永远的关系 Relationship That Lasts

　　张小娴

　　永远的关系

　　If somebody tells you, “I’ll love you for ever,” will you believe it?

　　假如有人对你说，我永远爱你，你是否会相信呢？

　　I don’t think there’s any reason not to. We are ready to believe such commitment at the moment, whatever change may happen afterwards. As for the belief in an everlasting¹ love, that’s another thing.

　　我想不到有什么理由不相信。无论将来变成怎样，那一刻，我们会愿意相信这个承诺。是否相信有永远的爱，那又是另外一回事。

　　Then you may be asked whether there is such a thing as an everlasting love. I’d answer I believe in it. But an everlasting love is not immutable³.

　　有人问，那你是否相信有永远的爱？我相信的。然而，永远的爱，也是会变的。

　　You may unswervingly love or be loved by a person. But love will change its composition with the passage of time. It will not remain the same. In the course of your growth and as a result of your increased experience, love will become something different to you.

　　你也许永远爱一个人，或永远被一个人所爱。但是，爱的成分会在年月中改变。爱不是只有一样。当你成长，当你经历越来越多的事情，你对爱的体会也会不一样了。

　　In the beginning, you believed a fervent⁴ love for a person could last indefinitely. By and by, however, “fervent” gave way to “prosaic”. Precisely⁵ because of this change, it became possible for love to last. Then what was meant by an everlasting love would eventually end up in a sort of interdependence.

　　从前所相信的永远，是永远炽热地爱一个人。后来的永远，也许是从炽热走到平淡。因为平淡，才可以更长久。然后，所谓永远，有一天又会变成相互依存。

　　We used to insist on the difference between love and liking⁶. The former seemed much more beautiful than the latter. One day, however, it turns out there’s really no need to make such difference. Liking is actually a sort of love. By the same token, the everlasting interdependence is actually an everlasting love.

　　我们曾经坚持把爱和喜欢分开。爱是比喜欢美好许多的。终有一天，我们开始相信，不必把喜欢和爱分开。喜欢也是一种爱。正如，永远的依存，也是永远的爱。

　　I wish I could believe there was somebody who would love me for ever. That’s, as we all know, too romantic to be true. Instead, it will more often than not be a case of lasting² relationship.

　　我希望我能够相信一个人永远爱我。可是，我们都知道，那只似过于浪漫的想法。永远的关系，反而更有可能。

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