Three Days to See

by Helen Keller

245'

Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, a vigour, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the Epicurean motto of "Eat, drink, and be merry," but most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.


  In stories the doomed hero is usually saved at the last minute by some stroke of fortune, but almost always his sense of values is changed. He becomes more appreciative of the meaning of life and its permanent spiritual values. It has often been noted that those who live, or have lived, in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do.


  Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.


  The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life? But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill.


I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.


 Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed…"Nothing in particular," she replied. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such reposes, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.

--To be continue

参考译文:

假如给我三天光明

在最后一刻由某种命运的突变而得救，但几乎总是他的价值观被改变了。他们对生活的意义和它永恒的精神价值变得更具欣赏力了。常常看到那些生活或已生活在死亡的阴影之中的人们都赋予他们所做的每件事以芳醇甜美。

但是，我们大多数人把生活认为是理所当然的。我们知道，某一天我们一定会死，但通常我们把那天想象在遥远的将来。当我们心宽体健时，死亡几乎是不可想象的，我们很少想到它。时日在无穷的展望中延展着，于是我们干着琐碎的事情，几乎意识不到我们对生活的倦怠态度。

恐怕，同倦的懒散也成为利用我们所有的本能和感觉的特点有时我想到，过好每一天是个非常好的习惯，似乎我们明天就会死去。这种态度鲜明地强调了生命的价值。我们应该以优雅、精力充沛、善知乐趣的方式过好每一天。而当岁月推移，在经常瞻观未来之时日、未来之年月中，这些又常常失去。当然，也有人愿按伊壁鸠鲁的信条“吃、喝和欢乐”去生活。（译注：伊壁鸠鲁是古希腊哲学家，他认为生活的主题目的是享乐，而最高的享受唯通过合理的生活，如自我控制才能得到。因为生活享受的目的被过分强调，而达此目的之手段被忽视，所以伊壁鸠鲁的信徒现今变为追求享乐的人。他们的信条是：“让我们吃喝，因为明天我们就死亡”），但绝大多数人还是被即将面临死亡的必然性所折磨。在故事里，注定要死的主人公往往。只有聋子才珍惜听力，唯有瞎子才体会到能看见事物的种种幸福，这种结论特别适合于那些在成年阶段失去视力和听力的人们，而那些从没有遭受视觉或听觉损伤之苦的人却很少充分利用这些天赐的官能。他们模模糊糊地眼观八方，耳听各音，毫无重点，不会鉴赏，还是那相同的老话，对我们所有的官能不知珍惜，直至失去它，对我们的健康意识不到，直至生病时。

我常常想，如果每个人在他成年的早期有一段时间致瞎致聋，那会是一种幸事，黑暗会使他更珍惜视力，寂静会教导他享受声音。

我不时地询问过我的能看见东西的朋友们，以了解他们看到什么。最近，我的一个很好的朋友来看我，她刚从一片森林里散步许久回来，我问她看到了什么，她答道：“没什么特别的。”如果我不是习惯了听到这种回答，我都可能不相信，因为很久以来我已确信这个情况：能看得见的人却看不到什么。

--未完待续