散文：上帝對(duì)我說(shuō)了什么
我相信善可以壓倒惡，并發(fā)現(xiàn)如果我們完全相信善的力量，便能以善除惡。
Knowledge like this gives one great strength in time of oppression or tyranny. I believe that hatred is destructive. It is not always easy or possible to love people, nations, or ideas, but at least, I say to myself, Do not hate them: try to turn thoughts toward God. Someone once said, “It is better to love the good than hate the bad.”
這樣的認(rèn)識(shí)在壓迫和暴政時(shí)期給人巨大的力量。我相信仇恨有毀滅性的力量，熱愛人民、民族或思想總是不容易或不可能，但至少我勸誡自己：“別恨他們，努力把思緒轉(zhuǎn)向上帝。”有人曾說(shuō)：“與其憎惡，不如揚(yáng)善。”
I have all of my share of the artist’s temperament, and one of our faults is that we think people are being unfair to us, or that we are suffering from other people’s jealousy — the persecution complex, in fact. The one and only way in which I have been able to clear this away is to turn my mind and thoughts to good and to God. I say, Never mind what he or she or they say, what does God say to me? Where does my life come from? Who is the source of all my qualities, and can anything prevent those qualities from being used?
我擁有藝術(shù)家的稟賦，而藝術(shù)家的缺點(diǎn)之一是認(rèn)為自己受的待遇不公，或者苦于遭受他人嫉妒。這實(shí)際上是一種受迫害情結(jié)。而我能擺脫這種情結(jié)困擾的一種也是唯一的一種方法是將心靈和思想轉(zhuǎn)向從善和信仰上帝。我告誡自己：“別介意他人說(shuō)什么，上帝對(duì)我說(shuō)了什么?我的生命從何而來(lái)?誰(shuí)賜予我所有的優(yōu)點(diǎn)——有什么能阻擋我發(fā)揮那些優(yōu)點(diǎn)?”
I believe, today, that a great flood of good would be released in the world if all of us concentrated upon following the simple commands of Christ: “Love God first, and your neighbor as yourself.” As “yourself,” I try to remember. So if I think kindly of myself, then I think kindly of my neighbor. When Christ was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” what did He say? He told the story of the Samaritan.
今天我相信，如果我們所有人都一心一意遵循耶穌質(zhì)樸的教導(dǎo)——“首先愛上帝，然后像愛自己一樣愛你的鄰居”，世界便會(huì)善舉如潮。我努力記住“像愛你自己一樣”。所以，如果我好好為自己著想，就會(huì)好好為鄰里著想。有人問(wèn)耶穌：“誰(shuí)是我的鄰居”時(shí)，他怎么回答呢?他講述了撒馬利亞人救助落難的陌生人的故事。
People are always demanding of us British, “Don’t you dislike Americans?” And conversely to you Americans, “Don’t you dislike the British?” I can’t bear classing people together nationally, and liking or disliking them. People are people wherever you meet them. They are all the children of the one God.
人們總是要求我們英國(guó)人回答：“難道你們不喜歡美國(guó)人嗎?”反過(guò)來(lái)問(wèn)美國(guó)人：“難道你們不喜歡英國(guó)人嗎?”我無(wú)法接受按國(guó)籍劃分人，然后決定喜歡還是厭惡他們。不管你身在何處，遇見的人都是一樣的，都是同一個(gè)上帝的孩子。
I have been asked how I felt in the Blitz. Most of the time, I was in London, terribly excited by fear. But the only way I could keep going about my work at all was by constantly assuring myself that the all-powerful God would take care of me.
有人問(wèn)我閃擊戰(zhàn)期間的感受。大多數(shù)時(shí)候我在倫敦，由于恐懼而特別激動(dòng)，但讓我能繼續(xù)工作的唯一辦法根本上說(shuō)就是不斷讓自己確信，全能的上帝會(huì)眷顧我。
On looking round the world today, one is impressed by the amount of fear that is expressed by everybody: fear of war, fear of ill health, fear of not being able to hold a job, fear of people getting ahead of you, fear of losing opportunity; fear of losing friends, lovers, advantages; fear of death.
環(huán)顧當(dāng)今的現(xiàn)實(shí)世界，我們深感每一個(gè)人受著許多恐懼的折磨;害怕戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，害怕疾病，害怕失業(yè)，害怕落后，害怕喪失機(jī)會(huì)，害怕失去朋友、心上人、優(yōu)勢(shì)，害怕死亡。
We are constantly reading articles, and hearing speeches, where the writers and the speakers tell us that we must cease being so material. But what most of us want to know is how? If a busy man at his office is faced with a seemingly insuperable problem, how is he to solve this problem by other than material means?
我們經(jīng)常讀文章、聽演講，那些作者和演講者提醒我們必須停止如此沉湎于物質(zhì)追求。但我們大多數(shù)人想知道的是該怎么停止。如果一個(gè)在辦公室忙碌的人碰到一個(gè)似乎無(wú)法克服的困難，該如何通過(guò)非物質(zhì)手段解決呢?
But, of course, the answer is so simple. Like Naaman, who said, “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?” we tend to disregard it.It is always to turn our thoughts immediately, and with absolute confidence, away from the difficulty, and if, as I said at the beginning, one believes in the power of good, one must quietly know that the power of good will give all the right answers to the problem, even if the answer is required within a few minutes or half an hour.
當(dāng)然答案很簡(jiǎn)單，正如乃縵所言：“大馬士革的河亞罷拿和法珥法，豈不比以色列的一切水更好嗎?”我們常常忽略了這一點(diǎn)，常常把思緒萬(wàn)分自信地立即從困難轉(zhuǎn)移開。倘若如我在開始所說(shuō)，人們相信善的力量，就必須明白，善的力量會(huì)恰當(dāng)?shù)亟鉀Q這個(gè)問(wèn)題，即使需要在幾分鐘或半小時(shí)之內(nèi)解決它。
And when I say these things, I say them because I have proved them. In fact, throughout the ups and downs of my theatrical life, if I had not had some simple code — because I am not a highly intellectual woman — I should not be doing happily and successfully the work that I love.
我談?wù)撨@些事情，是因?yàn)槲乙岩娮C過(guò)這些事。實(shí)際上，我并非一個(gè)智商很高的女人，我的戲劇生涯充滿了挫折，要不是我相信一種簡(jiǎn)單的信條，我決不會(huì)如此快樂地從事自己熱愛的工作并獲得成功。
