双语对照 ● Finding What You Do Not Seek 探寻未知的美好
Finding What You Do Not Seek 探寻未知的美好
◎ Orison Marden
Dining one day with Baron James Rothschild, Eugene Delacroix, the famous French artist, confessed that, during some time past, he had vainly sought for a head to serve as a model for that of a beggar in a picture which he was painting; and that, as he gazed at his host’s features, the idea suddenly occurred to him that the very head he desired was before him. Rothschild, being a great lover of art, readily consented to sit as the beggar. The next day, at the studio, Delacroix placed a tunic around the baron’s shoulders, put a stout staff in his hand, and made him pose as if he were resting on the steps of an ancient Roman temple. In this attitude he was found by one of the artist’s favorite pupils, in a brief absence of the master from the room. The youth naturally concluded that the beggar had just been brought in, and with a sympathetic[88]look quietly slipped a piece of money into his hand. Rothschild thanked him simply, pocketed the money, and the student passed out. Rothschild then inquired of the master, and found that the young man had talent, but very slender means.
一天，在詹姆士·罗斯柴尔德爵士家的宴会上，法国著名艺术家欧仁·德拉克洛瓦当场向我袒露心声：在过去的一段时间里，他一直苦苦地为自己正在创作的画作找寻一位乞丐模特。当他的目光停在爵士的身上时，脑中突然闪现一个灵感——他梦寐以求的模特就在眼前。作为一个狂热的艺术爱好者，罗斯柴尔德欣然答应了扮演一名乞丐模特。第二天，在画室里，德拉克洛瓦拿了一件束腰外套披在爵士的肩上，让爵士手拿一根短棍，并摆出一个造型，就像是正在一座古罗马神庙前的阶梯上休息一样。接着，德拉克洛瓦便离开了画室一小会儿。这时，他最得意的一名学生进来看到了爵士的乞丐造型。这位年轻人自然而然地认为这个乞丐是刚来到画室的，于是，他显现出充满同情的表情，一声不响地把一些钱塞进他的手里。罗斯柴尔德只是轻轻地道了一声谢谢，就把钱放进兜里。那个学生走出了画室。后来，罗斯柴尔德从画家那儿得知，这个年轻人其实很有绘画天赋，但就是缺少处世经验。
Soon after, the youth received a letter stating that charity bears interest, and that the accumulated interest on the amount he had given to one he supposed to be a beggar was represented by the sum of ten thousand francs, which was awaiting his claim at the Rothschild office.
不久，那个年轻人就收到了一封信，信的内容大概是这样的：由于他的善良本性，把钱给了一个他认为是乞丐的人。为此，他将得到一万法郎的奖赏，他可以随时到罗斯柴尔德的办公室领取。
This illustrates well the art to cheerful amusement even if one has great business cares—the entertainment of the artist, the personation of a beggar, and an act of beneficence toward a worthy student.
这件事充分说明了艺术有着令人愉快的魅力，即使是富人也不另外——画家的灵感、假扮的乞丐和可敬的学生的善意之举。
It was said by Wilhelm von Humboldt, that “it is worthy of special remark that when we are not too anxious about happiness and unhappiness, but devote ourselves to the strict and unsparing performance of duty, then happiness comes of itself.”
威廉·冯·洪堡曾经说过：“当我们不再为是否快乐而忧心，而是全心全意地严格履行自己的职责时，快乐自然就会来临。”
Are not buoyant spirits like water sparkling when it runs? “I have found my greatest happiness in labor,” said Gladstone. “I early formed a habit of industry, and it has been its own reward. The young are apt to think that rest means a cessation from all effort, but I have found the most perfect rest in changing effort. If brain-weary over books and study, go out into the blessed sunlight and the pure air, and give heartfelt exercise to the body. The brain will soon become calm and rested. The efforts of Nature are ceaseless[89]. Even in our sleep the heart throbs on. I try to live close to Nature, and to imitate her in my labors. The compensation is sound sleep, a wholesome digestion, and powers that are kept at their best; and this, I take it, is the chief reward of industry.”
快乐的感觉不就像是水光荡漾的河水吗？格拉德斯顿曾经说过：“劳作给了我最大的快乐。我从小就养成了勤奋的习惯，并因此受益匪浅。年轻人总是觉得休息就意味着停止一切努力，但我认为最好的休息就是转变成为另一种努力。如果过重的学习压力使你头昏脑胀，那就出去晒一些温暖的阳光，呼吸一下新鲜的空气，好好放松放松身心。那样的话，大脑就能很快恢复平静并得到充足的休息。天性的努力是永无休止的，即使睡觉时，我们的心脏也会不停地跳动着。我试着让自己的生活顺应天性，并在劳动中尽力模仿。于是，我得到了：舒适的睡眠、健康的消化能力和旺盛的精力。而我所得到的这些都是勤奋的主要回报。”
Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness. “The most delicate, the most sensible of all pleasures,” says La Bruyre, “consists in promoting the pleasures of others.”
只有那些把精力集中在某个目标上，而不是执著于个人幸福的人，才能获得真正的快乐。拉·布鲁耶尔曾经说过：“最美妙、最明智的快乐是和他人共同分享快乐。”
And Hawthorne has said that the inward pleasure of imparting pleasure is the choicest of all.
霍桑也曾经说过，与人分享的快乐才是最顶级的快乐。
There was once a king who loved his little boy very much, and took a great deal of pains to please him. So he gave him a pony to ride, beautiful rooms to live in, pictures, books, toys without number, teachers, companions, and everything that money could buy or ingenuity devise; but for all this, the young prince was unhappy. He wore a frown wherever he went, and was always wishing for something he did not have. At length a magician came to the court. He saw the scowl on the boy’s face, and said to the king: “I can make your son happy, and turn his frowns into smiles, but you must pay me a great price for telling him this secret.”
从前有个国王，他十分宠爱自己的小儿子，他想尽办法让小儿子开心。因此，国王买来小马给小儿子骑；建造漂亮的房间给他住；还有图画、书本、数不清的玩具、给他上课的老师、玩伴和其他一切可以用钱能做得到的事情。可这一切都无法让小王子感到快乐。无论走到哪，他总是一副愁眉苦脸的样子，他总想着得到自己没有的东西。直到一位魔术师来到宫里，这一切才有所改变。魔术师看到愁眉苦脸的小男孩后，他对国王说道：“我能让您的儿子快乐起来，将他的苦脸变成笑脸。但你必须用大笔的钱向我买下这个秘密。”
“All right,” said the king, “whatever you ask I will give.” The magician took the boy into a private room. He wrote something with a white substance on a piece of paper. He gave the boy a candle, and told him to light it and hold it under the paper, and then see what he could read. Then the magician went away. The boy did as he had been told, and the white letters turned into a beautiful blue. They formed these words: “Do a kindness to some one every day.” The prince followed the advice, and became the happiest boy in the realm.
“好吧，”国王答道，“不管你要什么，我都会答应的。”于是，魔术师把小男孩带到一个单独的房间里。他用一个白色的东西在一张纸上写了些东西。然后，他递给小男孩一根蜡烛，并叫他把这张纸点燃后，再放到蜡烛的上方，看看能读到什么东西。说完这些话，魔术师就离开了房间。小男孩照他说的话做了，只见白色的字母变成了美丽的蓝色，并组成了一句话：“每天为他人做一件好事。”小王子接受了这个建议，成了王国里最快乐的人。
Happy is he who has no sense of discord with the harmony of the universe, who is open to the voices of nature and of the spiritual realm, and who sees the light that never was on sea or land. Such a life can but give expression to its inward harmony. Every pure and healthy thought, every noble aspiration for the good and the true, every longing of the heart for a higher and better life, every lofty purpose and unselfish endeavor, makes the human spirit stronger, more harmonious, and more beautiful.
真正快乐的人，他丝毫不会觉得自己和宇宙之间是不和谐的；他会敞开心扉倾听来自天性和精神世界里的声音；他能看见天地间从未展现过的光芒。只有这样的生命才能表达出内心的和谐。每一个纯洁健康的思想，每一种对善良和真理的崇高向往，每一颗渴望更高尚、更美好生活的心，每一个崇高的目标和每一次无私的努力，都让人类的精神变得更坚强、更和谐、更美好。
美丽语录
If you want a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.
如果你想过得快乐，把生活跟目标联系在一起，而不是跟某个人或某些事。
