When love beckons to you,follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yieldto him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinionsmay 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 sheavesof corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He siftsyou to free you from your husks. He grindsyou 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.
编者按：本书选取的作品均为经典篇目，个别作品反映作者本人的宗教信仰，不代表本书要传达的价值观。
难词释义
beckon [ˈbekən]v. 招手示意
yield [jiːld]v. 屈服；让步
pinion [ˈpɪnjən]n. （鸟翼的）翼梢；翅膀；羽毛
sheaf [ʃiːf]n. 捆，束，扎
thresh [θreʃ]v. 使脱粒；打（稻、麦等）
sift [sɪft]v. 筛(面粉、沙子等)
grind [ɡraɪnd]v. 碾碎；把……磨成粉
knead [niːd]v. 揉，捏
pliant [ˈplaɪənt]adj. 柔软的
爱（节选）
卡里·纪伯伦
当爱挥手召唤你们时，
跟随着他，
尽管他的道路艰难而险峻。
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。
当他对你们说话时，
要相信他，
尽管他的声音会击碎你们的梦，
像狂风尽扫园中的花。
爱虽可为你们加冕，
也能将你们钉上十字架。
他虽可助你们成长，
也能将你们削砍剪刈。
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，
他也会降至你们的根柢，
动摇你们紧紧依附着大地的根须。
爱把你们像麦捆般聚拢在身边。
他将你们脱粒，使你们赤裸。
他将你们筛选，使你们摆脱麸糠。
他碾磨你们，直至你们清白。
他揉捏你们，直至你们柔顺。
而后，他把你们交与圣火，让你们成为上帝圣宴上的圣饼。 这一切都是爱为你们所做的，以使你们或许能从中领悟自己内心的秘密，从而成为生命之心的一小部分。 卡里·纪伯伦 （Kahlil Gibran，1883 — 1931），黎巴嫩作家、诗人、画家，阿拉伯文学的主要奠基人。其主要作品有《泪与笑》《先知》《沙与沫》等。这篇《爱》选自他的巅峰之作《先知》。