基督徒

《愛的四百句箴言》
St. Maximus the confessor著
351 - 375

《400 sayings about love》
by St. Maximus the confessor
351 - 375


51. 在人的一生中，有誰可以完全從情欲中解脫？有誰完全配得上純淨而屬靈的祈禱？這些都是內在已經徹底成為一名修道士的特徵啊。
51. Who, then, in this life is entirely freed from passionate representations and has been deemed worthy of pure and immaterial prayer, which is the sign of the inner monk?

52. 許多的情欲隱藏在我們的靈魂裡。一旦與它們有關的對象出現時，就會爆發出來。
52. Many passions lie hidden in our souls. They are exposed when their objects appear.

53. 一個人可以在情欲的對象還沒有出現時，不感到痛苦，甚至還可以享受部分的、超然的感覺。然而，一旦引發欲情的對象出現了，情欲就會立刻使心靈陷入錯亂。
53. It can be that someone is not troubled by the passions in the absence of the objects, and so enjoys a partial detachment. But if the objects do appear, then the passions immediately distract the mind.

54. 當情欲的對象還沒有出現時，不要認為自己已經完全達到超然的境界。當它出現時，你卻能依然不為所動，也不會因為事後的回想而動心，那麼，你就可以說，自己 已經觸及超然的邊界了。然而，千萬不可因此就變得膽大妄為，因為升起美德的時候，可以壓倒情欲，但是忽略美德的時後，這些情欲又會再一次被激起。
54. Do not think that you have perfect detachment when the object is not present. When it does appear and you remain unmoved toward both the object itself and its subsequent recollection, know that then you have reached its frontiers. But you are not to become presumptuous, because virtue sustained kills the passions but virtue neglected rouses them anew.

55. 一個深愛基督的人，就會盡其所能，徹底地仿效基督。例如，基督並沒有停止他對人們的好。對於那些忘恩負義與出言不遜的人，祂容忍；被這些人責打、處死，祂 包容，他完全不認為有人是邪惡的。上述的三種美德，就是愛鄰人的表現。那些說自己愛基督，已經進入祂的國度的人，不要自欺啊。所以基督說，「凡稱呼我『主 阿，主阿』的人，不能都進天國，惟獨實行我天上之父的旨意的，才能進入。」（馬太福音7:21）又說，「愛我的人，就必謹守我的誡命」（約翰福音 14:15）…等。
55. The one who loves Christ thoroughly imitates him as much as he can. Thus Christ did not cease to do good to men. Treated ungratefully and blasphemed, he was patient; beaten and put to death by them, he endured, not thinking ill of anyone at all. These three are the works of love of neighbor in the absence of which a person who says he loves Christ or possesses his kingdom deceives himself. For he says, "Not the one who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father." And again, "The one who loves me will keep my commandments," and so forth.

56. 救世主的誡命，目的就是要使人的心靈，從荒淫無度與憎恨中解脫出來，並且帶領我們的心靈去愛上帝、愛我們的鄰人。由此，真實地湧出神聖知識的光采。
56. The whole purpose of the Savior's commandments is to free the mind from incontinence and hate and bring it to the love of him and of one's neighbor, from which there springs the splendor of holy knowledge in all its actuality.

57. 一旦被賜予部分關於上帝的知識，就不要對愛與克己顯得漫不經心，因為這些美德可以淨化靈魂中情欲的部分，並時時刻刻為你準備好知識的道路。
57. Once granted a partial knowledge of God, do not be careless about love and self-mastery, for these purify the passionate aspect of the soul and are ever preparing for you the way to knowledge.

58. 這知識的道路，就是超然與謙虛，若缺乏這些美德，沒有人能夠見著上帝。
58. The way to knowledge is detachment and humility, without which no one will see the Lord.

59. 因為，「知識能自吹自大，惟獨愛能建立人。」（歌林多前書8:1）將愛與知識聯接起來，這樣，你不但不會自大，反而會成為立己立人的靈性建築師。
59. Since "knowledge makes boastful but love edifies," link up love with knowledge and you will not be puffed up but rather a spiritual architect building up yourself and all those around you.

60. 這就是為何愛能立人的理由，因為愛既不忌妒，也不對忌妒的人發怒，不會誇耀忌妒的對象，也不會認為自己已經領悟了愛，而是會不加掩飾的為自己所不知的事懺 悔。這樣，愛就會賦予心靈謙虛，並且不斷地在知識上有所進步。
60. This is the reason why love edifies, because it neither envies nor grows angry with those who do envy, nor does it make a public display of what is the object of envy, nor think that it has already apprehended, but confesses unabashedly its ignorance of what it does not know. In this way it renders the mind modest and constantly prepares it to advance in knowledge.

61. 知識帶來的傲慢與忌妒是很常見的，特別是在最開始的時候，傲慢是在內的，而妒忌不但在內，也在外：在內，因這些人擁有知識，在外，則因為他們沒有知識。愛 克服了傲慢：因為愛不會自大；愛，克服了內在的妒忌：因為愛不猜疑；愛克服了外在的妒忌：因為愛是忍耐又有恩慈。因此，對於一個有知識的人，為了使自己的 心靈不受到任何的傷害，緊緊的抓住愛是必要的。
61. It is normal that presumption and envy follow upon knowledge, especially in the beginning, presumption interiorly and envy both interiorly and exteriorly: interiorly for those who have knowledge, exteriorly for those who do not. Thus love overcomes these three: presumption, because it is not puffed up; interior envy, because it is not jealous; exterior envy, because it is patient and kind. It is thus necessary for the one who has knowledge to take hold of love in order to keep his mind from any kind of wound.

62. 一個被賜予知識的恩典的人，卻依然悲傷，依然憎恨他的弟兄，這就好像一個人用荊棘與芒刺，重重地刺傷自己一樣。這也是知識之所以需要愛的原因。
62. The one who has been gifted with the grace of knowledge but still has grief, resentment, and hate for his brother is like the person who stings his eyes badly with thorns and burrs. Knowledge is for that reason necessarily in need of love.

63. 不要把你的時間都奉獻給肉體，而是要依據肉體的能力，分配給它各種的習題，並使自己的心靈全部轉化向內。「因為身體的操練，惟獨敬虔，各方面都有益 處。」（提摩太前書4:8）
63. Do not devote all your time to the flesh, but assign it exercises according to its capacity and turn your whole mind inward. "For bodily exercise is of little profit, but piety is of universal profit, etc."

64. 一個不斷地將自己的精力，奉獻給內在生活的人，是懂得節制的，是有耐心的，是仁慈的，是謙卑的。不只是如此，他還是沉思的，與上帝合一的，虔誠禱告的。而 這就是宗徒所說的「順著靈而行。」（加拉太書5:16）
64. The one who ceaselessly devotes his energies to the interior life is temperate, patient, kind, and humble. Not only this, but he is also contemplative, united to God, and prayerful. And this is what the Apostle says, "Walk in the Spirit, etc."

65. 一個不知道如何順著靈的路而行的人，就不會擔憂情欲的存在，而且會把他們所有的時間，奉獻給肉體。這樣的人要不就是貪吃，要不就是飲酒無度。或者是充滿了 傷痛、怨恨與憤怒，而心靈也是暗淡無光。要不然，就是他對自己的苦行沒有智慧，擾亂了自己的洞察力。
65. The one who does not know how to walk the spiritual way has no concern over passionate representations but devotes his whole time to the flesh. Either he is gluttonous or intemperate; or he is full of hurt, bitterness, or resentment, and so darkens his mind; or else he is injudicious in his ascetical practices and disquiets the understanding.

66. 聖經不會奪走上帝賜給我們的任何東西，只會約束了不知節制的狀態，並且糾正非理性的事物。舉個例來說，聖經並沒有禁止吃東西、生小孩、擁有財富或管理財 富，聖經真正禁止的，是貪食、通姦…等。聖經甚至沒有禁止人去思考這樣的事，因為這些事本來就是造來給我們思考的，聖經所禁止的是，我們帶著「情欲」去思 考這些事。
66. Scripture takes away none of the things given by God for our use but it restrains immoderation and corrects unreasonableness. For example, it does not forbid eating or begetting children or having money or managing it, but it does forbid gluttony, fornication, and so forth. Nor does it even forbid us to think of these things, for they were made to be thought of; what it forbids is thinking of them with passion.

67. 有一些我們為上帝所做的事是出於誡命，另一些不是出於誡命，而是透過一般人所謂的自由意志所呈現。例如：我們被命令要愛上帝，要愛我們的鄰人，要愛我們的 敵人，也被命令要克制自己，不通姦，不殺人…等。當我們違反了這些，就很容易受到非難。然而，還有一些事並不是被命令的。例如：童貞、獨身、清貧、修士的 生活…等。這些都是天賦的特質，所以，如果我們因為自己的軟弱而無法遵守這些誡命，不妨以這些天賦來向我們至善的主人請罪。
67. Some of the things we do for God are done because of the commandments, some not because of the commandments but through what one can call a free-will offering. For instance we are commanded to love God and our neighbor, to love our enemies, to refrain from adultery, murder, and so on. When we transgress these, we are subject to condemnation. However, there are other things which are not commanded, such as virginity, celibacy, poverty, the monastic life, and so forth. These have the nature of gifts, so that if from weakness we have been unable to observe some of the commandments we may propitiate our good Master with gifts.

68. 一個持守獨身與童貞的人，一定要圍住自己的下半身，讓自己的智慧的泉源發亮，下半身要藉由自制來持守，而智慧的泉源則需要透過祈禱、默觀以及靈性的愛。
68. The one who holds celibacy and virginity must necessarily keep his loins girt and his lamp burning, his loins through self-mastery and his lamp through prayer, contemplation, and spiritual love.

69. 有一些弟兄以為自己沒有聖靈的禮物，這是因為在持守誡命上的馬虎，使得他們不知道，在基督裡的每一位虔誠的信眾，他們的內心都擁有了一切神聖的禮物。因為 懶惰，我們不會積極的去愛上帝，而這份積極的愛，就會顯示出這神聖的寶藏，就存在我們的心裡。由於我們遠離了這份愛，所以我們就以為自己並沒有獲得這份禮 物。
69. Some of the brothers suppose that they are excluded from the Holy Spirit's gifts, for through their careless observance of the commandments they do not know that the sincere believer in Christ has within himself all the divine gifts collectively. But since through laziness we are far from having an active love for him, which reveals the divine treasures lying within us, we reasonably suppose that we are excluded from the divine gifts.

70. 依據宗徒的說法，「基督憑著你們的信住在你們心裏。」（以弗所書3:7）又說，「基督裏面乃包蘊著一切智慧知識之寶藏。」（歌羅西書2:3）因此，一切智 慧知識之寶藏就藏在我們心裡。我們的心所能知道的這些寶藏，與每一個人，透過誡律而淨化的程度成正比。
70. If, according to the Apostle, "Christ dwells in our hearts by faith," and "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him," then all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in our hearts. They are revealed to the heart in proportion to each one's purification by the commandments.

71. 由於懶惰，使你無法發現這個藏在心中的寶藏。因為，一旦你發現了他們，你就會不惜一切，去求取這份寶藏。然而，現在的你，卻放棄了這個寶藏，把心力放在周 遭的事物，以致於你什麼都找不到，只找到荊棘與芒刺。
71. This is the treasure hidden in the field of your heart which you have not yet found because of laziness, for if you had found it you would then have sold everything to acquire that field. But now you abandon the field and give your attention to nearby things, in which you find nothing but thorns and burrs.

72. 這也是為什麼救世主這麼說：「心裏潔淨的人有福阿！因為他們必看得見上帝。」（馬太福音5:8）因為上帝就藏在那些信祂的人的心裡。當人們藉由愛和自律淨 化了自己，他們就可以看到祂，以及在祂之內的一切寶藏；愈努力，他們所看到的就會愈豐富。
72. This is why the Savior says, "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they see God," because he is hidden in the heart of those who believe in him. They will see him and the treasures in him when they purify themselves by love and self-mastery, and the more intensely they strive the fuller will their vision be.

73. 這也是為何救世主又說，「變賣你的資財，給予窮人」（馬太福音19:21），「那麼一切對你們就都潔淨了。」（路加11:41）人們不再致力於自己的肉 體，而是趕緊從怨恨與不知節制中，潔淨自己的心靈。因為這些污染心靈的事物，不允許我們的心靈看到那，藉由聖洗的恩典而住在裡面的主。
73. This is why he also says, "Sell what you possess and give to the poor and behold all things are clean for you," that they no longer devote themselves to bodily things but hasten to purify the mind (which the Lord calls heart) from hate and intemperance. For the things which soil the mind do not permit it to see the Lord dwelling in it through the grace of holy baptism.

74. 聖經中把美德稱為道路，而其中最重要的美德就是「愛」。因此，宗徒說，「我還要把一條極高超的道路指示你們。」（歌林多前書12:31）因為愛使我們厭離 物質界，使我們喜愛永恆的事，而不喜愛塵世間的事。
74. Scripture calls the virtues ways, and the best of all the virtues is love. Therefore the holy Apostle says, "I show you a more excellent way," because it leads to the despising of material things and to preferring nothing temporal to the eternal.

75. 對上帝的愛與淫欲相對，因為愛說服心靈戒絕肉體的享樂。愛鄰人與忿怒相對。因為愛使心靈戒絕名與利。這就是救世主給店主的兩個錢幣（工錢），讓店主可以照 顧你（cf.路加10:35）。現在，不要讓顯露出一副無情的樣子，如同與強盜為伍一樣，免得你再次被打倒，否則這一次，你不只是會被打個半死，而是會完 完全全被打死。
75. The love of God is opposed to lust, for it persuades the mind to abstain from pleasures. Love of neighbor is opposed to anger, for it makes it disdain fame and money. These are the two silver pieces which the Savior gave to the innkeeper so that he could take care of you. Now do not show yourself as senseless by joining up with the robbers, lest you be beaten up once again and be found not half dead but completely dead.