少年维特的烦恼 英文版 The Sorrows of Young Werther
歌德 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
NOVEMBER 15.
I thank you, Wilhelm, for your cordial sympathy, for your excellentadvice; and I implore you to be quiet. Leave me to my sufferings.In spite of my wretchedness, I have still strength enough forendurance. I revere religion -- you know I do. I feel that itcan impart strength to the feeble and comfort to the afflicted,but does it affect all men equally? Consider this vast universe:you will see thousands for whom it has never existed, thousandsfor whom it will never exist, whether it be preached to them, ornot; and must it, then, necessarily exist for me? Does not theSon of God himself say that they are his whom the Father has givento him? Have I been given to him? What if the Father will retainme for himself, as my heart sometimes suggests? I pray you, donot misinterpret this. Do not extract derision from my harmlesswords. I pour out my whole soul before you. Silence were otherwisepreferable to me, but I need not shrink from a subject of whichfew know more than I do myself. What is the destiny of man, butto fill up the measure of his sufferings, and to drink his allottedcup of bitterness? And if that same cup proved bitter to the Godof heaven, under a human form, why should I affect a foolish pride,and call it sweet? Why should I be ashamed of shrinking at thatfearful moment, when my whole being will tremble between existenceand annihilation, when a remembrance of the past, like a flash oflightning, will illuminate the dark gulf of futurity, when everythingshall dissolve around me, and the whole world vanish away? Is notthis the voice of a creature oppressed beyond all resource,self-deficient, about to plunge into inevitable destruction, andgroaning deeply at its inadequate strength, "My God! my God! whyhast thou forsaken me?" And should I feel ashamed to utter thesame expression? Should I not shudder at a prospect which had itsfears, even for him who folds up the heavens like a garment?