《美丽英文(散文卷)》

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美丽英文(散文卷)- 第13部分


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幸福之路(1)
佚名
  道德家们常说,靠追求你是无法得到幸福的。如果你不能明智地追求幸福,那么这句话就是真理。蒙特卡洛的赌徒们想要追求金钱,可是却闹得血本无归。其实还有很多追求金钱的方式,这些方法通常都能成功。追求幸福也同样如此。如果你靠喝酒来追求幸福,你就会忘记烦心事。伊壁鸠鲁追求幸福,是通过与志趣相投之人结交,只吃不涂黄油的面包,用一点儿奶酪庆贺节日。对他而言,这种追求幸福的方式被证明是成功的,但是他很虚弱,而大多数人需要一些能使精力更充沛的东西。对于很多人而言,除非有多种方式可供选择,否则对幸福的追求太过抽象和不切实际,很难成为个人的人生准则。但是,我认为,不管你选择怎样的人生角色,都不应该与幸福相矛盾,除了极其罕见和英雄式的情况。
  有很多人,他们拥有获得幸福的各种物质条件,即健康的体魄和丰厚的收入。然而,他们的生活却很不幸福。在这样的事例中,问题似乎存在于关于如何生活的错误理论之中。从某种意义上讲,或许我们可以说,关于如何生活的所有理论都是错误的。我们想象的与动物的区别,比真实的差别更大。动物靠冲动生活,只要外部的条件令人喜欢,它们就会觉得幸福。如果你养了一只猫,只要吃得饱,住得暖,晚上偶尔有机会戏耍一番,它就觉得是在享受生活了。尽管你的需求比你的猫的需要复杂得多,但是它们的需求仍是以本能为基础的。在文明社会,尤其是在说英语的社会里,这一点太容易被人遗忘了。人们为自己制定下一个极其重要的目标,并抑制所有无益于目标的冲动。也许商人是如此渴望变得富有,以至最后牺牲了健康和感情。当他最终变得富有时,除了用训导词作为他人学习的伟大榜样之外,他一无所有。尽管在文学或艺术上,上帝并没有赐予她们天生的快乐,但是很多贵妇人仍被认为是有教养的。她们用无聊的时光学习有用的东西、谈论时尚的新书,这些书都是为了给人带来快乐而写的,并不是为那些势利之人提供附庸风雅的机会。
  如果观察一下你身边的所谓的幸福男女,你就会发现他们有一些共同之处。其中最重要的一点就是投身于一项活动,而这项活动最终逐渐形成某种你喜闻乐见的事物。喜爱孩子是女人的天性,她们能够从对子女的抚养中获得这种满足感。如果艺术家、文学家和科学家满意于自己的工作,他们就能在工作中找到快乐。但是,人世间更多的还是普通人的欢乐。有很多在城市工作的人,周末会在自家的小院里,自愿而不计报酬地从事体力劳动,当春天到来的时候,他们就能享受到美丽花朵带来的所有快乐。
  依我看来,幸福的全部主题都被人们看得太严肃。人们认为,没有生活理论或宗教信仰的人是不会幸福的。或许那些因为糟糕的生活理论而生活得不幸福的人,需要一个更好的理论来使他们恢复快乐,就像在你生病的时候需要营养品滋补一样。但是,在正常情况下,人不需要滋补品就很健康,不需要生活理论就能生活得很幸福。事实就是这样简单。一个男人,如果他家庭生活和睦、事业有成,昼夜交替和四季轮回都能带给他快乐,那么,不管他有怎样的人生哲学,他都觉得是幸福的。反之,如果他讨厌妻子,厌烦孩子,惧怕工作,白天盼望夜晚,黑夜期盼黎明,那么,他需要的不是新的人生哲学,而是新的养生之道——一种全新的饮食习惯、多锻炼身体等等。
  人是一种动物,他的幸福更取决于他的生理状况,而不是幻想。这是一个浅薄的结论,但是我无法让自己对它有丝毫怀疑。我深信,那不幸的商人每天走上六英里会获得更多的欢乐,而不是通过改变其人生哲学。

幸福之路(2)

  人们一谈到与幸福相关的话题便显得过于保守。人的需要以及其他动物的需要都是建立在本能的基础之上的,但在现实社会中,人们往往忘却这一点。获得幸福的物质条件是拥有健康的身体和丰厚的收入,而人的幸福感与他是否拥有人生哲学没有关系。无论如何,人们选择的生活不能违背幸福的准则。
  The Road to Happiness
  Anonymous
  It is a monplace among moralists that you cannot get happiness by pursuing it。 This is only true if you pursue it unwisely。 Gamblers at Monte Carlo are pursuing money; and most of them lose it instead; but there are other ways of pursuing money; which often succeed。 So it is with happiness; if you pursue it by means of drink; you are forgetting the hang…over。 Epicures pursued it by living only in congenial society and eating only dry bread; supplemented by a little cheese on feast days。 His method proved successful in his case; but he was a valetudinarian; and most people would need something more vigorous。 For most people; the pursuit of happiness; unless supplemented in various ways; is too abstract and theoretical to be adequate as a personal rule of life。 But I think that whatever personal role of life you may choose; it should not; except in rare and heroic cases; be inpatible with happiness。
  There are a great many people who have all the material conditions of happiness; ; and who; nevertheless; are profoundly unhappy。 In such cases it would seem as if the fault must lie with a wrong theory as to how to live。 In one sense; we may say that any theory as to how to live is wrong。 We imagine ourselves more different from the animals than we are。 Animals live on impulse; and are happy as long as external conditions are favorable。 If you have a cat it will enjoy life if it has food and warmth and opportunities for an occasional night on the tiles。 Your needs are more plex than those of your cat; but they still have their basis in instinct。 In civilized societies; especially in English…speaking societies; this is too apt to be forgotten。 People propose to themselves some one paramount objective; and restrain all impulses that do not minister to it。 A businessman may be so anxious to grow rich that to this end he sacrifices health and private affections。 When at last he has bee rich; no pleasure remains to him except harrying other people by exhortations to imitate his noble example。 Many rich ladies; although nature has not endowed them with any spontaneous pleasure in literature or art; decide to be thought cultured; and spend boring hours learning the right thing to say about fashionable new books that are written to give delight; not to afford opportunities for dusty snobbismn。
  If you look around at the men and women whom you can call happy; you will see that they all have certain things in mon。 The most important of these things is an activity which at most gradually builds up something that you are glad to see ing into existence。 Women who take an instinctive pleasure in their children can get this kind of satisfaction out of bringing up a family。 Artists and authors and men of science get happiness in this way if their own work seems good to them。 But there are many humbler forms of the same kind of pleasure。 Many men who spend their working life in the city devote their weekends to voluntary and unremunerated toil in their gardens; and when the spring es; they experience all the joys of having created beauty。 。。

幸福之路(3)
The whole subject of happiness has; in my opinion; been treated too solemnly。 It had been thought that man cannot be happy without a theory of life or a religion。 Perhaps those who have been rendered unhappy by a bad theory may need a better theory to help them to recovery; just as you may need a tonic when you have been ill。 But when things are normal a man should be healthy without a tonic and happy without a theory。 It is the simple things that really matter。 If a man delights in his wife and children; has success in work; and finds pleasure in the alternation of day and night; spring and autumn; he will be happy whatever his philosophy may be。 If; on the other hand; he finds his wife fateful; his children’s noise unendurable; and the office a nightmare; if in the daytime he longs for night; and at night sighs for the light of day; then what he needs is not a new philosophy but a new regimen—a different diet; or more exercise; or what not。
  Man is an animal; and his happiness depends on his physiology more than he likes to think。 This is a humble conclusion; but I cannot make myself disbelieve it。 Unhappy businessmen; I am convinced; would increase their happiness more by walking six miles every day than by any conceivable change of philosophy。
  

亚里士多德论友谊(1)
'古希腊'亚里士多德
  古人将友谊视为最好的美德。友谊是幸福或生命旺盛的基本要素。亚里士多德说:“因为没有朋友,人不会选择生存,即使他拥有其他所有的好东西。”在当今道德败坏的世界,这些话值得我们去牢记。
  根据亚里士多德所说,友谊是或涉及到一种品格、一种德行的状态。友谊可分为三种:以与他人为伴的快乐为基础的友谊(快乐的友谊);以与他人结交的裨益为基础的友谊(裨益的友谊);以相互的倾慕之情为基础的友谊(有德行的友谊)。这三种友谊都是幸福生活的基本条件,所有这些对于健康的生活均是必不可少的。最好的朋友不仅仅是倾慕彼此的优点,而且要在彼此的交往中寻找快乐,寻找共同的裨益。下面是亚里士多德的一段经典演说。
  由于友谊建立的动机各不相同,所以人们各自的情感和友谊也不尽相同。那么,友谊有三种类型,其主体对象也有三种,因为在每一种友谊中,彼此可能都有与之相一致的“相互明了的共同感情”。
  就建立友谊的动机来看,那些以友谊而互相对待的人,需要从对方那里获得利益。相应地,那些以获益为目的的人,除非能从对方那里得到一定的利益,否则彼此间是不会存在真正的友谊的。
  而以快乐为动机的人同样如此。我指的是,他们与诙谐幽默之人结交,并不是因为对方本身的性格,而是因为他们能给自己带来欢乐。所以,他们建立友谊的动机就在于,利用关爱朋友来使自己快乐,也就是说,他们不是爱其朋友本身,而是因为他们有用或能带来欢乐。这些友谊只会得出一种结果:由于友谊中爱的并不是对方本身,而是因为在一定情形下,它能提供益处或带来欢乐。
  当然,如果友谊双方不再有类似之处,这样的友谊便很容易解体。我的意思是说,如果友谊中的一方不能再带来快乐,或提供益处,另一方便会停止他们的友谊。功利的本性并不是永恒的,而是持续变化的,所以,当他们建立友谊时的动机消失时,友谊当然也要解体,因为它只能在相应的环境中存在……
  那些在品德高尚的人,且有相似德行的人之间存在的友谊才是完美的。因为这些人要求对方有类似的德行。在他们之间,有好的德行(自身的德行)。而那些因为
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