Three Days to See
假如给我三天光明
The Story of My Life
我生命的故事
Optimism
三论乐观
Address of Helen Keller at Mt. Airy
在芒特艾里的演讲
Selected Letters of Helen Keller
海伦·凯勒书信选
內容試閱:
《假如给我三天光明》(Three Days to See)选摘
I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me
through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass
my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the
rough, shaggy bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of
trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of awakening
Nature after her winter''s sleep. I feel the delightful, velvety
texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions; and
something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally,
if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and
feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to
have the cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me
a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than
the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a
thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through
my finger tips.
我这个看不见东西的盲人,尚能通过触摸发觉到成百上千充满趣味的事物。我曾感受叶子精巧的对称,我也曾细抚白桦柔滑的皮肤和松树粗糙不平的表皮。春日里我渴望在树干上发现一簇嫩芽,因为那预示着久经寒冬的大自然正从长眠中醒来。我感受着花瓣们令人惊喜的天鹅绒般的触感,发觉他们特别的弧线,领略大自然的鬼斧神工。偶尔,当我将双手放在小树上的时候,还能幸运地感受到高歌的鸟儿身体那愉悦的颤抖。当清凉的小溪水从我指间流过,我更是满心欢喜。苍翠的松针或柔嫩的青草铺就的郁郁葱葱的地毯,比奢美华丽的波斯地毯还要让我倾心。对我而言,一年四季壮美的变幻就是一出动人心弦、永不会落幕的戏剧,情节如小溪流的水一般,顺着我指尖缓缓流过。
……
Perhaps this short outline of how I should spend three days of
sight does not agree with the programme you would set for yourself
if you knew that you were about to be stricken blind. I am,
however, sure that if you actually faced that fate your eyes would
open to things you had never seen before, storing up memories for
the long night ahead. You would use your eyes as never before.
Everything you saw would become dear to you. Your eyes would touch
and embrace every object that came within your range of vision.
Then, at last, you would really see, and a new world of beauty
would open itself before you.
I who am blind can give one hint to those who see - one
admonition to those who would make full use of the gift of sight:
Use your eyes as if tomorrow you would be stricken blind. And the
same method can be applied to other senses. Hear the music of
voices, the song of a bird, the mighty strains of an orchestra, as
if you would be stricken deaf to-morrow. Touch each object you want
to touch as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. Smell the
perfume of flowers, taste with relish each morsel, as if tomorrow
you could never smell and taste again. Make the most of every
sense; glory in all the facets of pleasure and beauty which the
world reveals to you through the several means of contact which
Nature provides. But of all the senses, I am sure that sight must
be the most delightful.