[黎巴嫩]卡里·纪伯伦/Kahlil Gibran
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 the files, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
一位怀抱婴儿的妇女说，请你给我们讲讲孩子的事情。
他于是说：
孩子其实并不是你们的孩子。
他们是生命为自己所渴求的儿女。
他们借你们而生，却并非从你们而来。尽管他们与你们同在，却并不属于你们。
你们可以把你们的爱给予他们，却不能给予思想，因为他们有自己的思想。
你们可以庇护他们的身体，但不是他们的灵魂。
因为他们的灵魂栖息于明日之屋，那是你们在梦中也无法造访的地方。
你们可以努力地仿效他们，但是，不可企图让他们像你。
因为生命无法倒流，也不会滞留于昨日。
你们是弓，而你们的孩子就像从弦上向前射出的生命之箭。
那射手瞄准无限之旅上的目标，用力将你弯曲，拉满弓，以使手中的箭射得又快又远。