Kahlil Gibran (紀伯倫) 的人生哲學

婚 姻
你們生來就是要永遠在一起
直到死神的白翼開始振翅
但是你們在一起之間還是要有個距離
好讓天風可以在其間舞蹈
彼此相愛，但是不要造成彼此的束縛
因為分開的琴弦才可以奏出美妙的和音
分立的大柱才可以頂起雄偉的神殿
橡樹和松樹也無法在彼此的陰影下茁壯
(紀伯倫)。先知

Marriage
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, 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.
Kahlil Gibran

孩 子
你的孩子其實不是你的孩子
他們只是經由你而來，不是從你而來
給他們愛，不要給他們你的思想
給他們房子住，但是不要關住他們的靈魂
因為他們靈魂的真正居所是明天
即使在夢中你都無法造訪
努力去學他們，但是不要他們學你
因為生命不會倒流回昨日
你是弓，孩子是箭
讓弓箭手用他的全力，把箭射向遙遠的無限
(紀伯倫)。先知

Children
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.

Kahlil Gibran