When love beckons¹ to you, follow him, though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you, yield to him, though the sword hidden among his pinions² may wound you. And when he speaks to you, believe in him, though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. 

 

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning³. Even as he ascends⁴ to your height and caresses⁵ your tenderest branches that quiver（颤抖） in the sun, so shall he descend⁶ to our roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

 

But if, in your fear, you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. Love gives naught⁷ but it self and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not, nor would it be possessed⁸, for love is sufficient unto love.

 

Love has no other desire but to fulfill⁹ itself. But if you love and must have desires, let these be your desires:

 

To melt and be like a running brook¹⁰ that sings its melody to the night.

 

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

 

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

 

And to bleed willingly and joyfully¹¹.

 

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

 

To rest at the noon hour and meditate¹² love’s ecstasy¹³;

 

To return home at eventide（黄昏） with gratitude¹⁴;

 

And then to sleep with a payer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

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