小径

丛山里住着一个妇人和她的儿子，他是她的头胎儿子，也是她的独生子。

这孩子死于热病，当时医生束手无策地站在旁边。

母亲苦恼得心慌意乱，她对医生大号大哭，向他恳求道："告诉我，告诉我，究竟是什么使他不再挣扎不再歌唱的呢？"医生说："是热病。"

母亲问："什么是热病？"医生说：我解释不了，这是一种无限小的微生物，它侵入人的肌体，我们的肉眼是看不见的。"

于是医生告辞了。她还是不断地自言自语："无限小的微生物。我们的肉眼是看不见的。"

黄昏时分，教士来安慰她。她哭泣，呼天抢地地说道："啊，为什么我丧失我的儿子，我的头脸儿子，我的独生子户教士说道："我的孩儿啊，这是上帝的意志。"

妇人问："上帝是什么，上帝又在哪儿？我但愿见到上帝，当着上帝的面撕裂我的胸膛，把我心里的血没在上帝的脚边。告诉我吧，我将在什么地方找到上帝。"

教士答道："上帝是无限大的。我们的肉眼是看不见的。"

于是这妇人号哭道："那无限小的，借助于那无限大的意志，杀死了我的儿子！那么，我们是什么？我们是什么？"这时候，妇人的母亲走进房间里来了，她手里拿着给死去的孩子包裹尸体的市。她听到了教士的话，也听到了她的女儿的号哭。她放下手里的裹尸布，把她女儿的手握在她自己的手里，说道："我的女儿啊，我们自己，既是那无限小的，又是那无限大的；我们是微生物和上帝相通的途径。"

The Path

There lived among the hills a woman and her son, and he was her first-born and her only child.

And the boy died of a fever whilst the physician stood by.

The mother was distraught with sorrow, and she cried to the physician and besought him saying, "Tell me, tell me, what was it that made quiet his striving and silent his song?"

And the physician said, "It was the fever."

And the mother said, "What is the fever?"

And the physician answered, "I cannot explain it. It is a thing infinitely small that visits the body, and we cannot see it with the human eye."

The physician left her. And she kept repeating to herself, "Something infinitely small. We cannot see it with our human eye."

And at evening the priest came to console her. And she wept and she cried out saying, "Oh, why have I lost my son, my only son, my first-born?"

And the priest answered, "My child, it is the will of God."

And the woman said, "What is God and where is God? I would see God that I may tear my bosom before Him, and pour the blood of my heart at His feet. Tell me where I shall find Him."

And the priest said, ""God is infinitely vast. He is not to be seen with our human eye."

Then the woman cried out, "The infinitely small has slain my son through the will of the infinitely great! Then what are we? What are we?"

At that moment the womans mother came into the room with the shroud for the dead boy, and she heard the words of the priest and also her daughters cry. And she laid down the shroud, and took her daughters hand in her own hand, and she said, "My daughter, we ourselves are the infinitely small and the infinitely great; and we are the path between the two."