In Memory of Gabriel García Márquez 馬奎斯辭世

 

 

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A Farewell Letter 告別書 

 Gabriel Garcia Marquez has retired from public life due to health reasons: cancer of the lymph nodes. It seems that it is getting worse. He has sent his farewell letter to his friends, which has been translated and posted on the Internet. Please read and forward to any who might enjoy it. This is possibly, sadly, one of the last gifts to humanity from a true master. This short text, written by one of the most brilliant Latin Americans in recent times, is truly moving.

A Farewell Letter

告別書

If for an instant God were to forget that I am rag doll and gifted me with a piece of life, possibly I wouldn’t say all that I think, but rather I would think of all that I say.I would value things, not for their worth but for what they mean.

如果在這一息間，上帝忘記我是個布娃娃，賦予我片生，也許我不會隨口而說，而是經過深思熟慮，言之有物，不講求其價值，而是其含義。

I would sleep little, dream more, understanding that for each minute we close our eyes we lose sixty seconds of light.

我會少睡多夢想，明白到，閉上眼晴的每一分鐘，便失去了六十秒鐘的時光。

I would walk when others hold back. I would wake when others sleep.I would listen when others talk, and how I would enjoy a good chocolate ice cream!

當別人在徘徊，我獨前行。眾人在熟睡，我醒覺，人在說，我在聽，輕嘗著可口的巧克力冰淇淋！

If God were to give me a piece of life, I would dress simply,throw myself face first into the sun, baring not only my body but also my soul.

如果上帝賦予我片生，粗衣麻布都合身，讓陽光灑在臉上，赤裸的不只是我的軀殼，而是我的靈魂。

My God, if I had a heart, I would write my hate on ice, and wait for the sun to show.Over the stars I would paint with a Van Gogh dream a Benedetti poem, and a Serrat song would be the serenade I’d offer to the moon.

上帝，如果我有片心，把仇恨寫在冰面，等待著日出。畫出梵高的星、夢出貝塞拉特的詩歌，唱出沙拉的小夜曲，獻給月亮。

With my tears I would water roses, to feel the pain of their thorns, and the red kiss of their petals.My God, if I had a piece of life…

用淚水澆灌玫瑰，刺出苦楚，親吻紅色的花瓣。上帝，如果賦予我片生...

I wouldn’t let a single day pass without telling the people I love that I love them.I would convince each woman and each man that they are my favorites, and I would live in love with love.

沒讓一天溜走，不告訴我所愛的人，我對他們的愛。說服每個男女，他們是我的至愛，活在愛與被愛之中。

I would show men how very wrong they are to think that they cease to be in love when they grow old, not knowing that they grow old when they cease to love!

我會指出人的錯，誤以為老了不再相愛，而殊不知道，不再愛才令他們衰老！

To a child I shall give wings, but I shall let him learn to fly on his own.I would teach the old that death does not come with old age, but with forgetting.

我給孩子翅膀，讓他自己學飛，我提醒老年人，死亡並不隨衰老而來，而是失去記憶，才會帶來死亡。

So much have I learned from you, oh men…I have learned that everyone wants to live on the peak of the mountain, without knowing that real happiness is in how it is scaled.I have learned that when a newborn child squeezes for the first time with his tiny fist his father’s finger, he has him trapped forever.

啊，我從人的身上學到了這麼多的東西 ... 我知道每個人都希望在山頂上生活，而不知道，真正的幸福是在於怎樣登山。了解到，當新生的嬰兒，第一次用細小的拳頭緊擠父親手指的時候，兩人就永遠相依。

I have learned that a man has the right to look down on another only when he has to help the other get to his feet.

我學到一個人往下望的權利，就是幫助那些躺下的人重新立足。

From you I have learned so many things, but in truth they won’t be of much use, for when I keep them within this suitcase, unhappily shall I be dying.

我從你身上學到了很多東西，但事實上是放在行李箱裡，會不太中用，那就形同不快樂的死亡。

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/marquez.html

http://pkchanboston.blogspot.com/2009/08/a-farewell-letter.html

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTnkHhzbhc