你的痛苦多半是自尋煩惱，那是你內心的醫生為治癒你的病痛所下的苦藥。所以，要相信你的醫生，沉默且平靜地喝下這帖藥吧……
一個婦人說，請告訴我們關於「痛苦」的事。於是他說：
你感覺痛苦是因為你衝破了裹住理解力的那層外殼，如同果核必須迸裂核心才能暴露在陽光下，你也必須了解痛苦。
如果你能讓心靈驚嘆於生命中天天發生的奇蹟，你的痛苦將會和快樂一樣奇妙。你也將能接納心中的季節變化，一如你向來接受走過你田地的四季變換，你將能平靜地目送你悲傷的冬日。
你的痛苦多半是自尋煩惱，那是你內心的醫生為治癒你的病痛所下的苦藥。所以，要相信你的醫生，沉默且平靜地喝下這帖藥吧。
他雖然出手既重又猛，卻是由看不見的神那雙溫柔之手引導；他帶來的杯子雖然燙嘴，卻是神這位陶匠，用祂神聖的淚水滴溼的泥土燒成。
And a woman spoke, saying, “Tell us of Pain.”
And he said:
Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.
Even as the stone of the fruit must break,
that its heart may stand in the sun, so must you know pain.
And could you keep your heart in wonder at
the daily miracles of your life,
your pain would not seem less wondrous than your joy;
And you would accept the seasons of your heart, even as you have
always accepted the seasons that pass over your fields.
And you would watch with serenity through the winters of your grief.
Much of your pain is self-chosen.
It is the bitter potion
by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician,
and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity:
For his hand, though heavy and hard,
is guided by the tender hand of the Unseen,
And the cup he brings, though it burn your lips, has been fashioned
of the clay which the Potter has moistened with His own sacred tears.
作者介紹│紀伯倫（Kahlil Gibran，1883-1931）
生於黎巴嫩北部臨海的貝什里村（Bsharri）。此地孕育了基督與腓尼基文明，也是蘇美人愛與豐饒女神伊絲塔所居之地。豐富的宗教氣息與東方文化，使得他的詩作能在西方浪漫主義的精神上，更添東方神秘主義的靈性色彩。
紀伯倫一生顛沛流離、年少痛失至親，1908年又因發表小說《叛逆的靈魂》觸怒黎巴嫩當局，遭到放逐。即使飽嚐磨難，他仍筆耕不輟，1923年出版的《先知》即是他十多部作品中集大成之作，甫出版即轟動世界文壇。他將40多年來的人生閱歷，精煉成《先知》中26篇綻放著永恆智慧光芒的散文詩，以溫潤、豁達的話語撫慰因愛情、工作、生死而感到焦躁不安的人們。
本文經授權轉載自野人出版《先知：東方詩哲紀伯倫唯美散文詩集》（原標題：愛、婚姻）
責任編輯/謝孟穎
