4 The Ambitious Violet---Khalil Gibran

The

Ambitious

Violet ---Khalil

Gibran

There

was a beautiful and fragrant violet who lived placidly amongst her friends,

and swayed happily amidst the other flowers in a solitary garden. One morning, as her

crown was embellished with beads of dew, she lifted her head and looked about; she

saw a tall and handsome Rose standing proudly and reaching high into space, like a

burning torch upon an emerald lamp.

The

violet

opened

her

blue

lips

and

said,

an

unfortunate

am

I

among

these

flowers,

and

how

humble

is

the

position

I

occupy

in

their

presence!

Nature

has

fashioned

me to be short and poor. I live very close to the earth and I cannot raise my

head toward the blue Sky, or turn my face to the sun, as the roses do.

And

the rose heard her neighbor's words; she laughed and commented,

is your talk! You are fortunate, and yet

you cannot understand your fortune. Nature

has

bestowed upon

you fragrance and Beauty which she did not

grant

to any other.

Cast

aside

your

thoughts

and

be

contented,

and

remember

that

He

who

humbles

himself will be exalted, and he who Exalt himself will be crushed.

The

violet

answered,

are

consoling

me

because

you

have

that

which

I

crave.

You

seek

to

embitter

me

with

the

meaning

that

you

are

great.

How

painful

is

the

preaching of the fortunate to the heart of the miserable! And how severe is the strong

when he stands as Advisor among the weak!

And

Nature heard the conversation of the violet and the Rose; she approached

and

said,

has

happened

to

you,

my

daughter

violet?

You

have

been

humble

and

Sweet in all

your deeds

and words. Has greed entered

your heart and numbed

your

senses?

In

a

pleading

voice, the violet answered her, saying,

full of love and sympathy, I beg you, with all my Heart and soul, to grant my request

and allow me to be a Rose for one day.

And

Nature responded,

concealed

disaster behind your blind ambition. The Violet insisted,

tall rose, for I wish to lift my head high with pride; and regardless of my Fate, it will

be my own doing.

grant your request. But if calamity

befalls

you, your complaint must be to yourself.

And

Nature

stretch

ed forth her mysterious and magic Fingers and touched the roots of

the violet, who Immediately turned into a tall rose, rising above, all other flowers in

the garden.

At

eventide

the

sky

became

thick

with

black

clouds,

and

the

raging

elements

disturbed the silence of Existence with thunder and commenced to attack the Garden,

sending

forth

a

great

rain

and

strong

winds.

The

tempest

tore

the

branches

and

uproot

ed the plants and broke the stems of the tall flowers, sparing only the little ones

who grew close to the friendly earth.

All

the

flowers

were

laid

waste

and

none

of

them

had

escape

the

wrath

of

nature

except the chain of Small violets, hiding by the wall of the garden.

Having

lifted her head and viewed the tragedy

of the flowers

and trees, one of

the

violet

maidens

smiled happily

and

called to

her companions,

saying,

the

tempest

has

done

to

the

haughty

flowers!

Another

violet

said,

are

small,

and

live to the earth, but we are safe from the wrath of the skies.

subdue

us.

At

the moment

the queen of violets saw by her side the converted violet,

hurled to

earth by the storm and distorted upon the wet grass like a limp soldier in a battle field.

The queen of the violets lifted her head and called to her family, saying,

daughters, and meditate upon that which greed has done to the violet who became a

proud rose for one hour.

Let

the memory of this

scene be a reminder of

your

good

fortune.

And

the dying rose moved and gathered the remnants of her strength, and quietly said,

too,

was

satisfied

and

contented

with

Life,

but

contentment

has

acted

as

a

barrier

between my existence and the tempest of Life, confining me to a sickly and sluggish

peace and tranquility of mind. I could have lived the same life you are living now by

clinging with fear to the earth. I could have waited for winter to shroud me with Snow

and deliver to Death, who will surely claim all violets. I am happy now because I have

probed outside my little world into the mystery of the Universe… something which

you have not yet done.

I

could have overlooked Greed, whose nature is higher than mine, but as I hearkened

to the silence of the night,

I heard the heavenly world talking to this earthly world,

saying,

'Ambition

beyond

existence

is

the

essential

purpose

of

our

being.'

At

that

moment my spirit revolted and my heart longed for a position higher than my limited

existence.

I

realized

that

the

abyss

cannot

hear

the

song

of

the

stars,

and

at

that

moment I commenced fighting against my smallness and craving for that which did

not belong to me, until my rebelliousness turned into a great power, and my longing

into a creating will.... Nature, who is the great object of our deeper dreams, granted

my request and changed me into a rose with her magic fingers.

The

rose became silent for a moment, and in a weakening voice, mingled with pride

and achievement, she said,

time like a queen; I have looked at the Universe from behind the eyes of the rose; I

have heard the whisper of the firmament through the ears of the rose and touched the

folds

of

Light's

garment

with

rose

petals.

Is

there

any

here

who

can

claim

such

honor?

Having

this

spoken,

she

lowered

her

head,

and

with

a

choking

voice

she

gasped,

knowledge

to

a

world

beyond

the

narrow

cavern

of

my

birth.

This

is

the

design

of

Life....This

is

the

secret

of

Existence.

Then

the

rose

quivered,

slowly

folded

her

petals,

and

breathed

her

last

with

a

heavenly

smile

upon

her

lips...

a

smile

of

fulfillment of hope and purpose in Life... a smile of victory... a GOD'S SMILE.

偶然在网上看到纪伯伦的一篇寓言

The Ambitious Violet

，

不长，

< br>文字也很浅显，

却如同纪伯伦一切作品一样感人至深。便试着翻译出来。中文题目 是我另拟的，

总觉得直接翻成

”

雄心勃 勃的紫罗兰

“

有点不大对劲。

查了一下，这篇文章是收在纪伯伦

Secret of the Heart

这个集子里的，不知国内

有没有出过。

我去

“

中国第一纪伯伦网

”

搜了一下，

没找到这个集子。

以后再查 吧。

最喜欢的就

是文中这句话了。

----------------- ----------------

The Ambitious Violet

一瞬的荣耀

Kahlil Gibran

翻译：寸草之心

There was a beautiful and fragrant violet that lived placidly amongst her friends,

and swayed happily amidst the other flowers in a solitary garden. One morning,

as her crown was embellished with beads of dew, she lifted her head and

looked about; she saw a tall and handsome rose standing proudly and

reaching high into space, like a burning torch upon an emerald lamp.

在一个僻静的花园中，

有 一株美丽芬芳的紫罗兰，

她在花从中摇曳着，

和朋友们过着宁静 的

生活。

一天早晨，露珠点缀着她的花冠，

她抬头四处张望，看见一株高大美丽的玫瑰自豪地

向天空伸展着身躯，那翠绿枝叶映 衬着的红花，就像燃烧的火炬。

The violet opened her blue lips and said: “What an unfortunate am I among

these flowers, and how humble is the position I occupy in their presence!

Nat

ure has fashioned me to be short and poor… I live very close to the earth

and I cannot raise my head toward the blue sky, or turn my face to the sun, as

the roses do.”

紫罗 兰张开蓝色的嘴唇说：

“

我真不幸呀，在那些花儿中间，我太卑 微了！天生这么矮小，

这么微不足道

……

紧贴着地面，怎能像玫瑰那样举头仰望蓝色的天空，让阳光照耀我的脸

啊。