Sharp Words Inflict More Pain Than Swords
 
According to an ancient saying, friendly words given to others are warmer than clothes, whereas sharp words will bring about much more pain than swords will.
 
On the Internet, a story with a deep-rooted moral is spreading. A boy had a very bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails, and told him to drive a nail in the fence in the backyard whenever he lost his temper. On the first day, the boy hammered more than 30 nails. Afterwards, the amount of nails gradually lessened. He gradually discovered that it was easier to control his temper than nailing a nail. In actuality, a person's temper may be suppressed. That requires being strict with oneself and long-term cultivation .
 
Finally the boy never lost his temper willfully. When he told his father, he told him to pull out one nail whenever he could control his temper. Later, the boy told his father that he had pulled out all the nails.
 
Pointing at the fence, the father said, "You did good job, but look at the holes on the fence. The fence can never return to what it was before. The words you said when you lost your temper will leave scars on others just like the nails did. It's like you injured someone with a knife; that wound will still be there no matter how many apologies you make. A bad temper will bring about serious harm."
 
Consider carefully; so much resentment and strife are initiated by hurtful words. Some trivial disputes can evolve into a disaster from a vicious word. Besides enmity and harm, what else can hurting words bring about?
 
伤人之言　深于矛戟
 
古语云：“与人善言，暖于布帛；伤人之言，深于矛戟。”意思是说：出自善意的话，这令人感到比布帛还要温暖；而伤人的话，比用矛戟伤人还要厉害。
 
在网络上就流传著这样一个寓意深刻的故事：有一个男孩脾气很坏，他的父亲给了他一袋钉子，并让他每次发脾气时就拿一根钉子钉在后院的篱笆上。在第一天，男孩钉下了三十多根钉子，以后慢慢数量变少了，他慢慢的发现控制自己的脾气比钉钉子更容易了。其实人的脾气是可以被抑制住的，这需要自己严格要求自己，长时间的修习和磨炼。
 
男孩终于有一天不再乱发脾气了，他告诉了自己的父亲，父亲又告诉他，让他每当能控制住自己脾气的时候，就拔出一根钉子。一天天过去了，男孩告诉父亲自己把钉子全部拔了出来。
 
父亲指著篱笆对男孩说道：“你做的很好。但是你看看那些篱笆上的洞，这些篱笆永远都恢复不到从前了。你生气的时候说的话就像这些钉子一样会在他人身上留下伤痕。就像你拿刀子扎了别人，不管你再说多少次对不起，那个伤口将永远存在。发脾气给他人带来的伤痛就像真实的伤痛一样，这都将给人造成严重的伤害。”
 
仔细思量，多少的怨恨、争斗皆是因为恶语伤人而引发，一点小干戈可能因为一句伤人恶语而演变成大灾祸。其实，伤人恶语除了制造怨恨和伤害外又能解决什么问题呢？