On beauty 纪伯伦/著

On beauty Speak to us of Beauty And a poet said, "Speak to us of Beauty." Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find 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 the beating 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 hills." 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 enflamed 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 flock of angels for ever in flight. 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 your are the mirror. 论美 一个诗人说：给我们谈美吧。 于是阿尔穆斯塔法答道： 你们到哪儿去找美，除了美自己为你们引路。 除非美编制你们的言辞，你们又怎样谈论美呢？ 被虐待、损害的人说：“美是仁慈而又温和的，像一位年轻的母亲，为她自己的光荣，带着几分羞涩，在我们中间行走。” 热情的人说：“不，美是强大而可怕的，好象风暴震撼大地和天空” 疲乏忧苦的人说：“美是温柔的细语，她在我们心灵里说话。她的声音传达到我们的寂静中，如同微晕的光，在阴影的恐惧中颤动。” 仓皇不安的人说：“我们听见美在万山中呐喊。兽蹄声、振翅声于狮吼声伴随而至。” 在夜里守城的人说：“美将要与东方的曙光一同升起。” 中午，劳动者和旅人说：“我们曾看见美在落日的窗口上俯视大地。” 冬天，为大雪所阻的人说：“美要和春天一同来临，跳跃与群山之间。” 在炎炎夏日里，刈者说：“我们看见了美和秋叶一同跳舞，看见她的发中有一堆白雪。” 这些都是你们关于美的谈话。 实际上，你们谈论的却不是美，而是你们那未曾满足的需要。 美不是一种需要，只是一种欢乐。 她不是干渴的口，也不是伸过来，空无所有的手。 美是一颗火焰熊熊的心，一个陶醉的灵魂。 美既不是你看见的形象，也不是你听到的歌。 美却是你闭着眼睛也能看见的形象，掩着耳朵也能听得见的歌。 美不是皱巴巴树皮中的液汁，也不是连接爪子的翅膀。 美是一座永远开花的花园，一群永远飞翔的天使。 奥法利斯的老百姓啊，美就是揭掉面纱露出神圣的脸时的生命。 然而，你们是生命，也是面纱。 美是不朽在揽镜自照。 但你就是不朽，也就是镜子。