婚姻是爱情的殿堂，孩子是爱情的结晶。 用一首On Marriage为殿堂高举起明灯后，纪伯伦又以同样的哲理和细腻给这美丽而脆弱的结晶打造了基座。独立人格是教育最为重要的目标之一,但我们"君君臣臣父父子子"的文化往往让很多父母忽略了这一点。子女就像他们昂贵的衣服;漂亮的首饰;擦拭一新的汽车，代表他们的社会地位和生活水平。他们把子女当成自己的延伸，想让子女实现他们未尽的梦想，逼着喜欢读书的儿子走上足球场;迫使喜欢运动的女儿苦读书本,似乎孩子不过是他们的复制品，殊不知DNA的结合将会创造出人类一切创造的来源——全新的生命和思想。青春期的叛逆很多时候只是本能觉醒出的独立人格的一种自我救赎。
On Children Kahlil Gibran
中英对照：
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
你的儿女，其实不是你的儿女
他们是生命对于自身渴望而诞生的孩子
他们借助你来到这世界，却非因你而来
他们在你身旁，却并不属于你
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
你可以给予他们的是你的爱
却不是你的想法
因为他们有自己的思想
你可以庇护的是他们的身体，却不是他们的灵魂
因为他们的灵魂属于明天，属于你做梦也无法到达的明天
你可以拼尽全力，变得像他们一样
却不要让他们变得和你一样
因为生命不会后退，也不在过去停留
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
你是弓，儿女是从你那里射出的箭
弓箭手望着未来之路上的箭靶
他用尽力气将你拉开，使他的箭射得又快又远
怀着快乐的心情，在弓箭手的手中弯曲吧
因为他爱一路飞翔的箭，也爱无比稳定的弓
本文由 天下 整理
On Children Kahlil Gibran
中英对照：
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
你的儿女，其实不是你的儿女
他们是生命对于自身渴望而诞生的孩子
他们借助你来到这世界，却非因你而来
他们在你身旁，却并不属于你
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
你可以给予他们的是你的爱
却不是你的想法
因为他们有自己的思想
你可以庇护的是他们的身体，却不是他们的灵魂
因为他们的灵魂属于明天，属于你做梦也无法到达的明天
你可以拼尽全力，变得像他们一样
却不要让他们变得和你一样
因为生命不会后退，也不在过去停留
You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
你是弓，儿女是从你那里射出的箭
弓箭手望着未来之路上的箭靶
他用尽力气将你拉开，使他的箭射得又快又远
怀着快乐的心情，在弓箭手的手中弯曲吧
因为他爱一路飞翔的箭，也爱无比稳定的弓