Your friend is your needs answered.

你的朋友是你有回应的需求。

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.

他是你用爱播种，用感谢收获的田地。

And he is your board and your fireside.

他是你的饮食，也是你的火炉。

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace.

因为你饥渴地奔向他，你向他寻求平安。

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the “nay” in your own mind, nor do you withhold the “ay.”

当你的朋友向你倾吐胸臆的时候，你不要怕说出心中的“否”，也不要瞒住你心中的“可”。

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

当他静默的时候，你的心仍要倾听他的心。

For without words, in friendship, all thoughts, all desires, all expectations are born and shared, with joy that is unacclaimed.

因为在友谊里，不用言语，一切的思想，一切的愿望，一切的希冀，都在无声的喜悦中发生而共享了。

When you part from your friend, you grieve not;

当你与朋友别离的时候，不要忧伤；

For that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain.

因为你觉得他最可爱之点，当他不再时愈渐清晰，正如登山者从平原上望山峰，也备加分明。

And let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit.

愿除了寻求心灵的加深之外，友谊没有别的目的。

For love that seeks aught but the disclosure of its own mystery is not love but a net cast forth: and only the unprofitable is caught.

因为那只寻求着要显露自身的神秘的爱，不算是爱，只算是一张撒下的网，只网住一些无益的东西。

And let your best be for your friend.

让你最佳美的事物，都给你的朋友。

If he must know the ebb of your tide, let him know its flood also.

假如他必须知道你潮水的下退，也让他知道你潮水的高涨。

For what is your friend that you should seek him with hours to kill?

你找他只为消磨光阴的人，还能算作你的朋友么？

Seek him always with hours to live.

你要在生长的时间中去找他。

For it is his to fill your need, but not your emptiness.

因为他的时间是满足你的需要，不是填满你的空虚。

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures.

在友谊的温柔中，要有欢笑，与相共的喜悦。

For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.

因为在那微末事物的甘露中，你的心能寻到他的清晓，而焕发了精神。