美是永恒 On Beauty

卡里·纪伯伦/Kahlil Gibran

And a poet said, Speak to us of Beauty.

And he answered：

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you fnd her unless she herself be your way and your guide?And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?

The aggrieved and the injured say，“Beauty is kind and gentle. Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us.”

And the passionate say，“Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread. Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us.”

The tired and the weary say，“Beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit. Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow.”

But the restless say，“We have heard her shouting among the mountains. And with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and thebeating of wings and the roaring of lions.”

At night the watchmen of the city say，“Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east.”And at noontide the toilers and the wayfarers say，“We have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset.”

In winter say the snow-bound，“She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hill.”

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.”

All these things have you said of beauty. Yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied, and beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, but rather a heart enfamed and a soul enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, but rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw, but rather a garden for ever in bloom and a fock of angels for ever in fight.

People of Orphalese, beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.

But you are life and you are the veil.

Beauty is eternity gazing at itself in a mirror. But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

一位诗人接着说：请给我们谈谈美。

他答道：你们将去哪里寻找美呢？如果她不出现在你们的旅途中，指引着你们，你们如何能够找到她？倘若她不是你们话语的编织者，你们如何能够谈论她呢？

被虐者和受伤者说：“美，仁慈而温柔。就像一位年轻妈妈，因自己的荣光半遮着面孔，走在我们中间。”

激情澎湃者说：“不，美强烈而可畏，就像暴风雨一般，震撼着我们脚下的大地和头上的天空。”

疲乏者说：“美是柔声细语，她在我们的心灵中讲话。她的声音沉浸在我们的寂静中，正如一抹微光在阴影的恐惧中颤抖。”

但好动者说：“我们曾听过她在山峦中呼喊，她的呼喊唤来了马蹄声、展翅声和雄狮怒吼声。”

晚上，城市的守夜人说：“美与晨曦一起从东方升起。”正午，含辛茹苦者和风尘仆仆者说：“我们曾看见她斜倚在黄昏之窗眺望着大地。”

冬日，困在风雪中的人说：“她将与春天一同来临，在山谷里跳跃。”

夏日，收割庄稼的人说：“我们曾看见她与秋叶相拥共舞，她的发梢缀着雪花。”

你们刚刚谈及关于美的一切，事实上，并非她本身，而是你们未被满足的要求，美并不是一种需求，而是一种狂喜。她不是干渴的嘴唇，也不是伸出的空手，而是一颗滚烫的心，一个愉悦的灵魂；她不是你们想看到的样子，也不是你们想听到的乐曲，而是你们虽闭上眼睛也能看到的样子，虽掩住耳朵也能听到的旋律；她不是蕴涵在褶皱树皮下的汁液，也不是利爪下垂死的鸟儿。她是一座永远绽放花朵的花园，一群永远翱翔苍穹的天使。

奥菲里斯城的人们啊，当生命揭下她圣洁的面纱时，美就是生命。

然而，你们是生命，也是面纱。

美是凝视自己镜中之影的永恒。然而，你们就是永恒，你们就是镜子。

心灵小语

工作是医治人间一切病痛和疾苦的万能良药。

——卡莱尔

W词汇笔记

except[ik'sept]prep.除了……之外；若不是；除非

例 I like everything about it except the price.

这件东西除了价钱外，其他的我都很喜欢。

aggrieve[ə'gri：v]v.使……受屈；使……苦恼

例 I hope I didn’t aggrieve her feeling.

我希望我并没有伤害到她的感情。

passionate['pæʃənit]adj.热情的；热烈的；易怒的

例 Love that matures through hardships is the most passionate love.

历尽艰辛而成熟的爱情是最热烈的爱情。

restless['restlis]adj.不安宁的；焦虑的

例 Spring, and everything to recover, the restless heart with pain also.

春天了，万物复苏，心里的躁动也隐隐作痛起来。

S小试身手

美强烈而可畏，就像暴风雨一般，震撼着我们脚下的大地和头上的天空。

译____________________________

我们曾听过她在山峦中呼喊，她的呼喊唤来了马蹄声、展翅声和雄狮怒吼声。

译____________________________

美并不是一种需求，而是一种狂喜。

译____________________________

P短语家族

She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hill.

come with：伴随……发生；随同……而来

造____________________________

……we saw a drift of snow in her hair.

a drift of：一堆

造____________________________