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The times rush past, and so do the caravans, thought the alchemist, as he watched the hundreds of people and animals arriving at the oasis.
日月如梭，商隊也穿行如梭，當(dāng)看到數(shù)百人的商隊連同牲口來到綠洲的時候，煉金術(shù)士不禁想。
People were shouting at the new arrivals, dust obscured the desert sun, and the children of the oasis were bursting with excitement at the arrival of the strangers.
綠洲里的人跟在剛剛到達的人群后面大呼小叫，揚起的塵土遮蔽了太陽，孩子們見到陌生人，興奮得又蹦又跳。
The alchemist saw the tribal chiefs greet the leader of the caravan, and converse with him at length.
煉金術(shù)士看到部落頭領(lǐng)們朝商隊首領(lǐng)走過去，雙方交談了很長時間。
But none of that mattered to the alchemist.
但是，煉金術(shù)士對這一切不感興趣。
He had already seen many people come and go, and the desert remained as it was.
人們來了又去，他見得多了，而綠洲和沙漠卻依然如故。
He had seen kings and beggars walking the desert sands.
他見過國王和乞丐踏上那些沙丘，
The dunes were changed constantly by the wind, yet these were the same sands he had known since he was a child.
沙丘隨風(fēng)不斷改變形狀，但沙子卻依舊是他從小就熟悉的沙子。
He always enjoyed seeing the happiness that the travelers experienced when, after weeks of yellow sand and blue sky, they first saw the green of the date palms.
盡管如此，看到腳踏黃沙，頭頂藍天，長途跋涉的旅行者們見到綠色椰棗樹時的狂喜，煉金術(shù)士內(nèi)心深處仍不由自主地為他們感到高興。
Maybe God created the desert so that man could appreciate the date trees, he thought.
也許真主創(chuàng)造沙漠的目的，就是為了讓人們見到椰棗樹的時候能開心地笑，他想。
He decided to concentrate on more practical matters.
接著，他決定考慮一下更為實際的事情。
He knew that in the caravan there was a man to whom he was to teach some of his secrets. The omens had told him so.
他明白，他必須把自己知道的部分秘密傳授給那支商隊里的一個人，預(yù)兆已經(jīng)向他揭示了這一點。
He didn't know the man yet, but his practiced eye would recognize him when he appeared.
目前他還不知道那個人是誰，但是只要見到那人，他這雙經(jīng)驗豐富的眼睛就能辨認出來。
He hoped that it would be someone as capable as his previous apprentice.
但愿那人也像他前一個弟子那么有能力。
I don't know why these things have to be transmitted by word of mouth, he thought.
我不明白為什么這些事情必須要口耳相傳，他想。
It wasn't exactly that they were secrets; God revealed his secrets easily to all his creatures.
這不完全是因為它們是秘密，真主向來是慷慨地向世人披露秘密的。
He had only one explanation for this fact:
對這種現(xiàn)象他只有一種解釋：
things have to be transmitted this way because they were made up from the pure life, and this kind of life cannot be captured in pictures or words.
這些事情必須以這種方式傳授，因為它們是由純粹的生命體構(gòu)成的，而這類生命體用圖畫和文字很難捕捉得到。
Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World.
人們由于迷戀圖畫和文字，忘記了宇宙的語言。
