英语美文：Joy and Sorrow 欢乐与忧伤

 Then a woman said, "Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow."

有位女子说“给我们讲讲欢乐与忧伤吧。”

And he answered:

于是智者回答：

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.

要快乐先释放你的忧伤。

And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.

欢乐和悲伤同源。

And how else can it be?

它还能怎样呢？

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

痛苦愈甚，欢乐愈多、

Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?

你手中所持之杯，不恰恰是高温烧就？

And is not the lute¹ that soothes² your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?

抚慰你心灵的琵琶，不恰恰是那块千刀镂空的木头？

When you are joyous³, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.

欢乐时细细思量，原来你之喜悦源自你为之所苦。

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

悲伤时再想想，你所为之泪流的恰是你曾经的欢乐。

Some of you say, "Joy is greater than sorrow," and others say, "Nay⁴, sorrow is the greater." 有人说“生活之乐大于悲苦，”还有人说，“不，人生之忧伤远甚于欢乐”

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

而我要对你说，欢乐与忧伤相倚相生

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

他们一起走来。一个在甲板上伴你孤坐的时刻，另一个正在你的床上安眠。

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.

你好比是忧伤和欢乐的夹心层。

Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.

只有空静之况，才能将两者平衡。

When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

倘若掌管珠宝者指定你来称量他的金银，那么你之忧喜必将随之起落不定。

1 lute   

n.琵琶，鲁特琴

参考例句：

• He idly plucked the strings of the lute.他漫不经心地拨弄着鲁特琴的琴弦。
• He knows how to play the Chinese lute.他会弹琵琶。

2 soothes   

v.安慰( soothe的第三人称单数 )；抚慰；使舒服；减轻痛苦

参考例句：

• Fear grasps, love lets go. Fear rankles, love soothes. 恐惧使人痛心，爱使痛苦减轻。 来自互联网
• His loe celebrates her victories and soothes her wounds. 他的爱庆祝她的胜利，也抚平她的创伤。 来自互联网

3 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

4 nay   

adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者

参考例句：

• He was grateful for and proud of his son's remarkable,nay,unique performance.他为儿子出色的，不，应该是独一无二的表演心怀感激和骄傲。
• Long essays,nay,whole books have been written on this.许多长篇大论的文章，不，应该说是整部整部的书都是关于这件事的。