第38章流年故事(3)
IfIwerethepresidentofauyIshouldestablishapulsory“HowtoUseYourEyes”。Theprofessorwouldtrytoshowhispupilshowtheycouldaddjoytotheirlivesbyreallyseeingassesunhem。Hewouldtrytoawaketheirdormantandsluggishfaculties。
PerhapsIbestillustratebyimaginingwhatIshouldmostliketoseeifIweregiventheuseofmyeyes,say,forjustthreedays。AndwhileIamimagining,supposeyou,too,setyourmindtoworkontheproblemofhowyouwoulduseyourowneyesifyouhadonlythreemoredaystosee。Ifwiththeon-ihethirdnightyoukhesunwouldneverrisefain,howwouldyouspehreepreterveningdays?Whatwouldyoumostwayazerestupon?
I,naturally,shouldwantmosttoseethethingswhichhavebeedearthmyyearsofdarkness。You,too,wouldwayoureyesrestohathavebeedeartoyousothatyoucouldtakethememoryofthemwithyouihatloomedbeforeyou。
If,bysomemiracle,Iweregrahreeseeingdays,tobefolloseintodarkness,Ishoulddividetheperiodis。
&Day
Oday,Ishouldwahepeoplewhosekindnessalenessandpanionshiphavemademylifew。FirstIshouldliketogazelonguponthefaydearteacher,Mrs。AnneSullivanMaetomewhenIwasadopeerworldtome。Ishouldwaoseetheoutlineofherface,sothatIcouldcherishititostudythatfadinitthelivihesympathetiessahwhichsheaplishedthedifficulttaskofmyedu。Ishouldliketoseeirengthofcharacterwhiabledhertostandfirminthefaceofdifficulties,andthatpassionforallhumanitywhichshehasrevealedtomesooften。
Idonotknowwhatitistoseeiofafriendthroughthat“windowofthesoul”,theeye。Ily“see”throughmyfiheoutlineofafadetectlaughter,sorrow,andmanyotherobviousemotions。Iknowmyfriendsfromthefeeloftheirfaces。ButIotreallypicturetheirpersoouowtheirpersonalities,ofchothermeans,throughthethoughtstheyexpressthwhateveroftheirasarerevealedtome。ButIamdedeeperuandingofthemwhichIamsurewouldethroughsightofthem,throughwatgtheirreastovariousexpressedthoughtsandces,througheaiionsoftheireyesandce。
FriendswhoareomeIknowwell,beonthsaheyrevealthemselvestomeinalltheirphases;butofcasualfriendsIhaveonlyaeimpression,animpressiongainedfromahandspokenwordswhichItakefromtheirlipswithmyfiips,orwhichtheytapintothepalmofmyhand。
Howmucheasier,howmuchmoresatisfyingitisforyouwhoseetograspquicklytheessentialqualitiesofanotherpersonbywatgthesubtletiesofexpression,thequiverofamuscle,theflutterofahand。Butdoesiteveroccurtoyouthttoseeintotheiureofafriendoraostofyouseeingpeoplegraspcasuallytheoutwardfeaturesofafadletitgoatthat?
Forinstanyoudescribeaccuratelythefacesoffivegoodfriends?someofyou,butmanyot。Asa,Ihavequestionedhusbandsoflongstandingaboutthecoloroftheirwives’eyes,aheyexpressembarrasseditthattheydonotknow。Aally,itisaplaiheirhusbandsdonotnotiewdresses,s,andhousehements。
Theeyesofseeingpersonssooomedtotheroutiheirsurroundings,auallyseeoliacular。Butevehemostspectacularsightstheeyesarelazy。Courtrecordsrevealeverydayhowinaccurately“eyewitnesses”see。Agivewillbe“seen”inseveraldifferentwaysbyasmanywitnesses。Someseemorethafewseeeverythingthatiswithintheraheirvision。
Oh,thethingsthatIshouldseeifIhadthephtforjustthreedays!
&daywouldbeabusyone。Ishouldydearfriendsandlooklongintotheirfaces,imprintinguponmymiwardevidehebeautythatiswithinthem。Ishouldletmyeyesrest,too,onthefaceofababy,sothatIcouldcatchavisionoftheeager,iywhichprecedestheindividual’sessoftheflictswhichlifedevelops。
AndIshouldliketolookirustingeyesofmydogs—thegrave,ylittleScottie,Darkie,a,uaDaneHelga,whosewarm,tender,andplayfulfriendshipsarestome。
OnthatbusyfirstdayIshouldalsovielethingsofmyhome。Iwahewarmtherugsuhepithewalls,theiriflesthattransformahouseintohome。MyeyeswouldrestrespethebooksiypewhichIhaveread,buttheywouldbemerlyiheprintedbookswhigpeopleread,fthelongnightofmylifethebooksIhavereadandthosewhichhavebeeomehavebuiltthemselvesishininglighthtomethedeepestahehumanspirit。