英语名篇诵读 论美

On Beauty

论美

Kahil Gibran(卡里·纪伯伦)

The aggrieved¹ and the injured say, “Beauty is kind and gentle. Like a young mother half-

shy of her own glory she walks among us.”

And the passionate² say, “Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread³. Like the tempest she

shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us.”

The tired and the weary say, “Beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit. Her

voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow.”

But the restless say, “We have heard her shouting among the mountains. And with her cries

came the sound of hoofs⁴, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions.”

At night the watchmen of the city say, “Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east.”And at

noontide the toilers and the wayfarers⁵ say, “We have seen her leaning over the earth from the

windows of the sunset.”

In winter say the snow-bound, “She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hill.”

And in the summer heat the reapers⁶ say, “We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves,

and we saw a drift of snow in her hair.”

All these things have you said of beauty. Yet in truth you spoke⁷ not of her but of needs

unsatisfied, and beauty is not a need but an ecstasy⁸. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand

stretched forth⁹, but rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted¹⁰ . It is not the image you

would see nor the song you would hear, but rather an image you see though you close your eyes

and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the sap within the furrowed¹¹ bark, nor a

wing attached to a claw, but rather a garden forever in bloom and a flock of angels forever in

flight.

Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.

But you are life and you are the veil.

Beauty is eternity¹² gazing at itself in a mirror.

But you are eternity and you are the mirror.

受委屈、受伤害的人说：“美是仁慈和温柔，就像一位年轻妈妈，因自己的光荣而半带

羞涩地走在我们中间。”

富有激情的人说：“不，美是一种强大而可畏的东西，就像惊天动地的暴风雨。”

劳累疲倦的人说：“美是柔声细语。她在我们的心灵中窃窃私语。她的声音沉浸在我们

的寂静中，正如一抹光在阴影的恐惧中颤抖。”

但是焦躁不安的人说：“我们听见美在山中的呼喊。随着她的呼喊，我们听到了走兽嗒

嗒的蹄声，鸟儿噼啪的振翅声和群狮的咆哮声。”

夜晚，城市的巡夜人说：“美将伴随着晨曦从东方升起。”正午时分，干苦力的人和徒

步旅行的人说：“我们看见美倚在黄昏之窗眺望大地。”

冬天，为大雪所困的人说：“美随着春天在小山上跳跃。”

在炎炎夏日，收庄稼的人说：“我们看见她伴着秋叶跳舞，看见她的头发里雪花飞

扬。”

关于美，人们众说纷纭。然而事实上，人们说的不是美，而是未得到满足的需求，而

美不是一种需求，是一种狂喜。不是干渴的嘴唇和伸出的空手，而是滚烫的心和愉悦的灵

魂；不是你想看的样子和想听的东西，而是虽闭上眼睛也能看到的模样，虽掩住耳朵也能

听到的旋律；不是褶皱树皮下的汁液，不是利爪下的鸟儿，而是花开四季的园林，是翱翔

天空的天使。

美是生活揭开了她神圣的面纱，

而你就是生活，就是面纱。

美是凝视自己镜中之影的永恒，

而你就是镜子，就是永恒。

1 aggrieved   

adj.愤愤不平的，受委屈的；悲痛的；（在合法权利方面）受侵害的v.令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式)；令委屈，令苦恼，侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• He felt aggrieved at not being chosen for the team. 他因没被选到队里感到愤愤不平。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She is the aggrieved person whose fiance&1& did not show up for their wedding. 她很委屈，她的未婚夫未出现在他们的婚礼上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

3 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。

4 hoofs   

n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The stamp of the horse's hoofs on the wooden floor was loud. 马蹄踏在木头地板上的声音很响。 来自辞典例句
• The noise of hoofs called him back to the other window. 马蹄声把他又唤回那扇窗子口。 来自辞典例句

5 wayfarers   

n.旅人，（尤指）徒步旅行者( wayfarer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Days have been when wayfarers came here to wash their weary feet. 从前曾有过路人到这里来洗疲乏的脚。 来自互联网
• You are the way and the wayfarers. 你们是道路，也是行路者。 来自互联网

6 reapers   

n.收割者，收获者( reaper的名词复数 )；收割机

参考例句：

• Ripe white wheat reapers reap ripe white wheat right. 成熟的白色小麦收割者最懂得收获成熟的白色小麦。 来自互联网
• A pair of reapers help fend off the attack. 几个收割者辅助攻击这些小狗。 来自互联网

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 ecstasy   

n.狂喜，心醉神怡，入迷

参考例句：

• He listened to the music with ecstasy.他听音乐听得入了神。
• Speechless with ecstasy,the little boys gazed at the toys.小孩注视着那些玩具，高兴得说不出话来。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

11 furrowed   

v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
• The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠，在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句

12 eternity   

n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷

参考例句：

• The dull play seemed to last an eternity.这场乏味的剧似乎演个没完没了。
• Finally,Ying Tai and Shan Bo could be together for all of eternity.英台和山伯终能双宿双飞，永世相随。