儿女

【翻译版】

儿女

纪·哈·纪伯伦

你的儿女，其实不是你的儿女。

他们是生命对于自身渴望而诞生的孩子。

他们借助你来到这世界，却非因你而来，

他们在你身旁，却并不属于你。

你可以给予他们的是你的爱，却不是你的想法，

因为他们有自己的思想。

你可以庇护的是他们的身体，却不是他们的灵魂，

因为他们的灵魂属于明天，属于你做梦也无法到达的明天，

你可以拼尽全力，变得像他们一样，

却不要让他们变得像你一样，

因为生命不会后退，也不在过去停留。

你是弓，儿女是从你那里射出的箭。

弓箭手望着未来之路上的箭靶，

他用尽力气将你拉开，使他的箭射得又快又远。

怀着快乐的心情，在弓箭手的手中弯曲吧，

因为他爱一路飞翔的箭，也爱无比稳定的弓。

【英文版】

On Children 

by Kahlil Gibran

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. 

《少有人走的路》一书有一节讨论「爱与独立」，其中谈到子女教育时引用了纪伯伦的这首诗，寥寥十几行，却道出了真谛。

去搜了原文，又搜了译文，最有名的应该是冰心译的那个版本《论孩子》，也许是作为翻译外行的我不懂得欣赏，从感觉上更钟意这个版本。