海倫·凱勒自傳《我的生活》第68期
Chapter XXIII
第二十三章Would that I could enrich this sketch with the names of all those who have ministered to my happiness! Some of them would be found written in our literature and dear to the hearts of many, while others would be wholly unknown to most of my readers. But their influence, though it escapes fame, shall live immortal in the lives that have been sweetened and ennobled by it. Those are red-letter days in our lives when we meet people who thrill us like a fine poem, people whose handshake is brimful of unspoken sympathy, and whose sweet, rich natures impart to our eager, impatient spirits a wonderful restfulness which, in its essence, is divine. The perplexities, irritations and worries that have absorbed us pass like unpleasant dreams, and we wake to see with new eyes and hear with new ears the beauty and harmony of God's real world. The solemn nothings that fill our everyday life blossom suddenly into bright possibilities. In a word, while such friends are near us we feel that all is well. Perhaps we never sawthem before, and they may never cross our life's path again; but the influence of their calm, mellow natures is a libation poured upon our discontent, and we feel its healing touch, as the ocean feels the mountain stream freshening its brine.
我所以不惜筆墨地提到很多人的名字，是因爲他們曾帶給我無盡的快樂！其中一些人已經被記載在文獻中，並且成爲世人矚目的焦點。還有一些人則完全不爲我的讀者所知，雖然他們默默無聞，但是他們積極而崇高的生活態度對我的影響是永恆的。當我們遇到像一首絕妙詩歌一樣令我們怦然心動的人時，那一刻就是我們生命中的節日。同這些人握手時，你能感覺到他們的手掌充滿了無言的同情；對於飢渴而煩躁的心靈而言，他們那美好而富足的情懷帶給我們奇妙的寧靜感，而這種寧靜的本質，就是神聖。種種的困惑、惱怒和憂慮就像令人討厭的夢境一樣佔據了我們過去的生活，當我們再次醒來時，我們會用全新的眼睛和耳朵來感受世間的美麗與和諧，來感受神所創造的真實世界的偉大。我們的日常生活驀然間變得一片光明，帶來這種奇效的唯有“神聖”，而非他物。一言以蔽之，有這類朋友相伴在左右，我們就會感到無比充實。也許我們以前從來沒有見過他們，而且萍水相逢過後，他們可能再也不會同我們相遇，但是，他們那沉靜而成熟的氣質一定會對我產生深遠影響，我們所有的不快都會隨着他們敬拜天地的杯中酒一飲而盡；我們會感受到它療傷時的輕柔觸摸，正如大海能感受到鹹澀的苦水正在被融入的河流所沖淡。I have often been asked, "Do not people bore you?" I do not understand quite what that means. I suppose the calls of the stupid and curious, especially of newspaper reporters, are always inopportune. I also dislike people who try to talk down to my understanding. They are like people who when walking with you try to shorten their steps to suit yours; the hypocrisy in both cases is equally exasperating.
我經常被人問及這樣的問題：“難道人們不會令你心煩嗎？”我實在不明白這是什麼意思。我猜想這種愚蠢而怪異的聲音可能來自新聞記者的報道。當然，這類報道往往是不合時宜的。我也不喜歡那些對我的理解力品頭論足的人，他們在和你一起走路時，總是試圖縮短他們自己的步幅，只爲了迎合你行走的速度。事實上，這兩類虛僞的人同樣令人無法容忍。
The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. The touch of some hands is an impertinence. I have met people so empty of joy, that when I clasped their frosty finger tips, it seemed as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart. It may be only the clinging touch of a child's hand; but there is as much potential sunshine in it for me as there is in a loving glance for others. A hearty handshake or a friendly letter gives me genuine pleasure.
我所接觸的那一雙雙手雖然默默無語，但是它們卻對我有着非比尋常的意義。其中，有一些手的觸摸是傲慢而無禮的。我曾遇到過一些相當缺少快樂的人，當我緊緊握住他們那冷若冰霜的指尖時，我的感覺就好像正在同一場來自東北的暴風雪握手。而另外有一些人，他們的雙手似乎存有陽光的餘溫，所以，同他們握手可以溫暖我的心。也許只有小孩子的手纔會抓住你不放，因爲他們對你有一種強烈的信任感；我可以感覺到，他們（小孩子）的手中爲我儲藏了大量的陽光，正如他們爲別人預備了充滿愛意的眼神一樣。總之，一次熱情的握手，或者一封表達友情的書信，都會帶給我最真切的快樂。I have many far-off friends whom I have never seen. Indeed they are so many that I have often been unable to reply to their letters; but I wish to say here that I am always grateful for their kind words, however insufficiently I acknowledge them.
我有許多相隔萬里而從未謀面的朋友。他們爲數衆多，乃至於我無法一一回答他們的來信，但是我願意在此重申，對於他們那情真意切的話語，我始終心存感激，雖然我對他們知之甚少。
