On Children from The Prophet
Written by Kahlil Gibran
Picture Design by Rebecca Lin
Paintings by Vladimir Volegov Read by Leaf
And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,
"Speak to us of Children." And he said:
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.
Your children are not your children. 你的兒女，其實不是你的兒女。 They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. 他們是生命對於自身渴望而誕生的孩子。 They come through you but not from you, 他們藉助你來到這個世界，卻非因你而來， And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you. 他們在你身旁，卻並不屬於你。 You may give them your love but not your thoughts. 你可以給予他們的是你的愛，卻不是你的想法， For they have their own thoughts. 因為他們有自己的思想。 You may house their bodies but not their souls, 你可以庇護的是他們的身體，卻不是他們的靈魂， For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. 因為他們的靈魂屬於明天，屬於你做夢也無法達到的明天。 You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. 你可以拼盡全力，變得像他們一樣，卻不要讓他們變得和你一樣， For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. 因為生命不會後退，也不在過去停留。 You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. 你是弓，兒女是從你那裡射出的箭。 The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 弓箭手望着未來之路上的箭靶， and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. 他用盡力氣將你拉開，使他的箭射得又快又遠。 Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness; 懷着快樂的心情，在弓箭手的手中彎曲吧， For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable. 因為他愛一路飛翔的箭，也愛無比穩定的弓。
