7)On Work(工作)

The Prophet(先知)
Kahlil Gibran(哈利勒‧紀伯倫)

7)On Work(工作)

Then a ploughman said, Speak to us of Work.
然後，一個農夫說，跟我們說一說工作吧。
And he answered, saying:
他回答說︰
You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
你工作以使你們能與大地及大地的靈魂步伐相同。
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons,
因為懶惰會使你與時序脫節，
and to step out of life’s procession that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.
而走出了生命的行列，這行列在莊嚴與驕傲之中邁向永恆的生命旅程。
When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
工作時，你是一只蘆笛，時間的耳語會透過笛心化為音樂。
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?
當所有的人都在同聲歡唱時，誰還願意是沈默無聲的蘆葦？
Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
總是會有別人告訴你，工作是詛咒，勞動是不幸。
But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth's furthest dream,
但我說，當工作時，你們實現著大地最深遠的夢其中一部份，
assigned to you when that dream was born,
那是美夢剛誕生時就已指派給你們的。
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
你持續不斷的工作，便是愛惜生命。
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.
透過工作去愛生命，也就是親近生命最深奧的祕密。
But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow,
但如果你在痛苦之中，視出生是一種受苦，認為餬口是令人為難的災難，
then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.
那我便回答說︰唯有你眉頭上的汗水才能洗滌那災難。
You have been told also that life is darkness,
你又常聽別人告訴你，生命即黑暗，
and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
在你疲倦時，就附和那些疲倦者的說法。
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
而我說︰生命的確是黑暗，除非有著一些激勵，
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
所有的激勵都是盲目的，除非有著一些知識，
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
所有的知識都是無用的，除非有工作，
And all work is empty save when there is love;
一切工作都是虛無的，除非有愛。
And when you work with love
當你懷抱著愛工作，
you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.
你便與你自己、他人，也與上帝緊繫在一起。
And what is it to work with love?
甚麼是懷抱著愛工作呢？
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
就是自你心中抽出絲來織布，
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
猶如你心愛的人要穿它一般。
It is to build a house with affection,
就是帶著感情去蓋房子，
even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
好像你所愛的人要在其中居住一般。
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy,
就是帶著柔情去播種，快樂的收成，
even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
猶如你所愛的人要吃那谷糧一般。
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit.
就是用你所有的精神與心靈去從事一切你想做的事。
And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.
並且知道所有受祝福的逝者都能站在你身旁，守護著你。
Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep,
我常聽到你們好似在夢囈(說夢話)一般︰
"He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone,
「那大理石的雕刻家在石塊中發覺自己的靈魂與形象
is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
比種田的人高貴；
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man,
攫取彩虹，將世間彩繪於畫布上的人，
is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."
比幫我們的腳製造草鞋的人高貴。」
But I say, not in sleep, but in the over-wakefulness of noontide,
但我，不是在睡夢中，卻在中午極度清醒時說，
that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
風對巨大的橡樹所說的話，並不比對最卑微的草葉說話溫柔些。
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.
惟有以自己的愛把風聲變成更美妙的歌聲，才是偉大的。
Work is love made visible.
工作是愛的具體化表現。
And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste,
如果你不能懷著愛，只能懷著厭惡去工作，
it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple
那麼不如丟開你的工作，坐在寺廟門口，
and take alms of those who work with joy.
接受那些懷著喜樂去工作的人的施捨吧。
For if you bake bread with indifference,
因為，如果你漫不經心的烘烤麵包，
you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.
你只能做出讓人吃半飽的焦麵包。
And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes,
如果你勉為其難去榨葡萄，
your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
你的勉強將在酒中滲入毒液。
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing,
如果你歌唱得有如天使一般，卻不喜歡唱歌，
you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.
你便有如遮住人們的耳朵，使他們聽不清白天與夜晚的聲音。