May 21

"I call to remembrance my song in the night." (Psalm 77:6)

I have read somewhere of a little bird that will never sing the melody his master wishes while his cage is full of light. He learns a snatch of this, a bar of that, but never an entire song of its own until the cage is covered and the morning beams shut out.

A good many people never learn to sing until the darkling shadows fall. The fabled¹ nightingale carols with his breast against a thorn. It was in the night that the song of the angels was heard. It was at midnight that the cry came, "Behold², the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him."

Indeed it is extremely doubtful if a soul can really know the love of God in its richness and in its comforting, satisfying completeness until the skies are black and lowering.

Light comes out of darkness, morning out of the womb of the night.

James Creelman, in one of his letters, describes his trip through the Balkan States in search of Natalie, the exiled Queen of Serbia.

"In that memorable³ journey," he says, "I learned for the first time that the world's supply of attar of roses comes from the Balkan Mountains. And the thing that interested me most," he goes on, "is that the roses must be gathered in the darkest hours. The pickers start out at one o'clock and finish picking them at two.

"At first it seemed to me a relic⁴ of superstition⁵; but I investigated the picturesque⁶ mystery, and learned that actual scientific tests had proven that fully⁷ forty per cent of the fragrance⁸ of roses disappeared in the light of day."

And in human life and human culture that is not a playful, fanciful conceit⁹; it is a real veritable fact. --Malcolm J. McLeod.

　五月二十一日

“我想起我夜间的歌曲”（诗七十七：6）。

　　据说有一种小鸟，在亮光中不会唱歌的，虽然主人竭力设法去引它出声，但它总是默然。有时偶然发出一些鸣声，但不足以代表它歌唱的艺术。只有一个方法可以使它唱出美丽悦耳的歌声来，就是在笼的上下四周罩上一层不透光的黑布。

　　有许多人都要在夜幕下降之后，才知道歌唱，传说夜莺在荆棘刺着胸口时鸣啼。夜晚才听见天使的歌颂之声，那是大喜的信息说：“新郎来了，你们出来迎接他”。（太二十五：6）这是在半夜三更，天顶黑的时候报的！

　　人何独不然；天色尚未黑暗，灵魂充满了自己的安逸，他能否真正领悟神爱的丰富和甘甜？倒不如在最黑暗的处境中才能有所表现。

　　光明是从黑暗中出来的，早晨亦自从夜晚滋长的。

　　詹姆斯·克里曼历访巴尔干诸国，寻找塞维亚流亡女王娜塔丽，他记述此行的信札中说：“在那值得纪念的旅程中，我第一次知道市上玫瑰香油精的原料，产自巴尔干山中。使我感到兴趣的是，玫瑰必须在黑暗的半夜方可采摘，采花工作就在短短的一二小时内完成”。

　　“起初我觉得这个采集方式似乎是古代迷信的遗传；后来深入调查，终于知道连科学家的实验亦证明了玫瑰花若在日光中采摘，它将损失其香味的百分之四十。”

　对于人类的生活和文化，确是事实，不是儿戏幻想。——马克李奥

1 fabled   

adj.寓言中的，虚构的

参考例句：

• For the first week he never actually saw the fabled Jack. 第一周他实际上从没见到传说中的杰克。
• Aphrodite, the Greek goddness of love, is fabled to have been born of the foam of the sea. 希腊爱神阿美罗狄蒂据说是诞生于海浪泡沫之中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

3 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

4 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

5 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

6 picturesque   

adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的

参考例句：

• You can see the picturesque shores beside the river.在河边你可以看到景色如画的两岸。
• That was a picturesque phrase.那是一个形象化的说法。

7 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

8 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。

9 conceit   

n.自负，自高自大

参考例句：

• As conceit makes one lag behind,so modesty helps one make progress.骄傲使人落后，谦虚使人进步。
• She seems to be eaten up with her own conceit.她仿佛已经被骄傲冲昏了头脑。