接下來讓我們看第二封信，這封信篇幅較短，或許是Rilke在當時得到了類流感疾病，除了晚回覆外，內(nèi)容也和第一封信不同風格，簡潔有力。第二封信有兩個段落，他談到創(chuàng)作時不要被反諷法支配之外，也提到他常攜帶在身的書以及從誰身上體會到藝術的深奧，對想要找創(chuàng)意及藝術相關參考讀物的朋友們可以參考。
一開始扣回到第一封信提到的：沒有人可以提供幫助或建議。這里繼續(xù)說明，Rilke盡管對于收到回信感到開心，但同時他也知道自己的回覆不見得能讓年青人受益，為什么呢？因為最終在最核心重要的事物上，我們是孤獨的。 （深層體會是不可言語及不可替代的）當一個人能夠幫助或建議另一人，那必須背后許多的要件都要發(fā)生并符合了，所謂的幫助或建議才成立。
Of course, you must know that every letter of yours will always give me pleasure, and you must be indulgent with the answer, which will perhaps often leave you empty-handed; for ultimately, and precisely in the deepest and most important matters, we are unspeakably alone; and many things must happen, many things must go right, a whole constellation of events must be fulfilled, for one human being to successfully advise or help another.
接著來談不要被反諷法支配這件事，這邊的反諷意思正負面兼具，如同Rilke在信中提到的，端看自己使用反諷法時的心態(tài)而定。當你具有創(chuàng)造力時，試著去使用它，拓展你的表達方式；反之就要去深思這種表達方式是否是源自你內(nèi)心的一種需要。 （回扣到第一封信的“I must”）若想要遠離過度使用反諷法的境地，請試著轉(zhuǎn)向偉大和嚴肅的事物上，在那里，反諷法相形之下顯得渺小。若反諷法真源自于你內(nèi)心需要，在偉大和嚴肅的事物里，它會變成你正式的工具，并在你的藝術手法里占有一席之地。
?反諷法怎么使用，意思又是什么，想了解的朋友請點這里（維基百科）跟這里（辭典解釋）。
Irony: Don’t let yourself be controlled by it, especially during uncreative moments. When you are fully creative, try to use it, as one more way to take hold of fife. Used purely, it too is pure, and one needn’t be ashamed of it; but if you feel yourself becoming too familiar with it, if you are afraid of this growing familiarity, then turn to great and serious objects, in front of which it becomes small and helpless. Search into the depths of Things: there, irony never descends and when you arrive at the edge of greatness, find out whether this way of perceiving the world arises from a necessity of your being. For under the influence of serious Things it will either fall away from you (if it is something accidental), or else (if it is really innate and belongs to you) it will grow strong, and become a serious tool and take its place among the instruments which you can form your art with.
最后一段是Rilke分享他常攜帶在身上的好書，以及他引以為師的兩個藝術家。第一本書是圣經(jīng)，還有Jens Peter Jacobsen寫的Six Stories（故事集）及Niels Lyhne（小說），尤其Six Stories的第一篇Mogens。他是這樣描述兩本書的：「一個完整的世界將在你面前展現(xiàn)，幸福、豐富及不可思議的偉大蘊含其中。請在這兩本書親身體會，去學你覺得值得學的，但最重要的是你愛它們。這種愛會回饋你千千萬萬次，不論你人生將會如何。我確信它將會貫穿你整個人生，在你所有經(jīng)驗、失落與喜悅交織而成的生命中，作為你最重要人生脈絡之一存在。」
他最后推薦了兩位藝術家，分別是Jens Peter Jacobsen（詩人）與Auguste Rodin（雕塑家），從他們身上，Rilke體會到關于創(chuàng)造力的本質(zhì)，其深奧及永恒的地方。前者他稱為「偉大的詩人」，后者他尊稱為「當時無人能出其右的雕刻家」。
Of all my books, I find only a few indispensable, and two of them are always with me, wherever I am. They are here, by my side: the Bible, and the books of the great Danish poet Jens Peter Jacobsen. Do you know his works? It is easy to find them, since some have been published in Recalm’s Universal Library, in a very good translation. Get the little volume of Six Stories by J. P. Jacobsen and his novel Niels Lyhne, and begin with the first story in the for mer, which is cared “Mogens." A whole world will envelop you, the happiness, the abundance, .the inconceivable vastness of a world. Live for a while in these books, learn from them what you feel is worth learning, but most of &U love them. This love will be returned to you thousands upon thousands of times, whatever your life may become – it will, I am sure, go through the whole fabric of your being, as one of the most important threads among all the threads of your experiences, disappointments, and joys.
If I were to say who has given me the greatest experience of the essence of creativity, its depths and eternity, there are just two names would mention: Jacobsen, that great, great poet, and Auguste Rodin, the sculptor, who is without peer among all artists who are alive today.
?對兩位藝術家有興趣的朋友，請點以下參考資料連結(jié)：
1.? Jens Peter Jacobsen’s Quotes
4.? Auguste Rodin Wikiquote（更詳盡的創(chuàng)作資料）
說到沉思者這件藝術品，相信大家都喚起了對Auguste Rodin的記憶，其寫實的雕塑手法及雕塑人物在動作中隱含的情感令人印象深刻。
第二封信也圓滿達成啦，咱們下一封信再會。
