May 31

"Like a shock of corn fully¹ ripe." (Job 5:26)

A gentleman, writing about the breaking up of old ships, recently said that it is not the age alone which improves the quality of the fiber² in the wood of an old vessel³, but the straining and wrenching⁴ of the vessel by the sea, the chemical action of the bilge water, and of many kinds of cargoes⁵.

Some planks⁶ and veneers⁷ made from an oak beam which had been part of a ship eighty years old were exhibited a few years ago at a fashionable furniture store on Broadway, New York, and attracted general notice for the exquisite⁸ coloring and beautiful grain.

Equally striking were some beams of mahogany taken from a bark which sailed the seas sixty years ago. The years and the traffic had contracted the pores and deepened the color, until it looked as superb in its chromatic⁹ intensity¹⁰ as an antique Chinese vase. It was made into a cabinet, and has today a place of honor in the drawing-room of a wealthy New York family.

So there is a vast difference between the quality of old people who have lived flabby, self-indulgent, useless lives, and the fiber of those who have sailed all seas and carried all cargoes as the servants of God and the helpers of their fellow men.

Not only the wrenching and straining of life, but also something of the sweetness of the cargoes carried get into the very pores and fiber of character. --Louis Albert Banks.

When the sun goes below the horizon he is not set; the heavens glow for a full hour after his departure. And when a great and good man sets, the sky of this world is luminous¹¹ long after he is out of sight. Such a man cannot die out of this world. When he goes he leaves behind him much of himself. Being dead, he speaks. –Beecher.

When Victor Hugo was past eighty years of age he gave expression to his religious faith in these sublime¹² sentences: "I feel in myself the future life. I am like a forest which has been more than once cut down. The new shoots are livelier than ever. I am rising toward the sky. The sunshine is on my head. The earth gives me its generous sap, but Heaven lights me with its unknown worlds.

"You say the soul is nothing but the resultant of the bodily powers. Why, then, is my soul more luminous when my bodily powers begin to fail? Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. I breathe at this hour the fragrance¹³ of the lilacs, the violets, and the roses as at twenty years. The nearer I approach the end the plainer I hear around me the immortal¹⁴ symphonies of the worlds which invite me. It is marvelous, yet simple."

　

　 五月三十一日

“好象禾捆到时收藏”（伯五：25）。

　　有一个人提出了关于拆卸古老海船的报告，他说旧船木料质地之所以佳良，不仅因为年代久远，而且还因为船只曾在海上历受了种种的磨炼，以及它所接触的海水，所载的各种货品，使它发生了化学作用。

　　在纽约百老汇街一家时式家具店，展出了一些橡木板料，这些板料取材于一艘具有八十年历史的旧船的横梁，其色泽之美，纹理之精致，吸引了许多市民的注意参观。

　　还有一艘在六十年前航行海上的帆船，它那桃花心木的横梁，也非常出色。悠长的岁月和航行的历史，使木料气孔紧缩，颜色变深，它坚韧的质地，古趣盎然的色泽，可与中国古瓶比美。这木料如今在纽约一位富豪的客厅里制成了一个小小的暖阁，成为客厅中的尊贵之地。

　　由此看来，那些不经磨炼，悠悠忽忽，虚度一生的人们，和那些曾经沧海，载负过各种货物，事奉神而帮助人的基督徒，在性质上具有极大的差别。后者不仅有磨练的经验，他们所载运的货物中的甜蜜气质，也渗入了他们的待人接物的美德中。

　　太阳虽下了地平线，其实并未消逝，它离去以后，天上仍有整整一个小时的光亮。一位伟人和义人去世之后，他的踪迹虽逝，但他的音容宛在此世，他虽死了，他身后留下的一切对世有贡献的事物，虽死犹生。——皮邱

　　法国文豪雨果过了八十岁以后，他以下面的一段名言来表达他的心意说：“我感觉到未来的新生命。我象一度曾经数度砍伐的森林，而新的萌芽充满了前所未有的活泼生机。我升向天空，阳光照在我的头上。大地给我丰富的活力，天的光明四照，使我看清了神秘的宇宙万象”。

　　“你说灵魂不过是肉体力量的延长。那么为什么我的体力已开始衰退，而我的灵魂变得更为光明？冬季已临到我的头上，永恒的春季却在我的心头。此刻我呼吸着紫丁香，紫罗兰，和玫瑰花，就象在二十岁的时候一样，我愈接近人生的终点，愈能听清楚四周欢迎我的交响乐，欢迎我前往那不朽的世界。这虽属神奇，但道理却十分单纯”。

1 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。

2 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

3 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

4 wrenching   

n.修截苗根，苗木铲根（铲根时苗木不起土或部分起土）v.（猛力地）扭( wrench的现在分词 )；扭伤；使感到痛苦；使悲痛

参考例句：

• China has been through a wrenching series of changes and experiments. 中国经历了一系列艰苦的变革和试验。 来自辞典例句
• A cold gust swept across her exposed breast, wrenching her back to reality. 一股寒气打击她的敞开的胸膛，把她从梦幻的境地中带了回来。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

5 cargoes   

n.（船或飞机装载的）货物( cargo的名词复数 )；大量，重负

参考例句：

• This ship embarked cargoes. 这艘船装载货物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The crew lashed cargoes of timber down. 全体船员将木材绑牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 planks   

（厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点

参考例句：

• The house was built solidly of rough wooden planks. 这房子是用粗木板牢固地建造的。
• We sawed the log into planks. 我们把木头锯成了木板。

7 veneers   

n.饰面薄板( veneer的名词复数 )；虚假的外表；虚饰；牙罩冠

参考例句：

• In plywood the wood has been cut into veneers. 在制胶合板时，把木材切成单板。 来自辞典例句
• Glues for veneers, plywood, interior woodwork such as panels and so on. 用来粘合美耐板、三夹板，或是壁板、门板等室内木制品的粘胶。 来自互联网

8 exquisite   

adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的

参考例句：

• I was admiring the exquisite workmanship in the mosaic.我当时正在欣赏镶嵌画的精致做工。
• I still remember the exquisite pleasure I experienced in Bali.我依然记得在巴厘岛所经历的那种剧烈的快感。

9 chromatic   

adj.色彩的，颜色的

参考例句：

• The removal of the chromatic aberration is then of primary importance.这时消除色差具有头等重要性。
• In lampblack many kitchens easy to present the chromatic aberration.油烟较多的厨房中易出现色差。

10 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

11 luminous   

adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的

参考例句：

• There are luminous knobs on all the doors in my house.我家所有门上都安有夜光把手。
• Most clocks and watches in this shop are in luminous paint.这家商店出售的大多数钟表都涂了发光漆。

12 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

13 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。

14 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！