纪伯伦的诗:《论孩子》

卡里尔·纪伯伦

黎巴嫩诗人

真正的诗人才可以写出如此深邃的文字，可以穿越历史和空间，如此富有生命力地让天下每一位父母为之动容，从中受益。如果你有孩子，这首诗会让你在教育子女上更有智慧;如果你还没有孩子，那么这首诗也会让你重新审视自己和父母的关系，并思考生命的本质。

On Children

论孩子

(冰心译)

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

你们的孩子，都不是你们的孩子

乃是生命为自己所渴望的儿女。

他们是借你们而来，却不是从你们而来

他们虽和你们同在，却不属于你们。

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

But seek not to make them like you,

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

你们可以给他们爱，却不可以给他们思想。

因为他们有自己的思想。

你们可以荫庇他们的身体，

却不能荫蔽他们的灵魂。

因为他们的灵魂，是住在明日的宅中，

那是你们在梦中也不能想见的。

你们可以努力去模仿他们，却不能使他们来象你们。

因为生命是不倒行的，也不与昨日一同停留。

You are the bows from which your children

As living arrows are sent forth.

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.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

So He loves also the bow that is stable.

你们是弓，你们的孩子是从弦上发出的生命的箭矢。

那射者在无穷之间看定了目标，

也用神力将你们引满，

使他的箭矢迅速而遥远的射了出来。

让你们在射者手中的弯曲成为喜乐吧。

因为他爱那飞出的箭，

也爱了那静止的弓。