43

NO, my friends, I shall never be an ascetic, whatever you may say.

I shall never be an ascetic if she does not take the vow with me.

It is my firm resolve that if I cannot find a shady shelter and a companion for my penance, I shall never turn ascetic.

No, my friends, I shall never leave my hearth and home, and retire into the forest solitude, if rings no merry laughter in its echoing shade and if the end of no saffron mantle flutters in the wind; if its silence is not deepened by soft whispers.

I shall never be an ascetic.

43

不，我的朋友，我永不会做一个苦行者，

随便你怎么说。

我将永不做一个苦行者，

假如她不和我一同受戒。

这是我坚定的决心，

如果我找不到一个阴凉的住处和一个忏悔的伴侣，

我将永远不会变成一个苦行者。

不，我的朋友，我将永不离开我的炉火与家庭，

去退隐到深林里面。

如果在林荫中没有欢笑的回响；

如果没有郁金色的衣裙在风中飘扬；

如果它的幽静不因有轻柔的微语而加深。

我将永不会做一个苦行者。