第6章 The Father And His Sons 父亲和儿子们

A FATHER had a family of sons who were perpetually quarreling among themselves. When he failed to heal their disputes by his exhortations, he determined to give them a practical illustration of the evils of disunion; and for this purpose he one day told them to bring him a bundle of sticks. When they had done so, he placed the faggot into the hands of each of them in succession, and ordered them to break it in pieces. They tried with all their strength, and were not able to do it. He next opened the faggot, took the sticks separately, one by one, and again put them into his sons' hands, upon which they broke them easily. He then addressed them in these words: "My sons, if you are of one mind, and unite to assist each other, you will be as this faggot, uninjured by all the attempts of your enemies; but if you are divided among yourselves, you will be broken as easily as these sticks."

有一位父亲的儿子们总是吵闹不休。父亲绞尽脑汁也没办法让他们停止争吵。后来，父亲决定用事实来教育他们。他先是叫儿子们拿几捆树条来，等他们拿来之后，父亲分别给了他们一捆，并吩咐他们把手中的树条折断。儿子们一个个都使出了浑身解数，可是谁也无法把树条折断。这时，父亲将捆着树条的绳子拆掉，然后抽出其中一根交给他们。树条就被轻而易举地折断了。于是，父亲语重心长地对儿子们说：“你们也和这捆树条一样，只要你们和睦相处、团结一致，你们就是无法战胜的。但是，如果你们不和，你们每一个人就会像这些被抽出的树条一样，任何人都能轻易地被打败。”