On Children论孩子

         作者：Kahlil Gibran  纪伯伦

         译者：格

Your children are not your children.

你的孩子不是你的孩子。

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

他们是生命对本身的渴望而产生的儿女。

They come through you but not from you,

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

他们通过你而来，而不是来自于你。

他们和你在一起，而他们却不属于你。

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

你可以给他们你的爱，但你不可以给他们你的思想，

因为他们有自己的思想。

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.

你可以遮护他们的身子，却关不住他们的灵魂，

因为他们的灵魂住在“明天”这所房子里，

这所房子，即使在你的梦里，你也无法去拜访。

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

你可以努力让自己像他们，

但不要迫使他们像你，

因为生活不会倒退，也不会停留在昨天。

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

你是弓，你的孩子，作为生命之箭，将从你这里被射出。

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.

弓箭手看到了无尽之路上的目标，他用力将你弯曲，以便能将箭射得又快又远。

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.

让你自己在弓箭手里快乐地弯曲吧;

因为就像他爱飞翔的箭一样，他也爱稳稳的弓。

（原文来自网络。）

PS：这是纪伯伦写的关于如何为人父母的诗，时间暂无考，应该是他上个世纪早期的作品（纪伯伦，1883-1931）。令人惊讶的是，这首诗像是为现代中国父母所写。值得处于教育困境的我们好好去揣摩！

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