ear to you so that you could take the memory of them with you into the night that loomed before you。
Ifby some miracleI were granted three seeing daysto be followed by a relapse into darknessI should divide the period into three parts。
The First Day
On the first dayI should want to see the people whose kindness and gentleness and panionship have made my life worth who came to me when I was a child and opened the outer world to so that I could cherish it in my memorybut to study that face and find in it the living evidence of the sympathetic tenderness and patience with which she acplished the difficult task of my and that passion for all humanity which she has revealed to me so often。
I do not know what it is to see into the heart of a friend through that “window of the soul”the “see” through my finger tips the outline of a sorrowand many other obvious of coursethrough other means；through the thoughts they express to methrough whatever of their actions are revealed to through watching their reactions to various expressed thoughts and circumstancesthrough noting the immediate and fleeting reactions of their eyes and countenance。。 最好的txt下载网
假如给我三天光明（9）
Friends who are near to me I know wellbecause through the months and years they reveal themselves to me in all their phases；but of casual friends I have only an inplete impressionan impression gained from a handclaspfrom spoken words which I take from their lips with my finger tipsor which they tap into the palm of my hand。
How much easierhow much more satisfying it is for you who can see to grasp quickly the essential qualities of another person by watching the subtleties of expressionthe quiver of a musclethe flutter of a
For instance can you describe accurately the faces of five good friends？ some of you canbut many I have questioned husbands of long standing about the color of their wives'eyesand often they express embarrassed confusion and admit that they do not incidentallyit is a chronic plaint of wives that their husbands do not notice new dressesnew hatsand changes in household arrangements。
The eyes of seeing persons soon bee accustomed to the routine of their surroundingsand they actually see only the startling and “eyewitnesses” “seen〃 in several different ways by as many but few see everything that is within the range of their vision。
Ohthe things that I should see if I had the power of sight for just three days！
The first day would be a busy imprinting upon my mind the outward evidences of the beauty that is within tooon the face of a babyso that I could catch a vision of the eagerinnocent beauty which precedes the individual's consciousness of the conflicts which life develops。
And I should like to look into the loyaltrusting eyes of my dogs—the gravecanny little ScottieDarkieand the stalwartunderstanding Great Dane Helgawhose warmtenderand playful friendships are so forting to me。
On that busy first day I should also view the small simple things of my the pictures on the wallsthe intimate trifles that transform a house into but they would be more eagerly interested in the printed books which seeing people can readfor during the long night of my life the books I have read and those which have been read to me have built themselves into a great shining lighthouserevealing to me the deepest channels of human life and the human spirit。
假如给我三天光明（10）
In the afternoon of that first seeing dayI should take a long walk in the woods and intoxicate my eyes on the beauties of the world of Naturetrying desperately to absorb in a few hours the vast splendor which is constantly unfolding itself to those who can （perhaps I should see only a tractor！） and the serene content of men living close to the
When dusk had fallenI should experience the double delight of being able to see by artificial light which the genius of man has created to extend the power of his sight when Nature decrees darkness。
In the night of that first day of sightI should not be able to sleepso full would be my mind of the memories of the day。
The Second Day
The next day—the second day of sight—I should arise with the dawn and see the thrilling miracle by which night is transformed into
This day I should devote to a hasty glimpse of the worldpast and 's progressthe kaleidoscope of the of but I have longed to see with my eyes the condensed history of the earth and its inhabitants displayed there animals and the races of men pictured in their native environment；gigantic carcasses of dinosaurs and mastodons which roamed the earth long before man appearedwith his tiny stature and powerful brainto conquer the animal kingdom；realistic presentations of the processes of development in animalsin manand in the implements which man has used to fashion for himself a secure home on this planet；and a thousand and one other aspects of natural history。
I wonder how many readers of this article have viewed this panorama of the face of living things as pictured in that inspiring of coursehave not had the opportunitybut I am sure that many who have had the opportunity have not made use of indeedis a place to use your but I with my imaginary three days of sightcould only take a hasty glimpseand pass on。
My next stop would be the Metropolitan Museum of Artfor just as the Museum of Natural History reveals the material aspects of the worldso does the Metropolitan show the myriad facets of the human shelterand in the vast chambers of the Metropolitan Museumis unfolded before me the spirit of EgyptGreeceand Romeas expressed in their and I have sensed the rhythmic beauty of charging Athenian bearded features of Homer are dear to mefor hetooknew blindness。txt电子书分享平台
假如给我三天光明（11）
My hands have lingered upon the living marble of roman sculpture as well as that of later ｏ's inspiring and heroic Moses；I have sensed the power of Rodin；I have been awed by the devoted spirit of Gothic wood but even they were meant to be seen rather than feltand I can only guess at the beauty which remains hidden from but its figured decorations are lost to me。
So on thismy second day of sightI should try to probe into the soul of man through this the whole magnificent world of painting would be opened to me；from the Italian Primitiveswith their serene religious devotionto the Moderns；with their feverish ；Leonardo da VinciTitianstudy the mysteries of E1 Grecocatch a new vision of Nature from there is so much rich meaning and beauty in the art of the ages for you who have eyes to see！
Upon my short visit to this temple of art I should not be able to review a fraction of that great world of art which is open to of positionof form and how happily would I embark upon so fascinating a study！ Yet I am told thatto many of you who have eyes to seethe world of art is a dark nightunexplored and which contains the key to beauty—a beauty so howeverdo not need a metropolitan to find this key to and in books on the shelves of even small in my limited time of imaginary sightI should choose the place where the key unlocks the greatest treasures in the shortest time。
The evening of my second day of sight I should spend at a theatre or at the but the action of the play must be spelled into my hand by a or the gusty Falstaff amid colorful Elizabethan trappings！ How I should like to follow each movement of the graceful Hamleteach strut of the hearty Falstaff！ And since I could see only one playI should be confronted by a manyhorned dilemmafor there are scores of plays I should want to I wonderwhen you gaze at a playa movieor any spectaclerealize and give thanks for the miracle of sight which enables you to enjoy its colorgraceand movement？txt电子书分享平台
假如给我三天光明（12）
I cannot enjoy the beauty of rhythmic movement except in a sphere restricted to the touch of my although I know something of the delight of rhythmfor often I can sense the beat of music as it vibrates through the ；if this static grace can be so lovelyhow much more acute must be the thrill of seeing grace in motion。
One of my dearest memories is of the time when Joseph Jefferson allowed me to touch his face and hands as he went through some of the gestures and speeches of his beloved Rip Van and I shall never forget the delight of that ohhow much I must missand how much pleasure you seeing ones can derive from watching and hearing the interplay of speech and movement in the unfolding of a dramatic performance！ If I could see only one playI should know how to picture in my mind the action of a hundred plays which I have read or had transferred to me through the medium of the manual alphabet。
Sothrough the evening of my second imaginary day of sightthe great fingers of dramatic literature would crowd sleep from my eyes。
The Third Day
The following morningI should again greet the dawnanxious to discover new delightsfor I am sure thatfor those who have eyes which really seethe dawn of each day must be a perpetually new revelation of beauty。
Thisaccording to the terms of my imagined miracleis to be my third and last day of ；there is too much to animate and amid the haunts of men going about the business of
I start from my home in the quiet little suburb of Forest HillsLong surrounded by green lawnstreesand flowersare neat little houses；happy with the voices and movements of wives and childrenhavens of peaceful rest for men who toil in the and I get a new and startling vision of the power and ingenuity of the mind of stolidsnorting I should spend many of them watching the delightful activity upon the river。
假如给我三天光明（13）
I look aheadand before me rise the fantastic towers of New Yorka city that seems to have stepped from the pages of a fairy inspiring sightthese glittering structures such as the gods might build for themselves！ This animated picture is a part of the lives of millions of people