黎巴嫩诗人纪伯伦的散文诗 先知 中英对照

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。
Fain 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 was 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 with 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！

[ 本帖最后由 ououmama 于 2012-1-8 12:41 编辑 ].

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 beast 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 crime 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 unless you look upon all deeds in the fullness of light?
至于你们这些力图了解公正的人，如果你们不在至彻的光明中审视一切行为，又怎能了解公正呢？
Only then shall you know that the erect and the fallen are but one man standing in twilight between the night of his pigmy-self and the day of his god-self,
只在那时你们才能明白，那升起的与沉落的不过是立于其侏儒黑夜与神性白昼之晨昏衰微中的同一个人。
And that the corner-stone of the temple is not higher than the lowest stone in its foundation.
而殿宇的隅石并不高于那最底层的基石。.

On Laws法律
Then a lawyer said, "But what of our Laws, master?"
然后，一位律师说，但我们的法律是怎样的呢，大师？
And he answered:
他答道：
You delight in laying down laws,
你们乐于立法，
Yet you delight more in breaking them.
但更乐于破坏它们。
Like children playing by the ocean who build sand-towers with constancy and then destroy them with laughter.
如同海边玩耍的孩子，孜孜不倦地搭建沙塔，再笑着将它们破坏。
But while you build your sand-towers the ocean brings more sand to the shore,
不过当你们搭建沙塔时，大海又将更多的沙子带到海滩，
And when you destroy them, the ocean laughs with you.
而你们摧毁沙塔时，大海又与你们同笑。
Verily the ocean laughs always with the innocent.
的确，大海总是同天真无知的人一起嬉戏。
But what of those to whom life is not an ocean, and man-made laws are not sand-towers,
但对那些生活不是海洋，人为的法律并非沙塔的人又如何呢？
But to whom life is a rock, and the law a chisel with which they would carve it in their own likeness?
对于那些以生活为岩石，以法律为刻刀，以自身为原型，在石上雕凿的人又如何呢？
What of the cripple who hates dancers?
对嫉恨舞者的残疾呢？
What of the ox who loves his yoke and deems the elk and deer of the forest stray and vagrant things?
对喜欢挽轭，视林中康鹿为迷途流浪者的公牛呢？
What of the old serpent who cannot shed his skin, and calls all others naked and shameless?
对无法蜕皮而称他人的赤裸为不知羞耻的老蛇呢？
And of him who comes early to the wedding-feast, and when over-fed and tired goes his way saying that all feasts are violation and all feasters law-breakers?
对那些早早来到婚宴，饱足疲倦后宣称一切宴会都是对法律的亵渎，所有赴宴者都是犯法者的人呢？
What shall I say of these save that they too stand in the sunlight, but with their backs to the sun?
对于这等人，除了说他们站在太阳下却背对太阳外，我还能说他们些什么呢？
They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws.
他们只看到自己的影子，这影子就是他们的法律。
And what is the sun to them but a caster of shadows?
对他们来说，太阳除了投影者外还是什么呢？
And what is it to acknowledge the laws but to stoop down and trace their shadows upon the earth?
莫非承认法律只是屈背俯首者追随自己的投在地上的影子？
But you who walk facing the sun, what images drawn on the earth can hold you?
假如你们面向太阳行进，投射在大地上的阴影怎能将你们羁绊？
You who travel with the wind, what weathervane shall direct your course?
如果你们御风而行，什么样的风向标能为你们指示方向？
What man's law shall bind you if you break your yoke but upon no man's prison door?
如果你们不在他人串门前打碎枷锁，人为的法律怎能将你们束缚？
What laws shall you fear if you dance but stumble against no man's iron chains?
如果你们跳舞而不碰撞任何人的铁链，有什么法律会令你们害怕呢？
And who is he that shall bring you to judgment if you tear off your garment yet leave it in no man's path?
如果你们扯下衣衫，却不丢弃在任何人的路上，谁又会把你们带上法庭呢？
People of Orphalese, you can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?
奥法利斯城的人们啊，你们可以掩住鼓声，松弛琴弦，但谁又能够下令禁止云雀歌唱？.

On Freedom自由
And an orator said, "Speak to us of Freedom."
一位演说家说，请给我们讲讲自由。
And he answered:
他答道：
At the city gate and by your fireside I have seen you prostrate yourself and worship your own freedom,
在城门边，在炉火旁，我曾看到你们五体投地，膜拜自己的自由，
Even as slaves humble themselves before a tyrant and praise him though he slays them.
就像奴隶在暴君面前卑躬屈膝，尽管他们倍受他的戕害。
Ay, in the grove of the temple and in the shadow of the citadel I have seen the freest among you wear their freedom as a yoke and a handcuff.
唉，在庙宇的丛林中，在城堡的阴影下。我曾看到你们中最自由者披枷戴铐般穿戴着自己的自由。
And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfillment.
我的心在胸中滴血；因为只有当你们感到寻求自由的愿望也是一种束缚，只有当你们不再称自由是目标是成就时，你们才是自由的。
You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
当你们的白昼并非无忧无虑，你们的夜晚并非没有希望和悲伤，你们是自由的，
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.
不过，当这些事物羁绊你们的生命，而你们超脱它们，赤裸而无拘无束，你们更是自由的。
And how shall you rise beyond your days and nights unless you break the chains which you at the dawn of your understanding have fastened around your noon hour?
你们在自己知识的黎明锁住了你们的正午，若不砸碎这锁链，你们如何能超越自己的昼夜？
In truth that which you call freedom is the strongest of these chains, though its links glitter in the sun and dazzle the eyes.
实际上，你们所谓的自由正是最坚固的锁链，虽然它的链环在阳光下闪耀，迷惑了你们的眼睛。
And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?
你们想要丢弃以换取自由的，难道不正是你们自身的一部分？
If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead.
如果那是一个你们想要废除的法律，这法律正是由你们的手写在你们的额头上的。
You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.
你们无法将它抹去，即使你们焚毁律典或倾大海之水来冲洗法官的额头。
And if it is a despot you would dethrone, see first that his throne erected within you is destroyed.
如果那是一个你们想要废黜的暴君，先看看他竖立在你们心中的宝座是否已被摧毁。
For how can a tyrant rule the free and the proud, but for a tyranny in their own freedom and a shame in their won pride?
因为如果他们的自由里没有专制，他们的尊严中没有耻辱，暴君怎能统治自由尊严的人？
And if it is a care you would cast off, that care has been chosen by you rather than imposed upon you.
如果那是你们想要摆脱的焦虑，这焦虑并非强加于你们，而是你们的选择。
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.
如果那是你们想要驱散的恐惧，这恐惧是根植在你们的心里，而非恐惧对象的手中。
Verily all things move within your being in constant half embrace, the desired and the dreaded, the repugnant and the cherished, the pursued and that which you would escape. These things move within you as lights and shadows in pairs that cling.
的确，期望与恐惧，厌恶与珍惜，追求与逃避，所有这一切始终相拥相伴在你们体内运行，恰似光与影彼此紧紧相依相随。
And when the shadow fades and is no more, the light that lingers becomes a shadow to another light.
当阴影消逝，驻留的光将成为另一道光的阴影。
And thus your freedom when it loses its fetters becomes itself the fetter of a greater freedom.
因此，当你们的自由摆脱桎梏，它本身将会成为更大自由的桎梏。.

On Reason & Passion理性与热情
And the priestess spoke again and said: "Speak to us of Reason and Passion."
于是那位女祭司又开口说道：请给我们讲讲理性与热情。
And he answered saying:
他回答道：
Your soul is oftentimes a battlefield, upon which your reason and your judgment wage war against passion and your appetite.
你们的心灵常常是战场，在此你们的理性与判断同你们的热情与欲望彼此交锋。
Would that I could be the peacemaker in your soul, that I might turn the discord and the rivalry of your elements into oneness and melody.
我多么希望自己成为你们心灵和平的缔造者，将你们心中对立相争的成分变为和谐一致的旋律。
But how shall I, unless you yourselves be also the peacemakers, nay, the lovers of all your elements?
如果你们不是自身要素的和平缔造者，甚至不是钟爱自身要素的人，我又怎么能够做到？
Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.
你们的理性与热情，是你们航行中的灵魂的舵与帆。
If either your sails or our rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.
假如你们的舵或帆被损坏，你们就只能在海上颠沛流离，或滞留海上。
For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction.
理性独自弄权，是一种压制的力量；热情自由放纵，是燃烧一切直至焚毁自我的火焰。
Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion; that it may sing;
因此，让你们的灵魂将理性提升至热情的极致，它将歌唱；
And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.
让你们的灵魂以理性引导热情的方向，这样你们的热情才会经历每日的复活，宛若凤凰从自己的灰烬中再生。
I would have you consider your judgment and your appetite even as you would two loved guests in your house.
我希望你们把自己的判断和欲望视作你们家中两位深爱的客人。
Surely you would not honour one guest above the other; for he who is more mindful of one loses the love and the faith of both.
你们显然不会厚此薄彼；因为过于偏重其中一位会使你同时失去他俩的友爱和信任。
Among the hills, when you sit in the cool shade of the white poplars, sharing the peace and serenity of distant fields and meadows -- then let your heart say in silence, "God rests in reason."
在山中，当你们坐在白杨树荫下，分享远方田野的和平与宁静，——让你们的心在寂静中说：“上帝寄寓于理性。”
And when the storm comes, and the mighty wind shakes the forest, and thunder and lightning proclaim the majesty of the sky, -- then let your heart say in awe, "God moves in passion."
当暴风雨来临，狂风震撼森林，电闪雷鸣宣示云天的庄严宏阔，——让你们的心在敬畏中说：“上帝运行于热情。”
And since you are a breath In God's sphere, and a leaf in God's forest, you too should rest in reason and move in passion.
既然你们是上帝畛域中的一道气息，上帝森林里的一片树叶，那你们也应当寄身于理性，运行于热情。.

On Pain痛苦
And a woman spoke, saying, "Tell us of Pain."
一位妇人说，请给我们讲讲痛苦。
And he said:
他说道：
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
你们的痛苦乃是包着你们悟性的外壳的破裂。
Even as the stone of the fruit must break, that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
然而正如果核必定破裂暴露于阳光下，你们也必定经历痛苦。
And could you keep your heart in wonder at the daily miracles of your life, your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
每天，你们的心灵惊叹于生命的奇迹，你们的痛苦仿佛与你们的快乐一样奇妙；
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
你们将习惯心灵的季节变化，就像习惯接受来去于田野的季节变化。
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
于是，你们能够以宁静的心情看待你们悲凉的冬季。
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
你们的痛苦多是你们自己的选择。
It is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self. Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:
它是你们体内的医生治疗你们病躯的苦药。因此请信任这医师，宁静地饮下他的药剂：
For his hand, though heavy and hard, is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
因为他的手，尽管沉重而坚硬，却由一只藏而不露的温柔的手在指引。
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.
他端上的杯子，尽管烧灼你的双唇，却是由陶工用自己神圣的泪水打湿陶土而制成。.

On Self-Knowledge自知
And a man said, "Speak to us of Self-Knowledge."
一位男子说，请给我们讲讲自知。
And he answered, saying:
他回答道：
Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights.
你们的心灵在静默中领悟日夜的秘密。
But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge.
你们的耳朵却渴望倾听你们心灵的知识。
You would know in words that which you have always know in thought.
你们想用语言了解你们一向用意识了解的事物。
You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams.
你们想用你们的手指触摸你们梦想赤裸的身躯。
And it is well you should.
这正是你们该做的。
The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;
深藏在你们灵魂中不竭的源泉的确需要涌现，温湿地流向大海；
And the treasure of your infinite depths would be revealed to your eyes.
你们心中无限深处的宝藏将显露在你们的眼前。
But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure;
但不要用天平称量你们不知的财富；
And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line.
也不要用标竿或绳索测量你们的知识。
For self is a sea boundless and measureless.
因为自我是无边无际无从度量的大海。
Say not, "I have found the truth," but rather, "I have found a truth."
不要说“我发现了真理”，而应说“我发现了一条真理”。
Say not, "I have found the path of the soul." Say rather, "I have met the soul walking upon my path."
不要说“我找到了灵魂的道路”，而应说“我遇到了漫步在我小径上的灵魂”。
For the soul walks upon all paths.
因为灵魂漫步于一切道路。
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
灵魂并非直线前进，也不像芦苇般成长。
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.
灵魂伸展绽放，就像一朵有无数花瓣的莲花。.

On Teaching教育
Then said a teacher, "Speak to us of Teaching."
然后一位教师说，请给我们讲讲教育。
And he said:
他说道：
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of our knowledge.
无人能够启悟你们，除了那半醒着躺在你们悟性晓光中的东西。
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
走在圣殿阴影下，行于其追随者中的导师，传授的不是他的智慧，而是他的信念和爱。
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.
如果他的确睿智，就不会命令你们进入他智慧的殿堂，而是引导你们走向自己心灵的门户。
The astronomer may speak to you of his understanding of space, but he cannot give you his understanding.
天文学家能向你们讲授他对太空的理解，但却无法赋予你们他的感觉。
The musician may sing to you of the rhythm which is in all space, but he cannot give you the ear which arrests the rhythm nor the voice that echoes it.
音乐家能为你们唱出响彻四方的旋律，但却无法赋予你们捕捉这旋律的耳朵，或回应这旋律的歌喉。
And he who is versed in the science of numbers can tell of the regions of weight and measure, but he cannot conduct you thither.
精通数学的人能谈论度量衡的领域，但却无法将你们引向那里。
For the vision of one man lends not its wings to another man.
因为一个人的洞察力不能将其羽翼借给另一个人。
And even as each one of you stands alone in God's knowledge, so must each one of you be alone in his knowledge of God and in his understanding of the earth.
就像你们每一个人都独自站在上帝的知识世界，你们每个人对上帝和世界的认识与理解也彼此独立。.

On Friendship友谊
And a youth said, "Speak to us of Friendship."
一个青年说，请为我们讲讲友谊。
Your friend is your needs answered.
他回答道：你的朋友是对你需求的回答。
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
他是你的土地，你带着爱播种，带着感激的心清收获。
And he is your board and your fireside. For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.
他是你的餐桌，你的炉灶，你饥饿时来到他身边，向他寻求安宁。
When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."
当你的朋友倾诉他的心曲，你不会害怕自己心中的“不”，也不会掩抑你心中的“是”。
And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;
当他默默无言时，你的心也不会停止倾听他的心；
For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.
因为在友谊的不言中，所有的思想、所有的欲望、所有的期盼带着无声的欢乐同生共享。
When you part from your friend, you grieve not;
在与朋友分别时，你也不会悲伤；
For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.
因为当他不在身边时，他身上最为你所珍爱的东西会显得更加醒目，就像山峰对于平原上的登山者显得格外清晰。
And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.
不要对你们的友谊别有他图，除了对深化精神境界的希冀。
For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.
因为只寻求显露自身秘密的爱并非真爱，而是撒出的网：网住的只是些无益的东西。
And let your best be for your friend.
奉献你最好的，给你的朋友。
If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.
如果他定要知道你的落潮，那么也让他知道你的涨潮。
For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?
只在你想消磨时光时才去寻找的朋友，难道还是朋友？
Seek him always with hours to live.
要经常为了充实地生活而找他。
For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.
因为是他满足了你的需求，而不是填补了你的空虚。
And in the sweetness of friendship, let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.
让友谊的甜蜜中，充满欢笑和愉悦的分享。
For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
因为在细小的甘露中，你的心会找到自己的黎明，精神焕发。.

On Talking言谈
And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."
一位学者说，请为我们讲讲言谈。
And he answered, saying:
他答道：
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts;
当你们无法与你们的思想和平共处，你们开始说话；
And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime.
当你们无法继续栖身于心灵的孤寂，你们将转而栖息于唇舌，而声音成为一种娱乐与消遣。
And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered.
在许多言谈中，你们的思想几乎一半被扼杀。
For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words many indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly.
因为思想是一只属于天空的鸟，在语言的牢笼中它或许能展翅，却不能飞翔。
There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.
你们当中有些人因害怕独处而变得饶舌。
The silence of aloneness reveals to their eyes their naked selves and they would escape.
独处的沉寂向他们揭露他们赤裸的自我，于是他们逃逸。
And there are those who talk, and without knowledge or forethought reveal a truth which they themselves do not understand.
有些人夸夸其谈，却缺乏知识与见地去阐述一个他们自己并不理解的真理。
And there are those who have the truth within them, but they tell it not in words.
有些人心中拥有真理，却从不付诸言语。
In the bosom of such as these the spirit dwells in rhythmic silence.
在这些人的胸中，精神生活在沉默的节奏里。
When you meet your friend on the roadside or in the market place, let the spirit in you move your lips and direct your tongue.
当你在路边或集市上遇到你的朋友，让你内中的精神启动你的双唇，引导你的喉舌。
Let the voice within your voice speak to the ear of his ear;
让你声音中的声音对他耳朵中的耳朵言说；
For his soul will keep the truth of your heart as the taste of the wine is remembered
因为他的灵魂将保留你心灵的真理，
When the colour is forgotten and the vessel is no more.
犹如葡萄酒，当颜色被忘却，杯子也不复存在时，它的滋味仍将被铭记。.

On Time时间
And an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?"
一位天文家说，大师，时间是怎样的呢？
And he answered:
他答道：
You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable.
你们想度量那无限而不可测量的时间。
You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons.
你们想按时序和季节调整你们的举止，甚至引导你们的精神。
Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing.
你们愿意造一道时间的溪流，在岸边目送流水逝去。
Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,
然而你们心中的无限，意识到生命的无限。
And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
它知道昨天不过是今天的回忆，明天不过是今天的梦想。
And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space.
因此，在你们体内歌唱和思考的它，依然处于将星星撒落天宇的那最初一瞬的境界中。
Who among you does not feel that his power to love is boundless?
你们之中谁会感觉不到爱的力量无穷无尽？
And yet who does not feel that very love, though boundless, encompassed within the centre of his being, and moving not form love thought to love thought, nor from love deeds to other love deeds?
谁会感觉不到爱虽然无穷无尽，却仍羁束于他自身，无法在爱的思绪中和爱的行为中转移？
And is not time even as love is, undivided and placeless?
难道时间不就像爱，是不可分割没有间隙的么？
But if in you thought you must measure time into seasons, let each season encircle all the other seasons,
但你们若认为以季节来衡量时间是必要的，那就让每个季节都包含其他季节，
And let today embrace the past with remembrance and the future with longing.
让今天用记忆拥抱着过去，用希望拥抱着未来。.

On Good & Evil善与恶
And one of the elders of the city said, "Speak to us of Good and Evil."
城中的一位老人说，请给我们讲讲善与恶吧。
And he answered:
他答道：
Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.
我能谈论你们身上的善，但却无法说恶。
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?
因为恶不就是被自己的饥渴所折磨的善么？
Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts, it drinks even of dead waters.
的确，当善饿了，它甚至会到黑暗的洞穴中寻找食物；当它渴了，它甚至会从死水中取饮。
You are good when you are one with yourself.
当你们和自己同一时，你们是善的。
Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.
但当你们和自己并非同一时，你们也不是恶的。
For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.
因为一间分开的房子并不就是贼窝，它只是一间分开的房子。
And a ship without rudder may wander aimlessly among perilous isles yet sink not to the bottom.
即使没有舵，船只也只是在险岸边漂摇不定，而不会沉沦海底。
You are good when you strive to give of yourself.
当你们力求奉献自己时，你们是善的。
Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself.
但当你们力求为自己谋利时，你们也不是恶的。
For when you strive for gain you are but a root that clings to the earth and sucks at her breast.
因为当你们力求为己获益时，你们不过是紧紧附着土地尽情吸她乳汁的根而已。
Surely the fruit cannot say to the root, "Be like me, ripe and full and ever giving of your abundance."
显然，果实不会对报说：“跟我学，成熟而丰满，总是奉献自己的丰裕。”
For to the fruit giving is a need, as receiving is a need to the root.
因为对果实而言，给予是一种必需，正如接受对于根是一种必需。
You are good when you are fully awake in your speech,
当你们在言谈中保持清醒时，你们是善的。
Yet you are not evil when you sleep while your tongue staggers without purpose.
但当你们在睡梦中舌头盲目地摇动时，你们也不是恶的。
And even stumbling speech may strengthen a weak tongue.
因为即使是含混不清结结巴巴地讲话，也会强健虚弱的舌头。
You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps.
当你们阔步而坚定地向目标前进时，你们是善的。
Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.
但当你们蹒跚而行时，你们也不是恶的。
Even those who limp go not backward.
因为蹒跚而行的人并没有倒退。
But you who are strong and swift, see that you do not limp before the lame, deeming it kindness.
不过强壮敏捷的人呵，你们不要在残疾者面前跛行，以为那是善行。
You are good in countless ways, and you are not evil when you are not good,
你们的善展示于各个方面，在你们不善时，你们也不是恶的，
You are only loitering and sluggard.
你们只是闲散或怠情罢了。
Pity that the stags cannot teach swiftness to the turtles.
遗憾的是，奔鹿无法教会乌龟敏捷。
In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you.
你们的善寓于你们对自己的"大我"的渴求中；你们每个人都有这种渴求。
But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest.
但你们中有些人的渴望，是咆哮着奔向大海的激流，载着山峦的秘密和森林的歌曲。
And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore.
而在其他人那里，这渴望是一道平缓的溪水，在抵达海岸前，就已在蜿蜒或回转中松懈下来。
But let not him who longs much say to him who longs little, "Wherefore are you slow and halting?"
但渴望丰裕的人不要对清心寡欲的人说：“你们何以如此迟缓而踌躇呢？”
For the truly good ask not the naked, "Where is your garment?" nor the houseless, "What has befallen your house?"
因为真正的善者不会问赤身裸体的人：“你的衣服呢？”也不会间无家可归的人：“你的房屋怎样了？”.

On Prayer祈祷
Then a priestess said, "Speak to us of Prayer."
随后一位女祭司说，请给我们谈谈祈祷。
And he answered, saying:
他回答道：
You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.
你们在痛苦或需要时祈祷；希望你们在快乐的满足中、在富足的日子里也会祈祷。
For what is prayer but the expansion of yourself into the living ether?
因为你们的祈祷不就是你们的自我向生命的太空的延伸么？
And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.
如果将你们的黑暗倾入太空是为了你们的舒解，那么将你们的曙光倾入太空是为了你们的欣悦。
And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.
如果你们的灵魂召唤你们时你们只能哭泣，那么她会在哭泣中一再鞭策你们，直到你们欢笑。
When you pray you rise to meet in the air those who are praying at that very hour, and whom save in prayer you may not meet.
在祈祷中你们将升举云天，从而见到同在祈祷的人，以及那些除了祈祷时你们永远不会见面的人。
Therefore let your visit to that temple invisible be for naught but ecstasy and sweet communion.
因此让你们对无形圣殿的造访，成为纯粹的欣喜和甜美的交流。
For if you should enter the temple for no other purpose than asking you shall not receive.
因为你们若只为寻求而造访圣殿，你们将不会被接待；
And if you should enter into it to humble yourself you shall not be lifted:
你们若为贬抑自己而来，你们也不会被提升；
Or even if you should enter into it to beg for the good of others you shall not be heard.
甚或你们是为他人祈福而进入圣殿，你们也不会被倾听。
It is enough that you enter the temple invisible.
你们只要隐匿地进入圣殿，这就足够了。
I cannot teach you how to pray in words.
我不能教给你们用言语祈祷。
God listens not to your words save when He Himself utters them through your lips.
上帝不会倾听你们的言语，除非是他自己引导你们从唇间吐出的话语。
And I cannot teach you the prayer of the seas and the forests and the mountains.
我也无法教给你们海洋、森林和山峦的祈祷。
But you who are born of the mountains and the forests and the seas can find their prayer in your heart,
但你们，生于海、生于林、生于山的你们，可以在你们的心中找到它们的祈祷。
And if you but listen in the stillness of the night you shall hear them saying in silence,
倘若你们在夜的寂静中倾听，你们就会听到它们在沉默中说：
"Our God, who art our winged self, it is thy will in us that willeth.
“我们的上帝，也就是我们生翼的自我，是你的意志在我们体内行使意志。
It is thy desire in us that desireth.
是你的愿望在我们的体内表达愿望。
It is thy urge in us that would turn our nights, which are thine, into days which are thine also.
是你在我们体内的冲动，想把我们的，实际是你的黑夜，变为我们的，实际是你的白昼。
We cannot ask thee for aught, for thou knowest our needs before they are born in us:
我们不能向你索求什么，因为早在这需求在我们心中形成之前，你就已经洞悉了它。
Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all."
你就是我们的需求；当你把自己更多地给予我们时，你已将一切给予我们了。”.

On Pleasure享乐
Then a hermit, who visited the city once a year, came forth and said, "Speak to us of Pleasure."
一位每年造访城市一次的隐士走上前说，请给我们谈谈享乐。
And he answered, saying:
他回答道：
Pleasure is a freedom song,
享乐是一首自由的歌，
But it is not freedom.
但它不是自由。
It is the blossoming of your desires,
它是你们绽放的希望之花，
But it is not their fruit.
但不是它们的果。
It is a depth calling unto a height,
它是深渊对峰巅的呼唤，
But it is not the deep nor the high.
但却不是深渊，也不是峰巅。
It is the caged taking wing,
它是锁在笼中伸展的翅膀，
But it is not space encompassed.
但又不是周围环绕的空间。
Ay, in very truth, pleasure is a freedom-song.
哦，千真万确，享乐是首自由的歌。
And I fain would have you sing it with fullness of heart; yet I would not have you lose your hearts in the singing.
我愿你们全身心地歌唱它，却不希望在歌唱时迷失自己的心。
Some of your youth seek pleasure as if it were all, and they are judged and rebuked.
你们中的一些年轻人追求享乐，仿佛它代表一切；他们受到评判和谴责。
I would not judge nor rebuke them. I would have them seek.
我既不会审判他们，也不会谴责他们。我让他们去追寻。
For they shall find pleasure, but not her alone:
因为他们寻得的不仅仅是享乐；
Seven are her sisters, and the least of them is more beautiful than pleasure.
享乐有七个姐妹，她们中最小的也比她美丽。
Have you not heard of the man who was digging in the earth for roots and found a treasure?
难道你们没听说过一个刨上寻根的人找到了宝藏的故事么？
And some of your elders remember pleasures with regret like wrongs committed in drunkenness.
你们中的一些老年人懊恼地回忆享乐，仿佛那是一种醉酒后犯下的错误。
But regret is the beclouding of the mind and not its chastisement.
但懊悔只会让心智模糊，而不是受了惩戒。
They should remember their pleasures with gratitude, as they would the harvest of a summer.
他们应带着感激回忆享乐，就像回忆夏季的收获。
Yet if it comforts them to regret, let them be comforted.
但如果懊悔使他们得到安慰，那就让他们获得慰藉吧。
And there are among you those who are neither young to seek nor old to remember;
你们中还有一些人既非充满追求的青年又非沉浸于回忆的老人；
And in their fear of seeking and remembering they shun all pleasures, lest they neglect the spirit or offend against it.
他们在对追求和回忆的恐惧中躲避所有的享乐，生怕自己疏远或冒犯了灵魂。
But even in their foregoing is their pleasure.
但享乐也存在于他们的生活中，
And thus they too find a treasure though they dig for roots with quivering hands.
因此即使他们用颤抖的手挖土寻根，他们也能找到宝藏。
But tell me, who is he that can offend the spirit?
不过请告诉我，有谁能冒犯灵魂呢？
Shall the nightingale offend the stillness of the night, or the firefly the stars?
夜驾会冒犯静夜，萤火虫会冒犯星空么？
And shall your flame or your smoke burden the wind?
你们的火炮和烟云会冒犯风么？
Think you the spirit is a still pool which you can trouble with a staff?
莫非你们以为灵魂是一地你们用一根木棍就可以搅乱的死水？
Oftentimes in denying yourself pleasure you do but store the desire in the recesses of your being.
当你们极力抗拒享乐时，你们实际上是将享乐的欲望存储在一个休眠的自我中。
Who knows but that which seems omitted today, waits for tomorrow?
谁不知道今天似乎被冷落的会等待到明天？
Even your body knows its heritage and its rightful need and will not be deceived.
即使是你们的身体也了解自己的天然本性和合理需求，不会被蒙蔽。
And your body is the harp of your soul,
你们的身体是你们灵魂的琴瑟，
And it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.
它会发出甜美动人的音乐，或者嘈杂之声，那全在你。
And now you ask in your heart, "How shall we distinguish that which is good in pleasure from that which is not good?"
现在你们心中疑惑：“我们如何辨别享乐中的好与环呢？”
Go to your fields and your gardens, and you shall learn that it is the pleasure of the bee to gather honey of the flower,
到你们的田园中去，你们就会知道采集花蜜是蜜蜂的乐趣，
But it is also the pleasure of the flower to yield its honey to the bee.
而对于花朵，为蜜蜂提供蜜也是乐趣。
For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life,
因为花朵对于蜜蜂是生命的源泉，
And to the flower a bee is a messenger of love,
蜜蜂对于花朵是爱的使者，
And to both, bee and flower, the giving and the receiving of pleasure is a need and an ecstasy.
对于两者，蜜蜂与花朵，奉献与接受的欢乐既是需要，也是无比情愿。
People of Orphalese, be in your pleasures like the flowers and the bees.
奥法利斯城的人们，像花朵和蜜蜂那样享受你们的欢乐吧！.

On Beauty美
And a poet said, "Speak to us of Beauty."
一位诗人说，请给我们谈谈美。
Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide?
他答道：如果美不以自身为途径，为向导，你们到哪里，又如何能找到维呢？
And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?
如果她不是你们言语的编织者，你们又如何能谈论她呢？
The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.
伤心痛苦者说：“美是善良而温柔的。
Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."
她像一位因自己的荣耀而半含羞涩的年轻母亲，走在我们的身边。”
And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.
热情奔放者说：“不，美是强烈而令人惊畏的。
Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."
她如暴风雨般震动我们脚下的大地，摇撼我们头上的天空。”
The tired and the weary say, "beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit.
疲惫怠倦者说：“美是温柔的低语，她在我们的心中诉说。
Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."
她的声音波动在我们的沉默中，犹似一道微弱的光在对阴影的恐惧中颤抖。”
But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains,
但活泼好动者说：“我们曾听到她在山谷中大声呼叫，
And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."
随其呐喊而来的是足蹄踏地、翅膀拍击和雄狮怒吼的声音。”
At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
夜晚，城市的守夜人说：“美将与晨光一同从东方升起。”
And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say, "we have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."
正午，辛勤劳作者和长途跋涉者说：“我们曾看到她透过黄昏之窗眺望大地。”
In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
严冬，困在风雪中的人说：“她将与春同至，雀跃于山峦之间。”
And in the summer heat the reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
酷暑，收割庄稼的人说：“我们曾看到她与秋叶共舞，雪花点缀于她的发梢。”
All these things have you said of beauty.
你们谈到关于美的所有这些，
Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied,
实际并非关于她本身，而是关于你们未被满足的需求，
And beauty is not a need but an ecstasy.
但美并不是一种需求，而是心醉神迷的欣喜。
It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth,
她不是焦渴的唇，也不是伸出的空空的手，
But rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted.
而是一颗燃烧的心，一个充满喜悦的灵魂。
It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear,
她不是你们想看到的形象，也不是你们想听到的歌声，
But rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears.
而是你们闭上眼睛看到的形象，堵住耳朵听到的歌声。
It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw,
她不是伤残树皮下的树液，也不是悬在利爪下的翅膀。
But rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
而是一座鲜花永远盛开的花园，一群永远在天空飞翔的天使。
People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
奥法利斯城的人们啊，当生命摘去遮盖她圣洁面容的面纱时，美就是生命。
But you are life and you are the veil.
但你们是生命，也是面纱。
Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror.
美是凝视自己镜中身影的永恒。
But you are eternity and your are the mirror.
但你们就是永恒，你们也是明镜。.

On Religion宗教
And an old priest said, "Speak to us of Religion."
一位年迈的祭司说，请给我们谈谈宗教。
And he said:
他说道：
Have I spoken this day of aught else?
难道我今天所讲的不都是么？
Is not religion all deeds and all reflection,
难道宗教不是一切的行为和所有的反映，
And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom?
以及那些既非行为又非反映，而是双手凿石或抚弄织机时涌入心田的一个奇迹和惊诧？
Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations?
谁能够将他的理念与行为分开，或将他的信仰与职责分开？
Who can spread his hours before him, saying, "This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?"
谁能够将他的时间摆在面前说，“这份是上帝的，而那份是我的；这份属于我的心灵，而那份属于我的肉体”？
All your hours are wings that beat through space from self to self.
你们所有的时光都是在天空鼓翼、从一个自我飞向另一个自我的翅膀。
He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.
将道德视作最好的衣服穿在身上的人，不如赤裸着。
The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.
风和阳光不会使他们的肌肤伤裂。
And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.
以伦理规范自己行为的人，是将自己歌唱的鸟囚禁笼中。
The freest song comes not through bars and wires.
最自由的歌不能从锁链和铁栅中传出。
And he to whom worshipping is a window, to open but also to shut, has not yet visited the house of his soul whose windows are from dawn to dawn.
现膜拜为时开时闭的窗户的人，尚未造访他的心灵之屋，此屋的窗户从黎明到黎明永远敞开。
Your daily life is your temple and your religion.
你们的日常生活就是你们的圣殿和你们的宗教。
Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.
清带着你们的一切进入它。
Take the plough and the forge and the mallet and the lute,
带着犁耙和炼炉，极棒和琴瑟。
The things you have fashioned in necessity or for delight.
带着你们因需要或喜爱而制出的常用之物。
For in revery you cannot rise above your achievements nor fall lower than your failures.
因为在虔敬中，你们不可能升腾得比你们的成就更高，也不可能跌落得比你们的失败更低。
And take with you all men:
带着所有人进入它。
For in adoration you cannot fly higher than their hopes nor humble yourself lower than their despair.
因为在崇拜中，你们不可能飞得比他们的希望更高，也不可能因自我菲薄而降得比他们的失望还低。
And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.
如果你们想认识上帝，那就不要去做解谜者。
Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.
环顾四周，你们会发现他在与你们的孩子玩耍。
And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in rain.
仰望天空，你们会看到他在云端漫步，在闪电中伸臂，在雨水中降临。
You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.
你们会看到他在花丛中微笑，又在树上挥手。.

On Death死亡
Than Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death."
然后艾尔梅特拉又开口道：现在我们想向您请教与死亡有关的一切。
And he said:
他说：
You would know the secret of death.
你们想知道死亡的秘密。
But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?
但除非在生命的心中，你们能在哪里找到它呢？
The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.
只在黑夜睁眼的猫头鹰，盲于白昼，不能揭开遮挡光明秘密的面纱。
If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.
假如你们真想一睹死亡之魂，那么清为生命之体敞开你们的心扉。
For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.
因为生与死是同一的，犹如河与海。
In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;
你们关于来世的知识消隐于你们希冀与欲望的深处；
And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.
就像雪下甜梦的种子，你们的心梦想着春天。
Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
相信你们的梦吧，因为其中隐藏着通往永恒的门户。
Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.
你们对死亡的恐惧，就像那个站在国王面前的牧羊人的战栗，他的头顶将荣幸地承接国王的手。
Is the sheered not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?
身承国王印记的牧羊人，在其战栗之余不也感到快乐吗？
Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?
但他为何更在意自己的战栗呢？
For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
难道死亡不就是在风中探立、在阳光下融化？
And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
难道停止呼吸不就是让呼吸从无休的潮汐中解脱，使它得以升腾、扩展、毫无羁绊地去寻求上帝？
Only when you drink form the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
只有当你们在沉默之水中取饮，你们才真正歌唱。
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
只有当你们到达山顶，你们才真正开始攀登。
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
只有当你们的肢体被大地占有，你们才真正起舞。.

The Farewell告别
And now it was evening.
已经是夜了。
And Almitra the seeress said, "Blessed be this day and this place and your spirit that has spoken."
女预言家艾尔梅特拉说，“今日，此地，和你所倾诉的心灵，都有福了。”
And he answered, Was it I who spoke? Was I not also a listener?
他答道：“难道我只是一个倾诉者？我不也是一个倾听者么？”
Then he descended the steps of the Temple and all the people followed him. And he reached his ship and stood upon the deck.
他步下圣殿的台阶，人们跟随着他。他登上他的航船，立于甲板上。
And facing the people again, he raised his voice and said:
他再次面对人们，提高嗓音说道：
People of Orphalese, the wind bids me leave you.
“奥法利斯城的人们！风在催促我离开你们。
Less hasty am I than the wind, yet I must go.
尽管我不像风这般急切，但我不得不登程了。
We wanderers, ever seeking the lonelier way, begin no day where we have ended another day; and no sunrise finds us where sunset left us.
我们是些不停地寻找更孤寂道路的流浪者，我们的一天并不在另一天结束时开始；朝阳也不会在暮日离开我们的地方找到我们。
Even while the earth sleeps we travel. We are the seeds of the tenacious plant, and it is in our ripeness and our fullness of heart that we are given to the wind and are scattered.
甚至当大地沉睡时，我们也在赶路。我们是具有生命力的种子，当我们的心孩成熟充实时，就被献给风，飘散四方。”
Brief were my days among you, and briefer still the words I have spoken.
我在你们中间度过的日子十分短暂，我向你们倾吐的话语则更短。
But should my voice fade in your ears, and my love vanish in your memory, then I will come again,
不过，倘若我的声音从你们耳边远逝，我的爱在你们心中消失，那我还会再来，
And with a richer heart and lips more yielding to the spirit will I speak.
我将以一颗更充实的心动和更灵性的唇说话。
Yea, I shall return with the tide,
是的，我将踏浪而来，
And though death may hide me, and the greater silence enfold me, yet again will I seek your understanding.
也许死亡会将我隐藏，更深的沉默会将我覆盖，但我将再次寻求你们的理解。
And not in vain will I seek.
而我的寻找不会是徒劳的。
If aught I have said is truth, that truth shall reveal itself in a clearer voice, and in words more kin to your thoughts.
如果我讲到的是真理，那么真理会用更清晰和更亲近你们心灵的话语表达自己。
I go with the wind, people of Orphalese, but not down into emptiness;
奥法利斯城的人们啊！我将与风同去，但不会陷入虚空；
And if this day is not a fulfillment of your needs and my love, then let it be a promise till another day. Know therefore, that from the greater silence I shall return.
如果今天不是满足你们需要和成全我的爱的日子，那么让它成为某一天能够实现的希望吧。人的需要或许会改变，但他的爱不会变，他想以爱满足需要的愿望也不会变。你们应当知道，我将从更深的静寂中归来。
The mist that drifts away at dawn, leaving but dew in the fields, shall rise and gather into a cloud and then fall down in rain.
黎明散去的雾留给大地的露水，升腾凝聚为云，又化作甘霖降落。
And not unlike the mist have I been.
我与雾没有什么不同。
In the stillness of the night I have walked in your streets, and my spirit has entered your houses,
我曾在寂静的夜晚盘踞于你们的街头，我的灵魂飘入你们的房舍。
And your heart-beats were in my heart, and your breath was upon my face, and I knew you all.
你们的心跳在我的胸中，你们的气息拂过我的面庞，我认识了你们所有的人。
Ay, I knew your joy and your pain, and in your sleep your dreams were my dreams.
是的，我体会你们的欢乐与痛苦，你们睡眠中的梦也是我的梦。
And oftentimes I was among you a lake among the mountains.
多少次，我像山谷中的湖泊置身你们当中。
I mirrored the summits in you and the bending slopes, and even the passing flocks of your thoughts and your desires.
我如明镜，映出你们的山峰，你们弯曲的斜坡，甚至徘徊于你们心头的思绪与欲望。
And to my silence came the laughter of your children in streams, and the longing of your youths in rivers.
溪水中你们孩子的笑声，河流中你们青年的渴望，都飘入了我的心田。
And when they reached my depth the streams and the rivers ceased not yet to sing.
当他们来到我心深处，溪水与河流仍不停止歌唱。
But sweeter still than laughter and greater than longing came to me.
但有比笑声更甜美、比渴望更深切的东西，也进入了我的心田。
It was boundless in you;
这就是你们身上的无穷性；
The vast man in whom you are all but cells and sinews;
这是一个巨人，你们不过是他体内的细胞和肌腱；
He in whose chant all your singing is but a soundless throbbing.
他是一位歌者，你们的歌唱在他不过是无声的颤抖。
It is in the vast man that you are vast,
在巨人的体内你们才宏阔浩瀚，
And in beholding him that I beheld you and loved you.
我通过注视他，注视你们，热爱你们。
For what distances can love reach that are not in that vast sphere?
爱所能达到的地方哪处不属于这片素的领地？
What visions, what expectations and what presumptions can outsoar that flight?
怎样的洞察力，怎样的期许，怎样的假设能飞越那领空？
Like a giant oak tree covered with apple blossoms is the vast man in you.
这巨人如覆满苹果花的巨大橡树矗立在你们体内，
His mind binds you to the earth, his fragrance lifts you into space, and in his durability you are deathless.
他的力量将你们缚于大地，他的芬芳将你们托至空中，在他的不朽里你们永生。
You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link.
你们常常听说，你们像最薄弱的链环一样脆弱。
This is but half the truth. You are also as strong as your strongest link.
此言半对。因为你们也像最坚固的链环一样坚强。
To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of ocean by the frailty of its foam.
用你们的微行评价你们，就是以泡沫的脆弱推测大海的雄伟。
To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconsistency.
以你们的失败评判你们，就是责怪季节更替为反复无常。
Ay, you are like an ocean,
的确，你们像大海，
And though heavy-grounded ships await the tide upon your shores, yet, even like an ocean, you cannot hasten your tides.
尽管载重的航船停靠在你们的岸边等待涨潮，但就像大海，你们不急于弄潮。
And like the seasons you are also,
你们也像四季，
And though in your winter you deny your spring,
尽管在冬季你们弃绝了春天，
Yet spring, reposing within you, smiles in her drowsiness and is not offended.
但眼于你们心中的春天，在睡梦中微笑，不以为然。
Think not I say these things in order that you may say the one to the other, "He praised us well. He saw but the good in us."
不要以为我谈论这些是为了让你们彼此说出“他盛赞我们。他只看到我们的优长。”
I only speak to you in words of that which you yourselves know in thought.
我用言语告诉你们的，正是你们自己意识所领悟的。
And what is word knowledge but a shadow of wordless knowledge?
难道言语的知识不正是无形知识的影子么？
Your thoughts and my words are waves from a sealed memory that keeps records of our yesterdays,
你们的意识和我的语言，是从我们封闭的记忆中涌出的浪潮，那记忆记录了我们的往昔，
And of the ancient days when the earth knew not us nor herself,
记录了那些遥远的白昼，那时，大地不知道我们，也不了解她自己，
And of nights when earth was upwrought with confusion,
也记录了那些黑夜，当时大地在混沌困惑中辗转不安。
Wise men have come to you to give you of their wisdom. I came to take of your wisdom:
智者前来是给你们带来智慧，而我前来是求取你们的智慧：
And behold I have found that which is greater than wisdom.
因为我发现了超越智慧之物。
It is a flame spirit in you ever gathering more of itself,
那便是在你们身上不断凝聚燃烧的精神，
While you, heedless of its expansion, bewail the withering of your days.
而你们不曾留意它的发展，只为你们岁月的流逝悲悼哀叹。
It is life in quest of life in bodies that fear the grave.
这是生命在恐惧坟墓的肉体中追求生命。
There are no graves here.
这里没有坟墓。
These mountains and plains are a cradle and a stepping-stone.
这群山和平原是摇篮，是溪中垫脚的石头。
Whenever you pass by the field where you have laid your ancestors look well thereupon, and you shall see yourselves and your children dancing hand in hand.
每当你们走过埋葬祖先的地方，请仔细观看，你们会看到你们自己和你们的孩子们手牵着手跳舞。
Verily you often make merry without knowing.
的确，你们常常不知不觉创造了欢乐。
Others have come to you to whom for golden promises made unto your faith you have given but riches and power and glory.
也有其他人造访你们，为了他们对你们信仰的黄金般的许诺，你们付出了财富、权力和荣耀。
Less than a promise have I given, and yet more generous have you been to me.
我给予你们的抵不上一个许诺，可你们对我更加慷慨。
You have given me deeper thirsting after life.
你们给了我对生命更深沉的渴望。
Surely there is no greater gift to a man than that which turns all his aims into parching lips and all life into a fountain.
真的，对一个人来说，世上最好的赠礼莫过于将他的一切希冀化为焦唇，将一切生命化为甘泉。
And in this lies my honour and my reward, --
这里有我的荣耀和回报，——
That whenever I come to the fountain to drink I find the living water itself thirsty; And it drinks me while I drink it.
每当我来到泉边饮水，我发现那生命之流也在干渴；我饮它时，它亦饮我。
Some of you have deemed me proud and over-shy to receive gifts.
你们中有些人认为我高做或过于羞怯而不愿接受馈赠。
To proud indeed am I to receive wages, but not gifts.
我的确太骄傲而不愿接受酬报，但不是礼物。
And though I have eaten berries among the hill when you would have had me sit at your board,
虽然你们请我坐在你们餐桌旁时，我却以山间的萄果为食，
And slept in the portico of the temple where you would gladly have sheltered me,
虽然你们邀我留宿时，我却睡卧于圣殿的门廊．
Yet was it not your loving mindfulness of my days and my nights that made food sweet to my mouth and girdled my sleep with visions?
然而，不正是你们对我日与夜的护爱，使食物甜在我的口中，使美景京绕于我的梦境？
For this I bless you most:
为此我祝福你们：
You give much and know not that you give at all.
你们的给予如此之多，而你们却不知晓。
Verily the kindness that gazes upon itself in a mirror turns to stone,
的确，对镜自赏的慈悯，会变成顽石，
And a good deed that calls itself by tender names becomes the parent to a curse.
用种种美名自夸的善行，会化作诅咒之源。
And some of you have called me aloof, and drunk with my own aloneness,
你们中有些人以为我冷漠自闭，陶醉于自己的孤独，
And you have said, "He holds council with the trees of the forest, but not with men.
你们说：“他与林中的树木攀谈，却不理会人类。
He sits alone on hill-tops and looks down upon our city."
他独坐山顶俯视我们的城市。”
True it is that I have climbed the hills and walked in remote places.
的确，我曾登上高山峻岭，走过偏僻之地。
How could I have seen you save from a great height or a great distance?
但若不从更高更远处，我又怎能看见你们？
How can one be indeed near unless he be far?
若从本相远，人又怎能相近？
And others among you called unto me, not in words, and they said,
你们中的另一些人对我说，但不是通过语言，他们说：
Stranger, stranger, lover of unreachable heights, why dwell you among the summits where eagles build their nests?
“怪人啊，怪人！爱慕无法企及的高度的人，你为什么要栖息在鹰隼都不筑巢的峰顶？
Why seek you the unattainable?
你为什么总追求那不可能得到的东西？
What storms would you trap in your net,
你想网罗的是怎样的风暴？
And what vaporous birds do you hunt in the sky?
你在空中捕捉的又是哪种臆想中的飞鸟？
Come and be one of us.
下来做我们中的一员吧。
Descend and appease your hunger with our bread and quench your thirst with our wine."
下来用我们的面包充饥，用我们的葡萄酒解渴吧。”
In the solitude of their souls they said these things;
他们在灵魂的孤寂中这样说；
But were their solitude deeper they would have known that I sought but the secret of your joy and your pain,
不过，他们倘若有更深的孤寂，便会了解我追寻的只是你们欢乐与痛苦的秘密，
And I hunted only your larger selves that walk the sky.
我捕捉的只是你们在空中飞行的大我。
But the hunter was also the hunted: For many of my arrows left my bow only to seek my own breast.
但捕猎者也是猎物；因为我许多离弦的箭只为寻找我自己的胸膛。
And the flier was also the creeper;
飞翔者也是爬行者；
For when my wings were spread in the sun their shadow upon the earth was a turtle.
因为当我的翅膀在阳光下伸展，投在地面上的阴影便是龟鳖。
And I the believer was also the doubter;
而我这个笃信者也是怀疑者；
For often have I put my finger in my own wound that I might have the greater belief in you and the greater knowledge of you.
因为我曾常常用手指触摸自己的伤口，这样我会更加信任和了解你们。
And it is with this belief and this knowledge that I say,
凭借这信任和了解，我说，
You are not enclosed within your bodies, nor confined to houses or fields.
你们不被躯壳束缚，也不受屋宇或地界羁囚。
That which is you dwells above the mountain and roves with the wind.
你们的真我居于高山之巅，与风道游四方。
It is not a thing that crawls into the sun for warmth or digs holes into darkness for safety,
它不是一只起日求暖、掘洞求安的动物，
But a thing free, a spirit that envelops the earth and moves in the ether.
而是一个自由自在、包容世界、在空中翱翔的精魂。
If this be vague words, then seek not to clear them.
如果这些话股俄含混，也不要试图澄清它们。
Vague and nebulous is the beginning of all things, but not their end,
膝跪代表一切事物之始，而非其终。
And I fain would have you remember me as a beginning.
而我愿让你们在记忆中视我为一个开端。
Life, and all that lives, is conceived in the mist and not in the crystal.
生命，乃至一切有生者，均在雾中，而非水晶中孕育而成。
And who knows but a crystal is mist in decay?
但有谁知道那水晶只是衰亡的雾？
This would I have you remember in remembering me:
我希望你们忆起我时能记住：
That which seems most feeble and bewildered in you is the strongest and most determined.
你们内中看上去最孱弱和最惶惑的，正是最强劲和最坚执的。
Is it not your breath that has erected and hardened the structure of your bones?
难道不是你们的呼吸支撑了你们的骨架，使之坚强？
And is it not a dream which none of you remember having dreamt that building your city and fashioned all there is in it?
难道不是你们谁都不记得的梦建起了你们的城堡，营造了里面的一切？
Could you but see the tides of that breath you would cease to see all else,
如果你们见到过那呼吸的潮汐，你们就会对其他一切事物视而不见；
And if you could hear the whispering of the dream you would hear no other sound.
如果你们听到过那梦中的低语，你们就会对其他一切声响听而不闻。
But you do not see, nor do you hear, and it is well.
但你们既不看，也不听，这样也好。
The veil that clouds your eyes shall be lifted by the hands that wove it,
因为遮盖你们眼帘的面纱，将由编织它的手掀起，
And the clay that fills your ears shall be pierced by those fingers that kneaded it.
堵塞你们耳道的泥巴，将由揉捏它的手指穿透。
And you shall see,
因而你们将看到，
And you shall hear.
你们将听到。
Yet you shall not deplore having known blindness, nor regret having been deaf.
不过你们不应因曾经盲目或耳聋而痛悔。
For in that day you shall know the hidden purposes in all things,
因为在那些日子里，你们会了解万物隐匿的目的，
And you shall bless darkness as you would bless light.
从而祝福黑暗，就像祝福光明一般。
After saying these things he looked about him, and he saw the pilot of his ship standing by the helm and gazing now at the full sails and now at the distance.
说完这些话，他环顾四周，看到自己航船的舵手立于舵旁，凝视着张满的帆，继而眺望着远方。
And he said:
他于是说道：
Patient, over-patient, is the captain of my ship.
耐心等待着，我的船长还在耐心等待着。
The wind blows, and restless are the sails;
风已起，帆躁动；
Even the rudder begs direction; Yet quietly my captain awaits my silence.
即使锚也在请求启航；但我的船长还在静候着我的沉寂。
And these my mariners, who have heard the choir of the greater sea, they too have heard me patiently.
我这些听过法海更宏伟合唱的海员们，也在耐心地听我诉说。
Now they shall wait no longer.
现在他们不用再等待了。
I am ready.
我已做好准备。
The stream has reached the sea, and once more the great mother holds her son against her breast.
溪流已奔入海洋，伟大的母亲再次将她的儿子揽入怀抱。
Fare you well, people of Orphalese.
别了，奥法利斯城的人们！
This day has ended.
这一天已经结束。
It is closing upon us even as the water-lily upon its own tomorrow.
它在我们心上闭合，就像莲花休闭于自己的明天。
What was given us here we shall keep,
我们要保存这里施与我们的一切，
And if it suffices not, then again must we come together and together stretch our hands unto the giver.
如果不够，那我们必须再次相聚，一起向馈赠者伸出手臂。
Forget not that I shall come back to you.
不要忘记，我将会回到你们的身边。
A little while, and my longing shall gather dust and foam for another body.
再过一会儿，我的愿望就要为另一个躯体聚集微尘与泡沫。
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me.
再过一会儿，在风中小想片刻，另一位女子就会孕育我。
Farewell to you and the youth I have spent with you.
别了，你们！别了，我在你们中度过的青春时光！
It was but yesterday we met in a dream.
就在昨日我们还曾在梦中相会。
You have sung to me in my aloneness, and I of your longings have built a tower in the sky.
你们在我的孤寂中为我歌唱，而我，在空中为你们的渴望建起一座楼阁。
But now our sleep has fled and our dream is over, and it is no longer dawn.
而现在，我们的睡眠已经逃逸，我们的梦境已经结束，且已非黎明时分。
The noontide is upon us and our half waking has turned to fuller day, and we must part.
日已当空，我们的混沌已到了完满的白昼，我们必须分离了。
If in the twilight of memory we should meet once more, we shall speak again together and you shall sing to me a deeper song.
假如在记忆的股股中我们再次相聚，我们将畅谈，而你们将会为我唱一曲更深情的歌。
And if our hands should meet in another dream, we shall build another tower in the sky.
假如我们的双手在另一个梦中相握，我们将会在空中搭建另一座楼阁。
So saying he made a signal to the seamen, and straightaway they weighed anchor and cast the ship loose from its moorings, and they moved eastward.
说话间，他向水手示意，他们立刻拔锚启航，离开泊位，向东方驶去。
And a cry came from the people as from a single heart, and it rose the dusk and was carried out over the sea like a great trumpeting.
哭声从人群中响起，就像从同一颗心中迸发出来，融入暮色，如喇叭呜咽，在海面上回荡。
Only Almitra was silent, gazing after the ship until it had vanished into the mist.
只有艾尔梅特拉沉默着，目光追随着航船，直到它消失在雾中。
And when all the people were dispersed she still stood alone upon the sea-wall, remembering in her heart his saying,
当人们全都散去，她仍独自立于海堤上，在心中回味着他的话语，
A little while, a moment of rest upon the wind, and another woman shall bear me."
“再过一会儿，在风中小想片刻，另一位女子就会孕育我。”

[ 本帖最后由 ououmama 于 2012-1-8 12:19 编辑 ].

哈利勒.纪伯伦(Kahlil Gibran 1883-1931) 黎巴嫩著名诗人、作家兼画家，被认为是20世纪与泰戈尔比肩的东方文学大师、二十世纪全世界最杰出的诗人，在西方被誉为"二十世纪的威廉.布莱克"。他那从灵魂深处传来的生命之歌，富有神秘天启预言式的语句，宛如天籁之音，传达出人生的真理，成为融合东西方心灵精髓、超越时空的永恒箴言，为心灵迷失于尘世的人们起着洗涤灵魂的作用。纪伯伦足以堪称人类精神修养大师，他的文字历久弥新，传遍了全世界，超越了时空与国界的限制，他的散文诗，大半个世纪以来，驰誉东西方世界，征服了一代又一代的东西方读者。诗人说，它是诗化的哲学；哲人说，它是充满哲理的诗。
　　　纪伯伦的经典代表作《先知》自1923年出版至今，被喻为代表真理的小圣经，一经出版就轰动了全世界，译文多达五十几种语言，发行量超过七百万册，欧美评论家将它与泰戈尔的《吉檀迦利》相提并论，称之为“东方最美妙的声音”。《先知》是他“从少年时即开始酝酿，早已成为身体的一部分”的“伟大成就”。纪伯伦在初稿执笔《先知》时，才仅仅十八岁；而这部书在纪伯伦去世翌年，才得以和世人见面。纪伯伦视《先知》为其一生最大的成就，称之为“我的第二次诞生，第一次洗礼”。他曾经说过：“它仿佛是我身体的一部分……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。”
　　在《先知》一书中，纪伯伦以生活中每人所接触的层次当主题，以先知的口吻、超越现实世界的视野、简洁的问答型式，来谈及感情、婚姻、子女、事业、时间等一系列人生和社会的重要问题，哲理极为深奥，使我们不得不细嚼深思，从他那睿智的人生哲理中得到顿悟！其深邃广博几乎已达到人类精神修养所能及的最高境界。作为世界文坛一颗不朽的巨星，美国人曾称誉纪伯伦“是东方刮起的第一次风暴，席卷了西方，给我们西海岸带来了鲜花”，并被誉为“东方赠送给西方的最好礼物”。《芝加哥邮报》评论说：“如果一个男人或者女人读了他，不能安静地接受一位伟人的哲学，那么，这个男人或者女人，就生命和真理而言，确已死亡”；“这一本奇妙的著作，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？但在我垂暮之年，我在这本书中找到我的宝藏。’” 1983年纪伯伦被联合国教科文组织列为七位“具有世界意义”的人物之一。他生前虽未得到文学大奖，然而身后世人给予他和他的作品评价之高却是许多大家可望而不可及的。几年前我国由《中华读书报》评选的２０世纪百部文学经典中，《先知》也入选其中。《先知》在中国最早的中文版是冰心译的，冰心曾说:"一般说来,年轻时都会喜欢泰戈尔，而年纪大了，有了一段阅历之后，就会转向纪伯伦。".

先知被评为纽约图书馆世纪之书第五类、心理与精神学科经典　15种之一。是散文诗。
本帖子是冰心的译本。.