寒山(生卒年不詳),字、號均不詳,唐代長安(今陜西西安)人。出身于官宦人家,多次投考不第,后出家,三十歲后隱居于浙東天臺山,享年一百多歲。這位富有神話色彩的唐代詩人,曾經(jīng)一度被世人冷落,然而隨著二十世紀的到來,其詩卻越來越多地被世人接受并廣泛流傳。
《默默永無言》 寒山
默默永無言,后生何所述。
隱居在林藪,智日何由出。
枯槁非堅衛(wèi),風霜成夭疾。
土牛耕石田,未有得稻日。
Consequences
Pretending to be mute, committing no brush to ink
Will give posterity little to weigh.
Your seclusion, your humble withdrawal to the bog
Will give your wisdom a sodden taste.
No one nods approvingly at your wrinkles
Or thinks you’ve weathered winters well.
It is the harvest men revere,
Not the clay oxen in a stony field.