宁静与力量


Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888, Vincent van Gough.

愿主赐予我力量,改变我能改变的;赐予我勇气,接受我不能改变的;并赐予我区分二者的智慧。

最早看到这段话,是在《Queer As Flok》,动人,于是就记住了。这也是我对一切哲学和宗教都抱持着基本尊敬的理由,只要有缘相遇,他们总是可以给予我一些启示和触动。

也曾想过找一下原话及出处,可是始终不得其法。如不记得从哪听了一耳朵,说这段话出自《圣经》的《使徒行传》。尽管有些疑惑,不过还是翻了一遍《Bible》,果然没找到。无法,就这样放下了。

日前,又一次看到有人提及这段话,还说是出自“一个90后的签名档”。这样的说法实在是过于荒诞了吧?于是再一次起意搜寻,这次倒很容易就找到了些东西。

参见Wikipedia的Serenity Prayer词条:

The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer, most commonly attributed to the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. The prayer has been adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve-step programs. While Niebuhr's authorship was once believed to be secure, Yale Book of Quotations editor Fred R. Shapiro in 2008 published evidence that puts elements of Niebuhr's claim in doubt and shows that a version of the prayer was in existence no later than 1936.

好吧,原来又是一桩疑案。而且所谓Reinhold Niebuhr版本的Serenity Prayer,其实是长成这个样子:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

(主赐予我宁静,去接受我不能改变的;赐予我勇气,去改变我能改变;赐予我智慧,以分辨二者的不同。)

相似,但有微妙的不同。手边无碟,所以无法验证我的记忆是否准确。总觉得未必是我记错了,相较而言,后者更基督,前者更Gay,不是么?