。
他在我们心上闭合,如同一朵莲花在她自己的明日上合闭。 在这里所付与我们的,我们要保藏起来。 如果这还不够,我们还必须重聚,齐向那给与者伸手。 不要忘了我还要回到你们这里来。 一会儿的工夫,我的愿望又要聚些泥土,形成另一个躯壳。 一会儿的工夫,在风中休息片刻,另一个妇人又要孕怀着我, 我向你们,和我曾在你们中度过的青春告别了。 不过是昨天,我们曾在梦中相见。 在我的孤寂中,你们曾对我歌唱。为了你们的渴慕,我曾在空中建立了一座高塔。 但现在我们的睡眠已经飞走,我们的梦想已经过去,也不是破晓的时候了。 中天的日影正照着我们,我们的半醒已变成了完满的白日,我们必须分手了。 如果在记忆的朦胧中,我们再要会见,我们再在一起谈论,你们也要对我唱更深沉的歌曲。 如果在另一个梦中,我们要再握手,我们要在空中再建一座高塔。 说着话,他向水手们挥手作势,他们立刻拔起锚儿,放开船儿,向东驶行。 从人民口里发出的同心的悲号,在尘沙中飞扬,在海面上奔越,如同号角的声响。 只有爱尔美差静默着,凝望着,直至那船渐渐消失在烟雾之中。 大众都星散了,她仍独自站在海岸上,在她的心中忆念着他所说的: “一会儿的工夫,在风中休息片刻,另一个妇人又要孕怀着我。” The ProphetThe Coming of the Ship Almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, who was a dawn onto 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. 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. 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. But as 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. 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? 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. 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.
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. Fain would I take with me all that is here. But how shall I? A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that give it wings. Alone must it seek the ether. And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun. Now when he reached the foot of the hill, he turned again towards the sea, and he saw his ship approaching the harbor, and upon her prow the mariners, the men of his own land. And his soul cried out to them, and he said: Sons of my ancient mother, you riders of the tides, How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening, which is my deeper dream. Ready am I to go, and my eagerness with sails full set awaits the wind. Only another breath will I breathe in this still air, only another loving look cast backward, Then I shall stand among you, a seafarer among seafarers. And you, vast sea, sleepless mother, Who alone are peace and freedom to the river and the stream,
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. And as he walked he saw from afar men and women leaving their fields and their vineyards and hastening towards the city gates. And he heard their voices calling his name, and shouting from the field to field telling one another of the coming of the ship. And he said to himself: Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering? And shall it be said that my eve was in truth my dawn? 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? Shall my heart become a tree heavy-laden with fruit that I may gather and give unto them? And shall my desires flow like a fountain that I may fill their cups? Am I a harp that the hand of the mighty may touch me, or a flute that his breath may pass through me? A seeker of silences am I, and what treasure have I found in silences that I may dispense with confidence? If this is my day of harvest, in what fields have I sowed the seed, and in what unremembered seasons? If this indeed be the hour in which I lift up my lantern, it is not my flame that shall burn therein. Empty and dark shall I raise my lantern,
And the guardian of the night shall fill it with oil and he shall light it also. These things he said in words. But much in his heart remained unsaid. For he himself could not speak his deeper secret. 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. And the elders of the city stood forth and said: Go not yet away from us. A noontide have you been in our twilight, and your youth has given us dreams to dream. 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. And the priests and the priestesses said unto him: Let not the waves of the sea separate us now, and the years you have spent in our midst become a memory. You have walked among us a spirit, and your shadow has been a light upon our faces. 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. And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. And others came also and entreated him.
But he answered them not. He only bent his head; and those who stood near saw his tears falling upon his breast. 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. 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. And she hailed him, saying: Prophet of God, in quest for the uttermost, long have you searched the distances for your ship.
And now your ship has come, and you must needs go. 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. 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. In your aloneness you have watched with our days, and in your wakefulness you have listened to the weeping and the laughter of our sleep.
Now therefore disclose us to ourselves, and tell us all that has been shown you of that which is between birth and death.
And he answered, People of Orphalese, of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving your souls? 《先知》论爱 于是爱尔美差说:先知,请给我们谈爱。 他举头望着民众,他们一时静默了。他用洪亮的声音说: 当爱向你们召唤的时候,跟随着他,虽然他的路程艰险而陡峻。 当他的翅翼围卷你们的时候,屈服于他,虽然那藏在羽翮中间的剑刃许会伤 毁你们。 当他对你们说话的时候,信从他,虽然他的声音也许会把你们的梦魂击碎, 如同北风吹荒了林园。 爱虽给你加冠,他也要将你钉在十字架上。他虽栽培你,他也刈剪你。 他虽升到你的最高处,抚惜你在日中颤动的枝叶, 他也要降到你的根下,摇动你的根柢的一切关节,使之归土。 如同一捆稻粟,他把你束聚起来。 他舂打你使你赤裸。 他筛分你使你脱去皮壳。 他磨碾你直至洁白。他揉搓你直至柔韧; 然后他送你到他的圣火上去,使你成为上帝圣筵上的圣饼。 这些都是爱要给你们作的事情,使你知道自己心中的秘密,在这知识中你便 成了生命心中的一屑。 假如你在你的疑惧中,只寻求爱的和平与逸乐,
那不如掩盖你的裸露,而躲过爱的筛打, 而走入那没有季候的世界,在那里你将欢笑,却不是尽情的笑悦;你将哭泣, 却没有流干了眼泪。 爱除自身外无施与,除自身外无接受。 爱不占有,也不被占有。 因为爱在爱中满足了。 当你爱的时候,你不要说,“上帝在我的心中”,却要说,“我在上帝的心里。”
不要想你能导引爱的路程,因为若是他觉得你配,他就导引你。 爱没有别的愿望,只要成全自己。 但若是你爱,而且需求愿望,就让以下的做你的愿望罢: 溶化了你自己,象溪流般对清夜吟唱着歌曲。 要知道过度温存的痛苦。 让你对爱的了解毁伤了你自己;而且甘愿地喜乐地流血。 清晨醒起,以喜握的心来致谢这爱的又一日; 日中静息,默念爱的浓欢; 晚潮退时,感谢地回家; 然后在睡时祈祷,因为有被爱者在你的心中,有赞美之歌在你的唇上。 The ProphetOn Love Then said Almitra, “Speak to us of Love.”
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said: When love beckons to you follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth. Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself. He threshes you to make you naked. He sifts you to free you from your husks. He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast. 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. But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the
heart of God.”
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy,
directs your course.
Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself. But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires: To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night. To know the pain of too much tenderness. To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving; To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude; And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips. 《先知》论婚姻 爱尔美差又说,先知,婚姻怎样讲呢, 他回答说: 你们一块儿出世,也要永远合一。 在死的白翼隔绝你们的岁月的时候,他们也要合一。 噫,连在静默地忆想上帝之时,你们也要合一。 不过在你们合一之中,要有间隙。 让天风在你们中间舞荡。 彼此相爱,但不要做成爱的系链: 只让他在你们灵魂的沙岸中间,做一个流动的海。 彼此斟满了杯,却不要在同一杯中啜饮。 彼此递赠着面包,却不要在同一块上取食。 快乐地在一处舞唱,却仍让彼此静独, 连琴上的那些弦子也是单独的,虽然他们在同一的音调中颤动。 彼此赠献你们的心,却不要互相保留。 因为只有生命的手,才能把持你们的心。 要站在一处,却不要太密迩: 因为殿里的柱子,也是分立在两旁, 橡树和松柏,也不在彼此的荫中生长。 The ProphetOn Marriage
Then Almitra spoke again and said, “And what of Marriage, master?”
And he answered saying: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days. Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow. 《先知》论孩子 于是一个怀中抱着孩子的妇人说,先知请给我们谈孩子。 他说: 你们的孩子,都不是你们的孩子。
乃是生命为自己所渴望的儿女。 他们是凭借你们而来,却不是从你们而来, 他们虽和你们同在,却不属于你们。 你们可以给他们以爱,却不可给他们以思想。 因为他们有自己的思想。 你们可以荫庇他们的身体,却不能荫庇他们的灵魂。 因为他们的灵魂,是住在明日的宅中,那是你们在梦中也不能想见的。 你们可以努力去模仿他们,却不能使他们来象你们。 因为生命是不倒行的,也不与昨日一同停留。 你们是弓,你们的孩子是从弦上发出的生命的箭矢。 那射者在无穷之中看定了目标,也用神力将你们引满,使他的箭矢迅速而遥 远地射了出去。 让你们在射者手中的弯曲成为喜乐罢; 因为他爱那飞出的箭,也爱了那静止的弓。 The ProphetOn Children And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”
And he said:
Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even
in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 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. Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. 《先知》论施与 于是一个富人说,先知请给我们谈施与。 他回答说: 你把你的产业给人,那只算给了一点。 当你以身布施的时候,那才是真正的施与。 因为你的财产,岂不是你保留着的恐怕明日或许需要它们的东西么, 但是明日,那只过虑的犬,随着香客上圣城去,却把骨头埋在无痕迹的沙土里,明日能把什么给他呢, 除了需要的本身之外,需要还忧惧什么呢, 当你在井泉充溢的时候愁渴,那你的渴不是更难解么,
有人有许多财产,却只把一小部分给人——他们为求名而施与,那潜藏的欲念,使他们的礼物不完美。 有人只有一点财产,却全部都给人。 这些人相信生命和生命的丰富,他们的宝柜总不空虚。 有人喜乐地施与,那喜乐就是他们的酬报。 有人无痛地施与,那无痛就是他们的洗礼。 也有人施与了,而不觉出施与的无痛,也不寻求快乐,也不有心为善; 他们的施与,如同那边山谷里的桂花,香气在空际浮动。 从这些人的手中,上帝在说话;在他们的眼后,上帝在俯对大地微笑。 为有请求而施与的,固然是好;而未受请求,只因着默喻而施与的,是更好了。 对于乐善好施的人,去寻求需要他帮助的人的快乐,比施与的快乐还大。 有什么东西你必须保留的呢, 必有一天,你的一切都要交付出来; 趁现在施与罢,这施与的时机是你自己的,而不是你的后人的。 你常说:“我要施与,却只要舍给那些配受施与者。” 你果园里的树木,和牧场上的羊群,却不这样说。 他们为要生存而施与,因为保留就是毁灭。 凡是配接受白日和黑夜的人们,都配接受你施与的一切。 凡配在生命的海洋里啜饮的,都配在你的小泉里舀满他的杯。 还有什么德行比接受的勇气、信心和善意还大呢, 有谁能使人把他们的心怀敞露,把他们的狷傲揭开,使你能看出他们赤裸的价值和无惭的骄傲, 先省察你自己是否配做一个施与者,是否配做一个施与的器皿。
因为实在说,那只是生命给与生命——你以为自己是施主,其实也不过是一个证人。 你接受的人们——你们都是接受者——不要掮起报恩的重担,恐怕你要把轭加在你自己和施者的身上。 不如和施者在礼物上一齐展翅飞腾; 因为过于思量你们的欠负,就是怀疑了那以慈悲的大地为母、以上帝为父的 人的仁心。 On Giving The Prophet
Then said a rich man, “Speak to us of Giving.”
And he answered: You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. For what are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow? 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? And what is fear of need but need itself? Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable? There are those who give little of the much which they haveand they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.
And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty. There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism. And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue; They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space. Though the hands of such as these God speaks, and from behind their eyes He smiles upon the earth. It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding; And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving And is there aught you would withhold? All you have shall some day be given; Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors'. You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture. They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you. And he who has deserved to drink from the ocean of life deserves to fill his cup from your little stream. And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving? 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? See first that you yourself deserve to be a giver, and an instrument of giving. For in truth it is life that gives unto lifewhile you, who deem yourself a giver, are but a witness. And you receiversand you are all receiversassume no weight of gratitude, lest you lay a yoke upon yourself and upon him who gives. Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings; For to be overmindful of your debt, is to doubt his generosity who has the free-hearted earth for mother, and God for father. 《先知》论饮食 一个开饭店的老人说,先知请给我们谈饮食。 他说: 我恨不得你们能依靠大地的香气而生存,如同植物受着阳光、空气的供养。 既然你们必须杀生为食,而且从新生的动物口中夺他的母乳来止渴,那就让

他成为一个敬神的礼节罢。 让你的肴馔摆在祭坛上,那是丛林中和原野上的纯洁清白的物品,为更纯洁 清白的人们而牺牲的。 当你杀生的时候,心里对他说: “在宰杀你的权力之下,我同样地也被宰杀,我也要同样地被吞食。 那把你送到我手里的法律,也要把我送到那更伟大者的手里。 你和我的血都不过是浇灌天树的一种液汁。” 当你咬嚼着苹果的时候,心里对它说: “你的子核要在我身中生长, 你来世的嫩芽要在我心中萌茁, 你的芬香要成为我的气息, 我们要终年地喜乐。”
在秋天,你在果园里摘葡萄榨酒的时候,心里说: “我也是一座葡萄园,我的果实也要摘下榨酒。 和新酒一般,我也要被收存在永生的杯里。” 在冬日,当你斟酒的时候,你的心要对每一杯酒歌唱; 让那歌曲成为一首纪念秋天和葡萄园以及榨酒之歌。 On Eating and Drinking The Prophet
Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, “Speak to us of Eating and Drinking.”
And he said: Would that you could live on the fragrance of the earth, and like an air plant be sustained by the light.
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, 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. When you kill a beast say to him in your heart, “By the same power that slays you, I to am slain; and I too shall be consumed. For the law that delivered you into my hand shall deliver me into a mightier hand. Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.”
And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart, “Your seeds shall live in my body,
And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart, And your fragrance shall be my breath, And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress, say in you heart, “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.”
And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;
And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress. 《先知》论工作 于是一个农夫说,先知请给我们谈工作。 他回答说: 你工作为的是要与大地和大地的精神一同前进。 因为情逸使你成为一个时代的生客,一个生命大队中的落伍者,这大队是庄严的,高傲而服从的,向着无穷前进的。 在你工作的时候,你是一管笛,从你心中吹出时光的微语,变成音乐。 你们谁肯做一根芦管,在万物合唱的时候,你独痴呆无声呢, 你们常听人说,工作是祸殃,劳动是不幸。 我却对你们说,你们工作的时候,你们完成了大地深远的梦之一部,他指示你那梦是从何时开头的。 而在你劳动不息的时候,你确实爱了生命。 在工作里爱了生命,就是通彻了生命最深的秘密。 倘然在你的辛苦里,将有身之苦恼和养身之诅咒,写上你的眉间,则我将回答你,只有你眉间的汗,能洗去这些字句。 你们也听见人说,生命是黑暗的。在你疲劳之中,你附和了那疲劳的人所说的话。 我说生命的确是黑暗的,除非是有了激励; 一切的激励都是盲目的,除非是有了知识; 一切的知识都是徒然的,除非是有了工作; 一切的工作都是空虚的,除非是有了爱。
当你仁爱地工作的时候,你便与自己、与人类、与上帝连系为一。 怎样才是仁爱地工作呢, 从你的心中抽丝织成布帛,仿佛你的爱者要来穿此衣裳。 热情地盖造房屋,仿佛你的爱者要住在其中。 温存地播种,欢乐地收刈,仿佛你的爱者要来吃这产物。 这就是用你自己灵魂的气息,来充满你所制造的一切。 要知道一切受福的古人,都在你上头看视着。 我常听见你们仿佛在梦中说:“那在蜡石上表现出他自己灵魂的形象的人,是比耕地的人高贵多了。 那捉住虹霓,传神地画在布帛上的人,是比织履的人强多了。”
我却要说,不在梦中,而在正午清醒的时候,风对大橡树说话的声音,并不比对纤小的草叶所说的更甜柔。 只有那用他的爱心,把风声变成甜柔的歌曲的人,是伟大的。 工作是眼能看见的爱。 倘若你不是欢乐地却厌恶地工作,那还不如撇下工作,坐在大殿的门边,去乞求那些欢乐地工作的人的周济。 倘若你无精打采地烤着面包,你烤成的面包是苦的,只能救半个人的饥饿。 你若是怨重地压榨着葡萄酒,你的怨望,在酒里滴下了毒液。 倘若你能象天使一般地唱,却不爱唱,那你就把人们能听到白天和黑夜的声音的耳朵都塞住了。 The ProphetOn Work Then a plowman said, “Speak to us of Work.”
And he answered, saying:
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. 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. When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison? Always you have been told that work is a curse and a labor, a misfortune. 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, And in keeping yourself with labor you are in truth loving life, And to love life through labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret. 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. You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary. And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge, And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work, And all work is empty save when there is love; And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
And what is it to work with love? It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth. It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house. It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit. It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit, And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching. 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. 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.”
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;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
Work is love made visible. 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. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine. 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. 《先知》论欢乐与悲哀 于是一个妇人说,先知请给我们讲欢乐与悲哀。 他回答说: 你的欢乐,就是你的去了面具的悲哀。 连你那涌溢欢乐的井泉,也常是充满了你的眼泪。 不然又怎样呢, 悲哀的创痕在你身上刻的越深,你越能容受更多的欢乐。 你的盛酒的杯,不就是那曾在陶工的窑中燃烧的坯子么, 那感悦你的心神的笛子,不就是曾受尖刀挖刻的木管么, 当你欢乐的时候,深深地内顾你的心中,你就知道只不过是曾使你悲哀的,又在使你欢乐。
当你悲哀的时候,再内顾你的心中,你就看出实在是那曾使你喜悦的,又在使你哭泣。 你们有些人说:“欢乐大于悲哀。”也有人说:“不,悲哀是更大的。” 我却要对你们说,它们是不能分开的。 它们一同来到,当这一个和你同席的时候,要记得那一个正在你床上酣眠。 真的,你是天平般悬在悲哀与欢乐之间。 只有在盘空的时候,你才能静止,持平。 当守库者把你提起来称他的金银的时候,你的哀乐就必需升降了。 The ProphetOn Joy and Sorrow Then a woman said, “Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow.”
And he answered:
Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your
tears.
And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives? 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.
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. Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”
But I say unto you, they are inseparable. Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed. Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy. Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced. When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall. 《先知》论房子 于是一个泥水匠走上前来说,先知请给我们谈房子。 他回答说: 当你在城里盖一所房子之前,先在野外用你的想象盖一座凉亭。 因为你黄昏时有家可归,而你那更迷茫、更孤寂的漂泊的精魂,也有个归宿。 你的房屋是你的较大的躯壳。 他在阳光中发育,在夜的寂静中睡眠;而且不能无梦。你的房屋不做梦么, 不梦见离开城市,登山入林么, 我愿能把你们的房子聚握在手里,撒种似地把他们洒落在丛林中与绿野上。 愿山谷成为你们的街市,绿径成为你们的里巷,使你们在葡萄园中相寻相访 的时候,衣袂上带着大地的芬芳。 但这个还一时做不到。
在你们祖宗的忧惧里,他们把你们聚集得太近了。这忧惧还要稍微延长。你们的城墙,也仍要把你们的家庭和你们的田地分开的。 告诉我罢,阿法利斯的民众呵,你们的房子里有什么,你们锁门是为守护什么, 你们有和平,不就是那表现好魄力的宁静和鼓励么, 你们有回忆,不就是那连跨你心峰的灿烂的弓桥么, 你们有美,不就是那把你的心从木石建筑上引到圣山的么, 告诉我,你们的房屋里有这些东西么, 或者你只有舒适和舒适的欲念,那诡秘的东西,以客人的身分混了进来渐作家人,终作主翁的么, 噫,他变成一个驯兽的人,用钩镰和鞭笞,使你较伟大的愿望变成傀儡。 他的手虽柔软如丝,他的心却是铁打的。 他催眠你,只须站在你的床侧,讥笑你肉体的尊严。 他戏弄你健全的感官,把它们塞放在蓟绒里,如同脆薄的杯盘。 真的,舒适之欲,杀害了你灵性的热情,又哂笑地在你的殡仪队中徐步。 但是你们这些太空的儿女,你们在静中不息,你们不应当被网罗,被驯养。 你们的房子不应当做个锚,却应当做个桅。它不应当做一片遮掩伤痕的闪亮的薄皮,却应当做那保护眼睛的睫毛。 你不应当为穿门走户而敛翅,也不应当为恐触到屋顶而低头,也不应当为怕墙壁崩裂而停止呼吸。 你不应当住在那死人替活人筑造的坟墓里。 无论你的房屋是如何地壮丽与辉煌,也不应当使他隐住你的秘密,遮住你的 愿望。
因为你里面的无穷性,是住在天宫里,那天宫是以晓烟为门户,以夜的静寂与
曲为窗牖的。 On Houses The Prophet
Then a mason came forth and said, “Speak to us of Houses.”
And he answered and said: Build of your imaginings a bower in the wilderness ere you build a house within the city walls. For even as you have home-comings in your twilight, so has the wanderer in you, the ever distant and alone.
Your house is your larger body. 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? Would that I could gather your houses into my hand, and like a sower scatter them in forest and meadow. 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. But these things are not yet to be. 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. And tell me, people of Orphalese, what have you in these houses? And what is it you guard with fastened doors?
Have you peace, the quiet urge that reveals your power? Have you remembrances, the glimmering arches that span the summits of the mind? Have you beauty, that leads the heart from things fashioned of wood and stone to the holy mountain?
Tell me, have you these in your houses? 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? Ay, and it becomes a tamer, and with hook and scourge makes puppets of your larger desires. Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron. 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. Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral. But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed.
Your house shall be not an anchor but a mast.
It shall not be a glistening film that covers a wound, but an eyelid that guards the eye. 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. You shall not dwell in tombs made by the dead for the living. And though of magnificence and splendor, your house shall not hold your secret nor shelter your longing. For that which is boundless in you abides in the mansion of thesky, whose door is the morning mist, and whose windows are the songs and the silences of night. 《先知》论衣服 于是一个织工说,先知请给我们谈衣服。 他回答说: 你们的衣服掩盖了许多的美,却遮不住丑恶。 你们虽可在衣服里找到隐秘的自由,却也找到了橛饰与羁勒了。 我恨不得你们多用皮肤而少用衣服去迎接太阳和风。 因为生命的气息是在阳光中,生命的把握是在风里。 你们中有人说:“那纺织衣服给我们穿的是北风。” 我也说:对的,是北风, 但他的机杼是可羞的,那使筋肌软弱的是他的线缕。 当他的工作完毕时,他在林中喧笑。 不要忘却,羞怯只是遮挡不洁的眼目的盾牌。
在不洁完全没有了的时候,羞怯不是仅仅是心上的桎梏与束缚么, 也别忘了大地是欢喜和你的赤脚接触,风是希望和你的头发游戏的。 The ProphetOn Clothes And the weaver said, “Speak to us of Clothes.”
And he answered: Your clothes conceal much of your beauty, yet they hide not the unbeautiful. And though you seek in garments the freedom of privacy you may find in them a harness and a chain. Would that you could meet the sun and the wind with more of your skin and less of your raiment, For the breath of life is in the sunlight and the hand of life is in the wind. Some of you say, “It is the north wind who has woven the clothes to wear.”
But shame was his loom, and the softening of the sinews was his thread.
And when his work was done he laughed in the forest. Forget not that modesty is for a shield against the eye of the unclean. And when the unclean shall be no more, what were modesty but a fetter and a fouling
of the mind?
And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. 《先知》论买卖 于是一个商人说,先知请给我们谈买卖。 他回答说: 大地贡献果实给你们,如果你们只晓得怎样独取,你们就不应当领受了。 在交易着大地的礼物时,你们将感到丰裕而满足。 然而若不是用爱和公平来交易,则必有人流为饕餮,有人流为饿殍。 当在市场上,你们这些海上、田中和葡萄园里的工人,遇见了织工、陶工和采
香料的—— 就当祈求大地的主神,临到你们中间。来圣化天秤,以及那较量价值的核算。 不要容许游手好闲的人来参加你们的买卖,他们会以言语来换取你们的劳 力。 你们要对这种人说: “同我们到田间,或者跟我们的兄弟到海上去撒网; 因为海与陆地,对你们也和对我们一样地慈惠。” 倘若那吹箫的和歌舞的人来了,你们也应当买他们的礼物。 因为他们也是果实和乳香的采集者,他们带来的物事,虽系梦幻,却是你们 灵魂上的衣食。 在你们离开市场以前,要看着没有人空手回去。 因为大地的主神,不到你们每人的需要全都满足了以后,他不能在风中宁静地

眠。 The ProphetOn Buying and Selling And a merchant said, “Speak to us of Buying and Selling.”
And he answered and said: To you the earth yields her fruit, and you shall not want if you but know how to fill your hands. It is in exchanging the gifts of the earth that you shall find abundance and be satisfied. Yet unless the exchange be in love and kindly justice, it will but lead some to greed and others to hunger. 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, - 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. And suffer not the barren-handed to take part in your transactions, who would sell their words for your labor. To such men you should say, “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.” And if there come the singers and the dancers and the flute players,buy of their gifts
also. 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. And before you leave the marketplace, see that no one has gone his way with empty hands. For the master spirit of the earth shall not sleep peacefully upon the wind till the needs of the least of you are satisfied. 《先知》论罪与罚 于是本城的法官中,有一个走上前来说,先知请给我们谈罪与罚。 他回答说: 当你的灵性随风飘荡的时候, 你孤零而失慎地对别人也就是对自己犯了过错。 为着所犯的过错,你必须去叩那受福者之门,要被怠慢地等待片刻。 你们的神性象海洋; 他永远纯洁不染, 又像以太,他只帮助有翼者上升。 他们的神性也像太阳; 他不知道田鼠的径路,也不寻找蛇虺的洞穴。 但是你们的神性,不是独居在你们里面。 在你们里面,有些仍是人性,有些还不成人性。 只是一个未成形的侏儒,睡梦中在烟雾里蹒跚,自求觉醒。 我现在所要说的,就是你们的人性。 因为那知道罪与罪的刑罚的,是他,而不是你的神性,也不是烟雾中的侏儒。
我常听见你们论议到一个犯了过失的人,仿佛他不是你们的同人,只象是个外人,是个你们的世界中的闯入者。 我却要说,连那圣洁和正直的,也不能高于你们每人心中的至善。 所以那奸邪的懦弱的,也不能低于你们心中的极恶。 如同一片树叶,除非得到全树的默许,不能独自变黄。 所以那作恶者,若没有你们大家无形中的怂恿,也不会作恶。 如同一个队伍,你们一同向着你们的神性前进。 你们是道,也是行道的人。 当你们中间有人跌倒的时候,他是为了他后面的人而跌倒,是一块绊脚石的警告。 是的,他也为他前面的人而跌倒,因为他们的步履虽然又快又稳,却没有把那绊脚石挪开。 还有这个,虽然这些话会重压你的心: 被杀者对于自己的被杀不能不负咎,被劫者对于自己的被劫不能不受责。 正直的人,对于恶人的行为,也不能算无辜。 清白的人,对于罪人的过犯,也不能算不染。 是的,罪犯往往是被害者的牺牲品,刑徒更往往为那些无罪无过的人肩负罪担。 你们不能把至公与不公,至善与不善分开;因为他们一齐站在太阳面前,如同织在一起的黑线和白线, 黑线断了的时候,织工就要视察整块的布,也要察看那机杼。 你们中如有人要审判一个不忠诚的妻子, 让他也拿天平来称一称她丈夫的心,拿尺来量一量他的灵魂。 让鞭挞扰人者的人,先察一察那被扰者的灵性。
你们如有人要以正义之名,砍伐一棵恶树,让他先察看树根; 他一定能看出那好的与坏的,能结实与不能结实的树根, 都在大地的沉默的心中,纠结在一处。 你们这些愿持公正的法官, 你们将怎样裁判那忠诚其外而盗窃其中的人, 你们又将怎样刑罚一个肉体受戮,而在他自己是心灵遭灭的人, 你们又将怎样控告那行为上刁猾、暴戾, 而事实上也是被威逼、被虐待的人呢, 你们又将怎样责罚那悔心已经大于过失的人, 忏悔不就是你们所喜欢奉行的法定的公道么, 然而你们却不能将忏悔放在无辜者的身上,也不能将它从罪人心中取出。 不期然地它要在夜中呼唤,使人们醒起,反躬自省。 你们这些愿意了解公道的人,若不在大光明中视察一切的行为,你们怎能了 解呢, 只在那时,你们才知道那直立与跌倒的,只是一个站在侏儒性的黑夜与神性 的白日的黄昏中的人, 也要知道那大殿的角石,也不高于那最低的基石。 The ProphetOn Crime and Punishment Then one of the judges of the city stood forth and said, “Speak to us of Crime and Punishment.”
And he answered saying:
It is when your spirit goes wandering upon the wind,
That you, alone and unguarded, commit a wrong unto others and therefore unto
yourself. And for that wrong committed must you knock and wait a while unheeded at the gate
of the blessed. Like the ocean is your god-self; It remains for ever undefiled. And like the ether it lifts but the winged. Even like the sun is your god-self; It knows not the ways of the mole nor seeks it the holes of the serpent. But your god-self does not dwell alone in your being. Much in you is still man, and much in you is not yet man, But a shapeless pygmy that walks asleep in the mist searching for its own awakening. And of the man in you would I now speak. For it is he and not your god-self nor the pygmy in the mist, that knows crime and the punishment of crime. 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. But I say that even as the holy and the righteous cannot rise beyond the highest which is in each one of you,
So the wicked and the weak cannot fall lower than the lowest which is in you also. And as a single leaf turns not yellow but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree, So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all. Like a procession you walk together towards your god-self. You are the way and the wayfarers. And when one of you falls down he falls for those behind him, a caution against the stumbling stone. Ay, and he falls for those ahead of him, who though faster and surer of foot, yet removed not the stumbling stone. And this also, though the word lie heavy upon your hearts: The murdered is not unaccountable for his own murder, And the robbed is not blameless in being robbed. The righteous is not innocent of the deeds of the wicked, And the white-handed is not clean in the doings of the felon. Yea, the guilty is oftentimes the victim of the injured, And still more often the condemned is the burden-bearer for the guiltless and unblamed. You cannot separate the just from the unjust and the good from the wicked; For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread and the white are woven together.
And when the black thread breaks, the weaver shall look into the whole cloth, and he shall examine the loom also.
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. And let him who would lash the offender look unto the spirit of the offended. And if any of you would punish in the name of righteousness and lay the axe unto the evil tree, let him see to its roots; 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. And you judges who would be just, What judgment pronounce you upon him who though honest in the flesh yet is a thief in spirit? What penalty lay you upon him who slays in the flesh yet is himself slain in the spirit? And how prosecute you him who in action is a deceiver and an oppressor,
Yet who also is aggrieved and outraged? And how shall you punish those whose remorse is already greater than their misdeeds? Is not remorse the justice which is administered by that very law which you would fain serve?

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