Human life like a poem

林语堂

I think that,from a biological standpoint,human life almost reads like a poem.It has its own rhythm and beat,its internal cycles of growth and decay衰败.No one can say that a life with childhood,manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement.The day has its morning,noon and sunset,and the year has its seasons,and it is good—that it is so.There is no good or bad in life,except what is good according to its own season.

And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons,no one but a conceited骄傲自大的fool or an impossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like a poem.

我以为，从生物学角度看，人的一生恰如诗歌。人生自有其韵律和节奏，自有内在的成长与衰亡。人生有童年、成年和老年，谁也不能否认这是一种美好的安排。一天要有清晨、正午和日落，一年要有四季之分，如此才好。人生本无好坏之分，只是各个季节有各自的好处。

如若我们持此种生物学的观点，并循着季节去生活，除了狂妄自大的傻瓜和无可救药的理想主义者，谁能说人生不能像诗一般度过呢？

林语堂（1895.10.10～1976.3.26），福建龙溪（今漳州）人，原名和乐，后改玉堂，又改语堂，中国现代著名作家、学者、翻译家、语言学家，新道家代表人物。林语堂于1940年和1950年先后两度获得诺贝尔文学奖提名。作品包括小说《京华烟云》《啼笑皆非》。散文和杂文文集《人生的盛宴》《生活的艺术》，以及译著《东坡诗文选》《浮生六记》等。