[黎巴嫩]卡里·纪伯伦/Kahlil Gibran
Then Almitra spoke again and said, and what of Marriage, master?
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forever more.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love,
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together,
For the pillars of the temple stand apart.
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.
艾尔梅特拉再度开口问道：大师，和我们谈谈有关婚姻的事，好吗？
于是，他回答道：
你们一同出生，也将长相厮守。
当死神之翼驱散你们的日子时，你们也应在一起。
即使在上帝的记忆中，你们也将始终相守，
但是请在你们彼此的世界中保留一些空间，
好让空中的风在你们之间舞蹈。
彼此相爱，但不要让爱成为束缚，
让爱成为奔流于你们灵魂海岸间的大海。
注满彼此的杯盏，但不要只从一只杯中啜饮，
要将自己的面包赠与对方，但不是享用同一块。
两人一起欢歌曼舞，同享欢愉，但仍要各自保持自我，
就像琴上的弦虽为同一旋律而振动，但琴与弦也是彼此分开的。
奉献你们的心，但并不是要你们紧握住对方的心不放，
因为只有生命的手才能握紧你们的心。
应站在一起，但不要靠得太近，
因为廊柱分立，才能撑起庙宇。
橡树和松柏也不能在彼此的阴影下生长。
心灵小语
紧贴着的两个人只能僵站，但中间留有空隙，便可携手舞蹈。留出空间，留住婚姻。
词汇笔记
scatter['sk?t?]v.（使）散开；（使）分散；驱散
The seeds you now scatter will make life worse or better, your life or the one who will come after you.
你现在撒下的种子，会给你或者你后人的生活带来或好或坏的影响。
string[stri?]n.（乐器上的）弦
There are four strings on a violin.
小提琴有四根弦。
lute[lju:t]n.鲁特琴；琵琶
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
那抚慰你心绪的琵琶，不也是匠人用刀刨雕木头而成的吗？
cypress['saipris]n.柏属植物；柏树
Unprofitable eloquence is like the cypress, which is great and tall, but bears no fruit.
无益的雄辩犹如高大的柏树，不会结果。
小试身手
请在你们彼此的世界中保留一些空间，好让空中的风在你们之间舞蹈。
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彼此相爱，但不要让爱成为束缚。
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橡树和松柏也不能在彼此的阴影下生长。
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短语家族
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
even as：正如
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For the pillars of the temple stand apart.
stand apart：站开；离开
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心灵小语
在人生不同的阶段，上帝赐予人不同的智慧。这智慧不分高下优劣，其价值在于彼此配合，往往可以发挥出意想不到的力量。
词汇笔记
cogitation[,k?d?i'tei??n]n.深思；思考
At first, such a complex problem disheartened them. However, they finally worked out the solution after much cogitation.
起初，这个复杂问题使他们感到灰心丧气，但经过仔细思考，他们终于研究出了解决办法。
perturbation[,p?：t?'bei??n]n.扰动；混乱；烦恼
In chaos theory, the smallest initial perturbation can result in a huge change downstream.
在混沌理论中，最为微小的初始混乱可能导致后续巨大的下游变化。
meridian[m?'ridi?n]n.子午线；经线；顶点
A meridian is an imaginary circle.
子午线是假想出来的一个圆圈。
retract[ri'tr?kt]v.缩进；拉回；退回
A cat can retract its claws.
猫可以缩回它的爪子。
小试身手
深思未必出自风霜，岁月同样可见年轻。
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青年人犯错往往毁坏大局，而老年人的错则是迈步太小或行动太缓。
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老年人呢？他们顾忌太多，议论过长，宁求安稳，不愿冒险，总是满足于平平成绩而不向往极致的辉煌。
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短语家族
……the errors of aged men, amount but to this, that more might have been done, or sooner.
amount to：等于；相当于
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Pursue some few principles, which they have chanced upon absurdly care not to innovate, which draws unknown inconveniences.
chance upon：偶然遇见；偶然发现
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