Letter Two

Viareggio, near Pisa (Italy)

April 5, 1903

You must pardon me, dear Sir, for waiting until today to gratefully remember your letter of February 24. I have been unwell all this time, not really sick, but oppressed by an influenza-like debility, which has made me incapable of doing anything. And finally, since it just didn't want to improve I came to this southern sea, whose beneficence helped me once before. But I am still not well, writing is difficult, and so you must accept these few lines instead of the letter I would have liked to send.

Of course, you must know that every letter of yours will always give me pleasure, and you must be indulgent with the answer, which will perhaps often leave you empty-handed; for ultimately, and precisely in the deepest and most important matters, we are unspeakably alone; and many things must happen, many things must go right, a whole constellation of events must be fulfilled, for one human being to successfully advise or help another.

Today I would like to tell you just two more things:

Irony: Don't let yourself be controlled by it, especially during uncreative moments. When you are fully creative, try to use it, as one more way to take hold of fife. Used purely, it too is pure, and one needn't be ashamed of it; but if you feel yourself becoming too familiar with it, if you are afraid of this growing familiarity, then turn to great and serious objects, in front of which it becomes small and helpless. Search into the depths of Things: there, irony never descends and when you arrive at the edge of greatness, find out whether this way of perceiving the world arises from a necessity of your being. For under the influence of serious Things it will either fall away from you (if it is something accidental), or else (if it is really innate and belongs to you) it will grow strong, and become a serious tool and take its place among the instruments which you can form your art with.

And the second thing I want to tell you today is this:Of all my books, I find only a few indispensable, and two of them are always with me, wherever I am. They are here, by my side: the Bible, and the books of the great Danish poet Jens Peter Jacobsen. Do you know his works? It is easy to find them, since some have been published in Recalm's Universal Library, in a very good translation. Get the little volume of Six Stories by J.P. Jacobsen and his novel Niels Lyhne, and begin with the first story in the for mer, which is cared 'Mogens.' A whole world will envelop you, the happiness, the abundance, .the inconceivable vastness of a world. Live for a while in these books, learn from them what you feel is worth learning, but most of &U love them. This love will be returned to you thousands upon thousands of times, whatever your life may become - it will, I am sure, go through the whole fabric of your being, as one of the most important threads among all the threads of your experiences, disappointments, and joys.

If I were to say who has given me the greatest experience of the essence of creativity, its depths and eternity, there are just two names would mention: Jacobsen, that great, great poet, and Auguste Rodin, the sculptor, who is without peer among all artists who are alive today.

And all success upon your path!

Yours,

Rainer Maria Rilke

第二封

您必须原谅我，亲爱的先生，原谅我到了今天才想起回复您2月24日的来信：我的身体在这段时间里一直不好，并不是真的病了，而是被一种象流行感冒一样的虚弱压迫着，使我无法做任何事情。最后，因为不见好转，我就到了南部的这个海边，我的身体曾在这儿得以康复，但这次仍不见好，写作变得艰难，所以您本应见到的长信就成了现在的几行字。

当然，您一定知道您的每一封信都给我带来了快乐；对我的答复，请您给以宽容，它们经常令您两手空空；其实按照绝对的说法，在那些最深刻和重大的事情上，不用说，我们都是独自一个人完成的；一定有许多事情发生，一定有许多事情必须做得对，对那些希望成功地给别人建议或帮助的人来说，得做完一连串光彩的情。

今天我想和您说两件事：

讽刺：不要让自己受控于它，特别是在没有创作力的时候。当您充满了创作力，就试着使用它，作为一种抓取生活的方式。使用时要纯粹。它本是很纯粹的，没有必要为它感到害羞；但是如果您感到自己用得太滥了，如果您担心它将到处泛滥，就转向伟大而严肃的主题，在它们面前它会变得渺小而无能为力。深入这些东西，讽刺在那儿将不再卑躬屈膝--而且当您到了伟大的临界的时候，您将发现这是您必须使用的一种透视世界的方式。在严肃题材的影响下，讽刺或许将远离您（如果是偶然的话），或许在另外的情况下（如果它是您内在的反映），它将变得强壮起来，并且成为一个严肃的工具，成为您的一部分艺术手段。

想要和您说的第二件事是：

我发现在我所有的书里只有一小部分是不可缺少的，其中两本永远伴随我，无论我在哪里。现在它们也在我的身边：《圣经》和伟大的丹麦诗人杰克布森的书。您知道他的作品吗？很容易找到，里卡尔姆的大学图书馆里就有，翻译得很好。买一本J.P.杰克布森写的含有六个小说的书和他的小说《尼尔斯.林妮》去读吧，从前边提到的第一个故事开始读，那故事的名字叫'摩根一家'（MOGENS）。一个完整的世界将包裹着您，快乐、充实、难以置信的博大的世界。在这些书中呆一段时间，学习那些您认为是值得学习的。大多数人都热爱它们。这种爱将无数次地在您的生活中回荡--它将，我确信，穿透您的每根纤维，成为那些构成您的经验--失望和快乐--的重要纤维中之最紧要的那根。 如果要我说是谁给了我对创作力的精髓、深度和永恒的体验，我就只想提两个名字；杰克布森，那个真正伟大的诗人，和奥古斯丁.罗丹，那个当今世上无人能和他匹敌雕刻家。

再就是，让我祝愿您满载而归吧！

您的，

瑞那.玛里亚.李尔克

意大利的比萨附近

1903年4月5日