A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.

有个人种了一朵玫瑰，他给玫瑰虔诚地浇水，在它开花之前，他仔细地察看了一番。

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought,

他看到了即将开花的花蕾，但也观察到了茎上的刺，因此他想，

"How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?

“漂亮的花怎么能从这么多刺的植物上长出来呢？”

Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.

想到这里，他很难过，开始疏于给花儿浇水。就在玫瑰快要开花的时候……它死了。

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose.

许多人也是如此。每个灵魂中都有一朵玫瑰。

The great qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults.

美好的品质在我们出生时就被植入体内，在我们错误的荆棘中成长。

Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

我们中的许多人只看到自己身上的刺，也就是那些缺点。

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us.

我们绝望了，认为我们身上不可能出现任何美好的事物。

We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

我们疏于浇灌自己内心的美好，最终它会死去。我们从未意识到自己的潜力。

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them.

有些人看不到自己内心的玫瑰；必须有人把玫瑰展现给他们看。

One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

一个人能拥有的最伟大的天赋之一，就是能够越过别人的尖刺，在尖刺中找到玫瑰。

This is one of the characteristics of love... to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life... all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul.

这是爱的特征之一……审视一个人，知道他真正的缺点，接受他进入你的生活……同时也清楚他们灵魂中的高贵部分。

Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns.

帮助他人认识到他们可以克服自己的缺点。如果我们能让他们看到自己内心的“玫瑰”，他们就能战胜自己的尖刺。

Only then will they blossom many times over.

只有到那时，他们才会一次又一次地绽放。