《沙与沫》摘选 | 我曾七次鄙视自己的灵魂

《沙与沫》——纪伯伦 摘选


I am forever walking upon these shores，betwixt the sand and the foam. The high tide will erase my foot-prints, and the wind will blow away the foam. But the sea and the shore will remain forever.
我永远走在这些岸上，在沙与沫之间。涨潮会抹掉我的足迹，海风会吹去这泡沫。可是海和岸，却永远存在。
 
It was but yesterday I thought myself a fragment quivering without rhythm in the sphere of life. Now I know 


that I am the sphere, and all life in rhythmic fragments moves within me.
仅仅就在昨天，我觉得自己只是一块碎片，在生命的苍穹中毫无节奏地颤动着。如今我知道自己就是那苍穹，一切生命都

是节奏分明的碎片，在我内心律动。
 Remembrance is a form of meeting.
Forgetfulness is a form of freedom.
追忆是一种会面。
遗忘是一种自由。
 
My house says to me, "Do not leave me, for here dwells your past."
And the road says to me, "Come and follow me, for I am your future."
And I say to both my house and the road, "I have no past, nor have I a future. If I stay here, there is a going in my staying; and if I go there is a staying in my going. Only love and death will change all things."
我的房子对我说：“不要离开我，这儿住着你的过去。”
路对我说：“跟我来吧，我是你的未来。”
我对房子和路说：“我没有过去，也没有未来。如果我留在这儿，我的留中有去；如果我去那儿，我的去中有留。唯有爱和死亡才能改变一切。”
 
Strange, the desire for certain pleasures is a part of my pain.
真怪，渴望某些欢乐，正是我痛苦的一部分。
 
Seven times have I despised my soul：
The first time when I saw her being meek that she might attain height.
The second time when I saw her limping before the crippled.
The third time when she was given to choose between the hard and the easy, and she chose the easy.
The fourth time when she committed a wrong, and comforted herself that others also commit wrong.
The fifth time when she forbore for weakness, and attributed her patience to strength.
The sixth time when she despised the ugliness of a face, and knew not that it was one of her own masks.
And the seventh time when she sang a song of praise, and deemed it a virtue.
我曾七次鄙视自己的灵魂。
第一次是看见她在可以升华时却故作谦卑。
第二次是看见她在跛子前瘸着腿走。
第三次是在当她在难和易之间选择了易。
第四次是当她犯了过失，却以别人也有过失来自慰。
第五次是当她容忍软弱，并将忍耐视为坚强。
第六次是当她鄙视一张丑脸，却不知那正是她自己的面具之一。
第七次是当她唱起赞歌，还以美德自诩。
 
There is a space between man's imagination and man's attainment that may only be traversed by his longing.
在人的想象和成就之间有着一个空间，唯有他的渴望能穿越。
 
Our mind is a sponge; our heart is a stream. Is it not strange that most of us choose sucking rather than running?
我们的脑是一块海绵，我们的心是溪流。然而我们大多数选择吸收而非奔流，这不是很奇怪吗？
 
The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. 

Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather to what he does not say.
他人的真实并非在于他向你显露什么，而在于他无法向你显露什么。因此，倘若你想了解他，不要去听他所说的，而要去


听他所没有说的。
 
A sense of humor is a sense of proportion.
幽默感即分寸感。
 
A truth is to be known always, to be uttered sometimes.
真理永远为人所知，偶尔才被道中。
 
The voice of life in me cannot reach the ear of life in you; but let us talk that we may not feel lonely.
我内在生命的声音到达不了你内在生命的耳朵；但让我们交谈吧，为了不再寂寞。
 
When two women talk they say nothing; when one woman speaks she reveals all of life.
当两个女人交谈，她们什么也没说；当一个女人说话，他驾驶了生命的一切。
 
Now let us play hide and seek. Should you hide in my heart it would not be difficult to find you. But 


should you hide behind your own shell, then it would be useless for anyone to seek you.
现在让我们来玩捉迷藏吧。你要是藏在我的心里，我就不难找到你。但要是你藏到自己的壳里去，那谁也找不到你。
 
How noble is the sad heart who would sing a joyous song with joyous hearts.
一颗悲伤的心，却能和欢乐的心同唱欢乐的歌，这是何等高贵啊！
 
Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
诗是大量的欢乐、痛苦和奇迹，再加上少许文辞。
 
A madman is not less a musician than you or myself; only the instrument on which he plays is a little out 


of tune.
疯子是个不亚于你我的乐师，只是他演奏的乐器有点走调。
 
Every man loves two women; the one is the creation of his imagination, and the other is not yet born.
每一个男人都爱着两个女人：一个是他想象的作品，另外一个尚未诞生。
 
Generosity is not in giving me that which I need more than you do, but it is in giving me that which you 


need more than I do.
慷慨不在于把我比你更需要的东西给我，而在于把你比我更需要的东西给我。
 
We often borrow from our tomorrows to pay our debts to our yesterdays.
我们常常向自己的明天去借贷，以偿还昨天所欠下的债务。
 
If your heart is a volcano how shall you expect flowers to bloom in your hands?
如果你的心是座火山，你怎么能指望手中鲜花盛开？
 
It is only when you are pursued that you become swift.
只有当你被追逐时，你才变得敏捷。
 
Oftentimes I have hated in self-defense; but if I were stronger I would not have used such a weapon.
我经常以恨来自卫；但如果我坚强些，我就不必使用这一武器。
 
Your saying to me：“I do not understand you.”is praise beyond my worth, and an insult you do not deserve.
你说：“我不理解你。”这对我是过分的赞誉，对你则是无端的侮辱。
 
How mean am I when life gives me gold and I give you silver, and yet I deem myself generous.
我是何等卑鄙，当生活给了我金，我却给你银，还自以为很大方。
 
Strange that you should pity the slow-footed and not the slow-minded. And the blind-eyed rather than the blind-hearted.
奇怪，你可怜那脚步慢的，却不可怜那心思慢的。你可怜那眼盲的，却不可怜那心盲的。