《先知》--纪伯伦

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.
当代的曙光，被选而被爱戴的亚墨斯达法（Ａｌｍｕｓｔａｆａ），在阿法利斯（Ｏｒｐｈａｌｅｓｅ）城中等候了十二年，等他的船到来，好载他归回他生长的岛上去

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.
在第十二年绮露（Ｊｅｌｏｏｌ）收获之月的第七天，他出城登上山顶，向海凝望；他看见了他的船在烟雾中驶来。

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.
他的心门砉然地开了，他的喜乐在海面飞翔。他合上眼，在灵魂的严静中祷告

But as he descended the hill, a sadness came upon him, and he thought in his heart:
但当他上山的时候，忽然一阵悲哀袭来。他心里想：

How shall I go in peace and without sorrow? Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave this city.
我怎能这般宁静地走去而没有些悲哀？不，我要精神上不受创伤地离此城郭

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?
在这城围里，我度过了悠久的痛苦的日月和孤寂的深夜；谁能撇下这痛苦与孤寂没有一些悼惜？

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.
在这街市上我曾撒下过多的零碎的精神，在这山中也有过多的赤裸着行走的我所爱怜的孩子，离开他们，我不能不觉得负担与痛心

It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands.
这不是今日我脱弃了一件衣裳，乃是我用自己的手撕下了自己的一块皮肤

Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst.
也不是我遗弃了一种思想，乃是遗弃了一个用饥和渴作成的甜蜜的心

Yet I cannot tarry longer.
然而我不能再迟留了

The sea that calls all things unto her calls me, and I must embark.
那召唤万物来归的大海，也在召唤我，我必须登舟了。

For to stay, though the hours burn in the night, is to freeze and crystallize and be bound in a mould.
因为，若是停留下来，我的归思，在夜间虽仍灼热奋发，渐渐地却要冰冷变石了

Fain would I take with me all that is here. But how shall I?
我若能把这里的一切都带了去，何等的快乐呵，但是我又怎能呢？

A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that give it wings. Alone must it seek the ether.
声音不能把付给他翅翼的舌头和嘴唇带走。他自己必须寻求“以太”

And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun.
鹰鸟也必须撇下窝巢，独自地飞过太阳。

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.
现在他走到山脚，又转面向海，他看见他的船徐徐地驶入湾口，那些在船头的舟子，正是他的故乡人。

And his soul cried out to them, and he said:
于是他的精魂向着他们呼唤，说

Sons of my ancient mother, you riders of the tides,
弄潮者，我的老母的孩儿，

How often have you sailed in my dreams. And now you come in my awakening, which is my deeper dream.
有多少次你们在我的梦中浮泛。现在你们在我的更深的梦中，也就是我苏醒的时候驶来了。

Ready am I to go, and my eagerness with sails full set awaits the wind.
我已准备好要去了，我的热望和帆篷一同扯满，等着风来。

Only another breath will I breathe in this still air, only another loving look cast backward,
我只要在这静止的空气中再呼吸一口气，我只要再向后抛掷热爱的一瞥，

Then I shall stand among you, a seafarer among seafarers.
那时我要站在你们中间，一个航海者群中的航海者。

And you, vast sea, sleepless mother,
还有你，这无边的大海，无眠的慈母，

Who alone are peace and freedom to the river and the stream,
只有你是江河和溪水的宁静与自由。

Only another winding will this stream make, only another murmur in this glade,
这溪流还有一次转折，一次林中的潺缓，

And then shall I come to you, a boundless drop to a boundless ocean.
然后我要到你这里来，无量的涓滴归向这无量的海洋。

And as he walked he saw from afar men and women leaving their fields and their vineyards and hastening towards the city gates.
当他行走的时候，他看见从远处有许多男女离开田园，急速地赶到城边来。

And he heard their voices calling his name, and shouting from the field to field telling one another of the coming of the ship.
他听见他们叫着他的名字，在阡陌中彼此呼唤，报告他的船来临。

And he said to himself:
他对自己说：

Shall the day of parting be the day of gathering?
别离的日子能成为聚会的日子么？

And shall it be said that my eve was in truth my dawn?
我的薄暮实在可算是我的黎明么？

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?
那些放下了耕田的犁耙，停止了榨酒的轮子的人们，我将给他们什么呢

Shall my heart become a tree heavy-laden with fruit that I may gather and give unto them?
我的心能成为一棵累累结实的树，可以采撷了分给他们么？

And shall my desires flow like a fountain that I may fill their cups?
我的愿望能奔流如泉水，可以倾满他们的杯么？

Am I a harp that the hand of the mighty may touch me, or a flute that his breath may pass through me?
我是一个全能者的手可能弹奏的琴，或是一管全能者可以吹弄的笛么？

A seeker of silences am I, and what treasure have I found in silences that I may dispense with confidence?
我是一个寂静的寻求者。在寂静中，我发现了什么宝藏，可以放心地布施呢？

If this is my day of harvest, in what fields have I sowed the seed, and in what unremembered seasons?
倘若这是我收获的日子，那么，在何时何地我曾撒下了种子呢？

If this indeed be the hour in which I lift up my lantern, it is not my flame that shall burn therein.
倘若这确是我举起明灯的时候，那么，灯内的火焰，不是我点上的。

Empty and dark shall I raise my lantern,
我将空虚黑暗地举起我的灯

And the guardian of the night shall fill it with oil and he shall light it also.
守夜的人将要添上油，也点上火

These things he said in words. But much in his heart remained unsaid. For he himself could not speak his deeper secret.
这些是他口中说出的，还有许多没有说出的存在心头。因为他说不出自己心中更深的秘密

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.
他进城的时候，众人都来迎接，齐声地向他呼唤。

And the elders of the city stood forth and said:
城中的长老走上前来说：

Go not yet away from us.
你还不要离开我们。

A noontide have you been in our twilight, and your youth has given us dreams to dream.
在我们的朦胧里，你是正午的潮者，你青春的气度，给我们以梦想。

No stranger are you among us, nor a guest, but our son and our dearly beloved.
你在我们中间不是一个异乡人，也不是一个客人，乃是我们的儿子和亲挚的爱者。

Suffer not yet our eyes to hunger for your face.
不要使我们的眼睛因渴望你的脸面而酸痛。

And the priests and the priestesses said unto him:
一班道人和女冠对他说。 【这里的“道人”个人觉得应该译为“祭祀”女冠为“女祭祀”更好】

Let not the waves of the sea separate us now, and the years you have spent in our midst become a memory.
不要让海波在这时把我们分开，使你在我们中间度过的岁月，仅仅成为一种回忆。

You have walked among us a spirit, and your shadow has been a light upon our faces.
你曾是一个在我们中间行走的神灵，你的影儿曾明光似地照亮我们的脸。

Much have we loved you. But speechless was our love, and with veils has it been veiled.
我们深深地爱了你。不过我们的爱没有声响，而又被轻纱蒙着。

Yet now it cries aloud unto you, and would stand revealed before you.
但现在他要对你呼唤，要在你面前揭露。

And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.
除非临到了别离的时候，爱永远不会知道自己的深浅。

And others came also and entreated him.
别的人也来向他恳求。

But he answered them not. He only bent his head; and those who stood near saw his tears falling upon his breast.
他没有答话。他只低着头；靠近他的人看见他的泪落在袜上。

And he and the people proceeded towards the great square before the temple.
他和众人慢慢地向殿前的广场走去。

And there came out of the sanctuary a woman whose name was Almitra. And she was a seeress.
有一个名叫爱尔美差的女子从圣殿里出来，她是一个预言者

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.
他以无限的温蔼注视着她，因为她是在他第一天进这城里的时候，最初寻找相信他的人中之一。

And she hailed him, saying:
她庆贺他，说

Prophet of God, in quest for the uttermost, long have you searched the distances for your ship.
上帝的先知，至高的探求者，你曾常向远处寻望你的航帆。

And now your ship has come, and you must needs go.
现在你的船儿来了，你必须归去。

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.
你对于那回忆的故乡和你更大愿望的居所的渴念，是这样地深，我们的爱，不能把你系住；我们的需求，也不能把你羁留。

Yet this we ask ere you leave us, that you speak to us and give us of your truth.
但在你别离以前，我们要请你对我们讲说真理。

And we will give it unto our children, and they unto their children, and it shall not perish.
我们要把这真理传给我们的孩子，他们也传给他们的孩子，如此绵绵不绝。

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.
在你的孤独里，你曾警守我们的白日；在你的清醒里，你曾倾听我们睡梦中的哭泣与欢笑。

Now therefore disclose us to ourselves, and tell us all that has been shown you of that which is between birth and death.
现在请把我们的“真我”披露给我们，告诉我们你所知道的关于生和死中间的一切。

And he answered,
他回答说：

People of Orphalese, of what can I speak save of that which is even now moving your souls?
阿法利斯的民众呵，除了那现时在你们灵魂里鼓荡的之外，我还能说什么呢？

On Love
论爱

Then said Almitra, “Speak to us of Love.”
于是爱尔美差说：先知，请给我们谈爱。

And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with a great voice he said:
他举头望着民众，他们一时静默了。他用洪亮的声音说

When love beckons to you follow him,
当爱向你们召唤的时候，跟随着他，

Though his ways are hard and steep.
虽然他的路程艰险而陡峻。

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
当他的翅翼围卷你们的时候，屈服于他，

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
虽然那藏在羽翮中间的剑刃许会伤毁你们。

And when he speaks to you believe in him,
当他对你们说话的时候，信从他，

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
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。

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
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。

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
他虽升到你的最高处，抚惜你在日中颤动的枝叶，

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
他也要降到你的根下，摇动你的根柢的一切关节，使之归土。

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
如同一捆稻粟，他把你束聚起来。

He threshes you to make you naked.
他舂打你使你赤裸。

He sifts you to free you from your husks.
他筛分你使你脱去皮壳

He grinds you to whiteness.
他磨碾你直至洁白。

He kneads you until you are pliant;
他揉搓你直至柔韧；

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.
然后他送你到他的圣火上去，使你成为上帝圣筵上的圣饼。

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。

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure,
假如你在你的疑惧中，只寻求爱的和平与逸乐，

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor,
那不如掩盖你的裸露，而躲过爱的筛打，

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

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
爱除自身外无施与，除自身外无接受。

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
爱不占有，也不被占有。

For love is sufficient unto love.
因为爱在爱中满足了。

When you love you should not say, “God is in my heart,” but rather, “I am in the heart of God.”
当你爱的时候，你不要说，“上帝在我的心中”，却要说，“我在上帝的心里。

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

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
爱没有别的愿望，只要成全自己。

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
但若是你爱，而且需求愿望，就让以下的做你的愿望罢：

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
溶化了你自己，象溪流般对清夜吟唱着歌曲。

To know the pain of too much tenderness.
要知道过度温存的痛苦。

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
让你对爱的了解毁伤了你自己；

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
而且甘愿地喜乐地流血。

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
清晨醒起，以喜握的心来致谢这爱的又一日；

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
日中静息，默念爱的浓欢；

To return home at eventide with gratitude;
晚潮退时，感谢地回家；

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

On Marriage
论婚姻

Then Almitra spoke again and said, “And what of Marriage, master?”
爱尔美差又说，先知，婚姻怎样讲呢？

And he answered saying:
他回答说：

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
你们一块儿出世，也要永远合一。

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
在死的白翼隔绝你们的岁月的时候，他们也要合一。

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
噫，连在静默地忆想上帝之时，你们也要合一。
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
不过在你们合一之中，要有间隙。

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
让天风在你们中间舞荡。

Love one another but make not a bond of love:
彼此相爱，但不要做成爱的系链：

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
只让他在你们灵魂的沙岸中间，做一个流动的海

Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
彼此斟满了杯，却不要在同一杯中啜饮。

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
彼此递赠着面包，却不要在同一块上取食。

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
快乐地在一处舞唱，却仍让彼此静独，

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

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
彼此赠献你们的心，却不要互相保留

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
因为只有生命的手，才能把持你们的心。

And stand together, yet not too near together:
要站在一处，却不要太密迩：

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
因为殿里的柱子，也是分立在两旁，

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.
橡树和松柏，也不在彼此的荫中生长。

On Children
论孩子

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, “Speak to us of Children.”
于是一个怀中抱着孩子的妇人说，先知请给我们谈孩子。

And he said:
他接着说:

Your children are not your children.
你们的孩子，都不是你们的孩子。

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
乃是生命为自己所渴望的儿女。

They come through you but not from you,
他们是凭借你们而来，却不是从你们而来，

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
他们虽和你们同在，却不属于你们。

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.
你们可以给他们以爱，却不可给他们以思想。

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,
你们可以荫庇他们的身体，却不能荫庇他们的灵魂。

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

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
你们可以努力去模仿他们，却不能使他们来象你们。

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
因为生命是不倒行的，也不与昨日一同停留。

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
你们是弓，你们的孩子是从弦上发出的生命的箭矢。

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。

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
让你们在射者手中的弯曲成为喜乐罢；

For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
因为他爱那飞出的箭，也爱了那静止的弓。

On Giving
论施与

Then said a rich man, “Speak to us of Giving.
” 于是一个富人说，先知请给我们谈施与。【施与：奉献：施舍：布施】

And he answered:
他回答说：

You give but little when you give of your possessions.
你把你的产业给人，那只算给了一点。

It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.
当你以身布施的时候，那才是真正的施与。

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？

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?
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？

And what is fear of need but need itself?
除了需要的本身之外，需要还忧惧什么呢？

Is not dread of thirst when your well is full, thirst that is unquenchable?
当你在井泉充溢的时候愁渴，那你的渴不是更难解么？

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。

And there are those who have little and give it all.
有人只有一点财产，却全部都给人。

These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.
这些人相信生命和生命的丰富，他们的宝柜总不空虚。

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
有人喜乐地施与，那喜乐就是他们的酬报。

And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
有人无痛地施与，那无痛就是他们的洗礼。

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

They give as in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.
他们的施与，如同那边山谷里的桂花，香气在空际浮动。

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

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

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

And is there aught you would withhold?
有什么东西你必须保留的呢？

All you have shall some day be given;
必有一天，你的一切都要交付出来；

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

You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”
你常说：“我要施与，却只要舍给那些配受施与者。

The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
你果园里的树木，和牧场上的羊群，却不这样说。

They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
他们为要生存而施与，因为保留就是毁灭。

Surely he who is worthy to receive his days and his nights is worthy of all else from you.
凡是配接受白日和黑夜的人们，都配接受你施与的一切。

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

And what desert greater shall there be than that which lies in the courage and the confidence, nay the charity, of receiving?
还有什么德行比接受的勇气、信心和善意还大呢？

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?
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？

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

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

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.
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。

Rather rise together with the giver on his gifts as on wings;
不如和施者在礼物上一齐展翅飞腾；

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 Eating and Drinking
论饮食

Then an old man, a keeper of an inn, said, “Speak to us of Eating and Drinking.”
一个开饭店的老人说，先知请给我们谈饮食。

And he said:
他说：

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

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,
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

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.
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。

When you kill a beast say to him in your heart,
当你杀生的时候，心里对他说：

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

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

Your blood and my blood is naught but the sap that feeds the tree of heaven.”
你和我的血都不过是浇灌天树的一种液汁。

And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart,
当你咬嚼着苹果的时候，心里对它说：

“Your seeds shall live in my body,
你的子核要在我身中生长，

And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,
你来世的嫩芽要在我心中萌茁，

And your fragrance shall be my breath,
你的芬香要成为我的气息，

And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.”
我们要终年地喜乐。”

And in the autumn, when you gather the grapes of your vineyard for the winepress, say in you heart,
在秋天，你在果园里摘葡萄榨酒的时候，心里说：

“I to am a vineyard, and my fruit shall be gathered for the winepress,
“我也是一座葡萄园，我的果实也要摘下榨酒。

And like new wine I shall be kept in eternal vessels.”
和新酒一般，我也要被收存在永生的杯里。”

And in winter, when you draw the wine, let there be in your heart a song for each cup;
在冬日，当你斟酒的时候，你的心要对每一杯酒歌唱；

And let there be in the song a remembrance for the autumn days, and for the vineyard, and for the winepress.
让那歌曲成为一首纪念秋天和葡萄园以及榨酒之歌。

On Work
论工作

Then a plowman said, “Speak to us of Work.”
于是一个农夫说，先知请给我们谈工作。

And he answered, saying:
他回答说

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
你工作为的是要与大地和大地的精神一同前进。

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.
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。

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

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
你们谁肯做一根芦管，在万物合唱的时候，你独痴呆无声呢？
Always you have been told that work is a curse and a labor, a misfortune.
你们常听人说，工作是祸殃，劳动是不幸。

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,
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。

And in keeping yourself with labor you are in truth loving life,
而在你劳动不息的时候，你确实爱了生命。

And to love life through labor is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret.
在工作里爱了生命，就是通彻了生命最深的秘密。

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.
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。

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

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
我说生命的确是黑暗的，除非是有了激励；

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
一切的激励都是盲目的，除非是有了知识；

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
一切的知识都是徒然的，除非是有了工作；

And all work is empty save when there is love;
一切的工作都是空虚的，除非是有了爱。

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

And what is it to work with love?
怎样才是仁爱地工作呢？

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
从你的心中抽丝织成布帛，仿佛你的爱者要来穿此衣裳。

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
热情地盖造房屋，仿佛你的爱者要住在其中。

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
温存地播种，欢乐地收刈，仿佛你的爱者要来吃这产物。

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
这就是用你自己灵魂的气息，来充满你所制造的一切。

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
要知道一切受福的古人，都在你上头看视着。

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。

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.”
那捉住虹霓，传神地画在布帛上的人，是比织履的人强多了。

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;
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。

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
只有那用他的爱心，把风声变成甜柔的歌曲的人，是伟大的。

Work is love made visible.
工作是眼能看见的爱。

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.
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。

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

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
你若是怨重地压榨着葡萄酒，你的怨望，在酒里滴下了毒液。

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.
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。