第44章 小徑
小徑
叢山里住著一個婦人和她的兒子，他是她的頭胎兒子，也是她的獨生子。
這孩子死於熱病，當時醫生束手無策地站在旁邊。
母親苦惱得心慌意亂，她對醫生大號大哭，向他懇求道："告訴我，告訴我，究竟是什麼使他不再掙扎不再歌唱的呢？"醫生說："是熱病。"
母親問："什麼是熱病？"醫生說：我解釋不了，這是一種無限小的微生物，它侵入人的肌體，我們的肉眼是看不見的。 "
於是醫生告辭了。她還是不斷地自言自語："無限小的微生物。我們的肉眼是看不見的。"
黃昏時分，教士來安慰她。她哭泣，呼天搶地地說道："啊，為什麼我喪失我的兒子，我的頭臉兒子，我的獨生子戶教士說道："我的孩兒啊，這是上帝的意志。 "
婦人問："上帝是什麼，上帝又在哪兒？我但願見到上帝，當著上帝的面撕裂我的胸膛，把我心裡的血沒在上帝的腳邊。告訴我吧，我將在什麼地方找到上帝。"
教士答道："上帝是無限大的。我們的肉眼是看不見的。"
於是這婦人號哭道："那無限小的，借助於那無限大的意志，殺死了我的兒子！那麼，我們是什麼？我們是什麼？"這時候，婦人的母親走進房間裡來了，她手裡拿著給死去的孩子包裹屍體的市。她聽到了教士的話，也聽到了她的女兒的號哭。她放下手裡的裹屍布，把她女兒的手握在她自己的手裡，說道："我的女兒啊，我們自己，既是那無限小的，又是那無限大的；我們是微生物和上帝相通的途徑。"
The Path
There lived among the hills a woman and her son, and he was her first-born and her only child.
And the boy died of a fever whilst the physician stood by.
The mother was distraught with sorrow, and she cried to the physician and besought him saying, "Tell me, tell me, what was it that made quiet his striving and silent his song?"
And the physician said, "It was the fever."
And the mother said, "What is the fever?"
And the physician answered, "I cannot explain it. It is a thing infinitely small that visits the body, and we cannot see it with the human eye."
The physician left her. And she kept repeating to herself, "Something infinitely small. We cannot see it with our human eye."
And at evening the priest came to console her. And she wept and she cried out saying, "Oh, why have I lost my son, my only son, my first-born?"
And the priest answered, "My child, it is the will of God."
And the woman said, "What is God and where is God? I would see God that I may tear my bosom before Him, and pour the blood of my heart at His feet. Tell me where I shall find Him."
And the priest said, ""God is infinitely vast. He is not to be seen with our human eye."
Then the woman cried out, "The infinitely small has slain my son through the will of the infinitely great! Then what are we? What are we?"
At that moment the womans mother came into the room with the shroud for the dead boy, and she heard the words of the priest and also her daughters cry. And she laid down the shroud, and took her daughters hand in her own hand, and she said, "My daughter, we ourselves are the infinitely small and the infinitely great; and we are the path between the two."