偶然间，读到莎士比亚的作品《人生的七个阶段》。大文豪观察入微、妙笔生花，实在令人折服；这样的观点，如今看来毫不过时且历久弥新。难怪评论者赞叹：他并不只是属于一个时代；而是属于任何时代。
莎翁说：世界就是一个舞台，男男女女都扮演着不同的角色，他们都有上场和退场的时候。一个人一生可以分为七个阶段：
第一个阶段演的是婴儿。在保姆的怀中啼哭着、呕吐着。
第二个阶段是学童。背着书包，一脸晨光，又满腹牢骚。
第三个阶段是情人。像炉灶般的叹息，唱着忧伤的歌谣。
第四个阶段是士兵。满口奇怪的誓言，长着如豹子般的胡须，追求那泡沫般的虚名，甚至连身处炮口也不畏惧。
第五个阶段是法官。胖胖圆圆的肚子塞满了阉鸡，眼光凌厉、胡须整洁。满嘴智慧的格言和老生常谈。
第六个阶段变成一个瘦削的老头。穿着拖鞋和邋遢的长裤，鼻上架着眼镜，腰间挂着烟袋。年轻时保存良好的长裤，套在瘦瘪的腿上显得宽又荡，而他雄壮的声线，再次变为稚童的尖声，带着风笛和口哨似的声音。
第七个阶段是最后一个阶段，怪诞而多事的人生的最后一幕。仿佛回到了第二阶段的孩童时代，以及全然的遗忘。没有了牙，没有了视力、没有了味觉，一切归于空无。
仔细想想，绝大多数人的一生莫不如此──无法幸免成住坏灭的法则、难以避开生老病死的铁律，既使百般无奈，也只能默默接受。莎翁对人生真切的观察后，用如椽之笔生动的描绘，意象鲜活、蕴含深刻，充满着警示和启发。
那么，我们就只能如此一般，在匆促间随波逐流、得过且过？是否可能打破成规、跳出窠臼，拥有一个不一样的人生？答案是肯定的。因为人生是一个过程，你可以选择采取怎样的态度去度过每一个阶段，而选择不同，路径不同，风景也不同！
＊附录
The seven Stages of Man
——by William Shakespeare
All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.
At first the infant, mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms.
Then the whining school-boy, with his satchel and shining morning face.
And then the lover, sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad.
Then a soldier, full of strange oaths, and bearded like the leopard, seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon’s mouth.
And then the justice, in fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, full of wise saws and modern instances
The sixth age shifts into the lean and slippered pantaloon.
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side, his youthful hose, well saved, a world so wide.
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again towards childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
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责任编辑：方远
