介绍:
The Alchemist 原文 （61）
On the seventh day, the alchemist decided to make camp earlier than usual. The falcon flew off to find game, and the alchemist offered his water container to the boy.
"You are almost at the end of your journey," said the alchemist. "I congratulate you for having pursued your destiny."
"And you've told me nothing along the way," said the boy. "I thought you were going to teach me some of the things you know. A while ago, I rode through the desert with a man who had books on alchemy. But I wasn't able to learn anything from them."
"There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered. "It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey. You need to learn only one thing more."
The boy wanted to know what that was, but the alchemist was searching the horizon, looking for the falcon.
"Why are you called the alchemist?" "Because that's what I am."
"And what went wrong when other alchemists tried to make gold and were unable to do so?"
"They were looking only for gold," his companion answered. "They were seeking the treasure of their destiny, without wanting actually to live out the destiny."
"What is it that I still need to know?" the boy asked.
But the alchemist continued to look to the horizon. And finally the falcon returned with their meal. They dug a hole and lit their fire in it, so that the light of the flames would not be seen.
"I'm an alchemist simply because I'm an alchemist," he said, as he prepared the meal. "I learned the science from my grandfather, who learned from his father, and so on, back to the creation of the world. In those times, the Master Work could be written simply on an emerald. But men began to reject simple things, and to write tracts, interpretations, and philosophical studies. They also began to feel that they knew a better way than others had. Yet the Emerald Tablet is still alive today."
"What was written on the Emerald Tablet?" the boy wanted to know.
The alchemist began to draw in the sand, and completed his drawing in less than five minutes. As he drew, the boy thought of the old king, and the plaza where they had met that day; it seemed as if it had taken place years and years ago.
"This is what was written on the Emerald Tablet," said the alchemist, when he had finished.
The boy tried to read what was written in the sand.
"It's a code," said the boy, a bit disappointed. "It looks like what I saw in the Englishman's books."
"No," the alchemist answered. "It's like the flight of those two hawks; it can't be understood by reason alone. The Emerald Tablet is a direct passage to the Soul of the World.
"The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That's what I mean by action."
"Should I understand the Emerald Tablet?" the boy asked.
"Perhaps, if you were in a laboratory of alchemy, this would be the right time to study the best way to understand the Emerald Tablet. But you are in the desert. So immerse yourself in it. The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don't even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."
"How do I immerse myself in the desert?"
"Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there."
The Alchemist译文 （61）
“你已经快到达旅程的终点了，”炼金术士说，“我要恭喜你能来追寻你的天命。”
“可是这一路上你什么也没告诉我。”男孩说，“我还以为你会告诉我一些你知道的事呢。前不久，我和一个身带炼金书籍的人一起旅行过沙漠，可是我却无法从那些书里学到什么。”
“只有一个方式可以学会炼金术，”炼金术士说，“就是通过实践。所有你需要知道的事，你都已经从旅程当中学会了。你只需再多学一件事。”
男孩想知道那是什么，可是炼金术士却转头望着地平线，搜寻着猎鹰的踪影。
“为什么他们叫你炼金术士？”
“因为我就是炼金术士。”
“其它的炼金术士也想炼出金子来，为什么会失败？”
“当他们只想着要提炼出金子来的时候，”他的同伴回答，“当他们只想着追求他们天命所带来的宝藏，而不是想去完成天命时。”
“到底我还需要再学会什么？”男孩问。
可是炼金术士却再度望着地平线。最后猎鹰终于带回来他们的食物。他们在地上挖了个洞，生起火来，这样可以避免火光被看见。
“我是一个炼金术士，只是很单纯的因为我就是个炼金术士。”当他们在准备晚餐的时候，炼金术士说，“我是从我祖父那儿学会炼金术的，而他又是从他的父亲那里学会的，以此类推，追溯至创世之初。在那个时候，元精可以被很单纯地记在翡翠石板上，可是渐渐的，人们不再接受简单的东西，转而开始写书、诠释，并且做哲学研究。他们也开始觉得自己的方法比别人的要好。但是，翡翠石板至今仍然存在。”
“翡翠石板上到底写了些什么？”男孩很想知道。
炼金术士在沙地上画了起来，他不到五分钟就画完了。当他在绘画时，男孩想起了那位老国王，还有他们相遇时的那个广场。感觉上那件事象是发生在许多年以前了。
“这就是写在翡翠石板上的东西。”炼金术士画完了以后说。
男孩努力解读着沙地上画着的东西。
“这是个密码，”男孩说，有一点失望，“看起来很像我在英国人书上看到的。”
“不，”炼金术士说，“它就像那两只老鹰的飞翔，不能只用思考去理解。翡翠石板就是通往天地之心的快捷方式。”
“智者明了这个自然世界不过是个幻象，不过是天堂的一个模拟罢了。这个世界的存在不过是要向人们保证，极乐世界真的存在。神创造出这个世界，并透过可以看到的万物，让人们能够理解他的启示和真妙的智慧。这就是我所说的必须通过行动来学会。”
“我必须了解这个翡翠石板吗？”男孩问。
“也许，如果你是在炼金房里的话，现在正是最佳时刻去学习了解翡翠石板的最好方法。可是你现在人在沙漠里，所以就把自己融入沙漠中吧，沙漠会教你了解世界，事实上，地球表面的所有事物都可以做到这一点。你甚至不必去了解沙漠。你只需要去凝视一颗沙子，就能够从中看见整个不可思议的世界。”
“我怎么做才能够把自己融入沙漠中？”
“倾听你的心。它了解所有的事，因为它源自天地之心，而且它总有一天将会回归天地之心。”
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