《先知国》查看《先知国》书评和最新更新以及相关书籍推荐请到《先知国》专题网址http://www.xiaoshuotxt.com/sanwen/2754/ TXT小说天堂 http://www.xiaoshuotxt.com，最有文艺气息的文学网站，提供经典的文学名著、武侠小说、言情小说、人文社科类书籍在线阅读，所有TXT电子书手机免费下载阅读，我们提供给您的小说不求最多，但求最经典最完整 先知国（第一部分） 小.说。t/x/t天.堂 先知国（第一部分） 先 知 国 艾勒一穆斯塔法，被选与被爱者，时代的骄阳，在特希林月——回忆的月份，回到了他出生的岛屿。 他的船渐渐驶近港口，他站立船头，水手们围聚在他的身旁，他的心中回归故土的喜悦油然而生。 他言道，他的话音里有大海的呼啸声："看！这是我们出生的岛屿。就在这里，大地将我们掷出，如歌似谜。歌，升上天空；谜，沉于大地。除却我们的热情之外，天地之间，还有什么能传播这歌声，猜解这谜语呢？ "大海再次让我们在海边出生，我们只是它滚滚而来的又一排波浪。大海推送着我们，是为了让我们传播她的话语，但是，若不将我们的心在岩石和沙滩上撞个粉碎，又如何能完成此举？ "这是水手和大海的法则：你若向往自由，你就须化作云雾。一切无形之物，都总在把形式探求。即使是这无数星斗，也想变成日月。我们苦苦寻求，现在重归此岛，以这般凝固的形式。我们必须再次化作云雾，必须从头学起。若非被击碎化作热情与自由，难道还会有什么能永恒、能升腾吗？ "我们将永远寻求海岸，我们将在那里欢歌，会有人听到我们的歌唱。但是，如果没有能听到歌声的耳朵，那浪花的粉碎又为了什么？是我们不能听到的东西，培育了我们深深的悲哀，它塑造了我们的心灵，并赋予我们的命运以形式。" 这时，一位海员走上前来说道："大师，你带领着我们的思念，回到这港口，今天我们回来了，可你又谈起悲哀和将要破碎的心。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法回答道："难道我没同时谈到自由，然后又谈到云雾——那最大的自由吗？尽管如此，我确是带着某种痛苦来朝拜我诞生的岛屿，就像一个献祭的惊魂，跪倒在他的宰杀者面前。" 另一位水手说道："看哪！海堤上聚集着许多人，他们在静默中已预告了你来临的日子，甚至到达的时辰。他们带着爱的需求，从田野和葡萄园聚到此处，等待着你。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法向远处的人群望去，他内心充满了对他们的思念之情，但他沉默不语。 接着人群中传出一阵喊叫声，这是充溢着怀念和祈求的呼声。 他望着他的水手们说道："我给他们带来了什么？我原是个远方的猎手，我目标准确，有力地射出了他们赠我的金箭，但我一无所获。我也未去追寻箭矢，如今它们也许与不落地的雄鹰的羽翼一起，飘散在太阳下。也许已坠落于需要它们的人之手中，这些人要用它们换取面包和醇酒。 "我不知它们落在何处，但我知道，它们曾在天空中划出过自己的弧线。 "即使事情是这样，充满爱之手仍寄托于我身。你们，我的水手们啊，你们仍驾驭着我思想的风帆。我将不会缄默无言。当时序之手扼住我的咽喉时，我将大声疾呼，当火焰燃到我的唇边时，我将歌唱。" 他们的心被他所说出的话所困扰着。他们中的一个说道："大师，请教导我们一切！也许我们能领悟你的所言，因为我们的血管里流动着你的血，我们的呼吸里吐纳着来自你的芬芳。" 他回答了他们，此刻他的声音如风吹动一样，他说："你们把我带至我出生的岛屿，是让我成为一位导师吗？我至今仍未被囚入智慧的樊笼，我还年轻幼稚，尚难谈论一切，只能谈及自我——那永远是深沉对深沉的呼唤。 原文为m，有主人、名手、教师、大师、先生等多种意义。 "让渴求智慧的人，到黄色的金凤花或一把红上那里去寻求智慧吧！而我仍将是歌者，歌唱大地，歌唱你们失去的梦，那在白昼都徘徊于睡眠与睡眠之间的梦。而我将不停地凝望大海。" 现在，船已驶入港口，且抵达了防波堤，于是他踏上了自己隆生的岛屿，再次置身于亲朋好友之间。一阵热烈的呼喊从人们心底升起，以至越发增添了他心中回归故里的孤独感。 人们一片寂静，期待着他的声音。但是他并没有回答他们，回忆的惆怅笼罩了他，他心中哀语："我说过将要歌唱吗？不，我只能开启双唇，让生命之声迸发出来，融进风中，去寻求欢乐和支持。" 这时，卡莉玛，曾和他一同在母亲的花园里爆戏过的童年伙伴，说道："你把自己向我们隐藏起来已有十二载。这十二年来我们始终在渴望听到你的声音。" 他格外温柔地望着她，因为在死亡之神的白翼将他母亲揽去时，是她为他的母亲闺上双眼。 他回答说："十二年，卡莉玛，你是说十二年吗？对于我自己的思念，我从不用星斗运转的标竿去衡量，也从不以声音去探测它的深度。因为，爱一旦成为乡愁，空间的尺度和时间的声音就无能为力了。 "短暂的瞬间，包含了长时间的分离。而分离不是别的，只是思想上的疲惫。我们彼此也许并不曾分离。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法望着众人，望着所有那些年老的和年轻的，健壮的和瘦弱的，他们有的因风吹日晒而面色红润，也有的面色苍白。每个人的脸上都闪着渴望和探求之光。 他们中的一个说道："大师，生命总是苦涩地对待我们的希望与欲求，我们心烦意乱，不得其解。我求你给我们些宽慰，且为我们解开忧愁。" 他的心带着怜悯，说道："生命比一切有生命的事物都更古老。即使美，在降临世界之前，它已被插上翅膀；而真理被说出之前，它也早已是真理。 "生命在我们的沉默中歌唱，在我们的睡眠中编织着梦。甚至在我们受挫折、被击败时，生命仍然高高踞于王座之上。当我们哭泣时，生命对着白天微笑；当我们羁绊于镣铐时，生命仍将是自由的。 "我们常常给生命冠以悲苦的名称，其实那只是我们自己因灵魂晦暗而痛苦。我们常常认为生命空虚而无益，其实只是我们的灵魂迷于荒野，我们的心过分沉醉于自我。 "生命深奥、崇高、遥远，但它又是近切的，虽然你们极目远眺，但只能看到它的脚睡。只有你们的呼吸的气息，才能达到它的心田；只有你们的影子的影子，才能掠过它的面颊。你们最轻微吸泣的回声，会成为它胸中的春天和秋天。 "生命被蒙上面纱之后，它像你们最伟大的灵魂一样，是被遮盖被隐匿的。当生命发言时，所有的风都变成了词句；当生命再次讲话时，你唇上的微笑，眼里的泪水，也都将会变成词句。当它在唱歌时，聋人也能听见且被摄取。当生命走来时，盲人也能看见她，并带着惊异追随其后。" 至此，他停下来不再言语。人群一片寂静，在这寂静中有一首听不到的歌慰藉了他们心中的寂寞和痛苦。 他离开了人们，沿着那条直通他的花园的小路走去。那花园过去曾是他父母的花园，如今他们两位及他们的祖辈都在此长眠。 有些人还想追随他而去，他们看到的是一个归来者，孤独一人。因为他的亲人已无一人在世，无一人能按习俗为他设宴洗尘，欢迎他的到来。 但是船长劝告他们说："让他独自去吧。因为他的食物是孤独的食物，他的杯中是他情愿独饮的回忆的酒酿。" 船员们停下了脚步，因为他们知道，情况正如船长所说。聚集在海堤上的人们，也克制了他们冲动的脚步。 只有卡莉玛跟在他身后的不远处，思忖着他的孤独和回忆。她默然不语，尔后又转身向自己的家走去，在花园里的杏树下哭了，虽然她并不知为何而哭泣。 艾勒一穆斯塔法走来，寻得他父母的花园，走了过去。他关上园门，以免别人再进来。 他在这座花园里独居了四十个昼夜。没有人来过，甚至无人踏进过园门，因为它是关着的，所有人都知道他情愿独处。 四十个昼夜过去了，艾勒一穆斯塔法打开园门，以使人们可以进来。 于是来了九个人与他作伴：三个是他船上的水手，三个是曾在圣殿服务的人，三个是儿时一起玩耍的伙伴。他们全是他的信徒。 一天早晨，弟子们围坐在他的身旁。他的目光深速，且带着回忆。一位叫哈菲兹的门徒对他说道："大师，请给我们谈谈奥菲利斯城那个你度过十二载的地方吧。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法依然沉默着。他把目光投向远处的山峦，投向无垠的太空，在他的沉默里有～场露战。 接下去他说："我的朋友们，我的同道！怜悯这个信仰繁多却无宗教的民族吧！ "怜悯这个不织而农，不耕而食，不酿而饮的民族吧！ "怜悯这个把恃强凌弱者赞为英雄，把骄纵的征服者视为慷慨的民族吧！ "怜悯这个在睡梦中鄙视激情，醒来时又屈从于情欲的民族吧！ "怜悯这个只有出殡时才高声叫喊，面对颓垣断壁还在夸耀，只有刀剑架在颈上时才反抗的民族吧！ "怜悯这个政治家是狐狸，哲学家是骗子，艺术则是补缀和因袭的民族吧！ "怜悯这个敲打着欢迎他们新的统治者，接着用嘘声将他送走，尔后又吹吹打打欢迎另一个新的统治者的民族吧！ "怜悯这个智者因年高而变成聋哑，强者则依然躺在摇篮里的民民族吧." "怜悯这个四分五裂，各自为政的民族吧." 接着，一个人说道："现在该是向我们讲述在你心中翻腾，嘴上却未曾吐露出的那些事情的时候了。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法注视着这位言者。他的声音里溶进了星辰的歌唱。他说道："在你清醒的梦中，当你处于平静之时，谛听内心深处的轻诉。那时你的思绪轻盈飘荡，如雪花自天而降，为你心中的每一个忧闷，披上洁白的静温衣裳。 "那觉醒的梦，难道不是扎根在你们心中那株大树上开花绽蕾的云朵吗？你们的思想难道不是你们心灵的风儿吹洒在山丘田野的花瓣吗？ "你们期待着安全斤静，直到你们身上无形的东西成为有形，这如同那云朵，它聚汇、它浮游，直到上帝祝福之手将其灰色的愿望化作细小的晶石：太阳、月亮和星星......" 然后，半信半疑的谢尔基斯说道："但是，春风即将来临，我们梦幻和我们思想的积雪是否将全部融化，不留一点痕迹？" 他回答道："当春天来临，在沉睡的树丛和葡萄园间寻找其所爱时，冰雪的确会融化，汇入小溪，寻找山涧，以便成为向桃金银和月桂树捧上醇饮的传者。 "当你的春天来临时，你心中的冰雪将会融化，正因为如此，你的秘密将会奔向小溪，去寻找山谷中生命的河流，而河流会拥抱你的秘密，将它带向大海。 "当春天来临时，万物都会融化，并变作歌声。甚至像星星，这纷纷扬扬飘洒在更广阔田野中的巨大雪花，也将融入歌唱的小溪。当太阳的面庞从辽阔的地平线上升起时，所有凝结的、和谐的东西，怎会不化作流动的旋律呢？你们中又有谁不愿成为把杯盏举向桃金娘和月桂树的敬酒者呢？ "仅在昨日，你们还在汹涌的大海上漂荡，没有海岸，也没有一个自我。于是风——生命的气息，编织着你，在她的脸上罩一层光的面纱；然后她的手将你们聚拢，并赋予你们形态，使你们高昂着头眺望远方。但是大海紧随着你们，她的歌声仍会相伴着你们。虽然你们已忘记了自己的出身，大海将永远肯定着她的母爱，永远把你们召唤到身边。 "当你们在群山和沙漠间徘徊时，你们将永远记起她清凉的心的深度。尽管你们常常不知道自己渴望着什么，其实，你们是渴望着她的辽阔和她带着韵律的宁静。 "除此之外，她还能如何呢？当雨露在山间丛林和花园凉亭间与树叶媒戏时；当瑞雪飘下祝福和约言时；当你在山谷里赶着羊群走向河畔时；当小溪像银色的带子，围裹着你的田地的绿色衣裳时；当清晨的露珠在你的花园里映出天空的倩影时；当雾霍半遮住你的草场上的路径时，在所有这些时候，大海都与你同在。她是你遗产的见证人，要求着你的爱。 "雪花融水正是从你们身上奔流而下，归入大海。" 一天早晨，当他们信步园中时，园门外出现一个女人的身影，她就是卡莉玛，艾勒一穆斯塔法曾在童年时代视作姐妹一样爱过的人。她默默无言，站在那里，也不把园门敲响，只是热切而又忧郁地向园内凝视。 艾勒一穆斯塔法看出她眼中的期望，便急速来到墙边，打开园门。她走了进来并受到欢迎。 她开口说道："是何故使你离开我们大家，使我们不能沐浴你的容光？看，多年来我们爱着你，热切地企盼你平安归来。现在人们呼唤着你，想能与你交谈。我便是他们的信使，来恳求你让大家见你，对他们宣讲你的智慧，抚慰我们破碎的心灵，启迪我们的蒙昧。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法注视着她，说道："倘若你不把所有的人视作智者，那就不要把我唤作智者。我只不过是依然挂在枝头的一颗未成熟的果实，直到昨日，我仍不过是一朵花蕾。 "也千万不要把你们中的任何一位视为患者，因为我们实际上既非智者亦非愚者。我们是生命之树上的绿叶，生命本身既超出智慧，当然也高于愚昧。 "我真的远离过你们吗？难道你们不知道，除了那灵魂不能跃过的想像力的空间外，人们之间是没有距离的。当灵魂超越了这段距离时，这距离本身就变成灵魂的节奏了。 "你们和你们不友好的近邻之间的距离，实际上远比你们和远在千山万水之外的你们所爱的人之间的距离要大得多。 "这是因为，在记忆中并不存在什么距离，只有在遗忘之中才有鸿沟，那是你们的声音和自力无法达到的。 "在大海之岸和高山之巅中间，有一条秘密通道，在你们与大地之子结为一体之前，你们必须穿越它。 "在你们的知识和悟性之间，也有一条秘径，你们在和人类进而和你们自身融为一体之前，必须发现它。 "在你施与的右手和接受的左手之间，有一片广漠的空间，只有让你的双手同时施予并接受时，你才能把它们带到没有这片空间的地方。因为只有懂得你们既无所施，亦无所受，你们才能征服这一空间。 "确实，最远的路绵延于你们的梦幻和你们的觉醒之间，横亘在你们的行为和你们的欲望之间。 "在你们和生命融为一体之前，还有另一条你们必须穿越的路。但是关于这条路，我现在不想提及。我看到你们经过长途跋涉，已经感到疲倦了。" 然后，他和这位女子及九个门生向前走去，一直来到市场。他和人们，和他的朋友们及邻居们攀谈着。他们的心中充满喜悦并让喜悦浮现在眼睑上。 之后，他说道："你们在睡梦中成长，在梦幻中度过你们更丰富的生活。你们在感谢中度过白昼，感谢在静褴的夜中获得的一切。" "你们常常在思考，并把夜当作休闲的时节谈及，其实，夜本是寻觅和奋发的时节。" "它昼赋予你们知识的力量，教你们的手指精于受取的艺术；而夜把你们带向生命的宝库。" "太阳教导万物向往光明，而夜却让它们升华，带它们接近星辰。" "宁静的夜在林间树梢和园圆花朵上编织着婚礼服，尔后又摆开丰盛的筵席和布置好洞房；在这神圣的静默气氛中，明天在时光的母腹中渐渐形成。" "尽管黎明时的醒觉会抹去记忆，但梦幻中的盛宴一直排列着，那洞房永远等待着。" 他停顿了片刻，众人也沉默着，等待着他说下去，于是他再次开口言道："你们是灵魂，虽然行动于身体；正如油在黑暗中燃烧，尽管被许多灯台举托着，它仍是火焰。 "假如你们只是一些躯壳，那我立于你们面前，对你们宣讲，便毫无意义了，就像一个死人与一批死人对话一样；但事情并非如此，因为你们身上的不朽之物，不管在白天还是在黑夜，都是自由的，不能被囚禁和束缚的，这是最高主宰的意愿。你们恰和风儿一样，是他不能被捕捉，被囚禁的呼吸。我本人，同样也是他吐纳中的一次呼吸。" 他从他们中走开，匆匆朝园中走去。 谢尔基斯，那个半信半疑者，开口说道："大师，对于丑恶，你将说些什么呢？你从未谈及过丑恶。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法回答了他。他的言词像鞭子一样抽动。他说道："我的朋友，哪有人经过你家而未敲门，却称你对他冷淡呢？ "哪有人会用一种你听不懂的奇怪的语言对你说话，却认定你是聋子，并说你漫不经心的呢？ "你称之为丑恶的，难道不正是你从未努力去达到，从未想深入其心底的事物吗？ "倘若丑恶真是什么，那它至多不过是像我们的眼屎和耳垢那些东西。 "我的朋友，不要将任何一件事物称之为丑恶，因为丑恶只不过是一个灵魂在其回忆面前的恐惧。" 一天，他们坐在白杨树的浓荫下，其中一人说道："大师，时间使我感到害怕。它从我们的身边掠过，掠去了我们的青春，它拿什么来补偿我们呢？" 他回答道："抓一把肥沃的泥土，你可曾发现一颗种子或一只小虫在其间吗？如果你的手掌宽阔且能支撑着持续足够的时间，这颗种子也许会长成一片森林，这小虫也许会变成一群天使。不要忘记那把种子化作森林，把小虫变作天使的岁月，它们只是一瞬，全部岁月不过是瞬息一刻间。 "除了我们变化更替着的思想外，什么是岁月的季节呢？春天是你胸中的苏醒，夏天只是你们的丰硕果实的见证；秋天不正是对你们生命中存在着的婴儿唱的一首古老的催眠曲吗？至于冬天，我问你们，除了是伴着其他季节沉睡外，还能是什么呢？" 这时，好奇的门生玛努斯，看着自己的四周。他看到一丛茧丝花攀附在一棵无花果树上，于是说道："看这些寄生物，大师，它们低垂着困倦的眼睑，从这坚实的太阳之子身上窃取光明，并从它们攀附的主干的枝叶间吮吸那丰富的乳液。关于它们，你会怎么说呢？" 他回答道："我的朋友，我们都是寄生者。我们辛勤劳动，把泥草变成悸动的生命，但我们却并不比那些直接从泥草中汲取生命而不知泥草为何物者高明。 "难道一位母亲会对自己的孩子说：我要把你送回森林，它是你更伟大的母亲，因为你让我心趋于疲惫？ "难道歌手会叱责他的歌儿，说：立即回到你来的那个荡着回声的声穴中去吧！因为你的声音耗尽了我的呼吸？ "难道牧人会对他的幼小的羔羊说：我已经没有牧场可带你们去，因此随你们被宰杀，作一个祭坛上的牺牲品吧。 "不，我的朋友，所有这些问题，在它们提出之前就早已有了答案，就像你的梦幻，在人睡之前就已实现。 "我们按照那古老而永恒的法律彼此依存，让我们就这样生活在 爱与善之中阳！我们在孤寂中彼此探寻，当我们不能围炉而坐时，我们就踏上旅程。 "朋友们！兄弟们！这最宽广的道路是你们的同伴。 "这些依附大树而生的花藤，在恬静的夜中吮吸着大地的乳汁，而大地在其宁静的梦中吮吸着太阳的乳汁。 "太阳，正如你们的、我的、万物的情形一样，它光荣地同坐于门户永远开放的、伟大君王永设的宴席上。 "玛努斯，我的朋友！万物靠着万物而生存，万物靠着无边的慷慨与信任，在至高无尚者的慈怀中生存。" 一天清晨，夜色尚未褪尽，大家一同漫步在花园中。他们遥望着东方，静默地面对冉冉升起的太阳。 过了片刻，艾勒一穆斯塔法用手指点着太阳，说道："太阳在晨露中的形象不亚于太阳本身，生活投射在你们灵魂中的情影，也不亚于生活本身。 "一滴露珠反射出阳光，因为朝露和阳光是同一事物；你们反射出生活，因为你们和生活是同一事物。 "当黑暗笼罩你们时，你们说：黑暗是尚未诞生的黎明，尽管我承受着黑夜分娩的痛苦，但是黎明终将降临于我，就像它终将在小丘之上诞生一样。 "薄暮中，在百合花瓣上滚动的露珠和在上帝心间聚集灵魂的你们二者并无不同。 "倘若一滴露珠说：一千年过去了，可我还是一颗露珠！那你们对它说：莫非你不知道，全部岁月之光不都在你的圆环中闪耀吗？" 一天夜晚，一场风暴席卷了这个地方。艾勒一穆斯塔法和他的九位门生，在遭劲狂风中走进房屋，静默地围坐在炉火旁。 过了一会儿，一位门生说道："大师，我很孤独，时间的铁蹄沉重地踏在我的胸膛上。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法起身立于他们中间，以************般的声音说道：孤独！？孤独又怎样？你孤独地来到这个世界，你将孤独地消逝在云雾中。 "那么，你就默默地、孤独地吸饮你的杯盏罢！秋b已经给别的嘴唇以别的杯盏，在其中斟满了苦酒与甜酒，正如它们从前同样斟满过你的酒杯。 "独饮你的杯盏吧，即使那杯中有你的血泪之味。感谢生活赐你干渴吧。你的心若没有焦渴，那颗心将只是贫瘠的空岸和枯海，既无歌声，亦无潮汐。 "独饮你的杯盏吧，但要带着欢乐自斟自饮。 "将林子高高举过头顶，为所有独饮者干杯！ "一次，我寻找伙伴，与他们同席痛饮。但他们的酒既不能升上我的头顶，也不能浇灌我的心田，只是降至我的足底。我的智慧枯竭，心扉关闭，只剩双脚同他们周旋于云山雾峰之中。 "从此，我不再寻找伙伴，也不去他们宴席桌边与之共饮。 "因此，我对你说，虽然时间的铁蹄沉重地践踏在你的胸膛之上，那又怎样？对你来说最好不过是独饮你的忧愁之杯，一如独饮你的快乐之杯。" 一日，当希腊人费尔德鲁斯漫步入园时，他的脚被石头绊了一下，很生气。他转身拣起那块石头，低声骂道："你这个档路的死东西！"并把石子远远抛去。 被选与被爱的艾勒一穆斯塔法问道："你为什么说你这死东西？你在这花园里已度过很长久的日子，难道不知道这花园里就没有死物么？所有东西都在白昼的广博和黑夜的崇高中焕发着生命。你和那块石头本是同一事物，所不同的只在于脉动。你的心跳得比它稍快一些。不是这样吗，我的朋友？是的，你的心跳得快一些，不过却没有它跳得那样平静泰然。 "那石头的节奏也许是另一种韵律，但是我对你说：如果你同时在心灵的深处和天穹的高处进行测量，那你听到的将是同一旋律，石头和星星一起以完美和谐的音调同唱着一首歌。 "倘若我这番话语不能使你领悟，那就把它留给下一个黎明吧！如果因为你在盲目疏忽中被石头绊了一下而对它发出诅咒，那么当你的头碰到天上的星星时，你也会对它发出诅咒。但是当某天你像小孩子摘来山谷的野百合一样聚敛着石头和星星时，你便会明白，所有一切事物都是生命洋溢，散发着芬芳。" 　 一周的第一天，当神殿的钟声传到他们的耳际时，他们中的一位言道："大师，我们在这里听到很多关于上帝的谈论。你对上帝有何说法，上帝究竟是谁呢？" 艾勒一穆斯塔法站立在人群之前，像一株不畏************的生机勃勃的大树，他回答道："亲爱的伙伴们！现在请你们想像一下，想像一颗包含着你们所有心的心，一种囊括了你们所有爱的爱，一颗充溢了你们所有灵魂的灵魂，一个融汇了你们所有声音的声音，一种比你们所有的沉默都更深沉，更无穷无尽的沉默。 "之后，再请你们努力去领悟，领悟一种比所有的美丽都迷人的美丽，一首比大海和森林更深沉辽阔的歌，一种紧握权杖高踞于王位之上的庄严；在这庄严的御座前，天狼星不过是一只脚踏，北斗七星也只不过是权杖上几颗闪烁的露珠。 称们总是只追寻禄食和居所，衣服和权杖，那么现在去追寻惟一吧，它既非你们的箭矢之的，也非你们躲风避雨的岩洞。 "如果我的话语是一块岩石，是一条谜语，那你们就不遗余力地去追寻吧，直到你们的心扉洞开，你们的疑问与困惑将把你们引向那至高无上者的爱与智慧之中，那至高无上者被人们称作上帝。" 人们都沉默不语，他们内心激荡且深感困惑。艾勒一穆斯塔法顿生怜悯之情。他慈蔼地望着他们，说道：俄们现在不要再谈及上 上帝，不要再谈那至高无上者了，且让我谈谈来自你们邻居和你们兄弟之中的众神，那游动于你们屋旁、田野上的大自然元素吧！ 称们都愿带着幻想升入云端，以为那便是至高之处；你们都愿跨越浩瀚的大海，以为那便是至远之处。但是，我告诉你们，当你们在大地播下一粒种子，你便达到了更高之处；当你们向邻人欢呼晨光之美时，你们便已跨越了更浩瀚的海洋。 w w w. xiao shuotxt. co m 先知国（第二部分） 小,说t,Ｘt,天,",堂 先知国（第二部分）- - "你们总是歌颂着上帝，这无极之神，但实际上你们却听不到这颂歌。但愿你们听到了小鸟的啼唱，听到了树叶被风吹离时的沙响，莫要忘记，我的朋友们，这些树叶只有在脱离树枝时，它们才会歌唱！ "我要对你们重复我的告诫：不要轻易谈论上帝，他是你们的一切。最好谈论并彼此理解，邻人对邻人，一位神明对另一位神明。 "如果雌鸟飞向高空，那巢中的小鸟何以为食？如果蜜蜂不在秋牡丹间传媒授粉，那田野间的秋牡丹又如何完成花期？ "如果雌鸟飞向高空，那巢中的小鸟何以为食？如果蜜蜂不在秋牡丹间传媒授粉，那田野间的秋牡丹又如何完成花期？ "只有当你们迷失于你们的叫、我之中时，你们才会去寻找你们称之为上帝的苍天。但愿你们能奋力追寻通往你们大我的道路，但愿你们能少一点惰性，以奋勉铺好这通衡大道。 "我的水手们！朋友们！少谈论些我们无法理解的上帝，多谈论些我们可以理解的彼此，这才是明智之举。尽管如此，我还是想让你们明白，我们是上帝的气息和馨香，我们就是上帝——在树叶中，在花朵上，更在果实里。" 一天早晨，太阳已经高高升起，一位门生，他童年一起玩耍的三个伙伴之一，走近他说道："大师，我的衣服已经破烂不堪，我又无其他衣服可穿，请让我离开一会儿去市场讨讨价，也许能购得一件新衣。" 一天早晨，太阳已经高高升起，一位门生，他童年一起玩耍的三个伙伴之一，走近他说道："大师，我的衣服已经破烂不堪，我又无其他衣服可穿，请让我离开一会儿去市场讨讨价，也许能购得一件新衣。"艾勒一穆斯塔法注视着这个青年人，说道："把你的衣服给我。"于是这青年照做了，赤裸着站在日光下。 艾勒一穆斯塔法说话了，他的声音好似小马驹在大道上奔驰："只有赤裸者才能生存于阳光下；只有质朴无华者，才能驾驭长风；只 艾勒一穆斯塔法说话了，他的声音好似小马驹在大道上奔驰："只有赤裸者才能生存于阳光下；只有质朴无华者，才能驾驭长风；只有孤独地迷失过上千次者，才能回归故里。 "天使已对聪明者感到厌倦。就在昨天，一位天使对我说：我们为那些灿烂辉煌者创设了地狱。除了烈火之外，还有什么能抹去一副闪光的外表，能将一物熔化并显示其本质呢？ "天使已对聪明者感到厌倦。就在昨天，一位天使对我说：我们为那些灿烂辉煌者创设了地狱。除了烈火之外，还有什么能抹去一副闪光的外表，能将一物熔化并显示其本质呢？"我说：但你们在建造地狱的同时，也建造了那些司掌地狱的魔鬼。而天使回答道：不，司掌地狱的是那些烈火对他们无能为力的人。 "聪明的天使，她请知分群人与半人的方法。她是六翼天使中的一位，她降临大地是为了在那些先知受到聪明诱惑时，帮助他们。毫无疑问，当先知们欢笑时，她会欢笑，当先知们哭泣时，她也会哭泣。 "聪明的天使，她请知分群人与半人的方法。她是六翼天使中的一位，她降临大地是为了在那些先知受到聪明诱惑时，帮助他们。毫无疑问，当先知们欢笑时，她会欢笑，当先知们哭泣时，她也会哭泣。"我的朋友们和水手们，惟有赤裸者才能生活于阳光之下；惟有无舵的舵手，才能在更辽阔的海上劈波斩浪；惟有与夜同暗者的心灵，才能与黎明一起觉醒；惟有在雪下与根茎共眠者，才能追赶上春天。 "这是因为你们就像根茎，是的，正像根茎那样单纯，但你们有取之大地的智慧。你们沉默不语，但在你们尚未萌发的枝叶间，蕴藏着春天的四重奏。 "这是因为你们就像根茎，是的，正像根茎那样单纯，但你们有取之大地的智慧。你们沉默不语，但在你们尚未萌发的枝叶间，蕴藏着春天的四重奏。"你们柔弱且尚无定形，但你们是参天橡树的发端，也是巨柳的前兆。 "我再次告诉你们，你们只是沉沉大地和运行的天空之间的根茎。我常常看到你们飘升，为了与阳光共舞，可我也看到过你们的羞涩。所有的根茎都是羞见光明的，它们把自己的心隐藏得太久了，以至它们不知该让那心做些什么。 "我再次告诉你们，你们只是沉沉大地和运行的天空之间的根茎。我常常看到你们飘升，为了与阳光共舞，可我也看到过你们的羞涩。所有的根茎都是羞见光明的，它们把自己的心隐藏得太久了，以至它们不知该让那心做些什么。"然而五月就要到来了，五月是好动的处女，她将像母亲一般照看山峦和平原。" 一位曾在圣殿供职的门生谦恭地说道："请教导我们，大师！让我们的言词能和您的言词一样，成为人们的一首赞歌，幽香缕缕。" 一位曾在圣殿供职的门生谦恭地说道："请教导我们，大师！让我们的言词能和您的言词一样，成为人们的一首赞歌，幽香缕缕。"艾勒一穆斯塔法回答说："你将超越你的言词，但你走的道路将一直是乐曲，是芬芳：对爱与被爱者是一首乐曲，对那些向往花园中生活的人是芬芳。 肥是，你将超越你的言词，升至布满星辰的顶峰，你们将伸开双掌，直到它们充盈；尔后，你们将躺下，就像羽毛丰满的白色的鸟在白色的巢中睡眠。你们将梦想着你们的明天，就像白色的紫罗兰梦想着春天。 肥是，你将超越你的言词，升至布满星辰的顶峰，你们将伸开双掌，直到它们充盈；尔后，你们将躺下，就像羽毛丰满的白色的鸟在白色的巢中睡眠。你们将梦想着你们的明天，就像白色的紫罗兰梦想着春天。"是的，你们也将沉落，将潜入你们言词最深途的地方。你们将去寻找那迷途的溪流之源，你们将成为隐蔽的洞穴，不断回荡着你们现在听不到的深谷轻幽的回声。 "是的，你们将比你们的言词走得更深远，是的，深于所有的声音，降至于大地的心底。在那里，你们将单独和那位也漫步于银河的他在一起。" "是的，你们将比你们的言词走得更深远，是的，深于所有的声音，降至于大地的心底。在那里，你们将单独和那位也漫步于银河的他在一起。" 过了一会儿，一位门生问他道："大师，请向我们讲述存在，存在是什么呢？" 艾勒一穆斯塔法怜爱地、长久地注视着他，站起身来，踱出几步后又折回来，说道：一在这个花园里，长眠着我的父母，他们被有生命者的双手掩埋。在这花园里，也埋葬着昨日的种子，它们由风儿的翅翼携来此地的。我的父亲和母亲将在此埋葬于次，而种子也将被风儿埋葬千次。一千年之后，你、我以及这些花卉，将一同来到这座花园，就像现在一样。我们将存在，热爱着生命；我们将存在，梦想着宇宙；我们将存在，朝着太阳飞腾。 "但是今天，存在就是变成智者，而不是把愚者视为两路人；存在就是要变为强者，而不是欺凌弱者；存在就是要和孩童一起谋戏，而不是像父亲那样高高在上，要像同伴那样乐于学习孩童的游戏。 "存在就是纯朴、自然，善待年迈长者，和他们同坐在老橡树的前影下，尽管你仍与春天同步。 "存在就是纯朴、自然，善待年迈长者，和他们同坐在老橡树的前影下，尽管你仍与春天同步。"存在就是去寻访一位诗人，纵使他远居于七河之外。在他面前平和宁静，不希求什么，也不怀疑什么，也不要将疑问挂在唇间。 "存在就是认清圣人和罪犯本是孪生兄弟，他们的父亲是我们仁慈的君王他们中的一个只比另一个早出生片刻，因此我们把前者认作加冕的王子。 "存在就是跟随着美，即使她将你引向悬崖峭壁之缘；虽然她有双翼而你却无翼，尽管她将要跨越深渊，你仍应跟随着她，因为没有美的地方，也就没有一切。 "存在就是成为没有围墙的花园，不设看守的葡萄园，成为向一切过客敞开的宝库。 "存在就是成为被掠夺者，被诓哄者，被欺骗者，哦，被引入歧途者，落入圈套倍受嘲弄者。然而，你在经历这一切时，应从"大我"的高度俯视并微笑，你知道春天定会来到你的园围，在树叶间起舞，而秋天将去催熟你的葡萄；你知道，只要有一扇窗户向东方打开，你将不会感到空虚；你知道所有被称作罪犯、盗贼、骗子者，其实都是你的兄弟。你们，在高于此城的无形之城的幸运居民眼里，或许正是上面所说的这些人。 "现在，我还要告诉你们——长着一双富于创造的手臂，能为我们舒适地度过白天和黑夜而找到一切所需的人们： "存在，就是成为一个巧手代目的织工，一个深诸光线与空间的建筑师，一个每播下一粒种子就感到埋下一处宝藏的农夫，一个怜悯游鱼和鸟兽但更怜悯饥饿者和贫困者的渔夫和猎人。 "我要说，比这一切更重要的是：我愿你们每个人及每个人的伙伴，无论是谁，都要成为他人实现自己目标的伙伴，只有如此，你们才可能实现自己美好的愿望。 "我的同伴们，可亲可爱的人们！要勇敢，不要畏缩；要心胸开阔，不要偏狭。当我的和你们的生命的最后时刻到来之际，那才真是你们的大我实现之时。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法收住了话，阵阵忧虑袭上了九位门生的脸，他们的心也离他远去，因为他们未能领悟他所说的一切。 瞧，那三位当水手的，开始思念大海；那三位服务于圣殿的，渴望着圣所的慰藉；那三个曾是他童年游戏伙伴的，又惦记着闹市。他们都听不过他的话，以至那话音又折返到他的身边，就像无巢可归的倦鸟，寻觅着庇护之所。 艾勒一穆斯塔法在园中走着，和他们拉开了一段距离。他默然无语，也未顾视他们。 他们开始商量，想找出他们急欲离去的理由。 瞧，他们走了，各回各的地方。如此，被选与被爱的艾勒一穆斯塔法，便只剩孤身一人了。 夜幕低垂，夜色沉沉。他信步走到母亲的坟前，坐在一棵高大的雪松下。这时，一道强烈的光影闪现天空，把花园照得像大地胸脯上闪烁的明珠。 艾勒一穆斯塔法从他孤寂的灵魂深处发出了大声的呼喊：他叹道： "我的灵魂重负着成熟的果实，谁来采摘？谁来快乐地分享？难道没有一个心地善良而慷慨的带客，以我献给朝阳的第一份厚礼作其开斋的早餐，从而减轻我丰裕的重负吗？ "我的灵魂与陈年的醇酒一同盈涌，难道没有一位焦渴者前来取饮？ "看哪，有一位男子正立于十字路口，他将择满珠宝的双手伸向路人，呼唤着来往过客：怜悯我！请将这些东西带走！看在上帝的分上，从我手中拿去，给我安慰吧！ "但是路人只是望望他，没有一个拿取他手中的珠宝。 "但愿他是一个伸手未施的乞丐！是的，颤巍巍地伸出手去" "看哪，还有一位尊贵的王子，正在高山与沙漠之间竖起绸缎的帐篷，他命令他的仆从点燃髯火，作为陌路人和迷途者的指路标。他还派他的仆从守候在路边，等待客人的到来。但是，沙漠中的道路荒凉冷清，他们没有见到一个人影。 "但愿这王子是一个寻食觅宿的无根无底的普通人；但愿他是一个除了拐杖、水罐外一无所有的流浪汉，这样他可以在夜晚通上和他一样的流浪者和无处可去的诗人，他们会分享他的赤贫、回忆和梦想。 "看哪！国王的女儿正从睡梦中醒来；她身穿绸衣，佩戴珍珠宝石，发丝喷洒碍香，手指涂上琉璃，随后，步下楼来到自己的花园，那儿，夜露浸湿了她的金丝鞋。 "静夜，国王的女儿正在花园里寻觅她的爱，可是父王偌大的王国里，竟无一个爱她的人。 "她宁愿自己是一个农夫的女儿，在田野放牧着羊群，黄昏时回到父亲的农舍，脚踝沾满境蜒小路上的尘埃，衣把飘逸着葡萄园的芳香。夜阑人静，巡夜天使飞临世界，她便轻踏步履，偷偷奔向河谷。那儿，她的爱人正等候她。 "她宁愿自己是个修道院的修女，她的心儿像檀香一般焚燃，随着风儿，冉冉飘升。她的灵魂点燃地像融化的蜡烛一般，光焰带着虔诚的追随者，爱者和被爱者升向更伟大的光明。 "她宁愿自己是一个老姐，坐在阳光下，回忆那曾经与她分享青春的人。" 夜更加深沉，艾勒一穆斯塔法的灵魂也愈益隐没于黑暗中。他的灵魂像一团浓雾。他再次大声呼喊： 我的灵魂重负着它成熟的果实， 我的灵魂重负着它的果实。 现在，有谁前来享用，饱其口福？ 我的灵魂洋溢着清冽的酒香， 现在，何人前来取饮，以消沙漠的酷暑？ 但愿我是一株不开花也不结果的贫弱的树， 因为丰裕的痛苦甚于贫脊的痛苦！ 富有者找不到施予的对象的痛苦，远甚于求索者找不到施主的悲愁！ 但愿我是一口枯井， 人们往井里抛掷石头； 因为这总胜于我是一眼活泉而人们经过时无人取饮。 这布井也许比人人经过而不予理睬的活泉更有用。 但愿我是一根被践踏的芦苇， 它也胜过一把银弦的七弦琴—— 它的主人，没有弹奏的手指， 而主人的孩子又个个失聪！ 七个白天和七个夜晚过去了，其间没有谁再走近这花园。艾勒一穆斯塔法独自与自己的回忆和痛苦为伴，因为就连那些带着爱心和耐心倾听过他的话语的人们，也都离开他到别的地方去寻找生活了。 只有卡莉玛一人来过，她面色沉寂，好像蒙上了一层面纱。她手中端着杯盘，里面是慰藉孤独和饥饿的饮料和肉食。她把这些东西置于他面前之后，便离去了。 艾勒一穆斯塔法再次来与园中的那些白杨树为伴。他坐下来，凝视着大路。过了一会儿，他似乎看到路上扬起一片烟尘，向他这边移来。从烟尘中显出了那九个门生，走在前面引导他们的是卡莉玛。 艾勒一穆斯塔法走上前去，在路上迎接他们。九位门生与卡莉玛走进园门，所有人都泰然安康，好像他们只是一小时前才离去的。 他们走进来，和他～起共进节俭的餐饭。卡莉玛把面包和鱼摆在餐桌上，并将剩下的一点酒斟入杯中。她斟酒时，她对艾勒一穆斯塔法恳求道："请让我离开，允许我到城里再取些酒来斟满你们的酒杯，因为这里的酒已经倒尽了。" 他望着她，眼前闪过一段旅程和一个遥远的国度。他说道："不必了，对此时此刻，这酒已足够了。" 大家边吃边饮，十分满足。用膳之后，艾勒一穆斯塔法以洪亮的声音说话了，他的声音像大海一般深沉，似月光下的巨潮一般饱满。他说道："我的同伴们，我同路的伙伴们，我们今天必须分开了。很长时间以来，我们在艰险的海上航行，我们攀登过最陡峭的山峰，搏击过无数次************。我们已体味了饥饿，但我们也曾品尝了婚礼的宴席。我们常常衣不蔽体，但我们也曾穿戴过国王的华服。我们确曾长途跋涉，但现在我们要分手了。你们将一起走你们的路，我却要孤独地走自己的路。 "虽然大海和莽原将我们分开，但在通往圣山的旅途中，我们仍将是同伴。 "不过，在我们各自踏上隆途之前，我愿把心中的收获以及零星的体味交给你们，我愿把心田的果实送给你们。 "在歌唱中踏上你们的征程，但让每首歌都短小精炼，因为歌声只有早逝于你们的唇上，才能长驻于人们的心中。 "用少量的言词讲出美丽的真理，但绝不用任何丑陋的言词去表述一个丑陋的真理。告诉那些秀发在阳光下闪烁的少女，她是黎明的女儿。但若见到一位盲者，切莫说他是黑夜的一员。 "去聆听笛手的吹奏，就像聆听四月之声；但若听到批评家和吹毛求疵者说话，你们就应如挣挣硬骨，变成聋子，并且任你们的幻想驰骋。 "我的同伴，亲爱的人们，在你们的旅途中，你们将会遇到长着背脚者，那就把你们的翅膀蹭送他们。你们将会遇到长着兽角者，那新把桂冠送给他们。会遇到长着利爪者，那就把花瓣覆于他们的肚端； 会遇到长着蛇一般的恶舌者，那就把蜂蜜涂在他们的语言上。 "是的，你们将会遇到所有这些人，甚或更多。你们将会遇到g 售拐杖的破者，叫卖镜子的盲者。你们将会遇到在神殿门前乞讨政 富翁。 "把你们的敏捷赠予破者；把你们的目力赠予盲人；且把你们自已交给那些乞讨的富人；他们是最需要施舍的人，尽管他们曾有万贯家财，但今日，只有极度贫穷的手才会伸出去乞求施舍。 "我的同伴们！朋友们！我以我们之间爱的名义告诫你们：去做沙漠中彼此纵横交错的数不清的路径吧！在那里猛狮与兔子同行，豺狼与绵羊共道。 "记着我的这些话吧！我教给你们的其实不是给予，而是接受；不是拒绝，而是履行；不是屈从，而是唇边带着微笑去理解。 "我教你们的不是沉默，而是不带喧嚣的一首歌。 "我教你们的是包容全人类的大我。" 他从席边站起，径直走人花园，走到翠柏的阴影下，此时天色已渐近黄昏。他们跟在其后不远的地方，心情沉重，默默不语。 只有卡莉玛在收拾完残羹剩饭的餐桌之后，走近他说道："大师，请允许我为你准备明日旅途的食物。" 艾勒一穆斯塔法看着她，但眼睛似乎在望着另一个世界，说道："我的姐妹！我亲爱的人！食物在时间开始时便已备好。明日的食物，一如我们昨日和今日的食物一样，也都已备齐。 "我去了，但如果我带去的是一条未曾说出的真理，那么这条真理将再次把我寻觅、聚敛。即使我身体的元素已散落于永恒的沉寂中，我仍将再度来到你们身边。在这无边的沉寂中，我将用从我心里再生的声音，同你们说话。 "bog还有什么美我不曾向你们昭示，那它将再次将我的名字呼唤，是的，就是呼唤着艾勒...穆斯塔法。我将给你们一个征兆，你们因此知道我已返回，向你们言说你们所需要的一切。因为上帝不会允许我自己隐适于人类，也不会让我自己的言语隐埋于人类心灵的深渊。 "我将超越死亡，继续生存，并将在你们的耳畔歌唱。 甚至当这汹涌的大海波涛 将我再次送回更广阔的海底！ 我将以无形的身躯坐于你们的甲板之上， 我将以无形的灵魂和你们一道去田野， 我将来到你们的火炉边做一名隐形客人， 死亡所能改变的只是遮盖着我们脸庞的面具， 伐木者依然是伐木者， 耕者依然是耕者， 向着风儿歌唱的人也将向着运转的星球歌唱。" 他的门徒们石头般静默着，他们的心儿忧伤，只因他说出了"我将离去"。但他们之中既没有一个人伸出手挽留他，也没有任何人追随他的步履。 艾勒一穆斯塔法走出他母亲的花园，他的脚步轻捷而无声，只一会儿功夫，他就像狂风中的一片树叶，飘赔而去了。他们遥遥望去，仿佛看到一缕暗淡的白光升上渺渺无际。 九位门生都择路而去了，只有卡莉玛那女子独自位立于渐暗的暮色里。她看着光明与暮色怎样融为一体。她以艾勒一穆斯塔法的话告慰着自己的孤独与寥寂："我去了，但如果我带去的是一条未曾说出的真理，那么这条真理将再次把我寻觅、聚敛。我将再次回到你们身边。" 黄昏时分。 他已抵达山谷。步履带着他踏入云雾。他仁立于岩石和青松翠柏之间，隐没于万物之外。他开口说道： "啊，云雾，我的姐妹！你是白色的气息， 尚未被形式所拘泥。 我回到了你的身边，这白色无声的气息， 是一句尚未被说出的话语。 "啊，云雾，我带翼的姐妹！我们此刻同在， 我们将在一起，直到再生之日， 黎明时分，你将化作花园的露珠， 而我则是一位妇人怀中的婴儿， 那时，我们将一同回忆我们的过去。 "啊，云雾，我的姐妹！我回来了，一颗聆听心底之声的心， 正如你的心； 一个悸动而漫无目的的欲望，正如你的欲望； 一个尚未被聚集的思想，正如你的思想。 "啊，云雾，我的姐妹！我母亲所生的第一个孩子！ 我的双手仍然握着你叮嘱我撒播的种子， 我的双唇还封绒着你想让我吟唱的歌， 我没有给你带回果实，也没有带来歌的回声， 因为我的双手已盲，我的双唇闭结。 "啊，云雾，我的姐妹！我深爱着这个世界，世界也如此深爱着我， 因为我全部的微笑都挂于她的唇上，而她的所有泪水都积于我的眼中。 但在我与她之间仍有一道沉寂的鸿沟。 她不想跨过，我也不能逾越。 啊，云雾，我的姐妹！我不死的云雾姐妹！ 我为孩子们唱过古老的歌， 他们曾面带惊奇倾听过。 可明天他们或许会忘却这支歌， 我不知道风儿会把这歌又带向何方， 这古老的歌虽并不专属于我，却曾进人我的心田， 亦曾在我的唇间驻留过瞬间。 "啊，云雾，我的姐妹！ 尽管这一切都已逝去，我的心却依然平静。 能为已诞生的人们祝歌，对我已经足够， 纵然那歌实非归我所有，可它唱出的是我心底的渴望。"啊，云雾！我的姐妹！我的云雾姐妹！我已与你会一。此后我不再是一个自我，围墙已经倒塌，锁链已经砸碎，我已飞向你，作为云雾！我们将同游大海，直到复生之日到来。那时晨底把你化作露珠洒向花园，而让我变作婴儿置于一个妇人的怀中。" www.xiＡoshuotxＴ.cＯＭ The Garden Of The Prophet (1) ×小×说×t××xt×天×堂 the garden of the prophet (1) almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, who was a noon unto his own day, returned to the isle of his birth in the month of tichreen, which is the month of remembrance. and as his ship approached the harbour, he stood upon its prow, and his mariners were about him. and there was a homecoming in his heart. and he spoke, and the sea was in his voice, and he said: "behold, the isle of our birth. even here the earth heaved us, a song and a riddle; a song unto the sky, a riddle unto the earth; and what is there between earth and sky that shall carry the song and solve the riddle save our own passion? "the sea yields us once more to these shores. we are but another wave of her waves. she sends us forth to sound her speech, but how shall we do so unless we break the symmetry of our heart on rock and sand? "for this is the law of mariners and the sea: if you would freedom, you must needs turn to mist. the formless is for ever seeking form, even as the countless nebulae would become suns and moons; and we who have sought much and return now to this isle, rigid moulds, we must become mist once more and learn of the beginning. and what is there that shall live and rise unto the heights except it be broken unto passion and freedom? "for ever shall we be in quest of the shores, that we may sing and be heard. but what of the wave that breaks where no ear shall hear? it is the unheard in us that nurses our deeper sorrow. yet it is also the unheard which carves our soul to form and fashion our destiny." then one of his mariners came forth and said: "master, you have captained our longing for this harbour, and behold, we have come. yet you speak of sorrow, and of hearts that shall be broken." and he answered him and said: "did i not speak of freedom, and of the mist which is our greater freedom? yet it is in pain i make pilgrimage to the isle where i was born, even like unto a ghost of one slain come to kneel before those who have slain him." and another mariner spoke and said: "behold, the multitudes on the sea-wall. in their silence they have foretold even the day and the hour of your coming, and they have gathered from their fields and vineyards in their loving need, to await you." and almustafa looked afar upon the multitudes, and his heart was mindful of their yearning, and he was silent. then a cry came from the people, and it was a cry of remembrance and of entreaty. and he looked upon his mariners and said: "and what have i brought them? a hunter was i, in a distant land. with aim and might i have spent the golden arrows they gave me, but i have brought down no game. i followed not the arrows. mayhap they are spreading now in the sun with the pinions of wounded eagles that would not fall to the earth. and mayhap the arrow-heads have fallen into the hands of those who had need of them for bread and wine. "i know not where they have spent their flight, but this i know: they have made their curve in the sky. "even so, loves hand is still upon me, and you, my mariners, still sail my vision, and i shall not be dumb. i shall cry out when the hand of the seasons is upon my throat, and i shall sing my words when my lips are burned with flames." and they were troubled in their hearts because he spoke of these things. and one said: "master, teach us all, and mayhap because your blood flows in our veins, and our breath is of your fragrance, we shall understand." the he answered them, and the wind was in his voice, and he said: "brought you me to the isle of my birth to be a teacher? not yet have i been caged by wisdom. too young am i and too verdant to speak of aught but self, which is for ever the deep calling upon the deep. "let him who would have wisdom seek it in the buttercup or in a pinch of red clay. i am still the singer. still i shall sing the earth, and i shall sing your lost dreaming that walks the day between sleep and sleep. but i shall gaze upon the sea." and now the ship entered the harbour and reached the sea-wall, and he came thus to the isle of his birth and stood once more amongst his own people. and a great cry arose from their hearts so that the loneliness of his home-coming was shaken within him. and they were silent awaiting his word, but he answered them not, for the sadness of memory was upon him, and he said in his heart: "have i said that i shall sing? nay, i can but open my lips that the voice of life may come forth and go out to the wind for joy and support." then karima, she who had played with him, a child, in the garden of his mother, spoke and said: "twelve years have you hidden your face from us, and for twelve years have we hungered and thirsted for your voice." and he looked upon her with exceeding tenderness, for it was she who had closed the eyes of his mother when the white wings of death had gathered her. and he answered and said: "twelve years? said you twelve years, karima? i measured not my longing with the starry rod, nor did i sound the depth thereof. for love when love is homesick exhausts times measurements and times soundings. "there are moments that hold aeons of separation. yet parting is naught but an exhaustion of the mind. perhaps we have not parted." and almustafa looked upon the people, and he saw them all, the youth and the aged, the stalwart and the puny, those who were ruddy with the touch of wind and sun, and those who were of pallid countenance; and upon their face a light of longing and of questioning. and one spoke and said: "master, life has dealt bitterly with our hopes and our desires. our hearts are troubled, and we do not understand. i pray you, comfort us, and open to us the meanings of our sorrows." and his heart was moved with compassion, and he said: "life is older than all things living; even as beauty was winged ere the beautiful was born on earth, and even as truth was truth ere it was uttered. "life sings in our silences, and dreams in our slumber. even when we are beaten and low, life is enthroned and high. and when we weep, life smiles upon the day, and is free even when we drag our chains. "oftentimes we call life bitter names, but only when we ourselves are bitter and dark. and we deem her empty and unprofitable, but only when the soul goes wandering in desolate places, and the heart is drunken with over-mindfulness of self. "life is deep and high and distant; and though only your vast vision can reach even her feet, yet she is near; and though only the breath of your breath reaches her heart, the shadow of your shadow crosses her face, and the echo of your faintest cry becomes a spring and an autumn in her breast. "and life is veiled and hidden, even as your greater self is hidden and veiled. yet when life speaks, all the winds become words; and when she speaks again, the smiles upon your lips and the tears in your eyes turn also into words. when she sings, the deaf hear and are held; and when she comes walking, the sightless behold her and are amazed and follow her in wonder and astonishment." and he ceased from speaking, and a vast silence enfolded the people, and in the silence there was an unheard song, and they were comforted of their loneliness and their aching. and he left them straightway and followed the path which led to his garden, which was the garden of his mother and his father, wherein they lay asleep, they and their forefathers. and there were those who would have followed after him, seeing that it was a home-coming, and he was alone, for there was not one left of all his kin to spread the feast of welcome, after the manner of his people. but the captain of his ship counselled them saying: "suffer him to go upon his way. for his bread is the bread of aloneness, and in his cup is the wine of remembrance, which he would drink alone." and his mariners held their steps, for they knew it was even as the captain of the ship had told them. and all those who gathered upon the sea-wall restrained the feet of their desire. only karima went after him, a little way, yearning over his aloneness and his memories. and she spoke not, but turned and went unto her own house, and in the garden under the almond-tree she wept, yet she knew not wherefore. and almustafa came and found the garden of his mother and his father, and he entered in, and closed the gate that no man might come after him. and for forty days and forty nights he dwelt alone in that house and that garden, and none came, not even unto the gate, for it was closed, and all the people knew that he would be alone. and when the forty days and nights were ended, almustafa opened the gate that they might come in. and there came nine men to be with him in the garden; three mariners from his own ship; three who had been his comrades in play when they were but children together. and these were his disciples. and on a morning his disciples sat around him, and there were distances and remembrances in his eyes. and that disciple who was called hafiz said unto him: "master, tell us of the city of orphalese, and of that land wherein you tarried those twelve years." and almustafa was silent, and he looked away towards the hills and toward the vast ether, and there was a battle in his silence. then he said: "my friends and my road-fellows, pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion. "pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own winepress. "pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful. "pity the nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening. "pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except when its neck is laid between the sword and the block. "pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggle, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking. "pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpetings, and farewells him with hootings, only to welcome another with trumpetings again. "pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle. "pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation." wＷ w.xia oshuotxＴ.Ｃom The Garden Of The Prophet (2) ．小．说．．t．xt．天．堂． the garden of the prophet (2) and one said: "speak to us of that which is moving in your own heart even now." and he looked upon that one, and there was in his voice a sound like a star singing, and he said: "in your waking dream, when you are hushed and listening to your deeper self, your thoughts, like snow- flakes, fall and flutter and garment all the sounds of your spaces with white silence. "and what are waking dreams but clouds that bud and blossom on the sky-tree of your heart? and what are your thoughts but the petals which the winds of your heart scatter upon the hills and its fields? "and even as you wait for peace until the formless within you takes form, so shall the cloud gather and drift until the blessed fingers shape its grey desire to little crystal suns and moons and stars." then sarkis, he who was the half-doubter, spoke and said: "but spring shall come, and all the snows of our dreams and our thoughts shall melt and be no more." and he answered saying: "when spring comes to seek his beloved amongst the slumbering groves and vineyards, the snows shall indeed melt and shall run in streams to seek the river in the valley, to be the cup-bearer to the myrtle-trees and laurel. "so shall the snow of your heart melt when your spring is come, and thus shall your secret run in streams to seek the river of life in the valley. and the river shall enfold your secret and carry it to the great sea. "all things shall melt and turn into songs when spring comes. even the stars, the vast snow-flakes that fall slowly upon the larger fields, shall melt into singing streams. when the sun of his face shall rise above the wider horizon, then what frozen symmetry would not turn into liquid melody? and who among you would not be the cup-bearer to the myrtle and the laurel? "it was but yesterday that you were moving with the moving sea, and you were shoreless and without a self. then the wind, the breath of life, wove you, a veil of light on her face; then her hand gathered you and gave you form, and with a head held high you sought the heights. but the sea followed after you, and her song is still with you. and though you have forgotten your parentage, she will for ever assert her motherhood, and for ever will she call you unto her. "in your wanderings among the mountains and the desert you will always remember the depth of her cool heart. and though oftentimes you will not know for what you long, it is indeed for her vast and rhythmic peace. "and how else can it be? in grove and in bower when the rain dances in leaves upon the hill, when snow falls, a blessing and a covenant; in the valley when you lead your flocks to the river; in your fields where brooks, like silver streams. join together the green garment; in your gardens when the early dews mirror the heavens; in your meadows when the mist of evening half veils your way; in all these the sea is with you, a witness to your heritage, and a claim upon your love. "it is the snow-flake in you running down to the sea." and on a morning as they walked in the garden, there appeared before the gate a woman, and it was karima, she whom almustafa had loved even as a sister in his boyhood. and she stood without, asking nothing, nor knocking with her hand upon the gate, but only gazing with longing and sadness into the garden. and almustafa saw the desire upon her eyelids, and with swift steps he came to the wall and the gate and opened unto her, and she came in and was made welcome. and she spoke and said: "wherefore have you withdrawn yourself from us altogether, that we may not live in the light of your countenance? for behold, these many years have we loved you and waited with longing for your safe return. and now the people cry for you and would have speech with you; and i am their messenger come to beseech you that you will show yourself to the people, and speak to them out of your wisdom, and comfort the broken of heart and instruct our foolishness." and looking upon her, he said: "call me not wise unless you call all men wise. a young fruit am i, still clinging to the branch, and it was only yesterday that i was but a blossom. "and call none among you foolish, for in truth we are neither wise nor foolish. we are green leaves upon the tree of life, and life itself is beyond wisdom, and surely beyond foolishness. "and have i indeed withdrawn myself from you? know you not that there is no distance save that which the soul does not span in fancy? and when the soul shall span that distance, it becomes a rhythm in the soul. "the space that lies between you and your near nei***our unbefriended is indeed greater than that which lies between you and your beloved who dwells beyond seven lands and seven seas. "for in remembrance there are no distances; and only in oblivion is there a gulf that neither your voice nor your eye can abridge. "between the shores of the oceans and the summit of the highest mountain there is a secret road which you must needs travel ere you become one with the sons of earth. "and between your knowledge and your understanding there is a secret path which you must needs discover ere you become one with man, and therefore one with yourself. "between your right hand that gives and your left hand that receives there is a great space. only by deeming them both giving and receiving can you bring them into spacelessness, for it is only in knowing that you have naught to give and naught to receive that you can overcome space. "verily the vastest distance is that which lies between your sleep-vision and your wakefulness; and between that which is but a deed and that which is a desire. "and there is still another road which you must needs travel ere you become one with life. but of that road i shall not speak now, seeing that you are weary already of travelling." then he went forth with the woman, he and the nine, even unto the market-place, and he spoke to the people, his friends and his nei***ours, and there was joy in their hearts and upon their eyelids. and he said: "you grow in sleep, and live your fuller life in you dreaming. for all your days are spent in thanksgiving for that which you have received in the stillness of the night. "oftentimes you think and speak of night as the season of rest, yet in truth night is the season of seeking and finding. "the day gives unto you the power of knowledge and teaches your fingers to become versed in the art of receiving; but it is night that leads you to the treasure-house of life. "the sun teaches to all things that grow their longing for the light. but it is night that raises them to the stars. "it is indeed the stillness of the night that weaves a wedding-veil over the trees in the forest, and the flowers in the garden, and then spreads the lavish feast and makes ready the nuptial chamber; and in that holy silence tomorrow is conceived in the womb of time. thus it is with you, and thus, in seeking, you find meat and fulfilment. and though at dawn your awakening erases the memory, the board of dreams is for ever spread, and the nuptial chamber waiting." and he was silent for a space, and they also, awaiting his word. then he spoke again, saying: "you are spirits though you move in bodies; and like oil that burns in the dark, you are flames though held in lamps. "if you were naught save bodies, then my standing before you and speaking unto you would be but emptiness, even as the dead calling unto the dead. but this is not so. all that is deathless in you is free unto the day and the night and cannot be housed nor fettered, for this is the will of the most high. you are his breath even as the wind that shall be neither caught nor caged. and i also am the breath of his breath." and he went from their midst walking swiftly and entered again into the garden. and sarkis, he who was the half-doubter, spoke and said: "and what of ugliness, master? you speak never of ugliness." and almustafa answered him, and there was a whip in his words, and he said: "my friend, what man shall call you inhospitable if he shall pass by your house, yet would not knock at your door? "and who shall deem you deaf and unmindful if he shall speak to you in a strange tongue of which you understand nothing? "is it not that which you have never striven to reach, into whose heart you have never desired to enter, that you deem ugliness? "if ugliness is aught, indeed, it is but the scales upon our eyes, and the wax filling our ears. "call nothing ugly, my friend, save the fear of a soul in the presence of its own memories." and upon a day as they sat in the long shadows of the white poplars, one spoke saying: "master, i am afraid of time. it passes over us and robs us of our youth, and what does it give in return?" and he answered and said: "take up now a handful of good earth. do you find in it a seed, and perhaps a worm? if your hand were spacious and enduring enough, the seed might become a forest, and the worm a flock of angels. and forget not that the years which turn seeds to forests, and worms to angels, belong to this now, all of the years, this very now. "and what are the seasons of the years save your own thoughts changing? spring is an awakening in your breast, and summer but a recognition of your own fruitfulness. is not autumn the ancient in you singing a lullaby to that which is still a child in your being? and what, i ask you, is winter save sleep big with the dreams of all the other seasons." and the mannus, the inquisitive disciple, looked about him and he saw plants in flower cleaving unto the sycamore-tree. and he said: "behold the parasites, master. what say you of them? they are thieves with weary eyelids who steal the light from the steadfast children of the sun, and make fair of the sap that runneth into their branches and their leaves." and he answered him saying: "my friend, we are all parasites. we who labour to turn the sod into pulsing life are not above those who receive life directly from the sod without knowing the sod. "shall a mother say to her child: i give you back to the forest, which is your greater mother, for you weary me, heart and hand? "or shall the singer rebuke his own song, saying: return now to the cave of echoes from whence you came, for your voice consumes my breath? "and shall the shepherd say to his yearling: i have no pasture whereunto i may lead you; therefore be cut off and become a sacrifice for this cause? "nay, my friend, all these things are answered even before they are asked, and, like your dreams, are fulfilled ere you sleep. "we live upon one another according to the law, ancient and timeless. let us live thus in loving-kindness. we seek one another in our aloneness, and we walk the road when we have no hearth to sit beside. "my friends and my brothers, the wider road is your fellow-man. "these plants that live upon the tree draw milk of the earth in the sweet stillness of night, and the earth in her tranquil dreaming sucks at the breast of the sun. "and the sun, even as you and i and all there is, sits in equal honour at the banquet of the prince whose door is always open and whose board is always spread. "mannus, my friend, all there is lives always upon all there is; and all there is lives in the faith, shoreless, upon the bounty of the most high." and on a morning when the sky was yet pale with dawn, they walked all together in the garden and looked unto the east and were silent in the presence of the rising sun. and after a while almustafa pointed with his hand, and said: "the image of the morning sun in a dewdrop is not less than the sun. the reflection of life in your soul is not less than life. "the dewdrop mirrors the light because it is one with light, and you reflect life because you and life are one. "when darkness is upon you, say: this darkness is dawn not yet born; and though nights travail be full upon me, yet shall dawn be born unto me even as unto the hills. "the dewdrop rounding its sphere in the dusk of the lily is not unlike yourself gathering your soul in the heart of god. "shall a dewdrop say: but once in a thousand years i am a dewdrop, speak you and answer it saying: know you not that the light of all the years is shining in your circle? " and on an evening a great storm visited the place, and almustafa and his disciples, the nine, went within and sat about the fire and were silent. then one of the disciples said: "i am alone, master, and the hoofs of the hours beat heavily upon my breast." and almustafa rose up and stood in their midst, and he said in a voice like unto the sound of a great wind: "alone! and what of it? you came alone, and alone shall you pass into the mist. "therefore drink your cup alone and in silence. the autumn days have given other lips other cups and filled them with wine bitter and sweet, even as they have filled your cup. "drink your cup alone though it taste of your own blood and tears, and praise life for the gift of thirst. for without thirst your heart is but the shore of a barren sea, songless and without a tide. "drink your cup alone, and drink it with cheers. "raise it high above your head and drink deep to those who drink alone. "once i sought the company of men and sat with them at their banquet-tables and drank deep with them; but their wine did not rise to my head, nor did it flow into my bosom. it only descended to my feet. my wisdom was left dry and my heart was locked and sealed. only my feet were with them in their fog. "and i sought the company of men no more, nor drank wine with them at their board. "therefore i say unto you, though the hoofs of the hours beat heavily upon your bosom, what of it? it is well for you to drink your cup of sorrow alone, and your cup of joy shall you drink alone also." and on a day, as phardrous, the greek, walked in the garden, he struck his foot upon a stone and he was angered. and he turned and picked up the stone, saying in a low voice: "o dead thing in my path!" and he flung away the stone. and almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, said: "why say you: o dead thing? have you been thus long in this garden and know not that there is nothing dead here? all things live and glow in the knowledge of the day and the majesty of the night. you and the stone are one. there is a difference only in heart-beats. your heart beats a little faster, does it, my friend? ay, but it is not so tranquil. "its rhythm may be another rhythm, but i say unto you that if you sound the depths of your soul and scale the heights of space, you shall hear one melody, and in that melody the stone and the star sing, the one with the other, in perfect unison. "if my words reach not your understanding, then let be until another dawn. if you have cursed this stone because in your blindness you have stumbled upon it, then would you curse a star if so be your head should encounter it in the sky. but the day will come when you will gather stones and stars as a child plucks the valley-lilies, and then shall you know that all these things are living and fragrant." and on the first day of the week when the sounds of the temple bells sought their ears, one spoke and said: "master, we hear much talk of god hereabout. what say you of god, and who is he in very truth?" and he stood before them like a young tree, fearless of wind or tempest, and he answered saying: "think now, my comrades and beloved, of a heart that contains all your hearts, a love that encompasses all your loves, a spirit that envelops all your spirits, a voice enfolding all your voices, and a silence deeper than all your silences, and timeless. "seek now to perceive in your selffulness a beauty more enchanting than all things beautiful, a song more vast than the songs of the sea and the forest, a majesty seated upon the throne for which orion is but a footstool, holding a sceptre in which the pleiades are naught save the glimmer of dewdrops. "you have sought always only food and shelter, a garment and a staff; seek now one who is neither an aim for your arrows nor a stony cave to shield you from the elements. "and if my words are a rock and a riddle, then seek, none the less, that your hearts may be broken, and that your questionings may bring you unto the love and the wisdom of the most high, whom men call god." and they were silent, every one, and they were perplexed in their heart; and almustafa was moved with compassion for them, and he gazed with tenderness upon them and said: "let us speak rather of the gods, your nei***ours, and of your brothers, the elements that move about your houses and your fields. "you would rise up in fancy unto the cloud, and you deem it height; and you would pass over the vast sea and claim it to be distance. but i say unto you that when you sow a seed in the earth, you reach a greater height; and when you hail the beauty of the morning to your nei***our, you cross a greater sea. "too often do you sing god, the infinite, and yet in truth you hear not the song. would that you might listen to the song-birds, and to the leaves that forsake the branch when the wind passes by, and forget not, my friends, that these sing only when they are separated from the branch! "again i bid you to speak not so freely of god, who is your all, but speak rather and understand one another, nei***our unto nei***our, a god unto a god. "for what shall feed the fledgling in the nest if the mother bird flies skyward? and what anemone in the fields shall be fulfilled unless it be husbanded by a bee from another anemone? "it is only when you are lost in your smaller selves that you seek the sky which you call god. would that you might find paths into your vast selves; would that you might be less idle and pave the roads! "my mariners and my friends, it were wiser to speak less of god, whom we cannot understand, and more of each other, whom we may understand. yet i would have you know that we are the breath and the fragrance of god. we are god, in leaf, in flower, and oftentimes in fruit." www.xiaoshuotxt.,com The Garden Of The Prophet (3) 小;说，t，xt，天'堂 the garden of the prophet (3) and on a morning when the sun was high, one of the disciples, one of those three who had played with him in childhood, approached him saying: "master, my garment is worn, and i have no other. give me leave to go unto the market-place and bargain that perchance i may procure me new raiment." and almustafa looked upon the young man, and he said: "give me your garment." and he did so and stood naked in the noonday. and almustafa said in a voice that was like a young steed running upon a road: "only the naked live in the sun. only the artless ride the wind. and he alone who loses his way a thousand times shall have a home-coming. "the angels are tired of the clever. and it was but yesterday that an angel said to me: we created hell for those who glitter. what else but fire can erase a shining surface and melt a thing to its core? "and i said: but in creating hell you created devils to govern hell. but the angel answered: nay, hell is governed by those who do not yield to fire. "wise angel! he knows the ways of men and the ways of half-men. he is one of the seraphim who come to minister unto the prophets when they are tempted by the clever. and no doubt he smiled when the prophets smile, and weeps also when they weep. "my friends and my mariners, only the naked live in the sun. only the rudderless can sail the greater sea. only he who is dark with the night shall wake with the dawn, and only he who sleeps with the roots under the snow shall reach the spring. "for you are even like roots, and like roots are you simple, yet you have wisdom from the earth. and you are silent, yet you have within your unborn branches the choir of the four winds. "you are frail and you are formless, yet you are the beginning of giant oaks, and of the half-pencilled patterned of the willows against the sky. "once more i say, you are but roots betwixt the dark sod and the moving heavens. and oftentimes have i seen you rising to dance with the light, but i have also seen you shy. all roots are shy. they have hidden their hearts so long that they know not what to do with their hearts. "but may shall come, and may is a restless virgin, and she shall mother the hills and plains." and one who had served in the temple besought him saying: "teach us, master, that our words may be even as your words, a chant and an incense unto the people." and almustafa answered and said: "you shall rise beyond your words, but your path shall remain, a rhythm and a fragrance; a rhythm for lovers and for all who are beloved, and a fragrance for those who would live life in a garden. "but you shall rise beyond your words to a summit whereon the star-dust falls, and you shall open your hands until they are filled; then you shall lie down and sleep like a white fledgling in a white nest, and you shall dream of your tomorrow as white violets dream of spring. "ay, and you shall go down deeper than your words. you shall seek the lost fountain-heads of the streams, and you shall be a hidden cave echoing the faint voices of the depths which now you do not even hear. "you shall go down deeper than your words, ay, deeper than all sounds, to the very heart of the earth, and there you shall be alone with him who walks also upon the milky way." and after a space one of the disciples asked him saying: "master, speak to us of being. what is it to be?" and almustafa looked long upon him and loved him. and he stood up and walked a distance away from them; then returning, he said: "in this garden my father and my mother lie, buried by the hands of the living; and in this garden lie buried the seeds of yesteryear, bought hither upon the wings of the wind. a thousand times shall my mother and my father be buried here, and a thousand times shall the wind bury the seed; and a thousand years hence shall you and i and these flowers come together in this garden even as now, and we shall be, loving life, and we shall be, dreaming of space, and we shall be, rising towards the sun. "but now today to be is to be wise, though not a stranger to the foolish; it is to be strong, but not to the undoing of the weak; to play with young children, not as fathers, but rather as playmates who would learn their games; "to be simple and guileless with old men and women, and to sit with them in the shade of the ancient oak-trees, though you are still walking with spring; "to seek a poet though he may live beyond the seven rivers, and to be at peace in his presence, nothing wanting, nothing doubting, and with no question upon your lips; "to know that the saint and the sinner are twin brothers, whose father is our gracious king, and that one was born but the moment before the other, wherefore we regard his as the crowned prince; "to follow beauty even when she shall lead you to the verge of the precipice; and though she is winged and you are wingless, and though she shall pass beyond the verge, follow her, for where beauty is not, there is nothing; "to be a garden without walls, a vineyard without a guardian, a treasure-house for ever open to passers-by; "to be robbed, cheated, deceived, ay, misled and trapped and then mocked, yet with it all to look down from the height of your larger self and smile, knowing that there is spring that will come to your garden to dance in your leaves, and an autumn to ripen your grapes; knowing that if but one of your windows is open to the east, you shall never be empty; knowing that all those deemed wrongdoers and robbers, cheaters and deceivers are your brothers in need, and that you are perchance all of these in the eyes of the blessed inhabitants of that city invisible, above this city. "and now, to you also whose hands fashion and find all things that are needful for the comfort of our days and our nights— "to be is to be a weaver with seeing fingers, a builder mindful of light and space; to be a ploughman and feel that you are hiding a treasure with every seed you sow; to be a fisherman and a hunter with a pity for the fish and for the beast, yet a still greater pity for the hunger and need of man. "and, above all, i say this: i would have you each and every one partners to the purpose of every man, for only so shall you hope to obtain your own good purpose. "my comrades and my beloved, be bold and not meek; be spacious and not confined; and until my final hour and yours be indeed your greater self." and he ceased speaking and there fell a deep gloom upon the nine, and their heart was turned away from him, for they understood not his words. and behold, the three men who were mariners longed for the sea; and they who had served in the temple yearned for the consolation of her sanctuary; and they who had been his playfellows desired the market-place. they all were deaf to his words, so that the sound of them returned unto him like weary and homeless birds seeking refuge. and almustafa walked a distance from them in the garden, saying nothing, nor looking upon them. and they began to reason among themselves and to seek excuse for their longing to be gone. and behold, they turned and went every man to his own place, so that almustafa, the chosen and the beloved, was left alone. and when the night was fully come, he took his steps to the grave-side of his mother and sat beneath the cedar-tree which grew above the place. and there came the shadow of a great light upon the sky, and the garden shone like a fair jewel upon the breast of earth. and almustafa cried out in the aloneness of his spirit, and he said: "heavy-laden is my soul with her own ripe fruit. who is there would come and take and be satisfied? is there not one who has fasted and who is kindly and generous in heart, to come and break his fast upon my first yieldings to the sun and thus ease me of the weight of mine own abundance? "my soul is running over with the wine of the ages. is there no thirsty one to come and drink? "behold, there was a man standing at the cross-roads with hands stretched forth unto the passers-by, and his hands were filled with jewels. and he called upon the passers-by, saying: pity me, and take from me. in gods name, take out of my hands and console me. "but the passers-by only looked upon him, and none took out of his hand. "would rather that he were a beggar stretching forth his hand to receive—ay, a shivering hand, and brought back empty to his bosom—than to stretch it forth full of rich gifts and find none to receive. "and behold, there was also the gracious prince who raised up his silken tents between the mountain and the desert and bade his servants to burn fire, a sign to the stranger and the wanderer; and who sent forth his slaves to watch the road that they might fetch a guest. but the roads and the paths of the desert were unyielding, and they found no one. "would rather that prince were a man of nowhere and nowhen, seeking food and shelter. would that he were the wanderer with naught but his staff and an earthen vessel. for then at nightfall would he meet with his kind, and with the poets of nowhere and nowhen, and share their beggary and their remembrances and their dreaming. "and behold, the daughter of the great king rose from sleep and put upon her silken raiment and her pearls and rubies, and she scattered musk upon her hair and dipped her fingers in amber. then she descended from her tower to her garden, where the dew of night found her golden sandals. "in the stillness of the night the daughter of a ploughman, tending his sheep in a field, and returning to her fathers house at eventide with the dust of the curving roads upon her feet, and the fragrance of the vineyards in the folds of her garment. and when the night is come, and the angel of the night is upon the world, she would steal her steps to the river-valley where her lover awaits. "would that she were a nun in a cloister burning her heart for incense, that her heart may rise to the wind, and exhausting her spirit, a candle, for a light arising toward the greater light, together with all those who worship and those who love and are beloved. "would rather that she were a woman ancient of years, sitting in the sun and remembering who had shared her youth." and the night waxed deep, and almustafa was dark with the night, and his spirit was as a cloud unspent. and he cried again: "heavy-laden is my soul with her own ripe fruit; heavy-laden is my soul with her fruit. who now will come and eat and be fulfilled? my soul is overflowing with her wine. who now will pour and drink and be cooled of the desert heat? "would that i were a tree flowerless and fruitless, for the pain of abundance is more bitter than barrenness, and the sorrow of the rich from whom no one will take is greater than the grief of the beggar to whom none would give. "would that i were a well, dry and parched , and men throwing stones into me; for this were better and easier to be borne than to be a source of living water when men pass by and will not drink. "would that i were a reed trodden under foot, for that were better than to be a lyre of silvery strings in a house whose lord has no fingers and whose children are deaf." now, for seven days and seven nights no man came nigh the garden, and he was alone with is memories and his pain; for even those who had heard his words with love and patience had turned away to the pursuits of other days. only karima came, with silence upon her face like a veil; and with cup and plate within her hand, drink and meat for his aloneness and his hunger. and after setting these before him, she walked her way. and almustafa came again to the company of the white poplars within the gate, and he sat looking upon the road. and after a while he beheld as it were a cloud of dust blown above the road and coming toward him. and from out the cloud came the nine, and before them karima guiding them. and almustafa advanced and met them upon the road, and they passed through the gate, and all was well, as though they had gone their path but an hour ago. they came in and supped with him at his frugal board, after that karima had laid upon it the bread and the fish and poured the last of the wine into the cups. and as she poured, she besought the master saying: "give me leave that i go into the city and fetch wine to replenish your cups, for this is spent." and he looked upon her, and in his eyes were a journey and a far country, and he said: "nay, for it is sufficient unto the hour." and they ate and drank and were satisfied. and when it was finished, almustafa spoke in a vast voice, deep as the sea and full as a great tide under the moon, and he said: "my comrades and my road-fellows, we must needs part this day. long have we climbed the steepest mountains and we have wrestled with the storms. we have known hunger, but we have also sat at wedding-feasts. oftentimes have we been naked, but we have also worn kingly raiment. we have indeed travelled far, but now we part. together you shall go your way, and alone must i go mine. "and though the seas and the vast lands shall separate us, still we shall be companions upon our journey to the holy mountain. "but before we go our severed roads, i would give unto you the harvest and the gleaning of my heart: "go you upon your way with singing, but let each song be brief, for only the songs that die young upon your lips shall live in human hearts. "tell a lovely truth in little words, but never an ugly truth in any words. tell the maiden whose hair shines in the sun that she is the daughter of the morning. but if you shall behold the sightless, say not to him that he is one with night. "listen to the flute-player as it were listening to april, but if you shall hear the critic and the fault-finder speak, be deaf as your own bones and as distant as your fancy. "my comrades and my beloved, upon your way you shall meet men with hoofs; give them your wings. and men with horns; give them wreaths of laurel. and men with claws; give them petals for fingers. and men with forked tongues; give them honey words. "ay, you shall meet all these and more; you shall meet the lame selling crutches; and the blind, mirrors. and you shall meet the rich men begging at the gate of the temple. "to the lame give your swiftness, to the blind of your vision; and see that you give of yourself to the rich beggars; they are the most needy of all, for surely no man would stretch a hand for alms unless he be poor indeed, though of great possessions. "my comrades and my friends, i charge you by our love that you be countless paths which cross one another in the desert, where the lions and the rabbits walk, and also the wolves and the sheep. "and remember this of me: i teach you not giving, but receiving; not denial, but fulfilment; and not yielding, but understanding, with the smile upon the lips. "i teach you not silence, but rather a song not over-loud. "i teach you your larger self, which contains all men." and he rose from the board and went out straightway into the garden and walked under the shadow of the cypress-trees as the day waned. and they followed him, at a little distance, for their heart was heavy, and their tongue clave to the roof of their mouth. only karima, after she had put by the fragments, came unto him and said: "master, i would that you suffer me to prepare food against the morrow and your journey." and he looked upon her with eyes that saw other worlds that this, and he said: "my sister, and my beloved, it is done, even from the beginning of time. the food and the drink is ready, for the morrow, even as for our yesterday and our today. "i go, but if i go with a truth not yet voiced, that very truth will again seek me and gather me, though my elements be scattered throughout the silences of eternity, and again shall i come before you that i may speak with a voice born anew out of the heart of those boundless silences. "and if there be aught of beauty that i have declared not unto you, then once again shall i be called, ay, even by mine own name, almustafa, and i shall give you a sign, that you may know i have come back to speak all that is lacking, for god will not suffer himself to be hidden from man, nor his word to lie covered in the abyss of the heart of man. "i shall live beyond death, and i shall sing in your ears even after the vast sea-wave carries me back to the vast sea-depth. i shall sit at your board though without a body, and i shall go with you to your fields, a spirit invisible. i shall come to you at your fireside, a guest unseen. death changes nothing but the masks that cover our faces. the woodsman shall be still a woodsman, the ploughman, a ploughman, and he who sang his song to the wind shall sing it also to the moving spheres." and the disciples were as still as stones, and grieved in their heart for that he had said: "i go." but no man put out his hand to stay the master, nor did any follow after his footsteps. and almustafa went out from the garden of his mother, and his feet were swift and they were soundless; and in a moment, like a blown leaf in a strong wind, he was far gone from them, and they saw, as it were, a pale light moving up to the heights. and the nine walked their ways down the road. but the woman still stood in the gathering night, and she beheld how the light and the twilight were become one; and she comforted her desolation and her aloneness with his words: "i go, but if i go with a truth not yet voiced, that very truth will seek me and gather me, and again shall i come." and now it was eventide. and he had reached the hills. his steps had led him to the mist, and he stood among the rocks and the white cypress-trees hidden from all things, and he spoke and said: "o mist, my sister, white breath not yet held in a mould, i return to you, a breath white and voiceless, a word not yet uttered. "o mist, my winged sister mist, we are together now, and together we shall be till lifes second day, whose dawn shall lay you, dewdrops in a garden, and me a babe upon the breast of a woman, and we shall remember. "o mist, my sister, i come back, a heart listening in its depths, even as your heart, a desire throbbing and aimless even as your desire, a thought not yet gathered, even as your thought. "o mist, my sister, first-born of my mother, my hands still hold the green seeds you bade me scatter, and my lips are sealed upon the song you bade me sing; and i bring you no fruit, and i bring you no echoes for my hands were blind, and my lips unyielding. "o mist, my sister, much did i love the world, and the world loved me, for all my smiles were upon her lips, and all her tears were in my eyes. yet there was between us a gulf of silence which she would not abridge and i could not overstep. "o mist, my sister, my deathless sister mist, i sang the ancient songs unto my little children, and they listened, and there was wondering upon their face; but tomorrow perchance they will forget the song, and i know not to whom the wind will carry the song. and though it was not mine own, yet it came to my heart and dwelt for a moment upon my lips. "o mist, my sister, though all this came to pass, i am at peace. it was enough to sing to those already born. and though the singing is indeed not mine, yet it is of my hearts deepest desire. "o mist, my sister, my sister mist, i am one with you now. no longer am i a self. the walls have fallen, and the chains have broken; i rise to you, a mist, and together we shall float upon the sea until lifes second day, when dawn shall lay you, dewdrops in a garden, and me a babe upon the breast of a woman." www、xiaoshuotxt.com TXT小说天堂 http://www.xiaoshuotxt.com，最有文艺气息的文学网站，手机直接阅读下载请登陆http://m.xiaoshuotxt.com，所有TXT电子书手机免费下载阅读，我们提供给您的小说不求最多，但求最经典最完整