第20章那是一棵生命的常青树(6)
毋庸置疑,你依赖于律师和股票?纪人的关照,列车员和信号员使你快速从一处转移到另一处,警察在街道上巡逻以保护你的安全;但是,对于那些你路上偶遇,使你开怀一笑的人,难道你一点儿也不心存感激吗?纽科姆上校的帮忙,却使他的朋友破了财;弗雷德·贝哈姆向人借衬衣,却是一个诡计。但是比起巴恩斯先生,他们两位倒是更值得结交。虽然福斯塔夫既不庄重又不很诚实,但是我想我能说出一两个沮丧的巴à巴。我想,如果没有他们,这个世界会更好。
哈兹里特曾提及,与那些懂得卖弄的朋友相比,他对诺思科特的责任感更强,尽管诺思科特对他并未有任何所谓的恩惠之举,因为他坚持认为,一个好的同伴就是最大的施恩者。我知道世界上有一些人,除非以痛苦和苦难为代价赐予他们恩惠,否则他们便不会有感恩之心。这真是一种无礼的性情。一个人可能会给你写一封六页的信,同你漫无边际地闲谈,或者你开心地用半个小时读他的一篇文章,或许还有所收获。如果这篇手稿是他用心血写成的,就像魔鬼的契约一样,你是否会觉得更有恩于你?如果你的来信者诅咒你的刁难,你真的觉得你就会对他更加感激吗?乐趣比责任更能让人受益,因为就像仁慈的品质一样,由于没有任何矫饰,能给人加倍的福佑。
忙中偷闲的能力,暗示的是一种广泛的爱好和强烈的个性。乐趣比责任更能让人受益,它就像仁慈的品质一样,没有任何矫饰,却能给人加倍的福佑。
无论你的生活如何卑微
HoweverMeanYourLifeIs
[美国]亨利·大卫·梭罗HenryDavidThoreau
Howevermeanyourlifeis,meetita;donotshunitandcallithardisnotsobadasyouare。Itlookspoorestwhe。Thefault-finderwillfindfaultseveninparadise。Loveyourlife,poorasitis。Youmayperhapshavesomepleasant,thrilling,glorioushours,eveninapoorhouse。Thesettingsuedfromthewindowsofthealmshhtlyasfromtheri'sabode;thessbeforeitsdoorasearlyinthespring。Idoaquietmindmayliveastedlythere,andhaveasgthoughts,asiown'spoorseemtomeofteilivesofaheyaresimplygreatenoughtoreceivewithoutmisgiving。Mostthinkthattheyareabovebeingsupportedbythetown;butitofteheyareingthemselvesbydishomeans,whioredisreputable。Cultivatepovertylikeagardenherb,likesage。Donottroubleyourselfmuchtogethihesorfriends。Tururhingsdonotge;wege。Sellyourdkeepyhts。Godwillseethatyoudonotway。IfIwereedtarretallmydays,likeaspider,theworldwouldbejustaslargetomewhileIhadmythoughtsaboutme。Thephilosophersaid:"romanarmyofthreedivisioakeawayitsgeneral,andputitihemaabjedvulgaroakeawayhisthought。"Donotseeksoanxiouslytobedeveloped,tosubjectyourselftomaobeplayedon;itisalldissipation。Humilitylikedarkheheavenlylights。Theshadowsofpovertyaheraroundus,"aiooourview。"Weareofteiftherewerebestowedohofuststillbethesame,andourmeahesame。Moreover,ifyouarerestriyebypoverty,ifyouotbuybooksandneers,forinstance,youarebutedtothemostsignifidvitalexperienpelledtodealwiththematerialwhichyieldsthemostsugaraarch。Itislifeheboissweetest。Youaredefendedfrombeingatrifler。Nomanloseseveronalowerlevelbymagnanimityonahigher。Superfluouserfluitiesorequiredtobuyonenecessaryofthesoul。
Iliveintheangleofaleadenwall,iionouredalittlealloyofbell-metal。Often,inthereposeofmymid-day,therereachesmyearsafusedtintinnabulumfromwithout。ItisthenoiseofmyyellmeoftheiradvehfamousgentlemenanotabilitiestheymetatthediIamedinsugsthasoftheDailyTimes。Theiheversatioeandmaagooseisagoosestill,dressitasyouwill。TheytellmeofiaandTexas,ofEnglandandtheIheHeiaorofMassachusetts,alltraaiillIamreadytoleapfromtheircourt-yardliketheMamelukebey。Idelighttoybearings—notrowithpompandparade,inaspicuousplace,buttowalkevenwiththeBuilderoftheuniverse,ifImay—nottoliveiless,nervous,bustling,trivialury,butstandorsitthoughtfullywhileitgoesby。Whataremeing?Theyareallonaitteeements,andhourlyexpectaspeeebody。Godisonlythepresidentoftheday,aerishisorator。Ilovetoweigh,tosettle,togravitatetowardthatwhichmlyandrightfullyattraothangbythebeamofthesdtrytoweighless—notsupposeacase,buttakethecasethatis;totraveltheonlypathIdthatonwhiopowerresistme。ItaffordsmenosatisfaeanarchbeforeIhavegotasolidfoundation。Thereisasolidbottomeverywhere。Wereadthatthetraveleraskedtheboyifthesbeforehimhadahardbottom。Theboyrepliedthatithad。Butpreseraveler'shorsesankinuptothegirths,aheboy,"Ithoughtyousaidthatthisboghadahardbottom"。"Soithas,"ater,"butyouhavenotgothalfwaytoityet。"Soitiswiththebogsandquidsofsociety;butheisanoldboythatknowsit。Onlywhatisthought,said,ordoainrareceisgood。Iwouldhosewhowillfoolishlydriveanailihandplastering;suchadeedwouldkeepmeawakenights。Givemeahammer,amefeelf。Doheputty。Driveanailhomeandchitsofaithfullythatyouiandthinkofyourworkwithsatisfactory—aworkatwhichyouwouldnotbeashamedtoiheMuse。SowillhelpyouGod,andsoonly。Everynaildrivenshouldbeasainthemaeoftheuniverse,yonthework。