天空下着小雨，刮着微风，春寒料峭地，加上很多人回老家过年了，移民小区这一带路上没什么人。
我从超市出来，一眼就看到了他。
他穿着破烂肮脏的上衣，和一条烂得和短裤一样长的长裤。
他弓着腰，正在试着从一个垃圾筒里捡出一些食物渣子。
但里边是空的。
我不由得动了恻隐之心，我从塑料袋里拿出一包瑞士卷，对他说：这个给你，拿去吃吧。
他用比我们大多数南方人要标准得多的普通话说：谢谢了，不用！
我说：不要客气，一点小意思。
他却怎么也不要。
我又拿出二十块钱给他，说：“拿去买点东西吃吧！”
他却仍然不要，我想塞到他衣服兜里，却发现他的衣服没有兜，想塞到他手里，他却把拳头握得紧紧的。
他又说了声“谢谢”，就跑开了。
总有人把他当乞丐，把他当叫花子，可他从不向人乞讨，怎么是乞丐呢？
他只是个流浪汉。而且是个高尚的人。
他不偷，不抢，不贪污，不腐败，不与世俗同流合污。
他意识清醒，四肢健全，但却不愿出卖自己的劳力和智慧，他不买也不卖。
他是个高尚的人。
我不由得想起一篇多年前学过的课文：
It has been said that everyone lives by selling something.
In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge,
philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort.
Though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money,
it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us.
There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives,
yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service.
The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop.
Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule.
Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by.
But real tramps are not beggars.
They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others.
In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity.
A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him.
He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences.
He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people.
His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease.
By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do.
He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive;
he may even, in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom.
We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars,
but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?
我从超市出来，一眼就看到了他。
他穿着破烂肮脏的上衣，和一条烂得和短裤一样长的长裤。
他弓着腰，正在试着从一个垃圾筒里捡出一些食物渣子。
但里边是空的。
我不由得动了恻隐之心，我从塑料袋里拿出一包瑞士卷，对他说：这个给你，拿去吃吧。
他用比我们大多数南方人要标准得多的普通话说：谢谢了，不用！
我说：不要客气，一点小意思。
他却怎么也不要。
我又拿出二十块钱给他，说：“拿去买点东西吃吧！”
他却仍然不要，我想塞到他衣服兜里，却发现他的衣服没有兜，想塞到他手里，他却把拳头握得紧紧的。
他又说了声“谢谢”，就跑开了。
总有人把他当乞丐，把他当叫花子，可他从不向人乞讨，怎么是乞丐呢？
他只是个流浪汉。而且是个高尚的人。
他不偷，不抢，不贪污，不腐败，不与世俗同流合污。
他意识清醒，四肢健全，但却不愿出卖自己的劳力和智慧，他不买也不卖。
他是个高尚的人。
我不由得想起一篇多年前学过的课文：
It has been said that everyone lives by selling something.
In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge,
philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort.
Though it may be possible to measure the value of material goods in terms of money,
it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us.
There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives,
yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service.
The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop.
Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule.
Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by.
But real tramps are not beggars.
They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others.
In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity.
A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him.
He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences.
He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people.
His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease.
By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do.
He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive;
he may even, in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom.
We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars,
but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?
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