“the Psyche within can never die. Shall it live in consciousness Can the incomprehensiblehappen Yes， yes. My being is incomprehensible. Thou art unfathomable， O Lord. Thy wholeworld is incomprehensible—a wonder-work of power， of glory and of love.”
His eyes gleamed， and then closed in death. The tolling of the church bell was the lastsound that echoed above him， above the dead man; and they buried him， covering himwith earth that had been brought from Jerusalem， and in which was mingled the dust of manyof the pious dead.
When years had gone by his skeleton was dug up， as the skeletons of the monks whohad died before him had been; it was clad in a brown frock， a rosary was put into the bonyhand， and the form was placed among the ranks of other skeletons in the cloisters of theconvent. And the sun shone without， while within the censers were waved and the Mass wascelebrated.
And years rolled by.
the bones fell asunder and became mingled with others. Skulls were piled up till theyformed an outer wall around the church; and there lay also his head in the burning sun， formany dead were there， and no one knew their names， and his name was forgotten also. Andsee， something was moving in the sunshine， in the sightless cavernous eyes! What mightthat be A sparkling lizard moved about in the skull， gliding in and out through the sightlessholes. The lizard now represented all the life left in that head， in which once GREat thoughts，bright dreams， the love of art and of the glorious， had arisen， whence hot tears had rolleddown， where hope and immortality had had their being. The lizard sprang away anddisappeared， and the skull itself crumbled to pieces and became dust among dust.
Centuries passed away. the bright Star gleamed unaltered， radiant and large， as it hadgleamed for thousands of years， and the air glowed red with tints fresh as roses， crimson likeblood.
there， where once had stood the narrow lane containing the ruins of the temple， anunnery was now built. A grave was being dug in the convent garden for a young nun who haddied， and was to be laid in the earth this morning. The spade struck against a hardsubstance; it was a stone， that shone dazzling white. A block of marble soon appeared，a rounded shoulder was laid bare; and now the spade was plied with a more careful hand，and presently a female head was seen， and butterflies' wings. Out of the grave in which theyoung nun was to be laid they lifted， in the rosy morning， a wonderful statue of a Psychecarved in white marble.
“How beautiful， how perfect it is!” cried the spectators. “A relic of the best period ofart.”
And who could the sculptor have been No one knew; no one remembered him， exceptthe bright star that had gleamed for thousands of years. The star had seen the course of thatlife on earth， and knew of the man's trials， of his weakness—in fact， that he had been buthuman. The man's life had passed away， his dust had been scattered abroad as dust isdestined to be; but the result of his noblest striving， the glorious work that gave token ofthe divine element within him—the Psyche that never dies， that lives beyond posterity—thebrightness even of this earthly Psyche remained here after him， and was seen andacknowledged and appreciated.
the bright Morning Star in the roseate air threw its glancing ray downward upon thePsyche， and upon the radiant countenances of the admiring spectators， who here beheldthe image of the soul portrayed in marble.
What is earthly will pass away and be forgotten， and the Star in the vast firmamentknows it. What is heavenly will shine brightly through posterity; and when the ages ofposterity are past， the Psyche—the soul—will still live on!
黎明时分，在腥红的天空中，有一颗很大的星在闪闪发光;这是清晨最明亮的星。它的光在白色的墙上摇晃着，好像要在上面写下它要想说的，写下它在千万年间在我们这个旋转着的地球上这里那里看到的东西一般。
这里是其中的一个故事!
不久前——它的不久前对我们人类来说可就是几百年前——我的光线跟随着一位年轻的艺术家走着。那是在教皇之都，在世界大都罗马城里。随着时间的推移，那里许多情景都变了。但这种变化，并不及人的体形从儿童到暮年的变化那么快。皇帝的宫殿变成了废墟，成了今天的那种情形;在倒塌的大理石柱子之间，在墙壁仍闪着金光的浴室1的缝里，生长着榕树和月桂;圆形剧场2也是一片废墟;教堂的钟在鸣响着，焚烧着的香散发出好闻的气味;大队的人群拿着烛和闪亮的天篷走过大街。大家都虔诚信教，艺术很崇高也很神圣。在罗马生活着世界最伟大的画家拉菲尔3;这里还生活着时代最早的雕刻家米开朗基罗4;连教皇本人都崇敬这两位，曾去拜访过他们;艺术得到公认，受到尊敬和奖掖!但是，并不是所有伟大和傑出的东西都被人看到、被人认识的。