《先知》(The Prophet)勞作

Then a ploughman said, "Speak to us of Work."

And he answered, saying:

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,

And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

And all work is empty save when there is love;

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "he who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.

And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."

But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

勞作

一位農(nóng)夫說，請為我們談?wù)剟谧鳌?/p>

他答道：

你們勞作，故能與大地和大地的精神同步。

你們慵懶，就會變?yōu)榧竟?jié)的生客，落伍于生命的行列;那行列正帶著莊嚴豪邁和驕傲的順從向永恒前進。

勞作時你們便是一管笛，時間的低語通過你的心化作音樂。

你們中誰愿做一根蘆葦，當萬物齊聲合唱時，惟獨自己沉寂無聲?

總有人對你們說：工作是一種詛咒，勞動是一種不幸。

但我要對你們說：當你們工作時，你們便實現(xiàn)了大地一部分最悠遠的夢想，在夢想成形之初，這部分便已分派給你，

你們辛勤勞動，便是真正熱愛生命，

在勞動中熱愛生命，便是通曉了生命最深的秘密。

然而，如果你們在痛苦中把降生稱作折磨，把維持肉體生存當成寫在額頭的詛咒，那么我要回答，只有你們額頭上的汗水，才能洗去那些字跡。

也總有人對你們說生活是黑暗的，你們疲憊時重復(fù)疲憊者的語

而我說生活的確是黑暗的，除非有了渴望，

所有渴望都是盲目的，除非有了知識，

一切知識都是徒然的，除非有了工作，

所有工作都是空虛的，除非有了愛;

當你們帶著愛工作時，你們就與自己、與他人、與上帝會為一體。

什么是帶著愛工作?

是用你心中的絲線織布縫衣，仿佛你的至愛將穿上這衣服。

是帶著熱情建房筑屋，仿佛你的至愛將居住其中。

是帶著深情播種，帶著喜悅收獲，仿佛你的至愛將品嘗果實。

是將你靈魂的氣息注入你的所有制品。

是意識到所有受福的逝者都在身邊注視著你。

我常聽你們夢中吃語般地說："雕刻大理石，在石中找到自己靈魂形象的人，比耕田的農(nóng)夫高貴。

"捕捉彩虹，用虹霞在一方織物上繪出人的形象的人比制鞋的人高明。"

但是我要說，----不是在睡夢中，而是在正午格外清醒中說：風對高大橡樹說話時的聲音，并不比它對纖細草葉說話時更甜蜜，

一個人若能把風聲變?yōu)楦杪暎帜苡米约旱膼凼怪兊酶犹鹈?，他才是偉大的?/p>

勞動就是有形可見的愛。

假如你們無法帶著愛勞動而只覺厭煩，那么你們不如放棄勞作，坐在殿宇的門前，等待以勞動為樂的人給你們施舍。

假如你們毫無熱情地焙制面包，那么你們烤出的面包將會變苦，只能使人半飽。

假如你們勉為其難地壓榨葡萄，那么你們的忿懣就在葡萄酒中滴入了毒液。假如你們縱能如天使般歌唱卻并不愛歌唱，那么你們就堵塞了人們聆聽日夜之聲的耳朵。