第1章 永不休憩的工作者
A Non-stop Working Hand
佚名/Anonymous
一个初冬的早晨，我静静地坐在客厅里。正对着我的墙壁上，高悬着一个时钟。
在一片寂静中，一个人很容易放飞思绪，也很容易捕捉到平常很难听到的细微声音，时钟秒针的嘀嗒声就是其中之一。为了完成它的职责，它每分钟都要嘀嗒60次。这是它永不间断的唯一工作。它永远都在忙碌着，因而被称为“永不休憩的工作者”。
听着时钟有节奏的嘀嗒声，我突然发现，秒针所发出来的声音大小和强度并不是始终如一的。
我仔细地观察了一番，发现从0秒到30秒，它是在“走下坡”；而从31秒到60秒，是在“爬上坡”。
当它“走下坡”时，看起来毫不费力，在地心引力的作用下，它均匀地一步步走下来。当秒针走到20秒时，它就给人一种正在加速的感觉，这段路似乎走得最为轻松。事实上，秒针并没有因是“下坡路”而加快速度。
“爬上坡”似乎需要付出努力，它揭示出成语“力争上游”的含义。当它从31秒开始到60秒时，它就不断力争上游，声音也越来越弱。它似乎在告诉我们，为了达到最高处，它正在聚精会神地默默努力工作。难道你没有见过那些英雄人物埋头苦干时的镇静和坚定吗？
“走上坡”路时，有力的嘀嗒声突然开始变得微弱。这是不是意味着，上帝正通过秒针的嘀嗒声，向我们暗示某种隐藏着的真理呢？
It was an early-winter morning. I was at the moment sitting calmly in the hall. Opposite me was a clock hanging high on the wall.
In tranquility it is easy to set one's mind working； it is also easy to catch light sounds hardly audible in usual times， among which is the ticking of the clock's second hand. It ticks away 60 times a minute to fulfill its duty—the only work it does， and persistently. It is kept busy all the time， and thus regarded as "a non-stop working hand".
Listening to the rhythmical tapping of the clock， I suddenly found out that the sound emitted by the second hand was not uniform either in volume or in strength.
A close observation revealed that it "went downhill" from 0 to 30 seconds and then "climbed upwards" from 31 to 60 seconds.
While it is descending it seemingly goes effortlessly. Benefited by gravitation it can walk down evenly step by step. When it comes to the point of 20 it gives the impression of acceleration， for this leg of journey seems the most facilitating. Actually of course the hand never accelerates as a result of descending.
"Climbing upwards" seems to entail efforts. It shows up the meaning of the phrase "aim high". When the hand goes from 31 to 60 seconds it is aiming high and its sound becomes weaker and weaker. It seems to tell us that it immerses itself in hard work reticently striving for the highest point. Don't you see the composure and steadiness of those heroic personalities that have put their shoulders to the wheel？
The clink of the second hand in descending suddenly begins to "weaken" when it starts to climb. Does it mean that Heaven， through the clock's ticking， gives us a hint of some hidden truth？