海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第68期

　　第二十三章

　　Would that I could enrich this sketch with the names of all those who have ministered to my happiness! Some of them would be found written in our literature and dear to the hearts of many, while others would be wholly unknown to most of my readers. But their influence, though it escapes fame, shall live immortal in the lives that have been sweetened and ennobled by it. Those are red-letter days in our lives when we meet people who thrill us like a fine poem, people whosehandshake is brimful of unspoken sympathy, and whose sweet, rich natures impart to our eager, impatient spirits a wonderful restfulness which, in its essence, is divine. The perplexities, irritations and worries that have absorbed us pass like unpleasant dreams, and we wake to see with new eyes and hear with new ears the beauty and harmony of God’s real world. The solemnnothings that fill our everyday life blossom suddenly into bright possibilities. In a word, while such friends are near us we feel that all is well. Perhaps we never sawthem before, and they may never cross our life’s path again; but the influence of their calm, mellow natures is a libation poured upon our discontent, and we feel its healing touch, as the ocean feels the mountain stream freshening its brine.

　　我所以不惜筆墨地提到很多人的名字，是因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)鴰Ыo我無(wú)盡的快樂(lè)!其中一些人已經(jīng)被記載在文獻(xiàn)中，并且成為世人矚目的焦點(diǎn)。還有一些人則完全不為我的讀者所知，雖然他們默默無(wú)聞，但是他們積極而崇高的生活態(tài)度對(duì)我的影響是永恒的。當(dāng)我們遇到像一首絕妙詩(shī)歌一樣令我們怦然心動(dòng)的人時(shí)，那一刻就是我們生命中的節(jié)日。同這些人握手時(shí)，你能感覺(jué)到他們的手掌充滿了無(wú)言的同情;對(duì)于饑渴而煩躁的心靈而言，他們那美好而富足的情懷帶給我們奇妙的寧?kù)o感，而這種寧?kù)o的本質(zhì)，就是神圣。種種的困惑、惱怒和憂慮就像令人討厭的夢(mèng)境一樣占據(jù)了我們過(guò)去的生活，當(dāng)我們?cè)俅涡褋?lái)時(shí)，我們會(huì)用全新的眼睛和耳朵來(lái)感受世間的美麗與和諧，來(lái)感受神所創(chuàng)造的真實(shí)世界的偉大。我們的日常生活驀然間變得一片光明，帶來(lái)這種奇效的唯有“神圣”，而非他物。一言以蔽之，有這類朋友相伴在左右，我們就會(huì)感到無(wú)比充實(shí)。也許我們以前從來(lái)沒(méi)有見過(guò)他們，而且萍水相逢過(guò)后，他們可能再也不會(huì)同我們相遇，但是，他們那沉靜而成熟的氣質(zhì)一定會(huì)對(duì)我產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)影響，我們所有的不快都會(huì)隨著他們敬拜天地的杯中酒一飲而盡;我們會(huì)感受到它療傷時(shí)的輕柔觸摸，正如大海能感受到咸澀的苦水正在被融入的河流所沖淡。

　　I have often been asked, "Do not people bore you?" I do not understand quite what that means. I suppose the calls of the stupid and curious, especially of newspaper reporters, are alwaysinopportune. I also dislike people who try to talk down to my understanding. They are like people who when walking with you try to shorten their steps to suit yours; the hypocrisy in both cases is equally exasperating.

　　我經(jīng)常被人問(wèn)及這樣的問(wèn)題：“難道人們不會(huì)令你心煩嗎?”我實(shí)在不明白這是什么意思。我猜想這種愚蠢而怪異的聲音可能來(lái)自新聞?dòng)浾叩膱?bào)道。當(dāng)然，這類報(bào)道往往是不合時(shí)宜的。我也不喜歡那些對(duì)我的理解力品頭論足的人，他們?cè)诤湍阋黄鹱呗窌r(shí)，總是試圖縮短他們自己的步幅，只為了迎合你行走的速度。事實(shí)上，這兩類虛偽的人同樣令人無(wú)法容忍。

　　The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. The touch of some hands is animpertinence. I have met people so empty of joy, that when I clasped their frosty finger tips, it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child’s hand; but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in a loving glance for others. A hearty handshake or a friendly letter gives me genuine pleasure.

　　我所接觸的那一雙雙手雖然默默無(wú)語(yǔ)，但是它們卻對(duì)我有著非比尋常的意義。其中，有一些手的觸摸是傲慢而無(wú)禮的。我曾遇到過(guò)一些相當(dāng)缺少快樂(lè)的人，當(dāng)我緊緊握住他們那冷若冰霜的指尖時(shí)，我的感覺(jué)就好像正在同一場(chǎng)來(lái)自東北的暴風(fēng)雪握手。而另外有一些人，他們的雙手似乎存有陽(yáng)光的余溫，所以，同他們握手可以溫暖我的心。也許只有小孩子的手才會(huì)抓住你不放，因?yàn)樗麄儗?duì)你有一種強(qiáng)烈的信任感;我可以感覺(jué)到，他們(小孩子)的手中為我儲(chǔ)藏了大量的陽(yáng)光，正如他們?yōu)閯e人預(yù)備了充滿愛(ài)意的眼神一樣?？傊?，一次熱情的握手，或者一封表達(dá)友情的書信，都會(huì)帶給我最真切的快樂(lè)。

　　I have many far-off friends whom I have never seen. Indeed they are so many that I have often been unable to reply to their letters; but I wish to say here that I am always grateful for their kind words, however insufficiently I acknowledge them.

　　我有許多相隔萬(wàn)里而從未謀面的朋友。他們?yōu)閿?shù)眾多，乃至于我無(wú)法一一回答他們的來(lái)信，但是我愿意在此重申，對(duì)于他們那情真意切的話語(yǔ)，我始終心存感激，雖然我對(duì)他們知之甚少。