9.5 我到這所在滿四年

9.5 Góa kàu chit só͘-chāi móa sì-nî

Che sī siōng hàm-kó͘ ê chò-hoat, m̄-koh in-ūi góa kui-sim khang-siūⁿ, tō tāng-chhiú khì chò. Góa chhò chi̍t-châng sam-á, sim-koaⁿ án-ne siūⁿ, Solomon kám ū chit-chióng chhiū hō͘ i khí Jerusamlem Sèng-tiān. Oá chhiū-thâu ê ti̍t-kèng 5 eng-chhioh 10 inch [178 cm], tī 22 eng-chhioh [670 cm] ê bóe-chat hia ê ti̍t-kèng sī 4 eng-chhioh 11 inch [150 cm], koh kòe tō lú khah sè, jiân-āu tō hun-oe chhut-khì. Góa hù-chhut put-chīn ê khùi-la̍t chiah kā chhiū chhò tó, iōng 20 kang chhò koh chām té-pō͘, koh iōng 14 kang chhò tn̄g chhiū-oe hām chhiū-bóe ê só͘-chāi. Che sī kō͘ tn̂g pó͘-thâu hām té pó͘-thâu koh hù-chhut kóng bē-chīn ê tōa khùi-la̍t chiah chò-kàu ê. Án-ne liáu-āu, góa koh iōng chi̍t-kò goe̍h sî-kan, siu-chéng gōa-pō͘, hō͘ i chiâⁿ-chò chûn-té ê hêng, hó-thang lo̍h-chúi ē-tit phû chiàⁿ. Góa koh khai saⁿ-kò goe̍h sî-kan, óe khang lāi-pō͘, kā ka-kang chò chi̍t-chiah chin-chiàⁿ ê sió-chûn. Góa chò che ê sî, khak-si̍t bô iōng tio̍h hóe, kan-ta iōng thûi-á hām chha̍k-á, khò sin-khó͘ ê lô-tōng chiah chò-chiâⁿ chi̍t-chiah phiau-phiat ê to̍k-bo̍k chûn, ē-tàng chài 26-ê lâng, só͘-í mā tōa kah ū-kàu chài só͘-ū góa ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ.

Oân-sêng chit-hāng khang-khòe hō͘ góa tōa hoaⁿ-hí. Chit-chiah chûn pí góa khòaⁿ-kòe ê to̍k-bo̍k-chiu ke chin tōa. Tong-jiân, góa ūi i khai bē-chió khùi-la̍t, it-tàn kā i sak lo̍h-chúi, góa tiāⁿ-tio̍h sûi boeh khai-sí m̄-bat ū-lâng chò-kòe ê, siōng hong-kông ê hâng-hêng. 

Put-jî-kò, só͘-ū góa boeh sàng i lo̍h-chúi ê hoat-tō͘ lóng sit-pāi, sui-bóng góa ūi che mā hùi-chīn khùi-la̍t. Chûn thêng ê só͘-chāi, lī chúi tāi-khài bô chhiau-kòe 100 bā [91 bí]. Tē-it ê khùn-lân sī: ùi chûn kàu khe sī peh-kiā. Hmh, ūi tio̍h khek-ho̍k chit-ê khùn-lân, góa koat-tēng óe thô͘, hō͘ i piàn sêng lo̍h-kiā. Góa sûi tāng-chhiú, koh piàⁿ tōa khùi-la̍t (siáng ē ūi tit-boeh kàu ê kái-kiù bâi-oàn ah?). Tán tāi-chì chò-liáu, khùn-lân mā chhú-lí ah, chōng-hóng iáu sī kāng-khoán, in-ūi góa kiāu bē tāng chit-chiah to̍k-bo̍k-chiu, tō ná chhiūⁿ chá-chêng góa kiāu bē tāng hit-chiah sam-pán-á kāng-khoán. 

Jiân-āu, góa niû thô͘-kha ê kī-lī, koat-tēng boeh óe chi̍t-ê chûn-ò (dock) a̍h chi̍t-tiâu chúi-tō (canal), kā chúi ín lâi chûn chia, kì-jiân góa bô hoat-tō͘ sak chûn khì chúi hia. Hmh, góa sûi khai-sí chit-hāng khang-khòe. Tú khai-sí, góa seng chò chi̍t-kóa kó͘-kè, tio̍h óe gōa chhim, gōa khoah, óe ê thô͘ boeh iā hiòng tó-ūi, góa hoat-hiān, khò góa ka-tī, oân-sêng che tio̍h 10-12 nî, in-ūi khe-hōaⁿ chin koân, siōng koân hit-thâu siōng chió tio̍h óe 20 eng-chhioh [6 bí] chhim. Lo̍h-bóe, góa chí-hó mā tio̍h hòng-khì, sui-bóng sim-lāi chin m̄-goān.

Che hō͘ góa chiok siong-sim. Chit-sî góa chiah bêng-pe̍k, sui-bóng siuⁿ-bān, khai-sí chi̍t-hāng khang-khòe chìn-chêng nā bô seng kè-sǹg sêng-pún, bô chèng-khak kó͘-kè ka-tī ê khùi-la̍t, he sī ū-kàu gōng.

Tī chit-hāng khang-khòe ê tiong-ng, góa kàu chit só͘-chāi móa sì-nî. Kap kòe-khì kāng-khoán, góa kō͘ khiân-sêng hām him-ùi ê sim-chêng, tō͘-kòe chit-ê kì-liām-ji̍t. Thàu-kòe chia̍p-chia̍p tha̍k hām si̍t-hêng Sîn ê Ōe, koh ū I ê ka-chhî, góa tit-tio̍h kòe-khì só͘ bô ê sin tì-sek. Góa tùi sū-bu̍t ū bô-kāng ê kài-liām. Góa kā sè-kài khòaⁿ chò chi̍t-ê iâu-oán ê mi̍h-kiāⁿ, hām góa bô koan-hē, góa tùi i bô kî-thāi, khak-si̍t mā bô io̍k-bōng. Chóng-kóng, góa khak-si̍t hām sè-kài bô tī-tāi, mā bô khó-lêng ū, só͘-í góa jīn-ûi, i khòaⁿ khí-lâi ná lán í-āu khó-lêng khòaⁿ tio̍h ê án-ne -- its sī góa tòa kòe ê só͘-chāi, sī góa í-keng lī-khui ê só͘-chāi. Só͘-í, góa oân-choân ē-sái iōng Abraham tùi châi-chú kóng ê hit-kù ōe: 

"Lí hām góa tiong-kan keh chi̍t-tiâu tōa chhim-kau." 

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9.5 我到這所在滿四年

這是上譀古 ê 做法, m̄-koh 因為我規心空想, tō 動手去做. 我剉一叢杉仔, 心肝 án-ne 想, Solomon 敢有這種樹予伊起 Jerusamlem 聖殿. 倚樹頭 ê 直徑 5 英尺 10 inch [178 cm], tī 22 英尺 [670 cm] ê 尾節 hia ê 直徑是 4 英尺 11 inch [150 cm], koh 過 tō lú 較細, 然後 tō 分椏出去. 我付出不盡 ê 氣力才 kā 樹剉倒, 用 20 工剉 koh 鏨底部, koh 用 14 工剉斷樹椏和樹尾 ê 所在. 這是 kō͘ 長斧頭和短斧頭 koh 付出講袂盡 ê 大氣力才做到 ê. Án-ne 了後, 我 koh 用一個月時間, 修整外部, 予伊成做船底 ê 形, hó-thang 落水會得浮正. 我 koh 開三個月時間, 挖空內部, kā 加工做一隻真正 ê 小船. 我做這 ê 時, 確實無用著火, 干焦用槌仔和鑿仔, 靠辛苦 ê 勞動才做成一隻漂撇 ê 獨木船, ē-tàng 載 26 个人, 所以 mā 大 kah 有夠載所有我 ê 物件.

完成這項工課予我大歡喜. 這隻船比我看過 ê 獨木舟加真大. 當然, 我為伊開袂少氣力, 一旦 kā 伊捒落水, 我定著隨欲開始 m̄-bat 有人做過 ê, 上慌狂 ê 航行. 

不而過, 所有我欲送伊落水 ê 法度 lóng 失敗, 雖罔我為這 mā 費盡氣力. 船停 ê 所在, 離水大概無超過 100 bā [91 米]. 第一个困難是: ùi 船到溪是 peh 崎. Hmh, 為著克服這个困難, 我決定挖塗, 予伊變成落崎. 我隨動手, koh 拚大氣力 (siáng 會為得欲到 ê 解救埋怨 ah?). 等代誌做了, 困難 mā 處理 ah, 狀況猶是仝款, 因為我撬袂動這隻獨木舟, tō ná 像早前我撬袂動彼隻舢舨仔仝款. 

然後, 我量塗跤 ê 距離, 決定欲挖一个船澳 (dock) a̍h 一條水道 (canal), kā 水引來船 chia, 既然我無法度捒船去水 hia. Hmh, 我隨開始這項工課. 拄開始, 我先做一寡估計, 著挖偌深, 偌闊, 挖 ê 塗欲掖向佗位, 我發現, 靠我家己, 完成這著 10-12 年, 因為溪岸真懸, 上懸彼頭上少著挖 20 英尺 [6 米] 深. 落尾, 我只好 mā 著放棄, 雖罔心內真毋願.

這予我足傷心. 這時我才明白, 雖罔 siuⁿ 慢, 開始一項工課進前若無先計算成本, 無正確估計家己 ê 氣力, 彼是有夠戇.

Tī 這項工課 ê 中央, 我到這所在滿四年. Kap 過去仝款, 我 kō͘ 虔誠和欣慰 ê 心情, 度過這个紀念日. 透過捷捷讀和實行神 ê 話, koh 有伊 ê 加持, 我得著過去所無 ê 新智識. 我對事物有無仝 ê 概念. 我 kā 世界看做一个遙遠 ê 物件, 和我無關係, 我對伊無期待, 確實 mā 無慾望. 總講, 我確實和世界無底代, mā 無可能有, 所以我認為, 伊看起來 ná 咱以後可能看著 ê án-ne -- its 是我蹛過 ê 所在, 是我已經離開 ê 所在. 所以, 我完全 ē-sái 用 Abraham 對財主講 ê 彼句話: 

"你和我中間隔一條大深溝." 

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9.5

This was a most preposterous method; but the eagerness of my fancy prevailed, and to work I went. I felled a cedar-tree, and I question much whether Solomon ever had such a one for the building of the Temple of Jerusalem; it was five feet ten inches diameter at the lower part next the stump, and four feet eleven inches diameter at the end of twenty-two feet; after which it lessened for a while, and then parted into branches. It was not without infinite labour that I felled this tree; I was twenty days hacking and hewing at it at the bottom; I was fourteen more getting the branches and limbs and the vast spreading head cut off, which I hacked and hewed through with axe and hatchet, and inexpressible labour; after this, it cost me a month to shape it and dub it to a proportion, and to something like the bottom of a boat, that it might swim upright as it ought to do. It cost me near three months more to clear the inside, and work it out so as to make an exact boat of it; this I did, indeed, without fire, by mere mallet and chisel, and by the dint of hard labour, till I had brought it to be a very handsome periagua, and big enough to have carried six-and-twenty men, and consequently big enough to have carried me and all my cargo.

When I had gone through this work I was extremely delighted with it. The boat was really much bigger than ever I saw a canoe or periagua, that was made of one tree, in my life. Many a weary stroke it had cost, you may be sure; and had I gotten it into the water, I make no question, but I should have begun the maddest voyage, and the most unlikely to be performed, that ever was undertaken.

But all my devices to get it into the water failed me; though they cost me infinite labour too. It lay about one hundred yards from the water, and not more; but the first inconvenience was, it was up hill towards the creek. Well, to take away this discouragement, I resolved to dig into the surface of the earth, and so make a declivity: this I began, and it cost me a prodigious deal of pains (but who grudge pains who have their deliverance in view?); but when this was worked through, and this difficulty managed, it was still much the same, for I could no more stir the canoe than I could the other boat. /

Then I measured the distance of ground, and resolved to cut a dock or canal, to bring the water up to the canoe, seeing I could not bring the canoe down to the water. Well, I began this work; and when I began to enter upon it, and calculate how deep it was to be dug, how broad, how the stuff was to be thrown out, I found that, by the number of hands I had, being none but my own, it must have been ten or twelve years before I could have gone through with it; for the shore lay so high, that at the upper end it must have been at least twenty feet deep; so at length, though with great reluctancy, I gave this attempt over also.

This grieved me heartily; and now I saw, though too late, the folly of beginning a work before we count the cost, and before we judge rightly of our own strength to go through with it.

In the middle of this work I finished my fourth year in this place, and kept my anniversary with the same devotion, and with as much comfort as ever before; for, by a constant study and serious application to the Word of God, and by the assistance of His grace, I gained a different knowledge from what I had before. I entertained different notions of things. I looked now upon the world as a thing remote, which I had nothing to do with, no expectations from, and, indeed, no desires about: in a word, I had nothing indeed to do with it, nor was ever likely to have, so I thought it looked, as we may perhaps look upon it hereafter—viz. as a place I had lived in, but was come out of it; and well might I say, as Father Abraham to Dives, 

“Between me and thee is a great gulf fixed.”

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