黎巴嫩诗人纪伯伦(Kahlil Gibran)在《先知》(TheProphet)里表达了爱情和婚姻关系里人格独立的重要性(原文是英文):
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
彼此相爱,但不要让爱成为桎梏:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of yoursouls.
让爱成为波涛汹涌的海,在你们彼此灵魂的海岸间奔流。
……
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but leteach one of you be alone,
一起轻歌曼舞,一起笑声欢畅,但仍要保持独立的自我,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone thoughthey quiver with the same music.
如同鲁特琴的琴弦根根分开并独立,却因同一个和弦而振颤。
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
将你们的心献出,但并不是要将对方的心严加管束。
……
And stand together, yet not too near together,
并肩而立,并不意味着密不可分,
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
因为梁柱也须彼此分立才能支撑殿宇,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’sshadow.
橡树和柏树也无法在彼此浓重的阴影下生长。
——闳溟译《纪伯伦经典诗集》,哈尔滨:黑龙江人民出版社2006年,
译文见:第7页,原文见:第223-224页