21 #
我曾七度鄙視我的靈魂：
第一回，我看著她明可展翅高飛，卻不禁軟弱。
第二回，我看著她尚未瘸腿，就先跛行。
第三回，在難與易之間，她選擇了易。
第四回，她犯了錯，卻安慰自己人人皆犯錯。
第五回，她因軟弱而壓抑，卻說耐性是種力量。
第六回，她鄙視臉容的醜陋，殊不知那也是她的一張面具。
第七回，她哼唱讚美歌，卻以為那就是美德。
21 #
Seven times have I despised my soul:
The first time when I saw her being meek that she might attain height.
The second time when I saw her limping before the crippled.
The third time when she was given to choose between the hard and the easy, and she chose the easy.
The fourth time when she committed a wrong, and comforted herself that others also commit wrong.
The fifth time when she forbore for weakness, and attributed her patience to strength.
The sixth time when she despised the ugliness of a face, and knew not that it was one of her own masks.
And the seventh time when she sang a song of praise, and deemed it a virtue.
本文節錄自：《沙與沫【中英對照版】》一書，紀伯倫（Kahlil Gibran）著，三娃繪，張家綺譯，好讀出版。
