《文學回憶錄》是木心先生于1989年至1994年在紐約為一群中國藝術家講述“世界文學史”時， 聽課者陳丹青先生所記錄下來的課堂筆記。
《文學回憶錄》仿佛是一座文學的大觀園， 景色與格局皆美；又如一幅世界文學地圖， 指引了古今中外文學殿堂之主要景點和觀賞路徑。
本文摘要自《文學回憶錄》第五至八講。
實實在在說， 我之所以讀佛經、讀《聖經》， 繼之考察禪宗六祖， 又泛泛而論探索了經院哲學， 命意大致有二：一， 真理有無可能；二， 精神上的健美鍛煉。
概述
Bible是書， 是經， 是古書的總集。
《聖經》全書只是一個主旨；人尋求上帝。
《聖經》不是神學的總集。 它沒有被清理， 被規範， 所以龐雜， 像人類生活本身， 忍耐、懦弱、勝利、失敗， 像一個老實人的日記。
舊約
《舊約》， 是希伯來民族千年間所產生的最好的文學；《新約》， 不限於一國一族， 而是從開始就預示著通向世界的偉大文學。
到目前為止， 《舊約》不敢說讀過幾遍， 讀《新約》， 無論如何超過一百遍。 這不是故意求紀錄。 比如你與一個傑出的人物交朋友， 幾十年交往， 談話幾百次， 有什麼奇怪呢？而《舊約》好比是外公外婆家， 我不常去， 去也是為了看看舅舅的兒子女兒（即《舊約》中的“詩篇”“雅歌”）， 和外公外婆禮貌性說個三言兩語而已。
《舊約》五記， “創出利民申”（創世紀、出埃及記、利未記、民數記、申命記），
“傳道書”我也特別愛讀。 常常文章裡節引幾句， 好想蛋糕上的櫻桃， 特別性感：銀鏈折斷， 金罐破裂， 日色淡薄， 磨坊的聲音稀少， 人畏高處， 路上有驚慌......都是虛空， 都是捕風， 日光之下無新事。
我偏愛的當然是“詩篇”和“雅歌 ”， 尤其是“雅歌”， 一共只有五頁。 “雅歌”美麗幽婉， 溫柔沁人心脾。
“路得記”是一篇可愛的牧歌。
“約伯記”是講人類痛苦。
“箴言”“傳道書”談智慧。
新約
《新約》彌漫著耶穌的偉大人格。 他的氣質、他的性情、他博大的胸襟、他強烈的情感， 感動了全世界——耶穌是個奇跡， 是不是神的兒子， 是另一回事， 全世界持續兩千年的感動， 足夠是奇跡。
耶穌真正是一位絕世的天才， 道德與宗教的藝術家。 讀四福音， 便如見他立在面前。
《新約》裡有段辭句， 意向、語氣， 都美。 襟懷、口氣、形象、思路......他說道：
“所以我告訴你們， 不要為生命憂慮吃什麼， 喝什麼；為身體憂慮穿什麼。 生命不勝於飲食嗎？身體不勝於衣裳嗎？你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種，也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活它。你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？你們哪一個能用思慮使壽數多加一刻呢？何必為衣裳憂慮呢？你想野地裡的百合花怎麼長起來；它也不勞苦，也不紡線。然而我告訴你們，就是所羅門極榮華的時候，他所穿戴的，還不如這花一朵呢！
你們這小信的人哪！野地裡的草今天還在，明天就丟在爐裡，神還給它這樣的妝飾，何況你們呢！所以，不要憂慮說：吃什麼？喝什麼？穿什麼？這都是外邦人所求的，你們需用的這一切東西，你們的天父是知道的。你們要先求他的國和他的義，這些東西都要加給你們了。所以，不要為明天憂慮，因為明天自有明天的憂慮；一天的難處一天當就夠了。”
這已離開宗教，離開哲學，純然是藝術，是古今詩歌中最美的絕唱，所有詩與之相比，都小氣。他平穩，博大。
但耶穌的思想襟懷，純粹理想主義，極端無政府主義，形上的，空靈的，不能實踐的。“真理”大致如此，凡切實可行的不是真理。老子的許多話也只能聽、想，無法去做。
人類脫出動物界，必然憂慮衣食住行。耶穌的論調極貴族，極清雅，而山下坐著密密麻麻的平民。誰頓悟耶穌在講什麼？兩千年來，也極少有人明白耶穌說這話出於什麼心態。耶穌的知名度來自誤解。當不含惡意的誤解轉為飽含惡意的曲解——十字架就來。
“馬太”第十三章，耶穌在船上傳道：
有一個撒種的出去撒種。撒的時候，有落在路旁的，飛鳥來吃盡了。有落在土淺石頭地上的，土既不深，發苗最快，日頭出來一曬，因為沒有根，就枯乾了。有落在荊棘裡的，荊棘長起來，把它擠住了。又有落在好土裡的，就結實，有一百倍的，有六十倍的，有三十倍的。
這段的解釋，通常是說命運遭遇的無常，自我能動消失了。我以為耶穌的意思，是好種子要選好泥土，做播種人要找好去處——人就是種子，勿入路中、淺土、荊棘，枯萎早夭，務必落在沃土中。
中國有沃土嗎？種子，泥土，天性，才華，泥土貧瘠，荊棘叢生，再好的種子也沒用。天才必經修煉、涵養，才有味。佛提出戒、定、慧。戒，有所為，有所不為，以人工控制天性；定，乃是過程，不至亂；慧，即天才的覺悟。
“馬太”十四章，三件事可談，這三件事，既現實，又象徵：
其一，希律王殺施洗約翰，耶穌知道了，立刻逃。
其二，某次五千人聽道，餓，耶穌以五個餅餅、兩條魚，掰開平分，都得到，還有餘。
其三，傳道散了，耶穌獨自在海面走。門徒驚異，耶穌說勿驚。彼得也從水面走去，怕落水，呼救，耶穌拉他的手近攏，說：你這小信的人，為什麼不信我？
第一題。耶穌是準備奉獻的，為什麼逃？因為他知道獻身還不是時候。他逃過好幾次。不到時候，不獻身。
第二題。以宗教意義論，奇跡；以藝術觀點看，沒有這個比喻更顯示藝術的偉大功能。藝術以最少的材料，表呈最多的涵量。一本書，一幅畫，一首樂曲，可以滿足感動千千萬萬人，一代代流傳。博物館是人類的食籃，永遠吃不完，是最佳比喻。
第三題。以宗教意義看，奇跡之一，是用寓言對待其象徵性。一個人能否成大器，主觀因素最重要，被人忽略的是信心，是信念。信心，信念，一半憑空想，一半憑行動（用功、才能等等）。
信心到底哪裡來？信心就是忠誠。立志，容易。忠誠其志，太難。許多人立志，隨立隨毀，不如不立。藝術，愛情，政治，商業，都要忠誠。求道，堅定忠誠無疑，雖蹈海，也走下去。
天性來自天性的純真樸厚。反證：一個天性虛偽浮薄的人，會忠誠于自己的信心嗎？天性大半是混雜的，靠抵惡，靠揚善。
所謂教育，是指自我教育。一切外在的教育，是為自我教育服務的。
所謂超人，是指超越自己，不斷不斷超越自己。
愛，原來是一場自我教育。
附：雅歌NIV
1:1Solomon's Song of Songs.1:2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth--for your love is more delightful than wine.1:3Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you!1:4Take me away with you--let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!1:5Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon.1:6Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected.1:7Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?1:8If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.1:9I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.1:10Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.1:11We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.1:12While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.1:13My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.1:14My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.1:15How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.1:16How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.1:17The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.2:1I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.2:2Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.2:3Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.2:4He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.2:5Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.2:6His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.2:7Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.2:8Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.2:9My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.2:10My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.2:11See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.2:12Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.2:13The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."2:14My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.2:15Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.2:16My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.2:17Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.3:1All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.3:2I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him.3:3The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. "Have you seen the one my heart loves?"3:4Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother's house, to the room of the one who conceived me.3:5Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.3:6Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?3:7Look! It is Solomon's carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel,3:8all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night.3:9King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.3:10Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem.3:11Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.4:1How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.4:2Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.4:3Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.4:4Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.4:5Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies.4:6Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense.4:7All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.4:8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions' dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards.4:9You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.4:10How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!4:11Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.4:12You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.4:13Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard,4:14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.4:15You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.4:16Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.5:1I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.5:2I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: "Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night."5:3I have taken off my robe--must I put it on again? I have washed my feet--must I soil them again?5:4My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.5:5I arose to open for my lover, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock.5:6I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.5:7The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen of the walls!5:8O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you--if you find my lover, what will you tell him? Tell him I am faint with love.5:9How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so?5:10My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.5:11His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.5:12His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels.5:13His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.5:14His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires.5:15His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.5:16His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.6:1Where has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover turn, that we may look for him with you?6:2My lover has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies.6:3I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies.6:4You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners.6:5Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.6:6Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is alone.6:7Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.6:8Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number;6:9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.6:10Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?6:11I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.6:12Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.6:13Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you! Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim?7:1How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince's daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of a craftsman's hands.7:2Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.7:3Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.7:4Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.7:5Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses.7:6How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!7:7Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.7:8I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,7:9and your mouth like the best wine. May the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.7:10I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.7:11Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages.7:12Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom--there I will give you my love.7:13The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.8:1If only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.8:2I would lead you and bring you to my mother's house--she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.8:3His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.8:4Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.8:5Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? Under the apple tree I roused you; there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave you birth.8:6Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.8:7Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.8:8We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for?8:9If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.8:10I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment.8:11Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver.8:12But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.8:13You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice!8:14Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains. 生命不勝於飲食嗎？身體不勝於衣裳嗎？你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種，也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活它。你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？你們哪一個能用思慮使壽數多加一刻呢？何必為衣裳憂慮呢？你想野地裡的百合花怎麼長起來；它也不勞苦，也不紡線。然而我告訴你們，就是所羅門極榮華的時候，他所穿戴的，還不如這花一朵呢！你們這小信的人哪！野地裡的草今天還在，明天就丟在爐裡，神還給它這樣的妝飾，何況你們呢！所以，不要憂慮說：吃什麼？喝什麼？穿什麼？這都是外邦人所求的，你們需用的這一切東西，你們的天父是知道的。你們要先求他的國和他的義，這些東西都要加給你們了。所以，不要為明天憂慮，因為明天自有明天的憂慮；一天的難處一天當就夠了。”
這已離開宗教，離開哲學，純然是藝術，是古今詩歌中最美的絕唱，所有詩與之相比，都小氣。他平穩，博大。
但耶穌的思想襟懷，純粹理想主義，極端無政府主義，形上的，空靈的，不能實踐的。“真理”大致如此，凡切實可行的不是真理。老子的許多話也只能聽、想，無法去做。
人類脫出動物界，必然憂慮衣食住行。耶穌的論調極貴族，極清雅，而山下坐著密密麻麻的平民。誰頓悟耶穌在講什麼？兩千年來，也極少有人明白耶穌說這話出於什麼心態。耶穌的知名度來自誤解。當不含惡意的誤解轉為飽含惡意的曲解——十字架就來。
“馬太”第十三章，耶穌在船上傳道：
有一個撒種的出去撒種。撒的時候，有落在路旁的，飛鳥來吃盡了。有落在土淺石頭地上的，土既不深，發苗最快，日頭出來一曬，因為沒有根，就枯乾了。有落在荊棘裡的，荊棘長起來，把它擠住了。又有落在好土裡的，就結實，有一百倍的，有六十倍的，有三十倍的。
這段的解釋，通常是說命運遭遇的無常，自我能動消失了。我以為耶穌的意思，是好種子要選好泥土，做播種人要找好去處——人就是種子，勿入路中、淺土、荊棘，枯萎早夭，務必落在沃土中。
中國有沃土嗎？種子，泥土，天性，才華，泥土貧瘠，荊棘叢生，再好的種子也沒用。天才必經修煉、涵養，才有味。佛提出戒、定、慧。戒，有所為，有所不為，以人工控制天性；定，乃是過程，不至亂；慧，即天才的覺悟。
“馬太”十四章，三件事可談，這三件事，既現實，又象徵：
其一，希律王殺施洗約翰，耶穌知道了，立刻逃。
其二，某次五千人聽道，餓，耶穌以五個餅餅、兩條魚，掰開平分，都得到，還有餘。
其三，傳道散了，耶穌獨自在海面走。門徒驚異，耶穌說勿驚。彼得也從水面走去，怕落水，呼救，耶穌拉他的手近攏，說：你這小信的人，為什麼不信我？
第一題。耶穌是準備奉獻的，為什麼逃？因為他知道獻身還不是時候。他逃過好幾次。不到時候，不獻身。
第二題。以宗教意義論，奇跡；以藝術觀點看，沒有這個比喻更顯示藝術的偉大功能。藝術以最少的材料，表呈最多的涵量。一本書，一幅畫，一首樂曲，可以滿足感動千千萬萬人，一代代流傳。博物館是人類的食籃，永遠吃不完，是最佳比喻。
第三題。以宗教意義看，奇跡之一，是用寓言對待其象徵性。一個人能否成大器，主觀因素最重要，被人忽略的是信心，是信念。信心，信念，一半憑空想，一半憑行動（用功、才能等等）。
信心到底哪裡來？信心就是忠誠。立志，容易。忠誠其志，太難。許多人立志，隨立隨毀，不如不立。藝術，愛情，政治，商業，都要忠誠。求道，堅定忠誠無疑，雖蹈海，也走下去。
天性來自天性的純真樸厚。反證：一個天性虛偽浮薄的人，會忠誠于自己的信心嗎？天性大半是混雜的，靠抵惡，靠揚善。
所謂教育，是指自我教育。一切外在的教育，是為自我教育服務的。
所謂超人，是指超越自己，不斷不斷超越自己。
愛，原來是一場自我教育。
附：雅歌NIV
1:1Solomon's Song of Songs.1:2Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth--for your love is more delightful than wine.1:3Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens love you!1:4Take me away with you--let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers. We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine. How right they are to adore you!1:5Dark am I, yet lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, dark like the tents of Kedar, like the tent curtains of Solomon.1:6Do not stare at me because I am dark, because I am darkened by the sun. My mother's sons were angry with me and made me take care of the vineyards; my own vineyard I have neglected.1:7Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?1:8If you do not know, most beautiful of women, follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your young goats by the tents of the shepherds.1:9I liken you, my darling, to a mare harnessed to one of the chariots of Pharaoh.1:10Your cheeks are beautiful with earrings, your neck with strings of jewels.1:11We will make you earrings of gold, studded with silver.1:12While the king was at his table, my perfume spread its fragrance.1:13My lover is to me a sachet of myrrh resting between my breasts.1:14My lover is to me a cluster of henna blossoms from the vineyards of En Gedi.1:15How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.1:16How handsome you are, my lover! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.1:17The beams of our house are cedars; our rafters are firs.2:1I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.2:2Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens.2:3Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my lover among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.2:4He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.2:5Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.2:6His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.2:7Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.2:8Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.2:9My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.2:10My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.2:11See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.2:12Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.2:13The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."2:14My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.2:15Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.2:16My lover is mine and I am his; he browses among the lilies.2:17Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills.3:1All night long on my bed I looked for the one my heart loves; I looked for him but did not find him.3:2I will get up now and go about the city, through its streets and squares; I will search for the one my heart loves. So I looked for him but did not find him.3:3The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. "Have you seen the one my heart loves?"3:4Scarcely had I passed them when I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go till I had brought him to my mother's house, to the room of the one who conceived me.3:5Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.3:6Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and incense made from all the spices of the merchant?3:7Look! It is Solomon's carriage, escorted by sixty warriors, the noblest of Israel,3:8all of them wearing the sword, all experienced in battle, each with his sword at his side, prepared for the terrors of the night.3:9King Solomon made for himself the carriage; he made it of wood from Lebanon.3:10Its posts he made of silver, its base of gold. Its seat was upholstered with purple, its interior lovingly inlaid by the daughters of Jerusalem.3:11Come out, you daughters of Zion, and look at King Solomon wearing the crown, the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, the day his heart rejoiced.4:1How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.4:2Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing. Each has its twin; not one of them is alone.4:3Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon; your mouth is lovely. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.4:4Your neck is like the tower of David, built with elegance; on it hang a thousand shields, all of them shields of warriors.4:5Your two breasts are like two fawns, like twin fawns of a gazelle that browse among the lilies.4:6Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh and to the hill of incense.4:7All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.4:8Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, come with me from Lebanon. Descend from the crest of Amana, from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon, from the lions' dens and the mountain haunts of the leopards.4:9You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.4:10How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!4:11Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.4:12You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.4:13Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard,4:14nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.4:15You are a garden fountain, a well of flowing water streaming down from Lebanon.4:16Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad. Let my lover come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.5:1I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, O friends, and drink; drink your fill, O lovers.5:2I slept but my heart was awake. Listen! My lover is knocking: "Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my flawless one. My head is drenched with dew, my hair with the dampness of the night."5:3I have taken off my robe--must I put it on again? I have washed my feet--must I soil them again?5:4My lover thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him.5:5I arose to open for my lover, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock.5:6I opened for my lover, but my lover had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer.5:7The watchmen found me as they made their rounds in the city. They beat me, they bruised me; they took away my cloak, those watchmen of the walls!5:8O daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you--if you find my lover, what will you tell him? Tell him I am faint with love.5:9How is your beloved better than others, most beautiful of women? How is your beloved better than others, that you charge us so?5:10My lover is radiant and ruddy, outstanding among ten thousand.5:11His head is purest gold; his hair is wavy and black as a raven.5:12His eyes are like doves by the water streams, washed in milk, mounted like jewels.5:13His cheeks are like beds of spice yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with myrrh.5:14His arms are rods of gold set with chrysolite. His body is like polished ivory decorated with sapphires.5:15His legs are pillars of marble set on bases of pure gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as its cedars.5:16His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.6:1Where has your lover gone, most beautiful of women? Which way did your lover turn, that we may look for him with you?6:2My lover has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to gather lilies.6:3I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies.6:4You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, lovely as Jerusalem, majestic as troops with banners.6:5Turn your eyes from me; they overwhelm me. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead.6:6Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, not one of them is alone.6:7Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate.6:8Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines, and virgins beyond number;6:9but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The maidens saw her and called her blessed; the queens and concubines praised her.6:10Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?6:11I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom.6:12Before I realized it, my desire set me among the royal chariots of my people.6:13Come back, come back, O Shulammite; come back, come back, that we may gaze on you! Why would you gaze on the Shulammite as on the dance of Mahanaim?7:1How beautiful your sandaled feet, O prince's daughter! Your graceful legs are like jewels, the work of a craftsman's hands.7:2Your navel is a rounded goblet that never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by lilies.7:3Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.7:4Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes are the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon looking toward Damascus.7:5Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel. Your hair is like royal tapestry; the king is held captive by its tresses.7:6How beautiful you are and how pleasing, O love, with your delights!7:7Your stature is like that of the palm, and your breasts like clusters of fruit.7:8I said, "I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit." May your breasts be like the clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples,7:9and your mouth like the best wine. May the wine go straight to my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth.7:10I belong to my lover, and his desire is for me.7:11Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages.7:12Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom--there I will give you my love.7:13The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover.8:1If only you were to me like a brother, who was nursed at my mother's breasts! Then, if I found you outside, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me.8:2I would lead you and bring you to my mother's house--she who has taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates.8:3His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.8:4Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.8:5Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover? Under the apple tree I roused you; there your mother conceived you, there she who was in labor gave you birth.8:6Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.8:7Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned.8:8We have a young sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister for the day she is spoken for?8:9If she is a wall, we will build towers of silver on her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar.8:10I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. Thus I have become in his eyes like one bringing contentment.8:11Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver.8:12But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit.8:13You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice!8:14Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains.