The 128 most classic philosophical essays in the world

Chapter 65 The Light That Darkness Cannot Conquer

[United States] Tommy Jones
Everything was bathed in the light of day, and no one had ever seen such a bright light.We are free, high-spirited, and hungry no more.

The candle burned all night, and ordinary candles cannot burn so long and so magnificently.We sing in unison, ushering in the dawn.We are sure that a sweet home awaits us...

During World War II, the concentration camp established by the Japanese army was located on the east coast of Sumatra, with hooked barbed wire surrounding the dark and damp cells.Outside, during the day, there is the blazing sunlight of the equator; at night, the bright moon and stars shine together.But in the concentration camp, it was dark day and night.People live in it, but "living" is obviously a misnomer.We are stuffed in cells.Occasionally, a gleam of light can be seen, which is the uncorroded barbed wire shining under the sun or the moon.

Has it been a few years, or decades?Sickness and infirmity make us lazy to think.When I was first imprisoned, I still counted the hours, but now, time seems to be frozen.All around us, people are dying of starvation, of disease, of the last ray of hope.We have long given up illusions about the end of the war and our liberation. We have become dazed and numb, and only a beast-like desire for life emerges from our throats: hunger.Unless someone catches a snake or a mouse, they starve.

However, one man in the camp still had something to eat—a candle.He hadn't intended to eat it; normal people don't eat candles.But when you see the skinny and dying people around you, you will not underestimate the weight of this candle.When he couldn't stand the torture of hunger, he carefully found the candle from the hiding place and bit it carefully. When people went crazy because of hunger, he turned to this candle for help.As a friend, he promised me a small slice.So, I watched him and the candle day and night, and it became a matter of life and death for me not to let him eat the whole candle by himself at the last moment.

One night, after he had carved another mark on the beam, he said stiffly, "We'll be home next Christmas." Few people responded to his words, who even thought about it?However, another man said something very strange: "Christmas with candles and bells." His voice was ethereal, and seemed to come from a long age and a distant place.His words have nothing to do with reality and have no meaning to us.

It was late, and we were lying on the planks, each of us thinking about something, or nothing at all.My friend suddenly became disturbed, and he crawled towards the box and took out the candle.In the dark, I can clearly see its white color. "He's going to eat," I thought, "and I hope he doesn't forget me." He went out, borrowed a light from the guard, and lit a candle, which he placed by the bed.

No one spoke.Soon, shadows slipped to his bedside one by one.These half-naked fellow sufferers, with sunken cheeks and hungry eyes, quietly formed a circle around the candles.The bishop and priests also surrounded them, unable to recognize them as clergymen, but they were also two weak prisoners.The pastor said in a hoarse voice, "Christmas is here, and light shines in darkness." "Darkness cannot conquer light," the bishop said.These are the words of the Gospel of John, but that night, these are not the written words of centuries ago, but the living reality of divine revelation to each of us.

I have never seen such a white and slender candle.Although it is difficult for me to describe the scene at that time, we must have seen something out of this world in this light.We were imprisoned in swamps and groves, but we heard the tolling of thousands of bells and the chorus of angels, and the flames of the candles rose higher and higher, piercing the dark cells like swords.Everything was bathed in the light of day, and no one had ever seen such a bright light.We are free, high-spirited, and hungry no more.

Someone whispered: "Next Christmas we can go home." We all believed this to be true, because the light itself gave us such a revelation, it was written in flames.The candle burned all night, and ordinary candles cannot burn so long and so magnificently.We sing in unison, ushering in the dawn.We are sure that a sweet home awaits us.

And that's exactly what happened, some of us were back home before Christmas the following year.What about others?Yeah, they were back home too, and I helped bury them in the dirt behind the camp, but their eyes weren't as dim as they used to be when they said goodbye to the world.Their eyes were full of light, the light of that candle--light that darkness cannot conquer.

Heart mark notes
When darkness devours light greedily, when disappointment eats away hope endlessly, faith, only faith can support a fragile soul.It is like a sharp sword, bravely piercing people's panic about death.

Faith is a bright pearl in the journey of life, which can shine brightly in the sun and shine in the dark night.Faith can fill people with strong vitality and give them infinite power to overcome all difficulties and obstacles.The power of belief is boundless, and it is indispensable for every strong life.

Faith, although it cannot directly give us what we need, can tell us how to get it.Firm faith, hope is not far ahead.

(End of this chapter)