《先知》(The Prophet)孩子

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, "Speak to us of Children."

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

孩子

一位懷抱嬰兒的婦女說，請(qǐng)給我們講講孩子。

他說道：

你們的孩子并不是你們的孩子。

他們是生命對(duì)自身的渴求的兒女。

他們借你們而來，卻不是因你們而來。

盡管他們?cè)谀銈兩磉?，卻并不屬于你們。

你們可以把你們的愛給予他們，卻不能給予思想，

因?yàn)樗麄冇凶约旱乃枷搿?/p>

你們可以建造房舍蔭庇他們的身體，但不是他們的心靈，

因?yàn)樗麄兊男撵`棲息于明日之屋，即使在夢(mèng)中，你們也無緣造訪。

你們可努力仿效他們，卻不可企圖讓他們像你。

因?yàn)樯粫?huì)倒行，也不會(huì)滯留于往昔。

你們是弓，你們的孩子是被射出的生命的箭矢。

那射者瞄準(zhǔn)無限之旅上的目標(biāo)，用力將你彎曲，以使他的箭迅捷遠(yuǎn)飛。

讓你欣然在射者的手中彎曲吧;

因?yàn)樗葠埏w馳的箭，也愛穩(wěn)健的弓。