On Friendship

And a youth said, "Speak to us of Friendship."

Your friend is your needs answered.

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

And he is your board and your fireside.

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you withhold the "ay."

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

And let your best be for your friend.

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

Seek him always with hours to live.

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

友谊

　　一个青年说，请为我们讲讲友谊。

　　他回答道：

　　你的朋友是对你需求的回答。

　　他是你的土地，你带着爱播种，带着感激的心清收获。

　　他是你的餐桌，你的炉灶，你饥饿时来到他身边，向他寻求安宁。

　　当你的朋友倾诉他的心曲，你不会害怕自己心中的"不"，也不会掩抑你心中的"是"。

　　当他默默无言时，你的心也不会停止倾听他的心；

　　因为在友谊的不言中，所有的思想、所有的欲望、所有的期盼带着无声的欢乐同生共享。

　　在与朋友分别时，你也不会悲伤；

　　因为当他不在身边时，他身上最为你所珍爱的东西会显得更加醒目，就像山峰对于平原上的登山者显得格外清晰。

　　不要对你们的友谊别有他图，除了对深化精神境界的希冀。

　　因为只寻求显露自身秘密的爱并非真爱，而是撒出的网：网住的只是些无益的东西。

　　奉献你最好的，给你的朋友。

　　如果他定要知道你的落潮，那么也让他知道你的涨潮。

　　只在你想消磨时光时才去寻找的朋友，难道还是朋友？

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