1. The Education of the Infant
嬰兒的教育
It is never too soon in the life of a child for it to receive education. The soul of an infant is like a photographic plate which has never been exposed before, and whatever impression falls on that photographic plate covers it; no other impressions which come afterwards have the same effect. Therefore when the parents or guardians lose the opportunity of impressing an infant in its early childhood they lose the greatest opportunity.
孩子的一生中，接受教育這件事，永遠不會太早開始。嬰兒的靈魂就像一張從未曝光過的感光底片，任何落在那張底片上的印象，都會覆蓋其上；之後再來的其他印象，都不會有同樣的效果。因此，當父母或監護人在孩子幼年時期失去了給予印象的機會，也就失去了最重要的機會。
In the Orient there is a superstition that an undesirable person must not be allowed to come near an infant. If the parents or relatives see that a certain person should not be in the presence of an infant, that person is avoided, for the very reason that the infant is like a photographic plate. The soul is negative, fully responsive, and susceptible to every influence; and the first impression that falls on a soul takes root in it.
在東方有一種說法，認為不適當的人不可以靠近嬰兒。若父母或親屬認為某個人不應出現在嬰兒身邊，便會避開那個人，正是因為嬰兒就像一張感光底片。靈魂處於負受狀態，完全有所回應，且對一切影響都極其敏感；而最先落在靈魂上的印象，便會在其中扎根。
In the first place an infant brings with it to the earth the spirit with which it is impressed from the angelic spheres and from the plane of the jinn; it has also inherited from the earth qualities of both its parents and of their families. After corning on earth the first impression that an infant receives is from the environment, the surroundings, from those who touch it and move and work in its surroundings; and the impression after coming to the earth is so strong that very often it erases the impressions that an infant has inherited from the higher spheres, and also the heritage from its parents. This happens because the mind that has been formed of the impressions which the infant has brought from the higher spheres is not yet positive. It is just like a pot of clay which has not yet gone through the fire; it has not yet developed.
首先，嬰兒來到地上時，帶著那來自天使層次與精靈（jinn）層次所印下的靈；它同時也從地上繼承了父母雙方及其家族的特質。嬰兒來到地上之後所接受的第一個印象，是來自環境、周遭、來自那些接觸它、在它周圍活動與工作的人；而這種來到地上之後所受的印象是如此強烈，以致於常常抹去了嬰兒自高層界域所承受的印象，也抹去了它從父母而來的承繼。這是因為，由嬰兒自高層界域帶來的印象所形成的頭腦，尚未成為正向的。它就像一只尚未經火燒過的泥罐；它還沒有發展完成。
The qualities that an infant has inherited from its parents are also in the same negative state; and they are perfected after the child has come on earth. Therefore the first impression that falls upon an infant after coming on earth is all the stronger. The first process in making pottery is to mold pots of clay, and the second process is to put them in the fire. When they are put in the fire they become strong, they become positive; before they are put in the fire they are negative.
嬰兒從父母繼承而來的特質，也同樣處於這種負受狀態；而它們是在孩子來到地上之後才逐步完成的。因此，嬰兒來到地上後所承受的第一個印象，就更加有力。製陶的第一個過程，是把泥塑成器皿；第二個過程，則是將它們放進火裡。當它們進入火中，就變得堅固，變得正向；在進火之前，它們是負受的。
In the same way a photographic plate is first negative; afterwards, when it has undergone a certain process, it becomes positive. And that is the process through which the soul passes in its infancy; it then goes through a certain development. All that it has brought from the higher spheres and from its family becomes developed, becomes positive or solid, in other words it becomes condensed; because that is the time when the spirit is being formed and is becoming positive. If an undesirable impression has fallen upon an infant at that time, no matter what education is given later that first impression remains concrete and solid. Nothing can erase it because infancy is the moment when the soul is becoming positive.
同樣地，感光底片起初也是負片；之後經過某種處理，它就成為正片。而這正是靈魂在嬰兒期所經歷的過程；它在那時經過某種發展。凡是它從高層界域與家庭所帶來的一切，都在那時得到發展，變得正向，變得堅實；換句話說，就是凝聚成形。因為那是靈正在被形成、正在成為正向的時刻。若在那時有一個不良的印象落在嬰兒身上，那麼無論日後再給它什麼教育，那第一個印象都會保持具體而堅固。沒有什麼能夠把它抹去，因為嬰兒期正是靈魂成為正向的時刻。
One Educator
一位教育者
In educating the child the first rule that must be remembered is that one person must educate it, not everybody in the family. It is a great mistake when everyone in the family tries to train the infant or to take care of it, because that keeps an infant from forming a character. Each one has his own influence and each influence is different from the other. But most often what happens is that the parents never think of education at all in infancy. They think that is the age when the child is a doll, a toy; that everyone can handle it and play with it. They do not think that it is the most important moment in the soul’s life; that never again will that opportunity come for a soul to develop.
在教育孩子時，首先必須記住的一條原則是：必須由一個人來教育它，而不是家裡的每一個人都來教育它。當全家每個人都試著訓練嬰兒、照顧嬰兒時，那是很大的錯誤，因為那會妨礙嬰兒形成品格。每一個人都有他自己的影響，而每一種影響都不同於別的影響。然而最常發生的是，父母在嬰兒期根本從未想到教育這回事。他們認為那只是孩子像洋娃娃、像玩具的年紀；每個人都可以抱它、逗它玩。他們沒有想到，這是靈魂生命中最重要的時刻；靈魂再也不會有這樣一次發展的機會。
Should the father or the mother educate the child? A man’s life demands all his attention in his work; the mother is born with the sense of duty towards her child, and therefore the mother has the first right to educate it. The mother can also quiet the child in the first days of its life, because the child is a part of the mother, and therefore the rhythm of the mother’s spirit is akin to the rhythm of the child’s spirit. The soul that has come from above is received and is reared and taken care of by the mother; and therefore the mother is its best friend. If there is anything that the father can do, it is to help the mother or the guardian to educate the child. If the child in its infancy were given entirely into the hand of the father, there would be little hope that it would come out right; because a man is a child all his life, and the help that is needed in the life of an infant is that of the mother. Nevertheless, later in the life of a child there comes a time when the father’s influence is equally needed; but that time is not in infancy. As the Brahmin says, the first Guru is the mother, the second Guru is the father, and the third Guru is the teacher.
應該由父親還是母親來教育孩子呢？男人的一生往往要求他把全部心力放在工作上；而母親天生具有對孩子的責任感，因此母親有首先教育孩子的權利。母親也能在孩子生命最初的日子裡使它安定下來，因為孩子是母親的一部分，所以母親之靈的節奏與孩子之靈的節奏是相近的。那自上方而來的靈魂，是由母親接納、撫養並照料的；因此母親是它最好的朋友。父親若能做什麼，那就是幫助母親或監護人來教育孩子。若在嬰兒期，孩子完全交在父親手中，那它能被帶得妥當的希望就不大；因為男人終其一生都像個孩子，而嬰兒生命中所需要的幫助，是母親的幫助。儘管如此，在孩子日後的生命裡，也會有一個時期同樣需要父親的影響；但那個時期不是嬰兒期。正如婆羅門所說，第一位導師是母親，第二位導師是父親，第三位導師是老師。
That one person who takes an infant in hand in order to train it must first establish a friendship with it.
那位親自接手嬰兒、準備訓練它的人，首先必須先與它建立友誼。
There was in India a Madzub, a sage, who used to live among elephants. He used to share his bread with them and sleep near them. At the same time there were those who were appointed to take care of the elephants. They controlled them with their spears and with their commands. Very often the elephants listened to them; but when an elephant was mad it would not listen, and often a keeper was killed at such times. The elephant would not recognize the keeper when it was mad. But this sage had a friendship with all the elephants, with the mad and the sober and with every one of them. He used to go near them and pat them and look at them and talk with them, and he would sleep near them unconcerned; yet they would never touch him.
在印度，有一位神攝者（Madzub），一位智者，常與大象同住。他常與牠們分享自己的麵包，也睡在牠們身旁。同時，也有一些被派來照料大象的人。他們用長矛與命令來控制牠們。很多時候，大象會聽從他們；但當大象發狂時，它就不聽了，而那樣的時候，看守人往往會被踩死。大象一旦發狂，便不認得看守人了。但這位智者與所有大象都有一種友誼，無論是發狂的、平靜的，或任何一頭都是如此。他常走近牠們，撫拍牠們，注視牠們，對牠們說話，也毫不在意地睡在牠們身旁；然而牠們從不碰他。
What does this show? It shows that there are two ways of controlling. One is the way of mastering, and the other is of becoming friends. By mastering you will diminish the will of the person you master; by being friends you will sustain his willpower, and at the same time help. In the one case you make of the person a slave; in the other case you make out of that person a king. In training an infant one must remember that his mind-power, which means will-power, must not be diminished, and yet an infant must be controlled.
這說明了什麼？這說明控制有兩種方式。一種是支配的方式，另一種是成為朋友的方式。藉由支配，你會削弱你所支配之人的意志；藉由成為朋友，你會維持他的意志力，同時又幫助他。在前一種情況中，你把一個人變成奴隸；在後一種情況中，你把一個人培養成王者。在訓練嬰兒時，必須記得，它的頭腦力量，也就是意志力量，不可被削弱；然而嬰兒又必須受到引導。
There are five different subjects in which an infant must be trained in the first year:
嬰兒在第一年中，必須在五個不同的方面受到訓練：
1. discipline,
2. balance,
3. concentration,
4. ethics, and
5. relaxation.
1. 紀律、
2. 平衡、
3. 專注、
4. 倫理、
5. 放鬆。
When once friendship is established with an infant the guardian is able to attract its attention and the infant will respond to the guardian. And that must be the necessary first condition; that condition must first be produced before beginning education.
一旦與嬰兒建立起友誼，監護人便能吸引它的注意，而嬰兒也會對監護人有所回應。這必須是必要的第一個條件；在開始教育之前，這個條件必須先被建立。
Discipline
紀律
When once an infant begins to respond fully to the guardian, then discipline can be taught; but not by anger, not by agitation, as the guardian very often does; for an infant is often very trying, and is sometimes more stubborn than any grown-up person can be, and most difficult to control.
當嬰兒開始能夠充分回應監護人時，就可以教導紀律了；但不是藉由憤怒，也不是藉由激動，雖然監護人往往正是如此做。因為嬰兒常常非常難帶，有時甚至比任何成年人都更頑固，也最難控制。
The best way of teaching the infant discipline is without agitation, without showing any temper or annoyance, only repeating the action before it. For instance, the infant wants something which it should not have, while the guardian wishes that it should play with a particular toy. This toy must be given continually into its hand; and when the child throws it away, or when it cries, give it again; and when the child does not look at it, give it again. By repeating the same action you will bring the infant automatically to respond to you and to obey. It is a wrong method when the guardian wishes to control an infant and wishes to teach it discipline by forcing a certain action upon it. It is repetition which will bring about discipline. It only requires patience. For instance, if the infant is crying for its food or for something else when it is not the time for it, one should attract its attention towards something else, even against its wishes. The best thing is repetition.
教導嬰兒紀律最好的方式，是不激動、不顯露脾氣或惱怒，只是在它面前一再重複同一個行動。譬如，嬰兒想要某樣它不該得到的東西，而監護人希望它玩某一件特定的玩具，那麼就必須不斷把這件玩具放到它手裡；當孩子把它丟開，或當它哭時，再給它；當孩子不看它時，再給它。藉由重複同樣的動作，你會自然而然地使嬰兒對你產生回應並學會順從。當監護人想藉由強迫某一種行為加在嬰兒身上，來控制它、教它紀律時，那是一種錯誤的方法。帶來紀律的是重複。這只需要耐心。例如，若嬰兒在不是進食時間時哭著要食物或別的東西，就應當把它的注意力引向別的事物，即使這違背它當下的意願。最好的方法就是重複。
Balance
平衡
Balance can be taught to an infant by bringing its rhythm at the moment when it is excited by a certain action, to a normal condition. For instance, when an infant is very excited, then the rhythm of its action and movement is not normal. By clapping the hands, or by rattling, or by knocking on something one can make the rhythm of the infant change to one’s own rhythm; because any noise will attract an infant, and a noise made in a certain rhythm will influence its rhythm according to it. However excited the infant may be, begin by making some noise in its rhythm, and then bring it to a normal rhythm. For instance, if a rattle or something similar is first moved with the infant’s rhythm, and then moved gradually in a slower rhythm, the infant will come naturally to that rhythm. The excitement will abate; the whole condition of the infant’s mind, the blood circulation, the movements, the expression, everything will change to a normal rhythm.
平衡可以藉由在嬰兒因某種行動而興奮的時刻，把它的節奏帶回正常狀態來教導。譬如，當嬰兒非常興奮時，它行動與動作的節奏就不是正常的。藉由拍手、搖鈴，或敲擊某個東西，人可以使嬰兒的節奏轉變成自己的節奏；因為任何聲音都會吸引嬰兒，而依某種節奏發出的聲音，會照著那個節奏影響它的節奏。無論嬰兒多麼興奮，都先從發出符合它當下節奏的聲音開始，然後再把它帶回正常的節奏。比如，若先依著嬰兒的節奏搖動撥浪鼓或類似的東西，再逐漸改成較慢的節奏，嬰兒便會自然地進入那個節奏。它的興奮會平息下來；它整個頭腦狀態、血液循環、動作、表情，一切都會轉回正常節奏。
There are three rhythms.
有三種節奏。
- There is a rhythm of passiveness, where the child is not active at all. That means the child is not well or there is something wrong with it, something that should not be.
有一種是被動的節奏，在那裡孩子完全不活動。那表示孩子不舒服，或它身上有某種不對勁的情況，有某種不該存在的狀態。 - There is a second rhythm where the child is active but not excited; that is the normal rhythm.
第二種節奏，是孩子有活動，但不興奮；那是正常的節奏。 - And there is a third rhythm where the child is excited. That excitement must be brought to the second rhythm, where the child was active but not excited. This can be brought about by giving a child what it likes. If it does not like one toy, give another toy; and if not that toy, another toy, and yet another toy. In this way do everything to occupy its mind, so that for some moments it will keep to one thing.
第三種節奏，是孩子處於興奮狀態。這種興奮必須被帶回第二種節奏，也就是孩子有活動但不興奮的狀態。這可以藉由給孩子它喜歡的東西來做到。若它不喜歡一個玩具，就給另一個玩具；若不喜歡那個，再給另一個，再另一個。用這樣的方式盡一切可能去佔住它的頭腦，使它至少有幾個片刻能停留在同一件事上。
The excitement of an infant is the changing of the rhythm; for the infant has no control over its own rhythm. It goes on at a greater and greater speed, until it cries or laughs. And the laughter or the cry is just the same. On the one side the infant will laugh and on the other side cry, because its rhythm is not normal. It can only be brought to a normal condition by the guardian’s effort. But if one gets agitated or does not like the infant or is displeased with it, then one cannot help it.
嬰兒的興奮，其實就是節奏的改變；因為嬰兒對自己的節奏並沒有控制力。它的節奏會越來越快，直到它哭出來或笑出來。而笑與哭其實是一樣的。從一面看，嬰兒會笑；從另一面看，它會哭，因為它的節奏並不正常。只有藉由監護人的努力，才能把它帶回正常狀態。但如果照顧者自己激動起來，或不喜歡這個嬰兒，或對它不悅，那就無法幫助它了。
Should one stop an infant from crying? It is better to distract the mind of a child that is crying than to let it cry, but at the same time it is very natural for a child to cry sometimes. If the child does not cry, it means that there is something lacking in it, that the child is not normal. One must use discretion in how much one allows the child to cry and when to stop it. One can allow it to go as far as a certain rhythm; when it has reached that rhythm, then it must not cry any longer; that is the time to stop it. But when a mother, annoyed with the infant, stops its crying the moment it begins, it has a bad effect on its nervous system. And very often a guardian will put the child into the cradle or somewhere else to cry by itself. But that means leaving it in the same rhythm, and that does not help. In that way the child will become worse and worse, and more and more nervous every day.
是否應該阻止嬰兒哭呢？比起任由它哭，轉移正在哭的孩子的注意力是較好的；但同時，孩子有時候哭泣本來就是很自然的。若孩子不哭，那表示它裡面少了某種東西，表示這孩子並不正常。人必須有分寸，知道要讓孩子哭多少、何時該停。可以讓它哭到某一個節奏為止；當它達到那個節奏之後，就不應再讓它繼續哭，那就是該停止的時候了。但若母親因為惱怒嬰兒，而在它一開始哭時就立刻制止，那會對它的神經系統造成不良影響。而且監護人常常會把孩子放進搖籃裡，或放到別處，讓它自己哭。但那等於讓它留在原來的節奏裡，這並沒有幫助。那樣一來，孩子每天都會變得越來越糟，也越來越神經質。
Concentration
專注
And now regarding the concentration of an infant. Toys with different colors, fruits, flowers, things that attract an infant should be brought before it, whatever attracts most; and then one must try and attract its attention to that particular object, let it play with it, let it look at it, be interested in it. In this way the guardian can develop in the child the faculty of concentration, which will be of the greatest importance when it is grown-up. If this quality is not developed, it will be very difficult for the child to concentrate when it grows up. Besides that, one brings a great interest into the life of the child when it begins to concentrate. And the child concentrates without knowing it. Give it any beautiful thing it likes to amuse itself with, and if its fancy is taken by it, if it is absorbed in it, the child will concentrate naturally upon it. It is good for the child, for its soul and its body, because concentration is all the power there is.
現在來談嬰兒的專注。應當把有不同顏色的玩具、水果、花朵，或任何最能吸引嬰兒的東西帶到它面前；然後設法把它的注意力吸引到那個特定的物件上，讓它玩它、看它、對它產生興趣。用這種方式，監護人便能在孩子身上培養出專注的能力，而這能力在它長大後將是極其重要的。若這種品質沒有被發展出來，孩子長大後要專注便會非常困難。不只如此，當孩子開始專注時，也等於把極大的興趣帶進了它的生命裡。孩子其實是在不自覺中專注。只要給它任何美麗、它喜歡拿來玩賞的東西，若它的想像被那東西抓住，若它被吸引進去，孩子就會自然地專注其上。這對孩子、對它的靈魂與身體都有益，因為專注就是所有力量所在。
Ethics
倫理
Regarding ethics: this important word is used here, but in reality, the greatest ethics or morals that one can learn in life are friendliness, which culminates in generosity; and it is never too soon to cultivate this seed of morals in the child. When you give something to an infant which it likes, and with friendliness and sympathy and love you ask the child to give it to you, that brings about the feeling of giving and at the same time the feeling of friendliness. Very often the infant is not willing to give, but that means it is not trained to do so. You do not need to force it out of its hands, but by having patience and repeating your wish that the object may be given you, in the end the infant will give it. It may be that the first three or four times, if the child is very tenacious by nature, it will refuse, but in the end it will give it to you; and in this way it is taught the essence of morals.
至於倫理：這裡用了這個重要的字，但實際上，一個人在生命中所能學到的最大倫理或道德，就是友善，而其頂點則是慷慨；而在孩子身上培養這一道德種子，永遠不會太早。當你給嬰兒某樣它喜歡的東西，再以友善、同理心與愛來請它把那東西給你，這就會喚起給予的感覺，同時也喚起友善的感覺。嬰兒往往不願意給，但那只是表示它尚未被訓練成這樣。你不必硬從它手中搶出來，只要有耐心，一再重複你希望它把那東西給你的願望，最後嬰兒就會給你。也許前三四次，若這孩子天性非常執著，它會拒絕；但最後它還是會給你。就這樣，它被教到了道德的本質。
Should one teach an infant that there are certain things it owns and other things which do not belong to it? Whatever an infant sees, whoever it belongs to, the infant owns it, and owns it as its birthright. it has not yet awakened to this world of limitations, of divisions. All that is there belongs to it; it really belongs to the infant. It is our consciousness of duality that makes us poor. The infant is rich, richer than anyone in this whole world. The infant has the riches of God; because, as everything belongs to God, so, too, everything belongs to an infant. And therefore there is no desire on the part of an infant to own anything: the infant owns all things. It is experience of the world that gives the child, as it grows, the desire to own, because then it becomes limited; then there are things which belong to others and certain things which belong to the child, and this means limitation.
是否應該教嬰兒分辨，某些東西是它的，某些東西不是它的呢？凡是嬰兒所看到的，不論原本屬於誰，嬰兒都擁有它，而且是以它與生俱來的權利擁有它。它尚未醒入這個充滿限制與分割的世界。那裡的一切都屬於它；一切確實都屬於嬰兒。使我們變得貧乏的，是我們對二元性的意識。嬰兒是富有的，比這世界上的任何人都更富有。嬰兒擁有神的豐富；因為正如一切都屬於神，一切也同樣都屬於嬰兒。因此，嬰兒並沒有想要佔有任何東西的欲望：嬰兒本就擁有一切。是這個世界的經驗，使孩子在成長中產生佔有的欲望，因為它那時開始受到限制；那時有些東西屬於別人，有些東西屬於孩子，這就是限制。
Sometimes people think, “Is it not wrong in a way to make a person generous in this wicked world, where everyone wishes to snatch away everything from everybody he sees? And especially all the simple people who are giving, who are generous, they are the ones who do not take, but others do.” The answer is that a selfish person is his own enemy. He thinks that selfishness is profitable, but his own action works against him. It might seemingly give him success. By selfishness he might earn riches or by a tenacious quality hold on to position, rank or something else; but at the same time he is defeating his own object, he is making himself weak. Besides in the end, whatever be one’s experience, one will come to the realization that from those who pursue the world, the world runs away, and those who turn their backs on the world, the world follows. The spirit of all morals and ethics is friendliness, learning to sacrifice and learning to serve; and that last lesson can be given first to an infant.
有時人們會想：「在這個邪惡的世界裡，每個人都想把眼前所見的一切從別人手中奪走，那麼讓一個人成為慷慨的人，某種程度上不是錯的嗎？尤其那些單純、願意給予、樂於慷慨的人，往往正是不去拿的人，而別人卻會拿。」答案是，自私的人其實是自己的敵人。他以為自私有利可圖，但他自己的行動其實是在與自己作對。表面上看來，那也許會帶給他成功。藉由自私，他也許能賺得財富，或藉由一種執著的特質抓住地位、階級或別的東西；但同時，他正在挫敗自己的目的，他正在使自己變得軟弱。而且到最後，不論一個人的經驗如何，他終究都會領悟：追逐世界的人，世界反而逃離他；背向世界的人，世界反而跟隨他。所有道德與倫理的靈，就是友善，學習犧牲，學習服務；而那最後的一課，可以最先教給嬰兒。
Relaxation
放鬆
Finally we come to relaxation. The infant can become very troublesome to the guardian and to others if it has not learned relaxation properly. But relaxation is learned by an infant much sooner than by a grown-up person. One only needs to put the infant in an even rhythm, to give it calm and quiet surroundings, to place it in a comfortable position, to make passes over the child to give its nervous system rest, looking into its eyes with sympathy and with the thought of its going to sleep, producing by one’s own thought and feeling and atmosphere a restful and peaceful atmosphere for an infant so that it can experience relaxation.
最後，我們來到放鬆。若嬰兒沒有好好學會放鬆，它就會對監護人和其他人都造成很大的困擾。然而，嬰兒學會放鬆，遠比成年人更快。人所需要做的，只是把嬰兒放進一種均衡的節奏裡，給它安靜平和的環境，讓它處在舒適的姿勢中，以手勢撫過孩子，使它的神經系統得到休息，以同理的眼神注視它，並懷著它將入睡的念頭，藉由自己的思想、感受與氛圍，為嬰兒營造一種安息而平靜的氣氛，使它能夠經驗放鬆。
It is very necessary for these five different subjects to be taught in infancy. Besides that, regularity should be observed in everything concerning an infant. In its food, in its sleep, in everything there must be regularity, because nature is rhythmic. The four seasons come regularly; the rising and the setting of the sun, and the waxing and the waning of the moon, all show that nature is rhythmic. By observing the rules of regularity with an infant one can build a foundation for a soul to grow up most successfully.
這五個不同的面向，在嬰兒期都非常有必要被教導。除此之外，凡與嬰兒有關的一切，也都應當遵守規律。它的飲食、它的睡眠，一切都必須有規律，因為大自然是有節奏的。四季依時而來；太陽的升起與落下，月亮的盈虧，也都顯示出自然具有節奏。藉由在嬰兒身上遵守規律的法則，人便能為一個靈魂最成功地長成，奠定基礎。
Nursing
哺乳
While the infant is being nursed by its own mother the heart quality is being formed in it; and it is upon that quality that the feeling of the infant depends for its whole life. Not understanding this, people today have other methods of feeding an infant; and by these that spirit of heritage and many merits and qualities that the child has to develop, become blunted. Mechanical food is prepared, and the child’s heart becomes mechanical when it grows up.
當嬰兒由自己的母親哺乳時，它內在的心之品質正在形成；而嬰兒一生中的感受能力，都將依賴於這種品質。如今人們不明白這一點，因此採用了別的方法來餵養嬰兒；而藉由這些方法，那原本應被發展出來的承繼之靈，以及許多功德與品質，便變得遲鈍了。機械式的食物被準備出來，而孩子長大後，它的心也變得機械化。
Once a Mogul emperor was very much astonished when he saw his son shaken by the noise of a gun, and he said to his minister, “I cannot understand how a child of my family could show such a trait.” The wise minister said, “If you will enquire how the child was brought up, you will find that it was not nursed by its mother.’
有一次，一位蒙兀兒皇帝看到自己的兒子被槍聲嚇得發抖，感到十分驚訝，便對大臣說：「我無法理解，為什麼我家族中的孩子竟會表現出這樣的特質。」那位有智慧的大臣說：「若陛下去查問這孩子是怎麼被帶大的，便會發現他並不是由母親親自哺乳的。」
Just as the flesh of different animals is affected by each particular animal’s character, so with everything one eats one partakes of its spirit. An infant is destined to receive qualities from its mother, in the form of food; and it is these qualities which become a fertilizer for the development of its heart. Food, made from the juice of fruits or meat and stored in bottles or tins, when given to an infant at an early age, forms undesirable atoms, and causes the infant to grow denser every day. If the mother is unable to nurse the infant herself, the best way is to find a nurse. And that nurse must be considered not only from the health point of view, as many do, but also from the character point of view. She must be looked at from every angle.
正如不同動物的肉，會受到各自動物性格的影響，同樣地，人所吃進的一切，也都會使人分享其靈。嬰兒命定要從母親那裡，以食物的形式領受各種品質；而正是這些品質，成為它心之發展的養分。若在嬰兒年紀很小時，就給它由水果汁或肉汁製成、儲存在瓶罐中的食物，便會形成不理想的原子，使嬰兒一天比一天更加稠密。若母親不能親自哺乳嬰兒，最好的方式就是為它找一位奶媽。而這位奶媽的考量，不應只像許多人那樣，從健康的角度來看，也必須從性格的角度來看。她必須從各方面被審視。
Cutting Teeth
長牙
When the infant is cutting its teeth the mind develops; that is the time of the development of the mind. By keenly watching an infant grow, one will find that the day when it begins to cut its teeth the expression of its eyes changes; a mind is born, a thought is created. It is from that time that it begins to take notice of things and begins to think. The corning of the teeth is only an outward manifestation; the inner process is that the mind is forming. It is therefore a most important time in the life of an infant. For what is mind? Mind is the world. The infant at that time is forming the world in which it will live.
當嬰兒開始長牙時，頭腦也開始發展；那正是頭腦發展的時期。若仔細觀察嬰兒的成長，就會發現，在它開始長牙的那一天，它眼神中的表情改變了；一個頭腦誕生了，一個思想被創造出來。從那個時候起，它開始留意事物，也開始思考。牙齒長出來只是一種外在的顯現；其內在的過程是頭腦正在形成。因此，這是嬰兒生命中極其重要的時刻。因為頭腦是什麼呢？頭腦就是世界。嬰兒就在那時形成了它將要居住其中的世界。
Walking
走路
The moment when an infant begins to stand up and walk is the moment when power is beginning to become manifest in it. Enthusiasm, courage, the power of enduring, the power of patience, the power of perseverance, all these come at that time; it is the time when power is bestowed upon an infant. And the moment when the infant begins to speak is the time that its spirit has formed, that the mind is connected with the soul and connected with the body; the whole spirit is made at that moment.
當嬰兒開始站立與行走的那一刻，便是力量開始在它身上顯現的時刻。熱忱、勇氣、忍受的力量、耐心的力量、堅持的力量，這一切都在那時來到；那是力量被賦予嬰兒的時刻。而當嬰兒開始說話的那一刻，就是它的靈已經形成的時刻；頭腦與靈魂連結，也與身體連結；整個靈就在那一刻被完成。
From that moment the child should be considered as an individual. It is a little individual which then begins to have in itself the essence of everything and all things in the world; for in every soul there is a spark of every object and every quality that exists in the whole universe. And so, at this time when the spirit is completed, the essence of all the different qualities and merits and objects that exist in the world has formed as a spark in the infant.
從那一刻起，這孩子就應被看作一個個體。它是一個小小的個體，而就在那時，它開始在自己裡面擁有世界上一切事物的本質；因為在每一個靈魂裡，都有整個宇宙中每一種對象與每一種品質的一點火花。因此，當靈完成的這個時刻，世界上存在的一切不同品質、功德與事物的本質，都已在嬰兒裡形成為一點火花。
Effect of the Mother’s Nature
母親本性的影響
The best way, therefore, for a mother to educate an infant is to educate herself. The calmness, the quietness, the tenderness, the gentleness, everything the mother cultivates in her nature at that particular time when the infant is nursed, the infant will receive as a lesson in its cradle. The heart qualities are the most profound qualities man has; brain qualities come afterwards; and it is the heart qualities which make the basis of the whole life. At that particular time such qualities as kindness, sympathy, affection, tenderness, gentleness, mildness develop.
因此，母親教育嬰兒最好的方式，就是教育她自己。當嬰兒被哺乳的那個特定時期，母親在自己本性中所培養的一切——平靜、安寧、柔情、溫和——嬰兒都會在搖籃中把它們領受為課程。心的品質，是人所擁有最深刻的品質；腦的品質是在其後才來的；而正是心的品質，構成了整個人生的基礎。在那個特定的時期，像仁慈、同理心、情愛、溫柔、柔和、溫順這些品質，都會發展出來。
Rhythm
節奏
And it is at that time also that regularity is taught to the child, when the child learns its first lesson in being punctual. Unconsciously, it learns a rhythm. It knows the time when it should be fed. It does not need a watch to look at; it knows its time of resting, it knows its time of feeding. And by introducing rhythm into the mind of the child you put it on the road to perfection.
而也正是在那個時候，規律被教給孩子，孩子學到它在準時這件事上的第一課。它在無意識中學會了一種節奏。它知道自己該被餵食的時候。它不需要看鐘；它知道自己休息的時間，也知道自己吃東西的時間。而當你把節奏引入孩子的頭腦中，你就是把它放上通往完善的道路。
Mothers who get annoyed with an infant, who put it aside and say, “Well, let him cry for a time”, considering other work more important, do not know what they are missing. Handling the child is the greatest opportunity. And even if they do it at the greatest sacrifice it is worth while; because once an infant is impressed with being neglected by the mother, there remains all its life an impression, in the deepest depth of its being, of a soreness; and when a person grows up he feels it unconsciously, and then he is displeased and dissatisfied with everybody he meets.
那些對嬰兒感到煩躁，把它放到一旁，說著「好吧，讓它哭一陣子」，並認為別的事情更重要的母親，不知道自己錯失了什麼。照顧孩子，是最大的機會。即使這樣做需要極大的犧牲，也仍然值得；因為一旦嬰兒被印下了「被母親忽略」的感受，在它生命最深的深處，就會留下一種疼痛的印象，終其一生都在；等人長大後，他會在無意識中感覺到它，然後對他所遇見的每一個人都感到不悅與不滿。
When one lets an infant be fed at any time and be put to sleep at any time, that keeps it from a proper, even rhythm, and hinders its progress in life. For infancy is the first step on the path of progress.
若任由嬰兒隨時被餵、隨時被放去睡，那就會使它失去一種適當而均衡的節奏，也會阻礙它在人生中的進步。因為嬰兒期正是進步之路上的第一步。
Pacifiers
安撫物
When the mind of an infant is being formed, when it is cutting its teeth, people sometimes give it a rattle or something of rubber or wood, to put in its mouth. From a psychological point of view this is most undesirable, because it does not answer the purpose of the mouth. The mouth is for eating. Physically it is not good for its nerves and its gums, and psychologically it accomplishes no purpose. In the same way anything that is given to an infant at that age which does not serve a particular purpose, is a wrong thing to give. A child must not be deceived, even from his childhood, by an object which has no purpose. Even from infancy every object that is given to the child must inspire him with its use. An object that has no use, that serves no purpose, hinders the progress of an infant.
當嬰兒的頭腦正在形成、正在長牙時，人們有時會給它撥浪鼓，或某種橡膠或木頭做的東西，讓它放進嘴裡。從心理學的觀點來看，這是很不理想的，因為那並不符合嘴巴的目的。嘴巴是用來吃東西的。從生理上說，這對它的神經與牙齦都不好；從心理上說，它也沒有成就任何目的。同樣地，在那個年齡給嬰兒任何不具有特定目的的東西，都是不對的。孩子不應該從小就被一個沒有目的的物件所欺哄。甚至從嬰兒期開始，給孩子的每一樣東西，都應該讓他感受到它的用途。沒有用處、不服務於任何目的的物件，會阻礙嬰兒的進步。
Purposefulness
有目的性
The moment when the infant stands up and walks is a moment which should be guarded with the greatest interest and keenness. This is the moment when the powers are being manifested; and if these powers are used and directed towards something, a box or a tray, or something which is not inspiring, which does not give back something to the child, those powers are being blunted at every effort the child makes to go towards it. Then the best thing is to call the child towards oneself, to gain the child’s sympathy and attention. This attracts the child and gives new life.
嬰兒站起來並開始走路的那個時刻，應當以最大的關注與敏銳來守護。這是力量正在顯現的時刻；若這些力量被用來導向某樣東西，一個盒子、一個托盤，或任何不能啟發孩子、不能回饋孩子某種東西的對象，那麼每當孩子努力走向它時，那些力量都在被磨鈍。這時最好的做法，就是把孩子叫向自己，去贏得孩子的同理與注意。這會吸引孩子，並帶來新的生命力。
Nothing one does with an infant should be purposeless. If it is so, then its whole life will be purposeless. There are many who after they are grown-up cannot accomplish a certain purpose in their life. Very often the reason is that from their childhood, when the forces were rising, they were not directed to a purpose. It does not matter if a sweet were put there, or a fruit or a flower; if the child was directed to bring that, then there is a purpose. But when the child is directed to go to a box, or to the wall or door, where it has no gain, then the effort which has risen unconsciously is lost.
凡對嬰兒所做的事，都不應該是沒有目的的。若是如此，那麼它整個一生也會變得沒有目的。許多人長大後，無法在生命中完成某個目的；而原因往往是，在他們童年時，當力量正上升時，並沒有被導向一個目的。那裡擺的是糖果、水果，還是花，都不要緊；只要孩子被引導去把它拿來，那裡就有一個目的。但若孩子被引導去走向一個盒子、牆壁或門，那裡對它毫無所得，那麼那股原本無意識升起的努力，就白白流失了。
The beginning of a person’s life is of greater importance than the latter part, because it is in childhood that the road is made for him to go forward in life. And who makes the road? It is the guardian of the child who makes the road for it. If that road is not made and the guardian is asleep, then the child has great difficulty when it is grown-up. School education and college education will come afterwards; but the education of the greatest importance in the life of a soul comes in its infancy.
一個人生命的開始，比後來的部分更重要，因為一個人日後向前走的人生道路，是在童年時期被鋪設的。而是誰鋪這條路呢？是孩子的監護人替它鋪這條路。若這條路沒有被鋪好，而監護人又在沉睡，那麼孩子長大後便會有很大的困難。學校教育與大學教育都會在之後到來；但對一個靈魂生命最重要的教育，是在嬰兒期到來的。
Symbolism
象徵
Now there is a symbolism in the actions of a child. If the child goes straight towards something, that shows the straightness of his nature. If the child is wobbly, then it shows lack of willpower. If the child goes to one side and stands there, and then goes to another side and another, and then walks back, this shows that there is a fear, a doubt, and that the mind is not clear. If its mind were clear, the child would go straight. If it stops on the way, then this itself is a hindrance in its future life.
如今，孩子的行動之中帶有象徵。若孩子筆直地朝某樣東西走去，這表示它天性中的正直。若孩子走得搖搖晃晃，那就顯示意志力不足。若孩子走向一邊，站在那裡，然後又走向另一邊，再另一邊，接著又走回來，這表示其中有恐懼、有懷疑，而且頭腦並不清楚。若它的頭腦是清楚的，孩子便會直直走去。若它在半路停下來，那本身就會成為它未來人生中的一種阻礙。
If the child runs and reaches a certain place, it is impulsive and venturesome; it will jump into something when it is grown-up. But if an infant as soon as it begins to walk adopts a proper rhythm and reaches a desired spot, that infant is very promising. It shows singleness of purpose and balance by the rhythm of its walk. An infant which is beginning to walk, and which does not look at the guardian, but is only interested in what it sees before it, will be indifferent when it is grown-up; but an infant who after going to a place is attracted again to the guardian shows the heart quality. He will be a loving soul.
若孩子奔跑著到達某個地方，它就是衝動而冒險的；等它長大後，會一下子跳進某些事情裡。但若嬰兒一開始走路時，就採取適當的節奏，並抵達它想去的地方，那個嬰兒是很有希望的。它藉由走路的節奏，顯示出目的的專一與平衡。若一個剛開始走路的嬰兒，不看監護人，只對眼前所見之物感興趣，那麼它長大後會較冷淡；但若一個嬰兒到了某個地方之後，又再次被吸引回到監護人那裡，這就顯示出心的品質。他將會是一個有愛的靈魂。
Should one do gymnastics with an infant? No, an infant is too young for gymnastics. But every action that can be taught in order to bring about a rhythm and balance and discipline, and concentration and affectionate feeling, works towards building its future; and thus the first education is the foundation of its character.
是否應該讓嬰兒做體操呢？不，嬰兒太小了，不適合做體操。但凡是能夠被教導、並能帶來節奏、平衡、紀律、專注與親愛感受的每一種行動，都在為它的未來奠基；因此，最初的教育就是它品格的基礎。
By saying that one person and not several should train an infant, one does not mean that the infant should be kept away from everyone. No doubt others can entertain the infant for a moment; they can see it, they can admire, they can love it; but only for a short time. If four or five persons are handling it at the same time, then the child’s character will not be decided; it will neither be one thing nor the other. If the same guardian watches over the child all the time this will always be beneficial whether the infant is with others or not.
說一個嬰兒應由一個人而不是幾個人來訓練，並不是說它應該與所有人隔離。當然，其他人可以暫時逗它、看看它、欣賞它、愛它；但只能是很短的時間。若四五個人同時在照應它，那麼孩子的性格就無法定形；它既不會成為這樣，也不會成為那樣。若始終由同一位監護人照看孩子，那麼無論嬰兒是否與其他人在一起，這總是有益的。
Silence
靜默
When an infant reaches the age of two or three years, it is most beneficial if it is taught a moment of silence. But one might say, “How can a silence be taught?” A silence can be taught by attracting an infant’s attention very keenly, and this can be done by rhythm. When you make a certain noise by clapping your hands or by making a rhythm, and when you attract the attention of an infant fully, then if you wish it to be inactive, you can hold it in an inactive condition for a moment; and that can do a great deal of good. It could become a kind of religious or esoteric education from infancy. If an infant can keep his eyes from blinking, and his breath and the movement of his hands and legs suspended for one moment, it accomplishes even at that age a meditation.
當嬰兒到了兩三歲時，若能教它一個片刻的靜默，將極其有益。但也許有人會說：「靜默怎麼教呢？」靜默可以藉由非常敏銳地吸引嬰兒的注意來教，而這可以透過節奏做到。當你藉由拍手或製造某種節奏發出一定的聲音，並且完全吸引了嬰兒的注意之後，若你希望它暫時不動，你就能讓它在一個不活動的狀態裡停留片刻；而這會帶來極大的益處。這甚至可以從嬰兒期開始，成為一種宗教性或祕傳性的教育。若一個嬰兒能在一個片刻中使自己的眼睛不眨、呼吸暫停、手腳的動作也停下來，那麼即使在那樣的年紀，它也完成了一種冥想。
Talking
說話
Furthermore, when the infant is beginning to utter sounds, such as ha, pa, ma, boo, goo, one should not take it as something unimportant or something which has no meaning; one must realize that each such sound is a new lesson that an infant has learnt from the world, and one should give that word great importance, because it is the first word and that is a divine word. The best way of training an infant to learn the meaning of these words and sounds is to repeat with it the same sounds, to let the child hear the same word over and over again, and become interested in what it is saying; and then to attract its attention to objects and persons of that name. It is in this way that the words ma and pa have come into being. It is not that someone else has given these names; the infant has given them to its father and mother. Others have added to those words and made them mater, mader, mother, but it began with ma and pa. It is a natural word, it has come from the depth of the mind of the infant; it is a divine word. Its origin is a divine origin.
再者，當嬰兒開始發出聲音，例如 ha、pa、ma、boo、goo 時，不應把這看成無足輕重或毫無意義的東西；人必須明白，每一個這樣的聲音，都是嬰兒從這個世界學來的一個新課程，而人應當高度重視那個字音，因為那是第一個字，而那是一個神聖的字。訓練嬰兒學習這些字與聲音意義的最好方法，就是和它一起重複同樣的聲音，讓孩子一再聽見同一個字，並對它正在說的東西產生興趣；然後再把它的注意力引向具有那個名稱的物件與人物。ma 和 pa 這些字，就是這樣產生的。不是別人給了父母這些名稱；而是嬰兒把這些名稱給了它的父母。後來別人再把這些字加長，成為 mater、mader、mother，但它一開始是 ma 和 pa。這是一個自然的字，它來自嬰兒頭腦的深處；它是一個神聖的字。它的起源，是神聖的起源。
Such a word as “mummy” is the third word, and is brought about with the help of the guardian. The first word is ma, the second word is mama, and the third word is mummy; mama is extended to mummy. As fashions come in dress, so there come fancies in words. People like to use a certain word for some time and then it becomes a fashion.
像 “mummy” 這樣的字，是第三個字，而且是在監護人的幫助下形成的。第一個字是 ma，第二個字是 mama，第三個字是 mummy；mama 被延伸成 mummy。正如服裝會有流行，詞語也會有風尚。人們喜歡在某一段時間使用某個字，然後它就成了一種時尚。
One can help an infant by repeating different words with it and by pointing out to it the meaning of the words, instead of always urging upon it another word to be repeated. One spoils the ear of an infant in that way.
人可以藉由和嬰兒一起重複不同的字，並向它指出那些字的意義，來幫助它，而不是老是在催促它重複另一個字。若總是那樣做，便會把嬰兒的耳朵教壞。
The Nawab of Rampur once expressed a desire to the chief musician of his court to learn music himself, and the master said, “I will teach you music on one condition, and that is that you do not listen to every kind of music that comes your way. When bad music is heard the ear becomes spoiled; and then you cannot discriminate between bad music and good music.”
拉姆普爾的納瓦布（譯註：地方統治者）曾向宮廷首席樂師表達自己想學音樂的願望，那位大師說：「我可以教你音樂，但有一個條件，就是你不可什麼音樂都聽。當耳朵聽了不好的音樂，就會被教壞；之後你便無法分辨壞音樂與好音樂。」
So it is with an infant. The infant is saying pa, and the mother is saying leaf. The infant is saying something, and the guardian is saying something else. There is no harmony and no purpose is accomplished. The infant is unable to say leaf; it is beginning to say pa. Its own intuition has guided it, and it is better to go with nature and to let an infant be enlightened by every sound it makes, by showing it something connected with that sound. It is in this way that an infant is helped to speak. Then, if it learns to speak by nature’s method, it promises one day to speak from intuition.
嬰兒也是如此。嬰兒正在說 pa，而母親卻在說 leaf。嬰兒正在說某個聲音，而監護人卻在說別的聲音。那裡沒有和諧，也沒有達成任何目的。嬰兒根本還說不出 leaf；它正在開始說 pa。是它自己的直覺在引導它，因此最好順著自然，讓嬰兒藉由它所發出的每一個聲音而得到啟蒙，藉由向它指出與那個聲音相關的事物。嬰兒正是以這樣的方式被幫助去說話。如此一來，若它是依循自然的方法學會說話，它將來便有希望從直覺中說話。
It is the will that has brought the child to the earth, otherwise it would not have come. It comes by its own will and it stays by its own will. The will is like the steam that makes the engine go forward. If the child wishes to go back, that depends upon its wish. It is always by the will of the soul. And therefore in the child you see the will in the form in which it has come. But often during childhood the will is broken, and then it remains broken all through life. If in childhood the parents took good care that the will was not broken, then the will would manifest itself in wonders. The child would do wonderful things in life if its will was sustained, if it was cherished.
是意志把孩子帶到地上來的，不然它就不會來。它是憑自己的意志而來，也憑自己的意志而停留。意志就像推動引擎前進的蒸汽。若孩子想回去，那也取決於它的意願。一切總是出於靈魂的意志。因此，在孩子身上，你看到的是意志以它初來時的形式顯現出來。但意志常常在童年時就被折斷，然後終其一生都保持破碎。若父母在童年時期能夠好好照顧，使這意志不被折斷，那麼意志就會顯出奇妙的作為。若孩子的意志被支持、被珍惜，它在人生中就會做出令人驚奇的事。
iii
The infant that is born on earth brings with it the air of heaven. In its expression, in its smiles, even in its cry you hear the melody of the heavens. The Sufi point of view is that an infant is an exile from heaven, and that is why its first expression on earth is a cry. The soul that comes from above feels uncomfortable on the dense earth. This atmosphere is strange and not free; and it is a feeling of exile that makes the soul cry, a feeling of horror, of a terror of this world of woes.
出生在地上的嬰兒，帶著天國的氣息而來。在它的表情中，在它的微笑中，甚至在它的哭聲中，你都能聽見天界的旋律。蘇菲的觀點認為，嬰兒是從天界被放逐而來的，因此它在地上的第一個表達便是哭泣。那從上方而來的靈魂，在稠密的大地上感到不適。這裡的氣氛陌生而不自由；而正是這種流亡感，使靈魂哭泣，一種驚駭之感，一種對這苦難世界的恐懼。
When a child comes to the earth without a cry it indicates abnormality. The child is quite abnormal, and it will not have a full development, because the new sphere has not struck it; in other words, it is not fully awake to the new sphere. Bring a waking person here, he will look at what is going on; bring a drunken person, he will sit here in intoxication. He does not know what is going on, he is not aware of the conditions, he does not care. And so it is with an infant. There is hardly a case where an infant does not cry; but if there is such a case there is something wrong. Why is the soul so much attracted to the earth? It is attracted to the earth because it is bound to the earth. It is the soul’s passion to manifest; it is only expressing its passion.
若一個孩子來到地上時沒有哭，這表示異常。這孩子是相當異常的，而且它將無法得到完全的發展，因為這個新的界域並未真正打動它；換句話說，它尚未完全醒向這個新的界域。把一個清醒的人帶到這裡，他會看看正在發生什麼；把一個喝醉的人帶來，他會坐在這裡處於醉態中。他不知道發生了什麼，也沒有察覺周圍的狀況，他不在乎。嬰兒也是如此。幾乎沒有嬰兒不哭的情況；但若真的有，那就表示有什麼地方不對。為什麼靈魂如此被地所吸引？它之所以被地吸引，是因為它被地所繫。那是靈魂想要顯現的熱情；它只是在表達它的熱情。
Before the infant came to the world it had educators too, one or many educators. It first had educators on the jinn plane, the inhabitants of that plane and the ones going back who met it on the jinn plane. The older ones on the angelic plane have their experience, their life, their feeling to impart to a new soul going further on the journey. It is from there that an infant has brought the feeling of admiration for all beauty, the feeling and love of harmony, innocence, and the depth of feelings. Then it met other teachers on the jinn plane, and these teachers are the ones to whom it was directed from the angelic plane; because according to its association on the angelic plane it takes a certain route, a certain direction. It is the first instructors in the life of an infant who have the influence which directs and determines its destiny on the jinn plane.
在嬰兒來到這個世界之前，它也有教育者，一位或多位教育者。它首先在精靈（jinn）的層次上有教育者，那個層次的居民，以及那些正回返而在精靈層次與它相遇的存在。天使層次中較成熟的那些存在，會把他們的經驗、生命與感受，傳遞給一個正繼續旅程的新靈魂。嬰兒正是從那裡帶來了對一切美的讚歎之情、對和諧的感受與愛、天真，以及感情的深度。然後它又在精靈層次遇見其他老師，而這些老師，是它從天使層次被引導去遇見的；因為按照它在天使層次中的關聯，它會走上一條特定的路、一個特定的方向。正是嬰兒生命中最初的這些教師，具有那種引導並決定它在精靈層次命運的影響力。
Can the soul choose its instructor on the angelic and jinn planes, one may ask, or is it helpless before anyone who is attracted to it? There is always free will and the lack of it on all planes. If we go into the midst of the city, there are some things that we purposely want to see; we are looking for them. At the same time there are many things which attract our attention also without any intention on our part. In the same way, when the soul arrives it is attracted to things and beings which it had no intention of being attracted to, and at the same time it has its choice; it has both.
有人也許會問：在天使層次與精靈層次上，靈魂能選擇它的導師嗎？還是它面對任何被它吸引的存在時，都是無助的呢？在所有界域裡，自由意志與缺乏自由意志總是同時存在。若我們走進城市裡，有些東西是我們刻意想看的；我們是在尋找它們。同時，也有許多事物會在我們毫無意圖的情況下吸引我們的注意。靈魂到達時也是如此，它會被某些它原本無意去被吸引的事物與存在所吸引；但同時，它也有自己的選擇；兩者都有。
The experiences of the infant before birth on the higher planes are not directed by the stars as we understand it from the astrological point of view; it is from the time that it comes to the earth that its connection with the stars begins. But at the same time there are other factors which to a large extent determine the soul’s destiny.
嬰兒在出生之前於高層界域中的經歷，並不是照我們從占星觀點所理解的那樣，由星辰所主導；它與星辰的連結，是從它來到地上的時候才開始的。但同時，也還有其他因素在很大程度上決定著靈魂的命運。
On the jinn plane the soul receives instruction from the inhabitants of that sphere, and also from those who have just returned from the earth, eager to give to the infant their experience, their knowledge, and all they still have with them brought from the earth. They would have given to it even what they had on the earthly plane, but no one is allowed to take to the other sphere what he has collected here. All that belongs to this sphere a person must leave behind in order to be free and in order to be allowed to enter the higher spheres. And therefore, what they have is what they have collected in those spheres while they were on earth. That is all they have, the thoughts, impressions, feelings, experiences, knowledge that they have gained. It is all, so to speak, a collection which a person makes in the higher spheres, but it is not something which can be deposited in the bank. So when man has left to the earth all that he has borrowed from the earth, then he goes on with only that property which he has deposited or collected in the higher spheres without knowing it. Very few on earth know that while they live on the earthly plane they are collecting something in the higher plane. They live at the same time on the higher plane, but they do not know it.
在精靈層次上，靈魂從那個界域的居民那裡接受教導，也從那些剛從地上返回、急切想把自己的經驗、知識，以及一切仍從地上帶著的東西傳給嬰兒的存在那裡接受教導。他們甚至願意把自己在地上所擁有的也給它，但沒有人被允許把自己在這裡所收集的東西帶到另一個界域去。凡屬於這個界域的一切，一個人都必須留下，才能獲得自由，也才能被允許進入更高的界域。因此，他們所真正擁有的，是他們在地上時於那些界域中所收集的東西。那就是他們所擁有的一切——他們所得著的思想、印象、感受、經驗與知識。可以說，那是一個人在高層界域中所累積的收藏，但它不是能存進銀行的東西。於是，當人把自己從地上借來的一切都留還給地之後，他便只帶著那份自己在不知不覺中存放或收集於高層界域中的財產繼續前行。在地上，很少有人知道，當他們活在塵世層次時，同時也正在高層層次收集某些東西。他們同時活在高層層次，但他們並不知道。
With this heritage and with this knowledge and instruction that it has received from one or many, an infant comes to the earth. People might object that an infant does not show any sign of any knowledge of the earth nor of the heavens; it does not show any sign of the angelic world nor of the world of the jinns. They do not know that an infant can perceive or can receive impressions of human beings much more readily than grown-up people. The infant at once senses the right person; and sometimes it perceives more than a grown-up person. Besides that, we grown-up people think that we appreciate music, but if we realized the sense that an infant has brought with it of appreciating sound and rhythm, we would never boast of knowing music. The infant is music itself. In the cradle it is moving its little arms and legs in a certain rhythm. And when our music fails on the ears of an infant it is of the lowest character compared with the music it is accustomed to.
帶著這份承繼，以及它從一位或多位導師那裡所領受的知識與教導，嬰兒來到了地上。人們也許會反對說，嬰兒並沒有表現出任何對地上或天上的知識；它沒有表現出任何天使世界或精靈世界的痕跡。他們不知道的是，嬰兒對人的感知、對人的印象接收，遠比成年人更敏銳。嬰兒立刻就能感覺出誰是對的人；而且有時它所感知到的，比成年人還多。不僅如此，我們成年人以為自己懂得欣賞音樂，但若我們明白嬰兒所帶來的那種對聲音與節奏的欣賞感受，我們就絕不會誇口說自己懂音樂。嬰兒本身就是音樂。在搖籃裡，它的小手小腳正依著某種節奏活動著。當我們的音樂在嬰兒耳中聽來失敗時，那是因為和它所習慣的音樂相比，我們的音樂屬於最低層次的性質。
At the same time it begins to move its legs and its arms to the rhythm of the dense music. We may believe we have the finest music, but for an infant it is the most dense music; it is accustomed to much finer music than we can conceive. It longs for it, it looks for it; and what we give as a substitute does not satisfy it. For a moment it tries to listen to it, it tries to enjoy, to like it; but at the same time it does not feel at home, it turns its back and wants to go away. Only for a moment it tries to enjoy it, thinking it is something that belongs to its country, which means the heavens; and then it finds out: no, it is foreign. That is the only reason why an infant will cry in the middle of a concert; if it were not so an infant would enjoy it more than anyone.
同時，它也開始按著這種稠密音樂的節奏移動它的手腳。我們也許相信自己擁有最美的音樂，但對嬰兒而言，那卻是最稠密的音樂；它所習慣的，是遠比我們所能想像更精細的音樂。它渴望那樣的音樂，它在尋找它；而我們拿來替代的東西，不能使它滿足。它會有片刻試著去聽，試著去享受、去喜歡；但同時，它又感到不自在，不像在家裡一樣，它轉過身，想要離開。它只是在片刻中試著享受它，以為那是某種屬於它故鄉的東西，也就是屬於天界的東西；然後它發現：不，這是外國的。這就是為什麼嬰兒會在音樂會進行到一半時哭出來；若不是如此，嬰兒會比任何人都更享受音樂。
It takes some time for an infant to become accustomed to the life of the earth. And what makes it accustomed to it? Color. Color is what attracts most, and then sound. When it gets accustomed to the dense sound and the dense color, then it gradually begins to lose its heavenly attributes. And when its first wish is to change from being an angel and walk like an animal, when it begins to creep, it begins its earthly life; but before that it was an angel. Infancy is angelic; it is not the jinn time, it is the angelic time.
嬰兒需要一些時間，才能習慣地上的生活。而是什麼使它習慣呢？是顏色。最能吸引它的是顏色，其次才是聲音。當它逐漸習慣這種稠密的聲音與稠密的色彩時，它便開始慢慢失去自己屬天的屬性。而當它第一次想要從天使變成像動物那樣行動、開始爬行時，它的塵世生命便開始了；但在那之前，它是天使。嬰兒期是天使性的；那不是精靈的時期，而是天使的時期。
Infancy may be divided into three parts: the first three years are real infancy. The first year the infant is most angelic; the second year there is a little shade of the jinn sphere; and the third year it begins to manifest the earthly influence, the influence of this world. So an infant becomes worldly in its third year.
嬰兒期可以分為三個部分：最初三年才是真正的嬰兒期。第一年，嬰兒最具天使性；第二年，開始帶著一點精靈層次的影子；而第三年，它開始顯出塵世的影響，也就是這個世界的影響。因此，嬰兒在第三年開始變得屬世。
Why is it that an infant, though still conscious of the angelic planes, has no feeling of kindness originally? The angels are not obliged to be kind. They are kindness itself, but that angelic kindness must awaken here. Kindness and cruelty are learned after corning here; when the infant comes, it comes with love alone. Everything else is taught here. And if the guardians knew this, they would help the child much better. There are many qualities that the soul has brought from the higher spheres, but those qualities remain undeveloped if they remain buried, if they are not given an opportunity to develop. Thus, if kindness has not been given an opportunity to develop in the child, the kindness will remain buried in the depth of its heart all its life, and it will not know it.
為什麼嬰兒雖然仍然意識著天使層次，卻起初沒有仁慈的表現呢？天使並不是「應該」仁慈；他們本身就是仁慈，但那種天使性的仁慈必須在此地甦醒。仁慈與殘酷，都是來到這裡之後才學會的；當嬰兒來時，它只帶著愛而來。其他一切都是在這裡被教出來的。若監護人明白這一點，他們就能更好地幫助孩子。靈魂從高層界域帶來許多品質，但若這些品質被埋藏著、沒有得到發展的機會，它們就仍然不會被發展出來。因此，若孩子裡的仁慈沒有得到發展的機會，那仁慈便會終其一生都埋藏在它心的深處，而它自己也不會知道。
Parents sometimes think that it is bad manners for an infant to put its hand in its mouth, and therefore they give it something made of wood or rubber, or something else. It very much hinders its real progress in life, because every soul is born to reach the ideal of being self-sufficient. An infant tries from the beginning to put its hand in its mouth when the mouth wants something; and the parents, in order to teach good manners, give it something else, making the infant more artificial. If they left it to its natural tendency, they would help its growth, its progress towards a higher ideal. What are the saints and sages and adepts and mystics doing during their time of spiritual attainment? They eliminate everything in their life which makes them depend on things outside. They eat with their hands; instead of taking plates they use leaves; and everything they do shows that they wish to become independent.
父母有時認為，嬰兒把手放進嘴裡是不禮貌的，因此就給它木頭做的東西、橡膠做的東西，或其他什麼東西。這其實非常妨礙它生命中真正的進步，因為每一個靈魂生來都是要達到自足的理想。當嘴巴想要某種東西時，嬰兒一開始就會想把手放進嘴裡；而父母為了教它禮貌，卻給它別的東西，使嬰兒變得更人工化。若他們順著它自然的傾向，反而是在幫助它成長，幫助它朝向更高的理想進步。聖者、智者、行者與祕士，在靈性成就的時期都在做什麼呢？他們把生命中一切使自己依賴外物的東西都去除了。他們用手吃飯；不用盤子，而用樹葉；而他們所做的一切，都顯示他們希望成為獨立的人。
By independence is meant self-sufficiency: that what they can get from their own self they must not look for outside. That is the principal motive of those who are striving for self-attainment, because it is the means of overcoming the sorrows and troubles and woes of this life. One sees a constant striving in the life of the adepts to make themselves independent of outside things as much as possible. On the other hand worldly people think it progress if they can become daily more dependent on others. Every step we take is towards dependence; and the more we depend upon others, the more we think we are progressing. In the end we come to such a stage that for what the soul needs, what the mind needs, what the body needs, we depend upon others. And, not knowing this, we teach the child to put something else instead of its little hand in its mouth. In reality, it is natural for an infant to put its hand in its mouth; and that is the purest and the cleanest toy that it can have to play with.
所謂獨立，指的是自足：凡是能從自己裡面得到的，就不該向外尋求。這正是那些努力追求自我成就者的主要動機，因為那是克服此生愁苦、困難與憂患的方法。我們會看見，行者的一生中一直有一種持續的努力，要使自己盡可能不依賴外在的事物。另一方面，世俗的人卻認為，若自己一天比一天更依賴他人，那就是進步。我們所走的每一步都朝向依賴；而我們越依賴別人，就越以為自己在進步。最後，我們到了這樣一個地步：靈魂所需要的、頭腦所需要的、身體所需要的，都得依靠別人。而我們不知道這一點，便教孩子把別的東西代替它的小手放進嘴裡。事實上，嬰兒把手放進嘴裡是很自然的；而那也是它所能擁有、拿來玩耍的最純淨、最乾淨的玩具。
The Qur’an says there is a time for everything. And so there is a time, there is a day, an hour, a moment fixed for the child to change its attitude: to learn to sit, to learn to stand, to learn to walk. But when the parents, eager to see the child stand or sit or walk, help it, the child will do it before the time, and that works against its development; because it is not only that it begins to learn to sit or to stand or to walk; there is a far greater meaning in it. These are different stages which an infant goes through in its spiritual life. Physically these are just ordinary actions; spiritually it is a stage. When the child sits it is a stage; when it stands it is a stage; when it begins to walk it is a stage. These are like three first initiations in the life of an infant.
古蘭經裡面說，萬事有時。因此，孩子改變自己姿態的時候——學坐、學站、學走——都有一個被定下的時間，一天、一小時、一個時刻。但若父母急著想看見孩子站起來、坐起來或走起來，而出手幫它，那麼孩子便會在時機未到之前去做，而那會對它的發展不利；因為那不只是開始學坐、學站、學走而已；其中還有更深遠的意義。這些是嬰兒在其靈性生活中所經歷的不同階段。從身體上看，這些只是普通動作；但從靈性上看，那是一個階段。孩子坐起來，是一個階段；站起來，是一個階段；開始走路，是一個階段。這些就像是嬰兒生命中的前三次啟蒙。
In order to understand the meaning of an infant’s laughter and cry one must become an infant, because it is the language of another sphere. But when a person does not trouble about it, then its cry is only a nuisance and its laughter is a game. Sometimes people wish to make the child laugh more and more because they are interested or as an entertainment; or people neglect the child, leaving it to cry, and pay no attention; or when an infant is crying the mother says, “Be quiet, be quiet”; in all these cases they lose the opportunity of understanding the language of an infant. This is the opportunity for the guardian, for the mother, for the one who looks after an infant, to learn the heavenly language. For there is nothing that has no meaning, and every movement of an infant, who is an expression, an example, from above, has a meaning. But as we are absorbed from morning to evening in the responsibilities and duties of the world, we forget the responsibility and duty to the infant. And because the infant cannot speak in our language and tell us how neglectful we are of what it wants, and what it needs, and what can be done for it, there remains a wall of separation between mother and child.
要明白嬰兒笑與哭的意義，人必須成為一個嬰兒，因為那是另一個界域的語言。但當一個人不為此費心時，嬰兒的哭就只是惱人的噪音，它的笑就只是個遊戲。有時人們因為覺得有趣、或當作娛樂，就想讓孩子笑得更多更多；或者人們忽略孩子，任它去哭，不予理會；或者當嬰兒在哭時，母親只說：「安靜，安靜。」在這一切情況裡，他們都失去了理解嬰兒語言的機會。這正是監護人、母親、照顧嬰兒之人的機會，去學習天上的語言。因為沒有任何事是沒有意義的，而嬰兒的每一個動作——這個來自上方的表達與示範——都有它的意義。然而，我們從早到晚都沉浸在世間的責任與義務之中，以致忘記了對嬰兒的責任與義務。而因為嬰兒不能用我們的語言說話，無法告訴我們：我們對它想要什麼、它需要什麼、能為它做什麼，是多麼忽略，於是母親與孩子之間便留下了一道隔閡之牆。
An infant knows and feels the presence of an undesirable person in the atmosphere around it. It is very unwise when people engage any nurse that comes along to take care of their infant. And it is unfortunate in these days when mothers have many other occupations, that they cannot take charge of their infant themselves, and have to send it to what they call a creche, a place where they take care of infants. This does not mean that to keep an infant among many other infants is not right, but at the same time it is only after we have grown up in this dense world that we come together, if not very much, at least partially. It is always difficult for many people to work together, to be together, to live together; and yet we have been here on this earth so many years, and we have become accustomed to the life of the earth. But what about an infant who has just arrived and who is placed among other infants, where the gap between the evolution of one infant and another is infinitely greater than the difference between two grown-up persons? They are not yet accustomed to being together, and the atmosphere of one infant is bad for another. It is all right for many soldiers to be together in one room, for many patients to be together in one hospital; but for many infants to be put in one place after being exiled from paradise to this earth, imagine what it means for them to have this experience! It is like a king banished from his kingdom. No doubt after six months or a year an infant becomes accustomed to it; but at the same time the individuality of the soul and the development of the personality become blunted.
嬰兒知道，也感覺得到，在它周圍的氣氛中有不適當之人的臨在。若人們隨便雇用任何一位路過可得的保母來照顧自己的嬰兒，那是很不明智的。而在今日，母親們有許多其他事務，以致無法親自照看自己的嬰兒，不得不把它送去所謂的托嬰處，也就是照顧嬰兒的地方，這實在很可惜。這並不是說，讓一個嬰兒和許多其他嬰兒在一起本身就不對；但同時，我們是要等到自己在這個稠密世界裡長大之後，才多少學會在一起的。許多人一起工作、一起相處、一起生活，總是困難的；然而我們已經在地上待了這麼多年，也已經習慣了塵世的生活。那麼，一個剛剛到來、卻被放在其他嬰兒之中的嬰兒呢？在那裡，一個嬰兒與另一個嬰兒之間的進化差距，無限大於兩個成年人之間的差異。它們還不習慣彼此在一起，而一個嬰兒的氣氛，對另一個嬰兒是不好的。許多士兵在一個房間裡、許多病人在一間醫院裡，是可以的；但許多嬰兒在從樂園被放逐到地上之後，又被集中在同一個地方，想想看，那對它們來說是什麼樣的經驗！那就像一位國王被逐出自己的國度一樣。當然，經過六個月或一年，嬰兒會逐漸習慣；但同時，靈魂的個體性與人格的發展，也變得遲鈍了。
No doubt a great amount of patience is required to take care of an infant. But patience is never wasted; patience is a process through which a soul passes and becomes precious. Souls who have risen above the world’s limitations and sorrows, the world’s falseness and deception, they are the souls who have passed through patience. If it is the destiny of the guardian or the mother to acquire patience, she must know that there is nothing lost, but that she has gained something in her life. To raise an infant, to look after it, to educate it, and to give oneself to its service, is as much and as good a work as the work of an adept; because an adept forgets himself by meditation, a mother forgets herself by giving her life to the child.
毫無疑問，照顧嬰兒需要極大的耐心。但耐心從不會白費；耐心是一個靈魂所經過、並因此變得珍貴的過程。那些超越了世界的限制與苦難、世界的虛假與欺騙的靈魂，正是那些經過了耐心的靈魂。若監護人或母親的命運，是要獲得耐心，那她必須知道，自己並沒有失去什麼，而是在生命中得到了某種東西。養育嬰兒、照顧它、教育它，並把自己奉獻於服事它，這樣的工作與一位行者的工作同樣崇高、同樣美好；因為行者藉由冥想忘記自己，而母親則藉由把自己的生命給予孩子而忘記自己。
There is always a possibility of giving an infant bad habits. For example sometimes a guardian enjoys the laughter of an infant and thus makes it laugh more and more, because it is amusing. But however much an infant has laughed, so much it must cry afterwards, in order to make a balance. And then there may be another mother who, as soon as an infant has opened its mouth to cry, says, “Quiet, quiet!”; but if an infant then becomes quiet, something in its character is broken. It wants to cry, it must be allowed to cry; there is something in its character that wants to come out.
總是有可能把壞習慣給到嬰兒。譬如，有時監護人因覺得有趣，而享受嬰兒的笑，於是讓它笑得越來越多。但嬰兒笑了多少，之後就必須哭多少，才能恢復平衡。也可能有另一位母親，一見嬰兒張口要哭，就說：「安靜，安靜！」但若嬰兒因此安靜下來，那它性格中的某樣東西就被折斷了。它想哭，就必須容許它哭；它性格裡有某個東西想要表達出來。
There is also a tendency in an infant to throw things about, to slap, to kick, to tear, to break things. Sometimes it is such a little thing that is broken or spoiled that the mother thinks its behavior is enjoyable. But if an infant is allowed to do what ought not to be encouraged, it will only make it difficult for it later. It must be corrected, but at the same time it must not be corrected with anger or annoyance. It should be corrected repeatedly by giving the infant something to do which is different from what it was doing before. One should always keep an infant focused on things that will be good for it, and try to divert its attention from things that it must not do, instead of enjoying and amusing oneself with things that it does which the parents may think do not matter.
嬰兒也有一種傾向，會亂丟東西、打拍、踢踹、撕扯、打破東西。有時它弄壞或弄壞的只是很小的東西，母親便覺得它這樣的行為很可愛。但若允許嬰兒去做那些本不該被鼓勵的事，只會讓它日後更困難。它必須被糾正，但同時又不可用憤怒或惱怒來糾正。應當藉由一再給嬰兒一些與它先前所做之事不同的事去做，來反覆地糾正它。人應當總是讓嬰兒的注意力停留在對它有益的事物上，並試著把它的注意從它不該做的事上轉開，而不是拿那些父母以為無所謂的行為來自我娛樂。
It is very difficult to stop an infant in its first year from destroying things. Besides the inclination to destroy things is a great virtue in the child. It is the desire of the soul to know the mystery of life; because every object before an infant is a cover over the mystery the soul is looking for. It is annoyed with it because it is a cover. It wants to know, by breaking it, what it is.
要在嬰兒第一年裡阻止它破壞東西，是很困難的。除此之外，想要拆解、破壞東西的傾向，在孩子身上其實是一種很大的優點。那是靈魂想要知道生命奧祕的願望；因為在嬰兒面前的每一個物件，都像是一層遮蓋，覆在靈魂所尋找的奧祕之上。它對那東西感到不耐，是因為它是一個遮蓋。它想藉由打破它，知道那究竟是什麼。
However, it is possible to stop the infant from breaking things, but by suggestion, not by getting annoyed. Annoyance must be avoided, because it is not good for an infant if one is annoyed with it. The more patience one has with an infant the better; its will becomes more powerful. But if you are annoyed, then the nervous system of the infant deteriorates, and it becomes depressed. Its nervous system becomes contracted, it becomes tired; and when it is grown-up a fear remains. One must be extremely careful with an infant that its nerves do not get cramped. Its nervous centers are delicate; and these are the centers which are intuitive centers. Later on, these centers will help the soul to perceive higher knowledge. And if these centers become cramped by the annoyance of the guardians, then the infant has lost that faculty by which it should grow and profit in life. The infant will understand; one must have patience. One should repeat, “You must not break it”, every time he breaks something. Let him break ten times, and every time just say, “You must not break it”; that helps.
然而，要阻止嬰兒打破東西，是可能的，但要藉由暗示，而不是藉由惱怒。惱怒必須避免，因為若人對嬰兒惱怒，對它並不好。對嬰兒越有耐心越好；它的意志會變得更有力量。但若你惱怒了，嬰兒的神經系統就會惡化，它也會變得沮喪。它的神經系統會收縮，會疲憊；而長大之後，恐懼仍會留下。人對嬰兒必須極其小心，不可使它的神經緊縮。它的神經中樞是柔細的；而這些正是直覺的中心。日後，這些中心會幫助靈魂感知更高的知識。若這些中心因監護人的惱怒而變得緊縮，那麼嬰兒便失去了那種本該使它成長、使它在人生中受益的能力。嬰兒會懂的；人必須有耐心。每次它打破東西時，只要重複說：「你不可以把它弄壞。」就好。就算它打破十次，每次都只要說：「你不可以把它弄壞。」這樣就有幫助。
Regarding the bad nature of an infant, sometimes it shows stubbornness and obstinacy even to the extent that one feels annoyed and begins to scold it. But that is not right. Scolding has a bad effect on the nerves of an infant. And once a bad effect has been made on the nerves of an infant there will be a mark of annoyance on the nerves all through its life. The best thing at such moments is to call the attention of the infant repeatedly to something that will take away that thought, and we must never tire of doing it. It is this which will make it come back to a proper rhythm.
至於嬰兒的壞脾性，有時它會表現出固執與倔強，甚至讓人感到惱怒，開始責罵它。但那是不對的。責罵會對嬰兒的神經造成不良影響。而一旦這種不良影響落在嬰兒的神經上，惱怒的痕跡就會終其一生留在那些神經裡。這種時刻最好的做法，是一再把嬰兒的注意力喚到某樣能帶走那個念頭的事物上，而我們絕不可厭倦這樣做。正是這樣，才能使它回到恰當的節奏中。
There are two principal temperaments in infants: active and passive. There is an infant that is quite happy in the place where it is put, quite contented, enjoying itself; it cries only when it is hungry. And there is another infant who is always doing something; either it must cry, or break, or tear something; it must do something all the time. The best thing is to bring the infant back to a normal rhythm. An active infant must be quieted by the influence of the guardian; by attracting its mind to a certain thing, by beating time and getting it into a certain rhythm. Infancy is the time when the impulsive nature can be trained, and that is the time to draw out what is really best in the impulsive nature and utilize the impulsive nature to its best advantage.
嬰兒有兩種主要氣質：主動型與被動型。有一種嬰兒，放在哪裡都很快樂，很安分，也很自得其樂；它只在肚子餓時才哭。也有另一種嬰兒，總是不停地要做些什麼；不是哭，就是打破、撕扯些什麼；它總得一直做點什麼。最好的方式，是把嬰兒帶回正常的節奏。主動型的嬰兒，必須透過監護人的影響使它安靜下來；藉由把它的頭腦吸引到某一件事物上，藉由打拍子，把它帶進某個節奏裡。嬰兒期正是衝動本性可以被訓練的時期，而那也正是把衝動本性中真正最好的東西引出來、並善加運用的時期。
When an infant is quiet, contented, passive, happy-natured, one must not be contented about it, because it may not prove to be good in the end. That infant should be made a little more active. A little more attention must be given to it, a few more playthings, a little more thought must be given. It should be stimulated, it should be picked up and its attention attracted to this or that, so that it may become more active and more interested in the things it sees; that will bring about a proper balance.
當一個嬰兒安靜、知足、被動、性情愉快時，人也不可因此就滿足，因為這未必在最後會是好的。那樣的嬰兒應當被帶得稍微更主動一些。應當多給它一點注意，多幾樣玩具，多花一些心思。它需要被喚起，需要被抱起來，讓它的注意力被吸引到這樣或那樣的事物上，好使它變得更活躍，也更對自己所看見的事物有興趣；這樣才會帶來適當的平衡。